Cover Story
Humans of Islam: Northern Santa Barbara County’s Muslim communities share what Islam means to them
Farooq Husayn sits up straight in his chair, one leg draped over the other, hands folded neatly in his lap. Behind him stretches a small, green-walled room, decorated sparingly with bookshelves and framed Arabic scripts on canvas. Voices shouting above loud music leak through the wall from the Mexican restaurant next door, and the building’s…
Drone zone: Vandenberg AFB is in the running to host (more) drones
On Sept. 30, 2011, a Hellfire missile rained down from the sky over southern Yemen and obliterated its target—U.S.-born Muslim cleric and al-Qaeda associate Anwar al-Awlaki. According to retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. T. Mark McCurley in his book, Hunter Killer, the missile was fired from a remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper drone. Vandenberg Air…
Do events like Downtown Fridays get you excited to visit downtown Santa Maria?
David Goodrich works at Crop Production Services “I do stop by the Downtown Friday farmers market occasionally to pick up fresh fruits and vegetables.” Lizeth Herrera works at Vons “I’ve only been to the farmers market in SLO.” Anaysa Rodriguez student “I actually haven’t been in a while. With work and school, it’s hard to…
Presqu’ile Winery’s Tri-Tip Cook-Off fuses modern cuisine with Santa Maria tradition
In the 1980s there was an Oldsmobile ad campaign that featured Lisa Marie and Priscilla Presley (Elvis’ daughter and wife, respectively). As the mother and daughter came peeling around the bend in a zippy red Cutlass Calais, a slogan reminded viewers, “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.” For the venerated car company, it was an…
Local music writer explores The Beatles in new book
Scholarship surrounding The Beatles—that’s the four-member 1960s rock ’n’ roll group out of Liverpool, England—is a well-saturated market. But that didn’t slow down local music writer Mark Brickley. Brickley, who has penned articles for Deep Magazine, The Coastal View News, and Noozhawk, fell in love with The Beatles’ music as a teenager. But it wasn’t…
Wildling Museum of Art and Nature in Solvang offers volunteer opportunities
The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature is seeking volunteers for various duties. Help is needed in several areas including staffing the front desk, preparing gallery spaces for new exhibits, and assisting with special events and functions throughout the year. Availability isn’t a factor as the Wildling Museum welcomes volunteers who can work once a…
California Department of Fish and Wildlife holds youth art contest
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) invites young artists and aspiring biologists to enter the California Invasive Species Art Contest. “Don’t Let it Loose!” is the theme of the contest this year and the deadline for submissions is May 5. Students in grades two through 12 are eligible to enter the contest. Submissions…
Lompoc Civic Theatre celebrates the ‘Glorious’ singing of Florence Foster Jenkins
There is a fascination with bad singers that the public has unabashedly embraced in recent years. Thanks to shows like American Idol, we can satiate our desire to laugh at those who fancy themselves the next Beyoncé. When William Hung famously belted out Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs,” on the show, audiences fell in love with…
Santa Maria’s Downtown Fridays are back, with extended hours
Ed Carcarey doesn’t need to be convinced that Santa Maria can have a vibrant downtown community—he plans to make it happen with events like Downtown Fridays, now in its second year. “I think Santa Maria has been hungry for this forever,” Carcarey said. Returning on March 31 and running through Sept. 29, Downtown Fridays boasts…
Santa Maria high schools work toward language proficiency for English learners
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District celebrated nearly 300 English learner students who achieved English proficiency at the district’s third annual “reclassification celebration,” which was scheduled for Tuesday, March 28. Students honored at the celebration worked through the district’s Multilingual and Migrant Education Program, which helps to incorporate English language instruction into class curriculums,…
Spotlight on: That’s FETCH!
