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Got odor?

County’s updated cannabis ordinance establishes threshold for odors from indoor grows [6]

BY EMMA MONTALBANO

NEWS

Santa Maria-Bonita gets its playgrounds [4]

ARTS

The colorful world of Helen Yanez [16]

EATS

Demetria winemaker celebrates her own label [20]

Contents

Your Home’s True Potential

MARCH 27 - APRIL 3, 2025

C

VOL. 26 NO. 5

annabis growers in the county with indoor operations will soon have specific thresholds to meet regarding what wafts from their grows, thanks to the newly amended cannabis ordinance. The county also has some new rangers to keep those growers in compliance. The Nasal Ranger devices measure D/T, dilution over threshold, and put numbers to the cannabis odors that have long offended neighboring residents. For the story, Staff Writer Emma Montalbano gets input from county officials about how they amended the rules, when they’ll take effect, and what happens if growers don’t comply [6].

Also this week, read about the new long-awaited playgrounds at four Santa Maria schools [4]; Helen Yanez’s quest for color [16]; and the passion project of winemaker Emily Myers [20].

Andrea Rooks associate editor

BY THE NUMBERS: The county now has amended odor guidelines for cannabis growers—and trained operators will use Nasal Ranger devices to measure scents emanating from greenhouses.

Cover image from Adobe Stock > Cover design by Alex Zuniga

NEWS

News Briefs ...............................................................................4 Political Watch.........................................................................4 Spotlight...................................................................................... 7

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ARTS

Commentary .............................................................................8 Letters ..........................................................................................8 Web Poll ......................................................................................8 Modern World ..........................................................................8 Canary ..........................................................................................9

CLASSIFIEDS, HOME, AND REAL ESTATE .................................................... 23

EVENTS CALENDAR

Hot Stuff ....................................................................................10

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News

➤ Cannabis crackdown [6]

➤ Spotlight [7] PHOTO COURTESY OF SANTA MARIA-BONITA SCHOOL DISTRICT

POLITICAL WATCH • Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) spoke at the 10th annual Association of California School Administrators Mid-State Conference held in San Luis Obispo about growing challenges to public education at the federal level, according to her office. “As a former public school teacher of 21 years, I know firsthand the dedication and resilience it takes to support our schools, especially in times of uncertainty. I was in our classrooms through layoffs, economic crashes, COVID, and much more,” she told attendees. “While President Trump and Republicans seek to undermine public education, California is doing the opposite. We are leaning into investing in our students, our educators, and the future of the state. Education is vital, and I will continue to work for the betterment of all.”

• On March 24, U.S. Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and April McClain Delaney (D-Maryland) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) led 63 of their colleagues in a “bipartisan, bicameral letter” to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton, according to Carbajal’s office. They pressed for more information about FEMA’s decision to cancel trainings for firefighters and first responders at the National Fire Academy and Emergency Management Institute in Maryland. The two organizations gather experts and first responders to train with stress-related technology, share best practices on hazard and fire safety, and innovate emergency response methods, Carbajal’s office said. The federally funded National Fire Academy offers the training programs for free, and FEMA announced on March 7 that it was canceling all of its in-person trainings. “As the representative for California’s Central Coast, where wildfires are a constant and growing threat, I am deeply concerned about the decision to cancel critical training for our firefighters and first responders,” Carbajal said in a statement. “These brave men and women risk their lives every day to protect our communities, and they should have access to the best training and resources available to ensure their safety and effectiveness in the face of increasing wildfire risks.”

In their letter, lawmakers asked for answers about the rationale behind the cancellation, the length of the review process, and whether first responders will be reimbursed for travel that was booked to nowcanceled courses.

• In March, state Sen. Monique Limón honored 11 women at the annual Women of Year celebration held during Women’s History Month. According to her office, she recognized leaders who support students, women, children, small businesses, farmers, local governments, health care providers, and communities in need. “As the vice chair of the bipartisan California Legislative Women’s Caucus, it is an honor to recognize 11 women in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties,” she said in a statement.

“Each woman has left their mark on their industry and plays an important role in the success of their organization. As a former Woman of the Year, I know just how much this award means to our honorees and I want to congratulate them on this well-earned achievement.” The women honored this year include: Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara Chief Programs Officer Gina M. Gonzales-Carbajal, Lompoc Valley Community Healthcare Organization Executive Director Ashley Costa, LEAP Executive Director Lori Lander Goodman, Roberta M. Jaffe from Condor’s Hope Vineyard, Dr. Katrina B. Mitchell at Sansum, First 5 Santa Barbara County Executive Director Wendy Sims-Moten, Visit Ventura President and CEO Marlyss Munguia Auster, Ventura County Leadership Academy Executive Director Pattie Braga, National Volunteer Caregiving Network Executive Director Tammy I. Glenn, Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Ventura County chair LaRita Joice Montgomery, and Gold Coast Transit District General Manager Vanessa Rauschenberger. m

PLAY ON: Students at Alvin Elementary School play on brand new equipment in March, after spending the majority of the school year waiting for it to be installed.

Students at four Santa Maria-Bonita schools finally get their playgrounds

After months of playing on concrete slabs, students at Alvin, Fairlawn, Ontiveros, and Tunnell elementary schools are now jumping, swinging, and climbing on new equipment.

On March 20, the Santa Maria-Bonita School District announced that construction, which started last summer, was finished at those four schools and that all of the district’s schools either have or are in the process of getting shade structures. Contract errors delayed the projects, but the school board approved new contracts last November, allowing construction to move forward starting over winter break.

“Over winter break, for the most part, our facilities department worked with the principals to make sure that their priorities were met,” Deputy Superintendent of Business Services Matt Beecher said. “Each of them elected to have their TK-K playgrounds first, so, to the extent possible, we worked on those to get them completed first.”

The funding for the playgrounds came from one-time funds, Beecher said—a mix of federal COVID-19 era funds, state learning recovery dollars, and discretionary arts and music grants.

The projects updated playground equipment on the four school campuses as well as the material beneath those structures, replacing engineered wood fiber (which looks like big bark chips) with rubber tiles for fall protection.

“They’re both considered appropriate for fall protection and accessibility, but the wood fiber is more difficult for our students who may have disabilities with mobility to make their way through,” Beecher said. “Also, it creates a lot more debris around the perimeter of the playground.”

Wood fiber is also “consumable” and breaks down over time, needing to be replaced. He said while the material is less expensive, it requires more attention and maintenance than something like rubber tiles or pour-in-place recycled rubber.

Beecher said the district would like to replace wood fiber with rubber materials on more campuses, eventually, but those plans depend on future resources.

“These are big investments to make and require sacrifices for school sites,” he said adding that Alvin, Fairlawn, Ontiveros, and Tunnell had to wait months for their new playgrounds.

“Overall, it makes a more pleasing environment and a better place for students to be active during their day.”

In addition to the shade structures and playground equipment, the district also

4 • Sun • March 27 - April 3, 2025 • www.santamariasun.com

installed a new 35,000-square-foot playing field at Bonita Elementary School using capital funds.

Superintendent Darren McDuffie said the district is happy to be able to provide students with enhanced outdoor space.

“Our much-anticipated new school playgrounds and the turn field at Bonita Elementary demonstrate our commitment to creating enriching and safe environments where our students can play and thrive,” McDuffie said in a press release. “These facilities are an investment in the well-being and development of our students.”

—Camillia Lanham

Santa Maria Planning Commission pushes ‘de facto moratorium’ on BESS projects forward The fallout from Monterey County’s battery plant fire in January continues to take on new forms, legislatively speaking, across the state.

About 170 miles from the site of the incident in Moss Landing, Santa Maria is drafting regulations on battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities for the first time.

A proposed ordinance, which would restrict future BESS development proposals to specific industrial areas, among other limitations, is heading for a Santa Maria City Council hearing with a recent recommendation from the Santa Maria Planning Commission.

“The purpose is to get in front of this, put something in place to give us control when things do come forward,” Assistant City Attorney Heather Whitham told the Planning Commission at its March 19 meeting.

City staff introduced the ordinance with fewer restrictions than Commissioner Robert Dickerson’s motion pushed forward, approved after a 4-0 vote (Commissioner Tom Lopez was absent).

Partly inspired by comments from commissioners Yasameen Mohajer and Tim Seifert, Dickerson included some amendments to staff’s ordinance in his motion that narrowed down future potential developers’ options nearly to the point of “a de facto moratorium,” he said.

For example, staff’s original ordinance defined residential neighborhoods, hospitals, and schools as sensitive sites with certain parameter protections from BESS developments. The Planning Commission’s recommendation includes agricultural land, whether it’s cultivated or fallow, as an additional sensitive area.

“There’s very, very few spaces that might fit within the parameters that we’ve discussed. … A de facto moratorium would take place because there wouldn’t be any place you could actually

March 27 - April 3, 2025 fit the thing in?” Dickerson asked staff at the meeting.

“I can’t say definitely that it would eliminate every opportunity, but pretty close,” City Planner Frank Albro said.

Dickerson also asked staff about whether simply recommending a literal moratorium on BESS facilities to the City Council was feasible for the Planning Commission.

“You can only do a moratorium when you have an application pending and you’re concerned that your zoning code doesn’t fully address and protect the city from whatever use is being proposed, and you need time to put the brakes on,” Assistant City Attorney Whitham said. “We don’t currently have an application pending, so that could be difficult to address.”

As part of the Planning Commission’s recommendation, Dickerson added a contingency plan to address future BESS development applications.

In his motion, Dickerson explained that if a potential BESS developer happens “to figure out a way” to apply for a project within the ordinance’s tight restrictions, that application should “trigger” staff to notify the City Council and look into “possibly creating a moratorium.”

—Caleb Wiseblood

Planning Commission punts Richards Ranch decision to Board of Supervisors After accusing Santa Barbara County of acting in bad faith and playing politics, Richards Ranch didn’t get what it wanted: for the Planning Commission to overturn staff’s decision calling the project application incomplete.

“Normally, this is not how the county would treat an applicant. I think politics are afoot,” Richards Ranch attorney Beth Collins told the commission at its March 19 meeting. “I think the county’s heading to some trouble.”

Collins said the project applicant took issue with several things, including the timeline of the county’s response, the parts of the application staff said were incomplete, and staff’s determination that the project had forfeited its builder’s remedy application. Initially filed while the county’s housing element was out of compliance with state housing rules, the proposed mixed-use housing and commercial development in Orcutt filed its application as a builder’s remedy project under state Senate Bill 330 (updated by Assembly Bill 1893)—which means it doesn’t necessarily need to conform with the county’s zoning rules if a certain percentage of the housing units are deedrestricted to low- or very low-income.

By pulling the project’s builder’s remedy vesting, staff is essentially denying the project under the state’s Housing Accountability Act, Collins said.

“It’s the gotcha part of this, where we lose our builder’s remedy,” she said. “Obviously we wouldn’t be here if the stakes weren’t so high.”

Developer Michael Stotley proposes 750 housing units and commercial development that includes retail, a gas station, and a car wash just outside city limits near the Santa Maria Airport.

His project is concurrently going through an annexation request with the city of Santa Maria so it can use city water.

As part of the county application process, Richards Ranch alleges that the county responded to its resubmitted application in 31 days, not within the required 30 days. And because the county was late, the application defaults to being accepted as complete.

At issue is whether the county has to count Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Day, when county offices were closed and when the application was submitted, as the first day in its response

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NEWS from page 4 in, honestly, what could end up in a bad faith situation,” she said, adding that the wrong timeline. The county says it doesn’t, and the decision could end up in court. applicant disagrees.

Fourth District Commissioner Roy Reed “Planning and Development’s policy is to asked when that letter would be arriving. receive applications on the days that we are Collins said she wasn’t sure. open,” Supervising Planner Gwen Beyeler said.

“So you’re asking us to make a decision based The developer also alleges that the county on promises of an imaginary letter and what it’s introduced new problems with the application, likely to contain. … Does that sound reasonable beyond “clarification.” The county made the to you?” Reed asked. “I don’t appreciate the decision after a third round of submittal and multiple references to litigation and saberresponses for the project application, which rattling.”

Collins said means the county can’t introduce The project, he said, would be a great benefit new issues. to the community as a whole. It’s multi-use with Planning and Development Deputy Director commercial and would develop an area along Travis Seawards pushed back, saying that all Union Valley Parkway that he said needs it. of the issues were introduced in earlier back“I find myself distressed that it has gone and-forths between the county and applicant. down this path where we’re sitting here Any added language in the most recent county hearing potential threats of litigation,” Reed response was intended to clarify anything staff said. “I feel very strongly that the proper board/ felt was misunderstood in previous requests. group to handle this issue is the Board of “They identified the things that they needed, Supervisors, not us.” they repeated those needs in subsequent areas, Other commissioners agreed that with the and they clarified things they needed to clarify,” legal issues involved in the appeal, it was best to he said. punt the decision to supervisors, as well. First County staff also believe the project’s District Commissioner Michael Cooney said he proposed construction square footage has wouldn’t be surprised to see the issues resolved changed by more than 20 percent since its by one of the county’s superior court judges. initial application, which means it forfeits builder’s remedy. That amount of change means Third District Commissioner John Parke added that there’s a lot at stake for both the the project needs to submit a new application developer and the county and that the Planning altogether, the staff report states.

