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Dreaming of fields: Locals fight for athletics to curb youth violence while Santa Maria’s soccer complex plans stall
A vibrant image from 2016 shows the corner where West Stowell Road and South Depot Street meet. But instead of the strawberry field that exists there now, the design shows a bustling park with six regulation-sized soccer fields at its center, and another junior-sized field. Surrounding those vast grounds are six half-court basketball courts, two…
Gallery Los Olivos highlights pastel artists’ friendship and love of nature
Terri Taber is most at home when she’s lost deep in nature. “I’ve always really loved the outdoors. To me the outdoors is always a source of giving me strength. It regenerates. Solace.” Taber, along with fellow painter Carol Talley, is featured in a new show highlighting the pair’s love of the outdoors called Surrounded…
Spotlight on: California’s Gas Tax
California’s 12-cent gas tax hike kicked in on Nov. 1 and consumers almost instantly felt pain at the pumps. “The tax hike’s effect at many, but not all, gas pumps was immediate on Wednesday,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring in a statement. “While we believed the switch to the cheaper winter blend of gasoline…
Attorney claims youth client was beaten in Juvenile Hall lock-up
On Jan. 23, 2016, detainees at the Susan J. Gionfriddo Juvenile Justice Center in Santa Maria beat Paul Purter III while in lockup. The attack was brutal. More than once, Purter was kicked in the chest, head, and face. He suffered permanent optic nerve damage to his right eye and a contusion to his eye…
Los Angeles area poets grace Orcutt stage for Poetry at Core
Poet Rick Lupert can almost recall the very first time he was called on to create a poem. “I have a vague memory of third grade,” he said. “We had some poets come to our school and teach poetry. I don’t recall a lot about it, but they took everything we wrote and bound it.”…
Where do you like to play sports on the Central Coast?
Curt Miller Owner of Sports Authority “I like playing baseball and basketball at Arroyo Grande High.” Eric Bouza lab technician “I like playing baseball at areas around Santa Maria, Simas Park.” Daniel Zepeda works at On Deck 2 Batting Cages “My favorite place to play baseball is at Pioneer Valley High School.” Ron Schram police…
Sake Sushi is the top spot for Japanese fare in Santa Maria
It’s almost become a cliche to declare a love for “underground” food spots. It’s sort of an absurdist statement, if you really think about it. What do you exactly love? That food is prepared for you in a highly suspect environment that isn’t entirely on the up-and-up? Should this really be a thing foodie culture…
Dawn of The Briteen
It has been a hell of a week. Our grandson, The Briteen, was trying out for soccer at his high school, participating in a week of scrimmages after school. But first, prospective candidates had to endure “Hell Week.” This involved a fitness endurance regimen every day at 6:30 in the morning, which meant that our…
LOCAL NOTES: IndiePulse holds an instrument drive for local kids
The moment a young musician gets his or her first instrument is a transformative one. Joseph Timmons, publisher of the online music magazine IndiePulse and a lifelong drummer, remembers his first drum set clearly. Timmons has been the main writer and editor for IndiePulse for several years, and four years ago he decided to use…
Santa Maria unveils more painted utility boxes
The city of Santa Maria has five more colorful murals by local artists now that Phase Two of the Utility Box Art Project is complete. Phase Three of the project remains on hold until further funding is acquired. Last month, five local artists—Autumn Jennings, Angelina LaPointe, Frank Dominguez, Laura Lozano, and Ruben Espinoza—painted mini murals…
Local teen’s book adapted for new original musical
The Purple Marble is Pacific Conservatory Theatre’s (PCPA) upcoming Education and Outreach touring production for early 2018. The musical—available for a limited engagement—is based on local teen author Alyssa B. Antoci’s book (written when she was 8 years old) and features a story about facing bullies and starting over. The story revolves around Max, a…
Ryheem Skinner
Allan Hancock College’s star running back, Ryheem Skinner, hails from the tiny town of Clinton, North Carolina, a rural community of 8,000 residents. He came a long way to lead his California junior college football team to its best season in nearly 20 years. The freshman ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns in a…
Hooping beyond borders: Pioneer Valley’s newest coach is fresh off of two pro basketball championships in Mexico
Aspiring freshmen basketball players at Pioneer Valley High School will have a coach this season who they can literally, and figuratively, look up to. Joining the Panthers’ coaching staff this year is 26-year-old Ross Rivera, a former Division 1 college basketball player and two-time champion of professional hoops leagues in Mexico. A Visalia native with…
Registration season coming for students at Allan Hancock College
Allan Hancock College’s winter and spring class schedules are now available for viewing on the school’s website, and open registration for all students begins on Nov. 18. Hancock will offer more than 30 classes running five weeks or less during winter session, which begins the week of Dec. 18. More than 1,200 classes will be…
Righetti High School mourns student’s suicide
