• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) announced the Health Equity and Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Community Inclusion act, legislation that would help make sure the federal government accurately recognizes the experiences and needs of members of MENA communities, according to a Sept. 22 statement from the senator’s office. This bill would help make […]
Political Watch: September 28, 2023
Posted inNews
Reyes Peak Health Forest Project ruling moves to federal appeals court
Environmental organizations recently appealed a federal judge’s ruling in favor of the U.S. Forest Service’s Pine Mountain chaparral removal project to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Known as the Reyes Peak Forest Health Project, the Los Padres National Forest project would remove chaparral and trees across 755 acres that extend along Pine Mountain […]
Posted inNews
Solvang reluctantly approves new contract with the county sheriff
Without police departments of their own, four cities along the Central Coast depend on the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services. The current contracts between Solvang, Buellton, Goleta, and Carpinteria and the Sheriff’s Office expire on Sept. 29, leading each city to consider new terms laid out by the county before entering […]
Posted inNews
Rancho Nuevo violates farmworker rights, ordered to pay $1 million in back wages
The U.S. Department of Labor found that Santa Maria labor contractor Rancho Nuevo Harvesting Inc. violated H-2A agricultural worker program regulations and ordered the company to pay more than $1 million in back wages and penalties. The H-2A agricultural worker program allows agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of workers to bring nonimmigrant, foreign workers […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Wildling Museum showcases art inspired by California’s nine national parks
The opening reception for a new juried exhibition, California National Parks: Stories of Water, at the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature will be held on Sunday, Sept. 24, from 3 to 5 p.m. The exhibit includes artworks of various media by 37 participating artists and will remain on display through February 2024. The selected […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Central Coast Railroad Festival holds exhibits, festivities in Santa Barbara, SLO counties
Several events are slated to take place between Friday, Oct. 6, and Sunday, Oct. 8, across the Central Coast as part of the 13th annual Central Coast Railroad Festival. The festival’s main event will be held at the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Throughout the […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Three local painters discuss their displays at this year’s SLOPOKE exhibition
Farm frames The 13th annual SLOPOKE Art of the West Show is open on Sept. 22, 23, and 24 at Flag Is Up Farms, located at 901 E. Highway 246, Solvang. Visit the-slopoke.com to find out more about the group exhibition. Sprawling landscapes and intimate still life paintings will be among the works on display […]
Posted inOpinion
Live more simply, save the planet
I do not know the author of “The Sea is Boiling,” Sept. 14. I imagine we would get along, as I share the same concerns about climate change. The small actions suggested are all good ideas, as we must all do something to steer us from disaster. But I was struck that the writer has […]
Posted inOpinion
The truth of Trump is worse than an incorrect quote
I read with interest Clive Pinder’s letter in Sept. 7 edition of the Sun (“We’re entitled to our opinions, not our own facts”). According to The Hill, CNN.com, Politico, and PBS, Trump’s Truth Social response (Dec. 5, 2022) to losing the 2020 election was to state in all caps: “MASSIVE AND WIDESPREAD FRAUD AND DECEPTION” […]
Posted inOpinion
State, county should stop giving Lompoc more than its fair share of low-income housing
For many years I was a Planning Commissioner, and during several hearings nonprofits or the Santa Barbara County Housing Authority said that Lompoc needed more low-income housing. The state and federal government have been trying to “fix” the affordable housing problem since the early 1960s when they started creating large high-density apartment buildings and crammed […]
Posted inOpinion
Time’s a wastin’
Apparently, providing emergency services in Santa Barbara County is complicated. I mean, obviously it is. But for some reason I can’t quite grasp, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has made it even more complicated in the last six months. For 50 years, American Medical Response (AMR) has provided emergency medical services to the […]
Posted inNews
National pet therapy nonprofit’s local chapter looks to grow membership to serve more Central Coast residents
From listening to kids read to visiting seniors in bed care, Kelli the liver-spotted Dalmatian has provided a lot of joy on the Central Coast. “She loves everybody. When we work with kids, she will lay down while the kids climb all over her,” said Toni Perez, Kelli’s owner and handler. “I adopted her when […]