Carpinteria cannabis plaintiffs sell home next to greenhouse operation
Greg and Marllus Gandrud, plaintiffs in a Carpinteria cannabis lawsuit, sold their home this week at 1493 Chaparral Drive; they allege that the vapor…
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Santa Barbara County extends State water contract to 2085
Also, on Tuesday, the board postponed a decision on whether to allow temporary sales of surplus state water outside the county, pending further…
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Bitter Feud in Wine Country: Will the county rein in the skunky smell from outdoor pot farms?
In all, the county has received 24 applications for cannabis cultivation in the Sta. Rita Hills, a federally designated American Viticultural Area…
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Brief truce in Carpinteria cannabis wars
One grower makes a pact with neighbors and sets the “gold standard” for odor control. Will others follow…
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Book Review: Santa Barbara geologist describes history of drought, flood on the South Coast
Mike Hoover, a Santa Barbara geologist, wants to remind us of the Medieval Drought, the epic dry period that held California and the West in its grip…
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Pre-Election Meltdown at Montecito Sanitary: general manager, 3 directors quitting
Some call it a “quiet revolution.” Others, a “hostile…
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Santa Barbara Seals 50-Year Deal To Sell Water To Montecito
Signing off on a historic deal with its wealthiest – and thirstiest – neighbor, the Santa Barbara City Council this week voted 6-0 to ship a…
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Montecito Water District signs up for 50-year water supply from Santa Barbara
In a historic move, the Montecito Water District board voted unanimously on Thursday to “drought-proof” the wealthy enclave by importing a large…
Continue Reading Montecito Water District Board nears vote to purchase yearly water supply from Santa Barbara
Promising to “drought-proof” Montecito and banish rationing – if not forever, at least for the foreseeable future – the Montecito Water…
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Board of Supervisors takes a pass on stricter permits for cannabis in Santa Barbara County
The county Board of Supervisors tinkered with its cannabis ordinance this week, promising immediate relief to 500 residents of North County canyons,…
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Cannabis tax revenues will exceed sales taxes in 2020-21, county officials say
The county’s $1.2 billion budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year, beginning July 1, includes an estimated $10.6 million in cannabis tax revenue, money…
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Santa Barbara County Planning Commission to deny permit for busted Herbal Angels pot farm
The county Planning Commission voted 5-0 this week to lay the groundwork for denying a zoning permit to Herbal Angels, a cannabis operation near…
Continue Reading Lawsuit seeks to shut down Busy Bee’s Organics in wine country
A citizens’ coalition is suing the Board of Supervisors and the owner of Busy Bee’s Organics, a 22-acre cannabis project on Highway 246 that was…
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Whistleblower lawsuit blasts Santa Ynez River district
A hydrogeologist who was laid off last summer from a Santa Ynez water district has filed suit against her former employers, alleging that her boss…
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50 acre cannabis operation gets a green light in wine country
The largest cannabis operation to come before the county Board of Supervisors was approved for a zoning permit in a contentious 3-2 vote on…
Continue Reading County permit stalls for Herbal Angels cannabis farm near Lompoc
The county Planning Commission this week postponed a vote on a zoning permit for a large cannabis operation in Cebada Canyon, a bucolic community of…
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Signs of life on Montecito’s deadliest block
Two years after the Jan. 9 mudslides in Montecito, residents are picking up the pieces and trying to rebuild.…
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Making Montecito Safer – Part 2
What if the boulders and debris that obliterated whole neighborhoods in Montecito on Jan. 9, 2018 could have been captured in the…
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Making Montecito Safer: Part 1
A large debris basin will be constructed on San Ysidro Creek within two years, county officials…
Continue ReadingDespite winter rains, the Goleta Water District can’t lift its ban on new water meters
The five-year-old moratorium on new water hookups in the Goleta Valley will likely continue through 2020, even though the drought emergency is over,…
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