Cover Story
Beer and loafing in Las Vegas
No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride … and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well … maybe chalk it off to forced conscious expansion: Tune in, freak out, get beaten,” wrote Hunter S. Thompson in “Fear and Loathing in…
Athlete of the Week: Jasmine Miles
Coach Sandy Pearson remembers the first time she met athlete Jasmine Miles (pictured center), who was all business and no smiles. Pearson said she wanted to see the young woman smile at least once. At age 23, Miles is tall and lean—a perfect athletic build. What struck Pearson about Miles more than anything was watching…
Hike off the pounds
Craving adventure and a good workout? Join the Central Coast State Parks Association for a workout hike on Friday, April 12. The hike will wind up and around Valencia, Alan, and Oats peaks; the hike is 10 miles at an elevation of 2,000 feet. The trip takes approximately four hours, and people who don’t want…
Bulldog baseball is climbing
The Bulldog baseball team at Hancock inched up in conference standings with a 2-1 record at the home classic tournament from March 26 to 28. At their new John Osborne stadium, the Bulldogs lost their first game on March 26 against East Los Angeles, 2-6. The team came back the next day and redeemed itself…
Safety in the water
The Lompoc Parks and Recreation Department is now offering a Water Safety Instructor class April 15, 17, 22 , 24, and 29. Attendees who successfully complete the course will be certified to teach American Red Cross water safety beginning swim classes with potential job opportunities throughout the county. Held at the Lompoc Aquatic Center Mondays…
Larger than life
“Special” is a word that takes on a variety of meanings, from restaurant entrees to people, places, or events. By definition, special means “better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual.” While the Special Olympics may take on different meanings for different people, my recent volunteer experience with the local Special Olympics organization has…
Hotel, motel, Holiday Inn
When I first met my wife, I was living in a dorm room. I was also skinny at the time. Unfortunately I didn’t have the self-realization to understand how incredibly lucky I was to be skinny; I feel as if I really took that time of my life for granted. As they say, hindsight is…
Evolutionary art
Transformational music and art festivals have been a rapidly expanding phenomena in the United States, especially on the West Coast. Burning Man is the prime example, but other greats such as Lightning in a Bottle or Earthdance serve as inspiration for three-day music and art festivals inviting everyone to join in the creation of a…
Join the kids’ club
Michaels arts and crafts store offers two upcoming classes for kids. The first event is titled “Kids Club Earth Friendly Fox Puppet Event” on April 13 from 10 a.m. to noon. A “Kids Club Earth Day Trash to TREEsure” event is April 20 from 10 a.m. to noon. Crafting happens in 30-minute sessions for both…
Back to Oz
The Orcutt Union School District presents a multi-school collaborative production of The Wizard of Oz. The play is directed by Jean Byrne, who came out of retirement for the production, which will feature performances by more than 60 local students in grades 5 through 12. The play is to be performed April 18 through 20…
Commission seeks students of Dibblee Hoyt
The Santa Barbara County Arts Commission is holding a call for artists—photographers, specifically—who’ve been students of Allan Hancock College photography instructor Dibblee Hoyt for a group photographic exhibition. The exhibit “W. Dibblee Hoyt: Far Reaches” is a Santa Barbara County Arts Commission juried exhibition of photographs that will show in June at the Channing Peake…
Allan Hancock College receives its largest bequest ever
Allan Hancock College received the largest bequest in the community college’s history thanks to the donation of the late Patricia Boyd, who stipulated in her will that a portion of her estate go to the college. Between $10 and $12 million was donated to the college to benefit its music department. Another $1 million went…
Laugh, love, and learn
The Lompoc Civic Theatre recently began its 40th season of live, community theater in Lompoc, continuing a legacy of volunteer performing arts in the valley town. The director of the current production, Marian C. Stave, has actually been involved with the Lompoc Civic Theatre—including as its director—since its inception in 1973. She’s seen the group…
Messy, beautiful, digital democracy
Electronic media have a momentum that can sometimes seem daunting. But they can also make life easier, faster, and fun. Cell phone cameras have ushered in a new age of art in the form of social media photo sharing, video making, and even documentation. The C Gallery in Los Alamos is celebrating the open nature…
What’s the best live show you’ve seen in Vegas?
Jiovanny Castaneyra student “The Water Show.” Joe Dominice computer operator “Cirque Du Soleil and the Blue Man Group.” Josie Reyes sales representative “Cirque Du Soleil.” Larry Lavagnino former mayor “Jersey Boys.”