Commission doesn’t have the expertise to deal “Staff is saying we changed our project; we with legal issues. didn’t,” Collins said. “Our project seems to be “I think this matter should be decided by the treated differently.”

Board of Supervisors so they can weigh the risk California’s Housing and Community in saying no to this applicant Development Department for the county,” Parke said. is planning to write the Commissioners county a letter regarding the unanimously decided to deny decision, as well, Collins said.

Send any news the appeal and uphold staff’s “I’m just hopeful you can or story tips to decisions on the project. m see the train, where it’s going news@santamariasun.com. here, and see the county —Camillia Lanham

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Cannabis crackdown Santa Barbara County tightens cannabis odor rules with threshold and filtration mandates

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hile standing on the property line of a licensed cannabis grower in a little more than one year’s time, a trained operator of a Nasal Ranger device will need to measure 4 or less D/T—dilution over threshold—for three minutes to determine whether the grower complies with the now amended cannabis ordinance.

Arriving at this number was not simple for the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors at its March 17 meeting. From confusion about how the measuring system works to disagreements over what seemed like a reasonable measurement, discussions were filled with technical explanations and differing views on how to effectively regulate cannabis odor.

The Nasal Ranger works by allowing a user to dilute ambient air to detect the strength of an odor, Erinn Briggs, deputy director of the county Energy, Minerals, and Compliance Division, explained to the Sun. The standard D/T ratios that the device uses include 2, 4, 7, 15, 30, and 60.

“Generally speaking, it’s really hard for folks to understand D/T without really spending a lot of time talking about it and learning about it,” Briggs said. “It’s a concept that we don’t think about every day.”

At the meeting, 1st District Supervisor Roy Lee, who represents Carpinteria, where locals have complained of persistent cannabis odors from indoor cultivation operations, expressed a desire for stricter regulations that stipulate 4 D/T being a violation. In response, County Director of Planning and Development Lisa Plowman explained that this would prove to be a major challenge for the department to enforce.

“Our consultants have told us that would be very difficult for us to even be able to detect,” she said. “It’s not a workable threshold for us.

We can consistently pick up 7, but we can’t at 4.

So, if you exceed 4, then we can pick it up.”

Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino expressed concerns that strict regulations might affect a grower’s ability to comply and stay in business. However, after reviewing consultant data showing that only 14 out of 335 readings measured at 7 D/T, he said he felt reassured and agreed to move forward with the board.

Carpinteria resident Lorraine McIntire urged board members during public comment BREATHE DEEP: The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors updated the county’s rules on cannabis odors, setting a threshold for what can be smelled at the edge of an indoor cannabis to consider sticking with a measurement cultivator’s property. of 7 D/T being a violation instead of 4 D/T as suggested by Supervisor Lee, noting that cannabis growers “are farmers, not criminals.” growers already have these systems in place, that utilizes activated carbon, which may “If this were garlic, would we be having this include carbon filters, photocatalytic oxidation while about 15 to 20 would need to implement same level of discussion as we are having now the new technologies. units, and/or other equivalent technologies with cannabis?” she questioned.

Lavagnino told the Sun that even that utilize carbon filtration.”

The board unanimously decided to establish though he sided with the board on these With this definition in place, and the an odor threshold in the Coastal Zone of 4 D/T, decision to phase out vapor or misting changes, he still has reservations about meaning that any grower maintaining less than phase systems, growers will need to the ordinance. He said he’s worried that 7 D/T is within compliance. without these efforts, though, community implement MTCFs by Laura Capps, 2nd District members and potentially other members March 31, 2026, to be in supervisor, acknowledged of the board might make moves to shut the compliance with their odor that opinions on the Nasal cannabis program down entirely. abatement plans. One-year Send any news Ranger vary but added that “it “Honestly, I think we’ve over-regulated this extensions may be granted or story tips to definitely seems as though it’s industry to death,” he said. “I know there are for reasons like supply news@santamariasun.com. the technology we have, and people that will say that the ordinance gave chain delays or problems it’s more accessible.” [growers] free rein, basically, and that’s just upgrading on-site power The board also decided to utterly ridiculous. I mean, it’s just revisionist supply, but failure to meet mandate multi-technology carbon filtration history.” the deadline could put cannabis cultivation (MTCF), phase out vapor phase systems, and The board is set to receive a second reading business licenses at risk. implement a 12-month compliance period of the amendments to the cannabis ordinance During the meeting, Lavagnino asked how for cannabis odor abatement plans with one on April 1 to make final decisions. ❍ many growers would need to make changes potential extension. to comply with the amendments to the plans.

As part of the decision, the board agreed to Staff Writer Emma Montalbano can be reached Planning and Development Department staff define an MTCF as an “air filtration technology responded that approximately five to seven at emontalbano@newtimesslo.com.

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SPOTLIGHT

From cribs to classrooms

PHOTO COURTESY OF DARCY BRAKEMAN

Goodman expressed gratitude to Trinity Church of the Nazarene for offering up space and working with LEAP to make this center happen. She noted that the process of creating the center was not without challenges, however.

“This was considerably harder than I could possibly have imagined when we started our and we just persevered,” Goodman LEAP opens new early learning center to partnership, said. bridge education gap in Lompoc Before opening the center, LEAP had to secure a contract with the church and change the space

BY EMMA MONTALBANO to accommodate children by complying with safety codes and installing size-appropriate ust 7 percent of children ages 0 to 2 and 62 percent of toilets and sinks. Throughout this process, they children ages 3 to 5 have access to licensed early childhood dealt with lawyers, plumbing issues, construction education in Lompoc, according to data from the Lompoc delays, and even changing policies.

Early Learning Project.

“If it were up to us, we would have been open To help bridge this early education gap, LEAP opened in October, but in order to get all the permits, all the Lompoc Children’s Center at the Trinity Church of the the building codes, and then to get licensed, and Nazarene and welcomed its first students on March 17. Lori LITTLE LEARNERS: The Lompoc Children’s Center, which can accommodate have fire sign-off, all of that took a long time,” Goodman, the executive director of LEAP—which stands up to 58 students, features different spaces and rooms designed to serve children MUSIC she said. for learn, engage, advocate, and partner—explained that the ages 3 months to 5 years old, LEAP Executive Director Lori Goodman said.

Despite these challenges, Goodman said that organization aims to address the impacts of poverty, racism, and LEAP would be excited to expand its services trauma by offering child care, family support, and community FLAVOR/EATS in other areas of Santa Barbara County, adding that the only leadership. because we’re building trust. So, hopefully, that becomes part of limiting factor to doing so is finding the space.

“We’re an organization that’s deeply connected to the strengthening the Lompoc community and all of Santa Barbara “If there is another place that has spaces and they want to County.” community, investing in young children’s and their families’ INFO bring in a contractor that knows how to provide child care, we well-being with an eye toward really addressing deep societal Highlight are ready to do that,” she said. “We think that the way for us to problems,” Goodman said. “We think that starts with young have the most CALENDAR impact is to grow. We think that the benefits we children.”

• The Delta High School Robotics team earned the judges bring are high.” award while competing among the top 40 teams at the Vex The new center provides care for infants, toddlers, and According to Goodman, LEAP implements trauma-informed Robotics California Regional State Championship from March preschoolers. Goodman noted that by providing these OPINION care at its facilities, which involves an emphasis on connective additional opportunities for young children, they are making a 14 to 15. According to a press release from the Santa Maria Joint approaches that support emotional regulation rather than dent in filling that early education need for the community of Unified High School District, the team ranked above 90 percent relying on punitive measures. She highlighted that when they Lompoc. of teams and narrowly missed the excellence award by just NEWS aim to build meaningful relationships with open a center, they “We hope that certainly for the families who are able to three points. The team fell four points short in qualifying for the community members.

World Championships, but they impressed the judges with their send their children to LEAP, they will feel “We start with child care, but then we’re supported,” she said. “The parents will be able knowledge and engineering skills. The team spent countless STROKES able to wrap our arms around the entire to work and to know that their children are in hours of work after school building a “top-tier robot,” the press family, and we connect with them very a safe, high-quality, enriched space that’s close release noted. m Send business and deeply,” she said.

“People connect with their to where they live. We hope to provide a sense nonprofit information to ARTS children’s teachers at those schools, and of parent education, but also a sense of joy and Staff Writer Emma Montalbano can be reached at spotlight@santamariasun.com. then we’re able to address other family needs community.” emontalbano@newtimesslo.com.

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Opinion ONLINE POLL

How should Sable’s oil permit transfer request be handled?

82% Green-light it! The supervisors’ 2-2 vote means approval.

12% It should be denied by everyone.

Locals don’t want the pipeline restarted.

6% The deadlocked vote means denial.

0% It’s too complicated for me to follow!

17 Votes

Vote online at www.santamariasun.com.

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COMMENTARY

➤ Canary [9]

Oily ignorance

pipeline is dramatically changed from what it was 37 years ago. The should condition Buellton is the only city directly impacted by county the pipeline’s permits to reflect this changed Sable Offshore’s pipeline plans landscape, by addressing

BY LEN FLECKENSTEIN the capabilities of Sable (or any other owner) to manage the pipeline safely and to handle he city of Buellton is in a unique situation any problems that might occur in an urban relative to Sable Offshore Corporation’s residential environment. crude oil pipeline, yet city residents’ and city officials’ concerns are being ignored.

To the Buellton City Council’s credit, the mayor recently sent a letter to the county Board of Supervisors explaining Buellton’s perspective and the need to ensure protection of residents Sable can best address Buellton residents’ and property before the pipeline restarts. The safety by realigning the pipeline outside city mayor’s letter focused on safety issues and not limits as Exxon had proposed in 2017. After the on oil production issues. pipeline ruptured on the Gaviota coast in 2015, Regardless of whether the pipeline restarts Exxon incurred huge costs and realized the without the requested safety measures, the pipeline was a liability, especially in Buellton.

Buellton City Council stood up for the unique Exxon knew a realignment around Buellton safety concerns of its residents, even when so would reduce the company’s financial liability. many county, state, and federal agencies, and The pipeline in Buellton would have been the oil companies, don’t seem to care. filled in and left in place; no need to dig it up.

A draft Environmental Impact Report was prepared, which fully describes the project.

Realignment might have been completed by now if Sable hadn’t withdrawn the project Buellton is the only town through which application from the county Planning the crude oil pipeline runs for its entire 122Department. mile length, crossing Buellton residential neighborhoods and the city’s main park. Thus, a potential catastrophic pipeline rupture in Buellton poses risks to people, homes, property, roads, and parks. It’s a situation that doesn’t If the pipeline remains in place in Buellton, exist elsewhere in Santa Barbara County, but Sable’s plans should be revised: to acknowledge MUSIC to describe how Sable agencies seem to be ignorant of Buellton’s the city’s existence, unique risks. will prevent or detect leaks and breaks, and The pipeline’s original permits from 1988 to explain how Sable would address worstdidn’t address the unique situation of the case scenariosFLAVOR/EATS of pipeline rupture in Buellton. pipeline running under residential areas in Currently, both Sable’s transition plan and Buellton because those housing areas didn’t its contingency plan describe the pipeline’s INFO exist when the pipeline was constructed in the route without mentioning that it goes through late 1980s. The city of Buellton didn’t even exist Buellton’s neighborhoods and principal park. at that time; the city was incorporated in 1992.

Sable’s transition plan, in Section 15.2, includes CALENDAR The original permits from a “description of pipeline 1988 logically focused only corridor” that provides OPINION on risks to largely vacant land detail on the pipeline’s route, and of course to sensitive naming specific creeks, Send us your habitats, but not to residential canyons, roadways, and views and opinion to NEWSranches, and then stating: developments. Now the letters@santamariasun.com.

Buellton landscape above the “The pipeline crosses the

T

Buellton’s need and request

Unique risks

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

Ignorance of Buellton

Speak up!

STROKES

ARTS

Santa Ynez River west and south of Buellton and continues north across the Purisima and Solomon Hills.”

Incredibly, this description neglects to say the pipeline goes through Buellton and its residential neighborhoods, thus implying the pipeline bypasses the city. Are Sable’s managers really so ignorant about Buellton?

When Sable’s director of government affairs attended a recent Buellton City Council meeting on Feb. 27, he said he’d been coming to the Santa Ynez Valley for 50 years but admitted, “I had no idea Buellton was a city.” (His remarks can be seen at 27:53 minutes into Buellton CityTV’s online archived video of the meeting.)

In Santa Barbara County, there are only two local governments directly affected by the pipeline: the county and Buellton. Sable’s government affairs director should have known that Buellton has a city government, but ignorance about Buellton seems widespread at Sable.

