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Solvang residents say Pride banners promote politics and exclusivity, while LGBTQ-plus community members say they promote acceptance and inclusion
Editor’s note: This is the second installment of a two-part series on the conversation surrounding a proposal to hang Pride banners and paint crosswalks with rainbow colors in Solvang during Pride Month in June. The first part, “Solvang’s denial of Pride banners goes against Denmark’s progressive LGBTQ-plus policies, advocates say,” published on March 23. Pride…
A Thousand and One is a stirring story of a troubled mother
A THOUSAND AND ONE Where’s it playing? Regal Edwards RPX Santa Maria What’s it rated? R What’s it worth? Full price (Glen Starkey) What’s it worth? Full price (Anna Starkey) In her feature-length debut, writer-director A.V. Rockwell helms this love letter to mothers. Inez (Teyana Taylor) kidnaps her 6-year-old son, Terry (Aaron Kingsley Adetola), from…
BINGEABLE: Hello Tomorrow! (2023)
BINGEABLE: HELLO TOMORROW! (2023) Where’s it playing? Apple TV Plus What’s it rated? TV-MA Billy Crudup takes the stage as Jack Billings, a slick salesman who hocks condos on the moon. The retro-futuristic world the show makers have built for us in Hello Tomorrow! is very cool looking—vintage cars that hover off the ground, Mad…
BINGEABLE: The Night Agent (2023)
BINGEABLE: THE NIGHT AGENT (2023) Where’s it playing? Netflix What’s it rated? TV-MA In this action thriller, low-level FBI Agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) is tasked with helming the “Night Action” phone in the basement of The White House. If an agent calls, Peter’s job is merely to direct needed resources. Most of the time…
Knock at the Cabin explores Christian notions of the apocalypse
KNOCK AT THE CABIN Where’s it playing? Peacock What’s it rated? R What’s it worth? Full price (Anna Starkey) What’s it worth? Full price (Glen Starkey) M. Night Shyamalan (Signs, Lady in the Water, Old) co-writes and directs this apocalyptic psychological horror thriller about a family—husbands Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew (Ben Aldridge) and their…
John Wick: Chapter 4 is beautiful ballet of violence
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 Where’s it playing? Regal Edwards RPX Santa Maria, Movies Lompoc, Regal Edwards Stadium 10 Arroyo Grande, Fair Oaks Arroyo Grande What’s it rated? R What’s it worth? Full price (Anna Starkey) What’s it worth? Full price (Glen Starkey) Former stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski helms this fourth installment of his John Wick franchise,…
Ballard transgender student’s announcement leads to district policy discussions
The Ballard Elementary School District decided it will look into parents rights policies after outcry against the school’s procedures when a child came out as transgender. The fourth grader gave her preferred name and pronouns to her peers with both parents present in the classroom earlier in 2023. During a special board meeting on March…
Lompoc swears in new Police Chief Kevin Martin
A recent badge pinning formalized Kevin Martin’s new title as Lompoc’s Police Chief. Martin has held the position in the interim since his predecessor Joseph Mariani’s retirement at the end of 2022. During the Lompoc City Council’s last meeting of March, Martin’s wife, Gina Martin, pinned her husband’s new badge onto his chest. Following his…
Political Watch: March 30, 2023
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) announced that his work securing a boost in funding for federal Head Start programs delivered more than $19 million in grants for Central Coast early learning programs in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, according to a March 22 statement from the congressman’s office. Carbajal, who worked…
New state bill could open up vacant land for housing construction
Housing projects like Santa Maria’s Hope Village and Santa Barbara’s Dignity Moves could expand across the state and offer rental opportunities after a new bill got introduced in the state Senate. Currently the states planning and zoning laws require each jurisdiction to adopt housing plans and use proper zoning where multifamily and mixed uses are…
DANA Adobe & Cultural Center to tap into nature and history at upcoming NatureFest event
Now standing for almost 200 years, the DANA Adobe & Cultural Center in Nipomo plans to host an opportunity for families to learn more about local history and the wonders of nature. The DANA Adobe’s annual NatureFest event is taking place Saturday, April 15, and nonprofit Executive Director Lexi Carreño said that one of its…
SLO painter Susan Kounanis showcases colorful florals in Santa Maria
During the spring of 2022, local artist Susan Kounanis got a phone call that made her year. “I almost cried when I got that call,” said Kounanis, recalling a call from the Sun’s sister paper, New Times, to congratulate her for winning Best Visual Artist in the Best of SLO County 2022 poll. “I was…
Four authors team up for local group book signing
On Sunday, April 16, the Coalesce Bookstore in Morro Bay will hold a book signing and dramatic reading event with four novelists. The program starts at 1 p.m. and will feature appearances from Santa Ynez author Lida Sideris (pictured), Santa Maria author Tony Piazza, Los Osos author Anne R. Allen, and Los Angeles author Mara…
Elverhoj Museum executive director announces retirement
In a recent statement from the Elverhoj Museum of History and Art in Solvang, board president Dennis Bales commended longtime Executive Director Esther Jacobsen Bates’ dedication to the venue over the years, while announcing his colleague’s plans to retire this summer. “On behalf of the board of directors, we want to recognize and thank Esther…
New chef de cuisine joins peasants FEAST for debut dinner hours
Like the prerequisite to board many roller coasters, local chef Brendan Collins’ intro to cooking was subject to a height threshold. “I’ve been cooking basically since I could reach the counter on a step stool,” said Collins, who especially enjoyed helping out in the kitchen during family get-togethers throughout his childhood. “My dad was always…
Relax, people
This little bird ruffled some feathers last week. Sweet! Write to us. Tell us how you really feel, so we can share it with our readers! The Sun also received some angry responses to the first installment in a two-part series on the Solvang City Council’s decision on a proposal to put Pride flag banners…
Solvang didn’t show Pride prejudice
I hope our little yellow dicky fluffer didn’t injure her spine bending over backwards trying to demonstrate that there’s no prejudice here (“Policy prattlers,” March 23). I don’t think the Solvang City Council demonstrated prejudice concerning overt displays of Pride colors and banners. I think it was a feeling of caution, as more permissive displays…
It’s too easy to forget that we’re all swimming in the same stream
I’ve been paddling in the turbulent waters of “extremist” ideology lately, from both sides of the political continuum. If our nation’s democratic spectrum can be described as a bell curve, these would be the “long tails” of that curve. Those are the places inhabited by the fanatics, the conspiracy theorists, the QAnon cultists on the…
