Cover Story
You like them! You really like them!
As you flip through the pages of this edition of the Sun’s annual Best Of issue, you may forget that you—yes, you—are the reason it all happens. Remember: Though the editorial, sales, and design teams work together (and with assorted other amazing employees at the paper) to produce this special publication, we don’t collectively choose…
What was your favorite thing you did this summer?
Alexus Hazzart seventh grader “My favorite thing I did this summer was the flutes, because knowing someone less fortunate is getting my flute is a good feeling.” Catarina Caneron-Pallanck third grader “My favorite thing was probably coming here (Circle V Camp) and meeting new friends and making a flute for me to keep and to…
Dulcie Taylor releases a new album, performs new songs at Willow
Making new music that sounds familiar and comfortable to listeners is a difficult task, but South Carolina-born singer-songwriter Dulcie Taylor meets the challenge with a calm reserve. After just one listen of Taylor’s newest album, it’s obvious that Taylor has friends who can play multiple instruments and write songs as well as the seasoned, country-influenced…
Santa Maria Valley YMCA gets ready for Family Day in the Park
The Santa Maria Valley YMCA is offering its annual Family Day in the Park and Healthy Kids Day, together, on Aug. 17 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Waller Park in Santa Maria. Admission to the event is free. The event will include car show events, games, food, prizes, arts, crafts, vendors, and a…
Chumash Casino welcomes back the Star Voice competition
The Chumash Casino Resort welcomes back the Star Voice singing competition event to the casino. Formerly known as the Rising Star competition, Star Voice is a popular singing competition for adults from 18 to 81 years old who live in the Tri Counties Area. Joseph Lamber Productions spearheads the event, which awards the winner with…
Lompoc Civic Theatre is holding auditions
The Lompoc Civic Theatre is holding an audition for the production Ghosts of El Camino Real happening Oct. 17 through Nov. 2. The show will feature mission era characters including period costumes, musical instruments, dances, and ceremonies. Auditions will be held Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. at Stone Pine Hall, 210 S. H St., Lompoc.…
Santa Maria Philharmonic receives a large donation amid fundraising drive
The Santa Maria Philharmonic Society is currently holding its annual fundraising drive in preparation for its upcoming 15th anniversary season. Locals are encouraged to donate or purchase a season subscription, which includes four concerts and the Rendezvous house concert series. A longtime patron, who has asked to remain anonymous, donated $10,000 to the local classical…
The Great American Melodrama awakens old Ireland in ‘The Shaughraun’
The immediate efficacy of a melodramatic play becomes apparent when you find yourself empathizing with characters from a wholly other time and place. The Great American Melodrama, with its huge archive of props and costumes from throughout the ages, is especially equipped to bring anyone’s story to life and always does it for the cheers,…
Photographer Donald Quintana shows off local wildlife at the Dunes Center
On the first November morning of 2013, wildlife photographer Donald Quintana parked at the Oso Flaco Lake Natural Area and began preparing his camera gear. While getting ready, he was approached by Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center administrative coordinator Lindsey Whitaker, who asked him if he was part of an incoming third-grade field trip. “I thought, because…
Hot for teacher
My wife’s name is Mrs. Krider. That may seem obvious since she’s married to me, a guy whose last name happens to be Krider, but that isn’t at all what I was getting at. You see, Mrs. Krider is her teacher name. My wife, whom I love, the woman who thinks she can fit a…
No place like Presqu’ile: The wine harvest kicks off in the Santa Maria Valley where one premier vineyard is ‘spicing’ things up
The Murphy Family knew they had something special when they planted the sustainably farmed 72-acre Presqu’ile Vineyard on their property off of Clark Avenue east of Orcutt. Their sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot noir, syrah, and nebbiolo vines are thriving on the sandy Santa Maria Valley hillsides where rows of gladiolas once bloomed. Because of warmer…
Discovery Corner: Thanks for making us the best
The Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum extends a huge thank you to all our fans who voted us the Best Museum/Learning Center! You are all family to us, and we hope you will visit often. There is always something new and exciting going on at the Discovery Museum! We are having our busiest summer yet,…
Softec wants a packed house for upcoming Robotics Expo
Softec is putting out a call for robots galore. The sixth annual Student Robotics Expo is set for Sept. 29 at the Elks Lodge in San Luis Obispo. “Help us pack this event full of robots,” a press release from Softec said. There is a place for every kind of robot at the expo—competitive, personal…
Santa Maria-Bonita teachers get schooled before classes start
Santa Maria-Bonita School District teachers with Chromebooks in hand worked their way through a Google Summit on Aug. 7 at Tommy Kunst Junior High School. Summit sessions covered topics such as virtual field trips, YouTube bingo, and Google Hangouts in the classroom. Tech gurus from Google for Education led the workshop sessions. “Usually, these Google…
High school athletic directors change it up
Santa Maria High School has a new athletic director with plans to take competition to a new level. “Athletics here have always had a good reputation and history,” incoming AD Brian Wallace said in a press release. “We have the talent, pride, and potential, and my expectation is that we will just get better and…
Spotlight on: Caitlyn Ashlea Designs
Top off old-world classics with a twist of contemporary Hollywood glamour and you’ve got what Caitlyn Ashlea Designs is bringing to Santa Maria—Victorian-era elegance combined with the bold, bright colors and dynamic patterns of the modern world. “It’s safe to go with tradition because you know it’s going to be comfortable, but [also] kind of…
Political Watch 8/14/14
