Cover Story
Interpretation services during school board meetings depend on the district and its unique community
In the Santa Maria-Bonita School District (SMBSD), the number of students who speak a language other than English at home outweighs the English-speaking students, according to data presented at a March 24 special board meeting. Nearly 10,500 students speak Spanish at home, more than 1,700 speak Mixteco, and nearly 500 speak other languages. The district…
Public Health officials urge vaccination as some appointments go unfilled
As Santa Barbara County races to vaccinate as many residents as possible and ward off the spread of more dangerous COVID-19 variants, public health officials say not all available vaccine appointments are filling up, and a significant chunk of community members remain on the fence about getting inoculated. “The scarcity of vaccine supply does not…
Planting-A-Seed and Lompoc have yet to come to agreement on riverbed cleanups
The city of Lompoc is still working to iron out an agreement with a local organization that wants to continue cleaning waste out of homeless camps in the Santa Ynez Riverbed but recently faced costly fees for doing so. Now the nonprofit status of the organization is in question. Planting-A-Seed is a self-described Lompoc-based nonprofit…
Dysfunction junction
What’s your function? Hooking up Lompoc with nonprofits and Santa Ynez Riverbed cleanup efforts. Dysfunction junction, how’s it function? Lompoc has three favorite phrases that don’t get the job done. Dysfunction junction, what’s their function. They want “liability insurance” because of the “potential for injuries,” and a need to “issue permits.” Those’ll get you pretty…
Political Watch: April 29, 2021
• Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on April 23 that he directed the Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management (CalGEM) Division to stop issuing new fracking permits by January 2024. Newsom also requested the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to consider how the state can end all oil extraction by 2045. “The climate crisis is real,…
Some Santa Maria high school seniors return to classroom
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District seniors returned to in-person learning for the first time in more than a year on April 20, and school officials say all is going well so far. Some students opted to continue distance learning, and those who returned are on a hybrid model. For now, only 12th grade…
Cunningham needs to go
While his office should get credit for helping residents secure their unemployment benefits during the pandemic, Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham called for a reopening of our county in April, just one month into the pandemic. When other cities and counties reopened throughout the state, they were hit with a wave of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. We…
Please don’t divide us into conflicting tribes
We recently finalized a national election. On that hopefully we can all agree. But now everyday things are quickly changing that are not at all familiar to me. Our government is acting like they have become our parents, too. They are using their power to tell us exactly what we can and cannot do. Last…
The Burn Cycle Project’s latest exhibit inspires fire prevention, celebrates the beauty of wildfire as natural and necessary
The smell of wood is first to hit my senses upon entering Walk Into Wildfire, an immersive multimedia exhibit on display at the Buellton Recreation Center. As I walk toward the centerpiece of the exhibit—careful not to trip, as it’s the only light source in the otherwise pitch-black room—I can feel the crunch of mulch…
Kathy McPike, owner of the Berry Stop in Santa Maria, reflects on a rewarding career in fresh produce
“It just kind of became mine,” Kathy McPike said, recalling how she came to own the Berry Stop back in 2013. The site was originally home to a Darensberries stand, which McPike worked at for about seven years before its vacancy allowed her to open a stand of her own. “I was the manager/a little…
Laura-Susan Thomas, director of the Ann Foxworthy Gallery and guest curator at SLOMA, discusses two ongoing virtual exhibits
“I think having multiple tasks, at least for me, keeps me energized and fresh,” said Laura-Susan Thomas, who recently curated not one but two local exhibitions. As the director of the Ann Foxworthy Gallery at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, Thomas organized the venue’s annual Fine Art Student Show, which premiered online this year…
ZFolio Gallery and Art First Studio co-host new student showcase, Young at Heart, in Solvang
Young at Heart, an exhibition of artworks by 17 students of Art First Studio, debuted at ZFolio Gallery in Solvang on April 23 and is scheduled to remain on display through May 23. The featured student artists in the exhibit range from ages 3 to 11 and include Malena Sanchez, Carly Mendizza, Luca Merz Bass,…
Construction continues on Allan Hancock College’s Fine Arts Complex
Allan Hancock College celebrated progress on the construction of the college’s Fine Arts Complex during a beam signing ceremony on April 15 (pictured above). The final steel beam of the building’s superstructure was signed by members of the college’s fine arts department and board of trustees, as well as representatives from the project’s contractor, AMG…
Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Dept. holds photography contest for 2022 calendar
The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department is currently accepting entries in its 2022 Calendar Photo Contest. The deadline to submit is May 31, and the department will only accept photos that were taken at one of Santa Maria’s 28 city parks or the city’s regional park, Los Flores Ranch Park. Contest participants are encouraged…