Unique costs The pipeline’s location in Buellton should raise red flags regarding Sable’s financial capabilities. Sable may not be financially able to handle costs from a major pipeline rupture in Buellton, where costs would likely be higher than in a more rural landscape.

Sable doesn’t have deep pockets as Exxon does. Sable’s only assets are the oil production and pipeline facilities, which it acquired in Santa Barbara County. In fact, Sable was able to purchase those facilities only by borrowing over 95 percent of the money from Exxon itself (“Enviro groups join Exxon lawsuit as company sells offshore unit,” Nov. 9, 2022).

If there is a major pipeline rupture in Buellton, Sable probably doesn’t have the financial resources to cover the costs of impacts to people, property, and the environment, while also paying back the loan from Exxon, especially if the pipeline is again shut down.

Unless Sable realigns the pipeline outside Buellton, the company’s ignorance of Buellton doesn’t bode well if breakage occurs within the city limits. m Len Fleckenstein writes from Buellton.

Send a response for publication to letters@ santamariasun.com.

LETTERS

Allow us to bid farewell to Dana Reserve habitat It is my prayer that the slayers of the “Dana Reserve” native oaks at least allow a ceremony to be performed by the native Chumash and kindred spirits to bid farewell to the 3,000-plus Native Oaks that are to be sacrificed so that nonnatives can now reside on stolen Chumash land.

In sympathy with our native people, I submit a loose translation of a Germanic people’s forest hymn: Who raised you, oaken forest, with heavenward reaching branches? I will praise the creator, as long as my voice still rings.

The confused world can’t hear the sound of grazing deer, as we sound the alarm of continuing harm that fades away with a thousand tears.

Oh, breeze that flows coolly beneath the green canopy, you faithfully call us to piously pray, “Stay! Oaken forest, stay!”

We silently sigh, oh dear oaken forest, our honest desire is that you remain ’fore us, until our last songs and prayers fade away.

Stephen Siemsen Lisa Caillas-Siemsen Orcutt

8 • Sun • March 27 - April 3, 2025 • www.santamariasun.com

Opinion

Nasal navigator

S

niff, sniff.

Do you smell that? Of course not. You need a Nasal Ranger to really get a good whiff of odorific cannabis. I don’t mean to make light of the plight of Carpinteria’s cannabis-odorplagued residents, but tying a Santa Barbara County ordinance to something you wear on your nose is simply too much.

Especially with a name like that. Do you wear a park ranger hat and badge while operating the Nasal Ranger? I hear there’s a couple of federal agencies with an excess of hats and badges right now and not enough employees to wear them.

Would a Nasal Ranger fit on my beak? I’ll get certified to operate one, if so.

We can’t have any unauthorized operators out there, you know. They would be Rogue Rangers, and we can’t have that! And if you’re a mouth breather, don’t even think about going through the certification process. We can’t have that, either!

As part of a raft of cannabis odor ordinance modifications, the Nasal Ranger is tasked with testing cannabis odors at the property lines of indoor cannabis cultivators within the Coastal Zone. The county Board of Supervisors voted to implement the ranger and mandate multitechnology carbon filtration (MTCF) systems and set an odor threshold of 4 D/T (umm, dilution over threshold, duh). WTF? I feel very lost in the lingo. My language skills are at a loss.

But everyone in the know, knows, you know?

As long as they know, that’s all that really matters.

While the ordinance amendments passed unanimously onto a second reading, 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino wasn’t sure if the board was moving in the right direction on cannabis.

“Honestly, I think we’ve over-regulated this industry to death,” he said. “I know there are people that will say that the ordinance gave [growers] free rein, basically, and that’s just utterly ridiculous. I mean, it’s just revisionist history.”

It’s really just NIMBYs at their finest, or at their worst, whatever you want to call it. The board can’t make everyone happy with its decisions, but I got a little cackle out of it, even if it was at others’ expense!

You know what else has me cackling?

The city of Santa Maria, which is always complaining about onerous state regulations stifling business but wants to regulate battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities out of city limits. Santa Maria is looking at implementing a “de facto moratorium” on those bad boys of the energy industry. It used to be oil, right? What happened?

The blame for that can be placed squarely on Vistra Corp. and its management of the Moss Landing BESS facility that caught fire in January.

It’s literally like no one on the Central Coast even knew what they were before that catastrophe, and now public officials can’t distance themselves enough.

Santa Maria Planning Commissioner Robert Dickerson seems hell-bent on just regulating them out of the city. He said that the commission is recommending that if a potential BESS developer happens “to figure out a way” to apply for a project, the application should “trigger” staff to look into creating a literal moratorium.

That’s wild. I get it. The technology is still fairly new with lots of unknowns. But isn’t there another way? We do need to create electricity storage. m The canary is always triggered. Send comments to canary@santamariasun.com.

May 17, 2025 Presqu’ile Winery

Fundraiser to benefit

NORTH COUNTY RAPE CRISIS & CHILD PROTECTION CENTER 24-Hour Support Line (805)736-7273 www.sbcountyrapecrisis.org

BORN DEC. 4, 1966, GUADALAJARA, MEXICO - DECEASED MARCH 9, 2025, SANTA MARIA, CA

Maria C. Barrágan Maria Barragán, 58, of Guadalajara, Mexico passed away on March 9, 2025 at home with family in Santa Maria, CA. On December 4, 1966, Maria Concepción Barragán was born to Rita Cisneros & Antonio Navarro. She known to many as Bug, Conchita, or Concha. She grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico, and after losing her mother, she emigrated to the United States at 12 years old. She moved to Guadalupe, CA with her Aunt & Uncle (Lupe & Armando Narez), where she attended Kermit Mackenzie Jr High School.

She later attended Ernest Righetti High School, and was able to intern with VTC Enterprises. After graduating she was hired as an employee of VTC for a few years.

During early adulthood she was asked to be a bridesmaid in her uncle’s wedding. That is where she met an annoying groomsman, Mario Barragán, who became her loving and sarcastic husband.

During her married life she attended Allan Hancock College, where she obtained her CNA & LVN nursing degree and worked for private care. While raising her two daughters, Erika Barragán Albert & DeAnna (DeeDee) Barragán, she would remind them “If I could get a 4.0 GPA without knowing English, you can too!”

Due to health circumstances, she stepped away from nursing and began working at Sojourns Inc. where she helped infants and families with play therapy until 2008 when the company closed. Maria hunted for work and became office manager for St Joseph’s Supported Living Services. Shortly after her health was steadily declining until the fateful day on July 1, 2009 she got the phone call saying “we have lungs for you.” Mario and Maria raced to UCLA where she received a double lung transplant.

With these blessed extra 15+ years she was able to see her daughters graduate from high school and college. She was able to experience her oldest daughter’s wedding and the subsequent birth of her two grandchildren. Maria went on many travels thanks to Grandma Carey taking her on her first cruise, and that began her urge to travel with her friends that became family.

They all helped her make laughable memories, bring back rocks to decorate her yard, and brought

back COVID-19 twice. The one thing she wants everyone to know is “live your life to the fullest, no matter what happens, life goes on, so keep on going!”

Maria loved to sing, dance, cheer, and prank her extended family and friends by showing them there is nothing wrong with having fun.

She was preceded in death by many animals, and people in life that made a loving impact on her, especially “Ma and Pa” Beatriz & Salvador Barragán. Maria was a joy to all, and made fabulous relationships with everyone she came across. She is survived by her loving husband Mario Barragán, daughter Erika Albert, Son-In Law Brett Albert, daughter DeeDee Barragán, her three crazy dogs, and her favorite people (her grandchildren) Oliver and Willow.

On Thursday April 3, 2025 at St. Louis De Montfort at 10 a.m. will be the Rosary & Mass Service that Maria wanted. She asked that people who attend her services wear red and black “dress like a ladybug.” In lieu of flowers Maria requests to bring a toy donation for Toys 4 Tots.

Visit dudleyhoffmanmortuary.com to leave a condolence for the family.

www.santamariasun.com • March 27 - April 3, 2025 • Sun • 9

Hot Stuff

10-DAY CALENDAR: MARCH 27 - APRIL 6, 2025

CUCKOO AT CYPRESS

Cypress Gallery in Lompoc will host local artist Mitra Cline’s art show, Cuckoo’s Mixed Reality Nest, from Thursday, April 3, until Sunday, April 27. The show—a compilation of digital art and physical crafts—is inspired, Cline says, by how cuckoo birds lay their eggs in other birds’ nests. The art pieces highlight how all creatures depend on one another to grow and create and are available for gallery visitors to interact with in various ways. Also included in the show is a painted bicycle trailer with traditional folk art patterns that serves as a miniature art studio. Visit lompocart.org for more information, and artplacer.com to view the artwork online.

—Angie Stevens

FILE PHOTO COURTESY OF MITRA CLINE

ARTS SANTA MARIA VALLE Y/LOS ALAMOS

BALLROOM, LATIN, AND SWING DANCE CLASSES Social ballroom, Latin, and swing lessons for all ages. Beginner and advance classes. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, 7-9 p.m. $45-$55. (805) 928-7799.

Kleindancesarts.com. Klein Dance Arts, 3558 Skyway Drive, suite A, Santa Maria.

DANCE CLASSES: EVERYBODY CAN DANCE Classes available for all skill levels.

Class sizes limited. Everybody Can Dance, 628 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria, (805) 937-6753, everybodycandance.webs.com/.

FREE BOOK SUNDAYS FOR AGES 0-17 Visit the Youth Services Desk on the first Sunday of each month to receive a coupon for a free book of your choice from the Library Bookstore. For ages 0-17.

First Sunday of every month Free. (805) 925-0994. cityofsantamaria.org/services/ departments/library. Santa Maria Public Library, 421 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria.

VALLEY ART GALLERY: ROTATING DISPLAYS Featured artists of Santa Maria’s Valley Art Gallery display their works at the airport. Check website for monthly exhibits and full list of the gallery’s artists. valleygallery.org. Santa Maria Airport, 3217 Terminal Drive, Santa Maria.

SANTA YNEZ VALLE Y

ARTIST RECEPTION FOR PATTI ROBBINS: PIZZAZZ Meet Patti Robbins at Gallery Los Olivos for her solo exhibit, Pizzazz, with bold, contemporary still life oil paintings. April 5, 1-3 p.m. (805) 6887517. GalleryLosOlivos.com. Gallery Los Olivos, 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos.

COLOR AND COMPOSITION The exhibit highlights paintings by featured artists

Gerry Winant and Britt Friedman. Through March 31 gallerylosolivos.com/. Gallery Los Olivos, 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos, (805) 688-7517.

FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING Castle has long been interested in shamanic rituals and the masks associated with them. This exhibit provides a rare glimpse of the many sides of Castle that unfolded while creating this series. Through April 6 elverhoj.org/.

Elverhoj Museum of History and Art, 1624 Elverhoy Way, Solvang, (805) 686-1211.

GALLERY LOS OLIVOS SPECIAL ARTIST SHOWS MONTHLY Head to Gallery Los Olivos for monthly featured artist exhibits from April to the end of June. See work from artists Patti Robbins, Terri Tabor, Carol Talley, Morgan Green, and Susan Kounanis. Get more info at the link. 1st of every month, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. through Sept.

30 (805) 688-7517. GalleryLosOlivos.com.

Gallery Los Olivos, 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos.

PIZZAZZ AT GALLERY LOS OLIVOS: FEATURED ARTIST PATTI ROBBINS A vibrant solo exhibit of contemporary still lifes, described as a celebration of color, texture, and perspective. MondaysSundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. through April. (805) 688-7517. GalleryLosOlivos.com. Gallery Los Olivos, 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos.

SPRING BREAK ART CAMP Join this spring break art camp for ages 7-12. Each day will include a morning creative project followed by an afternoon guided painting. March 31, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. $85-$385. (805) 325-8092. artspotonwheels.com. Art Spot on Wheels, 320 Alisal Road, unit 306B, Solvang.

YOSEMITE: SANCTUARY IN STONE A solo exhibition by award-winning nature and landscape photographer William Neill. Through Sept. 1 California Nature Art Museum, 1511-B Mission Dr., Solvang, calnatureartmuseum.org.

LOMPOC/VANDENBERG

CUCKOO’S MIXED REALITY NEST Showcasing works by featured artist Mitra Cline, inspired by how cuckoo birds make their homes in other birds’ nests, showing how we all depend on each other to create and grow. April 3-27 Cypress Gallery, 119 E Cypress Ave., Lompoc, (805) 705-5328, lompocart.org.

SOUTH COAST SLO COUNT Y

ART SHOW DROP A showcase of works from award-winning artist Anne Kunzig.

Features scenes of coastal vistas, birds, and more. March 28, 5 p.m. The Frame Artist, 914 E. Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande.

