Time. Place. Manner. Case law shows that the legal limits of monitoring free speech and assembly go hand in hand with the objective rules a city can adopt to regulate signage and art—including murals—used by privately owned businesses. Over the past nine months, Solvang’s staff and legal advisors have cited U.S. Supreme Court cases, including […]
News
Posted inNews
Buellton installs the county’s first public pet microchip scanner stations
Typically found in veterinary offices and animal shelters, a pet microchip scanner can quickly help someone who’s found a stray animal—if it’s been microchipped—arrange a reunion with its owner. Although its availability is limited by working hours, staffing, and other factors tied to locations that carry scanners, the Santa Barbara Animal Care Foundation (SBACF) is […]
Posted inNews
Local advocates concerned about what the recent surge in ICE arrests on the Central Coast means for 2026
The last few days of 2025 were very different than the rest of the year when it came to immigration enforcement on the Central Coast. An estimated 147 arrests were made in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties over a four-day period at the end of December, according to 805 UndocuFund Executive Director Primitiva […]
Posted inNews
Guadalupe Union opens new campus for TK, preschool students
For some students and teachers in the Guadalupe Union School District, the start of a new year also means a new school. The eight classrooms at the Guadalupe Early Learning Center will be filled for the first time on Jan. 14 when students return from winter break, Superintendent Emilio Handall told the Sun. Serving up […]
Posted inNews
Court rules in favor of Sable on restart plan, for now
On Dec. 31, an appeals court ruled against environmental groups’ request to stay a federal decision approving Sable Offshore Corporation’s restart plans for two oil pipelines along the Gaviota Coast. The request was part of a lawsuit the Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Defense Center, and others filed against the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety […]
Posted inNews
See ya: A look back at 2025’s headlines in northern Santa Barbara County
This past year was full of headlines about the Trump administration, federal job cuts, and increased immigration enforcement. But through all of that national news, northern Santa Barbara County was still humming along, impacted by the new federal polices and national politics and continuing with business as usual. The biggest, most consistent headlines were about […]
Posted inNews
Vandenberg Village resident pleads not guilty to murder of her 9-year-old daughter
While taking photos along a remote back road off Utah’s State Route 24, a couple discovered what ultimately closed a two-month, multi-agency investigation into the disappearance of a child from the Lompoc Valley. “Although immediate identification of the deceased person was not possible, it was apparent that the decedent was a female who had died […]
Posted inNews
Cities receive grants for bicycle safety workshops
Thousands of students in Santa Barbara County will continue receiving bicycle education and free safety equipment thanks to grants from the state. Buellton is one of five cities in the county that won funds from the California Office of Traffic Safety for this year’s grant cycle. Buellton’s funds total more than $47,000. The nonprofit MOVE […]
Posted inNews
Firefighters, wildlife agencies rescue owl entangled in a car grille
Over the span of his 27-year career as a first responder, Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Garrett Huff has seen his fair share of animals in distress. “Horses have been some of the most challenging animal rescues that I’ve been part of, not only because of their size but the situations they can get themselves […]
Posted inNews
Almost there: Guadalupe’s Royal Theater retrofit hits another snag after groundbreaking ceremony
In the pantheon of roadblocks that have slowed down efforts to resurrect Guadalupe’s shuttered Royal Theater, asbestos is the latest hiccup keeping the $13 million project at a temporary standstill. Two weeks after local organizers and elected officials held a formal groundbreaking to celebrate the reboot reaching its construction phase (to transform the vacant venue […]
Posted inNews
Department of Transportation classifies Las Flores pipeline under new regulatory oversight
Within 24 hours of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors’ Dec. 16 vote to deny Sable Offshore the permit transfers it needs to revive the Las Flores pipeline, a separate governing body responded to the Texas-based oil producer’s appeal to a higher power. On Dec. 17, the U.S. Department of Transportation granted Sable’s request […]
Posted inNews
Lompoc Police Department’s Drone First Responder program is ready to take flight
Lompoc City Council members approved a deal for the Lompoc Police Department to buy and operate drones as first responders on calls. Officials hope deploying the drones will improve public safety and the department’s efficiency. At the Dec. 16 meeting, council members voted 5-0 for a two-year pilot period, which will cost $100,000 per year. […]
