Cover Story
The Sun’s Last Minute Holiday Gift Guide offers some local inspiration
Some of us buy the self-deception that we do better under pressure, and thus come out guns blazing at the very last minute to complete a given task. Nowhere is it more apparent how hazardous this outlook is than in the act of gift giving. A gift tells the receiver much about the amount of…
Do you trust Santa Maria’s water supply? Why or why not?
Eric Zarate call center worker/full-time student “No. There’s something about it. It’s cloudy, and it tastes funny.” David Roude Primus Labs worker “Yes. The city treats it well, and it always comes up clean.” Mark Pearse mechanic “I don’t have any distrust in the city’s water. It tastes better than Golden State water.” Cat Park…
Growing grandson
Who knew that a single letter could hold so much meaning? I am referring to the letter “W,” which stands for Waterman. Without it, there’s a hole that keeps us from being whole. Without it, there’s no swing when we sing, and it don’t mean a thing when you ain’t got that swing! When added, ear becomes wear, and…
County offers rebates to locals with water-wise gardens
Thanks to a federal grant, the Santa Barbara County Water Agency has announced that more county residents are now eligible to apply for rebates to subsidize certain costs tied to renovating drought tolerant lawns and gardens. The rebates include water-wise improvements such as switching to drip irrigation, turf removal, water-wise plants, applying mulch, and other…
Dana Adobe holds Las Posadas celebration
The Dana Adobe Nipomo Amigos is holding a Mexican Christmas celebration, the Las Posadas, on Dec. 13 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the historic adobe house in Nipomo. The word posada means “inn” or “shelter,” and the celebration sets out to recreate Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter in Bethlehem. A local youth choir…
Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation receives art award from county Arts Commission
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors recognized the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation at the Dec. 2 meeting with a resolution acknowledging the foundation as the recipient of the 2014 Leadership in the Arts Award. The Leadership in the Arts Award was established in 2006 by the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission, which has received…
Central City Swing to perform big band Christmas
The Central City Big Band is performing a concert of holiday music arranged for the big band jazz orchestra on Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. The 17-piece ensemble is led by local jazz master Bob Swayze and will feature vocalist Michelle Swanson and leap trumpeter Mitch Latting. The concert doesn’t require admission, but the group…
Stroll through Orcutt
The Old Orcutt Merchants Association welcomes the community to join the first annual Old Orcutt Holiday Stroll, which includes music, refreshments, decorations, a Christmas tree lighting, shopping and dining specials, and a visit from Santa Claus on Dec. 12 from 5 to 9 p.m. in Old Orcutt. More information is available at 937-6767.
Give the gift of a musical education this year
People often tell me I have “a gift” for music. While I appreciate the compliment, I always feel the need to correct them. The real gift came from my grandmother, who gifted me with regular music lessons under the instruction of a wonderful teacher. The rest was hard work that I had to put in…
Kids and teens alike can craft gifts with two hands
The pressure of providing an awesome holiday-time gift to friends and family isn’t helped by the usual problems of youth. Without much funds, supplies, or transport other than those provided by parents, kids are hard-pressed to surprise their progenitors with a thoughtful gift. Thankfully, there are several chances for young people to handcraft some unique…
Local artists offer a way to preserve your pet’s memory without photographs
Pets are family, and much like we do for family, we tend to take photographs to preserve the precious moments with our pets. But photos, even framed, might seem a little cliché these days. For those who are looking for a more artsy alternative, pet portraits may be the way to go. Marilyn Benson, acrylic…
Discovery Corner: Spread cheer through the Discovery Museum’s Holiday Giving Trees
Giving gifts is an important part of the holiday season, especially if those gifts help spread joy to numerous people! This year, in addition to finding the perfect present for mom, grandpa, or Fluffy, consider giving to someone in need through the Discovery Museum’s Holiday Giving Tree and Giving Tree Junior. Attendees of our annual…
Santa Maria-Bonita gets in the coding mood
Anybody can learn to write computer code, according to the website code.org, and in celebration of Computer Science Week, Dec. 8 through 14, some Santa Maria-Bonita School District students are doing just that. The students are participating in a program called the Hour of Code. It’s a project that empowers students to write computer code…
Lady Bulldogs tournament teams up with Toys for Tots
Bulldogs fans will have a chance to see their hometown college defend its home court and help local families in need at the same time during the 16th annual Lady Bulldog Classic. The Allan Hancock College women’s basketball team is getting into the holiday spirit by teaming up with the Toys for Tots Foundation of…
Spotlight on: UCode
Serving as the headquarters for some of the most valuable companies in world such as Google, Apple, and Facebook, it’s no wonder that California has become one of the most tech-central states in the country. The future of the tech economy has, in some cases, outpaced what the public school curriculum can offer students. UCode…
Political Watch 12/11/14
• U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) testified before the Senate Committee on Environmental and Public Works on Dec. 10 at a hearing regarding the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s implementation of Fukishima Task Force recommendations regarding nuclear safety. In her testimony, Capps pushed for thorough oversight of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, which is in the…
Community Notebook 12/11/14-12/18/14
TUESDAY, DEC. 16 • The Santa Maria City Council has its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 110 E. Cook St., Santa Maria. Agendas are available at www.cityofsantamaria.org. • The Lompoc City Council has its regular meeting at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 100 Civic Center Plaza, Lompoc. Agendas are…
