Cover Story
Brave new wine world
When I learned that Los Olivos winemaker Joey Tensley not only crafts outstanding Santa Barbara County Syrah, but that he makes wine in France and Argentina, I knew I had to track him down and hear his story. I discovered that was easier said than done. Our first conversation started a little like this: “Hi,…
Athlete of the Week: Duane Solomon
Imagine missing out on a $50 raise to your hourly wages because you were a half-second late to work. Now run a half-mile, and you might be able to imagine how Lompoc native Duane Solomon felt in 2008, when he fell just a half-second short of qualifying for Team USA for the Olympics in Beijing.…
On the roster
• Santa Maria Youth Football League: The league is taking registrations for the 2012 football and cheerleading seasons. Football fees are $200, including a jersey, gear rental, a trophy, and a basic picture package. Players must be between the ages of 8 and 14 during the season to participate. Cheerleaders must be in kindergarten to…
Hancock holds annual Joe White auction
Sports-related memorabilia and other unique items will be up for bid at the Allan Hancock College Boosters’ 11th annual Joe White Memorial Dinner and Auction on Aug. 18. The event will be held at the Santa Maria Fairpark Pavilion, 937 S. Thornburg in Santa Maria. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for a social hour…
Soccer skills camp in Santa Ynez
Once again, Santa Ynez girls’ soccer coach and Allan Hancock College assistant women’s soccer coach Rob Cantrell will be holding a soccer camp for youth at Santa Ynez High School. The first session of “Skills Camp,” for children aged 6 to 14, will run July 23 to 27. The camp runs from 9 a.m. to…
Brighter goals
Still recovering from a bloody, decade-long civil war, the country of Sierra Leone, on the western coast of Africa, is a long way from the tranquil Santa Ynez Valley. For Dennis Cole and Sahid Conteh, two 14-year-olds who have scarcely traveled beyond their villages before, opportunities they only dreamed of are becoming reality through the…
Music for everyone
Among the many amazing amenities, services, and programs offered by the city of Santa Maria’s Parks and Recreation Department, one sticks out as being not just fun for the entire family, but as a collaborative effort with the community and local organizations. Now in its ninth year, the “Concerts in the Park” series showcases talented…
To lie or not to lie?
With parenting comes a heady sense of power and subsequently lots of responsibility. You have the power to shape young minds, but what I’m really talking about is using that power responsibly. That means knowing how and when to deceive your kids. Recently, I’ve had to grapple with the moral dilemma posed by that very…
Shape and paint driftwood with the Artist Guild
Bart Theiler will demonstrate how to shape and paint driftwood art at the monthly meeting of the Los Padres Artist Guild on Friday, July 13, at 6 p.m. at the Luis Oasis Senior Center at 420 Soares Ave. in Orcutt. Theiler is a self-taught artist who began painting on barn wood in the 1970s. He…
Marian Theatre gets facelift
Thanks to an allocation of approximately $3.2 million from the Allan Hancock College Board of Trustees, the Marian Theatre repair and upgrade project will finally get underway. The money comes from the Measure I bond passed by voters in 2006 to go toward the completion of the project. For several years maintenance has been deferred…
Civic Theatre auditions set
Auditions for the Santa Maria Civic Theatre’s upcoming season have been announced. Auditions are scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 16 and 7 p.m. Sept. 18 for Over the River and Through the Woods, written by Joe DiPietro and directed by Stuart Wenger. The show runs Nov. 16, 17, 23, 24, and 30, and Dec. 1,…
One night with Jacques
Singer and performer Gale McNeeley believes there are times for entertainment as escapism and other times when entertainment should allow an audience to address life and all the wonderful, sad, joyous, heart-wrenching emotions it involves. With his latest show, A Jacques Brel Cabaret, he aims to run people through emotions they often don’t want to…
Legally Blonde, totally funny
Ohmigod, you guys! Did you hear that PCPA is staging a musical that was on Broadway just, like, five short years ago? How totally awesome is that!? Legally Blonde is a fish-out-of-water story about Elle Woods, a UCLA sorority girl from Malibu who invades the ivy-covered walls of Harvard Law School in pursuit of love.…
Sizzle on Broadway
The American food scene has witnessed restaurant trends come and go. In recent years, Asian-fusion eateries, gourmet Mexican grills, vegan cafés, Japanese restaurants, and tapas bars have grown in popularity. The last few years, trendy Korean restaurants have popped up in every major U.S. city. And now, Santa Maria has jumped on the Korean barbecue…
Put Andy in the hot seat
Andy Caldwell is well paid by special interest groups to publish, advertise, and promote his and their opinions. Because of his media presence in the community, some people believe he is actually a community activist. That is a false assumption. A real community activist doesn’t get paid for his opinion, and Andy’s columns and ads…
CHP gives tips for new drivers
The California Highway Patrol office in Santa Maria is holding a “Start Smart” class on July 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. Anyone interested in enrolling their son or daughter, ages 15 to 20 years old, for this class can make reservations by calling the office at 349-8728. The class will go over traffic safety…
Learn about good nutrition in the Santa Ynez Valley
Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital will be host to a continuing series of free “Nutrition and Diabetes Wellness Classes” taught by clinical dietitian Stacey Bailey. Classes will be held every Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. in front conference room of the hospital at 2050 Viborg Road in Solvang. Participants are encouraged to bring their…
What’s the furthest you have been from home?
