Cover Story
Minor league dreams
The city of Santa Maria is rich in baseball tradition. On June 11 at City Hall, the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Commission heard a proposal from an investment group hoping to bring some of that tradition back to Santa Maria. The purpose of the meeting was to present the idea to the commission and…
Marian to the rescue?
At first glance, the preliminary floor plan for Marian Regional Medical Center’s proposed behavior health facility looks like a spaceship made of multi-colored Lego blocks. But closer inspection reveals that the pastel blues, yellows, oranges, and reds represent what could become Northern Santa Barbara County’s most state-of-the-art treatment center for residents experiencing mental-health crises. The…
What’s the best workout you’ve ever had?
June Yamamoto retired “I take yoga classes at Best Western. It’s pretty intense; I use a lot of muscle.” Thomas Lawrence retired plumber “I’m a plumber by trade, so I do re-pipes at home. And we walk around the [dog park], so that’s our daily routine.” Ben McNamara actor “I took a boot camp class…
The rodeo’s medicine man
Bulls and broncos are separated, cordoned off into their designated holding corrals next to an empty arena. A rider walks over to one of the fences and climbs up two rungs to peer at what the night will have in store for him. It’s May 31 and the rodeo doesn’t start for three more hours,…
Buon appetito!
When I worked evenings in San Luis Obispo, my colleagues and I ordered dinner from Cugini’s in the Marigold Center more times than I can count. We liked the pastas—especially the butternut squash ravioli—wood-fired pizzas, and salads. So when I heard that Cugini’s was expanding to Santa Maria, I eagerly visited within a week of…
Live theater with taste
The Great American Melodrama is used to cooking up confections of drama, music, and dance with its stellar ensemble of professional actors. The current production at the Melodrama is a delectable celebration of everything culinary; from fast food to a five-star experience, it’s all on the menu. The venue has long been a bastion of…
‘Round and ’round we go!
I love carousels. Like, those old-fashioned kinds with the fancy prancing horses with flaring nostrils and the flaking gilt curlicues and the slightly off-key calliope music. Wait, did I say I love them? I meant to say that they creep me out. But I love to be creeped out, so I guess we’re all good.…
Filthy fitness
Team “Kristina and the Sunshine Band” didn’t look like it was full of sunshine on Saturday, June 1. Wearing tie-dye shirts covered in mud, we were sore enough that crawling back to our cars wasn’t out of the question. And we had all volunteered for this. Despite the inevitable exhaustion, we did feel like warriors…
Bulldog basketball gets a new coach
Allan Hancock College athletics announced the hiring of Tyson Aye as the new coach for the men’s basketball team. He’ll also serve as an instructor in the kinesiology, athletics, and recreation department. Aye has spent the last eight years as the head coach for the men’s basketball team at Imperial Valley College. There, he led…
Keep on survivin’
The Santa Maria Parks and Recreation Department will present its own version of the popular TV show Survivor June 17 through 21 at the Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center. At the overnight event (with starting times still being worked out), participants will be grouped into teams and taught basic survival skills. Teens will be required…
Local teacher heads to D.C. for national institute
Isaac Fesler Junior High School teacher Karen Mackley was chosen from a pool of more than 500 applicants to participate in one of the Library of Congress’ summer teacher institutes. Each year the library chooses a group of K through 12 educators to attend one of its five teacher institutes in Washington, D.C. During the…
Sixth-grader graduates with perfect attendance
In the past six years Mason Santos has never missed a day at Dana Elementary School. He has a flawless attendance record and wants to keep that perfection going through junior high and high school. Mason’s mom Tamara said it’s something her son has made a priority every school day, even if it means flying…
Lady Knights make one big hairy donation
Two hundred inches of hair can go a long way to help those in need. In the case of hair donated to Locks of Love, it provides disadvantaged children with medical hair loss a chance to wear their hair down. On May 28, 19 Lady Knights from St. Joseph High School each shed at least…
Free is a four-letter word
My parents are those people who purchased a house on a golf course, bought a golf cart, had custom golf clubs made, lived on the course for a decade, and never played a single round of golf. Nope, not even once. Even though they didn’t play golf, they did have the golf cart, which meant…
This is how to do immigration reform
1. The United States must secure our borders from illegal immigration before we can reform our naturalization system. The United States must negotiate a strict treaty with Mexico to control their border with the United States. Mexico’s refusal or lack of interest in controlling their border with the United States deliberately violates our sovereignty and…
Getting a musical charge
Musicians craft with the raw material of the universe. Vibration is pervasive, even down to the tiniest particle, which, though tiny, is still charged with energy and frequency. One Bay Area-based jazz trio, The Charged Particles, explores music with an energetic yet crafted skill, using vibration to express and communicate emotions and thoughts mere words…
Calling all painters
The Lompoc Mural Society is celebrating its 25th anniversary and more than 40 murals with “The Great Lompoc Paint Out,” featuring several mini murals showing at the Lompoc Airport at the end of August. A free instructional workshop for people wanting to get involved and create a mini mural is June 15 with session…
Give it up for Dad
Altrusa International, Inc. of the Central Coast will be host to a free Father’s Day event for kids of all ages on June 15 at 11 a.m. at the Orcutt Public Library, 175 S. Broadway, Orcutt. The event will feature Scott Washburn reading and signing his published children’s book The Best Bear Hugs Ever. Washburn,…
Handmade with love
The Santa Maria Michaels store offers upcoming arts and crafts classes for kids. A “Kids Club Father’s Day Card Event” is June 8 from 10 a.m. to noon. A “Kids Club Father’s Day Duck Tape Frame Event” is June 15 from 10 a.m. to noon. For more information, contact Michaels at 349-8801 or visit the…
Blaze does almost $3 million in damages
Law enforcement officials and the D.A.’s Arson Task Force reported that the White Fire, which recently burned about 2,000 acres on Paradise Road near Santa Barbara, started “as a result of embers escaping an approved fire-use site at the White Rock Day Use Area within the Santa Barbara Ranger District’s Lower Santa Ynez Recreation Area.”…
Vandenberg Hot Shots are on the chopping block
The Central Coast’s fire season started early and in full force this year with the 25,000-acre Spring Fire in Ventura and the 2,000-acre White Fire in the Santa Ynez Valley. With firefighters in such high demand, it came as an unpleasant surprise when Vandenberg Professional Firefighters Local F-116 announced on May 30 that its decades-old…
Safe but uncertified
With only two TurnKey-constructed projects certified in the last two years and 11 more to go, the Santa Maria Bonita School District has a high wall to climb before it can be done dealing with structural issues in some of its schools. The California Department of Education released a decision on May 30 that district…
What fracking moratorium?
On May 24, SLO Clean Water Action announced plans to deliver a petition asking state Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian (R-SLO) to support efforts to stop fracking in California. At that time, three bills in legislative committees threatened to put the kibosh on the controversial oil extraction practice until the state could study its effect on water…
Scott Cory to become superintendent of Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District
After working in education for 24 years, 18 of which were as an administrator, Scott Cory will be returning home to the Santa Ynez Valley as the new superintendent of the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District. “I grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley, and my parents still live there as well,” Cory…
Correction
In the May 30 article, “Capturing the outcomes,” the Santa Maria Public Library’s featured artist name was misspelled. Her name is U.S. Air Force Major Stacie Shafran.
Clarification
In the May 22 cover story “A taste of the American dream,” the interview with Abad Barrera was translated from Spanish by Sun account executive Rene Rodriguez, Sr.
