Cover Story
Spice problems: Guadalupe City Council recently outlawed the possession of synthetic cannabinoids, but how dangerous are they, exactly?
Police officers see a juvenile in a small alleyway of a residential neighborhood in Guadalupe. Thinking he might be tagging, they stop to check for vandalism. The young man isn’t vandalizing property, but he isn’t complying with their instructions, either. He is sweaty, agitated, and strangely aggressive with the officers. In the weirdly flat language…
Capps unlock: Candidates are already campaigning for Lois Capps’ seat after she announced this term would be her last
U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) announced her retirement plans in a gentle, short-and-sweet video address. “I’m proud of the work that we’ve done together here on the Central Coast—to improve education, to expand health care, to support businesses and our veterans, to protect the environment and agriculture—and I’ve been so humbled and honored that…
Budget roulette
Red fish, blue fish, green fish. North County Jail, Main Jail, Santa Maria Jail. SB 1022, AB 109, Prop. 47. One fish, two fish, three fish. Money, staffing, numbers. All of this stuff is too much to wrap my little pea-sized birdbrain around, except for the fish. That I can get behind. For everything else,…
Why do you think people use synthetic alternatives to marijuana?
Ariel Brian student “People who want to use marijuana but don’t want to have the consequences.” Frances Jimenez cashier “I don’t know. I don’t like anything having to do with marijuana. It is not good for Santa Maria, especially the children in it. I don’t know how it [synthetic marijuana] is made.” Jenni Razo retired…
Allan Hancock College features the bronze work of Joseph Castle in the show The Things We Carry
View a slideshow of Joseph Castle’s work. Once cooled from its molten state, bronze is an almost immovable media. Bronze sculptor and local artist Joseph Castle doesn’t pour the liquid hot metal personally, but first makes a mold—the shell of the work he is hoping to create—before overseeing his foundry-man’s pouring. The artist’s bronze relief…
Q-and-A with Clark Staub, founder of Full of Life Flatbread
Owner of one of the most popular destinations in Northern Santa Barbara County’s restaurant scene, Clark Staub, has built a thriving business centered on pizza, or as he prefers to call it, flatbread. For 13 years, Full of Life Flatbread has handcrafted seasonal flatbreads, baked fast in a scorching hot, oak-fired stone oven, and served…
If dogs had Instagram
My dog Finn, as my carpets will attest, is very much an inside dog. And like we do with my kids, we have to sometimes put him outside for some fresh air and the chance to explore something beyond video game controllers, left socks, and the occasional stray Lego piece. That’s when the fun begins…
Teen musicians in the spotlight for Philharmonic finale
Classical music does not come easy. A single performance is the tip of an iceberg, with the hours and hours of careful practice behind it remaining unheard by audiences. Even the most elaborate and ornate performances of monumental art music begin with individual musicians learning the piece note by note, phrase by phrase. The performers…
Santa Maria Civic Theatre closes season with ‘Brooklyn Boy’
The Santa Maria Civic Theatre is closing its 56th season with a production of Brooklyn Boy, opening April 24 and running on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. through May 16 and closing on May 17 at 1:30 p.m. Brooklyn Boy explores the character Eric Weiss, a struggling author who finally gets success by telling…
Wildling Museum seeks entries for photo competition
The Wildling Museum is currently accepting entries for the annual Nature Photography Competition through April 30 at 5 p.m. The theme for the competition this year is nature’s patterns, which asks photographers to focus on the stripes, waves, spirals, spots, cracks, lumps, and bumps found in the natural world. Photographers must be 18 years old…
League of Women Voters Santa Maria holds book group
The League of Women Voters Santa Maria Valley Book Group welcomes current and potential members to regular, informal luncheon discussions happening the last Wednesday of the month from noon to 1 p.m. at The Natural Café in Santa Maria. The book club includes a general emphasis on government, politics, and history, with the upcoming meeting…
Lompoc Valley Arts Council holds quarterly forum
The Lompoc Valley Arts Council’s upcoming quarterly forum includes a talk by owner of Certain Sparks Music, Randall Sena, the featured presenter on the April 16 forum. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. with a meeting of the Arts Council board. A social time is set for 6:45 p.m., with the presentation by Sena…
Help out the Orcutt Library
The Friends of the Orcutt Library is holding a used book sale on April 18 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Orcutt Branch Library. Funds raised will go toward new books for adults and children. The sale will include books, puzzles, videotapes, and collectible books at the Orcutt Branch Library, 175 S. Broadway,…
The Discovery Museum welcomes families to the Kite Festival
Santa Maria’s gusty winds usually results in bent palm trees and the occasional downed eucalyptus, but the powerful currents that sweep across the flat valley also inspired the beginning of the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum’s Free Family Kite Festival six years ago. The annual event brings local families, organizations, businesses, and kite experts together…
