News across Santa Barbara County
Santa Maria Sun
Published 14 hours agoLaurie Tamura is the Santa Maria Valley Chamber’s Citizen of the Year
Chamber cheersNext year’s gala is scheduled for Aug. 27. To register or become a sponsor, visit santamaria.com. Submit nominations for the 2027 awards online at santamaria.com/connecting/annual-awards. For the more than four decades that Laurie Tamura has lived in the Santa Maria…
Santa Maria Sun
Published 14 hours agoThe Creation Station in Buellton celebrates 25 years
Cozy slippers shuffling across tile flooring. Pillows cushioning the seats of chairs. A T-shirt reading: Sorry. Can’t. Quilting. Bye. It’s the sight that Linda Papenfus rolled up to at The Creation Station Fabric and Quilt Shop after a tiresome, traffic-riddled drive from Folsom.…
Santa Maria Sun
Published 14 hours agoUnfinished business: Stalled hotel construction in Solvang remains inactive amid yearlong litigation
More than a year after Solvang red-tagged his unfinished hotel, Ed St. George said he has no intention of raising a white flag over the dormant development. “We’re already 90 percent done. If we were 40 percent done, I would be willing to tear it down. But we are literally 90…
Santa Maria Sun
Published 14 hours agoSolvang Teamsters strike moves into third week
Two weeks into the first city employee strike in Solvang’s history, labor negotiators met in closed session with the City Council on Sept. 28. The following morning, Solvang’s unionized members of Teamsters Local 986 made good on their word to remain on strike until the city…
Santa Maria Sun
Published 14 hours agoDespite parking concerns, Guadalupe City Council unanimously approves new housing
Builders got a green light to put up seven new apartments with eight parking spots on an empty lot in Guadalupe. On Sept. 22, City Council members approved the affordable housing project at 855 Pioneer St., which was proposed by the Housing Authority of Santa Barbara County.…
Santa Maria Sun
Published 14 hours agoBuellton spots food truck gap in zoning rules
On average, Buellton allows food trucks to set up shop within city limits between three to five times a year, according to Planning Director Andrea Keefer. It’s no coincidence, she told the City Council, that those rare sightings align with Buellton’s Fall Festival, Wine and…
Santa Maria Sun
Published 14 hours agoPolitical Watch: October 1, 2026
•On Sept. 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill with more than $66 million in federal funds for Central Coast-based water projects. “Now that the House has passed the Water Resources Development Act, this bill is heading to the Senate carrying key…
Santa Maria Sun
Published 14 hours agoEconomic reality
Solvang’s still down 30 city staffers after more than two weeks of a strike over the City Council’s “last, best, and final” salary offer: 4 percent raises in each of the next three consecutive years. What do employees want? For two of those years to have 6 percent raises,…
Santa Maria Sun
Published 14 hours agoLompoc leaders shouldn’t pursue projects that the county won’t fund
Lost in the drama surrounding the censure hearing for a Lompoc City Council member on Sept. 15 was an agenda item to discuss an additional roadway crossing of the Santa Ynez River. Currently there are already three crossings: one on North H Street, one on Floradale Avenue near…
Santa Maria Sun
Published 14 hours agoSpeak out now against our endless wars
For two years I have stood on the corner of Broadway and Main with a group of good people on Mondays from 4 to 5 p.m., protesting America’s dangerous and illegal military aggressions around the world. We hold signs saying, “War is Not the Answer,” “Stop the Bombing” and “No Hate,…
James William “Jim” Gorman, 85, Mission Hills, California
James William “Jim” Gorman, 85, of Mission Hills, California passed away Monday, September 7, 2026, at his home. Jim was born on Thursday, July 17, 1941, in Cincinnati; son of Lauralouise (Rettig) Gorman. Jim worked [...]
Santa Maria Sun
Published September 24No deal: Solvang staffers strike after rejecting City Council’s ‘last, best, and final’ pay raise offer
Not long after showing up to his cubicle for an 8 a.m. shift on Sept. 15, engineering technician Cole Phillips hit the pavement with around 30 other unionized Solvang employees to participate in the first labor strike of its kind in city history. Before heading out that morning…