Cover Story
Santa Barbara County Fire received a $144,000 grant to support mental health services, but firefighters and nonprofit leaders worry about the program’s sustainability
Sam Dudley replayed the Montecito debris flow over and over in his head driving to and from work for months after the 2018 disaster. “A lot of things really stacked up that made that experience really hard,” the Santa Barbara County firefighter said. “Finding children severely injured, and specifically we found one child deceased. That…
BINGEABLE: GOSSIP GIRL (2021-present)
BINGEABLE: GOSSIP GIRL (2021-present) Where’s it playing? HBO Max What’s it rated? TV-MA The scourge of New York City is back! Do I mean the infamous anonymous social media sensation that calls itself “Gossip Girl” while airing high society’s dirty laundry, or the bratty pack of rich heirs, heiresses, and socialites who find themselves in…
Gallery Los Olivos’ 2022 Winter Salon showcases landscapes, portraits, still life paintings, and more
Last year marked artist Ginny Speirs’ first year of membership with Gallery Los Olivos, where she recently joined two of her peers to co-organize the venue’s latest group exhibition. “I embraced the opportunity to get to know my fellow artists better,” said Speirs, who jumped at the chance to help hang the featured artworks in…
Johnny Mathis brings Christmas concert to Santa Ynez
The Chumash Casino Resort presents Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Johnny Mathis live in concert on Friday, Dec. 16, at 8 p.m. The legendary musician will be performing a variety of Christmas songs during the upcoming show. Mathis is best known for “It’s Not for Me to Say,” “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late,” “Misty,”…
Great American Melodrama holds annual holiday production
The Great American Melodrama’s 2022 iteration of The Holiday Extravaganza debuted in mid-November and is scheduled to run through Saturday, Dec. 31. The three-act show includes the venue’s traditional retelling of A Christmas Carol, a fairy-tale spoof segment, and a reindeer-themed vaudeville act. During A Christmas Carol, miser Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghosts…
More adoption needed with overcrowding concerns at Animal Services
Calls for adoption and fostering rang out from Santa Barbara County Animal Services after its kennels recently reached capacity. “We see an increase in adoptions and fostering as well as people bringing in surrenders because the holidays bring many things for many people,” said Sarah Aguilar, the director of Animal Services. “The holidays may bring…
Santa Maria teens are invited to help paint the city’s next mural
Young artists in Santa Maria will have the chance to dip their paintbrushes and leave their mark on the community as the city seeks help from its youth to work on a new mural that will be displayed at the city’s civic center. “We really hope the teens take the opportunity to learn not just…
County’s low-income communities still need infrastructure help
Almost 3,000 Santa Barbara County residents live in areas officially labeled as “disadvantaged unincorporated communities.” Casmalia, Garey, Sisquoc, Los Alamos, New Cuyama, Cuyama, and Ventucopa first received the label in 2015—and not much has changed since then. “There haven’t been any improvements,” county Senior Planner Zoe Carlson told the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors…
Santa Barbara County certifies election results
There are no more ballots to count, no more campaign flyers filling mailboxes, and no more candidate debates being held as the Santa Barbara County Clerk-Recorder’s Office certified the 2022 election on Dec. 7, allowing the new or returning elected officials to step into their roles. In Santa Maria, Gloria Soto—the incumbent for the City…
Political Watch: December 15, 2022
• The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Protect Patriot Parents Act, a measure authored by Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) that would make parents of U.S. military service members eligible for lawful permanent resident status, preventing potential deportation or separation of military families, according to a Dec. 8 statement from the congressman’s office. “I…
Disadvantaged advantage
What’s the advantage of being labeled a disadvantaged unincorporated community? You might get a new fire station, but if you’re looking for water or sewer service, you might be out of luck. And if you desperately need flood control help, well, bonne chance! While the county is required to catalog infrastructure deficiencies in certain unincorporated…
Los Olivos’ sewage treatment plan is a problem, not a solution
Los Olivos is a small, dusty, Western town, while Washington, D.C., is a former swamp in north Virginia. Unlike Washington, Los Olivos neither needs nor wants a big government “solution” in search of a problem. The Los Olivos Community Services District board is ignoring its original plan, endorsed by voters and county regulators, for a…
It will take something more than a fence to keep trespassing homeless individuals out of private property in Lompoc
For several decades, a homeless encampment has existed near and under the H Street bridge on the north end of Lompoc. Until the last five years or so, the homeless largely stayed to themselves and didn’t bother anyone. Now they are everywhere, including the shopping center that occupies the northeast intersection of Central Avenue and…
Solvang restaurateurs celebrate Bib Gourmand win for peasants FEAST
When local chef Michael Cherney found out one of his restaurant ventures had received the Michelin Bib Gourmand Award, he felt like waiting for Ashton Kutcher to come around the corner to tell him he’d been Punk’d. “I seriously thought it was one of my friends or employees playing a joke on me,” said Cherney,…
