Diane Auten, a communications professor at Allan Hancock College, was nominated for a 2018 Author Academy Award for her book The Joys of Raising Boys: The Good, the Bad, and the Hilarious. Auten’s book is a memoir chronicling her life as a mother raising two boys. She spent more than 10 years writing the book, […]
Hancock College professor nominated for literary award
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Local naturalist presents workshop on animals
The Santa Ynez Valley Natural History Society and Solvang Library will host naturalist Tim Matthews in a presentation titled Skulls and Skins of Local Animals. Matthews, a fisherman, birder, and avid hunter who has led many guided field trips for the Santa Ynez Valley Natural History Society, will present information on local wildlife using examples […]
Posted inOpinion
Response to Ruhge
Once again, Justin Ruhge demonstrated in his response to Ken McCalip’s excellent letter (“Misdeeds in La-La Land,” Aug. 9) that he’s been gulping the red Kool-Aid being brewed by the current administration and Fox News (“Too much Kool-Aid,” Aug. 16). There are so many mistruths in Ruhge’s homage to Donald Trump, one hardly knows where […]
Posted inOpinion
Vote Trump’s supporters out of office
Justin Ruhge’s recent letter “Too much Kool-Aid” (Aug. 16) is exhibit A in just how low the Republican Party has sunk under Donald Trump and how effectively Fox “News” has duped its adherents. President Trump is: (1) an impulsive liar (the Trump Tower meeting with the Russians was about adoption, size of his inauguration crowd, […]
Posted inOpinion
Enough with the egos
Canary, some thoughts on “Frenemies” (Aug. 23). So let me get this straight, a nonprofit, the Friends of the Santa Maria Library, created to support a public entity, the Santa Maria Public Library, with a limited budget wants no oversight, a free space to conduct business, and use the credentials of the public entity to […]
Posted inOpinion
City librarian got it wrong
I have been a volunteer in The Library Shop, which was built especially for the Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library, for 10 years. I do not support the city librarian, Mary Housel, or the city coming up with a requirement that was unnecessary until a control issue by the library arose. This librarian, […]
Posted inOpinion
Piling up
Have you ever ignored a problem for far too long, letting things pile up until you’re left with a festering, rotten mess? That’s why it’s handy for me to have all these newspapers around to line my cage, which I change out often. If I didn’t do that, this bird’s home might look and smell […]
Posted inNews
HOBNOB: Summer’s end soirees
You don’t have to be a sports fan to enjoy the annual Joe White Memorial Dinner and Auction. This event raises money for athletics programs at Allan Hancock College and thus has a sports theme. Quite a few of the auction items were sports related as well. About 300 trickled into the Santa Maria Elks […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Julia Vargas
Pioneer Valley High School golfer Julia Vargas is only a junior, but her years of experience on the varsity team are putting her ahead of the competition. As the lowest scoring player and captain of her team and an A-plus student, Vargas has a full plate. But head coach Marcus Guzman said her work ethic […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch 8/30/18
• After reports that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) planned to roll back Obama-era rules to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, known as the Clean Power Plan, Gov. Jerry Brown issued a statement condemning the Trump administration’s move. “This is a declaration of war against America and all of humanity–it will not stand,” […]
Posted inNews
What about the rest of us? County, cities, and nonprofits search for funding options to create long-term solutions for homelessness
Wide, bald, and barrel chested with a thick dark mustache wrapped around the top of an almost always half-cracked grin, Lompoc Police Sgt. Mauricio Calderon exudes friendliness and calm as he takes long strides toward the first makeshift shelter in the Santa Ynez Riverbed. Calderon became the department’s liason to the city’s homeless population earlier […]
Posted inNews
Looking back, moving forward: While reminiscing about its 30-year history, the Elverhoj Museum in Solvang plants a foot firmly in the future
The building that sits on Elverhoy Way is an illustration of exceptional contradictions. At once giving off a staunch sense of antiquity, with its half-timbered building style indicative of the Danish architecture reflected throughout Solvang, the facade of Elverhoj Museum of History and Art is nothing if not traditional. It’s the kind of building you […]