For the first time in Santa Barbara County’s history, a Superior Court judge concluded that the District Attorney’s Office broke a state mandate designed to root out racial discrimination in judicial settings. In mid-August, a hearing to determine former Santa Maria resident and convicted felon Kevin Wayne Burgess’ sentence in a domestic violence case ended…
Long-range plans to reboot the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office’s payroll system and decommission the South County jail aligned with recommendations from a recent grand jury report. During its Aug. 25 meeting, the county Board of Supervisors discussed the report titled: “What’s up with overtime in the Sheriff’s Office?” “The sheriff’s overtime excesses have been…
Moving is stressful. It takes time, effort, and money. “Imagine finding a place and needing that $3,000 deposit, and you know that you can do the month-to-month, but you don’t have that initial $3,000 because you’re living paycheck to paycheck,” Santa Maria’s community programs manager, Rosie Rojo, told the Sun. “By the time you’re able…
Old wounds in New Cuyama resurfaced with Cal Fire’s recent lawsuit to recoup the costs of fighting a 2023 wildfire from those allegedly responsible. The state agency sued local landowner Wayne Goldwyn and “Does 1-50” on Aug. 14 for $3.3 million for effectively setting the 5,400-acre fire “through negligence and violations of law.” “[Goldwyn’s] failure…
•On Aug. 27, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 917, designed to expand opportunities for small wineries seeking to sell wine and offer tastings at certified farmers markets. Drafted by state Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), SB 917 modernizes previous California legislation which only allows winemakers to sell wine at farmers markets if it is…
Kayla Perez can hardly believe it’s September. At her children’s thrift store, this month marks the pivot from spring and summer to fall and winter. “I have boxes and boxes in my storeroom of winter stuff that I’ve been collecting the last six months,” the business owner told the Sun. “Jackets and raincoats and boots…
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is getting a new payroll system! Hopefully one that will prevent the overtime cost overruns that have plagued the law enforcement agency for years. How is it going to do that? Umm, that part isn’t exactly clear. “We’re still working on exactly how the system is going to be…
So, what’s the Lompoc scandal in question? City Councilmember Steve Bridge faces “20 felonies and five misdemeanors. The charges include allegations of forgery, grand theft, fraudulent claims, identity theft, misappropriation of public funds, and fraudulent use of a contractor’s license number,” (Santa Maria Times, Aug. 13). During the Aug. 18 meeting, City Council members discussed…
What if we could fix more roads, bring home more state and federal transportation dollars, and do it without raising the overall tax burden? The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) board and the county Board of Supervisors voted to remove Measure H from the November ballot after consultants concluded it did not have…
One of Jamie Baker’s ideas of fun is watching 20 films in the span of a week at a film festival. He and his wife “graduated” from 20-seat art house movie theaters to the big leagues like the Seattle Film Festival, in the metropolis where they once lived. “[We] saw a lot of things that…
Anxiety. Grief. Depression. A perfect recipe for dark comedy. Aaron Foster is bringing his stand-up show, Mostly Jokes, to the Santa Maria Civic Theatre on Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. The comedian quit his job when he was 50, and now, a few years later, he’s been touring more than 70 cities and hopes to…
Shifting from realism to expressionism throughout his career as an artist, Joe Gliebe-Goetz is displaying his abstract patterns based on natural themes at the Cypress Gallery. See the featured artist show in Lompoc through Sept. 27. Landscapes, Gemstones, and New Directions reflects the painter’s passion for local, natural beauty. Gems and stones also inspire Gliebe-Goetz’s…
Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, The Martian) directs Mark L. Smith’s adaptation of Peter Heller’s celebrated 2012 sci-fi novel about survivors living in a dystopian America after a flu pandemic wiped out most of humanity. Jacob Elordi is Hig, a civilian pilot; Josh Brolin is Bangley, a former…
LuckyWhat’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2026 Where’s it showing? Apple TV Unfortunately for Lucky (Anya Taylor-Joy), what happened in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas. After celebrating a particularly lucrative heist with her husband, Cary (Drew Starkey), Lucky wakes to discover that both the cash and her husband are MIA. Full of nonstop action and on-the-run…
The StingWhat’s it rated? PG When? 1973 Where’s it showing? Park Cinemas on Sunday, Sept. 6 (doors at 6:30 p.m.; $21.50 presale at parkcinemas.com or $20 at the box office) The Downtown Paso Robles Main Street Association is hosting a screening of director George Roy Hill’s (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Slaughterhouse-Five, The World…
Nearly 15,000 people on Instagram follow one of the most popular food reviewers on the Central Coast. He’s often seen in a bright orange hat and a crisp white T-shirt with the acronym “lotsj” identifying his brand. He’s Jeff San Juan, the content creator behind Life of the San Juans on social media. What had…
