With 20 years of experience running a preschool behind him, Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) described the Trump administration’s recent push to freeze federal child care funds in five states as hitting close to home. “As that applies to California, it means we are kind of out of the business of helping parents, kids, and […]
Gregg Hart leads state oversight hearings on federal child care budget
Posted inNews
Political Watch: February 5, 2026
• U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla (D-California) and Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) drafted a Jan. 29 letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, in response to her letter to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz urging him to surrender the state’s voter rolls as part of an exchange for the Trump administration calling off its deployment of Immigrant and […]
Posted inNews
A Santa Barbara County native lends a comforting hand to families and their senior relatives
Cheryl DeLaby thinks of life as the passage of seasons. People experience them in all kinds of ways, under varying circumstances, and at different ages, but everybody goes through changes. Reaching for resourcesFor more information about Monarch Senior Transitions and its free services, visit monarchseniortransitions.com or follow Monarch Senior Transitions on Facebook. Contact founder Cheryl […]
Posted inCanary
Chaos agenda
Santa Maria is no longer the only game in North County for skater kids looking for a place to play. First, Nipomo stepped up and built a skate park—it only took a decade to make it happen. That park opened in 2022. Now, Guadalupe’s four-wheel fiends will soon get a spot they can walk to—skate […]
Posted inOpinion
A new Lompoc tax for streets, sidewalks, and alleys is needed
Lompoc is probably the pothole paradise of the county. The city staff estimates that there is a maintenance backlog of more than $70 million needed to bring all city streets up to acceptable service levels. I live on a cul-de-sac that is just one block long. There are well over a dozen potholes on our […]
Posted inOpinion
Recognize racism, nurture democracy
Have you ever asked yourself, “If I had been alive during the Holocaust, what would I have done? If I had been alive during slavery, what would I have done? If I had been alive during the battle for equal rights for all Americans, what would I have done?” Well, we each are doing it […]
Posted inOpinion
Therapists are not your friends
Many people now turn to therapy not only for treatment, but for guidance, reassurance, and belonging. Therapy has become a massive industry. Some people truly need professional care. But many others are using therapists to replace relationships that once existed elsewhere. This concept is outlined in detail in Freya India’s Jan. 8 blog post, “Therapists […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
A new member of Gallery Los Olivos shares her love for the Central Coast through paintings
Leading up to Hilda Freyre’s childhood home was a thick canopy of trees. She grew up on a sugarcane plantation in Peru, an environment she was reminded of while on a drive in Los Olivos a few months ago. She saw an archway of leaves blanketing the road from above. “The trees were different, and […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Allan Hancock College professors display their work at campus gallery
Faculty at Allan Hancock College will be showcasing their work at the Ann Foxworthy Gallery, located on the school’s Santa Maria campus from Feb. 9 to March 12. There’ll be a reception on Feb. 11 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., and the gallery invites community members to attend. “The exhibition features work by Hancock’s fine […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Youth Arts Alive invites the community to its 10th anniversary fiesta
On Feb. 13, Youth Arts Alive is hosting a celebration at the Santa Maria Veterans’ Memorial Center to commemorate its 10th year of providing free classes to local kids. The event starts at 6 p.m. with dinner and a lineup of performances. The fiesta celebrates the hard work of teachers, site coordinators, volunteers, and interns […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Wrecking Crew is a well-cast mismatched buddy action comedy
Angel Manuel Soto (Blue Beetle) directs Jonathan Tropper’s (The Adam Project) script about estranged half-brothers—reckless Oklahoma reservation cop Jonny (Jason Momoa) and disciplined former Navy SEAL turned drill instructor James Hale (Dave Bautista)—who reunite in Honolulu after their shady private eye father, Walter (Brian L. Keaulana), dies in a hit-and-run. Was it murder? As they […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Kidnapped reveals new insights into the Elizabeth Smart abduction
Kidnapped: Elizabeth SmartWhat’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2026 Where’s it showing? Netflix It’s a familiar story for anyone who was around in the early 2000s. At 14, she was abducted from her Utah home while her family slept, except her little sister Mary Katherine, who witnessed the kidnapping. The media storm that followed was deafening, […]