Cover Story
Waiting behind bars: Inmates declared mentally unfit to stand trial languish in jails, awaiting treatment
It was 5:36 p.m. on Jan. 22, 2017, and Andrew Chaylon Holland was dead. An official report details the bleak tableau that greeted a coroner’s office investigator at the scene of the 36-year-old Atascadero resident’s death: Holland was naked and his legs were in shackles. His body lay supine on the floor of an observation…
Spotlight on: Pioneer Valley High School AVID program
Planning an event is hard—just ask Pioneer Valley High School (PVHS) student Coryn Nodal, who organized the Carnival in the Park charity event on May 21 at Santa Maria’s Robin Ventura Park. Nodal and five other PVHS students who are part of a school college readiness program raised $1,000 during the three-hour event, she said.…
ICE arrests 10 in Santa Barbara County
U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) wrapped up a five-day Los Angeles-area operation on May 23. The operation netted 188 arrests, including 10 in Santa Barbara County—nine of which occurred in Santa Maria. Hazel Davalos, community organizing director for the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), said family members and friends of…
What do you think of the new Santa Maria wine trolley?
Lynn Karels physical therapist “I live in Atascadero, but it sounds like a great deal. I wish they had that in my city!” Chris Hite teacher “I think it sounds like a great idea, but we probably wouldn’t use it because we have small children. It’s a good way to connect to the local wine…
Exploring the pinot noirs–and other wines–Foxen Vineyard and Winery is famous for
Not to brag, but one of the great things about writing on our region’s food and wines is it is literally my job to spend time eating and drinking. It’s hard to complain, especially when that means getting to spend some time at a place like Santa Maria’s own Foxen Vineyard and Winery. Among the…
Local and touring country groups perform for the Elks Rodeo
The Santa Maria Elks Rodeo isn’t just about the ropin’ and ridin’ anymore. For the past four years, the Santa Maria Elks Club’s annual rodeo has ramped up its entertainment offerings, scheduling live music before each rodeo event at the Elks Unocal Center just off Highway 101. This is all part of the new direction…
Daytripper: Wine not? Boozing it up at the Paso Robles Wine Fest
It’s only noon on a recent Saturday in Paso Robles, but the sun’s rays are already oppressively warm, clocking in at around 91 degrees as I drive around downtown, looking for a parking spot. I’m heading to the Paso Robles Wine Festival. Even though the downtown park and immediate surrounding streets are blocked off, it’s…
Neil Goodman’s bold sculptures featured at the Elverhøj in Solvang
A shadow becomes a line. A line becomes a curve. A curve stops and breaks into a sharp edge. Thus begin the many facets of the sculptural work of Neil Goodman. A new exhibit titled Looking West at the Elverhøj Museum of History and Art in Solvang offers viewers a chance to visit with some…
Dismantling a beast: Platform Holly faces the ‘expensive, complex, and lengthy’ process of ending an offshore oil operation
Venoco is bankrupt and Platform Holly platform’s on its way out the door, along with the platform’s 30 ocean floor wells in the South Ellwood oil field—and so far, the California State Lands Commission doesn’t know who will pay to end the operation. First, the commission must plug and abandon Platform Holly’s 30 wells and…
First-of-its-kind interceptor missile test launched from Vandenberg
A ground-based interceptor missile was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on May 30. The missile was fired at a “threat representative” intercontinental ballistic missile launched from a test site in the Marshall Islands, U.S. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said in a statement released by the Department of Defense. It was meant to test the…
New Bill Cirone Heart of Education Award established
The Santa Barbara County Education Office announced that the new Bill Cirone Heart of Education Award has been established in recognition of county Superintendent of Schools Cirone’s leadership and service throughout his career, according to a press release from the office. Cirone will retire on July 1 this year. The annual grant award will acknowledge…
Allan Hancock College’s 2017 class shatters records
Time management is a common challenge among students, but for Donté Day, a 2017 graduate of Allan Hancock College, it was a challenge he was able to overcome. A member of the U.S. Air Force, Day often found himself balancing school and 12-hour work shifts at Vandenberg Air Force Base, surviving by taking “light naps”…
Political Watch 6/1/17
• Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) recently questioned why the sexual orientation and gender identity categories won’t be recognized by the 2020 census. While the U.S. Census Bureau received requests in 2016 by several federal agencies to consider adding sexual orientation and gender identity for the upcoming census count, the bureau halted its evaluation of whether…
Fatal car crash suspect charged with manslaughter
A man suspected of driving while intoxicated has been booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter, after a May 28 traffic collision killed 57-year-old Santa Maria resident Lyvelyn Reyes. The suspect, 29-year-old Sergio Chagolla-Chagolla, was allegedly driving while drunk when his vehicle collided with another…
Clarification
In the May 25 cover story, “Heart for horses,” the Sun misspelled the last name of Janina Merz. The Sun apologizes for the error.
