Cover Story
No age limit: Senior substance abuse presents unique challenges and concerns for those seeking to get them support and treatment
At around 10:30 a.m. in a small room at the SLO County Veteran’s Memorial Building, Colin Quennell was telling a story. The story was a personal one. Quennell, a licensed therapist and program supervisor for the SLO County Health Agency’s Drug and Alcohol Services Department, was talking about an elderly family member that fell on…
Santa Maria fire crews respond to blaze at Shaw’s steakhouse, furniture store
At 11 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 3, fire crews were still working to put out a fire reported hours earlier at Shaw’s Restaurant and the neighboring furniture store. The Santa Maria Fire Department responded to the fire at 5:45 a.m., according to Battalion Chief Tony Clayburg. Despite “aggressive” efforts to put out the fire, it…
Orcutt Community Theater takes latest production, ‘Rumors,’ to a new venue
A nearly-dead body, a missing wife, and a gaggle of colorful party goers help kick off Orcutt Community Theater’s latest production. The theater group is bringing Neil Simon’s award-winning Rumors to Orcutt, from Jan. 11 through 20, in what they hope will be another attempt to showcase the strength of local talent and their commitment…
Anthony’s brings Southern roots to Guadalupe
The minute I tasted the baked beans at Anthony’s, a new sports bar in Guadalupe, I instantly recognized something familiar. The smoky sweet beans had something different about them–a little kick of a heat that finished smooth at the end. I hadn’t tasted anything like this in years, but I instantly recognized the strong Southern…
Viva el Arte brings Mariachi Los Camperos to Guadalupe for two free concerts
It’s been almost two years since Guadalupe heard the cascading trumpets, violins, and operatic vocals of Mariachi Los Camperos, the renowned mariachi group out of LA, but the sleepy town is about to blow up again with their music. The group is set to return on Jan. 12 for two free community concerts thanks to…
Artist John Card celebrates long history with Valley Art Gallery
John Card has drawn since his earliest days growing up in Montana, but it wasn’t until his retirement on the Central Coast that his “spare-time diversion” became a more serious artistic endeavor. Since then, Card has expanded his range of media and has become a familiar face in the local art scene. For more than…
Flavored milk no longer allowed in Happy Meals, but OK in school lunches
While some local restaurants are preparing for a new and more stringent regulation on kids’ meals, schools are seeing rollbacks of Obama-era nutrition standards for meals served on campus. A bill that requires California restaurants to serve water, unflavored milk, or a nondairy milk alternative with kids’ meals was signed into law in September 2018…
Spotlight on: Mindbody/Vista Equity Partners
The fast-growing, high-earning Central Coast tech firm Mindbody made a billion-dollar announcement just in time for Christmas. On Dec. 24, the SLO-based company announced an acquisition agreement with the San Francisco-based investment firm Vista Equity Partners, which plans to buy all of Mindbody’s outstanding shares for $1.9 billion. The move will return Mindbody, which first…
New state senate bill aims to keep some drunk drivers away from firearms
Individuals who have been convicted of some alcohol-related crimes are four to five times more likely to commit violent or gun-related crimes later on, according to a study published in 2017 by UC Davis. Now, some state legislators are hoping to keep guns away from those who have been convicted of a few crimes involving…
Suspect in triple homicide killed by Sheriff’s Office deputies
An armed Orcutt man and former Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office deputy was shot and killed by current deputies on Dec. 28 during a standoff that ensued after the man allegedly murdered two of his relatives and another individual earlier that day. David McNabb, 43, was found by deputies inside his Orcutt home on the…
Few Santa Barbara County crops test positive for illegal pesticide residue
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation released its most recent study on pesticide use on Dec. 27, and some Santa Barbara County growers were forced to destroy food products that tested positive for illegal levels of pesticide residues. During its 2017 survey of pesticide use, the Department of Pesticide Regulation collected and tested 3,695 samples…
County responds to LA Times report, issues emergency debris flow mitigation permit
Santa Barbara County spent the weekend before Christmas defending its actions prior to the Montecito debris flow after an extensive LA Times report said county officials didn’t do enough to help mitigate the disaster. According to the report published on Dec. 20, county officials “did not heed decades-old warnings to build bigger basins” above Montecito…
Talent showcase set for Santa Maria
A spotlight on local performing artists is set for Jan. 13 at the Moxie Cafe in Santa Maria, with a top cash prize of $500. Local artist and entertainer Lezlie Thoroddsson presents The Showcase of Talent, an outlet for creative artists in the Santa Maria Valley. Performers range in age from 13 to 65 performing…
CORE Winery welcomes SLO and Santa Barbara poets
Cal Poly Professor Sarah Grieve and Santa Barbara poet Gudrun Bortman are set to present readings from their work on Jan. 12, as part of CORE Winery’s ongoing Second Saturday poetry night. Grieve, who holds a Ph.D. from Arizona State University, is a lecturer in the English department at Cal Poly. Her poetry has appeared…
Santa Maria Public Library offers local history series
The Santa Maria Public Library announced a new free local history series, titled “Heart of the Valley,” in partnership with local historian Shirley Contreras. The history series will feature a speaker every month, focused on local history in the Santa Maria Valley. Jay Hardy, CEO of Hardy Diagnostics and owner of Moxie Cafe, will kick…
Exxon’s lump of coal
At the start of our Christmas season, Exxon Petroleum (aka Aera Energy), dropped a lump of coal into Santa Barbara County’s stocking. They submitted a draft environmental impact report to the County Planning Commission to dramatically increase oil and gas extraction below the Santa Maria groundwater table. With hundreds of new wells, Exxon plans to…
Armendariz is wrong about oil, county coffers
Joe Armendariz writes that Santa Barbara County could generate more in annual property taxes from increased oil and gas production (“Man-made disaster and unforced error,” Dec. 13), which is needed because our county is in a “chronic financial crisis.” I respectfully disagree on several points. The number of tax dollars from increased oil production cited…
Why the school bonds failed
The 2018 election season saw the taxpayers in Lompoc and Santa Maria being asked to approve two school bonds, each for $79 million. Both the Lompoc Union School District (LUSD) and Allan Hancock College were asking for more from us. The former was designated Measure E, the latter Measure y. This was the third time…
Grim predictors
When tragedy hits a community, words like “unbelievable,” “unexpected,” and “unthinkable” get thrown around by public leaders, media, and citizens alike. But for those of us who listen closely to experts, many of these issues aren’t unexpected at all, and in fact, they’re predictable. Look at the recent, extensive LA Times report that charged Santa…
Political Watch 1/03/19
• Outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press on Dec. 21 and discussed California’s deadly and unprecedented wildfire season, pointing to the role climate change has played in the fight against wildfires. “It’s bigger because fire season, instead of being a few months around the summer, a little bit in the fall,…
Eric Vera
Last season, Pioneer Valley High School student Eric Vera took seventh in the California Interscholastic Federation State Wrestling Championship. This year, Vera’s coach said he has a good chance of fighting his way up to the very top. Vera, now a junior at Pioneer Valley, is remarkably coachable, according to coach Kent Olson. The 160-pound…
Local federal employees home for shutdown
As the president and Congress played chicken over funding for a proposed wall at the U.S.-Mexico border at the end of the year, some local federal employees were out of work. The stalemate between President Donald Trump and Democratic Party leaders led to a partial government shutdown in late December, with federal employees across the…
