Cover Story
Eco-art: Santa Maria craftsman makes wine barrels into beautiful furniture
View additional photos of the Eco-Wine Santa Maria Workshop. Watch videos of the Eco-Wine crew at work. Jose Pedro Meza Santos has intimate knowledge of wine’s lifecycle. When he moved to the United States from Mexico 27 years ago, he picked grapes as a field hand. Four years and several college courses in English later,…
County to oppose Chumash fee-to-trust application
Supervisors—overwhelmingly siding with the majority of people who spoke their piece during the most recent Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting—voted Oct. 15 to oppose the Santa Ynez Valley Band of Chumash Indians Camp 4 fee-to-trust application. “The tribe needs to plan for their future, and we need to plan for ours, so I…
If you could buy one piece of furniture, and money was no object, what would it be?
Mark van de Kamp city spokesman “One of those handcrafted, maple rocking chairs or dining room tables. It has to have that honey glow.” Rosie Narez-Provencio grant specialist “As long as it’s useful, it doesn’t matter. I’m lucky things match in my house.” Ricky Hawblitzel utility billing supervisor “A Ray and Charles Eames lounge chair…
Political Watch
• Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed a bill by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) that protects domestic violence victims from losing their jobs or being discriminated against in the workplace. Senate Bill 400 prevents employers from firing or discriminating against an employee who has been a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The…
Community Notebook
TUESDAY, OCT. 22 • The Guadalupe City Council has its regular meeting at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 918 Obispo St., Guadalupe. • The Lompoc Unified School District has its board meeting at 5:30 p.m. at the Education Center Board Room, 1301 N. A St., Lompoc. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 23 • The…
County agencies and nonprofits help victims of the Town Center Hotel fire
Update: Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley announced on Oct. 15 that charges have been filed against Amos Andrews, the suspect arrested in connection with the Town Center Hotel fire. The felony complaint alleges arson of an inhabited building with the use of an accelerant as well as residential burglary. He’s also been charged…
Singer-songwriter Amber Cross headlines a concert at the Dana Adobe
Check out the music video for Amber Cross’s “San Joaquin.” Those of us living in the daily hustle and bustle of city life are usually surprised by the tranquil and serene mood that pervades nature when we actually spend time in it. It doesn’t lack sound or movement, but rather moves at a different pace,…
Viva Los Vegas
¡Viva el Arte de Santa Barbara! presents ensemble Los Vega Son Jarocho performing a series of free family concerts and youth outreach events. Hailing from Veracruz, Mexico, Los Vega Son Jarocho is a group of fifth generation jarocho musicians. The jarocho style features small guitars called jaranas, percussion, vocals, and percussive dancing called zapateado. The…
Firestone earns more accolades
Firestone Walker Brewing Company brewmaster Matt “Merlin” Brynildson and his team have to make room on their mantles for more awards. After earning several awards across the pond at the European Beer Star Competition, the team also cleaned up at the Great American Beer Festival, earning the “Mid-Size Brewing Company and Brewer of The Year”…
PCPA reaches out with live theater
Education and outreach is a huge part of what the Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts is all about. Though theatergoers are more familiar with PCPA Theaterfest, PCPA Education and Outreach has been performing live theater in local schools for years, inspiring the next generation of performers and patrons by exposing them to quality live…
The Melodrama’s ‘Drac’ celebrates Oktoberfest with a pre-show party
The Great American Melodrama was absolutely buzzing with excited theatergoers on Oct. 11 for the theater’s first of two Oktoberfest events, featuring a pre-show dinner, beer, and live music. Before Drac in the Saddle Again got going at 7 p.m., the concerted talents of Trio Internationale graced the Melodrama stage. Made up of Fritz, Franz,…
The Poetic Justice Project brings audience members behind bars
Unfortunately, the United States still imprisons a greater percentage of its population than any other country. And while American media shows a fascination with incarceration through TV shows like Oz or more recently Orange is the New Black, these depictions often paint a stereotypical picture. The Poetic Justice Project is a locally based theater arts…
Young superheroes aren’t just for Halloween anymore
Halloween is a holiday that really creeps up on you! Before you have barely dried the salt water out of your hair and brushed all the beach sand out of your crevices, pumpkins magically appear on the piers. Costumes are on the racks at your favorite stores, and aisles overflow with candy and Halloween décor.…
His legacy lives on: Future winemakers and grape growers benefit from the Michael Bonaccorsi Foundation
After a glorious morning walk in the famed Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria, Michael Bonaccorsi and I sat down outside the historic adobe to open a couple of bottles of his Bonaccorsi pinot noir and chardonnay. While interviewing him for my wine-themed television segment at the time, I asked Michael to give my viewers…
Back in the spin cycle
Thanks to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department, Nipomo High School students like senior Michael Sheehan (right) are able to get back on their spin bikes at the school’s fitness center. The Sheriff’s Department helped the school pay for routine maintenance and repair to bring the bikes back up to cardiovascular-training status.
