Cover Story
And they’re off
Ladies and gentlemen, step right up, cast your vote and pick a winner. To help you with that decision, let us introduce you to the contenders. In the incumbent’s seat is Joni Gray, having served the 4th supervisorial district in Santa Barbara County for 14 years. The Orcutt native graduated from Cal Poly in SLO…
Orcutt has sushi
Less than a year after Orcutt’s culinary icon, Chef Rick Manson, closed his revered restaurant after two decades in business, there is a new chef in town: Chef Steve. Steve Jeon has 20 years experience in the restaurant industry, and was trained 6,000 miles to the west of California, in Korea. Working in five-star hotel…
What’s your favorite part of the rodeo?
Audrey Sewell student/server at Station Grill “The cowboys are always nice.” Colin Hodges student athlete “When the bull jumps over the fence, it’s crazy.” Camille Hernandez student athlete “The Wrangler butts!” Ernesto Gonzalez student “I’ve never been to the rodeo but I think I would like the bull riding.”
Find a sense of place at Hancock
Luis Ramirez and Jessica Lah will present their two-person show, A Sense of Place, through May 25 at the Ann Foxworthy Gallery on the Allan Hancock College Santa Maria campus. Ramirez and Lah met at Long Beach State University, where both were selected to study for one year at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts…
Classes teaches women self-discovery
WonHeart will be presenting an extended version of “5 Ways to Complete Health” for women, from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 19, at Shepard Hall at the Santa Maria Public Library, 421 S. McClelland. A shorter sample of the program was conducted in March in honor of International Women’s Day with assistance from…
See sublimation in action
Artist Michael Corob will present a dye sublimation printing demonstration from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at Gold Coast Art n’ Frames, 613 East Main St. In dye sublimation printing, heat causes ink on a print to become a gas, which penetrates an expanded polyester or polymer surface. When the heat is…
Leather up
Sally Donaldson, owner of Nana Bandanas Leatherworks, grew up around her grandparents’ ranch. She loved the smell of leather. Sally had even taken a high school leatherworking course, which she absolutely loved. But starting a leatherworking business never came to mind. Even when her son-in-law gave her a set of leatherworking tools, she had no…
It’s all cool
On a recent weekend, we took a short trip to experience a change of scenery and enjoy a break from our normal routine. Unfortunately, our “normal routine” followed us. Our expectations were that we would go out to have a good time, so we should seek out experiences we don’t get at home: shop at…
That swinging sound
Jazz music lends itself to an almost infinite combination of instruments and uses of style. From a solo jazz guitar to a piano, bass, and drum trio, the elasticity of the genre can lead anywhere. The Allan Hancock College Jazz Band may not have the numbers the Glenn Miller Orchestra did, but it boasts enough…
Past meets present
Art comes in all shapes and forms. Sometimes it’s already artful, like a sunset splashed with orange, pinks, and gold. Other times it’s art waiting to become realized, like a blank canvas, a gourd sitting in a vegetable garden, or an artificial tree destined for the middle of a Disney theme park. Deborah Hildinger has…
On the roster
• First Tee’s LPGA-USGA Girls Golf: Girls can learn about golf at a First Tee program, hosted by former LPGA Tour player Bonnie Lauer at Blacklake Golf Resort in Nipomo. Classes cost $75 and cover the basics of golf, and are open to all girls (ages 10 and older recommended). They take place from 4…
Former NBA star holds basketball camp
Children ages 10 to 18 from all over the Central Coast are invited to participate in the Horace Grant Elite Basketball Camp, scheduled for June 25 through 28 in San Luis Obispo. The camp is led by former Chicago Bulls forward and NBA All-Star Horace Grant, who lives in the area. It runs from 9…
Show some glove for Lompoc PAL
Give your old baseball glove some new love by donating it to the Lompoc Valley’s Police Activities League and the youth of PAL’s new baseball team. The Lompoc Police Department will hold a glove drive on June 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to provide gloves to children ages 5 to 13 who will…
Flag football kicks off in Santa Barbara County
The Rise and Achieve Foundation is looking for Santa Barbara County youth ages 5 to 17 to participate in its upcoming NFL Flag Football season. Registrations will take place May 19 and 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Santa Maria Athletic Club, located at 1321 S. Bradley Road. in Santa Maria. Players…
Athlete of the Week: Caitlyn Voss
Besides using her passion for softball to fuel the drive she needs to advance her game, Athlete of the Week Caitlin Voss has a motto to help keep her on track: Handle it. “Whatever it is in life, just handle it,” Voss said. “If something is due in class, just handle it. If you need…
Clowns to the rescue
Imagine a clown. Most people picture someone with a foam nose juggling tennis balls or balancing on a unicycle. Some think of the clown who twists squeaking balloons into the shape of animals. Still others might see Pennywise from Stephen King’s It and have trouble sleeping tonight. Few think of the rodeo clown—the daring clown…
Green classrooms come to New Tech High School
Specially designed “green” classrooms have been installed at the future site of Central Coast New Tech High School, a technology-focused school in the Lucia Mar School District that opens in August. The classrooms will provide a new wing of permanent learning space, plus an eco-friendly restroom building. Gen7, a green building fabrication company, designed the…
Give your kids a Head Start
Community Action Partnership is now recruiting children ages 3 to 5 years old for the Head Start program, as well as pregnant mothers and children younger than 3 for the Early Head Start program for the 2012-13 school year. The Early Head Start program is a home base-, center base-, and family-childcare option program. Head…
