Cover Story
California’s energy department begins cleaning up everything that HVI Cat Canyon left behind
California’s Department of Conservation is embarking on the largest oil well plugging and abandonment project in the state’s history, and it’s in Santa Barbara County. The department’s Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) received $34 million from the state to plug 171 abandoned HVI Cat Canyon Inc. wells. HVI—formerly known as Greka Oil Company—spilled approximately 26,584…
Actor’s Edge Studio launches second annual Central Coast Performing Arts Scholarships
Performers throughout the Central Coast are invited to apply for this year’s Central Coast Performing Arts Scholarships program, hosted by Actor’s Edge Studio. Local actors and other performing artists of all ages and skill levels are eligible to apply for cash and tuition scholarships offered as part of the program. A total of more than…
Santa Maria’s Downtown Fridays return and expect continued growth as the city continues to approve revitalization projects
Ed Carcarey and his partner wanted to create a community event that allowed Santa Maria residents to gather downtown eight years ago, but Carcarey said he didn’t think it would ever be possible. “At the time, the economy wasn’t doing great, and I [knew] enough about the city’s finances so I didn’t think it would…
Good Samaritan Shelter advocates for grant funding from Santa Maria
For the first time in more than 20 years, Good Samaritan Shelter didn’t receive a Santa Maria public services grant allocation, and it could potentially impact how certain services can operate, Executive Director Sylvia Barnard told the Sun. She planned to approach the Santa Maria City Council during its April 4 meeting, which was held…
Political Watch: April 6, 2023
• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) and U.S. Rep. Paul Ruiz (D-San Bernardino) introduced bicameral legislation to create the César E. Chávez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park, according to a March 30 statement from Padilla’s office. The bill would preserve the nationally significant sites associated with Chávez and the farmworker movement in California…
County Planning Commission halts reservoir project in Cuyama
More than 20 public speakers recently urged the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission to deny a property owner’s proposal to build three new water reservoirs in New Cuyama. Despite county staff’s recommendation to approve the project, Planning Commissioner C. Michael Cooney said he sided with participants of public comment during the commission’s March 29 hearing,…
Santa Ynez High paints over rainbow crosswalk during No Place for Hate week
It hurt Santa Ynez Valley Union High School senior Vera Sieck to see the school paint over a temporary rainbow-painted crosswalk she and fellow students proposed for an inclusion week at school. “I honestly took it really hard. It has not been easy growing up queer in the valley. This was the first public show…
Santa Maria Valley resident starts GoFundMe to purchase a thermal drone for local lost and found pets organization
Geoff Clinton spent more than 30 years of his life working as an animal control officer and was often part of search and rescue teams to help find lost animals during natural disasters such as fires and mudslides. When Clinton retired, he volunteered with Orcutt/Santa Maria Lost and Found Pets, a community Facebook group that…
Cambria Estate Winery celebrates tasting room and facility renovations
There’s an 80-mile stretch between Cambria Estate Winery and the coastal village it’s often mistakenly associated with. Located on Chardonnay Lane in the Santa Maria Valley, the renowned winery was co-founded in 1986 by vintners Barbara Banke and Jess Jackson, who chose the name Cambria as a reference to their Welsh heritage, the estate’s winemaker…
No place for hate
I’m getting kind of tired of writing about all the homophobia in the Santa Ynez Valley. But it seems to be the topic du jour. Now, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School is getting in on all the action. As the principal put it, the school was “unintentionally pulled into an issue that has divided…
Being LGBTQIA isn’t an ideology or a theory, Solvang
”We don’t want to promote one particular ideology; what we want in this city is a community that is welcoming to everybody, and that requires some limits on what some groups can do,” Solvang Mayor Mark Infanti said. As if supporting the LGBTQIA community is promoting an ideology or theory. But don’t blame us, it’s…
Is our water safe to drink or our food safe to eat?
How safe is the water we drink and the food we eat? I guess it depends on who you ask. My grandma told me that “you have to eat a pound of dirt before you die” after I inadvertently got some mud in my mouth. After all these years I suppose I have “eaten” more…
Local watercolorist merchandises original landscapes, offers private painting workshops
Rocky bluffs and rolling hills are among the backdrops captured in watercolor painter Chloé Marie Hourdequin’s Local Landmark series. Constantly inspired by “our striking purple mountains, green pastures, and stunning ocean views,” Hourdequin has painted several landscapes and seascapes based on serene settings found along the Central Coast—including locales in the Santa Ynez Valley, Pismo…
Wildling Museum’s new group exhibit highlights the Sedgwick Nature Reserve
Art from 11 Central Coast-based artists will be on display in an upcoming group exhibition, Sedgwick Reserve: A Conservation Story, at the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature in Solvang. The exhibit is scheduled to open in the museum’s Valley Oak Gallery on Saturday, April 8, and will remain up through Monday, Oct. 16. An…
Orcutt Community Theater holds one-man show, ‘Theodore Roosevelt’s Wild America’
Local thespian Alan Sutterfield will portray Theodore Roosevelt in the Orcutt Community Theater’s new production of Theodore Roosevelt’s Wild America. The one-man show will be presented at KDA Studios in Santa Maria on Friday, April 7 and Saturday, April 8, at 8 p.m. both evenings. Tickets to Theodore Roosevelt’s Wild America are $20 each and…
