Vandenberg Air Force Base is scheduled to launch at Atlas V rocket into space the night of Dec. 11, according to a press release issued by 30th Space Wing Public Affairs Office. The rocket, which is manufactured by Colorado-based company United Launch Alliance, will be carrying a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office—an intelligence agency […]
DAVID MINSKY
Posted inNews
Man shot in Santa Maria on Dec. 8 is in stable condition
Police are investigating a shooting that occurred the night of Dec. 8, which left one man injured and a lot of questions. According to a press release issued by the Santa Maria Police Department, officers responded to a call of gunshots heard in the 600 block of West Cypress in a residential area between South […]
Posted inNews
Spotlight on: Eddie’s Grill
Carlos Villa, owner
After moving to Lompoc, Carlos Villa noticed a lack of what he considered good, high quality restaurants. So last January, Carlos and his brother Eddie decided to build one of their own in the shopping plaza on the corner of Central Avenue and H Street. Working by themselves, they completed construction in a few months […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria tackles pedestrian safety
Leticia Hernandez-Sanchez was crossing the street with her 13-year-old brother, Lisandro, near the corner of Newlove and Miller on the night of June 29, 2013, when she was struck and killed by a car driven by Kelsi Sullivan. At the time, Hernandez-Sanchez was only 15 years old; Sullivan was 21. The accident occurred around 9:30 […]
Posted inNews
Apio workers protest working conditions
Wearing yellow shirts and holding hand-written placards, several current and former workers at the Apio Inc. plant in Guadalupe gathered inside a nearby residence and stood before cameras to protest what they are calling substandard workplace conditions. Speaking to reporters in English and Spanish, former Apio worker Francisco Garcia alleged that he and his former […]
Posted inNews
More jurors summoned for U-Haul murder trial
Jury selection for one of the biggest trials to hit Santa Maria since the Michael Jackson trial started in mid-November, but it’s far from over. Another round of juror summonses were called the week of Thanksgiving for the so-called U-Haul murder trial. Officials from the Santa Barbara County Superior Court said they summoned 500 jurors […]
Posted inNews
Shifting sentences: Critics fear Proposition 47 will be a danger to public safety
Consider the following scenario: A man walks into a 7-eleven store with the intent to steal and walks out with a loaf of bread, a bottle of wine, and a bar of soap that he didn’t pay for. He gets arrested and charged with second-degree burglary. It was what’s known as a “wobbler” crime; it […]
Posted inNews
Spotlight on: Reflections Photography Studio
Luis Escobar, owner
When Luis Escobar moved to Santa Maria from Atascadero in 1984, one of his first jobs was working at Reflections Photography Studio. At the time, Joe and Bella Jackson owned it. Escobar was a student at Hancock studying photography, and the Jacksons decided to sell the business. Escobar jumped on the opportunity to take over […]
Posted inNews
Lompoc denies appeal to halt cell tower installation
The Lompoc City Council on Nov. 18 denied a resident’s appeal against Verizon installing a 50-foot tall cell tower in a northwestern residential neighborhood, opting instead to move forward with the city’s plan to expand cell phone coverage. City resident Phillip Gallanders filed an appeal after the planning commission approved the cell tower project on […]
Posted inNews
Police make gang arrests through enforcement sweeps
Police in Santa Maria conducted DUI and gang enforcement sweeps on Nov. 21 and 22, resulting in the arrest of several people, according to press releases from the Santa Maria Police Department. Officers with local gang suppression units teamed up with the Santa Barbara County Probation Office, fanning out across portions of Santa Maria and […]
Posted inNews
Spotlight on: Fit Body Boot Camp
Frankie Enciso and Sue LaCoe, owners
Eighty percent of our health is diet, according to Frankie Enciso, a certified personal trainer in Santa Maria. The rest is exercise, and that’s where Enciso comes in. Enciso and his business partner Sue LaCoe are the owners of Fit Body Boot Camp, a new gym squeezed in between Santa Maria Burgers and Paragon Jiu […]
Posted inNews
Students and employers want a four-year college in Northern Santa Barbara County
Cathleen Rafferty is a busy person. She holds two full-time jobs working as a licensed drug and alcohol addiction counselor for at-risk youth at the Serenity Group Home in Santa Maria and at the Good Samaritan Shelter in Lompoc. She’s also a well-educated person, but not in the traditional sense. She holds two associate’s degrees—one […]