Cover Story
The Great Turkey Hunt
Dawn peeks its way through the thick fog, illuminating the oak tree-laden hills bordering the Santa Ynez River and the communities of deer, wild boar, and quail that call it home. Ducked low behind sage and underbrush, I watch quietly as Marco Valdivia, my guide on this hunting foray, motions me to stay put and…
Sing a song
In association with the Lucia Mar Adult Education District and the Nipomo Recreation Department, Natasha Yufe’s singing classes will present their annual recital of various musical selections on Dec. 18 at 3 p.m. at Unity Chapel of Light, 1165 Stubblefield Road. Judge Jed Beebe will be the featured guest artist, performing violin favorites and joining…
Jazz up the holiday
The Hancock College Jazz Ensemble will host its fall concert on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. at Unity Chapel of Light, 1165 Stubblefield Road in Orcutt. Under the direction of Chuck Osborne, the group will present jazz and holiday favorites by George and Ira Gershwin, Henry Mancini, Mel Torme, and others. Musical numbers will…
Be featured at Cypress Gallery
The Cypress Gallery is looking for artists who want their work featured in the coming year. Artists can sign up to be a featured artist at the Cypress Gallery for January, March, May, June, July, August, or September. For more information, call 588-3459.
If you could “occupy” anything to raise awareness, what would you occupy?
Elias Soto processing team “A church. I’d say, help the poor people.” Emily Dill site director “Grade schools, to change the way people look at education.” Mya White radiology technologist “Schools—all of them—[for] race relations.” David Rutherford student “A large school, [to] take responsibility, own up to the things we have to do and the…
Athlete of the week: Jose Lopez
For all the work they do in the trenches, offensive linemen don’t often get the credit they deserve. Not so with Allan Hancock College sophomore Jose Lopez, who ended the season with a rare unanimous All-Conference selection by conference coaches. “I’m grateful. I’m happy they chose me,” Lopez said. “It just shows that my hard…
What’s on Deck?
Thursday, Nov. 24 No games scheduled Friday, Nov. 25 HS Football CIF Southern Section Playoffs TBA Men’s Basketball Allan Hancock College @ Bakersfield Tournament TBA Saturday, Nov. 26 College Football SCFA Championship TBA Cross Country CIF State Championship Meet Men’s Basketball Allan Hancock College @ Bakersfield Tournament…
On the roster
P.A.L. Girls’ Circle: The Santa Maria Police Athletic League (P.A.L.) is looking for girls in seventh to 12th grades to join its weekly skill-building sessions at the Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center. The Girls’ Circle encourages the development of strength, courage, confidence, honesty, and communication skills and provides girls with tools to improve their relationships.…
Hancock women complete a historic soccer season
Allan Hancock College women’s soccer team wrapped up a record-breaking season with a 3-2 victory over Cuesta College on Nov. 11. The Bulldogs finished 10-9-1, toppling the previous school record of nine wins in a single season. “Our positive results this season were a result of the quality, skill, and determination of our athletes,” head…
City to contribute to Hancock fields
The Santa Maria City Council on Nov. 15 agreed to help fund construction of new athletic facilities at Allan Hancock College, contributing $250,000 from the city’s Recreation and Parks fund. Under terms of a new joint-use agreement, yet to be signed, the city would contribute $62,500 annually for two soccer fields and a football practice…
Buellton taps Nipomo golf course operator
The Buellton City Council on Nov. 10 unanimously authorized city manager John Kunkel to negotiate a lease agreement with Sierra Turf, Inc., a Nipomo company, to operate the former Zaca Creek Golf Course. Under the agreement, Sierra Turf will pay the city $1,000 in monthly rent until May 31, 2012, and $1,250 thereafter. The company…
The Bleacher Bum Chronicles Vol. XX
I’ll be honest. I was going to sit down to hammer out a caffeinated and vitriolic column about the scandal embroiling Penn State University, and the shocking and unconscionable allegations of abuse against the school’s former defensive football coach, Jerry Sandusky. I wanted to channel all the disgust, all the rage I’ve felt since the…
Making music thrive
The Music Association of California Community Colleges (MACCC) is an organization that works to advance music education in the state’s community colleges. It does this by functioning as representation in the state Legislature. One way MACCC works to advance music-making among the state community colleges is through its yearly conference, which several Allan Hancock College…
More Best adventures
Best Family Adventures: San Luis Obispo County, 2nd Edition has hit bookstore shelves just in time for the holiday season. Orcutt resident Jennifer Best’s 258-page guide to outdoor family fun includes updated club contact numbers, descriptive details for parks that have been renovated, and new trail and family-friendly venue information. The original release sold nearly…
Coastal Voices go Christmas
The Coastal Voices Christmas Concert will be presented on two dates: Saturday, Dec. 10, at 2 p.m. and Monday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m. Both performances will be held at St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 3945 S. Bradley Road, Santa Maria. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door; youth 18 and younger…
Bequest helps Philharmonic
The Santa Maria Philharmonic Society had a recent stroke of good fortune when Executive Director George Majoue opened an envelope containing a bequest of $250,000 from long-time supporters of the organization. The bequest granted the organization unrestricted use of the funds as needed by the Philharmonic. Majoue knew just where the money needed to go.…
Hitler and America
Perhaps no dictator has captured the minds of historians, scholars, and the general public more than Adolf Hitler. Include Allan Hancock College professor Klaus P. Fischer in that group of people fascinated with the infamous man. Having just released his latest book on the fuehrer, Hitler and America, Fischer has participated in a flurry of…
See a Christmas classic
Tis the season for nostalgia. While A Christmas Carol runs at PCPA, Santa Maria Civic Theatre recalls a classic that’s a century younger than Dickens’ work, but a Christmas institution in its own right: Frank Capra’s beloved film It’s a Wonderful Life. A financial disappointment on its initial release in 1946, the now-ubiquitous film gained…
Wrong again
If a man is standing in a forest more than 250 miles away from the nearest woman and a tree falls, is he still wrong? The first time I heard this question, I thought it was lightly humorous, just as it was meant to be. However, the longer I’ve been married and the more I…
Thanksgiving leftovers
In the days following Thanksgiving, instead of reheating your turkey dinner in the microwave oven, how about trying something new and exciting this year? Three Central Coast chefs were kind enough to share their favorite leftover turkey recipes: Chef Rick Manson of the Far Western Tavern in Guadalupe, Chef Ryan Gromfin of Central City Market…
We have to move toward shutting down nuclear
I am not a scientist like Edward L. Quinn, who had his viewpoint printed recently (“Nuclear power continues to be safe and reliable,” The Tribune, Nov. 10), about the safety and reliability of nuclear power generation. He also mentioned the low cost to ratepayers. It does not take a scientist to discover the fact that…
Liberals and gangs–am I right?
