Cover Story
Drone republic: As drones invade California air space, two bills try to set limits on their use
View a slideshow of drones from around the Central Coast. Jordan Tolentino is your normal Santa Maria teenager with a busy schedule. Standing at 5 feet 11 inches, he’s a linebacker on the varsity football team at St. Joseph High School, a member of both the National Honor Society and 4-H, and president of the…
Two people are arrested in connection with two unrelated deaths in Santa Maria
Authorities arrested two men on March 16, each arrest stemming from one of two separate deaths in Santa Maria that occurred within hours of each other, according to the Santa Maria Police Department. Ismael Lares, 34, was arrested early that morning after he allegedly struck a man with his truck in the parking lot of…
What would you do with your own personal drone?
Emma Halop Doc Burnstein’s employee “I would use it as security, because it would be a good form of protection.” Tatiana Peterson retired “I don’t think I’d have one because I don’t know enough about them.” Linda Smith homemaker “I wouldn’t have one because they’re an invasion of privacy—again.” Mike Guista college professor “I would…
Santa Maria Public Library offers preschool storytime
The Santa Maria Public Library Youth Services has announced the new Peppy Poppies Preschool Story Time event happening Wednesdays through April 22 at 12:30 p.m. The program is for children ages 3 to 5 and includes stories, songs, finger plays, digital storytelling, and books on DVD. The event requires registration at the library. Registrants are…
Strawberry Queen Contest currently open
The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Bureau opened the 2015 Strawberry Queen Contest, which allows local girls to vie for the crown while earning scholarship money and supporting the community. Participants compete by selling raffle tickets, as many as possible through April 17. Proceeds go toward prizes and student scholarships awarded by…
Celebrate the artisan winemaker
Here is your chance to find many so-called hard-to-find artisan wines made by Santa Barbara County’s innovative, commercial “garagiste” winemakers. The Garagiste Festival: Southern Exposure takes place March 27 through 29 at the Solvang Veterans’ Memorial Hall. With spirited wine seminars and fun grand tastings, The Garagiste Festival, is a low-crowd, high-quality wine experience. “We…
Santa Maria Civic Theatre produces new work by Ventura playwright
The Santa Maria Civic Theatre gave sanctuary to novelty on the evenings of March 13 and 14 for a reader’s theater showcase production of a new work by Ventura-based playwright Randall Lewis. The new work by Lewis, titled Sam & Asher, required a whopping cast of three actors. It includes the title characters Sam Greenberg…
La Purisima offers events that bring history to life
In order to get to the La Purisima Mission—once you’ve already arrived and parked—you must cross a small footbridge that spans a creek bed wreathed with trees and shrubbery. Out in the clearing, the creek’s tree line hides the fleet of glittering automobiles, and all that exists is the long, aged mission building, its silent…
Hancock’s Dance Spectrum features faculty and students
All cultures sing, drum, and dance; therefore music and movement are universal, no matter how far from home you journey. Just as most of us are not world-class singers, most of us are not world-class dancers. But those who do become adept dancers have a level of creativity that can mine the sophisticated depths music…
The match game
There once was a day when Ron and I made some serious vows, vows that surpassed the “in sickness and in health” ones—at least at the time anyway. They were vows meant to secure our individuality and protect us from becoming bland and predictable. We pledged to never call each other “mom” or “dad,” and…
Culinary wonderland: Movie star and winemaker Kurt Russell headlines the Santa Barbara Food and Wine Weekend
Film star Kurt Russell is set to make his first public appearance in Santa Barbara County since opening his wine tasting room, The Wine Saloon, at the 1880 Union Hotel in Los Alamos, a year ago. For the last seven years, Russell has partnered with Peter and Rebecca Work, owners of Ampelos Cellars in Lompoc,…
Spotlight on: Healthy Habit Nutrition
On Feb. 27, a new health food joint opened its doors in Santa Maria: Healthy Habit Nutrition. The owners of Healthy Habit Nutrition strive to appeal to a variety of different palates by creating tasty and healthy meals, while also offering customers many choices to choose from. Andre Rodriguez, the owner, originally came from Camarillo…
Santa Maria-Bonita superintendent is retiring
On March 12, Santa Maria-Bonita School District (SMBSD) Superintendent Phil Alvarado announced his intention to retire at the end of the school year; he’s headed the district for more than six years and has given the district nearly four decades of service. “I have spent most of my life in this district,” Alvarado wrote in…
High school district proposes new classroom complex at Righetti
Digital video tours of Ernest Righetti High School’s proposed 38-room classroom complex were shown to the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District administration and the Board of Education the week of March 9. The three-minute videos give viewers a firsthand look at the internal and external elements of the three-story structure. In particular, the…
Political Watch 3/19/15
• On March 11, state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) announced legislation to reform the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR), California’s primary oil regulatory agency. Senate Bill 545, would reform the agency so that protecting and informing the public, as well as the safety of drinking and irrigation water become priorities of…
