Here we were, senior citizens doing our volunteer duty, sitting the first session of the Santa Maria Republican Club booth at the recent county fair as we have for the past 10 years. All around us were other booths for the NRA, wheel chairs, books and puffy dolls, jewelry, cosmetics, bonsai plants, the CHP, etc. […]
County fair experience
Posted inOpinion
Response to Scott Fina
Scott Fina’s commentary regarding the cave rescue in Thailand (“Cave rescue in Thailand was no ‘miracle,’” July 19) was a brilliant piece of persuasive writing. Using a relevant example, he was able to express and show us how universal ideals are practical and useful. Who can make a legitimate argument against these values? Yet, many […]
Posted inOpinion
Trump won, get over it
I must write on the continued letter craziness of some here, in particular those addressing President Donald Trump and Republicans. Two letters stood out in the July 12 issue: “The new GOP,” by Sean Mac Aodha and “Supreme Court nomination,” by Kim Pendleton. On “The new GOP,” I can’t stop chuckling long enough to know […]
Posted inOpinion
Library and Friends should come together
A friend recently contacted me with news that there is a disagreement brewing between the Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library and the city librarian, Mary Housel, about the city’s requirement for a lease for use of the Library Shop in the Library (“Library Shop to close after tiff with Library,” July 5). The […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Haleigh Batty
Allan Hancock College track and field star Haleigh Batty is a record-breaker. During her freshman year at Hancock, she set new records in both the women’s long and high jumps. And after taking first place in seven of her first eight meets of the season, Batty won a Western State Conference long jump […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria awarded nearly $300,000 for bicycle and pedestrian pathway project
Several bicycle and pedestrian pathway improvement projects are coming soon to Santa Maria. But first, the city needs to make a list. On May 11, the city was awarded a $296,700 Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant through the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), according to a city staff report, which will go toward the beginning stages […]
Posted inNews
Getting ‘trauma-informed’: County works to better address childhood trauma and the factors that cause it
Santa Barbara County is home to nearly 450,000 Californians, 60,000 of whom are living at or below the federal poverty level. An estimated 28 percent of those living in poverty are children, according to the county’s yet-to-be-released 2017 Children’s Scorecard. Economic hardship is just one of the many common factors that can put families and […]
Posted inNews
Hancock moves forward with Dream Center project
When Jessica Zarate moved to the U.S. from Mexico as a child, she was so young that the memory didn’t stick, and she grew up thinking she was born and raised an American. It wasn’t until high school, when Zarate’s mom first brought up college, that Zarate found out she wasn’t a documented U.S. citizen, […]
Posted inNews
HOBNOB: Mid-Summer melange
It was Monday, July 2, at 4 p.m. There were tempting appetizers from Moxie Café, respectable wines for imbibing, and a group of groovy guests, not to mention an awesome venue–the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum. Yet this was my saddest hobnobbing experience ever. About 100 folks gathered to bid farewell to one of the […]
Posted inNews
Spotlight on: Rancho Bowl and Lounge: Ashlee Carranza, owner
It’s been almost 60 years since Rancho Bowl first opened its doors in Santa Maria. A lot can change in that time, but not the family that owns it. Ashlee Carranza found her way into the bowling business when she married her partner, Luke, whose family has owned the establishment since the beginning. “We have […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch 7/26/18
• Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) issued a statement on July 19 on the rates of Covered California, which a release from her office said “will be 8.7 percent higher, on average, with 3.5 percent due to the repeal of the individual mandate.” “Republican efforts to sabotage health care will hit middle-class families the hardest,” […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Bright lights, small town: A group of independent filmmakers bring Hollywood to Santa Maria
Santa Maria is going a little bit Hollywood, thanks to some local filmmakers. Cindy Kitagawa was born and raised in Santa Maria and worked in Los Angeles as an aspiring writer and filmmaker. Now she and a group of local and non-local filmmakers are in Santa Maria shooting a feature length film called Coast. Like […]