Cover Story
Community Choice Energy arrives on the Central Coast
The expansion happened fast. In the span of a year, 10 Central Coast cities and Santa Barbara County all had voted, one after the other, to join as members of Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP), a growing Community Choice Energy (CCE) utility that currently serves Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties. It started with…
County delayed cannabis-permit appeal hearings
It will be almost another two months before the county Planning Commission hears appeals filed over two cannabis cultivation projects. The appeals, filed by winemaker Blair Pence over the proposed cannabis projects off Highway 246 in Buellton, had been continued to Sept. 13 from the commission’s Aug. 8 meeting, when despite a nearly nine-hour meeting,…
Farm groups hold first cannabis, wine panel to promote tourism
Despite the tension between the wine and cannabis industries in some parts of Santa Barbara County, the two share many similarities, from their customer bases to regulatory burdens. More than 100 vintners, farmers, and interested residents packed the event space at Industrial Eats in Buellton on Sept. 11 to discuss these similarities and how they…
Learn a little something about Allan Hancock College’s viticulture program, tasting room, and commercial winery
It’s immediately apparent that Alfredo Koch knows what he’s talking about. He’s a professor and coordinator for the agribusiness/viticulture and enology program at Allan Hancock College, and he’s got credentials galore: an ag degree from Cal Poly, a doctorate from UC Davis, three wineries under his belt, and decades in the game. We met on…
Investigators release preliminary report on Conception boat fire
The investigation into the boat fire that killed 34 people on Sept. 2 reached a turning point on Sept. 12, a day after divers found the body of the final victim and the U.S. Coast Guard finished pulling the boat’s remains from the water. During a press conference on Sept. 12, Santa Barbara County Sheriff…
Ann Foxworthy Gallery hosts new figurative exhibition, Pilgrimage, from local artist Joanne Beaule Ruggles
“There is a pure joy in playing like a child who does not need to look over her shoulder to see who is watching,” said Joanne Beaule Ruggles, describing her artistic process. Ironically, the content found in most of her figurative pieces is anything but playful. “Unfortunately, many visual artists believe they must limit their…
Grossman Gallery screens insightful short films created by local youth, all under age 14
I used to love “borrowing” my parents’ camcorder to record my own horror movies, often using my siblings and neighbors to play zombies, Martians, murderous butlers, and other fleeting obsessions. It was my favorite childhood hobby, and watching the featured short films in the Lompoc Library’s upcoming Youth Filmmaker Showcase reminded me how much I…
Melodrama hosts benefit performance of ‘Drac in the Saddle Again’
The Great American Melodrama hosts a benefit performance of Drac in the Saddle Again on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. Proceeds will benefit the Zach Elliot Memorial Scholarship Fund, and the event will include auctions, raffles, and additional performances by Nipomo High School students and alumni. Admission to the benefit are $35. The theater…
Arts Council holds seventh annual Birdhouse Fundraiser
Local artists created 10 birdhouses over the summer as contributions to the Santa Maria Arts Council’s (SMAC) seventh annual Birdhouse Fundraiser. Some of this year’s featured artists include Marilyn Dover Benson, Beverly Johnson, Abby Hogan, Jason Boeln, Lindie Simone, and Dale Cornwell. The birdhouses can be viewed at the council’s booth during the Orcutt Children’s…
Book Loft hosts signings with Gay Browne, Barbara Greenleaf
Author Gay Browne will be signing copies of her self-help book, Living with a Green Heart: How to Keep Your Body, Your Home, and The Planet Healthy in a Toxic World, at the Book Loft in Solvang on Wednesday, Sept. 25, from 3 to 5 p.m. The store will also be hosting a book signing…
Political Watch: September 19, 2019
• The House Judiciary Committee passed the Extreme Risk Protection Act of 2019 on Sept. 10, which U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) authored with representatives from Virginia, Florida, and Pennsylvania. The bill will now move to the House floor for another vote. If enacted, the legislation would establish a grant program to encourage states…
Peoples’ Self-Help Housing is concerned census numbers could affect its ability to provide services
John Fowler likes numbers. As a certified public accountant, they’re kind of his thing. Spreadsheets, tax credits, mortgage rates, all of it. But as the president and chief executive officer of Peoples’ Self-Help Housing, he’s got different numbers on the brain: Next year’s census. He’s concerned that housing needs, despite record low unemployment rates, are…
County moves to loosen solar panel regulations
There’s enough private and public land in Santa Barbara County to install solar panels that could generate power for up to 1 million homes. But so far only a small percentage of this potential has been installed, according to a strategic energy plan that county staff presented to the Board of Supervisors at its Sept.…
Solvang hires acting city manager
Just days after removing its old city manager in a “mutual agreement,” the city of Solvang has an acting one in place. Xenia Bradford is the acting city manager, for now, the city said in a news release Sept. 9. The City Council first offered the job to Matt van der Linden, the public works…
CANARY: It’s complicated
Who wants to talk about Community Choice Energy? I know, nobody’s hand went up. Because it’s freaking complicated. And who actually understands it, anyway? But it’s here and it’s happening. PG&E is on the outs, while newly formed electric utility agencies such as Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP) are in! In fact, MBCP is so…
Five decades later, biologist Rachel Carson’s writings still resonate
I was on vacation walking down a wooded road in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania on July 20, 2019, 50 years to the day after the first moon walk in 1969. I was remembering seeing Neil Armstrong on TV as he descended the ladder of the lunar landing module when I was 13 years old.…
Marian Regional Medical Center will use donated building for mental health treatment facility
David Ketelaar went to the Santa Maria City Council to ask for help. As director of emergency services at Marian Regional Medical Center, he’s seen a growing number of patients with mental health needs and no local services that can offer emergency treatment. The Sierra Land Group, which used to own the Marian West campus,…
Singer-songwriters Coby Brown, Brad Byrd, and Greg Felden unite for collaborative tour
Sharing the same backing band, three eclectic singer-songwriters are hitting the road for a collaborative tour that will stretch from Portland, Oregon, to Ojai, California. The second-to-last show on the docket takes place at Standing Sun Winery in Buellton on Friday, Sept. 27, at 7:30 p.m.. Rather than cause a fuss over who’s “headlining” and…
