Cover Story
Youth center leaders hope to change Lompoc one life at a time
After years of working for various nonprofits and community organizations in Lompoc, Chuck Madson and Tim Harrington are tackling their most ambitious project yet. Madson—who has developed substance abuse treatment programs in Santa Barbara County for years—and Harrington—who has spent the latter years of his career mentoring college students and serving on the boards of…
Planning Commission pursuing stricter cannabis odor control
After spending numerous meetings over the last few months discussing possible changes to the county’s cannabis regulations, the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission made its first move toward pursuing stricter odor control requirements. Last July, the county Board of Supervisors directed staff to work with the county Planning Commission on various ordinance amendments to mitigate…
CANARY: Dollar bill drama
Hey guys, we’re all going to die because of COVID-19—aka, coronavirus. Wait, actually, we’re not all going to die. In fact, most people probably aren’t even going to be affected. People are just losing their minds over the possibility that even one person in Santa Barbara County might be infected by it because they literally…
Cal Poly study focuses on women and strawberries to look at impact on heart and gut health
Women are often left out of clinical trials and studies in fields from medicine to city planning. The result is a world with buildings, cars, and medical procedures built with men in mind, making it generally less convienent for women to function in daily life. One big reason for this, according to Kari Pilolla, an…
PCPA takes a fresh, thought-provoking stab at Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears—the Pacific Conservatory Theatre’s (PCPA) production of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is here. What better way to spend this year’s Ides of March (and through March 22) than with William Shakespeare’s quintessential, historical tale of political upheaval? One key factor I enjoyed about this iteration, helmed by director…
Equine photographer and author Deborah Kalas documents herds of wild horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Capturing rare moments of untamed horses roaming the wild requires a great deal of patience, but career photographer Deborah Kalas was well-prepared before her latest venture. For her new book, The Wild Herd: A Vanishing American Treasure, Kalas spent countless hours (within a total of more than five years) observing the herds of wild horses…
NatureTrack Film Festival returns to Los Olivos
The third annual NatureTrack Film Festival begins screening at multiple venues in Los Olivos on Friday, March 20, and will continue through Sunday, March 22. The festival features more than 60 films, which all explore themes of nature and the relationship between humans and the natural world. Organizers of the festival are planning to incorporate…
David Spade brings stand-up tour to Santa Ynez
Saturday Night Live alumnus David Spade will perform at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez on Friday, March 27, at 8 p.m. The stand-up comedian is also well known for hosting Comedy Central’s Lights Out with David Spade and his role as Dennis Finch on NBC’s Just Shoot Me. His film credits include Tommy…
SJHS Community Theatre presents ‘Beauty and the Beast’
The St. Joseph High School (SJHS) Community Theatre opens its production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on Friday, March 20, at 6:30 p.m. Performances are held in the school’s gymnasium and run for one weekend only (other showings are on Saturday, March 21, at 1 and 6:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 22, at 1…
Chumash Casino Resort presents legendary rocker John Fogerty, live in concert
”I see a bad moon a-rising, I see trouble on the way … .” The voice of rage and ruin himself, John Fogerty, is bringing his My 50 Year Trip tour to the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez on Friday, March 13. The concert starts at 8 p.m. in the resort’s Samala Showroom and…
Surf Beach is open: Well, almost
Surf Beach, what a beautiful place! This is probably one of the few beaches in California where a person can stand and look in either direction, as far as you can see, and find only a handful of people. There was once a small summer village and a racetrack at Ocean Park. Railroad employees lived…
CANARY: Misinformation virus
There was once a small summer village and a racetrack at Ocean Park. Railroad employees lived near the Surf Station, and many locals learned how to water ski in the estuary of the Santa Ynez River. All of those improvements are long gone because the military acquired the beach and 150 square miles of ranchland…
Solar’s not so green
California calls itself “green.” Closing Diablo Canyon speaks loudly that this is a very false notion. Diablo Canyon, a plant supplying electricity to nearly 10 percent of the huge state of California, is our largest single carbon-free generator. It is a reliable “base load” energy supplier, meaning it runs all the time, while renewables make…
Political Watch: March 12, 2020
• Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham announced a new bill he introduced, AB 3360, that would give those who lease solar panels a partial sales tax exemption in an effort to lower housing costs. Individuals who fully own solar installations already receive this partial tax credit, so the bill would seek to expand the tax credit to…
CalGEM public hearing held in Santa Maria allows locals to opine on proposed expansion of Cat Canyon oil production
People flanked by handmade signs spill out of a charter bus that just arrived from UC Santa Barbara. They join a growing rally outside the Veterans Memorial Center in Santa Maria, chanting, “Health, not oil,” and, “No new oil, keep it in the soil!” A microphone passed around gave different folks and organizations a chance…
Santa Maria moves forward with plans for Los Flores Ranch landfill
Santa Maria City Council adopted a resolution at its March 3 meeting authorizing the director of utilities to begin work with Tetra Tech, an engineering design services firm, on the new Integrated Waste Management Facility at Los Flores Ranch. The city purchased the 1,774-acre Los Flores Ranch property in 2006 with the primary intention of…
High School debunks coronavirus hoax, health officials urge preparedness
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District (SMJUHSD) notified law enforcement on March 4 that a hoax text message had been circulating on social media, erroneously stating that there were four cases of COVID-19, or coronavirus, in Santa Barbara County, including two at Santa Maria High School. According to a March 4 media statement sent…
Guadalupe moves forward with 2020 sewer project
Guadalupe is poised to ask the state for funds to upgrade the city’s failing sewer system. The project—dubbed the 2020 Sewer Enhancement Project—aims to replace $3.2 million of failing sewer infrastructure in various areas of Guadalupe; officials recently announced plans to submit a funding release request to the state. The city is currently waiting to…
Mental health facility opening in Lompoc
In November this year, 80 mental-health beds are slated to open in Lompoc, which accomplishes a long sought-after goal for Santa Barbara County. Private mental-health provider Crestwood Behavioral Health, which operates throughout the state, is entering into a lease with the Lompoc Valley Medical Center to take over Champion Healing Center on South C Street…
Cuyama Valley vendors will sell goods at the second swap event
Drivers traveling on Highway 166, or people looking to purchase some locally made products, can check out what vendors in the Cuyama Valley have to offer at a swap meet on March 15. This is a follow-up to the valley’s first swap meet last fall, which came about after the Blue Sky Center hosted a…
