Cover Story
Weight loss roulette: With so many fads and diets to choose from, which is the healthiest bet?
A woman with dark brown hair, a paisley-print top, and brown slacks points to a mass of words projected on a classroom wall in the Elwin Mussel Senior Center. She talks to an audience of 11 about sugar and healthy food. “A lot of these so-called health foods aren’t even healthy,” she says. “Check the…
Local high school teacher arrested in child pornography possession case
A Santa Maria High School teacher was arrested on Jan. 22 for alleged possession and distribution of child pornography, according to a press release from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives with the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Team arrested 53-year-old Michael David Smith of Santa Margarita after receiving a tip on Jan. 14…
Area students get real-life adventure books from a local writer
Central Coast author Jennifer Best recently donated cases of her book, Best Family Adventures: Santa Barbara County, to northern Santa Barbara County schools for use in school libraries and resource rooms, as well as by students and their families. “The guides are intended to help families get out and about and enjoy the resources available…
Authors and illustrators visit Santa Barbara County students
Santa Barbara County upper elementary and junior high school students from the Santa Maria-Bonita to Carpinteria districts are gearing up to meet writers and illustrators at the 45th annual Author-Go-Round. Each year, the Santa Barbara County Education Office sponsors this event with a focus on books for young people, at which attendees will get the…
One-woman winery: Orcutt native Angela Soleno brings passion and principle to her high-end wines
When hard-working Angela Soleno followed her heart, starting her own wine label in 2008, she still worked full-time at wineries in Los Olivos, bartended on weekends in Ventura, and took freelance writing assignments to make ends meet. The single mother of two, who grew up in Orcutt, also juggled driving her children to cheer practice…
What do you do to stay healthy?
Sadie Hernandez barista “I like to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables every day to get my vitamins.” Jenny Ybarra grandmother “I watch what I eat, and I exercise five days a week.” Michael Christie student “I work out every single day, and I get all buff because I’m a good person like that.”…
Folk duo honeyhoney brings contemporary roots music to Standing Sun Wines in Buellton
Local lovers of contemporary folk rock and Americana music have been flocking to Buellton for Standing Sun Wines’ concert series Standing Sun LIVE, which has been showcasing ensembles and singer songwriters concertgoers are used to seeing in Los Angeles or the Bay Area. The intimate performances are colored by the setting: an art-decked industrial wine…
Lompoc Concert Association welcomes husband and wife duo
The Lompoc Concert Association is welcoming the New York-based husband and wife duo of Eric Cecil and Kaori Fujii to perform a live concert on Jan. 30 in Lompoc. Cecil and Fujii play guitar and flute respectively, and will perform a program that pays homage to many cultures and time periods, including Baroque music and…
Elverhoj Museum features Ro Snell
The Elverhoj Museum of History and Art features the work of Ro Snell in the exhibit Ro Snell: Outside In showing Jan. 24 through April 26. The exhibit features the abstract and assemblage work of the Santa Barbara-based artist known for using found objects like driftwood or downed branches to convey an inner idea or…
Local places in Miss and Mrs. Asia USA
Oceano resident Zhanna Stinson (pictured right) earned the second runner up in the annual Miss and Mrs. Asia USA pageant event in Redondo Beach during late November 2014. Representing her native country of Kazakhstan, Stinson competed and commingled with young women with origins throughout the Asian world. “The main things I’ve learned from the pageantry…
Lompoc offers father/daughter dance
The Lompoc Recreation Division is preparing for the annual Father Daughter Sweetheart Dance of 2015. The semi-formal event includes two nights of music, dance, refreshments, gifts, and prizes on Feb. 6 and 7 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The event is for fathers and their daughters aged 3 to 18. Pre-registration is required for attendees.…
Santa Barbara County Probation teaches Los Prietos Boys Camp wards the various facets of wellness
Young people are infamously immune to advice regarding a lot of things, and wisdom doled out by wellness experts seems to rank high on the list of information ignored (read: junk food, inactivity, etc.). Despite more research showing that good health and wellness are the result of a multi-faceted approach to life beyond diet and…
Plein air painter Susan Belloni shares her latest show and the benefits of working outside
View a slideshow of painter Susan Belloni’s work. The lifestyle of a painter is hardly considered strenuous, as most of the artists enjoy working while seated in the privacy of their own studio. But there is a specific breed of landscape artist that feels the only way to work is to go where the subject…
To the moon silver balloon
The only balloon that would work was a clear one with silver curls and snowflakes decorating the outside. I kind of knew it, but I still thought it was a little too fancy. My 6-year-old Sebastian, however, insisted on it. We walked to the top of a park overlooking Pismo Beach and I, holding the…
Santa Barbara County swaps fire chiefs
