Cover Story
A mile beneath our feet: A massive natural gas leak in L.A. prompts the question–could it happen in Santa Barbara County?
The La Goleta gas storage field nestles between the city of Goleta and the ocean, only a couple hundred feet inland. To its north lies a residential community that families call home, and the Santa Barbara Airport. Goleta Beach Park, where people play, bike, sunbathe, and fish off the pier, sits just south of La…
Chumash chairman resigns in favor of culinary school
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians’ longtime leader is resigning, packing his bags, and moving to New York for culinary school—an unexpected move from Vincent Armenta. Armenta, who held the position of tribal chairman for 17 years, announced his resignation on March 17. He will now pursue an education at the Culinary Institute of…
Preview: Taste of Solvang
Solvang dining has more to offer than just Danish pastries—though let’s be honest, Danish pastries play a big role. Staff Writer Brenna Swanston headed to Taste of Solvang on March 19 to sample the city’s best food and drink. See it all for yourself right here, and keep an eye out for the full review…
Land deal: Should Santa Barbara County have paid more for land it acquired through eminent domain for tiger salamander habitat?
How much is a piece of land worth? Compensation is the ultimate question when the government uses its power of eminent domain to seize private property for public use. Such a question was recently considered at California’s 2nd Appellate Court in the matter of a 15.69 acre piece of land near Lompoc that the county…
What businesses would you like to see more of in Santa Maria?
Susanne Bredall caretaker “More natural-type stores, more natural food stores, natural clothing stores. And more things for kids that are healthy.” Sarah Buchanan cosmetics manager “I would like to see more bookstores, if we’re going to be honest. There’s nothing but used bookstores and it’s a tragedy.” Jered Scott photographer “More quality mom-and-pop shops, both…
22nd SLOIFF honors Ann-Margret
Academy Award Winner Alan Arkin presented Ann-Margret with the 2016 King Vidor Award at the SLO International Film Film Festival Awards Show on Saturday, March 19, 2016 at the Fremont Theatre in San Luis Obispo. PHOTOS BY DAVID MINSKY
Transparency is good for more than windows
More than once I’ve been called a nosy little bird. I think it’s more accurate to say I’m a champion for transparency. More often than not the people who object to my snooping questions are politicians. No surprise, politicians and journalists have long had a love/hate relationship. They need us in order to forward their…
PCPA The Pacific Conservatory Theatre announces new managing director
PCPA The Pacific Conservatory Theatre welcomes Jennifer Schwartz as the new managing director for the conservatory beginning in January. Schwartz has more than 15 years of experience as a nonprofit arts manager, according to a release from the conservatory. Schwartz’s experience includes work for the San Jose Repertory Theatre, SFJAZZ, the San Francisco Film Society,…
Capps announces 2016 Congressional Art Competition
Representative Lois Capps announced that she is seeking entries for the annual Congressional Art Competition for 2016. The competition offers art students in high school within the 24th Congressional District a chance to have their winning artwork hang at the U.S. Capitol for one year. Completed work and an application must be submitted to one…
Frame Gallery hosts Eric Okerblom Foundation fundraiser
The Frame Gallery in Orcutt hosts a special fundraiser event—An Evening with Jill Targer—for the Eric Okerblom Foundation on April 1 at the gallery. The event will include art, wine, and food in a VIP reception with artist Targer and a chance to win one of her giclee prints. The Frame Gallery is located at…
Flying Goat Cellars in Lompoc exhibits the mystic art of Carol Kemp
View a slideshow of Carol Kemp’s work. Some of the earliest evidence of human art is found in caves, where stony walls spring to life with the forms of various creatures, including those early people. Paleoanthropologists surmise that these representations were part of a ritualistic ceremony for our ancestors, underscoring the use of art as…
Wildling Museum features the coast-inspired wood block prints by Tom Killion
California’s coast has been an inspiration for visual artists of most media for generations now. Each day provides a fresh view of the Pacific churning against the beaches and eroding cliffs or hills, ending with sunsets bursting with deep and resonant hues. The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature is the first museum to house…
Chris Smither plays fingerstyle guitar for Tales from the Tavern
New Orleans-raised guitarist and singer/songwriter Chris Smither was part of the folk revival the 1950s and 1960s, which happened right as rock ’n’ roll surged into popular consciousness. As a youth steeped in music, he was immediately enamored with a certain style of country and blues guitar playing found not just in the South, but…
March Madness and chicken wings: The best places in town to eat, drink, and watch basketball around Santa Maria
I don’t know crap about sports, but I do know a little about wings and beer. I also know March Madness is a thing that happens, and sometimes while it’s happening you can find me at Buffalo Wild Wings drunkenly screaming “SPORTS!” at the TV with barbecue sauce slathered all over my face. I thus…
Gabriel Alcantara
Many successful athletes remember falling in love with their chosen sport at a young age—in some cases as soon as they were able to catch a football or swing a baseball bat. Sometimes, though, the story behind an athlete’s love of the game is not so romantic. Sometimes, a kid just stumbles into a sport,…
