Cover Stories
A sure-fire gift: Local ranges are perfect for those who want to learn how to shoot
MORE LAST MINUTE GIFT GUIDE! Make it a homemade holiday: Look like a thoughtful gift giver with a handmade creation Fun fitness gifts: From equipment to supplements, find a gift for your favorite athlete Fine wines at Christmastime: Holiday gift giving is easy when you live in wine country The talk of guns is a…
Gifts from the heart: For last-minute shoppers there is still time to find a heartfelt, handmade present
Oh you deadline pushers, you last-minute doers! Once again Christmas is near and you’ve found yourself without a gift to give. Don’t worry, the Sun has a gift for you. Find inspiration in the pages of our Last Minute Gift Guide. It’s holiday hope for gift-giving procrastinators. MORE LAST MINUTE GIFT GUIDE! Fun fitness gifts:…
Fine wines at Christmastime: Holiday gift giving is easy when you live in wine country
MORE LAST MINUTE GIFT GUIDE! Make it a homemade holiday: Look like a thoughtful gift giver with a handmade creation Fun fitness gifts: From equipment to supplements, find a gift for your favorite athlete A sure-fire gift: Local ranges are perfect for those who want to learn how to shoot At the holidays, do you…
Fun fitness gifts: From equipment to supplements, find a gift for your favorite athlete
MORE LAST MINUTE GIFT GUIDE! Make it a homemade holiday: Look like a thoughtful gift giver with a handmade creation A sure-fire gift: Local ranges are perfect for those who want to learn how to shoot Fine wines at Christmastime: Holiday gift giving is easy when you live in wine country A funny thing happens…
Guadalupe considers medical marijuana cultivation ordinance
Fresh off the heels of the Santa Maria City Council’s unanimous vote to ban personal cultivation of medical marijuana, Guadalupe was set to consider a similar ordinance at its Tuesday, Dec. 8, council meeting. Note: The Sun was not able to report the results of the City Council meeting because it occurred after press time. …
Santa Maria moves closer to banning private cultivation of medical marijuana
If a new ordinance in Santa Maria receives final approval, then medical marijuana patients living in the city will still be able receive their medicine, but they won’t be able to grow it. Despite having several locals speaking against the ordinance at its Dec. 1 meeting (and only one for it), the Santa Maria City…
What’s your favorite stocking stuffer?
Kizzy Garcia paralegal “Candy, it’s sweet and tasty!” Jacob Zambrano TJ Maxx associate “Probably cologne.” JoAnne Jennings produce clerk “Lipgloss, I love it.” Ryan Burns produce clerk “I liked getting CDs back in the days.”
Of tinsel and trees
The holiday season is here. The air is full of holiday cheer! Seasonal carols fill the chill air, and you all know what that means, mon freres! It’s time to look for that perfect Christmas tree. (Feel free to sing along!) At Waterman Manor we celebrate Christmas for me, as well as Hanukkah for my…
Coastal Voices offer up a Happy Holidays concert for two days in Santa Maria
For almost 15 years now, local community choir the Coastal Voices has welcomed any and all singers to its ranks, including many a soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. Though the group isn’t huge, explained director Margaret Nelson, it’s chock-full of spirited singers who love the art of choral music. Performing twice a year, the Coastal…
Santa Maria-raised actress invited to film fest for web series
A local actress, Rebekah Alexander, was invited to the Hollywood & Vine Festival taking place Dec. 11 and 12 for the web series Lunch Break Feminist Club, which Alexander co-created with friends and collaborators Natasha Halevi and Olivia Dudek. The Hollywood & Vine Film Festival will show several episodes of Lunch Break Feminist Club during…
Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale presents Festival of Carols
The Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale, Youth Ensemble, and Orchestra have prepared a holiday program of beauty and magnificence, the Festival of Carols, which will be performed Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. in Buellton. The event will include the world premiere of a commissioned work, “A Christmas Rose,” with…
Valley Art Gallery hosts painting class
The Valley Art Gallery in Orcutt plays host to a special painting class with Claudette Willard titled Painting in the Style of the Masters. The class teaches acrylic styling on Tuesdays through Dec. 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. with an emphasis on technique employed by famous painters. The cost is $20 per session and…
Lompoc Civic Theatre presents ‘Last Stop Till Christmas’
The Lompoc Civic Theatre presents a holiday production Dec. 10 through 13 with admission by donation only. The holiday show is a charming one-act by Pat Cook titled Last Stop Till Christmas, which follows the interactions of folks at a bus stop during the holiday season. The cast includes veteran Lompoc Civic Theatre performers as…
Santa Maria Civic Theatre offers laughs and music in ‘A Christmas Survival Guide’
If you are in need of a huge belly laugh, go see A Christmas Survival Guide now playing at the Santa Maria Civic Theatre (SMCT) on McClelland Street. Santa Claus, with the most marvelous Elvis wig I have ever seen, appears as the penultimate Elvis impersonator at the end of Act I. Joe Bramble was…
Digital Shashin, a rare pre-WWII collection of Japanese periodicals, shows at Santa Maria Public Library
War doesn’t just destroy precious life, it threatens to erase culture, time-honored history, and—perhaps the most devastating of all—hope. Nowhere was this destruction more evident than in Japan, where more than 60 major cities were burned to the ground, and millions of citizens’ lives were lost to bombs and starvation. However, as local Santa Maria…
Kennedy Klusendorf
Righetti High School senior Kennedy Klusendorf set her mind on playing volleyball in college a long time ago. Her coach noticed. “When she came into the program, she had a focus,” Righetti volleyball coach Diana Strasbaugh told the Sun. “I think she knew that she wanted to play volleyball in college.” The setter/outside hitter starred…
Running together, setting a standard: St. Joseph’s cross country team is in it for the long haul
St. Joseph High School’s cross country team had a pretty tough season last year. After qualifying for the CIF State Championships with a core group of seniors in 2013, St. Joe’s graduated six of their top runners and lost another to a transfer. The result: They struggled to keep up with the PAC-8 competition in…
Bon voyage Vanessa!: Big changes for ‘All-Star Academy’ contestant Vanessa Craig
She captured the hearts of television viewers nationwide earlier this year on the Food Network’s cooking competition show, All-Star Academy, a rigorous cooking contest that she survived through the finale, placing first runner-up. Solvang native Vanessa Craig, took the newfound fame after the TV show aired and started her catering business, Vanessa Loves Food. “I’ve…
Compassion?
