Cover Story
Cupid, draw back your bow …
The Santa Barbara County hills are alive with the sound of Cupid’s harp. This Valentine’s Day, the Sun decided to put the county’s romantic side on full display. The area is a lovers’ paradise packed with picturesque vistas, quaint B&Bs, and breathtaking sunsets—the perfect setting for a romance of epic proportions. Inspired by our surroundings,…
Roses are red violets are blue …
Eva Alvarez student “Who the heck are you?” Jenise Coates student “I love you.” Rosa Diaz student “If you didn’t like my picture, too bad for you.” Sandy Matthews student “Being caught at community college sucks for you.”
Community Notebook – 2.10
MONDAY, FEB. 14 • The Santa Maria City Block Grants Advisory Committee has its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Conference Room, 110 E. Cook St., Santa Maria. TUESDAY, FEB. 15 • The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has its regular meeting at 9 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors…
Hobnobbing With Helen
Where was everybody? Traffic was down, but business wasn’t. The Santa Maria Women’s Network’s second annual Mini-Trade Show on Wed., Feb. 2, provoked a curious blend of disappointment over attendance and elation over success. The event, held at the Santa Maria Inn, attracted about half of last year’s impressive crowd. Did it matter? Carrie Rosing,…
Santa Barbara County is searching for Common Ground
Local leaders are taking even greater steps to end homelessness in the region. In January, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)—at the behest of Santa Barbara County Supervisor Doreen Farr and U.S. Rep. Lois Capps—granted the county an 11th-hour 30-day extension on the federal deadline to apply for housing funds. Each year,…
Political Watch – 2.10
Do you know your town? The Santa Maria Valley League of Women Voters recently announced that thanks to a grant from the Fund for Santa Barbara, the league will be able to print an updated version of its publication Know Your Town. The free booklet provides information to the public about the structure and function…
Elderly assistance
The Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens: Area Agency on Aging is a nonprofit responsible for allocating federal and state funds to local agencies to ensure supportive, nutrition-, and health-promotion services to seniors in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. The group is currently seeking bidders for its 2011 programs and services. “The goal…
After the floods
Guadalupe residents displaced by severe flooding from winter storms received some welcome news on Feb. 3, when the U.S. Small Business Administration announced the availability of low-interest disaster relief loans to aid rebuilding efforts. According to SBA Office of Disaster Assistance spokesman Mark Randle, the loans are intended to repair or replace primary residences and…
One in the chamber
The new head of the Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce began work on Feb. 1, temporarily taking over as the city tries to improve communication with the business community while tackling Lompoc’s ongoing economic hurdles. The chamber’s Board of Directors selected long-time Lompoc resident Tim Harrington in December to fill the vacancy left by CEO…
Fifty-thousand dollars supercharge the SMPD
The Santa Maria Police Department just got a much-needed upgrade. Two grants, worth almost $50,000 combined, were awarded to the department for lab, forensic, and cadet training equipment. On Feb. 1, the Santa Maria Police Council presented both grants to Police Chief Danny Macagni at an award ceremony at the department’s training center on McClelland…
Gruesome Myers murder details emerge in court
Before Dystiny Myers was killed, she was severely beaten, bound, and loaded up on methamphetamines, according to testimony from a key witness in the ongoing murder trial in San Luis Obispo. Five defendants on trial for the murder of Myers, a 15-year-old Santa Maria resident, sat before a media circus at a preliminary hearing on…
Burning bright
In the early morning hours of Feb. 6, Vandenberg Air Force Base launched a Minotaur I rocket carrying a national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. “The 30th Space Wing and its mission partners have a long history of successful Minotaur launches, and we are proud to continue that history again here today,” 30th…
Builders Association chooses officers
The Home Builders Association of the Central Coast installed its officers and board of directors for 2011 at its recent Leadership Installation and Awards Banquet. The group named Dennis Moresco of Midland Pacific Homes as Builder of the Year; First American Title as Associate of the Year; Lenny Grant of LGA Associates and The Towbes…
