The Santa Maria Girls All-Stars 12U Indians II team is representing Santa Maria in the Amateur Softball Association Nationals tournament in New Mexico on Aug. 2 and needs the community’s help to get there. The team estimates each of its 13 players needs to raise at least $1,000 to cover traveling, uniforms, and hotel and […]
Santa Maria Girls softball team needs donations
Sharpen skills with summer soccer
The World Cup may be over, but Catalyst Soccer and Cal Poly Mustang Soccer are celebrating the international competition all summer long with weeklong children’s soccer camps in Orcutt and Santa Maria. The camps are directed by coaches and players of the nationally recognized Cal Poly Mustang Men’s and Women’s Soccer Programs and are divided […]
Thanks, but still, what does illegal immigration cost?
Thank you for a somewhat balanced, lighthearted approach to what is a very difficult issue (“¿Cuanto cuesta?” June 24). Most articles I read take one side and ignore all the issues on the opposite side. The last six months or so I have been trying to become more informed regarding this issue. One thing I […]
Cars don’t fit in the dune view
During my first week here in California, I have been taken by its striking beauty. I had no doubt it would live up to its majestic reputation, but I had no idea that the mountains, always looming in sight, would provide such a spiritual, if you will, backdrop. We made our way up through southern […]
Obama hates how great America is
America’s economy is under siege by unemployment, housing, Afghanistan, illegal immigration, and a $13 trillion debt, and all Obama does is spend money, spew rhetoric, blame Bush, sue BP, and start a civil war in Arizona. His ratings are plunging, 62 percent of the people think the country’s going the wrong direction, and even his […]
Our pesticide methodology stands
I read with interest your article on the pesticide drift study in Sisquoc (“A better alternative?” June 24)—in particular, the quote from Lea Brooks at the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) calling into question the validity of the sampling methods used: “When [DPR] and Air Resources Board conduct monitoring, we follow U.S. EPA protocols,” she […]
Don’t bash immigrants
Regarding your story “¿Cuanto cuesta?” (June 24): I wonder how many of your readers will consider the root cause of illegal immigration: the failure of source countries to provide their citizens with education, job opportunities, social services, and civil rights. We demonize poor people who risk their lives and leave their families for an insecure […]
Sip at the symposium
Often taking a back seat to flirty Pinot Noirs and roguish Rhone varieties, Chardonnay nevertheless persists as a worthy partner for food and fun. Golden, gorgeous, and capable of displaying tremendous stylistic differences, it remains one of the world’s most popular wines. Santa Barbara County vintners, in concert with the Santa Maria Valley Wine Country […]
Seeds of hope
It was easy to be overwhelmed. The ocean of color stretched literally to the horizon: purples, whites, reds, yellows, pinks—some in solid swaths, others jumbled together in a firework display. People came from all over the world to see the flower fields of Lompoc. Today, people still come, but they have to search a bit […]
Where do you like to be on 4th of July?
Josh Kitchen cashier “With my girlfriend, and where they are playing Bruce Springsteen.” Beau Kinry student “Anywhere with karaoke, so I can sing ‘Born in the USA,’ which is the perfect song for 4th of July.” Jake Tully yogurt technician “At the beach. The beach is the epitome of summer, so why not?” Brittani Meza […]
Hear the music of history
Lyrics immortalized by a modest movie called The Wizard of Oz and written by Yip Harburg, also known as E.Y. Harburg, are ingrained into the public consciousness: “Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, there’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby … .” But Harburg’s name doesn’t have the same familiar […]
Clubs and Meetings
4-H welcomes anyone interested in the group to sign up now. Find a nearby club by contacting the Santa Barbara County 4-H Office at 692-1730 or zmhughes@ucdavis.edu. ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS for men meets in San Luis Obispo and Grover Beach. Men interested in attending may contact representatives: 550-6718 or not_moses@fastmail.fm. ALL-AMERICAN QUILTERS’ GUILD meets […]

