Allan Hancock College student Isabella Albano has made a name for herself on the volleyball court. As the team’s trusty libero, Albano digs roughly 5.5 balls per set, making her the leading digger in the Western State Conference and fifth in all of California. This despite a mid-season position change that diminished her chances to […]
Isabella Albano
County talks youth trauma at Bridges to Resilience conference
Trauma. It affects everyone, and impacts nearly all facets of every community. But with the right steps, trauma can be treated and even prevented. That was the message at this year’s Bridges to Resilience conference in Buellton on Oct. 11, the third annual event of its kind in Santa Barbara County. At the event, which […]
Political Watch 10/18/18
• The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to advance legislation co-authored by Sens. Kamala Harris (D-California), Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), and Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) that would criminalize lynching, attempts to lynch, and conspiracy to lynch. The Justice for Victims of Lynching Act of 2018 would be the first successful anti-lynching legislation in U.S. history […]
One local nonprofit is creating a support program to empower Latina women seeking higher education
Natali Camacho remembers her college experience as a tough but important part of her life. She went to Allan Hancock College for three years and then transferred to UC Davis where she earned her degree in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology. She wasn’t exactly thrilled to be attending community college because her first choice was […]
Taxpayers Association endorses Hancock bond
In a rare move, the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association announced at a rally on Oct. 11 its endorsement of a bond measure that would fund facility construction and improvements at Allan Hancock College campuses. If approved by voters, Measure Y2018 would bring $75 million to Hancock campuses in Northern Santa Barbara County to build […]
Santa Barbara County pot growers walk a fine line between staying legal, angering their neighbors, and getting raided
A U-Haul van packed with pounds of freshly harvested marijuana eases its way down the narrow winding road on the back side of Cebada Canyon. As it rolls and bucks against uneven terrain, the driver brings the vehicle to a complete stop on the right shoulder to let a gunmetal Honda Accord pass by. “That’s […]
Places to play: Local blue-collar acoustic groups see more chances to perform in the Santa Maria Valley
For the musician who makes the leap from studying their instrument and playing in jam circles to actually starting a group and getting paid to perform, that milestone can be a formative one. But for local singer and banjo player Wendy Stockton, starting a band didn’t begin in high school for her, like for so […]
Culture counts: Local schools are working, slowly, to increase representation in the teaching force
After 25 years in the U.S. Navy, Peter Flores had heard all the meritocratic mantras in existence, and “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” was by far his favorite. Hard work was the constant focus of his life as a command master chief, and as a new naval sciences teacher in the early 2000s, he […]
CORE hosts poetry reading with David Dominguez and Raina J. León
CORE Winery in Orcutt will feature two poets, David Dominguez and Raina J. León at its monthly poetry reading series on Oct. 13. León, Ph.D, has written three collections of poetry, including Canticle of Idols, Boogeyman Dawn, and sombra: (dis)locate. She is a member of the Carolina African-American Writers Collective as well as founding editor […]
Barrelworks Terroir Project invites brewers from all over the world to create beer wine hybrids
Here on the Central Coast, every sip of wine or beer bears a hint of the region that produced it. So what happens when you combine them both? Don’t go dumping your beer into that glass of chardonnay because that’s not what I’m talking about. Beer-and-wine hybrids are making a name for themselves all over […]
Lasting impressions: Irina Malkmus’ surrealist metal embossings pay tribute to her homeland
Irina Malkmus vividly recalls the details of spending part of her youth in Crimea, at her grandparents’ home, picking wild mushrooms. “I spent lots of time with my grandmother and grandfather,” she said. “Often I would walk to the forest to find some mushrooms. I remember how they smell and how they are beautiful.” She […]
Truth hurts
“Why is everyone so sensitive?” We hear it so often in the Opinion section, often from those mad at letters they disagree with or at reporting they’d have rather never learned about. Take a look at the critical response we received from a reader (page 14) for some news reporting done in the Oct. 4 […]

