The former home of Thrifty Ice Cream was briefly on a short list of spots Solvang officials are eyeing for potential City Hall expansion. “What if we just retrofit the Rite Aid?” Solvang City Councilmember Elizabeth Orona said after City Manager Randy Murphy informed the council that some departments—including Public Works, Community Development, and Parks […]
Solvang considers spending $8 million on a new City Hall building
Posted inNews
The Central Coast Weavers Guild offers diverse handmade goods at its 18th sale and showcase
D’Elin Lohr’s fascination with weaving began in high school. It was the late 1960s when there was a resurgence of the craft. Lohr then took classes with a friend at UC Santa Barbara, further developing a love for textiles and fashion. Weaving a communityThe Central Coast Weavers Guild is holding its annual sale and showcase […]
Posted inOpinion
Slippery slope
What brought us here? A tit-for-tat escalation of actions that we all agree are bad—and yet we’re doing it anyway. It started in the Texas Legislature, which—after a show of resistance from state Democrats (who ran away so there wouldn’t be enough legislators to vote)—voted in August to redistrict its congressional districts mid-decade to add […]
Posted inOpinion
Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 6 is poised for a modern facelift
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 […]
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 […]
