The city of Santa Maria is forming a Code Compliance Volunteer Patrol to promote “neighborhood preservation.” The volunteer program, created at the behest of the City Council, aims to proactively educate residents who have potential violations on their property. Volunteers will work in pairs and go door-to-door. They won’t have the power to issue tickets […]
Santa Maria forms Code Compliance Volunteer Patrol
Posted inNews
City of Lompoc debuts its own FM radio station
Lompoc is now even more media savvy. Gregg Ratcliff, studio manager for the city’s Public, Education and Government [PEG] access television said that the city’s new FM radio station, 100.9 FM-LP, is operational. Ratcliff made the announcement before the City Council meeting on May 19, adding that the city received its broadcasting license one week […]
Posted inNews
Vandenberg AFB test-fires third ballistic missile
Air Force officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base test-fired an unarmed Minuteman-III ballistic missile during the early morning hours of May 20. Launched toward the Pacific Ocean at around 3:30 a.m., the purpose of the test launch was to “validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapon system,” according to the Air […]
Posted inNews
Nipomo declares Stage III water shortage conditions
In the face of the ever-continuing drought, the Nipomo Community Services District issued a Stage III water shortage declaration on May 21. According to NCSD Public Information Director Jessica Matson, the declaration is based on a report known as the Key Wells Index—which measures the level of water in eight wells scattered across the Nipomo […]
Posted inFood & Drink
The owner of Thai Talay in Pismo Beach opens new restaurant, Thai Villa, in Nipomo
When Chef Pranita ‘Jay’ Onyeneke and her cousin Chris Vongsaroj walked into Antonio’s Ristorante in Nipomo last fall, they had something other than lunch on their minds. “I came through the door, ordered a couple appetizers, and straight-up asked him,” Vongsaroj said, recalling his offer to buy a restaurant that was not for sale. The […]
Posted inNews
Second chances: Veterans services in Santa Maria help those who’ve served adjust to life outside the military
On the afternoon of Friday, May 22, Department 7 of the Santa Maria courthouse was packed with people. Most of them were U.S. veterans and their friends and family. Everyone stood and faced the U.S. flag. With hands over their hearts, the crowd recited the Pledge of Allegiance in unison. The court was officially in […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Raymond Navis
Nipomo High School freshman Raymond Navis is one of two local golfers who made CIF playoffs this year. He’ll golf May 24 at Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena and said he wants to golf in the final at Pebble Beach. Navis told the Sun that he enjoys the sense of concentration he gets when he […]
Posted inOpinion
A stinky conundrum
One of the Sun’s reporters recently took an evening trip down Highway 101 to see for himself what the hubbub over this oil spill thing was all about. The smell was the first thing he noticed. It was unmistakable—the effervescent essence of freshly laid blacktop mixed with that familiar scent of gasoline straight out of […]
Posted inOpinion
No refuge at Refugio
Just like car crash commercials that make us drive a little more slowly, it’s amazing how a spill of horrible black goo can shake you up when it lands on Refugio, where surfers carve waves with friendly dolphins not far behind. It was best said when a news chopper proclaimed, ‘no wildlife affected,’ just as […]
Posted inOpinion
Déjà vu, all over again
News of the oil spill on May 19 at Refugio State Beach created an immediate internal response. “Oh no! How bad is it?” Images in black and white of dying birds, blackened beaches, and lame efforts to scoop oil sprang to mind—images of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil blowout. Though relatively small in size, this […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
It’s time to get briefs with 55 fiction
Boxers or briefs? Come on. You know the answer. It’s not even a question. You go with the latter. You go with the tighty-whities. And if you just can’t, your only option is this: briefly in boxers. Yes, brief is better as the ads for this year’s 55 Fiction contest proclaim because, as Shakespeare wrote, […]
Posted inOpinion
Should Central Coast produce pickers receive better wages and working conditions?
Nick Presher Central Coast resident “Definitely yes to both. I believe companies can afford to pay their workers more.” Robert Hill Allan Hancock student “Technically yes and no. Publicly funded social assistance programs are better because if you give them more money, they’ll work less.” Lisa Lansing Allan Hancock student “I would say yes. I […]
