Cover Story
The X-Factor
Demolition is nearly finished, building materials are being trucked in, and workers have begun pouring the concrete for a foundation—literally and figuratively—for the future of space flight at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc. A handful of employees from Space Exploration Technologies, better known as SpaceX, are overseeing the work being done at the south…
If you had a spaceship, what would you do with it in space?
Bruce Rodriguez custodian “Take my grandkids for a ride.”
Discover Santa Maria history
During February, the Discovery Museum is traveling back in time and studying local history. Every week, our free programs will focus on a special theme related to the history of Santa Maria. We will learn about the Chumash Indians, Spanish influence in our region, and the history of ranching and agriculture. We have lots of…
Orcutt a la mode
A few of life’s little luxuries are actually doing well in this sluggish economy. Alcohol sales are up, same with nail polish, and Americans are still screaming for ice cream. “It’s definitely a comfort food,” said Greg Steinberger, owner of Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Lab in Arroyo Grande, and now Orcutt. “Ice cream has a…
A little art, a little beer
Solvang Brewing Company will exhibit the works of artists in its exhibit space for members of the Artists Guild of the Santa Ynez Valley located at the brewery, 1547 Mission Drive, in Solvang. The show will feature the work of photographer Vicki Mitchell and painter Suzanne Huska. A reception for the artists will be held…
Brushes and palettes
The 11th annual Brush & Palette Art Show will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 26 at the Foxenwood Tennis and Swim Club, 1087 Clubhouse Drive, in Orcutt. The event is free and there will be complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres. The show will include more than 200 paintings from eight…
Experiment with photographs
Steven Boothe will demonstrate his process of creating mixed media photo collages at the free Feb. 10 meeting of the Los Padres Artist Guild at 6 p.m. at the Luis Oasis Senior Center, 204 Soares Ave., in Orcutt. Boothe uses simple digital and handmade filters on his camera phone to emphasize color and form. He…
‘Outrageous adventures’
Most of the time the dysfunctional relationship between a mom and her son is no laughing matter—but that’s only if you haven’t seen Lompoc Civic Theatre’s take on the concept. Lompoc Civic Theatre takes the issue of the overbearing mom and the son who’s never quite let go and brings out the humor in it.…
A smattering of applause
Attending the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s opening weekend with the intention of generating some sort of conclusive report is a fool’s errand at best. So I didn’t try to see it all. Instead, like many at the festival, I made a rigorous viewing schedule for myself, then proceeded to meander over to whatever looked…
Putting jazz in context
Jazz is one of the few musical styles indigenous to America. Jazz has also gone through more changes, mutations, and rebirths than most styles. Yet, jazz is still misunderstood by a large cross section of the public. East Coast jazz musician Shenole Latimer is providing a program at the Santa Maria Public Library that will…
Putting jazz in context
Jazz is one of the few musical styles indigenous to America. Jazz has also gone through more changes, mutations, and rebirths than most styles. Yet, jazz is still misunderstood by a large cross section of the public. East Coast jazz musician Shenole Latimer is providing a program at the Santa Maria Public Library that will…
Muscle marketing
My wife is a smart lady. You could even say she is a genius. Sure, she still tries to put five pints of fluid into a two-quart cup. But, regardless of her inability to understand spatial relationships, she truly is quite intelligent. Even people with an IQ of 140 struggle with the complex conversions of…
On the roster
• ‘Madden’ tournament: Think you’re a Madden All-Pro? Prove it at the city of Santa Maria’s Madden NFL tournament for seventh- to 12th- graders on Feb. 4. Entrants will go head-to-head on the Playstation 3 version of the football video game in a tournament, with a minimum of two games per player. Prizes will be…
SCFA approves realignments
The Southern California Football Association’s executive committee approved a conference and divisional realignment over the next two seasons, adding a new look to Allan Hancock College’s schedule. Hancock rival El Camino will be moving out of the northern conference, while Pasadena City College and Moorpark will join it. Besides Hancock, the rest of the conference…
Try out for soccer club
The Coastal Valley Soccer Club (CVSC) will be holding several tryouts for potential players in the Central Coast Soccer League (CCSL) and Coast Soccer League (CSL) until March 3. Open tryouts for boys ages 9 to 17 will be held 10 a.m. to noon on Feb. 11, 25, and March 3 at Crossroads Field on…
Zevra Robinson
A layer of gold was added to Righetti High School wrestler Zevra Robinson’s solid purple singlet when she took home first place from the ASICS Napa Valley Classic wrestling tournament last month, decorating her with the proper colors of a true Warrior. The Napa Valley Classic is one of the most competitive all-women’s wrestling tournaments…
The Bleacher Bum Chronicles Vol. XXII
Ah, the Super Bowl. That time of year when everyone is a football fan, or at least pretends to be until all the snacks and beer disappear and the neighborhood party’s wrapped up. It’s as much a national holiday as it is a sporting event, and even if your favorite team didn’t make it to…
We need an unbiased 9/11 investigation
Most Christians are familiar with Jesus’ teaching that a house built upon sand will collapse. His message? A life based on dishonesty cannot succeed. The same is true for a nation. From its inception, this country has been predicated upon dishonesty, from the myths we perpetrate about the murderous Columbus to the history-book claim that…
California’s public school crisis is unacceptable
The funding and legislative support for education in California has been slowly declining for the past 20 years. We are now ranked 46th in the nation for per-pupil spending. Even more dramatic declines have taken place in the last three years. In this period, more than $20 billion has been cut from our schools and…
There has to be a free-speech litmus
Our freedom of speech First Amendment rights conflict with our 14th Amendment rights for equal representation. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Buckley v. Valeo ruled that money is personal property and is used to express the same way as freedom of speech is unlimited. Our legislators have tried to limit the amount of money individuals…
Partner with us in caring for the community
Community Partners in Caring is a volunteer organization helping seniors (62 and older) in need. The mission of the organization is to provide volunteer services for seniors, allowing them to continue living independently with quality of life. The pool of 88 screened and trained volunteers served 441 clients last Fiscal Year 5,065 times with services…
Nurses love helping students get their needs met
On behalf of my fellow school nurses, I would like to thank you for highlighting our profession in your recent issue (“Nurse of all trades,” Jan. 19). However, there is one very important point I made several times during my interview with Ms. Asman that didn’t make it to print. As nurses, a significant portion…
A quick question
What is it about waterboarding a prisoner 83 times that makes our president want to keep it a secret?
