Cover Story
‘Just a pawn on a chessboard’
Head shorn and wearing a light blue jumpsuit, Silas Kanady shuffles into the Santa Barbara County Jail visitation room, led by an armed guard. His heavily tattooed arms rest behind his back, though they’re not cuffed. He takes a seat on a metal barstool behind double-paned glass and picks up the receiver of the jailhouse…
The occupation movement is neither red nor blue
Recent letters in various newspapers implore voters to unseat President Obama next year. Apart from the standard reason—“He’s a Marxist!”—their authors rant about Obama’s bailout of the banks. They condemn the Occupy Wall Street movement—generally considered “leftist”—for hypocrisy, for being on the same side as the obviously corrupt corporatists the protesters deride. But the bailout…
Haydon to replace Ness as city manager
Longtime Santa Maria City Manager Tim Ness announced his pending retirement before the City Council on Oct. 18. After conducting their regular business, the council members retired to closed session to discuss how to fill Ness’ position. On Oct. 19, city officials sent out a press release stating Assistant City Manager Rick Haydon will become…
What are you going to be for Halloween?
Victor Cuna student “The murderer from Scream.” Tianna Pasko student/gymnastics coach “Padmé Amidala” Jodi Wilson student “A flapper. I don’t know why.” Kat Mc Bee Costco Supervisor “A cheetah. My boyfriend is being Ace Ventura, so we’re all going as animals.”
Crafters, get ready to display
Crafters and vendors are needed for the first Ah Sir Bounce A Lot Winter Bazaar, which will take place Nov. 25 at the Indoor Bounce Center, 1140 E. Clark Ave., No. 120. Signups are being taken now for this event. Crafters are especially sought, but any vendor is welcome. Registration is $50. For more information,…
Los Olivos Café presents Heidi Peschel
The Los Olivos Café’s current exhibit is work by Heidi Peschel, a freelance photographer of nature and travel. Her specialty is fine art photography, with the development of a recent series of abstract compositions. The exhibit is showing through Dec. 10. A reception for the artist will be held on Nov. 3 from 5:30 to…
Cabrillo presents Our Town
For the first time in almost 20 years, Cabrillo High School will present the beloved classic Our Town by Thornton Wilder. The final performances will be held Oct. 21 and 22 at the Jane Carlton Little Theater, 4350 Constellation Road, in Vandenberg Village. The story of ordinary people in a little New England town going…
Dana Adobe receives donations from Quester
The Quester Chapter No. 1351 Cinco Ciudades recently presented Dana Adobe Nipomo Amigos with two gifts. The first is an 1840s-era camphor wood trunk used by Californio families like the Danas to store and protect their fine clothing and textiles. The Quester organization found the trunk and bought it for DANA with a special grant…
Socket to me
Local author Wendelin Van Draanen collects the world around her. She picks up pieces, facts, and interesting tidbits—a photo from a Yahoo News article here, something glimpsed in an Arizona airport there—and stores them away like puzzle pieces to be assembled later. Her problem (if you can really call it a problem) is that she…
Creating a monster
How do you create a monster? Where does the scare come from? When Allan Hancock College film alum and former Arroyo Grande resident Benjamin Cooper developed the monster for his latest film Primitive, he grappled with finding the best way to manifest that one thing that frightens everyone. “I was trying to figure out what…
Appalachians meet the Big Apple
Musical tastes and interests know no bounds. And now, thanks to our modern technology, we have regular access to a cornucopia of musical genres to pick and choose from. A benefit concert for Temple Beth El in Santa Maria has brought two unlikely tastes together to round out a diverse—and above all fun—show called “More…
Halloween memories of tremors past
It’s that time of year when frightening creatures appear around the house and ghastly moans and groans emanate from every room. For most people, it’s all part of preparing for Halloween. For me, it’s my London-born husband complaining as I bedeck the house with spooky decor. “Why do you do that?” he queried while I…
Spotlight on: Casa Bella
Last summer, the “beautiful home,” Casa Bella, changed hands. Martha Murguia-Gomez became the new owner of the Casa Bella flower shop in Old Orcutt. For her, it’s a dream come true. She’s always had a love for flowers; it started with her mother. Even in hard times, her mother made sure there were fresh flowers…
Discovery Corner
Most of you have probably noticed that the season of fundraising is upon us. The life of a nonprofit organization is really structured around how much funding it can raise by gathering the support of people in the community who care about the work it does. The Discovery Museum is certainly no exception to this,…
Bone Soup, by Cambria Evans
Halloween is a wonderful holiday for reading. There are so many spooky stories to share for a good scare, or simply a little spine tingle for wee ghosties. Author and illustrator Cambria Evans provides a fun choice for little goblins to enjoy with Bone Soup, a Halloween version of the classic tale Stone Soup. Finnegan…
Restaurant raves
From a very early age, I loved to eat and lingered over every meal. My mom has marveled that she’s never seen a child savor her food as much as “little Wendy Lou!” Living in rural Wisconsin, surrounded by cornfields and dairy farms, I grew up on casseroles, cheese curds, and the freezer full of…
Hobnobbing With Helen
Travelers checking into the Radisson on Saturday evening, Oct. 8, at 5:30 p.m., were treated to an unexpected delight. About 30 PCPA students participated in a moving tableau outside the entrance. A chorus burst out with an Italian love song every time someone walked up the red carpet to enter the hotel. Young ladies with…
Learn about Native American history at Hancock
Allan Hancock College is offering a free lecture series focusing on Native American history through November in concurrence with Native American Heritage Month, college officials recently announced. All lectures will be held at the forum—building C, room 40—on the Santa Maria campus. Parking is also free, and registration isn’t required. Roger Hall, associate professor of…
Celebrate fall with Taylor Elementary
On Oct. 22, the Taylor Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization and faculty will hold a fall festival from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to raise funds for student activities throughout the year. There will be community booths, craft displays, quarter raffles for children, bounce houses, a cake walk, a silent auction, carnival games, basketball games,…
Have a girls’ night out
The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department is holding a free “Girls Night Out” on Nov. 5 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center. This will be a free night of fun for girls ages 12 to 17. Forty lucky girls will get to enjoy various spa applications—such as manicures,…
How do you spell Mississippi?
