The Central Coast has caught its fair share of storms these past few weeks, with Santa Maria racking up 6.58 inches of rainfall so far in January, according to the county’s official daily rainfall record. Jan. 19 through 23 accounted for nearly a third of the month’s total rainfall, during which the county suffered storm […]
BRENNA SWANSTON
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Charlotte’s Web Mobile Children’s Library looks ahead to second year
Lompoc’s own mobile library for kids served more than 7,700 bookmobile visitors in 2016, according to a news release from the city of Lompoc. The bookmobile checked out fewer books than that, with the final count breaching 5,000, but overall the Lompoc Library considered the inaugural year of the Charlotte’s Web Mobile Children’s Library a […]
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Alice Shaw student run over by car on campus sues district for premises liability
Orcutt Union School District is facing a lawsuit from an Alice Shaw Elementary School student, who was struck by a vehicle driven by a 90-year-old woman on campus in December 2015. The incident took place on Dec. 8, 2015, when Margaret Peden was trying to park in a handicapped spot and hit the gas instead […]
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Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center kicks off educational programs
The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center announced two pilot educational programs for elementary school kids: the Explore the Coast program, and an after-school archaeology program. Explore the Coast, which began on Jan. 18, gathers more than 150 fifth grade students from Mary Buren Elementary to take hour-long classroom lessons focused on ecosystems, the watershed, pollution, and human […]
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Illness, incarcerated: As residents with mental illnesses cycle from the streets to cells, county officials struggle to create a new system
The dimly lit hallway seems to grow narrower as I pass through it, trying to ignore the balmy air’s musty stench. I fix my gaze on the grimy-looking floor as I step past a row of metal doors, barring inmates in their isolation cells. They bang on their windows, yelling at me and my escorting […]
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Chumash expand reservation, county continues resistance
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians welcomed a new addition to its reservation on Jan. 20, when the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) placed the 1,400-acre Camp 4 parcel into federal trust. The county plans to resist the decision through federal litigation. The tribe’s years-long federal trust process has spurred public terms negotiations with […]
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El Camino Junior High to celebrate 85th anniversary
El Camino Junior High School is turning 85 years old this year—about seven times the age of your average middle schooler. To celebrate, the district is hosting an anniversary celebration on Saturday, Jan. 21, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The anniversary welcomes former students, staff, and community members to stop by the school to […]
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Santa Maria High School District moves to protect undocumented students
Santa Maria high schools are now safe spaces for undocumented students, following the passage of a “safe haven” proclamation at the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District’s board of education meeting on Jan. 10. The proclamation stated that “every district site be a safe and welcoming place for all students and their families,” according […]
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Local pet advocacy group strives to rid Central Coast of retail pet shops
View a slideshow of animals available for adoption at the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society. Cristine Collier, founder of a new Central Coast-based pet advocacy group, has one primary goal: Ban local pet stores from selling commercially bred animals. Her reason: Most commercial breeders—and many smaller backyard breeders—fit the bill for puppy mills, where dogs […]
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Environmental groups aim to get Phillips 66 lawsuit dismissed
Environmental groups were granted permission on Jan. 12 to intervene in a lawsuit by Phillips 66 against the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission, which in October denied the company’s proposal to construct a crude oil train terminal in Nipomo. The Sierra Club, Communities for a Better Environment, Environmental Defense Center, Center for Biological Diversity, […]
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New county supervisors to tackle Chumash negotiations
The county has a new team negotiating in future discussions with the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, following the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors’ Jan. 10 meeting. The board’s newest members Joan Hartmann and Das Williams—the 1st and 3rd district supervisors, respectively—will step in for Peter Adam and Doreen Farr as the county’s […]
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Sewing support: Angel Gowns for Dignity offers comfort to grieving mothers
It all began with a Facebook post. In April 2014, Micci Robertson used the social media platform to share her personal story: She had miscarried three times, and wanted other mothers who’d gone through similar heartbreak to know she was there for them. Robertson lost her first two pregnancies, a boy and a girl, at […]