Tyler Melendez student “Aruba, as a graduation gift from my parents.” Kris Green Station Grill restaurant manager “Boston.” Joey Renner senior timing technician, VAFB “Washington, D.C.—we took a lot of pictures.” Denise Sewell Fesler Junior High School teacher “The furthest I’ve been is Maui, Hawaii.”
Allan Hancock College cultivates the future with an ag-related grant
Allan Hancock College is expanding its curricula on agriscience-based careers, thanks to a $135,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cultivating the Future program. The money will also be used to launch an “ag literacy” campaign to educate students and parents about agricultural production and careers in the ag industry. “This is a stepping…
Hobnobbing with Helen
It was fabulous, festive, and fun. The first-ever, patriotic “Pops in the Vineyard” concert—presented by the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society on Sunday, July 1, at the Tres Hermanas Vineyard—was, on a scale of one to 10, a 20. “We have had nothing but positive feedback,” the society’s executive director, George Majoue, said in a post-concert…
Advocates for the elderly
Joyce Lippman, executive director for the Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens/Area Agency on Aging, said there are 152 senior living homes in Santa Barbara County, and 70 in North County alone. With a long list of facilities to monitor, it’s no wonder the commission is asking for more volunteers for its Long-Term Care Ombudsman…
Spotlight on: Mr. Nice Cream
Ice cream trucks are usually judged by what’s on the inside, but Sony and David’s (S&D’s) Mr. Nice Cream truck is an example of how looks can be important, too. “The main thing we wanted when we first started this was something different, not just your average ice cream truck,” said co-owner David Melena. “We…
Living Creekside
A cool summer breeze rolls in from the west, carrying with it the distinctive cry of a rooster. A woman pushes her infant in a stroller. A young girl slips her way down the slide of a community jungle gym. Welcome to Creekside Village, the Housing Authority of Santa Barbara County’s newest low-income housing project.…
Turning oil into wine
There’s a new player in the Santa Barbara County winemaking game—and please, hold the jokes about spillage. Randeep Grewal, the billionaire owner and CEO of Greka Energy, is trying his hand at a different kind of liquid gold, having bought the 104-acre Addamo Estate Vineyards in Orcutt for an undisclosed amount. The resulting company Ca’…
Marshall’s is coming to Lompoc
The shopping superstore with a shoe section to make footwear fans’ hearts melt looks like it will be opening its doors in Lompoc. Marshall’s, a clothing retailer and part of TJX Companies Inc., is tentatively scheduled to open in September at the Lompoc Shopping Center on North H Street. Brixmor Property Group, a New York-based…
State Senate approves funding for high-speed train
California’s high-speed bullet train appears to be back on track—for now—after the state Senate approved on July 7 the sale of state bonds to build the first portion of the rail line in the Central Valley. After being besieged by an intense lobby campaign led by Gov. Jerry Brown, legislators voted 21 to 16 to…
Lompoc officials call for criminal grand jury investigation into LHCDC
Lompoc City Council member Cecilia Martner and former Lompoc mayor Joyce Howerton recently sent a letter to Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley, asking her to impanel a criminal grand jury to investigate the Lompoc Housing and Community Development Corporation (LHCDC). The letter pointed out that a civil grand jury found LHCDC was experiencing…
County supervisors decline to appeal Chumash annexation
At an emotional public meeting on July 10, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted not to oppose the federal annexation of 6.9 acres of land owned by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. Fourth District Supervisor Joni Gray motioned for the board to not appeal a June decision by the federal Bureau…
