Century-old photographs, handwritten letters, baptism records, and other primary documents confirmed what Michael Erin Woody and the rest of the Salinan Tribe of Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties already knew. “This is a continuous group of Indians that have been here since before European contact, and we’re still here,” the tribal council member said. …
Fed up with the federal government’s policies and their impact on communities like his in Santa Maria, 17-year-old Cesar Vasquez recently shifted the focus of his organization, La Cultura Del Mundo. “We are here to protect all immigrants—no matter where you are from, who you believe in, who you love, or where you stand,” Vasquez…
Nearly half of Santa Barbara County’s ag gross revenue for 2024 stems from a single fruit. According to the county Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, strawberry producers raked in $860 million last year. That’s more than 40 percent of the county’s total gross production value—which the department’s 2024 crop and livestock report listed as approximately $2.01 billion.…
Real cheese, real ingredients Wild West Pizza is open from 11 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 9:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Located at 1137 N. H St., suite W, the Lompoc mom-and-pop pizza shop is known for its unique pies. It can be found on Instagram @wildwestpizza and online at wildwestpizza.menu.…
• On July 3, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) released a statement on the passage of the Republican reconciliation bill. Carbajal voted against the bill, while opposing its unprecedented cuts to essential programs like Medicaid and food assistance, according to Carbajal’s office. In his statement, Carbajal said the bill “puts billionaires first and working…
New kid on the block Located at 705 S. McClelland St. in Santa Maria, the new Children’s Resource and Referral Discovery Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit crrsbc.org or smvdiscoverymuseum.org. The Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum and Children’s Resource and Referral of Santa Barbara County…
Fire season is here, y’all. With more than 80,000 acres burned in the Cuyama Valley and on the Carrizo Plain National Monument since before July 2, and a number of other starts since summer began, now is the time to be careful. That means: Be done with the fireworks, people. I can still hear the…
I am discouraged by Democrats’ disregard for the oath they took when they were elected to serve in Congress. That oath states in part that “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Article 1 of the Constitution established how the government would be run.…
George Carlin once suggested that the concept of the American Dream is a tool used by “the owners” to keep people placid and focused on trivial things, preventing them from realizing how rigged the system is against them. “It’s a big club, and you and me ain’t in it.” This concept has never proved to…
When pen meets pad Chumash artist John Khus has been keeping the spirits of his Central Coast ancestors alive for more than four decades. You can find him on Instagram @john.khus. A faceless Statue of Liberty with flowing, black hair dons a colorful array of Indigenous tattoos. The white “Be Human” book she holds in…
I am a lifelong Republican. I have developed a new reason to hate getting older. It means I will have only a few more opportunities to vote against all of the elected buffoons from the top down who voted for this “Big, Beautiful Bill” that will destroy our country. The only reason for anyone to…
A globetrotting blues, rock, and Americana band will take the stage in Solvang on July 25. With a set list ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Charlie Daniels, Dirty Cello will perform at Lost Chord Guitars at 8 p.m. Instead of a guitarist, cellist Rebecca Roudman leads the band. “We’re all about the fun at our…
Savor Japanese cuisine, partake in traditional dance, and bask in the Taiko drummers’ traditional booms. The Guadalupe Buddhist Church will host its annual Obon festival July 27 from 12 to 6 p.m. at the Santa Maria Veterans’ Memorial Building. Join community members in the sea of smiles and colorful kimonos to honor Japanese Buddhist ancestors’…
Jurassic World Rebirth What’s it rated? PG-13 What’s it worth, Anna? Matinee What’s it worth, Glen? Matinee Where’s it showing? Regal Edwards RPX Santa Maria, Movies Lompoc, Regal Edwards Arroyo Grande Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) directs this new installment in the Jurassic Park franchise. Written by David Koepp (Jurassic…
Sirens What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Netflix Based on show creator Molly Smith Metzler’s 2011 play Elemento Pea, Sirens is set over the course of a long weekend in one of those beach communities whose only non-millionaire visitors are the workers who drive in to serve the uber rich homeowners and…
It took less than a day for a wildfire near New Cuyama to grow into California’s largest of the year by acreage so far. While the cause of the Madre Fire remains under investigation, fire officials traced back its point of origin to the early afternoon of July 2, along Highway 166 in the Cuyama…
The Old Guard 2 What’s it rated? R When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Netflix If you want to see Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde) and Uma Thurman (Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2) square off in epic hand-to-hand combat, step right up to this sequel to The Old Guard (2020), based on…
