Cover Story
After learning of a 2020 settlement involving Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District Superintendent Scott Cory, a concerned parent started digging for answers
As both a parent and guardian of Santa Ynez Valley Union High School (SYVUHS) graduates, Los Olivos resident Michelle de Werd always took a keen interest in the behind-the-scenes of the high school her daughter and niece attended. “I was always really active at the school, and I started attending school board meetings,” de Werd…
TV REVIEW: HOMECOMING
TV REVIEW: HOMECOMING Where’s it playing? Amazon Prime What’s it rated? TV-MA Micah Bloomberg, Eli Horowitz, and Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot, who also directed the first season) created this mystery thriller about the secretive Geist Group, a company that purportedly helps soldiers transition to civilian life. The first season revolves around counselor Heidi Bergman (Julia…
TV REVIEW: THE END OF THE F***ING WORLD
TV REVIEW: THE END OF THE F***ING WORLD Where’s it playing? Netflix What’s it rated? TV-MA In its first season, this inky black British comedy pulls off the neat trick of exploring real issues of attachment, abandonment, narcissism, adolescence, insecurity, and homicidal urges while disguised as a mere amusement. Based on a graphic novel of…
Sweet Baking Co. in Lompoc had to make some changes because of the pandemic and found sweet success
From day one, Missy Morales knew she was sure about one thing. No cartoon character cakes. “I can do it. I won’t do it. I didn’t want to be stuck making a Mickey Mouse cake every weekend. It would have driven me crazy,” she said. Instead, Morales had a whimsical, colorful look she wanted to…
New school named to honor former Boys and Girls Club director
On May 13, the Santa Maria-Bonita School District (SMBSD) board of education unanimously voted to name the district’s new elementary school after Bill Libbon, who worked with the Santa Maria Valley Boys and Girls Club for 40 years. William “Bill” Libbon Elementary School is still under construction but is expected to be ready for students…
Guadalupe’s LeRoy Park, community center project could receive funding boost
Guadalupe recently applied for more funding to rehabilitate LeRoy Park and its community center. The park project, along with the city’s community resilience plan, already received $4.5 million from a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) in 2018. But because of the COVID-19 crisis, the CDBG program received additional funds from the U.S. Department of Housing…
High school districts in the county plan virtual and postponed ceremonies, drive-through celebrations, to honor graduating seniors
The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District’s four schools are celebrating their seniors with a mix of virtual graduation ceremonies, drive-though celebrations, and pre-recorded speeches. District Public Information Officer Kenny Klein told the Sun that there are no plans to reschedule in-person graduations for later dates—these will be the official proceedings in these “historic…
Buellton considers joining Monterey Bay Community Power
Two years after opting not to pursue joining a community choice aggregation program, the city of Buellton is reconsidering. During its meeting on May 14, the Buellton City Council directed staff to invite a representative from Monterey Bay Community Power—a community choice aggregation agency that’s expanding throughout the Central Coast—to speak with the county about…
County successfully lobbies state to allow for faster reopening
After a few weeks of uncertainty, Santa Barbara County finally appears ready to begin moving faster through a roadmap that outlines modifications in the existing COVID-19 stay-at-home order. On May 8, Gov. Gavin Newsom allowed some businesses to reopen throughout the state in limited ways, such as retail stores only providing curbside services. He also…
Lompoc father-and-son duo, Gary and Caleb Criscione, collaborate on new music while stuck at home together
Imagine (pun intended) if John Lennon and Paul McCartney were advised to shelter in place with each other prior to The Beatles’ breakup—how many new songs would they have collaborated on? Living under the same roof during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, local musicians Gary Criscione (late 40s) and his son, Caleb Criscione (late teens), found…
PCPA carries on with virtual content as the COVID-19 crisis proves to be its fiercest showstopper
Despite the cancellation of its last two spring productions (the remaining performances of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar and the formerly upcoming The Sound of Music), leaders of the Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) in mid-March remained hopeful about its summer lineup. Less than two months later, the company’s artistic director, Mark Booher, would officially announce…
