Laying a Lompoc egg farm’s tax appeal to rest recently divided local officials, who simmered over the issue across two lengthy hearings this summer. The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors’ reception to Dare 2 Dream Farms’ plea to forgive about $65,000 in unpaid taxes was nearly split down the middle before a 3-2 vote…
What began as a hearing for Guadalupe’s leaders to consider decreasing the monthly pay for seven elected roles by $300 each ended with more reductions—including a $600 cut for the mayor. “It’s not because you guys don’t do a lot. You guys have a lot on your plate, obviously,” City Administrator David Trujillo told the…
Some Buellton students now have access to after-school activities at a classroom located in their apartment complex. People’s Self-Help Housing opened a learning center at the Buellton Garden Apartments on Sept. 8, according to the organization. A maximum of 20 students from kindergarten to the eighth grade can head to the classroom after regular school…
The 22-year-old man arrested for detonating a bomb inside of a Santa Maria courthouse pleaded guilty to the crime, about one week shy of the incident’s two-year anniversary. As part of a recent plea agreement, Nathaniel James McGuire admitted that he walked into Santa Barbara County Superior Court’s Santa Maria division on Sept. 24, 2024,…
•U.S. Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) were among the co-signers behind a recent amicus brief in California v. Wright. This pending case in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California challenges the Trump administration’s use of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to facilitate the restart of the…
Learning a bus route, deciphering important pieces of mail, and calculating tips at restaurants are tasks that many people don’t have to think twice about. At Life Steps Foundation in Santa Maria, staff currently help 22 people who have developmental disabilities successfully complete those activities and countless more. “We’re person-centered,” the site’s program manager, Cynthia…
Guadalupe’s in quite the fiscal pickle. Facing a $1.6 million deficit, the city’s elected leaders made the prudent decision to cut their own stipends as way to help tackle budget woes—even though it only amounts to savings of $2,100 per month, every little bit counts! It’s quite the opposite of what its neighbor to…
The 2026 election in Lompoc could result in a dramatic change of political direction in our city. First, the election for mayor pits two former foes for the seat. In 2020 they faced off for the council District 4 seat, and Jeremy Ball won handily by a 600-vote margin. Then in 2024 Jim Mosby, who…
Some militarists still claim that the country that has the greatest nuclear arsenal holds the best cards in the game of “mutual destruction.” “It has kept America and Russia from starting a nuclear war for 60 years,” they say. “Why change the equation?” They refuse to look at today’s total nuclear landscape and consider alternatives.…
Ezra Paco had no choice but to kick-start his comedy career from a less-than-ideal launch point: Zoom. “It was really awkward,” Paco told the Sun. “The Zoom rooms were really weird because, just like with all things during the pandemic, you were at the mercy of what was going on in each person’s room.” Kids…
Peering down on the sidewalk during this year’s Orcutt Chalk Festival might just inspire a glance up into the cosmos. Blast Out of This World on Sept. 26 in Old Town Orcutt from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. More than 75 students, professional artists, and beginners will transform their 6-by-6-foot concrete squares into colorful, detailed…
Free outdoor entertainment is on the horizon in Santa Maria. Families are invited to neighborhood parks for three film screenings in September and October. Showtime is at dusk, so audience members are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs. On Sept. 18 watch The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants at Machado Plaza, located at 224…
Rocky Romano and Miranda Winters spent more than five years following a grassroots network of suburban mothers who mounted a resistance campaign against dark money political groups engaged in coordinated, right-wing disruptions at Southern Califonria school boards designed to target LGBTQ-plus and other marginalized youth. (90 min.) Moms ClubWhat’s it rated? Not rated What’s it…
Teenage WastelandWhat’s it rated? TV-14 When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Netflix It’s hard to believe that the ’90s were 30 years ago, but that’s where this story starts with a group of teens, a teacher, and a town cover-up. When students and teacher Fred Isseks decide to make a documentary about a local environmental scandal…
MaydayWhat’s it rated? PG-13 When? 2026 Where’s it showing? Apple TV Co-writers and directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein helm this action adventure set in 1987 about U.S. Navy pilot Lt. Troy “Assassin” Kelly (Ryan Reynolds), who’s tasked with flying on a recon mission in an SR-71 Blackbird over the USSR as the Cold…
Planning and adapting are two of the most important skills in Amy Meraz’s industry. “You have to be good at pivoting and knowing that if something falls off the wagon, if something changes, there’s nothing you can do other than keep going with the changes,” she told the Sun. Call for cateringFor more information about…
