• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) recently highlighted the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s approval of a bill to upgrade federal protections for Central Coast public lands, the first-ever action taken by the U.S. Senate on his legislation. The Central Coast Heritage Protection Act, which Carbajal reintroduced earlier this year during the wildflower […]
Political Watch: December 21, 2023
Posted inNews
Santa Maria hopes to build sports complex in next few years
Finding enough space for sports, particularly soccer, in Santa Maria has been an ongoing issue for more than two decades. In 2016, the city decided to pursue funding and identify sites for a future sports complex, including one east of Blosser Road. The future complex ran into increasing construction costs as time went on, setting […]
Posted inNews
Buellton opts out of In-N-Out
The intersection of Highway 246 and McMurray Road in Buellton grants drivers access to a handful of drive-through restaurants. A new fast food spot was set to join the lineup, before a speedy appeal surfaced one day after the project’s approval. During its Dec. 14 meeting, the Buellton City Council overturned the Buellton Planning Commission’s […]
Posted inNews
Supervisors approve Housing Element, county moves toward rezoning
There’s still a lot of work to do, Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Director Lisa Plowman told the Sun, now that the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved the 2023-2031 state-required Housing Element. But, Plowman added, her staff is relieved. “The state mandate is the headline, but really the issue that our community […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Lompoc Beautification and Appearance Commission honors winners of holiday lights competition
The winners of the 2023 Lompoc Holiday Lights and Decoration Contest were announced by the Lompoc Beautification and Appearance Commission on Dec. 14. Judging took place on Dec. 6, according to the commission. Residential participants of the competition had four themed categories to choose from, while competing businesses and organizations were judged in three categories. […]
Posted inNews
No beds available
Hospitals and emergency departments are going to “fail miserably” if Santa Barbara County implements new state legislation without giving the county’s health systems enough time to set up the support needed to manage a potential influx of patients, Denise McDonald told the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12. “There’s nothing harder for an ER [emergency […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Santa Maria-based poet leads poetry facilitation groups
Dot your calendar Visit dotwinslow.com for more info on local poet Dot Winslow, who currently hosts monthly poetry facilitation groups at the Santa Maria Public Library and the Orcutt Area Seniors in Service (OASIS) Center. The library group is open to adults ages 18 and over and is free to attend. Admission to join Winslow’s […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria adopts hybrid land use alternative for general plan
The Santa Maria City Council voted 3-2 (with Councilmembers Gloria Soto and Carlos Escobedo dissenting) to adopt a land use alternative for the city’s general plan that will look at 985 acres east of the city for potential annexation, identify infill development within city limits, and provide direction to study a new area to the […]
Posted inNews
County Planning Commission OKs Los Alamos cannabis shop
With an address across the street from a popular bar, an upcoming dispensary in Los Alamos raised more concerns about jaywalking than smoking from one member of the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission. “Bell’s a wide street and it doesn’t have much lighting, and I think you’re going to get a lot of jaywalking back […]
Posted inNews
County’s pilot farmworker resource program looking for new funding sources
In the first five months of operating, Santa Barbara County’s pilot Farmworker Resource Program connected with more than 3,500 farmworkers. “This could now be the model for the state, getting boots on the ground, connecting people with needs to … our resources. It’s not fiscally conservative to have a bunch of programs and have nobody […]
Posted inOpinion
America’s on a dark path
So now the Biden administration has bypassed Congress to provide military support to a religious state in a street fight with the terrorists of Hamas, who are funded by a religious republic, but that same administration is somehow unable in a similar manner to provide military support to the democratic secular state of Ukraine in […]
Posted inOpinion
Lompoc’s recent General Plan Housing Element update is little more than a ‘paperwork drill’
Like all local governments in the state, Lompoc has been in the process of completing an eight-year update of the General Plan Housing Element; but this time it’s different. As the consulting firm made its presentation to the City Council on Nov. 21, its representatives informed the council that “the state’s big push, because of […]