Cover Story
We like short stories and we cannot lie: This year’s 55 Fiction winners
For the second year in a row, we invited guest judges to wade through the stacks of 55 Fiction entries and impose order on chaos, selecting the very best to print in our annual 55 Fiction issue. The judges were San Luis Obispo County District 3 supervisor and former Cal Poly English lecturer…
Do you feel that there is an author inside of you, ready to tell a story?
Marco Diaz student “Yes; I would tell my life story, like my nephew being born.” Betsie Wilson student “Yes; I have an interesting perspective on life.” Forrester Fringer barista/student “Sometimes I feel like I want to write, but then there are other things I have to do.” [image-4] Yadi Aguilar student “Yes, there is.”
Community Notebook 7/3-7/10/14
MONDAY, JULY 7 • The Solvang Planning Commission has its regular meeting at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 1644 Oak Street, Solvang. TUESDAY, JULY 8 • The Guadalupe City Council has its regular meeting at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 918 Obispo St., Guadalupe. • The Lompoc Unified School District…
Marian Cancer Care presents a concert and workshop with harpist Lisa Lynne
Harps have long been symbols of otherworldly transcendence, but are rarely seen or heard these days but for special occasions. Skilled harpist Lisa Lynne will grace a Santa Maria audience with her skills and share her art form at a special concert and interactive workshop event July 8 at Mission Hope Cancer Center. “Through the…
‘Til death do us start
When I first met my wife, she tried to kill me. No, it wasn’t an intentional thing. My wife had just met me, so no intent or malice was involved (it would be much later in our marriage that she would want to intentionally kill me). But back then she was just a cute girl…
Santa Maria offers a Pacific Drum Camp
The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department has created a new camp for teenagers, the Pacific Drum Camp, which helps teens discover musical and creative talents. The program teaches basic music skills and performance techniques with simple plastic bucket drums. A performance is scheduled after each camp, which will be offered Monday through Friday from…
Mission Hope Cancer Center offers an art therapy class
Marian Cancer Care at Marian Regional Medical Center and the Mission Hope Cancer Center invite the community to join in on a therapeutic art class that offers a visual way to tap into feelings and inner wisdom. Started by Seena B. Frost, SoulCollage is a collage process that leads participants through a creative endeavor of…
Friends of the Orcutt Library make ebook donation
Santa Maria Public Library officials have announced the addition of more than 270 new electronic books to its Gale Virtual Reference Library database thanks to the efforts of the Friends of the Orcutt Library. The volunteer group donated more than $4,300 to the library to buy additional ebooks. Some of the ebooks include the Rough…
Music camps for kids
The Central Coast Music Academy is offers its Summer Music Camps 2014 program, which includes camps for symphony and concert band students in Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo. The weeklong camps are offered to students ages 8 to 14 who are beginners or have experience in band programs. Santa Maria Session 1 meets July…
The South County Historical Society presents a readers’ theater about Irish mystic and Dunite Ella Young
Ireland is a country crackling with the raw energy of the natural world, so much so that generations of fiery-haired natives can give you detailed information about the various spirits, sprites, and fairies that inhabit the area, and others we might not even see. One Irish expatriate made a career out of sharing her intimate…
The Wildling Museum in Solvang offers several exhibits celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act
Half a century ago, president Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law, thus protecting millions of acres of federal land from development. A national effort to mark the 50th anniversary of the historic law has been embraced by groups in the government, academia, and the nonprofit sectors. The Wildling Museum in Solvang is…
Mission to Martian Ranch: A new wine tasting room near Los Alamos offers down-to-earth wines
Not on the neighboring red planet, or in a galaxy far, far, away, but rather here on planet Earth will you find a place called Martian Ranch. The 102-acre rural estate on Alisos Canyon Road east of Los Alamos is home to a bio-dynamically farmed vineyard, winery, and wine tasting room. While the winery embraces…
Spotlight on: Black Gold libraries
This summer, kids can get a free trip to London! Or New York! Or Tokyo, a deserted island, the past, the future, a pirate ship, space, the middle of the Earth, Middle Earth, the fairy realm, or pretty much anywhere else they can imagine. Yep, that’s right. Black Gold libraries on the Central Coast are…
Discovery Corner: Travel the world at the Discovery Museum!
