Cover Story
Longtime Giavanni’s employee Eric McDaniel becomes the Orcutt pizzeria’s new owner
Eric McDaniel was 18 when he started his first job, working in the kitchen of Giavanni’s Pizza in Orcutt. Could he have predicted owning the joint about two decades later? “It kind of is a little bit of a dream come true,” said McDaniel, who bought the pizzeria with his wife, Brittany Jones-McDaniel, in early…
NEW FLICKS: HUSTLE
NEW FLICKS: HUSTLE Where’s it playing? Netflix What’s it rated? R Jeremiah Zager (We the Animals) directs Adam Sandler as Stanley Sugerman, a globetrotting but down-on-his-luck basketball scout for the Philadelphia ’76ers who dreams of a coaching job that will keep him closer to home and his wife Teresa (Queen Latifah) and daughter Alex (Jordan…
No mama drama
Benign, boring budget hearings usually snooze themselves into oblivion, but every now and then a little heat enters the building—as it did during the June 14 Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors hearing. What was the fight over? Extra dollars. Unallocated money. Up for grabs and ready for takers! County staff recommended that the board…
Political Watch: June 23, 2022
• The Santa Barbara County COVID-19 Community Data Dashboard will be transitioning to a new format using data from the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) COVID-19 dashboard beginning July 1, the county Public Health Department announced on June 17. This change marks an important step in the COVID-19 response as county Public Health enacts…
Board of Supervisors debate unallocated budget funds
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved the 2022-23 budget 4-1 (with 4th District Supervisor Bob Nelson dissenting), with a motion to divide unallocated funds between the county’s districts—a conversation that sparked heated debate between the supervisors. For the upcoming fiscal year, the county has a $1.4 billion budget, with an unallocated remaining…
Solvang approves water and wastewater rate increases
The Solvang City Council’s latest discussion about water infrastructure took a structureless turn during a recent public hearing on utility rate increases. Councilmember Mark Infanti put a pause on public comment during the City Council’s June 13 meeting, after multiple individuals criticized a new five-year water and wastewater rate structure, proposed to take effect in…
Illegal marijuana bust signals larger county problem
During the warranted search of a Santa Maria resident’s home, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Cannabis Compliance Team found more than 2 ounces of cocaine, more than 2,000 counterfeit pills (frequently containing fentanyl), more than $5,000 in cash, and an illegally possessed assault weapon with high-capacity magazines, according to the Sheriff’s Office. “The suspect,…
As COVID-19 lingers, county officials work to provide adequate mental health services to support both English- and Spanish-speaking communities
Steve DeLira wasn’t expecting to have an aunt die of COVID-19, or any relative for that matter. His cousin held her mom in her arms as she passed away, he recalled, and one thing DeLira remembered worrying about was whether his cousin would catch COVID-19 too, he said. “How could I let my mother pass…
A new grant program allows Santa Maria to provide outdoor recreation opportunities
Outdoor space became more important for Santa Marians when COVID-19 hit and social distancing took over, said Dennis Smitherman, the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department manager. “If you drove by a park [in Santa Maria] and it wasn’t full, it was a bad weather day,” Smitherman said. “I think people got used to being…
Ignorance isn’t bliss
John Donegan is fortunate that, as far as I know, there are no state laws that make it a crime to be ignorant. Else, he’d be in danger of being incarcerated. His diatribe (“A medical miracle,” New Times, June 9) about Merck’s decision to update its legendary “manual” to reflect 21st century thinking by replacing…
Political causes shouldn’t hold sway over medical classifications
Sometimes important advances in science can come from a most improbable source: politics. Who would have thought that the political process could contribute so much to advance science? Recently, the publishers of an established and renowned medical reference work, the Merck Manual, found themselves in the politically uncomfortable position of being cited by the Florida…
Local author Lida Sideris releases fifth mystery novel, ‘Gambling with Murder’
While working full time as a lawyer, Lida Sideris relied on nights, weekends, and scattered pockets of spare time—usually in the form of 5 a.m. writing sessions—to finish her first novel. Sideris released the passion project, Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters, in 2015. The book introduced readers to an adventurous protagonist, Corrie Locke, who, like…
Buttonwood Farm and Winery announces summer music lineup
Summer Sundays, a special weekly live music program, kicked off at Buttonwood Farm and Winery in June. Upcoming artists scheduled to perform include David Segall on Sunday, June 26, Shawn Jones on Sunday, July 10, and Will Breman on Sunday, July 17. Visit buttonwoodwinery.com for more info on the music series. Buttonwood Farm is located…
The Great American Melodrama presents a Western spoof, ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sunburnt Kid’
Thursday, June 23, marks the premiere of the Great American Melodrama’s latest production, Butch Cassidy and the Sunburnt Kid, “a gut-busting parody filled with cowboys, jokes, and yokel locals,” according to press materials. Performances of the show are scheduled to run at the Oceano venue through Saturday, Aug. 6. The parody’s plot follows protagonists Butch…
Prolific artist Carlos Nieto III leads drawing workshop in Santa Maria
The Santa Maria Public Library will host its Teen Manga Drawing class in the Shepard Hall Art Gallery on Friday, June 24, starting at 5 p.m. Carlos Nieto III, who previously worked as a layout artist for The Simpsons and King of the Hill, will teach participants how to create and modify an anime character…
Longtime Giavanni’s employee Eric McDaniel becomes the Orcutt pizzeria’s new owner
Eric McDaniel was 18 when he started his first job, working in the kitchen of Giavanni’s Pizza in Orcutt. Could he have predicted owning the joint about two decades later? “It kind of is a little bit of a dream come true,” said McDaniel, who bought the pizzeria with his wife, Brittany Jones-McDaniel, in early…
