Local landscape artists are never wanting for inspiration, including pastel artist Martin Johnsen, who’s lived in Santa Maria for 40 years. The local artist and picture framer doesn’t have to travel far to snap an inspiring scene with his digital camera, which he takes home to his studio to work from with his pastels. Johnsen […]
Valley Art Gallery features the pastel landscapes of Martin Johnsen
Posted inNews
Watching over Orcutt: An uptick in graffiti and theft has motivated members of the community to band together and take back their neighborhood
One morning in June 2015, Debbie O’Campo awoke to an unpleasant surprise: All of the tires on her 2013 GMC Terrain Denali were gone. She was notified by a stranger’s knock on the door of her Orcutt home shortly before she started her day as the plant services coordinator at Allan Hancock College. It was […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Matt Willkomm
Matt Willkomm has been spectacular at guard for the Allan Hancock College men’s basketball team this season. The sophomore scored a career-high 38 points in a win over Oxnard College on Feb. 3, burying six three-pointers and keeping the Bulldogs in the running for a Western State Conference title. “We were just moving the ball […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Cabrillo High takes rivalry games
Cabrillo High School’s soccer teams squared off against Lompoc’s last week, and the classic crosstown rivalry matchups didn’t disappoint. Cabrillo boys’ soccer defeated Lompoc 3-2 in a double overtime while the girls’ team earned a 1-0 win over the Braves on Feb. 2. James Baca, head coach of the Cabrillo boys’ team, might have summed […]
Posted inFood & Drink
BBQ In The Stix launches tri-tip food truck
Santa Maria Valley loves its signature tri-tip barbecue: oak wood, open fire grill, just a bit of salt, and salsa on the side. So what could make it better? A couple of entrepreneurs decided to take on that challenge, and what they came up with can be described as deliciously instant gratification. For most people, […]
Posted inOpinion
Let’s avoid being all chirp and no flap
This week presented a lot of flying days, wings-in-the-sun days, and a few step-away-from-the-desk-and-get-to-know-your-community days. A free fly day gives a bird time to think and see things in a new perspective. It was on one of those reflective flights that I spotted some strange words scrawled across a wall in an Orcutt neighborhood. It […]
Posted inOpinion
CrossFit injury rates comparable to other activities
I’m writing about the article “Too much CrossFit? What can happen if you overdo it?” (Jan. 28). I noticed that you did not include the injury rate from Dr. Hak’s study. You included the 73 percent prevalence rate, but that doesn’t really give the reader any useful information because it doesn’t include a time parameter. […]
Posted inOpinion
Embracing sin attracts bad things
As you know there are consequences to allowing bad things. When you allow them, you open the door to worse things. Santa Maria and Santa Barbara County have made it their business to not just leave the door open for some worse things, they built a “demonic landing strip!” Did it ever occur to anyone […]
Posted inOpinion
Debating fire
The gun-control debate has mostly revolved around interpretation of the Second Amendment. It would be more productive, instead, to focus on societal ramifications of the prevalence of guns. The Violence Policy Center analyzed the data compiled by the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics for a five-year period (2007-2011). It revealed that average annual “defensive” gun […]
Posted inNews
Spotlight on: Medical cannabis dispensary drivers
Editor’s note: The last names of delivery drivers were withheld. The Compassionate Use Act (CUA), or Proposition 215, gives medical marijuana patients an exemption from criminal prosecution in California and was passed by voters in 1996. It’s a milestone against the prohibition of cannabis in the U.S., becoming the first ballot initiative of its type […]
Posted inNews
Reclaiming a community: Santa Maria’s skyrocketing street gang violence is met with resilience and hope by local government, organizations, churches, and citizens converging in the One Community Action Coalition
The boardroom of the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District was packed wall to wall with people on Jan. 28. They gathered there in an attempt to address a dire situation in Santa Maria: the eruption of street violence leaving local youth and adults bleeding in the streets. It was the first One Community […]
Posted inNews
Santa Barbara Animal Services to fix, microchip cats for free
Santa Barbara County Animal Services is offering free spay, neuter, and microchip services to cat owners for the month of February, thanks to the county’s Project PetSafe program. Project PetSafe outreach coordinator Jessica Ortega-Wiebe said PetSafe runs the free offer, called “Snip N Chip,” twice yearly because that’s how often female cats go into heat—usually […]