Spotlight

Come on in The Santa Ynez Chumash Museum and Cultural Center is located at 3500 Numancia St. and open Thursdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults; $12 for teenagers, seniors 65 and older, and active duty military members with identification; and $10 for children ages 3 to 12. […]

Diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2023, Guadalupe resident Eileen Hongo underwent 20 rounds of chemotherapy, 35 rounds of radiation therapy, and other procedures as part of her treatment plan. Between her appointments at Mission Hope Cancer Center in Santa Maria, she formed strong bonds with fellow patients as well as physicians and other […]

Pull the pin. Aim the nozzle. Squeeze the handle. Sweep from side to side. During a fire emergency, PASS is a helpful acronym to keep in mind before using an extinguisher for the first time. Attendees of an upcoming wildfire evacuation and survival workshop in Lompoc will have access to a fire extinguisher training session, […]

The best dance moves occasionally come to light when someone falls out of sync with the rest. “I’m big on mistakes,” choreographer Suzy Miller told the Sun. “There’s no mistakes [really], only unexpected solos. … A lot of my stuff is: ‘You know what you did right there? Keep that.’” This approach is especially helpful […]

Tea parties are given a whole new meaning for hosts who take a leaf or two from Jennifer de Tréglodé’s book.  Through her company, Inari Tea & Art Experiences, the San Luis Obispo local is frequently hired to lead ceremonial tea meditations at public and private events alike, including bridal showers, birthday parties, mindfulness workshops, […]

Barbareno Chumash Tribal Council; 805UndocuFund; Collective Cultures Creating Change Lompoc; Gateway Educational Services; Healing Justice Santa Barbara; Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, Santa Barbara; NAACP Santa Maria-Lompoc; and the Regents of the University of California, Santa Barbara. These are the organizations the Fund for Santa Barbara’s Racial Equity Grant (REG) committee chose to receive money […]

The Santa Maria Valley Railroad (SMVRR) has been in operation for 114 years and survived both the Great Depression and World War II under Capt. G. Allan Hancock’s ownership.  After struggling with the rise of trucking, the railroad remained under Hancock’s descendants until the Himoto family acquired it in 2006. According to Rob Himoto, president […]

Just 7 percent of children ages 0 to 2 and 62 percent of children ages 3 to 5 have access to licensed early childhood education in Lompoc, according to data from the Lompoc Early Learning Project.  To help bridge this early education gap, LEAP opened the Lompoc Children’s Center at the Trinity Church of the […]

Every time a Santa Barbara County resident books a ride through a transportation network company (TNC) like Uber or Lyft, a 10 cent fee is collected to support the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments’ (SBCAG) Access for All program, which aims to enhance reliable, on-demand transportation for people with disabilities and mobility challenges. Care […]

Out of more than 360 chapters across California, Santa Maria High School’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) was ranked No. 1 in the state for 2024.  According to Santa Maria High School FFA Chapter President Kayce Van Horn, students involved in the high school’s FFA chapter build a variety of life and leadership skills through […]

It takes about nine months for a lemon to go from a flower to a harvestable fruit.  That’s one of Caitlin Paulus-Case’s favorite lessons to teach students, helping them put into perspective how much time and effort goes into the food they consume. “By the time that it reaches your fridge, just the amount of […]

Two baskets; a steatite stone model of a Chumash tomol, or plank canoe; and an early 1900s photograph of Santa Ynez Chumash ancestors.  These four culturally significant items were recently returned to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians by the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum in compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and […]