The Whipping Post · Events Desk
Events
What's happening across Santa Barbara County — festivals, fairs and the moments worth showing up for.
The DispatchLatest · Events
FINALLY, LEFTISTS ASK PARENTS FOR INPUT! (ON TABLETS, NOT TRANSITIONS)
Santa Maria-Bonita School District's tech survey proves even progressives need a reality check when it comes to kids and glowing screens.
7/14/2026513
Power & PoliticsEvents
BUELLTON COUNCIL: WHO NEEDS A WEEKEND WHEN BUREAUCRACY CALLS?
Buellton's cerebral city council, in a move surely designed to optimize taxpayer value, has opted to convert Thursdays into Mondays, because democracy is a 24/7 grind, apparently.
7/14/2026598
Power & PoliticsEvents
CARPINTERIA COUNCIL RACE: WILL LEFTY LANDSLIDE CRUSH FREE THOUGHT YET AGAIN?
Those intrepid sleuths at the Santa Barbara Independent have uncovered a true shocker: elections are happening, and people can run in them.
7/13/2026675
Power & PoliticsEvents
COUNTY TO STUDY, PLAN, AND BUREAUCRAT FOR ANOTHER DECADE!
Your tax dollars hard at work, funding endless 'environmental impact reports' for things that could be built with a hammer and some common sense.
7/13/2026546
The DispatchEvents
LOCAL 'EXPERTS' GATHER TO AGREE WITH EACH OTHER, SOLVE ALL OUR PROBLEMS (AGAIN)
Santa Barbara's self-appointed saviors are convening to 'discuss' California's woes, no doubt reaching the same brilliant conclusions they did last time, and the time before that.
7/13/2026569
Follow the MoneyEvents
SANTA MARIA'S 'DEMOCRACY' THEATER — FEATURING NEW TAX AS HEADLINER!
The Santa Maria Times reports three council seats are up for grabs, but the real star of the show is yet another grab at your wallet disguised as a 'measure'.
7/13/2026460
The DispatchEvents
GREEN GESTAPO GETS GRIEVANCE: ACTIVISTS MARCH FOR 'RAID' REMEMBRANCE!
One year after ICE dared enforce immigration law on cannabis farms, local hand-wringers dusted off their protest signs for a thrilling four-mile stroll.
7/12/2026383
Power & PoliticsEvents
TRAPEZE TENSIONS: CITY HALL'S LATEST HIGH-WIRE ACT OF EMPTY PRIORITIES
While the streets crumble and businesses flee, Santa Barbara’s ruling class debates the vital importance of grown adults playing circus in public parks.
7/12/2026613
Events
LOCAL 'DEMOCRACY' SHAM: DOZENS OF SEATS, ZERO CHOICES!
The Lompoc Record gushes over local election filings, forgetting to mention most 'races' are uncontested shoo-ins for the usual suspects.
7/12/2026598
Power & PoliticsEvents
SBCAN CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF 'ACTION,' COUNTY STILL MANGLED
Left-leaning 'activists' toast themselves for a quarter-century of 'empowerment,' as locals wonder just what, exactly, they've accomplished besides blocking housing and job growth.
7/11/2026311
The CoastEvents
INDEPENDENT'S 'MORE OIL' HEADLINE SHOCKS GREEN ELITE: ARE THEY FINALLY WAKING UP?
Local paper stumbles into an obvious truth, leaving eco-crusaders sputtering their organic kombucha.
7/11/2026328
Follow the MoneyEvents
STATE THROWS $15 MILLION AT OPEN BORDER PROBLEM, CALLS IT 'SUPPORT'
Sacramento's latest fiscal wizardry involves funneling millions into legal aid for children of illegal immigrants, because apparently, actual border security is just too 'mainstream' for California.
7/11/2026520
Housing DeskEvents
RENT CONTROL SCHEME: LIBRULS TRY TO IMPOVERISH LANDLORDS!
Your 'constitutional property rights' mean nothing when the 'Santa Barbara Independent' crowd wants free housing on someone else's dime.
7/11/2026428
Power & PoliticsEvents
FORE! MORE TAXPAYER HOUSING HANDOUTS FROM COUNCIL LINKS!
Santa Barbara's 'Independent' finally surfaces a plan so absurd even they felt it warranted a second glance, or perhaps just a good, long sniff.