Hand-blended “petuccinos,” yippy-skippies, and canine risotto—what do all of these things have in common? They’re items that Linda Greco plans to put on the menu of her “Baestro Bar” at her new business, That’s FETCH!, a pet boutique that will be located at 3564 Skyway Drive, when the developing Skyway Center is complete. That’s FETCH!…
Venoco Inc. granted pipeline lease extension, seeks 25-year renewal on offshore oil platforms in Santa Barbara Channel
Venoco Inc. inked an 18-month lease extension from the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on March 21 to continue transporting oil in submerged pipelines offshore of Carpinteria. It’s the company’s second such extension since it began seeking a 25-year lease renewal from the county in September 2015. The supervisors voted unanimously to continue Venoco’s…
Santa Maria City Council to hold second hearing on election districts
The Santa Maria City Council will hold a special meeting on Thursday, March 30, for a public hearing on proposed voting districts, as part of the city’s recent decision to move to district-based elections. Currently, Santa Maria uses an at-large election system, in which the candidates who receive the most votes win the seats on…
Federal inmate alleges medical negligence from prison officials
In a lawsuit filed on Feb. 23, a man serving time in the Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex alleges that prison officials violated his civil rights by denying him proper medical treatment. Armando Chavez-Tapia states in the lawsuit that he had been suffering from an excruciating pain in his groin area and that prison officials ignored…
Greka asks to halt court case
A Santa Maria-based oil company asked a federal judge on March 16 to indefinitely halt a court case against it, citing an executive order signed by President Donald Trump meant to deregulate the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) powers over navigable waters. The lawsuit was filed against Greka Oil and Gas, now known as HVI Cat…
Fond of felines
I like to start my mornings quietly, slowly warming up to the day ahead. Weekdays mean poking the bear, I mean waking our teenager so that he has ample time to perfect his hair for school. Weekends find me brewing tea and making toast and marmalade as my husband, the Brit, settles in for a…
Omar Guevara
Twenty-six-year-old Omar Guevara leads a double life—organic farmer by day, aspiring martial artist by night. Guevara works for Rancho La Familia, an organic farm in Santa Maria. But if you’re looking for Guevara after hours or on his days off, you’ll probably find him at Paragon, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Cardio Kickboxing of Santa Maria. “I…
Swinging in the rain: Santa Maria High School’s indoor golf simulator allows students to golf any time
Jim Delaby, PGA director of instruction at the Monarch Dunes Golf Club, frequents many schools along the Central Coast to give golf lessons—but Santa Maria High School is the first where he gets to teach swings indoors. The school just acquired a golf simulator, which students can use without going outside the classroom. “These simulators…
High-tech hate
Go on the internet, they said. It will bring people together, they said. It sure seems like social media has allowed Americans to disappear into their own echo chamber wormholes, self-tailored to confirm and support whatever political ideology or corporate coffee chain they align with. It’s when those angry ideologues journey into others’ echo chambers…
Open letter to Hancock College
Editor’s note: This letter was sent to the Sun on Feb. 25 as an open letter to the Allan Hancock College board of trustees, President Gregory Pensa, and Superintendent Kevin Walthers regarding the college’s diversity resolution. Your resolution on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017, is a farce and based on “fake news” about a mysterious threat…
Illegal immigration comes with a cost
I read the opinion piece by Hazel Davalos (“Prepare, but don’t panic,” March 2) with interest. Also, in bold caption, “It’s time to take a stand in solidarity with our immigrant communities who are so deeply connected to every part of our community here in Santa Maria.” Illegal immigration is the most one-sided political issue…
Political Watch 3/30/17
• U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) opened the March 20 Senate U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings for federal judge Neil Gorsuch by taking several minutes to espouse her pro-choice stance on abortion and even referred to Roe v. Wade as a “super precedent.” “The debate over Roe v. Wade and the right to privacy, ladies…
Hobnobbing with Helen
Well, wasn’t this a clever idea! Students from the Orcutt Academy High School posed in living art tableaux at the Orcutt Children’s Arts Foundation’s (OCAF) recent annual gala, “An Evening at the Louvre.” The gala was held on Saturday, March 4, at the Santa Maria Country Club OCAF event committee chairperson Allison Smith and her…
Homelessness collaborative seeks to expand Santa Maria operation
The Central Coast Collaborative on Homelessness is seeking a 10 percent boost in funding from the city of Santa Maria, which Executive Director Chuck Flacks said would help double the organization’s case load in the city for the 2017-18 financial year. “It truly takes a village to house people who are homeless,” Flacks said at…
Santa Maria man suspected of attempted murder of police officer
Christopher Cota, 30, is being accused of attempting to murder a Santa Maria Police Department officer following a fight with multiple officers in the early hours of March 25. Officers were dispatched to a report of a suspicious man, potentially under the influence of narcotics, on the 1000 block of East Main Street. They identified…
