Cover Story
Stars and stripes forever/never
The ice plant was crushed. Just crushed. Yellow and purple flowers stood up here and there amid the pulpy sea of green, trampled by three or four dozen veterans and their friends sweating under one of the first sunny days to heat the coast after a series of early spring storms. What had started life…
What’s your favorite aspect of springtime?
Joe Scott student “The weather — it beats the hell out of the cold. You’re not limited.” Lauren Addington student @font-face { font-family: “Times”; }@font-face { font-family: “Geneva”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } “Probably all the wildflowers and just the nice…
What’s On Deck?
Varsity/Colleges Thursday, April 7 Boys’ Volleyball Nipomo @ Santa Ynez 5 p.m. Righetti @ Arroyo Grande 5:30 p.m. Pioneer Valley @ St. Joseph 5:30 p.m. Boys’ Golf Righetti @ San Luis Obispo 1 p.m. Boys’ Tennis Righetti @ St. Joseph 3 p.m. Arroyo Grande @ Pioneer Valley 3 p.m.…
Sara Schmidt
More than 23,000 runners participated in the 26th annual Los Angeles Marathon on March 20. Only 19,500 of them actually completed the grueling 26.2-mile event, including local 18-year-old Sara Schmidt. “It was my first marathon ever,” said Schmidt, who trained by running almost every day for six months prior to the race. Before making the…
Red dawn
After the Santa Maria Valley Packers announced they were packing their bags for the greener pastures of Allan Hancock College in 2011, it looked like the end of summer semipro baseball at historic Elks Field. But Randy Musumeci, a former rock drummer and owner of the Pitchout batting cages, simply couldn’t let that happen. So,…
On the roster
• Trout Derby: Cachuma Lake Nature Center, April 9 and 10. $5,000 in cash and thousands in merchandise guaranteed. Registration is $40 for adults, $10 for children 10 and younger. For more information, call 693-8381 or visit troutderby.org. • MLB Pitch, Hit and Run: Presented by Hero Sports League on the Central Coast. Registration takes…
Jump into spring at the Y
Springtime means spring sports at the Santa Maria Valley YMCA, with a range of programs to keep children and adults active and fit. First, the Y’s progressive swim lessons for children ages 3 and older teaches water awareness and introductory skills for beginner and intermediate swimmers. Spring break, evening, and private swim lessons are also…
Weightlifting Challenge honors veterans
Local weightlifters are invited to compete in the Senior Airman Dan Johnson Memorial Patriot Games Challenge at the Santa Maria Athletic Club on May 21. The event is comprised of powerlifting, bench press, deadlift, and push-pull competitions, and is presented by the United States Powerlifting Association. Lifting will begin at 9 a.m., followed by a…
Special Olympics holds track and field meet
The Northern Santa Barbara County Special Olympics will be holding its annual Harry Wood Area Games Track and Field competition on April 9. More than 100 athletes from Santa Maria and Lompoc will compete in run/walks, shot-put, and standing jumps. There will also be special events for athletes requiring wheelchairs. The event takes place at…
Tip a glass to spring
First held in 1983, the Santa Barbara County Vintners’ Association (SBCVA) spring festival has grown from a casual afternoon of sipping local vintages into a long weekend of wine country fun. With all the winemaker dinners, barrel tastings, and food pairings, wine lovers can spend four full days exploring their favorite beverage. Anchoring the weekend,…
If we go bankrupt, everyone else will sleep better
From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, our government seems incapable of breaking its addiction to meddling in other countries. One more time we’ll spend billions of dollars, borrowed from China, to level someone else’s home in the hope that they’ll grow to love us when they get to know us better.…
Let money directly benefit students and teachers
I have reservations about the wisdom of implementing the well-intended Teacher Advancement Program here on the Central Coast (“TAP into the future,” April 7). I thought our school districts and the federal and state governments were broke. The TAP program is a very expensive program to administer. The start-up costs for the Lucia Mar Unified…
Don’t be distracted by diversion tactics
Only very rich individuals and big businesses gain from pitting worker against worker. A diversion tactic such interests have recently employed is to blame unions for the state deficits we are experiencing. A prime example of this twisted logic is the rhetoric of Justin Ruhge (“Public employee benefits are breaking taxpayers,” March 31). He claims…
An Ariel View
Welcome to my column! You may have read some of my past stories in the commentary section of this paper, and many of you sent favorable comments to my editor and fearless leader, and for that I thank you profusely. I have been given a monthly column and byline with my mug at the top.…
A big sound
During fourth period at Ernest Righetti High School, a visitor can pass wings of students silently reading, listening to lectures, and working on group projects. Someone nearing room 502, however, will start to hear a steady bass line, followed by drums, then guitars, keyboard, horns, voice, maracas, and, of course, the marimba—the instrument that gave…
Navar is going far
Allan Hancock College arts instructor, poet, and painter Gabriel Navar will serve as a guest artist in residence for the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers in Washington State while simultaneously exhibiting his art in Germany and at the UCSB Multicultural Center. The April 13 through 17 artist-in-residence opportunity sprang from Navar’s continued collaboration with acclaimed choral composer and…
Orchestra wraps up its season
The Santa Maria Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro John Farrer, offers its fourth concert of its subscription season on April 30 at Grace Baptist Church at 7:30 p.m. The final program of its 10th anniversary season will feature works by Handel, Bach, Vivaldi, Holst, Barber, Bartok, and Britten. Dr. Marcus Engelmann of the…
C Gallery takes flight
The last day for submissions for the “Birds, Feathers, and Flight” show at the C Gallery is April 9. The theme is anything related to flight. Submissions have included a dress of feathers, tin bird dolls, and paintings and drawings representing flight. “Birds, Feathers, and Flight” is scheduled to open on April 16. Submit entries…
The Capitol needs art
Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) is inviting local high school students to submit art pieces for the annual Congressional Art competition. The winner’s work will hang for a year in the U.S. Capitol, where thousands of visitors will see it. Submissions must be received at one of Capps’ Congressional offices by 5 p.m. on April 29.…
Stories from the Hill
When Lompoc resident Jill Schaefer placed a stack of papers—her memoirs—into a drawer many years ago, she was simply closing the door on a flurry of creative activity. She was glad to have gotten her story out of her head and wasn’t sure what she’d do with it next. “Next” turned out to be much…
Don’t move!
