It’s Friday afternoon. You shower after work and walk the two blocks from your downtown loft to the farmers’ market. There you grab some produce and a bite to eat at the Asian fusion food truck and catch a few songs from your favorite local band. Along the way, you stop at that popular café […]
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Life in transition: A transgender artist shares his journey to becoming his true self
Imagine being trapped in a body that just feels wrong, like it’s not yours. That’s how Los Osos artist RawfeyL Gene Burge felt from an early age. “I was 4 years old, and we had just moved to a new neighborhood, and since this was 1964 Texas, I could just wander the neighborhood. Well, across […]
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A mile beneath our feet: A massive natural gas leak in L.A. prompts the question–could it happen in Santa Barbara County?
The La Goleta gas storage field nestles between the city of Goleta and the ocean, only a couple hundred feet inland. To its north lies a residential community that families call home, and the Santa Barbara Airport. Goleta Beach Park, where people play, bike, sunbathe, and fish off the pier, sits just south of La […]
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The hot seat: The 24th District Congressional seat is open for the first time in 18 years, and it has attracted a bevy of candidates
It’s 2016, and it’s an election year. Not only does that include a presidential race, but also one for California’s 24th Congressional District, which is completely up for grabs. In April 2015, Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) announced her retirement, leaving open a seat she’s held for the Democratic Party for the past 18 years. She […]
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Movement of Light: Local entrepreneurs, performers, and artists trick out flow arts and festival installations with LEDs
Rainbow ribbons danced effortlessly around her, as if in sync with her hypnotic gyrations. Fractal, multicolor patterns trailed like glowing gossamer from the plastic hula hoop that spun around her hips, legs, and arms, illuminating her body in the low evening light. Even though this was happening at an outdoor electronic dance music festival, this […]
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Movement of Light: Local entrepreneurs, performers, and artists trick out flow arts and festival installations with LEDs
Helianthus Enormae – The giant luminous sunflower from PhotonicBliss on Vimeo. This is a sculpture by Chad ‘fez’ Gaetz wish I had the pleasure of getting to program. It is a 25 foot tall steel sunflower, and it is so fun to climb on. 🙂
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Holding on to tradition: Some wedding rituals span centuries while others are relatively new, but every one is special
Weddings are arguably one of the most celebrated events of our lives. But they are also the most ceremonial. The way a couple takes their vows has evolved through the years. While some traditions are fairly new in the span of history, other traditions have withstood time. One of the oldest wedding traditions is called […]
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Race to the finish: The Lompoc Valley Motorsports Committee is on track to open an off-highway vehicle park, but not everyone is revved up about it
Surrounded by acres of wildlands, vineyards, and the ocean, many residents view Lompoc as a bucolic hideaway that’s far enough away from the traffic and general busyness of nearby larger cities. The weather is often ideal, moderately warm temperatures with a cool, moist breeze that is loved by residents and pinot noir grapes alike. Often […]
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Neonics, ag’s fallen hero: Neonicotinoid insecticides once saved the day, but now they’re under fire for potential adverse effects
Neonicotinoids have two stories to tell. In the first, they’re the good guys. While acres of citrus trees across the nation are withering and dying from an incurable insect-carried disease, neonic insecticides are growers’ best shot at containing the damage. In the second story, they’re villains. U.S. honeybees have exhibited declining health in recent years, […]
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Watching over Orcutt: An uptick in graffiti and theft has motivated members of the community to band together and take back their neighborhood
One morning in June 2015, Debbie O’Campo awoke to an unpleasant surprise: All of the tires on her 2013 GMC Terrain Denali were gone. She was notified by a stranger’s knock on the door of her Orcutt home shortly before she started her day as the plant services coordinator at Allan Hancock College. It was […]
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Reclaiming a community: Santa Maria’s skyrocketing street gang violence is met with resilience and hope by local government, organizations, churches, and citizens converging in the One Community Action Coalition
The boardroom of the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District was packed wall to wall with people on Jan. 28. They gathered there in an attempt to address a dire situation in Santa Maria: the eruption of street violence leaving local youth and adults bleeding in the streets. It was the first One Community […]
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Strong grrrls: Crazy cardio and strict diets are out as women embrace a fitness trend that emphasizes strength and health over what the scale says
Strong is the new skinny. It’s a motto that’s heard throughout the fitness community, and it’s changing women’s approach to fitness and providing a boost to women’s confidence and body image. Trends in fitness are nothing new. In earlier times people were told, “Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet,” promoting cigarette smoking, or […]