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HOLIDAY GUIDE 2022
It’s hard to believe that 2022 is in the home stretch, but the holiday season is here, which means food, festivities, friends, family, and fringe benefits—like gifts! As Thanksgiving bears down on us, the Sun is here to get you prepared to tackle the bedecked, glittery world through New Year’s Eve. In this year’s annual…
A Buellton animal sanctuary launches a campaign to help save its feathered friends
Nikki Patterson had always been a huge animal person and knew one day she would work with animals full time. While she and her husband lived in Los Angeles, they had property in Buellton where they would vacation. When the pandemic hit, the two found themselves remaining in Buellton and decided to make the move…
BINGEABLE: THE ENGLISH (2022)
BINGEABLE: THE ENGLISH (2022) Where’s it playing? Amazon Prime What’s it rated? TV-MA Written and directed by Hugo Blick (Black Earth Rising), this gritty Western miniseries follows British woman Cornelia Locke (Emily Blunt), who has traveled to America for revenge against the man who killed her son. Once arrived, she meets Pawnee Indian scout Eli…
Soto pulls ahead of Funkhouser in Santa Maria’s 3rd District
Editor’s note: This online version of the Santa Maria City Council races story was updated to reflect the most recent election results, which were released on Nov. 15. Incumbent Gloria Soto squeaked by challenger Steven Funkhouser in Santa Maria City Council’s 3rd District race, according to the Nov. 15 vote count update. Until then, Funkhouser…
Sasha Vujacic, winemaker and former Laker, hosts an intimate dinner in Los Olivos
Before playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, Sasha Vujacic spent the early years of his professional basketball career in northern Italy, where he enjoyed bonding over regional wines with his father. “At that time, my dad was exploring the local wines in the area and learning about the diverse practices, approaches, and traditions that determine…
Lifelong local Mark H. Parsons debuts new novel, ‘The 9:09 Project’
Santa Maria was author Mark H. Parsons’ stomping grounds from age 3 until his 30s. About 20 years ago, Parsons and his wife—a notable author in her own right, Wendelin Van Draanen—bought a parcel of land in Pismo Beach, where they built their current home. “I’ve always lived on the Central Coast. Who wouldn’t want…
Two Santa Maria studios team up for Diane Rose Zink’s ‘The Nutcracker’ in Arroyo Grande
Everybody Can DANCE and the Santa Maria Civic Ballet present their annual collaborative production of The Nutcracker, choreographed by Diane Rose Zink, at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 27, at 3 p.m. Zink has helmed this unique iteration of Tchaikovsky’s…
Righetti teacher Jacob Gustafson wins Excellence in Film Education award
During the Central Coast Entertainment Expo in early November, Righetti High School film instructor Jacob Gustafson (pictured, center) received the Excellence in Film Education award, according to the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District. Teachers at high schools in Nipomo, San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, and other cities were also in the running for…
Much stayed the same after the election, for better in Lompoc, and for worse beyond
The election was just completed, and the winners and losers are spinning the results. One welcome outcome is that my home phone stopped ringing with unwanted political calls and so did my cellphone. These annoying calls were designed to convince me to vote for this or that, but in my case all it did was…
Nipomo is not the county’s fix
Some 20 years ago, there was an effort to enact an innovative but controversial program in San Luis Obispo County for open space conservation purposes. This program, called a transfer of development dredits (or TDC) program, had as its main goal the conservation of sites with important habitat or other conservation values. The concept is…
Normalize volunteering
Guys! Teens are smoking pot. Surprised? I’m not. In a recent presentation to the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Commission, Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley Programs Director Dawnette Kingsley-Smith vouched for an ordinance restricting public tobacco and marijuana use. She said it would help “denormalize” pot smoking among youth. “The myths around the health of…
Democrats lead in state Assembly District elections
Santa Barbara County 2nd District Supervisor Gregg Hart will have one last meeting as a county official on Nov. 29, and then he may be taking a seat up in Sacramento as the state’s 37th District Assembly member. The district—made up of Santa Barbara and southern SLO County—changed after the required redistricting process, pushing both…
Santa Maria parks commission proposes ordinance to reduce public smoking
Smoking and vaping have been prohibited at all 28 of Santa Maria’s parks since 2016, thanks to a citywide ban. Some local officials are hoping to extend that ban to all outdoor public spaces within city limits. The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Commission is currently working with the City Attorney’s Office to draft a…
Political Watch: November 17, 2022
• Gov. Gavin Newsom called for the Legislature to take early action to ensure any federal student debt relief provided to Californians would not be subject to state taxes, according to a Nov. 5 statement from the governor’s office. The proposal will be a part of the governor’s budget, which will be released in January.…
