Planned Parenthood clinics in Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Thousand Oaks, and Oxnard are poised to stop services until management improves labor practices contributing to high turnover rates. “We’ve heard a few different things from staff who have quit recently,” Planned Parenthood staff physician Mike Solemar said. “Some of the most common […]
Planned Parenthood’s Central Coast workers approve strike
Posted inNews
Santa Barbara Supervisors prepare for next potential pandemic
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to prepare for the next pandemic on May 20. In response to the 2024-25 Santa Barbara County grand jury’s March 10 report that identified a need for the county Health Department to develop a proactive approach to the next potential epidemic, board members Laura Capps, […]
Posted inNews
Orcutt investment pro sentenced to 10 years in prison for defrauding elderly clients
Convicted of stealing more than $2.2 million over the course of seven years, a former financial advisor based in Orcutt will face a prison sentence of more than three times the amount her attorney argued for. On May 19, U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II sentenced Julie Darrah to serve 121 months—a little more […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Stage direction: Great American Melodrama artists and operators reflect on the quirky theater’s 50th anniversary
Flanked by unmarked gravestones, vampire coffins, and headless mannequins, scenic carpenter Martin Ramirez stands inside a two-story building on the north end of the Great American Melodrama’s parking lot. He’s one of the employees who breathes fresh life into the theater’s archive department on a regular basis. His workspace across from the theater preserves oodles […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Fred & Rose West: A British Horror Story reveals uncovered tapes of the notorious serial killers
Fred & Rose West: A British Horror Story What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Netflix Fred and Rose—you may know their names well or not at all, but once you know their story, you’ll never forget them. The murderous British couple looked as normal as could be, but behind the Sears portrait […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Fountain of Youth follows adventurers trying to find the mythical source of immortality
Fountain of Youth What’s it rated? PG-13 When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Apple TV+ Guy Ritchie (The Covenant, Sherlock Holmes) directs James Vanderbilt’s (Zodiac, The Amazing Spider-Man) screenplay about estranged siblings—Luke (John Krasinski) and Charlotte Purdue (Natalie Portman)—who reunite to seek the legendary Fountain of Youth. I usually enjoy these fantasy adventure movies. Think Raiders […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning is an over-the-top spectacle
Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning What’s it rated? PG-13 What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Regal Edwards RPX Santa Maria, Movies Lompoc, Regal Edwards Arroyo Grande Christopher McQuarrie helms this part 2 to Dead Reckoning (2023), where Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his Impossible Missions Force must […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Summer Guide 2025
There are parades, and then there are Fourth of July parades. Lucky for you, we feature both and more in our annual Summer Guide. You can find events for feasting, drinking, holidays, art, artisans, and whiling away the summer days. You can find things for your kids to do while you’re at work or things […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Simple Cafe creates uncomplicated deliciousness for breakfast and lunch
Keeping it simple With locations at 3546 Skyway Drive and 1414 Miller St., Simple Cafe provides a variety of sandwiches and baked goods across Santa Maria. Both locations are open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Inquiries can be directed to (820) 946-4526 or […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
MobLand follows a criminal fixer as his world grows increasingly dangerous
Mobland What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Paramount+ Created by Ronan Bennett (Gunpower, Top Boy, Day of the Jackal) and set in London, the story follows Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy), a fixer for a crime family led by Conrad (Pierce Brosnan) and Maeve Harrigan (Helen Mirren). Harry, a highly capable fixer, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey chronicles a man’s quest to rehabilitate a trafficked pangolin
Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey What’s it rated? PG When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Netflix Buckle up and prepare to fall in love with Kulu. Looking like a hybrid of an anteater, armadillo, and a sloth, the pangolin is a contender for World’s Most Adorable Animal. Kulu was rescued as a pangopup (yes, that’s what the babies […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Friend examines loss, pet bonding, and the creative life
The Friend What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Downtown Centre in San Luis Obispo Co-writers-directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel adopt Sigrid Nunez’ 2018 National Book Award-winning novel, The Friend, for the big screen. After the death of her friend and mentor, […]