Often wedged between Dave Hild’s van dashboard and windshield, the retired zookeeper’s road maps range from blueprint-style scrolls to thick, paperback atlases. “These don’t require batteries or a signal, and I can drop them in the creek and they’ll still work,” said the former Charles Paddock Zoo employee, who’s lived off-grid in his van for […]
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Animals return home after being evacuated from Gifford Fire
The large animals evacuated due to the Gifford Fire are back at home as of Aug. 19. Starting on Aug. 2, the Horse Emergency Evacuation Team (HEET) of San Luis Obispo County helped facilitate the evacuation of around 50 animals including horses, goats, llamas, donkeys, and pigs. Animals were evacuated from Huasna, Ranchita, Santa Margarita, […]
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Political Watch: August 21, 2025
•U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla (D-California), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), and Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) spearheaded a recent letter—co-signed by 45 government officials—that urged Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offices to launch an investigation into the department’s stops, arrests, detentions, and deportations of U.S. citizens. “Sweeping enforcement operations by [DHS] agents—particularly within Immigration and Customs Enforcement—threaten the safety, […]
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Gifford Fire exceeds 123,000 acres while crews plan burning operation
Air tankers and drones are among the forms of aerial support available to the crews—made up of more than 4,000 personnel—tackling the Gifford Fire, which has grown to 123,000 acres since Aug. 1. Helicopters are in the mix as well—some armed with a crucial accessory firefighters will use to essentially fight fire with fire. “We […]
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Local water agencies weigh in on federal cloud seeding bill
Solvang is planning to send a letter to the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee opposing U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Georgia) bill that aims to ban cloud seeding. On Aug. 11, the Solvang City Council unanimously approved the move as part of its consent agenda. City Manager Randy Murphy told the Sun that he […]
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Santa Barbara County is ready to build out rural broadband networks
Designs are complete for high-speed internet networks in nine rural Santa Barbara County communities, but the projects are still waiting on funding for construction. The county received a state grant in 2023 to kick-start its broadband effort, Marjie Kirn, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) executive director, told the Sun. Using the grant, […]
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Political Watch: August 14, 2025
• Approximately 190 million barrels of recoverable oil reserves are estimated to remain in the area off the coast of Santa Barbara County, according to the federal Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which announced on July 25 that it was working with Sable Offshore Corporation to bring a second Santa […]
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Local appraiser Courtney Hood auctions off antique jewelry from her personal collection
Helping others scope out the value of their earrings, necklaces, and rings is a daily occurrence for Courtney Hood, who began learning the ropes of her family’s business—CB Hood Diamond Co. in Santa Maria—from a young age. After graduating from Cabrillo High School in Lompoc, she enrolled at the Gemological Institute of America where she […]
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Breaking ground: An empty Santa Maria department store begins its transformation into apartments—aiming to revitalize downtown
Making its downtown area more lively and walkable has been a goal of Santa Maria’s since 2004. About four years’ worth of community workshops ushered in the city’s first downtown revitalization plan, adopted in 2008 with hopes of increasing foot traffic through new retail, restaurants, and housing opportunities. But over the course of the next […]
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Gifford Fire scorches more than 82,000 acres east of Santa Maria
Less than a week after the Madre Fire was declared 100 percent contained, it was dethroned by the Gifford Fire as California’s largest wildfire of the year. Both wildfires impacted several areas along Highway 166, prompting evacuation warnings and orders across different parts of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. While the Madre Fire […]
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Survivor of alleged sexual assault files suit against former Hancock instructor
Former Allan Hancock College instructor Kevin Daily, who’s facing trial for alleged sexual assault stemming from charges filed by the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office, is now being sued by the survivor of the reported abuse. Jacqueline Doe—the woman identified in the DA’s Office complaint from 2022—sued Daily on May 9 for sexual […]
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Santa Barbara County Planning Commission green-lights Lompoc Valley apartment project for moderate income levels
To make way for 60 apartments and 87 hotel rooms proposed for the Vandenberg Village area, Santa Barbara County needs to approve the removal of about 3 acres of chaparral—or chaparral in name only, 3rd District Planning Commissioner John Parke explained. “I guess you could call it Burton Mesa Chaparral, but it really isn’t,” Parke […]
