Determining who will take the Buellton City Council’s vacant 4th District seat rests on the results of the August vote-by-mail special election. While those results are set to be certified by Sept. 12, the city’s semi-official reports show candidate Carla Mead in the lead with 60 percent of the votes. According to an Aug. 29 […]
Carla Mead leads Buellton City Council vacancy election with 60 percent
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New on-demand service, increased fares take effect for Lompoc’s public transit
Additions to Lompoc’s public transportation system mean slight fare increases, which went into effect on Sept. 2. The new services are part of the city’s effort to address the evolving mobility needs of the community, City Transit and Airport Administrator Richard Fernbaugh said in an email interview with the Sun. The City of Lompoc Transit […]
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Board of Supervisors passes retail food fee adjustments by a split vote
The time it takes local food regulators to clear hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, and other snack bar sales at Little League games is not reflected in the current costs of those inspections, according to Santa Barbara County Environmental Health Services (EHS). The department recently pitched an update to the county’s retail food facility fee policy—untouched […]
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Rule-bender: One Buellton cannabis grower has paid about $2 million in penalties for air quality violations
In the span of two years, Central Coast Agriculture—a cannabis cultivator with facilities in Buellton and Lompoc—agreed to pay nearly $2 million for breaking state and local air quality laws. That sum doesn’t include two pending violations issued by Santa Barbara County’s Air Pollution Control District (APCD) in 2025 awaiting resolution, according to the agency, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
A muralist returns home to Lompoc, aiming to inspire students through affirmations and art
Follow along In the future, Jose Bustos plans to paint more murals in Lompoc and experiment with new media like spray paint. Follow Jose Bustos on Instagram @jose_bustos_art. In 1992, when Jose Bustos was 12 years old, he painted his first mural. He created the design for an art contest at Arthur Hapgood Elementary in […]
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Political Watch: August 28, 2025
•In an Aug. 21 statement, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, commented on the recent passage of a package of bills allowing California voters to determine whether the state should temporarily redraw its congressional maps through 2030 to counter the Trump administration and Texas Republicans’ partisan […]
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Solvang DRC ‘spars’ with city staff about regulating art murals
Holiday decorations and hours of operation are among the types of signs that businesses and private property owners can freely display in Solvang without a city permit. Distinguishing between what kinds of signage is under the Solvang Design Review Committee’s (DRC) purview and what might be exempt from the city’s upcoming sign ordinance update has […]
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Lompoc continues pushing for county to annex land for housing
Lompoc is still in the middle of a long-standing debate with Santa Barbara County over annexing two parcels of land into the city to pave the way for a housing project. Bodger Meadows would provide 200 single-family homes and 140 apartment units. The apartments range from studios to three-bedroom units, and 20 percent of the […]
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Board of Supervisors reduces cannabis acreage cap, responds to grand jury report
While the maximum acreage allowed for cannabis cultivation across unincorporated Santa Barbara County will decrease by the end of September, the new limit won’t impact current growers—which are essentially grandfathered in under a recent Board of Supervisors directive. At its Aug. 26 meeting, the board voted 5-0 to reduce the acreage cap from 1,575 to […]
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Competitive advantage: Santa Ynez wants to build a CIF-approved pool for its athletes and a public recreation space for the community
Santa Ynez Valley Union High School is eager to have its own CIF-sanctioned swimming pool by the time Los Angeles hosts the Olympics in 2028—with help from some special equipment tied to 2016’s Olympic trials. In 2017, a local nonprofit dedicated to improving public pool access in the valley purchased two Myrtha pool systems that […]
Posted inFood & Drink
A new family-run brunch spot in Grover Beach serves American classics with a Mexican flair
Flores described herself as the face of Holy Belly, the one at the front of the house. Cindy Flores never pictured herself running a restaurant. Instead, she was thinking of opening her own hair salon when she found a restaurant space for rent in Grover Beach last October. Flores sent the link to two of […]
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Smoke follows a corrupt arson investigator and a police detective assigned to help him
Smoke What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Apple TV+ It seems Smoke has taken notes on John Leonard Orr’s journal entries for Apple TV’s new series. Orr is a former arson investigator who was convicted of perpetrating the very fires he was investigating back in the mid ’80s and early ’90s. Arson […]