Cover Stories
Cuesta writers conference inspires best selling novels, Netflix shows
She was so scared she couldn’t even bring herself to get out of the car. So Teri Bayus sat in the parking lot at Cuesta College until she summoned the courage to get out and walk over to registration to sign up for the Central Coast Writers Conference. After all, her husband had double-dog dared…
Tally of two cities: Santa Maria and Lompoc candidates prepare for first district-based city council elections
More than 50 senior citizens sat in rows listening intently as candidates presented their platforms, speaking in six-minute chunks with a wood-grain patterned wall and bingo board serving as a backdrop. The Sept. 10 forum at the Casa Grande Mobile Estates clubhouse in Santa Maria was like many candidates forums of years past, ending with…
BLM says its acting under federal directive for shortened comment period
A spat over oil drilling on public lands pitted local environmental groups and a collection of California lawmakers against a federal agency in early September. Critics of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) say it gave too short of notice to the public about its 30-day comment period for potential projects involving hydraulic fracturing, or…
Spotlight on: Flower Carriage
Susana Cardel never thought she’d own a flower shop. But after 10 years of being the sole owner of the Flower Carriage at 2255 S. Broadway, she said she looks back on her decision to purchase the store as a good one. “It’s a big deal,” Cardel told the Sun. On Oct. 19, she will…
Valle Eatery is a perfect new addition to Lompoc
When I walked into Conrad Gonzales’ Valle Eatery and Bar in Lompoc’s Hilton Garden Inn, I felt a huge wave a relief come over me. It was like the feeling of walking into your house after being on a transcontinental flight that’s been delayed for five hours and then fighting through rush hour traffic to…
Famed blues duo Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan are right at home at Cold Spring Tavern
A syncopated rhythm blends with the smell of barbecue and other kinds of smoke under the eaves of the oak trees. A wailing harmonic melody flies like a bird over the earthy guitar/bass combo and shuffling beat. It’s a familiar scene at the Cold Spring Tavern near the top of the San Marcos Pass, where…
Zoë Nathan’s work celebrates romantic realism
Even upon a quick glance, Zoë Nathan’s portraits cling to a viewer. Beautifully understated, gracefully executed, and filled with nuanced introspection, the artist’s work feels like an exuberant expression of the world she sees buried under the material world. In Nathan’s skilled hands, humanity becomes more clear, less blurry in the shadows of our daily…
From the grave: Central Coast author delves into the insanity of grief
“We don’t say died anymore, we say passed.” Just that one sentence shook Central Coast author Christine Bell’s world a bit when her neighbor said it in the midst of a family tragedy. The Santa Barbara-based writer realized there just isn’t space in our lives anymore for grief and mourning, which in turn inspired her…
Fear of access?
Journalists are in the business of asking questions. So when someone–especially those in a public office or agency–won’t bother to answer, it ruffles our feathers. It could be about something as simple as an elected official not bothering to return phone calls or emails, like Lompoc City Councilmembers Dirk Starbuck and Victor Vega did for…
Catherine Farley named Hancock’s newest police chief
At the beginning of this year, it was unclear whether the Allan Hancock College Police Department would continue to exist. Now, the department has a new permanent chief. Catherine Farley, who currently serves as UC Santa Barbara’s assistant police chief, was appointed to Hancock’s highest ranking public safety position on Sept. 11 at a Hancock…
Founder of Flutes Across the World indicted on child sex charges
The founder and leader of a music program that contracted for years with Santa Ynez Valley’s Circle V Ranch Camp was recently indicted and charged with several sexual crimes against children. John Zeretzke, a former Ventura-based music teacher who founded Flutes Across the World, an educational program he led for years at Circle V Ranch…
Artist and writer Susan Rowland to give talk at Wildling Museum
The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature will host a talk by artist Susan Rowland (Ph.D.) titled Art as Alchemical Portal to Nature on Sept. 23. Rowlad will discuss elements from her book, The Ecocritical Psyche, which examines the idea of art as a portal to nature. Rowlands will share her work in depth psychology…
Santa Maria Civic Theatre to hold auditions
The Santa Maria Civic Theatre is holding auditions for lead and supporting roles in an upcoming production of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. The organization is currently casting for the following roles: Blanche DuBois, age 28 to 34, described as a “fragile, delicate beauty, desperate, and unbalanced”; Stella Kowalski, age 23 to 26, described…
Dunes Center hosts rummage sale
The Dunes Center in Guadalupe is planning a rummage sale on Sept. 22. The sale will feature used items such as clothing for adults and children of all ages, toys, home goods, art, tools, sporting supplies, and more (the deadline to donate items to the sale has passed). Proceeds from the sale benefit activities and…
Under pressure: Krider laughs in the face of a cardiac ‘episode’
Like most men, I’m not a huge fan of going to the doctor. I don’t enjoy sitting in waiting rooms, I don’t like being poked with needles, and I’m not a big fan of having a finger placed in my tush. To avoid all of the unwanted poking and prodding, I just don’t go to…
FEMA money for barbed wire camps?
