Cover Story
Restaurant Revitalization Fund helps provide financial relief for staffing challenges during post-shutdown business boom
Shawn Van Pelt, owner of Cool Hand Luke’s Steakhouse in Santa Maria, added 150 outdoor seats to his restaurant to accommodate pandemic restrictions this past year. Given the time and resources he poured into this addition, Van Pelt said he would like to keep filling these seats, especially with the economy opening up again. But…
THE NEW MUTANTS
THE NEW MUTANTS Where’s it playing? HBO Max, On demand What’s it rated? PG-13 Co-writer/director Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) helms this confused sci-fi, fantasy, horror, romance, drama, and unintentional comedy about five young mutants forced to live together in a secret facility overseen by the Nurse Ratchet-like Dr. Reyes (Alice Braga), whose…
Dreamcote Wine Co. in Los Olivos employs carbonic experimentation with a unique, casual flair
Henry David Thoreau walks into a wine bar. This isn’t the start of a joke, just an image conjured up while speculating how said philosopher might have responded to Dreamcote founder Brit Zotovich’s “life’s short, make it count” approach to both winemaking and wine drinking. Zotovich’s favorite quote is one of Thoreau’s most famous: “You…
Downtown Fridays begin again in Santa Maria
Downtown Fridays are back, and the event organizers expect them to only grow as COVID-19 restrictions loosen. After taking a pandemic-induced hiatus, the popular event kicked off its fifth year on May 28 at the Santa Maria Town Center West. From August to November 2020, Downtown Fridays went virtual with weekly livestreamed concerts, but last…
Court rejects request to revisit cannabis ordinance environmental impacts
A recent ruling in favor of a Santa Ynez Valley cannabis grow and Santa Barbara County rejected claims that the project is environmentally incompatible with neighboring farms, a decision that could foreshadow outcomes of similar lawsuits filed by the Santa Barbara County Coalition for Responsible Cannabis. On May 25, Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge…
Solvang OKs five-year license term for trolley services
More than a year has passed since the Solvang City Council was slated to discuss extending the business license term for animal-drawn conveyance from one year to five years. During the May 24 Solvang City Council meeting, the council—Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Orona, whose family owns Solvang Trolley, recused herself—revisited the matter and unanimously approved…
PCPA marks its return to live, in-person productions with two outdoor shows to be held at the Solvang Festival Theater
After only a handful of performances last March, the Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) abruptly ended its run of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Fourteen months later, the theater is moving forward with its next stab—a return to live, in-person productions. “Given the current status of the COVID situation in our region, it’s looking…
Wildling Museum of Art and Nature announces new members on its board of directors
The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature in Solvang recently announced the addition of five new members and the return of one former member to its board of directors. The five new members are: Holli Harmon, local artist and creator of the museum’s ongoing window installation, The Nature of Clouds; Sam Cohen, government affairs and…
Pastel artists Kris Buck and Deborah Breedon team up for new duo show in Los Olivos
Summer Blooms, a new duo exhibition at Gallery Los Olivos, premieres on Thursday, June 3, and is currently slated to run through Wednesday, June 30. This exhibit showcases a variety of plein air paintings by local pastelists Kris Buck (whose work is pictured) and Deborah Breedon. To find out more about the show, call the…
Art Spot on Wheels brings Painting in the Vineyard event to Ca’ Del Grevino Estate Winery
Ca’ Del Grevino Estate Winery in Santa Maria will host Painting in the Vineyard, an outdoor pop-up art studio event provided by Art Spot on Wheels (formerly known as Gypsy Studios), on Saturday, June 26, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is $75, which includes all art supplies necessary and a complimentary tasting of…
Delay, delay
One Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge isn’t taking any of the Santa Barbara County Coalition for Responsible Cannabis’ guff. Judge Thomas P. Anderle was the one giving the guff in a May 25 ruling on the coalition’s lawsuit against the Busy Bee’s Organics cannabis project, which the county approved in early 2020. Among the…
Lompoc’s recent budget hearing yields some surprises and many concerns for the city’s financial future
The local government budget is usually the last thing anyone thinks of or is even interested in. The previous Lompoc budget document was 189 pages of numbers, staffing charts, service descriptions, and explanations of how much funding it takes to run the city. Even though it is a tedious read, you should show some interest…
Political Watch: June 3, 2021
• On May 25, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) reintroduced the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, a bill that incentivizes states to adopt “red flag” laws, which “allow family members or law enforcement officials to petition a judge to temporarily disarm an individual in crisis if they pose a…
Lompoc Valley Medical Center launches nursing residency program
Registered nurses will now have a new opportunity to hone their skills with Lompoc Valley Medical Center’s (LVMC) recently announced Nurse Graduate Residency Program. The program launch comes at a time when nurses are critically needed across the country. “We’ve had variations of this in the past, but this is the first time that we’re…
The Vaccination Equity Project funded more than a dozen local organizations in their efforts to increase access to the COVID-19 vaccine
United Way of Santa Barbara County recently joined forces with the Bower Foundation, Cottage Health, and others to fund 13 local nonprofits that are each working to promote vaccine access and equity. Dubbed the Vaccination Equity Project, the United Way and its partner funders pooled $340,000 into one fund for local organizations to apply for. …
