Cover Story
All’s well?
The ocean looked remarkably clear the week of a recent hot spell. Waves reached out and pulled back against the sand in rhythmic succession. Avid beachcombers suggest that in two to five years, those waves will stretch onto West Coast beaches and leave behind broken and waterlogged wreckage from the recent tsunami in Japan. That’s…
Hobnobbing with Helen
It was a hoot and a half. The Breakfast Rotary’s Annual Luau Barn Party was its usual smashing success. When the Breakfast Club Rotarians boast, “It’s the fun-nest thing in town,” they are right on target. This year’s rowdy gathering was held May 14 from 5:30 p.m. onward at the Fairpark’s big barn. Tickets were…
The Walkabout
My wife mentioned that we needed some exercise. Due to an ever-increasing waistline (mine, not hers—I will never discuss her waistline unless I’m trying to commit suicide by lecture), my wife decided that we should spend our evenings walking. I had once heard of this thing, walking. I remember it as a phase in my…
If you were bitten by something radioactive and gained its power, what would you want it to be?
Omar Ceballos student “Super strength, so I can be stronger than anyone else.” Josh Santos student “Invisibility, so I can be sneaky [and] go wherever.” Luis Carbajal student “Psychic powers, so I can control people.” Jaime Meraz student “To be able to fly. I can get anywhere easily—and no more gas.”
Austin Ruskauff
Austin Ruskauff may not have his driver’s license yet, but he knows a thing or two about sitting behind the wheel and going fast. Since 2005, the 16-year-old has regularly raced at the Santa Maria Speedway. He began driving go-karts on asphalt, but this year, he’s graduated to the adult hobby stock class. It’s a…
Grounds for celebration
Whether you call it a gentleman’s game or simply “hockey on horseback,” the traditional sport of polo has a long and illustrious history on the Central Coast. In fact, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club (SBPRC), considered by polo players around the world to be one of…
What’s on Deck?
Thursday, May 12 Boys’ Volleyball CIF Southern Section Prelims—SoCal Regionals TBA Baseball Mission College Prep @ Santa Ynez 4 p.m. Righetti @ Pioneer Valley 4 p.m. Girls’ Softball Paso Robles @ Righetti 4 p.m. Arroyo Grande @ St. Joseph 4 p.m. San Luis Obispo @ Pioneer Valley 4 p.m. Track CIF Southern Section Prelims TBA…
Is your child a LEGO maniac?
Need a cool place to send the kids over summer break? The Santa Maria Valley YMCA is offering arts and crafts, field trips, specialty camps, swimming, and more for children all summer long. One of the Y’s specialty camps is the two-week LEGO camp, open to kids ages 5 to 12. Designed by engineers, the…
Look where Reaganomics brought us
Thank you, thank you, Jim Duenow (“Beware of the soulless corporations,” April 28). Someone finally has put the whole damnable corporate position into eloquent full view. I am tearing out this piece for my own use in telling people what I see and what I believe to be the truth abut corporations. If Reaganomics had…
It had to be Coastal Voices
World War I had ended, the Great Depression hadn’t started yet, and the United States was enjoying a general burst of prosperity and happiness. That national feeling poured out in song—hundreds of songs, in fact. They’re some of the most memorable and timeless tunes around, and they’re the inspiration behind Coastal Voices’ upcoming concert, “Roaring…
‘Like’ it or not
When Evansville, Indiana-based philosophy professor Dr. Anthony Beavers spoke at Cal Poly in 2009, it was to share his optimistic view of what social media—and Facebook in particular—could mean for the next generation. Hailing it as “a wonderfully open world of information exchange,” Beavers saw it as a platform to immediately exchange news, opinions, and…
On the roster
• Kids vs. Kops benefit basketball game: The annual rivalry continues as the Santa Maria Police Department challenges the Santa Maria Saints on the court May 13 at 7 p.m. in Santa Maria High School’s Wilson Gym. A team of SMPD’s finest will face members of the Saints’ senior boys’ and girls’ basketball teams. Admission…
Hancock baseball players recognized
In addition to making the state playoffs for the third year in a row, the Allan Hancock College baseball team was well represented in postseason awards. Four Hancock players won Gold Gloves, recognizing them as the top defensive players in the Western State Conference: first baseman Jacob Cano, second baseman Austin Nyman, shortstop Dalton Rouleau,…
Summer in the city
To give schoolchildren a place for fun and education, the City of Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department will be opening its Summer Day Camp from June 20 through August 12. The camp is intended to help youth ages 6 to 12 achieve a positive self-image while enhancing their physical, mental, and social growth. The…
Cruisin’ Nationals rolls into town
Hundreds of vintage and customized automobiles will roll into Santa Maria for the three-day “Cruisin’ Nationals” event, held May 27 to 29 at the Santa Maria Fairpark. This year’s event honors Rich Pichette, who founded West Coast Kustoms and spearheaded the “Cruisin’ Nationals” event, now in its 30th year. Pichette recently passed away due to…
We will have a two-term president
Mr. Bargenquast is wrong in many ways (“Do not let Obama win again,” April 28). For starters, Obama will be re-elected in 2012. Modern presidents usually are: “Bill” Clinton, ’92 and ’96; “W,” ’00 and ’04. Beyond that, Republicans don’t seem to have a decent candidate. In truth, President Obama inherited an economic “mess” from…
Don’t forget how stocks motivate corporations
Kudos for the good opinion piece by Jim Duenow (“Beware of the soulless corporations,” April 28). I can’t disagree with his fundamental points, but would like to add a couple of my own. Corporations may be inherently amoral, but the people who run them are not necessarily so, even though they’re legally expected to be…
Think before you criticize corporations
Nearly every day there is some article complaining about the wealthy and the corporations (“Beware of the soulless corporations,” April 28). There are some of us who hope that we could become one of the wealthy. All it takes is a good idea and enough money to put at risk. When you look at the…
