Much of the coast between Santa Barbara and Ventura remained crippled one week after a winter storm triggered major flooding and debris flows that destroyed more than 100 homes and damaged twice that number. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said on Jan. 14 that at least 20 people had died due to the storm. […]
Montecito area reeling and recovering from major winter storm
Posted inOpinion
Why is it important for a place like Orcutt to have its own community theater?
Eli Hastings student “I think it would be fun for people to join in. And it’s a cool way find other people that you might like.” Grace Kitchen student “It’s another place people express themselves. It’s just a great way for people to come together and show who they are.” Emily Zaas mom “It’s fun […]
Posted inNews
First responders scramble to respond to mudslides
The fires that scorched swaths of Santa Barbara County may have finally been extinguished or contained, but emergency responders are already reacting to what’s come next. Floods, debris flows, and rock falls, all are in play as heavy winter storms arrive over the next few years due to massive burnt areas from the Thomas and […]
Posted inOpinion
Trump’s bluster makes U.S. unsafe
The time of our walking and talking zombie security threat is now upon America, but will our country last until the 2018 midterm elections? We have a mentally unstable leader who is acting as if he were back in the schoolyard dealing with a playmate. His latest tweet with the North Korean president is one […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Pho-nomenal: Santa Maria welcomes a new Vietnamese restaurant
Having lived in cities like San Francisco and Houston, one of the big empty places in my culinary heart is the sore lack of solid Vietnamese restaurants on the Central Coast. My hankering for dishes like pho and banh mi often goes unfulfilled, leading me into a foodie sadness spiral. But thanks to the opening […]
Posted inNews
Santa Barbara County emergency responders rush to prepare for winter storms
The fires that scorched swaths of Santa Barbara County may have finally been extinguished or contained, but emergency responders are already reacting to what’s come next. Floods, debris flows, and rock falls, all are in play as heavy winter storms arrive over the next few years due to massive burnt areas from the Thomas and […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Santa Maria Philharmonic Society to host youth showcase
Musical history is filled with wunderkinds. But famous stories like that of Mozart eclipse the constant flux of incredible talent that young students of music display, often before they’re out of grade school. Thankfully, the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society understands that the next generation of orchestra musicians and soloists are all around us, dutifully studying […]
Posted inNews
Allan Hancock College music professor offers free recording time to local musicians
As music professor Chris Diaz pushed and turned the seemingly endless array of buttons and nobs on the mixing console in Allan Hancock College’s recently remodeled recording studio, the music pumping out of the studio’s speakers changed dramatically. “A lot of the cool stuff comes from breaking the rules,” Diaz said, citing the distortion used […]
Posted inNews
Spotlight on: Restaurant Week
The start of 2018 marked the beginning of the annual California Restaurant Month, and the Santa Maria Valley is following suit by offering its own Restaurant Week. From Jan. 14 to Jan. 20, the region will host the seven-day event featuring deals at participating restaurants, breweries, and wineries. “The event dates were chosen to coincide […]
Posted inNews
Downtown Santa Maria may get a much needed facelift, but not before city officials hear from the community
Dangerous, unwelcoming, noisy, and unattractive were just some of the words used by community members to describe downtown Santa Maria at two design workshops hosted by the city in October 2017. Other residents mentioned a lack of local cafes, art galleries, and other businesses present in the area, as well as low walkability, and a […]
Posted inNews
Aggressive influenza season causes deaths, strains medical facilities
This season’s aggressive strains of influenza have killed six Santa Barbara County residents in the last two weeks alone. Although the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department said all six victims were older than 65, the two-week count is already a significant increase from last year’s season total of three influenza-related deaths. And the number […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Humor: Ariel resolves to get moving this year
Oh, great. It’s déjà vu all over again. A new year has begun and we have all jumped on the resolution bandwagon like lemmings running aimlessly to their inevitable end at the edge of a cliff. I have long been one of those lemmings. The resolutions I made last January first? They rolled over like […]