Cover Story
Murky future: Santa Barbara County is at crossroads following Trump administration’s proposal to expand leases for offshore
Bright blue waves crash against the cliffs beneath Highway 101. Light dances off the water’s glittering surface with each successive surge. Surfers carve through the liquid azure field as the sun reaches its zenith. Down on the beach below, a family places the finishing touches on a sand castle. An older couple armed with binoculars…
Poets Kevin Clark and Chris Vannoy come to Orcutt for a live reading
“Every once in a while, it’s true: I get sick of dying.” The first line of Kevin Clark’s poem, “This, Then,” is haunting and direct, yet purposeful enough to drag the reader into a long pause to clarify the sentiment in their own mind. Reading the San Luis Obispo poet’s work is reminiscent of speaking…
Gallery Los Olivos hosts Tranquility, a new multimedia exhibit
The front room of Gallery Los Olivos is possessed with an almost eerie calmness, a sense of beautiful stillness blanketed by the familiar comfort of art. The stoic and oddly refreshing mood is the result of the newest exhibit at the gallery, titled Tranquility. The show, which runs through Feb. 19, featured Santa Ynez Valley…
Opera Santa Barbara brings Rossini’s The Barber of Seville to the Santa Maria Public Library
It’s the most iconic line in all of opera music, used to signify the art form in everything from famous films to Bugs Bunny cartoons. It’s actually an excerpt from Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, explained Marylove Thralls, the marketing director for Opera Santa Barbara. “Everybody knows, ‘Figaro! Figaro! Figaro!’” Thralls said. “So people…
Slippery subject
Is there a debate that stinks quite like the one over oil? Each side already has heels snugly dug in, and they talk past each other by miles. And in Santa Barbara County, those miles span the difference between North and South. North County representatives tend to lean Republican and pro oil, whereas the more…
Trump ain’t what ails us
Imagine walking into a doctor’s office with a glaring, malignant growth on your face. He responds: “Oh, I can remove that!” Then he does, and sends you home without further attention. Would you be satisfied? Consider yourself healed? Or would you sense confusion between the symptom of your illness and its cause? Therein lies an…
Spotlight on: R&D los olivos
Rows of identical rings and earrings, shined and machine-shaped, glimmering with perfectly translucent, and symmetrical diamonds—that’s not what you’ll find at R&D los olivos. Owner Diane Dorsey didn’t open the Los Olivos shop to show jewelry that looks like something one would find in a chain or department store. She wanted to share her own…
Santa Maria Police arrest one, seek second separate robbery suspect
The Santa Maria Police Department (SMPD) made one arrest related to burglaries at local businesses and issued a request for the public to assist in locating another suspect for a separate case of armed robbery. On Jan. 25, the department announced it had identified and arrested a suspect of several robberies that occurred one month…
Pantry pride: It’s time to get serious about one of your kitchen’s most important spaces
So January blew past you and you failed at all of your New Year’s resolutions (sure, you’ll get that gym membership next week). But don’t despair just yet because I’ve got some tips for one easy thing that you can do to help improve your life in 2018—organizing your pantry. If you’re spending a lot…
Urban hiking: Krider’s wife wants him to get in shape
For completely unknown reasons to me, my wife wants me to be healthy. I don’t understand why, I’m heavily insured. She would be quite wealthy if she just let me eat doughnuts and die an early death. But apparently she likes having me at the house, so she wants me to move my body around…
Pensions are not the problem
I would like to point out that there is no “pension problem.” What is purported to be bloated pensions and the inability to fund them is actually a direct result of 40 years of corporate and wealthy class tax-slashing. After World War II, many corporate CEOs and directors felt a responsibility to their employees and…
Mother knows best: Local schools celebrate National School Choice Week
Valley Christian Academy’s elementary students dressed in gold and held posters that read, “Parents know best,” at a rally on Jan. 22, where they showed support for the right to choose an education. The local private school was just one of thousands across the U.S. that celebrated National School Choice Week from Jan. 21 to…
Rape case against local Uber driver echoes concerns in 2017 lawsuit
Open any popular rideshare app on a Friday or Saturday night, and you will see a veritable fleet of drivers for services like Uber and Lyft dashing and back and forth from pickups and drop-offs. But on Jan. 17, SLO County law enforcement officials made an announcement that raised questions about just how safe those…
Sheriff’s Office mum on which drug Maple High School students took on campus
The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office released minimal details regarding an incident at Maple High School in Vandenberg Village on Jan. 26 that resulted in six students being transported to a nearby hospital after they took an unidentified controlled substance. On Jan. 27, the office announced the students were treated and released to their families and…
Full dental services restored to adults covered by Medi-Cal
Full dental services were officially restored for adults covered by Medi-Cal on Jan. 1, but according to local health care providers, many individuals who qualify still don’t know about the recently expanded benefits. “They’re automatically covered if they have Medi-Cal,” said John Luther, chief dental officer at Western Dental. “So in California, this is a…
Santa Barbara County supervisors pass resolution opposing federal offshore oil leases
In a move that echoed past decisions, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution formally opposing new offshore oil leases in federal waters along the California coast on Jan. 30 at the board’s regular meeting. The vote split along party lines, with liberal Supervisors Joan Hartmann, Janet Wolf, and Das Williams voting…
Santa Maria begins installation of high-speed gigabit internet service
Santa Maria residents, businesses, and government agencies will soon have the fastest internet speeds on the Central Coast. The city of Santa Maria announced on Jan. 25 its agreement with Wave Broadband, an internet broadband and cable services company, allowing for the construction of a fiber-optic network ring that will bring high-speed, fiber-based, gigabit internet…
Nature Track Film Festival comes to Los Olivos
The inaugural Nature Track Film Festival is scheduled for March 23 through 25 in Los Olivos. Categories include Adventure, Conservation, Kids Connecting to Nature, Student, and a special category called Outdoors and Out of Bounds, which depicts extreme interactive outdoor activity. Juried awards determined by a panel of film industry professionals, outdoor guides, and teachers…
Lompoc Valley libraries seek local artwork for exhibition
The Lompoc Public Library’s Grossman Gallery is calling for Central Coast artists to submit work samples to be considered for exhibition. The works will be on display within the 2018-19 calendar years. To be considered, artists must provide a representative body of work of at least six exhibit-ready pieces that will be evaluated for technique,…
Remember the winter of 1977-1978
Elizabeth Schneider’s letter, “What is California’s future,” in the Jan. 4 of the Sun contains a glaring error. The 2016 rainy season was not a “once-in-a-century” event. The best example of why (it is not) would be the winter/spring of 1977 and 1978. At the time, the mid 1970s drought was considered one of the…
Clark Kringel
It’s Santa Maria High School senior Clark Kringel’s third year on the boys’ varsity basketball team, and as a captain, he’s helped lead the team to a second place ranking so far this season. “He’s an extremely hard worker,” coach David Yamate said, “on the court and in the classroom as well.” Kringle, a shooting…
Political Watch 2/1/18
• Gov. Jerry Brown delivered his last “State of the State” address on Jan. 25 in Sacramento, opening with statistics on California’s economic improvement since the Great Recession, and thanked Democrats and Republicans in the state Senate and Assembly for passing pension reform, workers’ compensation reform, the water bond, the rainy day fund, and the…
