Cover Story
Some strings attached
It’s not alive. You know it’s not alive. There is no way some glued-together wood frame and old, shredded sweaters will ever be alive. And yet there it is, that almost random assemblage, hopping and wiggling around, just like a real, panting, lovable dog would. I mean, there’s clearly a guy holding it, and it’s…
Athlete of the Week: Beth Rigali
There isn’t a whole lot cross-country athlete Beth Rigali doesn’t like about running. A junior at St. Joseph High School, Rigali has been outrunning the competition this season. Her passion for running and boundless determination helped propel the St. Joe girls’ cross country team to the state race in Fresno at the end of November.…
Out with the old, in with the new
When the Allan Hancock College baseball field was first built, it was only supposed to be temporary. Now, some 60 years later, the college’s baseball team still uses it—the same tired field with its myriad problems, namely sporadic irrigation. Head baseball coach Chris Stevens said hard work and donations from volunteers and boosters over the…
Centuries of music
La Purisima Mission has stood the test of time. Sure, it’s had some help along the way, but rebuilds and restoration aside, the beautiful landmark is one of the Central Coast’s most prized landmarks. La Purisima Mission State Historic Park is celebrating the 225th Founding Day at the historical mission site with a daytime mass…
Masters of music
The Lompoc Valley Master Chorale, directed by Kathleen Abrams Hacker, presents two holiday concerts in Lompoc. The program, “A Christmas Journey,” features favorite holiday song selections. There will be solos by chorale members as well as guest instrumentalists and ensembles including a horn ensemble and an organist. There will also be sing-a-longs and popular carols.…
See this student’s ‘Glass Forest’
Santa Barbara High School senior art student Vani Winick will present her exhibit “The Glass Forest” at the Elizabeth Gordon Gallery in Santa Barbara through Dec. 9. The exhibit examines glass and nature, transforming the gallery itself to reflect nature. A reception will feature a talk and poetry reading by the artist on Dec. 6…
Attention ‘oakies’
KCBX Public Radio has started selling tickets to its annual Live Oak Festival taking place July 14, 15, and 16, 2013. Tickets are available with an early-bird discount through March 10, 2013. Groups already lined up to perform are the Joe Craven Trio, Ranchers for Peace, Dead Winter Carpenters, Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan, and…
The library and the Santa Maria Civic Theatre team up
The Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library are holding a fundraiser event featuring the Santa Maria Civic Theatre and its production of Over the River and Through the Woods on Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. Written by Joe DiPietro, Over the River and Through the Woods is a story about a young man who…
A season of fun
You may wonder if Solvang’s annual Julefest celebration has something to do with jewelry, but you’d be wrong. The “J” makes a “Y” sound in the Danish tongue, and so Julefest is a celebration of the Yuletide season in Solvang with a sleigh-full of community revelry and fun. “Julefest has been going on for a…
The mesa is alive …
Some plays define the genre of theater they exemplify. The Sound of Music has come to be known as one of the most quintessential musicals of all time, immortalized in the 1965 film starring Julie Andrews. And now, thanks to the acclaimed talent and skill at Nipomo High School’s Drama Department, the play is going…
Scissorgate
The other day I was sitting at the kitchen table working on a little organization project. I was as happy as a clam, labeling things with my label maker, putting together small boxes to store things in and make stuff easy to find. My wife, who wanted me doing other things, like taking out the…
Everything old is new again
So Clark Kent became a blogger. Yes, Superman’s mild-mannered alter-ego left the Daily Planet in late October to hunch himself in front of a glowing screen and peck out stories for the Internet. When he’s not punching other aliens, of course. As a print journalist, when I learned of the move made by the world’s…
Celebrate the solstice
Many ancient and modern cultures in the northern hemisphere celebrate the winter solstice as the time the sun stops its freezing and dark southern migration and starts its return to bring warmth and light to the northern hemisphere. On our modern calendar, this is normally on Dec. 22. In the first century CE, a Roman…
Thanks for caring
For last week’s edition, the Angel of Hope Ministry thanks you, the Sun, and Intern Writer Frank Gonzales, for highlighting our ministry and our annual memorial service at the Santa Maria Cemetery (“Angel of Hope Memorial,” Nov. 29). Despite the rain, we also thank the many families who attended the service in memory of their…
