Santa Maria Joint Union High School District celebrated nearly 300 English learner students who achieved English proficiency at the district’s third annual “reclassification celebration,” which was scheduled for Tuesday, March 28. Students honored at the celebration worked through the district’s Multilingual and Migrant Education Program, which helps to incorporate English language instruction into class curriculums, […]
BRENNA SWANSTON
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Venoco Inc. granted pipeline lease extension, seeks 25-year renewal on offshore oil platforms in Santa Barbara Channel
Venoco Inc. inked an 18-month lease extension from the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on March 21 to continue transporting oil in submerged pipelines offshore of Carpinteria. It’s the company’s second such extension since it began seeking a 25-year lease renewal from the county in September 2015. The supervisors voted unanimously to continue Venoco’s […]
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Santa Maria City Council to hold second hearing on election districts
The Santa Maria City Council will hold a special meeting on Thursday, March 30, for a public hearing on proposed voting districts, as part of the city’s recent decision to move to district-based elections. Currently, Santa Maria uses an at-large election system, in which the candidates who receive the most votes win the seats on […]
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Homelessness collaborative seeks to expand Santa Maria operation
The Central Coast Collaborative on Homelessness is seeking a 10 percent boost in funding from the city of Santa Maria, which Executive Director Chuck Flacks said would help double the organization’s case load in the city for the 2017-18 financial year. “It truly takes a village to house people who are homeless,” Flacks said at […]
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Santa Maria man suspected of attempted murder of police officer
Christopher Cota, 30, is being accused of attempting to murder a Santa Maria Police Department officer following a fight with multiple officers in the early hours of March 25. Officers were dispatched to a report of a suspicious man, potentially under the influence of narcotics, on the 1000 block of East Main Street. They identified […]
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California proposes new rules for pesticide use near schools
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation released revised proposed regulations on March 16 for the use of agricultural pesticides near school sites and day care facilities. The department issued its initial regulations proposal in September 2016, aiming to give extra protection to schools and daycare facilities against the risk of short-term pesticide exposure. The most […]
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Former astronaut to speak at Hancock
Jose Hernandez, a former NASA astronaut, will speak at Allan Hancock College on Tuesday, March 28, as part of the college’s Launching the Next Generation event. The presentation is also sponsored by the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District’s Multilingual and Migrant Education Programs. According to a Hancock press release, the event aims to […]
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Righetti student scores $20,000 scholarship
Zoi Urban, a student at Ernest Righetti High School, has been named a Coca-Cola scholar, making her one of 150 students to earn the $20,000 scholarship—out of an applicant pool of 89,000. Urban, who maintains a 4.4 GPA, hasn’t decided on a university yet, though according to a Santa Maria Joint Union High School District […]
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Proposed bill would confirm Camp 4 as part of Chumash reservation
New federal legislation was introduced earlier this month in an attempt to uphold the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) Jan. 19 decision to place Camp 4—a hotly debated 1,400-acre parcel of land owned by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians—into federal trust, effectively annexing the parcel as part of the tribe’s Indian reservation. Santa […]
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Minors get prison time for stabbing homicide
Three teenagers who were arrested last year in connection with the Jan. 25, 2016, stabbing homicide of a Pioneer Valley High School student were handed state prison sentences earlier this month. Carlos Geovani Perez, Pablo Juarez, and Daniel Jaime were three of the six suspects arrested last year for the student’s murder. Five of the […]
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Santa Maria aims to curb youth violence
Santa Maria saw its first aggravated assault case of 2017 on Jan. 3, when two minors ages 15 and 16 were dropped off at the intersection of El Camino and Thornburg streets with stab wounds. The victims were transported to Marian Regional Medical Center with serious injuries. The Santa Maria Police Department (SMPD) said in […]
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SLO County upholds denial for Phillips 66 project
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted on March 14 to uphold its denial of Phillips 66’s proposed oil train project, which would have run through Santa Barbara County. The SLO County Planning Commission denied the project in October 2016, which Phillips 66 quickly appealed. On March 7, the Santa Barbara County Board […]