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors hearing room erupted with applause on Jan. 20 after the county officially honored retiring County Fire Chief Michael Dyer for his years of service. Dyer just smiled with his hands clasped in front of him and rocked back and forth on his feet. “This is going to be…
Spotlight on: Connect Fitness Studio
After spending the last four years teaching Zumba at several different venues around Santa Maria and searching for a more permanent location, Rosalie Fortner is now proud to now have a place of her own: Connect Fitness. Fortner opened Connect Fitness Studio in early January on the corner of Skyway and Fairview. Just a few…
Political Watch 1/22/15
• State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) introduced a bill on Jan. 16 to streamline and expedite the environmental review process under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the state’s landmark law for evaluating and mitigating the envorinmental impacts of major development projects. SB 122—jointly authored with state Sens. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) and Richard…
Community Notebook 1/22/15-1/29/15
MONDAY, JAN. 26 • The South County Advisory Council has its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Nipomo Community Services District Headquarters, 148 S. Wilson St., Nipomo. • The Solvang City Council has its regular meeting at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 1644 Oak Street, Solvang. agendas are available at cityofsolvang.com. TUESDAY,…
Hobnobbing with Helen
No one was more surprised than Jim Bray at the 100-plus turnout for his talk on the heritage of the oil industry in Santa Maria Valley. “Truthfully,” he told me, “I thought about 15 would be there.” These expectations did not deter him from spending a lot of time preparing a slideshow and a seamless,…
The art of combat: Use martial arts to shape the mind and body
Before a small crowd of onlookers and guests at the Rising Sun Martial Arts Academy on Orcutt Road, owner Jim Risinger puts on a demonstration with each of his students on Jan. 15. He pretends to strike the midsection of his students with his hand while they pivot, block, and counterstrike with their bokutos, or…
Student suspension and expulsion rates drop in California
For the second year in a row, the California Department of Education released figures that show a significant drop in the number of students suspended or expelled. On Jan. 14, Tom Torlakson—the state superintendent of public instruction—announced that the number of students expelled in 2013-2014 decreased by 20 percent over the previous year, and there…
Man arrested on suspicion of assault with a fire extinguisher
On the afternoon of Jan. 15, officers from the Allan Hancock College Police Department arrested a man who they said entered an apartment without permission in the 900 block of East Jones and began spraying a person inside with a fire extinguisher. According to a press release issued by Santa Maria Police Department, Jose Luis…
Witness describes moments before Ibarra’s death in ongoing murder trial
The trial for the alleged killers of 28-year-old Anthony Ibarra began its second week of testimony on Jan. 20 at the Santa Maria Juvenile Court, with Angel Escobar being called to testify. Occasionally mumbling his answers and slouching in his seat, Escobar, 29, testified that he was inside his sister’s house in the 1100 block…
The state of the Onion
There are a lot of layers to this country. It’s like a pungent vegetable waiting to be peeled and browned in butter—maybe even caramelized. Maybe I shouldn’t write this column right before lunch. My co-worker to my left just brought in some Thai food to eat at her desk, while the guy to my right…
Support for currency and law enforcement is maintained
Modern civilized societies worldwide place great value on stability and high living standards. Two important supporting features include law enforcement and currency. Taken out of context, they would amount to strange-looking paper and people in various uniforms. Because of the value that almost all of a society’s members assign, the authority of currency and law…
Supervisors get raises in a vicious circle
Why is it that our supervisors, when pushing through raises for themselves, always refer to what other counties are paying? And I’m not just talking about SLO County. This goes on everywhere. Recently in Contra Costa County, supervisors there stated “we are the lowest-paid in any urban county in the state.” Their base pay is…
There’s no food shortage–just a healthy food shortage
About a month ago, on Dec. 15, 2014, NPR reported something that is significant to all of us locally and nationally. The Obama Administration is going to fund a number of experts to draft a document titled, “Dietary Goals for the United States.” Sounds worthwhile. Sounds like “at last … .” But here is the…
Judy Hearn
Judy Hearn isn’t your typical athlete. She doesn’t climb mountains or run marathons. In fact, she doesn’t compete in any sports. However, at 76 years old, she’s extremely active. She does pilates four mornings per week with Andy Conway in Pismo Beach. And once a week, preferably on Wednesdays, she can be found walking the…
Rushing and reading: A former Hancock football star heads to the Senior Bowl as a draft pick for the NFL
Before Cameron Artis-Payne finished 2014 as the lead rusher in the Southeastern Conference and bounced into the national spotlight as a second- or third-round pick for the NFL, he was breaking school records at Allan Hancock College for rushing yards and touchdowns scored. He switched out his Bulldogs’ jersey to become an Auburn University Tiger…