Khalil Mondol
Sometimes being declared “No. 1” is how athletes define success. Other times, it could be advancing to the next round in a competition. Most of the time, however, that feeling sets in after an athlete establishes a new personal best. Contemplating all that, it’s easy to imagine how Allan Hancock College track sophmore and rookie…
Orcutt Academy robotics team heads for world championships
The Orcutt Academy High School varsity robotics team is heading to the 2015 FIRST Robotics world championship for the second time in five years. The last was in 2012, two years after the team was created. And this time, Ty Fredriks wants everyone on the team, known as No. 3512 in competition and Spartatroniks in…
The benchwarmer: Keep baseball the way it is
There are a few traditions that my family diligently observes: cinnamon rolls at Christmas, family breakfast on Sundays, and baseball season. Just like Christmas, baseball season comes around once a year. Crops are planted, backyard barbecues are ignited, and all eyes are trained on opening day. I love baseball season. This year, like every year,…
Public distrust of PG&E’s ‘Culture of Safety’
On a recent Thursday, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) levied a record $1.6 billion penalty on PG&E for the 2010 gas pipeline explosion that killed eight in the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno. Since the explosion, PG&E has been issued many safety citations by the CPUC. Not surprisingly the commission plans to launch…
Farmers–including almond growers–don’t take water for granted
This letter is being written with the hope of broadening the views of Karen Juran (“A ‘nut’ case,” April 9) and those who agree with her that the governor is being too soft on farmers. Please understand that this drought affects us all—some more than others. People who live in town may lose their lawns;…
The banned wagon
This is a bit early in the year for me to be making one of my semi-regular pushes to get people to not just read, but to read consciously and intentionally, since I usually reserve making such a case for Banned Books Week in the fall. The American Library Association, however, just released its list…
Spotlight on: Santa Maria Stereo
An orange-colored classic car, maybe a Chevy Impala, pulls into the parking lot of Santa Maria Stereo and a tan, middle-aged man wearing sunglasses gets out. Store manager Jon Blaies greets him and a short conversation ensues. A few laughs, a couple pats on the shoulder, and the man walks out with a satisfied look…
Political Watch 4/16/15
• A California bill that would take away a parent’s ability to opt out of vaccinating their children due to personal beliefs passed out of the Senate Health Committee, 6-2, on April 8. While medical expemtions would still remeain, if a parent chooses to not vaccinate their child because of personal beliefs, that child would…
Community Notebook 4/16/15 – 4/23/15
TUESDAY, APRIL 21 • The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has its regular meeting at 9 a.m. in the Betteravia Government Center’s Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 511 E. Lakeside Parkway, Ste. 141, Santa Maria. 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…
Hobnobbing with Helen
Do you remember when an upscale art gallery on Clark Avenue in Old Orcutt had a wine and cheese reception once a month? It was sooo popular. Many people were saddened when the gallery closed and morphed into a pizza parlor that, no, doesn’t have the same monthly getting-together soirées. Robert and Heidi Gruetzemacher decided…
Hard sell: Lompoc talks body cameras for its police department
Police body cameras are so hot right now they made Lompoc City Manager Patrick Wiemiller’s State of the City speech on April 7. He said the cameras weren’t an easy sell for him, but noted that Police Chief Pat Walsh was somehow able to win him over on the issue. Although no one in the…
Lompoc police and fire officials discover alleged hash oil labs
Three people were arrested in Lompoc on April 7 after police and fire fighters searched two residences where alleged cannabis honey oil labs were discovered, according to the Lompoc Police Department. Police served warrants to search two homes on North L Street. Following the searches, Sterling Ranft, 26; Christian Wayne Attula, 25; and Edward Henderson,…
Southern SLO County drug raid yields a dozen arrests
State and federal authorities arrested 12 people on April 7 following a raid on an alleged drug trafficking organization in southern San Luis Obispo County, according to FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller. Dubbed “Operation: All In The Family,” the raid conducted in the early morning hours was a coordinated effort between the FBI; California Highway Patrol;…
Lucia Mar reaches a tentative agreement with teachers
The Lucia Mar Unified School District reached a tentative agreement with the Lucia Mar Unified Teachers Association on April 8 in an effort to avoid a teachers strike. The agreement is for a 6 percent raise in teachers’ salaries over the next three years. Before the agreement is finalized, it’s subject to ratification by the…
Grand jury report blasts Guadalupe’s financial viability
The Santa Barbara County grand jury released a report on April 10 calling Guadalupe’s financial past a “shell game” and recommending that the city disincorporate. The report essentially comes down to one thing: The city doesn’t generate enough revenue to cover the cost of running itself. Guadalupe City Administrator Andrew Carter said he wasn’t surprised…