• U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) hosted a forum in Santa Maria on Aug. 9 where people could receive an update and review from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials on their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal application. Immigration Services officials gave a presentation and hosted a question-and-answer session on the renewal…
Community Notebook 8/14-8/21/14
TUESDAY, AUG. 19 • The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has its regular meeting at 9 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 105 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara. Agendas are available at http://santabarbara.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx#current. • The Guadalupe Planning Commission has its regular meeting at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, City Hall,…
Community Corner: The mechanics of rail shipping
Santa Maria-area farmers can’t feed the world if their produce stays put. Since 1911, the Santa Maria Valley Railroad has served as the first leg of a journey regularly undertaken by all sorts of sweet reds and leafy greens from the local ag industry. The 14 miles of mainline track that make up the Santa…
As reservoir supplies dwindle, chatter over groundwater levels takes the lead
Nothing is sexier than groundwater. Actually, wait, that’s not right: Everything is sexier than groundwater, but because California’s in a drought, groundwater’s suddenly a hot, sexy topic. Since April, legislation has oozed its way around the state capital in an attempt by some to push monitoring California’s groundwater into a reality. Lawmakers have until Aug.…
Lompoc Mayor Linn responds to his challenger’s claims
There will be at least two names on the ballot for mayor of Lompoc this November: current Mayor John Linn and City Councilmember Bob Lingl. Lingl announced his candidacy for the position in late July, stating in a previous interview with the Sun that he’s concerned about Linn’s alleged “disrespect for fellow council members, specifically…
Car wash conundrum calls Santa Maria’s downtown plan into question
Nobody left Santa Maria City Council’s Aug. 5 meeting with a satisfied smile on their face: At least, not if they were involved in the hearing about a downtown car wash with renovation plans. The Jordans, who own a car wash established on East Chapel in the 1960s, aren’t allowed to change the building or…
Light Brown Apple Moth and Asian Citrus Psyllid detections step up quarantine efforts in SLO County
The discovery of two pests in San Luis Obispo County has put agricultural officials on alert and will expand ongoing quarantine efforts. On Aug. 4, the SLO County Department of Agriculture/Weights and Measures announced that three light brown apple moths were discovered in Arroyo Grande. The moths, often referred to as LBAM, have been found…
County staff moves forward with draft ordinance for Measure P
News flash: Oil is a controversial topic. So, dealing with an initiative like Measure P—which, if passed in November, would ban high-intensity drilling practices such as hydraulic fracturing and cyclic steam injection in Santa Barbara County—is debatable, may be confusing, and depends on which end of the conversation you land on. The county planning department’s…
Racial tension
I try to keep my focus on the Sun’s coverage area. I do. That’s all of Northern Santa Barbara County, plus Nipomo. But sometimes, something happens outside of those boundaries that really gets my wingfeathers flying across the keyboard. This week, I’m particularly disheartened/outraged over the comments being made in relation to some Cal Poly…
No fracking until this drought resolves
I live in Orcutt. I believe the water shortage due to the climate-change-driven drought (reference James Hansen, Michael Mann, UC Santa Cruz research team who predicted drought 10 years ago) demands we be highly protective of our groundwater resources. This is the wrong time to disturb aquifers containing our only source of water. If University…
Fracking panic
I, along with many other citizens in this county, am sick and tired of the hypocrites who are leading people to believe that a problem exists where there is none. Sure, there are problems all over the world, but not here where we live. It is not a fair comparison. Do your research if you…
Support California offshore oil production
We strongly support continued oil development along the California coast. This must be considered a No. 1 priority for this country. There should be no limit to offshore drilling. We oppose the efforts of the Democrats such as Rep. Lois Capps, Sen. Barbara Boxer, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, state Sen. Jackson, and the Environmental Defense Center,…
Lompoc is hosting a skateboard competition
The annual Spring Skate Board competition slides into Lompoc’s skate park on Aug. 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Open to all skaters 7 years old and above, there will be a best run and best trick category for several different age groups. The event is co-sponsored by Lompoc Parks and Recreation and the…
Santa Ynez’s Family Fun Run starts in Oak Park
Be at Oak Park before 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 14 if you want to participate in one of the Santa Ynez Valley Family Fun Runs. It’s the tail end of a summer series of 5K run/walk events. There were also runs in June and July. In addition to a 5K, there will be a 1-mile…
PLAY Inc. offers a free swim day at the aquatic center
People for Leisure and Youth (PLAY) Inc. is giving families a chance to hit the pool for free on Aug. 24 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Paul Nelson Aquatic Center. The center has an Olympic-sized competition pool as well as a recreational pool with a fan-shaped, zero-depth entryway. Lifeguards are on duty during…
Stephanie Correa
Move over Robin Hood, there’s a new hot shot archer in town, and her name is Stephanie Correa. Correa championed the first-ever Santa Ynez Valley Bow Club Traditional Challenge on Aug. 9, where she battled out against nine other participants on a 16-target course. What’s impressive about Correa’s performance is that she has only been…
One Way Board Shop’s skate team gives youth a chance at the pros
When members of the One Way skate team aren’t skateboarding, they’re hanging out with team members, and much like old friends do, they squabble and make fun of each other. Outside of making friends, being on the skate team is an opportunity all of them are grateful for: It’s a way for them to keep…
