Stories from surrounding communities, closest first.
Santa Maria Sun · Santa Maria, CA
Nearby: Santa Maria, CAThree candidates vied for a seat on the Santa Maria Public Airport District board, including incumbent Michael B. Clayton. The local attorney garnered 3,390 votes—or 43 percent—of the 8,512 ballots tallied, as of Nov. 10. U.S. Army veteran Alejandro Arredondo led by 126 votes, scoring 45 percent of the votes counted, with 3,516 total. The Santa Barbara County’s Elections Division will issue updates on new vote counts Tuesdays and Thursdays around 3 p.m. Airport District Division 4 has about 17,600 eligible voters. In 2022, the last time Clayton ran, voter turnout in his race was a little more than 50 percent. Arredondo told the Sun that regardless of how the final election results turn out, he’ll continue advocating for what he wants to see implemented at Santa Maria’s airport in the future. “For the last 37 years, my family’s owned and operated a business here at the airport.
New Times · Pismo Beach, CA
Nearby: Pismo Beach, CAPismo Beach City Councilmember Scott Newton is the frontrunner to be the city’s next mayor, according to the latest vote counts in San Luis Obispo County’s election. A supporter of the Central Coast Blue project, Newton’s served on the City Council since 2020. As of Nov. 10, he’d won almost 68 percent of the vote share, widening the margin between himself and his most vocal challenger, Cynthia Replogle. Replogle earned 27 percent of the votes, while the third candidate, Shelby Bowen, won 5 percent. Newton didn’t respond to New Times by press time. On Facebook, he celebrated his early lead hours after polls closed on Nov. 3. “Thank you to the voters of Pismo Beach, the early results are looking extremely promising,” his Nov. 4 post read. He’s endorsed by Mayor Ed Waage, fellow Councilmembers Mary Ann Reiss and Marcia Guthrie, and the Republican Party of SLO County.
Pacific Coast Business Times · San Luis Obispo, CA
Nearby: San Luis Obispo, CABy Stephen Ellison Special to the Business Times Economic growth in San Luis Obispo County has slowed compared with growth in neighboring counties, as well as statewide, and lack of housing is a key reason, according to economists at the Central Coast Economic Forecast event Nov. 6 in San Luis Obispo. While there have been positives in recent years – rising household incomes, gains in tourism and continued operations at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant – SLO County’s gross domestic product (GDP) has lagged since around the mid-2010s, according to data presented at the event. Before that divergence, the county’s GDP was on the same gradual trajectory as California’s. Some of the bad news includes a shrinking labor force, stalled population growth and declining small businesses, according to Niree Kodaverdian, a research manager with Beacon Economics. Kodaverdian and her colleagues agreed there is potential for greater economic growth in the years to come if more housing is built.
Noozhawk · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CAThe secret is out. The owners of Secret Bao are bringing two new concepts to the former Bluewater Grill spot on the Santa Barbara waterfront next year. The takeover of the beachfront spot does not mean the popular Asian fusion restaurant is relocating from 1201 Anacapa St., despite online rumors, co-owner Felicia Medina told Noozhawk. Instead, the waterfront restaurant at 15 E. Cabrillo Blvd. will feature a New American concept downstairs and a sushi bar upstairs, Medina said. “We are very excited, very anxious,” she said. The New American concept, to be named Alder, “like the wood,” will be Napa-style and serve up “elevated comfort food,” Medina said. The sushi handroll part of the restaurant will be called Nori Club and will feel like a “beach club vibe” with beachfront views. “It’s almost like a tucked-away hiding sushi bar upstairs,” Medina said. Medina and her husband and co-owner, Peter Lee, have hosted pop-ups for the new concepts intermittently.
Noozhawk · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CASteele Canyon brought some big arm swings to Santa Barbara High’s J.R. Richards Gym for Thursday’s CIF State Tournament South Regional Division 3 girls volleyball quarterfinal. The host Dons countered with an impressive blocking performance and took down the CIF-San Diego Section Division 3 champions in a 25-18, 26-24, 25-19 sweep to advance to the semifinals. Top-seeded Santa Barbara (28-11) will host No. 4 Helix High, the San Diego Section’s Division 2 runner-up, on Saturday at a time to be determined. The winner plays in the regional final on Tuesday, Nov. 17. The Dons’ front line players did a good job at containing Steele Canyon’s potent outside hitters Taylor Carpenter, Kate Ryan and Crisa Garcia and middle Tiana Baker. Middle blockers Lola Heckman and Jacqueline Durling, outsides Blake Saunders, Kira Elliott and Eloise Becker and setter Jules Horton got their hands on several attacks and scored points on blocked balls.
