Cover Story
Searching the stars: Our annual Wishlist issue is a resource for those who want to be a star to a service organization in need
As a child you may have looked up at the sky and made a wish on a shooting star. At the time maybe the wish was something whimsical or over the top. For nonprofits, wishes are often practical. They often wish for the basic items that help them continue providing the vital services they offer…
Federal government recommends preservation of 34,000 acres for tiger salamander
The U.S. government is saying “I’m sorry” to endangered California tiger salamanders, and—in true federal-government-apology fashion—returning a bunch of land to them. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved a final recovery plan for Santa Barbara County’s population of the salamander on Dec. 12, recommending the purchase and preservation of 34,000 acres of habitat. The…
What’s your favorite local nonprofit organization?
Jaime Arnold works at Walmart “The Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum because I loved going there when I was a kid.” Raul Aguirre works at Walmart “Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.” Ruby Salazar works at Great Clips “Angels Foster Care because I myself am adopted.” Tiffany Ventura works at Great Clips “The Santa Maria Youth…
Righetti FFA members plant trees
Righetti FFA members visited Patterson Road School to show kids that trees are important every day and not just for Christmas. The Warriors recently brought a dozen trees to the Orcutt campus where they joined third and fourth graders. Together, they planted them on the edge of the playing field. The FFA members also had…
Sherriff’s Office welcomes new deputies
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office officially welcomed nine new Sheriff’s deputies to its team. On Dec. 8 at a traditional ceremony before a room of dignitaries, family, and friends, 29 recruits graduated from the Allan Hancock Law Enforcement College Academy in Lompoc. Of those graduates, nine were hired by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s…
Guadalupe students knit hats for infants
The gift of warmth for infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) became a reality thanks to students from Kermit McKenzie Jr. High School in Guadalupe. The sixth-through eighth-grade students delivered 52 knitted hats to Marian Medical Center recently. They started making them inside Rosie Garcia’s knitting elective class about eight weeks ago. Garcia’s…
Spotlight on: S and J Cleaning Solutions
Sharon Prater remembers her son, Darren, as an organized go-getter. In high school, she said he drafted a plan to open his own business. But the former Righetti High School student’s life was tragically cut short on Dec. 7, 2004, when he and two other students died in a car crash on Rice Ranch Road.…
Political Watch 12/15/16
• Congressman-elect Salud Carbajal announced his office will distribute, via random drawing, a limited number of tickets to constituents so they may attend the 58th Inauguration of the President of the United States on Jan. 20, 2017. “A peaceful transfer of power is the bedrock of our democracy, and I am pleased to offer residents…
Oil in the woods: Forest Service embarks on new environmental review of oil development in Los Padres
Oil companies eyeing drill sites in Los Padres National Forest will have to take their business elsewhere, following a move by the U.S. Forest Service to indefinitely suspend its leasing plan for new oil drilling in Los Padres. After a decade of litigation and pressure from environmental groups, the Forest Service is starting from scratch…
Santa Barbara County’s warming centers to open more frequently this winter
Santa Barbara County will extend warming shelter opportunities this winter for residents experiencing homelessness, following a vote by the Board of Supervisors at its Dec. 13 meeting. Typically, warming shelters open when the weather forecast predicts a 50 percent or greater chance of rain for two consecutive days, or temperatures dropping below 35 degrees at…
Offshore fracking could ramp up again in Santa Barbara Channel
Hydraulic fracturing may resume in the Santa Barbara Channel for the first time since federal agencies lifted a moratorium on offshore fracking in May. Oil company DCOR completed an application on Dec. 6 to frack from Platform Gilda in the channel for a period of 30 days, starting on Sept. 1, 2017. As of press…
Nipomo CSD doesn’t reach Stage IV water reduction
The Nipomo Community Services District (NCSD) failed to reach a target of 50 percent water reduction by the end of 2016, according to a status report presented at the NCSD board meeting on Dec. 14. From July to November, the district was only able to reach a 48.5 percent water reduction. With Stage IV water…
Community Notebook 12/15/16 – 12/22/16
TUESDAY, DEC. 20 • 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…
Los Olivos wastewater system to cost $20 million
A proposed wastewater reclamation system in Los Olivos would cost more than $20 million to implement, according to an engineering report presented at the Dec. 8 meeting of the Santa Barbara County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). In the report, Santa Maria-based AECOM Technical put the estimated total cost for the project at $20.9 million. …
Speedy delivery
