The Board of Supervisors’ newest addition will either be Santa Maria City Councilmember Maribel Aguilera or Santa Maria-Bonita School District Board member Ricardo Valencia. Aguilera—a local attorney and registered independent—received endorsements from the Santa Maria Police Officers’ Association, Santa Maria Firefighters Local 2020, California School Employees Association, Grower-Shipper Association of Santa Barbara and San Luis […]
Board of Supervisors
Posted inNews
County supervisors will include new Orcutt library in budget talks
If Orcutt residents want to borrow books, they can visit a branch of the Santa Maria Public Library in Old Town that sits on a leased plot measuring less than 5,000 square feet. However, community planning documents from nearly 30 years ago predicted population growth that would warrant a library more than three and a […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Esther Jacobsen Bates wins the county’s 2026 arts leadership award
Solvang native Esther Jacobsen Bates has spent 30 years dedicated to supporting arts education and cultural organizations in Santa Barbara County. For her dedication, she received the county’s Leadership in the Arts Award at the Oct. 6 Board of Supervisors meeting. “Over time, I discovered that my strength was not making art but helping others […]
Posted inNews
Farm to tax table: County supervisors erase Lompoc farm’s five-figure tax debt for farmstay operation
Laying a Lompoc egg farm’s tax appeal to rest recently divided local officials, who simmered over the issue across two lengthy hearings this summer. The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors’ reception to Dare 2 Dream Farms’ plea to forgive about $65,000 in unpaid taxes was nearly split down the middle before a 3-2 vote […]
Posted inNews
Up in arms: County looks at revising gun shop zoning in unincorporated areas
Stationed at his cash register behind a jar of orange foam earplugs, the manager of Get R Gun in Santa Maria doesn’t agree with Santa Barbara County’s newest policy on firearms. He believes the recent action raises more red flags than the local controversy that triggered it. “We didn’t see a problem with Goodland Guns,” […]
Posted inNews
County considers new solar, battery project standards
Santa Barbara County is one step closer to adopting new requirements for solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) projects. Set for the Board of Supervisors’ second and final reading in late September, a policy package to amend multiple county ordinances for consistency with proposed standards addresses battery units of various sizes—ranging from industrial BESS […]
Posted inNews
County replies to grand jury report on Sheriff’s overtime use
Long-range plans to reboot the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office’s payroll system and decommission the South County jail aligned with recommendations from a recent grand jury report. During its Aug. 25 meeting, the county Board of Supervisors discussed the report titled: “What’s up with overtime in the Sheriff’s Office?” “The sheriff’s overtime excesses have been […]
Posted inNews
Sheriff’s Office pins timecard arrests to increased oversight
Arrested in early August, Jeffrey Koeller is the second Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office employee to face embezzlement charges this year. Both Koeller and Segun Ogunleye—arrested in late January—worked for the Sheriff’s Office as custody sergeants, and were charged for fraudulently claiming and receiving earnings of $93,000 and $175,000, respectively, for hours they did not […]
Posted inNews
Lompoc begins environmental review for possible housing project annexation
The Bodger Meadows housing project near Lompoc has bounced between city and county staff for the past two and a half years, but the city’s been trying to obtain the property from the county for decades. After the City Council discussed the project’s latest news, Mayor Jim Mosby joked dryly about the saga. He referenced […]
Posted inNews
County increases parcel taxes for neighborhoods in Orcutt, Vandenberg Village
A flat rate since 2011, the parcel tax for residents of Providence Landing—a neighborhood in the unincorporated Vandenberg Village area—will jump from $672 to $692. These funds go toward upkeep at the Providence Landing Park, an arrangement Santa Barbara County 4th District Supervisor Bob Nelson noted as unlike any other tax collected across the county. […]
Posted inNews
County Planning Commission cleans up ‘discrepancy’ in oil well ban
Members of the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission recently revisited some language tied to the proposed ban on drilling new oil and gas wells due to a staff oversight. “In April, we should have identified this amendment,” County Long Range Planning Division Manager Alex Tuttle said at the commission’s July 1 meeting. While the commission […]
Posted inNews
Board of Supervisors sides with arbitrator in Del Cielo rent dispute
While alleging that a third-party mediator abused his authority, a local mobile home park owner appealed to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors to overturn the ruling in an arbitration case. Following an eight-hour, in-person hearing in early 2026 and opportunities for written rebuttal, arbitrator John Derrick deemed $24 as an appropriate rent increase […]
