During a busy Thursday afternoon lunch at the A Street Café in Santa Maria, as servers bused tables and diners chatted about politics or the weather, I noticed an older man ask to speak with the person who cooked his meal. He and his dining companion were working on stacks of pancakes along with bacon […]
A Street Café is the spot for cheap breakfast in Santa Maria
Posted inOpinion
Where will you watch the solar eclipse on Aug. 21?
Jaclyn Vierra Santa Maria “In my backyard.” Mike Johnson Santa Maria “The top of the grade, going north of San Luis [Obispo] toward Atascadero. I’ve gone in the past for meteor showers. If the eclipse makes the tide super low, I’d go check out the tide pools.” Carlos Boquin Santa Maria “I’d like to see […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Theresa Gingras shares her photography from Myanmar at Allan Hancock College
Balancing on one foot, a fisherman in Myanmar holds a cone-shaped net and leans perilously close to the edge of his skiff, like a ballet dancer executing a delicate pirouette. What he’s doing may look strange, but the practice is rooted in hundreds of years of tradition and pure necessity. The technique, referred to as […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
PCPA presents one of Shakespeare’s funniest comedies, ‘Twelfth Night’
I’ve heard some people say if William Shakespeare were alive today, he’d be a comedy writer working on a hit sitcom like Friends or Modern Family. If you don’t believe that, you’ve never seen his comedic masterpiece, Twelfth Night. The Pacific Conservatory Theater (PCPA) is currently presenting the production at the Solvang Festival Theater through […]
Posted inNews
Spotlight on: 805 Reviews
Robbie Shipman loves food. The 46-year-old founder and CEO of Arroyo Grande based Econcept Inc. says he travels the California coast constantly seeking new flavors and dishes to sample, usually with the help of a slew of social media review apps like Yelp and TripAdvisor. While the experiences are mostly positive, he said, one bad […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Santa Maria Eagles hosted Musician Appreciation Day benefit concert event
The band was loud, with ripping electric guitar, driving bass, and smashing drums. The long shotgun hall of the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Santa Maria was filled with sound and people, all there to enjoy the work of more than 30 musicians who performed in bands and impromptu ensembles and jam sessions. The performance […]
Posted inNews
‘What’s your emergency?’: Santa Barbara County looks at changing the way its dispatch center operates to improve quality of service and inter-agency collaboration
If you called 911 from an unincorporated spot in Santa Barbara County after dark on Aug. 19, you most likely spoke with one of eight people. Sitting in semi-darkness, responding to crackling voices coming over their radios and basking in the glow of at least four computer monitors, their fingers clickity-clacked away on keyboards while […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Elverhøj Museum launches new exhibit
Beyond the Windmills: The Barry Berkus & Family Collection debuts at the Elverhøj Museum of History and Art in Solvang on Aug. 26. The exhibit features painting, sculpture, photography, and mixed media works. The new artworks will be displayed side by side with earlier work that is part of The Barry Berkus and Family Art […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Lompoc library to feature works of local artists
The Lompoc Public Library is calling for Central Coast artists to submit work samples and be considered as an exhibitor in the Grossman Gallery. To be considered, artists must provide a representative body of work of at least six exhibit-ready pieces that will be evaluated for technique, expression, and stylish achievement. The Lompoc Public Library’s […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Celebrity diet wars
Dieting is not for me. Meal planning is not for me. Keeping food in my fridge that doesn’t come with a spigot and an alcohol percentage content label is not for me. After 20 years of trying everything under the sun to force my body to eat something other than the slurpy syrupy greasy fried […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Noemi Mariscal
What separates the Color Vibe run from other 5K races is the color, of course—runners are blasted with colored powder just as often as they take water breaks. Noemi Mariscal, 22, has run nearly a dozen 5Ks, but somehow managed to miss Color Vibe every year. That finally changed on Aug. 12 when she ran […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Benchwarmer: Three cheers for cheerleaders
I think junior high school is perhaps the most awkward time in one’s life, where we tend to look back on things we said, thought, believed, and did that make us say, “WTF?” I have a number of those moments in junior high, not limited to the fact that I wore men’s black Dickies pants […]