Cover Story
Hitting the road: Food trucks take good eats to the streets
Some of the Central Coast’s most up-and-coming eateries don’t need a restaurant in wine country — they’re on the go. The food truck craze didn’t turn out to be a fad, and local entrepreneurs are starting up their own mobile eateries or enjoying long-term success after lots of hard work. For this week’s cover story,…
The Doggy Door and Community Craft wine bar in Los Olivos are a perfect pair
I am so eager to try more of the Doggy Door hot dogs that I’ve fallen in love with that I arrive 30 minutes early for my interview with owner Andrew Scherer. This is simultaneously a fault of my ongoing eagerness and my growling stomach. You would not believe how little food a food writer…
Break the mold: Pottery Coast creates artists’ community in Grover Beach
In a nondescript industrial area on Front Street in Grover Beach, a hub for artists is tucked away, just out of sight. The words “Channel Island Arts Inc.” in faded paint are just above a newer, brighter coat of paint that reads “Pottery Coast.” The creative makers spot was opened just a few months ago…
LA woman: Los Angeles poet Suzanne Lummis will read in Orcutt
Suzanne Lummis is deeply flattered when someone is aware of her historic career in poetry. Deeply humble yet giddily verbal about her work, in a short amount of time she offers great insight into the world of California poetry. Lummis, along with fellow poet Dan Gerber, is set to appear at CORE Winery’s monthly poetry…
City rejects legal claims filed by family of woman killed by Santa Maria Area Transit bus
Santa Maria city officials recently rejected several claims filed by the family of a woman who was hit and killed by a city bus in April. Santa Maria resident Veronica Perez, 43, was seriously injured when she was hit by a Route 7 Santa Maria Area Transit bus just before 6 p.m. on April 2.…
Schaffer to be crowned county’s auditor-controller
Longtime accountant Betsy Schaffer will take Theo Fallati’s place as Santa Barbara County’s auditor-controller in January 2019 after a substantial victory in the June 5 election. Despite allegations of “self-dealing” and corruption from her challenger, assistant-auditor controller Schaffer beat out former county attorney and current Chief Investment Officer Jennifer Christensen by more than 26 percent…
Class certification granted in Santa Barbara County Jail lawsuit
A U.S. District Court judge granted a motion for class certification on May 31 to the complainants of a federal class action lawsuit against Santa Barbara County and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. The complaint, which was originally filed on Dec. 6 last year, includes detailed accounts of the county’s alleged poor treatment of…
Measure for unincorporated county pot taxes passes easily
Santa Barbara County residents voted resoundingly on June 5 to rake in the green, with more than 75 percent of ballots cast tallied in favor of Measure T, or a general tax on marijuana. “With legalization comes needed enforcement, education, and other services,” Supervisor Das Williams stated in favor of the measure. “Santa Barbara County…
Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run
Athletes running in the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, an 11,000-mile torch relay aimed at promoting world peace, passed through Santa Maria early on May 30. The 12 runners from seven countries covered 91 miles that day, according to media coordinator Prakhara Harter. The athletes ran along Highway 1 from Santa Maria to Paso Robles,…
Righetti Animal Lovers complete animal emergency training
When Genete Bowen hit and killed a loose dog with her car in early 2007, her life changed. She didn’t know how to help the dog, and quickly realized that there is no emergency number to call when an animal needs immediate medical attention—there are no animal ambulances or first responders specializing in animal care.…
Spotlight on: Kush Cottage
A new Atascadero-based company says it has a solution to a lot of issues for small-scale vegetable and flower growing operations. While not specifically designed for it, Kush Cottage’s custom greenhouses seem to alleviate a lot of issues that come hand-in-hand with growing cannabis. “What we do basically is kind of a newer genre in…
Carbajal and Fareed to face off in November
A buzzing crowd of supporters of Republican candidate Justin Fareed sipped drinks at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge while awaiting the primary election results on the evening of June 5. By 10 p.m., Fareed’s campaign felt comfortable declaring that he had shut out Republican primary candidate Michael Erin Woody for the GOP ticket, ensuring that…
Brown blows by challengers
Sheriff Bill Brown will remain at the top of Santa Barbara County’s Sheriff’s Office following a decisive victory in the June 5 primary. As of the Sun’s press time, the incumbent Brown had captured at least 50 percent of total votes, enough to prevent a second contest between him and Lt. Brian Olmstead in the…
Political Watch 6/7/18
• Just before midnight on June 5, Santa Barbara County posted its semi-official primrary election results with 100 percent of precincts reporting on how county voters decided on statewide and county primary races, offices, and ballot measures. According to the results, there were 57,628 votes cast among the county’s 206,110 registered voters. The following county…
Santa Maria adds odor complaints to website
On the same day that a Santa Barbara grand jury report found that there was “no clear point of contact for odor complaints on the city of Santa Maria website,” the city added just such a page to its site. The new page, available at cityofsantamaria.org/odors, was added on June 1 after the grand jury…
Cozy up: Rebecca Rose has a secret pleasure
I am at an age now where nothing new impresses or excites me. I’ve seen dinosaurs fight each other to death, watched alien spaceships blow up national landmarks and major world cities, and cheered for men in giant robot suits beating the crap out of giant dinosaur aliens. Whatever. It no longer gives me a…
Melodrama rolls out ‘The Mix Tape’
The Great American Melodrama in Oceano will present a new new musical comedy, The Mix Tape, from June 14 through Sept. 15. Set on the Central Coast, The Mix Tape takes place in the 1990s and features parody versions of classic pop songs. The comedy script is penned by Colleen Perry and Melodrama Artistic Director…
Elverhoj Museum welcomes new assistant director
Jody Williams (pictured) has been hired to fill the newly created position of assistant director at the Elverhoj Museum of Art and History in Solvang. Williams is originally from the Santa Ynez Valley where she attended Solvang School and Santa Ynez Valley Union High School. She earned her BA in the History of Art and…
Dylan Ortega brings country sound to Santa Maria’s Concerts in the Park
A smooth, deep country voice is something you expect from a bearded, whiskey-drinking, flannel-wearing, guitar-strumming dude singing under the lights at your favorite cowboy bar. But Dylan Ortega, the Santa Ynez Valley native with an album-ready voice isn’t swigging Jim Beam or singing at saloons—he’s only 19 years old. Ortega became known locally after he…
What stinks?
My momma bird taught me to not count canaries before they hatch, which is unfortunately where I’m at with the June 5 election results. A weekly paper’s deadlines aren’t always convenient for this bird, but you can check out the results in the Sun’s news section (page 4). I will have plenty of pithy things…
Oil companies contribute
I have been following the recent letters regarding the plans of three oil companies to expand production in the Cat Canyon oilfield. Their plans are to use modern, state-of-the-art techniques to increase petroleum production in a well-established oilfield that has seen safe production for many decades. I find it disappointing that some local groups have…
Run from Trump and Pruitt’s EPA
Well, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Director Scott Pruitt finally made the announcement, but will local Mike Stoker, a former Santa Barbara County supervisor, live to regret his recent appointment as Region 9 EPA administrator and his association with President Donald Trump’s EPA? Most competent people run the opposite direction from any appointments to the Trump…
