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Dream come true: Local brides see their dream dress become reality with tailor-made service in Santa Maria
A low whirring accompanied the soft “chug” sound that Blanca Silva’s sewing machine made as her hands carefully guided white fabric under the pulsating needle and thread. Afternoon sunlight poured in through the big, open windows of her shop on Santa Maria’s Main Street, Blanquis Bridal, as the local seamstress made some routine touches to…
Bottlest’s winter menu will cure you of the seasonal blues
If the allure of bone-in veal short ribs on a delicate bed of celery root puree isn’t enough to pique your palate, then you should probably stop reading this column and give up food altogether because I don’t think anyone can help you. If, on the other hand, you’re screaming for your smelling salts because…
Historian to sign books at Los Alamos winery
On Feb. 18 Historian Marc Wortman, author of three history books based in the Civil War, World War I, and World War II eras, will talk about the inspirations behind each book and the decisions sitting presidents made in times of war. An award-winning documentary inspired by Marc’s first book, The Millionaires’ Unit, is having…
Local student artwork sought for public display
The Santa Barbara County Alliance for Arts Education is partnering with the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission to display artwork created in local schools. A countywide exhibition will highlight the work of local students, schools, and teachers with the theme “Come Together.” Students and teachers can callaborate and are encouraged to submit entries that interpret…
High school students compete in poetry competition
High school students from schools across the county are set to compete in the Santa Barbara County Regional Poetry Out Loud Competition on Feb. 15 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Poetry Out Loud (POL) is an opportunity for high school students to learn poetry, perform, and win prizes. The California state champion will travel to…
Valley Art Gallery’s new Orcutt digs features bold work from Heidi Gruetzemacher
Heidi Gruetzemacher has traced out the path to the heart and nailed it to the wall. Her explorations on the topic are highlighted in Hearts Desire, an exhibit currently featured at the Valley Art Gallery. Back in September, the gallery moved from its previous home down Clark Avenue to a new-to-them space in Old Orcutt,…
New documentary ‘Lives Well Lived’ reveals advice for a happy life
For some people, growing old is a joy. For others, it’s a curse. So what’s the secret to living a good, long life? Cal Poly professor of photography and first-time documentarian Sky Bergman set out to answer this question with Lives Well Lived: Celebrating the Secrets, Wit and Wisdom of Age, which after a couple…
Santa Maria hip-hop artist Samsara shares first album, performs in Lompoc
The term “samsara” originates from a Sanskrit word that signified a grand cycle of life, death, and rebirth, that all living things pass through a karmic cycle of reincarnation. Santa Maria-based hip-hop artist Samsara MC chose his name years ago, he told the Sun, inspired by the friends and family he has seen pass on…
What a mess
After weeks of rushing to clean up the catastrophic results of the Montecito mudslides, things are starting to return to normal in Santa Barbara County, and local officials are putting their attention back on the smaller messes they need to clean up. The Lompoc City Council decided to rustle up the Santa Ynez Riverbed, rubber…
Fox and chickens
In the Feb. 8 article, “Off-roaders will see changes … to Oceano Dunes,” The Tribune informed us that state parks wants to work with off-roaders, and “a lot of the ideas are coming from them.” That is exactly the problem: State parks, the fox, has been asked to take care of the chickens, all of…
Support offshore oil in California
We strongly support the continued oil development along the California coast. This must be considered a No. 1 priority for this state. There should be no limit to offshore drilling. President Trump is right. We oppose the efforts of the radical Democrat, 24th District Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara), or 19th District State Sen. Hannah-Beth…
Attack on U.S. farming interests
Donald Trump’s ill-conceived bravado concerning America’s farming and industrial interest, when turned into policy, is leading America in the opposite direction of success. It’s easy to be loud and boisterous and against everything on the campaign trail, but when turned into real-life action, it is against America’s best financial interest. Slowly, ever so slowly, he…
Wedding planning is more fun when you don’t do any actual planning
I got engaged to the love of my life, my fiance Chris, a little over a year ago. It was one of the best things that’s ever happened to me, and I’m truly psyched to become his old lady. Whenever anyone asks me how the wedding planning is going, I smile and tell them, “Just…
Perfect pairing: Cottonwood Canyon Winery offers a unique Santa Maria Valley setting
On the eastern rim of the Santa Maria Valley, the landscape rolls into hill country and the wine flows. Cottonwood Canyon Winery is a sprawling 70-acre property just west of the San Rafael Mountains, a few miles east of Orcutt off Clark Avenue. The venue offers multiple ceremony spaces, including a large amphitheater that can…
Forever engaged: How long should you wait before tying the knot?