IdeaMensch · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CAgrew up in Peoria, Illinois, a Midwestern kid who liked basketball more than almost anything else. He went to Richwoods High School, then headed east for college at Boston University. He stayed on for medical school at Boston University School of Medicine, a decision that set the direction for everything that came after. His training took him across the country. He did his radiology residency at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California, then completed a fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine. Early in his career, he worked with Advanced Diagnostics in Florida, reading cases and building the habits that would carry him through the rest of his career. Today, Max works with a number of regional hospitals across Texas, where he reads scans and helps physicians make sense of what they’re looking at. The work calls for steady attention, which he says comes easier when the rest of life is in balance.
Noozhawk · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CAA new Santa Barbara ordinance will force massage establishments and therapists to pay more fees and comply with new requirements. The ordinance passed the City Council in a 5-1 vote on Tuesday, with Councilman Oscar Gutierrez voting against it and Councilman Mike Jordan recusing himself because his household includes a masseuse. Gutierrez said he feared it could be “weaponized” against businesses. “I just know that in the past there have been certain businesses when they got accused or faced with certain repercussions, they took it out on their competition,” Gutierrez said. “So I’m worried this will encourage that.” Santa Barbara Police Chief Kelly Gordon said they tried to craft the ordinance in a way that gives them the enforcement tools to deal with bad actors and protect law-abiding establishments.
Noozhawk · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CAFamilies from Santa Barbara and the Santa Ynez Valley spent Veterans Day morning picking green beans at Shepherd Giving Farm for Little Shepherds: A Grow and Give Morning, hosted by Veggie Rescue. The kids worked alongside Farmer Tom Shepherd gathering the veggies, then went along to deliver the bounty to people who could use them. Among those at the farm were Lucy Firestone and Katy Powers, co-board chairs of Freedom for Youth, one of the nonprofits to which Veggie Rescue delivers food. Also on hand were Mary Firestone with her daughter; Belle Hahn of Montecito; Veggie Rescue Board member Esther Kim Varet with husband Joseph and their children; and Veggie Rescue Board member Jamie Edlin. Following a short tour from Shepherd, the kids got to work picking about 100 pounds of green beans, the last of this year’s summer and fall crops.
Noozhawk · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CASpark Rescue Santa Barbara, a grassroots, no-kill rescue group, which since 2014 has placed thousands of animals in loving homes, is now searching for a permanent home of its own. Spark Rescue has operated without a shelter building and without paid staff. “Many of Spark’s dogs and cats are abandoned, left on the streets or given up by families who no longer want them, while others are pulled from overcrowded Southern California shelters,” the organization said. However, Spark’s foster network can no longer keep up with demand, its leaders said. “For two years, Spark has searched for land of its own, but AG-II properties, where a rescue can operate, are scarce in Santa Barbara County,” they said.
Santa Maria Sun · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CAA proposal to remove a 365-acre parcel—with an assessed value of $13 million—from Santa Barbara County’s property tax rolls and land-use jurisdiction raised some red flags for the Board of Supervisors. In its Nov. 10 letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the board stated that it “does not intend to challenge” the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians’ recent application to place the San Carlos property into federal trust, before outlining the property tax revenue (approximately $142,000 annually) it would lose if approved. By designating the land into federal trust, the tribe would gain sovereignty to govern it. “The county deeply values its government-to-government relationship with the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. Over the past several years, the county, the tribe, and other local jurisdictions have worked side by side on projects that matter to everyone in the [Santa Ynez] Valley,” the letter stated. “That record of partnership rests on open communication.
Daily Nexus · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CAThe United States midterm elections were held on Nov. 3 and included national, statewide and local elections, as well as a lengthy list of California propositions. UC Santa Barbara students reacted to results in a variety of ways, including celebration and frustration. Isabel Hicks, a third-year political science major, speaking on Proposition 40 failing, said, “[it] was kind of disappointing because I feel like that was [so] obvious that [it] should have passed.” Proposition 40 was a ballot measure that proposed a one-time 5% tax on individuals with over $1 billion in assets. California voters shot down the proposition, with 52.8% voting no.
