Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series. The second part is scheduled to run July 9. Some of the shelves at UC Berkeley and other institutions are kept from public view, but Kathy Marshall has seen them. “When [I] visit schools and universities, [I’m] just like, I bet none of these kids […]
Santa Barbara
County lawsuit ends with $1.2 million penalty for Foods Co. parent company
Questionable and inconsistent calorie counts on some food products’ packaging were at the heart of a multi-year civil suit filed in Santa Barbara County Superior Court. That suit concluded in early June when Judge Thomas Anderle ordered the Kroger Company, which owns Foods Co. stores in Lompoc and Santa Maria, to pay $1.25 million in […]
Get hitched in the sky with Central Coast hot air balloon adventures
Take flightLearn more about Sky’s The Limit Ballooning Adventures in Santa Ynez at skysthelimitballooning.com. For details on Paso Robles’ Balloons over Paso, visit balloonsoverpaso.com. For a hot air balloon proposal or wedding, use the code, SLOWEDDING, until Jan. 1, 2027, for a 10 percent discount. For a couple thousand dollars, you can climb into a […]
A Templeton farm brightens the horizon for a Santa Barbara County winery
Blending wine is very common, but not the way Michelle Vautier does it. She owns CrossHatch Winery and uses a method called co-fermentation. Instead of blending wines after they’ve fermented, her grapes—usually two or three varieties—are picked from their separate vines on the same day and start fermenting together right away. “I’m the only winery […]
Blessed are the beaks: Central Coast-based parrot rescue provides adoption and sponsorship opportunities for local bird lovers
Parrot adoptions at the scenic Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary are few and far between for a flock of reasons, founder and director Jamie McLeod explained. “Unless you’ve owned a parrot before, it’s hard to understand what you’re getting yourself into. It’s a wild animal,” McLeod told the Sun. “You have to realize that when you […]
A Santa Barbara artist displays four mediums of work inspired by his Brazilian culture
In Paulo Lima’s mind, a rusty piece of wire in the middle of the street was a great topper for one of his sculptures. Even though he thought the metal had been run over by a car, it didn’t matter. “I picked it up in the middle of the street, like, ‘Oh my God. This […]

