Cover Story
Tiny state of mind: Mini homes scale down on money, footprint, and size
Here in America, the idea that “bigger is better” is a long-standing, cultural line of thought. “Go big or go home” is an archetypal American colloquialism. We love our mega-churches, super-size meals, big-box stores, giant trucks, enlarged breasts, and most of all—big houses. Part of our desire for bigger things can be attributed to our…
Would you live in a tiny home?
Han Solo space rogue “My ego is too big for a tiny home.” Sock Monkey primate advocate “Only if it’s a tree house.” Hello Kitty style icon “Barbie has one, so why not me?” Gumby movie and television star “Can Pokey come, too?”
Trippin’ out while road trippin’
I really enjoy a good road trip. I enjoy it even more if I don’t have to drive. I’m not especially fond of driving long distances. I think this is because of the many years I spent crawling along on the Los Angeles freeways from college to college to teach as an adjunct professor of…
Santa Maria’s ‘Concerts in the Park’ series includes local bands performing all summer
The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department’s yearly Concerts in the Park has been a hit since it began. The series started out small, but has grown over the years, finally reaching a point where a huge variety of quality music ensembles are performing for families at several local parks. The Rotary Centennial Park is…
Wildling Museum premiers several new exhibitions
The Wildling Museum in Solvang has opened several new exhibitions that share and celebrate wilderness and wild places. The exhibitions include photography, sculpture, and paintings. Painting the Wilderness: John Fery and Contemporaries features the art of John Fery, who was hired on commission to accompany exploratory expeditions into the Western United States in the 19th…
Santa Maria Public Library goes to ‘Bagdad’
The Santa Maria Public Library offers a PG-rated film screening on July 9 at 5:30 p.m. in the library’s Shepard Hall. The film Bagdad Café relates the story of a couple whose car breaks down in front of the Bagdad Café, where they meet a series of quirky characters, including a Hollywood set designer played…
Enrich your life with education
The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department has added a few new classes to its summer class lineup. Prenatal Yoga is for expectant mothers who want to relieve tension and reduce aches and pains with yoga. All yoga levels and stages of pregnancy are welcome. Classes begin on July 10. Yoga Basics is a four-week…
Treasures abound at the Nipomo Swapmeet & Fleamarket
As soon as visitors step out of their cars and through the bustling gates that mark the entrance to the Nipomo Swapmeet & Fleamarket, it’s apparent that there is something special about this place. A safari-inspired train chugs along the perimeter of the swap meet, passing by a tranquil garden and festive, brightly painted buildings.…
Francis Dawson has installed living walls and designed gardens across California
Francis Dawson is the real deal. While some would call him a gardener, most recognize he is far more than that. He calls himself an environmental artist and designer, which scratches deeper under the surface, but it neglects the fact that the young artist and “earthscaper” is truly on a spiritual quest. He has been…
Act Two: Actor’s Corner Café in Solvang is now the stage for an actor-turned-chef and his leading lady
It doesn’t get much better than summer in Solvang—sunny days, shopping, eating, and sightseeing in the “Danish Capital of America,” and magical evenings under the stars seeing a show at Solvang Festival Theater. This season, before taking your seat at PCPA’s zany play Noises Off or the popular musicals Forever Plaid or Oklahoma!, consider dining…
Aquaponics ecosystems turn fish waste into plant food for homegrown edibles
The hair-like white roots of a red leaf lettuce plant hang in the air between small nodules of red and gray lava rock. Garret Rodgers had just yanked the plant out of the bin it was in. He harvested the bulk of the leaves on a recent Wednesday and placed the stalk and roots back…
Manzanita Nursery in Solvang specializes in native drought-resistant plants and trees
The small emerald leaves of the yerba buena plant smell like a cup of delicious mint tea. The aromatic shrub, which translates from Spanish to English as “good herb,” is one of hundreds of native plants for sale at Manzanita Nursery in Solvang. Assistant manager Nick Giese showed off the nursery’s living wares—a colorful patchwork…
Spotlight on: Indica Design
According to legend, dreamcatchers allow only good dreams to pass through the net and down to the sleeper below, while bad dreams remain tangled inside the net, disappearing with the light of day. Similar to the webs of a dreamcatcher, 21-year-old Erica Kim has come to possess a special dream all her own with Indica…
Hobnobbing With Helen
Some things are like Topsy Turvy tomato plants—they just grow and grow and grow. One such thing that has definitely grown is the Daniel Johnson Memorial Golf Tournament, held at the Santa Maria Country Club. This year’s tournament—the fourth annual—took place on Monday, June 16. “We had 128 golfers,” Country Club golf pro Mike Valdez…
Discovery Museum camps are coming up
The month of July will be busy at the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum as kids pile in for three separate summer camps. Crazy Critter Camp will run July 10 to 12. Prehistoric Parities professional animal handler and educator Kevin Hasenfus will help kids learn about, touch, and interact with lizards, turtles, tortoises, and constrictors.…
Time to sign: Hancock athletes commit to next step
Allan Hancock College student athletes Kristine Ramos (center left) and Justine Roland (right) both signed on to play college ball on June 19. Ramos will play softball for St. Mary College in Kansas and Roland will play basketball for Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont, Calif.
Discovery Corner: Get your camp on!
