Cover Story
Pages on a pedestal: Local organizations, businesses, artists, and individuals collaborate to provide much needed support to the Santa Maria Public Library
Each of the carefully painted chairs that make up the Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library’s fourth annual Painted Chair Event at the Santa Maria Town Center Mall exudes its own distinct character. Some clearly depict the characters found in the book that accompanies each unique art piece, and others embody what their books…
What is your favorite book? Why?
Daisy Gonzales student “I like the Twilight series and Harry Potter—it’s a tie. Harry Potter has the plot twists, but Twilight has the love.” Justin Delgado student “Haroun and the Sea of Stories. It was my first year of high school when I read it, and it was one of those assigned books that you…
North County educators talk about literacy
Superintendents from five Northern Santa Barbara County school districts waxed poetic during a March 26 luncheon about what their respective districts were doing to help increase literacy and what was needed from the business community to push the issue. “I’m not real fond of the adage, but it takes a village. It takes a village…
Hancock graduate in state’s top 30 of community college students
Daniela Calderon, a recent Hancock College graduate, was recently selected as one of the top 30 students enrolled in California’s Community Colleges. The honor comes from Pi Theta Kappa Honor Society, an organization that recognizes scholarship among two-year college students and strives to provide opportunities for individual growth and development through participation in honors, leadership,…
Spotlight on: Lompoc Honey
Lompoc resident Archie Mitchell has done a lot of things in life. To name a few: He retired as a chief master sergeant (the highest enlisted rank in the Air Force), started a boxing club, and worked as a newspaper reporter. Now, it’s all about the bees. He serves as regional director for the Western…
Political Watch 4/2/15
• The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced on March 26 that it would stop enforcing a provision in the voter-approved Jessica’s Law that prohibits all registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park. The LA Times reported that the department said it would no longer impose the…
Community Notebook 4/2/15-4/9/15
MONDAY, APRIL 6 • The Solvang Planning Commission has its regular meeting at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 1644 Oak Street, Solvang. TUESDAY, APRIL 7 • The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has its regular meeting at 9 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 105 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara.…
Hobnobbing with Helen
For a moment, when I heard the Luis Oasis Center’s ukulele band playing on Friday evening, March 20, at the Santa Maria Country Club, I thought I was in Hawaii. But then, I realized I was at the Oasis Center’s sixth annual Spring Gala. This lollapalooza of a fundraiser garnered close to or just more…
Train of thought: Citizens worry oil tankers traveling through Guadalupe to the Phillips 66 refinery could explode
Residents worried that their town could become the scene of an oil tanker explosion voiced their concerns during a March 24 Guadalupe City Council meeting. The Santa Maria Refinery property sits on the Nipomo Mesa, less than 5 miles away from Guadalupe, and that’s where owner Phillips 66 wants to build a rail spur to…
Correction
In the March 26 story, “Spotlight on: Women’s Economic Ventures,” the Sun misreported the company for which Sergio Zepeda is an insurance agent. Zepeda is an agent for Farmer’s Insurance in Santa Maria.
Local law enforcement investigates alleged ISIS threat against Solvang military personnel
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is responding to an alleged threat against military personnel living in Solvang, according to department spokesperson Kelly Hoover, who didn’t specify the nature of the response. The threat was posted online by an Islamic militant group known as the Islamic State, or ISIS. Hoover said that the Sheriff’s Office…
Lucia Mar teacher’s association authorizes strike
The Lucia Mar Unified Teacher’s Association (LMUTA) voted to authorize a strike on March 26 in the midst of deadlocked salary negotiations with the district. The vote enables the union’s executive board to call a strike if a settlement with the school district isn’t reached during the next mediation session and the district opts to…
Santa Ynez High freshman killed in crosswalk accident
Students and faculty at Santa Ynez Valley High School are mourning the death of Carina Velazquez, who died March 26 after being hit by a car. Velazquez, 15, was walking home from school that night around 6:55 after attending an FFA meeting, when a car struck her as she started crossing the intersection of Refugio…
County agencies tackle greenhouse gas emissions limits
The discussion about greenhouse gas emissions and what Santa Barbara County should do to help the rest of the world in grappling with the costs of climate change isn’t exactly an easy one in which to stay engaged. There are gobs of acronyms to deal with, state laws chock full of technical terms, a cacophony…
Birthdays and anniversaries are a great time to get potted!
