Cover Story
Diablo’s in the details: Why a shelved NRC tsunami study is generating new interest about potential Diablo Canyon flooding hazards 12 years later
On March 16, 2011, the full picture was beginning to come into focus of just how bad things were in Fukushima, Japan. A massive earthquake and corresponding tsunami knocked out power and backup systems at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and at the time Japanese officials were asking residents within 12 miles of the…
Which natural disaster are you most afraid of?
Amy Burtao business office manager “I guess it would be earthquake because it’s the most likely thing to happen.” Roger Johnson Dry cleaning owner/operator “Earthquake because I’m not afraid of anything else. Diablo [Canyon Power Plant] is right there. That could be a disaster.” Carol Calahan housewife “Volcano; I heard that if they had a…
Chris Lambert and Certain Sparks release indie-rock album ‘Warp & Woof’
Local singer/songwriter Chris Lambert has cut many albums over the years, some produced and recorded by himself at his own studio, but he decided to record the entirety of his latest album at Certain Sparks Studio in Lompoc. No stranger to Certain Sparks and owner Randall Sena, Lambert wanted a different sound on this album…
Far Western Tavern wins wine excellence award
The Far Western Tavern in Old Orcutt earned a prestigious award of excellence from Wine Spectator magazine in its 2014 restaurant issue. The Far Western Tavern boasts a diverse and well-stocked wine cellar partially influenced by the owners, explained the restaurant’s sommelier Benjamin Chanler-Laurin in a statement. “Some of the family members are vintners and…
SLO Wind Orchestra awards scholarship to Lompoc high schooler
The San Luis Obispo Wind Orchestra held auditions for local high school musicians from across San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties who competed to win the Norman Miller Music Scholarship. Cabrillo High School student Connor Rowe, 16, won the scholarship and was awarded $500 by the organization. Rowe performed Piece for Trombone and Piano…
Flying Goat Cellars celebrates honeybees
Flying Goat Cellars is celebrating National Honey Bee Day with a honey and wine tasting event on Aug. 16 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is part of Flying Goat Cellars’ Wine and Culture in the Ghetto series, which includes a section of the Santa Maria Valley Beekeepers Association’s award-winning fair exhibit in…
Dimensions in Dance wants you
The Allan Hancock College Dance Department’s annual fall dance concert, Dimensions in Dance, is happening Oct. 16 through 19. Beginning to intermediate dancers are welcome to audition for the event on Aug. 16 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Allan Hancock College’s room D-118, 800 S. College Drive, Santa Maria. Dancers should bring all…
The Lompoc Civic offers two chances to enjoy community theater
Getting on stage to perform is a daunting task that most of us avoid, but among our ranks are brave individuals who feel compelled to perform. In no place is this more apparent than in community theater organizations like the Lompoc Civic Theatre, which gives many performing artists a first crack at the stage. With…
Enjoy watching world-class art created in minutes at Los Olivos festival
Los Olivos has always been a tiny town that can draw big crowds. Through several wine tasting rooms, higher end restaurants, and boutiques, the crossroads at Grand and Alamo Pintado serve as an epicenter of distilled cultural excellence right off Highway 154. Among the ranks of quality shops are several art galleries that consistently show…
Wine after dark: Night owl oenophiles should flock to Old Town Orcutt
Do you work 9 to 5 and want to try a local winery’s new releases, but don’t want to play tourist on the weekend? Most wine tasting rooms close by 5 p.m., so what’s a wine loving-weekday worker to do? Old Town Orcutt has several options after work. Any night of the week, there are…
A way with words
For two hours I sat in the silent, dimly lit dining room, clutching my coffee cup and staring at the blue screen of my computer. It was a blank page and it seemed to scream at me. “Write something already!” I wanted to ask what I was thinking—“Write what?”—but the blank page had become too…
Discovery Corner: A new beginning
The Perseid meteor shower will be at its peak between Aug. 10 and 14, and while this is typically the best sky-watching time of the year—at least according to some people—there’s going to be a supermoon on Aug. 10, which will brighten the sky and make meteors a bit more difficult to see. No matter…
PVHS Link Crew welcomes freshmen
Incoming freshmen will get an engaging taste of what student life is all about at Pioneer Valley High School during the sixth annual Link Crew orientation on Aug. 8. Orientation begins at 8 a.m. and wraps up around noon on the high school’s campus, 675 Panther Drive, Santa Maria. More than 600 freshmen will get…
High school district brings in new Migrant Education leader
Maria Larios-Horton was recently appointed as the director of Multilingual and Migrant Education Programs for the Santa Maria Joint Union School District. She replaces Peter Haws, who joined the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District as an administrator. Horton emigrated from Mexico as a toddler and grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley, and…
Experts say El Nino is coming, but to what degree?
