Cover Story
Up for grabs: Two Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office lieutenants challenge Sheriff Bill Brown’s bid for re-election
It’s not every year that Santa Barbara County voters to choose a new sheriff. It’s every four, of course, but this year’s election is different from those in the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office’s recent history. That’s because Sheriff Bill Brown—who’s running for re-election for his fourth consecutive term—is facing not one, but two challengers…
Affordably priced rolls at Ha Ha Sushi in Orcutt aren’t the only reason to stop by
The sign outside Ha Ha Sushi in Orcutt is almost too good to believe. I actually had to convince my coworkers that it wasn’t just a one-time special deal or that we had show up at 3 a.m. and chant ancient Sumerian texts backwards under the light of a full moon in order to qualify…
Dancers with Allan Hancock’s Youth Dance program present a performance of ‘Tarzan’
It was an Academy Award-winning song that sparked the idea for Allan Hancock College Youth Dance’s new show. Madison Yolar-Groppetti, a choreographer for the annual Magical Moments and spring recital performance, said the song “You’ll Be In My Heart,” written by Phil Collins for the Disney film Tarzan, led them to consider tackling the classic…
Santa Maria hosts 5th District Arts Talks
The Santa Barbara County Arts Commission members and members of the community will meet to discuss arts in Santa Maria for an Arts Talk event scheduled for May 16 at the Minami Community Center. The talk will be hosted by 5th District Arts Commissioners Doug Jenzen and Dennis Smitherman. Fifth District County Supervisor Steve Lavagnino…
Elverhoj Museum hosts Nancy Yaki exhibit
The Roadside Series, a new art exhibition of recent works by artist and art teacher Nancy Yaki, is set to debut at the Elverhoj Museum of History and Art on May 12. A reception is scheduled on opening day from 4 to 6 p.m. and is open to the public. The exhibit features Saki’s landscape…
Steven Lewis’ photography exhibit at the Ann Foxworthy Gallery highlights his passion for small details
The photos on the wall at the Ann Foxworthy Gallery tell a quiet story. The story could be about a mysterious world preserved in an almost ancient landscape. Or it could be about the commonplace nature of the outside world. But the tale the pictures really tell is the story of Steven Lewis, the renowned…
Robert Randolph & The Family Band brings funky, bluesy pedal steel guitar sound to Presqu’ile Winery
The pedal steel electric slide guitar is an instrument that immediately brings country music to mind, from its warm low end to its clear high range. But for Robert Randolph, his first first experience with the versatile instrument wasn’t in a honky-tonk, but in church. Randolph grew up in New Jersey, attending the House of…
Strange days indeed
Did you ever think you’d live to see days quite like these? I know I didn’t, and I’m counting time in bird years! Some of the stories are astounding and inspiring, like the recent NASA launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, which is sending the InSight probe to our neighbor planet, Mars. It’s pretty cool…
The Founding Fathers and guns
In the last few days I have seen letters to the editor referring to our Founding Fathers. In my opinion they had more smarts than the total combined assembly of both houses of Congress today. John Kennedy had this to say at a dinner in Washington back when he was president: “I think this is…
Lompoc faces serious issues
Another month and another attempted murder in Lompoc; what the in the world is going on? Lompoc has always been a relatively quiet place to live crime-wise. Sure, there were petty thefts or home and business burglaries, but the level of violent crime was always low. Domestic violence was the exception. Disputes were settled with…
Bailey Killough
Allan Hancock College sophomore Bailey Killough’s most recent softball season earned her a spot on the California Community College Fastpitch Coaches Association All-State Team for the second year in a row. The Arroyo Grande High School graduate ranked sixth in her conference this season with a .430 batting average and second with eight home runs,…
Bill to lower textbook costs passes Assembly committee
In a survey of 609 students conducted by Allan Hancock College’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness in 2017, 65 percent of students said they had dropped a class due to the price of a required textbook. Sixty-one percent of students surveyed said they spend at least $200 on textbooks each semester, and 45 percent said they…
Thomas Fire, mudslides not to blame for spike in valley fever
A recent investigation into an uptick of reported cases of valley fever in Santa Barbara County concluded that the trend was not caused by the county’s earlier natural disasters. During the study, which was released by the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department on May 8, county officials reviewed 56 cases of valley fever reported…
Spotlight on: Santa Maria Valley Wine Trolley
Santa Maria’s favorite wine trolley is coming back to the valley. The Santa Maria Valley Wine Trolley’s official second season begins Memorial Day weekend. The public transportation is the product of a collaborative effort between the Santa Maria Valley Visitors Bureau and Santa Maria. The 28-passenger trolley is an extension of the city’s downtown trolley…
Political Watch 5/10/18
• Gov. Jerry Brown joined California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the California Air Resources Board on May 1 to announce that the state of California would lead an 18-state coalition to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to “preserve the nation’s single vehicle emission standard,” according to a release from Brown’s office. “The states…
Gaining InSight: New NASA Mars mission promises to unlock red planet’s origins
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena sent out a familiar message in the predawn hours of May 5. “We have lift off,” the broadcast announced as its newest mission—aptly titled “InSight,” which promises to reveal the interior structure of Mars—blasted out of Earth’s orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base and into the vast reaches…
Supes ask DWR to adjust groundwater basin boundary
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on May 8 to submit a request to California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) asking the agency to remove northern fringe areas from Santa Maria River Valley Groundwater Basin. Fourth District Supervisor Peter Adam recused himself from discussions because his family drew water from wells in…
Santa Barbara County says watersheds recovering slowly from fires
The areas in Santa Barbara County adjacent to lands damaged by recent wildfires will be at risk for years, according to county, state, and federal officials. “We are experiencing very slow [vegetation] regrowth unfortunately,” U.S. Forest Service Biologist Kevin Cooper told the county’s Board of Supervisors during a meeting on May 1. That day, Cooper…
Local March for Moms shines light on maternal health issues
Nearly 80 percent of births in northern Santa Barbara County were to Medi-Cal patients in 2011, according to the most recent data available from the county’s 2015 Community Assessment of Maternal Child and Adolescent Health. That same year, one in 10 children in Santa Barbara County were found to be uninsured, according to the assessment,…
Procrastination station
Many times I, an accomplished professional journalism person, am approached by young cherubic aspiring writers and reporters seeking important words of inspiration or guidance for success in their career paths. Clearly I am the very best person for this, and since I am so clearly perfectly successful with no faults in any area, I have…