Hobnobbing with Helen
‘Tis the season to be jolly and hobnob like crazy. Honestly, there is so much going on, it takes a girl’s breath away. Holiday parties, concerts, benefits, tree-lighting ceremonies, parades—oh, my, the social calendar is full! But not to worry. Holiday hobnobbing is not all flitting around and fluff and being on the prowl for…
Community Corner: Angel of Hope helps grieving parents
On Saturday, Dec. 6, a memorial was held at the Angel of Hope statue in the Santa Maria Cemetery. It is one of several angel monuments across the country. The statue is meant to give grieving parents mourning their children a peaceful place to go, to attempt to heal and remember their lost child. “It…
Be a hero by donating blood this season
Earlier this year, the Red Cross issued an urgent notice that the world was experiencing a severe blood shortage. In response, there was an uptick in donations: The number of donors giving blood increased by 9 percent, according to a report on its website. This time of the year is stressful for a lot of…
Lompoc leaders will review applicants for the vacated council seat
The Lompoc City Council will soon begin reviewing applications for the council seat vacated by now-mayor Bob Lingl. The four-member council, including Mayor Lingl, couldn’t move past a 2-2 vote during the Dec. 2 meeting to appoint Anne Ruhge in the vacated spot—which has two years left in the term. They instead accepted applications from…
Hancock part-time faculty declare a contract negotiations impasse
The part-time faculty association at Allan Hancock College filed paperwork with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) on Dec. 2 requesting the declaration of an impasse for contract negotiations between the association and the college district. Mark Miller, the association’s president and a part-time literature teacher, said the association was also planning to show up…
Vandenberg to launch an Atlas rocket into space
Vandenberg Air Force Base is scheduled to launch at Atlas V rocket into space the night of Dec. 11, according to a press release issued by 30th Space Wing Public Affairs Office. The rocket, which is manufactured by Colorado-based company United Launch Alliance, will be carrying a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office—an intelligence agency…
Man shot in Santa Maria on Dec. 8 is in stable condition
Police are investigating a shooting that occurred the night of Dec. 8, which left one man injured and a lot of questions. According to a press release issued by the Santa Maria Police Department, officers responded to a call of gunshots heard in the 600 block of West Cypress in a residential area between South…
EDC sues the feds over offshore drilling practices
A year ago, the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) based out of Santa Barbara released the report Dirty Water: Fracking Offshore California detailing unknown-to-the-public instances of hydraulic fractured wells in federal waters off the Central Coast. Since that time, the organization has filed several rounds of Freedom of Information Act requests with the Bureau of Safety…
10 questions with Brian Collins: The brains behind Ember in Arroyo Grande talks about his red-hot restaurant
Few restaurants on the Central Coast have a line of customers waiting outside before the doors open for dinner, but there is at least one. Since Ember restaurant in Arroyo Grande opened for business earlier this year, it’s had repeat diners queued up and eager for the exceptional wood-fired cuisine, flatbread pizzas, local boutique wines…
The old man is snoring, but does it matter?
It’s been raining. I’ve seen it! I’ve seen it spattering on sidewalks and running down gutters. I’ve seen it bending leaves on trees and blades of grass. I’ve heard it, too! I’ve heard it drumming on the rooftops of houses and cars. I’ve heard it patter on umbrellas and rain jackets. I’ve smelled it on…
Don’t count on Diablo
“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” bellowed an increasingly panicked Wizard of Oz after feisty Toto and his intrepid companions had blown the cover on the pugnacious imposter. Behind a fearsome façade of smoke and mirrors, this “wizard” managed to rule a mythical paradise through fear and intimidation. In a modern remake…
What’s on Deck? 12/11/14-12/18/14
THURSDAY, DEC. 11 Boys’ soccer Righetti vs. Lompoc @ Lompoc, 5:30 p.m. SMHS vs. Coast Union @ SMHS, 5:30 p.m. PVHS vs. OAHS @ OAHS, 3:30 p.m. SYVHS vs. St. Joe’s @SYVHS, 4 p.m. Girls’ soccer Righetti vs. Lompoc @ Righetti, 5:30 p.m. SMHS vs. Coast Union @ Coast…
Special Olympics Fall School Games held in Santa Maria
Special Olympics Northern Santa Barbara County partnered with the Santa Maria-Bonita School District, Orcutt Union School District, and Guadalupe Union School District to hold the annual Fall School Games at Santa Maria High School on Dec. 4. A total of 160 students from the three districts’ special education classes participated in track and field events.…
Fish and Wildlife plans a deer hunter survey
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is updating its deer management plan. Responsive Management, a company specializing in natural resource-related public opinion surveys, will be conducting a deer hunter opinion survey to help out with the planning effort. The company will be contacting randomly selected deer hunters by telephone in mid-December. Survey participants will…
Tennis camps are coming for Christmas
Patrick Ortiz of Ark Tennis will be teaching Ark Tennis Christmas Camps at the Ernest Righetti High School tennis courts during winter break. Ortiz will be assisted by local high school varsity tennis players. Scholarships are always available, as well as second- and third-child discounts on children from the same family. Rackets will be provided…
Ernest Righetti High School boy’s water polo
Winning the CIF Sourthern Section Division boys’ water polo championship on Nov. 22 was as much of a team effort for the Ernest Righetti High School team as getting there was. “It’s hard to pick out just one guy,” said co-coach Rob Knight. “They’re competitive and they push each other very hard. It came from…
Deliver the legacy of flight with Eagle Paragliding
As you pace around the shopping mall, looking for that perfect something you haven’t thought of yet—because, in actuality, it doesn’t exist—think about this: a rustling canopy stretched out overhead, a grassy hillside below, and legs stretched out in mid-air, gliding above the earth like a bird. Epic. Sounds pretty sweet. Peaceful even. It’s that…
