Friday, January 27, 2012     Volume: 12, Issue: 46
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Special Features
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Search or post Santa Barbara County food and wine establishments

A cinephile's paradise

Cover Story

A cinephile's paradise

BY ANNA WELTNER

For a relatively little town, Santa Barbara takes its films very seriously. In addition to boasting an impressive lineup of selections ranging from regional to international, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, now in its 27th year, will also host 37 American and 16 world premieres—among them Darling Companion, starring Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline, and th... [ Read More ]

Top 5 Articles

News: The saga continues
News: National agencies rally for the steelhead trout
Cover Story: A cinephile's paradise
News: Money wars
News: Fatima Cobarrubios needs your help
 

News

National agencies rally for the steelhead trout

BY KRISTINA SEWELL

Some local fish are about to get a big hand from the government. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a press release on Jan. 10 that unveiled the...

Santa Maria City Council puts proposed sales tax in voters' hands

BY JEREMY THOMAS

Much to no one’s surprise, the Santa Maria City Council on Jan. 17 voted to adopt a series of resolutions setting up an emergency election to decide on a proposed quarte...

PG&E admits it 'lost track' of 300 miles of gas pipelines

BY KRISTINA SEWELL

Two years ago, on the night of Sept. 9, 2010, the city of San Bruno, Calif., looked like a battle zone. With a deafening roar and a geyser of flames that could be seen for mi...

The saga continues

BY JEREMY THOMAS

The curious case involving a pair of San Luis Obispo County men accused of filing false documents against a Santa Barbara County judge continues to drag on, trying the patienc...

Money wars

BY AMY ASMAN

As of press time on Jan. 24, hundreds of cities, redevelopment agencies, and labor groups across California were still waiting to hear the outcome of S.B. 659, emergency legis...

Fatima Cobarrubios needs your help

BY PAMELLA WOOD

Four-year-old Fatima Cobarrubios, like most girls her age, is a big fan of Disney princesses. They adorn her hat, her shirt, and even her shoes. But when she shyly removes her...

Nat Fast: A community leader and lover of "Discovery"

BY CHRIS SLAUGHTER

As a beloved community leader who embodies the spirit of the arts, no one has accomplished more to further arts education for Santa Maria Valley youth than Nat Fast. His perso...

Hobnobbing with Helen

BY HELEN ANN THOMAS

Jolly is the key word. Ninety party-goers had a jolly good time at the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society’s annual fund-raising dinner on the evening of Jan. 21 at the R...

What kids are reading

What better resolution to make in 2012 than to pry your youngsters away from the television and video games and place a book in their hands? There is nothing like settling int...

Biz Briefs

Spotlight on: DenMat

BY PAMELLA WOOD

Want to have a more attractive smile? Then you should pay attention to the products offered by this Santa Maria-based corporation. There are the Snap-on Smile® removable a...

Commentary

Let love, not hate, prevail

BY MOHAMMAD MOHABBAT

My name is Mohammad Mohabbat and I’m the author of the internationally selling book “My Name is Mohammad,” which is a heart-wrenching story of my life. I hav...

Sports

Common goals

BY JEREMY THOMAS

The old saying goes, “familiarity breeds contempt,” but it certainly doesn’t apply to the Santa Ynez Valley Union boys’ soccer squad. In fact, it&rsqu...

Una Hertzog

BY JASON BANANIA

There seems to be significance with the No. 1 in Una Hertzog’s life. Besides her name, she started playing basketball in the first grade and, according to the Valley Chr...

School Scene

Help a local school and get the chance to make money off of cow poop

BY AMY ASMAN

Orcutt Academy High School PTSA is offering one lucky winner the opportunity to pocket an extra $1,250: Cow Chip Bingo—and it’s not the Bingo your grandma plays on...

Know someone with a bright mind?

BY AMY ASMAN

PG&E recently established the Bright Minds Scholarship program as a way to help people pursue a higher education. Approximately 10 scholarships of up to $30,000 each will ...

Learn Japanese with your child

BY AMY ASMAN

Spaces are still available for the Santa Maria Japanese Community Center’s language program. The infant and toddler playgroup meets Tuesdays from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Presc...

Canary

Money is funny

I have a confession to make: I’m a closeted ABBA fan. Honestly, I don’t know why I feel the need to be in the closet about my ABBA adoration because, let’s f...

Street Wise

What was your very first car?

Sherri Willebrand Jenny Martin Vicki McPartland Miri Avisar

Arts

Watch and listen

BY PAMELLA WOOD

The 16th annual Morro Bay Bird Festival is held for four days over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend every year, drawing nearly 500 birders (yes, that is a word) from all over th...

Fifteen years of discovery

BY SHELLY CONE

It wasn’t very long ago that Santa Maria was a different place—a smaller place, and definitely a place with few venues devoted to appealing to children’s sen...

PCPA for all

BY SHELLY CONE

A new $31,200 grant from the Santa Barbara Foundation and PCPA Foundation is ensuring that students from low-income households aren’t barred from the arts. The grant wil...

Best Friends author to sign books

BY SHELLY CONE

Elizabeth Fields, former Los Alamos resident and author of Best Friends Forever, will kick off her California book tour with a book signing event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the...

Looking for teen stars

BY SHELLY CONE

The Teen Star Santa Barbara competition will hold auditions on Feb. 2 from 3 to 7 p.m. at Righetti High School. Audition applications must be turned in by Feb. 1. Prizes incl...

Humor

Battle of the sexes

BY SHELLY CONE

I have this theory that the battle of the sexes really comes down to this: there are some people who like nighttime sex and others who like morning sex. I happen to like nig...

Music

A man and his guitar

BY JOE PAYNE

The decision to become a professional musician is wrought with overtones of uncertainty. It means depending solely on one’s own talents, skill, endurance, and love for t...

Film

Bite night

After humans learn of the Lycan and Vampire war, they nearly wipe out both species, but vampire warrior Selene (Kate Beckinsale) survived, only to be cryogenically frozen. Now...

Eats

A love story

BY WENDY THIES SELL

A new ray of sunshine is radiating from the old California town of Los Alamos. Her name is Sonja. Sonja Magdevski, of Malibu. The blonde beauty opened a charming wine tasting ...

Hot Stuff

See “People and Places”

The Cypress Gallery in Lompoc hosts an exhibit on the art of nonagenarian Gladys Efantis. Efantis is well versed in many media and has enjoyed a career in the arts and graphic...

A “tour-de-farce”

The Great American Melodrama is at it again with its production of Greater Tuna, chock full of antics and hilarity. The story is set in Texas and satirizes the rural, Southern...

Slippery subject

The Santa Maria Valley Republicans hosts a screening of the documentary “SpOILed” in Santa Maria. The documentary takes a hard look at our culture’s petroleu...