As Alana Silva hovers over a client in her cozy Santa Maria beauty salon, she is armed with a powerful wand that makes a noise like something between a quiet buzz and a zap. Looking like she’s ready to powerwash a window, Silva, a professional esthetician, is actually performing a highly sophisticated procedure that will […]
Skin you’re in: Estheticians on the Central Coast beautify skin with techniques old and new
Posted inOpinion
Porn addiction begins early
Parents, buckle up. The statistics are brutal: • The average age of first exposure to pornography is 9. • One out of every 10 visitors to a porn site is younger than 10. • 10 percent of seventh graders worry that they might be addicted to porn. • 64 percent of 13- to 24-year-olds actively […]
Posted inOpinion
What do you do to stay healthy?
Armando Pantoja student “Exercise by running and working out and eating healthy.” Laura Pavlich assistant manager at Crunch Gym “Making working out part of my routine, making sure that nothing gets in the way of that, even if I have to go extra early in the morning or stay late at night. Also, making sure […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch 1/25/18
• Gov. Jerry Brown signed an official proclamation naming Jan. 22 a Day of Remembrance of the Montecito Mudslides, which ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff at the state Capitol. “As we remember those we lost in this disaster, we should also remember the injured, the missing, and the survivors who may need […]
Posted inNews
Community Health Centers promote oral hygiene for kids with Brush! Brush! Brush! program
An alligator may seem like an unlikely role model for immaculate oral hygiene. But many local children receive their first dental cleanings at school, where an alligator, also known as Dr. Joseph Mercardante, teaches them to “open wide” through the Community Health Centers’ (CHC) Brush! Brush! Brush! program. The program, according to CHC Director of […]
Posted inFood & Drink
A-Ru in Buellton is solid sushi in a casual yet elegant environment
Every time my fiance and I take a trip down to Los Angeles or Santa Barbara, we always stop in Solvang on the way back (usually for “supplies,” aka wine). For the last few months, I’ve noticed a cute shopping center tucked off the main drag of East Highway 246 in Buellton. I always point […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Humor: Rebecca Rose calls out the cat people in her life
I have a very important note to all the dear sweet wonderful so-called cat people in my life: Please shut up about your dumb cats. I do not care about your cats. At all. I do not care that Fluffy “talks” to you when you come home from work. I do not care that Mr. […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
PCPA presents resident artists’ talk
Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) resident artists Kitty Balay and Brad Carroll (pictured) are set to host a behind-the-scenes presentation on the start of their acting careers on Jan. 27 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Severson Theater at Allan Hancock College, 800 S. College, Santa Maria. Attendees can learn how Balay and Carroll handled […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Valley Art Gallery features new show
Artist Heidi Gruetzemacher hosts a reception for her new show opening on Feb. 2 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Valley Art Gallery in Orcutt. Gruetzemacher is an artist, photographer, and owner of the Frame Gallery in Old Orcutt. “I am interested in exploring new ideas that open my creative mind to the path […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Santa Maria library hosts local authors
Wendelin Van Draanen (author of the Sammy Keyes mystery series) and Mark Parsons (author of Road Rash) are the keynote speakers at the For the Love of Books fundraiser for the Santa Maria Public Library Foundation. The event is Feb. 11 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Santa Maria Public Library, where the married […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Second life: Ben Riddering turns discarded tree roots into sculptures
In the back left corner of an RV Park in Arroyo Grande stands a hulking, industrial steel box of a building. It doesn’t look like much, but inside, woodworker and sculptor Ben Riddering is toiling away to give discarded scraps of wood a second life. The whirring of a chainsaw fills the air. Wearing a […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Steven Wright brings his deadpan comedy to Chumash Casino
Comedian Steven Wright is counting coughs. During his talk with the Sun, Wright jokes about his interviewer’s lingering cough from a bout with the flu. “That’s five coughs,” he declares, with a giddy laugh. “I just like to count things.” An icon cited by dozens of comics as their biggest influence, Wright doesn’t exude any […]