How do you create a lasting peace when you do not include in negotiations the people who need to be involved to make it work (Ukraine and Gaza)? How does someone who considers himself a shrewd negotiator sacrifice his trump cards (NATO, Donbas) before negotiations even begin? How do you believe and trust people who […]
Food for thought
Posted inOpinion
Defend the future
Droves of local residents are speaking up in fear of the past repeating itself, in opposition to a present danger, and in defense of the future. They’re speaking out at local government meetings, making demands and expressing concerns. Their public comments and protests are not falling on deaf ears, but local leaders’ hands are tied. […]
Posted inNews
Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum returns cultural artifacts to Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
Two baskets; a steatite stone model of a Chumash tomol, or plank canoe; and an early 1900s photograph of Santa Ynez Chumash ancestors. These four culturally significant items were recently returned to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians by the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum in compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: February 27, 2025
• On Feb. 20, Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) led a budget subcommittee hearing over federal funding in California. “America’s hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, agriculture, and diversity, California is the fifth largest economy in the world. California subsidizes the rest of the country, contributing $80 billion more in federal tax dollars than we receive back […]
Posted inNews
Nipomo residents express concerns about battery energy storage plant safety
Unextinguishable fire. Nickel, manganese, and cobalt in the air. Tremors, tight lungs, and itchy skin. These are a few of the results emerging from the recent Moss Landing battery plant fire in Monterey County. With the fire heightening concerns about a recently completed battery energy storage system Nipomo and a proposed facility in Morro Bay, […]
Posted inNews
Environmentalists question Sable’s ability to handle an oil pipeline disaster
Sable Offshore Corporation has the financial ability and insurance coverage it needs to handle any potential future disasters caused by the pipeline that spawned the Refugio Oil Spill in 2015, according to Santa Barbara County staff. But environmental organizations disagree. That disaster cost the pipeline’s then owner/operator, Plains All-American, $870 million in cleanup and remediation, […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Modern couples ditch roses and traditional arrangements, opting for more unique blooms and designs
Find inspiration To take a look at the florists’ past designs for weddings, parties, and more, visit @frugal_and_foraged and @flowercarriage on Instagram. Roses are red. Violets are blue. Florists must keep up with the wedding trends too. Right now, that includes bolder designs that are unique and new, with more natural flower choices shining through. […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria students marched toward City Hall to protest immigration enforcement tactics
School bells didn’t dictate about 300 students’ early departure from local campuses, recalled Cesar Vasquez, the 17-year-old organizer of a Feb. 18 walkout. The recent rally called for certain protective parameters between Santa Maria residents—documented or not—and officers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Students from middle schools and high schools in Santa Maria and […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Improv for Good supplies local laughs at workshops and fundraisers
On the spot To find out more about Improv for Good and its lineup of monthly classes and periodic performance events, visit improvforgood.fun or email improvforgood@gmail.com. Striking gold in the world of improv is more about being off-the-cuff than thinking on your feet, according to Pismo Beach resident Thia Anlo, who once feared that the […]
Posted inOpinion
Local leaders must protect our immigrants
In one of Donald Trump’s first acts in office, he stripped away protections for schools, hospitals, and places of worship from immigration enforcement. These were once safe spaces where people could learn, receive health care, and pray without fear. Now they have been turned into targets for ICE raids. This is unconscionable. As the world’s […]
Posted inOpinion
Until Palestine is free
Since Oct. 7, 2023, all of us have experienced continuing, intense grief. Many of us are mourning cousins, siblings, classmates, parents … all of us are grieving the astounding loss of Palestinian lives as well as the very structure of Gazan life. There is nothing left of Gaza, yet its people rush back—on foot—to sift […]
Posted inOpinion
Californians were duped into policies that raised the cost of eggs—avian flu’s only making things worse
In 2018, California voters were dupped by animal rights activists into passing Proposition 12, which required farmers who raise laying hens to allow them to “roam freely”; it went into force in 2022. The theory was that this would be more humane and “free them from confinement.” Several other states also adopted this new idea […]