Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes (turn and face the strange). It seems appropriate to hum a few bars of David Bowie’s iconic song “Changes” if you’ve made a recent trip to Rooney’s Irish Pub in Orcutt. Nothing from the outside would tip you off that something is different, but once you’re seated and presented with a menu, it becomes […]
Chef James Gentry shakes things up at Rooney’s Irish Pub
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Nipomo cartoonist Leigh Rubin designs signs for SLO Botanical Garden, launches new show
Famed Nipomo-based cartoonist Leigh Rubin is a cowman. Heifers make regular appearances in Rubes, his daily cartoon that’s syndicated in 400 media outlets worldwide. He even co-created a life-sized cow sculpture with a cape (dubbed Adventure Cow) for the CowParade in SLO a few years back. But when the SLO Botanical Garden asked Rubin to […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Firefighter Andrew Klein documents the work of battling blazes
An orange rage tears through a smoky sky. Silhouetted in black are two figures, frozen in the moment, seemingly transfixed by what lies before them. It takes the eye only a moment to recognize the figures as firefighters, their signature bell-shaped hats piercing the horizon. The graceful brutality of the moment was captured by Orcutt […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Central Coast Guitar Show welcomes guitar lovers from far and wide who are looking to buy or sell
There’s no other feeling that compares to when you’ve finally found the right guitar. The way the neck feels cradled in the palm of your hand, how your fingertips slide across the fretboard, and the warmth you feel when the sound comes—everything has to be just right. Locals searching for the perfect axe for their […]
Posted inNews
Santa Barbara County and Lompoc cannabis regulations cater to industry while eyeing it as revenue source
Jan. 1, 2018, marked the first day California welcomed recreational cannabis to the legal market. Since then, municipalities across the state have passed laws either to regulate the product or, as in conservative counties like Kern, ban it entirely. That southern Central Valley county stands in stark contrast to its neighbor to the west, Santa […]
Posted inNews
Sun and New Times receive California Journalism Awards
Both the Sun and its sister paper New Times have received several awards from the California News Publishers Association’s (CNPA) California Journalism Awards for reporting done in 2017. The CNPA announced on April 14 that Sun Arts and Lifestyle Writer Rebecca Rose won first place with her humor column “Generation X-It,” Staff Writer Kasey Bubnash […]
Posted inNews
Class certification hearing in Santa Barbara County Jail lawsuit extended to May
A hearing on class certification was extended to May 31 by a U.S. District Court judge on April 12 as part of a federal class action lawsuit against Santa Barbara County and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. The complaint, which was originally filed on Dec. 6 last year, includes detailed accounts of the county’s […]
Posted inNews
EPA’s Pruitt targets Casmalia site for expedited work
The Casmalia Resources Superfund Site topped U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s April 16 emphasis list out of all other similar superfund sites. The agency released the list with a note explaining that it represented sites identified and targeted by the EPA for “immediate and intense attention.” Casmalia in particular was chosen to […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Wildling Museum hosts fundraiser barbecue
Solvang’s Wildling Museum hosts its 15th annual spring barbecue on April 28 from 3 to 6 p.m., to raise funds for the museum’s work. The barbecue is scheduled to take place at Creekspirit, on the banks of Mission Creek in Santa Barbara’s Mission Canyon area. Creekspirit comprises more than 2 acres of native oak trees, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Allan Hancock College hosts creative entrepreneurship symposium
A one-day symposium at Allan Hancock College is planned to connect notable arts consultants with local leaders in arts education, students, and community members to explore best practices in the emerging creative economy. The symposium will take place April 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in building M, Room 310, at Hancock’s Santa Maria […]
Posted inOpinion
Policy and PR
You can tell a lot about an issue based on how the agency or organization surrounding it approaches the topic, and nobody writes better press releases for themselves than government. Take the recent announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the cleanup of the Casmalia Superfund Site was added to an “emphasis list” […]
Posted inOpinion
Give Jimmy Paulding a chance
The Hollands’ donation to Jimmy Paulding and his not telling is not an issue. Lynn Compton grabbed it as such because she has nothing else to grab on against Paulding. She fears that he will replace her. During the years of her administration, she has done nothing for Oceano. She never came to ask us […]