BEST OF THE SAN FRANCISCO STANDUP COMEDY COMPETITION Laugh with the best at the legendary San Francisco Stand-Up Comedy Competition, hosted by Don Friesen—hilarious, high-energy, and a two-time champion. March 29, 7:30 p.m. $39-$54; Platinum $59. (805) 489-9444. clarkcenter.org/shows/best-of-sfcomedy/. Clark Center for the Performing Arts, 487 Fair Oaks Ave., Arroyo Grande.

CHARACTERS AND RELATIONSHIPS: IMPROVISATIONAL THEATER CLASS Learn to access emotion in the moment, build characters and relationships on emotional perspectives, and use patterns of emotional behaviors to drive scenes forward. Sundays, 5:30-7:30 p.m. through April 13 $80. (805) 556-8495. improvforgood.fun/. Women’s Club of Arroyo Grande, 211 Vernon St., Arroyo Grande.

DANCE FITNESS ART AND CULTURE FOR ADULTS Discover dance as a form of artistic expression and exercise, using a wide range of styles and genres of music (including modern, jazz, Broadway, ethnic). Tuesdays, 4-5 p.m. $10 drop-in; $30 for four classes. (510) 362-3739.

New Times and the Sun now share their community listings for a complete Central Coast calendar running from SLO County through northern Santa Barbara County. Submit events online by logging in with your Google, Facebook, or Twitter account at newtimesslo.com. You may also email calendar@newtimesslo.com.

Deadline is one week before the issue date on Thursdays. Submissions are subject to editing and approval.

Contact Calendar Editor Caleb Wiseblood directly at cwiseblood@newtimesslo.com.

10 • Sun • March 27 - April 3, 2025 • www.santamariasun.com

grover.org. Grover Beach Community Center, 1230 Trouville Ave., Grover Beach.

MINI-WORLD FAIRY GARDEN WORKSHOP A fun workshop where you’ll build a glass-globe fairy garden. Materials will be provided. A great class for adults and kids alike. March 30, 12-3 p.m. $45.

(805) 270-4083. theplantedparlour. com/event/mini-world-fairy-gardenworkshop/. The Planted Parlour, 592 W Grand Ave., Grover Beach.

PLAYERS WEST PRESENTS STEEL MAGNOLIAS In a small Louisiana salon, Truvy and her assistant Annelle style hair and share laughter as the women of Chinquapin navigate life’s joys and challenges. March 28, 7-9 p.m., March 29, 1:59-4 & 7-9 p.m., March 30, 1:59-4 p.m., April 4, 7-9 p.m., April 5, 1:59-4 & 7-9 p.m. and April 6, 1:59-4 p.m. General admission $34; child $28.50. (805) 489-9444. clarkcenter.org/shows/steel-magnolias/.

Clark Center for the Performing Arts, 487 Fair Oaks Ave., Arroyo Grande.

SHUT UP, SHERLOCK When a genuine whodunit unfolds during a dress rehearsal for a Sherlock Holmes play, a real-life sleuth steps in to untangle the wacky web of quirky characters (and even quirkier actors) to crack the case. Through April 26 Great American Melodrama, 1863 Front St., Oceano.

WORKSHOPS AND MORE AT THE LAVRA Check the venue’s calendar for storytelling workshops, lectures, movie nights, and discussions held on a periodic basis. ongoing thelavra.org/home. The Lavra, 2070 E. Deer Canyon Road, Arroyo Grande.

SAN LUIS OBISPO

ALL AGES SCULPTING WITH JOHN ROULLARD John a retired school teacher who patiently guides potters of all ages to sculpt and work on details and design.

INDEX Arts...................................... 10 Culture & Lifestyle ........... 11 Food & Drink ......................12 Music ...................................15

Saturdays, 1:30-3 p.m. $40. anamcre.com.

Anam Cre Pottery Studio, 1243 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo.

ALL LEVELS POTTERY CLASSES Anam Cre is a pottery studio in SLO that offers a variety of classes. This specific class is open to any level. Teachers are present for questions, but the class feels more like an open studio time for potters.

Thursdays, 6-8 p.m. $40. Anam Cre Pottery Studio, 1243 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo, anamcre.com.

BEACON ART SHOW Features a juried selection of artworks from several artists working in paintings, photography, and other media, including Larry Le Brane, Janie Holland, Randy Stromsoe, Cheryl Strahl, Paula Delay, and others. Through March 30 beaconartshow.com/. San Luis Obispo United Methodist Church, 1515 Fredericks Street, San Luis Obispo, (805) 242-6065.

THE CAKE Faith, family, and frosting collide in this timely new play from the writer of NBC’s This is Us. ThursdaysSaturdays, 7-9 p.m. and Saturdays, Sundays, 2-4 p.m. through April 13 $20-$37.

SLO Rep, 888 Morro St., San Luis Obispo, (805) 786-2440, slorep.org/.

CERAMIC LESSONS AND MORE Now offering private one-on-one and group lessons in the ceramic arts. Both hand building and wheel throwing options.

Beginners welcomed. ongoing (805) 8355893. hmcruceceramics.com/. Online, See website, San Luis Obispo.

CLAY BABY HANDPRINTS Offers a unique experience of pressing your baby’s hand/ foot into clay so parents can cherish this time forever. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays $55. anamcre.com/babyhandprints. Anam Cre Pottery Studio, 1243 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo.

DATE NIGHT POTTERY Bring your date and throw a cup on the pottery wheel.

Next, texture a clay slab and press into a form creating a personalized piece.

Guest are welcome to bring drinks; venue provides aprons. Pieces are fired, glazed, and ready in two weeks. Saturdays, 6-7:30 p.m. $140. anamcre.com. Anam Cre Pottery Studio, 1243 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo.

FIRST FRIDAYS Visit SLOMA on the first Friday of each month for exhibition

openings, music, and wines provided by regional winery partners. Admission is free and open to the public. First Friday of every month, 5-8 p.m. Free. (805) 5438562. sloma.org/events/first-fridays/. San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, 1010 Broad St., San Luis Obispo.

FRIENDS OF THE ARROYO GRANDE LIBRARY ART AUCTION The first ever art auction fundraiser for Friends of the AG Library is now live. Includes work by local artist Ellen November. Every 30 days, 9 a.m. Various. (310) 384-6912. app.galabid. com/aglibrary/items. Online, See website, San Luis Obispo.

MARGARET CHO: LIVE AND LIVID With a tour celebrating her 40 years as a standup comedian, Cho staunchly supports the causes that are important to her: antiracism, anti-bullying, and gay rights, all while fulfilling her successful creative side with a legendary stand-up career. Visit site for more info and tickets to this event.

March 29, 7:30 p.m. Starts at $40. (805) 756-4849. calpolyarts.org. Performing Arts Center, 1 Grand Ave., San Luis Obispo.

MOBILE CLAY CLASSES Offering handbuilding, throwing, and ceramic decorative arts. All ages and abilities are welcome. Call for more info. ongoing (805) 835-5893. hmcruceceramics.com/ book-online. SLO County, Various locations countywide, San Luis Obispo.

NOTES FOR TOMORROW Features artworks from around the world, brought together to reflect on a new global reality ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through June 1, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. (805) 543-8562. sloma.org/exhibition/notes-fortomorrow/. San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, 1010 Broad St., San Luis Obispo.

SATURDAY FAMILY POTTERY CLASS This family-friendly open studio time is a wonderful window for any level or age.

Saturdays, 11 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. $40. Anam Cre Pottery Studio, 1243 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo, anamcre.com.

TERRACE HILL VIEW: ACRYLIC WORKSHOP WITH MARINA MARSH Spend an afternoon painting a sight of San Luis Obispo during this workshop

ARTS continued page 11

Hot Stuff ARTS from page 10 geared towards children ages 10 and up, as well as adults. A ticket covers all essential supplies and two hours of personal instruction. Get more info at the link. March 29, 2-4 p.m. $67. my805tix. com. Drew Davis Fine Art, 393 Pacific St., San Luis Obispo.

WHITNEY PINTELLO: SOLO SHOW On display now through mid-April. ongoing slogallery.com/. SLO Gallery, 1023 Broad St., San Luis Obispo.

NORTH COAST SLO COUNT Y

AQUARIUS 2025 WATERMEDIA EXHIBIT Central Coast Watercolor Society presents its annual juried exhibit at Art Center Morro Bay, featuring excellence in all forms of watermedia by California artists. See website for info and frequent updates. Through March 31 ccwsart.com/aquarius-2025-prospectus.

Art Center Morro Bay, 835 Main St., Morro Bay, (805) 772-2504.

DRIFTWOOD ASSEMBLAGES BY ALAN COHEN See Cohen’s driftwood assemblage sculptures at Gallery at Marina Square. This architect transforms beach-found objects into birds, sea creatures, and more. March 30-April 29, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. (805) 772-1068. galleryatmarinasquare.com. Gallery at Marina Square, 601 Embarcadero suite 10, Morro Bay. FINE ART PAINTINGS BY SANDRA SANDERS A California native, Sanders captures seascapes and landscapes in vibrant acrylics. On display in the lower gallery. March 30-April 29, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. (805) 772-1068. galleryatmarinasquare.com. Gallery at Marina Square, 601 Embarcadero suite 10, Morro Bay. FINE ART WATERCOLORS BY NANCY JENSEN Jensen celebrates Central Coast joys through vibrant watercolors of vineyards, wildflowers, and coastal scenes. March 30-April 29,

MARCH 27 - APRIL 6, 2025 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. (805) 772-1068. galleryatmarinasquare.com. Gallery at Marina Square, 601 Embarcadero suite 10, Morro Bay. TIMKET: ETHIOPIA 2020 Experience Timket, an Ethiopian tradition, through the eyes of photographer Michael J. Costa. Thursdays-Sundays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. through April 27 Free. Costa Gallery, 2087 10th St., Los Osos, (559) 799-9632.

CULTURE & LIFESTYLE SANTA MARIA VALLEY/LOS ALAMOS

ANDROID PHONE CLASS First Thursday of every month Oasis Center, 420 Soares Ave., Orcutt, (805) 937-9750.

CENTRAL COAST CORVETTE CLUB Open to Corvette owners and enthusiasts. First Thursday of every month, 7 p.m. Free. (805) 934-3948. Home Motors, 1313 E. Main St., Santa Maria.

D-AND-D AND BOARD GAMES Join for tabletop games hosted by Santa Maria Valley Adventurers League. New players get tutorials/materials. Children under 16 must be with an adult. March 30, 1-4:30 p.m. Free. (805) 925-0994. cityofsantamaria.org/services/ departments/library. Santa Maria Public Library, 421 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria.

EVERYTHING EDIBLE: GROWING GROUNDS FARM Join Growing Grounds Farm for its Everything Edible plant event. This annual Spring celebration will have everything you need to get your garden growing. Visit the link for more information. April 4, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., April 5, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and April 6, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (805) 934-2182. facebook.com/even ts/1416266739755096/141626675308842 8?active_tab=about. Growing Grounds Farm, 820 W. Foster Rd., Santa Maria.

FEEL GOOD YOGA Tuesdays, Thursdays,

8:30-9:30 a.m. (805) 937-9750. oasisorcutt.org. Oasis Center, 420 Soares Ave., Orcutt.

FIRST FRIDAY First Friday of every month facebook.com/firstfridayoldtownorcutt/.

Historic Old Town Orcutt, S. Broadway and Union Ave., Orcutt.

FREE BOOK SUNDAYS FOR AGES 0-17 Visit the Youth Services Desk on the first Sunday of each month to receive a coupon for a free book of your choice from the Library Bookstore. For ages 0-17.

First Sunday of every month Free. (805) 925-0994. cityofsantamaria.org/services/ departments/library. Santa Maria Public Library, 421 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria.

GROUP WALKS AND HIKES Check website for the remainder of this year’s group hike dates and private hike offerings. (805) 343-2455. dunescenter. org. Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center, 1065 Guadalupe St., Guadalupe.

SPRING ROUNDUP COLLEGE RODEO Experience this inaugural collegiate rodeo in Santa Maria, where college rodeo athletes from all over the West Coast region are set to put on a show.

Get ticketing options and more info at the link. March 29-30 (805)503-9935. ahcbulldogboosters.com/. Elks Event Center, 4040 Highway 101, Santa Maria.

SANTA YNEZ VALLE Y

PHOTO COURTESY OF ART SPOT

Nature Art Museum, 1511-B Mission Dr., Solvang.

PEASANTS FEAST 5TH ANNIVERSARY BLOCK PARTY Join Peasants FEAST as they celebrate 5 years with a Solvang block party. Expect food and beverage vendors, along with peasants’ bites, deli arcade games, DJ, and more birthday surprises. April 1, 4-7 p.m.

Free. (805) 686-4555. instagram.com/ peasantsfeast. peasants FEAST, 487 Atterdag Road, Solvang.

SOLVANG BRICK AND BUILDS The city’s first-ever weekend of brick-building fun.

With a pro builder competition, master builders meet and greets, a scavenger hunt, and more. April 5-6, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free, but with ticketed portions of weekend (visit site for more details).

