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Deck the paws: This year’s Last-Minute Holiday Gift Guide is for the pets and animal lovers on your list
You might have everyone crossed off your holiday shopping list, but what about the four-legged friends and family in your life? For this year’s Last-Minute Gift Guide, the Sun focused on gifts for pets and pet owners, like holiday-themed dog clothes, adoption deals at the Santa Maria Animal Shelter, training for dogs who always tip…
Support Lompoc’s cannabis ordinance
Dear Sun, you need more balanced cannabis coverage. You recently published an editorial by Lompoc resident Ron Fink about his irrational concerns over legalized cannabis in Lompoc (“Lompoc residents concerned over cannabis referendum,” Nov. 23). It fails to acknowledge there is already (unregulated) marijuana all over Lompoc and that legalization only paves the way for…
Humor: Ariel doesn’t break holiday tradition
Is it already December? I feel like I just finished boxing up the holiday decorations. Now I have to put them out again. That’s because I am big on traditions, especially during the holidays. Everyone has their own holiday family traditions. Some spring from religious rites and others from cultural customs. Some exist because generations…
Do you have all of your holiday shopping done?
Allie Shea student ambassador “No, I don’t have the money or time.” Henry Schroff student activities assistant “No, mostly because of time. I went shopping on Black Friday, but didn’t find anything.” Marnia Lambardi public information specialist “Yes, because I always home-make my gifts. I am ready and excited for the holidays!” Stephanie Robb coordinator…
Black Bear Diner in Santa Maria brings country kitsch front and center
I’ve never really been one for a lot of fake corporate kitsch in restaurants. That cute rusty license plate from 1956 Montana hanging on the wall over your table was probably made in a Taiwanese factory anyway. But I have to say, the Black Bear Diner is pretty damn charming. The locally owned franchise, which…
Political Watch 12/07/17
• Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) appeared on Meet the Press on Dec. 2, and discussed President Donald Trump’s actions following the guilty plea of his former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. A tweet from the president’s Twitter account said, “I had to fire Gen. Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI,”…
A hot mess
It’s been more difficult getting my usual bird’s-eye view of Santa Barbara County what with all this wind. But I can still see plenty that’s going on, especially the massive smoke cloud to the south. I lamented the wildfires we had earlier this year—the Alamo and Whittier fires—but based on what we’re seeing out of…
LOCAL NOTES: The Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale prepare program of holiday favorites
Tradition is the red thread that ties centuries of Christmastimes together, and music is the bow that fastens it all up. The Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale’s upcoming concert, Festival of Carols, pays vocal tribute to those traditions. The festival happens the weekend of Dec. 16 and 17 and includes classical through contemporary holiday music,…
Mollie Dobbs turns childhood acting bug into blossoming career
Actress Molly Dobbs, an Arroyo Grande High School graduate, is currently performing the role of Ellie in the Pacific Conservatory Theatre’s (PCPA) production of Freaky Friday. She recently talked with the Sun about her career and her origins as a performer. Sun: How did you get started in theater? Dobbs: I grew up in…
Central Coast holiday shows to kick off the season
We’re a week into December, and it is indeed beginning to look a lot like Christmas. But forget decorating the tree just so or purchasing the perfect gift—the real question is what forms of community holiday merriment should one partake in? There’s too many festive shows and only so much time, so we at the…
Corby Burress
St. Joseph High School girls’ soccer forward Corby Burress got off to just about as great a start as she could hope for to her 2017-18 season. The junior standout found the net twice in the Knights’ opening game, a 3-0 route of Cabrillo High School on Nov. 28. In addition to securing the first…
Proud Saints: Santa Maria football shines in historic CIF championship game, despite loss to Big Bear
No moment better captured the vibe at Santa Maria High School on Dec. 2 than the scene at Ralph Baldiviez Stadium just minutes after the final buzzer of the CIF Southern Section Division 12 Championship football game sounded. Heartbreak permeated the air as the Saints were forced to watch Big Bear High School raucously celebrate…
