Learn about how Filipino pioneers shaped Lompoc’s history at an exhibit inside the public library’s Grossman Gallery. The exhibit, “Manongs of the Central Coast: Forming Communities Across Generations,” will be featured in the gallery through April, including a public discussion on April 3 at 6 p.m. Bing Aradanas, a project contributor, was raised in Lompoc […]
Photography exhibit highlights Lompoc’s Filipino history
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice is funny, violent, sci-fi take on the gangster genre
Mike & Nick & Nick & AliceWhat’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Hulu Written and directed by BenDavid Grabinski (Happily), this crime comedy adds a sci-fi twist to the typical violence and quippy dialog. Crime lord, Sosa (David Keith), is celebrating his […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Bait finds actor struggling to keep his career alive
BaitWhat’s it rated? Unrated When? 2026 Where’s it showing? Prime Creator Riz Ahmed stars as Shah Latif, a struggling actor who has bungled his biggest audition yet as the new James Bond. After his ill-fated try at the part, a quick-thinking and desperate Shah decides to make a public appearance outside of the auditions to […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Charming 2008 Be Kind Rewind screens April 6 at Bay Theatre
Be Kind RewindWhat’s it rated? PG-13 When? 2008 Where’s it showing? Bay Theatre on Monday, April 6 (doors at 5, show at 5:30 p.m.; $10) Writer-director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) helms this charming 2008 comedy about Jerry McLean (Jack Black), a conspiracy theorist and bumbling video store clerk who accidently erases […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Find some extraordinary tomato plants at Tomatomania in Los Olivos
Mark Donofrio believes the best tasting tomato is homegrown, freshly picked, and still warm from the sun. “I think it’s the best fruit in the world,” he said. Gardening has been in his blood since he was 4 years old. Mother Nature always amazed him, and now he’s made a career as a farmer, operating […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
The Return of Downtown? Santa Maria’s aim for a more pedestrian-friendly downtown and other stories that have been around since the Sun’s first issue
Some stories stick. They unfold slowly over time and are a constant source of news. We’ve been covering some of those in the Santa Maria Valley since this paper was founded in 2000. For 26 years, Sun reporters have watched and written about Santa Maria’s downtown—complaints about how the mall killed it, how the city […]
Posted inNews
Some of the Sun’s earliest story subjects are still making headlines
Within its first year of publication, the Sun shined a light on local issues, leaders, and lore that continue to make headlines 26 years later. Santa Maria’s desire to make its downtown core more walkable and attractive to pedestrians, for example, graced the cover of the Sun’s premiere issue, which hit stands on March 31, 2000. Today, […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
For 26 years, the Sun has pursued thoughtful coverage, welcoming and including all voices
Since 2000, the Santa Maria Valley’s population has grown by more than 30,000 people. It’s gained school campuses, a county jail, and more box stores and chain restaurants than it probably needed to. Cannabis is now legal. Politics is über-polarized. Ideology, more entrenched. Social media has changed the way we interact with one another. The […]
Posted inNews, News
Santa Maria high schools implement first set of AI guidelines
When ChatGPT was publicly released in 2022, students in public Santa Maria high schools weren’t allowed to use it on school-issued devices. The artificial intelligence ban created a discrepancy because students with cellphones or technology at home could still access the chatbot, but others couldn’t. Since 2023, the Santa Maria Joint Union High Schol District […]
Posted inNews
Solvang debates perceived conflicts about a new phone app
Before stepping out of the Solvang City Council’s March 23 meeting, Mayor David Brown playfully handed his gavel to Councilmember Louise Smith. “We’re going to need it,” Smith joked, followed by some laughs on the dais, including from Brown. As the council’s mayor pro tem, Smith didn’t resort to gavel-slamming at the hearing—which Brown recused […]
Posted inNews
California sues Trump administration over Santa Ynez Unit restart
On March 23, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy for ordering a restart of oil operations at the Santa Ynez Unit. “In a breathtaking power grab,” Bonta stated, “the federal executive branch has asserted that [it] may preempt and supersede all state laws governing hazardous pipelines … […]