Cover Story
Honoring the brave
Honor Flight Video – Posted by Earl Morse on YouTube.com Ruth Gwin’s 22nd birthday was also “a date which will live in infamy.” Having the attack on Pearl Harbor fall on Gwin’s birthday, Dec. 7, 1941, motivated the young legal secretary in Pittsburgh, Penn., to stand up for freedom as one of the first…
Spotlight on: Coffee Cabin
Jen Hamaker’s love affair with coffee began in the 1990s at a deli she owned in Oregon, where she first started working with an espresso machine. She was hooked right away. “It was super fun to use, and I loved it,” she said. “It was a very up-and-coming thing at the time. All the cool…
How does half the country support this party?
My Democratic colleagues often wonder how the Republican Party, whose economic policies blatantly support only the rich at everyone else’s expense, continues to exist. The Republicans’ environmental positions even make them look like they are members of an alien species bent on human destruction. Yet they generally receive about 50 percent of the vote. Why?…
We need more northern representation on the grand jury
The Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury needs to have more people from North County communities. In going over grand jury reports from 2004 to 2013, I’ve found there are very few jurors from the North County. There was one from Los Alamos, none from Guadalupe, five from Lompoc, and 12 from Santa Maria. After…
We have lost a true community hero
The death of Maggie Espinoza on Feb. 13 leaves a deep hole in the hearts of those who have served children and families throughout Santa Barbara County through the Community Action Commission’s Head Start program for the past 40 years. Maggie was a true community hero in every sense of the word. As someone who…
Santa Maria reins in e-cigs
Cigars, cigarillos, and electronic cigarettes in mint, chocolate, and gummy bear flavors hang out next to Snickers bars, Sour Patch Kids, and Altoids at the front counters of more than half of the stores in Santa Barbara County, according to the results of a statewide survey. Close to 67 percent of the stores that sell…
What’s on Deck?
Friday, March 14 Swimming Allan Hancock vs. Bakersfield @ BC, 2:30 p.m. Pioneer Valley vs. St. Joseph @ PVHS, 2:30 p.m. Nipomo vs. Orcutt Academy @ NHS, 2:30 p.m. Santa Ynez vs. Templeton @ SYHS, 3:30 p.m. Softball St.Joseph vs. Lompoc @ LHS, 4 p.m. Santa Ynez vs. Arroyo Grande @ SYHS, 4 p.m.…
Katie Chenault
Humility is something Katie Chenault—a freshman pitcher for Allan Hancock College softball and a four-year varsity player from Ernest Righetti High School—knows well. “It’s made me really humble to be achieving what I am in my softball career right now,” Chenault said. “I know I’m not better than anyone else. It’s just the game…
Bulldogs partner with Amazon
Now you can shop online and support Allan Hancock College sports through the AmazonSmile program. According to Hancock Athletics, this program offers the same prices, selection, and collection of Bulldog apparel, and 0.5 percent of the price will be donated toward Hancock boosters. There is no limit to the amount the foundation will donate to…
Shamrock Shuffle!
