

Cover Story
Dance avenues
Jolene Moreno rediscovered her love for dance at Allan Hancock College. The dancer and Lompoc native had been practicing the art since she was 3 years old, but her former dance studio became a toxic environment for Moreno, she said as she sat outside of one of Hancock’s dance studios. “It was a competition in…
Santa Barbara County supes form committee to study farmworker conditions
Farm owners are afraid of being put out of business, while farmworkers and their families are full hope. These feelings illustrate the harm in discussing whether to set a $26 minimum wage for farmworkers in Santa Barbara County, according to 4th District Supervisor Bob Nelson. “You’ve kind of rolled out the grenade right there, and…
Political Watch: September 12, 2024
• U.S. Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara), Juila Brownley (D-Ventura), and Jimmy Panetta (D-Monterey), along with U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) hailed the release of the Biden-Harris administration’s environmental impact study for the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, the final step that puts the federal designation on track to be finalized by the end…
Orcutt’s Old Town Quilt Shop offers a space for quilters to learn, practice, and celebrate the craft
Quilts. Table runners. Bags. Shoes. Old Town Quilt Shop teaches and provides the tools, fabrics, and classes for people to quilt a variety of wares. “We prefer bright happy colors, so when you walk into the door it’s bright, happy, warm colors. We do classes at the shop; every single month we have at least…
Balancing act
I’m not sure what happened at the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting on Sept. 10. Maybe it’s just been so long since I’ve seen a productive policy discussion about a contentious issue end in compromise and unanimous agreement—but that’s what happened. What started out as a tense conversation about whether to form an…
The right and the left live in different realities
For a party so concerned with misinformation and disinformation (all on the right), I was surprised to see Charles Linquist’s op-ed of Aug. 29 (“We are united”) so brimming with both. If the premise that all is going swimmingly is a true belief and not a political ploy, then no counterargument will have any weight,…
‘We the people’ are obligated to speak against genocide
A humanitarian crisis is underway. For months, residents of our county have appealed to the Board of Supervisors and local city councils to agendize and support a resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza. They refused, saying that it is not a local issue. The bombs and bullets raining down on Gaza are stamped “Made in…
Dana Reserve is all wrong
I am very upset that the huge Dana Reserve project has been approved. This is bad for Nipomo and the entire county of SLO. It is far too large. Alyx Michell Nipomo
Return to the bright future
Hello voters. Do you remember how much better the U.S. and the world were during the four years Donald Trump was president? Nationally and worldwide, they were much better than they are now. After only three years of Biden/Kamala Harris, things are out of control, and chaos breeds everywhere with their weak leadership. Nov. 5,…
Santa Barbara County artists hold Oak Group exhibit to benefit local preserve
Downtown destination The Oak Group presents Art is Restoration, a new exhibition slated to open on Oct. 2 at the Santa Barbara Central Library’s newly renovated Faulkner Gallery, where the show will run through Oct. 31. The exhibit highlights several Central Coast artists and will also be available online to view from Oct. 2 to…
Local maestro conducts autumn performances in Lompoc and SLO
Central Coast conductor Brian Asher Alhadeff will direct the Lompoc Pops Orchestra during its next concert at the First United Methodist Church in Lompoc on Sunday, Sept. 22, at 4 p.m. Alhadeff is widely known for his longtime work with the local orchestra, as well as his full-time conductor role with Opera San Luis Obispo,…
Los Olivos and Paso Robles wines find intimate harmony at upcoming dinner gathering
Pairings galore For more info on Thacher Winery and Carhartt Family Wines, visit thacherwinery.com and carharttfamilywines.com, respectively. Admission to the two wineries’ upcoming collaborative winemaker dinner in Paso Robles on Saturday, Oct. 5, ranges between $250 and $300 (plus tax). Owls often perch near the high ceiling of a historic barn where two birds of…
Environmental groups rally against Santa Barbara County oil pipeline settlement
Santa Barbara County, Sable Offshore Corporation, and Pacific Pipeline Company reached a conditional settlement agreement that allows the two oil companies to proceed with installing 16 safety valves on the Las Flores Pipeline, despite the Board of Supervisors’ inaction nearly a year ago. Pacific Pipeline Company—a former subsidiary of ExxonMobil now under the purview of…
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a rollicking undead sequel
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice What’s it rated? PG-13 What’s it worth, Samantha? Full price What’s it worth, Camillia? Full price Where’s it showing? Regal Edwards RPX Santa Maria, Fair Oaks, Regal Edwards Arroyo Grande Editor’s note: Regular reviewers Glen and Anna are out of town, so New Times Editor Camillia Lanham and Staff Writer Samantha Herrera stepped…
Lompoc diagnoses landfill with 10 years left to live
Barred from using the Lompoc Landfill, Vandenberg Space Force Base currently hauls its garbage to one of the dump’s competitors in Santa Maria. The city of Lompoc predicts it may be forced to do the same within the next decade, when the landfill has no space left to fill. During the Lompoc City Council’s Sept.…
BLAST FROM THE PAST: Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice What’s it rated? PG When? 1988 Where’s it showing? Max Tim Burton directs this dark supernatural fantasy about newly dead married couple Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis) who are navigating their new ghostly existence in their old home. When the house is sold to an obnoxious new family who begins to…
NEW FLICKS: The Bikeriders
The Bikeriders What’s it rated? R When? 2023 Where’s it showing? Peacock Writer-director Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud, Midnight Special, Loving) helms this film based on Danny Lyon’s 1968 book in which the college-educated photographer essentially embedded himself in the Midwestern motorcycle gang the Chicago Outlaws. Lyon’s photo-rich book was inspired by Hunter S. Thompson’s…






