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Posted inFood & Drink

Celebrate the olive

Los Olivos pays homage to its namesake with the Jazz and Olive Festival in June
Avatar photo by Caleb Wiseblood

All that jazz Find out more about the 17th annual Los Olivos Jazz and Olive Festival at jazzandolivefestival.org. The upcoming festival is hosted by the Los Olivos Rotary Club and will be held on Saturday, June 10, at Lavinia Campbell Park, located at 2398 Alamo Pintado Ave., Los Olivos. The olive-themed appetizers at an upcoming […]

Posted inNews

The price of politics

Community outrage drove Santa Ynez High School’s principal to resign
by Taylor O'Connor

Alyce Barrick was excited for her daughter to transfer to Santa Ynez Valley Union High School because of Principal Michael Niehoff.  As Santa Ynez Valley Pride’s vice president and the owner of a local coffee shop, Barrick works with a lot of the students either for employment purposes or as part of Santa Ynez Valley […]

Posted inNews

The future of food

The federal government points to the Santa Barbara Channel as an area for potential fish farms
by Taylor O'Connor

Environmental advocacy groups, local fisheries, chefs, and law firms are working their way up the food chain to get President Joe Biden to revoke a Trump-era executive order allowing fish farms in federal waters—with eight potential sites identified in the Santa Barbara Channel.  “This is your backyard, and they are treating your backyard like a […]

Posted inNews

Annexation question

Oceano’s usually contentious political discourse unifies against a civility compact, in wariness of joining Grover Beach
Avatar photo by Bulbul Rajagopal

A politically fractured Oceano temporarily connected in an unintended way over an initiative put forth by SLO County 4th District Supervisor Jimmy Paulding. Long an ideological battleground that witnessed bitter conflicts in its community services district (CSD) and advisory councils, Oceano came face-to-face with a draft “unification compact” helmed by the freshman county supervisor who […]

Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture

Look closer

Artisans display lifelike feathered friends at the Wildling Museum’s spring showcase in Solvang
Avatar photo by Caleb Wiseblood

Bird calls Call (805) 688-1082 or visit wildlingmuseum.org for info on the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature. The museum is located at 1511 Mission Drive, unit B, Solvang. In conjunction with its current group exhibition, Bird’s Eye View: Four Perspectives, the museum will host a Zoom presentation, The Art of Feather Carving with artist […]

Posted inNews

As high schools face the local fentanyl problem, parents want better communication about on-campus overdoses and more awareness for kids

Poisonous problem
by Taylor O'Connor

Pioneer Valley High School parent Vanessa Valadez first heard about possible drug overdoses on campus from her daughter, a freshman, rather than getting notified by administration. “For me, it wasn’t that it was very surprising, but it was very concerning because we had no information,” Valadez said. “If we had more information, it would be […]

Posted inNews

California’s energy department begins cleaning up everything that HVI Cat Canyon left behind

by Taylor O'Connor

California’s Department of Conservation is embarking on the largest oil well plugging and abandonment project in the state’s history, and it’s in Santa Barbara County.  The department’s Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) received $34 million from the state to plug 171 abandoned HVI Cat Canyon Inc. wells. HVI—formerly known as Greka Oil Company—spilled approximately 26,584 […]

Posted inNews

Solvang’s denial of Pride banners goes against Denmark’s progressive LGBTQ-plus policies, advocates say

by Taylor O'Connor

Editor’s note: This is the first installment of a two-part series on the conversations surrounding a proposal to hang Pride banners and paint a crosswalk with rainbow colors in Solvang during Pride Month in June. The second part, “Solvang residents say Pride banners promote politics and exclusivity, while LGBTQ-plus community members say they promote acceptance […]

Posted inNews

Solvang residents say Pride banners promote politics and exclusivity, while LGBTQ-plus community members say they promote acceptance and inclusion

by Taylor O'Connor

Editor’s note: This is the second installment of a two-part series on the conversation surrounding a proposal to hang Pride banners and paint crosswalks with rainbow colors in Solvang during Pride Month in June. The first part, “Solvang’s denial of Pride banners goes against Denmark’s progressive LGBTQ-plus policies, advocates say,” published on March 23. Pride […]

Posted inNews

Plains Pipeline proposal to replace valves on the line responsible for the 2015 Refugio oil spill has county residents worried

by Taylor O'Connor

Prroposal to put in new safety valves on an oil pipeline looks straightforward but raised a lot of questions.  “This was brought to us as, ‘Look, this is simple. It’s just putting safety valves, required by law,’” said Santa Barbara County Planning Commissioner John Parke, who represents the 3rd District. “There [are] a lot of […]

Posted inNews

The U.S. Forest Service works with several nonprofit organizations to repair Los Padres National Forest trails and roads after significant storm damages

by Taylor O'Connor

A “tidal wave” of water ripped through Colson Canyon Road, wiping it out entirely after the area received 10 inches of rain in one day during the January storms that drenched Santa Barbara County, Paul Antolini said. “There’s 30-feet sheer walls where the road used to be,” Antolini said. “It’s going to take quite a […]

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