AMY ASMAN

Beginning next month, the city of Santa Maria will run a yard waste recycling pilot program. Three neighborhoods were selected for the test: the Hancock Park area, Driftwood Meadow and the Los Cabos/Toby Villas area, and the area bounded by Fesler Street, Benwiley Avenue, Alvin Avenue, and Dejoy Street.   From Jan. 28 to 30, […]

On Jan. 19, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department responded to a reported oil spill at Greka Oil and Gas Inc.’s Bradley Land Lease off of Telephone Road in Santa Maria. According to a press release from the fire department, the leak was caused by a faulty pipe fixture on one of the flow lines […]

With flames from the Tea Fire still vivid in the public’s memories, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department will hold a series of wildfire safety town hall community meetings in February. On Feb. 9, the meeting runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at Blochman School, 4949 Foxen Canyon Road, in Sisquoc. There’s also a meeting […]

The Santa Maria Fire Department was one of several local fire departments and emergency medical organizations to recently get a one-year grant through the federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. The city’s fire department was awarded almost $49,000. “The Santa Maria Fire Department has applied for and received several grants over the last few years, […]

California is entering its worst recession since the 1940s, according to a Jan. 15 report from the UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project. The recession’s impact on the state will be more severe than in other states because of its “well-publicized and very serious budget crisis,” Economic Forecast Project officials said. “California’s outlook is bleak,” […]

Bankruptcy’s on the table, but stores should stay open: Gottschalks filed for reorganization under chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Jan. 14. On Jan. 16, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approved a $125 million debtor-in-possession credit plan, which will allow the department-store chain to pay employees and suppliers and fund customer services, such as gift card […]

On Jan. 9 and 10, the Santa Maria Police Department’s Traffic Bureau conducted a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and drivers license checkpoint, during which officers screened 556 vehicles. According to a press release from the department, the checkpoint yielded one DUI arrest. However, three drivers were evaluated for driving under the influence. Fifteen drivers […]