Cover Story

Nearly 25 years ago, a group of friends—all DJs at KCBX, many of whom regularly attended the Strawberry Music Festival at Camp Mather in Yosemite—started pondering the idea of a similar festival on the Central Coast. “We started to wonder, can we do something like that here for KCBX?” said Haila Hafley-Kluver, who also had […]

My artistic career essentially began in the living room of Patricia Jean Boyd, known as Patty Boyd to parents, and—respectfully—as Ms. Boyd to her students. I remember clearly our first meeting: I was 7 years old, and already slightly taller than she. After a brief introduction, I found myself sitting at the beautiful baby grand […]

Gleaming steel knives sit in a red velvet-lined box. The curved three-inch blades are menacing, despite their size. At first glimpse, it’s difficult to tell what purpose they serve: They’re too sharp to be part of a Freddy Kruger-inspired costume, and too thin for woodworking. When paired with a coping saw, the strange daggers look […]

When large numbers of marine mammals suddenly and unexpectedly begin stranding on beaches and dying, the incident is described as an unusual mortality event. While that term may be scientifically efficient and accurate, it does little to convey—at least in the recent case of starving California sea lions—the startling sight of limp forms dotting the […]

The story of Oso Flaco Lake starts with liquefied fish—as in fish caught via electro-shock and thrown into a blender. The resulting mush is tested for pollutants. These aren’t just any old worth-fishing-for fish; they’re goldfish the size of largemouth bass. And these goldfish have levels of DDT in them that beat out any other […]

No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride … and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well … maybe chalk it off to forced conscious expansion: Tune in, freak out, get beaten,” wrote Hunter S. Thompson in “Fear and Loathing in […]

The sounds of heavy construction rattled from the corner of Cook and Broadway, the site of the new multiplex to be attached to the Town Center mall. Passersby gazed at the towering walls going up brick by brick, perhaps reminded that a new business is soon to open its doors in the heart of Santa […]

Local cross-country runners Hayes Dunn and Beth Rigali found it hard to believe, at first, that there existed a culture in which running isn’t just a part of life, but a way of life. In America, we run for cancer, finish lines, and out of a desire to be in shape. Here with our cars, […]

Like any parent and teenager, high school junior Caleb Coyle and his mom, Lisa, have had their share of fights. But sometimes the arguing can escalate into unhealthy territory. Caleb described one of those fights to the Sun on a recent school night as he was waiting for Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley employees to […]

I love this time of year. I love meeting actors and filmmakers. I love serving on the judges’ panel. I love attending parties and eating cheese with film buffs. Like any journalist, I love any chance to wear a lanyard around my neck, knowing afterward I can add it to my prized collection, pretending not […]