Cover Story
On common ground
I am not a morning person. Well, at least not an early morning person. If I have to get up before 7 a.m., I’m a grump and a half (just ask my co-workers, or better yet, ask my husband). So when my alarm clock went off at 5 a.m. on Jan. 23, I naturally questioned…
What’s the craziest thing you’ve done while driving?
Mallory Pina volleyball coach “I was in a rush to get to volleyball practice one day, so I completely changed my outfit while driving my stick shift!” Siyawosh Tahamtani retail “Nothing too crazy; I text sometimes, but don’t tell anyone that.” Dave Brown retired “Craziest thing I’ve ever done is drive down the road with…
Breaking boundaries
There are people who view classical music as a stiff and rigid art form bound by rules. But to many others, the genre is home to more contemporary musical expression and relaxed attitudes. The Lompoc Concert Association, which has been providing quality musical performances to the Lompoc Valley for an impressive 65 years, is an…
My funny Valentines
Baby, it’s cold outside right now, and it’s a perfect time to snuggle up in a warm, soft, micro-fleece throw with a hot hubby. OK, so he’s running a slight temperature and recovering from the flu, but he’s still hot! And to think of all the other men I could have had in my fantasy…
Surprise your sweetheart
The Tri City Sound, of the Sweet Adelines International, offers a special “Singing Valentines Program” for the upcoming, romantic holiday. The group will be performing “Singing Valentines” in Santa Maria and Lompoc on Feb. 14 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and is currently accepting reservations. Each “Singing Valentine” performance costs $25, and you choose…
Attention artists
The Santa Maria Arts Council is holding informational workshops for its annual Grants Competition. The council awards grants of $1,500 and $1,000 to first- and second-place winners in dance, drama, music, and visual arts. Interested artists must attend one of the informational meetings in order to compete and learn the requirements for competing artists. To…
Everybody means you
Everybody Can Dance dance studio and Santa Maria Civic Ballet are offering an upcoming class that will teach ballet and body conditioning exercises for adults and teens. The class will meet Tuesdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15 through June 21 at the studio, located at 800 S. Broadway, Santa Maria. More information is…
Get your ‘Passport to Vienna’
The Santa Maria Philharmonic Society is raffling off the chance of a lifetime at the upcoming “Passport to Vienna” fundraising event. As the name implies, the raffle winner gets a two-person round trip vacation to Vienna, Austria. The fundraiser is scheduled for Feb. 9 at the Radisson Hotel, 3455 Skyway Drive, Santa Maria. The evening…
Corpse capers
The Santa Maria Civic Theatre has been providing quality live theater to the valley for more than half a century now, and the institution hasn’t suffered from any figurative dustiness despite its age. There are four productions each season; the current show, Busybody, is the third of this season, and is an example of the…
Lifetimes of learning
We are all students of life, learning something new every day, and who we are is the result of what we’ve learned. Art is a learning process on several levels: You must learn technique, you must learn your craft, but mostly you must learn who you are. The Allan Hancock College Fine Arts Student Art…
In memoriam
The Guadalupe Dunes Center board of directors and staff expressed sadness over the recent passing of longtime supporter Huell Howser. To honor his memory, the public is invited to come to Oso Flaco Lake on Saturday, Feb. 9, for a memorial hike to honor the television star who brought attention to local sights. The event…
Fit to be youth
A new youth sports performance and fitness class started at the Santa Maria YMCA on Jan. 31. Led by Righetti strength and fitness coach Monte Nash, the class runs for six weeks and centers on the performance product SpeedFac. Numerous athletic professionals, including the strength and conditioning coach for the U.S. men’s soccer team, swear…
Athlete of the Week: Simone Swain
Simone Swain does it all on the basketball court. A forward from Valley Christian Academy, Swain is playing at a level her opponents can’t seem to match. Only a sophomore, she’s shattered the career record for blocked shots at her school, registering more than 60 this season. “Simone is a well-rounded player—she rebounds, plays defense,…
Sisterhood of the derby girls
I’m standing at the Santa Maria Fairpark at one of the covered outdoor buildings. The cold has rendered my hands useless, but the biting weather doesn’t seem to bother the object of my attention: the Cal Skate Derby girls. Let me start by saying that watching roller derby is more like watching a cross between…
The president needs to hear it from you
President Obama’s presidential legacy will rest on his leadership in solving the climate crisis that is now upon us. Late last year, the president offered to have a conversation with the American people about climate. In his second inaugural, he started one. It’s time to join that conversation. Specifically, it’s time to talk about what…
Grandparents honored at St. Mary celebration
Grandparents were served by their grandstudents on Feb. 1 at the tail end of Catholic Schools Week celebrations at St. Mary of the Assumption School. Lunch was served to about 150 grandparents, who were invited to join students after eating to participate in classroom activities. St. Mary School Principal Mary Cox said in a press…
Ontiveros Elementary School raises money for cancer treatment and research
With another week to go, an Ontiveros Elementary School penny drive raised $2,000, half of the students’ goal, for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society from Jan. 21 to Feb. 1. Ontiveros has donated to the society for at least the last 10 years, and fifth-grade teacher Linda Corley has organized the drive for the last…
Diversity’s a hot topic at Righetti High School
Students, staff, and parents participated in diversity and conflict-resolution presentations and workshops from Jan. 28 to 30 at Ernest Righetti High School. Calvin Terrell, an expert on bullying and social justice issues, including race relations, was a featured speaker at the diversity program meant to spur discussion about violence involving ignorance and prejudice. Students were…
Hobnobbing With Helen
What a marvelous party this was. It was Rizzoli’s Automotive’s turn to play host to a regular monthly networking event for Chamber of Commerce members. Kay Rizzoli, the firm’s CFO, does not do parties by halves. She went all out and put on a most engaging event (mixer and open house) at Rizzoli’s Automotive near…
Spotlight on: Penfield and Smith Engineers, Inc.