Wine with an accent
Two uber-talented winemakers, making wines at different Santa Barbara County wineries, grew up in South Africa, attending the same college. But it wasn’t until they moved 10,000 miles across the globe to California that their paths finally crossed and they quickly became friends. Ernst Storm is Curtis Winery’s winemaker, and he has his own label,…
Celebrate the holidays with Nipomo Elementary School
Go walking in a winter wonderland on Dec. 8 at Nipomo Elementary School’s free annual carnival and craft fair. From 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., families can play games, eat delicious food, enjoy live entertainment, and get their pictures taken with Santa Claus. There will also be arts and crafts and a snowfield for wintertime…
Get a book, give a book at Allan Hancock College
This holiday season, share beloved children’s books like Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are and Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree with a little one you know—and one you don’t, too. The Allan Hancock College Bookstore is currently matching every children’s book sold with the donation of a book to the Allan Hancock College Children’s…
Squire Robotics make aname for themselves at Lego League tournament
Members of St. Mary’s School Squire Robotics, a first-year “rookie” robotics team, showed engineering prowess beyond their years at the first Lego League qualifying tournament at Lakeview Junior High School last month. This was Squire Robotics’ first regional competition and while they didn’t place high enough to advance to the next level, they did finish…
Spotlight on: Absolutely British
Grunden. Eric Grunden. That’s how anyone who visits Absolutely British might expect the owner to introduce himself. But after a long conversation with Grunden, it should be clear that his success comes not from emphasizing the elite origins of the sophisticated sports cars he restores, but from understanding their every detail down to the last…
Community coats
At the five Rabobank branches throughout Santa Maria and Orcutt, the Santa Maria Noontime Kiwanis have placed festively decorated barrels in which individuals can place new or lightly used coats that will be given to people in need over the coming colder months. If the tough economy and the recent rain are any indication, every…
Second chances
If everything goes according to plan, Howard Hill, a former sailor with the U.S. Navy, is going to be one of the next graduates of the Santa Maria Veterans Treatment Court. Hill joined the Navy in 1995 in lieu of going to prison. He served his country for 13 years until being discharged in 2008.…
Santa Maria man in ‘ruse affidavit’ case convicted of home robbery
Jesus Quevado, the alleged West Park gang member who was featured in the December 2011 Sun cover story “Walking the Line,” was found guilty in a Santa Maria jury trial of committing a series of armed robberies and burglaries in the fall of 2010 in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Quevado claimed that…
Solvang not selected to be host to Amgen Tour
Though the Amgen Tour of California professional cycling race whizzed through Solvang in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011, the city’s Conference and Visitors Bureau recently revealed that the quaint town won’t play host to this year’s Amgen Tour. The 750-mile race that starts May 12 in Escondido will instead stop in host cities Santa Barbara…
Political dustup over the Oceano Dunes continues
As some locals foretold when a controversial air quality rule passed for the Oceano Dunes in late 2011, a chainsaw could now cut the tension between the local air pollution control district and state parks. The disagreement mostly revolves around Rule 1001. Implemented by the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District Board, the…
Santa Marians had a long wait for results from the City Council race
The political battle for two spots on the Santa Maria City Council has proven to be one of the closest in recent memory. As of press time on Dec. 4, the Santa Barbara County Elections Office had yet to announced the certified voting results. The most recently available uncertified results showed Terri Zuniga—the candidate who…
Which Muppet do you identify with the most?
Dillon De La Torre store associate at Kwirkworld “Statler and Waldorf [the elderly hecklers from The Muppet Show] because I’m cynical and sarcastic in the morning.” Nicole Crow barista at Linnaea’s Café “Elmo because we are both cute and cuddly.” Melanie Thomas store manager at Abercrombie & Fitch “Fozzie Bear because I like to think…
