Ariel Brian student “People who want to use marijuana but don’t want to have the consequences.” Frances Jimenez cashier “I don’t know. I don’t like anything having to do with marijuana. It is not good for Santa Maria, especially the children in it. I don’t know how it [synthetic marijuana] is made.” Jenni Razo retired […]
Why do you think people use synthetic alternatives to marijuana?
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Allan Hancock College features the bronze work of Joseph Castle in the show The Things We Carry
View a slideshow of Joseph Castle’s work. Once cooled from its molten state, bronze is an almost immovable media. Bronze sculptor and local artist Joseph Castle doesn’t pour the liquid hot metal personally, but first makes a mold—the shell of the work he is hoping to create—before overseeing his foundry-man’s pouring. The artist’s bronze relief […]
Posted inNews
Spice problems: Guadalupe City Council recently outlawed the possession of synthetic cannabinoids, but how dangerous are they, exactly?
Police officers see a juvenile in a small alleyway of a residential neighborhood in Guadalupe. Thinking he might be tagging, they stop to check for vandalism. The young man isn’t vandalizing property, but he isn’t complying with their instructions, either. He is sweaty, agitated, and strangely aggressive with the officers. In the weirdly flat language […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Q-and-A with Clark Staub, founder of Full of Life Flatbread
Owner of one of the most popular destinations in Northern Santa Barbara County’s restaurant scene, Clark Staub, has built a thriving business centered on pizza, or as he prefers to call it, flatbread. For 13 years, Full of Life Flatbread has handcrafted seasonal flatbreads, baked fast in a scorching hot, oak-fired stone oven, and served […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
If dogs had Instagram
My dog Finn, as my carpets will attest, is very much an inside dog. And like we do with my kids, we have to sometimes put him outside for some fresh air and the chance to explore something beyond video game controllers, left socks, and the occasional stray Lego piece. That’s when the fun begins […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Teen musicians in the spotlight for Philharmonic finale
Classical music does not come easy. A single performance is the tip of an iceberg, with the hours and hours of careful practice behind it remaining unheard by audiences. Even the most elaborate and ornate performances of monumental art music begin with individual musicians learning the piece note by note, phrase by phrase. The performers […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Santa Maria Civic Theatre closes season with ‘Brooklyn Boy’
The Santa Maria Civic Theatre is closing its 56th season with a production of Brooklyn Boy, opening April 24 and running on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. through May 16 and closing on May 17 at 1:30 p.m. Brooklyn Boy explores the character Eric Weiss, a struggling author who finally gets success by telling […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Wildling Museum seeks entries for photo competition
The Wildling Museum is currently accepting entries for the annual Nature Photography Competition through April 30 at 5 p.m. The theme for the competition this year is nature’s patterns, which asks photographers to focus on the stripes, waves, spirals, spots, cracks, lumps, and bumps found in the natural world. Photographers must be 18 years old […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
League of Women Voters Santa Maria holds book group
The League of Women Voters Santa Maria Valley Book Group welcomes current and potential members to regular, informal luncheon discussions happening the last Wednesday of the month from noon to 1 p.m. at The Natural Café in Santa Maria. The book club includes a general emphasis on government, politics, and history, with the upcoming meeting […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Lompoc Valley Arts Council holds quarterly forum
The Lompoc Valley Arts Council’s upcoming quarterly forum includes a talk by owner of Certain Sparks Music, Randall Sena, the featured presenter on the April 16 forum. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. with a meeting of the Arts Council board. A social time is set for 6:45 p.m., with the presentation by Sena […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Help out the Orcutt Library
The Friends of the Orcutt Library is holding a used book sale on April 18 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Orcutt Branch Library. Funds raised will go toward new books for adults and children. The sale will include books, puzzles, videotapes, and collectible books at the Orcutt Branch Library, 175 S. Broadway, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Discovery Museum welcomes families to the Kite Festival
Santa Maria’s gusty winds usually results in bent palm trees and the occasional downed eucalyptus, but the powerful currents that sweep across the flat valley also inspired the beginning of the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum’s Free Family Kite Festival six years ago. The annual event brings local families, organizations, businesses, and kite experts together […]