A 14-year-old Ernest Righetti High School student killed herself on Nov. 1 at about 8 p.m., according to Lt. Kevin Huddle of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. Huddle said the student, Kiya McBride, died in her Orcutt home that evening. The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District was informed of McBride’s death the…
Santa Maria Future Farmers of America team nationally recognized
A Santa Maria Future Farmers of America (FFA) team placed fourth at the recent National FFA Milk Quality and Dairy Products Contest. The Santa Maria Milk Quality and Dairy Products Team, coached by Mark Powell, consists of high school juniors Jennifer De Leon and Ariana Romero-Gutierrez, and seniors Rosalva Diaz and Monserrat Nolasco. Nolasco, in…
Hobnobbing with Helen: Great givers
The annual Celebrate Philanthropy luncheon, organized by the Santa Barbara Foundation and sponsored by the Santa Maria Times (they picked up the tab for lunch), is, to moi, a social phenomenon. Extremely well attended and about 10 years old, the event is one of the hottest tickets in town. “We always sell out,” reported the…
Human remains discovered north of Montecito
Santa Barbara County Sheriff deputies discovered human remains near an abandoned vehicle in a canyon north of Montecito on Nov. 3. In a press release from that day, the Sheriff’s Office said it was in the process of making a positive identification and that no additional information would be released due to the active investigation…
Few details released after attempted murder near Santa Maria High School
A man was shot in the foot on South Pine Street near Santa Maria High School on the evening of Nov. 3. Law enforcement says the suspect is not known at this time. Lt. Paul Van Meel with the Santa Maria Police Department confirmed with the Sun that the shooting had occurred and was an…
San Lucas Ranch applies for second restraining order against county and supervisors over Camp 4
Santa Ynez Valley landowners who filed a lawsuit against the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 24 applied for a second temporary restraining order against the supervisors on Nov. 2. Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Donna Geck denied the initial request, filed by San Lucas Ranch, for a temporary restraining order against…
Suspects arrested in separate kidnapping and stabbing cases on Nov. 4
A Santa Maria man was arrested on Nov. 4 after allegedly kidnapping a 3-year-old boy and then hitting a pedestrian while fleeing with the child in a vehicle. Suspect Paul Maldonado, 30, reportedly kidnapped a child, stole a car, and drove away, according to a Santa Maria Police Department press release. Witnesses told police the…
NASA satellite launch at Vandenberg delayed
A faulty battery delayed the launch of a rocket carrying a NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite, originally set to launch on Nov. 10 from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The battery was on a booster for the Delta II Rocket owned by United Launch Alliance—a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin…
Back to reality
I really do appreciate it that when I flap my wings or run my beak people are actually listening. I love to hear from you, I really do, but why is it that so many of my admirers only write to me when I’ve pissed them off? And why do they usually write when I…
What health ‘care’?
Dear editor and fellow citizens of SLO County, please, please, please enlighten me as to how our health care system is better with our new administration. I am a middle class retiree who makes too much to qualify for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and too little to afford the astronomical rates I have to…
About walls
If Mexico were a prosperous, safe, and peaceful neighbor like Canada, the U.S. would not need to control the border with it. But Mexico and the Central American states are out of control; failed governments with drug cartels, human trafficking, and endless corruption which is undermining the security of the U.S. of A. Like residents…
Why Salud won’t take a stand
This is in answer to the Oct. 19 letter, “Why won’t Carbajal take a stand on sanctuary cities.” The reason is that even though all legitimate polls show illegal immigration to be a lopsided issue, with the vast majority of Americans opposed to never-ending illegal immigration, Rep. Salud Carbajal cannot anger his Hispanic base favoring…
No collusion, Canary
I’ve been a reader of the Sun for a number of years. Early on after reading your column I more or less dismissed it over the years. However, one column accusing President Trump of treason got my attention (“Where there’s smoke,” July 13). I intended to respond at the time but then didn’t. Before I…
Not too soon to talk gun control
After any of the mass gun killings, (pick from your favorite recent ones) the subject of any type of gun control gets brought up. The gun lobby-enabled conservatives always claim it is too soon to talk legislation because emotions are distorted and running too high. Don’t politicize the trauma of these poor victims. Of course,…
Is the war against the Chumash finally over?
For the past decade, I have been making the same speech, over and over again, having to do with the aspirations of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. For your information, these neighbors of ours, not so long ago, lived on their reservation in abject poverty for decades in the heart of the otherwise…
