In light of a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge’s decision to suspend construction of a controversial suicide barrier, the flimsy, orange mesh currently sitting on the Cold Spring Canyon Bridge on Highway 154 in Santa Ynez may be the only blockade for some time. On July 13, Judge Thomas Anderle found that the California […]
Santa Barbara judge suspends construction of suicide barrier on Cold Spring Canyon Bridge
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Local agribusiness represented at Fly-in
Ruth Jensen, a member of the Santa Maria Chapter of California Women for Agriculture, was among 45 women who recently connected with consumers and policy makers at American Agri-Women’s 25th annual Fly-in to Washington D.C. During the week, Jensen and others from throughout the country met with officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the […]
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Looking for local leaders
Looking for a way to get more involved in the community? Want to expand your circle of influence within the Santa Maria Valley? Leadership Santa Maria Valley, a program designed to foster and create future community leaders and trustees, is now accepting applications for the Class of 2010-11. The new class begins in August. The […]
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Lompoc celebrates Energy Center
On July 12, Lompoc celebrated the groundbreaking of the Northern California Power Agency’s Lodi Energy Center, a state-of-the-art natural gas facility. Using “fast start” gas turbine technology, the Lodi plant touts itself as the lowest carbon emitting combustion facility in the United States, allowing Lompoc to provide low-cost electricity produced with fewer greenhouse gas omissions. […]
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Clean your trashcans
Cleaner Cans, a locally owned and operated trash can-cleaning service on the Central Coast, is now open in Santa Maria. The business cleans, disinfects, and deodorizes smelly trashcans the same day trash is collected, using a 100-percent environmentally friendly method and fully self-contained unit. Cleaner Cans also recycles all waste through a special filter system […]
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See Flipped before everyone else
The Santa Maria Sun and New Times have passes to a movie premiere and want to share them with you. Flipped, a novel by local author Wendelin Van Draanen, is coming to the big screen. But before the rest of the world gets to see the movie, it’s playing at a dressy red carpet premiere […]
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Wells Fargo Wagon, donations come a-callin’ at the new Santa Maria bank branch
The July 10 grand opening of a new Wells Fargo branch in Santa Maria wasn’t just a special occasion for bank employees and bank patrons living on the south side of town. The branch, located in the Kohl’s shopping center on the corner of McCoy Lane and South Broadway, also used the time to honor […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Back to the beach
Marriage is about teamwork. My wife likes to plan family vacations, and, therefore, I like to pay for them. I do have to give my wife credit, though, because if it wasn’t for her exceptional planning (nagging and dragging me places), my kids wouldn’t know the Matterhorn is a rollercoaster at Disneyland. Instead, they might […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The wild side
The Town Center Gallery will offer “Walk on the Wild Side of Art” Art Camp, July 26 to 30. Children ages 5 to 15 will attend five morning (11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.) or five afternoon (1:30 to 3 p.m.) classes. The morning class theme is Australia, and activities include Tribal Trade Beads and Walk-About […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Art pays
Two Allan Hancock College graduates just got a little richer as recipients of $250 scholarships from Town Center Gallery. Ana Maldonado is a graphic design major and will continue at Cal State Northridge. Nastacia Perales will be transferring to CSU Monterey Bay to major in visual public art, with an emphasis on art education. Both […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Tales of joy and survival
Margaret Cooper was eating spaghetti off a paper plate after Sunday School when the church’s organist came out and announced Pearl Harbor had been bombed. Four months later, the 12-year-old Cooper was living behind barbed wire in a Japanese internment camp after the government ordered the evacuation of all Japanese people living along the West […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Sittin’ with Jim
There are few musicians who share as intimate a history with Southern California as local luminary Jim Messina. While working as a recording engineer in Los Angeles, Messina crossed paths with Buffalo Springfield, and it wasn’t long before he was drafted into the line-up. The foundations were thus laid for a career that explored the […]