I’ve always been a do-it-yourself type of guy. House needs a new garbage disposal? No problem. I can crawl under the sink and bang my head against the counter while using obscenities just as good as any professional plumber. I learned all of my do-it-yourself handyman skills growing up around my dad who coincidentally also…
Singer Holly Williams supports Hats for Hope with a holiday jazz concert
Fans of the local jazz group Riptide Big Band know well the incredible vocal skill and beautiful voice of Holly Williams, the band’s lead female singer. She has a clear voice that navigates the complexity of jazz melodies with emotive prescience. Williams brought years of jazz singing experience to the band when she auditioned in…
Santa Ynez Christmas Baskets Program seeks donations
The 2016 Santa Ynez Christmas Baskets Program seeks cash donations to cover the costs of food and other items given to 156 local needy families. Each family receives a large hamper of food and toiletries and a large decorated box of wrapped presents. “We reach out to the community and ask them to help us…
Valley Art Gallery exhibits Director’s Choice
Director’s Choice is the featured artist exhibit at Valley Art Gallery showing through Feb. 13. An opening reception is Dec. 16 from 5 to 7 p.m. The gallery show includes paintings, photography, holiday cards, and handmade ornaments created by local artists. The Valley Art Gallery is located at 1108 E. Clark Ave., suite 107, Orcutt. …
Nipomo High School hosts candlelight service
The fourth annual Follow The Star Community Candlelight Service takes place Dec. 18 at the Nipomo High School (NHS) gymnasium. The candlelight service includes dinner, dessert, and a performance by local musicians. Follow The Star also serves as a fundraiser to benefit the NHS Athletics Department and The Nipomo Food Basket. The event is free,…
Fine art with fabric: The Elverhoj Museum in Solvang showcases the work of 15 supremely skilled textile artists
The Elverhoj Museum of History and Art currently showcases a fantastic exhibit of fine art in geometric expressions of colorful imagination. Some bridge the gap between abstract and representational with some programmatic titles, like Kristin Otte’s piece titled Tokyo Train Ride, which blends colorful shapes over a drab gray background that appears to be newsprint.…
Paint your own artsy ornament with Wine and Design in Orcutt
Everybody remembers the handmade ornaments they brought home from school as a kid. Made out of clay or yarn, they usually included the year of origin somewhere on the ornament, so those decorating the tree in years to come could remember who made them and when. But why does this creative effort stop after childhood—why…
True grits: Cowgirl Cafe in Nipomo serves up stick-to-your-ribs breakfast fare
I’ve always preferred brunch over breakfast. Breakfast is just too early of a concept for me to grasp—just like school, work, church, jury duty, and all other things that start before noon. But I prefer sleeping in until 3 p.m.—that’s why breakfast for dinner is my jam. Get it? Jam? Breakfast? Never mind. Unfortunately for…
When no one is watching
Lately, with the patchy rain that has fallen in these parts, I’ve embraced the chance to bundle up and take long flights under the gray cloudy sky. I’m an outdoorsy kind of bird. None of that caged stuff for me. But, of course, no one really likes to be caged. That’s pretty evident lately with…
Thank You Santa Maria
On Dec. 6, the Santa Barbara County Elections Office certified all election results in the county. I am happy to report that Measure H2016 passed with 57.29 percent of the vote. With 41,572 votes cast, 23,818 voted yes. On behalf of the Yes on Measure H2016 Bond Committee, I want to thank the community for…
The power plant is shutting down
I can’t believe the businesses and the whiners that are complaining about PG&E shutting down “their” nuclear power plant—Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant! Some of these complainers are the ones that did NOT support nuclear power in this area, and did not want Diablo to start up! These are now some of the same folks…
Things are going to get worse
So, the police issued a fake press release, saying they turned over two low-level criminals (the police actually used those exact words), to immigration officials, supposedly for deportation, to mislead some gang members who wanted retribution against them. After thinking about this for a while, something occurred to me. I would assume, that these guys…
School districts can stop bullying
I was heartbroken and saddened to read your article on “The bully effect” (Dec. 1) because more than 20 years ago, I addressed bullying in my child’s school. This mother is right to expect that her elementary school principal, and everyone up to the superintendent, should protect her children. There is a provision in the…
Leandrew Knight
For Leandrew Knight and the Cabrillo High School basketball team, this season is truly a family affair. Not only did Leandrew, the star guard and team captain, start the season on fire averaging 27 points a game in the 74th annual Nordhoff Tournament, he’s also the cousin of head coach C.J. Simmons. Simmons played basketball…
Braves in blue: Lompoc’s new head coach helps the team dominate the football season before a close Black Friday loss
Lompoc High School has a storied football history with periods of dominance spanning more than four decades. Most notably, in 1990, Napoleon Kaufman led the school to its first ever CIF championship while becoming one of the best running backs in California Prep Athletics history. He was later a top-20 pick in the 1995 NFL…
