The Santa Maria Valley YMCA, Friends of Waller Park, and the Santa Maria Breakfast Rotary are teaming up to bring Family Day to Waller Park once again. The event has been happening each year for more than 35 years and draws more than 5,000 people a year to the park. In addition to vendors, this […]
Camillia Lanham
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Global education through dual immersion
A group of teachers and parents think it’s time to get a program going in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Teaching Mandarin, French, Spanish, and Arabic to elementary school kids is a fad that’s starting to eke its way into public schools across the country. But these classes aren’t like typical language classes for adults, which might run for an hour a day, four times a week, and that’s all the exposure you get. With […]
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Lawsuits line up against Santa Maria’s Windset Farms
Windset Farms and its contract labor provider, Pacheco Labor Services, were named in two lawsuits filed in May by former employees. The cases are separate: One is a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Irma Sanchez; the other is a class action lawsuit alleging labor law violations. In addition to listing Windset Farms and Pacheco Labor […]
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Identity Tracking
Native American groups ask the government to fix the broken process for becoming a federally recognized tribe
Tracking ancestry and bloodlines is an über-methodical process. Throw government regulations into the mix, and proving that you are who you say you are is a potentially years-long endeavor. Decades, even. At a recent Bureau of Indian Affairs-hosted meeting in Solvang, emotions also showed up as a starring role in the process to gain official […]
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Emission regulations classes offered in Lompoc
During the month of August, Allan Hancock College is offering two free courses at the college’s Lompoc Valley center. The college and the Central California Environmental Training Center are offering the classes in collaboration with the California Air Resources Board. Fundamentals of Enforcement, or “Smoke School,” is a three-day course that provides a basic overview […]
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Fighting back for literacy
The United Way Power Reading program strikes again with an awards ceremony on Aug. 2 that will reward Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley students who made strides in the literacy program this summer. The City of Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department partnered with the United Way and Fighting Back Santa Maria to meet the […]
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Algebra Academy boosts student math skills
A partnership between Cal Poly and Santa Maria High School boosted the math skills of 20 students from the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District during a weeklong algebra camp that ended on July 26. Students from Santa Maria and Pioneer Valley high schools participated. They were given mind-teasing math problems and guided to […]
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Mesa residents voice concern about a proposed refinery rail expansion
Exploding railroad cars and what public coastal access really means were chief issues brought up at a July 29 scoping meeting that covered a proposed rail line expansion for the Phillips 66 oil refinery on the Nipomo Mesa. Bill Henry, a project consultant brought in by San Luis Obispo County to help specifically with the […]
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Oil’s potentially on the horizon at Vandenberg
A company that wants to pull oil from the ground below Vandenberg Air Force Base needs to choose its location carefully. The last request to drill was proposed between two major launch sites on the base. That was a definite no go; putting a drill pad there would have prevented access to a major launch […]
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Allan Hancock College gets new student reps
Two new student representatives will take the helm as Allan Hancock College begins a new school year. Peter Gonzalez, 20, from Santa Maria, was elected as the Associated Student Body president in spring 2013. Gonzalez will serve until spring 2014. Lauren Kueffler, 19, from Nipomo, was sworn in as the new student trustee on the […]
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Leadership camp ceremony honors foster teens
Nine foster teenagers who dedicated most of their summer to LEGIT—Leaders Establishing Great Ideas for Tomorrow—were awarded for their hard work at a ceremony in Santa Maria on June 19. The Santa Barbara County Education Office’s Transitional Youth Services program organized the leadership camp, but the attending teenagers gave the camp its name and helped […]
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First 5 calls for input from community
First 5 Santa Barbara County is holding a series of meetings to gain information from the community about what services are needed for children from birth to 5 years old. The First 5 commission will use information gleaned from the meetings as it gets started on the strategic plan for the next three years. The […]