I have been going through the leavings of the past year, tossing the useless and itemizing the rest. No, I am not working on our taxes—although there is something taxing about becoming 61 years old. Yes, it’s my birthday, and three days prior it was The Brit’s and my ninth wedding anniversary. Cue the music!…
Chant practices can yield benefits in the brain and the rest of the body
Neuroscience data has vindicated many forms of mindfulness meditation, finding that the breathing and focusing techniques are beneficial in a variety of ways, especially for the brain. But another ancient practice is earning validation as it becomes more studied, that of chanting. Meditative chanting—such as the kind led by Ann Kathleen on Wednesdays at CovenTree…
Wildling Museum holds artist talk and sneak peek screening
The Wildling Museum in Solvang holds an artist talk and a sneak peek screening of clips from the new documentary Strong Women, Wild Horses on April 11 at 4 p.m. at the museum. Filmmaker Michele Blackwell and photographers Elissa Kline and Kimerlee Curyl—whose work is currently showing at the Wildling—will talk about art, inspiration, and…
Ian M. Hassett Foundation premiers The Artist Exchange
The Ian M. Hassett Foundation began its first excursion of The Artist Exchange on March 21 at Ernest Righetti High School. A 1969 travel trailer filled with donated art supplies was available to Righetti students and other artists in need of free supplies. The Foundation was formed in the name of Ian M. Hassett, a…
Altrusa Club of the Central Coast accepting grants applications
The Altrusa Club of the Central Coast Foundation is currently accepting applications for its 2015 grants cycle. Grant funds are available for local nonprofit agencies that focus on literacy and community building. Applications must be postmarked by May 2. More information is available through foundation President Richard Giachetto at 925-7430 or Richard.co@verizon.net.
Santa Maria High School Thespian Reunion calls for former drama students
A reunion event for Santa Maria High School graduates who participated in the drama program from the fall of 1968 to the spring of 1971 is planned for Aug. 13 and 14 in Santa Maria. Those interested in attending should contact Jeanne Corsby Hale at smhsthespianreunion@gmail.com.
County Arts Commission accepting community arts enrichment grant applications
The Santa Barbara County Arts Commission is currently accepting applications for the Community Arts Enrichment (CAE) grants’ spring cycle. The deadline for submission is April 30. The upcoming grants cycle includes $14,200 worth of funding available in requests from $500 to $5,000. The CAE grants provide support to a variety of new and innovative projects,…
Artful awareness: The Santa Ynez Chumash Environmental Office holds its annual Earth Day celebration
Earth Day, which is always on April 22, is commonly regarded as a global holiday. It celebrates the planet in a way that transcends borders far and wide, and serves to spread environmental awareness and protection. On the Central Coast, there are several different ways for the community to join the festivities. The Santa Ynez…
Los Olivos Gallery features off-road artists
Off-road artists Ellen Yeomans and Morgan Green celebrate their penchant for taking a cart full of canvas and paint deep into the wild spaces of the Central Coast in Los Olivos Gallery’s latest exhibit, Two for the Road. “That’s why Ellen and I like to show together, we have a similar approach to art,” Green…
Dry, dry again
Did you see that report from a few weeks back? The one from the NASA scientist who predicted that California has only a year of water left? Um. The L.A. Times, which ran the mouth-parching opinion piece, has since admitted that the original headline might have given state residents the wrong impression. It’s not that…
We do not want a Republican budget
Is it still the belief of those on the right side of the aisle that trickle-down economics is actually supposed to work? The new Republican-proposed federal budget suggests cuts in favor of reduced budget deficits, but those cuts only come in discretionary spending and entitlement programs. Little things like a reversal of the Affordable Care…
Pursuing perfection: Five questions for winemaker Gavin Chanin of LUTUM and Chanin Wines
The first time I met Gavin Chanin was late 2011 at the legendary Qupé/Au Bon Climat (ABC) winemaking compound east of Santa Maria. We were sitting at the fabled lunch table where cellar workers gather daily for tasty chow prepared by local wine rock star Jim Clendenen. I was there to interview all-around great guy…
Trick-less speed: Santa Maria BMX racing is alive and well
Ben Pirkl, operator of the Santa Maria BMX track that’s tucked away at the Elks Events Center, did not grow up loving BMX. His interest in the sport began when his kids built a jump ramp outside of his house and started riding their bikes off of it. “Took them out to the track and…
Josephine Graeber
The Arroyo Grande High School Eagles trounced the Bearcats from Paso Robles in track and field March 25, putting up 86 points to Paso’s 48. Key to the Eagles’ victory was junior Josephine Graeber, who launched herself 17 feet to win the long jump and managed to hop and bound 36 feet and 4 inches…
