Alcohol slowly progressed into a necessity for Samantha Bloomer, she said. “My sister died in June 2021 from the same disease, and that still—even in my head I didn’t want to drink—but that compulsion and the obsessive behavior continued with it, and I drank to avoid the pain,” Bloomer said. The Orcutt native spent 10…
The Santa Maria Planning Commission is recommending the City Council approve a land-use alternative during its Nov. 7 meeting that would include annexing 1,000 acres of agricultural land to be used for development in the city’s general plan, said Ken Hough, executive director for the Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN). The city’s general plan…
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) called on the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan government agency, to complete an independent assessment of the successes and potential improvements available for the nation’s 211 public information system and the services it provides to families across the U.S., according to an Oct. 26 statement from the congressman’s…
Five years after retiring from the Santa Barbara Unified School District, Mitch Torina got a call from the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District asking for a few extra hands on campus, he recalled. During the turmoil the school district faced last spring semester, the district superintendent reached out to local administrators for administrative…
Who’s happy that ExxonMobil pulled the plug on plans to replace its aging oil pipelines? I can tell you who! The Environmental Defense Center (EDC), for one, and lots of other nonprofit organizations dedicated to Get Oil Out. Exxon, aka Pacific Pipeline, no longer has plans to put brand new oil pipelines in where lines…
Changing “climate change” that’s been around for the last 4 billion years is a tough job, but in California, which has only been around for 173 years, our politicians think they have the answer. There have been many misfires along the road to saving the Earth. First it was to stop drilling for oil and…
The American people have a political party problem. We the people can still have a functioning government if we simply follow the advice of our first president. In his farewell address to the nation, President George Washington warned against becoming involved in foreign entanglements. We have clearly failed as a nation to heed this sage…
It’s time someone speaks out and puts the carnage happening in the Middle East in perspective. First, war is not a solution, never has been, never will be. It may end conflict, but it doesn’t resolve conflict. The “war to end all wars” didn’t do so. We stopped the carnage of the Jews but inflicted…
Collages collide on College Drive Visit hancockcollege.edu/gallery for more info on collage artist Jennifer Gunlcok’s new solo exhibition at the Ann Foxworthy Gallery, located at 800 S. College Drive, Santa Maria. The show is scheduled to remain on display through Dec. 13. An artist reception to celebrate the exhibit will be held on Nov. 9,…
Students from three high schools in the Santa Maria Valley have teamed up to bring a new production of Little Shop of Horrors to life at Pioneer Valley High School’s Performing Arts Center, where the show will run on Nov. 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, and 18. Each performance starts at 7 p.m., while doors…
Cypress Gallery will open its latest duo exhibition, Critters: Real and Imagined, on Thursday, Nov. 2. The exhibit, presented by the Lompoc Valley Art Association, showcases a collection of fused glass works depicting animals by Joellen Chrones and wildlife photographs by Rick Skillin. An artist reception will take place on Sunday, Nov. 12, from 1…
Five Nights at Freddy’s What’s it rated? PG-13 What’s it worth, Glen? Matinee What’s it worth, Anna? Matinee Where’s it showing? Regal Edwards RPX Santa Maria, Movies Lompoc, Regal Edwards Arroyo Grande, and streaming on Peacock Emma Tammi (Fair Chase, The Wind) directs this horror mystery thriller about Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson), a security guard…
The Burial What’s it rated? R When? 2023 Where’s it showing? Amazon Prime Maggie Betts (The Carrier, Novitiate) directs this dramedy inspired by true events. Tommy Lee Jones stars as Jeremiah O’Keefe, who owns a string of financially struggling Mississippi mortuaries. To meet financial obligations, he agrees to sell a few to Raymond Loewen (Bill…
The Jerk What’s it rated? R When? 1979 Where’s it showing? The Palm Theatre on Nov. 4 (1:30, 4:15, and 7 p.m.) and Nov. 6 (7 p.m.) Carl Reiner (Oh, God!) directs the 1979 comedy classic The Jerk, about simpleton Navin Johnson (Steve Martin), who decides to leave home to experience the world. His naivete…
A star is barn Visit thehiltestatevineyard.com or call (805) 564-8581 for more info on The Barn at The Hilt Estate, located at 2240 Santa Rosa Road, Lompoc. The tasting room is hosting its limited time fall happy hour program on Nov. 3, 10, and 17, between 3:30 and 5 p.m. each day. Reservations are not…
After finding that the potential impacts associated with constructing a new pipeline were “unnecessary,” Pacific Pipeline Company, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, withdrew its application to replace lines 901 and 903, Julie King, an ExxonMobil Corporation spokesperson told the Sun in an email. “The company is focused on safely restarting the pipeline and is working with…
A local organizer’s request for city funding on a battle of the bands contest and other music festivities in Buellton was met with success, but not without some resistance in regard to the vendor’s desired amount. En Fuego Events applied for a $20,000 grant from the Buellton Arts and Culture Committee to combat costs of…