Santa Maria-Bonita students bowl for fun and fundraising
Students and community members gathered pledges from family and friends during Santa Maria-Bonita School District’s bowl-a-thon fundraiser held annually to support students with disabilities within the district. The event ran from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Rancho Bowl in Santa Maria on Oct. 16. Eight classes of students from different grade levels bowled in…
Santa Maria High School leaders go bald for academic achievement
High scores on last school year’s round of state tests prompted Santa Maria High School administrators to shave their heads during a school carnival on Oct. 11. Students were promised that if state standardized test scores increased to more than 700 on the Academic Performance Index, school principal Joe Domingues and three assistant principals would…
Guadalupe fifth-graders benefit from NOAA grant
Three unique water-based field trips are lined up for this year’s class of fifth-graders at Mary Buren Elementary School in Guadalupe. A $60,000 grant awarded to the Cachuma Resource Conservation District by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will pay for the trips as part of a watershed education project. The grant supports in-class learning…
Spotlight on: Evergreen Video
The world has changed. Older readers—and I’m talking older than 18 or 20—may laugh at young people walking into a movie-rental store and asking “What is this place?” But that’s a good question for a generation raised in the cloud, more used to swiping at screens and instantly summoning just about anything they desire with…
Community Corner: Employees laid off by Union Bank merger can get help
The Workforce Investment Board of Santa Barbara County recently launched a project to help former Santa Barbara Bank & Trust employees find new jobs. The Santa Barbara County-based bank merged with Union Bank last year. Executives called the move a win-win for customers, but it also resulted in 300 employee layoffs. The Workforce Investment is…
Hobnobbing With Helen
Imagine this: you walk into the foyer of the Santa Maria Country Club and sense that you have stumbled into an Enchanted Forest. The room is flooded with green light. Lifelike faux trees sport leaf-laden branches that arch overhead, dripping with lengths of crystals. Containers of flowers, on faux stone paths, line the walls. Can…
A mixtecan student draws inspiration from D.C.
Editor’s note: This article is one in a series that follows up on the Sun’s May 30 cover story, “Reaching across the divide.” Santa Maria High School junior Luis Santos was one of 50 Latino students huddled together in a room under lockdown for an hour and a half in the U.S. Capitol Building the…
Timothy McNally is convicted of murder
A Santa Maria jury convicted former Lompoc prison guard Timothy McNally of second-degree murder on Oct. 10. This was the second jury trial for McNally, who shot and killed Gary Bent, a friend and fellow prison guard, in a Lompoc hotel room last year. The jury also tacked on an enhancement charge for using a…
Assisted-living community janitor faces charges of peeping and elder abuse
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office recently filed charges against Buellton resident Juan Carlos Diaz for allegedly recording women using the restroom at an assisted living residence in the Santa Ynez Valley. Diaz faces 15 misdemeanor counts, including one count of inflicting unjustifiable mental suffering on an elder; one count of electronic peeping for…
Sovereign nationhood in a complex society
Seeing that the Chumash Indians achieve their tribal rights and secure their sovereign nationhood within the Santa Ynez Valley by way of their fee-to-trust efforts, appears—certainly from a distance—to be the right thing to do. We are all raised to feel a certain amount of guilt over the white man’s conquest of this continent and…
I can only take so much of this
I just made it through several weeks of a U.S. federal government shutdown, and boy are my wings tired! No, seriously. They’re exhausted—but not from flying. I’ve been shrugging so much, I’ve got shoulder cramps on top of knotted muscles on top of shoulder cramps. People asked, “When do you think this whole shutdown thing…
What’s on Deck? 10/17-10/24
Thursday, Oct.17 Football Santa Maria vs. Lompoc @ LHS, 7 p.m. Nipomo vs. Atascadero @ NHS, 4 p.m. Girls’ Tennis St. Joseph vs. Pioneer Valley @ PVHS, 3:30 p.m. Cabrillo vs. Templeton @ THS, 3 p.m. Santa Maria vs. Nipomo @ Minami, 3:30 p.m. Santa Ynez vs. Lompoc…
Twirl, twirl, twirl!
Baton twirling is a timeless talent that still carries much appeal. Through Oct.17, come to the Buellton Veterans Hall to learn a variety of baton twirling techniques, including twisting, tossing, and spinning. The cost is $56 and includes a baton to keep, or $44 if you have your own baton. A baton is required to…
Titans on the way
Matt Albright, junior quarterback for Nipomo High School, had a stellar outing in the team’s game against Cabrillo Oct. 11. The junior threw for 330 yards, including 20 to 30 passes with no interceptions. Luke Nickelson also contributed to the game with four catches on 93 yards. All in all, the Titans carried the ball…
Chumash times
Join California State Park docents Oct. 19 for a half-mile hike around the Oceano Lagoon and hear about how the Chumash lived before the arrival of explorers. The walk will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Nature Center in the Oceano campgrounds, 928 Pacific Blvd., Oceano. Cost is free. Be sure to wear proper hiking…
Walk and talk
Join longtime resident Shirley Boydstun for a historic walk through the Guadalupe City Center. The walk will be at 10 a.m. on Oct. 19. Cost is free.
Meet the Bulldogs
Basketball fans of all ages are invited to the Joe White Memorial Gymnasium on Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. for Meet the Bulldogs night. The event includes a raffle ticket drawing, shooting contest, and exhibition showcase. “We are excited to usher in a new era of Bulldog basketball,” coach Tyson Aye said. “This is a…
Mary Kate Smith
Allan Hancock College soccer player Mary Kate Smith is battling a pesky cold, but it won’t keep her away from the field for long. The sophomore mans the holding-mid position for the ’Dogs. A St. Joseph High School alumna, Smith is no stranger to success in soccer. In high school, she was awarded All-League MVP,…
Visionary roadrunner: Kyra Meko shares her runner’s vision
Probably the quickest way to get Kyra Meko to do something is to tell her she can’t do it. Take, for instance, her freshman debut at the Mt. Sac cross country meet—one of the biggest races in California, drawing competitors from all over the state. Meko’s cross country coach at the time, Mark Houchin, told…
