Cover Story
Prepared: Learn from the locals who are ready for the next natural disaster
The first rain of the season always brings a distinct wave of scents with it, and in the yard of Renee O’Neill’s Tepusquet Canyon home, the flat smell of ash emanated from the hillside. The hilltop behind her home was stained black, the result of the Alamo Fire’s southernmost spread through Tepusquet. The fire, which…
Do you have an emergency plan in case of a natural disaster?
Max Orfield student “Yes I do; earthquakes, since we’re in Cali.” Kyle Slaght receiver/stocker at Lowe’s “Nope. The closet thing to a plan that I have is to be aware and ready to act as needed in the event of an emergency.” Angelica Vidaurri student “No, we don’t have an emergency backup plan, but we…
Cream of the crop: Nite Creamery brings nitrogen-blasted sweets and nightlife to Santa Maria
When Nino Eng, 24, moved to Santa Maria from Long Beach to be closer to his now wife, one thing that caught him off guard was how limited his options were to grab a bite at night. “We’d always want to go somewhere but everything would be closed by 8 o’clock,” he told the Sun.…
LOCAL NOTES: Local musicologist Linda Shaver-Gleason battles cancer, blogs about music history, and raises a son
Lompoc resident and musicologist Linda Shaver-Gleason does a lot in a day. She’s raising a son with her husband, is preparing for a talk at a university conference, battles cancer, and still makes time to post to her blog. Shaver-Gleason runs Not Another Music History Cliché, where she disabuses readers of common misconceptions about music…
Take it seriously
My heart has ached all week for the people of Montecito. The rising death toll, the massive amounts of homes lost and infrastructure damaged, and the ongoing search to find the remaining missing have reminded us all, every day, that our communities are vulnerable. I’m not here to scare anyone but to inform and remind…
Trump’s bluster gets things done
The publishers of the Sun tabloid show their liberal bias by constantly dragging out for comment their liberal pundit, Ken McCalip to bash President Trump. Just who appointed this deranged Democrat as an expert on anything? This time he is claiming he knows “Trump is unstable,” because he speaks out on his own and takes…
Local Boy Scout leads fundraiser for children’s library in Santa Maria
It’s not every day a teenager devotes his free time to raising thousands of dollars for a community project, but 15-year-old Joseph Andrade isn’t your average teen—he’s a Boy Scout. Andrade, a freshman at Ernest Righetti High School and member of Orcutt Troop 95, has high hopes of becoming an Eagle Scout, the highest and…
Spotlight on: Tourism Grants
For some local businesses, the new year is starting off on the right foot. On Jan. 8, nine nonprofits received a combined $22,000 from the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitor and Convention Bureau, the first of two grant cycles for the calendar year. The grants were awarded to benefit local tourism, according…
Political Watch 1/18/18
• Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) released a Thomas Fire and California storm recovery guide on Jan. 16 to help people affected or displaced by the Thomas Fire and Montecito mudslides find and apply for federal resources available under the Stafford Act. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) amended the Major Disaster Declaration for the…
SMPD enforces city codes for mobile car washes following complaint
Several individuals running mobile car washing businesses while parked along West Morrison and South Western avenues were told to leave on Jan. 14 after the Santa Maria Police Department (SMPD) received an anonymous noise complaint that morning. The streets, located near the La Vista Apartments, are frequented by dozens of mobile washing business owners every…
Righetti High School film festival seeks submissions
The 21st annual Righetti High School Film Festival is looking for high school students to submit films. The festival, planned for April, features awards given for best director, editor, screenplay, cinematography, best of show, audience choice, and teacher’s choice. All films must be G rated. Last year’s films included comedy, action, drama, as well as…
Grandeza Mexicana comes to Guadalupe
¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! presents Los Angeles-based Grandeza Mexicana in a performance of Mexico’s regional musical and dance traditions. The group will perform at Guadalupe City Hall on Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. Grandeza Mexicana’s choreography pays tribute to the traditions and customs of Mexico’s historic past. Santa Barbara County performances will feature…
Humor: Krider has learned a thing or two about keeping his wife happy
As a married man I do everything in my power to strive for total wedded bliss because wedded misery is, well, it’s miserable. I don’t want to do misery. Instead, I prefer candy and harmony. Like the old saying goes, “Happy wife, happy life.” I look at it as, “Happy wife, race car.” In order…
