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Articles by John Mcreynolds
What Will Become of Lompoc’s Bodger Meadows?
The Bodger acreage at Ocean Avenue and V Street has been snarled in bureaucracy for years. Bodger heirs want to do something with it. It lies just outside Lompoc city limits. Some people foresee urban sprawl. All parties wonder what gives. First, the history: Bodger Seed Company grew flower seeds in the Lompoc Valley for 90 years. Five times it planted thousands of flowers to create enormous living American flags.
Lompoc Council Grills Senior Planner on Granny Flats
Maybe I should stop calling our all-male Lompoc City Council Rompin’, Stompin’ Dynamite. On Tuesday, the guys executed a review positioning Lompoc’s Permit-Ready Accessory Dwelling Unit Program (PRADU) for a winter liftoff. Even though the concept had been discovered and nurtured by the previous mayor. Remember the example set in Washington. In January, 80 executive orders countermanded orders of the predecessor. Scrubbed out his name.
Lompoc Council vs. Chamber Round 3
The Rompin’ Stompin’ Lompoc City Council made short work of a multimillion-dollar contract Tuesday night but came apart at the seams again over its bite-sized $100,000 deal with the Chamber of Commerce. Presented with a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Lompoc Police Officers Association (LPOA), the council included the matter on the Consent Calendar, usually the province of low-priority matters drawing little public attention and no controversy.
Groundhog Day in Lompoc
One week after 47 speakers persuaded Lompoc City Council to reverse a vote to slash the Chamber of Commerce’s economic development work, an impassioned crowd of 50 childcare workers overcame a Lompoc Unified School District staff recommendation to hire a for-profit, out-of-state corporation to replace them. In both cases, novice speakers held back (or failed to hold back) tears as they addressed a microphone for the first time in their lives. Both cases looked like lost causes.
Lompoc Community Comes Together for Juneteenth
Lompoc Community Comes Together for Juneteenth Santa Maria-Lompoc NAACP and C-4 Collective Co-Host Annual Celebration in Old Town Lompoc By John McReynolds Wed Jun 18, 2025 | 1:27pm Add to Favorites Sylvia Seqovia, Serenity Salim, and Shyanne Garza perform “Freedom” at Lompoc’s Juneteenth celebration on Saturday, June 14. | Credit: Brandi Garza Three days before Tuesday’s miraculous Rising of the Chamber, remembrance of another rising took place in Lompoc.
Lompoc City Council Reverses Decision to Slash Funding for Chamber of Commerce
In a showdown with the Lompoc City Council over funding Tuesday night, the Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce amassed a mammoth crowd with 47 speakers spiced with community leaders seeking the reversal of an earlier vote that imperiled the future of a Lompoc institution founded in 1903. Long story short: The council blinked. Such an outcome seemed impossible two weeks ago, when four councilmembers appeared dead set on using the axe.
A Rockin’ Week in Lompoc
The last several days may rebrand sleepy Lompoc as De Happenin’ Place. The week’s big event was No Kings, Saturday’s sequel to Lompoc Indivisible’s street theater series mocking the slash-and-burn policies of the President of the United States. Far from showing shrinkage from previous showings April 5 and 19, this version appearing at H and Central was larger still and bore signs for growing even more. Gone are the days of empty corners.
Lompoc Council Shows Chamber the Door
In a startling turnaround Tuesday night, the Lompoc City Council voted 4-1 to slash decades-long funding to the Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce. And the score was not close. Like 108-35. At question was whether the city would renew its contract for business services.
Drama at the Lompoc Council
The Lompoc City Council may be poorly attended but it is not without drama. Tuesday night’s agenda appeared routine, boring even. After three Flower Festival Queen candidates departed there seemed be nothing earth-shaking to wait around for.
Lompoc Council Supports Immigrants 5-0
After a mind-numbing four-hour meeting that moved through the Tuesday agenda like molasses in the Arctic, the Lompoc City Council moved like lightning to vote 5-0 proclaiming support for undocumented residents of the city and the existing state laws impacting them. Applause by the remaining audience, a bare remnant of the standing-room-only crowds that had jammed the chamber during the last two council meetings, was modest, but emotion-laden.
April Fool's Day was no joke
The following article was posted on April 8th, 2020, in the Santa Maria Sun - Volume 21, Issue 6 [ Submit a Story ] The following articles were printed from Santa Maria Sun [santamariasun.com] - Volume 21, Issue 6 April Fool's Day was no joke By John McReynolds, Lompoc Wednesday, April 1, 2020—more than 1,000 Americans died from coronavirus. That number doubles the previous one-day high of 504 from the pandemic, set one day previous. Total U.S. deaths from COVID-19 by one count are now at 5,116.
6 Cookbooks Serving up Flavors of the Bay Area
As one of the country's most innovative culinary capitals, San Franciscans are spoiled when it comes to eating out. So much so that it can make cooking at home feel pretty lackluster. But fortunately publishers with taste are always chomping at the bit to turn our Bay Area chefs into authors, and our kitchen shelves are always brimming with cookbooks from our favorite eateries. Here's a fresh crop of guides that will make it worth staying in.
6 Cookbooks Serving up Flavors of the Bay Area
As one of the country's most innovative culinary capitals, San Franciscans are spoiled when it comes to eating out. So much so that it can make cooking at home feel pretty lackluster. But fortunately publishers with taste are always chomping at the bit to turn our Bay Area chefs into authors, and our kitchen shelves are always brimming with cookbooks from our favorite eateries. Here's a fresh crop of guides that will make it worth staying in.
A turkey dinner for the rest of the
A turkey dinner for the rest of the year BY JOHN MCREYNOLDS SPECIAL TO THE INDEX-TRIBUNE November 26, 2015, 1:46PM11/26/2015 Order Article Reprint
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