Cover Story
Looking forward to November: Now that the primaries are over, candidates in the state congressional and assembly races work for the fall
As of June 6, there were still some ballots to be counted here and there, but the chips had pretty much fallen where the chips were going to stay. A variety of local offices and measures came before voters for the midway mark in 2014, and, on the whole, there were few—if any—surprises. That doesn’t…
Austin Shirley
When the Sun spoke to 25-year-old Austin Shirley, he was taking shade under a makeshift awning, somewhere outside of Palm Springs, Calif. Shirley, his Siberian husky Archer, and companion Bryan Cochran were waiting for the weather to cool before continuing on their journey. The idea for this trek struck Shirley while he was in college,…
Santa Maria High earns an award for efforts to keep athletes healthy
Participation in high school sports continues to grow nationwide. As more athletes join the game, competition becomes bigger, faster, and more intense—but the higher level of play means keeping athletes safe and healthy is particularly paramount. Since Joe Graack took over as athletic director for Santa Maria High School in 2012, sports safety has been…
Movies in the Park series provides family-friendly entertainment to Santa Maria in a lively outdoor atmosphere
Santa Maria’s resident fun generator is People for Leisure And Youth, known more colloquially as PLAY Inc. Created in 1997, the group organized for the primary purpose of funding recreational programs in Santa Maria Valley’s parks. Now, PLAY and the city of Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department are behind what’s sure to be a…
The Live Oak Music Festival is KCBX Public Radio’s yearly celebration of great music
KCBX Radio, the Central Coast’s Public Radio station, is my go-to for classical, jazz, folk, bluegrass, blues, world, and many other kinds of music. The station is always dedicated to providing musical nourishment for a diverse palate, and the station’s annual Live Oak Music Festival reflects those tastes. The Live Oak Music Festival is a…
Capture your color: Mikki Alhart shares her art, aura and chakra video photography skills at Aura Therapies Gallery
As soon as I place my fingers on the contact points of a biofeedback reader attached to a computer and monitor at Aura Therapies Gallery in Old Orcutt, colors begin to dance across a still image of my face, captured moments before. Reds, oranges, and violets take turns on the screen, accompanied by text that…
What does Father’s Day mean to you?
Daniel Lazalde Future seventh-grader “Father’s Day is spending time with my dad, who is my superhero.” Juan Lazalde server “Being a father is about getting experience and passing it on to the next generation with love.” Shauna Standridge Educator-auditor “It’s about honoring the person who raised you … and showing [my dad] how much I’ve…
Michaels offers crafting events
Michaels Art and Crafts in Santa Maria offers a free DIY Day: Crafty Tie-Dye T-Shirt event on June 14 from 1 to 4 p.m. A Father’s Day Wood Frame event is June 14 from 10 a.m. to noon, running in 30-minute sessions with a $2 materials fee. A science and crafting program includes two-hour sessions…
Hear local history
The Valley Speaks is a local oral history program that meets the second Saturday of each month. The next event includes a talk by Scott Nicholson, president of Plantel Nurseries, who will talk about his business and agricultural history in Santa Maria Valley. The talk will take place June 14 at 11 a.m. at the…
Help the library
The Friends of the Orcutt Library are holding a used book sale fundraising event on June 21 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The sale will include books for kids and adults, puzzles, videotapes, and collectible books for sale. Funds raised will go toward buying new books for all ages for the Orcutt Library. The…
A taste of honey
Riverbench Winery is holding a special honey tasting event on June 21 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the winery’s tasting room. A representative from David’s Blue Ribbon Honey in Arroyo Grande will visit, talk, and offer a tasting of locally produced honey. The Riverbench Winery Tasting Room is at 6020 Foxen Canyon Road,…
Celebrate summer with the Dunes Center
The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center holds two upcoming outdoor events, including a Summer Solstice Hike on June 14 from 6:30 to 8:40 p.m. at Oso Flaco Lake. Dunes Center docent Ray Segovia will lead the nature walk, sharing information on local animals and natural history, which will end with a sunset picnic on the beach. The…
The perfect age
Do you remember the exact age you were when you went from wanting to be older to wanting to be younger? Right now my three youngest kids want to be older. My 12- and 13-year-old sons, for good reason, want to be more like 20. They struggle with the desire for freedom, without realizing the…
America’s favorite wine: The Chardonnay Symposium celebrates best-selling wine varietal
Whether you like chardonnay that tastes and smells like creamy vanilla or you lean more toward crisp citrus, there are plenty of chardonnay styles for you and for every preference in between. Last month I attended an annual weekend wine event, The Chardonnay Symposium, which celebrates America’s best-selling wine varietal. Producers from around the world…
Spotlight on: Birdeez
According to the 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife Associated Recreation, 46.7 million Americans consider themselves birdwatchers. What may seem like an uncommon pastime to some is actually a popular activity that encompasses a vast network of enthusiasts who enjoy observing and identifying all types of birds. It’s so popular, two men decided…
Discovery Corner: Kids love art and the Creation Station!
