Cover Story
Raise a glass: Archie McLaren, 1943-2018, leaves a legacy of love for the Central Coast’s wine country
Downstairs in the cellar of his pink Avila Beach home on the hill overlooking a sparkling coastline, Archie McLaren held in his hands a bottle of wine worth at least $10,000. But the man behind the Central Coast Wine Classic had no plans to drink it. The 75-year-old stopped drinking alcohol years ago due to…
Children’s library completed thanks to local Boy Scout
Construction on the Harvest Community Center’s highly anticipated children’s library is finished, and Joseph Andrade, the 15-year-old Boy Scout who built it almost entirely on his own, is one step closer to becoming an Eagle Scout. The library, which is now located in a room formerly used for storage in the Victory Harvest Church of…
Buellton’s Grass Mountain explores a bluegrass jam band sound at Cold Spring Tavern
The familiar formations of the Santa Ynez and San Rafael mountain ranges reach out like gargantuan geologic arms, cradling the Santa Ynez Valley and its townships. Around this time of year, much of the hillsides and distant peaks are green, even with the year’s meager rainfall. One wide peak glares out at the valley from…
Getting shorted: Krider rocks the dad ensemble to the fullest, cargo shorts and all
I’ve never claimed to be a very fashionable person. I was never voted best dressed (and odds are I never will be). I don’t own a tuxedo. I’m essentially a very basic guy, and I wear basic stuff that is functional on my body. I literally have one outfit that I wear, and it’s far…
Santa Maria Arts Council announces grants competition
This spring, the Santa Maria Arts Council will award a total of $13,100 to emerging artists. Grants of $1,500 and $1,000 will be awarded in each category of Dance, Drama, Music, and Visual Arts. Three additional grants will also be awarded, including the Nat Fast Memorial Grant for performing artists, the Ian M. Hassett Fund…
Great American Melodrama presents ‘Sylvia’
The Great American Melodrama in Oceano announced the production of its newest play, A.R. Gurne’s Sylvia, accompanied by a new vaudeville revue, The 1940s USO Show. For the production, the Melodrama is partnering with both Woods Humane Society and the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society to raise awareness of the many pets in local shelters…
Orcutt poet Michael McLaughlin celebrates birthday with reading at CORE Winery
Michael McLaughlin’s love of poetry goes back to the third grade. “I had a great teacher who had us memorize poems,” he said. “We had to memorize one long poem by the end of the year. She had me memorize a Robert Frost poem. And she had us writing poetry, too.” The early exposure stuck,…
Former Disney Imagineer Laura-Susan Thomas lights up Orcutt with whimsical new show
Strange funny creatures come out of Laura-Susan Thomas all the time and she just can’t help it. The artist and former Disney Imagineer spent more than 11 years world-building for themes and attractions at the house of mouse in Anaheim, but lately finds herself drawn to fine arts projects at her studio in Orcutt. As…
Mad about bar food and happy hour at Mad & Vin in Solvang
One of the most difficult things about being a food writer is having to eat all the food the job requires. Wait, is that crickets I hear? What, no sound of violins playing to accompany my heartbreaking story? I get it; you don’t have a lot of sympathy for someone who gets paid to eat…
Brandon L. Harper Foundation to host tri-tip barbecue scholarship fundraiser in March
Longtime Santa Maria resident Brandon Harper was on his way to dinner on Jan. 20, 2007, when an intoxicated driver ran a red light at the intersection of Betteravia Road and South Broadway, slammed into Harper’s truck, and killed him. Harper was 26 years old, and his death shocked family members, friends, and the community…
Spotlight on: Firestone Walker Brewing Company Barrelworks
It all started five years ago, when Firestone Walker Brewing Company moved its wild-ale program from the main brewery in Paso Robles to a new location in Buellton. Headed by resident Master Blender Jim Crooks, the 14,000 square-foot warehouse attached to two tasting rooms along with a full-service brew pub at 620 McMurray Road off…
Violent threats increase against Santa Barbara County schools
A recent influx of students threatening Santa Barbara County schools has resulted in an increased security presence on several campuses, students missing school, and demands for school resource officers. The most recent threat, allegedly made verbally by a 13-year-old Carpinteria Middle School student, was investigated on Feb. 23 by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office,…
Lompoc accepts commercial cannabis license applications
Commercial cannabis license-use applications in Lompoc are available to the public starting March 1. The applications can be accessed at cityoflompoc.com/clerk/cannabis. More information about the application process, including fees and requirements, are also available on the city’s cannabis webpage. Additionally, the city will hold a public workshop on March 5 from 1 to 3 p.m.…
Fallen Vandenberg airman’s fundraiser surpasses $16,000
An online fundraiser benefiting the eight-months pregnant wife of a Vandenberg Air Force Base airman, who was killed by a bus on Highway 1 near the base on Feb. 19, has exceeded expectations. The original goal was $5,000 but the donations easily surpassed that number within a few days, topping $16,000 as of Feb. 27.…
Elias Zepeda
Although Pioneer Valley High School senior Elias Zepeda isn’t sure what he wants to do after graduation, he knows one thing: He wants to keep wrestling. “Hopefully I’ll find a good college to wrestle at,” Zepeda, 18, told the Sun. “I just like that it’s a very tough sport, and I like the feeling of…
Santa Maria invites neighboring agencies to join upgraded radio communication system
It’s not unusual for the Santa Maria Police Department to receive calls from cellphones, which can be difficult to track. In one such case, a 10-year-old called the department’s dispatch center from her apartment, where she had locked herself in the bathroom with a cellphone. In the next room, her mother was being robbed at…
Man killed by Chumash security had been banned from casino
The man shot and killed by a Chumash Casino security officer on Feb. 20 had been banned from the property since November 2017, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. Jose Guido, 37, was killed near a parking structure on casino grounds at 2:15 a.m. that day after allegedly trespassing and refusing to leave…
Lompoc police seek help to ID stabbing, robbery suspects
The Lompoc Police Department requested help from the public on Feb. 27, following a robbery at a 7-Eleven convenience store at 1337 N. H St. Police spokespersons said in a statement that the crime occurred just after 2:30 a.m. The suspect reportedly entered the business armed with a pistol and a large knife and punched…
On repeat
Are we caught in some kind of Star Trek-esque time loop, where the same events keep repeating themselves in perpetuity? Another threat on a local school following a national mass shooting. Violent crimes in the streets of North County cities. Natural disaster warnings buzzing phones. County government and residents arguing over recreational cannabis regulations. It’s…
Hey Canary
Regarding last week’s review of the description of the walking trail “between the city and the town” (“Crucial concerns,” Feb. 22) … What town and what city? If a trail along the “levee” is envisioned, let it be known there is no levee in Guadalupe. The Santa Maria River embankment/levee stops above (east of) the…
California’s early release program denies crime victims a chance to speak
Like much of the country, I watched the emotional testimony unfold from the victims of disgraced U.S. Olympic Gymnastics sports doctor Larry Nassar. It is a powerful reminder of how we can give victims a chance to heal by speaking in court, face to face with the person who harmed them. The process of healing…
Political Watch 3/1/18
• U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) failed to receive the endorsement of California Democratic Party delegates for re-election to her U.S. Senate seat after a vote at the party convention on Feb. 24 in San Diego left her with fewer votes than Democratic challenger and state Sen. Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), who also didn’t…
