Cover Story
Here we go again
On July 1, Secretary of State Debra Bowen hereunto set her hand and affixed the Great Seal of California to yet another official election document. This time, she was making her mark on a certified list of candidates for the Aug. 17 special general election for the state’s 15th Senate District, vacated by now-Lt. Gov.…
What’s your least favorite thing about the British?
Brenda Rowe restaurant manager “Their soccer team.” Peter Ward massage therapist “Their gun control laws.” Taylor Palmer student “They can be really, really rude.” Ashley Jordan Ortega (left) caregiver “I’m not a fan of their soccer team.”
Political Watch 07.22
Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Flood Insurance Reform Priorities Act (HR 5114), which re-authorizes the National Flood Insurance program for five years and phases out non-essential premium subsidies. The bill also raises the maximum coverage limits for the first time since 1994. According to a press release from the office…
Community Notebook 07.22
MONDAY, JULY 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. TUESDAY, JULY 27 • The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has its regular meeting at 9 a.m. in the Betteravia Government Center’s Board of Supervisors…
Judgment day
Most people try to avoid standing before a judge in court, but Dennis Apel’s been hoping to get in front of one for a while now. Apel, along with Father Steve Kelly and McGregor Eddy, are no strangers to being arrested. The three of them have been arrested numerous times while protesting in front of…
Calories count
Ordering an entrée, beverage, or dessert at a restaurant can sometimes turn into quite an ordeal: Should you go with the chicken or the fish? The exorbitantly priced umbrella drink or the more economical pint of beer? And who hasn’t heard that all-important question, “You want whipped cream with that?” Thanks to a new federal…
Rotary Club gets a new beginning
On June 19, the Santa Maria Breakfast Rotary Club honored its retired president Ted Ortega, who led the club through almost 50 service projects, such as its work in the annual Christmas Parade of Lights, support of the Los Prietos Boys Camp, and Haitian relief efforts. Ortega said in an e-mail that during his time…
Correction
The Sun failed to recognize a choreographer in its July 15 review of PCPA’s production of West Side Story. Although Jerome Robbins choreographed the original production of the musical, PCPA’s production was directed and choreographed by Michael Jenkinson. News Briefs is compiled by Sun staffers from staff reporting and local and national media. Information should…
Santa Barbara County’s green retrofitting program is delayed as Attorney General files a federal lawsuit
EmPowerSBC, a program designed to help residents improve energy efficiency in homes and businesses for less money, is on hold pending resolution of a dispute over the impact of such programs on lending practices. On July 13, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution barring the county from accepting applications for the…
Nipomo Community Services District shrinks by 1,000 acres
On July 15, the San Luis Obispo Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) voted to decrease the Nipomo Community Services District sphere of influence—the area to which it provides water, sewer, and solid waste services—by about 1,000 acres. As a result, the NCSD will no longer be responsible for about 800 acres of rural land off…
Santa Barbara judge suspends construction of suicide barrier on Cold Spring Canyon Bridge
In light of a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge’s decision to suspend construction of a controversial suicide barrier, the flimsy, orange mesh currently sitting on the Cold Spring Canyon Bridge on Highway 154 in Santa Ynez may be the only blockade for some time. On July 13, Judge Thomas Anderle found that the California…
Local agribusiness represented at Fly-in
Ruth Jensen, a member of the Santa Maria Chapter of California Women for Agriculture, was among 45 women who recently connected with consumers and policy makers at American Agri-Women’s 25th annual Fly-in to Washington D.C. During the week, Jensen and others from throughout the country met with officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the…
Looking for local leaders
Looking for a way to get more involved in the community? Want to expand your circle of influence within the Santa Maria Valley? Leadership Santa Maria Valley, a program designed to foster and create future community leaders and trustees, is now accepting applications for the Class of 2010-11. The new class begins in August. The…
Lompoc celebrates Energy Center
On July 12, Lompoc celebrated the groundbreaking of the Northern California Power Agency’s Lodi Energy Center, a state-of-the-art natural gas facility. Using “fast start” gas turbine technology, the Lodi plant touts itself as the lowest carbon emitting combustion facility in the United States, allowing Lompoc to provide low-cost electricity produced with fewer greenhouse gas omissions.…
Clean your trashcans
Cleaner Cans, a locally owned and operated trash can-cleaning service on the Central Coast, is now open in Santa Maria. The business cleans, disinfects, and deodorizes smelly trashcans the same day trash is collected, using a 100-percent environmentally friendly method and fully self-contained unit. Cleaner Cans also recycles all waste through a special filter system…
See Flipped before everyone else