We are all sick and tired of gangs destroying our country. I say put a bounty on their heads, and let’s get rid of the scum forever. We, the people, are tired of liberals protecting the rats.
Oil and marijuana are not the same
In publishing the recent commentary “What is more important?” (Nov. 3), your paper is maintaining its reputation of a far-left liberal blab. The commentary illustrates the fuzzy-headed thinking of the liberal writer who tries to tie oil development and marijuana sales together. Oil development and production produces jobs and wealth and pays taxes and retirement…
The ballet beckons
It’s that time of year again. Children in ballet studios across the country are preparing for their annual productions of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Most efforts begin in the same chaotic manner. The instructor’s words rise against the clamor of 50 children’s voices, each vying for their own particular kind of attention. It is a glorious…
The Thanksgiving Day from the Black Lagoon
The thing I love most about Thanksgiving is that it’s not like any other holiday. You don’t receive gifts, but you get to think about what you are thankful for. My favorite thing to eat is my grandma’s pumpkin pie and her famous turkey sandwiches. That brings me to my least favorite part about Thanksgiving:…
The big freeze
No, it doesn’t snow here. While the East Coast welcomes the winter with wide blankets of white, we Central Coast residents note some rainy days and cooler temperatures, but that’s about all. Don’t let our local lack of snow stop you from exploring the weather, however. Changing seasons mark a fine time to talk about…
The Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center is turning 10!
It’s been a decade since then-Assemblyman Abel Maldonado, the city of Santa Maria, and various other organizations came together to open a community center for Santa Maria’s youth. On Nov. 30, those individuals and groups will come together again at a press conference and reception to celebrate the Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center’s 10th anniversary.…
Spotlight on: Cold Spring Tavern
Tucked away on a winding, sycamore-forested stretch of road off Highway 154, the Cold Spring Tavern looks like it somehow transported to this century straight from the sepia-colored photographs of another time. Established in 1886 and originally known as the Cold Spring Relay Station, the ivy-covered log cabin once thrived as a stagecoach stop for…
A different home for the holidays
It’s Thanksgiving afternoon, and you’ve just sat down to a mouth-wateringly delicious meal. You’ve taken a few minutes to express thanks over a plate piled high with turkey, pie, and all the traditional holiday fixin’s. You’re raising a forkful of steaming mashed potatoes to your lips when … the fire alarm goes off. But instead…
Police identify shooting victim
The Santa Maria Police Department has identified the teenager who died Nov. 20 from injuries sustained at a shooting in the 100 block of West Stowell Road: Juan Morales Montar. Santa Maria resident Montar, 15, and a 26-year-old man were both transported by police to Marian Medical Center after the incident, which happened around midnight.…
Santa Maria City Council passes ordinance aimed at barring placement of a convicted sex offender
In an effort to block the relocation of a sexually violent predator to Santa Maria, City Council members passed an emergency ordinance on Nov. 15 that bars convicted sex offenders from living within a 2,000-foot radius of schools. Placer County Superior Court Judge James Garbolino has recommended Tibor Karsai, a 58-year-old convicted rapist and registered…
A Lompoc nonprofit’s legal woes continue
A second bank has filed a lawsuit against the foundering nonprofit Lompoc Housing and Community Development Corporation (LHCDC). The suit also lists the city of Lompoc as a defendant because officials allocated $75,000 to LHCDC through the city’s redevelopment agency. According to court documents filed on Nov. 8, Citibank is suing LHCDC on behalf of…
Protesting the status quo
On Nov. 17, about 25 to 30 people marched from the Betteravia Government Center to Chase Bank on the corner of Broadway and Betteravia Road as part of the Occupy Santa Maria movement inspired by national events.
Allan Hancock College will get a cash infusion; the city will get access to athletic facilities
In a quid pro quo move for the city of Santa Maria and Allan Hancock College, city officials have agreed to contribute $250,000 in Recreation and Parks Department funding for the construction of new athletics facilities—in exchange for public access to them. On Nov. 15, the Santa Maria City Council approved the joint-use agreement, which…