Guadalupe City Council doing Planning Commission’s job
I went to the Guadalupe City Council meeting about four or five weeks ago where a resident of Guadalupe discussed that he wants to build a simple driveway at his new home. He went to the Planning Department office, and it seems they sent him to the City Council meeting. He wanted to talk to…
The Central Coast can’t afford the GOP tax plan
On Monday, the House and Senate met to negotiate the final version of their tax plan behind closed doors, but there are a few things about the plan we know to expect. Every iteration of the Republican tax plan has proven to balloon the deficit by at least a trillion dollars and hand the majority…
City officials work to rally community support for recently adopted youth safety plan
Community members and city officials have spent months arguing over ways to best reduce youth violence in Santa Maria, and an end to the battle is not in sight. City officials are taking their first steps toward implementing the city’s newly adopted youth safety plan, which was drafted by the Mayor’s Task Force on Youth…
Spotlight on: Hans Duus Blacksmith
Hans Duus, 66, has been working with metals for more than 50 years. “I like being around a forge,” he told the Sun. “I grew up in it.” Duus first sank his teeth into the craft when he was just a teenager, when he joined a welding class in high school. It was during that…
Hobnobbing with Helen: The Philharmonic put on a masquerade
Masquerade Ball. Doesn’t that sound like fun? There were masks galore at the Philharmonic Society’s annual fundraiser, held on Saturday, Nov. 18, at the Radisson Hotel. This year’s theme was—you guessed it—Masquerade Ball. Imagine a roomful of gala-goers wearing the accessory du jour. There were feathered masks and masks with long, exaggerated noses, as well…
Greater number of valley fever cases reported on the Central Coast
It was 2006 when the Perkins wildfire devastated parts of the Cuyuma Valley. As captain of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department’s hand crew, Rob Hazard spent more than a week installing hand and bulldozer lines to help suppress the fire. The crew used several bulldozers, and Hazard said he remembers fighting various spot fires…
Broken pipe causes damage and closures to East Battles Road
A fire hydrant pipe broke near the intersection of East Battles Road and South Broadway on Dec. 4, causing the pavement to buckle, which led to a lengthy lane closure on Battles. The water pipe was repaired by 8 a.m. the following morning, and water service was restored to Rabobank, which had no water access…
Attorney adds context to detainment lawsuit against Marian Medical, county
The attorney for a San Luis Obispo couple who attempted to sue Marian Regional Medical Center for wrongful detainment added clarity to the complex case while responding to an article published in the Sun on Nov. 30 (“Wrongfully detained?”). “To be detained involuntarily is among the most traumatizing thing that can occur to a person.…
Santa Maria park improvement projects underway
Big changes are coming, or already have come, to Santa Maria’s Grogan, Armstrong, and Buena Vista parks. Each park is somewhere in the renovation process as the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department works to achieve its longtime goal to replace or improve at least one park each year. The playground at Grogan Park, which…
County status report shows Greka responsible for majority of petroleum violations
Santa Barbara County Planning and Development staff found that Greka Energy led the pack in terms of violations and fines compared to other oil and gas producers in the county. In an annual report presented to the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 5, county petroleum staff noted 161 violations were issued following petroleum unit inspections…
Santa Maria introduces ‘Talking in the Library’
A series of 17 short videos—in English and Spanish, featuring patrons of the Santa Maria Public Library discussing their experiences using the modern library system—are now posted online. The library users are featured in a new social media campaign to tell others in local communities the many ways that they find the library useful. The…
Women’s Guild hosts Christmas luncheon
St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church’s Women’s Guild is hosting the annual Christmas luncheon on Dec. 9 at 11:30 a.m. Women over the age of 12 are encouraged to attend. The event will be held in the church’s decorated Stacy Hall. This luncheon, a Santa Ynez Valley tradition for more than 40 years, opens with a reception…