(805) 465-7298. solvangusa.com/ solvang-brick-builds-2025/. Downtown Solvang, Citywide, Solvang.

TOMATOMANIA This year’s expanded Tomatomania, hosted by Forage Florals and curated by The Starter Farm, returns with a larger selection of tomatoes, produce, flowers, and classes. April 5-6, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free; plus item purchase prices. (310) 770-3226. tomatomania. com/the-starter-farm-forage-floralssanta-ynez/. Forage Florals, 1095 Meadowvale Road, Santa Ynez.

LOMPOC/VANDENBERG

BOUNTY OF THE VALLEY Join SYV KITE FESTIVAL AND CAREER, Family School as they honor 50 years of COLLEGE, AND TRADE FAIR A educational excellence and community community-driven event that combines a impact. For more information on the youth-focused career, college, and trade event, follow the ticket link. April fair with a fun, family-friendly kite festival.

5, 5-10 p.m. $150. (805) 688-5440.

April 5, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Lompoc High syvfamilyschool.org. SYV Family School, School, 515 W. College Ave., Lompoc.

5300 Figueroa Mountain Road, Los Olivos.

LOMPOC ART WALK Lompoc transforms CALIFORNIA POPPY DAY 2025 Enjoy into a celebration and showcase of free admission to the California Nature Art local artists during this monthly event, Museum for California Poppy Day 2025, which features live music, art, exciting held annually in celebration of native exhibitions, performances, and a variety plants and pollinators. April 6, 10 a.m.-3 of unique vendors. First Thursday of p.m. calnatureartmuseum.org/news/ california-poppy-day-2025. California CULTURE & LIFESTYLE continued page 12

RING IN SPRING THROUGH ART

Art Spot in Solvang will host a five-day spring break art camp from Monday, March 31, to Friday, April 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for children ages 7 to 12 to learn, create, and build confidence. An option to join for a single day is available, and a creative project each morning will be followed by an afternoon guided painting. To find out more about camp dates or purchase tickets, visit artspotonwheels.com.

—A.S.

March 14 - April 26

1863 PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY OCEANO, CA

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12 • Sun • March 27 - April 3, 2025 • www.santamariasun.com

COURTESY IMAGE BY SANDRA SANDERS

MORRO BAY METAPHYSICIANS DISCUSSION GROUP A group of metaphysically minded individuals that have been meeting for many years now in the Coalesce Chapel. Club offers a supportive metaphysical based community. Members discuss a different topic each week. All are welcome to join. Fridays, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Suggested donation of $10-$15.

Coalesce Bookstore, 845 Main St., Morro Bay, coalescebookstore.com/.

FOOD & DRINK

SANTA MARIA VALLE Y/LOS ALAMOS

WAVE OF CREATIVITY

Morro Bay’s Gallery at Marina Square will feature an exhibit by acrylic painter Sandra Sanders set to begin Sunday, March 30, and remain on display until Tuesday, April 29. The showcase will highlight various fine art pieces by Sanders depicting the dreamlike seascapes and sprawling landscapes that make up the Californianative’s surroundings. For more info on Sanders’ featured work, visit galleryatmarinasquare.com.

—A.S. leadership skills in a supportive and positive CENTRAL COAST BRIDE SPRING 2025 WEDDING EXPO From sweet treats to signature environment? During COVID, we are meeting sips, Central Coast Bride’s Spring 2025 Wedding virtually. Contact us to get a meeting link for info. Tuesdays, 12-1 p.m. Free. slonoontime.

Expo is your one-stop shop for planning the toastmastersclubs.org. Zoom, Online, Inquire wedding of your dreams. Get more info at the for Zoom ID. link. April 6-4 p.m. $10-$50. (805) 980-1985. centralcoastbride.com. Madonna Expo Center, SLO PHILATELIC SOCIETY Stamp Collector?

100 Madonna Road, San Luis Obispo.

The SLO Philatelic Society (SLOPS) meets in CENTRAL COAST DAHLIA SOCIETY ANNUAL the SLO UMC Conference Room on the first TUBER AND PLANT SALE Don’t miss this year’s and third Tuesday of each month. Visitors annual tuber and mini plant sale. April 5, 9 a.m.- welcome. For more info, contact SLOPS at noon (805) 801-3917. United Methodist Church slostampclub@gmail.com. First Tuesday of Fellowship Hall, 1515 Fredericks St., San Luis every month, 1-3 p.m. (805) 801-9112. The SLO Philatelic Society (SLOPS) meets at the SLO Obispo, centralcoastdahlias.org.

Senior Center on the first and third Tuesday CENTRAL COAST DIALYSIS ORGAN of each month. Visitors are welcome. First TRANSPLANT SUPPORT GROUP Not faith Tuesday of every month, 1-3 p.m. SLO Senior based. All are welcome. Please wear a mask.

First Saturday of every month, 9:30-11:30 a.m. St. Center, 1445 Santa Rosa St., San Luis Obispo, Stephen’s Episcopal Church SLO, 650 Pismo St., (805) 540-9484, slocity.org/seniors.

San Luis Obispo.

TEEN MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT GROUP Learn more about mental health and coping HEALING DEPRESSION SUPPORT GROUP A skills to help you through your journey towards safe place to share feelings of depression with those who suffer and those who have recovered wellness and recovery. Thursdays, 4:30-6 p.m.

Free. (805) 540-6576. t-mha.org. Hope House to a full, healthy outlook on life. Mondays, 6-7 p.m. Free. (805) 528-3194. Hope House Wellness Wellness Center, 1306 Nipomo St., San Luis Obispo.

Center, 1306 Nipomo St., San Luis Obispo.

WORKING HANDS: ETHNIC LABOR IN SAN HUMAN ROMANCE: HOOKING HUMANS UP LUIS OBISPO COUNTY People from all over the WITH EACH OTHER Host Mike Falzone is set world played a role in building San Luis Obispo to use his crowd work to connect members of the audience. Three pairs of audience members County (in both figurative and literal ways). Join the conversation. March 28, 5:30 p.m. Free. will go on a date, live, in front of everyone and (805) 543-0638. historycenterslo.org/lecture. the rest of the crowd votes on the night’s best History Center of San Luis Obispo County, 696 match. The winner will have their second date Monterey St., San Luis Obispo. paid for by Falzone. Get tickets at the link.

MUSIC March 29, 8 p.m. $18. my805tix.com. Libertine NORTH COAST SLO COUNT Y Brewing Company, 1234 Broad St., San Luis CENTRAL COAST WOOD CARVERS Learn Obispo, (805) 548-2337. the art of wood carving or wood burning. Join FLAVOR/EATS IRA GLASS: SEVEN THINGS I’VE LEARNED Ira Central Coast Wood Carvers in Morro Bay at St. Glass is the creator, producer, and host of This Timothy’s. Open for beginners, intermediate, or American Life, the iconic weekly public radio advance. Learn a wide INFO range of techniques and program with millions skills. Tuesdays, 9 a.m.-1 of listeners around the p.m. Free. St. Timothy’s world. At this event, Catholic Church, 962 CALENDAR he will mix stories live Piney Way, Morro onstage and help his Bay, (805) 772-2840, audience better follow sttimothymorrobay.org.

Send event information to calendar@ OPINION his creative process.

CO-DEPENDENTS April 5, 8 p.m. Starts santamariasun.com.

ANONYMOUS at $40.

MEETING Co(805) 756-4849.

NEWS Dependents Anonymous (CoDA) is a Twelve calpolyarts.org. Performing Arts Center, Step recovery program for anyone who desires 1 Grand Ave., San Luis Obispo. to have healthy and loving relationships with STROKES MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION (ONLINE themselves and others.

Meeting is hybrid MEETING) Zoom series hosted by TMHA. (both in person and on Zoom). For information, Thursdays, 10:30 a.m.-noon Transitions Mental call 805-900-5237. Saturdays, 1-2:15 p.m.

Health Warehouse, 784 High Street, San Luis ARTS Free. thecambriaconnection.org/.

Cambria Obispo, (805) 270-3346.

Connection, 1069 Main St., Cambria, (805) 927-1654.

SAN LUIS OBISPO SPRING WEDDING EXPO This wedding expo, described as “the one-stop LEARN TO SAIL AT MORRO BAY YACHT CLUB destination for all things wedding and event Learn to sail at the Morro Bay’s only sailing planning” will include vendor showcases, school, with the goal of getting comfortable inspiration galleries, and special discounts. Visit commanding your own sailboat. There will be site for tickets and more info. April 6, 12-4 p.m. a focus on teamwork, developing leadership $10. my805tix.com. Madonna Expo Center, 100 skills, and having fun. Register at the link. April Madonna Road, San Luis Obispo.

5-Aug. 3 $450. my805tix.com. Morro Bay Yacht SLO NOONTIME TOASTMASTERS CLUB Club, 541 Embarcadero, MEETINGS Want to improve speaking and Morro Bay, (805) 772-3981.

Spread the word!

EVERYTHING EDIBLE Join Growing Grounds Farm for our Everything Edible plant event. This annual spring celebration will have everything you need to get your garden growing. Get more info at the link. April 4, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., April 5, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and April 6, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free.

(805) 934-2182. Growing Grounds Farm, 820 W. Foster Rd., Santa Maria, t-mha.org.

FOOD TRUCK FRIDAYS AT COSTA DE ORO Featured vendors in the series include Cali Coast Tacos, Cubanissimo, Danny’s Pizza Co., Chef Ricks, and more. Call venue for monthly schedules. Fridays (805) 922-1468. costadeorowines.com. Costa De Oro Winery, 1331 S. Nicholson Ave., Santa Maria.

FOOD TRUCK FRIDAYS AT WINE STONE INN Fridays, 5-8 p.m. Wine Stone Inn, 255 W. Clark Ave., Orcutt, (805) 332-3532, winestoneinn.com.

FRIDAY NIGHT FUN Karaoke with DJ Nasty.

With Beer Bucket specials. Kitchen stays open late. Come out and sing your favorite song.

Fridays, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Roscoe’s Kitchen, 229 Town Center E, Santa Maria, (805) 623-8866.

PRESQU’ILE WINERY: WINE CLUB Call or go online to make a reservation to taste at the winery or find more info on the winery’s Wine Club offerings. ongoing presquilewine.com/ club/. Presqu’ile Winery, 5391 Presqu’ile Dr., Santa Maria, (805) 937-8110.

SIPPIN’ SUNDAYS Every Sunday, come cozy up inside the tasting room and listen to great artists. Sundays, 1-4 p.m. Free. (805) 937-8463. cottonwoodcanyon.com. Cottonwood Canyon Vineyard And Winery, 3940 Dominion Rd, Santa Maria.

TACO TUESDAY Tuesdays, 5-8 p.m. Wine Stone Inn, 255 W. Clark Ave., Orcutt, (805) 332-3532, winestoneinn.com/.

THURSDAY EVENING BAR TAKEOVER Call venue or visit website to find out about featured vintners. Thursdays stellerscellar.com. Steller’s Cellar, 405 E. Clark Ave., Orcutt.

WINE AND DESIGN CLASSES Check Wine and Design’s Orcutt website for the complete list of classes, for various ages. ongoing Varies. wineanddesign.com/orcutt. Wine and Design, 3420 Orcutt Road, suite 105, Orcutt.

LOMPOC/VANDENBERG

HEAD GAMES TRIVIA AND TACO TUESDAYS CLASH Don’t miss Head Games Trivia at COLD Coast Brewing Company every Tuesday night. Teams can be up to 6 members. Earn prizes and bragging rights. Kekas will be serving their delicious local fare. Fun for all ages. Tuesdays, 7-9 p.m. Free. (805) 819-0723. coldcoastbrewing.com. COLD Coast Brewing Company, 118 W Ocean Ave., Lompoc.

SOUTH COAST SLO COUNT Y

ITALIAN CATHOLIC FEDERATION LENTEN FISH FRY The St. Patrick’s Italian Catholic Federation (I.C.F.) is hosting a Lenten Fish Fry. There will be a cash bar and dessert table, and take outs are available. Fridays, 4-7 p.m. through April 11 $10-$20. St. Patrick’s Church, 501 Fair Oaks Ave., Arroyo Grande, stpatsag.org.

TRIVIA NIGHT Join BrainStew Trivia for a hilariously witty evening of trivia in Pismo.

Teams of 1 to 4 people. Prizes awarded to the first and second place teams. Kitchen is open until 7:30 p.m. for brain fuel. Beer, cider, wine, and non-alcoholic options available. First Thursday of every month, 6:30-8 p.m. Free to play. (805) 295-6171. kulturhausbrewing.com.

Kulturhaus Brewing Company, 779 Price St., Pismo Beach.

