• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) and a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers urged NASA Administrator Bill Nelson to reverse unilateral funding cuts to the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, which would result in the loss of hundreds of California jobs, prevent the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from making its 2030 launch window, and lead to […]
Political Watch: November 30, 2023
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Local nonprofits complete Guadalupe’s first air quality monitoring project
While Guadalupe’s first air quality monitors reported healthy air quality levels, there’s still a lot to learn about the city’s air quality and other pollutants that concern residents, Alhan Diaz-Correa told the Sun. “The Santa Maria Valley area is a big agricultural [community] with a lot of farmworkers and farmworker families and schools and public […]
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Solvang City Council delays decision on new permitted event standards
Partly designed as a guide to help differentiate events in Solvang that require city permits from public gatherings protected by the First Amendment, a proposed ordinance faced scrutiny at the end of November from officials who felt it would leave the city unprotected under certain circumstances. In September, the Solvang City Council directed staff to […]
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Boavista Farms, E&A Farming pay penalties for failing to report nitrate use
The Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board issued penalties against four Central Coast growers, with two in Santa Barbara County, for failing to report the amount of nitrogen used in their operations. Nitrates are inorganic compounds containing nitrogen that are often used as fertilizers, but they have potential to cause health problems like cancer […]
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NEW FLICKS: Quiz Lady
Quiz Lady What’s it rated? R When? 2023 Where’s it showing? Hulu Anne Yum (Awkwafina) leads a tightly wound, boring life. She’s pretty solitary, except for her aging pug, Mr. Linguini, with whom every night she faithfully watches her favorite game show, Can’t Stop the Quiz. When Anne’s mom flees the country to escape gambling […]
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NEW FLICKS: The Killer
The Killer What’s it rated? R When? 2023 Where’s it showing? Netflix David Fincher is one of my favorite living directors, who started directing music videos but went on to make classic films such as Se7en, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, and Gone Girl. Much of his work is about obsession, and The Killer fits […]
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All the Light We Cannot See brings Anthony Doerr’s 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to the small screen
All the Light We Cannot See What’s it rated? TV-MA What’s it worth, Glen? Full price What’s it worth, Anna? Full price Where’s it showing? Netflix Anthony Doerr’s 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning war novel All the Light We Cannot See has been developed by Steven Knight and directed by Shawn Levy into a four-part Netflix miniseries […]
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First United Methodist Church presents Lompoc Valley Master Chorale, live in concert
The Lompoc Valley Master Chorale will hold its Holiday Joy concert at the First United Methodist Church in Lompoc on Saturday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m. Musicians in the local ensemble will be joined by some special guest instrumentalists during the performance, according to press materials. The concert’s featured accompanist is local pianist and thespian […]
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Local artist Marcia Kortas hosts alcohol inks workshop in Nipomo
Participants of an upcoming art class in Nipomo will have the chance to learn about the basics of painting with alcohol inks in a casual environment, according to the workshop’s host. Led by local artist Marcia Kortas, the event will be held on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Kortas’ studio […]
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PCPA’s Elf: The Musical delivers heaps of holiday hilarity
Elf off the shelf The Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) presents its production of Elf: The Musical through Dec. 23 at the Marian Theatre, located at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. Visit pcpa.org or facebook.com/pacificconservatorytheatre for tickets and show times. For more info, call the PCPA box office at (805) 922-8313. If singing loud for […]
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Temporary fix
Raymond Leon delayed his wife’s wake by a month because of damages to the Apostolic Church in Guadalupe during the January 2023 storms. “We couldn’t hold a church service. Some struggled to come back. It was very hard for everybody,” Leon said. Heavy rains in January caused the Santa Maria River to veer off its […]
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Freshman year
From helping manage record-setting storm damages to raising the benchmarks for Big Oil, Gregg Hart jumped right into his role as the Assembly member for the 37th District, representing Santa Barbara County and southern SLO County. “I feel like my first year was very successful, particularly as a new legislator,” Hart told the Sun. “The […]