Cover Story
Marijuana, interrupted: New local medical marijuana cultivation laws leave growers and patients trying to figure out what they will mean for the industry
Sixteen months ago, Kate Kytle received a grim diagnosis—she had an aggressive form of breast cancer already in the late stages that had spread into her lungs. She was told she only had 18 months to two years to live. With two to eight months left to go, she arrived at a deli patio in…
What should news organizations cover more in 2016?
Dale Hobe retired professional horse trainer “Why are we sending our oil overseas and buying from OPEC? Shouldn’t we be supporting ourselves?” Ken Guge owner, Leisure Time Games “Newspapers should do a better job to make known that the community calendar is free and open to the public.” Ishmael Torres culinary specialist 2nd class, U.S.…
Northern Santa Barbara County schools reopen after winter break
Many students are gearing up to restart the school year after a long winter break. Santa Ynez Valley Unified High School District, College School District, Ballard School District, and Solvang School District students all returned to school on Jan. 4. Lompoc Unified School District, Blochman School District, and Cuyama Joint Unified School District all return…
Santa Ynez Valley Foundation accepts Youth in Service nominations
The Santa Ynez Valley Foundation is accepting nominations for its 2016 Youth in Service awards along with its 2016 Man and Women of the Year awards. The Youth in Service award is a recognition program created to applaud young people who are making a difference through volunteer community service in the Santa Ynez Valley and/or…
Santa Maria school district raises funds for charity
On Dec. 17, the employees of the Santa Maria-Bonita School District Office came together to award more than $12,600 they had raised over the past four weeks for various local charities. The third annual fundraising Reindeer Games, as they are known, culminated in a luncheon where representatives from the nonprofits were invited to receive the donations and…
Knights of Columbus donate to Special Olympics
The Queen of Angels and La Purisima councils of the Knights of Columbus in Lompoc gave a check for $3,300 to the Special Olympics Northern Santa Barbara County during a ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 23, at the Queen of Angels Catholic Church. The funds are a result of the annual Tootsie Roll Drive. Lompoc Special…
Political Watch 1/7/2016
• On Dec. 29, at the North Hollywood Amelia Earhart Regional Library, Academy Award-winning actress Patricia Arquette, an advocate for equal pay, as well as legislators, representatives of California businesses, and advocacy groups joined Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) to discuss her Senate Bill 358, the nation’s strongest equal pay law for women, and what…
Community Notebook 1/7/16 – 1/14/16
MONDAY, JAN. 11 • The Santa Maria City Block Grants Advisory Committee has its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Conference Room, 110 E. Cook St., Santa Maria. • The Solvang City Council has its regular meeting at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 1644 Oak Street, Solvang. agendas are available at…
Hobnobbing with Helen: Hats for Hope holiday fundraiser packs the Santa Maria Country Club
So many people! Hats for Hope had a huge turnout for its third annual December fundraiser, Christmas with Holly, held on Sunday, Dec. 20, from 4 to 7 p.m. The Santa Maria Country Club was packed. Around 275 people showed up to hear Holly Williams sing. I wasn’t the only one awed by the size…
Spotlight on: Central Coast Ink Dolls
Their motto is “to help, to give, to aspire” and the goal of the Central Coast Ink Dolls is to help less fortunate kids in Santa Barbara County. And that’s what they try to do with charity events throughout the year. On Dec. 19, Santa Maria Rancho Bowl hosted the Ink Dolls’ second annual toy…
Going with the flow: Environmental groups seek Clean Water Act compliance with landfills in Santa Barbara County
Leading up to the global weather event that is El Niño, several environmental groups filed civil actions—essentially lawsuits—against governments in Santa Barbara County out of concern that massive amounts of rainwater could carry polluting runoff from landfills into nearby streams, where endangered steelhead trout reproduce. The Waterkeeper Alliance, a New York-based nonprofit with affiliates on…
Alleged carjacker steals two BMWs during high-speed chase to Orcutt
What are the chances that an alleged car thief will steal two of the same type of car during a scrambled effort to evade police? That’s what reportedly happened to 27-year-old Christian Gomez who was arrested Jan. 2 following a high-speed car chase from the Chumash Casino to Orcutt, according to the California Highway Patrol…
Santa Maria Jiffy Lube franchisee pens protest to city’s artificial turf law on Facebook
California’s technically still in a drought, and while there is a push to conserve water by replacing lawns with water-efficient plants or landscapes, you may want to think twice about completely depending on artificial turf—at least in Santa Maria. All Jiffy Lube franchisee Sean Porcher was trying to do was conserve a little water by…
Sheriff’s Office investigating case of cattle mutilation near Los Alamos
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a bizarre case of animal mutilation that occurred the day after Christmas on a ranch located near Los Alamos. According to Kelly Hoover, the Sheriff’s Office public information officer, the caretaker of the ranch was checking on the property on Dec. 26 when he discovered the carcasses…
Santa Maria youth still missing after birthday disappearance
