Cover Story
Streaming consciousness: The Santa Maria Police Department gang prevention documentary Life Facing Bars is an unprecedented look into the consequences of gang life
Santa Maria Police Department Lieutenant Daniel Cohen has been investigating and policing local gangs for more than a decade, and has seen firsthand the multitude of victims left in the wake of gang crimes. He has seen young men mature behind bars and others who never got the chance. He remembered one particular interrogation with…
Head north of the Bay Area for an eclectic tasting experience
Drive into downtown Sonoma and you can feel the bourgeois atmosphere that comes with being a super destination for wine and food tourists. Boutique bakeries, $40- to $50-a-plate eateries, and those lovely little artisan-craft-selling stores that I love to look-but-not-buy-in are perched in a literal square around the historic city hall. And if you’re…
Do you find the Santa Barbara News-Press headline ‘Illegals line up for driver’s licenses’ offensive? Why?
Mellany Cunningham ERHS senior “Yes. It’s kind of rude to them, but if they don’t want to be called illegals than they should become citizens..” Nadia Valdez ERHS junior “I’d say yes. ‘Illegal’, I just feel isn’t proper. I feel like they’re using a headline just to start up conflict.” Carly Wilson ERHS senior “It…
Knock-knock. Who is it? Mr. P.
I rang in the 2015 New Year with Britney Spears and some urine. No, the two details of my New Year’s celebration were not in any way connected. I don’t think Britney is into that sort of thing (and honestly I’m not either). Britney was simply a part of my New Year’s party because my…
Make 2015 your most musical year
Living the life of a musician, you are bound to meet the person who believes that your talents are not the result of years of hard work, but rather that you have “the gift” for music. These same people also use this illusive “gift” as their excuse for not being musical. “I just never had…
Santa Barbara is accepting poet laureate nominations
The Santa Barbara County Arts Commission and City Arts Advisory Committee recently announced that it’s seeking nominations for the Santa Barbara County’s next poet laureate. This year marks the 10th year of the honorary position; current poet laureate Chryss Yost’s term ends in April. Poet laureates are expected to enrich the community by raising awareness…
All-America City Committee invites public to meetings
The All-American City Committee in Santa Maria invites city residents to attend the committee’s general meetings scheduled for the fourth Tuesday of each month beginning in January. The All-American City Committee works to enhance civic health and pride within the community by fostering collaboration between communities and organizations from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.…
Rancho de Guadalupe Historical Museum reopens after retrofit
The Rancho de Guadalupe Historical Society and Museum will open to visitors again on Jan. 25 at 1 p.m. The museum reopens after a hiatus due to an earthquake retrofitting at the Guadalupe Veterans’ Memorial Building, which houses the museum. The event will include refreshments, tours, and a history hunt. The Rancho de Guadalupe Historical…
Santa Maria Civic Ballet holding auditions
The Santa Maria Civic Ballet is holding auditions for its June production of Sleeping Beauty. Auditions are open to dancers including pointe students ages 12 and older. The audition is Jan. 24 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Everybody Can Dance Studio, 628 McClelland, Santa Maria. More information is located at 937-6753 or everybodycandance.webs.com.
