Cover Story
Warriors in need: Central Coast veterans want the option to use medical marijuana for mental illnesses
Veterans dealing with trauma and stress have a variety of treatment options available to them, but despite its legality in some states—and some say, its superior effectiveness—marijuana is not one of those options. Fred* deployed to Iraq with the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division in 2008, and returned with trauma-induced mental health issues. Though he…
Puppy problems
They’re pouring over the border from Mexico, stuffed into semi trucks and freight cars, and they’re now in our communities. Calm down people, I’m not going full Donald here; I’m talking about puppies! At least, that’s what Jeannine Wade from the Santa Maria Chapter of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals…
Should veterans have access to medicinal marijuana through Veterans Affairs?
Catherine Pieske student at Hancock, studying theater “Yes. It’s probably just as helpful as other pharmaceuticals, if not more so.” Jackie Thompson student at Hancock, studying theater “Yes. Especially when it comes to veterans struggling with PTSD.” Brett Sylvester works at Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department “Yes. It helps people relax, so why not?”…
Students ring bells at Santa Maria High School
For the third year in a row, Santa Maria High School ASB students teamed up with the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Drive to help those in need. The students finished collecting donations before school and during lunch on Dec. 13. “We are happy to bring the holiday spirit to our campus, and in the spirit…
Chumash donate to Santa Ynez Valley Music Boosters
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians presented a check in the amount of $7,500 to the Santa Ynez Valley Music Boosters at their Winter Concert on Dec. 7. The funds will help support the boosters’ instrument replacement project, which will provide new and updated instruments for students at the Santa Ynez Valley Union High…
St. Mary’s School students celebrate Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
At 6 a.m., most people are just getting up, but on Monday morning, Dec. 12, about 300 community members and students were already at St. Mary’s School for a sunrise celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. “We had volunteers arrive by 5 a.m. to prepare for the day’s events and make breakfast…
Hobnobbing with Helen
Why is Santa Maria’s being an “All American City” such a big deal? All was revealed to a crowd of more than 40 on Saturday, Dec. 10, at the library’s Shepard Hall. Among attendees at the Historical Society’s monthly “The Valley Speaks” program were quite a few of those who went to Mobile, Ala.,…
Spotlight on: PETS Hospital
Anyone who lives with pets knows that they are family too. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals estimates that nearly half of all households have a dog or a cat, with between 37 and 47 percent of those households owning dogs and 30 and 37 percent owning cats. With that many…
Much ado about dirt: A pool project in Santa Ynez prompts a discussion of environmental laws among the county planning commissioners
On Dec. 14, a pile of dirt caused a stir among the Santa Barbara County planning commissioners who denied an appeal of the board’s decision to allow a Santa Ynez resident’s pool project. Santa Ynez resident Lonny Maniscalco wants to use the dirt for a pool project in his yard. Sandra Brown, Maniscalco’s neighbor, moved…
Local environmentalists tell feds, ‘Don’t frack our future,’ at Camarillo protest
The word “frack”—a shorthand phrase for hydraulic fracturing—lends itself well to puns on picket signs. Opponents of the controversial oil extraction process have no problem taking advantage of this, as they did last week at a protest outside the Pacific office for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). More than 80 people demonstrated at…
Santa Maria Police Department increases enforcement to protect cyclists and pedestrians
The Santa Maria Police Department is continuing to ramp up its patrol of locations where pedestrian and bike collisions have occurred relatively frequently. The department began implementing new enforcement operations this month, and it stepped up enforcement yet again starting Dec. 20, according to a news release. The department has added extra officers to patrol…
UCLA museum to return burial artifacts to the Santa Ynez Chumash
Objects excavated by UCLA archeologists from sites along the Central Coast in 1978 are to be returned to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. The public notice issued by the U.S. National Park Service on Dec. 9 identified 132 cultural items, mostly burial objects, which were removed from the site in the Lindero Canyon…
Lompoc hopes to regulate personal marijuana cultivation with conditions
Lompoc banned all cultivation of marijuana one year ago but the City Council introduced an ordinance on Dec. 20 that would allow for personal indoor cultivation. The ordinance follows the passage of voter-approved Proposition 64, or the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), which legalized recreational marijuana in California. While the new law gives…
‘Puppy mill’ protest erupts at Santa Maria Town Center Mall
Members of No More Pet Store Puppies 805 gathered at Animal Kingdom’s Santa Maria location on Dec. 18 to protest the Central Coast-based pet store chain. The business has met recent pushback from animal rights activists for allegedly obtaining and selling dogs from Midwest “puppy mills”—an allegation the Santa Maria storeowner flatly denied. According to…
Political Watch 12/22/16
• The Lompoc City Council adopted a resolution at the Dec. 6 council meeting that formalized the certified results of the Nov. 8 Consolidated General Election in Lompoc. The new council was seated following the adoption of the resolution. Mayor Bob Lingl has been elected to his second two-year term as mayor, while Jim Mosby…
Clarifications
