Cover Story
Community in the spotlight: Volunteer theater groups across the Central Coast adapt to stay alive
What does it take to keep a community theater open? There isn’t one simple answer. Theater groups up and down the Central Coast have been around for decades. Some have come and gone, yet others have more staying power. While groups like the Santa Maria Civic Theatre are fortunate to have a permanent location, that…
Lidos is back in business with new food truck
Lidos is hitting the road. Literally! Lidos, a staple in Santa Maria in various formats for years, is now a food truck focused on sandwiches such as Philly cheesesteaks and and hot pastrami. I can’t testify to how the food truck compares to the original Lidos restaurant because, sadly, I never had a chance to…
The Lompoc Concert Association welcomes guitarist Andy Backbarth for concert honoring Andres Segovia
Some instruments are more popular than others, and it’s especially hard to compete with the guitar. Thanks to its popularity, the musical market is flooded with guitar players of every stripe, but there is still one category of guitarist that is rare and most prized: the classical guitarist. For professional guitarist and singer/songwriter Andy Hackbarth—who…
PCPA announces fall acting camps
The Pacific Conservatory Theater (PCPA) is offering two Young People’s Projects Intensives this fall, for young aspiring actors. The workshops include small group teaching and mentorship with PCPA actors, musicians, and dancers. They are designed for young but serious performers. Each acting camp meets for six weeks on Sundays from Oct. 8 to Nov. 12.…
Gallery Los Olivos celebrates 25 years
Gallery Los Olivos is holding a special exhibit to celebrate its 25th year open in the same location. From Oct. 1 to 31, the gallery will feature items made with or using the theme of silver. Items include jewelry, photography, ceramics, paintings, sculptures, and other products made with wood, paper, stone, and paint. The gallery…
Santa Maria Arts Council raffles to support student art
The Santa Maria Arts Council will raffle off 10 birdhouses at the Chalk Art Festival in Orcutt on Sept. 30 to raise money for local student artists. Local artists who contributed birdhouses are Gerry Stinn, Dale Cornwell, Marilyn Dover Benson, Marti Fast, Carrie Rose Alexander, Hattie Stoddard, Caroline Reid, Erik and Judy Frost, Cynthia Valdez,…
Truly a history?
Mr. Cole did not do his homework when reporting the story concerning Jeff Wagonseller being put on administrative leave for a “history of sexual allegations” (“Cabrillo High School principal on administrative leave has history of sexual misconduct allegations,” Sept. 21). As a former employee of Lompoc Unified School District I can assure you this is…
Lompoc City Council within its rights
Thank you for your article discussing issues at the Lompoc City Council (“A house divided,” Sept. 14). Other background that might have helped readers is that when the budget was first introduced, both City Manager Patrick Wiemiller and Mayor Bob Lingl said that the budget needed to include three proposed tax increases to avoid city…
Spotlight on: Maverick Saloon
The Maverick Saloon has sold. For the past 14 years, Mark Burnett and his son, Travis, have owned and operated the 54-year-old bar and music venue, which featured live acts ranging from members of the original Byrds to Sugarland to a young Taylor Swift. That changes on Oct. 1, when the Burnetts hand off ownership…
Why is community theater important?