7/11/2026480
The DispatchEvents
JAIL MEDICINE GETS THE GOLD! TAXPAYERS ON THE HOOK FOR PRISONER 'SPA' SERVICES
Our county jail is so committed to coddling crooks, it's now nationally accredited for giving them better healthcare than most law-abiding citizens can afford. What could possibly go wrong?
7/10/2026427
Power & PoliticsEvents
COUNTY TO DUMP 'INCOMPETENT' ON NORTH COUNTY—CEQA SAYS 'NO PROBLEM'!
Your benevolent Supervisors are 'resolving' to greenlight a state program that funnels individuals deemed too 'incompetent to stand trial' right into your backyard, all without an environmental peep.
7/10/2026641
Power & PoliticsEvents
COUNTY BOURBONS BLESS PRIMARIES – SHOCKER, DEMS WON!
Santa Barbara County Supervisors rubber-stamp election results, proving once again that true democracy means 'we get to pick who wins, then you certify it.'
7/10/2026428
The DispatchEvents
HART 'CHIRPS' $15M TO LAWYERS, NOT KIDS
Assemblyman Hart proudly diverts your tax dollars to fund legal eagles for border crossers, ensuring maximum administrative bloat and minimum actual border security.
7/10/2026672
Power & PoliticsEvents
SUPERVISORS RUBBER-STAMP MORE BUREAUCRACY WHILE YOU SUFFER
Your Board of Supervisors, hard at work re-upping obscure appointees, demonstrates once again their uncanny ability to find the least impactful ways to spend their Tuesday mornings.
7/10/2026684
Follow the MoneyEvents
CANNABIS CASH COW STILL DRY FOR TAXPAYERS AS SUPERVISORS FEIGN FISCAL FITNESS
Another quarter, another bureaucratic snooze-fest from our esteemed Supervisors, pretending their cannabis cash cow isn't just a perpetually thirsty calf swigging 'administrative activity' milk.
7/10/2026506
Power & PoliticsEvents
SUPERVISORS HAIL 'PROBATION WEEK' WHILE CRIME PAYS IN SANTA BARBARA!
Your tax dollars hard at work, celebrating the system that ensures repeat offenders have a revolving door to freedom, courtesy of our enlightened county leadership.
7/9/2026594
Power & PoliticsEvents
SUPERVISORS' POTHOLE PATROL: $2.3M TO PATCH UP THEIR PR MESS!
Your tax dollars are set to vanish into the asphalt abyss as the County rubber-stamps another 'pavement preservation' scheme.
7/9/2026383
Follow the MoneyEvents
ACCELA-RATE TO NOWHERE! BUREAUCRATS SPEND ANOTHER HALF-HOUR ON COMPUTER SNAFU
Your tax dollars at work: Santa Barbara County Supervisors dedicated precious time to discussing an underperforming software platform, proving once again that government efficiency is an oxymoron.
7/9/2026401
Power & PoliticsEvents
COUNTY COOLS ITS HEELS ON 'COMMUNITY WORKFORCE' PAYDAY!
Your Board of Supervisors just greenlit another sweet deal for vague 'workforce services,' proving once again that government contracts are the gift that keeps on taking.
7/9/2026611
Follow the MoneyEvents
BOOM! SUPERVISORS REDECORATE OPEN SPACE WITH TAXPAYER CASH!
Your esteemed Board of Supervisors, once again proving their fiscal prowess, 'replaces' open space like it's a worn-out sofa, all while waving the magic CEQA wand.
7/9/2026565
Power & PoliticsEvents
ANOTHER 'AG PRESERVE' MIRAGE FOOLS NO ONE, EXCEPT MAYBE SUPERVISORS
Your Board of Supervisors, bless their cotton socks, are once again busy 'preserving' farmland, which sounds suspiciously like 'preparing for future development' to anyone paying attention.
7/9/2026534
Power & PoliticsEvents
SUPERVISORS SUDDENLY PRO-FISCAL SANITY, SUPPORT TORT REFORM! (SHOCKER)
After years of settlements sucking taxpayer coffers dry, our esteemed Supervisors have finally noticed that maybe, just maybe, runaway lawsuits aren't good for the county budget.
7/9/2026674
Housing DeskEvents
RENT CONTROL: BECAUSE NOTHING SAYS 'AFFORDABLE HOUSING' LIKE NO HOUSING!
The brain trust at the Santa Barbara Independent just discovered basic economics, proving again that even a stopped clock is right once a decade, or in this case, when it bumps into a rent control ord
7/9/2026552
Power & PoliticsEvents
COUNTY COUNCILS DECLARE WAR ON SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES AGAIN!
