Cover Story
A lack of child care presents a challenge to women re-entering the workforce in the county
For eight months, mother Amanda Pierce has been on child care waiting lists. She’s called 12 different day cares near her home in Lompoc and reached out to facilities in neighboring Vandenberg Village, but none have space. “I’m never frustrated with them; I’m frustrated with the situation. It was one of those things where I…
BINGEABLE: MAID (2021)
BINGEABLE: MAID (2021) Where’s it playing? Netflix What’s it rated? TV-MA Alex’s (Margaret Qualley) life is pretty bleak. She’s a young mother in an emotionally—and on the verge of physically—abusive relationship. Her 2 1/2-year-old daughter Maddie (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet) is adorable and well loved, but Alex feels deeply that she isn’t giving her daughter the…
Los Alamos’ prized French bistro, Bell’s, recently received a coveted Michelin star
Invited to participate in a virtual Q-and-A under vague circumstances, the duo behind Bell’s in Los Alamos felt less in the dark after a surprise guest hopped on the call. “They had all these fake technical difficulties and then the U.S. director of Michelin called on the video meeting to announce that we had been…
Shepard Hall showcases serene photos and surreal digital art from Santa Maria husband-and-wife duo
Raised near the north woods of Wisconsin, one artist’s early appreciation of the great outdoors only increased after he moved to the Santa Maria Valley. Local photographer Floyd Snyder has called the Central Coast his home for most of his adult life, an area he appreciates for the multitude of environments it encompasses. “The…
Lompoc Planning Commission approves plans for two separate cannabis facilities
Construction on two proposed cannabis facilities in Lompoc could start as early as 2023, following both projects’ recent approvals from the city’s Planning Commission. During the Planning Commission’s Sept. 22 meeting, city officials voted to approve a 68,100-square-foot site called the Mustang Cannabis Facility, which will incorporate several different lots to be used for cannabis…
Orcutt Community Theater presents alien invasion production, ‘War of the Worlds: The Panic Broadcast’
Performances of Orcutt Community Theater’s War of the Worlds: The Panic Broadcast, based on Orson Welles’ iconic 1938 radio broadcast of H.G. Wells’ sci-fi novel, will run through Oct. 31 at Klein Dance Arts Studio in Santa Maria. An ensemble of actors will re-create the classic alien invasion broadcast, accompanied by live sound effects and…
Ann Foxworthy Gallery curates new exhibit compiled from late artist Lucienne Bloch’s personal archives
A new exhibition of artworks from late multimedia artist Lucienne Bloch (1909-1999) debuted at the Ann Foxworthy Gallery (located at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria) on Oct. 11 and is scheduled to remain on display through Nov. 24. The exhibit was co-curated by gallery director Laura-Susan Thomas and Jill Thayer, a fine arts professor…
Dusty debate
The decades-long debate over off-roading in the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area ended this year when the California Coastal Commission decided there would be no off-roading there after 2023. Right? Wrong! According to the Friends of the Oceano Dunes, which quickly fired off a bevy of lawsuits—Which now total five! Yes, five!—against the Coastal…
Hospitals are on the verge of a nightmare scenario
Imagine this scenario: A hospital is facing a surge of patients, and a new patient is in need of emergency care. However, as a result of a nationwide nursing shortage (exacerbated here in California due to a statewide mandate requiring nurses to be vaccinated) and the need for the hospital to meet certain staffing-to-patient ratio…
State Parks needs to abide by the law
In contempt of the California Coastal Commission’s (CCC) ruling of March 18, 2021, the Off Highway Vehicles Division (OHVD) of State Parks defies the law and opens the plover enclosure south of Oceano beach to vehicle activity. It is not the only defiance. The OHVD also keeps allowing vehicles to drive on the wet sand…
Lompoc school district adds COVID-19 vaccines to its long list of requirements
Recently Gov. Gavin Newsom mandated that schoolchildren ages “12 to 17 OR grades seven to 12 must be vaccinated starting in the next school term. Date is dependent on FDA approval timelines, but no earlier than January of 2022.” He also said that “all K-12 staff must be vaccinated at this identified time or test…
Central Coast needs more blood donors to keep up with demand
The blood supply on the Central Coast is the lowest it’s been in more than a year, due to a perfect storm of increased use and fewer donors. Vitalant is a community blood donation nonprofit with locations in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Maria. It currently has less than a two-day supply of…
Political Watch: October 21, 2021
• U.S. Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) issued a statement regarding allegations of the rape and sexual harassment of students at the U.S. Merchant and Marine Academy (USMMA) aboard training vessels. Investigations began after a 19-year-old female academy cadet filed to a whistleblower website an anonymous report claiming she was sexually…
Recent court ruling voids Oceano Dunes dust agreement
Dust—annoying when it settles daily on countertops, but Herculean to manage when it blows around the Oceano Dunes. Then, throw a lawsuit into the mix. California State Parks and San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) faced this dilemma together when a SLO Superior Court judge recently invalidated one of their dust control…
Local nonprofit’s youth and parent mental health-related workshops are now available in North County
About 26 percent of women and 15 percent of men will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime before age 18, according to the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Nearly 1 in 11 female high school students and 1 in 14 male high school students reported experiencing physical dating violence in the last year. In…
