Cover Story
A peek at what was important, interesting, and insolent in 2019
From fights over cannabis to fights over oil drilling, city budgets, and housing, 2019 was anything but boring. Vandenberg Air Force Base got a new commander and Santa Maria actually put an employee housing ordinance into place. Vaping is being banned across Santa Barbara County and the battle over the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation…
CANARY: Winner winner
I’d like to congratulate the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, who patiently persisted in their quest to turn Camp 4 into reservation land and finally made it happen! With the flick of President Donald Trump’s wrist and a little bit of work on U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal’s (D-Santa Barbara) part, the devil was in…
A time capsule of visual and performing arts on the Central Coast in 2019
“Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes/How do you measure, a year in the life?” How about art? According to Rent, the correct answer is love; but is there even a difference? After all, you wouldn’t have heart without art, and Northern Santa Barbara County saw plenty of it throughout 2019—with enough exhibitions, competitions, theatrical…
A look back at the sounds that fueled Northern Santa Barbara County in 2019
The hills were definitely alive with the sound of music over the course of 2019—whether those hills are of the rolling variety in the Santa Ynez Valley or the equally rolling in Lompoc, Orcutt, and Santa Maria. To celebrate the new year, here’s a Throwback Thursday summary of some of my favorite concerts and album…
Revisit some of Northern Santa Barbara County’s tastiest, newsiest food happenings of 2019
What’s most worth remembering about the past year? Think about all of your senses and what might deserve revisiting or at least savoring the memory of. We at the Sun want to help you remember some of the most delicious places and meals of 2019 so you can relish those “oh yeah, that happened last…
We need civil discourse
It is with sadness that I feel the need to respond to the letter “Dear Adam Shiff and all Democrats” (Dec. 26). The writer seems to be a big Trump fan and disagrees with impeachment, but he also appears to not be prepared to admit that perhaps the Dems (and many citizens) feel that Trump…
Lompoc voters don’t seem to care about committees and commissions
During the last Lompoc City Council meeting of 2019, council members reviewed the need for the commissions/committees that have been established for many decades. The question should have been “Are they effective?” But the real questions are “Does anyone care what they are doing?” and “Are they helpful to the council or constituents?” The stated…
Hancock and Cal Poly collaborate to minimize illnesses associated with romaine lettuce
In the spring of 2018, an E. coli outbreak that was linked to contaminated romaine lettuce caused nearly 210 reported illnesses, 96 hospitalizations, and five deaths across 36 states. Just months after that outbreak was declared over, a different strain of E. coli spread across the nation—again through romaine—causing 62 reported illnesses and 25 hospitalizations…
Political Watch: January 2, 2020
• Santa Maria City Councilmember Mike Cordero will serve as Santa Maria’s mayor pro tem throughout 2020. Mayor Alice Patino nominated Cordero for the role during the council’s Dec. 17 meeting. The City Council unanimously approved the nomination. According a staff report for the meeting, the city’s mayor pro tem acts on the behalf of…
Solvang drone show draws eyeballs from near and far
The city of Solvang took a step toward rebranding itself by drawing national attention with the drone show that was part of Julefest 2019. The show drew roughly 1,500 ticket purchasers but was seen from miles away on Dec 21. It was one of the city’s “show stopper” events, designed to broaden Solvang’s profile, draw…
Group challenges county’s approval of Orcutt shopping center in court
The Residents for Orcutt Sensible Growth took legal action against the county’s decision to approve plans for a new shopping center in Orcutt. The county Planning Commission approved permits for the 50,000-square-foot Orcutt Gateway Retail Commercial Center on Aug. 14. Located on Clark Avenue near Highway 101, the project includes space for a grocery store,…
Vandenberg gets a boost with recently signed defense budget act
The U.S. Space Force is the nation’s newest military branch, signed into being on Dec. 20 with the sharp vertical strokes of Donald Trump’s presidential pen. It was part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Pentagon’s annual defense bill, with some dollars flowing to the Central Coast. The bill will also direct the…
County housing authority awarded grant to assist homeless veterans
The Santa Barbara County Housing Authority will soon receive federal grant funding that will allow the agency to help more homeless veterans find housing. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced on Dec. 17 that $10.5 million in grant funding will be awarded to 27 different housing authorities, cities, and counties across the state. Of this funding,…