API to host facility tour
Atlas Performance Industries will be giving a tour of their facility during the next Santa Maria Valley Manufacturers Association meeting on Feb. 22. API owner Ted Martino will talk about how the company has grown from a small leasing company to a fleet of more than 1,000 office trailers and modular buildings. Also included in…
Exhibitors wanted for trade show
The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce is looking for exhibitors for the 26th annual Business Trade Show, scheduled for June 16 at the Santa Maria Fairpark. Businesses large and small, as well as nonprofits, will have an opportunity to showcase their products and services to other business people and thousands of community members at…
Smallest school brings in big money
On Feb. 4, students and staff members at Bonita Elementary School—the smallest school in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District— received a plaque from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The school raised the most money in Santa Barbara County during the “Pennies for Patients” annual fundraiser. Clubs at the school took the lead in collecting approximately…
Turn that potential energy into kinetic energy
If “Friday Night Science” is approaching Allan Hancock College at a steady rate of four times over the next four months, and you’re not there for any of those times, what are you missing? “All of the fun of physics with none of the math,” Hancock physics instructor Rob Jorstad said in a statement. Each…
Keep on keeping on, kids
The media are making a big deal about the earliest Baby Boomers turning 65. I’m not there quite yet (I’ll be 64 this month), but I do consider myself to be in the good company of the 70 million Boomers born between 1946 and 1960 or thereabouts. Some days I feel completely over the hill,…
Tom Brockway
Tom Brockway stepped away from the interview for his turn. He grabbed his bowling ball and effortlessly rolled it down the alley. A second later, the ball knocked down the pins—a strike. On his way back to this reporter, he gave a couple of high fives. A strike isn’t new to Brockway. He estimates his…
Rites of spring
It’s starting to become a sure sign of spring, as dependable as shorts and seasonal allergies: Allan Hancock College baseball players dust off their cleats and take the field, boasting another legitimate shot at a state title. The stakes have been raised for 2011. The Bulldogs are coming off their best season in 17 years,…
Meet the Rollers
The Rocketeer Rollers, a new ladies’ roller derby league, will be holding their first-ever recruiting meet and greet social on Feb. 26. The public is invited to find out more about the team and sign up for a free workout at the event, scheduled for 2 p.m. at Rice Ranch Community Park in Orcutt. For…
Grab your brush and palette
The 11th annual Brush & Palette Art Show will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 6 at the Foxenwood Tennis & Swim Club, 1087 Clubhouse Drive in Santa Maria. Enjoy complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres while browsing various works of art from eight artists. Enter to win a gift basket. Admission is…
Wildling announces new board members
The Wildling Art Museum announced the election of Kathleen Kalp and Judy Stapelmann to its Board of Directors. Kalp is a senior vice president of Northern Trust and has been the lead portfolio manager for the Northern Trust Large Cap Core Portfolio since 2004. She just completed two terms as a member of the Board…
Gear up for the gala
Through its philanthropy and work with the Orcutt School District, the Orcutt Children’s Arts Foundation (known as OCAF) strives to keep art alive in schools. It obviously takes money to keep OCAF alive, however, so the nonprofit regularly embarks on fundraising efforts in addition to arts outreach. Every year, OCAF is host to a gala…
No doubt, watch Doubt
There’s a line of dialogue in Santa Maria Civic Theatre’s presentation of Doubt that neatly sums up the play’s complex storyline: “Sometimes things aren’t just black and white.” A retort follows: “And sometimes they are!” The words are exchanged between the principal of a Bronx Catholic school in 1964 and the mother of a child…
Roses are red, rosés are pink
Noted for short days and chilly temperatures, winter on the Central Coast transforms golden brown hillsides into tree-studded blankets of green. As revelers gather over convivial meals and Valentine’s Day feasts, it’s no wonder the favored wines of the season tend to display warm nuances of earth and oak, as well as spring-fresh notes of…
