Cover Story
New beginnings
Cheerful, red-heart-shaped balloons lined the fence outside the large brown building, the sun reflecting off its numerous windows. Live music greeted guests while young children hoping for new furry companions waited anxiously outside the doors. The not-yet-finished shelter will replace the fading paint and cramped quarters of the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society’s old facility…
What is your favorite love song of all time?
Royce Easley student “Can’t Be Friends by Trey Songz.” Camille Hernandez student “Back at One by Brian McKnight.” Phil Epstein comedian “Don’t Stop Believing by Journey.” Kelsie Pike clerk “Faithfully by Journey.”
Athlete of the Week: Case Bruton
For senior Case Bruton, the secret to success is hard work. The shooting guard from St. Joseph is the team’s leading scorer and a ball-hawk on defense. According to Knights head coach Tom Mott, the reason for Bruton’s success is attributed to his work ethic. “Case is a good player because of the work he…
Get fit, girl!
Teen girls in 7th to 12th grades are encouraged to get fit this spring. The Santa Maria Parks and Recreation department will now be offering three different fitness classes led by fitness expert Lisa May. Girls can run, jump, and lift themselves to fitness through classes offered Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at the Abel Maldonado…
Get your golf on
Central Coast Golf Academy is pleased to announce it will be holding a players’ clinic on Saturday, Feb. 23, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Held at the Dairy Creek Golf Course, the clinic will be taught by local golf experts and will teach golfers to hit longer drives with increased accuracy. Cost is $7.…
She-shredder
Lakey Peterson is every inch a child of the waves. Tall, athletic, and kissed by the sun, she’s poised to see her life growing up in Montecito about to get a lot bigger. It’s easy to see that Peterson, fresh out of high school, is more than the stereotype of waves, “dudes,” and Sex Wax.…
Granting art a future
The cliché of the starving artist may be exaggerated at times, but it’s not always far off the mark. While aspiring artists may have a healthy food budget, they may be starved for many of the resources they need to continue and explore their craft. The Santa Maria Arts Council has been meeting the needs…
Calling all talent
The Rotary Club is holding open auditions for the Santa Maria Has Talent Show on Feb. 23 at 11 a.m. and Feb. 24 at 2:30 p.m. There’s no charge to audition for the talent show, which will run April 11 through 13 at the Santa Maria Veterans Hall. More information is available by e-mail at…
Civic Theatre needs you
The Santa Maria Civic Theatre is preparing for its upcoming production of the comedy Opal’s Husband written by John Patrick and directed by Richard Dresp, with auditions on Feb. 18 and 19 at 7 p.m. at the Santa Maria Civic Theatre at 1660 N. McClelland St., Santa Maria. More info: jimbob49er1@aol.com.
New music scholarship available
The Santa Barbara Music Club has established a scholarship in the name of recently deceased Santa Barbara Grand Opera founder Nathan Rundlett. Voice students in the greater Santa Barbara County area are eligible for the scholarship. Students must have graduated, or be currently enrolled, in a Santa Barbara county school, including college. Anyone interested in…
Santa Maria calls for bands
The much loved Concerts in the Parks series may not be starting for several months, but the city of Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department is preparing for the popular event by putting out a call to local bands to apply for the summer concert series. Family-friendly bands from several genres are needed to fill…
V-Day
When I think of Valentine’s Day, I like to remember my grade school years, candy conversation hearts, and a makeshift mailbox scotch-taped to the side of my desk with red and pink construction paper decorations pasted all over the side. I loved it when my classmates filled my bag with sugary treats. Valentine’s Day meant…
Emergent masterpiece
Many great works of music have been inspired by the natural world, from the expanses of the cosmos to stretches of countryside. Inspiration is a powerful force, as powerful as the gravity that heaves our planet around the sun each year, allowing the engine of human creativity to thrive. Dr. Marcus Engelmann, music instructor at…
Exploring relationship
Nothing can compare to the intimacy of a romantic relationship. The passion, the pain, the growth, and the comfort are all spun about in a blizzard of interaction. The Pioneer Valley High School Drama Department’s production of Almost, Maine is a theatrical study of relationships in all their glory, difficulty, and hilarity. The relatively new…
Balance trade so we can afford to live
If we wish to address American unemployment and national debt, we need to balance international trade, especially with China. The current deficit in trade with China is almost $300,000,000,000 a year, causing a loss of millions of American jobs. We need to demand that the Chinese buy the same amount of goods and services from…
A lot of homeless people choose to be that way
I just read Amy’s article about the homeless around Santa Maria (“ Feb. 7). A few things struck me. About “Julie”—26 years old, four kids, been out of work and homeless since 2006. Struggling to find a good rehab. She doesn’t appear to be struggling that hard, if she can sit at the same place…
