Without fail, just about every year now for the past decade, one or more musician friends ask me after-the-fact: “Dude, why didn’t you tell me about the New Times Music Awards?” Well here it is, unequivocally: The Sun and New Times is currently accepting entries for the 10th annual New Times Music Awards, which we […]
NTMA turns 10: The New Times Music Awards (NTMAs) calls for singer/songwriters and bands to submit new music for 10th annual competition
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Shop not: Rebecca fights a bored man for one Sunday of shopping
One of my biggest joys in life (aside from revelling in the downfall of Natalie Portman, but I’ll get to that another time) is shopping. I’m so good at shopping I consider it my cardio. I love nothing more than strolling around any shop picking through jewelry, clothes, shoes, decorative items, and more. That would […]
Posted inOpinion
Best wishes
Just as summer starts each year, the Sun staff goes collectively insane working on Best Of. Don’t get me wrong, we love Best Of! What a great way to celebrate excellence in our community. But seriously, it’s a lot of work. We count hundreds and hundreds of votes, contact dozens and dozens of businesses owners […]
Posted inOpinion
Pot calling the kettle black
I would like to respond to a letter in the Santa Maria Times titled, “Democrats and hypocrisy,” (July 20). A part-time janitor who worked at a processing center for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Why, Arizona, discovered plastic rosary beads and Bibles in the trash, personal items confiscated from people who supposedly entered the […]
Posted inOpinion
Carbajal doesn’t do enough for veterans
I am writing this letter with regard to Veterans Affairs in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, and specifically on how Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) plans to approach the issue. Carbajal has pushed for a mere $8 million increase in funds allocated to transportation services that allow veterans to get to Los Angeles and receive […]
Posted inOpinion
About the midterm elections
I am concerned that the Democratic Party is veering too far to the left for these midterm elections. We want to win the election, and I believe that a move towards the extreme left at this time is counterproductive to the cause. We cannot assume that the dislike of Trump and his policies and behavior […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Adrian Santini
On the baseball diamond, 12-year-old Adrian Santini is a triple threat–he can pitch better, hit harder, and run faster than just about anyone his age. Santini, an Orcutt Junior High School student, has been an integral member on each of his Little League teams since he was just 7 years old. But recently, he’s been […]
Posted inNews
Local students get cost-free look at real careers during STEM Industry Days
Assembling a computer’s motherboard is just like skiing, according to computer repairman Kevin Dyson: It’s scary when you try it for the first time as an adult, but as kid, it comes easy. “When I got into this industry I was deathly afraid of opening up a computer,” Dyson told the Sun, hovering over the […]
Posted inNews
Spotlight on: Community Bank of Santa Maria Janet Silveria, CEO
It’s been a year of change for the Community Bank of Santa Maria. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, since the firm completed the sale of its Lompoc branch on May 18, net income increased by more than 130 percent, according to Janet Silveria, the bank’s president and CEO. The agreement between […]
Posted inNews
Full house(s): Peoples’ Self-Help Housing welcomes farmworkers to third low-income development
Only 34 of roughly 230 applicants were accepted to live at Los Adobes de Maria III, Peoples’ Self-Help Housing’s most recently opened affordable housing development in Santa Maria. The complex, which features 22 two-bedroom and 11 three-bedroom apartments, is the third low-income housing development open to farmworkers and their families in the neighborhood. And while […]
Posted inNews
Missing the pointe: Dance studio may move despite being granted youth center status
When Angela Mill and her husband, Mason, built their several-thousand-square-foot dance studio in Old Town Lompoc, it was a dream come to life. But in recent months, the owners of the Classical School of Ballet say they felt as if they’ve been living in a nightmare. “This has been hell,” Angela said, as she weaved […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch 8/2/18
• Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) plugged her bill, the Keep Families Together Act, in her opening statements as the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on July 31 on family reunification efforts as ranking member of the committee. The bill, introduced with 31 other Democrats including Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California), would seek to reunify all the children […]