Many people might be surprised to learn that, when it comes to weather, the term El Niño actually refers to a seasonal condition, not a huge storm. “People do the same thing with monsoons; it’s a season, not a storm,” KSBY Meteorologist Dave Hovde told the Sun in a recent interview. “It’s a condition, it’s…
Spotlight on: Rancho Bowl
Come September, beloved local business Rancho Bowl is going to look like a new bowling alley with the same classic Santa Maria style. In a recent interview with the Sun, owner Viki Murray said the overhaul started almost by chance, when she and her staff noticed something strange: “The ceiling looked funny, like it was…
Political Watch 8/7/14
• The SAFEPLAY (Supporting Athletes, Families, and Educators to Protect the Lives of Athletic Youth) Act is a recent effort by some federal lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara), to reduce the number of young athletes who need medical treatment for sports injuries. A press release from Capps’ office said that more than…
Community Notebook 8/7 – 8/14/14
MONDAY, AUG. 11 • The Santa Maria City Block Grants Advisory Committee has its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Conference Room, 110 E. Cook St., Santa Maria. • The Solvang City Council has its regular meeting at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 1644 Oak Street, Solvang. Agendas are available at…
Hobnobbing With Helen
Christmas in July” was a for-real event for a number of North County nonprofits. Filling in for Santa Claus, noontime Altrusa—also known as Altrusa of the Central Coast—gave away close to $30,000 on July 28 at 6 p.m. in the library’s Shepard Hall. Grants ranging in size from $500 to $1,500 were handed out after…
Community Corner: Citizens’ academy is back at SMPD
After a multi-year hiatus, the Santa Maria Police Department is once again starting up its citizens’ academy. Locals who are accepted to this eight-week academy will learn all about what the city’s police officers do on a daily basis, and they’ll also get the chance to voluntarily participate in a patrol ride-a-long and hands-on law…
Santa Maria-Bonita makes room for more students
Tommy Kunst Junior High School will soon be able to house 270 more students with 12 new classrooms that are scheduled for completion before the 2015-2016 school year starts. Construction hasn’t yet begun, but the Santa Maria-Bonita School District’s School Board unanimously awarded a $3.7-million contract to the Vernon Edwards Constructors of Santa Maria during…
Lompoc is set to get a new police chief
After more than 22 years of service in the Oregon Police Bureau, Patrick Walsh has decided to move south. The seasoned captain will replace retiring Lompoc Police Chief Larry Ralston in September, city officials announced in a recent press release. “Coming to Lompoc is kind of like a homecoming to me,” Walsh told the Sun,…
Mothers walk through the Central Coast to protest immigration policy
Burning sage meanders into the wind, originating from the center of a circle of stones set on the pavement in front of the skeletal beginnings of Santa Maria’s soon-to-be finished ICE—Immigrations and Customs Enforcement—facility. Mothers and children are sitting and standing in groups of two or three, randomly scattered around the circle. They’re wearing windblown…
All the world’s a stage?
Quick, tell me what happened to those girls who were kidnapped in Nigeria earlier this year. Do you know how that situation resolved? Do you know if it resolved? Off the top of your head, can you tell me where they ultimately found Malaysian Airlines’ mysteriously missing MH370? Or if it was ever found at…
The county’s future is grim without oil
I cannot stress enough to the people of Santa Barbara County just how crippling the passage of Measure P would be to our communities. Many of us here in this county, I feel, have blindly jumped on board the “no fracking” band wagon without taking into account the role that the oil companies play in…
Don’t be fooled by the oil industry
You have to laugh at the latest ploy by the oil industry in their dishonest campaign against Measure P, the ballot initiative to protect our environment from the risks associated with new and extreme oil extraction processes. To try to scare voters out of voting yes in their best interests, the oil industry and its…
Don’t buy tired arguments; vote yes on P
Fred Starrh, an almond farmer in Kern County, fought the oil industry and won. The court couldn’t deny evidence that proved that polluted wastewater from steam injection oil operations had killed his orchards and cost him millions of dollars. Robert and Lisa Parr in Texas won a court settlement against nearby fracking after proving that…
Ban the extreme
Here in Santa Barbara County we have co-existed with the oil industry for a long time and if Measure P passes in November, will continue to do so for a long time to come. The initiative exempts all current oil operations and so does not affect any current oil jobs or revenue. It also doesn’t…
Santa Maria will host Special Olympics athletes in 2015
The city of Santa Maria will welcome athletes participating in the 2015 Special Olympics World Games as a host town before the games begin in Los Angeles. From July 21 through 24, 2015, a contingent of the 7,000 athletes from 177 countries competing in the games will be introduced to the Central Coast community. Santa…
Guadalupe gallery hosts local memorabilia exhibit
The Solano and Bay Gallery in Guadalupe will be showing Sports of the Santa Maria Valley, a photo and memorabilia exhibit, from Aug. 9 through Nov. 8. An opening reception for the exhibit will be held on Aug. 9 from 1 to 5 p.m. featuring Richard Santillán, author of Mexican American Baseball in the Central…
Annual Hancock athletics fundraiser is on Aug. 16
The Joe White Memorial Dinner and Auction is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Allan Hancock College Athletics Department. The event has raised more than $600,000 for capital improvements, including renovation of the gym, track, and softball fields. This year’s dinner takes place on Aug. 16. For more information, contact Jada Clark with…
Santa Maria to present active living seminar
Santa Maria Recreation and Parks is inviting the public to a free active living seminar designed for adults 50 years old and up. The one-hour presentation on Functional Fitness will be held at 11 a.m. on Aug. 8 at the Elwin Mussell Senior Center, 510 E. Park Ave. David Svetich of San Luis Sports Therapy…
Babe Ruth All Stars
For the first time in five years, the 15-year-old Santa Maria Babe Ruth All Stars qualified for the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament. The team took second in the Central California State Tournament and is in the middle of the regional tourney with an eye on the championship. “We’ve been hitting it hard since Tuesday (July…
A Santa Maria teen medals in the Junior Olympics
Joseph Domingues is showing off his bronze medal and talking about what he’s looking forward to now that he’s back from the Junior Olympics in Iowa: eating whatever he wants, sleeping in, and running at his own pace. “I’m shocked to be in Santa Maria right now. I was getting used to being in a…