HOT STUFF continued page 15

WE LC OME TO T HE S O U N D T R A C K OF F REEDOM MARIACHI SOL A P R I L 11 / T I C K E T S S TA R T AT $54

GERARDO CORONEL M AY 2 / T I C K E T S S TA R T AT $49

G R U P O C A Ñ AV E R A L M AY 3 / T I C K E T S S TA R T AT $59

AMANDA MIGUEL M AY 9 / T I C K E T S S TA R T AT $59

Management reserves the right to change or cancel promotions and events at any time without notice. Must be 21 or older. Gambling problem? Call 1.800.GAMBLER. ©2025 Chumash Casino Resort.

What’s Your We know you’ve got an opinion.

Take? Everybody’s got one!

This week’s online poll 3/27–4/3

What do you think of the county’s amended cannabis ordinance?

m Finally we’ll have measurable limits for odors from indoor grows! m I don’t think it will really help reduce the odors. m It’s too much for an already over regulated industry. m It doesn’t affect me.

Enter your choice online at: SantaMariaSun.com

ANNOUNCING

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RF Micro Needling with Skinvive

Sculptra

SERVING THE SANTA YNEZ VALLEY SINCE 2018

805.245.9370

Dr. Griffin

Norma, N.P.

Karen, R.N.

www.THEGSPASB.com

www.santamariasun.com • March 27 - April 3, 2025 • Sun • 13

Vince Cimo’s HOT FIRE

FRIDAY, MARCH 28

Spring RoundUp College Rodeo

Thursday Night Improv: Short Form

Santa Maria Elks Event Center

Plymouth Congregational Church, Paso Robles

SATURDAY & SUNDAY, APRIL 12 & 13

Wineries of Paso Robles Highway 46 West

THURSDAY, MARCH 27 The Bunker SLO

Cali-Tex-Mex Gran Baile!

FRIDAY, MARCH 28 Grover City Grange, Grover Beach

SLOFunny Comedy Show: Headliner, Lamont Ferguson FRIDAY, MARCH 28 Dracaena Wines, Paso Robles

SATURDAY, MARCH 29 Aurora Sacred Events in Cayucos

SATURDAY, MARCH 29 Lor Coaching Studio & Gallery, Morro Bay

PIUS Blending Atelier

Terrace Hill View Acrylic Workshop with Marina Marsh SATURDAY, MARCH 29 Drew Davis Fine Art Gallery, SLO

Craig Campbell

SATURDAY, MARCH 29 The Stockyard, Orcutt

Mechanical Ghost’s “Hot Lead Gospels” Album Release Party

SLOFunny Comedy Show with David Devito & More!

SATURDAY, MARCH 29 The Savory Palette, Morro Bay

Human Romance: Hooking Humans Up with Each Other

SATURDAY, MARCH 29 Libertine Brewing Company, SLO

Embodied Yoga on the Central Coast

Basin Street Regulars Presents a Cal Poly Jazz Showcase!

SUNDAY, MARCH 30 Aurora Sacred Events @ 9th Limb Yoga, Morro Bay

Line Dancing Therapy with Tammy V

SUNDAY, MARCH 30 Blast and Brew, Atascadero

theceletialcruise, Saturn Death Dive

SLO Meditative Music Festival

SUNDAY, MARCH 30 Oceano Elks Lodge by The Beach

Navaratri Celebration: Awakening the Goddess

SUNDAY, MARCH 30 The Bunker SLO

SUNDAYS, MAR 30 & APR 6 United Methodist Church & The Palm Theater, SLO

Downtown SLO Collaboration & Connection Mixer

Trivia Wednesday Night with Brain Stew Trivia

Minka, DJ Grambo, & Samba Loca

Brass Mash First Friday: Promish III

Avila Beach Bingo Night

The Lounge at Beso

SATURDAY, MARCH 29 PIUS Estates, Paso Robles

SATURDAY, MARCH 29 Aurora Sacred Events in Morro Bay

Vocal Arts Ensemble Spring Concert

46 West Wine Safari Weekend

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 4-13

THURS-SUN, MARCH 27-30 Trilogy At Monarch Dunes, Nipomo, Harold J. Miossi Cultural and PAC SLO, First Presbyterian Church of SLO

TUESDAY, APRIL 1 The Penny, SLO

WEDNESDAYS, APRIL 2 & 9 Bang The Drum Brewery, SLO

THURSDAY, APRIL 3 Rod & Hammer Rock, SLO

SATURDAY, MARCH 29 Humdinger Brewing,SLO

FRIDAY, APRIL 4 Liquid Gravity Brewing Company, SLO

Meditate with Dawn

FRIDAY, APRIL 4 Avila Beach Community Center

SELL TICKETS WITH US! It’s free! Contact us for more info: Orcutt Community Theater Membership

SUPPORT ORCUTT COMMUNITY THEATER! Orutt Community Theater

Hike The Pecho Coast Trail to the Pt. San Luis Lighthouse LIGHTHOUSE HIKES WED & SAT Point San Luis Lighthouse, Avila Beach

14 • Sun • March 27 - April 3, 2025 • www.santamariasun.com

Point San Luis Lighthouse Tours IN-PERSON TOURS: WED & SAT VIRTUAL TOURS: ON DEMAND Point San Luis Lighthouse, Avila Beach

Full Moon Yoga FRI-THURS, MAR 14-DEC 4 Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort & Spa, SLO

805-546-8208 info@My805Tix.com

Youth Art Day

FRIDAY, APRIL 4 The Lounge @ Beso Cocina, Nipomo

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MUSIC

SANTA MARIA VALLE Y/LOS ALAMOS

CRAIG CAMPBELL LIVE With support from Stephen Styles with Band, and Jane & Shane. All ages welcome. Gates open at 3 p.m. March 29, 4-8 p.m. my805tix.com.

Blast 825 Brewery, 241 S. Broadway St., Orcutt, (805) 934-3777.

HAPPY HOUR MUSIC SERIES Enjoy live music at the winery most Friday evenings.

Check site for concert schedule. Fridays presquilewine.com. Presqu’ile Winery, 5391 Presqu’ile Dr., Santa Maria, (805) 937-8110.

LADIES NIGHT OUT Music by DJ Van Gloryious and DJ Panda. Features delicious daiquiri specials. Thursdays, 8 p.m.-midnight Roscoe’s Kitchen, 229 Town Center E, Santa Maria, (805) 623-8866.

LIVE MUSIC AND FOOD BY LOBO BUTCHER SHOP Check out live music every Friday night from a variety of artists at Steller’s Cellar in Old Orcutt. Dinner served by Lobo Butcher Shop between 5 and 7:30 p.m. Fridays, 5-9 p.m. Varies according to food options. (805) 623-5129. stellerscellar.com. Steller’s Cellar, 405 E. Clark Ave., Orcutt.

LIVE MUSIC AT STELLER’S CELLAR Various local musicians rotate each Friday.

Fridays, 6-8:30 p.m. Free. Steller’s Cellar, 400 E. Clark Ave., Orcutt, (805) 623-5129, stellerscellar.com.

MUSIC AT ROSCOE’S KITCHEN Live DJ and karaoke every Friday and Saturday night. Featured acts include Soul Fyah Band, DJ Nasty, DJ Jovas, and more.

Fridays, Saturdays, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Roscoe’s Kitchen, 229 Town Center E, Santa Maria, (805) 623-8866.

MUSIC LESSONS AT COELHO ACADEMY Learn to play piano, drums, guitar, base, ukulele, or violin, or take vocal lessons.

(805) 925-0464. coelhomusic.com/ Lessons/lessons.html. Coelho Academy of Music, 325 E. Betteravia Rd., Santa Maria.

OLD TIME GOSPEL SING-ALONG All are welcome. Call for more details. Last Saturday of every month, 5-6 p.m. (805) 478-6198. Roscoe’s Kitchen, 229 Town Center E, Santa Maria.

SOULDIES LIVE Hear the Souldies live, featuring The McCharmlys and The Charities. Get tickets to this all-ages event at the link. April 5, 4-8 p.m. $20. my805tix. com. Blast 825 Brewery, 241 S. Broadway St., Orcutt, (805) 934-3777.

SUNDAY NIGHT FUN End the weekend with some good vibes. Music by DJ Van Gloryious. Sundays, 8 p.m.-midnight Roscoe’s Kitchen, 229 Town Center E, Santa Maria, (805) 623-8866.

SANTA YNEZ VALLE Y

BRIAN MCKNIGHT LIVE See the R&B multi-instrumentalist live in concert. April 4, 8 p.m. $50-$75. chumashcasino.com/.

Chumash Casino Resort, 3400 E. Highway 246, Santa Ynez, (800) 248-6274.

KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND The 14-member ensemble is best known for topping music charts with hits like “That’s the Way (I Like It),” “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty,” “I’m Your Boogie Man,” and “Get Down Tonight.” March 28, 8 p.m. $59-$89. chumashcasino.com. Chumash Casino Resort, 3400 E. Highway 246, Santa Ynez, (800) 248-6274.

LIVE MUSIC SUNDAYS Sundays, 2-6 p.m. Brick Barn Wine Estate, 795 W. Hwy 246, Buellton, (805) 686-1208, brickbarnwineestate.com.

OZOMATLI This multi-genre band from Los Angeles is a cultural force known for blending Latin, hip-hop, funk, reggae, and global sounds into a vibrant musical experience. April 5, 7-9 p.m. $55-$95. (805) 686-1789. solvangtheaterfest.org/showlisting. Solvang Festival Theater, 420 2nd St., Solvang.

SPRING CONCERT: SANTA YNEZ VALLEY WIND ENSEMBLE The Santa Ynez Valley Wind Ensemble has entertained at local parades, holiday festivals, and Veterans’ ceremonies over the years. Join them for a free performance. April 6, 2-3 p.m. syvwindensemble.org/calendar.html.

MARCH 27 - APRIL 6, 2025 Bethania Lutheran Church of Solvang, 621 Atterdag Rd., Solvang.

WINE DOWN WEDNESDAYS Wednesdays, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Brick Barn Wine Estate, 795 W. Hwy 246, Buellton, (805) 686-1208, brickbarnwineestate.com.

LOMPOC/VANDENBERG

KARAOKE AT COLD COAST BREWING CO. Pick out a song, bring your friends, and get ready to perform. Wednesdays, 6-9 p.m. COLD Coast Brewing Company, 118 W Ocean Ave., Lompoc, (805) 819-0723, coldcoastbrewing.com.

SYMPHONIC ‘60S AND ‘70S (AND A TRIBUTE TO KAREN CARPENTER) Presented by the Lompoc Pops Orchestra, led by conductor Brian Asher Alhadeff.

March 30, 4 p.m. lompocpopsorchestra. com/index.html. First United Methodist Church, 925 North F St., Lompoc.

YOUTH OPEN MIC NIGHT A fun, welcoming environment for first time performers and an opportunity for kids and teens to showcase their talent. Prizes awarded every month for Outstanding Performer. Last Friday of every month, 6-8 p.m. certainsparks.com/. Certain Sparks Music, 107 S. H St., Lompoc.

SOUTH COAST SLO COUNT Y

BASIN STREET REGULARS: CONCERT AND DANCE DEMO The event’s main act is Kathryn Loomis and Company, known for performing pop favorites and jazz standards. The Early Risers Jazz Combo is set to open and provide the live music for members of the Cal Poly SLO Swing Dance Club to dance to. March 30, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. basinstreetregulars.com. Oceano Elks Lodge, 410 Air Park Drive, Oceano.

BEE GEES FEVER AT THE CLARK CENTER Join Bee Gees Fever for non-stop hits and a fun two hours that will keep you dancing all night long. Visit website listed below for more info. March 30, 7-9 p.m. $54. (805) 489-9444. beegeesfeverusa. com. Clark Center for the Performing Arts, 487 Fair Oaks Ave., Arroyo Grande.

CALI-TEX-MEX GRAN BAILE Enjoy live music from LA 45. Proceeds benefit G.C.G. 746. Visit site for tickets and more info.

For ages 21 and over. March 28, 6 p.m. my805tix.com. Grover City Grange, 370 S. 13th St., Grover Beach.

EASTON EVERETT AT BLACKLAKE GOLF COURSE A singer-songwriter who blends indie folk, neo-folk, and world beat with intricate fingerstyle guitar. March 29, 1-4 p.m. Blacklake Golf Course, 1490 Golf Course Lane, Nipomo, (805) 343-1214.

KARAOKE EVERY WEDNESDAY A weekly event with barbecue offerings and more.

Wednesdays, 4-8 p.m. Rancho Nipomo BBQ, 108 Cuyama Ln., Nipomo.

THE LOUNGE AT BESO An upscale afterhours nightclub experience. With limited capacity and a dress code. For ages 21 and over. Fridays, 10 p.m. my805tix.com.

Beso Cocina, 1050 Willow Road, Nipomo.

VOCAL ARTS ENSEMBLE SPRING CONCERT AT TRILOGY NIPOMO: AMERICAN SAMPLER Listen to an assortment of jazz, folk, and theater at this spring concert ensemble. Get tickets and more info at the link. March 27, 7 p.m. $34. my805tix.com. Trilogy at Monarch Dunes, 1645 Trilogy Pkwy, Nipomo.

