Cover Story
Senseless acts, sensible prevention
On the afternoon of June 11, 2008, paramedics responded to a 911 call at the Santa Maria apartment of Sylvia Dominguez, her boyfriend Gabriel Peralta, and the couple’s three children. Dominguez’s 3-year-old foster son Gilbert, her sister’s biological child, wasn’t breathing—the apparent victim of a drowning. Gilbert Dominguez never regained consciousness. Visible cuts and bruises…
CafeFX takes its final bow
Somewhere in the universe, Hellboy—the muscled, red devil comic-book hero who inspired his own movie franchise—is crying. He’s shedding tears because, after 17 years in business, CafeFX/ComputerCafe, the Santa Maria-based visual effects design company that worked on the Hellboy films and many other films, has closed its doors. “The current economic climate and global marketplace…
Hobnobbing With Helen
What a joy this night will be,” exclaimed George Majoue, executive director of the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society, as he presided over the organization’s 10th anniversary celebration. Entertainment-wise and food-wise, George was right on target. Accomplished pianist Lynne Garret accompanied accomplished violinist Brynn Albanese for the musical program that followed an excellent dinner: filet mignon,…
Serious business
Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) will be holding free one-hour orientations in the coming weeks for its spring business training programs. WEV’s core 14-week Self-Employment Training courses will begin in February for those looking to start or improve their own business. The program’s target is women, but it serves men as well. “At a personal and…
Political Watch – 1.27
On Jan. 20, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) allocated $1 billion to more than 100 transportation projects statewide, including $838 million from Proposition 1B, a transportation bond approved by voters in 2006. The remaining funds came from various state and federal transportation accounts. Locally, the CTC allocated $37.7 million to widen the Santa Maria River…
Community Notebook – 1.27
TUESDAY, FEB. 1 • 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. Agendas are available at santabarbara.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx#current. • The Vandenberg Village Community Services District has its regular board meeting at 7 p.m. in the District…
The state debates who pays cities after fender benders
If getting into a car accident weren’t enough of a headache already, cities all over California have been adding fuel to the fire by adopting a “crash tax,” legislation that requires the at-fault driver’s insurance to pay for any clean-up fees. “Over 70 cities in California have adopted [the ‘crash tax’],” State Sen. Tony Strickland…
Dual institutionalism
The Santa Barbara County Jail has become “the de facto mental health institution for the county,” Sheriff Bill Brown told the Board of Supervisors Jan. 18 while giving a follow-up presentation about the department’s mental health services. Brown explained that the jail—like most other jails in the country—has seen an influx of mentally ill inmates…
Santa Maria City Council tackles pension reform
Santa Maria’s efforts to reel in the ballooning costs of its employees’ retirement benefits took a major step when the City Council voted to adopt a two-tiered benefit plan on Jan. 18. The City Council approved a resolution to reduce benefits to a lower level, two-tier system, which essentially shifts some of the existing costs…
Suspicious Santa Maria apartment fire still under investigation
A massive fire in an apartment complex near Allan Hancock College has left several families displaced, and investigators are calling the blaze “suspicious.” As of press time, investigators had no new information on what caused the fire, which destroyed two apartment units and damaged 10 others, but said the investigation is ongoing. “It is still…
Lompoc City Council approves Walmart appeal
It took more than two years and a marathon City Council meeting, but big-box retailer Walmart finally cleared a major hurdle in its plans to turn the Lompoc store into a Supercenter. More than 100 Lompoc residents packed City Hall on Jan. 20 to engage in a lively debate about how the expansion would affect…
Women’s Network holds trade show
Business owners will have an opportunity to showcase their products and services and network with other local businesses at the Santa Maria Women’s Network’s second annual Mini Trade Show on Feb. 2. The event features vendor booths, food, free massages, and giveaways and is free for the public to attend. It will be held at…
Brothers celebrates Valentine’s Day
Los Olivos’ Brothers Restaurant at Mattei’s Tavern will be holding an extended Valentine’s Day celebration, offering a special menu and desserts from Feb. 11 to 14. Chefs/owners Matt and Jeff Nichols will create several special Valentine’s Day dishes, as well serve up their signature a la carte dishes like hickory smoked salmon on a bagel…
CBSM hires new lender
Community Bank of Santa Maria recently announced the hiring of Leah West to the bank’s commercial lending department. West has more than 26 years of banking and lending experience, most recently as the branch manager and loan officer at Santa Lucia Bank’s Santa Maria branch, specializing in personal and business loans. In addition to her…
Smart women, smart business
Learn the top 10 critical mistakes business owners make and how smart businesswomen avoid them at the next Smart Women Smart Business workshop in Santa Maria on Feb. 11. Attendees to the three-hour session will learn how to grow their businesses; practical tools and resources to address financial, marketing and sales issues; and steps to…
Cuesta for all
Beginning Feb. 7, Cuesta College will continue to bring its classes to Nipomo and Arroyo Grande for those who can’t travel to the San Luis Obispo main campus. Faculty from the main campus will be available at the Arroyo Grande High School campus, room 913, on Jan. 27 from 4:30 to 9 p.m. to help…
