Cover Story
Neonics, ag’s fallen hero: Neonicotinoid insecticides once saved the day, but now they’re under fire for potential adverse effects
Neonicotinoids have two stories to tell. In the first, they’re the good guys. While acres of citrus trees across the nation are withering and dying from an incurable insect-carried disease, neonic insecticides are growers’ best shot at containing the damage. In the second story, they’re villains. U.S. honeybees have exhibited declining health in recent years,…
Growing Grounds Gallery & Gifts includes special exhibit
The Growing Grounds Gallery & Gifts in Santa Maria is part of Transitions-Mental Health Association, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating prejudice and promoting recovery and wellness for people with mental illnesses. The gallery shows and sells the work of members regularly, but it also welcomes artists for short exhibits, with the latest event…
Cubans in Santa Maria react to the recent thawing of U.S.-Cuba relations
During one evening in May 2000, Henrik Gonzales boarded a boat on the northern shore of Cuba. Under the cover of darkness, the boat pushed off and entered the barren 90-mile stretch of ocean that separated him from the United States, or in his mind, the land of the free. It was his third attempt.…
What pest concerns you the most?
Gail Daniel cosmetology teacher “Mosquitoes. Because of the diseases, like the Zika virus, it’s just kind of creepy the way it’s multiplying.” Jess Anguiano cosmetology student “Everything. I hate all pests, like bees and mosquitoes and rats and bugs; even butterflies are kinda lame.” Biridiana Garcia cosmetology student “I don’t like spiders or mosquitoes. There’s…
The password is ‘beer’: The BarrelHouse Speakeasy is open for barrel-aged brews and beard trims in SLO
View more photos from BarrelHouse Brewing’s new San Luis Obispo location. Make your way down Chorro Street in San Luis Obispo toward the creek, and you can’t miss it: an old-fashioned white-and-teal barber chair, sitting alongside a spinning antique barber pole. The sign above the storefront reads “BarrelHouse Brewing Company,” but the space smacks more…
Netflix and chill
I know nowadays it’s hard to imagine, but my wife and I found each other without the help of the Internet. In the World Wide Web’s defense, back then the Internet was mostly used for stealing music, not really for making matches. We didn’t have Tinder or eHarmony or any other digital assistance for finding…
Beyonce, blackness, and the beat: Outrage over Super Bowl performance and new song is part of a long tradition of musical intolerance
It didn’t take long for the outrage machine to get churning following Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s performance at the Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 17. Sharing the field and stage with Coldplay and Bruno Mars, Beyoncé’s performance raised ire—mostly among conservative white Americans—for a number of reasons. Many complained of the outfits the singer and her…
Wildling Museum elects new board members
The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature announced the election of four new board members to its large team of dedicated volunteers. The new members bring a wealth of experience to the museum, each with their own unique skills to offer, according to a museum press release. The new members include Susan Belloni, Katherine Godfrey,…
Daytripper: The Piedras Blancas Light Station turns 141
Check out more photos of the Piedras Blancas Light Station. More than 100 people line up alongside the normally vacant white walls of the old Piedras Blancas Hotel on Saturday, Feb. 13. It’s 9:45 a.m., foggy, windy, and the cracked concrete of the parking lot is full of cars, also in line. Everybody is waiting…
Lompoc Civic Theatre explores artificial intelligence and tech in ‘Two Point Oh’ by Jeffrey Jackson
The human race is on the brink of big change—if you listen to technologists—and artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the big movers and shakers that will change all of our lives, whether it’s in the automaker Tesla’s new auto pilot mode or autonomous computers that can maintain casual conversation. The blurred line between humanity…
Santa Maria-Bonita School District Board of Education invites community to provide feedback on school spending
The Santa Maria-Bonita School District Board of Education has begun the process of reviewing and updating the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP)—the plan that outlines the direction of the district and the programs and services that are provided to students. Students, parents, staff, and the community can provide feedback on how the district’s state-provided LCAP…
Santa Maria-Bonita School District students and teacher recognized for achievement
Schools in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District have been getting recognition for teacher and student achievements. According to Maggie White, public information officer for the district, Veronica Tadeo, an English teacher at Fesler Junior High School, was recently named Outstanding Teacher for 2016 by the Computer Using Educators of Santa Barbara County (CUE) for her…
Righetti High School Marimba Band and Ballet Folklorico set to perform
