Cover Story
Shadow of a drought
Californians have a love-hate relationship with rain: Too much, and we’re taking bets on which McMansion will fall down a cliff. Too little, and we’re worrying which golden hillside will burst into flames next. With recent reports of a statewide drought and Los Angeles facing water rationing for the first time in its history, it’s…
What do you like to sing in the rain?
Brettly Beidinger YMCA events coordinator “It’s not a song, but I like to splish-splash. That’s all that goes through my head when I’m in my rain boots.” Eleanor Byars YMCA fitness instructor “‘I Think I Love You’ by the Partridge Family. I actually like to sing that all the time, even in the sunshine.” Angeli…
See the world with the Central Coast Study Abroad Consortium
Current Allan Hancock College students interested in studying in far-off destinations this summer or fall are encouraged to attend an orientation on Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the college’s Santa Maria Campus. Summer programs are open to a limited number of students through the Central Coast Study Abroad Consortium. Participants can go to Spain,…
Fesler Junior High gets ‘Heart’ smart
On Feb. 12 and Feb. 13, students from Fesler Junior High School’s physical education classes jumped rope to raise money for the American Heart Association. “Junior high students are not too young to make a difference in the lives of others. That’s what our emphasis has always been,” Fesler P.E. teacher Paul Cole said in…
Righetti High School welcomes Warriors
On Feb. 26, Righetti High School will host its annual 8th grade Warrior Welcome from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the high school gym. The Future Farmers of America will host a barbecue, to be followed by a welcome orientation and clubs and class sessions. Righetti staff members and students will give tours of the…
Political Watch
• Earlier this month, Congressman Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), chairman of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, announced that he had asked Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) to again serve as vice chair of the committee’s Health Subcommittee. Capps was also appointed to the position during the 110th Congress. The Health Subcommittee…
Community Notebook
FRIDAY, FEB. 20 • The Santa Maria City/County Coalition for the Homeless has its regular meeting from 10 a.m. to noon at the Betteravia Government Center conference room, 511 East Lakeside Parkway. • The Lompoc City/County Coalition for the Homeless has its regular meeting from noon to 1 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors Conference…
Community clock comes to Old Orcutt
Shoppers and diners in Old Town Orcutt will soon be able to tell perfect time from a 17-foot-tall, 1,000-plus pound Orcutt community clock. On Feb. 24, at 5 p.m., locals and Santa Barbara County supervisors Joni Gray and Joe Centeno will watch the clock start to tick. The dedication and tree-planting celebration is at 120…
Justice, judgeship, and Jean
Newly appointed Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Jean Dandona always knew she wanted to help people for a living. Unlike her father, Dandona didn’t want to serve in the Air Force, and she didn’t yet feel called to preside over a courtroom. “I actually wanted to be an FBI agent,” Dandona told the Sun…
Combat foreclosure with the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation
On Feb. 21, the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation and the city of Santa Maria will host a free foreclosure solutions workshop at the Santa Maria Public Library, 421 S. McClelland St., in Shepard Hall. The workshop will be held in English from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Spanish from 1 to 3 p.m. …
Santa Barbara County Supervisors will rethink their rejection of state-mandated housing project
Not long after voting to reject an affordable housing mandate from the state, Santa Barbara County Supervisor Janet Wolf (2nd District) sent a letter to her fellow board members requesting that they reconsider the matter at an upcoming meeting. Wolf’s suggestion seems to have been prompted by the threat of a lawsuit and the possible…
Santa Barbara County Planning Commission hands La Purisima Resort project over to supervisors
After multiple postponements and several meetings’ worth of discussion, the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission decided on Feb. 11 to let the Board of Supervisors have the final say on the potential construction of a hotel and resort in Lompoc. The Hunter/La Purisima Resort project calls for the construction of an 80-room resort, restaurant, spa…
Santa Barbara County Supervisors give proposed Lompoc wind farm the go-ahead
An energy company might soon harness Lompoc’s winds to provide energy to up to 50,000 homes. On Feb. 10, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0, with 4th District Supervisor Joni Gray abstaining, to approve the project after denying the only remaining appeal filed against it. Originally, two parties—the California Department of Fish…
School district braces for employee layoffs
At its Feb. 11 meeting, the Santa Maria Joint Union School District School Board of Trustees hammered out a framework for determining how teachers will get laid off. The district will lose almost $5 million over the next few years because of the state budget crisis. To cope with that financial hardship, the district is…
Help stop the cycle of abuse
The Santa Barbara County Human Services Commission is currently accepting grant applications for batterers’ treatment starting April 1 and running through July 30, 2010. Funds available for the period total $20,182.50, subject to the Board of Supervisors’ final budget decisions. Grant applicants must be nonprofit 501(c) organizations and comply with county nondiscrimination policies. The grants…
Be on the alert this tax season
Santa Barbara County Clerk, Recorder, and Assessor Joseph Holland recently sent out a warning to county taxpayers. “Our office reviews property values for free; it’s part of our job,” he said in a news release. “We proactively seek out and review thousands of properties.” His announcement came after mailers came to county residents, offering a…
HR has never looked this good
Your People Professionals and the Santa Maria Enterprise Center are holding a joint open house for local businesses. Your People Professionals, which handles human resources for companies and businesses, overhauled its technical infrastructure, remodeled its building, and added wireless networking to its conference room. Check out the shiny new improvements on March 5. The Santa…
Look to the right
True conservatives believe: Eight-hundred billion dollars to help our own country is too much, but $1 trillion for the Iraq War was money well spent. Spending is not stimulus, it’s how liberals waste our tax dollars. Tax cuts for the rich are the best way to help middle-class Americans—trickle-down economics works. Rush Limbaugh spoke the…
Let’s talk crude
I see we’re still taking the hit from Big Oil, and maybe now the stations. As most of you have read in the paper, the price of oil is now down to the $30-range for a barrel. Isn’t it amazing how the price of a gallon of gas has risen about 35 cents since the…
Why destroy instead of preserve?
