Lompoc’s music community can track a lot of paths that connect somehow with Randall Sena, the longtime music teacher and recording studio proprietor whose shop, Certain Sparks Music, is located in Lompoc’s historic downtown. After years of teaching, recording, and performing in Lompoc, Sena has expanded into a new endeavor: the nonprofit sphere. He started […]
Joe Payne
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Spotlight on: Edible Arrangements
George Muranaka, owner
Decades ago, longtime Santa Marian George Muranaka and his wife, Linda, talked about opening up a franchise one day. Once their kids grew up and left the house, they had the time and money to invest, Muranaka said, but they weren’t about to drop more than $1 million for a McDonald’s franchise. They came across […]
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County supervisors approve Foxen Pipeline project
Sisquoc residents can look forward to a future where oil tanker trucks traveling their two-lane roads are fewer and farther between. On Feb. 6, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved construction of the Foxen Petroleum Pipeline. The ordinance allows ERG Operating Company to connect its Cat Canyon facility to a Phillips 66 […]
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Opera Santa Barbara brings Rossini’s The Barber of Seville to the Santa Maria Public Library
It’s the most iconic line in all of opera music, used to signify the art form in everything from famous films to Bugs Bunny cartoons. It’s actually an excerpt from Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, explained Marylove Thralls, the marketing director for Opera Santa Barbara. “Everybody knows, ‘Figaro! Figaro! Figaro!’” Thralls said. “So people […]
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Spotlight on: R&D los olivos
Diane Dorsey, owner/designer
Rows of identical rings and earrings, shined and machine-shaped, glimmering with perfectly translucent, and symmetrical diamonds—that’s not what you’ll find at R&D los olivos. Owner Diane Dorsey didn’t open the Los Olivos shop to show jewelry that looks like something one would find in a chain or department store. She wanted to share her own […]
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Local trainer leads Birthfit classes for pregnant women
When Alexandra Klein, a local Crossfit coach and fitness trainer, decided to start a family, she knew she didn’t want to abandon her workout routine. But lifting kettle bells and dumbbells while pregnant goes against the first advice everyone receives from their doctor about pregnancy: don’t lift anything heavy. “I enjoyed lifting heavy weights, and […]
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Organist Thomas Joyce to perform century-spanning concert for Santa Ynez series
The organ is a beast of an instrument. Several ranks of keyboards stacked on one another, dozens of stops, and the large floor pedals are all wrestled under the fingers and feet of musicians like Thomas Joyce. As the featured performer for the Santa Ynez Valley Classical Music Series, Joyce will perform organ classics from […]
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Prepared: Learn from the locals who are ready for the next natural disaster
The first rain of the season always brings a distinct wave of scents with it, and in the yard of Renee O’Neill’s Tepusquet Canyon home, the flat smell of ash emanated from the hillside. The hilltop behind her home was stained black, the result of the Alamo Fire’s southernmost spread through Tepusquet. The fire, which […]
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LOCAL NOTES: Local musicologist Linda Shaver-Gleason battles cancer, blogs about music history, and raises a son
Lompoc resident and musicologist Linda Shaver-Gleason does a lot in a day. She’s raising a son with her husband, is preparing for a talk at a university conference, battles cancer, and still makes time to post to her blog. Shaver-Gleason runs Not Another Music History Cliché, where she disabuses readers of common misconceptions about music […]
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Santa Maria Philharmonic Society to host youth showcase
Musical history is filled with wunderkinds. But famous stories like that of Mozart eclipse the constant flux of incredible talent that young students of music display, often before they’re out of grade school. Thankfully, the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society understands that the next generation of orchestra musicians and soloists are all around us, dutifully studying […]
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Family Service Agency’s Ombudsman Program seeks more volunteer advocates for seniors
Don’t be embarrassed if you don’t know what an ombudsman is. It’s an obscure title from European government given to citizen advocates, or an appointed person who investigates complaints of poor administration or a violation of rights. For the Family Service Agency, the organization’s Ombudsman Program provides an important service throughout Santa Barbara County. Volunteers […]
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About Time blend love and harmony on the Central Coast
It’s a brisk night at Naughty Oak Brewing Company, where friends are reuniting in town on the holiday weekend over brews and sometimes-raucous conversation. The small tasting room is considerably warmer than the chill patio, not just because of the temperature, but the music emanating from the corner. An acoustic strum meets the bite of […]
