Cover Story
Burgeoning bloom: Drought-stricken wildflowers attract crowds to California’s Central Coast with a colorful display after the rains deliver much-needed relief
As the Ides of March passed, thirsty shrubs sucked up the moisture granted by the intermittent rains that graced the Central Coast and put their lifeblood to work. Within weeks of the rains the spring bloom came in full force, lighting up hillsides across the coast with blossoming hues of yellow, lavender, and bright orange.…
Be healthy, not bored: The best spots in Santa Maria to cheat on your diet without totally ruining it
Diets never fail to fail. You know what I’m saying, because it’s happened to you, too: You make a big deal out of your new commitment to plan out meals and pack healthy lunches for work. Come noon on Monday, you pop the lid off your food container to a reveal a bed of crisp…
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes facing closure for the next 15 years
Surf Beach isn’t the only public beach access along the Central Coast that’s facing closure. Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge could be closed when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) completes its comprehensive conservation plan, which will dictate management of the refuge for the next 15 years, according to Michael Brady, who’s leading the…
Plans soured for Libertine’s Brewing Company’s Santa Maria tasting room
The Santa Maria Planning Commission deadlocked, voting 2-2, on allowing a proposed tasting room at Libertine Brewing Company’s new facility during a meeting on April 6. Owner Tyler Clark recently acquired warehouse space at 2325 A Street in the southwest portion of the city, just slightly north of the Santa Maria Airport. Libertine would make…
What’s your position on legalizing recreational marijuana in California?
Manuel Ortiz gas plant operator “It leads to harder drugs.” Sinan Eken business owner “It’s not a good example for kids.” Michael Bryant sales “It’s not that bad. We could definitely use the tax money. Have you seen Santa Maria lately?” Samantha Sanchez creditor “Less people will buy it if it’s legal; but if it’s…
Farmworker housing in Nipomo burns down, arson suspected
UPDATE 4/13/16 The Mads Place development will no longer go forward as temporary farmworker housing, according to a news release from Mads Berry Farms owners Greg and Donna France. The Frances were purchasing the development to house workers for their strawberry farm, but following last week’s fire and a series of threats via comments on…
A rocking first
I love a good rock song. Or blues. Definitely punk. Sometimes hip-hop. And on occasion, classical. I like a song that reaches out and smacks you on the backside prompting a surprised gasp. Music should make you feel something—alive. Other than that requirement I’m pretty lax on the packaging. It’s a good thing too because…
The Lompoc Pops Orchestra and new conductor Brian Asher Alhadeff revel in America’s music
There are very few orchestras in the United States that are strictly pops orchestras. That’s mostly because the majority of symphonic ensembles get their bread and butter by performing hits from across the Western tradition of classical music, from Beethoven to Debussy. But this is not so for a pops orchestra. Founded under the model…
Poetic Justice Project holds Reentry Week fundraiser
The Poetic Justice Project, a local theater company of formerly incarcerated actors and artists, celebrates the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Reentry Week with a fundraiser dinner on April 24, the first day of reentry week. The national week began in recognition of the demand for effective reentry services for the millions of Americans who…
Santa Maria Arts Council calls for artists
The Santa Maria Arts Council has issued a call for artists for an Art in the Park event happening on June 5. The event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Santa Maria City Hall, will feature local artists in multiple media showing and selling their work. The event is designed to…
Santa Barbara County County invites locals to vote on Water Wise Video Contest
The Santa Barbara County Water Agency announced that voting is currently open for the People’s Choice Award for the annual Water Wise High School Video Contest. The competition includes 30-second videos submitted by local high school students with official judges awarding tiered distinctions, but the People’s Choice Award is open for judging via the website…
Daytripper: A spur-of-the-moment trip to the middle of Los Padres is the best way to end the weekend
When someone asks you if you want to go to Scheideck (pronounced “shy-deck”), you say yes. Well, you say yes if it’s Sunday, it’s sunny after a couple of days of rain, you just ate a fabulously filling chicken-fried steak breakfast at Pappy’s in Santa Maria, and you feel like an adventure. So I said…
Cabrillo High School Aquarium lets the students teach at open house event
A program that began 30 years ago in an unused classroom at Cabrillo High School has come quite a long way since its infancy. Founded by Dave Long, the lone teacher who began the Cabrillo High School Aquarium along with just one student in 1986, the aquarium has attracted a club of dedicated students across…
Not all neighbors are created equal
When a truck full of boxes pulls into your development, you never know who you might move in. Not all neighbors are neighborly. Some are downright scary. Residents in Nipomo recently found out just how scary neighbors can be after a fire destroyed a structure intended as farmworker housing. Residents living near the structures weren’t…
