Row after row of pot plants were weed-whacked into oblivion in late October as county sheriff’s deputies served an enforcement operation on a massive unlicensed cannabis cultivation in the Santa Maria Valley. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office received a tip that a large-scale cannabis grow was ongoing among the valley’s farm fields east of […]
County Sheriff’s Office eradicates 400,000-plus pot plants at unlicensed farm field in Santa Maria
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Hancock’s $75 million bond fails in Nov. 6 election
After an extensive campaign effort, several endorsements, and what appeared to be vast community support, Santa Barbara County residents took to the polls on Nov. 6 and voted down a $75 million bond that would have funded facility improvements at Allan Hancock College campuses. “We are disappointed in the early results,” Hancock President and Superintendent […]
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Cunningham wins second term in state Assembly
Republican Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) will return to Sacramento to serve a second term, winning re-election over Democratic Party challenger Bill Ostrander, according to unofficial voting totals. Cunningham, an attorney with a practice in Templeton, received 63,771 votes Nov. 6, garnering 58.6 percent of the total vote. Ostrander, a SLO-based activist and former […]
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Soto and Waterfield take Santa Maria City Council race
Santa Maria’s first-ever district City Council election was one for the history books, and in a hard-fought, nail-biter of race, two polar opposite candidates both managed to land seats on the council. Despite hopes–and fears–that the city’s new district-based voting system would churn out high marks for left-leaning candidates, Santa Maria voters clutched tightly to […]
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Elizabeth Twomey
Lompoc High School senior Elizabeth Twomey is the “definition of hardworking.” That’s according to head cheer coach Kira Gonzalez, who said Twomey has been a leading force on the cheer squad for all four years of her high school career and team captain for two. Meanwhile, Twomey has consistently juggled a rigorous school course load, […]
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Spotlight on: Open World Leadership Center
The editorial staff at the Sun and its sister paper New Times are used to answering questions about the paper from curious readers, but Nov. 2 was one of the first times they needed the help of a Russian translator to do it. That morning, the New Times Media Group’s publishers, editors, and reporters hosted […]
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County officials say new warning systems will save lives
As the one year anniversary of the Thomas Fire and Montecito mud flows approach, emergency responders and government officials are attempting to assure the public that they will receive proper warning if the worst is to occur. On Nov. 6, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors accepted a report from the county executive and […]
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Toussaint defeats Richardson, ends ten year mayorship
There’s a new mayor in Solvang. Councilmember Ryan Toussaint unseated incumbent Jim Richardson by a margin of more than 300 votes, or roughly 60 percent of all ballots cast. Elected in 2008, Richardson held the position for a decade before being ousted by the sitting council member known for starting an IT company at 19 […]
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Lompoc’s Jenelle Osborne becomes first woman mayor in 20 years
For the first time in 20 years, Lompoc’s mayor will be a woman. “I really wanted to give the community an opportunity to have a choice in who the voice and face representing them was,” Councilmember Jenelle Osborne told the Sun before capturing more than 50 percent of the vote to seal her victory just […]
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Rep. Salud Carbajal holds House seat for Democratic majority
Cheers filled the small downtown Santa Barbara restaurant as Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) climbed a staircase to address the crowd just after he was projected to win California’s 24th District for the U.S. House of Representatives for a second time on the Nov. 6 election night. Supporters, Democratic Party organizers, and state and local […]
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Political Watch 11/8/18
• Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) won her bid for re-election on Nov. 6 according to preliminary results with 54 percent of the votes in California. Her challenger, progressive state Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), won 45 percent of the vote. “Now I go to the Senate with 25 years under my belt with a […]
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Origami artist featured at Wildling Museum
The Wildling Museum in Solvang will present a new exhibit titled Folded Art: Origami Animals by Robert Salazar from Nov. 10 to March 25. Salazar is a deployable structures contractor at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) who is also a famed origami artist and environmental activist. Salazar designed the origami crease pattern for Starshade’s Optical […]
