Multiple signs note Colson Canyon Road’s closure: a big red one along Tepusquet Road a few miles from its intersection and at least three at the dirt road’s entrance. “Colson Canyon Road closed to all traffic including foot traffic,” a green and yellow U.S. Forest Service sign states. The road has been closed since January…
Potable water at Bonita Elementary School is strictly of the bottled variety, at least until a newly county-greenlit plan to connect with a municipal utility comes to fruition. Elevated levels of groundwater nitrates are at the fountainhead of the issue, evaluated by the Santa Barbara Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) in December 2024, and again…
The Silent Hour What’s it rated? R When? 2024 Where’s it showing? Hulu Brad Anderson (The Machinist, Fractured) directs Dan Hall’s debut script about reckless but effective Boston detective Frank Shaw (Joel Kinnaman), who was seriously injured on the job, leading to increasing hearing loss. Sixteen months after the accident, Shaw is beginning to question…
Not long after accepting a coveted award for winemaking innovation at the state’s capital, the Miller Family Wine Company pushed industry boundaries further with a state-of-the-art update. In January, the local producer—the umbrella company that includes Bien Nacido Estates, J. Wilkes, Ballard Lane, Pandemonium, and other Central Coast staples—was recognized as the 2025 Grower of…
Leaving personal belongings or camping on public property will soon be a no-no in Lompoc, thanks to a unanimous decision by the City Council on March 4. A 2024 U.S. Supreme Court decision paved the way for the city to enforce against those kinds of things, according to City Attorney Jeff Malawy. Last year, the…
From 2018 to 2023, incidents at battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities dropped by 97 percent. That’s not just for fire. It’s for all emergency responses to BESS facilities, Central Coast Community Energy CEO Robert Shaw told the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on March 11. The number came from a 2024 Electric Power…
• U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla (D-California) sent a letter to the Department of the Interior on March 6 asking it to ensure that there are no more cuts to the Bureau of Reclamation, which is set to lose about 100 employees in California. That’s about 10 percent of its regional staff, according…
Out of more than 360 chapters across California, Santa Maria High School’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) was ranked No. 1 in the state for 2024. According to Santa Maria High School FFA Chapter President Kayce Van Horn, students involved in the high school’s FFA chapter build a variety of life and leadership skills through…
Our North County Supervisors are looking to my waterfowl cousins for wisdom these days, drawing upon the adage, “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” Instead of benefitting the area’s feathered friends, 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino is crying fowl, I mean foul, about battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities being subjected…
I admire the Santa Maria Sun Canary. Truly! The Canary is one straight-from-the-hip-shooting commentator, heavy on the acerbic humor. The bird’s bite definitely hurts more than its chirp. And I am flattered the Canary referred to me in the bird’s commentary about the Santa Barbara County supervisors giving themselves a raise—which I support (“Eyebrow Raise,”…
Here are some questions that probably aren’t keeping you up at night: Why isn’t the Hearst Ranch a golf resort? Why aren’t we still arguing about whether Los Osos should have a sewer system and how it should work? Why wasn’t a seismic survey allowed to devastate our local fisheries and marine wildlife with underwater…
Mickey 17 What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Regal Edwards RPX Santa Maria, Movies Lompoc, Regal Edwards Arroyo Grande Writer-director Bong Joon-ho (Parasite, Snowpiercer, The Host) adapts Ashton Edward’s 2022 sci-fi novel Mickey7 to the big screen, with Robert Pattinson as Mickey…
High Potential What’s it rated? TV-14 When? 2024-present Where’s it showing? Hulu Kaitlin Olson stars in this comedy series that follows single mom of three Morgan Gillory as she navigates a new career with the LAPD after the department learns of her high IQ and knack for solving crime. Olson is always funny, in that…
Follow your nose Sol Aromatics founder Susan Farber will host natural perfume-making workshops at the California Nature Art Museum in Solvang on Sunday, March 16, and Sunday, April 13, from 1 to 4 p.m. on both days. Register in advance at calnatureartmuseum.org. Admission is $130 for museum members and $140 for nonmembers. The museum is…
Pioneer Valley High School presents its production of Newsies, with performances at the school’s Performing Arts Center—aka the SMJUHSD Performing Arts Center—in Santa Maria through Saturday, March 15 (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7 p.m. each evening). Inspired by the Newsboys’ Strike of 1899 in New York City, the plot of this Broadway sensation centers…
