Cover Story
El Nino cometh: Meteorologists forecast winter storms of historic proportions on the Central Coast
There’s been plenty of speculation about whether or not this winter will bring big storms along with lots and lots of water. Forecasters won’t say for certain, but there is one thing we do know: water, the wet stuff of life on earth, is currently in short supply. It’s hard to imagine a storm that…
What’s your forecast for El Niño?
Rily Winegardener student “Maybe sun? Little bit of rain.” Wes Hagen winemaker “To be in a position where we can successfully farm next year, we need 20 inches.” Cathy Gregg photographer “I think we’re in for a strong El Niño. Whether it hits the Central Coast or not is not as sure.” Maria Garcia medical…
Divorce by watercraft
Everyone knows there are two specific things on this planet that men absolutely can’t avoid staring at. This neck-jerk reaction is buried deep in their DNA, and thus men should not be judged. They are wired to at least take a quick glance and see what they’re missing out on. It’s part of evolution. Even…
Friends, fans, and former students of drummer Kyle Batty throw benefit concert at O’Sullivan’s Pub Oct. 11
The supreme importance of a solid instructor isn’t lost on most musicians, but those who enjoyed a particularly skilled music teacher, especially in youth, often cherish the relationship for more than just the musical knowledge passed down. A true mentorship has a powerful, lasting effect on an artist’s life, which isn’t soon forgotten. It’s that…
Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum hosts talk about Samurai exhibit
The Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum currently features the exhibit Samurai … The Warrior Horsemen of Japan showing through Nov. 1 at the museum, and a special event featuring two talks about the exhibit is scheduled for Oct. 10. The History and Mystique of the Samurai and His Sword will include a talk by Dr.…
Hancock’s Dimensions in Dance welcomes special guests
The Allan Hancock College dance program presents its fall recital, Dimensions in Dance, showing Oct. 15 through 18 in the Marian Theatre on campus. The recital welcomes a number of guest performers and choreographers including Allan Hancock College’s Vice President of Academic Affairs George Railey Jr. playing his saxophone. Directed by the dance program’s coordinator…
Great American Melodrama brings ghouls and guffaws in ‘Frankenstein’s Bride … Or The Girl of My Screams’
I was surprised when the Great American Melodrama’s newest production began and longtime emcee Alex Sheets didn’t take the stage, but instead the evening of entertainment began when relative newcomer Toby Tropper took the stage, giving the usual Melodrama introduction in character, with the sinister German accent of Dr. Polvard, the main villain in the…
Live from the CORE features traveling and local poets reading verse
Local poet and novelist Michael McLaughlin moved to Santa Maria a few years ago, and not long after he arrived he noticed a deficit in the area’s venues for live poetry readings. McLaughlin is involved with Poetry in Schools. He also facilitates arts and poetry programs at the Atascadero State Hospital, as well as Pleasant…
Harmony to get back dairy roots with creamery, restaurant
Something strange happens upon entering the tiny “town” of Harmony, population 18. First, your cell phone stops working. Then, as if sucked into a Twilight Zone episode, time evaporates. Hours sweep by as you lose yourself in the fiery glow of a glassblower’s handiwork. Yellow finches and hummingbirds flit from branch to branch as you…
Brittany Bolusan
There’s nothing that Brittany Bolusan, a sophomore at Allan Hancock College, loves more than shutting an opponent down on the volleyball court with a good block. “I love the feeling when the other team is trying to hit and you block them straight down,” she said. “I can’t tell if blocking is better or getting…
The Benchwarmer: It’s time for the NFL’s commissioner to revise discipline strategies for players
It’s the fall season, pumpkin spice is everywhere, and football Sundays are back. With my Green Bay Packers at 3-0 (and the 49ers at 0-3), I’m quite comfortable and pleased with my spot on the bench; all is right in my world. Football season for the Benchwarmer means a few things: It means sporting my…
Leading the pack
Are you on Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider’s email blast list like I am? If you aren’t, you’re definitely missing out. The woman’s PR machine is like a magical combination of ridiculous and relentless. It seems like every day, a new note’s waiting for me in my inbox. They include headlines like these: “Counting on…
The last Streetwise question was in poor taste
As a longtime reader of your publication, I have read some articles that I did not agree with. I enjoy your publication on a weekly basis. Rob Krider, Shelly Cone, and Ariel Waterman are my favorites. You must know that a “but” is coming, huh? BUT, whomever is responsible for the Streetwise question in the…
Who can claim the pope?
