Cover Story
The national truck driver shortage hurts Santa Maria agricultural businesses
That small package of bright red strawberries you hold in your hands at the grocery store made quite a journey to get there. Same with those bags of spinach, or any other produce you might pick up. Their journey starts at 5:30 in the morning as harvesters pick produce from tightly packed rows. Collected in…
BINGEABLE: SQUID GAME (2021)
BINGEABLE: SQUID GAME (2021) Where’s it playing? Netflix What’s it rated? TV-MA I have to admit, this Korean miniseries sounded pretty silly to me—a bunch of adults playing kids’ games … with their lives in the balance. However, after struggling through the beginning of the first episode, I quickly became hooked and binged through the…
Simonne Mitchelson seeks to further diversity and equity in the Central Coast’s wine industry
What happens in New Zealand doesn’t necessarily stay in New Zealand. Los Olivos local Simonne Mitchelson was 18 (the country’s legal drinking age) when she moved to Auckland and became passionate about the city’s wine scene. Ten years later, Wine Enthusiast recognized Mitchelson as one of the most innovative—and youngest—wine professionals currently working in the…
Monsters and madmen run amok just in time for Halloween at Oceano’s Great American Melodrama
There are few faster ways to my heart than a good Disney spoof. Oceano might be a little town, but it’s far from a quiet village during the Great American Melodrama’s parody of Belle’s opening number from Beauty and the Beast. A mad scientist by the name of Doctor Polvard (Toby Tropper) gets the “look…
Marcia Burtt holds new solo exhibit, Gratitude, at Gallery Los Olivos
Gallery Los Olivos presents Gratitude, a new solo exhibition showcasing local painter Marcia Burtt, which debuts on Monday, Nov. 1, and is scheduled to remain on display through Tuesday, Nov. 30. Burtt titled the exhibit Gratitude in conjunction with its theme of “giving thanks for decades of painting in our regional open spaces.” Most well…
Coastal Quilters Guild showcases 45 quilts at Wildling Museum
The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature is currently showcasing a collection of 45 quilts created by members of the Sewjourners, a satellite group of the Coastal Quilters Guild of Santa Barbara and Goleta. An opening reception for the exhibit, scheduled to remain on display through January 2022, was held in mid-October. The nine participating…
NOAH advocate and musician Karl Anthony performs in Orcutt
The Unity Chapel of Light in Orcutt presents Karl Anthony, live in concert, on Friday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. Anthony is an Oceanside-based musician and member of the National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH), an organization in support of art and performing arts being used to enhance health and well-being in hospitals and…
Pants on fire
Santa Barbara County dodged a bullet by telling the Natural Healing Center (NHC) to bugger off when it came to setting up an Orcutt cannabis shop. NHC’s former big cheese Helios Dayspring finally and officially pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and tax evasion on Oct. 14. And a week prior, the city of San…
The problem with beaming up William Shatner
The forest fires, floods, drought, and the extreme weather we are all living with just got some help from William Shatner, Jeff Bezos, and his billionaire buddies. The latest version of a rich guy buying a Ferrari is launching yourself into space for a 10-minute joy ride. But what is the real cost of some…
Trucking oil from restarted aging offshore rigs means the next local spill is a when, not an if
I’m writing this the day after the oil spill off the coast of Orange County hit the news. By the time you read this, I doubt I’ll be the only one to have drawn a straight line between what just happened off Orange County and what happened two days earlier at the Santa Barbara County…
Political Watch: October 28, 2021
• U.S. Reps Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Adam Smith (D-Washington), visited Vandenberg Space Force Base to discuss the base’s pivotal role in advancing the nation’s military, civil, and commercial capabilities, an Oct. 20 press release stated. The visit came after the House passed the National Defense Authorization…
State master plan offers options to ending senior homelessness
A Zoom-based community forum highlighted low-income, senior living facilities and creative housing solutions as key things for the county to focus on as part of the California Master Plan for Aging. Hosted by the Santa Barbara County Adult and Aging Network (ANN), county residents attended the forum to learn about the master plan, its local…
Santa Maria seeks feedback on driverless shuttle proposal
Alongside new bus routes and fare discounts, Santa Maria recently proposed adding an autonomous electric shuttle to its transit services. The proposal is included in the city’s Short Range Transit Plan (SRTP), described as a general business plan to help shape the future of Santa Maria transit for the next five to seven years. Gamaliel…
Flooding and debris flow prevention remain county concern after rain
Santa Barbara County residents received 1 to 4 inches of rain from Oct. 24 to 25, with the Alisal fire burn area receiving about 3.5 inches of rain, according to the county’s rainfall report. Now, the county’s looking toward future flooding, debris flow, and mudslide prevention and safety, Public Information Officer Lael Wageneck said. “We…
Natural Healing Center loses dispensary permit; former CEO pleads guilty to bribery, tax evasion
“NHC! NHC! NHC!” A few dozen employees of Natural Healing Center chanted their company’s acronym in unison on Oct. 19 while gathered on the steps of San Luis Obispo City Hall. Donning white T-shirts with “save my career” printed across the back, NHC executives and workers assembled to protest a recent SLO city decision to…
The Women and Infants Mobile Clinic wants to expand wellness services, but funding shortages limit opportunities
When the Women and Infants Mobile Health Clinic opened to see women after the pandemic, staff saw conditions, illnesses, and pregnancies further along than most doctors prefer, Operations Director Dr. Suzanne Phelan said. “There’s a pressing need for health care and general women’s wellness because many of the health care facilities have been impacted [by…