Wildling Museum and Return to Freedom share the Wild Spirit of horses
The herds of horses roaming the Return to Freedom Wild Horse Sanctuary outside Lompoc may not to be able to journey past the fences that separate them from the surrounding, rolling hills, but they are free to roam their respective acres without any pesky hominids atop their backs. The sight of these untamed ungulates has…
Community Notebook 1/15/15-1/22/15
TUESDAY, JAN. 20 • 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 Santa Maria City Council has its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, City…
Sparkle, sparkle, fizz: A guide to enjoying bubbles in the New Year
The anticipation of that frenetic pop. The delicate spray of bubbles. That’s right: Sparkling wines should be embraced across the seasons, 365 days per year. Well, at least the really good ones should. Speaking of really good sparkling wines, I recently had the rare pleasure of mulling this topic over with Jackie Leopold, sales and…
Santa Maria-Bonita puts on a tech program for GATE students
Digital photography, Minecraft, and iMovies are just three of the sessions that 160 Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) sixth- through eighth-grade students could participate in on Jan. 14. Gina Daley, director of Santa Maria-Bonita School District’s GATE program, said the district does an extra curricular program for GATE students every year during winter break, and…
High school district hands out tablets to teachers
Four hundred Santa Maria Joint High School District teachers got Dell Venue Pro tablets on Jan. 13 as part of the technological push the district is making to coincide with Common Core education standards and the Smarter Balance Assessment test. Eventually, the district is pushing for a 1-to-1 ratio of technology to students. Students won’t…
Spotlight on: Ms. Cardel Planner and Event Design
Susana Cardel is starting 2015 on a different foot. She’s been the owner of Flower Carriage and Gifts since 2008, and this year she’s branching out with a new venture: Ms. Cardel Planner and Event Design. The Flower Carriage itself isn’t changing any time soon. In fact, Cardel wants to keep it just as it…
(Un)documented rift: A newspaper’s headline causes outrage among the Hispanic community
On Jan. 3, the Santa Barbara News-Press published a front page story about AB 60, a new law that gives undocumented immigrants the opportunity to obtain a valid ID and legally operate a car in the state. The headline: “Illegals line up for driver’s licenses.” Those six words didn’t sit well with Hispanics and others…
Political Watch 1/15/15
• On Jan. 9, Gov. Jerry Brown released his proposal for the 2015-2016 state budget, which allocates billions of dollars more to schools and health-care coverage, attempts to hold college tuition flat, and invests in water projects. “This carefully balanced budget builds for the future by saving money, paying down debt, and investing in our…
Correction
• In a Jan. 8 article titled “Defense contractor cuts 92 jobs at Vandenberg AFB,” a detail was misstated: The L-3 job cuts mentioned by National Security Solutions spokesperson Nicole Madison in that brief are related to a contract with the U.S. Air Force. Also, the number of jobs being cut was too high by…
Cool Hand Luke’s reports a robbery by diners
On the night of Jan. 5, business was chugging along like it would on any other night at Cool Hand Luke’s Steak House, but a cell phone message changed that business-as-usual hum into a particularly harrowing night for one manager, who suddenly found herself the unwilling subject of an alleged robbery at work. According to…
Santa Barbara County supervisors pass a legislative platform, bicker over its nuances
Santa Barbara County’s 2015 legislative platform includes advocacy positions on 34 items that stirred up a variety of differing political opinions on Jan. 13 during the regular Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting. Both 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino and 4th District Supervisor Peter Adam lamented the fact that the platform was voted on…
Lompoc continues to allow safe and sane firework sales
Residents of Lompoc will be allowed to celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks once again this year. In a 3-2 vote, the City Council voted against banning the sale and use of “safe and sane” fireworks—which are typically fireworks that don’t fly or explode. During a joint session between the City Council and the…
Gov. Brown’s budget proposal sets aside money for a new Santa Maria DMV
In the 2015-2016 budget proposal released by Gov. Jerry Brown on Jan. 9, there’s an allocation of $15.5 million to build a new Department of Motor Vehicles office in Santa Maria. That money would be doled out for the new office in installments, with $2.6 million in 2015-2016 and similar allotments over the ensuing four…
Two Hancock basketball players are arrested in connection with a shooting death
Detectives from the Santa Maria Police Department arrested two Allan Hancock College basketball players Jan. 10 in connection with the death of Terence Richardson, who was killed on the night of Dec. 30 near the campus. Richardson, 23, was shot a short distance from the college on the 1000 block of East Jones, according to…
An illegal by any other name …
What else could the Santa Barbara News-Press have done? Of course, you know by now that Santa Barbara County’s daily paper of record stirred up a lot of outrage when it printed a headline to float over its story about the influx of new applicants to the DMV at the start of the year. These…
Here’s what Lompoc’s got going for it
As 2015 begins, Lompoc has many new businesses and recreational projects in the planning process that will open in 2015 and 2016. These new businesses follow a number of small and large businesses that opened in 2012, 2013, and 2014, which brought expanded shopping choices and more than 1,200 new jobs to Lompoc. The new…
Megan Stevens
The Ernest Righetti High School girls’ soccer team is undefeated this season, and it could have something to do with the fact that the team is made up of veteran players who’ve been working the ball around the field together since they were kids. Attacking center midfielder Megan Stevens said it’s an honor for her…
Stay motivated and fit in 2015: Local experts share fitness tips
It’s mid-January and by now you may be thinking of giving up on that fitness resolution you made back on Jan. 1. Let’s face it, we all have days—weeks, months, years—when our reasons for not working out or eating right sometimes outweigh the reasons to stick with a fitness or exercise routine. You’re too busy…
