Cover Story
Everything is illuminated
Throughout the past year, many of the most successful films have seemed especially concerned, each in its own way, with justice. Spielberg’s Lincoln is, of course, an obvious example—the masterful telling of how slavery was abolished. But at the movies, justice can also be served retroactively in a show of flamboyant ultraviolence, as in Tarantino’s…
City of Santa Maria is now accepting applications for vacant council seat
Still split on whether to appoint Etta Waterfield to its fifth vacant seat, the Santa Maria City Council voted 3-1 on Feb. 5 to start accepting applications from city residents to fill the position. Alice Patino, who relinquished her council seat in January to become Santa Maria’s first female mayor, cast the sole dissenting vote.…
How do you plan to celebrate the Super Bowl and which team are you rooting for?
Kelsey Coleman student “I plan on eating delicious food at my family’s house while we cheer on the Ravens.” Mercedes Ruiz hostess “I’m going to a Super Bowl barbecue with my friends and I’ll be rooting for the Ravens. I’m a Cowboys fan so I don’t want the 49ers to win a sixth championship.” Felix…
Live at the Maverick
Music is a spontaneous endeavor. No two performances will ever be identical. Tales from the Tavern, a local concert series that calls Santa Ynez’s Maverick Saloon home, revels in the chaos and creation of a live performance by roping supremely talented songwriters to share their stories and art. “There’s a special kind of magic that…
That was then, this is now
Most people refer to historical dates as either BC or AD, but at my house we refer to things as either BN, Before Nissan, or AN, After Nissan. This is all based on the date when I came home with an $800 project in the shape of a 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R. The SE-R stands…
Arrange a sweet song
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…
Get oriented
Allan Hancock College offers its “Bulldog Bow-WOW!” orientation event at both its locations. The events will feature free food, entertainment, information about student services, academic programs, student organizations, and more. The event is sponsored by the Allan Hancock College Associated Student Body Government and will be presented on Feb. 6 from 9:30 a.m. to 1…
Free photos for couples
Local photographer Alexandra Wallace (runner-up in the Sun’s Best Of readers poll for “Best Photographer”) will be offering free portraits to couples on Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. at Waller Park in Santa Maria. Through what’s tagged as a “Free Valentine’s Day Photo Event,” couples can find Wallace at the Waller Park gazebo, where she’ll…
Help the library improve
Santa Barbara County needs you! Well, Santa Barbara County needs local library visitors to help the county ensure that local libraries are meeting the needs of the community in the best way. A brief survey—available online in English and Spanish—asks library goers to identify which services they prefer, in order to assist local libraries with…
Out but not down
The Santa Maria Valley has been woefully lacking in terms of privately owned art galleries for several years. Most places to show art are on government land, such as the Santa Maria Public Library’s Shepard Hall or Allan Hancock College’s Ann Foxworthy Gallery. But one private gallery has stayed strong due to its realistic and…
Sharing an experience
Culture is an amorphous phenomenon, constantly expanding and changing, leaving behind a wake of art, influence, and history. A collaboration among three local groups has led to an exhibition of such cultural art and artifacts in celebration of Black History Month, showing in Lompoc. The Lompoc Museum—which cooperates every year with Club Arcturus, a Lompoc-based…
It takes a community to grow a festival
Go fly a kite! You have the amazing opportunity to do just that very soon. We are only two months away from April—National Kite Month—and getting ready for this year’s Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum Kite Festival! Hundreds and hundreds of people will travel from all over to Santa Maria on April 21 in celebration…
Celebrate cupid with crab
Eating crab can be both decadent and messy. There’s nothing quite like tying on a plastic bib, cracking open a crab leg, extracting the pink meat, and dipping it in clarified butter. Locals who love eating crab will get their chance to chow down on the delicious crustacean at the fifth annual Cruzin for Life…
Spotlight on: Paradise Trading Post
It’s Storage Wars, Pawn Stars, and American Pickers all rolled into one. When greeting new customers, that’s essentially how Paradise Trading Post owner Mike Alexander explains his store. And the description is accurate considering the beginnings of his three-month-old Orcutt storefront stemmed from watching Storage Wars. “I saw the TV show and I thought it…
Art-Craft lands victorious
Art-Craft Paint Inc. owner Teresa Arredondo’s wide smile made her face glow on Jan. 24 after Santa Maria Public Airport General Manager Chris Hastert told her she wouldn’t be evicted from the World War II-era hangar her business has occupied for three decades. “I’m very, very happy that I’m going to be left alone and…
Safe schools, healthy kids
It’s been about a month and a half since Adam Lanza opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., killing 20 kindergartners and seven adults. It still remains unclear what motivated the 20-year-old to first fatally shoot his mother, Nancy, at their Newtown home and then turn his gun on the students and…
DA’s office looks into a possible foreclosure scam
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office is investigating a case of alleged loan modification/foreclosure consultant fraud in the Santa Maria area. According to a press release sent out on Jan. 25, the business in question operates primarily out of Los Angeles County, but has allegedly victimized many homeowners in Northern Santa Barbara County. The…
Trial begins for the suspected murderer of a Lompoc teacher
