Cover Story
A new life: Social Services, volunteers, and community come together to give foster youth a chance at a better life
The last thing that Amber Davis remembers before the chaos erupted was tying up the laces of her purple Vans. Davis was 15 years old, living at home with her biological mother, stepfather, two brothers, and stepsister. Six months before, Davis had been in and out of Vista Del Mar Hospital in Ventura for multiple…
Santa Maria’s North China continues to dominate the valley’s restaurant landscape
I will admit I grossly underestimated the food at North China Restaurant. When I was first asked my thoughts on the Santa Maria staple, I scowled and realized that for some tragic reason, I had managed to overlook them in my quest to eat my way through every restaurant in the Central Coast. Now, I…
Grants available for Santa Maria Valley artists and performers
Artists and performers can now apply for the Santa Maria Arts Council’s Lester B. Hayes Project and Performance Grant. The total available amount for the grant is $1,000. The goal of these grants is to support Santa Maria Valley programs through short-term projects that enhance the arts. Emphasis of the project should be on youth…
Orcutt Community Theater’s production of ‘Mama Won’t Fly’ highlights the soul of local theater
Backstage in a dressing room, tucked behind a dark corner, Dixie Arthur is busy fixing her hair, while Emily Zaas puts the final touches on her makeup. Jo Grande is similarly busy, wrapping up a repair for a costume for another performer, all the while taming another wig to be used in the Orcutt Community…
Jo-Neal Boic brings influences from Yosemite and Italy to her watercolors on display at Gallery Los Olivos
It’s a promising sunny Friday morning as Jo-Neal Boic takes her dog Dea for a swim in Morro Bay. The 14-year-old Labrador retriever, a beloved companion of the painter, is in need of a hydrotherapy session for her aging joints, and today is the perfect day. The sea waters and panoramic view of Morro Bay…
Eric Andersen brings decades of lyrical work to Tales from the Tavern in Santa Ynez
The 1960s folk music scene in Greenwich Village, New York City, was an explosion of creativity, with artists like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Maria Muldaur filling the coffee shops and pubs with their no-frills sound. Eric Andersen was one of those artists, picking an acoustic guitar and sharing his unique poetry with audiences in…
Spotlight on: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Santa Maria open house
For the past nine years, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System has staged an open house event for local veterans at the Santa Maria Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), connecting servicepeople with myriad resources for both health and success. April 18 marks the open house’s 10th anniversary, explained Charles…
Rebecca Rose asks that you kindly stop telling her how to dress
*In the voice of every woman in every office everywhere who loves fashion and doesn’t need your opinion about it* Hey, friendly coworker person! Thanks for sticking your head in my door every time you walk by to make a comment about my outfit. It’s really awesome that on top of all the other work…
Making it worse
The struggle for housing on the Central Coast is very real. It’s getting harder and harder to find an affordable place to nest! Even in Santa Barbara County’s bigger cities that have comparatively lower rents, like the Santa Maria or Lompoc valleys, it can be difficult to find a place to rent. More Central Coasters…
Clueless Canary
Thanks for publishing my letter entitled “Not the NRA” (March 29). But right under it you stick in the clueless “Speak Out” (March 29) Yellow Canary column. In my letter, I objected to the tyranny of the mob attacking the NRA for school disasters when the NRA has nothing to do with any of them.…
Students want safety
We Americans need to ask ourselves a simple question. What do we value more: our communities and schools, or our beloved guns? This is the issue that has brought hundreds of thousands of students and adults out into the streets to lead our Congress to the right decision. On March 14, students marched across America…
Skylar Johnson
Pitching zero runs, two hits, and nine strikeouts in seven innings on April 2, St. Joseph High School sophomore Skylar Johnson helped her softball team snag its first league win in nearly five years. Her phenomenal game came as no surprise to coach John Welch, who said Johnson’s work ethic is second to none. “She…
Santa Maria students unite to take on gun violence in schools
It was still spring break for local high school students on the morning of April 5, and while many kids were probably sleeping through one of their last days off, six students were up and at ’em by 9 a.m., busy organizing another march against gun violence. “This time I think we should really stress…
Political Watch 4/12/18
• U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee Sens. Kamala Harris (D-California) and James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) appeared on PBS’s 60 Minutes for a piece about U.S. election security from cyber attacks and other cyber intelligence warfare. “We have to be prepared for wars without blood,” Harris said, adding that the Russian cyber attack on the U.S. in 2016…
Santa Maria City Council further restricts H-2A housing in residential neighborhoods
The Santa Maria City Council unanimously voted on March 20 to temporarily prohibit property owners from housing more than six H-2A guest workers in units located in single-family and medium-density residential zoning districts, effective immediately. Although the recently approved urgency ordinance will expire in early May, Assistant City Attorney Philip Sinco said he expects council…
Sheriff’s Office reports uptick in phone scams
Reports of attempted phone scams have significantly increased countywide in the past several weeks, according to a statement released on April 5 by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. “Unfortunately we have an ongoing cycle of scams,” Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover told the Sun, adding that scammers target Santa Barbara County residents off and…
Vandenberg to be site for NASA’s next mission to Mars
Lompoc is used to rocket launches, but the upcoming one on May 5 carries considerable significance. That morning, United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket will blast off from Vandenberg Air Force Base carrying NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL) InSight lander. The occasion will mark the first time America’s space agency will conduct an interplanetary launch…
FBI investigates hoax threat to schools across county and state
Schools across Santa Barbara County and California received a threatening email on April 9, spurring an FBI investigation into the hoax and its origin. Lompoc Unified School District received the email and reported it to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office at about 9:30 a.m., according to Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover. The…
Lompoc City Council says dance studios are not youth centers where cannabis business buffers are concerned
In a move that had many parents twisting and shouting in anger, Lompoc’s City Council ruled that the city’s five dance studios were not youth centers. The decision came at the council’s meeting on April 3, following an hour of public comment with the vast majority of the dozen or so speakers opposing the removal…
PCPA student actors will read to local schoolchildren
The Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) presents PCPA Reads, a literacy outreach program for local elementary schools on April 12 from 9 to 11 a.m. Resident Artist Kitty Balay and 57 acting students will read stories to children in 11 schools in Santa Maria, Lompoc, and Los Alamos. The actors will use their voice and speech…
Guns in Santa Maria
It may be a revelation to some, but the Second Amendment doesn’t apply to gun stores. There is no constitutional right to manufacture or sell guns. And, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled in 2017 that county governments have the right to restrict the location of gun stores. There are plenty…
Guns aren’t the issue
In the March 29 issue of the Sun, the cover story was “Never again: School shootings are a norm that some local students are no longer willing to accept.” I agree with the sentiment that shootings should not be the norm. But guns are not the issue. They will always be available. I do have…
