Cover Story
Watching over Orcutt: An uptick in graffiti and theft has motivated members of the community to band together and take back their neighborhood
One morning in June 2015, Debbie O’Campo awoke to an unpleasant surprise: All of the tires on her 2013 GMC Terrain Denali were gone. She was notified by a stranger’s knock on the door of her Orcutt home shortly before she started her day as the plant services coordinator at Allan Hancock College. It was…
Why should or shouldn’t Orcutt be a part of Santa Maria?
Michael Bryant sales associate “Yeah I kind of think it should be. It’s basically the suburbs of Santa Maria.” Andrea McClenathan restaurant assistant manager “I think it’s fine the way it is. Orcutt is really historic, and mixing it with Santa Maria will take it away from that.” Eddie Flores construction worker “I feel like…
High school district gets $2 million tech grant
The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District received a $2 million Career Technical Education Incentive Grant to help students get ready for careers and college. The first allocation, a little more than $1.1 million, of the three-year grant is expected to be received soon from the California Department of Education. The state money is…
Career Day planned for Solvang School
The North County Volunteer Corps will be holding a career day for grades six through eight at Solvang School on Tuesday, Feb. 23, from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This will be the first career day at Solvang School; the intent is to enhance public education by connecting “real world” careers and concepts, based on…
Kindergarten registration begins
Kindergarten registration for schools in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District will begin on Wednesday, Feb. 24. Children who turn 5 years old on or before Sept. 1 are eligible for regular kindergarten in the 2016-2017 school year. Registration will also take place for a program called transitional kindergarten for children who are slightly younger. Parents…
Spotlight on: Argent Data Systems
The website for Argent Data Systems says the company manufactures “electronic products for amateur radio, education, and commercial users.” But the Santa Maria-based company is also affiliated with hyperionloop.com, which is known for its “smart hoops” or hula hoops with light emitting diodes (LED) and programmable electronics. Glittering with a rainbow of colors, the hoops…
Political Watch 2/11/2016
• On Feb. 5, Rep Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara), co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Heart and Stroke Coalition, led efforts to highlight the impact of heart disease in women. On Tuesday, she spoke on the House floor to recognize American Heart Month. On Wednesday, Capps joined a bipartisan group of congresswomen and senators to raise…
Community Notebook 2/11/16 – 2/18/16
TUESDAY, FEB.16 • The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has its regular meeting at 9 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 105 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara. • 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…
Reflecting on a legacy: 24th District Representative Lois Capps stops by the Sun’s office for an exit interview
Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) has represented California’s 24th Congressional District for 18 years. She announced in early 2015 that she’s retiring, setting the stage for a new crop of candidates, who are now campaigning to fill the void. Capps, 78, was elected in 1997 in a special election following the death of her husband, Walter…
And they’re off! The first major 24th District congressional debate sees wide array of issues, ideologies, and approaches
From here, it can only get more interesting. Cal Poly hosted the first major debate of the 24th District congressional race on Feb. 4, where KCBX-FM News Director Randol White moderated the forum. “You can expect a vibrant and lively conversation, I’m sure,” White said in his introduction. Individual candidates separated themselves from the pack…
Clarification
The Sun incorrectly reported the location of Joelyn Lutz’s Valentine’s Day concert in last week’s Local Notes column, “Healing Harmony.” The concert will happen at the First United Methodist Church, 311 S. Broadway, Santa Maria, at 4 p.m. on Feb. 14. More information is available at joelynlutz.com.