Summer is here and so are Discovery Museum summer camps, along with lots of programs and special events to keep your kids busy all summer long! Sign ups for our three fun and educational summer camps for ages 4 to 12 are available at our website, smvdiscoverymuseum.org. The first camp starts July 10, so don’t…
Guadalupe Union offers free lunches during summer school
While summer school is in session, Guadalupe Union School District is offering free breakfast and lunch to kids under 18 years old through its Community Food Program. Food will be served at Mary Buren Elementary School and Kermit McKenzie Junior High through July 11. Breakfast is served from 7:30 to 8:15 a.m. and lunch will…
Energy Partners accepting STEM grant applications
The Energy Partners Fund is asking teachers, schools, and nonprofits with ideas for engaging students in science, technology, engineering, and math to apply for its fifth annual STEM grant program. Previous grant awards have included support for robotics teams, classroom lab supplies, iPads, math super bowls, and science field trips in Santa Barbara, San Luis…
County food banks offer free summer meals for children and teens
Both the San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara county food banks started serving lunch to children and teens in mid-June. The programs aim to feed kids while school’s out for the summer months and school meals come to an end. SLO County’s program, Lovin’ Lunchbox, serves meals that follow U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritional guidelines…
Political Watch 6/26/14
• The California Department of Conservation (DOC) released a revised version of proposed regulations of well stimulation treatment of oil and gas production on June 13. The revised version is available on the website, conservation.ca.gov, and a 45-day public comment period will close on July 28. Before then, the DOC will hold five public comment…
Community Notebook 6/26-7/3
TUESDAY, JULY 1 • The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has its regular meeting at 9 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 105 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara. Agendas are available at http://santabarbara.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx#current. • The Vandenberg Village Community Services District has its regular board meeting at 7 p.m. in the District Office…
Community Corner: Focusing on the family at Marian
Beginning in July, Santa Maria’s Marian Regional Medical Center will have a family medicine residency program, thanks to a $75,000 donation from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. The three-year postgraduate program is designed for physicians interested in specializing in family medicine. It will include six residents per year for a total of 18 residents and…
The Sun offers up some solutions for those suffering from Empty Room Syndrome
When I went off to college, I moved into the dorms, met a lot of new people, and pigged out on all-you-can-eat cafeteria food. I was living the dream. A few weeks later, I got a call from my parents. They wanted to know about my classes and my new friends—it was pretty standard stuff—until…
A state report finds a third of female inmate sterilizations were done illegally
Between 2006 and 2013, 144 female inmates were sterilized through bilateral tubal ligation, meaning they got their tubes tied. A recent California State Auditor’s report found that 39 of those surgeries were performed illegally. Illegal means that the required process wasn’t followed: The required consent signatures were absent from forms, and waiting periods between consent…
CAUSE leaders say they’ll continue to pursue voting changes in court
Everyone thinks they’re winners in the Santa Barbara County Superior Court case Putney v. Garietz, et al. based on the press releases recently sent out by the opposing sides. On June 17, an email from the city of Santa Maria said Judge James Rigali dismissed a petition filed by Hazel Putney and the Central Coast…
New health regulations put Santa Ynez water in short supply
It turns out more than just three years of drought can significantly affect water supplies in a community. The Santa Ynez Water Conservation District is saying a new California Department of Public Health regulation will severely restrain its ability to provide water to its customers. Chris Dahlstrom, the district’s general manager, said the community depends…
To vote or not to vote?
Primary season might have come and gone, but I still have voting on the brain. Mostly this is because it’s Best Of season here at the Sun. As I type this column, our staffers are counting the last few hardcopy ballots and adding them to our online stash. (Sorry, dear readers, you’re going to have…
What an inspiration
It was inspiring to see the Santa Maria Government Center full of so many supporters of the ban on high-intensity oil operations recently. The vast majority of public comments were in favor of the ban, and almost every concerned citizen who spoke had certainly done their homework on topics such as oil spills and water…
Oil and agriculture mix well
At the board of supervisors meeting on June 13, a statement was made saying that oil production lowers your property value. In my case, this is false, and I have the tax assessment documents to prove it. The only thing that lowered my property value was the real estate bust in 2008. Another statement was…
Katcho’s reality problem
A political candidate has a lot of latitude when speaking in general terms about what he’s going to do in the future or cultivating an image as a political moderate and all around nice guy who is in favor of mom, apple pie, and multiple cars and/or chickens in pots and/or garages. But when he…
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…
Bulldogs extend youth clinics
Coach Tyson Aye’s youth basketball clinics were so successful during the spring season that Aye has extended his camps into the summer. They will take place June 30 and July 2 at the Joe White Memorial Gymnasium. The camps will begin at 12:30 p.m. “We enjoyed overwhelming success with our spring clinics,” Aye said in…
Swim for free
Starting June 29, 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. on June 29, July 27, and Aug. 24. Lifeguards will be on duty during pool hours, but…
Eric Albright
Ernest Righetti High School Athletic Director Eric Albright is saying goodbye to the school after 12 years in his position to become the athletic director for Westminster High School in the Huntington Beach School District. The school has about 2,600 students. “We have been looking to move to LA for a few years. I feel…
The Benchwarmer: How to fit-proof your life by bringing the workout home
There are several things in this life I would like to not have to worry about, among them world hunger, an ever-inconvenient menstrual cycle, and being overweight. But after my college tour, I realized my weight was definitely a reason to worry. Three years ago, I graduated college at 180 pounds—mind you, I’m 5-foot-6, so…