Pope Francis’s address to Congress was remarkable in surprising ways and especially relevant for the Santa Maria Valley. The pope exemplified four historical figures (“great Americans”) in calling for a more egalitarian and compassionate American society. Only one was a woman, but think about the woman the pope chose. First, consider one woman the pope…
DA’s office investigator settles free speech lawsuit with Santa Barbara county and SMPD
Last month, a settlement was reached in the civil rights case of Rick Prancevic, a Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office investigator who accused his employer and former Santa Maria Police Chief Danny Macagni for violating his free speech rights for actions following an open letter criticizing the chief’s policing practices. In his letter published…
Atlas V launch at Vandenberg includes miniature satellites in payload
An Atlas V rocket was set to launch sometime between 5 and 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, from Vandenberg’s 3-East Launch Complex. It’s 20 stories tall, weighs just less than a million pounds when fueled, and rises skyward by burning liquid oxygen to generate 860 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. The launch carries two…
Santa Maria High School not changing school sport uniforms
Officials at Santa Maria High School have denied rumors that the school’s getting rid of its mascot, Sammy Saint, and changing its football uniforms. Social media was abuzz with alumni concerned about the potential change, and a Change.org petition had collected nearly 1,700 signatures objecting to the rumored modifications. District public information officer Kenny Klein…
Spotlight on: Meathead Movers
Meathead Movers, a moving company based right here on the Central Coast, has been getting a lot of international attention for a service that it offers. Early in September, the LA Weekly ran a story about the Good Shepherd—one of Los Angeles’ oldest women’s shelters—and how it partners with the San Luis Obispo company to…
Political Watch 10/8/15
• On Oct. 1 Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill by Sen. Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) and co-authored by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) that aims to prevent campus sexual assaults by educating high school students about affirmative consent, healthy dating relationships, and the harsh consequences of aggressive and violent sexual behavior. SB 695…
Community Notebook 10/8/15 – 10/15/15
MONDAY, OCT. 12 • The Santa Maria City Block Grants Advisory Committee has its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Conference Room, 110 E. Cook St., Santa Maria. • The Solvang City Council has its regular meeting at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 1644 Oak Street, Solvang. Agendas are available at…
Civil asset forfeiture law defeated with the help of the Santa Barbara County district attorney
In 2014, Michael Joseph Rodriguez filed a claim in Santa Barbara County Superior Court opposing the seizure of $665 that police found in his pocket as they arrested him on suspicion of selling drugs, according to court records. He wasn’t yet convicted of a crime, but his money was taken anyway. So, if he was…
Corrections
• In the Oct. 1, 2015, story, “Santa Maria Suds,” Figueroa Mountain Brewing is not building a taproom on the corner of South Higuera Street and Tank Farm Road in San Luis Obispo. • In the Sept. 16, 2015, Athlete of the Week, about Miguel Villalobos, the picture featured Soke Mabuni instead of Villalobos.
Asian citrus psyllids, but no disease, found in Santa Barbara County
The Asian citrus psyllid is alive and well in Santa Barbara County, according to the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office. They found a psyllid in Goleta this summer, and on Sept. 1 and 2, two more were found in Carpenteria. A week later, on Sept. 9 and 10, two more were found in Summerland. The tiny bug…
New sanity trial ordered in 2008 Lee Leeds quadruple homicide
An appeals court awarded a new trial for a mentally ill Santa Maria man who was convicted of shooting four people to death at an auto salvage yard in March 2008. The judgment came down on Sept. 28 from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles, which ordered a new sanity trial for…
Santa Maria Police Department officer helps deliver baby at McDonalds
Writing tickets, enforcing traffic, and investigating homicides are par for the course for police work in Santa Maria. Tack on delivering babies, at least for two officers from the Santa Maria Police Department. SMPD officers Cole Whitney and Mason Jackson were out on patrol at 4:40 p.m. on Oct. 2 when they were called to…
