Ice to meet you Visit orcutticecreamkitchen.com for more info on Orcutt Ice Cream Kitchen. The mobile business’s next pop-up event will be held on Friday, Dec. 29, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Naughty Oak Brewing Company, located at 165 Broadway St., suite 102, Orcutt. Chopped nuts. Chopped chocolate. Chopped marshmallows. Without this holy trinity […]
Section Feature
Posted inSpecial Issues
Last Minute Gift Guide 2023
Presents that you can buy in local spots as the holidays lurch ever closer
Central Coast pet stores offer gifts and treats for locals’ furry friends or scaly babies this holiday season By Taylor O’Connor Stocking stuffers for the music lover in your life By Adrian Vincent Rosas Read the entire issue here!
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Local Boys & Girls Clubs juror art contest, select regional qualifiers
National treasures In conjunction with the 2023-24 Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Arts Contest, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast is currently hosting a kids art showcase at the Santa Maria Town Center. The exhibit will be on display through Dec. 19. A reception to celebrate the Mid Central Coast […]
Posted inOpinion
Good news, bad news
Great news, everyone! Santa Barbara County’s farmworker resource pilot program is a success! Why? Well, according to a Dec. 14 presentation, it connected with more than 3,500 farmworkers from July to November—helping them fill out forms for CalFresh and Medi-Cal, get school supplies, and learn financial literacy. “This could now be the model for the […]
Posted inNews
County’s pilot farmworker resource program looking for new funding sources
In the first five months of operating, Santa Barbara County’s pilot Farmworker Resource Program connected with more than 3,500 farmworkers. “This could now be the model for the state, getting boots on the ground, connecting people with needs to … our resources. It’s not fiscally conservative to have a bunch of programs and have nobody […]
Posted inFood & Drink
A Santa Barbara County-based project aims to research the native plant and its local economic prospects
With the help of nearly $5 million in federal funding, a Santa Barbara County elderberry farming experiment kicked off in November, aiming to make the locally grown medicinal plant more widely available on the West Coast. Spearheaded by the White Buffalo Land Trust, a regenerative farming-focused nonprofit founded in Summerland five years ago, the project […]
Posted inNews
Signing off
Larry Ferini steps down from county Planning Commission after 11 years
After serving 11 years on the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission, 4th District Commissioner Larry Ferini stepped down to focus on his family agriculture business, Rancho Laguna Farms. “I have two of my sons working for the farming operation, and it seems like a great time in my life to spend more time with them […]
Posted inOpinion
New blue
As Larry Ferini takes a bow from the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission, Roy Reed takes his seat on the dais. Fulfilling the 4th District tradition of supplanting a business-oriented blue-collar type with another business-oriented blue-collar type, Bob Nelson replaced the family farm operator with a rancher and taxpayer advocate. Hey, and both Ferini and […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Psychic visions, family quarrels loom over Lida Sideris’ sixth mystery novel, Murderous Means
Loft opening Santa Ynez Valley-based author Lida Sideris’ books are available locally at the Book Loft, located at 1680 Mission Drive, Solvang, and Barnes and Noble, located at 894 Marsh St., building G, San Luis Obispo. On Saturday, Dec. 16, the Book Loft will host a book signing event with Sideris, who will sign copies […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Woodin You Like to Party caters local events, gets festive with holiday charcuterie boards
Party invite Call (805) 868-1858 or visit woodinyouliketoparty.com to find out more about Woodin You Like to Party, a Santa Maria-based event planning and charcuterie company. Complimentary home deliveries of charcuterie orders are available to residents of the Santa Maria Valley area, while a delivery fee applies to customers in other cities along the Central […]
Posted inNews
Temporary fix
Guadalupe residents, Santa Barbara County want a more permanent solution to the Santa Maria River’s wandering ways
Raymond Leon delayed his wife’s wake by a month because of damages to the Apostolic Church in Guadalupe during the January 2023 storms. “We couldn’t hold a church service. Some struggled to come back. It was very hard for everybody,” Leon said. Heavy rains in January caused the Santa Maria River to veer off its […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
PCPA’s Elf: The Musical delivers heaps of holiday hilarity
Elf off the shelf The Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) presents its production of Elf: The Musical through Dec. 23 at the Marian Theatre, located at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. Visit pcpa.org or facebook.com/pacificconservatorytheatre for tickets and show times. For more info, call the PCPA box office at (805) 922-8313. If singing loud for […]