The final reel
The elements in “The Wizard of Oz” powerfully fill a void that exists inside many children. For kids of a certain age, home is everything, the center of the world. But over the rainbow, dimly guessed at, is the wide earth, fascinating and terrifying.” So wrote Roger Ebert. For some, it can be difficult to…
Women in politics
On April 11, men and women across Santa Barbara County will have the opportunity to honor female politicians in the area. The Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee (SBWPC) will host a special event featuring the mayors of Santa Maria and Guadalupe at Café Noir on 1555 S. Broadway from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The…
Spotlight on: Rizzoli’s Automotive
I’m not very good at turning, so I just go straight really, really fast,” a laughing Kyle Rizzoli said. He was talking about racing, and he has good reason to be happy about it. In addition to being the general manager at Rizzoli’s Automotive, the Cal Poly mechanical engineering graduate recently won the NHRA Pacific…
Santa Maria’s FFA students are on a roll
Santa Maria’s Future Farmers of America are racking up awards as they push through state competitions. Pioneer Valley High School students earned FFA honors at the Golden State degree and proficiency award ceremonies on March 24. Students earn FFA degrees through classes, working more than 500 hours, and a record of leadership and community activities.…
DA to hold Working with Indigenous Populations conference
The Santa Barbara County district attorney is holding a one-day conference on April 22 to help Santa Marians better understand and learn how to work with the community’s immigrant population. While the forum is geared to assist law enforcement, social service, medical, and educational providers in working with crime victims of indigenous Mixtec immigrants, Terri…
Student blood drive has 107 more pints to go
Students at the Santa Barbara Business College set their goal at 125 pints of blood for a series of blood drives celebrating the college’s 125th year. The college was able to collect 18 pints of blood with the help of United Blood Services of the Central Coast at its first drive on April 4. The…
Los Padres land-use designations up for review
Forest management is complicated. There are off highway vehicle users to consider. And environmental advocates. And land-use contracts, horseback riders, backpackers, and resource development revenue. The list goes on and on. When coming up with a land-management plan, the Forest Service has to take the opinion of every one of its users and all of…
A newspaper by another name?
Here’s a trivia question: What’s a fictitious business name? It sounds like a scam, but a fictitious business—or trade—name is the name under which a company or person operates professionally. Entrepreneurs are required to file fictitious business name statements with their county governments prior to doing business. The statements are then published in official community…
Correction
The Sun accidentally misrepresented the rank of the pilot and astronaut featured on the cover in our April 4 issue (“Getting art in the open”). Susan Helms is a lieutenant general with the U.S. Air Force. News Briefs are compiled by Sun writers through reporting and local and national media. Information should be sent to…
Former county employee pleads guilty to misusing public money
The former general manager of the Santa Barbara County Mosquito and Vector Management District, Brian Passaro, pled guilty to a felony charge of misappropriation of public funds on April 5, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office. Deputy District Attorney Brian Cota said Passaro was allegedly using a county-issued credit card for more…
Father describes accused killer Timothy McNally’s behavior
Witnesses started taking the stand on April 8 in the trial of former Lompoc prison guard Timothy McNally, who’s charged with murdering his friend and fellow prison guard Gary Bent in a Lompoc hotel room last year. Judge Patricia Kelly’s usually bustling Department 8 courtroom in Santa Maria took on a somber atmosphere as a…
Plover violations are up with the Surf Beach docent program
Since the start of western snowy plover nesting season on March 1, Surf Beach has recorded 30 violations for people found venturing into the closed-off areas of the beach. When that number hits 50, Vandenberg Air Force Base will be forced to close the beach to public access. “We’ve seen increasing violations over the last…
Convicted rapist Tibor Karsai will move to Santa Maria this month
Tibor Karsai, the sexually violent predator twice convicted of rape, will be released as a transient into Santa Barbara County this month, despite District Attorney Joyce Dudley’s efforts to stop it. Karsai will, however, have to adhere to a strict regimen of observation, supervision, and treatment, according to the state Department of Hospitals. The 59-year-old…
Prizewinning pizza
Every March, Michael Stevens, owner of Palo Mesa Pizza in Arroyo Grande, goes to Las Vegas to roll the dice on his pizza, entering the International Pizza Expo’s Pizza Challenge. Seven-thousand pizzeria owners and operators like Stevens unite at the annual trade show to try new products and services, attend seminars and demonstrations, and compete.…
Now you’ll never get rid of me
Two weeks back, I short-circuited the natural order and ran a column on a week that wasn’t a part of my regular rotation. I enjoyed the freedom to stretch my words so much, I asked the editors if I could take this every-other-week endeavor and turn it into a weekly gig. After a lot of…
