Posted inNews

Empty seat: Board of Supervisors’ 5th District candidates race toward June’s primary election

With 2026 marking Santa Barbara County Supervisor Steve Lavagnino’s last year in the role, his chief of staff, Cory Bantilan, threw his hat into the ring to take the soon-to-be vacant 5th District seat, along with two others: Santa Maria City Councilmember Maribel Aguilera and Santa Maria-Bonita School District board member Ricardo Valencia. All three […]

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Santa Barbara County adopts first environmental justice element

Water quality, air pollution, and safe open spaces are concerns shared by all county residents. However, the county’s unincorporated, rural towns need help making policies to protect residents from environmental risks. With an addition to the county’s general plan, the Board of Supervisors seeks to shield seven vulnerable regions.  On March 10, supervisors unanimously approved […]

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Buellton moves motel conversion rules forward

Restricting long-term housing at motel properties along the Avenue of Flags would help maximize Buellton’s efforts in revitalizing the corridor, according to city staff. In local attorney Mack Carlson’s eyes, the proposed ordinance amounts to “gentrification by policy,” he said during the Buellton City Council’s March 12 meeting. “Let’s be clear about the decision before […]

Posted inPolitical Watch

Political Watch: March 19, 2026

• On March 10, Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Buellton Mayor David Silva to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which consists of 16 members. Silva, who currently serves on the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District’s board, said he’s “so excited to be able to serve on CARB and bring a local air pollution […]

Posted inSpotlight

The Cloverlane Foundation supplies Hancock’s Fire Academy with new equipment

Every morning at 6:30, cadets arrive to start training at the Allan Hancock College Fire Academy. For the next nearly 12 hours, they complete physical fitness training, classroom studies, and in-field exercises. “These are long, long days,” the program’s coordinator, Leonard Champion, said. “Then when they get home, there’s studying to do. There’s preparation for […]

Posted inOpinion

Standoff

Everyone wants a piece of the Trump administration these days. In what should be a surprise to no one who’s been following the Sable Offshore Corp. saga, the administration ordered the company to restart that pesky pipeline that leaked oil all over the Gaviota Coast more than 10 years ago.  And Sable did what it […]

Posted inOpinion

Shut the dunes down to vehicles

Retired attorney John Donegan’s screed (“Learn to share,” March 5) is really off-putting. He likes vehicles on our beaches and wants to keep it that way.  Here, he has dredged up all the usual right-wing political claptrap in an attempt to make his point, wrong-headed though it is. Well John, here’s something you missed: The […]

Posted inOpinion

Let workers finish the job on offshore wind

President Trump does not like windmills. In December, his Department of the Interior issued stop-work orders for five offshore windfarms along the Atlantic coast, putting thousands of workers out of a job just days before Christmas. Thankfully, a little more than a month later, federal judges ordered all the projects to move forward, putting workers […]

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