Artist Jill Iversen discusses her career as a Santa Maria artist
Santa Maria artist Jill Iversen is the resident artist at the Santa Maria Discovery Museum in Santa Maria. She creates fine art as well as children’s illustrations for books and has even authored her own book, Goldie Hatches a Brood. Iversen spoke with the Sun about her career in art and how she got her…
Filmmaker Paul Goldsmith hosts a screening of ‘The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island’ in Los Olivos
She spent 18 years alone on an island just 60 miles away from the California coast, and her life inspired a famous children’s book, years of anthropological research, and now a documentary film. Filmmaker Paul Goldsmith’s documentary The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island seeks to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding the life of…
Devin Davis
Allan Hancock College men’s basketball head coach Tyson Aye said that it was “perfect timing” for Devin Davis to be the Sun’s Athlete of the Week. The team had just come back from a win at an all-tournament game on Jan. 7, and Davis definitely delivered against Pasadena City College (game pictured). Davis, a sophomore…
BENCHWARMER: New year, new goals
It’s a brand new year, folks, and while the rest of you are counting calories, swearing less, and otherwise changing your lives with 2018 resolutions, I’m over here (on the bench) thinking about more important things. I’m tackling big questions this year, you know, like how can I be a better sports fan? Should I…
Californians win big with drug pricing transparency bill
In the last 10 years, the cost of an EpiPen, a device to inject medication to counter life-threatening allergic reactions, rose by 500 percent. The HIV and AIDS treatment, Daraprim, went from $18 a pill to $750! Another drug, which is 62 years old, experienced a 4,000 percent price increase overnight. These are just a…
Oceano Beach: a dream denied
The Oceano of the future has a vibrant downtown. Cars slow when passing an attractive sign that welcomes visitors to Oceano Beach. A tree-lined plaza and wide sidewalks dotted with planters and benches invite strollers to linger. Paths with clear crosswalks provide safe access to the nearby beach. After dark, streetlights cast a cheery glow…
Lompoc should regulate drones
The Lompoc City Council was scheduled to discuss a proposed city ordinance concerning unmanned aerial vehicles on Jan. 16. To some, these are toys much like model airplanes, to others they are tools, and to still others they are a nuisance and an intrusion on their privacy. The military, police, and fire agencies use these…
Hobnobbing with Helen: Santa Maria Women’s Network sets some goals
What better way to start a new year than to ponder the state of one’s self. After the pondering, there is the matter of, “Am I on the right path? Is this where I want to be? What can I do to have a better life?” It is best to do this while looking into…
WWII veteran pilot John Ferenz Sr. celebrates 100th birthday in Santa Maria
Putting years of combat and war behind them can be difficult for some veterans, but John Ferenz Sr., who turned 100 on Jan. 11, is different, in part because of his undying passion for music. It all began when he was 10 years old in New York City in the 1930s. A son of Czechoslovakian…
Deadline fast approaching for Los Olivos voters hoping to form a new wastewater community services district
Drinkers visiting Los Olivos’ many wine tasting rooms may finally enjoy an important feature that some county residents say has long been missing from the area—public restrooms. But first, the unincorporated area needs a regulated way to deal with wastewater. Los Olivos residents have until Jan. 30 to cast a vote on Measure P2018, which,…
Spy satellite launches from Vandenberg
A Delta IV rocket laden with a classified satellite from the National Reconnaissance Office successfully blasted into earth’s orbit on Jan. 12. The launch occurred just after 2 p.m. that day and was carried out by the U.S. Air Force and the United Launch Alliance (ULA)—a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Company—at…
Local animal shelters receive disaster relief funding
The Santa Barbara County Animal Care Foundation received a $10,000 grant from the Bissell Pet Foundation to help support the care of animals impacted by the county’s recent wildfires and mudslides. Shelters in Santa Barbara County take in thousands of strays each year, according to Bissell, and when recent natural disasters threatened even more animal…
Montecito area reeling and recovering from major winter storm
Much of the coast between Santa Barbara and Ventura remained crippled one week after a winter storm triggered major flooding and debris flows that destroyed more than 100 homes and damaged twice that number. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said on Jan. 14 that at least 20 people had died due to the storm.…
