Paddle on over to the California Nature Art Museum for an exhibit under the sea. It’s hanging at the museum until July 20. Four artists contributed work celebrating the dynamic ecosystems that are touched by the saltwater spray. Ocean Forests: Our Coastal Communities highlights giant kelp, the largest marine plant on the planet. Each stalk […]
Four artists dive into the deep for a CalNAM show
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Santa Maria middle schoolers put their creativity on display
Junior high students in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District are proud to present their artwork for one weekend only at the city’s public library. Expanding Perspectives is displayed inside Shepard Hall. Community members are invited to opening night on May 8 from 4 to 6 p.m. The exhibit is also open to the public on […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Apex delivers an adrenaline-fueled, action-packed survival story
Baltasar Kormákur (2 Guns, Everest) directs Jeremy Robbins’ script about adrenaline junkie Sasha (Charlize Theron), who’s haunted by a climbing accident and heads to the isolation of the Australian outback. What was meant as a retreat to reset turns into a cat-and-mouse battle to the death when Ben (Taron Egerton), a local weirdo, makes her […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Pitt season 2 is a sobering look at the toll on front-line health workers
The PittWhat’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2025-present Where’s it showing? HBO Max Another 15-hour day in a Pittsburgh hospital ER with Dr. Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) is upon us with season 2 of the Emmy Award-winning show. End of shift, Robby’s leaving on sabbatical, a three-month motorcycle trip that sounds more like a mental health induced […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Nostalgia, good cause collide with Dr. No screening at Bay Theatre
Dr. NoWhat’s it rated? PG When? 1963 Where’s it showing? Bay Theatre in Morro Bay on Monday, May 11, at 5:30 p.m. (doors at 4:30; $15 benefit for the Morro Bay Senior Center) Terence Young (who went on to helm From Russia With Love and Thunderball) directs this script by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Try something new with the Central Coast Meatless Meetup crew
Thirteen years ago, Steve Key decided to stop eating animal products. Before he flipped the switch, he’d call himself a “wannabe vegetarian,” refraining from meat most of the time but not going against the grain while out to eat with his buddies. He found it difficult in the 1980s and 1990s to find meatless options […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Monster Masks: A Lompoc artist leans into the creep factor with the help of a 3D pen and his love of characters
A mask for you, a mask for meCatch Joe Cerny showing his masks for sale at upcoming Lompoc Art Walks. Follow him on Instagram @jozo_masks to see his new projects. Facing his fear of failure, Joe Cerny said he’s “so over” being scared of trying new things that might turn out to be embarrassing. Last […]
Posted inNews
Fatal DUI case closes with probation sentence over District Attorney’s call for state prison time
Convicted of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, 29-year-old Katelyn Fultz will serve less than 300 days in Santa Barbara County jail, followed by five years of probation. At around 6:50 a.m. on May 1, 2025, Fultz crossed over double yellow lines on Highway 154 and crashed head-on into 24-year-old Carly Howard’s vehicle. Howard died within a […]
Posted inNews
Lompoc is auditing its rebate program after fraud allegations
Rebates for turf landscaping and water leak detection are under the microscope in Lompoc, including those received by the current city manager. The city plans to pay for a third-party audit of applications to water and energy conservation rebate programs going back at least two years. On April 21, City Council members continued a discussion […]
Posted inNews
Phone app controversy inspires changes to Solvang’s ethics code
Skateboard pro Robby Hargreaves’ 60 seconds of airtime at a Solvang City Council meeting in February prompted city officials to take a multi-month deep dive into a cellphone app developed by Mayor David Brown. The local owner of Solvang Skate Shop approached the public comment podium that night to ask about a new scavenger hunt-style […]
Posted inNews
Santa Barbara County passes ‘symbolic’ ICE safeguard policy package
Whether a new Santa Barbara County initiative helps alleviate or worsen residents’ concerns about local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity was up for debate at the Board of Supervisors’ April 21 meeting. “We have people out there who are becoming constitutional scholars on both sides on what is lawful and what is not,” 4th […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: April 30, 2026
• Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) introduced a bill package in mid-April that aims to improve health care access for Californians. The package includes three separate bills that put new policy mandates on health insurance companies and osteopathic physicians across the state. Assembly Bill 1703, for example, would ensure that all osteopathic physicians serving patients […]
