Cover Story

Fences have been cut. Yards have been trampled. Locals have walked out of their homes to find strangers hiking past, oblivious—maybe even uncaring—to the fact that in their wanderings, they’ve strayed from legitimate public paths and onto someone’s private property. Rice Ranch boasts miles of trails open to hikers and cyclists, but the open space’s […]

It’s been about a week since Shane Villalpando was sentenced to one year in Santa Barbara County Jail and five years’ probation for having unlawful sex with underage teenagers. He’ll have to register as a sex offender throughout the duration of his probation. He’ll have to attend sex offender counseling and receive treatment for drug […]

The lamps are dimmed, illuminating the stage. A lone piano heralds the coming of the night’s master of ceremonies, who introduces the Great American Melodrama and the play to be performed that night. Unaided by a microphone, the actor projects his voice to every corner of the warm and welcoming room. And before you know […]

The ocean stands, a regal liquid entity that represents humans’ last terrestrial frontier. While its formidable blue depths instill fear in others, it’s the one place where Sam Miller has always felt at home. Miller recalls diving in the crisp moonlight and looking up through the kelp to the twinkling stars—almost like looking up in […]

There’s diatomaceous earth, and then there’s diatomaceous earth with crude oil in it. The two look different. Most people are used to seeing the oil-free type that can be dug up and used in filtration systems. It’s a smooth-looking rock with white and beige coloring. But the good, oily stuff looks rough, with swirls of […]

Victor* left Mexico for the United States when he was 17 years old.   His only contact was a friend of a friend who could help him get a job in the fields in Santa Maria, more than 2,000 miles from his home in Oaxaca, a southern state of Mexico that’s one of the most […]

On Dec. 17, 2012, local resident Nicol Wilson boarded his small, white plane and took off from the Santa Ynez Airport. He was on his way to the Mammoth Lakes Airport to join his family for the upcoming holiday. He never arrived. Around 12:30 p.m. that day, as Wilson was flying over Yosemite National Park, […]

Earning an athletic scholarship to play in college is no easy feat, and it happens less than the average reader might think. According to the NCAA, only 2 percent of high school athletes will earn a scholarship to play in college.Earning an athletic scholarship to play in college is no easy feat, and it happens […]

Many things have lain hidden beneath the sands of time, awaiting their resurrection into memory and history. Ancient ruins, monolithic structures, and cultural artifacts give us a small window with which to peer into the past. While the organizers behind most archaeological excavations hope to unearth ancient or prehistoric artifacts, a local project is casting […]

Phone calls to most public agencies and social service providers in Santa Maria will yield messages in Spanish and English. Local callers won’t, however, hear a language spoken by an estimated 15,000 to 25,000 people in the valley: Mixteco. Trilingual translators are rare, and that lack creates difficult situations for people who’ve immigrated to Santa […]

Carne fresca 100% de res, puerco, chorizo, pollo, chivo, cabeza de res*. The fresh meat sits neatly arranged at a counter in Abad Barrera’s Carniceria El Amigo Abad in the Williams Bros Shopping Center on Main Street in Santa Maria. His is one of several carnicerias—Mexican butcher shops—that can now be found all over Santa […]