Cover Story

Matt Sauer seems to be adjusting well to his new life in Florida. The Ernest Righetti High School graduate sounded content and sure of his path during a recent interview with the Sun, and despite his teammates in the background making him laugh throughout the phone call, Sauer exudes a maturity that belies his age. […]

On a serene drive to Lompoc, Patty Ouellet is chipper and eager to get to her next project. A vacant house awaits her special skill. She will arrive and take note of things like natural lighting, landscaping, and more details that casual observers might miss. By the time she’s done, her work will help someone […]

As soon as Sullivan realized that Toby was at Maramonte Park in Sana Maria, the barking commenced. The two dogs are buddies, so they immediately began chasing each other about the green grass there, Toby squeaking out barks as Sullivan bound just out of the smaller dog’s reach. All that romping might give someone the […]

Elementary school projects used to consist of macaroni pasta shells, toothpick bridges, and soft pipe cleaners. Today, Baywood Elementary School students in Los Osos use a 3-D printer to make materials for their projects. Third-grade teacher David Curran said the possibilities are endless when it comes to technology and the tools that can be used […]

At about 6 a.m. on April 2, I feel like I’m the only thing awake for miles. Yellow goldfields, tidy tips, and green grass on the Caliente Range across the valley are starting to pick up that special blend of orange and red as the sun’s first rays rise behind me. Below, Soda Lake Road […]

Paintings of a salsa-dancing duo, monarch butterflies perched on flowers, and a ship sailing under a cloudy sky are all displayed on a unique canvas—utility boxes in downtown Santa Maria. Local artists added their own colorful illustrations to the industrial boxes in April, which are just a few examples of more than 20 public art […]

A purple lemon-drop inspired drink garnished with fresh lavender may not be exactly what you’d expect at a traditional Irish pub. But Mason Frakes, bar manager at Rooney’s Irish Pub in Orcutt who created the vodka-heavy concoction, thinks it’s right at home next to a long list of Irish beers and whiskeys. “I like playing […]

It was 5:36 p.m. on Jan. 22, 2017, and Andrew Chaylon Holland was dead. An official report details the bleak tableau that greeted a coroner’s office investigator at the scene of the 36-year-old Atascadero resident’s death: Holland was naked and his legs were in shackles. His body lay supine on the floor of an observation […]

Take a turn off Highway 154, into the many side roads that wind through the Santa Ynez Valley, and you’ll know instantly why it’s known in horse raising circles as the “Valley of the Arabian horse.” Dozens of horse farms fill the rolling hills that crawl out from the highway. The region has attracted horse […]

Platform Holly has stood alone in the South Ellwood oil field for decades as the Santa Barbara Channel’s last oil rig in California’s state waters. But it may not stay standing for much longer. The platform’s owner, Venoco, announced on April 17 that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy—which allows the company to reorganize assets—and […]

On a clear April morning in Santa Maria, Samir Fadel sat with his brother Tony and uncle Yaser Antoun Shleel in the back office of their family-owned liquor store on S. Blosser Road. The men were mostly working, clacking away at keyboards and calculators, but they took breaks now and then when people popped into […]