Cover Story
Lompoc grapples with long-term solutions to its budget shortfalls, burgeoning pension debt
The city of Lompoc is somewhat isolated, located about 20 miles off of Highway 101. This seclusion prevents the city from receiving the same sales tax revenue generated in most other Santa Barbara County cities by traffic passing through. In addition, Lompoc has the second lowest median home value in the county behind Guadalupe—the only…
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CANARY: Future leaders of ‘Merica’
Apparently Santa Maria’s Future Leaders of America (FLA) members do have what it takes to be the politicians and lobbyists of tomorrow: unwillingness to compromise, apathy to opposing views, and they’re rude! So proud. The local FLA chapter hosted a forum on May 13 about university entrance requirements (called A-Gs) and the local students who…
Nipomo High School Theatre finishes 2018-19 season with Disney’s Newsies
There’s no such thing as untimeliness when it comes to Newsies, nor any other musical where characters fight for basic rights and freedoms. Inspired by the Newsboys’ Strike of 1899 in New York City, the story centers on a ragtag team of newspaper delivery boys and girls—all either orphans or runaways—who lead a protest against…
Buellton Library celebrates 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
The Buellton Library holds its 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten celebration on Wednesday, May 22, from 4 to 5 p.m. This afternoon event is open to all children who have participated in the ongoing reading program, which promotes reading to newborns, infants, and toddlers. The 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program also strives to encourage parent and…
Wine and Design hosts open studio workshop
Wine and Design in Orcutt hosts its adult open studio on Saturday, May 25, at 1:30 p.m. Participants will get to choose a painting from off the wall that they would like to paint themselves. The Wine and Design staff will then prep guests’ canvases and provide paints. Staff workers will be available throughout the…
Levity Aerial Arts benefits Humane Society
Levity Aerial Arts presents Paws and Claws Go to the Circus at the Edwin and Jeanne Woods Animal Care Complex on Saturday, May 18, from 6 to 9 p.m. The SLO-based aerial acrobatics group will be joined by contortionist Lila Woodard during this fundraiser show to benefit the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society. Aside from…
Planet Lucha applies comic book storytelling to lucha libre while showcasing local wrestlers
Imagine an alternate universe where pop culture ceased to evolve past 1987, a world entirely populated by costumed characters with intimidating nicknames. Sounds like the plot of a graphic novel, but it’s actually a story thread within a local wrestling show. This is the nostalgic landscape that Dominick Balsamo—one of the founding directors of Cen-Cal…
Spotlight on: Business and Education Partnerships Luncheon
Not everyone knows all of the ins and outs of adequately running a school district, but in most cases, the old adage “it takes a village” is fitting. Aside from their many teachers, administrators, and other employees, most school districts partner with outside organizations and businesses that help schools provide enhanced services, educational opportunities, and…
Indie/folk artist Conner Cherland performs back-to-back in Orcutt and Los Olivos
I try not to let first impressions get the best of me—but anyone willing to compare their upbringing to the plot of Disney Channel’s High School Musical gets a golden star in my book. “I wasn’t groomed for music,” singer-songwriter Conner Cherland said in press materials. “I played volleyball for as long as I can…
Expedited logging projects won’t protect communities from wildfire
The May 2 column by the anonymous Canary (“Spinning and spinning”) took aim at environmental groups for informing the public about two commercial logging projects that have been approved in the Los Padres National Forest near Mt. Pinos. The two projects proposed last year by the Forest Service cover almost 4 1/2 square miles near…
Santa Marians weigh in on city’s effort to improve biking, pedestrian, and bus systems
When Ana Jacobo-Anaya was growing up, she wasn’t allowed to ride her bike to school, around town, or even too far from home. Her parents didn’t think the Santa Maria area was safe enough to bike in. It’s been more than 20 years since then, and now Jacobo-Anaya is telling her own children the same…
Central Coast cities crack down on fireworks
With the Fourth of July approaching, some local cities are attempting to deter the widespread use of illegal fireworks and the use of legal fireworks outside of designated times. Santa Maria is the most recent city to make changes after Arroyo Grande and Guadalupe amended their firework ordinances earlier this year. During the May 7…
Animal Kingdom closes stores in Santa Maria, Pismo Beach
A chain of Central Coast pet stores announced it would no longer sell puppies in early April, and now it’s closing store locations in Santa Maria and Pismo Beach. On April 25, Animal Kingdom Pet Shop closed its store in the Santa Maria Town Center Mall after six years in that location, leaving behind an…
Cal Fire awards Santa Barbara County grant funding for fire prevention
Next year, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department will begin removing shrubs and trees in the Lompoc Valley to reduce fuel for wildfires. This effort is part of a four-year project estimated to cost $2.5 million, most of which will be covered by grant funding from Cal Fire. The state agency is covering $2.2 million,…
Santa Barbara County update on dispatch center
Almost two years after receiving a report on ways to improve its emergency dispatch services, Santa Barbara County is still narrowing down which option to pursue. At a county Board of Supervisors meeting on May 7, supervisors directed staff to report back to the board on the cost and staffing analysis for two different options…
Future Leaders call for changes to graduation requirements in rowdy forum
A community forum hosted by Future Leaders of America (FLA) went awry on May 13, after students presenting on university entrance requirements cut off a school board member’s comments and attendees shouted her down. The forum was similar to one the organization hosted at the same time last year, where students presented data on the…
Political Watch May 16, 2019
• On May 10, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asking for details on false statements the departments made about their plans to reunite immigrant families who were separated…
Stefono’s Sapori D’ Italia slings Chicago-style street food
California is great at a lot of things, but by and large, Italian food is not on that list, much to Chicago native Dante Stefono’s dismay. He landed on the West Coast a few decades back as an Air Force veteran and made a life here working as a painting contractor, but he kept finding…
