• State Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) recently appointed state Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) to chair the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee for the remainder of the 2025-26 legislative session. “Sen. Laird brings deep experience, sound judgment, and a strong commitment to fiscal responsibility to the Budget Committee,” Limón said […]
Political Watch: January 8, 2026
Posted inNews
Volunteers at the Five Cities Repair Café are here to fix
Get to fixin’Five Cities Repair Café’s next event is scheduled for Feb. 21 at Grover City Grange—located at 370 S. 13th St. in Grover Beach—from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Visit repaircafe5cities.org for more information. Email fivecitiesrepaircafe@gmail.com to inquire about volunteer opportunities. A loose screw. A disconnected wire. A ripped seam. Sometimes all it takes to […]
Posted inOpinion
Who’s counting?
In the stand-off to see who wins in the great pipeline battle of the 2020s, it seems like Sable Offshore Corporation’s closer to the finish line than environmental organizations want it to be. In May 2025, the oil company began pumping oil from its offshore oil platforms to its onshore facility in Las Flores Canyon, […]
Posted inOpinion
Shortsighted politicians never consider the impacts of their decisions
What do you do when you have a significant government budget deficit? If you are a politician in Santa Barbara County or the governor of California, you double down on shutting off revenue flows. Both the state of California and Santa Barbara County are facing significant budget shortfalls; according to the state Legislative Analyst’s Office, […]
Posted inOpinion
Let’s work together to find peace
Freedom is peace, and peace is freedom. Peace. We all seek peace. In our lives. In our families. Among our friends and neighbors. In our country, and in the world. But we may ask ourselves, “Is peace even attainable?” And, “Is there anything I can do to bring peace into my life and into the […]
Posted inOpinion
At least we Californians passed Proposition 50 legally
I would like to inform John Donegan (“The ideological spirit of California Supreme Court Justice Rose Bird lives on with Proposition 50,” Jan. 1) that the only reason we in California needed Proposition 50 is because of Trump insisting on illegal gerrymandering in Texas and other states. At least we did it legally! Jacqueline Claire […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
In Santa Maria, a former art teacher opens a small business to continue expressing his creativity
Marty McLaughlin’s favorite part of his career as an educator was teaching first grade. It’s how he spent the bulk of his time as an elementary school teacher, rounding out a tenure of more than 20 years in the Santa Maria and Orcutt districts. Having studied art in college, he returned to teach the subject […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Chumash Casino hosts comedian Felipe Esparza
Actor and comedian Felipe Esparza will be playing the Chumash Casino Resort on Jan. 23 during his At My Leisure world tour. His stand-up starts at 8 p.m. in the Samala Showroom. After overcoming substance abuse, Esparza found stand-up comedy and began performing when he was 18 years old. His routines comment on cultural identity […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
PCPA presents a new musical, Woven
On Jan. 17 and 18, the Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) is bringing back its InterPlay reading series with the new musical, Woven. The story, written by Jessica Smith Campbell, is a fresh take on Homer’s The Odyssey told through Penelope’s perspective. She faces witches and goddesses, testing her resilience while Odysseus is away on his […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Life of Chuck is a poetic rumination on life, consciousness, and death
Writer-director Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep) brings Stephen King’s 2020 novella of the same name to the big screen in this story about an ordinary man, Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston), and his largely unremarkable life. (111 min.) The Life of ChuckWhat’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Anna? Full price […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Pluribus follows a body snatcher-style alien invasion that’s affected all but a handful of humans
PluribusWhat’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Apple TV+ Successful but disillusioned romantasy novelist Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) gives readings attended by gaggles of middle-aged women lusting after her strapping leading man. Her manager, Helen (Miriam Shor), is also her romantic partner, and when they return to Albuquerque following a successful tour, a […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Lowdown is a gritty crime dramedy with a compelling central character
The LowdownWhat’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Hulu Created by Sterlin Harjo (Reservation Dogs), this comedy crime drama set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, follows bookstore owner and investigative journalist Lee Raybon (Ethan Hawke), who calls himself a “truthstorian” and works to root out local corruption. Raybon has a code of honor but operates […]