Employee-owners of the Santa Barbara County firm Penfield and Smith Engineers, Inc. overcame snakes, poison oak, undependable government documents, and more to complete a four-year survey of 900 acres in the Tepusquet Canyon area. In recognition of its efforts, Penfield and Smith recently received an honor award from the California Chapter of the American Council…
Celebrate science from an early age
If my daughter’s kindergarten schedule is any indication, it’s science fair season. Although she initially wanted to build a model volcano—which, admittedly, is awesome, but is also, admittedly, the shorthand symbol for science fairs in cartoons and kids’ shows—I encouraged her to explore a variety of ideas before settling on one. She ultimately chose to…
Lompoc vets building nominated for Home Depot contest
If the Lompoc Veterans Memorial Building Foundation gets enough votes on Facebook, it could win a $25,000 Home Depot gift card to put toward updating the structure. Winning that gift card would put the veterans building closer to being refinished, said the president of the Lompoc Veterans Memorial Building Foundation, Alice Milligan. So far, she’s…
Santa Maria’s got a new school coming
Time constraints and projected enrollment increases pushed the Santa Maria-Bonita school board to begin securing funds for construction of a new school—Aquistapace Elementary—at a special meeting on Jan. 30. The board voted 4-1, with board member Will Smith dissenting, to adopt a certificate of participation loan for the $25 million construction project. The certificate would…
Laz-E-Daze comes out of retirement
It might be busy days at Laz-E-Daze Retirement Center soon. Eric Dias, president, and Kevin Teixeira, chief financial officer, of Western Sky Communities, LLC, are planning to transform the former retirement center into what the Santa Maria Planning Commission is calling a high-density apartment complex. However, Dias and Teixeira don’t see it that way. They…
Correction
In the Jan. 24 news brief “Man chains self to tree, briefly, in protest of park plan,” the Sun incorrectly reported the number of acres in the Nipomo Community Park to be developed. The project’s master plan calls for 27.5 acres of the park to be developed.
SLO County supervisors consider special vets court
The San Luis Obispo County Superior Court could soon be following in the footsteps of its judicial neighbors to the south by sentencing veterans charged with certain low-level crimes to a treatment program for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder instead of jail. Dana Cummings, the San Luis Obispo County Veterans Services officer, presented a general plan…
Santa Maria police officers called in at Pioneer Valley and Fesler schools
Santa Maria police officers responded on Jan. 29 to reports of a man allegedly exposing himself to Pioneer Valley High School students as they walked to school. According to department officials, officers searched a housing complex where the man was said to be located and the nearby area, but came up empty handed. The victims…
TurnKey hearings are continued to the spring
Acknowledging the need for more information, Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Brian Hill on Feb. 4 granted a general time waiver to the four defendants in the TurnKey embezzlement case. “I think our hope was that at the conclusion of the restitution hearing, all parties would have more information,” he said at what would…
Local traffic controllers and pilots take a last stand against changes
Santa Maria Public Airport traffic controllers and pilots who oppose upcoming taxiway name changes are going to make one last stand before the new designations take effect in March. California Pilots Association Vice President Mitch Latting held individual meetings with each of the board members from Jan. 28 to Feb. 1 to show them an…
Suns and son
Sunday, Feb. 10, marks the Chinese New Year, a time when at least a billion people will gather with family and friends to celebrate with good food. If delicious Chinese cuisine is what you’re craving, then head to the corner of Broadway and Main, and enter North China Restaurant, celebrating 31 years in the same…
