A round of applause and shouts burst out in the Santa Maria Country Club as preliminary election results loaded on a big screen, showing Santa Barbara County 4th District Supervisor Bob Nelson ahead of challenger and Los Alamos resident Krishna Flores. “I’m floored to be honest,” Nelson told the Sun on March 5. “There’s been […]
Das Williams behind, fellow incumbents lead in Santa Barbara County supervisor races
NEW FLICKS: Dune: Part Two
Dune: Part Two What’s it rated? PG-13 When? 2024 Where’s it showing? Regal Edwards RPX Santa Maria, Movies Lompoc, Regal Edwards Arroyo Grande Co-writer and director Denis Villeneuve returns to his epic screen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s famed 1965 science fiction novel about a future feudal interstellar society of competing noble houses controlling planetary fiefs. […]
Los Olivos-based nonprofit gives college scholarships to North County students studying natural sciences
Nancy Stearns was a longtime volunteer with NatureTrack, a K-12 program that helps kids experience the outdoors through field trips and accessibility programming, NatureTrack Founder Sue Eisaguirre told the Sun. “She was a dedicated volunteer; she loved being out there with the kids and just getting them to use all of their senses. She would […]
BINGEABLE: True Detective: Night Country
True Detective: Night Country What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2024 Where’s it showing? Max Anthology series True Detective is always trying to recapture the magic of its premiere season. While there is no replacement for Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, this fourth season, Night Country, brings the heat with legendary Jodi Foster as Police Chief […]
Political Watch: March 7, 2024
• U.S. Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and Julia Brownley (D-Oxnard) are urging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to finalize the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary with a larger footprint than the most recent federally proposed alternative and to include parameters that recognize the need for coexistence with future offshore wind development […]
Spaceman is an unusual exploration of estrangement
Spaceman What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Glen? Matinee What’s it worth, Anna? Matinee Where’s it showing? Netflix Johan Renck (Chernobyl, Breaking Bad) directs this science fiction drama based on Jaroslav Kalfar’s 2017 novel Spaceman in Bohemia about Jakub Procházka (Adam Sandler), an astronaut on a solo mission on the edge of the universe, […]
Lompoc man found guilty of fentanyl distribution resulting in death
A Los Angeles jury found Kaelen Jacobkeali Wendel—a 32-year-old Lompoc resident and northern Santa Barbara County jail inmate—guilty of distributing fentanyl that resulted in the death and serious injury of two inmates, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. According to court documents, Wendel smuggled fentanyl into the North County Jail’s D unit on […]
Community Clayworks artists create bowls for second annual SYV Empty Bowls
Artisans in a local collective created and donated the unique bowls featured in the second annual Santa Ynez Valley Empty Bowls fundraiser, scheduled to take place March 9 at Bethania Lutheran Church in Solvang on Saturday, with seating times at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Community Clayworks, an art studio based in Buellton, provided the event’s […]
Los Alamos Theatre Group presents Cottonwood
The Depot Mall and Bar in Los Alamos will host the Los Alamos Theatre Group’s upcoming production, Cottonwood, an original play about small-town life. Performances of the show start March 15 and run through April 7. Admission is $20. Cottonwood follows the lives of multiple residents of a quaint town that’s been eyed by a […]
Vega Vineyard and Farm hosts Painting in the Vineyard workshop
Art Spot on Wheels is holding its next Painting in the Vineyard event at Vega Vineyard and Farm in Buellton on Sunday, March 17, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Attendees of the workshop will spend the afternoon painting a landscape on canvas while enjoying some wine. Admission to the event is $89. Vega Vineyard […]
Former Wildling Museum enters new era as the California Nature Art Museum
Don’t fear the reboot Call (805) 686-1082 or visit calnatureartmuseum.org for more info on the California Nature Art Museum (Cal-NAM), located at 1511 Mission Drive, unit B, Solvang. The word “wildling” can apply to a variety of wild plants or undomesticated animals. But its use in pop culture is often streamlined, as it almost always […]
Left turn signals are neither safe nor sane
About every four minutes of every day, at nearly all controlled traffic signals in Santa Maria, two and sometimes four vehicles traveling toward each other nervously swerve to avoid a collision. This game of automobile chicken plays out in all controlled traffic signal left turn lanes. This is neither safe nor sane. You and your […]