Your humble Santa Barbara Independent once more bravely tackles the 'housing crisis' — conveniently forgetting who created it.
7/9/2026498
Housing DeskEvents
RENT CONTROL: ANOTHER LEFTIST 'SOLUTION' GUARANTEED TO SOLVE NOTHING!
The 'Independent' frets over rent control's predictable fallout, proving yet again that progressives refuse to learn from history, or basic economics.
7/9/2026584
Power & PoliticsEvents
CARPINTERIA CITY HALL: THE GRANT SHAKEDOWN CONTINUES!
Another year, another 'competitive' handout scheme from City Hall masquerading as civic largesse, while taxpayers foot the bill for services they didn't ask for.
7/9/2026556
Power & PoliticsEvents
CARPINTERIA CITY HALL: OUR DISASTROUS EMERGENCY PLAN NEEDS AN EMERGENCY WEBSITE!
Carpinteria’s city bureaucrats, after years of planning for every calamity but competence, have finally launched a webpage to tell you they’re updating their “Emergency Operations Plan.”
7/9/2026381
The CourtsEvents
SALT MARSH STALL! JUDGE KICKS ECO-HYSTERIA CAN DOWN THE ROAD!
Another day, another environmental lawsuit against property owners hits a snag, proving once again that 'justice delayed' is the progressive's favorite pastime.
7/9/2026603
Housing DeskEvents
GREEN HOMES OR GREEN HORROR? ENVIRONMENTALISTS DISCOVER 'HOUSING'
Santa Barbara Independent breathlessly reports that local planners have somehow stumbled upon the groundbreaking concept of connecting housing to... other things.
7/9/2026521
The DispatchEvents
CARPINTERIA'S OPEN BORDERS BAZAAR STILL CASHING IN!
Local 'activists' celebrate a full year of enabling illegal immigration, proving that some 'crises' are too lucrative to ever resolve.
7/9/2026360
The DispatchEvents
WHO'S RUNNING? MORE LIKE, WHO'S PAYING?
Noozhawk breathlessly reports on the usual suspects vying for Santa Barbara's cozy political club, completely missing the real story bubbling beneath the surface.
7/9/2026383
Power & PoliticsEvents
SB COUNTY'S OWN IRON CURTAIN: 'NO ROOM AT THE INN' FOR... IMMIGRANTS?
Santa Barbara County Supervisors, fresh off discovering 'ordinances,' declared private immigration detention centers a no-go in unincorporated areas, showcasing a shocking depth of commitment to… well
7/9/2026639
Power & PoliticsEvents
SUPERVISORS TO VACATION RENTAL OWNERS: WE'LL SOAK YOU LATER!
Your 'elected' officials, fresh from denying a Montecito resident's appeal, punted on Lompoc's TOT tax, proving the only thing consistent in Santa Barbara County is bad government and high taxes.
7/9/2026432
Follow the MoneyEvents
LOCAL 'SHOCKER': PRICE CONTROLS DON'T WORK! LEFTIES PERPLEXED!
In a stunning display of basic economic literacy, even the Santa Barbara Independent admits the obvious: government meddling in markets has consequences.
7/8/2026512
Power & PoliticsEvents
CULTURE CRUMB TRAIL: CITY HALL'S LATEST ART ATTACK ON TAXPAYERS!
Santa Barbara opens its annual 'Cultural Arts Grants' — because nothing says 'starving artist' like a city-issued check for your interpretive dance collective.
7/8/2026566
The DispatchEvents
ADIEU, BOOMER QUEEN: INDY MOURNS SHEILA, FORGETS HER LEGACY OF... STUFF
The Santa Barbara Independent waxes poetic about a former mayor, conveniently omitting the less-than-charming details of her reign over the city by the sea.
7/8/2026329
The CoastEvents
LEFTY BEACH BUMMERS: MORE 'GOOD TROUBLE' FOR DEMOCRATS!
Santa Barbara's perpetually aggrieved progressive contingent took to the sands again Saturday, ostensibly to 'defend the vote' — presumably from themselves.
7/8/2026402
The CoastEvents
GOLETA'S NEW COASTAL PLAN: MORE RULES, FEWER BEACHES, SAME OLD TAXPAYER TAB
Our betters in Goleta unveil their latest tome of coastal regulations, proving once again that 'public input' means 'we talked, you listened, now pay up.'
7/8/2026586