A person who has experienced four or more traumatic events during childhood, also known as adverse childhood experiences, is seven times more likely to spend time in prison, according to Edwin Weaver, executive director of Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley. Weaver was just one of several experts who spoke to an audience of 50 at […]
Meeting shows correlation between childhood trauma and adult violence
Posted inOpinion
Sustainable buzzwords
Don’t you love buzzwords? A word or phrase grabs hold of the lexicon and its use becomes ubiquitous in everyday life. Worse yet, it starts to creep into the barrage of advertising that we endure daily. At first they’re cute and as we try to show our hipness we try to incorporate them in our […]
Posted inOpinion
Become involved in fighting climate change
I just read the findings of a study called “Politics and Global Warming, May 2017,” that looked at party affiliation and how voters view climate policies. Here are a few findings: Over half of registered voters expect their leaders, including the president and Congress, to do more to address global warming. And 52 percent of […]
Posted inOpinion
Crime of silence
You can tell a lot about what someone thinks by what they say. Well, what about what somebody doesn’t say? Do you think we might be able to learn something from that? I think we can. Let’s start with Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown to test this hypothesis. What should we take from the […]
Posted inOpinion
What makes someone a great cook?
Melissa Garia employee at wine tasting room “Using fresh ingredients and good quality food is a big thing.” Amanda Marsh owner of Cali Love Wine “You need a lot of wine! Also, trying new things and being adventurous is important.” Cassandra Wilson wine club manager “Creativity and passion are the most important things.” Scott Sampler […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Battle of the Chefs at Dierberg Vineyard celebrates burgeoning food scene on Hwy. 246
When I was handed my judging card for the Battle of the Chefs at Dierberg Vineyard on Aug. 9, I gasped in slight horror. My panic was because at the end of the evening I would have to choose a winner in a showdown between two of my favorite chefs. On the card that evening […]
Posted inNews
Hancock College offers scores of online courses this fall semester
More than 100 online credit classes are now available at Allan Hancock College. Registration will be open until the day before fall semester starts on Aug. 21. The courses are the school’s effort to introduce more flexibility and convenience to student schedules, according to a Hancock press release. All online classes run six to eight […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria High School agricultural program wins state awards
The Santa Maria High School agricultural program recently won two state awards at the California Teachers Association Annual Awards Banquet at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. The program was named Outstanding Large School Program and Overall Outstanding Agriculture Program for 2017, according to a press release from the Santa Maria Joint Union High […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria-Bonita School District continues free meal program
The Santa Maria-Bonita School District recently announced its plan to once again offer free breakfast and lunch to all students through the federal Universal Free Meals Program, which has been available in the school district since 2005. The Santa Maria-Bonita School District serves about 4.2 million meals to its students each year, according to a […]
Posted inNews
Spotlight on: Black Bear Diner
Kevin Fitzpatrick and his wife visit Truckee a lot, and no matter which route they take, they can always find a Black Bear Diner somewhere along the way. They’ve always loved the food, he said, and wondered why there wasn’t one on the Central Coast. That’s why the Arroyo Grande-based couple decided that maybe it […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch 8/17/17
• Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill authored by California State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) on Aug. 7. Senate Bill 725 was written to clarify California law so that military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health disorders associated with their service in the military are eligible for pretrial diversion programs […]
Posted inNews
Hobnobbing with Helen: Active with age
Who would have thought that hanging out at a health fair could be so enjoyable? The Elwin Mussell Senior Center was the scene of an “Active Aging Health Fair” on Saturday morning, July 29, for people over 50. Of course, anyone was welcome, but the activities were targeted toward the older generation, those who have […]