A San Luis Obispo man was suicidal, delusional, and not in control of his actions when he allegedly shot and killed his mother—a longtime Lompoc Valley teacher—at his apartment on Sept. 17, 2011, his defense attorney argued before 12 jurors. But in opening statements in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court on Jan. 28, Deputy…
SLO politician Andrew Carter is moving to Guadalupe
Guadalupe officials announced on Jan. 23 that San Luis Obispo City Council member Andrew Carter will be stepping in as the new Guadalupe city administrator. Carter will leave his SLO City Council position to replace Guadalupe’s interim city administrator, Tim Ness, on Feb. 20. Carter is leaving in the middle of his second term; his…
Chef Rick leaves the Far Western
Chef Rick Manson served up his last meal at the Far Western Tavern in Orcutt on Friday evening, Jan. 25. “I am very proud of my tenure at the Far Western Tavern. Ownership and I had different ideas about which direction the restaurant should go,” Manson told the Sun’s food and wine columnist, Wendy Thies…
Colleges are host to state and federal aid workshops
The California Student Opportunity and Access Programs (Cal-SOAP) at Allan Hancock and Cuesta colleges are co-sponsoring a series of Cash for College workshops to help students and parents fill out Cal Grant and federal student aid forms. The California Student Aid Commission’s merit- and need-based financial aid Cal Grant program offers grants to students. To…
Mothers for Peace offers scholarships
Students with an eye out for social or environmental justice have the opportunity to apply for two San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace scholarships until March 21. College or university students who are juniors or seniors in the 2012-2013 school year can apply for a $1,000 scholarship. Students need to live within San Luis Obispo…
Santa Barbara Business College graduates first MBA
Santa Barbara Business College graduated its first Master of Business Administration student as part of its 2013 winter class graduation ceremony at the Santa Maria Fairpark’s convention center on Jan. 25. MBA graduate Chris Wright said she was excited for what the degree can do for her future. She went back to school after being…
Youth fitness
A new youth sports performance and fitness class will be offered at the Santa Maria YMCA starting Jan. 31. Led by Righetti strength and conditioning coach Monte Nash, the class is six weeks and centers on nationally acclaimed performance product SpeedFac. Numerous athletic professionals, including the strength and conditioning coach of the U.S. men’s soccer…
Hit the trails
Sedgwick Preserve is offering a series of public interpretive hikes in the Santa Ynez Valley, consisting of four monthly hikes and nature activities on the 6,000-acre UCSB Sedgwick Reserve; the next hike in the series will be offered Feb. 9 at 8:30 a.m. The hikes will cover various themes dealing with geology, landforms, panoramas, plants,…
Brainy Bulldogs
Congratulations to the Allan Hancock College men’s basketball team as its members soar in the classroom as well as on the court. A recent press release from the school revealed that the team boasts a 3.44 team average GPA; five players are boasting a perfect 4.0 GPA. Coach Ralph Gorton pushes his players to achieve…
Football fugitives
Not feeling too enthused about the Super Bowl? Join Santa Margarita Adventures for its “Football Fugitive” deal on Sunday, Feb. 3. Guests will save 20 percent on canopy tours; costs will be $79—instead of the usual $99—per person on Superbowl Sunday. Santa Margarita Adventures will also be offering tasty, complimentary Super Bowl-style finger-food to zip-lining…
The ‘roid less traveled
Remember when we were kids? We would all be playing a game with our friends, and suddenly we would bust one of them trying to cheat his or her way to victory? We would say things like, “No one likes a cheater!” and “Cheater-cheater pumpkin eater!” and “Cheaters never prosper!” From the time we’re sprouts…
Athlete of the Week: Stephanie Ramos
Stephanie Ramos has a reputation for being a relentless defender on the soccer field. The junior from Pioneer Valley High School is strong, fast, and constantly attacking the ball, skills that recently earned her accolades at the area’s Athletic Roundtable. Varsity head coach Gabriel Velasco said Ramos possesses all the natural abilities needed to dominate…
You need a military assault rifle?
Why on earth would the Newtown shooter’s mother need to possess a high-powered military assault rifle that could fire off many, many rounds of ammunition per minute? Oh, I guess she needed it, to defend herself, just in case a group of 20 first-grade children and six female adult educators were planning to attack her…
‘Unwanted’ seems to be label enough to justify killing
While the quality of being “wanted” or “unwanted” may be fitting criteria on which to justify terminating the life of a bothersome or unwanted insect, certainly it should not be so for a human being. Yet, on the recent 68th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, human beings are still being killed for the fatal…
No more scare tactics
The news that the 7 billionth baby in the world was born sounded pretty grim to those who fear population explosion. Of course, Bill Denneen, the local guru for Planned Parenthood, expounded on his “condoms supplied in every high school, etc.” mantra. The developed world has long caught on to reducing child bearing. The “shining”…
Say no to guns
I am a former New Jersey State Police officer. As a Jersey trooper, I served on the “TEAMS” Unit for four years. My unit carried out high security details and operations—including Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT)—in 11 northern counties of New Jersey. This territory included rural areas such as in Sussex, Warren, and Hunterdon counties,…
Sweet Clarissa
Clarissa Nagy might be the most approachable, genuinely nice winemaker I have ever met. She’s just a good person. And it rubs off in the winery, where all the guys think twice before letting curse words fly when Nagy is near. “I think I keep the shop talk a lot cleaner than it would be.…
