It’s not easy putting yourself out there as an artist, let alone as a person, but that’s exactly what local 27-year-old singer/songwriter Chris Lambert set out to do with his latest album, The Blue Hour. In the past, Lambert has focused more on fictional characters or stories, which work as the theme for an album, […]
Chris Lambert gets personal in his 10th studio album ‘The Blue Hour’
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Dunes Center seeks help for sphinx excavation
The Dunes Center is asking the community for help in supporting the excavation of the sphinx still buried under Guadalupe dunes sand. The set piece from Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments was partially excavated by the Dunes Center, but the organization is submitting a proposal to Santa Barbara County’s Coastal Resource Enhancement Fund to […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Lompoc Theatre Project takes official ownership of historic theater
The Lompoc Theatre Project has cause for celebration. The nonprofit organization now owns the deed to the historic Lompoc Theatre building, the first step in its plan to remodel and reopen the location as a venue for the performing arts. Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Jed Beebe granted the organization’s petition to foreclose on […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
American Pickers looking for California collections
The popular antiquing show American Pickers comes to California this March, and the hit series is looking for locals with vast collections of antiques to share, haggle, and sell on the show. The show stars Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, who scour the country for rare collectibles and items they can buy and then sell […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Santa Maria Civic Theatre presents Alan Ayckbourn’s playful comedy ‘Relatively Speaking’
It’s an unfortunate truth about humanity, but not all of us are always honest. That’s the hinging plot device that swings Alan Ayckbourn’s Relatively Speaking into action, and will delight and entertain locals who visit the Santa Maria Civic Theatre for its first production of 2016. Opening on Feb. 12, the show is a wonderful […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Valley Art Gallery features the pastel landscapes of Martin Johnsen
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 […]
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. […]
