Let’s get it straight: When it comes to health insurance, the United States has the most misinformed, fearful, gullible, short-sighted, and short-changed population among developed nations. The private insurance industry has made fools of us. Please consider this: If you view your life and health as above all means for private profit and […]
Please consider this
Posted inOpinion
Parents have more influence over their children
To the parents who were concerned about President Obama’s speech addressed to their school-age children: I would like to address all of the parents of this county who didn’t want their children to hear Obama’s speech because of its possible political content. First: From what I have read and observed, parents have a […]
Posted inOpinion
Make the parents pay
Public school districts across the United States are disbursed funds from the state governments for children attending school, and funds are withheld for those who are absent. The hundreds or thousands of paranoid extremist parents who kept their children home from school on right-wing hysteria surrounding President Barack Obama’s speech urging kids to “stay in […]
Posted inOpinion
I have a question for the protesters
The Tea Party Conservatives are attempting to rip a page from the ’60s protest movement. The question is: Where were they when millions of their fellow Americans were protesting a multi-trillion-dollar war?
Posted inNews
Help for the job hunters
Job seekers and workers looking to get promoted are invited to a free employment workshop on Sept. 18 and 19. The event’s facilitator is Gregg Follett, career services consultant at Arbor Education and Training. Follett is a communication skills trainer with experience in sales and marketing and a reputation for coaching individuals to enhance […]
Posted inNews
Mall welcomes flower shop
Established more than 80 years ago in Lompoc, Avenue Flower and Gift Shop now has a second home in Santa Maria’s Town Center Mall. Featuring fresh flowers and bouquets, Avenue Flower creates custom floral designs and offers contemporary, traditional, dried, and silk arrangements, as well as gourmet gift baskets, greeting cards, and candles. […]
Posted inNews
Join a ladies’ night
Celebrating its sixth anniversary, Orcutt’s InSPArations Salon is bringing awareness to breast cancer with a ladies’ night on Oct. 22. Raffle tickets will be sold for $3 apiece at the salon beginning Sept. 21, with all proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Entrants can win gift certificates for wine, spa […]
Posted inNews
What’s old is new again
Vintage dolls, commemorative plates, Chinese art, and original watercolor paintings are just a few treasures to be discovered at Chez Jeanía, a new antique shop recently opened in Santa Maria. Store owner Barbara Spencer named the shop in honor of her mother Jane, who died in January 2001. Barbara and her mother traveled the […]
Posted inNews
Winning the Peace
Before the sun rises each day over Baghdad, the predawn silence is broken by the muezzins’ calls to prayer, bellowing from electric loudspeakers throughout the city. For soldiers of the 425th Civil Affairs Battalion, the new day begins much like the last. Some of the reservists—most of whom have trained one weekend per month and […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Clubs & 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. ALTRUSA INTERNATIONAL, INC. of SANTA MARIA, a nonprofit business and professional organization, meets the second Wednesday of each month, 6:30 p.m., in the Altrusa Theatre of the […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Spiritual
BAHA’I interfaith worship services are the second Sunday of each month. Info: 489-4172. Children’s classes are the first Saturday of each month. Info: 937-9451. Study circles about The Life of the Spirit are ongoing in Santa Maria. For questions, dates, and times: 614-0963. Info: 937-9451. BETHEL LUTHERAN CHURCH holds worship services Sundays with Holy […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Farmers Markets
SANTA MARIA 100 S. Broadway at Main, Wednesdays, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Features local beekeepers’ honey and bee pollen, breads and pastries, plants and flower bouquets, fresh fruits and vegetables. ORCUTT Corner of Clark and Bradley, Tuesdays, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fresh honey, flowers, and eggs, along with fresh fruits and […]