Tackling overcrowded local high school classrooms is one major issue for those running to fill seats on the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District board. In 2024, the district’s bond measure aimed at building a new high school to address the issue didn’t receive enough votes to pass. Diana Perez, who’s running for the […]
Orcutt
Posted inFood & Drink
Lark + Sparrow creators soar to sports bar heights with Loon & Crown
Running out of mantel space to display all those Little League trophies you’ve held onto since childhood? Orcutt’s new sports bar has got you covered. “The walls are lined with trophies from our community,” Loon & Crown co-founder Micaela Buchanan told the Sun. “We built some shelves and ask our customers to bring in their […]
Posted inNews
County urges residents to prep for winter flood risks
Amid early October’s heat wave, excavation work at Mud Lake—one of Orcutt’s designated stormwater basins—remained ongoing, in preparation for a potentially much different forecast this winter. “We’re doing a massive earthwork project where we’re excavating the Mud Lake basin to improve its capacity,” Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Resources Director Matt Griffin said […]
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Laurie Tamura is the Santa Maria Valley Chamber’s Citizen of the Year
Chamber cheersNext year’s gala is scheduled for Aug. 27. To register or become a sponsor, visit santamaria.com. Submit nominations for the 2027 awards online at santamaria.com/connecting/annual-awards. For the more than four decades that Laurie Tamura has lived in the Santa Maria Valley, she’s donated her time to organizations like Scouting America, the Santa Maria Police […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Giavanni’s Pizza cultivates a comedy community with open mics and stand-up shows
Ezra Paco had no choice but to kick-start his comedy career from a less-than-ideal launch point: Zoom. “It was really awkward,” Paco told the Sun. “The Zoom rooms were really weird because, just like with all things during the pandemic, you were at the mercy of what was going on in each person’s room.” Kids […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Zoom over to Orcutt for this year’s chalk festival
Peering down on the sidewalk during this year’s Orcutt Chalk Festival might just inspire a glance up into the cosmos. Blast Out of This World on Sept. 26 in Old Town Orcutt from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. More than 75 students, professional artists, and beginners will transform their 6-by-6-foot concrete squares into colorful, detailed […]
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Santa Maria boosts security deposit assistance for renters
Moving is stressful. It takes time, effort, and money. “Imagine finding a place and needing that $3,000 deposit, and you know that you can do the month-to-month, but you don’t have that initial $3,000 because you’re living paycheck to paycheck,” Santa Maria’s community programs manager, Rosie Rojo, told the Sun. “By the time you’re able […]
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Old Orcutt Kwik Stop takes care of gas, convenience needs, and auto repair
Clients drive all the way from Ventura to one trusted auto repair shop in Orcutt with bright red and yellow signage flagging the corner lot. The reason is superb customer service. Old Orcutt Kwik Stop owner Ghais “Gus” Sweed is always working. Sometimes 18 to 20 hours a day. He bought the well-established business last […]
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A courthouse divided: Assembly Bill 46 gives judges more discretion in mental health cases
Bipartisan support from legislators helped push a new directive forward that changes how courts throughout California decide whether to grant criminal offenders diagnosed with a mental illness a treatment-based alternative to jail time. Recently signed into state law, California Assembly Bill 46 redefines a judge’s discretion when considering a defendant’s application for mental health diversion. […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Seniors star in the latest Orcutt Community Theater production
Fabulous. Fed up. Flippin’ funny. That’s a good description of the protagonists in Orcutt Community Theater’s The Hallelujah Girls, directed by L. Chatel. Join the girl gang at the OASIS Senior Center to watch their trials and tribulations, evoking emotions across the spectrum. “An old flame struts back into town, a surprise proposal turns heads, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
One Orcutt painter channels her past to make accessible art for all
Less than 1 percent of the global population is an Olympic athlete. Catalina Bertola often compares the achievement with life in the art world. Most people will never reach Olympic status—in athletics or art—but that shouldn’t stop people from giving it a go. In her opinion, physical activity and creativity are part of a balanced […]
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County increases parcel taxes for neighborhoods in Orcutt, Vandenberg Village
A flat rate since 2011, the parcel tax for residents of Providence Landing—a neighborhood in the unincorporated Vandenberg Village area—will jump from $672 to $692. These funds go toward upkeep at the Providence Landing Park, an arrangement Santa Barbara County 4th District Supervisor Bob Nelson noted as unlike any other tax collected across the county. […]
