Cover Story
Health & Wellness 2020
Healthy People Healthy Trails program aims to get people healthy while connecting them with nature BY ZAC EZZONE Through a growing program in Santa Barbara County, participating doctors are prescribing some patients to take a hike. The effort started in 2015 after Mark Wilkinson learned about Healthy Parks Healthy People, a program within the National…
CANARY: Dirty laundry
I think Lompoc might have some competition for most drama on an elected body in Santa Barbara County. Solvang’s recent City Council meeting makes me long for 2017, when the drama involved City Councilmember Jim Mosby—Doesn’t Lompoc’s drama always involve Mosby?—throwing a fit about then Mayor Bob Lingl, who made a finger gun with his…
Political Watch: January 23, 2020
• Assemblymember Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) defended Assembly Bill 1680—which requires that the public be allowed to access some of the coastline along Hollister Ranch by 2022—in a Jan. 16 news release. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill authored by Limón last October. Limón issued her statement in response to the Hollister Ranch Owners’ Association,…
County Child Welfare Services experiencing caseload increase
The number of children in foster care in Santa Barbara County increased in 2019 after four years of steady declines. In 2015, there were 433 children in the county’s foster care system, but this dropped to 327 three years later, before increasing to 396 in 2019, according to a presentation from the Jan. 14 county…
Assessment outlines youth needs in Santa Barbara County
After hundreds of surveys and numerous focus group meetings, the Community Action Commission (CAC) of Santa Barbara County released a report in late 2019 that details some of the issues youth throughout the county are facing. According to the 2018-19 Youth Needs Assessment, most of the younger people surveyed are concerned about future job opportunities,…
Solvang mayor initiates ouster of Board of Architectural Review director
The city of Solvang has been rocked by changes in recent months, some administrative, some cultural, some the result of a difference in vision. At a recent City Council meeting—which are typically scheduled for Mondays, but was moved to Wednesday, Jan. 15—the controversial item for the evening was the ouster of Joan Jamieson, who served…
Santa Maria Philharmonic Society presents free family concert, Fly Me to the Moon
How much would you guess a commercial flight to the moon costs? Somewhere in the billions? Maybe millions if you fly Spirit? Try zero dollars and zero cents for attendees of Fly Me to the Moon: From J.S. Bach to Mr. Spock, a free, family-friendly concert presented by the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society. Maestro Michael…
After two decades in the physical therapy world, Wendy Smith is now a personal trainer
After more than 20 years working as a physical therapist assistant in different states throughout the country, Wendy Smith is embarking on a new venture that will allow her to continue doing what she enjoys: helping people get healthy. The transition took place last year after Smith began seeing changes in how insurance companies cover…
Develop renewable energy on already developed sites
The Strauss Wind Energy farm would never be allowed in its home country of Germany. It does way too much environmental damage. It will kill more than 200 ancient oak trees. It puts 500-foot-tall windmills on top of a mountain so they’re visible all over, when anyone who’s building a house must keep their roofs…
Vote Bruce Porter for supervisor
As we approach the unusually early March 3 election, I want to express my support for Bruce Porter in his bid to become the next county supervisor for the 3rd District. I’ve known Bruce for several years through his involvement in a number of local nonprofit organizations. In that time, I’ve come to know him…
Joan Hartmann shows up for the people
During Bruce Porter’s previous attempt to become a Santa Barbara County supervisor, I attended some of his public events. They were tightly controlled appearances where his credentials were recited but he took few questions. His campaign office does not return phone calls. And just last week, Mr. Porter was the only candidate who chose not…
Bruce Porter’s got what it takes
I am enthusiastically endorsing Bruce Porter for 3rd District supervisor. Bruce has a wealth of important experience from his years as colonel in the Army Corps of Engineers. This includes road construction, bridge building, water conservation, oil spill cleanup (think Kuwaiti oil disaster), and all aspects of practical infrastructure that are so important to the…
Riverbench Winery and God’s Country Provisions team up on doughnut and wine tasting
This is way more doughnut than I bargained for. Four full-sized doughnuts are placed in front of me. Blueberry, apple, vanilla, and chocolate cake. Each is iced in frosting infused with the wine it will be paired with. Riverbench 2017 Bedrock Chardonnay pours into an etched wine glass. I gently tear the Blueberry Chardonnay Cake…
New book documents complete history of Solvang, from Danish colony to present day
All it took was one impromptu meeting between educator Ann Dittmer and Elverhoj Museum Executive Director Esther Jacobsen Bates to seal their fates as the future co-authors of The Spirit of Solvang: A History of the Danish Capital of America. It was a spring day in 2007, Bates recalled. “Ann walked into my office unannounced,”…
Lompoc artist recreates her father’s Polaroid collection in charcoal and watercolor
After her father’s passing two years ago, Lompoc-based artist Elisa J discovered the source of inspiration for her latest endeavor. The photos were taken sometime in the late 1960s, when Elisa J’s family owned a Chinese restaurant in Chicago, where she was born and raised. Although she didn’t personally know many of the people in…
Local libraries take part in new public art project
Six outdoor sculptures will be displayed at various local libraries as part of Tiny Libraries on Tour, a new public art project sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission in partnership with the cities of Santa Maria, Goleta, and Santa Barbara. The brightly colored sculptures were created by artist Douglas Lochner and each piece…
Shepard Hall Gallery showcases silk painter Esther Bartlett
The Santa Maria Public Library hosts a new solo exhibition showcasing the work of Esther Bartlett in the library’s Shepard Hall Gallery, starting Wednesday, Feb. 5. The show will run through Thursday, March 5, and is part of an ongoing series curated by the library’s Art Advisory Committee. Ever since she can remember, Bartlett has…
