A proactive plan of action to protect our country from others crossing the borders illegally is crucial for the safety of Americans, and our economy. Our current policy of providing funding, food, and medical care for those entering illegally is destroying our economy for the citizens that have worked to earn the benefits to provide […]
Talk to your representative about the state budget
Posted inOpinion
Broken promises
At the Republican National Convention in 2016, Donald J. Trump claimed the nation was in crisis. Trump told the American people “I alone can fix it.” He pledged to repeal Obamacare, allow individuals to deduct health care insurance premiums from their taxes, defund Planned Parenthood, enact term limits, place a lifetime ban on foreign lobbyists […]
Posted inOpinion
Reimaging Lompoc politics: Lompoc City Council’s makeup is changing for the better
Last Tuesday evening a remarkable event occurred during the Lompoc City Council meeting; the goal was to pare down a list of 10 applicants for a vacant council seat, and they accomplished it in two hours! Each applicant was asked to submit written answers to the following questions: What will you bring to the dais […]
Posted inOpinion
Legal beagles
What do the Santa Ynez Valley Band of Chumash Indians have in common with President Donald T-Rump? People like to file lawsuits against them! That’s pretty much where the commonalities end, though–at least in my opinion. Because unlike the lawsuits filed against our fair-haired old dude in the Oval Office, those that get filed against […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch 1/17/19
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) announced on Jan. 11 that he requested that the chief administrative officer of the House of Representatives withhold his pay until the government is fully reopened. “I’m standing in solidarity with federal workers on the Central Coast and across the country who are struggling to pay their bills […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Zoe De La Cruz
She may be young, but 7-year-old Zoe De La Cruz is already showing a lot of promise in the world of gymnastics. It’s only her third year training at KT’s All-Star Gymnastics, but De La Cruz already appears to have everything it takes to one day become a gold medal level athlete: talent, a hard […]
Posted inNews
Proposed $2 billion in early child care funding could close county’s readiness gaps
Early childhood care isn’t cheap. In Santa Barbara County, parents spend an average of about $1,000 on infant care and $800 on preschool services each month, according to data collected by the Santa Barbara County Child Care Planning Council. That cost is near, if not totally, unaffordable for many low-income families, especially those with multiple […]
Posted inNews
Spotlight on: Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast
Rebecca Picek’s history with Girl Scouts stretches back further than the existence of the branch she’s currently a part of. Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast (GSCCC) wasn’t formed until 2007 after the merger of two former branches, but Picek, troop leader of Service Unit 550 in Santa Maria, first ventured into scouting decades ago. […]
Posted inNews
Gilda gets a seat: Tourism advocate appointed to Lompoc City Council
Concerned citizens crowded Lompoc City Hall on Jan. 8, when the City Council held a special meeting to fill a vacant seat on its dais. After a half hour of wrangling over the appointment procedure, newly elected Mayor Jenelle Osborne opened the floor for public comment on who would serve the remaining two years of […]
Posted inNews
A new law gives farmworkers more overtime pay for working fewer hours, but will they really get more money?
Picking fruits and vegetables on a farm is hard work, and so is raising five children as a single parent. Reina Mendoza has been doing both for more than a decade. Mendoza, a Santa Maria resident, has been working on farms in the area for the past 11 years, tending to and harvesting local strawberries, […]
Posted inNews
Lompoc issues occupancy certificate to cannabis dispensary
A planned commercial cannabis dispensary is one step closer to opening its doors in the city of Lompoc. On Jan. 11, the city issued its very first certificate of occupancy for a commercial cannabis business to David MacFarlane. The certificate will allow MacFarlane to open an adult use retail dispensary at 423 West Ocean Ave. […]
Posted inNews
Milford Zornes’ iconic California landscapes tell the story of a life devoted to painting
There is something different about some of the paintings on the wall at the DANA Adobe Cultural Center in Nipomo. The paintings are all the work of Milford Zornes, a noted member of the California Scene Painters movement, and they seem entirely cohesive at first. But as one progresses through the exhibit, there is […]