Canary

Who’s flipping out about the California Coastal Commission’s upcoming July 11 meeting concerning the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area? I know, I know. It’s everyone!  Environmentalists are beside themselves because commission staff is finally recommending that the state regulatory body quash those dangerous, oil-spewing, sand-spinning off-roaders from messing up an ecological paradise! It’s about […]

Don’t go on Facebook. It’s bad for your health and your faith in humanity.  Unfortunately, I’m really bad at taking the advice I spew in this column weekly. I’m addicted. I just can’t help it! I want to see the drama. I need it!  The other day I was just scrolling on the Facespace. And […]

Are you guys ready for the apocalypse? Because it’s coming. And you can thank your local electric utility company for its contribution to it. In our case, that would be PG&E, the Pacific Gas and Electric company!  OK, maybe I’m being dramatic, but I might have to go without internet this summer for days at […]

How often do you think Santa Maria City Councilmember Michael Moats brings up the house he lives in when discussing city issues?  I know it’s a weird question, but the best skin doctor in town is obsessed with his 3,500-square-foot, five-bedroom, three-bath home and how many H-2A workers could be housed in it. He’s brought […]

Apparently, there are some residents of Santa Barbara County who choose to live under rocks for years at a time. I’m having a hard time believing that people actually exist who don’t realize that the county has spent a massive amount of public time developing its cannabis ordinance in a very public way.  I guess […]

Am I just jaded or is every political discussion these days fraught with an underlying tension of ideological dare-you-to-disagree with me mentality that just stops meaningful discussion in its tracks?  It’s even infecting the usually even-tempered and respectful Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. We can thank the Sunrise Movement Santa Barbara—a band of very […]

Lompoc. Here we go again. We’ve got gadflies Justin Ruhge and Ron Fink plinking away on their keyboards in frustration to let everyone know how stupid they think City Councilmembers Jim Mosby, Victor Vega, and Dirk Starbuck are when it comes to the budget nonsense that the Sun can’t seem to stop writing about. We […]

Apparently Santa Maria’s Future Leaders of America (FLA) members do have what it takes to be the politicians and lobbyists of tomorrow: unwillingness to compromise, apathy to opposing views, and they’re rude! So proud. The local FLA chapter hosted a forum on May 13 about university entrance requirements (called A-Gs) and the local students who […]

The puppy-powered drama centering around the Animal Kingdom Pet Shop finally maneuvered its way in small claims court. Like a tension-filled episode of Judge Judy, Animal Kingdom owner Adam Tipton and his fiancee Michelle Crook faced off against disgruntled puppy purchaser Jen Toste over $10,000 in a Grover Beach courtroom presided over by Commissioner Leslie […]

I was thinking about pecking at Lompoc for its budget issue again this week—you know, the same one that some current Lompoc City Council members failed to address during the last budget cycle—but I’m moving on to more important things. Lompoc’s got an even bigger problem to deal with. Balloons. Some kid (probably) lost their […]