Third-graders at Santa Maria and Orcutt schools are going to have even better vocabularies now, thanks to a donation from the Rotary Club of Santa Maria. Some of the schools that received dictionaries include Alice Shaw, Joe Nightingale, and Pacific Christian. The Dictionary Project is designed to help third grade teachers in their goal to…
Risky business
When you’re dealing with anything beneath 900 feet of water, nothing is simple. That goes double when that something is a 90-year old crumbling shipwreck, potentially holding millions of gallons of crude oil next to a marine sanctuary. When the Sun last checked in on the ongoing saga of the S.S. Montebello—the World War II-era…
Santa Maria police officer hired as new Atascadero police chief
The troubled Atascadero Police Department has found its new chief after it made it through nearly a year without a permanent leader. City Manager Wade McKinney announced on Oct. 18 the appointment of Jerel Haley, a long-serving lieutenant with the Santa Maria Police Department. According to McKinney, Haley was selected following an extensive national recruitment…
Correction
The Sun misspelled Diana Aguilar’s name in the Oct. 13 article, “A dimension of sight and sound and heart.”
Santa Barbara County Planning Commission mulls special event ordinance
It’s not quite the Hatfields and the McCoys, but the land use skirmish taking place in Santa Barbara County has grown large enough to attract the attention of county officials. Some local homeowners are claiming their neighbors are temporarily leasing out their private property for profit without obtaining county permits. Until recently, the size and…
There’s going to be a new fire chief in town
City officials have selected Santa Maria’s next fire chief. Dan Orr will officially take over for retiring Fire Chief Jeffrey Jones on Dec. 20 after a badge-pinning ceremony at the City Council meeting. Orr has been a chief officer with the city since 2001, and served the last seven years as a battalion chief. Prior…
Building up by throwing down
It sounds like a parent’s nightmare: More than a dozen young children grabbing each other, trying to throw each other to the floor and either pin them there, choke them, or cause them so much pain they tap out. And yet, no one is crying. Tucked behind the State Farm office in the Tefft Center…
JACE PERERO
Intense athletes get this look in their eyes. Winning is their business, and they mean business. You may not expect to see this kind of look on a 9-year-old’s face, but Jace Perero has it. In the world of gymnastics, Perero is a relative newcomer. Where most competitors have been tumbling pretty much since they…
The Bleacher Bum Chronicles Vol. XVIV
It’s getting tough out there to be rich these days. Not that I would know what that feels like, as one might gather from my name. Just look around: There’s a growing number of folks calling themselves the “99 Percent” and occupying just about every place in town with a Port-o-Potty or public restroom within…
What’s on Deck
Thursday, Oct. 20 Boys’ Water Polo St. Joseph @ Pioneer Valley 4:30 p.m. Girls’ Golf Pac-7 Finals Tournament @ Pioneer Valley 1 p.m. Los Padres League Tournament 2 p.m. Girls’ Tennis Righetti @ Pioneer Valley 3 p.m. Atascadero @ St. Joseph 3 p.m. Morro Bay @ Lompoc 3:30 p.m.…
On the roster
• “Creepy Creatures” at Cachuma: Kids will have close encounters with bats, owls, scorpions, spiders, snakes, and more at the Cachuma Lake Nature Center’s “Creepy Creatures” event on Oct. 22. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., visitors will get in the Halloween spirit with witches, arts and craft activities, and balloons. Popcorn and punch will…
Seen any Conqs jerseys lately?
Lompoc police are looking for information on the whereabouts of a “large amount” of Cabrillo High School football “away” jerseys, apparently swiped during a recent break-in. The jerseys went missing on Oct. 11 from a local laundromat office where they had been for routine laundering, and were in bags ready for pickup, police said in…
Lompoc Aquatic Center turns five
The Lompoc Aquatic Center is celebrating its five-year anniversary this year and will be marking the milestone with a special event on Oct. 22. The public is invited to participate in a free recreation swim from 1 to 4 p.m. Afterward, the Center’s Competition Pool will play host to “Boat Float,” water walking, and lifeguard…
