JEREMY THOMAS
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture

Brighter goals

For two teens from Sierra Leone, soccer is the ticket to a land of opportunity
by JEREMY THOMAS

Still recovering from a bloody, decade-long civil war, the country of Sierra Leone, on the western coast of Africa, is a long way from the tranquil Santa Ynez Valley. For Dennis Cole and Sahid Conteh, two 14-year-olds who have scarcely traveled beyond their villages before, opportunities they only dreamed of are becoming reality through the […]

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Turning oil into wine

Greka Energy’s owner tries his hand at winemaking with the purchase of Addamo vineyard
by JEREMY THOMAS

There’s a new player in the Santa Barbara County winemaking game—and please, hold the jokes about spillage. Randeep Grewal, the billionaire owner and CEO of Greka Energy, is trying his hand at a different kind of liquid gold, having bought the 104-acre Addamo Estate Vineyards in Orcutt for an undisclosed amount. The resulting company Ca’ […]

Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture

Back on track

After two years in limbo, Go-Kart racing returns to action at Santa Maria Airport
by JEREMY THOMAS

Santa Maria Karting Association president Scott Grundfor was beginning to think it was never going to happen. But on July 1, following a two-year battle with the Federal Aviation Administration, go-karts returned to the club’s track at the Santa Maria Airport with an all-day open practice session, giving the group an idea of which members […]

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Lompoc penitentiary gets a new warden

by JEREMY THOMAS

Officials with the federal penitentiary in Lompoc announced the selection of Richard B. Ives as the prison’s new warden, replacing Lisa Sanders, who’s leaving the post by August. Ives is currently warden at the U.S. penitentiary in McCreary, Ky., but is returning to Lompoc, where he served from 1987 to 1994. He’ll take over the […]

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Innocence lost

When criminal charges are dropped, how do the accused rebuild their reputations in the Information Age?
by JEREMY THOMAS

Sandy Coupal has always loved animals, so much so that she converted part of her 40-acre ranch north of Santa Barbara into a sanctuary for creatures with nowhere else to go. As her reputation grew, she took in chickens, show birds, cats, and a variety of other animals, eventually retiring to care for them full […]

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Clearing the air

Towbes Group is the largest private firm to ban smoking in all of its apartments since the state law took effect
by JEREMY THOMAS

Smokers in two apartment complexes in Northern Santa Barbara County will have to find someplace else to light up, if they’re to comply with a smoking ban imposed on rental properties owned by the Towbes Group. A Santa Barbara-based real estate investment and property management firm, the Towbes Group, is prohibiting smoking in the 13 […]

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DA finds shooting of Santa Maria police officer justified

by JEREMY THOMAS

A Santa Maria police officer was justified in using deadly force in the shooting of fellow officer Albert Covarrubias, Jr., the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office concluded on June 19. In a detailed, 18-page report, District Attorney Joyce Dudley determined officer Matthew Kline reacted appropriately to a “life-threatening situation” when he shot Covarrubias on […]

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DA finds shooting of Santa Maria police officer justified

by JEREMY THOMAS

       A Santa Maria police officer was justified in using deadly force in the shooting of fellow officer Albert Covarrubias, Jr., the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office concluded on June 19.          In a detailed, 18-page report, District Attorney Joyce Dudley determined officer Matthew Kline reacted appropriately to a “life-threatening situation” when he shot […]

Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture

For the love of the game

The Men’s Adult Baseball League keeps diamond dreams alive for past-their-prime ballplayers
by JEREMY THOMAS

Though he’s now a successful dentist with his own practice in Santa Ynez, Dwayne Elder still dreams about pitching. Literally. A former college hurler at the University of Utah, Elder later pitched for an independent minor league baseball club. Even at 52, he’s never lost the desire to play. In one way, Elder continues living […]

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