Cover Story
A Los Padres National Forest fire-prevention proposal sparks a long-standing debate on wildfire management
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has already responded to more than 4,900 incidents this fire season—a number the department expects to increase as this year’s season will be longer and drier because of climate change and drought. Los Padres National Forest is currently working to prevent extreme wildfires through the proposed Ecological…
NEW FLICKS: THIRTEEN LIVES
NEW FLICKS: THIRTEEN LIVES Where’s it playing? Amazon Prime What’s it rated? PG-13 Ron Howard directs this true-life drama about a dozen young Thai soccer players and their coach who become trapped in a cave after a monsoon arrives unseasonably early. It was international news when it occurred in 2018 in the Tham Luang Nang…
Lawsuit agreement suspends Bureau of Land Management’s Central Coast oil and gas leasing
Several California conservation groups and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management reached an agreement to suspend new oil and gas leasing across more than 1 million acres within the bureau’s Bakersfield Office—which encompasses Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Madera, Ventura, Fresno, Kings, and Tulare counties. The agreement came about after a 2020 lawsuit challenging the…
Santa Barbara County Fire seeks new location for Solvang fire station
A parking lot across the street from Solvang City Hall could be the future site of a new fire station, depending on the outcome of a Santa Barbara County Fire Department study. Solvang’s current fire station, County Station 30, is located in the same building as City Hall at 1644 Oak St., which has raised…
Los Olivos organizations host Pride flag raising ceremony after flag theft and burning
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies identified two young adults as suspects in the theft of two Pride flags in the Los Olivos area on July 28, according to Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Raquel Zick. “Deputies spent several days investigating the report, including collecting physical evidence, interviewing victims and witnesses, and tracking down a video…
Political Watch: August 11, 2022
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) applauded the Senate’s passage of the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, which sends the landmark veterans’ health benefit bill to President Joe Biden’s desk on Aug. 3, according to an Aug. 2 statement from the congressman’s office. This legislation will open up health care benefits…
Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm in Lompoc is about family and sustainability
Mother-and-son duo Denise and Lucas Neumann traded Los Angeles city living for more open spaces to pursue Denise’s dreams of running a farm. During her time in the city, she became a master gardener and taught people how to make edible gardens in their backyards, but she wanted something more, Lucas said. “We were always…
The Central Coast Shakespeare Festival’s ‘Cyrano De Bergerac’ runs through Aug. 14 at Filipponi Ranch
We park in a makeshift lot off the main road into Filipponi Ranch, grab our lawn chairs and picnic, and make our way down a graded pathway. As we round the corner, like a mirage shimmering in an empty field, the set of the Central Coast Shakespeare Festival’s Cyrano De Bergerac appears. It’s weird seeing…
Comedian and country singer Rodney Carrington brings Let Me In! Tour to Santa Ynez
The Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez presents a live performance from country artist, comedian, and actor Rodney Carrington on Friday, Aug. 12, at 8 p.m., in the venue’s Samala Showroom. The show is part of Carrington’s Let Me In! Tour. Tickets to the event range from $39 to $59. Carrington is a platinum-selling record…
Orcutt Community Theater holds staged reading of ‘Just Passing’
Performances of Just Passing, a staged reading with music hosted by Orcutt Community Theater, will be held at the Minerva Club in Santa Maria on Friday, Aug. 12, and Saturday, Aug. 13, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 14, at 2 p.m. Written by Candyce Columbus, Just Passing is a drama-comedy that follows three siblings…
Two local painters explore several settings in new Los Olivos exhibit, Romance of the Landscape
Gallery Los Olivos’ latest duo exhibition, Romance of the Landscape, debuted at the beginning of August and is scheduled to run through the end of the month. This exhibit highlights river, mountain, vineyard, and ocean scenes by local artists Linda Mutti (whose work is pictured) and Sheryl Knight. The two painters are longtime friends and…
Flying Goat Cellars celebrates Honey Bee Day with honey tastings, beekeeping demos, and more
Wine is often the headliner at Flying Goat Cellars Tasting and Art Salon in Lompoc. But the venue’s yearly Honey Bee Day celebration usually attracts visitors who crave a different kind of buzz. The family-friendly event includes honey tastings and beekeeping demonstrations hosted by members of the Lompoc Valley Beekeepers Association (LVBA), said Flying Goat…
We must elect democracy defenders
During the Jan. 6 hearings, we’ve heard from former members of the Trump administration and Republican state officials about how Trump and his allies worked together to try and overthrow our democracy because the 2020 presidential election didn’t go their way. Now, they’re working to make sure all of our elections go their way in…
Donegan’s commentary on guns is exactly how I feel
Right on, Mr. Donegan (“Conservatives and guns,” Aug. 4)! When people realize that it’s the idiots behind the guns that cause the problems and the existing laws that are not properly enforced, then understanding the problems will not be changed. Plus, without the care and treatment of the mentally impaired, the problems will not be…
The real reason for North County death disparity
I fear that the Sun/New Times and the Santa Barbara County Health Department completely missed the key underlying reason for the higher death rate among older white males in North County (“Death report highlights long-standing geographic inequities in Santa Barbara County,” July 28). Granted, poverty and access to quality health care do play a role,…
Pray for science
What happens when science meets science? When one scientist says one thing and another says something different? Who do you believe? The chorus or the loner? We could talk about climate change, but let’s not. That horse has been beaten with extreme heat; dry, droughty years; and several 1,000-year flash flood events in the same…
Lompoc recently considered another emergency water-use proclamation, but we have no need
When is an “emergency” not really that emergent? Apparently, some of the “experts” in Lompoc can’t figure that one out as they tried to claim an emergency declaration was needed and then explained that none exists—at least in our city. On Tuesday, Aug. 3, the Lompoc City Council held a hearing to determine if a…
