Cover Story
Between the shadows: How an unresolved town debate over shade and public funds impacted one of Solvang’s most iconic businesses
A silver Weimaraner followed Lorena Orona as she walked out of the rain and into the warm shelter of her Santa Ynez Valley ranch house, a rental that sits a few miles northeast of Solvang. It was a Friday in mid-March, and while the days-long shower had soaked the drought-stricken hills surrounding her home, it…
U.S. Forest Service wraps up winter controlled burns
Riprap clatters and clangs against U.S. Forest Service Battalion Chief Chip Laugharn’s government-issued pickup truck. The sun beams down and blankets the landscape with washed-out midday light. The air is rich with the smell of pine and woodsmoke. “It’s a killer view,” Laugharn says, pointing to the wall of mountains dominating the horizon. “This is…
Solvang’s Chomp gets the burger bite right
As soon as you set foot in Solvang’s Chomp, a burger eatery with a striking logo on the outside, something feels very different. Chomp is something between an ultramodern European gastropub and a classic 1950s diner, with touches of whimsy around the edges. The huge chalkboard wall that spells out well wishes and messages near…
Poets Mira Rosenthal and James Cushing perform selections of their work in Orcutt
“How many times has apology/rimmed my mouth like lipstick? This is not/what I meant to tell you, the same old/kitchen sink, mold, the blooming mold.” The haunting yet subtle lines of the poem “Swallow” are an example of the beautiful simplicity of poetry. Frozen in a moment of static visual detail, a thousand intricate sentiments…
Playing with fire
Ah, the hills are alive! Enjoy it now people, the few weeks of lush green that comes after the rains, because you know what’s going to happen next. It’s going to get hot, and it’s going to dry out, and those hills are going to turn brown, and every bit of dry brush will become…
Local advocacy groups call for further pesticide restrictions in honor of Cesar Chavez Day
Lucila Hernandez was pregnant when a crop duster sprayed her and more than 30 other farmworkers with pesticides in the ’90s. Her son, she said, was born ill. “We spent a long time in the hospital, he and I, recovering,” Hernandez, a former Guadalupe farmworker, said through tears at a pesticide reform press conference in…
Spotlight on: Pacific Pride Foundation
For 10 years, the Pacific Pride Foundation has offered youth programs, HIV and hepatitis C testing, and a syringe exchange program in Santa Maria. Those programs are about to be a little more easy to access following the opening of the foundation’s newest location at 123 S. College Drive. The 17,000-square-foot space has several rooms…
Iridium completes first launch of year with SpaceX
A SpaceX rocket carrying 10 state-of-the-art communications satellites successfully blasted into low orbit on March 30 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, treating much of California’s coast that morning to views of a single contrail shooting straight toward the heavens. The satellites belong to Iridium Communications, a company that boasts it is the only one of…
Bicyclist seriously injured in collision with Santa Maria city bus
A 43-year-old bicyclist was seriously injured when she was hit by a Santa Maria city bus just before 6 p.m. on April 2. The Route 7 Santa Maria Area Transit bus was headed west on East McCoy Lane when it collided with the bicyclist near the corner of Caballero Lane, according to Mark van de…
Political Watch 4/3/18
• Gov. Jerry Brown granted 56 pardons and 14 commutations on March 30 to ex-convicts who had already completed their sentences to recognize their “exemplary behavior” after leaving prison, according to a statement from the governor’s office. Included among the pardons were five made to ex-convicts that were facing possible deportation, according to reports in…
Allan Hancock College faculty members show off their fine art skills
The walls at the Ann Foxworthy Gallery are telling a story. The story is about growth, biological regenesis, cellular evolution, ancient earth processes, chemistry, community, and so much more, all told through a set of intricate and introspective works of art made by faculty members at Allan Hancock College. It’s another year of reminders that…
Lompoc City Council lemmings send cannabis tax up in smoke
Politicians are slow learners and Lompoc has some of the slowest. When Proposition 64 was passed, voters approved a 15 percent sales tax. Eager politicians sensed a cash cow; they just knew that legalizing this product would reap millions for cash-strapped governments. They dreamed of new giveaway programs for non-productive citizens, illegal aliens, and others…
Jeremiah Anderson
Floor hockey, swimming, basketball—no matter the sport, Lompoc native Jeremiah Anderson is always ready to play hard and work his way to the top. Jeremiah, 31, started competing in the Special Olympics nearly two decades ago, according to Jeremiah’s floor hockey coach and brother, Ronen Anderson. Using his years of experience and athletic versatility, Ronen…
Insurance claims from Montecito mudslides reach $421 million
California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced on April 2 that insurance claims from the Montecito mudslide and debris flows on Jan. 9 have totaled more than $421 million for damages to residential properties, businesses, and public roadways. Jones explained that the “unprecedented” wildfire season was the precursor to the “devastating” mudslides, and underscored the financial…
Fire destroys unoccupied building on Church Street
An unoccupied building on the 800 block of West Church Street in Santa Maria was destroyed by a fire on April 1. The building, which has been used for various purposes in the past, was reportedly fully engulfed in flames when the Santa Maria Fire Department arrived on scene at about 6:30 a.m. that day,…
Teen arrested in connection with carjackings, another suspect at large
A 15-year-old was arrested on March 30 during a Santa Maria Police Department investigation into several reports of carjackings and robberies that day. Another suspect thought to be involved in the incidents has not been apprehended as of March 31, according to the department. The 15-year-old suspect was arrested by police after a resident reported…
Capitalism needs your help!
“The business of America is business!” said President Coolidge. But what are we doing to our most important enterprises? We favor, coddle, protect to the hilt the one business that is spelling doom for ALL other American money making—fossil fuel. We fight to bring back coal, oil, and natural gas even though they destroy the…
Poetry Out Loud competition winners announced
The Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture has announced the winners of the regional Poetry Out Loud Competition. Josie Allen was crowned champion and Isabella Melsheimer was named runner-up. Both are students at Orcutt Academy High School. Allen and Melsheimer competed against 15 students representing five high schools. Each participating school held individual…
Painted chair raffle returns to benefit library
The Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library is once again sponsoring a painted chair raffle at Santa Maria Town Center mall through April 13. The raffle features local artists donating artwork, including chairs, desks, tables, and quilts in the theme of a book, author, or character. The event is open every day from 10:30…
Local punk/pop band Yearbooks performs across California with new album ‘Peer Pressure’
The room was dark and loud. The crowd jumped and punched, undulating with the heavy rock sound. It was the closing set of a punk rock show at Rancho Nipomo BBQ’s Gold Rush Cantina, and the local band Yearbooks was in the spotlight. The five-piece punk/pop band didn’t have more than a half hour to…
