Planning an event is hard—just ask Pioneer Valley High School (PVHS) student Coryn Nodal, who organized the Carnival in the Park charity event on May 21 at Santa Maria’s Robin Ventura Park. Nodal and five other PVHS students who are part of a school college readiness program raised $1,000 during the three-hour event, she said. […]
DAVID MINSKY
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First-of-its-kind interceptor missile test launched from Vandenberg
A ground-based interceptor missile was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on May 30. The missile was fired at a “threat representative” intercontinental ballistic missile launched from a test site in the Marshall Islands, U.S. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said in a statement released by the Department of Defense. It was meant to test the […]
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Four Lompoc men accused of robbery and stabbing in Isla Vista
Four men from Lompoc were arrested on suspicion of robbing and assaulting two men in separate incidents in Isla Vista during the early morning hours of May 28, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. Kelly Hoover, the Sheriff’s Office public information officer, said sheriff’s deputies from the Isla Vista foot patrol responded to […]
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Sheriff’s Office deputy acquitted in alleged jail beating wants his job back
Robert Kirsch wants his job back. But Kirsch’s former employer, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, doesn’t want him back and filed a petition on May 9 with the county court to reverse a decision by the county’s Civil Service Commission to reinstate the former Sheriff’s deputy. In December 2016, the commission found that the […]
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Spotlight on: Santa Maria BC Central
Ken Dahmen, Santa Maria program director
Santa Maria may not seem like a bicycle friendly city compared to others, but native Ken Dahmen is trying to change that perception. Dahmen, 28, is the Santa Maria program director for the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, which opened up the Santa Maria BC Central at 310 E. Oak St. on April 28. It’s not […]
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SMPD investigates shooting on Broadway
The Santa Maria Police Department is investigating a shooting that occurred in the downtown area of Santa Maria on the evening of May 20. At approximately 9:30 p.m., according to the SMPD, officers were dispatched to the area of Broadway and Enos, where minutes earlier the reporting party told police they were heading northbound in […]
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County short in funds for both jails, grand jury report says
Troubles with housing all of the inmates in Santa Barbara County jails won’t go away even after the construction of the North County Jail, according to a county grand jury report released on May 18. While the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors implemented a plan to fund the northern jail, the report found, there […]
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Former addiction counselor accused of coercing patient to get favors at DMV
A man who worked for a now-closed Santa Maria addiction services nonprofit is being accused of abusing his position to get favors from a client whose wife worked at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), according to a lawsuit filed on May 9 in the Santa Barbara County Superior Court Cook Division. In the lawsuit, […]
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Restrained: Local police explain practice of handcuffing suspects who’ve been shot
Lompoc Police Chief Pat Wash heard the incident on his radio. According to a county District Attorney’s report, the chief rushed to the scene along the bike path next to the Embassy Suites hotel on North H Street. There, Lompoc Police Cpl. Charles Scott had shot Michael Ducaine Giles, 27, twice. Giles died from his […]
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West Santa Ynez annexation lawful but lacked coordination
The Santa Ynez Community Services District (SYCSD) and the Santa Barbara County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) followed the law to annex West Santa Ynez into the district, according to a county grand jury report released on May 11. However, the process lacked coordination and communication with the more than 500 homes in the affected […]
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Spotlight on: Casmalia Corner Market
What’s a Casmalia resident to do if they run out of sugar, beer, or any variety of canned goods? They’d make a trip to the convenience/grocery stores in Tanglewood, Orcutt, Guadalupe, or Santa Maria. Not anymore. Norman Watt got tired of constantly having to make the trip to town so he opened up the Casmalia […]
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Police respond to double stabbing on Newlove
A Santa Maria man allegedly stabbed his parents during an incident on the 300 block of Newlove Drive on the morning of May 12, according the Santa Maria Police Department. When officers arrived on scene, they found 40-year-old Silvia Narciso and 41-year-old Ricardo Ramirez both suffering from stab wounds. The suspect, 21-year-old Jhordy Ramirez, was […]