Join members of the community for the Shamrock Community Shuffle Walk on March 15 at the Hagerman Complex on Skyway Drive in Santa Maria. Kicking off at 10 a.m., the event will feature a brisk one- or two-mile walk on the multipurpose trail. Hunt for hidden shamrocks and for a chance to win prizes.…
New face for Pioneer Valley
Pioneer Valley High School recently announced in a press release that Nikki Doyle will be taking over as the girls’ head volleyball coach for the coming season. Doyle has a strong connection with the Pioneer Valley program—she graduated in 2008 after helping lead her team to three CIF appearances. Doyle went on to find success…
A life at sea
Colleen Gnos is drawn to the ocean, like a sailor lulled by siren song—but without the tragic ending. Her nautical connection dates back to her ancestors, who were sea captains living on the Azores Islands, and more recently, to her grandfather, a tugboat driver and abalone diver in Avila Beach. Though her family is originally…
Come back to Jack’s
If Cheers is the place “where everybody knows your name,” Jack’s is the place where the owner knows every customer’s name. “My goal is to memorize every one of their names, and I work on that all the time,” said Brian Kea, owner of Jack’s Restaurant in Old Town Orcutt. Jack’s Restaurant is named after…
Santa Maria Philharmonic prepares for a Pops Concert featuring Brynn Albanese
Notes bounced off the shimmering concrete floor at Zodiac Aerospace in Santa Maria on March 10 as violinist Brynn Albanese and accordionist Duane Inglish waltzed and tangoed their way through the cubicles in the large, warehouse-style office space. Packs of employees flooded the doors at either side of the room as the duo made its…
PVHS teacher put on leave without pay
A source close to the Santa Maria Joint Union High School district confirmed to the Sun today that Brian Hook, a former teacher and coach at Pioneer Valley High School, has been put on leave without pay. The district’s school board decided in closed session the evening of March 12 to place the certificated employee…
Would you pay more for produce if farmers were able to reduce the amount of pesticides used on them?
DJ Melena tech support “When you compare this county to San Luis Obispo, we’re just so boring. I would love to see some commissioned public art here. Art in the park would be great.” Sharon Pedersen retired “We really lack things for the middle class. We need a place for those on a lower income…
Bedazzled and confused
I’m a survivor. No, I didn’t survive cancer. And I didn’t survive serving in the armed forces during wartime. I simply survived the 13th year of my daughter’s life. I don’t get to wear a ribbon, and I didn’t earn a medal of valor. All I am rewarded with after surviving my daughter’s 13th year…
Fun with crafts
The Santa Maria Michaels presents arts and crafts events, including a “Kids’ Club Personalized Name Plate” event on March 15 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. An “Arm Knitting Social Event” event is March 16 from 1 to 4 p.m. Michaels is located at 1934 S. Broadway, in Santa Maria. More info: 349-8801. ∆
Walk and learn Guadalupe
The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center is holding a “Guadalupe Walk and Talk” event with Shirley Boydstun, who will be leading a historical trek through the small town on March 23 from 10 a.m. to noon. The walk meets at the Dunes Center, 1065 Guadalupe St., Guadalupe. More info: 343-2455 or admin@dunescenter.org.
Los Padres needs you
The Los Padres National Forest announced that the Monterey Ranger District is seeking volunteers to work in an archaeology program. The “Partners in Preservation” program needs prospective site stewards to submit an application by March 17. “Partners in Preservation” volunteers are required to complete a two-day training workshop, with the next workshop scheduled to begin…
Guadalupe library receives grant for STEM books
EnergyPartners Fund recently awarded a $750 grant to the Santa Maria Public Library in order to support the Guadalupe Branch Library. The grant was for the procurement of books relating to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Books are already on the shelves thanks to the donation made by the group of energy professionals, business…
Dia de los Muertos Committee wins community award
The California Park and Recreation Society has awarded the local Dia de los Muertos Committee with the “Champion of the Community Award.” The distinction was awarded on Feb. 7, and was accepted on behalf of the committee by Santa Maria-Bonita School District representative Gloria Nuno and Univision’s Rocio Favela. The Die de los Muertos Committee…
Unheard voices
The Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts (PCPA) is more than apt at instructing its students in the art of recitation, from the lyrical lines of Shakespeare, like in the recent production of Hamlet, to more modern playwrights or adaptations, like the current musical production of Spring Awakening. And, always looking to challenge its students,…
The arts council’s student art show comes to Shepard Hall
There is no better time to create than right now. Even if an artist has no experience in a certain media, she has to start somewhere. The Santa Maria Arts Council has spent decades fostering local art, especially in youth and education. The organization’s annual student art show displays the visual art of students…
Avoid the ‘R’ word
I have a son named Liam. He is 2 years old and good with a soccer ball. He adores his big sister, and hummus. He makes us laugh when he does “a Mona Lisa Face,” and he happens to have Down syndrome (DS for the rest of this writing). The rare times I was asked…
The Central Coast is a BIG PLACE!
