Cover Story
Mission to sainthood: Father Junipero Serra helped establish the California mission system, but is he saint material?
Washington, D.C., stands some 3,000 miles from the site of Mission Carmel, once the home base of Father Junipero Serra, an evangelist Franciscan from the island of Mallorca. With a bum leg and a handful of starving Spaniards, that tiny priest founded a backbone of missions in what was then called Alta California—a massive hinterland…
Former Zodiac Seat Shells CFO’s criminal history comes to light
In June, Zodiac Seat Shells—one of Santa Maria’s biggest employers—fired its former Chief Financial Officer Neal Stuckey and promptly sued him in Santa Barbara County Superior Court one month later. Stuckey’s accused of embezzling money from Zodiac, and it’s not the first time the former CFO’s had that allegation leveled against him. In the July…
How do you prepare for a major natural disaster?
Eli Lopez student “If I’m out, I’ll go home to my family. My family’s more important. I don’t really think about it until I see it on the news.” Nancy Gruenberger retired “How prepared can you be in this area? There’s no underground shelter or places of safety for a common person. My faith will…
It’s just a phase
Sometimes I wonder if it’s just me who goes through these little phases in life. Sometimes I feel like I’m on top of the world. I walk into a room and crowds part, men open doors, women ask for my ID when I try to buy a glass of wine. And usually I’m oblivious, chalking…
JJ Ford presents new album, ‘Perfect Saturday Night,’ with distinct country rock sound
Local singer songwriter JJ Ford released his first album Performance Jones, making a strong statement in the folk rock realm, dabbling with a multifaceted palette of American influences. But his latest album—set to release on Sept. 12—is different. The new collection of nine of Ford’s originals, and one cover, is titled Perfect Saturday Night, and…
Santa Maria Public Library to open Los Alamos Branch Library
Years’ worth of grassroots fundraising and organization will come to fruition when the Santa Maria Public Library opens its latest branch in Los Alamos. The Los Alamos Branch Library will enjoy a grand opening ceremony on Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. The historic library, which first opened in 1966, has been closed since 1988. The…
St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Church hosts free poetry event
The St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church hosts a free poetry event at the church in Los Olivos on the evening of Sept. 5. Poets Richard Jarrette and Pamela Davis will read from their respective works followed by a book signing and light refreshments. Both poets have new books published this year. Jarrette will read from A…
Valley Speaks features history of Los Alamos
The Santa Maria Valley Historical Society presents its regular historical talks series Valley Speaks on Sept. 11 at the Santa Maria Public Library’s Shepard Hall. The talk will focus on the history of the Los Alamos Valley as told by local writer and novelist R. Lawson Gamble. Gamble, a resident of Los Alamos, delivers regular…
Lompoc Civic Theatre gets catty with ‘Indoor/Outdoor’
Anyone familiar with the species Felis domesticus—the common house cat—knows the brash independence, moody disposition, and carefree attitude the creature can display. Even within their cute, cuddly, and sometimes razor-clawed culture, there are distinct classes within the world of cats. That divide is the subject of the Lompoc Civic Theatre’s current production, Indoor/Outdoor by Kenny…
The Elverhoj Museum features Richard Lindekens’ photography taken in Mongolia and Myanmar
Though Coca-Cola and a Wi-Fi connection can be found across most of the globe today, there are still groups of us who live unfettered by the glowing and glittery accoutrement of consumer society, and closer to the traditions passed down across centuries of humankind. These traditions—though designed to help thrive in a world often harsh…
Wine with heart: Gypsy Canyon in the Santa Rita Hills cultivates ancient vines and good works
Whether she is rescuing abused street dogs in Thailand or rehabilitating ancient grapevines at home in Santa Barbara County, Deborah Hall has found new meaning for her life on her 130-acre ranch, near Lompoc. Two miles east of La Purisima Mission, deep in a canyon in the Sta. Rita Hills wine appellation, is Gypsy Canyon,…
Environmental conspiracy
As if Nipomo didn’t have enough water drama, Erin Brockovich had to bring her two cents to the Facebook table, which received attention from several media outlets: including the SLO Tribune, Cal Coast News, and KSBY. And, I guess, you can now add the Sun to that list. Damn bandwagons. Brockovich protested against the Nipomo…
Environmental justice delayed is justice denied
