Nearly nine months after kicking off the historic Royal Theater’s long-awaited restoration, Guadalupe leaders lowered the curtain on the project. “If we continue the Royal Theater [construction], by the end of this fiscal year, we will be $2.6 million in debt,” City Administrator David Trujillo told the City Council during its July 28 meeting. “That’s […]
construction
Posted inNews
Judge rejects Solvang’s request to dismiss a developer’s lawsuit
Solvang’s legal advisors have until Aug. 3 to respond to a civil lawsuit after a judge rejected the city’s argument to throw out the case. In mid-July, Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge James F. Rigali overruled Solvang’s petition to dismiss local developer Ed St. George’s suit against the city for issuing a stop work […]
Posted inNews
A $45 million Department of War grant fuels Manzanita Charter upgrades
Within the next few years, hundreds of Lompoc students will reap the benefits of a new gymnasium, library, and kitchen at Manzanita Public Charter School. The first of three phases began in June as contractors prepared the site. Construction is expected to take three years. Lompoc Unified School District owns and operates the charter school’s […]
Posted inNews
Mounting losses: Horseback ride and petting zoo operator alleges pony’s death caused by nearby construction
Runny noses. Swollen eyes. Rashes. Hives. A wave of illness that plagued Bob Sweeney’s horses last summer, he said, coincided with construction work happening adjacent to his stables in Buellton. Sweeney described the city’s nearly yearlong construction of a new 100-space parking lot on Sycamore Drive in 2025 as detrimental to his business—SYV Horseback Rides, […]
Posted inNews
Almost there: Guadalupe’s Royal Theater retrofit hits another snag after groundbreaking ceremony
In the pantheon of roadblocks that have slowed down efforts to resurrect Guadalupe’s shuttered Royal Theater, asbestos is the latest hiccup keeping the $13 million project at a temporary standstill. Two weeks after local organizers and elected officials held a formal groundbreaking to celebrate the reboot reaching its construction phase (to transform the vacant venue […]
Posted inNews
Solvang considers spending $8 million on a new City Hall building
The former home of Thrifty Ice Cream was briefly on a short list of spots Solvang officials are eyeing for potential City Hall expansion. “What if we just retrofit the Rite Aid?” Solvang City Councilmember Elizabeth Orona said after City Manager Randy Murphy informed the council that some departments—including Public Works, Community Development, and Parks […]
Posted inNews
Santa Barbara County upholds a Ballard homeowner’s permit to build new bathrooms, delayed by a neighbor’s appeal
Fire hazards. Height violations. Improper noticing. Claims tied to a Santa Ynez Valley resident’s appeal of a neighboring family’s permit to add two new ground-floor bathrooms—together totaling 150 square feet—to their home didn’t hold water during a Santa Barbara County Planning Commission review. “When I first got this, I thought, why is this even before […]
