Cover Story
Movement of Light: Local entrepreneurs, performers, and artists trick out flow arts and festival installations with LEDs
Rainbow ribbons danced effortlessly around her, as if in sync with her hypnotic gyrations. Fractal, multicolor patterns trailed like glowing gossamer from the plastic hula hoop that spun around her hips, legs, and arms, illuminating her body in the low evening light. Even though this was happening at an outdoor electronic dance music festival, this…
Seven detained at Vandenberg missile protest
View a slideshow of the Mar. 6 protest at Vandenberg. Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) security detained seven people after they refused an order to leave base property on March 6. They were a part of a larger group of roughly 30 people who gathered at the base that afternoon to protest the military’s use…
What’s your favorite local restaurant?
Matt Grieger correctional officer “Rooney’s.” Jennie Robertson analyst “I’m going to go with the Vineyard House in Santa Ynez.” Yvette Andrade academic support specialist “I’ve recently gone to Moxie Café. It was pretty awesome.” Gary and Ruthcel Walker retired, mom “Custom House in Avila. We like it there.”
Antioch to offer Master of Fine Arts program
Antioch University Santa Barbara (AUSB), a private, nonprofit undergraduate and graduate institution, will begin its inaugural Master of Fine Arts in Writing and Contemporary Media (MFA) academic program this winter. The MFA program is one of the only programs of its kind in the West. The low-residency, semester-based program has a multi-genre approach to professional…
Santa Maria Valley community participates in Principal for a Day
Nearly 40 Santa Maria Valley business and community leaders had the opportunity to be a principal for a day at public and private school campuses on Wednesday, March 9, as the Santa Maria Valley Industry Education Council and the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors & Convention Bureau co-sponsored the Principal for a…
Schools recognize Spread the Word to End the Word day
National Spread the Word to End the Word day took place Wednesday, March 2. Schools and communities across the country took part in the ongoing campaign to practice respect and join together to stop the use of the word “retard(ed),” or as the Special Olympics refers to it, the “R-word.” More than 500,000 people have…
Students get a lesson in social issues at Museum of Tolerance
A holocaust survivor brought history to life for more than two dozen Delta High School students during a recent field trip to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. The students, who are studying the WWII-era through film, fiction, and coursework, found holocaust survivor Amram Deutch’s life story intense. Deutch described to the students how…
Spotlight on: American Self Storage
On the evening of Aug. 11, Paula Hubbard received a phone call from her kids telling her that American Self Storage was on fire. The fire, which filled the immediate area with clouds of black smoke, started around 7:40 p.m. and was out in about an hour. It didn’t touch Hubbard’s living quarters, although American…
Political Watch 3/10/2016
• Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) recently introduced a bill to help disabled veterans who are transitioning from military service into a second career working in California’s public schools. Senate Bill 1180 will give disabled veterans who are new school employees additional sick leave in their first year of employment so they can attend medical…
Community Notebook 3/10/16 – 3/17/16
MONDAY, MARCH 14 • The Santa Maria City Block Grants Advisory Committee has its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Conference Room, 110 E. Cook St., Santa Maria. • The Solvang City Council has its regular meeting at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 1644 Oak Street, Solvang. agendas are available at…
Santa Maria Police Department-led Operation Matador results in the arrests of 16 suspected MS-13 gang members
In the pre-dawn hours of March 3, at least 150 police officers and federal agents from eight state and federal agencies simultaneously served warrants at 12 locations in cities that spanned Santa Maria to Columbus, Ohio. Dubbed Operation Matador, the tightly coordinated effort led by the Santa Maria Police Department (SMPD) resulted in several confiscated…
Federal bureau says offshore fracking doesn’t impact environment; Environmental Defense Center says report falls short
Offshore well stimulation treatments, including acidizing and hydraulic fracturing (fracking), do not significantly impact environments in the Santa Barbara Channel’s federal waters, according to a draft environmental review released in February by federal agencies. The Environmental Defense Center (EDC) responded critically to the review, claiming it “falls short in several fundamental respects.” Offshore well stimulation…
Phillips 66 project public hearings to continue March 11
The Stop Oil Trains campaign has put a call out to “pack the hearing chambers” in SLO County headquarters on Friday, March 11, in protest of a proposed rail extension project by the Phillips 66 oil company. The occasion: San Luis Obispo County’s Planning Commission will host a public hearing on the project. Last month’s…
Supervisors vote to block Chumash parcel from entering federal trust
Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted last week to oppose the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians taking 2.13 acres of land into federal trust. The parcels make up the Mooney-Escobar properties, located south of Highway 246 and east of the Chumash Casino and Resort. Chumash Government Affairs Officer Sam Cohen said the tribe…
Lompoc City Council says ‘no’ to new fire station
Lompoc won’t be getting its new fire station anytime soon, following a vote by the Lompoc City Council on the long-debated topic last week. Fire Chief Kurt Latipow said the proposed new station was necessary to accommodate additional staff for the fire department, which would allow the department to respond to calls more quickly and…
