• President Donald Trump honored U.S. Forest Service firefighter David Dahlberg from Santa Maria at the State of the Union address on Jan. 30 for his part in rescuing campers from Circle V Ranch Camp during the Whittier Fire near Cachuma Lake last year. “David faced down walls of flame to rescue almost 60 children […]
Political Watch 2/8/18
Posted inNews
Affiliates of the local ag industry talk Farm Bill with Rep. Salud Carbajal in Santa Maria
Farmers, ranchers, and growers on the Central Coast all seem to want one thing from the federal government: support for specialty crops. Dozens of locals affiliated with California’s agricultural industry attended a listening session on Feb. 1 at the Santa Maria Fairpark, where Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and Collin Peterson (D-Minnesota) listened to what […]
Posted inNews
County supervisors approve Foxen Pipeline project
Sisquoc residents can look forward to a future where oil tanker trucks traveling their two-lane roads are fewer and farther between. On Feb. 6, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved construction of the Foxen Petroleum Pipeline. The ordinance allows ERG Operating Company to connect its Cat Canyon facility to a Phillips 66 […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria Police release few details on shooting death of 13-year-old
The Santa Maria Police Department declined to share additional details about a shooting on Feb. 3 that left a 13-year-old dead. Leonardo Navarro, 13, died of his wounds at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital two days later. On Feb. 5, the department said the investigation into the incident was ongoing. On Feb. 6, Sgt. Michael McGehee […]
Posted inNews
Lompoc correctional officers’ union rep opposes budget cuts
A spokesperson for the union representing federal correctional officers at the Lompoc Federal Correctional Institution added his voice to calls being made by similar union representatives across the country opposing proposed cuts to the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) 2018 budget. “This an issue,” Justin Bender of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3048 told […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Santa Maria Civic Theatre to get new paint job
To celebrate its 60th year in community theater, the Santa Maria Civic Theatre (SMCT) is getting a new paint job, courtesy of a local business. Santa Maria’s New Life Painting is donating the service as a part of its Pay it Forward program. In a statement sent to local media, Civic Theatre Board President Sally […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Lompoc Beautification and Appearance Commission announces work project
The city of Lompoc’s Beautification and Appearance Commission invites the community to a work project to improve the city. The commission asks the community to join the work project on Feb. 17, starting at 8 a.m. The group will meet at the northwest corner of D Street where it intersects with North Avenue in Lompoc. […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Poets Kevin Clark and Chris Vannoy come to Orcutt for a live reading
“Every once in a while, it’s true: I get sick of dying.” The first line of Kevin Clark’s poem, “This, Then,” is haunting and direct, yet purposeful enough to drag the reader into a long pause to clarify the sentiment in their own mind. Reading the San Luis Obispo poet’s work is reminiscent of speaking […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Gallery Los Olivos hosts Tranquility, a new multimedia exhibit
The front room of Gallery Los Olivos is possessed with an almost eerie calmness, a sense of beautiful stillness blanketed by the familiar comfort of art. The stoic and oddly refreshing mood is the result of the newest exhibit at the gallery, titled Tranquility. The show, which runs through Feb. 19, featured Santa Ynez Valley […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Opera Santa Barbara brings Rossini’s The Barber of Seville to the Santa Maria Public Library
It’s the most iconic line in all of opera music, used to signify the art form in everything from famous films to Bugs Bunny cartoons. It’s actually an excerpt from Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, explained Marylove Thralls, the marketing director for Opera Santa Barbara. “Everybody knows, ‘Figaro! Figaro! Figaro!’” Thralls said. “So people […]
Posted inOpinion
Slippery subject
Is there a debate that stinks quite like the one over oil? Each side already has heels snugly dug in, and they talk past each other by miles. And in Santa Barbara County, those miles span the difference between North and South. North County representatives tend to lean Republican and pro oil, whereas the more […]
Posted inOpinion
Trump ain’t what ails us
Imagine walking into a doctor’s office with a glaring, malignant growth on your face. He responds: “Oh, I can remove that!” Then he does, and sends you home without further attention. Would you be satisfied? Consider yourself healed? Or would you sense confusion between the symptom of your illness and its cause? Therein lies an […]