Emily Mathis, who graduated from Orcutt Academy in June, left for Boise State on Aug. 20, but even with a big move looming, she decided to train with the Santa Maria Swim Club until the day she left. “I swim today, Tuesday, and then leave Wednesday,” Mathis said on Aug. 18, and her break won’t […]
HENRY HOUSTON
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
ESPN televises the Chumash Casino’s Friday Night Fights
The Chumash Event Center is buzzing on Aug. 15, even more so than it usually does during Friday Night Fights. Camera crewmembers are wildly running around putting wires where they need to go while two men, groomed far beyond everyone else in the event center, are waiting. It wasn’t going to be a typical lineup […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Stephanie Correa
Move over Robin Hood, there’s a new hot shot archer in town, and her name is Stephanie Correa. Correa championed the first-ever Santa Ynez Valley Bow Club Traditional Challenge on Aug. 9, where she battled out against nine other participants on a 16-target course. What’s impressive about Correa’s performance is that she has only been […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
One Way Board Shop’s skate team gives youth a chance at the pros
When members of the One Way skate team aren’t skateboarding, they’re hanging out with team members, and much like old friends do, they squabble and make fun of each other. Outside of making friends, being on the skate team is an opportunity all of them are grateful for: It’s a way for them to keep […]
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Babe Ruth All Stars
For the first time in five years, the 15-year-old Santa Maria Babe Ruth All Stars qualified for the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament. The team took second in the Central California State Tournament and is in the middle of the regional tourney with an eye on the championship. “We’ve been hitting it hard since Tuesday (July […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
A Santa Maria teen medals in the Junior Olympics
Joseph Domingues is showing off his bronze medal and talking about what he’s looking forward to now that he’s back from the Junior Olympics in Iowa: eating whatever he wants, sleeping in, and running at his own pace. “I’m shocked to be in Santa Maria right now. I was getting used to being in a […]
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Spotlight on: Central Coast Mortgage Consultants
Donna Lewis, Branch Manager
Central Coast Mortgage Consultants was founded in an interesting time of mortgage lending history—right after mortgage lenders started bailing out of the housing industry. But that’s what sets the company apart from those other lenders. “I think the strong will survive,” said Donna Lewis, who is the branch manager at the company. “We have a […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Tony Topas
Sometimes the teacher goes back and becomes the student; this is definitely the case for fighter Tony Topas. Three years ago, he was training his friend for a mixed martial arts (MMA) match when he thought to himself: I have an MMA background—why not give it a shot? Since then, he’s been actively training and […]
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AB 60 allows undocumented immigrants to carry driver’s licenses
Jan. 1 is a day that many look to with great optimism—that the upcoming a year will be great—and it’s also a day that ushers in new laws. One piece of legislation that has many excited for the New Year is Assembly Bill 60. Approved by Gov. Jerry Brown back in October, AB 60 allows […]
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Northern Santa Barbara County locals serve the global community through the Peace Corps
If you ask a Peace Corps volunteer about their experience with the organization, they’ll most likely answer: “It’s the toughest job you’ll ever love.” Well, at least that’s what former Vandenberg Middle School teacher Tricia Kolp said about her service. Despite the hardships she faced while serving in South Africa, Kolp always tells people she’d […]
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Orcutt teachers and district officials reach a contract agreement
The Orcutt Educators Association and the Orcutt Union School District can put their recent contract extension debate in the history books. After a few months of intense negotiations between the union and the district, the two have agreed on a 4 percent on-schedule increase (a permanent raise in pay), a 4 percent off-schedule increase (a […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Desiree Gillaspy
St. Joseph’s High School golf
Desiree Gillaspy, a senior at St. Joseph’s High School, is swinging her way into the next stage of her career: the realm of college golf. The young athlete signed her letter of intent to play golf for Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo on Nov. 19—a match Gillaspy said she always wanted. “I’ve been talking […]