Righetti High School Marimba Band and Ballet Folklorico will celebrate traditional Mexican and Latino music during performances of its annual Big Show, March 18 and 19. The shows, which have become a community favorite, start at 7:30 p.m. inside the historic Ethel Pope Auditorium at Santa Maria High School, 901 S. Broadway. Forty student musicians…
Spotlight on: Achilles Prosthetics and Orthotics
When it comes to his job, Zak Malzhan goes out on a limb to improve people’s lives as much as possible. That’s because Malzhan is a certified prosthetist with Achilles Prosthetics and Orthotics in Templeton and San Luis Obispo. It’s a job that Malzhan dedicated his life to 20 years ago when he walked into…
Political Watch 2/25/2016
• Gov. Jerry Brown issued a proclamation declaring Feb. 19, 2016, as A Day of Remembrance: Japanese American Evacuation in the State of California. In a proclamation Brown stated the following: “On Feb. 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which set in motion the forced evacuation and incarceration of many…
Community Notebook 2/25/16 – 3/3/16
TUESDAY, MARCH 1 • 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 Vandenberg Village Community Services District has its regular board meeting at 7 p.m. in the District Office Conference Room, 3757 Constellation Road,…
California Contractors State License Board busts 21 in fraud sting
Each week, investigators from the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) travel throughout California conducting sting operations to try and catch people doing unlicensed construction, according to Steve Breen, public information officer for the CSLB. Breen said his agency responded to several recent reports of unlicensed activity in the Santa Maria Valley. A total of 21…
Thief steals rabbits, rooster from Santa Maria Animal Center
Animal Services Community Outreach Coordinator Stacy Silva said the center’s staff discovered open, empty cages in the rabbit resort Saturday morning, and they ruled out an escape or animal attack. “If an animal were to attack, they wouldn’t have opened the cages,” Silva said. “A lot of the cages were up high, and rabbits can’t…
Trial date set for suspects charged in Lompoc stabbing
A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge set a May 24 trial start date for the three Lompoc men charged with murder with a gang enhancement in connection with a stabbing last June. Jesse Lara, 29, was stabbed to death on June 6, 2015, according to police. Damien Simpson, Dequan Matthews, and Edward Carter Jr.…
Santa Barbara County Animal Services considering recommendation to restructure management
In the meeting, county public health department Director Takashi Wada and Deputy Director Susan Klein-Rothschild met with the board to discuss last year’s set of 464 recommendations by the American Humane Association for the county’s Animal Services. Recommendations included a new, more financially efficient form of management. “That was the first recommendation in their summary,”…
Santa Maria Police Department holds community vigil for Oscar Joaquin
Friends and family of 17-year-old Oscar Daniel Joaquin gathered with members of the Santa Maria Police Department (SMPD) and the community in Santa Maria’s Russell Park on the evening of Feb. 22 to search for answers. The gathering was arranged by the SMPD and attracted nearly 100 people to the scene where Joaquin’s body was…
Diego Villagran
Santa Maria High School sophomore Diego Villagran has been handed a lot of responsibility by his soccer coach, Lala Cuna, this season. Villagran is a captain on the varsity team—a rare designation for a sophomore—and serves as the defensive anchor at center fullback for the 20-4-1 Saints. In its last six games, Santa Maria has…
Warrior redemption: Righetti girls’ basketball reverses misfortunes of the past with ‘dream’ season
Righetti High School senior Courtney Barba sees and feels the difference. When comparing this year’s Righetti basketball team to the previous three she played on—well, there’s no comparison. Over three seasons between 2012 and 2015, the Warriors posted a 25-49 record and were led by a new coach each season. Oftentimes, controversy, in one form…
Protect the seeds
Do you know what the problem with blue jays is? They have no respect for a gal’s seeds. I’m talking about the plump, tasty seeds that burst from the giant sunflowers I grow in my garden. I do all the work and those aggressive, mean thieves muscle their way into my yard and steal them,…
Orcutt should explore incorporation
The article in the Sun, titled “Orcutt has eyes,” (Feb. 11) points at some growing pains for this community of 40,000 people. Crime is growing as the town grows but police protection is not. What to do? The article discusses a long-standing issue of Orcutt’s relation to the city of Santa Maria and the county. …
Hidden film set is a piece of Americana
By now, many locals have heard the legend of the larger-than-life movie set that Cecil B. DeMille built (and subsequently abandoned) in 1923 to film one of the first epic films ever created. There are many fascinating aspects of the DeMille movie set story, including what occurred during the post-filming years and how it brings…
