California voters will vote on Proposition 1 in March, which could change local behavioral wellness program funding and structure. The multi-pronged legislation attempts to modernize the 2004 Mental Health Services Act (MHSA)—a personal income tax measure that established the current structure of county behavioral wellness programs—and add a $6.4 billion bond measure to build 10,000…
I have never understood the MAGA movement. Make America great again? America has always been great. I should know. I have been to at least 50 countries and all 50 states. While America may need to be tweaked once in a while, as democracy is dynamic, she does not need to be destroyed, as Trump…
One grape to rule them all For more info on World of Pinot Noir, visit worldofpinotnoir.com. The Santa Barbara program will include various events to highlight local and visiting wineries between Feb. 29 and March 2. World of Pinot Noir will take place at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara, located at 8301 Hollister Ave., Santa Barbara. One…
Spear Vineyards lost more than half its chardonnay crop and just under a quarter of its pinot noir crop to mildew, grower and owner Ofer Shepher told the Sun. “Unfortunately, with the weather patterns we had, not so much the rain but the lack of wind, we had a lot of mildew pressure,” Shepher said.…
Next stop, Indiana Follow Arroyo Grande High School Theatre Company on Facebook or Instagram @aghstheatrecompany to find out how you can help the group get to its summer performance at the International Thespian Festival. The moment was almost four years in the making for one Arroyo Grande High School (AGHS) Theatre Company member. “I thought…
A local developer is on track to build more than a dozen two-story homes on a 3-acre tract in Lompoc, despite the proposal’s deviations from some city standards. Currently covered by dirt and weeds, the project site is an undeveloped parcel on the southeast corner of North V Street and West North Avenue. The planned…
As part of its goal in showcasing performing artists from around the country, the Great American Melodrama in Oceano is looking for local residents with an extra bedroom, ADU, or other spot to spare for short-term rentals. If “hosting artists while earning extra income sounds like a fantastic opportunity,” email stacy@americanmelodrama.com to be added to…
Guadalupe has new tools at its disposal to help prevent flooding during winter storms, thanks to its partnership with Santa Barbara County. In 2023, historic rainfall caused the Santa Maria River to veer off its natural course—flooding Guadalupe’s Pioneer Street, the wastewater treatment plant, and farmland. After a months-long effort to get federal and state…
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) urged House Republican leadership to bring the Senate-passed bipartisan national security supplemental aid bill to the floor for a vote, emphasizing its potential to meet the nation’s security challenges and help save lives in the short and long term, according to a Feb. 14 statement from his office.…
Local art enthusiasts and artists of all skill levels can reserve their space at an upcoming digital art workshop led by Nipomo-based painter and digital artist Fred Ventura. Hosted by the Morro Bay Art Association, the two-day workshop includes sessions on Saturday, March 9, and Saturday, March 16, from 1 to 3 p.m. both days,…
Virginia Perry Souza joined the league to better educate herself on elections and items on the ballot. “I sat there as ignorant as a post and let everyone do the work, and therefore I didn’t learn or do anything, but now what I’m doing is important,” Souza told the Sun. “When I retired and my…
Suncoast What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Glen? Full price What’s it worth, Anna? Full price Where’s it showing? Hulu Writer Laura Chinn (Grandfathered, Florida Girls) makes her directorial debut with this semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story about Doris (Nico Parker), a teenager helping her flinty mother, Kristine (Laura Linney), care for her seriously ill brother,…
What can I say about Proposition 1? It’s hard to know how to vote—unless you’re adamantly against the state taking out a $6.4 billion bond to build more places where people can get mental health care and substance abuse treatment and more housing for people with health and substance abuse challenges. Sounds like a problem…
Kung Fu Hustle What’s it rated? R When? 2004 Where’s it showing? The Palm Theatre on Feb. 24 and 25 (1:30 and 7 p.m.), and Feb. 26 (7 p.m.) Director Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer) helms this outrageously funny, action-packed, fantasy martial arts epic set in Shanghai, China, in the 1940s, where wannabe gangster Sing (also…
Voters have received vote-by-mail ballots. All three incumbent county Supervisors running for reelection need to be replaced, but I want to focus on the 3rd District because that’s where I live. The 3rd District supervisor’s seat is being contested by two people: One is widely known in the Lompoc Valley, and the other is relatively…
BINGEABLE: You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment What’s it rated? Not rated When? 2024 Where’s it showing? Netflix What happens when you take two genetically identical people and track changes to their body on different diets? This new Netflix series follows several sets of twins as they navigate their health journey. One twin…
