On Feb. 21, the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation and the city of Santa Maria will host a free foreclosure solutions workshop at the Santa Maria Public Library, 421 S. McClelland St., in Shepard Hall. The workshop will be held in English from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Spanish from 1 to 3 p.m. […]
AMY ASMAN
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Santa Barbara County Supervisors will rethink their rejection of state-mandated housing project
Not long after voting to reject an affordable housing mandate from the state, Santa Barbara County Supervisor Janet Wolf (2nd District) sent a letter to her fellow board members requesting that they reconsider the matter at an upcoming meeting. Wolf’s suggestion seems to have been prompted by the threat of a lawsuit and the possible […]
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Santa Barbara County Planning Commission hands La Purisima Resort project over to supervisors
After multiple postponements and several meetings’ worth of discussion, the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission decided on Feb. 11 to let the Board of Supervisors have the final say on the potential construction of a hotel and resort in Lompoc. The Hunter/La Purisima Resort project calls for the construction of an 80-room resort, restaurant, spa […]
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Santa Barbara County Supervisors give proposed Lompoc wind farm the go-ahead
An energy company might soon harness Lompoc’s winds to provide energy to up to 50,000 homes. On Feb. 10, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0, with 4th District Supervisor Joni Gray abstaining, to approve the project after denying the only remaining appeal filed against it. Originally, two parties—the California Department of Fish […]
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School district braces for employee layoffs
At its Feb. 11 meeting, the Santa Maria Joint Union School District School Board of Trustees hammered out a framework for determining how teachers will get laid off. The district will lose almost $5 million over the next few years because of the state budget crisis. To cope with that financial hardship, the district is […]
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‘Fighting back’ against drugs
A handful of local students, along with three representatives from Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley, are currently participating in the five-day Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America conference in Washington, D.C. Alexis Zamora of Lakeview Junior High, Alison Lodes of Tommie Kunst Junior High, Cynthia Salazar of El Camino Junior High, Virginia Yanez of Fesler Junior […]
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Mothers For Peace accepts applications
San Luis Obispo County’s Mothers For Peace, a local nonprofit concerned with the dangers of nuclear power, is offering two annual scholarships to local students who are passionate about peace, social justice, or the environment. The first award is a $1,000 scholarship available to a college or university student with junior or senior standing. […]
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War of the roses
Santa Maria trims street flower vendors in time for Valentine’s Day
Frantic lovers on a last-minute hunt for flowers on Feb. 14 will find their task a bit more complicated this year. In time for Valentine’s Day, Santa Maria has enacted a 45-day moratorium on outdoor flower sales. That means no cardboard signs advertising cheap bouquets, no isolated sellers braving the drizzle to make a few […]
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Dance the ‘Havana Nights’ away with the Rise and Achieve Foundation
Still looking for something to do on Valentine’s Day? Grab your sweetheart or a group of friends and spend the evening dining and dancing at the Rise and Achieve Foundation’s inaugural event, “Havana Nights,” set for Feb. 14 at the Radisson Hotel in Santa Maria. Based in Santa Maria, the nonprofit is a mentoring organization […]
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Santa Maria asks employees to take some ‘voluntary time off’
The threat of increasingly difficult economic times has led Santa Maria city officials to implement a “voluntary time off” program through the end of this year. The City Council recently approved the program, which went into effect on Feb. 4, and is encouraging city employees to help balance the budget by taking time off without […]
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The wheels on the bus need someone in control
Through Feb. 22, Student Transportation of America is holding an online job fair to fill school bus driver positions throughout the United States and Canada. The company is providing what officials in a press release called “recession-proof jobs” in these tough economic times. “Kids have to go to school despite the ups and downs of […]
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Hotel plans worry local agriculturists
Developers hope a proposed Lompoc resort would save a golf course and boost the economy
Santa Barbara County planning commissioners will be talking about resort living at their weekly meeting on Feb. 11. They’ll also discuss dining and relaxing spa visits, though all through the lens of potential upcoming construction in Lompoc. First proposed in August 2007, the Hunter/La Purisima Resort project calls for the construction of an 80-room resort, […]
