Caleb Wiseblood

3 days ago | santamariasun.com | Caleb Wiseblood

To reassure the public that donations toward Guadalupe’s Royal Theater project won’t be channeled into other uses, city leaders agreed on a new go-between for future contributions. During the Guadalupe City Council’s May 27 meeting, City Attorney Philip F. Sinco explained staff’s reasoning for nominating the Guadalupe Community Action Coalition (GCAC) to fill this role—despite instances where the board and city management overlap.

3 days ago | newtimesslo.com | Caleb Wiseblood

Editor's note: This is the first in a two-part series going behind the scenes with the Great American Melodrama's owners, cast, and crew. Flanked by unmarked gravestones, vampire coffins, and headless mannequins, scenic carpenter Martin Ramirez stands inside a two-story building on the north end of the Great American Melodrama's parking lot.

1 week ago | santamariasun.com | Caleb Wiseblood

•Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) recognized the Immigrant Legal Defense Center as the California Nonprofit of the Year for Assembly District 37 on May 21. This recognition was part of the Legislature’s annual California Nonprofits Day, a statewide effort honoring the vital role that nonprofit organizations play in California communities, according to Hart’s office.

1 week ago | santamariasun.com | Caleb Wiseblood

Convicted of stealing more than $2.2 million over the course of seven years, a former financial advisor based in Orcutt will face a prison sentence of more than three times the amount her attorney argued for. On May 19, U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II sentenced Julie Darrah to serve 121 months—a little more than 10 years—in federal prison for defrauding past investors, many of whom were elderly or in end-of-life care at the time, between 2016 and 2023. Her confinement begins on Aug.

1 week ago | santamariasun.com | Caleb Wiseblood

Flanked by unmarked gravestones, vampire coffins, and headless mannequins, scenic carpenter Martin Ramirez stands inside a two-story building on the north end of the Great American Melodrama’s parking lot. He’s one of the employees who breathes fresh life into the theater’s archive department on a regular basis. His workspace across from the theater preserves oodles of props, costumes, and custom-built set components. Some are as old and kooky as the Oceano staple itself.