Dive right in Need spearguns, pole spears, snorkels, or wetsuits? Check out Riffe International’s spearfishing gear collection suited for newbies to pros at speargun.com. When Mossimo Jar was spearfishing in Cambria with some friends this spring, he said he heard them suddenly flounder to their kayaks and hold four fingers up, thumbs to their foreheads. […]
Gear Hub: SLO and Santa Barbara counties spear fishers talk spearguns and offer tips for the sport
Posted inSpecial Issues
Feature: A Central Coast transplant tries surfing for the first time
Go for a lesson Sandbar Surf School teaches private group lessons for $85 hour and open group lessons for $60 hour. Find Sandbar Surf School at sandbarsurf.com or call (805) 835-7873 for more information. I can officially say I have been humbled by the ocean, and nearly every part of my body can vouch for […]
Posted inOpinion
The ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ will destroy us
I am a lifelong Republican. I have developed a new reason to hate getting older. It means I will have only a few more opportunities to vote against all of the elected buffoons from the top down who voted for this “Big, Beautiful Bill” that will destroy our country. The only reason for anyone to […]
Posted inOpinion
The majority of us aren’t in the American Dream club
George Carlin once suggested that the concept of the American Dream is a tool used by “the owners” to keep people placid and focused on trivial things, preventing them from realizing how rigged the system is against them. “It’s a big club, and you and me ain’t in it.” This concept has never proved to […]
Posted inOpinion
Start assisting in immigration issues—and urge Congress to make better laws
I am discouraged by Democrats’ disregard for the oath they took when they were elected to serve in Congress. That oath states in part that “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Article 1 of the Constitution established how the government would be run. […]
Posted inOpinion
Easy-peasy?
Fire season is here, y’all. With more than 80,000 acres burned in the Cuyama Valley and on the Carrizo Plain National Monument since before July 2, and a number of other starts since summer began, now is the time to be careful. That means: Be done with the fireworks, people. I can still hear the […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum and Children’s Resource and Referral of Santa Barbara County merge
New kid on the block Located at 705 S. McClelland St. in Santa Maria, the new Children’s Resource and Referral Discovery Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit crrsbc.org or smvdiscoverymuseum.org. The Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum and Children’s Resource and Referral of Santa Barbara County […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: July 10, 2025
• On July 3, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) released a statement on the passage of the Republican reconciliation bill. Carbajal voted against the bill, while opposing its unprecedented cuts to essential programs like Medicaid and food assistance, according to Carbajal’s office. In his statement, Carbajal said the bill “puts billionaires first and working […]
Posted inNews
Proving continuity: The Salinan Tribe sifts through history, aims for federal recognition
Century-old photographs, handwritten letters, baptism records, and other primary documents confirmed what Michael Erin Woody and the rest of the Salinan Tribe of Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties already knew. “This is a continuous group of Indians that have been here since before European contact, and we’re still here,” the tribal council member said. […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Lompoc’s Wild West Pizza selected as finalist for National Real California Cheese Pizza Competition, honored for dedication to community service
Real cheese, real ingredients Wild West Pizza is open from 11 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 9:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Located at 1137 N. H St., suite W, the Lompoc mom-and-pop pizza shop is known for its unique pies. It can be found on Instagram @wildwestpizza and online at wildwestpizza.menu. […]
Posted inNews
Santa Barbara County ag grosses $2 billion in 2024
Nearly half of Santa Barbara County’s ag gross revenue for 2024 stems from a single fruit. According to the county Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, strawberry producers raked in $860 million last year. That’s more than 40 percent of the county’s total gross production value—which the department’s 2024 crop and livestock report listed as approximately $2.01 billion. […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria youth respond to stepped-up ICE enforcement
Fed up with the federal government’s policies and their impact on communities like his in Santa Maria, 17-year-old Cesar Vasquez recently shifted the focus of his organization, La Cultura Del Mundo. “We are here to protect all immigrants—no matter where you are from, who you believe in, who you love, or where you stand,” Vasquez […]