Cover Story
No place like ommm: Schools are incorporating mindfulness as a way to help children develop better
Close your eyes and picture yourself by the bank of a river. Next to you is a tall tree with branches stretching out across the sky. A slight breeze begins to blow loosening the leaves from the branches. The breeze begins to swirl the leaves around, blowing them away. Now imagine all of those leaves…
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office investigates SMPD-involved fatal shooting
An investigation of a July 20 incident involving a man who was fatally shot by police officers from the Santa Maria Police Department (SMPD) has been turned over to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, according to SMPD Sgt. Russell Mengel. UPDATE: Police identified the man as 31-year-old Javier Gaona of Santa Maria. An autopsy…
What do you do to relax?
Ken Guge owner of Leisure Time Games “What is this ‘relax’ you speak of?” Alex Contreras manager of World 1-1 Games “I go to every thrift store in Santa Maria. It’s therapeutic for me.” Vianna Guerrero works at Whipper Snippers “I like to go home, lay down, and watch movies.” Juana Arevalo works at Payless…
Comfort from the sea: Nikka Fish Enterprise serves up some excellent seafood dishes in Lompoc
Nikka Fish Enterprise in Lompoc seems like the kind of place that should be really busy during lunch hour. It’s an attractive venue: A brick fireplace sits adjacent to a large bar area; tables and decorative wine barrels scatter the restaurant floor; one wood-paneled wall gives off a boat-like vibe, sporting a wall-length booth and…
Santa Maria Philharmonic to hold gala fundraiser
The Santa Maria Philharmonic Society will hold a Casablanca Gala event to raise funds for the organization and the current season on Nov. 19. The event will include big band performance, food, and drink for attendees. The Casablanca Gala will also help support the Philharmonic Society’s Music Van and Children’s Concerts, both are programs that…
Lompoc Concert Association welcomes Sonic Escape
The Lompoc Concert Association is hosting a concert by Sonic Escape on Nov. 19 as part of its 2016-17 season. The concert takes place at the First United Methodist Church in Lompoc and begins at 7:30 p.m. Sonic Escape is known for their mix of hyper-instrumentals, dance, and storytelling. Founders Shawn Wyckoff and Maria Millar…
Local libraries observe International Games Day
Three local libraries will join the celebration of International Games Day, which takes place Nov. 19. The Lompoc Public Library, Buellton Library, and the Solvang Library will host separate events honoring the occasion. The community is invited to come and play tabletop games of all kinds. The Solvang Library welcomes gamers on Nov. 17 from…
Orcutt Children’s Art Foundation begins 805 Rocks! campaign to spread joy throughout the community
The First Friday events in Old Town Orcutt see a number of businesses participate, enticing locals to enjoy specials at restaurants or shops, but one attraction isn’t put on by a local business. The Orcutt Children’s Art Foundation (OCAF) is a nonprofit organization that promotes the arts. The group found a perfect venue in First…
Los Alamos Public Library showcases the colorful geological maps of Thomas Dibblee
There is an art to science, they say, and one of the earliest intersections between the two seemingly separate fields was cartography. The earliest maps always had an artistic flair to them, whether it was the incredible accuracy cartographers could achieve or the ornate compass roses that adorned them. The Los Alamos Public Library is…
‘Do the best we can!’ Fialta cleans up at the New Times Music Awards
It was all things Fialta on Friday, Nov. 11, in the Fremont Theater, where the SLO Town pop quartet took home the top prize for Best Live Performance, Best Open Song, Best Songwriter, Best Album, second in Best Rock-Alternative Song, and the Readers’ Choice Award at the eighth annual New Times Music Awards. Yeah, they…
Furnishing love
Some stuff I just don’t care about. I don’t mean to be an apathetic person, it’s just that there are some things I don’t have a strong opinion about, therefore I don’t concern myself with whatever it is. Oftentimes I’m so indifferent to an issue that I’d prefer not to even have a conversation about…
Travis Milne
Athletic success can be fleeting. Oftentimes, glory on the hardwood or the gridiron will be limited to one’s youth, and triumphs in the athletic arena become fewer and farther between as the years stretch on. Well for one Santa Maria resident, his ultimate athletic triumph occurred almost a decade after he played his final varsity…
An aquatic dynasty: Righetti water polo reigns when it comes to consistent success
In sports, there are certain measurable items, like wins and losses. Oftentimes, we use these to measure success. Former NFL head coach Bill Parcells was famously quoted as saying, “You are what your record says you are.” The implication being that no matter how much success a team has throughout a game, without a win…
