Cover Story
Artists fighting cancer find new meaning in their own work through art therapy
When a doctor told Tonya Schultz she would have to have her arm amputated to fight the cancer slowly creeping through her body, she was determined to find another solution. “[They] told me we don’t have any other treatments, we need to amputate,” she said. “That’s when I said, ‘No, I don’t want to do…
Were you aware?
So many problems in our community and the greater society seem to languish, becoming monstrous, almost insurmountable issues before anything ever gets done to address them. Why? Well, most of the time we just don’t know about them, or we aren’t listening to those who’ve been speaking up. In our over-saturated society, everyone is clamouring…
Santa Maria Beer Fest brings enters third year with 35 brewers ready to pour libations
What kind of a beer drinker are you? I’m not asking if you’re a fun drunk or an angry drunk, I’m asking your preferred brew: Is it light beers? The hoppier Indian Pale Ales (IPAs)? Or maybe you’re like me, and you go for something dark and smokey, like a stout? Maybe you don’t know…
Prairie home compatriot: Folk singer/songwriter Tom Brosseau returns to Lompoc Wine Factory for solo show
When it comes to American folk music, the voice is everything. From the operatic power of Joan Baez to the raspy Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, those voices are what helped launch obscure songs into the pop audiences’ ears. And when those artists gave voice to their own poetry, people listened. For the North Dakota-born folk singer-songwriter…
Spirited away: Exploring the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose
I was expecting the Winchester Mystery House to be tucked away in a forest outside the city limits like Wayne Manor. Either that or in the middle of Nowhere, with a capital N (the unearthly, Lynchian wasteland in Courage the Cowardly Dog). You can imagine my surprise upon finding the landmark among bustling streets, sharing…
Painter Art Mortimer returns to Lompoc for Mural in a Weekend
Lompoc is adding a new mural to its collection, and the public has an opportunity to participate in its creation. Mural in a Weekend, which takes place Oct. 6 through 7 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., will offer the community a chance to pick up a brush and put their own strokes into the…
Local high schooler brings awareness to childhood cancer
Garhett Carter was only 2 years old when he was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer that most commonly affects the adrenal glands in young children. He was only 4 when the disease killed him in 2012. The months leading to Garhett’s death were filled with long hospital visits, astronomically expensive…
Spotlight on: Domestic Violence Solutions
For more than 40 years, Domestic Violence Solutions (DVS) has provided resources for Santa Barbara County families in need of protection from abusive spouses. The nonprofit is the area’s sole full-service operator with 24-hour emergency shelter and services for domestic violence victims. DVS currently manages three shelters in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, and Lompoc. The…
Lompoc to contract out dispatch center to either county or Santa Maria
In the five years Pat Walsh has been police chief in Lompoc, he’s hired 16 people to supplement the city’s understaffed emergency dispatch center. Not a single one works there today. It’s problem he says isn’t new for the Central Coast city. “Before I started here, one chief told me that at one point…
Money fight: Millions pour into the 24th District Congressional race while candidates take aim at each other’s donations
It takes a lot to win a congressional election: A message that appeals to voters, a dedicated staff of paid operatives and volunteers, a well-organized ground game, and lots of money. The race for California’s 24th Congressional District, which includes Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, is no exception. The race, a rematch between…
Gov. Jerry Brown vetoes campus abortion bill
California universities will not be required to offer medical abortions, according to one of the governor’s last ever vetoes. Gov. Jerry Brown signed and vetoed a slew of his last bills as California’s leader on Sept. 30, and Senate Bill 320 didn’t make the cut. The bill, which would have required each of the state’s…
Sheriff’s pot task force destroys thousands of pounds of cannabis in September
It’s been a busy month for the newly activated Sheriff’s Cannabis Compliance Team, the law enforcement arm tasked with eliminating Santa Barbara County’s illegal marijuana cultivation sites. Since Sept. 6, deputies and collaborating police officers destroyed more than 15,000 pot plants with what they said had an estimated street value of $7 million to $9…
Local priests named in California sexual abuse report
Several Catholic priests who worked at schools and churches throughout Santa Barbara County were named as accused sexual assailants in a report on clergy abuse that was released by a national law firm on Oct. 2. The report, which spans 125 pages and lists more than 300 clerics, religious employees, and volunteers who have been…
Back up: Rebecca discovers one of the harshest truths about middle age: Your back hurts
My back hurts. Literally right now it is screaming in pain at me, like a bratty child whose mother won’t let it have two cookies for dessert. My back just won’t shut up. In my youth, many people told me many important and serious truths about growing up that I would later find indispensable. Truths…
Elverhoj hosts poetry event
The Elverhoj Museum of History and Art will host a poetry reading featuring local poets on Oct. 6. The Poetry of Transition will feature readings from Steve Braff, Dorothy Jardin, and Teresa McNeil MacLean. Each poet has created work inspired by the Elverhoj’s retrospective Past, Present, and Future. Braff (pictured below) is the co-founder of…
Inside PCPA features conversations with actors and designers
The Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) will host Inside PCPA, a chance to meet with creative artists from the theater and learn more about their work. Resident actors and designers at PCPA will meet with attendees and discuss their inspiration and work. The event is an opportunity to learn more about how the theater works behind…
Democracy demands freedom, not license
In his recent Sun commentary, “Democracy demands a free press,” (Aug. 23), New Times Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey says the press “does its very best to be unbiased and fair,” which isn’t true at all. Then he tells his readers not to believe in Trump’s “fake news hype” simply because he fails to understand…
Thoughts on ‘Thumping Trump’
I found the review of Michael Moore’s new film (“Thumping Trump,” Sept. 27) very informative and well balanced. I remember Moore from his ’80s film on General Motors. He’s made a lucrative career attacking a free market system. I’m glad that he has focused on our dysfunctional political climate. Politically we are juxtaposed between freedom…
Vote Etta Waterfield for District 4
With the approach of Santa Maria’s first City Council election by district, city voters are faced with a clear choice–do we rely on representatives with deep roots and longtime service to the community, or do we support another incremental step in the plans of those who seek to engineer a radical change in direction for…
Santa Maria should support the railroad
Iam an employee of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad, having worked there for just over a year. I have learned a lot on the railroad over the past year, including track and train operations, signals, customers, and federal and state railroad regulations. There is a lot of satisfaction working for a transportation system that gives…
Political Watch 10/4/18
• Gov. Jerry Brown signed a few bills authored by state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) on Oct. 1, including a historic bill requiring gender diversity on corporate boards in California. SB 826 requires every publicly held corporation in the state to have a minimum of one woman on its board of directors by the…
Angie Cruz
When the Santa Maria High School girls volleyball team is in need of a little help, senior Angie Cruz unleashes her secret weapon: versatility. It’s been a tough season for the Saints, according to head coach Stella Guild, who said her already young and inexperienced team is also facing a recent change in coaching, and…
County considers fuel management and community defense plans for fires
A hearing designed to provide the public with information about fuel management and defensible space for fires in Santa Barbara County revealed differing philosophies between government officials and environmental groups. “The purpose of this is primarily to clarify and explain a fairly complex and in my opinion needlessly controversial part of what we do,” County…
