Cannabis
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Cannabis Enforcement Team Is Disbanded
Shrinking revenues and fewer raids lead supervisors to shift funds elsewhere.
Cannabis
Vintner vs. Cannabis Grower: Feuding Neighbors in Wine Country
A Buellton-area winemaker is asking the courts to allow his class-action lawsuit over the “strong stench” of pot to proceed to trial.
Cannabis
Reality Check: Santa Barbara County Supes Cut $1.4 Million in Cannabis-Related Costs
The Sheriff’s Office will take the biggest hit. In a surprise move, the board signaled it may shift law enforcement funds to health, education and youth programs.
Community
Santa Barbara Maritime Museum Presents ‘The Story of the Western Flyer’ This Thursday
The famous fishing boat stops in S.B. as it re-creates John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts’s 1940 expedition to the Sea of Cortez.
Cannabis
Santa Barbara County Supervisors Mandate Clean-Air ‘Scrubbers’ in All Cannabis Greenhouses
“It’s about time,” Carpinterians say of the supervisors’ historic vote to require state-of-the-art odor control.
Cannabis
The Nuts and Bolts of Cannabis Odor Control
Three Santa Barbara County supervisors listen to Carpinteria residents at their hometown City Hall.
Cannabis
Island Breeze, Bane of the Polo Condos in Carpinteria Valley, Is Shut Down — but for How Long?
Property owners are bankrupt, owing more than $9 million, court records show.
Cannabis
‘Landmark’ Ruling Certifies a Class Action Against Valley Crest for ‘Nuisance Odor’ in Carpinteria Valley
“This will send shockwaves throughout California’s cannabis industry,” the winning side says.
Cannabis
Upping the Ante: Santa Barbara County Planners Support Tough Odor Controls for All Cannabis Greenhouses
Growers would have at least 12 months to comply, and that’s too long, Carpinterians say.
Cannabis
Another Delay for Graham Farrar’s Cannabis Processing Building in Carpinteria Valley
His project would be state-of-the-art, but what about the smell from his greenhouses?
Cannabis
Fine-Tuning Strict Odor Controls for Cannabis Greenhouses in Carpinteria Valley
“We really need to listen to the neighbors,” a Santa Barbara County planning commissioner says.
Cannabis
The Downward Trend in Cannabis Tax Revenues
Prices are low, growers keep quitting, and it’s “not very positive,” Santa Barbara County officials say.
Immigration
Roy Lee and the American Dream
The immigrant who became a Santa Barbara County supervisor.
Cannabis
The Coming Crackdown on Greenhouse Cannabis
County supervisors vow to get rid of the smell of pot by tightening odor-control regs across the Carpinteria Valley.
Cannabis
County Supervisors Open a “New Chapter” on Cannabis Industry Regulation
“We’re flipping the script,” the chair of the new board says.
Cannabis
Santa Barbara County Planners Reject Cannabis Project
Island Breeze Farms denied a zoning permit, a first for the region.
Cannabis
Island Breeze Cannabis Project in Carpinteria Stumbles Again
“I have no sympathy for this particular applicant,” a Santa Barbara County planning commissioner says.
Cannabis
Carpinteria Cannabis and the Lingering Smell of Pot
An odor threshold for the greenhouse property lines would be a start, but it won’t solve the problem, residents say.
Environment
Draining Groundwater and Pocketbooks in the Cuyama Valley
A water rights lawsuit by giant carrot corporations, well into its third year, is driving up legal fees and gumming up the plans for sustainability, residents say.
Cannabis
Island Breeze Farms Goes Back to the Drawing Board
Cannabis operation next to the Polo Condos in the Carpinteria Valley must install carbon scrubbers for odor control, Santa Barbara County Planning Commission says.
Cannabis
Santa Barbara County's Cannabis Tax Reform Fizzles Out
“For the moment, this is on pause,” a county supervisor says.
Cannabis
Cannabis Tax Reform Limps to an Uncertain Finish Line
“It’s so frickin’ complicated,” a county supervisor says.
Cannabis
Lompoc Cannabis Lab Will Pay $1.3 Million Penalty for Air Pollution
Operator will install state-of-the-art clean-air technology, setting a statewide standard, Santa Barbara County officials say.
Cannabis
Santa Barbara County Executive Office: Cannabis Tax Revenues Are Falling Short — Again
Four pot shops in unincorporated areas were expected to open but didn’t, officials said.
Cannabis
After a State Audit, Santa Barbara County Will Tweak Cannabis Licensing
Small changes such as “blind scoring” will enhance fairness, officials said.
Cannabis
Santa Barbara County Supervisors Punt On Cannabis Odor Control
Board votes 3-2 for another study on how to solve a six-year-old problem.
Cannabis
Election Post-Mortem in Carpinteria, the ‘Land of Weed’
How Roy beat Das 2-1 in their hometown, and what it could mean for cannabis.
Environment
A Test Oil and Gas Well Will Move Forward in the Cuyama Valley
Opponents did not appeal the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission’s 4-1 approval.
Environment
Dreaming of Oil in Cuyama, Next to Harvard’s Grapes
A Michigan-based company wants to drill an exploratory well two miles deep.
Cannabis
Fan Noise from Ever-Bloom Cannabis Greenhouses in Carpinteria Creates a Stir
But it does not exceed the legal threshold, the County of Santa Barbara says.
Cannabis
Lompoc Cannabis Lab Granted Temporary Permit
APCD gives major polluter Central Coast Agriculture 180 days to install a critical piece of clean-air technology.
Cannabis
An Odor-Control Pact with Carpinteria Cannabis Growers Breaks Down
“We kept our promises, and they broke theirs,” a citizens’ coalition says.
Cannabis
Lompoc Cannabis Lab Averts a Shutdown Order … for Now
Central Coast Agriculture, a major polluter, has 60 days to get clean-air permits, regulators say.
Environment
The Cuyama Valley Launches a Carrot Boycott
Farmers and ranchers take aim at Bolthouse and Grimmway, the carrot corporations that are suing all other landowners over water rights.
News Commentary
Feds Petition D.C. Judges to Find ‘Santa Barbara News-Press’ Owner in Contempt of Court
They cite Wendy McCaw’s “willful refusal to comply” with a 2017 court order.
Environment
A Water War Is Underway in Santa Barbara County's Carrot Country
Faced with mandatory pumping cutbacks, the biggest water-guzzlers in the Cuyama Valley are forcing farmers, ranchers, water agencies, and the school district into an expensive battle over groundwater rights.
Cannabis
Amid Pot Glut on the Market, Santa Barbara Supes Back Stiffer Tax Penalties
At a June 6 hearing, county supervisors unanimously proposed not to renew business licenses if the grower misses one quarterly tax deadline.
Cannabis
Mixed Messages: County Sues a Carpinteria Valley Cannabis Grower, Then Okays a Permit
It’s been a smelly five years with little relief at the Polo Condos, neighbors of Island Breeze say.
Cannabis
Amid the Cannabis Glut, Growers Are Pulling Out of Santa Barbara County
North County operators with permits for more than 160 acres of pot walked away this month, as the Board of Supervisors sought a way to shore up slumping cannabis tax revenues.
Environment
Santa Barbara County Planners Deflect a Cuyama Valley ‘Water Grab’ by Harvard University
Local ranchers, joined by Harvard students, oppose the university’s plans to build reservoirs at its large vineyard off Highway 166.