Picking up the pieces
Well wasn’t that a whopper of an election? All around me people lay deflated and defeated, and in the words of many, “grieving” for the loss of the presidential position to Donald Trump. With their last breaths they are now speaking out in protest that this will destroy our country, send us into war, and…
Religious roots
The implicit sexism lamented by the editor in “Reality check” (Nov. 3) is deeply rooted in our culture in a paradoxical source: the Bible. (And until these roots are extirpated, latent sexism will continue.) This is obvious in many Old Testament and New Testament texts. These texts, starting with the sex roles of Adam and…
Third graders can participate in Bonnie Plants cabbage program
Teachers can apply now to have their students participate in the 2017 National Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program. It’s free to any third grade classroom in the country. Bonnie Plants will deliver 2-inch “oversized” cabbage plants to every registered third grade classroom in the country. If nurtured and cared for, kids can cultivate and…
Santa Maria High School students promote literacy and heritage
Santa Maria High School’s Chicano/Latino Studies students recently took the celebration of promoting literacy and honoring Latino heritage off the pages of books and into the minds of young people at nearby Sanchez Elementary School. The community outreach involved reading books that were written by or about Latinos. The goal was to highlight the rich…
Spotlight on: ProTac Private Security
Presidents aren’t the only ones who are protected by security details. Celebrities and other high-profile dignitaries get their own as well. But who exactly are those inconspicuous, well-dressed men and women wearing dark sunglasses and earpieces? They’re most likely personnel from security companies like ProTac Private Security, which formed in 2015 with the combined skills…
Undocumented immigrants and advocacy groups in North County are bracing for Trump’s promised immigration policies
Just one day after the election, anxiety had set in among some Santa Barbara County residents. Two female employees at a Subway restaurant discussed U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s unanticipated win against his challenger, Hillary Clinton. Their tone reflected uncertainty and fear, similar to many Santa Maria residents. The city has a majority Latino population, including…
Defining joint rules: Cities, counties, and federal government agencies grapple with state laws regarding marijuana
Thanks to the passage of Proposition 64 on Election Day, recreational marijuana is now legal in California. Well … mostly. Marijuana laws are notoriously confusing, since federal, state, and municipal governments never seem to be on the same page about what to allow and what to ban. For example, medical marijuana has been legal in…
Political Watch 11/17/16
• Gov. Jerry Brown issued the following statement on the 2016 presidential election and the transition to a new administration: “Today we saw the beginning of the transfer of power to the president-elect. “While the prerogatives of victory are clear, so also are the responsibilities to ensure a strong and unified America. As President Lincoln…
Despite spike in countywide voter registration, turnout in Santa Barbara County remained modest
Needless to say, the 2016 general election was a doozy. The presidential race alone divided friends, sparked outrage, and elicited a ceaseless stream of social media rants. Voter registration numbers spiked, and political experts were poised to see a robust turnout at the polls on Election Day. But that didn’t exactly happen. Where Santa Barbara…
Solvang enacts soft water restrictions to curb salt content in groundwater
On Nov. 14, the Solvang City Council adopted an ordinance placing restrictions on the use of salt-based soft water filtration systems in houses. Specifically, the ordinance bans low-efficiency units, according to Solvang City Manager Brad Vidro. Owners of residential units in the city must replace their current filtration systems to “high-efficiency sensor systems,” he said,…
County report recommends Santa Ynez Valley Airport Authority board members receive Brown Act training
A report issued by the Santa Barbara County General Services Department in November recommended that members of the Santa Ynez Airport Authority board of directors receive training in the Brown Act, the law that mandates public meetings of legislative bodies in California. The recommendation is one of several made in the report, which was requested…
Offshore fracking in Santa Barbara Channel sparks another lawsuit
Environmental groups filed a lawsuit on Nov. 11 accusing federal agencies of failing to adequately analyze the potential risks and impacts of fracking and acidizing on Southern California’s offshore oil platforms, including those in Santa Barbara County. Back in February, two federal agencies released an environmental review stating that fracking and acidizing don’t significantly impact…
