Lompoc

A vegetation fire broke out near Highway 1 in the Vandenberg Village area, prompting evacuation orders and road closures. As of 3 p.m. Thursday forward progress of the Santa Lucia Fire has stopped and all evacuation orders and warnings have been cancelled. Nearby road closures are still in effect.

Students from two Lompoc Middle Schools will receive antiracism education this year. This comes after a local NAACP branch received a $30,000 grant.

According to the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, Central Coast Agriculture’s operations increased ozone emissions.

The first wind farm built along the California coast is up and running.

A project in the Lompoc hills will provide wind-generated electricity from newly built turbines. The County of Santa Barbara has given the final go-ahead to turn them on.

A rare native plant was recently re-discovered on the Central Coast. Local botanists pieced together historical information to find the tiny Santa Ynez groundstar, a plant they say grows only in Lompoc.

Lompoc’s City Council voted this week to extend negotiations with a developer to build a space education center. If approved, it’s estimated to create hundreds of jobs and generate millions in tax revenue.

A local non-profit legal firm has reached a tentative settlement with Lompoc for Clean Water Act violations in the Santa Ynez Watershed. The city is expected to pay about a quarter million dollars towards the watershed’s restoration process.

Lompoc was the first city on the Central Coast to allow cannabis lounges, and now it may be the first to host ongoing public cannabis events at city-owned parks.

Lompoc was the first city on the Central Coast to allow cannabis lounges, and now it may be the first to host ongoing public cannabis events at city-owned parks.