Princess Jasmine was on to something when she sang, “A whole new world/A dazzling place I never knew.” She seemed instantly struck by the wonderful world around her to which she was utterly unaware, yet entirely eager to dive into head first. If you’re a very lucky child, you’ve traveled to another country before and…
Santa Maria offers special classes for Recreation and Parks month
To celebrate National Recreation and Parks month, the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department is holding special classes and events at no cost during July. A three-week complimentary tennis class starts on July 12 and runs from 2 to 3 p.m. The class is open to everyone ages 5 and older. A free three-week introduction…
Migrant students make up credits in summer program
Approximately 128 students from three Santa Maria Joint Union High School District schools are attending Migrant Summer School to recover credits for graduation and to meet four-year university requirements. The specialized program is earmarked for students who have relocated within the last three years because of family ties to employment within the agricultural and fishing…
St. Mary’s sends off its students with Camp Lone Wolf
Santa Maria’s longest academic school year came to a close on June 24, giving students a reprieve of six weeks before they return to classes. St. Mary of the Assumption School parents and teachers transformed the school’s multipurpose facility into Camp Lone Wolf for the day, and kids created skits and crafts, danced, ate, and…
Political Watch 7/3/14
• The Lompoc Valley Democratic Club is holding its second annual fundraiser Wine with a Democratic View on Sunday, July 6, from 2 to 5 p.m. The event will be held at a hilltop home in the Village Country Club area and the cost is $35. For more information, call Mary Brooks at 733-3462, or…
Community Corner: Old Orcutt celebrates 4th with a mob of a different flavor
Eating ice cream on the Fourth of July is about as American as it gets, according to the folks over at the Old Orcutt Merchants Association. With that concept in mind, association members are inviting Central Coast residents to celebrate the country’s birthday by attending cash mobs July 4 and 5 at Doc Burnstein’s Ice…
Lompoc’s once prolific flower-seed industry has only a few acres left, but tradition hangs on
The story of agriculture is one of cycles. Mustard, sugar beets, beans, dairies, and flower seeds have all had their decades in the windy sun of the Lompoc Valley, but the pleasant days of fragrant floral abundance have hung on the longest—at least for tradition’s sake, if not more. Seed growers have either vanished or…
Surf Beach is closed because of snowy plover violations
For some reason, visitors to Surf Beach outside of Lompoc can’t keep their feet or their pets out of the area designated to protect nesting snowy plovers March 1 through Sept. 30. The snowy plover is an endangered species of shore bird whose nesting habitat is protected on beaches up and down the West Coast.…
Engineers change at the Santa Maria Public Works Department
Shad Springer, a seven-year employee with the city of Santa Maria, is now the acting director of the Public Works Department. His first day in the position was Monday, June 30. Prior to that, Springer worked under former director David Whitehead as the principal civil engineer. Whitehead retired on June 27 after 22 years with…
Supervisors support gun-restraining-order legislation
Santa Barbara County supervisors have officially thrown their support behind gun violence legislation introduced by state Assemblyman Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara) in the wake of May’s tragic Isla Vista shooting. During the board’s regular July 1 meeting, supervisors voted 4-0 to support Assembly Bill 1014. Abstaining from the vote was 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino,…
The historic Lompoc Theatre is in escrow
The Lompoc Theatre is changing hands again, and this time for good—hopefully. Members of the Lompoc Theatre Project recently announced that the theater—which once served as a place for locals to view vaudeville, local dramatic productions, and movies—went into escrow on May 12. The property, including the theater and commercial office space, is still owned…
Projectile goes through window at SLO Supervisor Caren Ray’s home
Sometime on the evening of June 29, an unknown perpetrator shot through a window in the Arroyo Grande home of San Luis Obispo County District 4 Supervisor Caren Ray. Details about the incident are still scarce, but Ray told the Sun that she and her family are safe and were completely unharmed. Ray discovered the…
BOOM!
The scariest military battle in which I ever fought—to paraphrase Mark Twain—was a Fourth of July in Santa Maria. Cities up and down the coast have banned fireworks of a personal sort: the kind you light a few inches away from your browning front lawn in the hopes that a car or truck won’t need…
Let’s invest in mental health
I have read Jim Mallon’s commentary in the Sun, “What will end the obsession?” with interest, and as a concerned citizen I think Mr. Mallon should also read the letter to the editor on the page following his. There is a very accurate letter from Ian Campbell of San Luis Obispo discussing the Isla Vista…
Fracking is a myth
Let’s face the fact that there is no fracking in Santa Barbara County. Why they brought up this initiative is a distraction because they know there is no fracking, but rather a ploy to stop oil production. The loss of those tax dollars, more than $16 million, is going to come out of the already…
Say ‘no’ to the SMBSD bond
On June 18, the Santa Maria-Bonita School District Board of Education authorized Resolution 13-34, ordering a school bond election in an attempt to obtain a $39 million bond. I was the lone dissenter on the vote, which passed 4-1. Here’s why I’m opposed to the bond: Voters do not need to be taxed $39 million…
Walk to save memories
A recent press release from the Alzheimer’s Association of Santa Barbara announced its 2014 Walk to End Alzheimer’s is scheduled for Nov. 8. More than 1,500 people from the Santa Barbara area alone are expected to attend the event at Earl Warren Showgrounds. In addition to the walk, the association will also be host to…
Swim for free
The Paul Nelson Aquatics Center will be host to free swim days for all ages. Family, friends, and neighbors are invited to come enjoy the Olympic-size pool and recreational pool from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. July 27 and Aug. 24. Lifeguards will be on duty during pool hours, but children under 5 must be accompanied…
Step up to the plate
PLAY Inc. will hold a softball tournament July 12 and 13. For updates and details, visit cityofsantamaria.org or santamariaatplay.org.
Give praise, be moved
The Central Coast Church of Orcutt will be offering a series of meditative classes this summer starting July 8 at 10 a.m. PraiseMoves is a Christian alternative to yoga. The class will focus on stretching and core strengthening, as well as improving balance and coordination. The classes can be modified for individuals with limited mobility.…
Drink beer and support SB Bikes
The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition is pleased to announce the fifth annual Clips & Brews Tour. The beer-toting traveling film show, which makes its way through 21 cities from coast to coast, will now include Santa Barbara for the first time ever. New Belgium brewery will have 18 varieties of beer on tap to be…
Ethan Clardy
Ethan Clardy goes the distance. As the Ernest Righetti High School graduate spends his summer before college in the pool, he is looking forward to what the future has in store and is grateful for the many years he has spent swimming. So many years of practice and payoff have shaped Clardy into the swimmer…
World cup fever
Santa Maria Brewery was crowded for 10 a.m. Stepping through the doors revealed a crowd of fans decked in red, white, and blue attire to show support for the U.S. men’s soccer team. Families, friends, and children gathered around tables, munching on doughnuts or nursing a beer or mimosa (hey, it’s the World Cup after…
