Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture

Ebenezer Scrooge and Princess Aurora take the stage at the Great American Melodrama

Selling fast Get tickets to the Great American Melodrama’s Holiday Extravaganza show running until Dec. 31 at americanmelodrama.com. Changing leaves, crisp mornings, and Christmas music on the radio all mark the holiday season’s approach. For theater lovers on the Central Coast, the Great American Melodrama’s annual Holiday Extravaganza is another holiday harbinger.Ā  Playing until Dec. […]

Posted inOpinion

It’s never too late

Tourism is the answer to all of our budget woes!Ā  Even if the economy tanks, tourists will still be here—oh wait, probably not.Ā  But still, they should be paying for our needs! At least according to voters in the Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Barbara County, who voted to increase bed taxes in Solvang, Buellton, […]

Posted inOpinion

Ridiculousness

In Lompoc, there are more than 2,700 children under 2 years old and only 186 child care spaces available in the city. ā€œThis translates to the potential unmet need for 93 percent of children ages 0 to 2,ā€ according to a needs assessment from the local school district, adult school, and First 5 Santa Barbara […]

Posted inNews

The Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library are collecting books in Spanish ahead of the holiday season

Affordable books are hard to come by, let alone affordable books written in Spanish.Ā  But Kathleen Gabel and the Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library are determined to make sure that families have access to books in their native language.Ā  ā€œOur mission is to also support literacy and reading,ā€ said Gabel, president of the […]

Posted inNews

Political Watch: November 28, 2024

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) announced a $60.4 million grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support the city of Ventura’s large-scale water recycling program, VenturaWaterPure, according to a Nov. 19 statement from Carbajal’s office. VenturaWaterPure is estimated to produce 3,600 acre-feet of recycled water annually. The grant is the largest in a […]

Posted inNews

LAFCO approves Dana Reserve annexation despite new plant species claims

November was a triumphant month for Dana Reserve developer Nick Tompkins, as the San Luis Obispo Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) gave his housing project one of the last go-aheads it needed despite the Nipomo Action Committee’s final attempts to stall it.Ā  ā€œReaching this stage is incredibly gratifying for everyone who has been part of […]

Posted inNews

Tunnell, Alvin, Fairlawn, and Ontiveros playground construction starts at end of year

After a months-long delay due to contract errors, playground construction will begin at four Santa Maria-Bonita School District elementary schools while the students are on winter break.Ā  The Santa Maria-Bonita school board unanimously approved contract agreements during its Nov. 13 meeting to build playgrounds at Fairlawn, Tunnell, Alvin, and Ontiveros elementary schools.Ā  ā€œThough the delay […]

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