Posted inFood & Drink

Slide on over to Cafe DeVille for sliders during pop-ups and it upcoming grand opening

Nipomo promo Follow Cafe DeVille on social media for more info about the restaurant’s future opening and its outdoor pop-up events. Cafe DeVille is located at 133 S. Thompson Road, Nipomo. For additional details, visit cafedevillenipomo.com. Late night cravings are rarely insatiable at the DeBilzan family’s Nipomo home, thanks to its patriarch’s improvisation skills in […]

Posted inNews

Cost of living

Santa Maria city employees, firefighters want more money than the city is bargaining for

Santa Maria firefighter Shea Weidler has lived in a van since October because he can’t afford housing costs with the salary he makes.  “As a 30-year-old, you see yourself owning a home and more stable, but when you’re living in a van, living paycheck to paycheck, it kind of wears on you,” Weidler said. “While […]

Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture

Great American Melodrama’s Grave Mistakes is a rave-worthy romp

Norms we cannot weather The Great American Melodrama presents its production of Grave Mistakes through March 16. The two-act show, which opened in early January, is followed by the Melodrama’s new vaudeville revue, Whatever the Weather We’ll Weather the Weather Together. The theater is located at 1863 Front St., Oceano. Call (805) 489-2499 or visit […]

Posted inOpinion

What a racket!

Tennis players and pickleball players are frenemies who simply cannot share a court—and the battle over volleying space is getting tense in Solvang.  Hans Christian Andersen Park hosts the city’s only two pickleball courts but they’re on the verge of closure with cracking and drainage issues.  “The current courts are getting to the point where […]

Posted inSpecial Issues

Health & Wellness 2024

Music therapy as medicine and the benefits of being around horses

For this year’s issue of Health and Wellness, we decided to focus on therapy—not traditional therapy, though. We explored a couple of outside-the-box approaches. Staff Writer Adrian Vincent Rosas from the Sun’s sister paper, New Times, chatted with a certified music practitioner about how she uses her tunes to help individuals going through difficult medical […]

Posted inFood & Drink

Casa Dumetz founder discusses early ties with two local, long-standing wine traditions

Wine wonderlands Call (805) 344-1900 or visit casadumetzwines.com for more info on Casa Dumetz Wines, located at 388 Bell St., Los Alamos. Tickets to Solvang’s 2024 Garagiste Wine Festival—Feb. 9 and 10—are available in advance at my805tix.com.  To find out more about this year’s Santa Barbara County Women Winemakers and Culinarians Celebration, which includes events […]

Posted inOpinion

Projection rejection

Water’s a hot commodity in the Cuyama Valley. So when someone says the word “drill,” people’s ears perk up.  This time around, it’s not water they’re looking to store in “frost ponds” on Harvard University’s North Fork Vineyard property in Cuyama. They’re looking for oil. West Bay Exploration Co. wants to drill a probing solitary […]

Posted inFood & Drink

New tasting room in Los Olivos showcases Donnachadh Family Wines, made with grapes from their Sta. Rita Hills vineyards

By the glass, flight, bottle Call (805) 699-5802 or visit donnachadh.com for more info on Donnachadh Family Wines and its new tasting room, located at 2938 San Marcos Ave., No. 101, Los Olivos. The venue is open Thursday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome. One mascot found in a new […]

Posted inNews

Hancock’s first rodeo

Santa Maria’s community college is hosting its inaugural competition in March at the Elks event center

Spring roundup Contact ahcrodeo@gmail.com or (805) 357-6324 for vendor or sponsor information, or if you are interested in volunteering to help Allan Hancock College host its first college rodeo.  Gates open at 5 p.m. at the Elks Rodeo Grounds on March 14 and 15, and the college rodeo begins at 6:30 p.m. each day. Paloma […]

Posted inOpinion

Grassroots, shmassroots

As if the campaign for Santa Barbara County’s 3rd District supervisor wasn’t already a little weird—with Frank Troise holding his own candidacy hostage by threatening the other two candidates to agree to his budget terms or else he’ll continue running—the race’s finance filings are weirder still.  Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne, who surprised everyone with her […]

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