Cover Story
Pencils ready, citizens
On Wednesday, Sept. 7, an estimated 1,200 people were scheduled to gather together in San Francisco to be sworn in as United States citizens. It’s an event that occurs every three months in the state’s cultural capital, as well as a number of other cities around California. San Francisco alone naturalizes about 25,000 people per…
What’s something you’ve always wanted to do but have been afraid to?
Vanessa Vega student “Watch really scary movies.” Todd Badrak shop hand “Going underwater in a submarine.” Jon Puerling tutor “Get a tattoo. I’m a needlephobe” Rebekah Samanigeo student “Going down the escalator without holding Cynthia’s hand.”
Troy Lara
As Santa Maria’s Troy Lara stepped onto the court for the finals of the recent Summer Slam’s Men’s A Singles match, the crowd could only see one of his opponents. About 78 feet away stood Shawn Porter of Arroyo Grande. Lara’s other opponent—nerves—hung on his shoulder whispering in his ear, reminding him of the last…
What’s on Deck?
Thursday, Sept. 8 Boys’ Golf St. Joseph @ Lompoc 2 p.m. Santa Ynez/Cabrillo @ Righetti 2 p.m. Girls’ Golf Lompoc @ St. Joseph 2 p.m. Girls’ Tennis Lompoc @ St. Joseph 3 p.m. Cabrillo @ Righetti 3 p.m. Coast Union @ Santa Maria 3:30 p.m. Girls’ Volleyball Atascadero…
On the roster
• Boys and Girls Club Basketball: Boys and girls in first through sixth grade are invited to sign up for the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Maria’s basketball league. Registration will be held at the Boys & Girls Club on Sept. 10 and 17 from 9 a.m. to noon; Sept. 13 and 21 from…
P.A.L. boxing wants you!
The Santa Maria Police Activities League is looking for volunteers to teach youth the importance of boxing with the P.A.L. boxing program. Volunteers will work as mentors assigned to youth and teens ranging from 10 to 17 years old, teaching them the fundamentals of boxing. Applicants must be able to obtain a certificate for first…
Pirate power
The last time the Santa Ynez girls’ volleyball team lost a game in the Los Padres League, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was on trial, Kelly Clarkson topped the Billboard charts, and nobody on the block had an Xbox360 yet. Yes, you’d have to go back to Nov. 1, 2005, to find the Pirates coming up…
Pub rock
Bands have always had trouble getting alternative music out of the garage. Unique music needs a home, and if a community doesn’t have an open-minded venue, said music can’t flourish. But there is O’Sullivan’s Pub, owned and operated by local Josh Snow, which has been providing a space for more adventuresome musical endeavors. “When we…
Valley of the Flower Peace Prize nominations announced
Newspaper publisher Victor Jordan has been nominated for the 2011 Valley of the Flowers Peace Prize. For the past eight years, Jordan has single-handedly produced The Lompoc Vision, an upbeat and positive catalog of life in Lompoc with a special effort to include little-known events in the community. The newspaper’s online edition has mushroomed in…
Christmas show participants needed
Want to participate in the Los Padres Artists Guild Christmas show? Applications will be accepted until Sept. 19 and can represent any medium—as long as they are hand-crafted. The Los Padres Artists Guild Christmas show will be held Nov. 4 and 5. For an application or more information, visit lospadresartistguild.com or call Lori Traylor at…
Call for entries
The Contemporary Arts Forum (CFE) has announced its 2012 call for entries. Entries will be accepted through Oct. 14. This is an annual juried exhibition that encourages artists from the community to produce newly commissioned work. CFE is open to visual artists of all mediums currently living and working in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San…
Enjoy some change
PCPA wraps up its stellar summer season with an unusual musical that premiered on Broadway just seven years ago. The story follows an African-American maid and the Jewish family she works for in 1963 Louisiana, set against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement. The libretto by Tony Kushner (Angels in America) was based on…
Whispers of humanness
It’s not uncommon for Joanne Ruggles to work from nude models. But at her current show, “Hanging by a Thread: Mother Earth in Peril,” it’s the artist, and not her subjects, who is exposed. While her gray and black figures are charitably cloaked in abstraction and anonymity, Ruggles is the one whose dreams, hopes, and…
Family circle
I’ve never been one for geometry. In fact, I picked up very few math skills during my educational career. I do know words, though, and I know that geometry is concerned with the shape, size, and positions of figures and their positions in space. That tells me all I need to know about how geometry…
Do your homework on Red State candidates
An interesting fact I’ve noticed about each of the Republicans vying to be president is that all talk about the excessive spending going on in Washington and that each in his or her way will end it all. Please note that all but one of them is from a Red State. Red being the fact…
