Cover Story

About seven days after the Thomas Fire began, the Ventura Police Department gave Red Cross volunteers permission to go up to some of the neighborhoods that were reduced to rubble. “We went out to the burn areas when people were first returning to the area … . And we were able to walk around and […]

Darkened by the evening sky, rows of grapevines are lit up by large light towers. They provide just the right amount of light for men and women to pick the fruit that’s been growing for about eight months. Pick, cut, toss, repeat. The tail end of harvest season for vineyards was just a couple of […]

What a year it has been! The Central Coast is a dynamic place, and 2017 saw a number of dramatic shifts that affected everyone.  The historic drought continued in Santa Barbara County, despite last winter’s rains, exacerbating wildfire season—which still hasn’t ended.  There’s been plenty to adapt to, not just change in the weather.  Locals […]

For the past two decades, California has regulated medicinal cannabis with a loose legal framework. On Jan. 1, 2018, all that goes up in smoke, and counties like Santa Barbara are scrambling to keep up as the state steadily releases its new set of rules for legalized adult-use recreational marijuana. The day will mark the […]

It was nearly midnight, and Todd was drunk again. His addiction to drinking had cost him almost everything over the years, including his marriage, several jobs, and four driving under the influence (DUI) citations, which he said cost about $10,000 each. By Jan. 18, 2016, his parents were fed up, too, and they kicked him […]

You might have everyone crossed off your holiday shopping list, but what about the four-legged friends and family in your life? For this year’s Last-Minute Gift Guide, the Sun focused on gifts for pets and pet owners, like holiday-themed dog clothes, adoption deals at the Santa Maria Animal Shelter, training for dogs who always tip […]

The image is sparse, almost purposefully blank. On first glance, it’s just a bench, seemingly nondescript against a pink and white background that loosely begins to form the shape of a building. A cross peaks out from over the top. Artist Lori Slater, a former Lompoc resident who now lives and works in Cambria, painted […]

The crowd buzzed under a long, shady barn in Los Alamos. An old flatbed truck served as an impromptu stage where a performer strummed an acoustic guitar and sang cowboy songs. Attendees sat or stood, eating catered food and sipping drinks, chatting while they waited for the scheduled speakers on the warm August afternoon of […]

“You have to start with a Hallmark Christmas movie,” Leigh Collier says without a trace of irony in her voice. She laughs as I audibly groan, a moment that describes our friendship perfectly. On this particular Monday at the end of October, Marry Me at Christmas kicks it all off. It’s a new release, fresh […]

A vibrant image from 2016 shows the corner where West Stowell Road and South Depot Street meet. But instead of the strawberry field that exists there now, the design shows a bustling park with six regulation-sized soccer fields at its center, and another junior-sized field. Surrounding those vast grounds are six half-court basketball courts, two […]

Crack. Bill Decker, 69, drops his truck into the lowest gear and punches the gas. The Toyota Tundra whines as its all-terrain tires climb the series of broken concrete slabs that used to be called a road. “This is all public land,” Decker says, surveying the surrounding chaparral, tall grass, and rolling foothills that stretch […]

Outside Naughty Oak Brewing Company on a particularly chilly day in early October, patrons are reaching for cover, bundling their summer-tanned legs into fleece blankets, and hiding their hands from the season’s first cold whips of wind. As the light spills from the setting sun into the Orcutt brewery, owner Stephen Kitts is busy in […]