Santa Maria doesn’t like weed. Guadalupe doesn’t like weed. Arroyo Grande doesn’t like weed. Nobody likes weed. Everyone’s typecasting him as the guy that just likes to get people high. But he’s trying to get society to view him differently, and it’s so hard. I feel sorry for the guy. I mean all he wants…
In response to the Chris McGuinness ‘Crazy Train’ cover story
First, I hope the public does not think the cover photo of this issue (“Safety on the tracks,” Nov. 26) shows tank cars because those are not tank cars. They are specialized freight cars used to transport coiled steel. With the American steel industry in recession, these cars are in long-term storage on the passing…
Thanks to the community for Camp Fire support
On behalf of the board of directors and the children who participate in Camp Fire Central Coast of California clubs and summer camps, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to our local businesses, individual community members, and a team of wonderful Cal Poly students from the Recreation, Parks, and Tourism department for their…
Way to go Hillary
In recent weeks Hillary Clinton has started hitting the nail on the head. She has talked about a rigged economic system giving billion-dollar tax breaks to multinational corporations, she has talked about the hardships of families working two jobs and still not being able to meet their needs, she has talked about corporate executives making…
Advancing the common good
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” This quote from Maimonides captures the true spirit of what we try to do in our public schools—teaching children from all walks of life the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they need…
Santa Maria-Bonita School District students participate in Hour of Code
During Dec. 7 through 11, some students in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District (SMBSD) will participate in the Hour of Code, a project that empowers students to learn to write computer code, the building blocks behind all computer programs. The Hour of Code is designed to demystify coding and show that anyone can learn the…
Guadalupe’s Kermit McKenzie Junior High School gets a band again
Kermit McKenzie Junior High School’s “Green Machine” will be performing again after not having a music program for several years. New instruments for the students have arrived, and restoration and repair work has been completed by Patti Lynn and her husband, Tommy. The students are preparing for a Dec. 16 Performing Arts Showcase at Guadalupe…
Pioneer Valley High School educator participates in Naval Academy program
Pioneer Valley High School Career Center Specialist Karen Apple was among the 150 educators from across the country selected to participate in the fall Centers of Influence program hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy recently. The purpose of the event was to learn more about the Academy and how educators can better inform, inspire, and…
Spotlight on: Fantasy Chocolates
The holidays are a time when lots of chocolate will be both given and eaten. Chocolate is ubiquitous, one of the most widely consumed foods on the planet. You can find some of the most decadent candies at drug stores or local markets. It’s possible that the chocolate you buy at the store is made…
Political Watch 12/10/2015
• On Nov. 30, Assemblymember Das Williams (D-Carpinteria), chair of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and six other members of the Legislature sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) requesting information about the recent Refugio oil spill, which resulted in the spillage of more than 140,000…
Community Notebook 12/10/15 – 12/17/15
MONDAY, DEC. 14 • 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 trees with lights are all over the place. Among the first to appear in public were the fundraising trees of the three local Altrusa organizations. The first tree event—sponsored by the nighttime Altrusa at the Elks Club in November—attracted more than 700 people (mostly women who bought fistfuls of raffle tickets). Then, like clockwork,…
Correction
In the Dec. 3 article, “Down in the database dumps,” it was erroneously stated that LAPD did not file any report on CLETS misuse between 2010 and 2014. Between those years, the LAPD filed one report. And the person killed in a car chase with police following Madera County deputies using the CLETS terminal was…
New app features exclusively local music
They say the best things in life are free. You can now add something new to that list: A local gem now available for your smartphone that broadcasts exclusively local music livestream via a program similar to Pandora. On Dec. 5, Central Coast LIVE! Inc. launched its new Internet radio app that boasts a round-the-clock…
Guadalupe to allow ‘adult oriented’ businesses
The subject of “adult oriented” businesses is once again on the agenda for the Guadalupe City Council, which was scheduled to discuss the issue at its Dec. 8 meeting. Instead of banning adult businesses, including strip clubs and stores that sell adult sexually-oriented merchandise, the city is recommending that the council allow the placement of…
Santa Maria Police Department investigates 18-year-old’s death as city’s 11th homicide
Detectives from the Santa Maria Police Department are investigating the homicide of an 18-year-old man who was found shot to death on the west side of the city on Dec. 4. According to SMPD Sgt. Paul Van Meel, police received a call at 9:34 p.m. of shots fired in the 500 block of West Sonya,…
Mary Buren Elementary School receives surprise renovation of library thanks to ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’
Mary Buren Elementary School’s library has come a long way since the building first flooded during winter break of last year, explained Guadalupe Union School District Superintendent Ed Cora, but the school couldn’t have achieved all it has without some help. The library was refurbished over the summer thanks to a donation from The Ellen…