So, FEMA just transferred $92-plus million out of its coffers, as a major hurricane approaches the central eastern coast, to build internment camps for people seeking asylum. Welcome to Amerika.
The Russians are coming!
It’s happening again! The Russians are trying to “influence” the next election in our country. Strike that, “overturn” our election. No, hang on a minute, they’re trying to “ruin” our election, except in the case of Democrats winning. Then, to quote, paraphrase, or obfuscate President Obama (when they all thought Hillary would win) “… Ha…
Congressional leaders must support environmental program
The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) provides critical funding for California’s open spaces, parks, rivers, and wildlife habitats. Unfortunately, this vital program is set to expire at the end of September. Without congressional reauthorization, up to $900 million in annual spending for our environment and local communities will be lost. In a year of…
Millennials must vote Democratic
Platinum-selling millennial rapper Post Malone muses on his latest album, Beerbongs and Bentleys, “Politicians and their lies, tell me what’s the point in pickin’ sides.” Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and Nike luminary Colin Kaepernick admitted in late 2016 that he had not even bothered to vote in the presidential election, despite spending a year…
Political Watch 9/20/18
• Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) faced criticism in mid September after reports that she had received a letter in late July regarding an alleged attempt at sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh against a then-unnamed accuser. Feinstein’s critics among Democrats and liberals chastised her for not sharing the letter initially with the…
Mayley DiBernardi
On the volleyball court, Valley Christian Academy senior Mayley DiBernardi certainly knows how to dig deep. As her team’s main passer and digger, she gets roughly 85 percent of hits and serves to the setter, according to head coach Rebecca Maples. It’s not an easy job, but Maples said the 17-year-old’s never-give-up attitude keeps the…
Transitions-Mental Health brings suicide prevention program to Santa Maria
“I’m not smart.” “I’m not good enough.” “I can’t.” Those are the sentences written in boldly drawn thought bubbles stemming from a distressed stick figure’s mind. His brain inside is clouded and chaotic, his stomach is filled with butterflies, and his heart is heavy and black. The drawing is one student’s idea of what anxiety looks like,…
County warns cannabis growers of increased enforcement for out of compliance operators
In a meeting designed to provide an update for cannabis operators, Santa Barbara County’s pot czar gave a stern warning: Get up to date with your documents or face the consequences. “Our goal is keeping people in compliance until they don’t want to be in compliance anymore, and then we have enforcement,” Deputy CEO Dennis…
Lompoc Police Chief asks for donations for homeless emergency shelter
Just a few days after opening an emergency shelter for displaced homeless in Lompoc, the city’s police chief called on its citizens to do more. On Sept. 14, Police Chief Pat Walsh issued a statement that said 55 people had checked into the triage center at River Park. The center provides services to homeless individuals…
