Cover Story
Herd immunity and the vaccine personal belief exemption
A needle pokes through the protective film of a vaccine vial, while a hand simultaneously pulls up on the needle’s handle, sucking in an engineered cocktail that includes elements like gelatin, phosphate, chick embryo cell culture, and human lung fibroblasts. As that needle next pushes through someone’s skin, it delivers a combination of substances designed…
What is you opinion of parents who do not vaccinate their children?
Chase Chavez student “I agree with them. I believe in natural medicine.” George Herod self-employed “I somewhat agree because of factors such as the increase in autism. I think vaccinations were intended for a good purpose, but there should be a lot more research done on the side effects.” Brandon Ryker student “Parents should vaccinate…
The wildflowers are popping in Los Padres
View a slideshow from Willow Spring trail. As the sun’s warmth burnt off the dreary Sunday morning fog of Valentine’s Day Weekend, the green hills beckoned, but I knew if I wanted to hike, I would have to drive. The Santa Maria neck of the Central Coast isn’t really known for having lots of wide-open…
‘Hey, it’s Kiwi Bob!’: An exotic fruit is a Central Coast staple thanks to three generations of green dreamers
One dark and stormy Wednesday morning in Nipomo, Bob “Kiwi Bob” Criswell found out just how akin to family his farmers’ market customers truly are. At daybreak, his son, Michael, decided there had been enough snoozing in the Criswell household. Always a fan of selling kiwi at the local farmer’s markets—the same way his father…
Rancho Bowl features a dance party every night
The occupation of the disc jockey, now known as the abbreviated DJ, hardly resembles the vocation that birthed the term. Turntables, needles, large vinyl discs are all still prized by many contemporary DJs, but you are more likely to see today’s DJ clad with a laptop, PA system, and digital turntable. They’re able to manipulate…
The Environmentalist
I am a true American. And as a legitimate patriot, I come complete with a gas guzzling SUV, a beer gut, and a belief that consumerism will solve all of the economy’s problems. Did you say people need more jobs? Well, I better do my part and head down to the nearest big-box store and…
Lompoc Valley Art Association features wood turner at upcoming meeting
The Lompoc Valley Art Association will be holding its regular monthly meeting on March 3, with a social time beginning at 6:30 p.m. and a presentation at 7 p.m. Guest artist Gerry Davis will be demonstrating the art of wood turning, inviting others to try it as well. Visitors are also welcome to bring their…
Tour New York with PCPA
The Pacific Conservatory Theater (PCPA) offers a Springtime Theatre Tour happening April 27 through May 4. PCPA artistic director Mark Booher will lead the tour through New York’s theater, arts, and other cultural districts. The tour costs $3,995 per person, and includes a night at LAX, airfare to New York, six nights at the Westin…
Artists Guild of Santa Ynez Valley offers high school scholarships
The Artists Guild of Santa Ynez Valley invites Santa Ynez Valley high school students and accredited home school students to apply for the guild’s art scholarships. The individual merit awards will range from $500 to $3,000 and will be awarded to students continuing on to universities. The deadline for students to apply is April 30.…
Santa Maria Arts Council holds arts grants workshop
Those interested in applying for the Santa Maria Arts Council’s Individual Grants in the Arts competition must attend an upcoming workshop about the application process. Those interested in applying and competing for grants in dance, drama, music, and the visual arts can attend the workshop on March 7, which begins at 10 a.m. at Allan…
The Lompoc Civic explores terror in ‘I’ll Be Back Before Midnight’
The magic of the theater relies on the ability to capture a scene and bring it to life again and again. From the splinters of the set, to the lines in the actors’ heads, none of it is real until that moment begins, and the story unfurls before an audience. Setting the stage for that…
Oxnard dancers join SMHS for an upcoming ballet folklorico performance
Alma de Mexico, a ballet folklorico group out of Oxnard, is joining Santa Maria High School students on stage for a Feb. 28 performance in the Ethel Pope Auditorium. Angel Hoyos, who teaches ballet folklorico at the high school, is playing host to his friend and fellow teacher Nino Carrillo’s group for the first ever…
Hancock STEM Center offers courses for kids
If you’re unfamiliar with STEM, it stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; in other words, the foundations for a good chunk of education and current career options in the United States. The STEM Center at Allan Hancock College was created in an effort to assist college students throughout their education in these areas. Recently,…
Spotlight on: Growing Grounds
While living in Hollywood several years ago, Robert Silverman spent many days as a recluse inside his apartment. He had a severe case of agoraphobia—or the fear of open spaces—which kept him from going outside. He was what people called a “shut-in,” according to Silverman. He moved to Santa Maria to live with his family…