Kristina Pettit insurance “My mom used to take us to PCPA when we were kids, and I still remember how it’s just a really amazing experience.” Mandy Walker insurance “It brings people together, and it’s something good to do with our families.” David Gonzalez thespian “You get to see the local players.” Candyce Columbus thespian…
Hair isn’t fair
Lately, I have found there is an oddness about me. As I get older, I seem to be growing hair out of strange places on my body. Places where I don’t see any reason to grow long strands of hair. Places like my back and unfortunately, my ears. Yes, I know this isn’t a sexy…
‘Wally’s Cafe’ at Lompoc Civic Theatre is a funny yet heartbreaking romp spanning 40 years
At the surface, Wally’s Cafe looks like a biting Neil Simon-esque comedy about a bumbling businessman and his beleaguered wife, joking their way through their misfortune. But at its heart, the play is about the strength of a marriage and a dream, born in a bitterly unforgiving wasteland and nurtured through years of laughter and…
Chalk it up: OCAF Chalk Festival raises money for local arts programs for children
For at least one day of the year, people are encouraged to graffiti their streets. But that’s only if they’re attending the Chalk Festival. On Sept. 30, the Orcutt Children’s Arts Foundation (OCAF) will host its sixth annual Chalk Festival on the streets of Old Town Orcutt. The event features children and adults of all…
Tracy Ward
Tracy Ward was 8 years old when she got her first pony for Christmas. She’s been on horseback ever since. Now an instructor at Eagle Flight Farm in Los Olivos, Ward owns five horses and told the Sun that she rides daily. “It’s pretty much a full-time job,” she said. “If I’m not riding, I’m…
South County Youth Coalition Fun Run celebrates 20 years of program support for kids
Going for a regular run is a great way to boost cardiovascular health and overall fitness, but for Nipomoans, one annual jog has done much more than that. The South County Youth Coalition will hold its 20th annual Fun Run event on Oct. 7 this year, marking two solid decades of joining together to support…
Divided we stand
Everyone is so polarized these days! But before we get to the President and his Twitter feud with football teams, let’s focus a bit closer to home. The Lompoc City Council has agreed to get together and totally not fire City Manager Patrick Wiemiller, but just talk about their feelings and city code or whatever.…
No pot in my backyard
Legalizing cannabis under Proposition 64 reflects the incredible stupidity of the voters in California. Because of their deranged actions, we all have to deal with the potheads around us who want to be legal now at all of our expenses. We are opposed to any pot, anywhere. But the city of Lompoc is urged to…
Buyer’s remorse on Rep. Carbajal
As voters of the 24th Congressional District, we heard a lot of campaign promises from Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) when he ran to represent us on the Southern Coast. Rep. Carbajal promised to be a bipartisan voice and work with both sides of the aisle to fix the gridlock in Washington. After reviewing his…
Can you explain it?
Electricity and electronics have always fascinated me. The how and why TV and radio worked started me on the course of my career and hobbies. However, I never really thought I understood a subject unless I could clearly explain it to someone else. In the same manner, climate change, more specifically global warming, piqued my…
Political Watch 9/28/17
• In a letter sent to the White House Sept. 25, U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Kamala Harris (D-California) joined a group of 37 Senators in calling for President Donald Trump to extend the DACA renewal deadline past Oct. 5 considering the three massive storms that have disrupted the lives of so many Americans.…
Santa Maria High School students preregister to vote with state politicians
When California State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) was in high school, she watched angrily as her 18-year-old male classmates were forced into fighting a war many of them disagreed with in Vietnam. What was most frustrating, Jackson told a crowd of Santa Maria High School students on Sept. 20, was that 18-year-olds at the…
Hobnobbing with Helen: Celebrity’s club
This event had a ton of pizazz. I am referring to the annual Celebrity Waiters Night held on Thursday, Sept. 21, at the Santa Maria Country Club, where 230 locals gathered to raise money for the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Maria Valey. There was so much going on—it made the beat of a…
Lompoc City Council plans meeting to resolve issues among members
The Lompoc City Council agreed to hold a meeting to evaluate City Manager Patrick Wiemiller and council members in an attempt to improve communication after months of public feuding. “I think it’s important that the council can open lines of communication as a whole,” Councilmember Jim Mosby told the Sun. At its Sept. 19 meeting,…
Local vendors still feeling effects of this season’s avocado shortage
“At the moment, we do not have guacamole or extra avocado,” read the sign posted in a hallway of El Pueblito Restaurante’s main entrance on Sept. 22. The straightforward statement was followed by an apology, and an explanation as to why the Santa Maria restaurant was missing one of its key ingredients. It wasn’t poor…
County Jail to offer ride program services soon
Nearly nine months after Santa Barbara County’s jail ride program came to an unannounced end in January, a new version of the old program is still not up and running as promised. But according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, progress is being made. “We are close to finalizing a deal and will make…
DA: Santa Barbara County employee allegedly misappropriated $1.7 million in public funds
The court case involving a Santa Barbara County senior level accountant who allegedly embezzled $1.7 million in public funds took another step forward on Sept. 25. That morning, Judge Clifford Anderson in Santa Barbara presided over the arraignment of Lynn Hogan, a Public Works Department accountant, on a 27-count complaint filed by the county District…
Tentative Camp 4 agreement met with backlash
After years of heated debate, a Santa Barbara County ad hoc subcommittee recently released a summary of its tentative agreement with the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians concerning development on Camp 4—a 1,400-acre parcel of land acquired by the tribe in 2010 and placed into federal trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in…
Valley Art Gallery gets a new location
Orcutt’s Valley Art Gallery is moving. On Sept. 27, the gallery will shutter its doors at 1108 E. Clark Ave. and move to 125 W. Clark Ave. in Old Orcutt. The new gallery will officially open for viewing and business on Oct. 10. The nonprofit organization features local artists and original works of art. The…