Our voices mattered on the worst bill ever
In his letter (“Cut the propaganda,” Sept. 1), it’s clear that Ian Tanner missed the point of our Aug. 18 commentary, “Worst. Bill. Ever.”—namely that a Congressional spending bill freighted with non-budgetary anti-environmental amendments has nothing to do with spending and everything to do with corporate kowtowing, making Mr. Tanner’s retort (“the USA can’t afford…
Every litter bit counts
I volunteer to pick up trash that litters our public roads. I am an organization of one, who does not represent an “Adopt a Highway” group, who has no legal obligations that would require me to do what I do. For me, it’s simply easier to pick up the litter instead of bitching about it.…
True magic
You know. You know you didn’t just see what you think you saw. You know there’s no way the man standing in front of you could do what he just did. It’s mind-boggling. You may not know in advance what illusions will pop up in Shawn McMaster’s magic show, but you can bet they will…
St. Joe students are recognized as AP scholars
Any student who’s ever taken an Advanced Placement (AP) class knows that the coursework is often challenging and time consuming. Studying for the AP exams isn’t a picnic either. That’s why St. Joseph High School is pleased to announce its 2011 AP scholars. Each May, AP exams are administered to St. Joseph High School students…
Help clean the Central Coast’s beaches and waterways
It’s that time of year again: On Sept. 17, Californians will join hundreds of thousands of participants worldwide in clearing trash and debris from beaches and other waterways as part of the annual Coastal Cleanup Day. Last year, 1,300 local volunteers cleared nearly 5,110 pounds of debris from 28 Santa Barbara County beaches and creeks.…
Sponsor a future farmer
The annual Santa Maria High School FFA booster benefit dinner will be held on Sept. 18 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Eagles Lodge, 666 S. College Drive, in Santa Maria. Tickets cost $100 each—you can split them with friends—and include two barbecue dinners and the opportunity to win door prizes worth $100 to…
Hobnobbing With Helen
It’s official. The Friends of the Library tri-tip barbecue lunch on Aug. 27, in the library’s Shepard Hall, was a success. Board member Marilyn Moll reported that almost 500 tickets at $8 each had been pre-sold. About 20 library lovers were eating lunch (tri-tip, chips, soft drinks) when I arrived. A steady stream of folks…
Spotlight on:
Picture yourself in a cell. This is no ordinary jail cell. It’s you-shaped. You can’t see it or feel it, but it goes wherever you go, moving as you move, holding the real you back from the rest of the world. No matter how you thrash and scream, you just can’t get out—at least not…
Fast(er) food
At Rancho San Julian near Lompoc, and at other cattle ranches throughout the Central Coast, a new method for getting beef from the farm to the market is now a reality. It’s called a “mobile harvest unit,” a 28-foot-long slaughterhouse trailer made entirely of aluminum, and it’s been the dream of the Central Coast Agriculture…
A touch of taste at home
Restaurant dining provides a refreshing change of scenery and ensures that, mercifully, someone else will do the dishes. Sometimes, however, the notion of dressing up and heading out just doesn’t sound very appealing. For fine food lovers who’d rather stay home, the Central Coast’s Chef Kurt Alldredge has developed a tasty solution. With the launch…
Will Lompoc officials woo the Amgen tour?
It will be a lot of work, city officials admit, but if Lompoc can pique the interest of officials for the famed Amgen bicycle tour, the payoff could be considerable—both in exposure on the international scene and in terms of tourism revenue. As of press time, the Lompoc City Council was scheduled to consider submitting…
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department seizes panga boat
It’s safe to say that pretty much everyone knows what a sailboat is, but what’s a panga boat? The small, multi-engine craft gets its name from the panga fish, the typical catch of fishermen who live in developing countries. But the scaly sea dwellers aren’t the only things being transported by the boats. The Santa…
Santa Maria PD leads big meth bust
After a months-long investigation, a team of law enforcement officials announced the successful apprehension of five people believed to be part of a North County methamphetamine trafficking organization. On Aug. 31, members of the Santa Maria Police Department’s Narcotics Suppression Team arrested Santa Maria residents Felipe Mincitar Hurtado, 26; Rafael Oseguera, 26; Luis Carlos Najera,…
HIV/AIDS infections are on the rise in Santa Barbara County
The number of HIV-positive and AIDS cases is up in Santa Barbara County, according to officials at the Pacific Pride Foundation (PPF). The nonprofit organization recently reported its new case numbers for 2010, and they’re not good. At total of 14 people tested positive for HIV/AIDS in fiscal year 2010, and another 14 people have…