Zodiac Aerospace provides a campus facelift for Tunnell Elementary
On Thursday, April 7, more than 100 volunteers brought out paint, plants, and elbow grease to beautify the Tunnell Elementary School campus. The beautification project was made possible through a Give and Grow Grant provided by Santa Maria business Zodiac Aerospace. The volunteers, many who work for Zodiac Aerospace, painted murals, planted low-maintenance landscaping, created…
Santa Barbara County honors Classified School Employees of the Year
At its monthly board meeting on April 7, the Santa Barbara County Education Office recognized six professionals from throughout the county as the 2016 Santa Barbara County Classified School Employees of the Year. Teresa Acosta, an administrative assistant in the Lompoc Unified School District was honored in the support services and security category; Foothill Elementary’s…
Hobnobbing with Helen: Casino Night goes to the animals
Wow! Four hundred people—give or take 10 or 20—were at the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society’s Casino Night on Saturday, April 9, at the Elks Lodge. That’s a very respectably sized crowd. This event, with a Western theme, had a lot of oomph and a lot of action. It replaced the Humane Society’s longtime traditional…
Spotlight on: Santa Maria Taekwondo Academy
For the uninformed, the martial art of taekwondo is not what’s expected. It looks something like kickboxing, but according to Cort Newby, taekwondo is more similar to boxing where it’s common to trade quick jabs than hard blows. “It’s the art of kicking and punching,” Newby said. “That’s literally what it means. It moves a…
Political Watch 4/14/16
• A bill by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) to set comprehensive limits around the use of drones near critical infrastructure such as bridges and power plants as well as in state parks and wildlife refuges, on private property, and around airports has passed out of the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee. The April 5…
Community Notebook 4/14/16 – 4/21/16
TUESDAY, APRIL 19 • The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has its regular meeting at 9 a.m. in the Betteravia Government Center’s Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 511 E. Lakeside Parkway, Ste. 141, Santa Maria. • The Santa Maria City Council has its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, City…
Barring a miracle, Santa Barbara County will see its driest ever five-year period
During the winter months, the California drought duked it out with El Niño. The fight seemed interesting enough at first. The drought was the four-year defending champion of California’s climate. El Niño—a band of relatively warm ocean water that develops every few years on the central and east-central portion of the Pacific Equator, bringing heavier…
Vandenberg officials and Cal Poly renew relationship to track objects in space
The Russians launched the Sputnik satellite into space in 1957 and since then, the number of objects orbiting Earth has steadily risen. As of 2016, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) officials in charge of keeping track estimate that there are about 23,000 objects, with only 17,000 of them in the catalog. The rest are simply…
Jacob Tonascia
Baseball can be a frustrating game. Getting a hit in 30 percent of your opportunities is considered success. Anything worse than that can feel unbearable. Even though Jacob Tonascia, Allan Hancock College’s slugging first baseman, went hitless in the three games prior to blasting a grand slam and knocking in five runs against L.A. Pierce…
One last hurrah: Santa Maria athletes unite at Kiwanis Club Basketball Spectacular to benefit youth
Kiwanis Club of Santa Maria Valley hosted the 26th annual Central Coast Basketball Spectacular on April 9 at Nipomo High School, and the event was, once again, a big hit. The bona fide all-star game brought together the top high school seniors—boys and girls— from teams all over Northern Santa Barbara County, and squared them…
Another reason to support Joan Hartmann
Joan Hartmann’s supporters know of her impressive career and many accomplishments that contribute to making her the ideal 3rd District Supervisor. But there are many sides to any candidate, and much can be revealed about a person’s character by knowing what he/she chooses to do outside the election season spotlight. Ten years ago, Joan and…
Schools need oil money
I was stunned at a recent 3rd District Supervisor candidate forum to see the heartless Joan Hartmann once again deny that the recent pipeline break doesn’t harm our local schools’ funding. She claimed oil revenues make up “only” 2 percent of a $700 million county budget. That’s $14 million every year, until the pipeline is…
Hartmann will help
I have never written a letter to an editor before, but I want everyone to know that Miss Joan Hartmann is great. Two years ago, I was in sixth grade and failing. I was scared and frustrated. My parents were really worried and told Miss Joan. She went to my teachers, she started tutoring me…
We need tax reform now
American taxpayers should be up in arms and madder than hell over the taxes they are paying every year. Our taxes are at 50 percent of our income per year. We must work until about May 15 (tax freedom day) each year just to pay our taxes. Most families must have two members working to…
