Beating heart To see the digital gallery and learn more about Corazón del Pueblo and its programs, visit corazondelpueblo.org. The nonprofit is located at 120 E. Jones St. in Santa Maria. A black ball gown decorated with yellow and white flowers depicted by a Righetti High School student was the one she dreamed of wearing […]
Local nonprofit displays local high school students’ illustrations highlighting Mexican identity, fight for social justice
Posted inOpinion
We need better pesticide drift detection tools
A year ago, on June 13, 2024, there was a long-distance drift event from a fumigation using chloropicrin (tear gas) and 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-DCP) seriously impacting 33 known individuals in Oceano and Arroyo Grande with migraine headaches, nausea, flu-like symptoms, respiratory issues, and perhaps causing two pneumonias, according to data that I and others collected. Crows […]
Posted inOpinion
Property owners are now on the hook for tenants’ poor fireworks decisions
The Fourth of July is coming soon, and that means that hundreds of people in Lompoc will likely be detonating fireworks in every sector of town. Many of these people rent the space they live in. In a December 2024 Lompoc City Council meeting, the police chief reported that “From June 1 to July 25 […]
Posted inOpinion
What permission?
How many lawsuits does it take to stop Sable Offshore Corporation? At least two: One from the Environmental Defense Center and one from the Center for Biological Diversity. Well, two and a restraining order request—and even then, Sable continues its march to open the oil tap. Both were filed in response to the Office of […]
Posted inNews
Local volunteers organize mobile vaccine clinic for unhoused pet families inside Santa Maria riverbed
Walking along dirt paths in the Santa Maria Riverbed, there’s not much to see but dry brush and the occasional jackrabbit. In the distance, a group of people appear among the bushes. A man in bright mint green scrubs with a stethoscope around his neck rips open a bag of plastic syringes and grabs a […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: June 12, 2025
• U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff (D-California) and Alex Padilla (D-California) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) signed a June 9 letter addressed to three federal departments regarding David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California, who was arrested on June 6 during a confrontation at an ICE raid in Los […]
Posted inNews
Buellton reviews medical office plans for shuttered Parks Plaza theater
Three palm trees are part of a developer’s digital rendering for a proposed medical facility set for the spot where Buellton ironically almost got its first In-N-Out. Shuttered since 2020, the Parks Plaza movie theater was a city focal point in 2023 when the Buellton City Council overturned the Planning Commission’s decision to greenlight In-N-Out’s […]
Posted inNews
Salud Carbajal proposes law to help mitigate rocket launch noise impacts
Shaking windows and a sonic boom awoke Orcutt and Lompoc residents around 7 a.m. on June 8, when SpaceX Starlink group 15-8 launched the Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Once a relatively rare occurrence, rockets are launching from the Vandenberg base with increasing frequency. With each launch comes a sound loud enough […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Coast Range steakhouse chef and owner Steven Fretz introduces nonalcoholic drink menu
Sip, sip, hurray Coast Range is located at 1635 Mission Drive in Solvang. For menus and more information, including details about its nonalcoholic cocktails, find it on Instagram @coastrangerestaurant, or visit coastrange.restaurant. After he drank himself into the hospital with cirrhosis last November, Steven Fretz had to be revived. The doctors gave him two choices: […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Offensive lineman-turned winemaker wins Vinter of the Year, celebrates Flying Goat Cellars’ 25th anniversary
Flying high Flying Goat Cellars will celebrate its 25th birthday on June 21, with Full of Life Flatbread and Bob’s Well Bread, along with music by Angie and the Nightmares, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the winery. On Aug. 15, winemaker Norm Yost will be honored as Sta. Rita Hills Wine Alliance’s 2025 Vintner […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders explores the over-the-counter deaths of 1982 and the potential forces behind them
Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders What’s it rated? TV-14 When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Netflix It’s likely we all have a bottle of Tylenol in our cabinet right now for everyday aches and pains. But before I knew the story about the Tylenol murders, I would have never guessed why these bottles are so well-sealed […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Nonnas offers a glimpse into the origin of Staten Island restaurant Enoteca Maria
Nonnas What’s it rated? PG When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Netflix Vince Vaughn stars as Joe Scaravella, a grieving man determined to honor the memory of his late mother by opening a restaurant with Italian grandmothers as the chefs, in this wholesome and engaging based-on-a-true-story comedy. The grandmothers, played by Susan Sarandon, Talia Shire, Lorraine […]