Before starting on a new campus at Blosser Ranch, builders need to secure enough dirt to fill around 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools. They also need drivers to bring it on-site. Over the course of six to 10 weeks, it’ll take 12 to 15 trucks hauling dirt eight to 10 hours a day to get the […]
Santa Maria-Bonita makes steps toward new school at Blosser Ranch
Posted inNews
Convicted of patricide, Lompoc resident awaits June sentencing
While responding to a 911 call about a domestic disturbance in 2022, local law enforcement heard a man’s voice coming from inside of the house at 210 North D St. in Lompoc: “Send someone now!” According to court documents, while kicking down the front door, Lompoc police officers heard the man screaming. As soon as […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: May 28, 2026
•On May 20, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) announced new federal funding—approximately $2.2 million—for the San Luis Obispo County Airport to improve the baggage screening system. The airport’s current system is too undersized and outdated, Carbajal’s office stated, to adequately meet current operational demand. The new grant will fund a complete system replacement to […]
Posted inNews
Orcutt students graduate with high school diplomas and Hancock associate degrees in a new college readiness program
Jackson Payne took his first college class when he was a freshman in high school. He arrived around 7 a.m. to Orcutt Academy High School. The campus was quiet except for his 29 other classmates in the Early College Cadre program. Soon enough their professor showed up and introduced the group members to their first […]
Posted inOpinion
Que syrah!
In no surprise to anyone who followed the mildly controversial roll-out of the Santa Barbara County Vintner’s Association running the county’s winery business improvement district (for a small fee, of course), Flying Goat Cellars finally sued the county over the deal. It could have been Stephen Pepe who pulled the trigger—after all, the Clos Pepe […]
Posted inOpinion
Lompoc Fire Department’s unresolved ‘at risk’ conditions will only worsen its service over time
On May 5, the Lompoc City Council received a sobering presentation by interim Fire Chief Kevin Shay. Chief Shay reported that the Lompoc City Fire Department has the two busiest fire stations in Santa Barbara County. The three fire units and nine crew members respond to more than 5,300 calls for service each year—that’s an […]
Posted inOpinion
Jimmy Paulding is a real leader
As a senior registered as No Party Preference, I study the issues and listen carefully to debates and radio interviews. I vote for the candidate, not the political party. Mr. Paulding is the clear winner. He was enthusiastic and well prepared at the League of Women Voters debate forum. Mr. Verdin was bored and only […]
Posted inOpinion
Dead seabirds are the harbingers of apreventable future
I’ve been seeing a lot of dead seabirds on Pismo Beach lately. Most of them were common murres—those handsome black birds with white throats and stout, black beaks. There were also some dead cormorants, and even a whimbrel, with its long downcurved bill. As I walked up the beach carrying my surfboard, I counted seven […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
With help from her mentor, a Lompoc native reunites the Polynesian dance group she grew up performing in
Michelle Lujan looks back at her wedding day with bittersweetness because although she didn’t know it at the time, the December day in 2019 was the last time the Pacific Legends danced before the pandemic exploded. “To me, that’s like the marker of when it ended, but we had no idea,” Lujan told the Sun. […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Klein Dance Arts presents its Spring Selections recital
Support Santa Maria’s youth dancers as they perform a variety of styles they’ve been hard at work perfecting. The recital will be held at Santa Maria High School inside the Ethel Pope Auditorium at 5:30 p.m. on June 5 and 2:30 p.m. on June 6. Guest performers and Klein Dance Arts students have prepared ballet, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Presqu’ile Winery unveils a new art exhibition
Visitors will have to journey up to an old bunker to see artwork by Cole Sternberg at Presqu’ile Winery in Santa Maria, which is up until Sept. 20. The collaboration is supported by the Los Angeles Nomadic Division, an organization that connects people to places through art. Sternberg is a conceptual artist who paints, sculpts, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu may satisfy Star Wars super fans
Jon Favreau (Elf, Iron Man, The Lion King) directs this screenplay co-written with Dave Filoni and Noah Kloor about former lone bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), also known as The Mandalorian, and his Yoda-like apprentice, Grogu, who are working for the New Republic under orders from Col. Ward (Sigourney Weaver) to hunt down Galactic […]