Get back to serious politics, Santa Maria
What are Mr. Jack Boysen and Ms. Terri Zuniga afraid of? Mrs. Etta Waterfield spent her time, money, and energy running for a Santa Maria City Council seat—not to mention all those who worked on her behalf during the campaign. She garnered more than 9,000 votes to come within two votes of Mr. Bob Orach.…
Last ditch
The original Ghostbusters film featured a scene wherein an overzealous Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agent named Walter Peck stormed into Ghostbusters headquarters brandishing a court order. Citing violations to the Environmental Protection Act, a law that never existed, Peck shut down the spectral laser containment unit. Paranormal bedlam ensued, and everyone knew whom to call.…
Santa Ynez hospital holds free wellness classes
Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital is continuing to hold free Nutrition and Diabetes Wellness classes every Wednesday. Clinical Dietician Stacey Bailey said she teaches the classes to provide nutrition education to the community. “There’s not as much of that available here in the valley as there is in Santa Barbara,” Bailey said. Bailey began teaching…
A sixth-grader battles to the top of Author-Go-Round
Battles Elementary School sixth-grader Carlos Garcia took the win with his creative writing at the 43rd annual Author-Go-Round on Feb. 1. Garcia swung to the top out of more than 120 local schoolchildren from 24 schools with his writing based on the works of the four published authors featured at the event: Greg Tine,…
Central Coast Tech High School unveils the Direwolf
As Central Coast Tech High School makes itself known on the Central Coast, so will its new mascot: the Direwolf. Students chose their mascot after a school-wide discussion over student-submitted proposals. Central Coast Tech students illustrated and submitted ideas after the high school’s first parent-student meeting in February 2012, where administrators asked incoming freshman to…
Return of the books
Reading is essential to almost every aspect of society. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, approximately 50 percent of the nation’s unemployed youth, age 16 to 21, are functionally illiterate. The department also estimates that more than $2 billion is spent each year on students who repeat a grade because they…
Spotlight on: All Star iTech
Revenue from gaming and computer repairs enables All Star iTech on South Broadway to give students computer time free of charge on any of the 45 custom-built machines in the building. Owner Jack Hira said the business acts like a nonprofit, but doesn’t have to drum up grants or donations because the revenue All Star…
Pills for pets
Attention Central Coast pet owners: For the past year, Costco stores have been offering approximately 200 prescription pet medications to their club members at reduced prices. This is welcome news to 77-year-old Solvang resident Hazel Mortensen, who started sending letters to the big box store’s headquarters several years ago, asking higher-ups to provide the lifesaving…
Salvage facility faces opposition
Rusty old barbecues and flat-tired, coolant-leaking cars without the will to drive tend to sit around in yards. They can also be recycled—provided there’s a facility that can handle them. Plans to put an SA Recycling metal salvage facility in Santa Maria hit another snag after area residents recently appealed the development permit. The Santa…
Shumey found guilty of murder
Following more than a week of testimony, a San Luis Obispo man was found guilty on Feb. 5 of murdering his mother with a shotgun. Though the jury rejected a charge of first-degree murder for Christopher Shumey, 36, they found him guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder, as well as assault on a…
SEIU holds out on city contract
As Santa Maria city employees barrel into another fiscal year of concessions, one group is still holding strong to the desire to take less of a pay cut. Police groups agreed to contracts signed off by the Santa Maria City Council on Feb. 5. Firefighters and city managers agreed to contracts to be heard by…
Common Ground data starts trickling out
Volunteers contacted nearly 1,500 homeless individuals and families while conducting the Common Ground Santa Barbara County vulnerability index survey in late January, public health officials announced at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Feb. 5. Of the 1,445 people surveyed, most live on their own in Santa Barbara (927), Santa Maria (300), Lompoc (101), or…
Lompoc says yes to a bicycle and moto-cross park
BMXers and mountain bikers of Lompoc rejoice! The Lompoc City Council voted on Feb. 5 to approve plans for a new bike park at River Bend Park. The council voted 4-0, with Mayor John Linn abstaining because his wife owns property near the project site. At the meeting, the council considered the new bike park…
Passionate about Pasión
Sitting down for a late January lunch with Cynthia Segura, the co-owner of the immensely popular Pasión Comida Mexicana in Old Orcutt, was a chance for me to taste their delicious new creations, and for her to catch her breath. The previous two months were a whirlwind. Segura had just returned from a Los Angeles…
