After accusing Santa Barbara County of acting in bad faith and playing politics, Richards Ranch didn’t get what it wanted: for the Planning Commission to overturn staff’s decision calling the project application incomplete. “Normally, this is not how the county would treat an applicant. I think politics are afoot,” Richards Ranch attorney Beth Collins told […]
Planning Commission punts Richards Ranch decision to Board of Supervisors
Posted inNews
Santa Maria Planning Commission pushes ‘de facto moratorium’ on BESS projects forward
The fallout from Monterey County’s battery plant fire in January continues to take on new forms, legislatively speaking, across the state. About 170 miles from the site of the incident in Moss Landing, Santa Maria is drafting regulations on battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities for the first time. A proposed ordinance, which would restrict […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Documentary TV series Deadly Waters with Captain Lee examines bizarre crimes
Everyone’s favorite Boat Daddy, Captain Lee Rosbach, is back on our screens, but instead of driving mega yachts on reality TV series Below Deck, he’s here to give the audience a tour of exotic locales—and deadly accidents that happened there on the high seas. Lee introduces us to the stories of various ill-fated seamen and […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Adolescence depicts a tragic case of child-on-child violence
Adolescence What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Netflix Jaime Miller (Owen Cooper) is roused from bed by police, accused of murder, and taken to the station for questioning. This wide-eyed boy is a mess, screaming for his dad and absolutely denying having any idea of what has happened let alone guilt. Jaime’s […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Alto Knights chronicles the mafia’s decline in America
The Alto Knights What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Anna? Matinee What’s it worth, Glen? Matinee Where’s it showing? Regal Edwards RPX Santa Maria, Movies Lompoc, Regal Edwards Arroyo Grande Barry Levinson (Diner; The Natural; Rain Man; Bugsy; Good Morning, Vietnam) directs this script by Nicholas Pileggi (Goodfellas, Casino) about two New York crime […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Local winemaker Emily Myers makes a name for herself through two SYV brands
Act naturally Visit eislynnwines.com or demetriaestate.com for more info on Eislynn Wines or Demetria Estate, respectively. Both brands are based in the Santa Ynez Valley. On Saturday, April 26, Eislynn Wines will be among the featured wineries at the Natural Coast, a Santa Barbara-based wine festival, from noon to 5 p.m. at The Factory, located […]
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Students at four Santa Maria-Bonita schools finally get their playgrounds
After months of playing on concrete slabs, students at Alvin, Fairlawn, Ontiveros, and Tunnell elementary schools are now jumping, swinging, and climbing on new equipment. On March 20, the Santa Maria-Bonita School District announced that construction, which started last summer, was finished at those four schools and that all of the district’s schools either have […]
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Got odor?: County’s updated cannabis ordinance establishes threshold for odors from indoor grows
While standing on the property line of a licensed cannabis grower in a little more than one year’s time, a trained operator of a Nasal Ranger device will need to measure 4 or less D/T—dilution over threshold—for three minutes to determine whether the grower complies with the now amended cannabis ordinance. Arriving at this number […]
Posted inOpinion
‘Let’s have a conversation’ is the least productive political phrase in common use
You hear the phrase “let’s have a conversation” a lot as the liberal arm of our political class confronts problems. Does it solve anything or is it an excuse for doing nothing? When I was a kid in 1950s Los Angeles, the six local TV stations would haul their large cameras down to “skid row” […]
Posted inOpinion
In action
It looks like Allan Hancock College is reaping the rewards of its long-standing effort to bring a four-year-degree program to Santa Maria. The school launched a partnership with Cal Poly at the beginning of this school year on its first bachelor’s degree program in sociology and just added a business major with two more as-yet-to-be-decided […]
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Santa Barbara County boosts transportation access for wheelchair users
Every time a Santa Barbara County resident books a ride through a transportation network company (TNC) like Uber or Lyft, a 10 cent fee is collected to support the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments’ (SBCAG) Access for All program, which aims to enhance reliable, on-demand transportation for people with disabilities and mobility challenges. Care […]
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Political Watch: March 20, 2025
• U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, led a group of 31 senators demanding a reversal of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s cancellation of food purchase programs across the country, according to a March 17 statement from Schiff’s office. The senators warned that the cancellations would have far-reaching negative […]