Hobnobbing with Helen
It’s that time again. “ … and the award goes to … ” We’re not talking Academy Awards or Golden Globes, but the Women’s Network’s annual, much anticipated Women of Excellence (WoE) awards held on March 14. For the past 24 years, the Women’s Network has recognized extraordinary local ladies in the following four categories:…
Community Notebook 3/19/15-3/26/15
MONDAY, MARCH 23 • The South County Advisory Council has its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Nipomo Community Services District Headquarters, 148 S. Wilson St., Nipomo. • The Solvang City Council has its regular meeting at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 1644 Oak Street, Solvang. agendas are available at cityofsolvang.com. TUESDAY,…
Warning shots: A trio of recent lawsuits could signal a litigious future for Phillips 66 and its rail spur project
Contra Costa County is more than 200 miles away from San Luis Obispo County. By and large, the two counties don’t have much in common. Recently, though, three lawsuits filed in Contra Costa County highlighted at least one important similarity. Namely, oil giant Phillips 66 operates a refinery in each county, and a proprietary pipeline…
County approves ERG oil pipeline along Foxen Canyon Road
A 2.9-mile pipeline with the capacity to move up to 25,000 barrels of oil a day from Cat Canyon into the Phillips 66 pipeline was approved by the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission on March 11. The ERG-sponsored pipeline would run through the towns of Garey and Sisquoc, rerouting transportation of oil from the approximately…
High School board asks faculty association for public contract negotiations
During the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District’s March 10 board meeting, board members formally requested that the district’s faculty association consider allowing upcoming contract negotiations to be held in public. “This is an extremely unusual request, if not unheard of,” Mark Goodman, the president of the faculty association, wrote in an email to…
Orcutt residents raise a ruckus about a cell tower
A cell phone tower “disguised” as a eucalyptus tree is slated to serve residents of Orcutt from a small patch of green off Kenneth Avenue, but neighboring homeowners say they don’t want it. “I really appreciate the view from my backyard of a natural environment,” Vincent Arce said. “And I don’t think a fake tree,…
Lucia Mar teacher’s union may strike over salary negotiations
Negotiations between the Lucia Mar Unified School District and the Lucia Mar Unified Teacher’s Association (LMUTA)—with a mediator in tow—will culminate in a final bargaining standoff on March 25. If a resolution isn’t reached on that day, the district’s board could vote to give teachers a 2 percent raise for the 2015-2016 school year. In…
Uber’s looking for drivers in Santa Maria
When San Francisco-based Uber first launched in Santa Barbara County as part of its Central Coast operations, drivers were mainly confined to downtown Santa Barbara and the university areas. That was in October 2013. Now, the company is actively recruiting drivers in Santa Maria, according to Uber spokesperson Tatiana Winograd. More people in Santa Maria…
Whose backyard, then?
I am not against NIMBYism, per se. For you non-acronym-speakers in the audience, NIMBY stands for “Not In My Backyard,” which sums up the sentiment of someone who doesn’t want the signs of progress or development to appear near their homes, even if they realize that such signs need to go somewhere. Home, in this…
Find a vaccine middle ground
In response to “Herd immunity” (February 26): The big issue around the bill 277 is obviously the disagreement of those who immunize and those who don’t. Yet, why force people to immunize in order to have an education when so many people are standing up for answers to why so many deaths and so many…
Contain the nuisance at the dunes
The revised ODSVRA dust control plan for the dunes is a “doozy.” 1) It wants the people and “things” breathing its air to wait another five years to see if their plan works out—an insult to the long range potential for damaged lungs. 2) It is also going to replant native flora on 20 acres…
Diablo is old; remember Fukushima
Unbelievable. Somehow I don’t feel any comfort in PG&E’s confirmation that Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant can withstand a worst-case scenario earthquake on multiple faults surrounding the plant. This plant was designed in the ’60s and has been licensed since 1982. It is old. The original engineering, planning, and building of the plant on multiple faults…
Say no to whiny, childish behavior
We can all remember that whiny kid in school who could not get along with the other children and would exit the play yard saying loudly, “I am going to take my marbles and go home.” Chris Mitchum’s latest antics remind me of this childish behavior. First, he did not take the high road of…
Katie Chenault
Sophomore pitcher Katie Chenault helped secure two wins over the weekend of March 14 for Allan Hancock College softball, bringing the Bulldogs’ winning streak to 13 games. On Saturday, Chenault fired off a two-run home run and nabbed 12 strikeouts to beat Southwestern College 5-0. Against Mt. San Antonio College on March 15, she allowed…
Meet Maggie Suarez: mom, full-time childcare worker, professional boxer
Maggie Suarez didn’t plan on becoming a professional boxer when she signed up her 8-year-old son to work out at a local gym. After watching him for six months, though, her interested was piqued. “I started going to lose weight,” she said. “I got into sparring. After nine months I did my first amateur fight.…
