Cover Story
Soil and vines: Some grape growers on the Central Coast use less water than others–the trick is to dry farm
See a slideshow of dry-farmed vineyards on the Central Coast. The red-hued, sandy soil in the area west of New Cuyama is made up of the sort of fine dust that settles on your shoes and clothes, softening the color of jeans and cowboy boots. This soil is where Stephen Gliessman and Roberta Jaffe opted…
Do you think dry farming is an important agricultural method for preventing droughts in California?
Charles Thielman poet “Yeah, this is a 30-year drought—got to learn how to do things without water.” Breana Lujano student “Yeah, I do. We need water for everything else. Even though it may slow down production, it’s better than having a full-on drought.” Gerardo Molina correctional officer “Yes, yes it is. It will save water…
Bye, bye, Mr. Moon Pie!
You may have noticed, dear readers, that every column I write ends with something called a tagline. It’s that little sentence or two, printed in italics, that informs readers where to send comments, fan mail, and gifts of an ostentatious nature, all directed to me through my editor, Mr. Ryan Miller. Last month was my…
Master chorale and orchestra performs Bach and Handel
Live performance of large choral works is the guiding principle of the Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale, an organization of volunteer vocalists who sing under the baton of organization director and conductor Chris Bowman. Especially rich in choral literature is the classical era, which Bowman has continued to program more and more, he explained. But…
Orcutt school district celebrates student films
The Orcutt Union School District organized a celebration and showcase of student films and video projects scheduled for May 5 from 6 to 7 p.m. at Pacific Christian School. The celebration will be red carpet themed and will showcase the efforts of students in grades K through 12. The district was able to provide film…
Righetti High School performing arts club stages ‘Hairspray the Musical’
The Righetti Actor’s Guild, an on-campus performing arts club directed by English teacher Dixie Arthur, presents a production of Hairspray the Musical showing on May 2 and 9 at 2 and 7 p.m. and May 3 and 10 at 2 p.m. The production is staged at the Ernest Righetti High School Theater, Room 403, 941…
Tibetan monks will create sand mandala at Hancock College
The Tibetan monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery of Mungrod, South India, will create a World Peace Sand Mandala at Allan Hancock College May 4 through 7. The pouring of colored sand into intricate patterns will take four days to complete, with an opening ceremony on May 4 at 10 a.m. The construction will be…
PCPA stages the classic musical ‘My Fair Lady’
The house lights dim, the stage lights go up, and the overture begins with great fanfare. You can see toes tapping in the audience to the endless score of hits—the urgent strings of “You Did It,” the elegant yearning of “On the Street Where You Live,” and the buoyant joy of “I Could’ve Danced All…
Lompoc showcases Adventures through the eye of the lens holder
As long as local photographer Georgina Garcia May can remember, she has always carried a camera. Even today, with a perfectly capable iPhone in her pocket, she isn’t comfortable leaving the house without her trusty sidekick. “I don’t know if it’s just instinct, but it would be very hard to walk around without a camera;…
Santa Maria-Bonita District holds informational meetings for kindergarten dual language immersion program
Parents interested in having their kindergartners enrolled in the Santa-Maria Bonita School District’s new Dual Language Immersion program will have the opportunity to attend one of four upcoming meetings about the program. An English/Spanish Dual Immersion program is slated to begin at the kindergarten level at the district’s newest school—recently named Roberto and Dr. Francisco…
Righetti High School educates students and parents on safe driving
Almost four months after a vehicle race took Righetti senior Breanna Rodriguez’s life, the school played host to two assemblies and one workshop dedicated to educating attendees on safe driving. The first event featured the assemblies titled “What Do You Consider Lethal,” which were held from 8:30 to 10:20 am. inside the gym. About 1,000…
Pioneer Valley High School students take a tour of Europe
Students from Pioneer Valley High School just returned from a trip that took them to London, Paris, Milan, Florence, and Rome in 10 days. They saw the Louvre, Buckingham Palace, the Vatican, and crossed the English Channel in an underwater train. The students are part of the school’s Travel Club, and planned the trip with…
Spotlight on: Advanced Smile and Design
Sean Nolan went to the dentist a lot as a kid, but it wasn’t always because he needed to. Growing up in Bakersfield with a dentist for a father, Nolan got to see a lot of the ins and outs of the profession. Nolan said once he found himself crafting dentures in his father’s lab.…
Political Watch 4/30/15
• On April 22—also known as Earth Day—U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) introduced a bill that would place a moratorium on offshore fracking in federal waters off the West Coast pending a full environmental review of the practice. Under the Offshore Fracking Transparency and Review Act, no hydraulic fracturing or acid well stimulation treatment…
Community Notebook 4/30/15 – 5/7/15