Local teachers win Crystal Apples
The Santa Barbara County Teachers Network will recognize the county’s outstanding educators at its 28th annual gala celebration May 17 at Santa Ynez Valley Marriott in Buellton. Sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Education Office, the event will feature winners of Venoco, Inc.’s Crystal Apple Awards, as well as the recipients of grants for instructional…
Crestview recognized as a distinguished school
The Crestview Cougars have something to really roar about: The California Department of Education presented the elementary school’s educators with a California Distinguished School award at the beginning of the month. The school is on Vandenberg Air Force Base property. The award identifies schools that have demonstrated educational excellence for all students and shown progress…
Spotlight on: Santa Maria Gun Club
If you’re looking for the biggest bang for your buck, you should head down Telephone Road in Santa Maria with some shotguns and a couple of pistols. The Santa Maria Gun Club has the largest indoor pistol range on the Central Coast, with eight separate lanes to test your marksmanship from as far as 25…
Hobnobbing With Helen
The vivacious, slender blonde has been one busy lady for quite some time. But not to worry. Donna France had an army of volunteers eager to help her get it together for the 32nd annual Dinner Auction of the Santa Maria Valley Boys and Girls Club. France must have breathed one huge sigh of relief…
Foster a kitten, save a life
Spring is coming to an end and summer is around the corner. As the temperatures start to rise, so does the number of orphaned kittens arriving at Santa Barbara County Animal Services’ three shelters. Some of the kittens come to the shelter with their mothers, while others arrive so young the only way they can…
Total recall?
More than 70 people crowded into Shepard Hall in the Santa Maria Public Library on May 8 to hear a local group’s proposal to recall a member of the Santa Maria-Bonita School District’s board of education. Glenn Goldin—a special education teacher and parent of two children in the school district—welcomed other parents and community members…
Welcome to hemp house?
Yes, it’s green. No, you can’t smoke it. California’s first home made from industrial hemp materials could be coming to Santa Barbara County, if the owner of Knapp’s Castle can navigate his way through a labyrinth of red tape. Sitting off Highway 154 in the Santa Ynez Mountains, Knapp’s Castle is the remnants of a…
Surrender your pot … and throw in the Kinkade paintings, too
Narcotics detectives with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department recently arrested a Santa Maria man on suspicion of growing and selling marijuana out of an office warehouse on West Betteravia Road. Jesse Delacruz is suspected of growing hundreds of marijuana plants and selling large amounts of marijuana outside the guidelines of the Compassionate Use Act.…
The Berns case continues
On May 8, Santa Maria Assistant City Attorney Phil Sinco sent the Sun a follow-up letter to its public records requests regarding the death of local resident Jerry Berns. Berns was shot and killed on March 9, 2011, in an alleyway behind a blacksmith shop on North Blosser Road. Police said he was robbing a…
Findings regarding a Santa Maria police officer’s death are still to come
It’s been nearly four months since the shooting death of Santa Maria police officer Albert Covarrubias, Jr., but people awaiting answers from investigations into the incident will have to wait a bit longer. Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley told the Sun the Sheriff’s Department forwarded its reports on the incident to her office…
Marian’s new hospital is ready for business
Doctors, nurses, and other staff members are preparing for the grand opening of the new-and-improved Marian Regional Medical Center on May 22. Hospital President Chuck Cova said hospital staffers are currently going through training to “fully understand how we will function in the [new] building.” The hospital has hired 65 new employees since January and…
Allan Hancock College says goodbye to Ortiz
On May 8, members of the board of trustees of the Peralta Community College District announced current Allan Hancock College President Jose M. Ortiz will be the newly appointed chancellor of their district. As of July 2, Ortiz will take over for current chancellor Wise E. Allen to lead Berkeley City College, College of Alameda,…
Obama is backing the states
There are a number of legal cases winding their way toward federal courts that address the issue of whether the equal protection clause of the Constitution guarantees gay men and women the same access to marriage rights as heterosexual men and women. There are several challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars gay…
I can live with this tax
I don’t like taxes any more than the next person, but I am voting for Measure U on June 5, and here’s why: It will save me $320 a year when it contributes to the completion of the levee and my home is no longer in a flood zone, allowing me to discontinue my flood…
Measure U is worth it
Santa Maria is my home, and I work with many people in this community through nonprofits. I have seen firsthand that Santa Maria has a huge need for more police officers and firefighters. I want to see our city restored to a safer condition so that it is more attractive to live here and retain…
Support first responders in northeast Santa Maria
Santa Maria firefighters help in my neighborhood at least once a week. I live here in Casa del Rio on Suey Crossing Road, across the street from the new Station 5. Santa Maria firefighters helped Mom and Dad. At those times, they came from the fire station on Donovan Road, west of the freeway. When…
I care about Santa Maria, so I’m voting yes on U
As a 50-year resident of Santa Maria, and as a retired businessman, I care deeply about this community and its future. That’s why I am voting yes on Measure U on June 5. Without Measure U, our local city cannot hire the firefighters and police officers we all need to protect our growing community. The…
