Time to shred! That was what insiders used to call—and possibly still call?—skateboarding and snowboarding. Keeping current on the activities and their associated slang can be tough, but with the November reopening of One Way, formerly known as One Way Board Shop, fans of the sports (and their surfing brethren) have a local lifeline once […]
FRANK GONZALES
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Spotlight on: Danish Food Farm Inc. Fudge Kitchen
Squidgy, ooey-gooey, melt-in-your-mouth goodness, covered in a crispy, hardened exterior. That’s fudge for you, and it’s the main attraction at the Old Danish Fudge Kitchen in Solvang. General Manager Don Heiduk now has fudge running through his veins, but it wasn’t always so. Besides his having worked in a pizza place in his high school […]
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Mijn Rabobank
Dive into the Dutch connections of a community bank
Rabobank is a household name on the Central Coast, serving the needs of thousands of residents, businesses, and farmers—as any bank in the area does. It appeared locally in 2007 after acquiring Mid-State Bank & Trust. Rabobank is better known internationally—and especially in its country of origin, the Netherlands, where its long-form name is Coöperatieve […]
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Bears that care
Nothing lifts children’s spirits quite like stuffed animals. And for children who have to be in the hospital around the holidays, the cheer brought by these toys is especially welcome. Scentsy, the wickless, smokeless candle company, knows this, too. The company donated stuffed animals to every pediatric patient in Marian Regional Medical Center on Dec. […]
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Spotlight on: Evolving Photography
If you’ve ever been impressed with the level of virtual exploration now possible on the Internet with tools like Google Maps, Google Earth, and Google Street View, prepare to be even more amazed. Evolving Photography is a new business that’s sprouted in a new industry taking advantage of Google’s new venture, creatively called Google Business […]
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Automania
Take a visit to the 2012 LA Auto Show
Since its inception in 1907, the LA Auto Show has welcomed millions of car nuts into its metal-and-rubber-filled halls. The show acts as the perfect opportunity for manufacturers to present their products to consumers in a glitzy environment, while potential buyers can see, sit in, and even drive a large number of cars on a […]
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Spotlight on: Pasión Comida Mexicana
Viva Texas! That could be the slogan of the new Texas-style Mexican restaurant, Pasión Comida Mexicana, in Orcutt’s Old Town. From the rolling green hills in the background to the historic cowboy-town style of its architecture to the restaurant’s décor of carved wooden chairs and tables complete with horse motifs, patrons couldn’t be blamed if […]
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Give the double gift of books
Sometimes the old way is better
This holiday season, thousands of people on the Central Coast will decide to give the gift of books to their friends and families. With the continuing march of new technologies, more and more of these books will be given without any exchange of physical goods and instead will move through the ethereal plane of the […]
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Spotlight on: Z Folio Gallery
Architectural.” That’s the adjective Z Folio co-owner Michael Mendizza used to describe the vast collection of colorful glass sculptures that shimmer in the light of the gallery he operates with his wife and co-owner Zdena Jiroutova. He then contrasted the glasswork of the Czech artists who made most of the gallery’s collection with the other […]
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Spotlight on: Absolutely British
Grunden. Eric Grunden. That’s how anyone who visits Absolutely British might expect the owner to introduce himself. But after a long conversation with Grunden, it should be clear that his success comes not from emphasizing the elite origins of the sophisticated sports cars he restores, but from understanding their every detail down to the last […]
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Community coats
At the five Rabobank branches throughout Santa Maria and Orcutt, the Santa Maria Noontime Kiwanis have placed festively decorated barrels in which individuals can place new or lightly used coats that will be given to people in need over the coming colder months. If the tough economy and the recent rain are any indication, every […]
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Athlete of the Week: Keanu Martinez
For the Righetti High School Warriors men’s water polo team, 2012 will be remembered as a high point in the team’s history. That’s in no small part thanks to their leading scorer, Keanu Martinez. In his fourth and final season with the team, Martinez helped to lead the Warriors to the CIF Division Final against […]