It’s often said justice delayed is justice denied. For millions who live in disadvantaged California communities, environmental justice, protection from the noxious effects of air pollution and other ambient toxins, is long overdue. It has been more than 20 years since President Clinton signed Executive Order 12898, focusing federal attention on environmental and human health…
Santa Maria High School dedicates new building
With its high profile location on South Broadway, its hard not to notice the changes that the Santa Maria High School campus has undergone over the last few decades. This year it got one more with the addition of a two-story building with room for more classes. School representatives dedicated the 26,000-square-foot building on Saturday,…
Spotlight on: Aegis Treatment Center
Aegis Treatment Center, an outpatient opiate recovery center on Fesler Street, hosted an open house on Aug. 20. It was a sunny, cheerful event, with peppy music and free cupcakes, and a grinning medical professional explaining the details of their work around every corner. Aegis is the only outpatient center for opiate recovery in Santa…
Political Watch 9/3/15
• A bill by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), which would close the wage gap that women face at work, cleared its final hurdle in the Legislature on Aug. 31, passing off the Senate floor on a bipartisan, 39-0 vote. The bill now heads to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk just a few days after his…
Community Notebook 9/3/15 – 9/10/15
TUESDAY, SEPT. 8 • The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has its regular meeting at 9 a.m. in the Betteravia Government Center’s Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 511 E. Lakeside Parkway, Ste. 141, Santa Maria. • The Santa Maria Joint Union High School Board has its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Support…
Hobnobbing with Helen
So, you may be asking, what’s happening? What has been going on in Santa Maria? Quite a bit, actually, despite the sizzling temperatures, and the urge to sit in the shade and sip ice-cold beverages. On Sunday afternoon, Aug. 16, from noon to 4 p.m., socially and fashionably inclined ladies flocked to the Elks Lodge for the…
Santa Maria resident said his apartment was searched by a fake cop
When 64-year-old Martin Buxel came back to his room at the Town Center Hotel on the afternoon of May 1, he saw a Santa Maria police officer going from door to door asking people to search their apartments, and he knew that something wasn’t quite right. Buxel learned there was a purse snatching at the…
Santa Barbara County gets closer to rolling out new ordinance for septic systems
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors slogged through a decision to approve the county’s Local Agency Management Plan, or LAMP, for onsite wastewater treatment systems. The vote was 4-1, with Chair and 2nd District Supervisor Janet Wolf dissenting. Approval for the LAMP is a missing piece that puts the county one step closer to…
Highway 246 speed limit to be lowered in Santa Ynez
After several months of lobbying, the speed limit on Highway 246 passing through Santa Ynez will be lowered from 55 miles per hour to 45 miles per hour according to officer John Ortega, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol in Buellton. Ortega told the Sun that Lt. Kurt Kruse, commander of Buellton’s CHP station,…
California hits July water conservation target
The Golden State brought down water use by 31.3 percent this July, staying six points ahead of Gov. Jerry Brown’s mandated 25 percent reduction. Three out of four water suppliers in California managed to hit their water conservation standard. Between June and July, Lompoc breezed past its 12 percent savings target, putting up 25.4 percent—double…
Santa Barbara supes put Corizon contract vote on hold until Sept. 8
A snafu with presentation binders caused the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors to hold off deciding whether to extend the county Sheriff’s Office contract with Corizon Correctional Health on Aug. 25. The supervisors did get the binders dedicated to the Corizon Health hearing, however not everybody read them. Before continuing debate on the matter,…
Isabelle Rodriguez
Her soccer career started off on the right foot. Isabelle Rodriguez went to Pioneer Valley High School, where she was team captain on varisty for four years. Before that, she was playing soccer at the age of 4. When Rodriguez wasn’t playing for Pioneer, she played for a number of clubs—including one, in Santa Barbara,…
Green Bay Packers fans are everywhere, even on the Central Coast
Editor’s note: The author grew up in Wisconsin and is a Chicago Bears fan. Fans of the Green Bay Packers will give several reasons their team is—beyond comparison to any other team—the best in the National Football League. They have more championship titles than any other team in the league, and were a professional football…