Santa Maria Public Library customizes van into new bookmobile
The Santa Maria Public Library is currently customizing a Freightliner Sprinter van into its new bookmobile. The van is expected to be ready to offer library services throughout the community before the end of June. Santa Maria Councilwoman Gloria Soto is currently accepting suggestions for areas for the bookmobile to travel to when it’s finished;…
Gunpowder Press seeks Santa Barbara County poets for new book
Gunpowder Press invites poets from Santa Barbara County and adjacent counties to submit one to three poems inspired by photographs in the Santa Barbara Public Library’s Edson Smith Collection. The winning poems will be included in an upcoming anthology. Selected poets for publication will receive a free copy of the book. The Edson Smith Collection…
Ian M. Hassett Foundation announces 2020 Memorial Art Award winners
The Ian M. Hassett Foundation has announced the winners of this year’s Ian Hassett Memorial Art Award: Grace Schlereth (pictured), an Ernest Righetti High School student, and Joley Smith, an Orcutt Academy student. The award is offered annually, each May, by the foundation to local high school seniors. Artists in the competition were judged based…
CANARY: Totally RAD
I was too busy flying off the handle about the Lompoc prison situation last week to utter a twitter about another lousy local situation. The Old Town Market in Orcutt. But before I gather my feathers and flutter onto that particular cannabis-soaked soapbox, I just need to say, THANK GOD Santa Barbara County managed to…
CalGEM rules offer critical buffers in Cat Canyon
CalGEM is embarked on an effort to write new rules. These will impact the health and well-being of all who live, work, play, and attend school in Cat Canyon. The creation of a 2,500-foot buffer zone separating oil drilling and infrastructure from homes and schools is crucial. In Cat Canyon one school’s water well is…
County’s cannabis ordinance gave us hope
This letter is in response to your paper’s article about the lawsuit filed against the county of Santa Barbara attacking its cannabis regulations (“Battle in the valley,” April 30). We have been farming organic vegetables in Goleta for the last 10 years. As much as we have loved this line of work, it has been…
Cannabis is a promising industry for the county
I’m writing in response to the article your paper recently published about the so-called “Coalition for Responsible Cannabis” filing a lawsuit against the county of Santa Barbara claiming the county has not provided adequate oversight of the local cannabis farms and businesses that are prospering in our area (“Battle in the valley,” April 30). My…
Physicians stand with public health officials
The Central Coast Medical Association stands firmly in support of our public health servants and their recommendations throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Based solely on science, these policies are in place to protect the health and safety of our communities as we hasten a return to “normal life.” As health professionals, they are driven by the…
The elusive California tiger salamander costs a pretty penny to protect
The California tiger salamander is an elusive creature that has been causing local ranchers, vintners, farmers, and developers a collective migraine for decades. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service describes them this way: “The species is restricted to grasslands and low foothills with pools or ponds that are necessary for breeding. A California tiger salamander…
Political Watch: May 21, 2020
• Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in a May 12 press release that the state has so far administered more than 1 million COVID-19 tests. Daily testing now averages at more than 35,000 across the state, an increase attributed to more than 80 new, community-based testing sites throughout California. Three of those are now operational in…
Substance abuse treatment providers adapt to virtual care
For people living with addiction, being isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic is especially difficult. But that’s the reality many have faced over the last two months. Since the virus began to spread throughout the U.S., and once Gov. Gavin Newsom issued his statewide stay-at-home order in March, the agencies that provide substance abuse treatment programs…
Local nonprofit aims to create large-scale regenerative ag center for education, research
By the end of next year, a 1,000-acre ranch more than 5 miles south of Lompoc is slated to be the site of an agriculture program used to teach consumers and producers about a regenerative system of farming. The organization behind the project, White Buffalo Land Trust, is a local nonprofit focused on the broad…
