Picture perfect Kayla Marie has been photographing Santa Barbara County’s landscapes since she was 9 years old. Now a mother of two young children, she shares her pictures, hoping to inspire the next generation. Find her photos on Instagram under @_kayyyyylaaaaaaa_. Find her portfolio online at kaylamariephotography.smugmug.com. Growing up in Pismo Beach, a young Kayla […]
Category Feature
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Tyler Perry’s Straw follows a desperate and marginalized mother struggle to care for her daughter
Straw What’s it rated? Unrated What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Netflix Writer-director Tyler Perry (Diary of a Mad Black Woman, The Six Triple Eight) helms this psychological crime drama about single mother Janiyah Wiltkinson (Taraji P. Henson) living hand-to-mouth in a rundown apartment with her […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Winning Images 2025
Central Coast photographers capture moments and more
For 30 years, New Times Media Group has been asking Central Coast photographers to send their best moments our way. Animal moments, people moments, floral moments, and more. This year, they submitted 333 images for our annual Winning Images contest, which our judges narrowed down to the top three in each of eight categories and […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Los Alamos Valley Men’s Club will host local wineries, eateries to raise funds for Old Days
Wine and dine On June 21, Los Alamos Valley Men’s Club will host Vine2Wine, Brews & Bites at 429 Leslie St. at 6 p.m. About two dozen wineries will fill glasses to pair with food served by local eateries. Tickets are available at my805tix.com for $65. Any remaining will be sold at the door on […]
Posted inNews
Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce declares to close June 30
The Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce will close June 30, according to a June 10 Facebook post from the chamber, which blamed the City Council’s decision to “abruptly and drastically cut funding.” “This is more than a budget cut. It’s the potential loss of a vital community pillar,” chamber President/CEO DeVika Stalling wrote. “We are […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: June 19, 2025
• On June 12, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) was forcibly removed from U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s press conference in Los Angeles, while “exercising his duty to perform congressional oversight in the federal government’s operations in Los Angeles and across California,” according to a statement from Padilla’s office. “[Padilla] tried to ask […]
Posted inNews
Veggie Rescue delivers fresh produce donations throughout Santa Barbara County
A side from dialing Veggie Rescue’s phone number, local growers don’t need to lift a finger to gift surplus food to community members in need of a helping hand. Based in Santa Ynez, Veggie Rescue travels via box truck to multiple farms and businesses across Santa Barbara County for pickups of excess fruits and vegetables […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Coast Range steakhouse chef and owner Steven Fretz introduces nonalcoholic drink menu
Sip, sip, hurray Coast Range is located at 1635 Mission Drive in Solvang. For menus and more information, including details about its nonalcoholic cocktails, find it on Instagram @coastrangerestaurant, or visit coastrange.restaurant. After he drank himself into the hospital with cirrhosis last November, Steven Fretz had to be revived. The doctors gave him two choices: […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: June 12, 2025
• U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff (D-California) and Alex Padilla (D-California) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) signed a June 9 letter addressed to three federal departments regarding David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California, who was arrested on June 6 during a confrontation at an ICE raid in Los […]
Posted inNews
Local volunteers organize mobile vaccine clinic for unhoused pet families inside Santa Maria riverbed
Walking along dirt paths in the Santa Maria Riverbed, there’s not much to see but dry brush and the occasional jackrabbit. In the distance, a group of people appear among the bushes. A man in bright mint green scrubs with a stethoscope around his neck rips open a bag of plastic syringes and grabs a […]
Posted inOpinion
What permission?
How many lawsuits does it take to stop Sable Offshore Corporation? At least two: One from the Environmental Defense Center and one from the Center for Biological Diversity. Well, two and a restraining order request—and even then, Sable continues its march to open the oil tap. Both were filed in response to the Office of […]
Posted inOpinion
Property owners are now on the hook for tenants’ poor fireworks decisions
The Fourth of July is coming soon, and that means that hundreds of people in Lompoc will likely be detonating fireworks in every sector of town. Many of these people rent the space they live in. In a December 2024 Lompoc City Council meeting, the police chief reported that “From June 1 to July 25 […]
