Samantha Basulto was only a junior in high school when she had to let go of her first big dreams. As a bright-eyed freshman who had never before struggled to make the honor roll, Basulto had imagined her future self running off to a four-year university immediately after high school graduation, leaving Santa Maria and […]
Kasey Bubnash
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Orcutt National Brewers
After months of intensive practice, the Orcutt National Brewers put their skills to good use on the baseball diamond not once, not twice, but three times this season, taking home three little league championship titles. The Brewers–self-titled the Brew Crew–ended their season with 18 wins, three losses, and one tie game. “I’m just really proud […]
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Schools await Governor’s approval of $300 million for career tech education
Since the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District was awarded $2 million through the state’s Career Technical Education (CTE) Incentive Grant in 2016, it has transformed the way local high schools educate. The district was able to add a multitude of career-oriented courses, improve its existing pathways, and break ground on its new […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Quinntin Perez
Just two weeks after earning an associate degree, former Allan Hancock College baseball player Quinntin Perez signed a letter of intent to continue his college career at the University of South Carolina. Perez chose South Carolina, which has one of the best Division I baseball programs in the nation, over offers from multiple other schools, […]
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City redesigns Safe N’ Strong program during Buena Vista closure
It’s been more than a year since Santa Maria first sanctioned off portions of Buena Vista Park for a much needed $1.3 million rebuilding project that was first proposed in October 2016. The park, which had been expected to open sometime this spring, will sit untouched by the general public until its grand reopening party, […]
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All aboard the Vet Express: Additional funding for veteran transportation and phone services passes House, moves to Senate
When Greg Shearer was finally called in to see his doctor at the San Luis Obispo Community Based Outpatient Clinic in 2006, he noticed she seemed distraught. The health care facility, which is run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), provides varying degrees of health care services to veterans of all kinds on […]
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Santa Marians discuss concerns, solutions at first H-2A forum
Dozens of community members talked housing and farming needs at the city’s first of five forums regarding H-2A on June 14. The forums, which will be hosted by various city and county officials throughout the next five months, are the city’s effort to further understand the H-2A program, its importance to the region’s agricultural operations, […]
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Gloria Soto to announce candidacy for District 3 City Council
Lifelong Santa Maria resident Gloria Soto planned to announce her candidacy for the Santa Maria City Council District 3 seat at noon in the Minami Community Center on June 21. Soto, a nonprofit development manager, hopes to better represent the community’s needs and create a more responsive city government, according to a media statement released […]
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Santa Maria-Bonita School District and employee union reach tentative agreement
The Santa Maria Elementary Education Association (SMEEA) and Santa Maria-Bonita School District reached a tentative agreement on June 1, after months of negotiations and spats over salary increases and benefits. At a negotiating session in February—where the district and SMEEA disagreed on a number of key issues—the groups reached an official impasse, and discussions were […]
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Law Enforcement Torch Run
More than 30 local law enforcement officials recently participated in the last leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run, an annual event that kicks off the Special Olympics Southern California Summer Games. Santa Maria City Park Rangers ran alongside officers from the Santa Maria and Guadalupe police departments, Santa Barbara County Probation, and the Department […]
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Race for the fourth
Recent announcements from current and potential City Council members made the first week of June an important one for Santa Maria’s upcoming elections—the first round of district elections in the city’s history. Rafael Gutierrez, a longtime Santa Maria resident and attorney specializing in criminal defense and personal injury, announced his candidacy for the District 4 […]
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Santa Maria-Bonita School District hosts first meeting in Mixteco
Roughly 10 percent of families with children attending schools in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District speak Mixteco as their primary language. That’s about 1,800 Santa Maria-Bonita School District students, according to Assistant Superintendent Mark Muller, who said the population of Mixteco-speaking students within the district has doubled in the last five years and more than […]
