St. Joseph High School senior Kainoa Keuma has made leaps and bounds since his first year with the school’s boys’ basketball team—and it shows. The numbers don’t lie: The point guard averages about 14.5 points a game, according to head coach Tom Mott. He makes more than 40 percent of his shots from the […]
Kasey Bubnash
Posted inNews
Political Watch Jan. 31, 2019
• On Jan. 28, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) announced the reintroduction of his first piece of legislation in Congress, the California Clean Coast Act—now of 2019. The bill, House Resolution 279, would permanently ban future offshore oil and gas leasing in areas of the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of California. His […]
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Mayor’s Task Force to launch two youth-focused programs
Since its creation, the Mayor’s Task Force on Youth Safety has been criticized by community members as excluding the very group it’s supposed to be focused on: youth. Now the city is gearing up to launch two programs that would bring local teens to the table. Both programs, dubbed the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Board and […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Athlete of the week
Jonathan Santos
Santa Maria High School’s boys’ soccer program is all about discipline and responsibility, and forward-midfielder Jonathan Santos has been the picture of both of those virtues this season. As one of the team’s captains this year, Santos is saddled with the responsibilities that come with acting as a role model and pushing his team […]
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Santa Ynez school district says payments to charter school could be detrimental
A 2018 decision by the State Board of Education requires several Santa Barbara County school districts to pay a local charter school system hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to help it operate. While two of the districts have already made their first monthly payments, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District has […]
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Santa Maria gets its first-ever Women’s March
Women are the wall and Trump will pay!” read the sign Santa Maria resident Rochelle Reed held high as she walked away from Buena Vista Park, down South Broadway, and toward Minami Park, where a resource fair with free bottles of water, music, and food trucks awaited the energized marcher and others like her. It […]
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Lompoc offers utility payment extensions to federal employees
For weeks Santa Barbara County organizations have been finding unique ways to assist local furloughed federal employees, and now the city of Lompoc is joining in the effort. At a meeting on Jan. 15, the Lompoc City Council unanimously approved a resolution that would give residents impacted by the partial government shutdown 30-day extensions […]
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New law allows Lompoc and Santa Barbara health care systems to collaborate
For years staffers at Lompoc Valley Medical Center and Santa Barbara Cottage Health have worked together informally, smoothly coordinating transfers and referrals for Lompoc-based patients in need of specialized care that is only available in Santa Barbara. Now that collaboration is in the process of becoming official, due in part to a piece of legislation […]
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Local organizations assist furloughed federal employees
Just inside the Santa Maria branch of the Santa Barbara County Foodbank‘s open garage door sat two massive crates, one holding 30 bags of non-perishable food products, the other holding fresh produce. Two employees stood behind them, offering brief explanations and help to those who trickled in to pick up food, which was being distributed […]
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Newly introduced bill would affirm Camp 4 trust status
The 2017-18 Congressional session came and went, and during those two years, a House resolution that would have affirmed Camp 4’s fee-to-trust status with the federal government was not approved in time for the new year. So on Jan. 8, a new bill with the same wording and intent was introduced into Congress, with hopes […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Zoe De La Cruz
She may be young, but 7-year-old Zoe De La Cruz is already showing a lot of promise in the world of gymnastics. It’s only her third year training at KT’s All-Star Gymnastics, but De La Cruz already appears to have everything it takes to one day become a gold medal level athlete: talent, a hard […]
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Proposed $2 billion in early child care funding could close county’s readiness gaps
Early childhood care isn’t cheap. In Santa Barbara County, parents spend an average of about $1,000 on infant care and $800 on preschool services each month, according to data collected by the Santa Barbara County Child Care Planning Council. That cost is near, if not totally, unaffordable for many low-income families, especially those with multiple […]