So you’ve found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. You went out and bought a ring. You waited until the perfect moment, took them to the perfect place (a fancy restaurant, in front of Morro Rock, on Cuesta Ridge) and after, fumbling about nervously, surprised them and popped the…
Meagan Stevens
Allan Hancock College sophomore Meagan Stevens learned to surf at a young age. As a Lompoc native, the ocean was always nearby, and competitive swimming, she said, only seemed a natural progression. “I liked being in the water,” Stevens said. Stevens, 20, is now one of Hancock’s top swimmers, according to Women’s Swimming and Diving…
Hancock takes steps to save students big money on textbooks
Allan Hancock College political science professor Jessica Scarffe has long been frustrated by the ridiculous prices of textbooks required for many college courses. The costs have been steadily rising for many years now, she said, and the increased rates are significantly outpacing that of inflation. “I just was disturbed to see students, especially in the…
Spotlight on: The Bookworm
There aren’t a lot of bookstores in Santa Maria, let alone locally owned ones. That’s what makes a place like The Bookworm on Betteravia such a special gem. The small, shotgun-style shop packed wall-to-wall with books of all genres, first hit the scene in 2005. Seven years later, when its founder, Sheila Butterworth, expressed a…
Journalists, scholars to discuss issues surrounding ‘fake news’ at Feb. 20 forum
In October 2016, just before the most recent U.S. presidential election, an online news outlet, The Baltimore Gazette, reported that leaked copies of Donald Trump’s tax returns from 2013 showed that he had paid more than $40 million in federal income taxes that year. Another story published that same month by World News Daily Report…
Vandenberg primed for 2018’s first West Coast SpaceX launch
The first SpaceX launch of the new year is set for Vandenberg Air Force base one week after the company blasted into the national spotlight with the successful launch of the Falcon Heavy—the most powerful actively used rocket on the market—from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Feb. 6. While the launch will only feature the diminutive…
DOJ arrests Montecito man for investment fraud
Federal agents arrested a Montecito man on Feb. 7 for defrauding investors in two multi-million dollar investment schemes. Efstratios “Elias” Argyropoulos, 71, was arrested at his office in Santa Barbara, according to a statement by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Argyropoulos pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court the day of his arrest and was…
Santa Maria’s School district and Education Association deadlocked in benefits negotiations
The Santa Maria Elementary Education Association and Santa Maria-Bonita School District failed to compromise on salary increases and other benefits at a negotiation session on Feb. 7, resulting in an official impasse. The entities will continue negotiations through a mediator, according to the Santa Maria-Bonita School District. “The district is hopeful that with the facilitation…
Fresno businessman shorts Lompoc, Santa Maria companies on herbs and spices
A Fresno businessman will pay $20,000 in penalties following the resolution of a class action lawsuit filed by the Santa Barbara and Fresno counties district attorney’s offices. Alejandro Alonso and his company, Alonso Imports, were found guilty of selling products at less than their advertised weight to businesses in Santa Maria and Lompoc. According to…
Wine grape production on Central Coast increases
The Central Coast saw a 6 percent increase in winegrape production from 2016 to 2017, according to the 2017 Preliminary Grape Crush Report, which was released by the California Department of Food and Agriculture on Feb. 9. About 540,727 tons of grapes from the Central Coast were crushed in 2017, nearly 40,000 tons more than…
Political Watch 2/15/18
• Sens. Kamala Harris (D-California), Dianne Feinstein (D-California), Patty Murray (D-Washington), and Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) led a group of Democratic senators who condemned the Trump administration’s proposal to “systematically separate immigrant children from their parents upon arrival in the United States,” in a letter sent to President Donald Trump and Department of Homeland Security…
