Cover Story
A growing trend
Quick: What image comes to mind when you read the word “farmer”? Perhaps you envision a sturdy and stoic gentleman, clad in work boots, overalls, and a straw hat, holding a pitchfork or driving a tractor. Ingrained as it is in the Western consciousness, the classic stereotype of the farmer is quickly shifting across the…
The Bleacher Bum Chronicles XIV
It’s an old, tired saying that cheaters never prosper. As we all know, that’s not entirely true. Cheaters can prosper, at least until they get caught. Just ask Barry Bonds, Bernie Madoff, or anyone from Enron or Goldman Sachs. Wait, Goldman Sachs did get away with it. Scratch that one. It may not be the…
Spotlight on: Jack’s All-American Plumbing
Having reached two decades in the plumbing business, Jack’s All-American Plumbing has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Co-owner Jack Bingham got started with a local plumbing company shortly after moving to the area at the age of 17. He met his wife Becky during a service call, they got married, and decided…
Where do you get your produce?
Joanne Thompson Macy’s cosmetic manager “I get my vegetables at Vons or Trader Joe’s.” Katie Dwyer teacher “Spencer’s Market because they always have fresh produce.” Roy Hansen artist and art teacher “Fresh n’ Easy or Spencer’s Market.” James Michaelis custodian “I get produce wherever it is cheapest or on sale.”
Know a teenager who wants to make a difference?
The Fund for Santa Barbara is now accepting applications for its grant-making program, Youth Making Change. Launched in 2008, Youth Making Change gives teenagers the chance to oversee the dispersal of grants to various nonprofit organizations. Each Youth Making Change board—there’s one in Santa Maria and one in Santa Barbara—gives out a total of $10,000…
Local high schoolers have painting pride
After a brief hiatus, the Santa Maria Rodeo Window Painting and High School Art Competition is back in action. Once an annual custom in town, businesses will now allow art students from every local high school to publicly display their artistry on the businesses’ windows through the end of Rodeo Weekend, June 5. The designs—which…
It’s rocket science!
Rockets have been made for more than 1,000 years, and represent not only some of man’s oldest technology, but some of man’s most highly-developed technology. From the simplest bottle rockets to our modern rockets, they all rely on one basic principle—Newton’s Third Law of Motion: To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.…
What’s on Deck?
Thursday, May 19 Baseball- CIF Southern Section Wildcard Playoffs TBA Girls’ Softball- CIF Southern Section Playoffs TBA Friday, May 20 Baseball- CIF Southern Section Playoffs TBA Men’s/Women’s Track- State Meet Championships @ American River College 11 a.m. Saturday, May 21 Boys’ Volleyball- CIF Southern Section Championships @ Cypress…
On the roster
• Golf for Wishes Tournament: The annual fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Tri-Counties at Monarch Dunes Golf Course in Nipomo is May 20. The tournament begins at 11 a.m. with a shotgun start, and dinner will follow. For more information, call the Santa Maria Valley Physical Therapy Group at 928-8257, Cleaner Cans at…
Hoop it up this summer
Boys and girls currently enrolled in first through eighth grades can refine their basketball skills during the city of Santa Maria’s Summer Youth Basketball League. The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department will be accepting registrations for the upcoming six-week season until June 9. The cost is $32.50 for residents and $40 for non-residents. For…
Panthers wash cars to support football program
Get your car cleaned and support Pioneer Valley High School football at the Parent Paw Squad’s car wash fundraiser on May 21, held at Imperial Tint in Santa Maria from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. During the event, volunteers will be selling $20 raffle tickets for a new car worth $25,000, with the drawing to…
Learn more about local wildlife
Children and adults can get up close and personal with native wildlife during the Cachuma Lake Nature Center’s presentation “Saving Wildlife International” on May 21 from 11 a.m. to noon. Experts will show off birds of prey, snakes, tortoises, possums, and more at close range and explain their habits and habitats. Families are urged to bring…
Jack Dunn IV
On May 10, in a home game against its rival the St. Joseph Knights, the Righetti Warriors baseball team pulled off an extra innings win with a bases loaded single in the bottom of the eighth, giving the Warriors a 4-3 victory. But it’s the performance on the mound from Righetti’s lead hurler, Jack Dunn…
STEM the tide
Our nation’s prosperity depends on the education of our students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), yet their proficiency in such subjects is deplorable. Increasingly, our students lack access to rigorous STEM curricula and hands-on STEM activities or avoid them where such challenging courses are still available. No wonder U.S. students rank 17th internationally in…
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…
Vandenberg troops get new digs
On May 6, Vandenberg Air Force Base opened the new 6,000-plus square-foot Balfour Beatty Community Center for military family housing residents. The new facility is located at 602 Juniper St and encompasses features the whole family can enjoy. The inside consists of a playroom, conference room, multi-purpose room equipped with a full kitchen, and two…
Blending technology and agriculture
When the words “hydroponics” and “growing” are mentioned together, the first thing that might come to mind is the cultivation of marijuana, whether for legal medicinal use or illegal recreational purposes. Hydroponics cultivation allows the grower to control the environment in which the crop is grown as well as when the plant flowers, and it’s…
Cross burning mystery
It happened right there,” said the woman, pointing to a burned patch of grass in an unkempt plot of land in Arroyo Grande. The burned grass, now faded after two months of spring storms, and a few bits of wood scattered around the yard are all that remain of a hate crime that shocked the…
Correction
Judge Art Garcia’s wife’s name was misstated in the April 21 Hobnobbing with Helen. She should have been identified as Carmen Garcia.