The Santa Maria Sun and New Times have passes to a movie premiere and want to share them with you. Flipped, a novel by local author Wendelin Van Draanen, is coming to the big screen. But before the rest of the world gets to see the movie, it’s playing at a dressy red carpet premiere…
Wells Fargo Wagon, donations come a-callin’ at the new Santa Maria bank branch
The July 10 grand opening of a new Wells Fargo branch in Santa Maria wasn’t just a special occasion for bank employees and bank patrons living on the south side of town. The branch, located in the Kohl’s shopping center on the corner of McCoy Lane and South Broadway, also used the time to honor…
Back to the beach
Marriage is about teamwork. My wife likes to plan family vacations, and, therefore, I like to pay for them. I do have to give my wife credit, though, because if it wasn’t for her exceptional planning (nagging and dragging me places), my kids wouldn’t know the Matterhorn is a rollercoaster at Disneyland. Instead, they might…
The wild side
The Town Center Gallery will offer “Walk on the Wild Side of Art” Art Camp, July 26 to 30. Children ages 5 to 15 will attend five morning (11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.) or five afternoon (1:30 to 3 p.m.) classes. The morning class theme is Australia, and activities include Tribal Trade Beads and Walk-About…
Art pays
Two Allan Hancock College graduates just got a little richer as recipients of $250 scholarships from Town Center Gallery. Ana Maldonado is a graphic design major and will continue at Cal State Northridge. Nastacia Perales will be transferring to CSU Monterey Bay to major in visual public art, with an emphasis on art education. Both…
Tales of joy and survival
Margaret Cooper was eating spaghetti off a paper plate after Sunday School when the church’s organist came out and announced Pearl Harbor had been bombed. Four months later, the 12-year-old Cooper was living behind barbed wire in a Japanese internment camp after the government ordered the evacuation of all Japanese people living along the West…
Sittin’ with Jim
There are few musicians who share as intimate a history with Southern California as local luminary Jim Messina. While working as a recording engineer in Los Angeles, Messina crossed paths with Buffalo Springfield, and it wasn’t long before he was drafted into the line-up. The foundations were thus laid for a career that explored the…
La Purisima is host to summer golf clinics
La Purisima Golf Course and the University of Arizona Central Coast Cats Alumni Club are teaming up on summer golf clinics to raise funds for Santa Barbara County students attending the University of Arizona. Clinics will be held on July 25 and Aug. 22 beginning at 11:30 a.m. The clinics cost $60 per person and…
Boys’ club soccer team seeks goalie
The CVSC Spartans, one of the newest Boys Club teams in the Santa Maria and Orcutt area, is holding tryouts for the team’s goalkeeper and other positions. The Spartans recently formed as a Boys U9 team and will be competing in the U10 Boys Division in the Central Coast Soccer League. Games are played locally…
Megan Allen
Running may not get you away from your problems, but for recently graduated Righetti High School senior Megan Allen, it’s going to take her all the way to the admissions office at Cal State Northridge. Once there, Allen will participate in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles portion of the Division I college’s track team. “I’m…
Kings of the sandlot
After coming just a few outs short of tasting victory in the Little League Sectional tournament in previous years, Orcutt National’s All-Stars finally got it right. In their first-round contest on July 18 in Arroyo Grande, the league’s top 11- and 12-year-olds topped perennial powerhouse Moorpark 3-1, avenging last year’s loss to the team. “Our…
We have to act to protect our health
Property owners in Oceano Beach, especially near Pier Avenue where Oceano’s air quality was monitored, are at risk of losing our quality of life and property values. ODSVRA activities, particularly traffic dragging dust from the beach, are a growing concern in our neighborhood. These activities are an unabated nuisance that creates a health hazard and…
For those of you keeping track of such things
Facts: 1. Our country has very, very low taxes. It is almost at the bottom of the list of top 30 developed nations, 26th in fact. 2. Millionaires default on home payments at more than twice the rate of us ordinary citizens. 3. The right wing agitators lie, lie, lie. Check it out for yourself…
Marijuana can’t cure a bad scene
As an old ’60s counter-culturalist, I should rejoice at the prospect of my state finally legalizing marijuana. Certain things bother me, however, such as the 1,198 alcohol-related driving deaths in California in 2008. I have to assume that if we legalize marijuana, the number of DUIs and their attendant deaths will also increase. Legalization should…
Children born here of illegal immigrants receive social services
With respect to the article “¿Cuánto cuesta?” (June 24), illegal immigrants do indeed benefit from our social service programs: According to a United States General Accounting Office Report to Congressional Committees (see gao.gov/archive/1998/he98030.pdf) in fiscal year 1995, about $1.1 billion in AFDC and Food Stamp benefits were provided to households with an illegal alien parent…
Do your civic duty: Vote by mail
Bill Denneen We had an expensive special election on June 22. It will be repeated Aug. 17 with the exact same candidates. Total cost? A million dollars. Like me, more than 60 percent of citizens will be voting by mail. Rather than hiring 650 people to cover polling places, voting should be by mail only.…