Living in Long Island, New York, for the past 10 years, I’ve taken many trips to Fire Island to see the beautiful dunes and all the wonderful wildlife and organisms it holds. Just arriving in Nipomo yesterday, I was very excited to hear that you had dunes as well. Taking a trip there today, I…
We needed that stimulus plan!
It averts the loss of somewhere between 3 or 4 million jobs, needed green jobs, and needed infrastructure jobs, averts teacher layoffs, etc. The opposition just doesn’t care about the rest of us.
Tell our supervisors to stand strong against the state
State mandated housing, at its inception many years ago, had many worthwhile goals, but virtually none of these high-minded goals has been achieved, and it has become a bonanza for developers who are selected for high density rezoning and for those state and county workers who administer this unnecessary program that causes excessive growth. The…
The Tour stops here
After months of planning and anticipation, it’s finally here. The Amgen Tour of California races into Solvang for individual time trials on Feb. 20. Solvang Park kicks off the day with a free lifestyle festival running from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Find health and fitness tests, booths, race merchandise for sale, and live broadcasts…
Smoked on the water
I didn’t think I was going to write about it, but I did. Call it an homage to our former sports editor, who would have been all over this in her regular column. Maybe her spirit still lingers in our office, because I’m not really a sports guy, yet here I am, on the sports…
José Angulo
José Angulo didn’t know it, but he was about to be named captain of the Allan Hancock College men’s tennis team. He’d come pretty far from his early days as an athlete. In fact, he didn’t have any early days as an athlete. In high school, the Orcutt resident broke his hand during his freshman…
Celebrate Burgundy’s famous grape
Once again, Central Coast vintners prepare to roll out the red carpet for wine lovers, especially those who favor Pinot Noir above all other varietals. On March 6 and 7, the World of Pinot Noir unfolds at the Cliffs Resort in Shell Beach and offers a dazzling array of tastings, seminars, winemaker dinners, and panel…
Clubs & Meetings
4-H welcomes anyone interested in the group to sign up now. Find a nearby club by contacting the Santa Barbara County 4-H Office at 692-1730 or zmhughes@ucdavis.edu. ALTRUSA INTERNATIONAL, INC. of SANTA MARIA, a nonprofit business and professional organization, meets the second Wednesday of each month, 6:30 p.m., in the Altrusa Theatre of the Santa…
Spiritual
BAHA’I interfaith worship services are the second Sunday of each month. Info: 489-4172. Children’s classes are the first Saturday of each month. Info: 937-9451. Study circles about The Life of the Spirit are ongoing in Santa Maria. For questions, dates, and times: 614-0963. Info: 937-9451. BETHEL LUTHERAN CHURCH holds worship services Sundays with Holy Communion…
Farmers Market
SANTA MARIA 100 S. Broadway at Main, Wednesdays, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Features local beekeepers’ honey and bee pollen, breads and pastries, plants and flower bouquets, fresh fruits and vegetables. ORCUTT Corner of Clark and Bradley, Tuesdays, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fresh honey, flowers, and eggs, along with fresh fruits and vegetables.…
Barbecues
ONGOING FILIPINO COMMUNITY OF SANTA MARIA VALLEY barbecues Filipino food at the Smart and Final parking lot, N. Broadway on Saturdays and Sundays. Menu items include tri-tip, chicken, beef kabobs, chicken adobo, salad, rice, and bread. Meals cost $6. Info: 922-3422 or 922-3799. FILIPINO CATHOLIC SOCIETY, under the direction of St. Mary’s Church and St.…
Health
SANSUM CLINIC presents its “Weight Management Strategies” class Feb. 19 and 26 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Cost is $15, refunded if all three classes are completed. A “Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes Nutrition” class is Feb. 19 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Cost is $8. The clinic is located at 1225 North H St., Lompoc. Info:…
Art
THE SANTA BARBARA COUNTY ARTS COMMISSION presents the exhibit Visual Inquiry: Mixed Media, Feb. 23 through May 22 at the Betteravia Government Center, 511 E. Lakeside Parkway, Santa Maria. An opening reception is Feb. 25 from 4 to 6 p.m. Info: 568-3994. ALLAN HANCOCK COLLEGE presents a student art show, showing through Feb. 27 in…