Everyone sees the inevitable changes in their lives differently. Some people think change isn’t a bad thing, while some think it’s the end of the world. For the Gianelli family in Over the River and Through the Woods, change can be embarrassingly funny, surprisingly heart wrenching, and emotionally raw. Presented by Lompoc Civic Theatre, the…
Spotlight on: Valley Sweets
In the heart of Solvang’s bustling downtown, three Santa Ynez Valley moms—Tracy Angel, Shannyn Tupper, and Claudia Contreras—have found a way to transform their love of baking into a business. The enterprising trio started out in June 2010 as a baked goods delivery and catering service, specializing in children’s parties and weddings, before moving into…
Casmalia dump case reaches a settlement
One on Santa Barbara County’s seemingly never-ending legal battles has finally come to a close—for now, at least. On April 4, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it reached a $1.2 million settlement with 49 small parties for the Casmalia Resources Superfund Site, a now-defunct hazardous waste disposal site in Santa Barbara County. This is…
Los Alamos and Orcutt school districts hear wedding bells?
They say that waiting is the hardest part, and the Orcutt Union and Los Alamos school districts are finding that to be true. Though the California State Board of Education approved an insurance waiver request from the Los Alamos School Board on March 11, the two districts won’t be able to merge until the Santa…
Floatopia sinks again
For a second straight year, the massive Isla Vista beach party— which caused a major stir in 2009—was successfully thwarted by the preventative measures of local government and law enforcement. On March 30, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department announced it would be stepping up patrols in the student neighborhood of Isla Vista in Goleta…
County looks to restructure departments
In a cost-cutting move, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors is considering the formation of a new Community Services Department, unifying a diverse range of public services under one umbrella. Instructed by the board to restructure county government, County CEO Chandra Wallar recommended consolidating the county Department of Parks, Housing, and Community Development; the…
What Kids are Reading
@font-face { font-family: “Chicago”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } THE FOUR QUESTIONS by Lynne Sharon Schwartz illustrated by Ori Sherman recommended for kindergartners to adults “On a certain night each year when the dark of winter is passing and the world…
Discovery Corner
Political theorist, diplomat, and inventor Benjamin Franklin was no stranger to kites. This witty man, who was also a founding father of our nation, was known as a polymathic person because of his incredible skills in many disciplines. He was fond of chess, music, and, of course, inventions! When asked what the use of a…
Youth Corps head back to school
Tyneka Smith might just be entering college, but she and her fellow Community Action Commission (CAC) Youth Corps peers are going back to junior high, minus the awkward school dances. The group received a $1,400 grant from the Fund for Santa Barbara’s Youth Making Change to develop The Good Life program at Arellanes Junior High…
Hobnobbing With Helen
Folks at Marian Medical Center’s (MMC) Foundation were watching the weather reports very carefully the weekend before Monday, March 28, the date for their annual Leland Simas and Felix Fly, M.D. Memorial Golf Tournament at the Santa Maria Country Club. Several days of pounding rains made people nervous, even when those people—like Sister Janet Corcoran…
A merrier Christmas to come
For the past 51 years, Operation Kids Christmas (OKC) at Vandenberg Air Force Base has provided more than a thousand underprivileged children a special time during the winter holidays. The event recently inspired Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Services-Defense employees in Santa Maria and Vandenberg to present a $14,533 check to the current Air…
You know the drill
Skyrocketing oil prices are doing more than providing fuel for a rash of “pain at the pump” stories; they’re also being used to pressure the Obama administration into reopening oil-drilling operations off the Central Coast. On March 29, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, introduced three bills in Congress that,…
Marian Medical Center opens a new rehabilitation center
Northern Santa Barbara County residents recovering from heart surgery or various other medical procedures now have a facility in which they can rehabilitate. Located across the street from Marian Medical Center, in what used to be a car dealership, the Marian Health and Wellness Center offers cardiac/pulmonary rehab services, as well as physical, occupational, and…
