Need to brush up on your computer skills? Longing to learn about floral design? Registration is now being taken for Allan Hancock College’s fall Community Education classes. Most classes begin Sept. 2 and are offered through mid-December. Students can attend classes exploring arts and crafts, computers, cooking and nutrition, English as a Second Language, financial […]
AMY ASMAN
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Santa Maria High School community comes together to strengthen academics, student life
Dozens of teachers, students, parents, and school administrators gathered at Santa Maria High School on Aug. 18 to accentuate the positive about the more-than-100-year-old school. During the daylong event, focus groups discussed the school’s strengths and brainstormed ways to improve upon its weaknesses. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell was on hand to give […]
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Santa Barbara County supes address the energy crisis
Oil, oil, oil was the topic of discussion at the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting on Aug. 26. The board cleared its departmental agenda of other items in order to devote its full attention to a public hearing assessing the ongoing energy crisis and its impact on Santa Barbara County. At the heart […]
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City schedule changes for Labor Day
True to Labor Day holiday traditions, there will be no trash or recycling collection service or street sweeping in Santa Maria on Sept. 1. The Santa Maria Regional Landfill and city administrative offices will also be closed in observance of the holiday. For the holiday schedule only, city residential and commercial customers will receive service […]
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Santa Barbara County supervisors plan Gap Fire community meeting
The Gap Fire might be nothing but ashes now, but that doesn’t mean it’s history. Santa Barbara County Supervisors Janet Wolf (2nd District) and Brooks Firestone (3rd District) will host a community forum starting at 6 p.m. on Sept. 11 to discuss the recent fire, its damage to hillsides and forest areas, and what the […]
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Forest and park are open to the public again
More than 100,000 acres of the Los Padres National Forest near Santa Maria reopened to the public on Aug. 22, after being closed for almost a week due to the “Lightning Complex” fires. The blazes, now contained, burned a total of 244 acres. Preisker Park, which was closed to the public in order to serve […]
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Orcutt Academy opens its doors
School officially began for the Spartans on Aug. 22, as Orcutt Academy opened the doors to its two new campuses. Orcutt Academy, operated through the Orcutt Union School District, is a public charter school geared toward providing alternative education methods to local students. The Casmalia campus—formerly Winifred Wollam Elementary School—caters to students in kindergarten through […]
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Santa Maria battles congestion concerns at Kohl’s Shopping Center
Roadwork began Aug. 18 on the Kohl’s Shopping Center driveway intersection—a section of road that’s proved troublesome for Santa Maria drivers. Santa Maria city officials hired a contractor to improve vehicle access on McCoy Lane and modify roadway markings. The left turn access into and out of the commercial driveway to the Kohl’s Shopping Center […]
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Portions of Los Padres National Forest close due to fires
Several lightning-sparked fires in the area have caused the U.S. Forest Service to close a portion of the Los Padres National Forest in Northern Santa Barbara County. The “Lightning Complex Fires” started on Aug. 15 in a remote area of Los Padres National Forest, approximately 18 miles east of Santa Maria. As of press time, […]
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Stroll down memory lane with missiles at Vandenberg Air Force Base
On Aug. 18, in front of a crowd of more than 150 family members, airmen, and civilians, five men who worked on Vandenberg Air Force Base’s first-ever missile launch answered questions and reminisced about the Golden Age of missile defense systems. Darrell Cummings, Larry Newton, Dave Norlund, Dick Parker, and Phil Payne were the guests […]
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Searching for intelligent life
Santa Marians turn out for the first-ever science and UFO symposium on the Central Coast
On Aug. 16 and 17, a handful of scientists and academics—accompanied by a crowd of several hundred people—descended on the Historic Santa Maria Inn. Their mission: to discuss and debate the existence of extraterrestrial life, alien or otherwise. Far from a top-secret military debriefing, the Central Coast Science and UFO Symposium welcomed people from different […]
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Locals seek to preserve the golden years
Despite an ailing economy, area organizations are banding together to care for Santa Barbara County’s seniors
In 2006, Santa Maria resident Abigail Garcia went to visit an ailing friend of the family. The woman had been sick for some time and was living in a skilled nursing facility where she could receive around-the-clock medical care. The visit, though only about an hour long, made a powerful impact on Abigail, whose then-84-year-old […]