Don’t have plans for the last weekend of July yet? The California Mid-State Fair has you covered. Tickets to the July 26 805 Country Rodeo Finals and July 27 Monster Truck Takeover are on sale now on the Mid-State Fair’s website. Both shows start at 7 p.m. inside the Main Grandstand Arena. Rodeo finals tickets […]
Monster trucks to mash at Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
PCPA celebrates summer under the stars by hosting Waitress, Holmes and Watson musicals
The Pacific Conservatory Theater (PCPA) welcomes the summer season with outdoor performances of Waitress: The Musical with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, singer of the 2013 hit “Brave” and 2007 hit “Love Song.” The show will play through July 6 at the Solvang Festival Theater. Through the two-and-a-half-hour show, a waitress named Jenna embarks […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Santa Maria artist Tommy Ruiz highlights unconventional beauty with surrealist imagery expressing the trans experience
Trans-forming narratives As a trans man, Santa Maria artist Tommy Ruiz illustrates conventional people with bizarre body parts to highlight unorthodox forms of beauty. You can find him on Instagram @bunniesaregay. Tommy Ruiz was lying in bed as a 13-year-old girl when he suddenly realized he was transgender. It was July 2015. Caitlyn Jenner had […]
Posted inOpinion
Voting rights are being attacked
A current bill in Congress aims to make voting harder for everyone. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act has the potential to disenfranchise millions of American voters. SAVE would require a passport or a birth certificate to register to vote or update voter registration information. It is currently illegal for noncitizens to register and […]
Posted inOpinion
Some protest signs have gone too far
On Saturday, June 14, when we drove to Walmart with my grandchild at Central and H streets, we caught the light twice and watched the demonstrators for about a minute or so each time. As I scanned the crowd, I was shocked to see three handmade signs and a few more printed signs that said […]
Posted inOpinion
Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 6 is on the cusp of being repurposed to better support Falcon 9 launches
Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6) on south Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) was first developed in the early 1960s to support the manned orbiting laboratory program. According to the National Museum of the Air Force, the manned orbiting laboratory “never reached fruition, but a great deal of developmental work was accomplished before it too was […]
Posted inOpinion
Insane fireworks
Fireworks are already popping off in northern Santa Barbara County, and we’re still a couple of weeks away from the Fourth of July. Surprised? Nope. Santa Maria, Guadalupe, Lompoc—not to be dramatic, but the city streets turn into a bit of a war zone as darkness descends on Independence Day. You have to be careful […]
Posted inNews
Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm to celebrate peak bloom with second annual festival hosting artisan market
Tucked away along the Tularosa Road offramp of California Highway 246 lies a quaint purple slice of heaven. Buried deep within the greens of the Santa Rita Hills, a field of bushes showcases violet buds so densely packed that from a distance they look like an amethyst-colored sheet. Lizards scurry, bees buzz, and hummingbirds and […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: June 26, 2025
• State Sen. Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara), vice chair of the California Legislative Central Coast Caucus, was recently selected to serve as the 53rd president pro tempore of the California Senate. Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) and Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara), the co-chairs of the California Legislative Central Coast Caucus, issued statements on June […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria postpones decisions on spending thresholds and three employment contracts
Proposed inflation adjustments and contract renewals raised red flags for Santa Maria City Council members, who spent most of their June 17 meeting dissecting the consent calendar. Councilmember Maribel Aguilera-Hernandez pulled one item, while Councilmember Gloria Flores pulled two. The council ultimately tabled their decisions on all three—each of which were related to city spending—until […]
Posted inNews
Solvang renews Goleta Library partnership with $100,000 fee increase
For the past six years, the city of Goleta has operated, staffed, and furnished the Solvang Library thanks to a county decree. Prior to the summer of 2019, Santa Barbara County managed the facility before contracting with Goleta to take the helm of Solvang’s library and three others across the Santa Ynez Valley. The current […]
Posted inNews
Lompoc to continue funding chamber of commerce after public speaks out
The Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce isn’t going anywhere. Following outcry from local residents, Lompoc City Council reversed course on a decision to decrease funding for the organization. Council members unanimously decided to continue providing the chamber $108,000 annually for the 2025-27 fiscal years at the June 17 meeting. In response to a June 3 […]