• In the Dec. 8 article, “Spotight on: iRecover,” the Sun misstated Deon Smit’s title with the company. Smit is the chief operating officer of iRecover. • In the Dec. 8 article, “Farmworkers voice concerns at Santa Barbara County forum,” the Sun misstated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office role in cases of alleged…
When they go Milo, we go higher learning
The scheduled appearance of breitbart.com writer and “Alt-right” gadfly Milo Yiannopolous at Cal Poly on Jan. 31 has gained considerably more attention than most of the university’s speakers. Milo’s Dangerous Faggot tour is making stops at several West Coast universities, and at each, students, faculty, and community members are protesting, demanding cancellations or greater accountability…
Stop destroying the Oceano Dunes
Thank you Mr. DePasquale from Cambria for supporting the establishment of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary (“Let’s get that marine sanctuary going,” New Times, Dec. 8). I support it too. Yet, we have a more urgent local issue we need to act on now: stopping the destruction of Oceano Beach, the Arroyo Grande Creek’s…
Change the Electoral College
The debate has started again as to whether the U.S. Constitution should be amended in order to change the presidential election process. Some promote eliminating the Electoral College in favor of a direct popular vote for president while others believe the Electoral College should remain unchanged. Just as compromise solved the initial problems of the…
Not one more zero
Donald Trump is one of the most dangerous people who may soon destroy the world. He is a zero collector: His greatest obsession is to add zeros to his bottom line. To him, nothing else matters. He is part of a group of delusional billionaires that will ship American factories overseas, expand coal mining and…
Keep the arts alive
To the Santa Ynez Union Valley High School Theater Group, Jeff McKinnon, and the cast of To See The Stars, thank you so much for one of the most incredible evenings of high school theater we have ever enjoyed. Your production was well staged, and the performance of the actors, as demonstrated in their concentrated…
Local author Chuck J. Rylant finds ‘Motivation’ in jiu-jitsu
Simple curiosity and an analysis of the definition of success in his own life led Central Coast author Chuck J. Rylant on a quest to discover what drives high achievers. He found the answers he was looking for in the sport he has practiced for two decades: jiu-jitsu. Now he has published a book that…
Lompoc beautification commission reveals decoration contest winners
The Lompoc Beautification and Appearance Commission announced the winners of its 22nd annual Holiday Decoration Contest. Members of the commission viewed participating Lompoc homes and selected three winners and 11 honorable mentions. First place was awarded $50, and second and third place winners received $25. The first place distinction was awarded to the home…
Viva el Arte de Santa Barbara presents free concert series
Viva el Arte de Santa Barbara will present a series of free family-friendly mariachi concerts Jan. 6 through Jan. 8. The featured ensemble is Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, a group with 50 years of performance history. The first concert is at 7 p.m. on Jan. 6 at Isla Vista School, located at 6875…
Presqu’ile raises more than $10,000 for Foodbank of Santa Barbara County
Presqu’ile Winery in Santa Maria announced that it raised more than $10,000 for the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County this year. Throughout November, Presqu’ile collected donations at wine tastings and each donation was matched dollar for dollar by the owners of Presqu’ile. “We are incredibly grateful to Presqu’ile Winery for this generous donation, and their…
Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum seeks artists
The Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum is looking for artists to sign up for the Discovery Artists Program. The program needs a new artist for classes that run every Sunday, from February through April. The artists will teach kids ages 5 to 10 an art project at each session. Artists have the option to sign…
Daytripper: Head North on Highway 101 for some ’90s kid nostalgia
What better time for nostalgia is there than around the holidays? A few close friends and I recently embarked on a grand quest to recapture some of our favorite childhood pastimes. We didn’t need a DeLorean to go back in time that day, just a Buick Century stocked with enough Fruit Gushers to feed a…
Join the Audubon Society’s local contributors for the annual bird count on Dec. 26
For more than a century, amateur and experienced birders have taken to the roads and hiking trails of America to participate in the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count. The Audubon’s Santa Barbara Chapter joins the 117-year-old tradition each year with counts across the county, including the upcoming Santa Maria/Guadalupe region count on Dec.…
Sound of the season: Learn about the instruments and techniques musicians use to make holiday songs
Just after Thanksgiving you begin to hear it piped into every department store, those same familiar songs, chord structures, and instruments. Sleigh bells never get as much work as they do during the month of December it seems, and we have generations of songwriters and composers to thank for this. The holiday season rolls around…
Altered states
Before we had kids, a friend of my husband—a guy who had been married for years and had small children—described the appeal of drinking beer when you’re a parent. He said, “It’s like taking a mini vacation.” We laugh about that description to this day, knowing that it’s a little too accurate. Sometimes having one…
Flavor flair: The unassuming Adelina’s in Nipomo strikes a balance between familiar and refined
Nipomo is hiding a secret. In order to unearth it, you’ll have to make your way through a sprawling path of trees leading up to the entrance of Trilogy at Monarch Dunes, a planned community on the outskirts of Nipomo. But don’t worry—this trip through suburban sprawl is worth it. At the heart of the…