Our Pearl Harbor moment
The world we are giving our children and grandchildren is in critical condition, wracked by a terrible combination of social, environmental, and economic catastrophes. We must no longer deal with these ongoing calamities in an atomized, piecemeal way as we did during the last century, because, as we are now beginning to recognize, they are…
It’s not all glamorous
When the table glitters with freshly opened wine bottles and colorful platters of food, winemaking may seem like a glamorous pursuit. The finished product of this enchanting craft graces state affairs, as well as family dinners, and figures in festive occasions ranging from weddings to birthdays to gala inaugurations. At its heart, however, winemaking is…
Clark Center advances the arts
The Clark Center Foundation awarded scholarships to four Arroyo Grande High School and four Nipomo High School performing arts seniors through an endowment to recognize young performers in the arts. The endowment was made possible through the bequests of the Jim O. Miller Performing Arts Memorial Fund, the Bernie Kautz Memorial Performing Arts Fund, and…
Define your character
C Gallery in Los Alamos will present “What a Bunch of Characters!” by figure artist and national figure workshop leader Joanne Ruggles June 24, 25, and 26 at the historic Price Ranch in Los Alamos. The three-day workshop will teach how to develop character and personality in figure drawing through costume, props, and background narrative.…
Go beyond the gate
Brilliant blooms and elaborate sprays of color will be the order of the day as the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum presents the annual Beyond the Garden Gate Valley Garden Tour, from 1 to 4 p.m. on May 14. The tour begins at the museum, where each participant will be given a driving map to…
A piece of history
On May 14, the Camp Fire Cabin in Buena Vista Park will be designated as the city of Santa Maria’s 17th “Object of Historical Merit,” joining the likes of Orange Street Kindergarten, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, and the bell at El Camino School. The city’s Landmark Committee awards historical merit designations to any properties, sites,…
Lucia Mar, it’s business time
The Lucia Mar Unified School District is bringing on board an assistant superintendent of business services. Raynee Daley , Ed.D, will be taking over the position, succeeding Janice Smith—who holds the position on an interim basis. Daley, who comes from the Merced Union High School District, will be in charge of planning, communicating, and managing…
Hopi away from home
Tori Doss may be a student of the Santa Maria Home School Program, but this upcoming summer, she’ll be far away from home thanks to a program sponsored by Montana Yellowstone Expedition (MYE), a division of the Orfalea Foundation. Doss will partake in the “Explore 1: River and Hopi Service” program, where she and 24…
Spotlight on: Game Movers
It’s the dream of just about every 12-year-old with a serious penchant for gaming. Picture this: A trailer truck pulls up, loaded with just about any game imaginable, and inside, you discover a comfortable gaming den with enough room for you and all your friends to throw down on some Halo. No parents allowed. With…
Casmalia revisited
Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached another settlement with some former clients of the Casmalia Resources Superfund Site, a now defunct toxic waste dump that collected more than 5.6 billion pounds of waste in the 1970s and ’80s. Since the mid 1990s, the EPA has been seeking monetary settlements to help pay for…
Make way for the prisoners
Under a bill recently signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, tens of thousands of lower-level state inmates will be transferred to county jails over the next few years, and counties are scrambling to figure out where to put them. With April’s passage of Assembly Bill 109, up to 50,000 state inmates convicted of nonviolent crimes could…
State Assembly passes anti-rape legislation
State legislation that aims to strengthen rape statutes is one step closer to becoming a reality. On May 9, the Assembly unanimously approved AB 765, a bill introduced by Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian (R-San Luis Obispo) and championed by Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley. If passed, the bill will clarify that an attacker who…
Pink slips issued for Santa Barbara County employees
At the beginning of this month, approximately 130 Santa Barbara County positions were cut to help close a $72 million budget deficit. Jeri Muth, interim human resources director for the county, said in addition to the pink slips for some current employees, some unfilled positions were also eliminated. However, the total number of employee reductions…
It’s official: The Lompoc Walmart expansion is happening
After years of back-and-forth bickering, it seems Lompoc residents opposed to enlarging the existing Walmart retail center have exhausted all their options. The grassroots activist group Citizens Against Walmart Expansion (CAWE) filed an appeal to the city planning commission’s February approval of the project. At its May 3 meeting, the City Council finally put the…
Bill to authorize Orcutt memorial moves forward
A state Senate bill that would allow for the construction of a veterans’ memorial at the entrance to Old Town Orcutt is on its way to the Senate Appropriations Committee. With an 8-1 vote, Senate Bill 443, authored by Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Simi Valley), passed through the Transportation and Housing Committee on May 5. The…
Goleta double homicide from 1981 linked to Original Night Stalker case
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department officials have positively linked a 1981 double-homicide in Goleta to the Original Night Stalker, a serial killer believed to have terrorized Sacramento, Ventura, and Orange counties in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The department announced May 5 that with the help of advances in DNA technology, investigators were able…