Final pitch: Longtime Santa Maria softball coach Matt Andree wraps up a ‘fabulous’ coaching career
Matt Andree knew, on some level, that this day was coming. The Santa Maria High School softball coach remembers one of the last conversations he had with his father before he passed away from cancer in 1996. Andree’s dad, a lifelong youth sports coach, had expressed regret over the amount of family time he had…
Beers up, pins down
If you don’t drink beer when you bowl, then you’re simply doing it wrong. Yes, I know there are people who don’t imbibe alcohol and I respect that. I don’t personally understand it, but I do respect it. But when I meet people who don’t drink (and I rarely meet these people because I’m usually…
Field and Hartmann opposed charity fundraisers at county wineries
Two of the candidates for the 3rd District Supervisor are hostile to charity fundraisers at county wineries. When the winery ordinance was first proposed, several of us were apprehensive that the regulation of special events would adversely affect charitable events at wineries. We drafted a resolution asking the county not to count charity events at…
Uebersax opposes U.S. wars and military interventionism
I was pleased to see your story about the U.S. congressional race in the 24th District featured in the March 16 edition of the Sun. I was not so pleased, however, to see that my platform was summarized as “student debt and college tuition reform, health care and insurance, and environmental issues.” As I repeatedly…
Supervisor Adam should lead on immigration
In remarks at a public hearing on the coordination of county law enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 4th District Supervisor Peter Adam referred to an “utter breakdown of the rule of law” in describing illegal immigration in the U.S. Supervisior Adam also asserted that “people shouldn’t be here without permission, that is, illegally.”…
EdCamp ‘unconference’ set for educators
The EdCamp Santa Maria education conference will be held at Righetti High School on Saturday, April 23. The conference structure is informal, with attendees determining the content of the sessions, based on the interests and needs of participants. The conference will be free from corporate vendors and booths, with the focus solely on conversations about…
Guadalupe Kids Come First Art Gala to raise money to support student achievement
The imaginative artwork of Kermit McKenzie Junior High School students will provide a unique and unforgettable experience during the Guadalupe Kids Come First Art Gala on Thursday, March 24. The event, which starts at 6 p.m. and wraps up at 8:30 p.m., takes place at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts and Education Center, 1055 Guadalupe St.…
Spotlight on: Guadalupe Dunes Center
Do you like orchids? Did you know that Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties are home to two species of native orchids? According to Doug Jenzen, executive director of the Guadalupe Dunes Center, they aren’t the type of big and colorful flowers you’ll see at the grocery store, yet they are still important enough…
Political Watch 3/24/2016
• On Friday, March 18, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) toured Channel Islands National Park to highlight the conservation work underway to recover four subspecies of island foxes from the endangered species list. While there, Jewell and Capps also distributed Every Kid in a Park passes to…
Community Notebook 3/24/16 – 3/31/16
MONDAY, MARCH 28 • The South County Advisory Council has its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Nipomo Community Services District Headquarters, 148 S. Wilson St., Nipomo. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30 • The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission has its regular meeting at 9 a.m. in the Planning Commission Hearing Room, 123 E. Anapamu St.,…
Corrections
• In the Sun’s March 17 issue, “The race is on,” it was mentioned that Santa Barbara mayor Helene Schneider helped form a housing mediation task force with federal dollars to combat mass eviction. It should be noted that the mediation task force was already in existence with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…
Lompoc councilmember to host transparency forum
At Lompoc’s March 15 City Council meeting, resident Jane Behr demanded the council address the issue of government transparency. “I’d like to ask you to agendize the topic of transparency,” Behr said at public comment, “with the goal of having a public discussion with public input on ways to increase the openness of city government.”…
Bonipak lays off hundreds of workers amid ICE investigation
Bonita Packing Company (Bonipak) fired nearly 300 farmworkers last week following a visit by agents from the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, according to Central Coast Alliance United for A Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) Community Organizing Director Hazel Davalos, who confirmed the firings to the Sun. Messages left with Bonipak by the Sun were…
Santa Barbara County bans plastic bags
Orcutt shoppers should start hanging onto their dimes, because checking out at the grocery store just got a little less convenient and a little more environmentally friendly for residents of unincorporated communities. A Santa Barbara County ordinance banning single-use plastic bags went into effect Tuesday, March 22, prohibiting large grocery stores, liquor stores, and pharmacies…
Vandenberg Air Force Base protestor Dennis Apel refuses to obey probation sentence
Arrest, jail, and even probation aren’t enough to keep Dennis Apel from protesting against the use of nuclear weapons around the world. On March 17, a federal judge sentenced Apel to six months of supervised probation and 200 hours of community service. Apel made his appearance at the federal bankruptcy court in Santa Barbara, where…