Taste of Solvang kicks off: The little Danish village packs a serious culinary punch
Trying to figure out what to do next weekend? Yeah, me neither. Let me rephrase that: Trying to figure out where to eat next weekend? I’ve got a suggestion. Next week kicks off the 24th annual Taste of Solvang, aka probably the best reason you’ll ever get to blow off that not-so-hot date you’ve got…
PCPA seeks housing for summer actors and technicians
The Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) is asking Santa Marians for their help in housing actors and technicians who will help the conservatory with summer productions. Extra rooms, apartments, and guest cottages that are available beginning in May are needed, and anyone who can rent out a space to a traveling actor or technician is asked…
Santa Ynez Valley Arts offers student scholarships
The Santa Ynez Valley Arts Association has issued a call to local high school seniors who are studying art to apply for a scholarship offered by the organization’s General Scholarship Fund. The association plans to give individual merit awards that may range from $500 to $2,500 to students who will graduate from a Santa Ynez…
Painted Chair raffle to support Santa Maria Library
The Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library will hold its annual Painted Chair raffle event, featuring chairs beautifully decorated by more than 40 local artists. Each chair matches a specific book, and the collection will show at the Santa Maria Town Center mall from March 12 through April 1. Visitors can peruse the chairs…
PCPA The Pacific Conservatory Theatre presents a poignantly heartfelt rendition of Tennessee Williams’ ‘Glass Menagerie’
Tennessee Williams is something of an institution in American theater, but he wasn’t always so. One of the very first of Williams’ plays to take off was a small-cast memory play loosely based off his life, called The Glass Menagerie, which wrestled with themes of personal confidence and frustration in a fractured family. PCPA’s current…
La Purisima’s docents relive crafts and customs with Mission Life Day
California’s modern cities quickly sprouted up around the Franciscan Missions that first brought European society to the region, enveloping the aged buildings, most of which are still functioning parts of the Catholic Church. The La Purisima Mission in Lompoc is an exception though. The sprawling building was a neglected ruin when Union Oil acquired it.…
Strung out: John Doan takes audiences on a harp guitar journey
Watch a video of John Doan performing on 20-string harp guitar. The guitar became a leading instrument of the 20th century because of its versatility. One simple stringed and fretted chordophone gave generations of musicians the ability to play rhythmic chords and endless melodic lines. But some musicians are never satisfied. Guitars with seven strings…
Charged up
Simply put, and there’s no way to sugarcoat this, my wife is a thief. She steals stuff. She takes what she wants. She has no regard for ownership. She doesn’t care about property rights. She will stoop so low as to even steal from our children. It’s completely shameless. It’s not a charming thing, like…
Krissie Miranda
Soccer has almost always been a major part of Krissie Miranda’s life. She played as a child and she’s played as part of the team at Righetti High School. And by the looks of it soccer will be a big part of her future as well. Krissie will play her favorite sport on scholarship for…
International Knights: St. Joseph High School boys’ basketball team travels the world and returns inseparable for 2016 season
The St. Joseph High School boys’ basketball team captured its first CIF Division 5AA championship in more than a decade on March 5, decisively beating La Canada’s Flintridge Prep 63-45 behind 15 points and six assists from junior guard JoJo Walker, and 14 points and 11 rebounds from senior Gabrys Sadaunykas. “We defended well,” Knights…
Even firefighters need a little help sometimes
There have been times when I’ve been accused of enjoying the power of the pen a little too much. That I love my position perched high above the ag fields of the Santa Maria Valley, wielding my pen like a scepter and spilling my bias all over the pages of the Sun like so much…
Opinion piece on guns was biased
Your opinion article titled “Debating fire” (Feb. 11) was misleading in the title. There was no debating. Your writer is a left-wing radical from the left-wing radical Southern Poverty Law Center. The presentation was biased to the extreme and characteristic of this kind of reporting from the Sun. Our gun laws make this country safe.…
Hartmann has experience in government operations
The heart of local government is about land use and no one is better qualified to represent the Santa Barbara County 3rd District than Joan Hartmann. I have known Joan for eight years. Joan is wise, thoughtful, and a good listener. Joan has served as a member of the county’s Planning Commission since 2012, where…
Send Katcho Achadjian to Congress
The United States Congress was designed to endure conflict. In fact, conflict and debate were assumed when our system of government was devised by the founders. And compromise is what makes human discourse and agreement possible. The laws that emerge should reflect the product of this thoughtful process. Unfortunately, the U.S. House has become entrenched…
Porter demonstrates deep commitment to the community
I’m a college student who recently graduated from Santa Ynez High School. As an upperclassman I came to know a remarkable man who seemed deeply involved in so many aspects of our local youth—Bruce Porter. He was there to cheer for me on the volleyball court. He was there to encourage me in the theater.…
Keep out the KKK
Now that the Oscars have been handed out, the hoo-ha surrounding diversity in the motion picture industry will subside. But it won’t stay dormant for long. A young African American writer and actor named Nate Parker has made a movie about Nat Turner’s slave revolt in the mid-19th century. He has titled it Birth of…
