Longoria Wines has been a first at a lot of things. It was one of the first wineries to move into Lompoc, one of the first in Los Olivos to have a tasting room, and one of the first to leave the Wine Ghetto in Lompoc. Now, it’s the first commercial business in Lompoc to […]
DAVID MINSKY
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Doctors needed
The county renews a contract with staffing company that recommended a fake doctor
On June 21, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors unanimously renewed a contract for an Atlanta-based physician staffing company that once provided a hiring recommendation for a doctor who turned out to have faked his credentials. The county renewed with Jackson and Coker, which provided a hiring recommendation for Ernest Addo, the man who […]
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Barrels to chairs: Barrel proprietor Pedro Meza wastes not with Eco-Wine Furniture
At 619 S. Oakley Ave. in Santa Maria, a warehouse contains rows upon rows of barrels stacked to the ceiling. The faint smell of oak permeates the air, and the forklift back-up alarms emanating from outside are punctuated by the occasional sound of power tools inside the wood shop. It’s just another day at Pedro […]
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Search and rescue team rappels stranded hikers down Cathedral Peak
On July 17, the Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue (SBCSAR) team assisted two male hikers in their 20s, who were stranded on Cathedral Peak, which is just north of Santa Barbara and several miles east of Highway 154. According to Kelly Hoover, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office public information officer, the hikers—one of […]
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Lompoc files petition to take control of resident’s property
On July 13, Lompoc filed a petition for receivership in Santa Barbara County Court to take control of resident Sterling Ranft’s property located at 219 and 215 North L St., to repair portions of his house, according to City Administrator Patrick Wiemiller. In August 2015, the Sun profiled Ranft’s drawn-out battle with the city in […]
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Spotlight on: World 1-1 Games
Rudy Ruiz, owner
Step into World 1-1 Games at the Santa Maria Town Center East mall and it’s like stepping back into the 1990s. There are fully functioning original Mortal Kombat and Wrestlemania arcade games flanking the main counter to the left and the right, respectively. Sitting at the counter is Rudy Ruiz, the man behind the memorabilia. […]
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Spotlight on: Music I.N.C.
Maria and Michael James Mella, owners and instructors
There’s a motto at Music I.N.C. that goes something like this: theory and performance in sync at Music I.N.C. Essentially, this is how owner and instructor Michael James Mella helps his students translate the more obscure aspects of musical theory into creativity and musicianship in performance. This is the core of what he and his […]
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805 ’til you die: How will splitting the area code affect local identity?
Rocky Gonzales has lots of tattoos, but there’s one that he’s particularly proud of. He pulled up his T-shirt to reveal “805” tattooed under his left nipple. Gonzales, a Santa Maria native, said he got the tattoo more than a decade ago, when he was “involved” in the street life. At 36 years old, Gonzales […]
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Santa Maria police arrest shooting victim
A man who was shot during the early morning hours of June 9 in Santa Maria also ended up getting arrested, Santa Maria Police Department Sgt. Eligio Lara told the Sun. Lara said the man, whose name isn’t being released, walked into the emergency room of Marian Regional Medical Center shortly before 5 a.m. that […]
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Spotlight on: Santa Barbara County Foodbank
Judith Monte, North County development manager
Santa Barbara County has at least 52,000 low-income households that are food insecure, according to 2014 data taken by California Food Policy Advocates. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as “consistent access to adequate food limited by a lack of money and other resources at times during the year.” In other words, tens […]
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Trial of a Lompoc man accused of attempted murder set to begin
It was during the early morning hours of March 11 when Kary Wise woke up to the sounds of a man screaming near her neighbor’s backyard located at 219 North L St. in Lompoc. “You shot me! Help me! I can’t believe you shot me!” she heard someone shout, according to police reports. That morning, […]
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One killed, one injured in Santa Maria Fourth of July shooting
One person was killed and a teenager was seriously injured in a shooting that occurred in Santa Maria during the evening of the city’s Fourth of July celebration, according to the Santa Maria Police Department (SMPD). Sgt. Mike McGehee of the SMPD said the shooting happened in the 400 block of N. Oakley Ave., […]
