Cover Story
WEDDINGS 2023
IIt’s always a beautiful day in one of the state’s most iconic destinations, and a wedding set in a vineyard or on the coast will never disappoint. While the location is a large part of planning a wedding, there are a lot of little things that can make or break the big day. For this…
NEW FLICKS: MR. HARRIGAN’S PHONE
NEW FLICKS: MR. HARRIGAN’S PHONE Where’s it playing? Netflix What’s it rated? PG-13 Craig (Jaeden Martell) grows to admire his employer, Mr. Harrigan (Donald Sutherland), whom he reads to from the billionaire’s magnificent library. The two grow close, forming a bond over the words on the pages they share every afternoon. Craig teaches the old…
NEW FLICKS: SHARPER
NEW FLICKS: SHARPER Where’s it playing? Apple TV Plus What’s it rated? R Benjamin Caron (The Crown) directs this nonlinear grifter story about various confidence games being played out in New York City by several “sharpers,” or swindlers. Who’s conning who is part of the fun as these interlayered stories unfold, with each new segment…
How much does providing shelter to the homeless cost all of us?
Now that the “unsheltered” (homeless people) are being provided with what the homeless advocates call adequate temporary housing, how much is it costing? In Lompoc a few months ago, the city decided to “clean up” some property east of the airport so it could be leased to farmers (previously the homeless had trashed the place…
Thanks, ‘Sun’ and ‘New Times,’ for keeping us informed!
I appreciate your continuing to deliver the New Times as well as the Santa Maria Sun and the Santa Ynez paper to the Village Market in Vandenberg Village. It is good to keep up with southern San Luis Obispo County activities. Once the new Village Inn reopens, please consider including them as well. I particularly…
‘Lumberjacks in Love’ is a hilarious musical affair
In this season of submitting income tax returns, the stars of Lumberjacks in Love are filing their axes. The Great American Melodrama’s latest production centers on a group of lumberjack bachelors in a small Midwest community, circa 1912. Hilarity ensues after a bizarre misunderstanding between two of the lumberjacks results in the purchase of a…
Solvang Theaterfest announces spring concert lineup
In mid-February, Solvang Theaterfest released its spring lineup of upcoming outdoor concerts, scheduled to be held at the Solvang Festival Theater between the months of March and May. The concert series will kick off with urban jazz duo Peter White and Richard Elliot, who will perform on March 24, starting at 7 p.m. White is…
Orcutt Children’s Arts Foundation holds annual gala
On Feb. 25, the Orcutt Children’s Arts Foundation’s 2023 gala will take place at the Radisson Hotel in Santa Maria, starting at 5 p.m. The event will include live and silent auctions, live music, live comedy, and more. Tickets to the event and more info on this year’s gala are available at my805tix.com.
Pardon My French in Grover Beach continues its long-running mission of giving back to community members in need
Twenty days after a string of destructive storms slammed the Central Coast, Pardon My French Bakery decided to add more to its already-brimming plate for the greater good. “If you donate $20, we’re taking a box of pastries and putting in at least $30 worth of pastries in it,” said Jamie Tejeda, co-owner of the…
‘Old-World charm’
Modernity isn’t a word anyone would associate with Solvang, and the city’s Design Review Committee would like to keep it that way. The committee, which was revamped a few years ago to allow for more wiggle room when it comes to new building design concepts in the city, was nonplussed with the audacity of a…
Political Watch: February 23, 2023
• U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla (D-California) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) reintroduced legislation to crack down on Big Oil taking advantage of Americans at the gas pump and provide relief to consumers, according to a Feb. 16 statement from Padilla’s office. The Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act would require large oil companies that produce…
County residents receive food relief after January storms
Santa Barbara County received 1,129 CalFresh food benefit applications from residents claiming that they were impacted by the January storms, County Public Information Officer Kelsey Buttitta told the Sun. The California Department of Social Services opened up eligibility for individuals and families affected by the January storms to receive disaster CalFresh food benefits as part…
Solvang’s Design Review Committee rejects housing project’s modern look
The progress of an upcoming housing development in Solvang was delayed after the city’s Design Review Committee unanimously rejected the proposed design. During the board’s Feb. 16 meeting, the main concern echoed by all five committee members about the development—a six-unit multifamily project set to be located on 420 Fifth St.—was that its modern design…
Prices soar for fewer crushed wine grapes in SLO County
California’s wine grape crushers squished less and charged more in 2022 compared to the year before. According to the 2022 preliminary Winegrape Crush Report issued by the state’s Department of Food and Agriculture, 3.3 million tons of grapes were crushed for wine last year across the 17 districts in California. That’s a 7.8 percent decrease…
WomenHeart Champions hosts monthly meetings for Santa Barbara County women facing heart disease
After being a nurse working in cardiac rehabilitation for 30 years and a cardiac patient herself, Marsha Griggs decided to help other women facing heart disease by becoming a WomenHeart Champion. “Women tend to have different symptoms than men, and they’re more subtle,” Griggs said. “They are not diagnosed as easily as men; they’re misdiagnosed,…
