The soft, rhythmic thumping sound of the gray and white pit bull/lab mix Banjo’s tail on Jessie Funes and Audy Macdonald’s living room couch underscores the chatter of the meeting, a sign of appreciation for all the attention he’s getting. A group of volunteers and board members for the House of Pride and Equality (HOPE) […]
Living with Pride: House of Pride and Equality (HOPE) volunteers ready to celebrate Pride a second time in Santa Maria
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
PCPA presents comedy ‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’
The Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) presents Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, a comedy by playwright Christopher Durang, opening June 28. In the play, three siblings reunite in the family’s Bucks County, Pennsylvania, home. Vanya and Sonia bicker and pine about the dashed dreams and squandered hopes of their lives while their fortune-telling maid […]
Posted inOpinion
Theodore American
President Theodore Roosevelt’s thoughts in 1907 on being an American should be our motto for all newcomers today, as follows: “In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone […]
Posted inOpinion
Support jobs in Santa Barbara County
It’s been rough going lately for working people in the Santa Maria area. According to the California Employment Development Department, the unemployment rate here is 6.3 percent–80 percent higher than the average for Santa Barbara County. So it’s good news when opportunities for well-paying jobs with good benefits come along, especially when they don’t necessarily […]
Posted inOpinion
Cancer survivors don’t discriminate
Cancer impacts people and families from all walks of life, and all races, religions, and political persuasions, including my own family. Treatment is difficult and expensive, and far too few resources are available to support the doctors, health care providers, and facilities that care for patients battling this terrible disease. So when community members step […]
Posted inOpinion
Trump’s not a Republican
Steeped in blatant lies, outrageous hyperbole, and just plain nonsense, Donald Trump severely degrades the office of the presidency and lessens worldwide respect for the United States. First, there’s the corruption. Ulysses Grant, Warren Harding, and Richard Nixon, heretofore considered the most corrupt presidents in American history, must be celebrating Trump. Look no further than […]
Posted inOpinion
Embrace the change
And then, there were two. Is anyone else excited to see another young, Hispanic professional stepping up to the plate to run for Santa Maria City Council? Local nonprofit manager Gloria Soto is running to fill Jack Boysen‘s soon-to-be-vacated District 3 seat, and I must admit, I’m all aflutter! It’s not just that she’s young […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Orcutt National Brewers
After months of intensive practice, the Orcutt National Brewers put their skills to good use on the baseball diamond not once, not twice, but three times this season, taking home three little league championship titles. The Brewers–self-titled the Brew Crew–ended their season with 18 wins, three losses, and one tie game. “I’m just really proud […]
Posted inNews
Schools await Governor’s approval of $300 million for career tech education
Since the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District was awarded $2 million through the state’s Career Technical Education (CTE) Incentive Grant in 2016, it has transformed the way local high schools educate. The district was able to add a multitude of career-oriented courses, improve its existing pathways, and break ground on its new […]
Posted inNews
Hollister Ranch hearing set amid public backlash
Out of the hundreds of comments submitted to the California Coastal Commission regarding public access to Hollister Ranch, only a handful are positive. As of the Sun‘s press time, more than 600 hundred public comments had been submitted to the commission, all but three of which were intensely critical of the deal that would limit […]
Posted inNews
Rep. Salud Carbajal visits border, child detention facility in Texas
On June 25, Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) visited the U.S.-Mexico border and a detention facility in Texas to assess the conditions that detained children were being held in and question the federal officials tasked with caring for them. Carbajal joined Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) in crossing over the Paso del Norte Bridge into Cuidad […]
Posted inOpinion
Enough is enough
Everybody has a breaking point, when they just can’t take it anymore. But what does it take to get you to there? I know there are many who live on the Central Coast and pick up the Sun who voted for President Donald Trump, who are fond of the president and his policies. If you’ve […]