You may have seen trucks driving around Santa Maria with “CITY RANGER” painted on the side. They look like police cruisers, but they’re not. So what the heck is a city ranger? Formally park rangers, Santa Maria changed their designation to city rangers on Jan. 6. The reason, according to Recreation and Parks Director Dennis […]
DAVID MINSKY
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Former Pioneer Valley teacher gets sentenced in sex with a minor case, and a Santa Maria High teacher pleads not guilty to possessing child porn
On April 1, Brian Hook—the former Pioneer Valley High School teacher and coach who pleaded guilty to having sex with a minor—was sentenced in a Santa Maria courtroom to serve one year in county jail. Hook, 54, was arrested in February 2014 on suspicion of having an ongoing sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student at […]
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EPA reaches 10th settlement in Casmalia superfund site case
The Environmental Protection Agency announced on March 31 that it’s reached another settlement in the cleanup of the Casmalia Resources Superfund Site. The settlement requires 337 companies that formerly used the site for hazardous waste disposal to pay $1.4 million toward the estimated $284 million it will cost to clean up the site. In 1992, […]
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Jury finds all but one defendant guilty in U-Haul murder trial
On April 7, a Santa Maria jury in what’s become known as the U-Haul murder trial found five out of six defendants guilty of the March 2013 gang slaying of 28-year-old Anthony Ibarra. The court clerk read the guilty verdicts for defendants Ramon Maldonado, Reyes Gonzales, David Maldonado, Santos Sauceda, and Jason Castillo. The jury […]
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Spotlight on: Lompoc Honey
Archie Mitchell, owner
Lompoc resident Archie Mitchell has done a lot of things in life. To name a few: He retired as a chief master sergeant (the highest enlisted rank in the Air Force), started a boxing club, and worked as a newspaper reporter. Now, it’s all about the bees. He serves as regional director for the Western […]
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Train of thought: Citizens worry oil tankers traveling through Guadalupe to the Phillips 66 refinery could explode
Residents worried that their town could become the scene of an oil tanker explosion voiced their concerns during a March 24 Guadalupe City Council meeting. The Santa Maria Refinery property sits on the Nipomo Mesa, less than 5 miles away from Guadalupe, and that’s where owner Phillips 66 wants to build a rail spur to […]
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Spotlight on: Women’s Economic Ventures
Marsha Baily, CEO/Founder
The open house for Women’s Economic (WEV) was in full swing on the afternoon of March 18: A handful of balloons, aluminum trays filled with taco fixings, and a small crowd of people helped the nonprofit celebrate the opening of its new Santa Maria office. The Santa Barbara-based nonprofit offers business training classes, consulting, and […]
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Local law enforcement investigates alleged ISIS threat against Solvang military personnel
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is responding to an alleged threat against military personnel living in Solvang, according to department spokesperson Kelly Hoover, who didn’t specify the nature of the response. The threat was posted online by an Islamic militant group known as the Islamic State, or ISIS. Hoover said that the Sheriff’s Office […]
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Santa Ynez High freshman killed in crosswalk accident
Students and faculty at Santa Ynez Valley High School are mourning the death of Carina Velazquez, who died March 26 after being hit by a car. Velazquez, 15, was walking home from school that night around 6:55 after attending an FFA meeting, when a car struck her as she started crossing the intersection of Refugio […]
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An objective to share California driver’s license photos with a nationwide database is raising concerns over privacy and oversight
Police from Santa Barbara County and other state police and law enforcement agencies say they want access to a national database of driver’s license photos to aid in their investigations, according to documents found by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The objective was first discussed by the Standing Strategic Planning Subcommittee, a panel inside the California […]
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Two people are arrested in connection with two unrelated deaths in Santa Maria
Authorities arrested two men on March 16, each arrest stemming from one of two separate deaths in Santa Maria that occurred within hours of each other, according to the Santa Maria Police Department. Ismael Lares, 34, was arrested early that morning after he allegedly struck a man with his truck in the parking lot of […]
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County DA and sheriff say Proposition 47 is going to increase their workload
Depending on which side of the bars you’re sitting, Proposition 47–passed by California voters in November 2014–can be good or bad news. The good news, at least for thousands of people currently under county probation, is that they could be eligible to have their cases closed early. The bad news, according to some county officials, […]