It may be a revelation to some, but the Second Amendment doesn’t apply to gun stores. There is no constitutional right to manufacture or sell guns. And, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled in 2017 that county governments have the right to restrict the location of gun stores. There are plenty […]
Guns in Santa Maria
Posted inOpinion
Guns aren’t the issue
In the March 29 issue of the Sun, the cover story was “Never again: School shootings are a norm that some local students are no longer willing to accept.” I agree with the sentiment that shootings should not be the norm. But guns are not the issue. They will always be available. I do have […]
Posted inNews
U.S. Forest Service wraps up winter controlled burns
Riprap clatters and clangs against U.S. Forest Service Battalion Chief Chip Laugharn’s government-issued pickup truck. The sun beams down and blankets the landscape with washed-out midday light. The air is rich with the smell of pine and woodsmoke. “It’s a killer view,” Laugharn says, pointing to the wall of mountains dominating the horizon. “This is […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
MENUS – Spring-Summer 2018
The rain fell just in time to make you wonder if spring would actually come to the Central Coast this year. It was cold and made you yearn for that sunny warmth that brings a seat outside, a cold beer, and some farm-to-table nibbles. Well, sun’s out, fun’s out, and so is the annual Spring/Summer […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Solvang’s Chomp gets the burger bite right
As soon as you set foot in Solvang’s Chomp, a burger eatery with a striking logo on the outside, something feels very different. Chomp is something between an ultramodern European gastropub and a classic 1950s diner, with touches of whimsy around the edges. The huge chalkboard wall that spells out well wishes and messages near […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Poets Mira Rosenthal and James Cushing perform selections of their work in Orcutt
“How many times has apology/rimmed my mouth like lipstick? This is not/what I meant to tell you, the same old/kitchen sink, mold, the blooming mold.” The haunting yet subtle lines of the poem “Swallow” are an example of the beautiful simplicity of poetry. Frozen in a moment of static visual detail, a thousand intricate sentiments […]
Posted inOpinion
Playing with fire
Ah, the hills are alive! Enjoy it now people, the few weeks of lush green that comes after the rains, because you know what’s going to happen next. It’s going to get hot, and it’s going to dry out, and those hills are going to turn brown, and every bit of dry brush will become […]
Posted inNews
Local advocacy groups call for further pesticide restrictions in honor of Cesar Chavez Day
Lucila Hernandez was pregnant when a crop duster sprayed her and more than 30 other farmworkers with pesticides in the ’90s. Her son, she said, was born ill. “We spent a long time in the hospital, he and I, recovering,” Hernandez, a former Guadalupe farmworker, said through tears at a pesticide reform press conference in […]
Posted inNews
Spotlight on: Pacific Pride Foundation
For 10 years, the Pacific Pride Foundation has offered youth programs, HIV and hepatitis C testing, and a syringe exchange program in Santa Maria. Those programs are about to be a little more easy to access following the opening of the foundation’s newest location at 123 S. College Drive. The 17,000-square-foot space has several rooms […]
Posted inNews
Iridium completes first launch of year with SpaceX
A SpaceX rocket carrying 10 state-of-the-art communications satellites successfully blasted into low orbit on March 30 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, treating much of California’s coast that morning to views of a single contrail shooting straight toward the heavens. The satellites belong to Iridium Communications, a company that boasts it is the only one of […]
Posted inNews
Bicyclist seriously injured in collision with Santa Maria city bus
A 43-year-old bicyclist was seriously injured when she was hit by a Santa Maria city bus just before 6 p.m. on April 2. The Route 7 Santa Maria Area Transit bus was headed west on East McCoy Lane when it collided with the bicyclist near the corner of Caballero Lane, according to Mark van de […]
Posted inNews
Between the shadows: How an unresolved town debate over shade and public funds impacted one of Solvang’s most iconic businesses
A silver Weimaraner followed Lorena Orona as she walked out of the rain and into the warm shelter of her Santa Ynez Valley ranch house, a rental that sits a few miles northeast of Solvang. It was a Friday in mid-March, and while the days-long shower had soaked the drought-stricken hills surrounding her home, it […]