Isla Vista massacre lawsuit moved to Santa Barbara County
A civil rights lawsuit brought by a victim from the 2014 Isla Vista massacre has been moved from Los Angeles County to Santa Barbara County Superior Court. Originally filed in Los Angeles on June 23, 2015, UCSB student Keith Cheung alleges that the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office violated his civil rights and was negligent…
Dry spell doesn’t mean the end for El Nino
Local temperatures approached record highs in early February, raising suspicion that this year’s “Godzilla” El Niño may have more bark than bite on the Central Coast. Last month, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory climatologist Bill Patzert told the Sun that February alone could see a year’s worth of rainfall. Feb. 1 pulled through, dropping more than…
County supervisors commit to healthy initiatives
Santa Barbara County supervisors have adopted a Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) resolution, making Santa Barbara the second California county to officially support initiatives to improve residents’ health via HEAL. Susan Klein-Rothschild, public information officer for the county health department, said the HEAL campaign commits to providing county residents with healthy options, everywhere from vending…
Rail spur hearing draws hundreds
Hundreds of individuals from inside and outside SLO County gathered for a two-day Planning Commission hearing on a proposed rail extension project by the Phillips 66 oil company. The project, which would allow the company to transport crude oil by train to its Santa Maria Refinery on the Nipomo Mesa, drew heavy criticism from local…
American Lung Association report fails North County cities on tobacco control policies
The American Lung Association released its State of Tobacco Control report last week, scoring Santa Barbara County with a “B” for overall tobacco control—no thanks to North County. On a city level, Santa Maria, Solvang, Lompoc, and Guadalupe were each slapped with “F” grades for overall tobacco control, and Buellton earned a “D.” The Lung…
Balancing marriage and racing
I consider myself a man of many titles: husband, father, writer, racecar driver, and gentleman adventurer. These are the titles I use to categorize myself, of course. Other people refer to me as procrastinator, speeder, or guy who leaves his garbage cans at the curb one day too long. Of all of these titles, whether…
Chris Lambert gets personal in his 10th studio album ‘The Blue Hour’
It’s not easy putting yourself out there as an artist, let alone as a person, but that’s exactly what local 27-year-old singer/songwriter Chris Lambert set out to do with his latest album, The Blue Hour. In the past, Lambert has focused more on fictional characters or stories, which work as the theme for an album,…
Dunes Center seeks help for sphinx excavation
The Dunes Center is asking the community for help in supporting the excavation of the sphinx still buried under Guadalupe dunes sand. The set piece from Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments was partially excavated by the Dunes Center, but the organization is submitting a proposal to Santa Barbara County’s Coastal Resource Enhancement Fund to…
Lompoc Theatre Project takes official ownership of historic theater
The Lompoc Theatre Project has cause for celebration. The nonprofit organization now owns the deed to the historic Lompoc Theatre building, the first step in its plan to remodel and reopen the location as a venue for the performing arts. Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Jed Beebe granted the organization’s petition to foreclose on…
American Pickers looking for California collections
The popular antiquing show American Pickers comes to California this March, and the hit series is looking for locals with vast collections of antiques to share, haggle, and sell on the show. The show stars Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, who scour the country for rare collectibles and items they can buy and then sell…
Santa Maria Civic Theatre presents Alan Ayckbourn’s playful comedy ‘Relatively Speaking’
It’s an unfortunate truth about humanity, but not all of us are always honest. That’s the hinging plot device that swings Alan Ayckbourn’s Relatively Speaking into action, and will delight and entertain locals who visit the Santa Maria Civic Theatre for its first production of 2016. Opening on Feb. 12, the show is a wonderful…
Valley Art Gallery features the pastel landscapes of Martin Johnsen
Local landscape artists are never wanting for inspiration, including pastel artist Martin Johnsen, who’s lived in Santa Maria for 40 years. The local artist and picture framer doesn’t have to travel far to snap an inspiring scene with his digital camera, which he takes home to his studio to work from with his pastels. Johnsen…
Matt Willkomm
Matt Willkomm has been spectacular at guard for the Allan Hancock College men’s basketball team this season. The sophomore scored a career-high 38 points in a win over Oxnard College on Feb. 3, burying six three-pointers and keeping the Bulldogs in the running for a Western State Conference title. “We were just moving the ball…
Cabrillo High takes rivalry games
Cabrillo High School’s soccer teams squared off against Lompoc’s last week, and the classic crosstown rivalry matchups didn’t disappoint. Cabrillo boys’ soccer defeated Lompoc 3-2 in a double overtime while the girls’ team earned a 1-0 win over the Braves on Feb. 2. James Baca, head coach of the Cabrillo boys’ team, might have summed…
BBQ In The Stix launches tri-tip food truck
Santa Maria Valley loves its signature tri-tip barbecue: oak wood, open fire grill, just a bit of salt, and salsa on the side. So what could make it better? A couple of entrepreneurs decided to take on that challenge, and what they came up with can be described as deliciously instant gratification. For most people,…
Let’s avoid being all chirp and no flap
This week presented a lot of flying days, wings-in-the-sun days, and a few step-away-from-the-desk-and-get-to-know-your-community days. A free fly day gives a bird time to think and see things in a new perspective. It was on one of those reflective flights that I spotted some strange words scrawled across a wall in an Orcutt neighborhood. It…
CrossFit injury rates comparable to other activities
I’m writing about the article “Too much CrossFit? What can happen if you overdo it?” (Jan. 28). I noticed that you did not include the injury rate from Dr. Hak’s study. You included the 73 percent prevalence rate, but that doesn’t really give the reader any useful information because it doesn’t include a time parameter.…
Embracing sin attracts bad things
As you know there are consequences to allowing bad things. When you allow them, you open the door to worse things. Santa Maria and Santa Barbara County have made it their business to not just leave the door open for some worse things, they built a “demonic landing strip!” Did it ever occur to anyone…
Debating fire
The gun-control debate has mostly revolved around interpretation of the Second Amendment. It would be more productive, instead, to focus on societal ramifications of the prevalence of guns. The Violence Policy Center analyzed the data compiled by the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics for a five-year period (2007-2011). It revealed that average annual “defensive” gun…