Political Watch 2/26/15
• On Feb. 20, U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) joined Anthony Foxx, the U.S. transportation secretary, and Mark Rosekind, the National Highway Traffic Safety administrator, in urging Congress to pass legislation requiring rental car agencies and used car dealers to fix safety defects before renting or selling vehicles subject to a recall. In 2012,…
Community Notebook 2/26/15-3/5/15
MONDAY, MARCH 2 • The Solvang Planning Commission has its regular meeting at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 1644 Oak Street, Solvang. TUESDAY, MARCH 3 • 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.…
Advisory council votes against recommending approval for a Nipomo marijuana dispensary
Ethnobotanica representative Stephanie Kiel took a deep breath as she walked outside of the San Luis Obispo South County Advisory Council (SCAC) meeting on Feb. 24. “That was rough,” she said. Kiel had just spent an hour and a half listening to comments and fielding questions from council members and Nipomo community members about a…
House fire causes Lompoc officials to consider indoor pot growing regs
The house at 1040 N. Jasmine Street in Lompoc is sealed, with a sticker on the front door saying, “UNSAFE TO OCCUPY.” A pile of burnt wood, insulation, and debris sits in the driveway, covered with a tarp. Inside the converted garage are the remains of an indoor medical marijuana garden. On the morning of…
Santa Maria ICE facility will be ready by summer
Construction on the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Santa Maria is nearly complete and on schedule, according to ICE spokeswoman Lori Haley, who added that the facility should be operational by this summer. The new facility, sited near West McCoy Lane and South Depot Street, will be used for interviewing and briefly…
Coastal Commission reviews vehicle impacts for Oceano Dunes
For the first time in eight years, the California Coastal Commission reviewed the management of vehicle impacts at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area. As a result of the Feb. 11 meeting, the commission urged state parks to produce a completed habitat conservation plan for the recreation area. That plan, intended to provide a…
Please do run for office, women!
Heidi Harmon’s commentary (“Run like a girl,” Feb. 19) is so right on and clear as to what women have been facing since the end of World War II when we were told to go back to the kitchen. Back then, we protested for equal pay for equal work; for accessible, affordable daycare facilities; and…
The FCC investigates a dispatch impersonator, according to Santa Barbara county officials
On at least two occasions in 2014 (once in November and again in December), anyone listening to Santa Barbara County Fire’s radio frequencies would have heard someone apparently impersonating a dispatch operator. Joe Ayala, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office dispatch supervisor, said county officials asked the Federal Communications Commission to help investigate the matter.…
Laughter is not the best medicine
First of all, let me point out that I am not a doctor. I am not a scientist, nor a clinical researcher, nor a nurse practitioner, nor any sort of professional who could write you a prescription or prep you for surgery should you need pills in you or an inflamed appendix out of you.…
The Dreamers deserve better
Well, the Do-Nothing Republicans in the Do-Nothing Republican-controlled Congress in Washington have, with the help of a racist conservative judge in Republican Texas, finally done something. Together, they have thrown cold water on the hopes of millions of American kids, known as “Dreamers” because they believe in this country. I have trouble with the latest…
50 Shades of No Way
I do not think I have ever read a funnier or more honest review of a movie than Cliff and Jessica’s commentary on 50 Shades of Grey (“Coming attractions,” Feb. 19). It had me laughing out loud, and although I had not planned to see the movie, nor read the book, it almost makes me…
#FireSeasonIsComing
Dear Californians: Please stop making smug Facebook posts about your January trips to the beach when you know the East Coast is getting the crap beat out of it by a storm. Please stop responding to your friends’ posts about snow and the importance of layering with reminders that if they’d just been smart enough…
Leah Parlato
When the Santa Ynez High School girls’ water polo team lost to Oceanview High School 10-8 on Feb. 19, Leah Parlato, a Santa Ynez senior guard and co-league MVP, put up a heroic five goals. “Within the last quarter, I knew it was my last game, so I just kept taking shots and taking shots,”…
Lompoc and Cabrillo tie for girls’ basketball league champs
Lompoc and Cabrillo high schools sit on opposite ends of a small town. They draw from the same school district and are natural rivals. For the first time in recent history, both schools have girls’ basketball teams heading to CIF playoffs. “Our rivalry with Cabrillo is probably the biggest on the Central Coast of California,”…
