Cover Story
SPRING ARTS 2020
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood has got the lowdown on what’s coming your way in the Sun’s annual Spring Arts issue.
Through its podcast series Food as Medicine the foodbank is teaching people about nutrition
After earning her Ph.D. in nutritional biology from UC Davis and completing a few years of research—including some time in West Africa—Lacey Baldiviez knew she wanted to return to Santa Barbara County to share her expertise with the community. Baldiviez worked as the executive director of Fairview Gardens Center for Urban Agriculture in Goleta before…
State school bond shrouded by confusion unlikely to pass
Chances are looking bleak for a California school bond that would allow the state to funnel $15 billion into public school and college facilities improvement projects, and many Central Coast educators aren’t surprised. They’re blaming, at least partially, a confusing name—Proposition 13—for the lack of support. “Nobody wants to be called Prop. 13,” said Maggie…
Voters approve Lompoc sales tax increase
After putting the fiscal future of the city in the hands of its residents, Lompoc civic leaders lauded preliminary election results, which showed that voters approved a 1 percent sales tax increase for the city. The tax will generate an estimated $4.8 million in revenue annually while it’s in place over the next 15 years.…
Hartmann poised to secure second term as supervisor
The same winner emerged from a repeat race of four years ago for Santa Barbara County 3rd District supervisor. Incumbent Joan Hartmann and challenger Bruce Porter faced off again after vying for the same position in 2016. That race led to a runoff in November—which Hartmann won—after both candidates failed to secure a majority of…
District 17 State Senate seat down to Laird, Nohrden
Unofficial election results across San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties—state Senate District 17—show Democratic candidate John Laird and Republican candidate Vicki Nohrden will now face off in November for the seat. Laird told New Times that he didn’t have a party to watch the election results trickle in on March…
Limón, Michaels will move on to November for 19th District state Senate seat
Monique Limón and Gary Michaels secured the top two positions in the race for the state Senate’s 19th District seat during the primary election on March 3, according to unofficial election results. In a field of three candidates vying for the seat being vacated by state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, Limón and Michaels captured 55.51 percent…
Cole, Bennett head to general election for 37th District Assembly seat
Preliminary election results show that Charles Cole and Steve Bennett will continue their race for the 37th District Assembly seat through to November after securing the top two places in the March 3 primary. The 37th District includes the cities of Buellton, Carpinteria, Goleta, Santa Barbara, and Solvang from Santa Barbara County and more than…
More than a year after cleaning up the Santa Ynez Riverbed, Lompoc weighs a second attempt
More than a year after spending nearly $500,000 on cleaning up the Santa Ynez Riverbed, the city of Lompoc is weighing its options on how to address the problem again. Between September 2018 and January 2019, the city, along with a variety of nonprofits and some Santa Barbara County agencies, evicted people who were illegally…
Final round of local chef competition challenged top Central Coast chefs to make miracles from hellish anti-food items
The Chef Showdown started out like something on one of those Food Network competition shows: four top chefs creating gorgeous masterpieces in a studio kitchen. But this was on the Central Coast, at the Paso Robles Event Center before locals’ very eyes. The audience even participated in judging after visiting the tables of small bites…
Orcutt native Pryor Baird embarks on national tour with fellow Voice alumnus Kaleb Lee
I’m on the phone with Pryor Baird and he just called me “dude.” “Dude, I miss the weather, I miss that beautiful 73 and 52 every day,” the former contestant on NBC’s The Voice said, after I asked him what he misses about living on the Central Coast. The Orcutt native currently resides in Nashville,…
Keep the proposed marine sanctuary protections moving through the Legislature
For some time now, the Sierra Club, in concert with environmental groups in SLO and Santa Barbara counties, has been supporting the Chumash in advocating for the designation of a Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary off the Central Coast. Per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “The primary objective of a sanctuary is to protect…
New Times Staff Writer Karen Garcia makes the LA trek to see her nephew
There’s something extraordinary about being an aunt to a 5-year-old, but I’ve learned it’s even more special if you live exactly 200 miles away from one another. For the better part of my auntie-hood, I’ve lived in San Luis Obispo while my nephew Miles Sanchez is growing up in Torrance—in Los Angeles County. Although 200…
Pismo Beach local’s new book takes a deep dive into what made the 1970s a revolutionary time for film
What makes a good movie, great? Is it the acting? The special effects? Must the film have new, innovative, or groundbreaking themes? Or is it something even less tangible: the ineffable way that some films just make us feel? While everyone has a favorite movie—or perhaps a few—one era in particular seems responsible for an…
SMCT presents ‘The Red Velvet Cake War’
Santa Maria Civic Theatre’s (SMCT) production of The Red Velvet Cake War opens on Friday, March 13, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Performances will continue every Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and every Sunday at 1:30 p.m., through Sunday, March 29. This comedy takes place in Sweetgum, Texas, and follows three eccentric cousins—Gaynelle, Peaches,…
Santa Maria Public Library hosts Paws to Read series
Pre-registration for the Santa Maria Public Library’s next Paws to Read event begins on Monday, March 9. The program takes place in the library’s Altrusa Theater on Monday, March 16, from 3:30 to 5 p.m, and is open to children ages 6 to 12. Each participant can register to read with a dog for 15…
Color and Light exhibition opens at Gallery Los Olivos
The opening reception for Color and Light, a new duo show at Gallery Los Olivos, takes place on Saturday, March 7, from 2 to 4 p.m. This exhibition showcases works by local artists Vicki Andersen and Neil Andersson. Most of the featured paintings are landscapes, as the show’s theme is described as “artistic visions of…
CANARY: Fiscal groundhog
I don’t know much about below-ground critters, I’m more of a winged creature expert, but it seems to me that Groundhog Day wasn’t Feb. 2. It was Feb. 18, during a Lompoc City Council meeting where elected officials had to grapple once again with homeless encampments in the Santa Ynez Riverbed. It wasn’t so long…
Jobs vs. environment is a false dichotomy
We all want good jobs for ourselves and our neighbors, excellent schools, and a robust economy. Ditto for a clean and healthy environment in which our children and grandchildren can live, play, and thrive long into the future. These are not mutually exclusive possibilities. Nevertheless, those who stand to profit from fossil fuel production often…
Why I voted for Bernie Sanders
I have waited my whole life for someone like Bernie Sanders to run for president. A good person who has spent his life fighting for justice. Economic justice. Racial justice. Educational justice. Environmental justice. Bernie speaks clearly to me on all our major issues. Health care is a human right, Medicare for all is our…
