Cover Story
Central Coast residents have opposing views on the novel coronavirus
It started on March 2 with a slight tickle in Susan Robinson’s throat. Six days later, both she and her husband, Dave Robinson, started to feel sick. Their symptoms included fatigue, loss of appetite, muscle aches, and rough coughing, and Susan said she had abdominal pain. Susan, a retired gynecologist, had a pulse oximeter in…
Lompoc releases roadmap for improved biking, walking in city
The city of Lompoc recently released a draft bike and pedestrian plan that proposes projects that’ll help students walk or bike to school more easily. The 71 projects proposed in this plan include items such as building sidewalks, improving crosswalks, creating bike paths, and designating bike lanes on roads, city Civil Engineering Associate Joshua Leard…
Political Watch: May 28, 2020
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) released a statement on May 15 following the House of Representatives passing a COVID-19 relief bill titled The Heroes Act or House Resolution 6800. This is a follow-up to a relief bill signed in late March that provided many U.S. residents and businesses with financial relief assistance during…
From the National Guard, to AmeriCorps, to the Medical Reserve Corps, local volunteers keep the county on its feet
When National Guard Master Sgt. Joseph Magat and his unit heard that they were being deployed to help with COVID-19 relief efforts, initially they thought they’d be serving somewhere nearby. Magat’s unit is based in Ventura County, out of the Channel Islands National Guard Station. “We were all told it was going to be local,…
Lompoc City Council wants more regulations on a needle exchange program designed to promote public health
During the Lompoc City Council meeting on May 19, Councilmember Jim Mosby presented a slideshow that included photos of used syringes found throughout the city, such as on the playground equipment at Ryon Park. Another showed a pizza box filled with syringes and a tourniquet. A few residents who spoke at the meeting also told…
Santa Maria starts neighborhood street improvement project
A street improvement project in Santa Maria that broke ground last week is set to take until the end of September, and will give some neighborhood streets and sidewalks new life. Eric Riddiough, the city’s Public Works Department senior civil engineer, explained that the city rates all the streets in town periodically, and determines “what…
Grand jury report highlights concerns with Corner’s Bureau facility
The Santa Barbara County grand jury recently released a report that claims the county Coroner’s Bureau facility should be replaced as soon as possible, stating that problems with the office pose health and safety risks for staff members and the public. Among the issues, the report claims, is that all autopsies are completed in a…
Santa Ynez Valley officials propose roundabouts to ease highway safety issues
Over the last year and a half, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) has led a study aimed at identifying traffic and safety improvements along the three highways that form a triangle around the Santa Ynez Valley. SBCAG, and officials from other jurisdictions involved with the study, held a public workshop on May…
New plan brings the potential of 1,168 homes near Southwest Blosser
Santa Maria’s revised plan for a housing development at the corner of Blosser and Stowell roads increases multi-family housing and adds 200 more homes than the original nearly 30-year-old blueprint. The update to a draft specific plan was released earlier in May and details changes to zoning for a housing development for Blosser Southeast Area…
CANARY: Time to adult!
I know what you’re thinking. The Sun’s cover story this week is about the politics of COVID-19 and the little canary is just going sing out against the far-right protesters of the world. Well, I do think people who land on the far-rightish side of the spectrum and cling to President Donald Trump’s words like…
Pony Espresso whipped up a freshly bottled cold brew during the pandemic, now it’s ready for you to pop in for a post-lockdown coffee break
Little six-packs are waiting for you in Santa Ynez. No, it’s not beer—and it’s not wine. Pony Espresso started bottling fresh cold brew during the pandemic for those caffeine-dependent customers who prefer their coffee chilled. Nero Cold Brew is 100 percent radical, according to the bottle, and 100 percent delicious, according to Pony Espresso co-owner…
Send commissions to Santa Maria artist Jackie Thompson for some custom embroidery
When performing arts student Jackie Thompson returned home to Santa Maria from Seattle during spring break in mid-March, she didn’t realize her senior year at Cornish College of the Arts was about to change significantly. “It wasn’t long after I got home that Seattle was starting to shut down, and stay-at-home orders were being put…
Blue Sky Center enlists photographer Noe Montes and designer Corbin LaMont for new community projects and workshops
A resident of Los Angeles for the past two decades, photographer Noe Montes first collaborated with Blue Sky Center in 2017. Over the past few years, between various creative endeavors, most of Montes’ trips to the Cuyama Valley have doubled as family outings—refreshing breaks for him, his wife, and children from the hustle and bustle…
Gallery Los Olivos artists collaborate on new online coloring book
Several former featured artists of Gallery Los Olivos have recently collaborated on a new virtual coloring book, which premiered on the gallery’s website on May 15. Guests of the site can download or print out images from the coloring book to color in for themselves. Each image is based on one of the featured artists’…
Oceano Beach Community Association holds sand castle contest
The Oceano Beach Community Association (OBCA) is hosting its inaugural Oceano Beach Sand Castle Building Contest. Children and adults are welcome to participate in the competition by building sand castles and other sand sculptures along the beach (anywhere between the Grand Avenue entrance and the Arroyo Grande Creek). Competitors are advised to maintain social-distancing practices…
Pioneer Valley’s NAMI Club makes short film to raise mental health awareness
A few students from Pioneer Valley High School, in partnership with the school’s National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Club, recently collaborated on a short film to commemorate Student Mental Health Awareness Week. The one-minute film, titled Notice ME!, was shot by student filmmaker Angel Recinos and completed with help from peers Isabelle Mora, Anabel…
Local cannabis rules are good
I’m a recent transplant from a Northern California agricultural community. I lived in Lompoc last year and just moved to Santa Maria. Although I have no friends or family in the area, I moved here in 2019 for an amazing job offer in cannabis. Let me count the reasons why I say amazing: • Cannabis…
How can we do better to serve the most neglected and overlooked?
The current world health crisis shines a light on two groups of Americans we seldom want to see: the homeless and the incarcerated. It is time we looked directly at them and asked ourselves. “Can’t we do better for our fellow human beings? What can we do to help improve their lives?” The poor and…
The Patch is back for its third year to teach local students how to grow pumpkins and other vegetables, from ‘seed to sale’
Back for its third consecutive season, The Patch isn’t letting a pandemic get in the way of growing pumpkins. Launched in 2018 by four local agricultural enthusiasts—all of whom graduated from Santa Maria high schools in 2012 and 2013—The Patch provides local high school students with leadership and agricultural opportunities through pumpkin and corn growing…
