JEREMY THOMAS
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Make way for the prisoners

Already overcrowded, the Santa Barbara County jail braces for a 30 percent increase to its inmate population
by JEREMY THOMAS

Under a bill recently signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, tens of thousands of lower-level state inmates will be transferred to county jails over the next few years, and counties are scrambling to figure out where to put them. With April’s passage of Assembly Bill 109, up to 50,000 state inmates convicted of nonviolent crimes could […]

Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture

Ride for a reason

A local physician takes a cross-country bike trip to honor his son and raise awareness of distracted driving
by JEREMY THOMAS

  A decorated athlete, National Merit Scholar finalist, and molecular biology major at UC Berkeley, 19-year-old Eric Okerblom was the model of a bright and mature young man. Fresh from Nicaragua, where he’d been learning Spanish with his girlfriend and local families, Eric took up cycling, with designs on joining the Cal cycling team. He’d […]

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Bombing run

On a stopover in Santa Maria, an aged B-17 gave locals a unique history lesson
by JEREMY THOMAS

The overpowering smell of oil and 100-octane airplane fuel entered my nostrils as I strapped myself to a cold aluminum seat. The four engines of the behemoth B-17 “Flying Fortress” roared, the propellers spun, and the cramped cabin of the thin metal plane shuddered. Though World War II was over by the time the 15-ton […]

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Mexican consulate agrees to end mobile distribution of ID cards in Santa Maria

by JEREMY THOMAS

Under a ”pinkie promise” agreement reached between Santa Maria mayor Larry Lavagnino and a Mexican consul, residents will no longer be able to pick up Consular Identification cards from mobile offices within city limits. For years, the Mexican consulate in Oxnard has distributed the “Matricula” or Mexican ID cards during weekend events, drawing crowds and […]

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Swept away

Learn the ins and outs of ICE gang ‘sweeps’
by JEREMY THOMAS

It started with a simple question: “Where are they now?” But it turns out finding the whereabouts of 11 reported Mexican nationals arrested in a February sweep by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Santa Maria is no small task. This reporter was soon lost in the bureaucratic black hole of the immigration […]

Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture

On the roster

by JEREMY THOMAS

• Tri For Fun Triathlon: April 30 at the Santa Maria Valley YMCA. Join the quarter-mile swim, 12.5- or 17.9-mile bike ride, and 5K run/walk. To register, call the YMCA at 937-8521. • Santa Maria Youth Football: Registration is May 8 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Westgate Community Room, 1300 Marsala Ave./1800 […]

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