Take flightLearn more about Sky’s The Limit Ballooning Adventures in Santa Ynez at skysthelimitballooning.com. For details on Paso Robles’ Balloons over Paso, visit balloonsoverpaso.com. For a hot air balloon proposal or wedding, use the code, SLOWEDDING, until Jan. 1, 2027, for a 10 percent discount. For a couple thousand dollars, you can climb into a […]
Get hitched in the sky with Central Coast hot air balloon adventures
Posted inSpecial Issues
Solvang-based SB Limo shuttles wedding parties across the Central Coast
Roadside assistanceTo find out more about SB Limo, call (805) 965-4900 or visit sblimos.com. The company’s headquarters is located at 803 Kolding Ave., Solvang. Cueing up tunes worth cutting a rug to was always integral to Solvang business owner James Hooshman‘s transportation company, long before brides- and grooms-to-be became some of his most frequent clients. […]
Posted inWedding Issue
Sun Canyon Florals brings whimsy and nature to wedding design
Say, ‘I do’To learn more about Sun Canyon Florals and book your wedding, visit suncanyonflorals.com. For Victoria Duncan, flowers are a language spoken through texture, scent, color, and imperfection—and a way of inviting people into the present on one of the most meaningful days of their lives. “I feel like flowers provide a state of […]
Posted inWedding Issue
What’s required to officiate a California wedding? Turns out … not much
Marry me!Online sites for ordination include: themonastery.org, getordained.org, amm.org, and spaghettimonster.org. Do your friends or family find you entertaining? Do they think you truly love and care about them and have special insight into their relationships? If so, prepare yourself, because they may ask you to marry them … to each other, I mean. Not […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria agendizes hearing to discuss forming immigration ad hoc committee
For local high school student Lorena Martinez, real-time events have shown that the Santa Maria City Council’s pace in deciding whether to form an immigration ad hoc committee is too slow. “Real families are being torn apart. Children are living with fear and uncertainty. Parents are afraid to go to work. This is happening here […]
Posted inNews
Lompoc to rebuild stage at Ryon Park
By the end of the year, Lompoc residents are scheduled to have a new stage at Ryon Park for community gatherings and performances. City Council members unanimously approved the project at the Feb. 17 meeting. The Ryon Park stage has deteriorated below accessibility standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the staff […]
Posted inNews
Buellton developer preps to demolish Parks Plaza theater
Idle and shuttered since 2020, Buellton’s former movie theater—Parks Plaza on McMurray Road—will be demolished to make way for a new three-story Cottage Health medical office thanks to a recent Planning Commission vote. The 20-day period for the public to formally appeal the commission’s decision to the City Council kicked off on Feb. 19. At […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: February 26, 2026
• On Feb. 17, U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) visited Guadalupe, where he toured the Guadalupe Senior Center and Guadalupe Union School District’s Early Learning Center. Both facilities are undergoing upgrades with federal dollars that Schiff, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California), and U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) jointly helped secure, according to Schiff’s office. […]
Posted inNews
Divorce Party Handbook tackles touchy topics with levity, introspection
Every divorce involves two people, both of whom can often feel quite isolated throughout their respective ordeals. But not just from each other, local author Christine Gallagher told the Sun. “I’ve been divorced myself. It’s a very big deal, and the whole point of this,” she said while holding up a paperback copy of The […]
Posted inOpinion
Listening committee
The immigration discussion is happening in Santa Maria whether certain elected officials want it to or not. After months of stalling, the City Council is pushing forward with discussing an immigration ad hoc committee. At the insistence of Councilmember Gloria Soto, who first asked for the ad hoc committee last August, the council finally voted […]
Posted inOpinion
Multiple perspectives on issues surrounding immigration can be valid
In a statement I wrote on the recent events in Minneapolis, I said the tragic shooting deaths of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, and Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, were gut-wrenching tragedies. I also said the investigations into both should be allowed to conclude before judgement is cast, and I expressed concern that inaccurate and […]
Posted inOpinion
Immigration issues affect everyone
“It made me really sad,” Brisa, an 11th grader and daughter of immigrant farmworkers, said. “I had a feeling they weren’t going to vote for this because they are privileged, but I had a little bit of hope because I wanted them to help with this situation.” Brisa, like many youth in Santa Maria, has […]