Oil, oil, oil was the topic of discussion at the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting on Aug. 26. The board cleared its departmental agenda of other items in order to devote its full attention to a public hearing assessing the ongoing energy crisis and its impact on Santa Barbara County. At the heart […]
Santa Barbara County supes address the energy crisis
Posted inNews
City schedule changes for Labor Day
True to Labor Day holiday traditions, there will be no trash or recycling collection service or street sweeping in Santa Maria on Sept. 1. The Santa Maria Regional Landfill and city administrative offices will also be closed in observance of the holiday. For the holiday schedule only, city residential and commercial customers will receive service […]
Posted inNews
Santa Barbara County supervisors plan Gap Fire community meeting
The Gap Fire might be nothing but ashes now, but that doesn’t mean it’s history. Santa Barbara County Supervisors Janet Wolf (2nd District) and Brooks Firestone (3rd District) will host a community forum starting at 6 p.m. on Sept. 11 to discuss the recent fire, its damage to hillsides and forest areas, and what the […]
Posted inNews
Forest and park are open to the public again
More than 100,000 acres of the Los Padres National Forest near Santa Maria reopened to the public on Aug. 22, after being closed for almost a week due to the “Lightning Complex” fires. The blazes, now contained, burned a total of 244 acres. Preisker Park, which was closed to the public in order to serve […]
Posted inNews
Orcutt Academy opens its doors
School officially began for the Spartans on Aug. 22, as Orcutt Academy opened the doors to its two new campuses. Orcutt Academy, operated through the Orcutt Union School District, is a public charter school geared toward providing alternative education methods to local students. The Casmalia campus—formerly Winifred Wollam Elementary School—caters to students in kindergarten through […]
Posted inNews
Locals celebrate the new library
Hundreds of Santa Marians gathered at the site of the city’s newly constructed Santa Maria Public Library, where officials spoke and celebrated the opening of the building on Aug. 23. The ceremony opened with a prayer and the pledge of allegiance. City Librarian Jack Buchanan greeted the crowd in a black-and-white tuxedo, and City Councilwoman […]
Posted inNews
Gas theft plagues at least one area in Santa Maria
Gasoline prices are slowly falling, much to the relief of drivers everywhere. According to the Automobile Association of America (AAA), prices are down in Santa Barbara County from a high of $4.70 in June to a current tally of $4.04. And, in at least one part of Santa Maria, gasoline is free—with a little bit […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Arts Briefs
Celebrate music in the garden After seven successful seasons, the Santa Maria Philharmonic begins its eighth on Sept. 27 with a concert of selections from Weber, Schubert, Elgar, and Tchaikovsky. To kick off the 2008-2009 season, the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society will host a fundraiser on Sept. 7, titled “Garden Party at Ambrosia,” at the […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
About face
For some artists, perhaps the only other thing more valuable than their work is time—time to create, and time to think about creating. Such time was an elusive thing for artist Carol A. Kemp, who goes by the moniker of CarolK. To make the most of what she had, she committed to a project that […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Custom crush
Noted for its converted dairies and makeshift barrel rooms, Santa Barbara County’s early wine scene harbored surfers-, cyclists-, and retail clerks-turned-vintners who tackled harvest with second-hand equipment and jerry-rigged crush pads. Rustic and colorful, the early 1980s saw the birth of a local industry destined for greatness, no matter how humble its beginnings. In 1987, […]
Posted inOpinion
The boy wizard trumps all
I have a confession to make. A couple of weeks ago, I told Mark van de Kamp, a management analyst for the city, that the Santa Maria Public Library doesn’t need any more money. A week before that, I said the same thing to Phil Alvarado, the new Santa Maria Bonita School District Superintendent and […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Golden Dukes are the best team in town
Coach Doug Sims was not surprised to learn that his team, the Golden Dukes, had won Best Local Youth Sports Team in the Sun’s annual Best Of poll. Happy? Yes. Surprised? No. “It’s our parents,” he said, explaining how they got the votes. “We have great parents.” The Golden Dukes is a basketball team. They […]