Ernesto Valle used to be known as the guy who cuts meat in the middle of nowhere. He opened Lobo Butcher Shop in Guadalupe four and a half years ago when the economy was still hurting from the pandemic. “For a couple months, I thought I was going to shut down in my first year,” […]
Santa Maria
Posted inNews
Santa Maria-Bonita makes steps toward new school at Blosser Ranch
Before starting on a new campus at Blosser Ranch, builders need to secure enough dirt to fill around 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools. They also need drivers to bring it on-site. Over the course of six to 10 weeks, it’ll take 12 to 15 trucks hauling dirt eight to 10 hours a day to get the […]
Posted inNews
Orcutt students graduate with high school diplomas and Hancock associate degrees in a new college readiness program
Jackson Payne took his first college class when he was a freshman in high school. He arrived around 7 a.m. to Orcutt Academy High School. The campus was quiet except for his 29 other classmates in the Early College Cadre program. Soon enough their professor showed up and introduced the group members to their first […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
With help from her mentor, a Lompoc native reunites the Polynesian dance group she grew up performing in
Michelle Lujan looks back at her wedding day with bittersweetness because although she didn’t know it at the time, the December day in 2019 was the last time the Pacific Legends danced before the pandemic exploded. “To me, that’s like the marker of when it ended, but we had no idea,” Lujan told the Sun. […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Klein Dance Arts presents its Spring Selections recital
Support Santa Maria’s youth dancers as they perform a variety of styles they’ve been hard at work perfecting. The recital will be held at Santa Maria High School inside the Ethel Pope Auditorium at 5:30 p.m. on June 5 and 2:30 p.m. on June 6. Guest performers and Klein Dance Arts students have prepared ballet, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Presqu’ile Winery unveils a new art exhibition
Visitors will have to journey up to an old bunker to see artwork by Cole Sternberg at Presqu’ile Winery in Santa Maria, which is up until Sept. 20. The collaboration is supported by the Los Angeles Nomadic Division, an organization that connects people to places through art. Sternberg is a conceptual artist who paints, sculpts, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
A Santa Maria music teacher released her first EP in more than 25 years
In a 1992 episode of Golden Girls, Dorothy sat at a table inside a bar. Next to her a piano player led her in song. Dorothy started singing the melancholic “What’ll I Do” by Irving Berlin. Dorothy rose to her feet midway through, completely serenading the crowd. When Christine Fogh watched the scene on TV […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The paranormal circus brings frights back to Santa Maria
The wheel of death. Aerial hoops. Narrow beams. Performers at Cirque Italia’s Paranormal Voodoo show will navigate all this and more on the evenings of May 29 to June 1. Head to the Santa Maria Fairpark for a thrilling and wickedly dangerous sight. “You will fall into a parallel world and end up surrounded by […]
Posted inFood & Drink
The duo on a mission to make the best bubbly on the Central Coast
Legend has it that when Elizabeth Stilson first interviewed with her now-business partner, she said, “If I never have to make another red wine again, I’ll be happy.” As soon as the statement came out of the winemaker’s mouth, PasoSecco founder Chris Kern knew she was the perfect candidate for his sparkling brand. “That sold […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria considers ballot measure for sales tax increase
A survey of 400 Santa Maria residents showed that 60 percent of them would vote yes on a half-cent sales tax increase, as long as the extra funds—approximately $13 million a year—went toward essential city services. While 31 percent of participants answered no to the survey, which assured all hypothetical funds would stay local with […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria approves a package delivery warehouse to be built on West Stowell
Two Santa Maria planning commissioners thought last week’s meeting drew the biggest crowd they’ve experienced at a hearing. The only item on the May 6 agenda occupied the bulk of the nearly three-hour discussion. Following three study sessions that date back to 2024, the Santa Maria Planning Commission approved a project that would bring a […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
A Santa Maria artist’s newest public installation will be up at the Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center
Watch for RikoFollow Riko Rivera on Instagram @chilangofine for updates on his public art installations and tattoo business. Call (805) 354-8116 with questions. Picture Mexico City in the early 1990s. It was loud, bright, and colorful. Hand-painted windows and signs lined the busy streets that Riko Rivera walked along with his mom, his wondrous eyes […]
