Cover Story
VOLUNTEERS: CALM volunteer Shannon Elliott helped ensure local families in need weren’t forgotten during the holidays
Last year’s holiday season was extra busy for Shannon Elliott. As a volunteer for CALM (Child Abuse Listening Mediation), a nonprofit that serves local families with therapy regardless of financial means, Elliott was tasked with helping organize gift giving for not just her own family, but more than 100 families in Santa Maria and Lompoc…
The Rebeccamendies: The Best Food and Drinks of 2018
I’m a sucker for awards shows (I wear an actual fancy dress to watch the Academy Awards from my house, and I treat the Emmys like a religious holiday). With the Golden Globes wrapping up and the Oscars right around the corner, what better time to announce the first ever Rebeccamendies, my picks for the…
A-ca-mazing
Ludwig van Beethoven might have had an inkling that his “Symphony No. 5 in C minor” would go down in history, but he probably didn’t foresee the piece realized by an a cappella choir complete with techno beatboxing. That’s exactly the kind of approach to a classic that helped skyrocket the New York City-based a…
Political Watch 1/10/19
• State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) authored four bills focusing on wildfire prevention and protection efforts that went into effect starting Jan. 1. Senate Bill 1260 is aimed at enabling forest management practices that could reduce the risk of wildfires, such as prescribed burns. SB 821 gives counties the option of automatically enrolling every…
Sending a signal: Locals register concerns about fracking public lands
Vandenberg Air Force Base. Tepusquet Canyon. Morro Rock. The Santa Lucia Mountains. Irish Hills Natural Reserve. What ties this short list of Central Coast places together? They all have public lands that are within the control of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and are included in the BLM’s 2014 Central California resource management…
County Board of Supervisors gets a new member and a new chair
Gregg Hart’s last day on the Santa Barbara City Council was the day before his first on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. Hart ran unopposed to take over 2nd District Supervisor Janet Wolf’s seat in 2019. As the only fresh face on the board, Hart joined his new colleagues on Jan. 8, when…
Some local divisions of federal programs dodge shutdown
The nation is nearly three weeks into a partial government shutdown, and while many local federal employees are out of work, some federally funded programs have found ways to keep their offices staffed. As negotiations between the Trump administration and Democratic Party leaders over funding for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico continue,…
Fire leads to evacuation at main jail, northern branch to open late summer
The outbreak of an electrical fire at the Santa Barbara County Jail on Jan. 4 led to the immediate evacuation and temporary relocation of several inmates. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department responded to the jail at about 5:40 p.m., after a caller reported seeing smoke and small flames coming from an electrical outlet in…
Carbajal calls out Trump for ‘manufactured’ immigration crisis on eve of televised address
As the nation waited to hear a Jan. 8 televised address from President Donald Trump on the issue of immigration, Central Coast Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) pushed back against the administration’s rhetoric, accusing the president of creating a crisis in order to make good on his campaign promise to build a wall along the…
Modern love
The first time artist Rosemary Pierce met with a gallery owner to discuss her work, she left in tears. Pierce had just taken a huge leap of faith. She’d walked away from a lucrative career in real estate to focus on being an artist. It was a gamble that seemed to immediately backfire. …
The weight is over
It is a brand-new year and that means pretty much one thing and one thing only to me: I need a new Dilbert desk calendar. Other than that, the concept that it is a “new year” doesn’t really make a difference in my life. I know other people become very excited about New Year’s Eve.…
Elverhoj Museum hosts poetry reading
The Elverhoj Museum of History and Art presents A Nordic Light Duet, a reading of Danish poetry by local poets, scheduled for Jan. 12 at the museum. The event coincides with the Elverhoj’s current exhibit, artist Hanne Stovring’s Nordic Light Shines. The presentation will include selections of poetry in English and then in Danish.…
SMCT presents Streetcar Named Desire
The Santa Maria Civic Theatre announced its next production, A Streetcar Named Desire, running from Jan. 25 through Feb. 10. The play, which won the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for drama, is part of the theater’s 60th season. Set in New Orleans after WWII, the play follows Blanche DuBois, a delicate and neurotic woman who…
NatureTrack announces selections for film festival
The NatureTrack Film Festival (NTFF), scheduled for March 22 through 24 in Los Olivos, recently announced its official entry selections. Films selected to be shown at the festival include The Human Element from director Matthew Testa and National Geographic photographer James Balog; Forbidden Zone: Wildlife on the Battlefield features the story of a Hungarian…
Light bright
For their first big show of the year, the artists of Gallery Los Olivos present their interpretation of one of their most important tools: light. In every possible way, light reigns as a vital part of how an artist constructs their vision, be it as a physical lighting source that carries a viewer’s eye through…
ICE is not the enemy
A few months ago there was a large demonstration against ICE (Immigration Customs and Enforcement) beginning in SLO and ending at the new ICE facility in Santa Maria, which only processes convicted criminal illegal aliens for deportation upon their release from the Lompoc Federal Prison, state prisons like the SLO Men’s Colony, and county jails.…
The removal of Oceano Beach
Two million visitors a year drive on Oceano Beach for a day trip or on their way to Sand City, 1,000 unmarked campsites for $10 a night, and the Sand Highway, the off-roading playground on the dunes. Driving back, they carry on their tires tons of sand. Most of it is deposited on Pier Avenue…
Trump exposed waste at national parks
During the recent government shutdown, the shortest on record, our national parks have become pigsties. Without government employees picking up after visitors’ refuse, the parks look like downtown LA or San Francisco. Solution: Hand out trash bags so people can cart out what they bring in. In fact, weigh each visitor and their tote bags…
Stuff happens
Clean water for drinking and ag use is surely a good thing. Three oil companies want to vastly increase drilling between Santa Maria and Los Alamos. If they have their way, hundreds of new wells would be drilled right through the groundwater basin that provides water for tens of thousands of people. If our water…
Where will some Measure U funds go?
Who would have thought that our Measure U tax dollars would allow the Santa Maria City Council to give tax rebates to the auto dealers waiting to create an Enos Ranch auto mall? We are talking about a tax revenue loss of close to $4 million. Here is what the city has to say about…
Public servants
Come on U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, how could you possibly think that anything President Donald Trump says is “manufactured”? The guy is the most intelligent. The most honest. The bestest guy, who knows all of the most up-to-date correctest facts–especially when it comes to immigration. He might actually be the very first president in all…
Trenton Mitchell
Allan Hancock College sophomore Trenton Mitchell has been a force for his school’s flourishing basketball program this season. Towering over the competition at 6 feet 6 inches, Mitchell has proven himself as both a consistent rebounder and scorer, averaging about eight rebounds and seven points a game, according to Anthony Cooper, Hancock’s sports information specialist.…
Residents impacted by disasters could get student loan relief
College students who were impacted by Santa Barbara County’s recent natural disasters could have their monthly federal student loan payments temporarily suspended or reduced. Some already have. Any current or former college student who borrowed a federal student loan and is currently involved in the repayment process could be eligible for a forbearance if impacted…
Spotlight on: OASIS Center
The OASIS Center’s campaign to raise $4 million toward its proposed new location recently reached the halfway point after three years of fundraising. The campaign launched in 2016 after the senior center acquired the 5-acre property where it plans to build a brand new 15,000-square-foot facility, which would include classrooms, a library, and a kitchen. …
