Hoping to score a vantage point that gives Santa Barbara County a clearer view of local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, the Board of Supervisors recently asked the Sheriff’s Office to publicly disclose its interactions with the federal agency on a regular basis. Disclosures of this kind were previously limited to annual reports, mandated […]
Breaking the silence? A recent Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors decision aims to get more information about what ICE is doing locally
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Highest 2 Lowest reunites director Spike Lee and actor Denzel Washington in a rousing crime thriller
Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, BlacKkKlansman) directs Evan Hunter’s crime thriller screenplay about music mogul David King (Denzel Washington), who’s the target of a kidnapping ransom plot. It’s a loose remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 Japanese film High and Low that was based on American writer Ed McBain’s 1959 novel King’s Ransom. […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Bien Nacido celebrates 20 years of its estate label, marking its evolution from grape supplier to wine maker
Nicholas Miller’s family has lived in California since right after statehood. For five generations they’ve farmed and grown grapes along the Central Coast. In 1973, Miller’s father and uncle planted 300 acres of pinot noir and chardonnay grapes in Santa Maria, founding Bien Nacido Vineyard, according to the website. Celebrate on the estateBien Nacido’s Cheers […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Friendship is a cringe-filled black comedy about a bromance gone wrong
FriendshipWhat’s it rated? RWhen? 2024Where’s it showing? HBO Max Written and directed by Andrew DeYoung in his feature length debut, Friendship tells the cringey story of Craig Waterman (Tim Robinson), an advertising exec whose cancer-surviving wife, Tami (Kate Mara), recently took up with an ex-boyfriend, Devon (Josh Segarra), due to Craig’s emotional unavailability. Craig’s floundering […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish explores the relentless online harassment of teenager Lauryn Licari
Unknown Number: The High School CatfishWhat’s it rated? TV-MAWhen? 2025Where’s it showing? Netflix Lauryn and Owen were just your typical high school couple—planning for prom, texting incessantly, and hanging with their besties. Things took a turn when both teens started receiving cruel online messages and texts from an unknown cyberbully. The messages often took aim […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Santa Maria screens family-friendly movies in the park
Free movies are playing on two upcoming Fridays outdoors in Santa Maria, organized by the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department. The city is showing Moana 2 on Sept. 19 and Cars on Sept. 26. Both films will be screened at Rotary Centennial Park, located at 2625 S. College Drive in Santa Maria. Viewers should […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
A bluegrass and rock concert benefits Santa Barbara County children in emergency foster care
Join the Bullfrogg Blues Band at the Party with a Purpose concert benefiting Santa Barbara County children entering emergency foster care. The Blast Stockyard in Orcutt is hosting the event from 4 to 8 p.m. with food from Blast 825 Brewery. Guests can expect “a soul-shaking, feel-good evening of live music, local eats, and big-hearted […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
A Nipomo author supported local businesses with the production of her debut novel
Fellow authors have described Maggie Yore as a unicorn—she has a knack for numbers and words. Though she always loved to write, it wasn’t until she became a business owner a few years ago that she got the numbers part down. Turning pagesBuy Maggie Yore’s debut novel on Amazon, her website, or at local bookstores […]
Posted inLetters To The Editor
Choosing our Earth
On July 19, the world lost a visionary teacher, scholar, and beloved friend: Joanna Macy (1929-2025). A guiding light in systems thinking, deep ecology, and Buddhist philosophy, Joanna touched countless lives with her intellect, her heart, and her unwavering commitment to life on Earth. On Aug. 15, 2025, Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize formalized an agreement […]
Posted inOpinion
Democrats are taking down our once golden state bit by bit
For decades California has had a single political party running the show in Sacramento; this had led to a steady decay in education, infrastructure, and public safety; a massive growth in the homeless population; outrageous cost for housing; and ineffective use of taxpayer dollars. Two recent actions by our elected officials point out how bit […]
Posted inCanary
Something fishy
Some punishments go too far. Like the prison sentences our justice system once assigned to criminal offenders caught with marijuana thanks to the “war on drugs.” They were aggressive. And aggressive is exactly how the Central Coast Youth Football League is being when it comes to the Orcutt Youth Football League. It’s confusing, but the […]
Posted inNews
The Lompoc botanic society offers a community for all degrees of plant-lovers
Plant puns, snacks, and social hour. Those are three things Christine Zuhlsdorf enjoys about being a member of the Lompoc Valley Botanic and Horticultural Society (LVBHS). “Plant people tend to be pretty happy people,” the nonprofit’s president told the Sun. “Unless you get someone going on gophers.” Or deer, another sore subject for gardeners, which […]