Discover Nat Fast
After Martin Luther King Day, January is a bit bare when it comes to special observances and holidays. But on Jan. 30, the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum will hold its first-ever “Nat Fast Day.” Admission will be free. The day’s exhibit will focus on Fast’s expertise—the fine arts—and he will mentor kids interested in…
My health-care crisis
My health-care crisis is not national in scope. It does, however, involve all the elements necessary to be a crisis: money, emotional difficulty, pain, family discourse, faith, good doctors, bad doctors, amazing nursing care, insurance companies that do not respond to your requests, borderline bankruptcy, never-ending physical challenges, and the quintessential diagnosis of cancer in…
Isidro Venegas
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Lompoc Pony Club recruits members
Interested in horses? The Lompoc Pony Club is looking for new members who want to learn to ride, groom horses, and make friends along the way. Part of United States Pony Clubs, Inc., the group teaches English riding, mounted sports, and the care of horses and ponies, helping kids and young adults up to age…
Make it a Super (outdoor) Sunday
Don’t feel like sitting around for another Super Bowl? The Sierra Club is holding a hike and potluck as an alternative to the big game on Feb. 6. Join the club as members hike the Point Sal road to their potluck dinner destination, a four-mile round trip with a 600-foot elevation gain. Hikers will need…
Brush up on basketball at SMAC
J.T. Stone, founder of Big Picture Athletics, is teaming up with Steven Gordon to bring BPA Basketball Cross Training to the Santa Maria Athletic Club. Basketball Cross Training is a player development program designed to improve skill sets and competitiveness. Players will participate in a combination of up-tempo basketball drills incorporated with SpeedSac Saf-Sled resistance…
Courting a global view
America’s love affair with sports seems to only be getting hotter as the years go by. Between the professional games we watch on television and the local games we attend in person, there’s a niche out there for everyone. Despite its recent rise in popularity around the world, one “niche” sport that seems to stay…
Class & Meetings
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Farmers Markets
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Barbecues
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Health
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Art
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Learning
HEALING MEDITATION CLASS focuses on spiritual and physical healing through Dec. 27 Tuesdays from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., 2880 Santa Maria Way, Suite A1, Santa Maria. $10, $30 per month. More info: 757-9802, radiantlotusbodywork@gmail.com. OPTIMUM WELLNESS COOKING COURSE is an eight-week cooking course featuring foods that heal Mondays through March 7. Call for times, Healthy…
Night Life
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Concerts
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Special Events
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Dance Lessons
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Recreation
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Kids & Family
@font-face { font-family: “NimbusSanD-BoldCond”; }@font-face { font-family: “NimbusSanD-LighCond”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }span.Absatz-Standardschriftart { }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } THE COMMUNITY ACTION COMMISSION and the Boys and Girls Club present a healthy snack program for kids from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. through June 15 at…
Stage
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Something sweet from your sweet
Earn major Valentine’s Day brownie points without breaking the bank. Tri City Sound, the Sweet Adelines International barbershop chorus serving Santa Maria Valley, Lompoc, and Vandenberg Village, is now taking reservations for its annual Singing Valentines Program. Proceeds help fund local music scholarships. Chorus members are available to perform live for your sweetheart anywhere in…
New Iris Society members take root
The new officers of the Lompoc Valley Iris Society recently met to plan activities for 2011, which will include the annual flower show, a rhizome sale, and five regular meetings. The officers for 2011 are President Ben Schleuning, Vice President Marie Jacobsen, Secretary Larry Huyck, and Treasurer Leonard Todd. The society is well known for…
Bring back the big bands
The Dick Clark Big Band Orchestra Winter Jazz Festival will run from 7 to 10 p.m. on Jan. 29 at Anderson Recreation Center, 125 W. Walnut and I streets in Lompoc. The night will feature a dance, and the band will play jazz swing music and familiar ballads of yesteryear. Admission is $5 at the…
Are you listening?
The production studio for New Normal Music, one of the top Internet radio stations playing indie pop in the United States, sits atop a hill overlooking sprawling Santa Ynez Valley ranches and luscious vineyards. More specifically, it’s in a room in one of those 5,000-square-foot ranches. Even more specifically, the studio exists on a laptop,…
Rocket fan
It was supposed to be the biggest launch off the West Coast. Ever. Officials predicted it might break some windows. News reports cautioned: “This one will be loud.” Locals prepared to be rattled. Ultimately, the National Reconnaissance Office Delta-IV Heavy L-49 launch didn’t live up to the hype. Or, in the whispered words of my…
Love is in the bottle
Cupid’s arrows will soon fly, especially at Santa Barbara County’s winery tasting rooms, where hearts and flowers rule the season. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, local producers aim to create beautiful magic by pairing their fine wines with the wonder of romance. To get Central Coasters in the mood for love, the members…
