Cover Story
The life and death of Jerry Berns
On the evening of March 9, 2011, shots rang out in the alleyway behind Reyes Blacksmithing on North Blosser Road in Santa Maria. Ultimately, one man was declared dead at the scene and another was transported to Marian Medical Center, reportedly suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. Two days later, on March 11,…
Should California abolish the death penalty?
Joanna Martinez receptionist “They should be sentenced for life. It doesn’t teach anything to murder someone. Put it in the Lord’s hands, and let him judge them.” Stacy Wilson industrial sales “Each case is unique, but certain heinous crimes deserve the death penalty.” Travis Hanson student “It should not be abolished. But it should only…
Wine and art to benefit Arts Outreach
Fiddlehead Cellars recently announced “The Art of Fiddlehead,” a series of receptions for the palate and the palette, beginning on May 3. The series will benefit the nonprofit Arts Outreach while highlighting Fiddlehead wines and local artists. Series events will happen in the Fiddlehead barrel room in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto, 1597 E. Chestnut Ave.,…
Folklorico!
Skirts twirling like colorful pinwheels and feet shuffling to the rhythmic beat of traditional Mexican folk music will fill the stage during Allan Hancock College’s annual FOLKLORICO! performance. The event is a collaboration between dancers from the college’s dance department, the college’s youth division, and the folklorico groups from Santa Maria, Pioneer, and Righetti high…
Steel is strong
The thought of a military band usually evokes images of rows of shimmering brass and sounds of lively marches a la John Philip Sousa. Rarely does one envision an electric light show, a full rock drum kit, and screaming guitar solos. But the United States Air Force Academy Band’s popular music ensemble Blue Steel aims…
Battle on
Santa Maria Civic Theatre wraps up its season with a few good laughs with Ed Simpson’s The Battle of Shallowford. Directed by Richard Dresp, the production fuses a slice-of-life look at the small town of Shallowford, N.C., and its residents, who live through the chaos following the broadcast of The War of the Worlds by…
Everything you wanted to know about sex*
“Grandma, where do babies come from?” The question was one I had been expecting, but not just yet. Mini-Brit was then only in kindergarten. Always an observant little fellow, he noticed that a classmate’s mother’s tummy was growing quite large. When he asked his schoolmate about it, she announced that her mommy was going to…
¡Felicidades El Pueblito!
A Santa Maria restaurant owner has good reason to be jubilant, and it’s not just this weekend’s Cinco de Mayo celebration. Feb. 27 marked El Pueblito Restaurante’s 15th anniversary. The Mexican restaurant opened for business in 1997, at the corner of South Blosser Road and Boone Street. “Fifteen years is a long time! We keep…
On the roster
• Titan Classic Golf Tournament: A golf fundraiser for Nipomo High School Booster Club takes place May 12 at Monarch Dunes Golf Course. The event starts at 11 a.m. Sponsorship opportunities are available, ranging from $50 to $1,000. For more information, call the Nipomo High School office at 934-3030 or 474-3300, or visit nhstitans.org. Participants…
West Coast Xtreme holds basketball clinics
California West Coast Xtreme Basketball Academy announced its “Skills and Drills” basketball clinic schedule for boys and girls in third through eighth grades. Clinics will be held May 8, 21, and 28 in the gymnasium at St. Joseph High School. Clinics for third to sixth graders will run from 7 to 8 p.m., and 8…
Sign up for Orcutt youth basketball
Summer is just around the corner, and so is the Orcutt Youth Basketball program for second through sixth graders, hosted by the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Maria Valley. The six-game season runs June 18 to July 26, with all games held at Lakeview and Orcutt junior high schools. The cost is $50 for…
Polo fundraiser in the Valley
Central Coast residents can experience the thrill of polo in person at the inaugural Santa Ynez Valley Polo Classic on July 21. The event starts with a Junior Polo Team exhibition, followed by a match featuring several of the highest rated players in the world. It benefits People Helping People, a nonprofit organization celebrating its…
Athlete of the Week: Todd Rogers
In any office setting, you can find a cubicle with a calendar. On that calendar might be a picture of an exotic beach—a reminder of what lies beyond the computer monitor, or maybe a motivator for an upcoming vacation to escape the routine. For Solvang resident and Olympic gold medalist in beach volleyball Todd Rogers,…
DIY Derby
The idea of homemade soap box derby cars propelling off ramps and barreling down steep roadways conjures up grainy images of a simpler, bygone era. But derby racing isn’t a mere memory; it’s very much alive, thanks in part to the California Family Soap Box Derby Association (CFSBDA), one of several groups that still organize…
