If you’re expecting to see Sherlock Holmes in The Pacific Conservatory Theatre PCPA production of The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence, don’t hold your breath. That’s because the play really isn’t about him, but rather Dr. John Watson, his longtime sidekick. Well, the play really isn’t about just that Watson either. The script is […]
Joe Payne
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Country music royalty Carlene Carter says goodbye to her Santa Ynez Valley home
It’s not everyday that country music royalty comes to town to perform a show, but for Santa Ynez Valley residents, it’s all in the neighborhood. Carlene Carter has called Santa Ynez her home for a decade now, but all good things must come to an end. The daughter of June Carter Cash by her first […]
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Hidden history: The Chumash rebellion of 1824 illustrates the changing conversation surrounding life at California’s missions
View a slideshow from La Purisima Mission. The salmon-hued tower of Mission La Purisima looms over the pastoral grounds near Lompoc where generations of California fourth-graders field trip each year to learn about the state’s mission era and the people who called Purisima home centuries ago. But life at the mission wasn’t always so serene. […]
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Orcutt native Pryor Baird talks the blues, singing with soul, and making it on NBC’s ‘The Voice’
Pryor Baird had barely finished the opening verse of “I Don’t Need No Doctor” when the first judge on The Voice, Adam Levine, hit the button that flipped his chair around, meaning Baird had passed through the show’s “blind audition” phase. By the end of the song, all five judges had hit their buttons to […]
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Portions of local beaches closed for snowy plover season
Vandenberg Air Force Base announced partial closures at three Lompoc-area beaches that began on March 1 and will extend until Sept. 30, the nesting season of the Western snowy plover. Closures at Surf, Wall, and Minuteman beaches are to protect nesting habitat for the plover, which is listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. […]
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County jail inmate found unresponsive in cell dies at hospital
An inmate at the Santa Barbara County Jail who was found unresponsive in his cell on March 1 was transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital before dying in the early morning hours of March 2. Henry Acuna, 60, of Santa Barbara was booked into the county jail on May 31, 2017, for attempted robbery and […]
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Pioneer Valley High senior Daniel Geiger wins big at Teen Star competition in Santa Barbara
Local high school student Daniel Geiger was nervous the first time he performed at the Teen Star competition in Santa Barbara, but that was three years ago. When he took to the stage at this year’s competition, he was still nervous, yet that didn’t stop him from taking first place and top honors on Feb. […]
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Inmate walks out of Lompoc Prison
In the early morning hours of March 4, Lompoc Federal Correctional Institution staff discovered that an inmate had walked away from a Satellite Prison Camp in Lompoc, according to a release from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Mauricio Martinez, a 29-year-old Hispanic male serving time at the prison for dealing methamphetamine, was still at […]
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Buellton’s Grass Mountain explores a bluegrass jam band sound at Cold Spring Tavern
The familiar formations of the Santa Ynez and San Rafael mountain ranges reach out like gargantuan geologic arms, cradling the Santa Ynez Valley and its townships. Around this time of year, much of the hillsides and distant peaks are green, even with the year’s meager rainfall. One wide peak glares out at the valley from […]
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Santa Maria Philharmonic plots an emotional journey with works by Copland, Mahler, and Mendelssohn
February is always a good month to explore matters of the heart. For Santa Maria Philharmonic Society Music Director Michael Nowak, the idea was a perfect springboard for the Philharmonic Orchesta’s third concert of the main season. But, there’s a little more to it than that, he explained. “Valentines doesn’t hurt, but mostly this is […]
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Dream come true: Local brides see their dream dress become reality with tailor-made service in Santa Maria
A low whirring accompanied the soft “chug” sound that Blanca Silva’s sewing machine made as her hands carefully guided white fabric under the pulsating needle and thread. Afternoon sunlight poured in through the big, open windows of her shop on Santa Maria’s Main Street, Blanquis Bridal, as the local seamstress made some routine touches to […]
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Santa Maria hip-hop artist Samsara shares first album, performs in Lompoc
The term “samsara” originates from a Sanskrit word that signified a grand cycle of life, death, and rebirth, that all living things pass through a karmic cycle of reincarnation. Santa Maria-based hip-hop artist Samsara MC chose his name years ago, he told the Sun, inspired by the friends and family he has seen pass on […]