Diesel fleet owners, managers, inspectors, and others interested in learning how about diesel particulate management are invited to attend two free courses at Allan Hancock College’s Lompoc Valley Campus in October. The California Air Resources Board is teaching the classes. Diesel Exhaust After-Treatment Devices (CARB Course No. 511) will be held from 8:30 a.m. to […]
AMY ASMAN
Posted inNews
Get a free mammogram
Got breasts? Know someone who does? You’d better take care of them by making sure they’re cancer-free. In recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, Arroyo Grande Community Hospital, in collaboration with Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo, will offer a free mammogram clinic on Sept. 22 to local women who qualify […]
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Spotlight on: The Bookworm
Owners: Darin Gabler and Beckie Hellwig
“Can I help you find anything?” Darin Gabler asked as a woman walked through the door of The Bookworm, a charmingly quaint used bookstore in Santa Maria. “No, thank you. I know right where to go,” the woman replied with a smile and made her way toward the back of the store. She stopped momentarily […]
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Reading is power
A new literacy program is helping local students jump grade levels in reading comprehension
Eddie Taylor, CEO of the Northern Santa Barbara County United Way, is giving me a tutorial on one of his organization’s new education programs. Reading Plus, or “Power Reading,” has been around for decades, but the United Way—through a partnership with educators and businesses—recently helped implement the online version of the program at local schools. […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Chekhov’s blue period
PCPA’s Three Sisters is beautiful, but depressing
I was looking forward to reviewing PCPA’s production of Three Sisters—one of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov’s masterpieces—because I wanted a meaty drama I could really sink my teeth into. Unfortunately, I ended up biting off more than I could chew. Granted, I’m not an expert when it comes to dissecting Chekhov’s work. He’s considered one […]
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A line to friendship
There are times in everyone’s lives when the sound of a caring voice on the other end of the phone line can be a tremendous asset. Luckily, Transitions-Mental Health Association has launched a Friendship Line in Northern Santa Barbara County for people living with a mental illness. The Friendship Line is a peer-to-peer, non-crisis telephone […]
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HUD finds problems with the county’s department of housing and development
Santa Barbara County officials recently released the findings of a monitoring visit from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) conducted in early May. HUD representatives reviewed the county’s Home Investment Partnership Act (HOME) program and its low-income housing projects that received funding from the federal government. In a letter to County Executive […]
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Circle V gets a big financial boost
Members of St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church recently visited the Circle V Ranch Camp in the Santa Ynez Valley and presented a $10,000 check to camp operators, who belong to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Los Angeles Council. The donation was part of the money raised at the third annual St. Mark’s Cellar Classic, […]
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Stand Down, soldiers
The county of Santa Barbara, 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino, and 100 local agencies, businesses, organizations, and individuals have partnered to host the county’s first-ever veterans’ Stand Down event, to be held from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Santa Maria Fairpark on Oct. 13. Hundreds of local veterans in need will receive meals, […]
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Best in the West
Go on a tour of the new Far Western Tavern
I pass through the entrance of the new Far Western Tavern in Old Town Orcutt and step through a doorway with a stained glass window that simply says, “Bar.” What greets me on the other side is nothing short of breathtaking: the grand, old-fashioned bar with its dark wood paneling, large mirrors, and stained glass […]
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Read all about it
Righetti High School teacher Robert Garcia has all the makings of an old-school newspaper editor: He doesn’t like whining. He’s a newshound who only wants relevant information printed in his magazine, and he forbids editorializing of any kind. “We’re not going to have any bad poetry in our magazine. No ‘Judy left Billy and now […]
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See food grow
Want to get a first-hand look at local agriculture production? The Santa Barbara County Ag Futures Alliance is once again hosting a bus tour of local farming and food systems operations in Northern Santa Barbara County. The Sept. 15 tour will focus on farming operations in the Lompoc Valley, one of the most fertile farming […]
