Nearly nine months after kicking off the historic Royal Theater’s long-awaited restoration, Guadalupe leaders lowered the curtain on the project. “If we continue the Royal Theater [construction], by the end of this fiscal year, we will be $2.6 million in debt,” City Administrator David Trujillo told the City Council during its July 28 meeting. “That’s […]
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Political Watch: August 6, 2026
•U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) asked Sable Offshore Corp. CEO and Chairman Jim Flores to cease all Santa Ynez Unit oil drilling operations in a July 28 letter. According to Schiff’s office, Sable refused to provide information about its communications with the Trump administration—specifically about the Defense Production Act (DPA)—to multiple California legislators who sent […]
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Old Orcutt Kwik Stop takes care of gas, convenience needs, and auto repair
Clients drive all the way from Ventura to one trusted auto repair shop in Orcutt with bright red and yellow signage flagging the corner lot. The reason is superb customer service. Old Orcutt Kwik Stop owner Ghais “Gus” Sweed is always working. Sometimes 18 to 20 hours a day. He bought the well-established business last […]
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A courthouse divided: Assembly Bill 46 gives judges more discretion in mental health cases
Bipartisan support from legislators helped push a new directive forward that changes how courts throughout California decide whether to grant criminal offenders diagnosed with a mental illness a treatment-based alternative to jail time. Recently signed into state law, California Assembly Bill 46 redefines a judge’s discretion when considering a defendant’s application for mental health diversion. […]
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Judge rejects Solvang’s request to dismiss a developer’s lawsuit
Solvang’s legal advisors have until Aug. 3 to respond to a civil lawsuit after a judge rejected the city’s argument to throw out the case. In mid-July, Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge James F. Rigali overruled Solvang’s petition to dismiss local developer Ed St. George’s suit against the city for issuing a stop work […]
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Lompoc changes how it bills wastewater customers
A new method of calculating wastewater rates caused a slippery debate at the Lompoc City Council meeting on July 21. Residents and businesses will still be paying based on water usage, Management Services Director Bob Cross explained, and customers who see an increase in cost would’ve seen one under the previous calculations, too. “I think […]
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Lompoc prison reports a ‘walkaway’ inmate
Often set to polka or waltz-style melodies, songs labeled as narcocorrido—or drug ballad—are banned from radio use in several states in Mexico due to the subgenre’s reputation for glorifying cartel activity and drug culture. About four years before being incarcerated in Lompoc, convicted drug trafficker Omar Briceno-Quijano was the subject of the 2021 ballad titled […]
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Political Watch: July 30, 2026
• During the House of Representatives’ July 21 debate on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) criticized an amendment that would authorize the secretary of defense to use federal eminent domain to acquire permanent easements across California-owned lands and submerged lands under the Las Flores Pipeline System. This amendment—which […]
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The Velvet Rut highlights heritage wear with flair in Solvang
Rustic. Enduring. Knee-length. The timeless overalls best known as lederhosen were among the first outfits on display at The Velvet Rut, a new storefront in downtown Solvang. Two child-sized pairs of the traditional German breeches once occupied a prominent corner of the shop, where only one set remained in July. Owner Shona Stargill said she […]
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Wrong-way driver awaits sentence for murder
Alerted by more than a dozen 911 calls, California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers were on the lookout for a northbound driver in the southbound lane of Highway 101 around 5:15 a.m., on Sept. 8, 2024. One caller described the driver—later identified as Santa Maria resident Kendra Lynn Cordova—as weaving between oncoming cars at 90 miles […]
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Vandenberg airman dies on base after an equipment accident
An accident at Vandenberg Space Force Base killed a 23-year-old airman on July 16. The heavy equipment that Airman 1st Class Cedric Eneluna was operating rolled down an embankment, Vandenberg reported in a news release on July 17. The Santa Barbara Coroner’s Office hasn’t yet determined Eneluna’s cause of death. There were no other personnel […]
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Closed-session Lompoc employee evaluation spurs public backlash
Discipline. Dismissal. Appointment of an interim city manager. A handful of business items on the table for the Lompoc City Council to discuss in closed session on July 14 were tied to City Manager Dean Albro’s performance evaluation. Although the council ultimately gave Albro “a satisfactory review” and “did not consider or conduct the discipline/dismissal/release […]
