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 […]
Taxpayers Association endorses Hancock bond
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
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 […]
Posted inFood & Drink
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 […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
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 […]
Posted inOpinion
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 […]
Posted inNews
Hancock partners with private university to offer bachelor’s degrees
In a little more than three months, Santa Marians will be able to get four-year degrees at Allan Hancock College. Representatives of Hancock and the University of La Verne met at Hancock’s Santa Maria campus Oct. 8 to ratify a contract that will launch three bachelor’s degrees on Hancock’s campus. The degrees, in public administration, […]
Posted inNews
Spotlight on: Space VR
A new company in Solvang is offering potential customers a chance to step into an alternate reality. Jamie Baker, the owner and operator of Space VR, a virtual reality video arcade right across the street from the town’s motorcycle museum, told the Sun he got into the business because of his son. “He’s 12 years […]
Posted inNews
Measuring up: Local groups back county and city ballot measures
While internet ads, mailers, and radio commercials inundate voters with information about state propositions and national candidates, there’s still a number of local ballot measures vying for attention. With early voting open since Oct. 8, the Sun examined local measures that could change the landscape of supervisorial districts and others that will outline local cannabis […]
Posted inNews
Solvang shores up smoking ordinance
City administrators and council members tried to clear the air permanently in Solvang by tightening its smoking regulations. On Oct. 9, the Solvang City Council gave tacit approval to restrict smoking to streets and parking lots. The public’s response was largely positive. “It will be nice to not walk through a cloud of smoke or […]