Get ready for my best Thin Lizzy impression: “The news is back in town! The news is back in town!” Thin Lizzy, yeah? Philip “Phil” Lynott? Come on, you know the song: “The boys are back in town … .” Ah, you ruined it. I can’t stay mad at you, though, so I’ll tell you…
Santa Maria-Bonita asks for community input
As California’s new school-funding program weaves it’s way into local areas, Santa Maria-Bonita School District is asking parents, district staffers, and community members to provide input about programs and services that would be available to students over the next three years. A 12-question survey is called the Local Control Accountability Plan and is available on…
Rice students raise money for ecosystem projects
Trying to multiply $1,000 by three is a feat Rice Elementary School fourth-graders are attempting to complete March 10 through 17 using the Donors Choose fundraising site—but before Michael Muscio’s class gets too far ahead of itself, students have to wrangle more than 50 people to donate $20. If that $1,000 or more can be…
Hancock launches a new facility at Vandenberg
Airmen, airwomen, and their families, as well as any Central Coast resident, can now take Allan Hancock College courses inside a new 38,384-square-food education center at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc. The new building replaced a 55-year-od elementary school campus that served as the base’s education center. The new facility is adjacent to the…
Political Watch
• State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) recently introduced a bill to create a statewide program to dispose of leftover prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Modeled after an Alameda County ordinance, the bill would require drug manufacturers to create, finance, and manage a system for collecting and safely disposing of unwanted prescription drugs that people have…
Community Notebook
MONDAY, MARCH 10 • 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…
CPUC president details mounting issues that must be addressed for Diablo Canyon funding
Read full version of study here (pdf). If you were to sit down and write out all of the issues Pacific Gas & Electric needs to address, you would end up with a laundry list of concurrent hurdles that even individually would be a tall order for the operator of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power…
Partnering to prevent cancer
The American Cancer Society’s California Division and Western Growers will be joining together for the first time to educate people about cancer prevention in the form of healthy food selection and essential funding. To support the American Cancer Society’s programs, services, activism, and research, Western Growers has pledged $100,000 over the course of two years.…
Only eight defendants remain in U-Haul murder case
A third defendant pleaded out of the Anthony Ibarra gang murder and torture case. On March 6, Verenisa Castillo Aviles pleaded no contest to kidnapping with a gang allegation, assault with the likelihood of causing great bodily injury, and false imprisonment in the death of Santa Maria resident Anthony Ibarra. Aviles was one of 11…
Mitchum announces his candidacy for the 24th Congressional District
Chris Mitchum formally declared his candidacy for the 24th U.S. Congressional District on March 6. This will be his second time running against incumbent U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) in the last two years. The actor and political hopeful held a brief press conference in the parking lot of Hardy Diagnostics in Santa Maria,…
Santa Barbara County adopts a zero net energy standard
A pair of unconventional allies was in agreement during the March 4 Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting over the notion that the county needs to do more than just talk about saving energy and conserving resources, but also needs to “walk the walk.” Board Chair Steve Lavagnino (5th District) joked that the day…
Arrests continue for Dennis Apel
Dennis Apel, a protestor who’s long brought his anti-missile, -radiation, and -Marshall Islands testing message to the gates of Vandenberg Air Force Base, was arrested there again on March 5, a week after the U.S. Supreme Court sent a federal case against him back to the U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit. At issue was…
Santa Maria aims to launch an OHV safety class
Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department officials would like locals to comment on a recent grant submitted to the state to pay for an education and safety course for off-highway vehicle drivers. Recreation Supervisor Dennis Smitherman said the grant money, if approved, would fund education classes at the Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center and a…
