Cover Story
Supervisors propose temporary housing on county property in Santa Maria to address the homelessness crisis
There never seems to be a perfect place for a homeless shelter, Santa Barbara County 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino said. “There’s no golden choice, it’s not one [location] is better than the other, but I can’t live with the status quo,” Lavagnino told the Sun in February. More recently, Lavagnino said he felt like…
Political Watch: December 22, 2022
• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) introduced legislation to close the gaps in our health care system that “have left behind” minorities and underserved communities by incentivizing increased health provider participation in disadvantaged areas, according to a Dec. 19 statement. The Health Enterprise Zones Act would direct the Health and Human Services Secretary to accept…
Guadalupe declares impasse on Fire Department wage agreement
The Guadalupe Fire Department hasn’t seen a wage increase in 20 years, doesn’t have a full-time fire chief, and only has six full-time staff members, Fire Capt. Ryan Danger Mack said. “We realized we didn’t have any rights because we didn’t have an MOU [memorandum of understanding] agreement, and it became a huge priority for…
Santa Maria finally begins to realize vision for downtown redo
As a longtime plan to revitalize downtown Santa Maria starts to solidify into project proposals, city decision-makers asked the developer to make sure the overall design captures traditional mission-style architecture with a contemporary twist. That was the main crux of a joint meeting between members of the Downtown Revitalization Committee, Planning Commission, and City Council…
Los Padres ForestWatch files lawsuit against U.S. Forest Service
The U.S. Forest Service faces litigation after it failed to provide public documents about a fire mitigation project proposal that would impact more than 235,000 acres of land in Santa Barbara, SLO, and Ventura counties. Los Padres ForestWatch Director of Conservation and Research Bryant Baker said the agency missed several deadlines to turn the information…
C.A.R.E.4Paws is fundraising to expand care for pet owners in need
Forget making a trip to the veterinarian’s office—animal care organization C.A.R.E.4Paws is fundraising for a larger mobile vet clinic that’ll come to you. The organization provides affordable veterinary services to low-income, senior, disabled, and homeless pet owners in Santa Barbara County. However, its recent expansion of services to SLO County in February 2022 and the…
Starting place
It’s refreshing to see a county leader putting on the YIMBY hat and walking the talk. That’s “yes in my backyard,” as opposed to the more popular naysayers’ NIMBY acronym. Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino has been wearing his thinking cap since last January’s proposal to accept state money and turn a Motel 6 in…
Rallying for President Trump
We must continue to support President Trump now as we have for the past four years. He had every right to encourage his supporters to rally peacefully before Congress to support and promote important Republican issues now. When the president was at Walter Reed Army hospital to treat his case of COVID-19, his supporters rallied…
There are several ways you can keep adoptable animals safe this winter
It always happens when the economy is in trouble—animal shelters fill up as people face a financial crunch. The current inflationary period, plus all those pandemic pets whose owners can no longer keep them, is just the latest example. And the Santa Maria Animal Center on Foster Road is no exception. On Saturday, Dec. 3,…
Kathy Mastako’s new book ‘The Lighthouse at Point San Luis’ chronicles the colorful history of the iconic landmark
Unless you take a guided tour or happen to arrive at Avila Beach from the north by sea, you might never see the collection of structures that make up one of our very few local lighthouses. It’s a relic of the past, first becoming operational in 1890 and eventually becoming automated in the 1970s. These…
Righetti High School student recognized in statewide choir programs
Righetti High School student Jadyn Voss (pictured, right) is the sole student singer in Santa Barbara County to be accepted into this year’s California All-State Choir, according to the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District. Voss, a junior at Righetti and member of the school’s Varsity Choir, was notified about the selection in mid-December.…
Wildling Museum hosts talk with wildlife photographer Roy Dunn
Pre-registration is open for an upcoming artist talk, Capturing Imagery of Our Wild Neighbors, with wildlife photographer and cinematographer Roy Dunn (pictured), which will take place at the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature in Solvang on Sunday, Jan. 22, from 4 to 5 p.m. Admission to the event is $5 for museum members and…
Total devotion to her craft and colleagues sets local winemaker Justin Trabue on a path to icon status
Justin Trabue has wine in her veins. She was born and raised in Washington, D.C., but California beckoned since birth, with her namesake being Justin Vineyards and Winery in Paso Robles. “This was my initial spark connector to this region,” she said. While in high school, her wine enthusiast parents invited a Black sommelier to…