One of the cornerstones of the Discovery Museum has always been the Creation Station. With more than 20 feet of creation space, and bins and bins of recycled scrap materials waiting to be made into a child’s masterpiece, the Creation Station offers kids the opportunity to think with their hands. There is fabric, Styrofoam, cardboard,…
School’s out and day camp’s coming
The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department is offering summer day camps in eight one-week sessions held from June 16 through August 8 for 6- to 12-year-olds. Each week will include activities designed to encourage physical activity, creativity, self-confidence, cooperation, problem solving, responsibility, and fun. Those day camps will be held at the Minami Community…
Longtime Righetti music teacher retires
After more than 30 years as a music educator in the Santa Maria Valley, Ernest Righetti High School choir teacher Denise Paulus is putting down her conductor’s baton. “It has been an honor and a privilege leading the Righetti choir students to be the excellent musicians they are now,” Paulus said in a press release.…
Political Watch 6/12/14
• On June 5, U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) introduced The Pause for Safety Act, a bill that would encourage states to empower families and others with new tools to help prevent a tragedy if someone they are close to poses a threat to him- or herself or others. U.S. senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)…
Community Notebook 6/12-6/19
TUESDAY, JUNE 17 • The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has its regular meeting at 9 a.m. in the Betteravia Government Center’s Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 511 E. Lakeside Parkway, Ste. 141, Santa Maria. Agendas are available at http://santabarbara.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx#current. • The Guadalupe Planning Commission has its regular meeting at 6 p.m. in the…
Hobnobbing with Helen
Some very happy hobnobbing took place on Thursday afternoon, May 29, at the poolside Cabana Room of the Santa Maria Inn. About 75 people, including prominent local educators, gathered at a reception held by the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara County. The reception at the inn immediately followed a scholarship awards ceremony at the First…
Community Corner: Come to Catapalooza!
Every year, the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society celebrates American Humane Association’s national Adopt-a-Cat Month with a special promotion on felines. During the spring and summer months, area shelters take in hundreds of cats and kittens, making this the perfect time of year to promote adoptions. To encourage a large number of cat adoptions, the…
The monetary dilemma: County supervisors deny a sheriff’s department contract with the Chumash
Opposition to anything involving the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians is expected at this point, but the pushback apparently extends even to instances when the tribe offers the county money. Santa Barbara County 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino said he can usually understand why people are upset about things the tribe brings before the…
Supervisors hold a special meeting on a drilling initiative
Opponents of hydraulic fracturing and other enhanced oil recovery techniques took a huge step forward in May when a petition to ban the practices gained the signatures it needed to be placed on the November ballot. Santa Barbara County supervisors are expecting to find out what the impacts of such an ordinance would be during…
Fee-to-trust status granted for 6.9 acres of Chumash land
Although the decision isn’t final until July 3, the Interior Board of Indian Appeals ruled to annex 6.9 acres of tribally owned land in Santa Ynez and to place it into trust with the federal government. The decision follows nearly a decade of appeals and legal battles regarding the initial Bureau of Indian Affairs decision…
A former SMPD officer’s personnel hearing is continued to July
The five-day mediated hearing to determine whether the Santa Maria Police Department wrongfully terminated former Lt. Dan Ast included a parade of testifying witnesses—so many witnesses, in fact, that the hearing had to be continued to late July. Police Chief Ralph Martin fired Ast last year, citing “gross incompetence” in connection with the shooting death…
The blame game
Don’t be the last one to get out of a bad situation. That’s what I’ve learned from studying the hearing that’s been underway in Santa Maria recently, in which Dan Ast, formerly a lieutenant with the Santa Maria Police Department, is arguing that he should get his job back. Ast was a link in the…
I don’t understand what we blame
Why are the Isla Vista killings being viewed as an issue of firearms, and not mental health—or lack thereof? I have read that Rodger had been contacted by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department three times in the weeks leading up to this tragedy, while under the care of a prominent psychiatrist, yet didn’t rate…
I hope this dad can make a difference
I’ve been reading a lot about Elliot Rodger. I work at the Santa Maria Public Library, and the father of one of the victims of Mr. Rodger had been a regular at this library, and I had always been impressed by what a nice, classy guy he was. And when I viewed his unfiltered grief…
What will end the obsession?
I used to keep a blog online fairly religiously, and I was good about it, offering witty, profane, provocative, decidedly liberal takes on the state of the world. I won’t bore you with a link or an admonition to go check it out however, because a few months ago I threw in the towel. Shut…
Test your fitness
The sixth annual Tri the Bull Triathlon, Junior Triathlon, and 5K Fun Run are set to return June 28. People of all fitness levels are invited to come out to take on swimming, biking, and running to the finish line; the focus is on completion, not competition. The race will kick off at 8 a.m.…
Bulldog bites
Allan Hancock College swim star Leanna Bramble was ranked among the state’s fastest swimmers and the nation’s best for the 2014 season; she was ranked among the top 12 for community colleges nationally. Bramble earned All-American in all of her events and set a new conference record when she won the Western State Conference title…
A former Dirtbag goes all-star
Jeff McNeil, a Nipomo High School alumnus and former baseball star at Long Beach State, is a 2013 draftee to the New York Mets. In his most recent accomplishment, McNeil was named to the South Atlantic League All-Star game. He’s currently batting .348, the second highest in the league.