SAN LUIS OBISPO

THE AGGROLITES LA-based reggae band The Aggrolites as they hit the Fremont stage. Get tickets and more info at the link.

March 29, 8 p.m. $35. fremontslo.com/.

The Fremont Theater, 1035 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo, (805) 546-8600.

CHRIS BOTTI (GRAMMY-WINNING TRUMPETER) Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Chris Botti has been one of the most popular instrumentalists in the world for nearly three decades. March 28, 7:30 p.m. $78. pacslo.org. Cal Poly Performing Arts Center, 1 Grand Ave, San Luis Obispo, (805) 756-4849.

DRUMMING FOR WELLNESS A joyful and uplifting drum circle designed specifically for oncology patients, survivors, and their guests to explore rhythm and creative expression in a supportive group setting, facilitated by Dee DiGioia of Mindful Kindful YOUniversity. April 4, 5:30-7 p.m.

my805tix.com. Adventist Health, 1010 Murray Ave., San Luis Obispo.

FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER: DANCE THROUGH THE DECADES Get ready to groove through time with iconic hits from the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, and 2000s. Visit the link to get tickets and more info. March 28, 8 p.m. $26. fremontslo.com/. The Fremont Theater, 1035 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo, (805) 546-8600.

LIVE MUSIC FROM GUITAR WIZ BILLY FOPPIANO AND MAD DOG Join “Guitar Wiz” Billy Foppiano and his trusty side kick Mad Dog for a mix of blues, R&B, and more.

Saturdays, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (805) 544-2100.

Bon Temps Creole Cafe, 1819 Osos Street, San Luis Obispo, bontempscreolecafe.com.

MECHANICAL GHOST: ALBUM RELEASE PARTY Head to Humdinger for a night of live performances by electro-industrial band Mechanical Ghost, experimental hardcore group Bandwidth, and gothic rock band Rival Cults. This show will also feature goth and horror burlesque performances by JBird, C. Christ, and Claudia Bubbles. There will be vendors such as Phantom Stranger Records and A Pirate’s Life Art Collective. March 29, 6:30 p.m. $18. my805tix.com. Humdinger Brewing (SLO), 855 Capitolio Way, suite 1, San Luis Obispo, (805) 781-9974.

MOONSHINER COLLECTIVE WITH SUPPORT BY BROCK VAN PELT Join for a soulful evening of musical talent on the Central Coast with Moonshiner Collective and Brock Van Pelt of the Charities. Get tickets and additional info to the concert at the link. March 29, 7 p.m. $28. slobrew. com/. Rod & Hammer Rock, 855 Aerovista Pl., San Luis Obispo, (805) 543-1843.

SATURN DEATH DIVE, SPACEYY, AND SEROTONIN LIVE Clear Vision Collective and The Bunker SLO presents an eclectic lineup, featuring Saturn Death Dive, Spaceyy, Serotonin, Gypsy, and Corporal Psyche. Get tickets and more info on this live show at the link. March 30, 6-9:30 p.m. $8. my805tix.com. The Bunker SLO, 810 Orcutt Road, San Luis Obispo.

SLO MEDITATIVE MUSIC FESTIVAL Features two performances to achieve calm & clarity. With Bennardo-Larson Duo, PYANOOK, Ralf Schmid, The Ghost Ensemble, and Brynn Albanese. Visit site for details.

March 30-April 6 $20 each show; $30 for both. my805tix.com/e/meditative. United Methodist Church, 1515 Fredericks Street, San Luis Obispo, (805) 543-7580.

VINCE CIMO’S HOT FIRE LIVE Hear Vince Cimo and his “ultra funky six-piece band,” Hot Fire, live. The group, consisting of Central Coast musicians, leans into old school funk, modern electronic, and disco. DJ Hobeaux is also set to perform.

Get tickets at the link. March 28, 8 p.m. $13. my805tix.com. Libertine Brewing Company, 1234 Broad St., San Luis Obispo.

VOCAL ARTS ENSEMBLE SPRING CONCERT IN SLO: AMERICAN SAMPLER Enjoy an afternoon of live music. Visit site for tickets and more info. March 30, 3 p.m. $34. my805tix.com. First Presbyterian Church of San Luis Obispo, 981 Marsh St., San Luis Obispo, (805) 543-5451.

NORTH COAST SLO COUNT Y

AFROMAN LIVE AT THE SIREN American rapper and musician Afroman, best known for the hit single “Because I Got High,” is set to hit the stage and deliver a memorable performance. See him live by grabbing tickets and more info at the link. March 27, 7-10 p.m. $25. thesirenmorrobay.com/. The Siren, 900 Main St., Morro Bay, (805) 225-1312.

DANTE MARSH AND THE VIBESETTERS Hear SLO-based pop and soul band, The Vibesetters, play live at The Siren.

Get tickets and more info at the link.

March 29, 8-10:30 p.m. $14. thesirenmorrobay.com/. The Siren, 900 Main St., Morro Bay, (805) 225-1312.

ECHO! (FREE AFTERNOON SHOW) Catch Echo live, made up of the power trio of local favorites: Rolf Gehrung, Todd Andrew, and Nathan Slawson. Hear live hits from The Cult, Motörhead, The Fixx, Plimsouls, The Cars, and Tears for Fears. Get more info at the link. March 29, 2-5 p.m. Free. thesirenmorrobay.com/. The Siren, 900 Main St., Morro Bay, (805) 225-1312. m

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By The Sea Productions Presents: Circle Mirror Transformation, A Staged Reading

Rhythm Nation

Family Day at the Dallidet

FRI-SUN, APRIL 4-6 545 Shasta Ave, Morro Bay

FRI-SUN, APRIL 4-6 The Studio of Performing Arts, Grover Beach

SATURDAY, APRIL 5 Dallidet Adobe & Gardens, SLO

PRDC Fundraiser Showcase (In-Studio)

Souldies Featuring The McCharmlys & The Charities SATURDAY, APRIL 5 The Stockyard, Orcutt

Beats & Brass

SATURDAY, APRIL 5 Riata Ranch Santa Margarita

Amttrak, Pantsuitguy, Blazed, & Stemender

I Declare War, Stronger Than Machines, & More!

Wave Pour Painting Party

SATURDAY, APRIL 5 Class Act Dance Studio & Performing Arts Studio, Paso Robles

SATURDAY, APRIL 5 The Bunker SLO

SATURDAY, APRIL 5 Dark Nectar Coffee, Atascadero

SAT & SUN, APRIL 5 & 6 Lor Coaching Studios, Morro Bay

Learn to Sail at Morro Bay Yacht Club

Brunch Bites

San Luis Obispo Spring Wedding Expo

SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS, APR 5-AUG 3 Morro Bay Yacht Club

SUNDAY, APRIL 6 MCV Wines, Paso Robles

SUNDAY, APRIL 6 Alex Madonna Expo Center, SLO

Wealth, Women & Woo

SUNDAY, APRIL 6 Angela Cisneros Jewelry Concierge, Atascadero

Central Coast Cooking Show

TUESDAY, APRIL 8 Idler’s Home, Paso Robles

Xoth, Night Wraith, Pentacaustic, & More!

Friday Night Improv

Joyful Rhythms Drum Circle/ Mystic Nature

Coco Montoya

FRIDAY, APRIL 11 SLO Public Market

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FRIDAY, APRIL 11 Humdinger Brewing,SLO

SATURDAY, APRIL 12 San Luis Obispo Vet’s Hall

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www.santamariasun.com • March 27 - April 3, 2025 • Sun • 15

Arts ARTS BRIEFS Chumash Casino Resort presents KC and The Sunshine Band

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE CHUMASH CASINO RESORT

ART SCENE

Honorable attention

PHOTO COURTESY OF HELEN YANEZ

Santa Maria painter Helen Yanez pays homage to her heritage through illustrations and collaborations

BY CALEB WISEBLOOD

H As part of its current world tour, disco and funk group KC and The Sunshine Band is heading to Santa Ynez for a live performance at the Chumash Casino Resort on Friday, March 28, at 8 p.m. Tickets to the concert, held inside the resort’s Samala Showroom, range between $59 and $89.

The 14-member ensemble is best known for topping music charts with hits like “That’s the Way (I Like It),” “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty,” “I’m Your Boogie Man,” and “Get Down Tonight.” Formed in 1973, the band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide to date, according to press materials.

In 1976, KC and The Sunshine Band—founded by Harry Wayne Casey (KC) and Richard Finch—received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus. The band’s hit song, “Boogie Shoes,” was featured in the Saturday Night Fever (1978) soundtrack, which won the Grammy for Album of the Year.

Other popular singles from the band include “Blow Your Whistle,” “Sound Your Funky Horn,” “Rock Your Baby,” “Queen of Clubs,” and “Please Don’t Go.” According to press materials, KC and The Sunshine Band was the first act to repeat the Beatles’ record of scoring four No. 1 pop singles within a 12-month period.

For more info on the band’s concert at the Chumash Casino Resort, visit chumashcasino.com.

Performers bring jazz and dance to the Oceano Elks Lodge

FILE PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BASIN STREET REGULARS

A local jazz collective is kicking it up a notch with its next Oceano concert, set to feature a lively dance demonstration courtesy of the Cal Poly SLO Swing Dance Club.

Organized by the Basin Street Regulars Hot Jazz Club, the program is slated to take place on Sunday, March 30, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Oceano Elks Lodge. The Early Risers Jazz Combo is set to open the show and provide the live music for members of the Cal Poly group to dance to. Featured jazz and pop act Kathryn Loomis and Company will follow the demo.

Both bands at the event have Cal Poly ties as well. The Early Risers Jazz Combo is a student-led group, under the direction of Dylan Johnson, current director of Cal Poly’s jazz ensemble program. Johnson is also a member of Loomis’ band. Born and raised in Arroyo Grande, Loomis (pictured) is a local singer-songwriter who graduated from Cal Poly in 2021.

Tickets to the concert are available in advance at my805tix.com. m Arts Briefs is compiled by Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood. Send information to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.

abitually armed with colored pencils and crayons as a kid, Helen Yanez rarely went a day without opening a coloring book during her childhood.

The Santa Maria resident described her attachment to the activity as analogous to the relationship between kids and their iPads nowadays.

“I think pastels are like the adult, grown version of a crayon,” said Yanez, who gradually graduated from coloring book fare to pastels and watercolors as she grew older.

Today she uses both to create art for herself and others by commission, through her job as a freelance illustrator. Between that and her role as art program manager at Corazón del Pueblo in Santa Maria, Yanez’s life is wall-to-wall art, so to speak.

As for literal wall space, the interior of Corazón Café in downtown San Luis Obispo is lined with colorful creations by Yanez and other artists featured in the restaurant’s second annual Chingonas show, on display through the end of April.

Participants of the exhibit, which debuted in early March, were asked to submit artworks depicting women, in celebration of Women’s History Month.

With this theme in mind, Yanez decided to paint a portrait of her grandmother. As a reference photo, Yanez chose a snapshot taken when her grandmother, seen dressed in traditional Zapatista attire, was 19.

Spring showcase

For more info on Santa Maria-based artist and freelance illustrator Helen Yanez, visit yanezsart.com. Yanez is one of the featured artists in Corazón Café’s second annual Chingonas show, which opened in early March and is slated to remain up through the end of April. The café is located at 847 Higuera St., San Luis Obispo.

“She was not a Zapatista, but dressed that way for an event,” said Yanez, whose works often explore and celebrate aspects of her heritage.

Originally from Michoacán, Mexico, Yanez was 12 when her family relocated to the Central Coast. She then attended Tommie Kunst Junior High School and Pioneer Valley High School, two of the seven schools in the Santa Maria Valley where student walkouts commenced on Feb. 18 to protest immigration enforcement tactics.

Yanez was among the adult volunteers who helped chaperone the students who marched 5 miles from Righetti High School in Orcutt to Santa Maria City Hall that day, to call for city officials to designate a 2-mile radius of protection between residents and ICE officers at schools, churches, parks, and hospitals.

Prior to volunteering, Yanez originally got involved with the rally after organizer Cesar Vasquez reached out to her over Instagram to ask if he could use one of her artworks in a flyer to promote the protest.

“It was lovely to not only be part of it through my art but be there myself,” Yanez said.

Through her job at Corazón

IMAGE COURTESY OF HELEN YANEZ

MUSIC TO THE EYES: Through her work as a freelancer, Helen Yanez is often commissioned to create visuals for posters and other projects in need of art, such as EP and album releases from Nipomo-based band Los Tranquilos.

16 • Sun • March 27 - April 3, 2025 • www.santamariasun.com

SELF PORTRAIT: Santa Maria artist Helen Yanez based this watercolor painting, La Guarecita, on one of her baby photos. Yanez works as a professional freelance illustrator and art program manager at Corazón del Pueblo.

del Pueblo, Yanez recently helped coordinate Nuestra Lotería, a multi-week joint project between students at Righetti High School and Santa Maria High School. Young participants were asked to pick “a topic regarding any social issue,” Yanez said, write a report on said topic, and then visualize it through a Loteria card-style artwork.