Clubs & Meetings
4-H welcomes anyone interested in the group to sign up now. Find a nearby club by contacting the Santa Barbara County 4-H Office at 692-1730 or zmhughes@ucdavis.edu. ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS for men meets in San Luis Obispo and Grover Beach. Men interested in attending may contact representatives: 550-6718 or not_moses@fastmail.fm. ALL-AMERICAN QUILTERS’ GUILD meets…
Spiritual
PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH is located at 1000 W. Ocean Ave., Lompoc. “Jazz Devine” presents a new jazz worship service on July 11 at 6 p.m. at the church. Info: 735-3769 or ghmoran@yahoo.com. BAHA’I interfaith worship services are the second Sunday of each month. Info: 489-4172. Children’s classes are the first Saturday of each month. Info:…
Farmer’s Markets
SANTA MARIA 100 S. Broadway at Main, Wednesdays, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Features local beekeepers’ honey and bee pollen, breads and pastries, plants and flower bouquets, fresh fruits and vegetables. ORCUTT Corner of Clark and Bradley, Tuesdays, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fresh honey, flowers, and eggs, along with fresh fruits and…
Barbecues
ONGOING FILIPINO COMMUNITY OF SANTA MARIA VALLEY barbecues Filipino food at the Smart and Final parking lot, N. Broadway on Saturdays and Sundays. Menu items include tri-tip, chicken, beef kabobs, chicken adobo, salad, rice, and bread. Meals cost $6. Info: 922-3422 or 922-3799. FILIPINO CATHOLIC SOCIETY, under the direction of St. Mary’s Church and…
Health
THE ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION presents an “Exercise Program” for those fifty years and older Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 to 11 a.m. through Aug. 20 at the Pismo Beach Veterans Hall, 780 Bello St., Pismo Beach. Info: 773-7063 or tbeecher@pismobeach.org. THE GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR BALANCE AND HEALING offers free energy balancing sessions from 11 a.m. to…
Art
THE LOMPOC VALLEY ART ASSOCIATION presents a photography collection by Lynn Andrews titled “Italy, in a Dream” through July 26 at the Cypress Gallery, 119 East Cypress Ave., Lompoc. Info: 736-0489 or abkazoo@aol.com. THE SANTA MARIA PUBLIC LIBRARY presents the “Farm Workers of the Central Coast—New Paintings by Sunni Gibbons” through July 30 in the…
Learning
THE SANTA MARIA MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION presents a Tour and Update of the Santa Barbara County Foodbank on July 27 at 7:30 a.m. at the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, 490 W. Foster Road, Santa Maria. Info: 925-2403, Ext. 817. WORTH THE DRIVE COOKING CLASSES WITH EVAN TREADWELL are June 24 with “BBQ Basics,”…
Recreation
THE CITY OF SANTA MARIA Recreation and Parks Department offers “Free Swim Days” July 25 and Aug. 23 at the Paul Nelson Aquatic Center, 516 South McClelland, Santa Maria. An Adult Lap Swim is through Aug. 14 and a Recreation Swim is through Aug. 15 both at the Pioneer Valley High School, Santa Maria. THE…
Kids & Family
THE SANTA MARIA PUBLIC LIBRARY presents two programs of bilingual storytelling by Megumi on July 22 at 4 and 7 p.m. at the Santa Maria Public Library, 421 S. McClelland, Santa Maria. Info: 925-0951, Ext. 117. DISCOVERY DRAMA CAMP is presented by the city of Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department and the Santa Maria…
Dance Lessons
OBON DANCE PRACTICE in preparation for the Obon Festival is Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. ending with the festival July 25 at the Veteran’s Memorial Building, 313 W. Tunnell, Santa Maria. ONGOING BLUE MOON HAVEN BELLY DANCE currently teaches American Tribal Style dance classes on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays in Lompoc and…
Stage
PCPA THEATERFEST presents its production of West Side Story, directed and choreographed by Michael Jenkinson, through July 25 at Marian Theatre at Allan Hancock College, 800 S. College Drive, in Santa Maria. Cost is $26.25 through $30. Info: 922-8313 or pcpa.org. THE POETRY SOCIETY OF SANTA MARIA invites all to read poetry, sing songs, or…
Night Life
The following venues offer either regularly scheduled live entertainment or DJ-hosted dance music. Most performances start after 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. IN THE AREA ADDAMO VINEYARD/TASTING ROOM: 400 E. Clark Ave., suite E, Santa Maria, 937-6400. Live music Sundays from 2 to 5 p.m. CLUB 805, AKA STINKY’S BAR & GRILL: 2430 South…
Concerts
CAFE NOIR presents Chris Lambert in concert on July 23 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Café Noir, 1555 S. Broadway, Santa Maria. Info: 361-0402. WORTH THE DRIVE THE SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY LIBRARY presents Don Norton performing in concert on July 22 at 2 p.m. at the Nipomo Library. Info: slolibrary.org. THE…
Special Events
BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS and the SLO Exchange Club present “Golf for Youth Charities Summer Classic” July 23 at the Monarch Dunes Golf Course, Nipomo. Cost is $125 to compete in the tournament. Info: slobigs.org or 234-0855. THE RIVERBENCH VINEYARD AND WINERY presents a “World’s Best Toffee Tasting” event on July 24 from 1 to…
Hot, hot, hot
Mild, sweet, or hot as a sizzling summer day, there’s a fresh salsa to suit just about every dish and edible dipping item. Equally perfect for snacks on the patio or as part of the main meal, this versatile condiment deserves a prominent place on the table. Salsa (Spanish for sauce, gravy, or dressing) is…
