For two decades a school resource deputy roamed the halls of San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara. But just before the start of this school year, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors announced it could no longer fund the position, leaving San Marcos without the constant law enforcement presence available at every other […]
Kasey Bubnash
Posted inNews
National gun retailers and lawmakers work to implement reformed firearm sales and safety policies
After 17 people were killed in a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, several major national gun retailers, including Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart, recently announced increasingly stringent firearm sales policies. Dick’s, which opened its first Santa Maria store on Feb. 23, was the first to make its changes public. In a media […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Issaya Finley
Ernest Righetti High School student Issaya Finley fought his way to the top of his weight class at the 2018 California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Masters Wrestling Championship on Feb. 23 and 24. There, the local high school senior outmaneuvered hundreds of wrestlers from more than 300 schools and took home a first place medal, […]
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Children’s library completed thanks to local Boy Scout
Construction on the Harvest Community Center’s highly anticipated children’s library is finished, and Joseph Andrade, the 15-year-old Boy Scout who built it almost entirely on his own, is one step closer to becoming an Eagle Scout. The library, which is now located in a room formerly used for storage in the Victory Harvest Church of […]
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Brandon L. Harper Foundation to host tri-tip barbecue scholarship fundraiser in March
Longtime Santa Maria resident Brandon Harper was on his way to dinner on Jan. 20, 2007, when an intoxicated driver ran a red light at the intersection of Betteravia Road and South Broadway, slammed into Harper’s truck, and killed him. Harper was 26 years old, and his death shocked family members, friends, and the community […]
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Violent threats increase against Santa Barbara County schools
A recent influx of students threatening Santa Barbara County schools has resulted in an increased security presence on several campuses, students missing school, and demands for school resource officers. The most recent threat, allegedly made verbally by a 13-year-old Carpinteria Middle School student, was investigated on Feb. 23 by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Elias Zepeda
Although Pioneer Valley High School senior Elias Zepeda isn’t sure what he wants to do after graduation, he knows one thing: He wants to keep wrestling. “Hopefully I’ll find a good college to wrestle at,” Zepeda, 18, told the Sun. “I just like that it’s a very tough sport, and I like the feeling of […]
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Santa Maria invites neighboring agencies to join upgraded radio communication system
It’s not unusual for the Santa Maria Police Department to receive calls from cellphones, which can be difficult to track. In one such case, a 10-year-old called the department’s dispatch center from her apartment, where she had locked herself in the bathroom with a cellphone. In the next room, her mother was being robbed at […]
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Girls’ Night Out will provide space for junior high school girls to get creative
Local junior high school girls will have an opportunity to get creative and interact without boys on Feb. 24 at another of the city’s Girls’ Night Out events. Attendees of Girls’ Night Out, a girls-only event hosted by the Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center staff, will meet at the community center and head together to […]
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Hundreds of Santa Maria High School students skip class after threatening social media posts
Roughly 300 Santa Maria High School students were pulled out of class or stayed home from school on Feb. 16 after administrators and parents became aware of threatening social media posts made by two seperate students. Both posts followed closely behind a highly publicized school shooting in Parkland, Florida, where 17 individuals were shot and […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Spirit Ricks
Although Allan Hancock College student Spirit Ricks is only a freshman, he’s already captain of the Hancock men’s basketball team and averages double digits in both rebounds and points each game. “He’s more than a great player,” head coach Tyson Aye said in an interview with the Sun. “He’s a great player and a great […]
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Santa Maria high school district celebrates Career Technical Education Month
In honor of national Career Technical Education (CTE) Month, the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District is working to raise awareness about its CTE education efforts that prepare high school students for high-wage, high-demand careers. “CTE Month is a time to celebrate our classrooms that extend into our community, partner with industry and college […]