Support nuclear power
Those who oppose the use of nuclear power and think that solar, wind, and others will be substitutes do not understand that the real issue is in the numbers. Those nuclear power plants turn out two to three billion watt-hours of power every hour of every day, night and day! That is enough for two…
Local Catholic schools celebrate joint mass
In recognition of national Catholic Schools Week, more than 700 students, teachers, and administrators from St. Joseph High School, St. Mary of the Assumption, St. Louis de Montfort, and La Purísima Concepción Catholic elementary schools attended an all Catholic schools mass on Jan. 30 at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Santa Maria. Bishop…
Lucia Mar breaks ground on New Tech High
Officials from the Lucia Mar Unified School District joined Pacific Gas & Electric to break ground on the new Central Coast New Tech High School on Jan. 26. With construction now underway, district officials hope to open the school to about 150 students on Aug. 16. Once finished, New Tech High will occupy new and…
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans
The 2012 American Library Association Awards represent the best in children’s literature. One of the ALA Awards categories is the prestigious Coretta Scott King Book Award, recognizing an African-American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults. This year’s recipient is Kadir Nelson, author and illustrator of Heart and Soul: The Story…
Speaking up
The Santa Barbara Foundation recently awarded the Transitional-Mental Health Association (T-MHA) a $30,000 grant to fund a new program that will train individuals suffering from mental illness to become effective speakers who can share their experiences with the community. “This grant is allowing us to create a speaker bureau that’s going to take what has…
Spotlight on: Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care
“Local services by local people” describes how Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care (VNHC) operates its Solvang office, which serves residents of the Santa Ynez and Lompoc valleys. The Santa Barbara-based organization has provided rehabilitation and home health-care services in the area, but in 2007 also began offering Hospice and Personal Care services and established a…
Preparing for disaster
After mismanaging the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it would appear that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is continuing its goal of being more proactive in preparing for large and small-scale disasters. According to FEMA’s Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, state, local, and tribal governments are required to develop and maintain hazard mitigation plan, which…
Corrections
• A headline in the Jan. 26 “Biz Spotlight” misreported some information about dental supply DenMat. Robert Ibsen is the founder of DenMat. The owner is Centre Partners and Mill Street Partners. • The photo credits in the Jan. 26 “Eats” column were reversed.
Local hospitals restructure their affiliation with the Catholic Church
Catholic Healthcare West, which operates one hospital in Santa Maria, has changed its name and some of its facilities’ affiliations with the Catholic Church as part of a governance restructure. One of the largest healthcare systems in the country, the not-for-profit organization will now operate under the name Dignity Health. According to a press release,…
Guadalupe finds a silver lining in the RDA shutdown
While the fallout from the state’s decision to disband community redevelopment agencies continues to rage and animosity between state and local governments persists, the city of Guadalupe found a ray of hope in the middle of this chaotic storm. On Jan. 24, the Guadalupe City Council approved two resolutions that will make the city the…
Strange sentenced in vehicular manslaughter case
Lacey Strange, the 18-year-old daughter of a Lompoc police sergeant, was sentenced on Jan. 24 to 120 days confinement in connection with the death of a Lompoc woman last May. Appearing before Superior Court Judge Frank Ochoa in Santa Barbara, a tearful Strange apologized to the family of the victim, 56-year-old Rebecca Vegas, who was…
Questions linger in the killing of an on-duty SMPD officer by his colleague
As the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department continued its investigation into the shooting death of a Santa Maria police officer by a fellow officer, more details trickled out about the incident that made national headlines. Officer Albert Covarrubias Jr., a four-year veteran of the department under investigation for an alleged “inappropriate and explicit” sexual relationship…
