Cover Story
Residents, park owners split on key terms in city’s mobile home model lease
There are 14 mobile home parks within the city of Santa Maria with more than 1,500 housing units. Each park differs in how it’s run and what amenities are included. Some of the newer parks in the city have nine-hole pitch-and-putt golf courses and pools, while older ones offer little more than a place to…
County holds preliminary hemp regulation discussion
While the federal government is still crafting a regulatory framework for industrial hemp, Santa Barbara County is beginning to figure out how the crop will become part of the local agriculture industry. Hemp is a variety of cannabis with a THC concentration of less than 0.3 percent. THC is the psychoactive compound in marijuana, which…
Plover violation limits won’t cause Surf Beach closure
For the first time in almost two decades, Surf Beach will remain open throughout the next Western snowy plover breeding season, regardless of the number of trespass violations recorded. The city of Lompoc released a statement on Oct. 3 announcing that Vandenberg Air Force Base and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have agreed to…
Firestone Walker blends the best of both worlds in one can
Lobster corndogs. Ramen burgers. Ice-cream-cone cannoli. Foodies far and wide are being treated to boundary-pushing hybrids on their plates, and now two Central Coast beverage makers are bringing a fanciful blend in the form of a six-pack. Firestone Walker brewmasters teamed up with Niels Udsen, owner of Castoro Cellars, to create Rosalie. She comes…
Longtime Santa Maria wig shop owner prepares for retirement
After 31 years of owning and operating A Touch of Elegance, a wig shop on South Broadway in Santa Maria, Vicki Stovall-McKinley is looking forward to retirement. She purchased the shop, which first opened 56 years ago, shortly after finishing beauty school when she was 30 years old. Stovall-McKinley said she felt compelled to visit…
Chumash Casino Resort presents Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
A stage name can be a powerful thing. If I was ever compelled to take one on—or make up an alias for a Dear So-and-so column—I’d probably take the easy way out and just use one of those name generator apps. Or do what I did during my last Dungeons and Dragons campaign—name myself after…
Bring transportation into in the 21st century
After an event such as the Climate Strike, we inevitably see critical letters asking, “How many people drove cars to this event?” or, “How many rode their bikes?” Good questions. Let’s look at this in a larger context. Oil corporations have spent vast amounts of money to convince us that we cannot live without their…
Lompoc residents finally get a say on bringing more tax revenue to the city
For the past several months, more than 100 public speakers in Lompoc have been asking for the right to vote on a general sales tax measure that would add revenue to the general fund. After initially resisting, the council has decided unanimously to let the folks do just that in March 2020. Back in 2008…
CANARY: Control that rent
When I hear the words “rent control,” I think about housing units. Apartments, studios, houses, mobile homes. What I don’t think about is the ground beneath them, but I guess I should. Because in Santa Maria, members of the North Santa Barbara County Manufactured Homeowners Team (well, that’s a mouthful!) are dealing with a problem…
The city of Guadalupe weighs its future and how to build it
At the edge of Guadalupe’s downtown, plywood and two-by-fours stand nailed together—the skeletal structures of new homes, a glimpse of a future not yet realized. They skirt a downtown with local markets, a coffee shop, a pizza parlor, and boarded-up buildings. The city’s closed Royal Movie Theater still has sun-bleached and faded Coke cans displayed…
County supes give themselves a raise
The Santa Barbara County supervisors voted 4-1, with 2nd District Supervisor Gregg Hart dissenting, to increase their pay and other benefits at their Oct. 8 meeting in Santa Maria. The raise aims to track the Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area, which describes the cost of goods and what consumers pay for…
Santa Maria passes water, sewer rate increases
Water users in Santa Maria will have to pay higher rates over the next four years after the City Council approved water and sewer rate increases proposed by the city’s Utilities Department. According to a public notice announcing the increases, the current rate charge for the lowest tier of water consumption—up to five units monthly—is…
Political Watch: October 10, 2019
• Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson’s (D-Santa Barbara) Senate Bill 160, her office announced on Oct. 2. The bill aims to combat the threat of wildfires by integrating “the diverse cultural, linguistic, and other differences of residents in their emergency preparations,” according to a press release from Jackson’s office. SB 160 requires that…
DA’s Office settles with local auto dealer on alleged environmental violations
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office recently announced a resolution with a Buellton auto dealer that didn’t include an admission of guilt, according to a news release. DA Joyce E. Dudley brought a case against Jim Vreeland Ford to Santa Barbara County Superior Court on Sept 4, alleging that the dealership was in violation…
OCT’s The Haunting of Hill House offers chills and thrills just in time for Halloween
Last October, I totally missed the boat on Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House, the popular 2018 adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s novel of the same name—the same novel Orcutt Community Theater’s (OCT) latest production is based on. With Halloween just around the corner, it’s about time I finally jump on the Hill House bandwagon. Seasonal…
LA-based screenwriter and yoga instructor hosts experimental journaling workshop in Orcutt
Fond memories of the Elks Rodeo, Strawberry Festival, and other definitive Santa Maria Valley gatherings race through yoga instructor Natalie Zimmerman’s mind as she returns to her hometown. The Orcutt native currently resides in Los Angeles, but she’s bringing her latest workshop—a combination of yoga, meditation, and journaling—to the Central Coast for one day only.…
Santa Maria Civic Theatre presents Lucky Stiff
Santa Maria Civic Theatre’s (SMCT) production of Lucky Stiff opens on Friday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. Performances will continue every Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and every Sunday at 1:30 p.m., through Sunday, Oct. 27. The play follows Harry Witherspoon, a shoe salesman who stands to inherit $6 million after his wealthy uncle…
Santa Maria Arts Council celebrates Arts and Humanities Month
The Santa Maria Arts Council (SMAC) hosts a meeting to celebrate October as Arts and Humanities Month at Santa Maria City Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 5:30 p.m. Artists, art supporters, and other community members are welcome to come show their support for the arts and help celebrate this special month. The meeting will…
Gavin’s Books holds poetry night
Gavin’s Books in Santa Maria hosts a poetry night event on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 7:30 p.m. Featured poets Judith Chumlea-Cohan and Molly Fisk will read, which will be followed by an open reading. The event is free and the public is welcome. The store is located at 230 E. Betteravia Road, suite K, Santa…
Wine festival marks Sideways’ 15th anniversary
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of Sideways—the Oscar-winning 2004 comedy-drama filmed primarily on location in the Santa Ynez Valley—the Sta. Rita Hills Wine Alliance hosts Sideways Fest, Oct. 18 through 20. The weekend will feature three main events kicking off with the Sideways Movie Experience at the Solvang Festival Theater on Friday, Oct. 18, from…