She said almost half of the students who participated chose to focus their projects on topics related to immigration enforcement and ICE protocols.

“You’re visually educating the Santa Maria community on what you think should be fixed, what you think we should talk about more,” Yanez said about the prompt students were given ahead of the assignment.

Alongside collaborations with local schools, Corazón del Pueblo— also referred to as the Cultural and Creative Arts Center of the Santa Maria Valley—periodically

facilitates free art classes and demos for kids and teens at various venues in town. One of Yanez’s favorite aspects of these events is how surprisingly invested some participants’ parents become.

During a clay crafting program at Santa Maria Bici Centro in December, for example, Yanez said the event “ended up being a workshop for the parents.”

“The kids were, at the end, just eating pizza and playing outside, and the parents were full-on doing the craft themselves,” Yanez recalled.

“We’d hear, ‘Oh this is so relaxing, I haven’t done this in years.’ … Some of them from Oaxaca, Mexico, grew up doing pottery [and said], ‘Oh I haven’t done this since I was a teenager.’” m Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood wrote the first draft of this article with a crayon. Send comments to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.

FILE PHOTO BY JAYSON MELLOM

WALK THE WALK: On Feb. 18, local artist Helen Yanez was one of the adult volunteers who helped chaperone student walkouts in Santa Maria to protest national immigration enforcement tactics. One of her artworks was also used by protest organizer Cesar Vasquez in a flyer to promote the rally.

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SUN SCREEN

Ciao, mob

Anna: De Niro is definitely an asset to the film. His turns at both the gangsters are distinct and nuanced arry Levinson (Diner; The Natural; Rain roles. I agree that it didn’t manage to engage Man; Bugsy; Good Morning, Vietnam) me as much as the films you mentioned. While directs this script by Nicholas Pileggi it has the grit of a mob film, it seems to lack (Goodfellas, Casino) about two New York crime the heart of a truly good one. Frank seems to bosses—Frank Costello and Vito Genovese (both be a reluctant mob boss, or at least a regretful played by Robert De Niro)—whose childhood one at this later stage of life. He’s ready to turn friendship and successful Prohibition liquor away from it all and retire to Italy with his wife, operations in the ’20s and ’30s eventually Bobbie (Debra Messing), and their two squeakdevolve into open conflict in the ’50s. (120 min.) toy sized pups. Make no mistake though, Frank is a methodical man, and he doesn’t intend Glen: In the grand scheme of great crime to let Vito ruin the empire he built. Vito feels dramas, this is an also-ran. It’s more he’s owed everything and isn’t afraid to stab interested in giving a history lesson than being his oldest friend in the back to get it. It’s an entertaining on the scale of The Godfather, interesting true story, one I didn’t really know The Departed, or Scarface. anything about, but I don’t Both pedantic and didactic, think it will make a rotation the film feels too much like a THE ALTO KNIGHTS into my rainy-day movies like docudrama. That said, after the What’s it rated? R The Godfather has. initial distraction of the facial What’s it worth, Anna? Matinee Glen: I thought Messing was prosthetics, De Niro is a marvel What’s it worth, Glen? Matinee terrific as Bobbie, who had a in the dual roles of Frank and Where’s it showing? Regal Edwards real partnership with Frank, Vito, who have very different RPX Santa Maria, Movies Lompoc, unlike the dysfunctional approaches to mob business.

Regal Edwards Arroyo Grande relationship between Vito Frank wants to grease wheels and his wife, Anna Genovese and keep everyone happy. Vito (Kathrine Rispoli). I was also impressed with wants to take and never give. “You want to be a diplomat, that’s your business,” Vito tells Frank. Cosmo Jarvis as Vincent Gigante, a rising mob soldier whose botched hit on Frank set “I’m a gangster.” The point is that Vito’s violent ways precipitate the end of the American mafia. the entire mess in motion. Gigante comes off as a real dolt, but he’s loyal. When he became If you’re looking for a well-acted and directed a target of the feds, he pretended to have history lesson that deftly weaves in archival dementia and would wander the streets in a footage and features effective sets, props, bathrobe muttering to himself. These guys costuming, and cars, this is worth a matinee.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. PICTURES AND THE EVERETT COLLECTION

B

DE NIRO VS. DE NIRO: Robert De Niro stars as mafia bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, childhood friends whose relationship devolves into open conflict, in The Alto Knights, playing in local theaters.

thought they could get away with anything, that they were untouchable, but Frank was playing chess against their checkers and found a way to get out without going down. Mob stories are inherently fascinating because they’re essentially about the corruption of the American dream. Pileggi’s Goodfellas and Casino are two of the best mob movies ever made. This is an unfortunate addition to the 92-year-old’s oeuvre.

Anna: The costuming was wonderful, and Messing as Bobbie looked absolutely stunning.

She knew that Frank had to be strategic with

his exit, and she trusted him to place the pieces on the board one by one. Even when Frank voluntarily testified in front of a congressional board and decided to avoid pleading the Fifth, which is what all the other mob members had done, he’s got strategy at play with every word.

It’s worth a matinee if seeing De Niro in this dual role appeals to you. m New Times Arts Editor Glen Starkey and freelancer Anna Starkey write Sun Screen.

Glen compiles listings. Comment at gstarkey@ newtimesslo.com.

COURTESY PHOTO BY BEN BLACKALL/NETFLIX

ADOLESCENCE

What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Netflix Jaime Miller (Owen Cooper) is roused from bed by police, accused of murder, and taken to the station for questioning. This wide-eyed boy is a mess, screaming for his dad and absolutely denying having any idea of what has happened let alone guilt. Jaime’s parents, Eddie and Manda (Stephen Graham and Christine Tremarco), are flabbergasted—how could the police have it so wrong?

When forensic psychologist Briony Ariston (Erin Doherty) gets in front of Jaime, tales of darkly held UNTHINKABLE: Thirteen-year-old Jamie Miller secrets, school bullying, and incel culture start to (Owen Cooper) is accused of killing a female bubble to the surface. Has Jaime been pushed to classmate, and forensic psychologist Briony Ariston the limit of his sanity and lashed out in the worst (Erin Doherty) must unpack issues involving bullying, possible way? social media, and incel subculture, in Adolescence, British crime dramas are my absolute favorite to now streaming on Netflix. watch, and this one is excellent. It’s unusual for me to feel like I don’t have the answers until the bitter the shadows, beyond the veil of what we see and behind the end, but this series managed to keep me on my toes. screens so readily in their hands at all times.

Cooper does well as the lead, and Graham as his father (four approximately 60-min. episodes) is also phenomenal. This series works as a timely reminder —Anna of what can happen with our school-aged kids that live in

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Lee introduces us to the stories of various illfated seamen and women, and his storytelling along with interviews with those close to the travelers or involved in the rescue missions tell episode-long tales of harrowing disasters. From a ghost ship 140 miles off course and missing passengers, to bodies found in watery graves, these grisly tales will make you think twice before buying that boat you’ve always CAPTAIN CRIMESOLVER: Below Deck alumnus dreamed of.

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for pick-up at the County’s Public Works Office at 620 W. Foster Road Valleys should add food scraps, food-soiled paper, and yard waste to their green sted at a commercial composting facility and then used in local agriculture. during regular business hours (M-F, 8AM-12PM and 1-5PM) rom the Santa Barbara County Public Works Office at 620 West Foster Road during

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• Wrap wet food scraps in newspaper or use paper bags to deposit food scraps into your green cart.

• Store food scraps in your fridge/ freezer Tips and Tricks to Prevent theand “Ick” during the week transfer to your green cart closer to collection day.

• Wrap wet food scraps in newspaper or use paper bags to deposit food scraps into your green cart.

• Cover food scraps with yard waste inside your green cart.

• Store food scraps in your fridge/ freezer during the week and transfer to your green cart closer to collection day.

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Eats

WINE

Blanc slate Local winemaker Emily Myers makes a name for herself through two SYV brands

PHOTO COURTESY OF JARVIS COMMUNICATIONS

SERENELY SCENIC: The sunrise and sunset views at Demetria Estate in Los Olivos are tough to beat, especially during harvest season, winemaker and operations manager Emily Myers said.

BY CALEB WISEBLOOD

W

here grapes become wine at Los Olivos’ Demetria Estate is also where Emily Myers’ fears, anxieties, and other stressors go to die.

“I love the crush pad, because that’s the one place that you have so much work to do that the rest of the world falls away,” the local vintner said in an email interview. “It’s very relaxing in its chaos.”

Myers is winemaker and operations manager at Demetria Estate, where she started working as assistant winemaker in 2021. That year also coincided with her own independent brand’s first vintage, added Myers, founder of Eislynn Wines.

Before putting the final touches on her first release of Eislynn Wines’ syrah, she struggled with straightening out one key aspect of her micro-winery venture.

“I was having a hard time picking a name for my brand that I felt genuinely represented me,” said Myers, who eventually settled on her own middle name, Eislynn. “I’ve never felt much for my first name because it’s so common, but I’ve always loved my middle name.”

Myers has her mother and a prominent romance novelist to thank for the name, she explained.

“My mom was reading The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss while pregnant with me. It’s a smutty novel written in the ’80s whose main character is named Aislinn,” Myers said. “My mom dolled up the name a little and slapped it on me. I finally read the book a couple years ago. Not my favorite book, but it was funny for me to see where my mom’s head was at.”

The vintner said she feels lucky to be

EATS continued page 22

PHOTO COURTESY OF EMILY MYERS

PHOTO COURTESY OF EMILY MYERS

GRAPE EXPECTATIONS: With a focus on low-intervention wines, winemaker Emily Myers told the Sun that “simple is best,” when it comes to winemaking.

“I don’t want to drink wines with a bunch of products and chemicals added to them, so why would I make wine that way?”

Act naturally

Visit eislynnwines.com or demetriaestate.com for more info on Eislynn Wines or Demetria Estate, respectively.

Both brands are based in the Santa Ynez Valley. On Saturday, April 26, Eislynn Wines will be among the featured wineries at the Natural Coast, a Santa Barbara-based wine festival, from noon to 5 p.m. at The Factory, located at 616 E. Haley St., Santa Barbara. For more details, visit naturalcoastwinefest.com.

FEATURING 40 YEARS AWARD-WINNING PATRICIO’S PIZZA

BARREL ROLES: Emily Myers is the winemaker behind local micro-winery Eislynn Wines and Demetria Estate in Los Olivos. She’s also the operations manager at the latter. “Having my own brand [Eislynn Wines] means I can think like an owner when I make decisions for Demetria, which helps,” Myers said.

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The best views at Demetria can be found at sunrise and sunset able to make her Eislynn-labeled during harvest, she added. wines on-site at Demetria Estate, “The colors during that time and that juggling her two roles of year are very unique, with a lot is a little easier than it sounds, of purples from the sky mixing partly due to the size and output in with the greens and yellows differences between the two from the vines,” Myers said. brands.

“It’s a nice reward on a long day “I’m very busy, but I love to be to see all those colors. And of busy,” Myers said. “I spend the course, photos never seem to do majority of my time working on it justice.”

Demetria wines because of the Later this spring, Eislynn volume of cases that we produce.

Wines will be among the featured Eislynn is still very small with brands at the Natural Coast, a less than 500 cases. So, outside of Santa Barbara-based wine festival harvest, I don’t have to spend too slated for Saturday, April 26. much time on maintaining the Whether she’s creating wines wines because there are only so for Eislynn or Demetria, Myers many barrels.” described winemaking in general 2023 marked the release of as a “conduit of happiness.”

Eislynn Wines’ sole sauvignon “I get to work outside with my blanc, made with fruit sourced hands, constantly being creative. from White Barn Vineyard in Not just creative in what wines Santa Ynez.

I make, but also how I set up Myers used organically farmed my tools and being creative in grapes from both Demetria and efficiencies,” Myers said. “I also Santa Ynez’s Alondra de los Prados get to meet interesting and kind to create her 2021 syrah, while people, both in and out of the the winemaking behind Eislynn BRANCH OUT: Aged in neutral oak with fruit cellar.”

Wines’ vintages takes place at from White Barn Vineyard It also doesn’t hurt that Myers Demetria. in Santa Ynez, Eislynn gets to make a tangible product A long and winding road Wines’ 2023 sauvignon that she can share with people, precedes the estate, situated in blanc is among the micro“that has an infinite amount of a rural stretch of Los Olivos on winery’s vintage releases. things to learn about,” she said.

Foxen Canyon Road.

“I am proud of the wines I “Demetria is truly a special make, and it makes me happy to see people enjoy place. I think everyone who visits feels it. You’re them as much as I do.” m far off the beaten path once you reach the winery/ tasting room, so it feels like you’re on vacation Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood’s middle name is even if you’re local,” Myers said. “I’ve been making Nathan. Send your middle names or favorite the drive every day for years and I still feel like I’m romance novels to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com. in a different country.”

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