Most victims of sexual violence don’t report their stories, according to Jeni Ambrose. She draws these figures from several organizations, including the World Health Organization. But she also draws upon her own experiences as a licensed therapist in a private practice located in Santa Barbara. Working with survivors of sexual violence, Ambrose sought to make […]
DAVID MINSKY
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Guadalupe’s inaugural weekend bus routes had good turnout, but will it continue?
There’s more than one way to get reporters, politicians, city officials, and the general population on a city bus, and Guadalupe was able to do it during the unveiling of its new weekend Guadalupe Flyer bus service on Aug. 1. Councilmember Virginia Ponce, City Manager Andrew Carter, Santa Maria Organization of Transportation Helpers (SMOOTH) Executive […]
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Spotlight on: Bargain Warehouse
Ronald Floyd, owner
Don’t call Bargain Warehouse a thrift store, or else owner Ronald Floyd will promptly correct you. He prefers to compare his shop to an old mercantile exchange. Whatever it is, it’s got a little bit of everything. Mounted deer hang high on the back wall. Metal shelves are stocked with various household wares: toasters, […]
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Former Santa Maria T.J. Maxx employee sues for back wages
While the Central Coast is conversing about Haggen supermarket chain firing more than a dozen employees with disabilities, a developmentally disabled employee is suing T.J. Maxx in Santa Maria for bullying her into quitting in 2014, according to a lawsuit filed in Santa Barbara County Superior Court January 2015. In the lawsuit, Gina Lopez accuses […]
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Conviction overturned in 2010 Arroyo Grande vehicular manslaughter case
The last five years of Rene Rosas’ life have left him in states of confusion and despair, but he’s finally able to start rebuilding his life. On July 2, Rosas was released from San Luis Obispo County Jail after his conviction for vehicular manslaughter was overturned on appeal. The original conviction stemmed from the Sept. […]
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Spotlight on: RDO Water Supply
Cassandra Durler, store manager
What company sells automated John Deere tractors, automated irrigation systems, and is the largest potato producer in the United States? It’s North Dakota-based RDO Equipment, which also has a subsidiary branch in Santa Maria. The local company is actually called RDO Water, which mostly specializes in selling, renting, designing, and installing automated irrigation systems. John […]
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Battling the city: A Lompoc resident fights with code compliance over what he sees as ‘un-American’ treatment of a homeowner
View a slideshow of additional photos. It’s 11 a.m. and Sterling Ranft steps out of a mobile home trailer in his yard and into the daylight, eyes squinting after waking up from a deep slumber. He stuffs a 700-page California Penal Code book into his armpit and cracks open a Miller Genuine Draft tall boy. […]
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A group accuses contractor of providing substandard medical care to Santa Barbara County inmates
The final moments of Raymond Herrera’s life were written in a coroner’s report released by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff on July 8. Details outlined in the report said that Herrera, a 52-year-old father from Lompoc who was serving a 10-day jail sentence for nonviolent probation violations, began convulsing while lying in the top bunk […]
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Domestic disturbance shuts down block in Santa Maria
One man was arrested in Santa Maria on July 27 during a domestic violence incident that ended up shutting down an entire block for several hours, according to the Santa Maria Police Department. Sgt. Russ Mengel of the SMPD said he couldn’t pinpoint the exact time of the call, but said that police were dispatched […]
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Fifth arrest made in Javier Limon murder case
Arrests in the Javier Limon murder case keep coming. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office announced on July 24 that detectives arrested 21-year-old Bryan Rios of Santa Maria on suspicion of being the fifth person involved the death of Limon, according to the Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover. The body of 37-year-old Limon was […]
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Santa Ynez Chumash expand land holdings with additional 350 acres
As federal bill that could allow the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians to annex 1,400 acres of land—also known as Camp 4—is running the gauntlet in Congress, tribal leader Vincent Armenta recently expanded the tribe’s property just a little more. Armenta verified to the Sun that the Santa Ynez Chumash bought an additional plot […]
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Santa Barbara County fire department reports oil spill near Cuyama
It seems like the oil spills don’t stop in Santa Barbara County. First, there was the Refugio State Beach pipeline rupture on May 19. Then, on June 3, a teeny pipeline break dumped less than a barrel of oil onto the sidewalk in front of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office on Foster Road. Now, […]
