Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6) has been around for several decades. First built for the Manned Orbital Laboratory in the 1960s, a project that was canceled 50 years ago, it was later modified for the space shuttle, which was canceled in 1989. Other projects followed, and they too were canceled or completed. Fast forward to […]
Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 6 is poised for a modern facelift
Posted inOpinion
Proposition 50 is not about saving ‘democracy,’ so please quit saying it is
Proposition 50 has very little to do with democracy; it is quite the opposite. The California representatives in the House are currently 43 Democrats and nine Republicans. This is 83 percent Dem and 17 percent GOP, yet California’s registered voters are only 45 percent Dem, 25 percent GOP, and 30 percent “other.” This is nowhere […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
A 97-year-old artist keeps going by doing what she loves
In her nearly 97 years, Esther Serna Bartlett tried all sorts of new things because she wanted to know what they were like. Violin. Sculpture. Watercolors. Tennis. Ballet. “I think I was the oldest student,” she said about the dance class she took in the late 1990s. “I wanted to know what ballet was about.” […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Stroll through the Queen of Arts fair for goods made by small businesses
If you’re interested in shopping for holiday gifts, spending the day enjoying beer and wine, or checking out work by local artists, stop by the Queen of Arts market in Solvang. The Elverhoj Museum of History and Art is holding its annual artisan craft fair on Nov. 7 from 3 to 6 p.m. and Nov. […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Playful glass pieces and knitted accessories fill up the Cypress Gallery
Joellen Chrones is the featured artist at the Cypress Gallery with her show, Hot Glass and Warm Fuzzies, until Nov. 23. Chrones presents her glasswork and wool fashion accessories. “This exhibit celebrates the playful side of glass with functional and whimsical fused glass pieces, from cheerful bowls and bright platters to quirky wind chimes,” according […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Frankenstein is a gothic visual feast about what makes us human
Writer-director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water, Nightmare Alley) adapts Mary Shelley’s 1818 gothic horror novel for the big screen. Oscar Isaac stars as brilliant but egotistical scientist Victor Frankenstein, who creates a monstrous creature (Jacob Elordi) constructed from cadaver parts, leading to tragedy for both. (149 min.) FrankensteinWhat’s it rated? RWhat’s […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Writer-director Ari Aster’s 2018 feature-length debut, Hereditary, is a disturbing shocker
HereditaryWhat’s it rated? RWhen? 2018Where’s it showing? HBO Max Since it’s Halloween season, streaming services are packed with horror films, and one of the best is Hereditary, writer-director Ari Aster’s (Beau is Afraid, Eddington) feature-length debut. Toni Collette stars as Annie Graham, a miniature artist who constructs highly detailed and weirdly unsettling dioramas of houses. […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Woman in Cabin 10 delivers a twisty murder mystery and conspiracy at sea
The Woman in Cabin 10What’s it rated? RWhen? 2025Where’s it showing? Netflix I remember Ruth Ware’s novel of the same name being a real page turner. She has a knack for twisty mystery. This on-screen version of the story wasn’t going to have the same wow factor for me given that I knew the twists […]
Posted inEats
A veteran uses his voice as a winemaker to spread awareness about mental health
Jason Mergenov first got the “California bug” at 22 years old when the military sent him for training to become a nuclear missile launch officer. He served in the military for 22 years, including time in Iraq. Using the G.I. Bill, Mergenov started studying winemaking at Allan Hancock College in 2012, which turned into his […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: October 30, 2024
• Reports of private jet purchases and U.S. Coast Guard helicopter reassignments caught the attention of U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-California) who scrutinized Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem for recent travel habits on two separate occasions. On Oct. 20, Carbajal criticized Noem for using tax dollars to purchase “a pair of luxury Gulfstream G700 […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Pet pride: Take a break with the cutest little companions from across the Central Coast
Find some peace by checking out the winners of our third annual pet photo contest. They’re cute! Really cute. Readers from San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties submitted hundreds of images of their fur, feather, and scale babies as part of this year’s competition. A panel of in-house judges narrowed them down to […]
Posted inPet Issue
Blessed are the beaks: Central Coast-based parrot rescue provides adoption and sponsorship opportunities for local bird lovers
Parrot adoptions at the scenic Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary are few and far between for a flock of reasons, founder and director Jamie McLeod explained. “Unless you’ve owned a parrot before, it’s hard to understand what you’re getting yourself into. It’s a wild animal,” McLeod told the Sun. “You have to realize that when you […]