About 50 New Cuyama kids got to take an inaugural plunge in the town’s public swimming pool after a special ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 28. Santa Barbara County supervisor Joe Centeno had the honor of snipping the red ribbon before officially declaring the Joseph Centeno Cuyama Pool and Aquatics Complex open for business. The Board […]
AMY ASMAN
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Direct examination
The Sun goes one-on-one with Santa Barbara County’s district attorney candidates
While navigating the sea of partisan candidates vying for party nominations on the June 8 primary ballot, Santa Barbara County voters will also have to select individuals to fill some key non-partisan positions. One of those positions up for grabs is Santa Barbara County District Attorney. The office has been reeling from the loss of […]
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Central Coast Water Board slaps Greka with a $400,000 fine
It’s another fine for Greka, but this time it’s big: At a public meeting in San Luis Obispo on May 13, the Central Coast Water Quality Control Board approved a settlement with Greka Oil & Gas, Inc. over allegations that the oil company violated cleanup requirements for numerous oil-impacted soil piles in the Santa Maria […]
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Congressional candidates are running the homestretch
Earlier in the election season, the Sun talked to three of the Republicans aiming to knock Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) out of her U.S. Congressional seat. Along that line, here are profiles of the other two Republican candidates, Carole Lee Miller and Clark Vandeventer. As of press time, Libertarian candidate Darrell Stafford was not available […]
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Jury duties
Exactly how capable are grand juries of affecting change?
“Water, water, everywhere, and all the boards did shrink; water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” So goes the infamous line from English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner. The words could also be applied to recent goings-on within the Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District, according to findings in a […]
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Goleta Beach re-opens after a sewage spill
Sunbathers can bask and surfers can ride once more now that county health officials have reopened portions of Goleta Beach. On May 13, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department issued a “beach closed” notice in response to a spill of approximately 800 gallons of untreated sewage at the west end of the Goleta Beach […]
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Huseth leaves the helm at Santa Maria High School
After three years spent leading students and staff at Santa Maria High School, principal Craig Huseth has announced it’s time to “pass the reigns to someone else” come June. “It’s something I’ve gone back and forth with for a while,” Huseth told the Sun in a recent interview. “We’ve done so well in the […]
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Cotton blaze marks the beginning of the 2010 fire season
Firefighters are close to extinguishing a wildfire that started burning on May 15 five miles west of New Cuyama along Highway 166. Bureau of Land Management officials reported the Cotton Fire at 100 percent containment as of press time. More than 300 fire personnel from as far away as San Diego have been working around […]
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Vanishing act
Orcutt Union School District class sizes continue to shrink�
Come the end of this school year, Orcutt Union School District officials are going to have more to worry about than looming budget cuts. They’re also going to have to address an ongoing trend among the district’s campuses: declining enrollment. In a recent interview with the Sun, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Marysia Ochej said […]
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Orcutt Union School District announces a changing of the superintendents
After more than seven years spent serving students and staff in the Orcutt Union School District, superintendent Sharon McHolland is retiring. District board of education president Jim Peterson announced McHolland’s plans for retirement—along with the board’s pick for a replacement—at a press conference on May 6. The board has selected current assistant superintendent of curriculum […]
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Schwarzenegger withdraws his support of PXP project
Responding to last month’s devastating oil spill in the Gulf Coast, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenneger said at a press conference on May 3 he no longer supports expanding oil drilling of the California coastline. Originally, Schwarzenegger proposed using funds from the controversial Tranquillon Ridge project to keep state parks open. The governor will now have to […]
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District Attorney race gets ugly
Santa Barbara County District Attorney candidates Josh Lynn and Joyce Dudley faced off April 27 at what would end up being their last public debate before the June 8 election. In a statement following the debate, both candidates agreed to cancel the remaining scheduled events out of respect for retired District Attorney Christie Stanley, who […]
