Summer is nearly here, even if it doesn’t quite feel warm enough yet. I can smell the heat on the wind that continues blowing along the Central Coast, bringing with it the promise of sunny freedom. With that warmth comes a long list of events—outdoor concerts, kids camps, food and wine festivals, art classes, and…
A local winery asked a federal court to weigh in on its clash with Santa Barbara County for collecting mandatory fees that support a newly created wine business improvement district. The dispute is at the center of a civil lawsuit Flying Goat Cellars co-owners Norm Yost and Kate Griffith filed against the county on May…
Before starting on a new campus at Blosser Ranch, builders need to secure enough dirt to fill around 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools. They also need drivers to bring it on-site. Over the course of six to 10 weeks, it’ll take 12 to 15 trucks hauling dirt eight to 10 hours a day to get the…
While responding to a 911 call about a domestic disturbance in 2022, local law enforcement heard a man’s voice coming from inside of the house at 210 North D St. in Lompoc: “Send someone now!” According to court documents, while kicking down the front door, Lompoc police officers heard the man screaming. As soon as…
•On May 20, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) announced new federal funding—approximately $2.2 million—for the San Luis Obispo County Airport to improve the baggage screening system. The airport’s current system is too undersized and outdated, Carbajal’s office stated, to adequately meet current operational demand. The new grant will fund a complete system replacement to…
Jackson Payne took his first college class when he was a freshman in high school. He arrived around 7 a.m. to Orcutt Academy High School. The campus was quiet except for his 29 other classmates in the Early College Cadre program. Soon enough their professor showed up and introduced the group members to their first…
In no surprise to anyone who followed the mildly controversial roll-out of the Santa Barbara County Vintner’s Association running the county’s winery business improvement district (for a small fee, of course), Flying Goat Cellars finally sued the county over the deal. It could have been Stephen Pepe who pulled the trigger—after all, the Clos Pepe…
On May 5, the Lompoc City Council received a sobering presentation by interim Fire Chief Kevin Shay. Chief Shay reported that the Lompoc City Fire Department has the two busiest fire stations in Santa Barbara County. The three fire units and nine crew members respond to more than 5,300 calls for service each year—that’s an…
As a senior registered as No Party Preference, I study the issues and listen carefully to debates and radio interviews. I vote for the candidate, not the political party. Mr. Paulding is the clear winner. He was enthusiastic and well prepared at the League of Women Voters debate forum. Mr. Verdin was bored and only…
I’ve been seeing a lot of dead seabirds on Pismo Beach lately. Most of them were common murres—those handsome black birds with white throats and stout, black beaks. There were also some dead cormorants, and even a whimbrel, with its long downcurved bill. As I walked up the beach carrying my surfboard, I counted seven…
Michelle Lujan looks back at her wedding day with bittersweetness because although she didn’t know it at the time, the December day in 2019 was the last time the Pacific Legends danced before the pandemic exploded. “To me, that’s like the marker of when it ended, but we had no idea,” Lujan told the Sun.…
Support Santa Maria’s youth dancers as they perform a variety of styles they’ve been hard at work perfecting. The recital will be held at Santa Maria High School inside the Ethel Pope Auditorium at 5:30 p.m. on June 5 and 2:30 p.m. on June 6. Guest performers and Klein Dance Arts students have prepared ballet,…
Visitors will have to journey up to an old bunker to see artwork by Cole Sternberg at Presqu’ile Winery in Santa Maria, which is up until Sept. 20. The collaboration is supported by the Los Angeles Nomadic Division, an organization that connects people to places through art. Sternberg is a conceptual artist who paints, sculpts,…
Jon Favreau (Elf, Iron Man, The Lion King) directs this screenplay co-written with Dave Filoni and Noah Kloor about former lone bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), also known as The Mandalorian, and his Yoda-like apprentice, Grogu, who are working for the New Republic under orders from Col. Ward (Sigourney Weaver) to hunt down Galactic…
Send HelpWhat’s it rated? R When? 2026 Where’s it showing? Hulu Linda (Rachel McAdams) is great at her job—too great. Credit for her work is overlooked or stolen by her superiors. When the one person she connected with—the boss—dies, Linda’s hope of moving up is crushed by his douchebag son and nepo-baby CEO Bradley Preston…
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost WarWhat’s it rated? R When? 2026 Where’s it showing? Prime Video Andrew Bernstein directs this feature length installment in the Jack Ryan franchise, this time starring John Krasinski from the Jack Ryan TV show spinoff (2018-23). Before Krasinski, Harrison Ford, Chris Pine, and Ben Affleck had played the character—a former…
Save a seatBuy tickets to The Wilderness Table by visiting forestwatch.org. The June 7 dinner runs from 4 to 8 p.m. at Larner Vineyard (955 Ballard Canyon Road in Solvang). For more on the food and beverage providers, visit larnerwine.com, rock12distillery.com, and highonthehogcatering.com. One summer evening, 50 strangers will have the luxury of breaking bread…