Four Lompoc men accused of robbery and stabbing in Isla Vista
Four men from Lompoc were arrested on suspicion of robbing and assaulting two men in separate incidents in Isla Vista during the early morning hours of May 28, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. Kelly Hoover, the Sheriff’s Office public information officer, said sheriff’s deputies from the Isla Vista foot patrol responded to…
Press matters
So, did you enjoy Memorial Day weekend? Did you hit the lake? Go camping? Or, like many locals, were you still stuck working on the holiday? The journalism business doesn’t really lend itself to three-day weekends. If you’re lucky enough to enjoy the time off at all, as soon as you get back to the…
How will Lompoc control weed?
How is the Lompoc City Council going to control the legal distribution of marijuana in Lompoc? It’s big question. Right now, it is totally out of control and on the street everywhere. You buy what the guy on the corner or in the back alley gives out for his fee. You have no idea what…
What’s in our future?
Some cuts proposed in President Trump’s budget include: $610 billion from Medicaid (also $840 billion more under Trumpcare) kicking millions of seniors, children, and people with disabilities off their health care; $192 billion from food stamps, which some children need for health; $143 billion from student loans, which makes it harder for students to go…
A voice for change
For years the general public has constantly read about the alleged misconduct of Santa Maria-Bonita School District school board member/mayoral candidate Will Smith. The false allegations range from making threatening statements and gestures, dishonesty, insubordination, attempted extortion, interference with a police investigation, misuse of a district-issued laptop computer, and requesting the district provide false information…
Nathanael Brookshire
Nathanael Brookshire, 22, of Santa Maria has loved rock climbing for as long as he can remember—from climbing synthetic walls at carnivals as a kid to bouldering local destinations like Bishop Peak as an adult. “There’s plenty of great bouldering on the Central Coast if you know where to look,” Brookshire told the Sun. “The…
Local student athletes will become Cal Poly Mustangs
With graduation season starting and summer fast approaching, college will quickly become the new reality for many local high school seniors. And for some students set to receive their diploma from Allan Hancock College, the rigors of a four-year university are just around the corner. A select group of students has been chosen to not…
On very good manners
I’m aghast! It’s 2017 and we’re still all running around like complete savages. As a professional food and wine writer, I am shocked at the poor table manners I witness on a daily basis. It’s a travesty and I’m here to save America. Understanding the finer nuances of proper manners at the dinner table is…
Circle V Ranch Camp raises nearly $13,000 at Hike4Kids event
Circle V Ranch Camp & Retreat Center staff members and alumni participated in the inaugural Hike4Kids event May 20 to raise funds to send kids to the camp this summer. The fundraiser has collected almost $13,000 so far and donations are still welcome. The Hike4Kids participants hiked 2, 4, or 8 miles along the Tequepis…
Grace Baptist Church to host live reading of ‘Back to the Future’
Grace Baptist Church in Santa Maria is planning a one-night live reading of the Back to the Future script as a fundraising event on June 9. The community is invited to attend the free, family-friendly event where the screenplay will be read by a cast made up of local teachers, artists, and community members. Admission…
