Cover Story
California and its communities search for ways to combat the next catastrophic wildfire
Fire seasons in 2017 and 2018 caused the residents of California to take a long, hard look at themselves, their electricity providers, the way their forests are managed, what their evacuation plans look like, and whether their homes are protected. Communities on the Central Coast face fire yearly, from Lake Nacimiento to the forested hills…
Magic Dragon Cuisine serves a wide variety of high quality Chinese dishes
I’m not going to lie. I had my doubts when I first sat down at Magic Dragon Cuisine. The spacious restaurant was nearly empty, but to be fair, my wife and I had shown up at about 4:30 on a Sunday afternoon. Not a good sign, but I tried to give the place the benefit…
PCPA’s production of The Addams Family is hellishly heartwarming
Morbid and madcap all at once, the Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA)’s latest musical endeavor is a masterpiece of the macabre. Based on cartoonist Charles Addams’ classic characters (probably best known for the ’60s TV series, or the ’90s films to later generations), The Addams Family follows the perilous plights and pleasures of Gomez and Morticia…
Wildling Museum celebrates California national parks, preserves, and monuments with new exhibition
Sixty-three artworks have been selected from a pool of more than 300 entries by the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature for its latest juried exhibition, Celebrating the National Lands of California. The show debuted Saturday, July 20, at the museum and features pieces from 57 artists, with applicants ranging from across the country to…
Guadalupe Buddhist Church hosts Japanese Obon Festival
The 2019 Japanese Obon Festival takes place at the Veteran’s Memorial Community Center in Santa Maria on Sunday, July 28, from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. This annual festival, hosted by the Guadalupe Buddhist Church, features arts and crafts vendors, exhibits, martial arts demos, children’s activities, Japanese food, a raffle drawing, and more. Live entertainment…
Melodrama presents ‘How the West was Really Won’
The Great American Melodrama’s production of How the West was Really Won opened Thursday, July 18, and will run through Sunday, Sept. 22. This musical parody, set in a Wild West saloon, features modern pop songs and a plot that revolves around duels, card games, pillow fights, and dance numbers. Tickets range from $23 to…
Gallery Los Olivos showcases local, regional landscapes
Three Viewpoints, a new landscape exhibit at Gallery Los Olivos, opens Thursday, Aug. 1, and runs through Saturday, Aug. 31. The show features local and regional landscapes from oil painter Ellen Yeomans and pastelists Carrie Givens and Morgan Green. Subject matter includes oceans, deserts, and other locales. Three separate receptions will take place over…
Americana duo The Contenders take on Standing Sun Winery in Buellton
According to their press materials, musicians Jay Nash and Josh Day—who have been touring together as The Contenders since 2012—don’t play songs. Instead, they let the songs play them. Influenced by acts like The Grateful Dead, The Band, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan, this songwriting duo strives to combine poetic lyrics with a classic Americana…
Circle V Ranch Camp opens for first time since 2017
Circle V Ranch Camp opened for business this month for the first time since its campus was badly damaged by the Whittier Fire in July 2017. On July 12, the campgrounds opened up to more than 110 campers and 30 staff members. Campers and staff participated in Space Week, one of four themed summer camp…
Summer school is changing in Santa Maria, and districts are finding different ways to help struggling students
It’s early on a cloudy July morning and Bruce Elementary School in Santa Maria feels like a ghost town. School is out, and aside from a few roosters crowing in the distance, the campus is almost silent. But inside some of the classrooms, small groups of students are working diligently, getting extra help outside of…
Spotlight on: Hidden Treasures Thrift Store VTC Enterprises
Almost exactly a year after VTC Enterprises closed the doors of its beloved Santa Maria thrift shop in February 2018, it opened a bigger and better version of its Lompoc store in a new location. Now, with the store and its staff finally all in order, VTC Enterprises is ready to celebrate. VTC Enterprises and…
Environmental organizations sue federal agencies over tree removal project
In an effort to stop a project to remove trees in Los Padres National Forest, three conservation groups have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department. In the lawsuit—filed by Los Padres ForestWatch, the John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute, and the Center for Biological Diversity—the…
County moves to join Monterey Bay Community Power, cities consider the same
Santa Barbara County is the latest jurisdiction to move toward joining Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP), as the public electricity provider continues to expand southward. The decision follows the county’s conducting multiple studies over a four-year period, as it weighed its options to join MBCP, create its own community choice energy (CCE) agency, or do…
CANARY: Rocket dreams
Lompoc’s excitement over a space-theme park is not quite electrifying. Since 2004, groups have tried to get their plans together on at least three separate occasions. And now, a fourth attempt has come before Lompoc’s giddy, pie-eyed City Council—like the forlorn, faraway answer to their budget prayers. City Manager Jim Throop extolled the virtues…
Mr. Allan Hancock should be proud
It is interesting, and hopeful, to note that Allan Hancock College does not support new oil development in Cat Canyon or elsewhere in our county. For several years, the college president has spoken in favor of Big Oil. And he did this as if he were the official voice of the school. Now, after recently…
A time to act
It was sad to see the city of Lompoc employees get their “pink slips” this month. This action is due to the shortcomings of the three City Council members—Jim Mosby, Dirk Starbuck, and Victor Vega—who do not understand the city budget process. They cut the city services to the tune of $3 million at the…
Fossil fuel climate blues
Things have been shaking in these parts lately. The big quakes in the Ridgecrest-Trona area, far east from our local San Andreas fault, have snapped large water well casings like toothpicks, according to a hydrogeologist in that area. Chevron just spilled 800,000 gallons of oil and water (240,000 gal of oil) into ravines and creeks…
Power utilities’ new policy to prevent fires will cause more problems than it will solve
The devastation of climate-change-induced wildfires is real and will continue to get worse as we see new fires eclipse previous fires in size, destruction, and deaths. Shutting off the power will prevent some of these fires, but are the impacts acceptable? California is embarking on a statewide experiment that we have not fully planned for.…
Pale Blue Dot Ventures pitches latest attempt to build themed attraction
Fifty years after astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to land on the moon, the city of Lompoc continues to pursue its own sort of space exploration. Over the last decade, numerous people have unsuccessfully tried to build a space-themed park on an 82-acre parcel of land in Lompoc with views…
Political Watch: July 25, 2019
• Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the firing of Ken Harris who was head of the state’s Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) on July 11, after two watchdog groups submitted a letter to the governor regardig conflicts of interest within DOGGR and an increase in the number of fracking permits…