Finding cash cows starts early in politics
The floodgates are open with the recent Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case. The recent GOP primary contest has shown us the power of unlimited corporate secret funding in politics. Needless to say, both the public and media need to be extra vigilant pointing out who is behind these massive waves of advertising…
Spotlight on: Ambrosia Restaurant
Santa Maria is chock full of steakhouses and Mexican restaurants, but if you’re looking for homemade food with a touch of American comfort, check out Ambrosia Restaurant. Quaint with a quiet dining atmosphere and great for everyday dining and special events, Ambrosia has been in business for six years. The restaurant underwent a change of…
St. Mary’s school students and the planet, one napkin at a time
In one year, the average American will use more than 2,000 paper napkins. If each person used one less napkin every day, billions of napkins and trees could be saved. Second graders from Saint Mary’s of the Assumption School are taking a stand against over-using napkins through an awareness project. According to a recent press…
Allan Hancock College student wins award for number crunching
The Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) program recently presented its third annual Math Challenge competition. With nearly 200 students competing from 21 community colleges, it was Allan Hancock College’s own German Morales who took the top spot. According to a recent press release, seven Hancock students participated in the competition, held at the MESA…
Way to go, North County!
On April 25, the Santa Barbara Foundation honored some of Northern Santa Barbara County’s highest-achieving high school students at the Santa Maria Library. Created by Gwendolyn Floro, the Floro Awards grant scholarships exclusively to students in North County. “It is made to students from the Santa Maria Valley who have demonstrated exceptional academic achievement and…
Hobnobbing with Helen
Ah shucks, folks—it was just an old-fashioned, money-raising shindig, albeit attended by 800-plus people and raising really big bucks for COLAB, the Coalition for Labor, Agriculture, and Business. Underneath those cowboy hats and dress-up denims were some of the most influential people in the county. It was COLAB’s 21st anniversary dinner, held Saturday night, April…
Be the one
On May 12, students from David Dubransky’s fourth grade class at Tunnell Elementary will be asking shoppers at the Town Center mall in Santa Maria to take a quick and easy test to register for the national bone marrow donor list. The students will be stationed outside Claire’s jewelry shop on the lower level of the…
Mission Hope
The rain didn’t stop nearly 600 people from attending the late-April celebration for the grand opening of Mission Hope Cancer Center in Santa Maria. The integrated treatment center is home to state-of-the-art medical technology on par with that of UCLA and Stanford. “Our goal is to create something equivalent that can serve the coast. Our…
Correction
The Sun would like to correct a mistake in last week’s Eats Colum, “Hoppin’ beer festivals.” Craft Beer Week’s beer versus wine dinner at the Los Olivos Cafe will be held on May 15.
Community West Bank agrees to federal oversight
Bank regulators have notified the parent company of Community West Bank that it must get approval from the Federal Reserve System before paying out dividends, selling stock, or incurring debt, according to an April 23 agreement. In the document, Community West Bancshares, headquartered in Goleta, agreed with the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco to…
Strawberries are on top again
The Santa Barbara County Agricultural Commission recently released its annual crop report, detailing the production of fruit, vegetable, nut, nursery, and livestock crops throughout the county. According to the Deputy Agricultural Commissioner Guy Tingos, this report shows just how important agriculture is to the county. “Santa Barbara County is ranked 12th in the state of…
Supervisor Farr’s letter opposes Chumash fee-to-trust proposal
In a letter to an Alaskan congressman, 3rd District Santa Barbara County Supervisor Doreen Farr again laid out her objections to a request by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians to annex 1,400 acres of tribal property. The tribe is seeking to place land it owns near highways 154 and 246 in the Santa…
The next stop from Santa Maria could be Hawaii
Construction on the Santa Maria Public Airport’s 8,004-foot runway extension is complete; the extended landing strip is set to be operational by May 3, according to General Manager Chris Hastert. However, the new feature won’t be fully usable until later this month, after an instrument landing system is installed on the runway, which will help…