Learning
MARIAN MEDICAL CENTER presents a “Healthy for Life” Nutrition Workshop is Feb. 19, 26, and March 5 at the Marian Medical Center, Room A, Santa Maria. Info: 739-3578. THE LIGIA DANTES FOUNDATION presents “Wisdom and Discipline” with Dantes on Feb. 21 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Nipomo. Info: 343-2582 or ligiadantesfoundation.org. THE MINERVA CLUB…
Recreation
THE LUIS OASIS SENIOR CENTER holds floral design classes Feb. 19 and 26 at 6 p.m. “Commodities—Free Groceries Handouts” is Feb. 19 at 9:30 a.m. A painters and ceramics class is Feb. 20 at 9 a.m. A faceting and silversmithing class is Feb. 20 and 23 at 1 p.m. A line dancing class is Feb.…
Kids & Family
THE SANTA MARIA PUBLIC LIBRARY presents “Wish Upon a Star Story Time” for ages 3 to 5 on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. and Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. through Feb. 26 at the Santa Maria Public Library, 421 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria. Reservations required. The Traveling Lantern Theatre Company presents Robin Hood for kids ages…
Dance Lessons
ONGOING EVERYBODY CAN DANCE offers classes in ballet dance for ages 3 to adult. Call for schedules. Boys and men receive full scholarships. The studio is located at 800 S. Broadway. Info: 937-6753. THE DANCE STUDIO offers dance classes in Santa Maria and Nipomo in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Acrobatics, and Dance Team. Info:…
Stage
THE SANTA MARIA CIVIC THEATER presents its production of God’s Favorite by Neil Simon through Feb. 28 at the Civic Theater 1660 N McClelland St., Santa Maria. The Feb. 22 2 p.m. performance is sponsored by the League of Women Voters. Cost is $25. Info: 922-4442. PCPA THEATERFEST presents its production of A Midsummer Night’s…
Night Life
The following venues offer either regularly scheduled live entertainment or DJ-hosted dance music. Most performances start after 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. IN THE AREA CLUB 805, AKA STINKY’S BAR & GRILL: 2430 South Broadway, 614-9316. DJ Davey D Saturday nights. THE COACHMAN: 1531 S. Broadway, 922-5556. Thursday through Saturday: DJ from 9 p.m. to…
Concerts
THE SANTA MARIA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA presents a concert version of the opera La Traviata on Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Grace Baptist Church, McCoy Lane and College Drive, Santa Maria. Cost is $27, $22 for seniors, $12 for students. Info: 925-0412. WORTH THE DRIVE THE CLARK CENTER ASSOCIATION presents Matt Dusk in concert on…
Special Events
THE CABRILLO HIGH SCHOOL AQUARIUM is open to the public on Feb. 19 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Cabrillo High School, 4350 Constellation Road, Lompoc. Info: cabrilloaquarium.org or 742-2888. THE SANTA MARIA FAIRPARK holds an electronic recycling event on Feb. 20 from 1 to 5 p.m. and Feb. 21 from 8 a.m. to 3…
The color of debt
I love getting mail. I guess I’m sort of old-fashioned about the United States Post Office, but every time I open the mailbox I still believe anything could be inside. I realize that when I open my mailbox I won’t find a check for a million dollars or a portal to a beer garden, but…
Arts Briefs
Fair competition Rev up your talent and get ready for the 2009 Santa Barbara County Fair. Staffers are accepting entries for competitive exhibits. Whether it’s the best apple pie, a stunning painting of a vineyard, or a well-fitted steer, enter now. All exhibitors must enter online at santamaria fairpark.com. Copies of the Santa Barbara County…
Protecting the arts
Most educators know that when times are tough, budget cuts tend to target the arts. Yet time and again, evidence has suggested that arts education actually helps students by building self-esteem, encouraging self-expression and cooperation with others, and developing critical thinking skills. Fortunately for students in the Orcutt School District, one organization is committed to…
Laugh at love
Like all the best dreams, PCPA’s presentation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is filled with magic, divine characters, and a whimsical plot. Fantasy, laughter, and love mix to create a bewitching tale of love sought, love lost, and love found. With so much love flowing, it was fitting that PCPA would present its…
