Wallets may be feeling thinner lately, but what should be more worrying is that Santa Maria residents are getting wider. People hit hardest by the economy are having to loosen their belts instead of tightening them, setting the stage for a health crisis that could have much longer lasting effects than any economic one. According […]
Santa Maria’s weighty issue
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Steps to new knees
It’s official. I’m now a bionic woman. I had to have knee replacement surgery on both knees, one performed in August and the other in November 2009. I’m still in recovery, as the muscles, ligaments, and soft tissues around my new knee joints have yet to settle down and settle in. There’s still some residual […]
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Correction
A dog being walked at the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society was misidentified in a photo in the Jan. 14 cover story, “Two legs, four legs.” The pit mix is Roxy Brown, and society staffers say she’s been “blossoming” in recent days and is ready for adoption. News Briefs is compiled by Sun staffers from […]
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First 5 is now accepting grants for a new Community Collaborative Initiative
Collaboration is key to maximizing school readiness, according to First 5 of Santa Barbara County. To help prepare children for their future education, First 5 is teaming up with several local foundations to fund grants for children and families living in high-need communities. The Community Collaborative Initiative promotes a new vision for early childhood education […]
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May I have this dance?
The city of Lompoc is inviting all local fathers to treat their little Valentines to a night of dancing at the annual Father Daughter Sweetheart Dance. Hosted by the Lompoc Parks, Recreation, and Urban Forestry Department, the dance is open to girls ages 3 to 18 and their fathers. Due to the popularity of past […]
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So you think you can sing?
Have a cocktail, grab a mic, and belt out your best Steve Perry impersonation at Elmo’s Nipomo Saloon, now offering karaoke every Thursday and Sunday night. Shawna hosts karaoke on Thursdays, beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday is Ladies’ Night, with happy hour from 6 to 8 p.m. featuring $3 well drinks, $4 margaritas on the […]
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Retirement community hosts crab feed
Santa Maria retirement community Merrill Gardens is hosting an all-you-can-eat crab feed on Feb. 12 to raise money for foster and high-needs children served by the Family Care Network. Tickets cost $40 and include pasta, salad, iced tea, all-you-can-eat crab, and one raffle entry. Additional raffle tickets can be purchased for $2 apiece or three […]
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Valley visitors get a guide
Tourists to the Santa Ynez Valley can find out what to do, see, and taste in the new edition of the area’s visitors guide, published by the Solvang Conference and Visitors Bureau and the Santa Ynez Valley Visitors Association. The Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley 2010 Visitors Guide is filled with full-color photographs featuring […]
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Subway tries text ordering
Beginning later this month, local Subway stores will take part in a trial run of a program that will allow customers to order sandwiches via text message. Santa Maria shops will be among more than 30 Subways in Southern California to participate in the four-month trial. The stores will be using Zingle, a messaging service […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
See Shinn at the Network
Santa Maria resident and internationally known ceramist Bill Shinn will be featured at the Gallery at the Network in San Luis Obispo from Feb. 1 through March 31. In 2009 alone, Shinn saw his work appear at the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, juried a show for the American Ceramic Society, spent two […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Gala supports the arts
This year’s Orcutt Children’s Arts Foundation honors local musician Terry Lawless—who just returned from a world tour with U2—at its Gala Event on Feb. 26 at 5:30 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel Santa Maria. The event includes a gourmet dinner, auction, and dancing to Unfinished Business. The Orcutt Children’s Arts Foundation Annual Gala is an […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Get trapped
Agatha Christie’s Mouse Trap, a play about a group of strangers stranded in a boarding house during a snow storm opens at the Santa Maria Civic Theatre as part of its 51st season. The suspects include the newly married couple who runs the house, and their suspicions nearly wreck their perfect marriage. Other players are […]