A Santa Maria youth went missing from his home on Dec. 26, the Santa Maria Police Department (SMPD) declared in a statement released on social media, and the boy’s distraught family has yet to receive any indication of his whereabouts or well-being. Ivan Nunez went missing from his home during his 16th birthday party on…
Times are a changin’
Can it be? Has yet another year come and gone? Each year I feel more like Sisyphus, the mythical King of Ephyra who, for his sins against the gods, was condemned to roll a huge boulder to the top of a towering hill. Each time he made it to the summit, the boulder would roll…
Viva el Arte de Santa Barbara presents Los Camperos de Nati Cano in Guadalupe
The year may be fresh, but that’s never slowed down Viva el Arte de Santa Barbara, a nonprofit coalition that brings world-class Hispanic musical ensembles to the county. The group offers a series of outreach performances at schools, workshops, and free community concerts in Santa Barbara, Isla Vista, and Guadalupe. Viva’s first guest this year…
Patricia Stalter explores Central Coast in exhibit at Los Olivos Cafe
The Santa Ynez Valley Art Association presents the digital fine art of Patricia Stalter in her exhibit Splendors of the Central Coast showing at the Los Olivos Café beginning Jan. 7. Stalter is known for her creative use of digital technology, combining photography with digital painting, producing work inspired by the expansive vistas found on…
Luis Oasis Senior Center in Orcutt offers arts instruction and activities
The Luis Oasis Senior Center offers a variety of workshops, classes, and crafting sessions throughout each week. Some require materials fees, but most are free to attend. Some classes are strictly for seniors and members, so call ahead before crashing a session. A Photoshop Workshop with Jim Bryan will show how to navigate the popular…
DANA receives $25,000 to match challenge grant
The DANA Cultural Center received a $100,000 challenge grant from the Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation, the sum of which has been mostly matched thanks to a recent $25,000 grant donation from the Edwin and Jeanne Woods Family Foundation. The challenge grant and matching funds will support the organization’s Phase II Historic Park Development Project, which…
Five Cities teacher pens educational mystery books for children
When Five Cities-born physical education teacher Jerome Jones was working at a school in Utah, he went to the school library to find a book for kids that broke down health and nutrition on a level they could understand. But no such book could be found. Jones, 33, decided to solve the problem by writing…
Slow down for eagle season at Cachuma Lake
Santa Barbara County Naturalist Rosey Bishop remembers the first time she witnessed a bald eagle spread its mighty wings and soar across a powder blue sky. Despite the fact she grew up in Santa Barbara—not far from the Bald Eagle territory of Cachuma Lake—she was all of 25 years old. Now, after three years of…
Gabrys Sadaunykas
Gabrys Sadaunykas, a senior basketball player at St. Joseph High School, had himself a New Year’s to remember. Sadaunykas led his team to two tournament championships in less than a week, earning Most Valuable Player honors at both the Las Vegas Invitational and the White Mountain Holiday Classic in Arizona. “I was excited,” Sadaunykas told…
From the ground up: Nipomo high school girls’ wrestling emerges as a force to be reckoned with
To see the Nipomo High School girls’ wrestling team in action, walk through the gates of Nipomo High School, and bypass the main gym. Meander through a stretch of classrooms and arrive at a cluster of unremarkable portables. Inside Room 127, though, is perhaps the most creative use of a portable you’ll ever see. Here,…
At The Jetty: An old Central Coast favorite shines again
New Year’s Eve was a mellow dining experience for me. As people everywhere enjoyed swanky dinner places or visited loud noisy bars, my family and I decided to ring in the new year in an atmosphere that was quiet, familiar, and to adopt an overused phrase: where everybody knows our names. We ate at the…
Depends on your definition
What happens when you install artificial turf along Broadway Street in Santa Maria? The city freaks out! Well, eventually the city freaks out. The Jiffy Lube on Broadway got itself into a heap of trouble for apparently not continuing its communication with the city over some artificial turf that was installed at the location earlier…
Proposed Phillips 66 rail extension would be beneficial
Full disclosure, I have been a Phillips 66 employee for more than 25 years. I believe that having a safe and reliable source of crude supply to our plant helps to ensure the livelihood of 200 full-time employees. We currently have limited access to local crudes due to the partial shutdown of the Plains All…
Cannabis should be legal
This plant needs to be decriminalized, and then it needs to be regulated just like alcohol. As it is now, it is all just “hidden,” which has had horrible consequences. The latest being the death of a beautiful person who was in the business of growing it, Ben Terra. He, unfortunately, had to choose a…
Stormwater runoff is potentially dangerous
The Santa Barbara County Environmental Health Services Division reminds residents about health issues associated with stormwater runoff. Stormwater is untreated rainwater that flows through the drain system into creeks, the ocean, and other waterways. Studies indicate that contact with stormwater may increase the risk for certain types of illnesses such as rashes, fever, chills, ear…
A can-do spirit
As 2016 gets moving, here is a tip for parents to consider as they start off a new year: Turn the page on contentious encounters they may have had with their children since the beginning of the school year. One frequent source of conflict between parents and children is homework. If children faced challenges with…