North County jail on the chopping block once again
This fiscal year has brought another round of tough choices for Santa Barbara County officials in light of a severe $72 million budget shortfall. The story has become a familiar one, but this year could be one of the worst in terms of public safety and legal services. If all plays out as proposed in…
Bulk of FEMA disaster funds to be set aside for Guadalupe Dunes access road
If and when Santa Barbara County finally secures federal funds to fix damage caused by winter storms, the county’s flagship project will be repairing the access road to the Rancho Guadalupe Dunes County Park. The temporary fix is budgeted for about $6.2 million of the $8.6 million the county has requested under a preliminary damage…
California’s high-speed rail derailed for now
It appears the California high-speed rail project–a transportation system that would link Northern and Southern California via high-speed train–is having a tough time getting on track. A recent report put forth by the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) asserts that there are a number of problems threatening the successful completion of the system. Among these problems…
Bedford explores food
Scholar, historian, winemaker, and master of Dutch oven campfire cooking, Stephan Bedford tackles life with the zest of a Renaissance man. When not tending to the wines at his Bedford Winery, he can be found staging a theatrical event, working the rows of his huge vegetable garden, or making his way through a half-dozen non-fiction…
Curious about the keys?
The piano is to music what the typewriter or computer keyboard is to literature; it is the main vehicle where most musical ideas are formed and exemplified. Anyone interested in becoming a student of music or just a casual enjoyer should start with the piano, but there are many things to consider when going about…
Curious about the keys?
The piano is to music what the typewriter or computer keyboard is to literature; it is the main vehicle where most musical ideas are formed and exemplified. Anyone interested in becoming a student of music or just a casual enjoyer should start with the piano, but there are many things to consider when going about…
Circle and a punch
There are times when life sucks you in its vortex and spits you out on the other side; a side where everything is backwards. It’s confusing and nothing makes sense. As weird as it sounds, it’s such a common phenomenon that there are plenty of examples in pop culture: The Wizard of Oz, Through the…
Teen book gets award
Nipomo resident Melinda Marchiano’s memoir, Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery, is one of three finalists in the 2011 Benjamin Franklin Awards: The Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book (Nonfiction). Winners will be announced at a gala award ceremony in New York City on May 23. On the same evening, Melinda…
Give an actor a home
Actors and technicians producing PCPA’s summer season of theatre in Santa Maria and Solvang will soon be in need of affordable housing. From May through September, this group of talented theatre professionals will need furnished rooms, apartments, or lofts as they produce The 39 Steps, Hairspray, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, My Fairytale, and Caroline,…
School of art
OCAF has always been in the business of raising money to promote the arts in Orcutt-area schools. This summer the nonprofit decided to take a different approach and use the arts to fund the arts. OCAF will introduce Orcutt Arts Academy as a way to provide students with an advanced art experience while also raising…
After all, 55 Fiction is a contest!
Julie spotted a fly and began to salivate. She hopped a bit closer to it, and—zap!—she snapped it up with her long tongue. After all, Julie is a frog. There are a number of formulas that writers of the world’s shortest stories have adopted over the years since New Times and Sun founder Steve Moss…