MONDAY, MAY 4 • The Solvang Planning Commission has its regular meeting at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 1644 Oak Street, Solvang. TUESDAY, MAY 5 • 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. Agendas…
Hobnobbing with Helen
Scones, lemon curd, clotted cream. Shortbread cookies. Savory tea sandwiches (cucumber sandwiches are absolutely de rigeur). Champagne. Chocolate-covered strawberries (with long stems). These are the makings of high tea, and they were very much in evidence at the Minerva Club’s fifth annual Formal English Tea and Fashion Show. Held at the historically significant Minerva Clubhouse…
Costs pile up for the U-Haul murder trial
Most of Santa Barbara County’s residents didn’t even sit a day in court to listen to the brutal—and sometimes tedious—details of the murder of 28-year-old Anthony Ibarra, yet all of them will end up footing the bill in some small way. Ibarra was found dead in a rented U-Haul moving truck on March 19, 2013,…
Correction
• In the April 23 article ‘Water Town,” we incorrectly reported that the Allan Hancock College women’s cross country team was nixed to help pay for water polo. The cross country was actually suspended in response to low interest, and some of the money that move freed up is being used to help pay for…
Santa Maria police deploy ‘sponge round’ to end standoff
Santa Maria police arrested one man on the afternoon of April 27 following an hours-long standoff in the northeastern part of town, according to the SMPD. Lt. Dan Cohen said his department received a call to respond to the 1700 block of North Lynne Drive, where they found Juan Angel Salinas Peña allegedly trying to…
Lompoc commits $400k to update zoning ordinances
The city of Lompoc is reworking its economic development capacity from the inside out, specifically targeting its outdated zoning ordinances in an effort to drive more business into the city. On April 21, the City Council unanimously voted to award a $396,899 contract to San Francisco-based consultants Dyett and Bhatia to write new land-use ordinances…
Driscoll’s Berries faces Strawberry Festival protest
Protestors gathered outside the gates to call for a boycott of the Santa Maria Strawberry Festival over the weekend of April 25. Colorful signs painted with strawberries and “HULEGA!!”—meaning ‘strike’ in English—waved as sharply-dressed families walked by. They picketed in solidarity with massive strikes in Baja California, Mexico. Tens of thousands of berry pickers walked…
Rising water rates in Santa Maria are still relatively low
The Santa Maria City Council voted 4-1 on April 21 to raise water and sewer rates 5 percent annually for the next three years. The increase goes with the flow set by the city over the past 30 years, which have seen annual rate hikes of 5 percent. Starting on July 1, single-family households will…
Los Olivos mother coordinates earthquake relief effort in Nepal
Theodora Stephan has two daughters, Anita and Sunita Williams, whom she adopted from Nepal when they were children. She was able to bring them to the Central Coast through a humanitarian effort. Now, Stephan is part of another humanitarian effort, only this time she is trying to help bring relief to Nepal, which was struck…
Pay attention, people
Marching, protesting, and speaking out are one thing. Rioting, looting, and violence are another altogether. But if the dissatisfied recent echo that blasted through yet another U.S. city is any indicator of how people are feeling about the status quo, it’s explicitly clear: They’re unhappy, and they want things to change. Racism: It can be…
Deny Phillips 66 its rail spur permit
The only way to keep our county safe from fires and explosions caused by oil train derailments, with their accompanying clouds of oily, toxic smoke that sticks to everything and their groundwater pollution, is to prevent the huge increase in oil trains going through our county. And the only way to do that is to…
The Sheriff’s budget needs a closer look
During the recent budget and jail presentation by Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown to the county Board of Supervisors on April 6, I was shaking my head in disbelief. The supervisors could not make sense out of the disaster, and I’ve never seen all five board members so frustrated, but with good reason. Just…
Cameron Rea
On April 22, gymnast Cameron Rea signed to join Southern California United, an association that offers NCAA level training and competition for collegiate gymnastics. He plans to attend Allan Hancock College and eventually transfer to a CSU. He signed the pledge at KT’s All Star Gymnastics in the Santa Maria Town Center Mall. David Eckenrode,…
Former MLB player Steve Sax starts foundation to mentor youth
After spending 14 years playing Major League Baseball, Steve Sax is known worldwide as a legendary athlete. During the span of his career from 1981 to 1994, Sax played for the L.A. Dodgers, the New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox, and the Oakland Athletics. Now, Sax has a different venue in which to use…
Passion in Paso: How regional wine producers are pushing the envelope to attract sophisticated palates
The merriest month in Paso Robles may well be May. Before the intense heat of summer sets in, two wine events are planned in this Northern San Luis Obispo County wine region: CABS of Distinction and the Paso Robles Wine Festival. With 32,000 vineyard acres and more than 200 wineries producing wines from more than…
