While flying over Northern Santa Barbara County’s neighborhoods, I can’t help but notice the signs: Slow down. Drive like your kids live here. Children at play. There are already speed limit signs on residential streets telling drivers not to go faster than 25 mph (only a bit faster than the average airspeed velocity of an […]
Slow your roll
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Kiwanis Club of Santa Maria raises funds for youth programs through its annual Bunco Bonanza
Regardless of where the dice fall during an upcoming bunco tournament in Santa Maria, the real winners are the beneficiaries the annual event supports. Proceeds from Bunco Bonanza and other programs hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Santa Maria throughout the year benefit several local causes, scholarships, and groups, including Children’s Resource and Referral of […]
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Political Watch: July 31, 2025
• On July 25, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, announced legislation to expand a pathway to lawful permanent residency for millions of long-term U.S. residents, according to Padilla’s office. Section 249 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, also known as the Registry, gives the secretary of homeland […]
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Guadalupe considers improving oversight on the Royal Theater project’s progress
In Guadalupe Councilmember Whitney Furness’ experience, the only way to get clear info on the Royal Theater project’s status is with “quite a bit of pointed questions,” she told the council during its July 22 meeting. The kind of questions that sparked a heated discussion between her and the multi-year renovation effort’s project manager Tom […]
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Assemblymember Dawn Addis proposes Monarch Protection Week
As monarch numbers continue to decline, California could have a week dedicated to the butterfly’s preservation if a Central Coast legislator’s resolution passes the Senate. Over the last 25 years, the Western monarch population has declined by at least 80 percent, dropping from what was once 1.2 million to an estimated 233,000 last year—the Pismo […]
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Buellton City Council overturns Planning Commission’s denial of Waldorf school project
Less than an acre in size, a vacant sliver of Dairyland Road in Buellton bookended the month of July for city officials who couldn’t agree on a private school proposed for the site. During its July 3 meeting, the Buellton Planning Commission voted on back-to-back motions for the Hundred Hills School project’s approval or denial, […]
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Safety first: Caltrans increases roadwork protections for workers
The whooshing breeze of freeway traffic “whizzing by” is occasionally powerful enough to fling Caltrans workers’ hard hats from their heads, District 5 Maintenance Manager Micah Gammons said. Once while crack-sealing a stretch of U.S. 101 near King City, Gammons said that a car skidded into the construction enclosure he was working in, but no […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Heads of State is a diverting mismatched buddy action-comedy
Heads of State What’s it rated? PG-13 When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Prime Ilya Naishuller (Hardcore Henry, Nobody) cooks up another funny, action-packed popcorn flick. John Cena stars as Will Derringer, former action movie star and newly elected U.S. president. His British counterpart, more serious-minded Sam Clarke (Idris Elba), doesn’t much care for the preening […]
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Titan: The OceanGate Disaster examines the hubris that led to the Titan submersible implosion
Titan: The Oceangate Disaster What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Netflix When the OceanGate disaster happened, I remember thinking that one of the streaming services is bound to make a documentary, and by golly, here it is! This event captured the attention of a lot of people at the time. I remember […]
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Eddington explores the divisions created by COVID, BLM, and online conspiracies
Eddington What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Regal Edwards RPX Santa Maria, Regal Arroyo Grande Writer-director Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar, Beau Is Afraid) helms this neo-Western black comedy set in 2020 that chronicles a showdown between Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) and […]
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The New Times Music Awards entry period opens
It’s time to submit your entries to the New Times Music Awards. The competition is all about local music and is open to anyone in northern Santa Barbara County and SLO County who’s put out music in the last year. Locals can enter up to 10 original songs in five categories. Are you an acoustic […]
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Local high school students compete in International Thespian Festival
Center Stage Theatre Company performers from Pioneer Valley and Ernest Righetti high schools represented California in Indiana this June while competing in the International Thespian Festival (ITF). They performed 21 Chump Street and competed in vocal solos and duets during the weeklong event at Indiana University Bloomington. Mariah Escobar and Bloom Carrera received superior rankings […]