More than 100 online credit classes are now available at Allan Hancock College. Registration will be open until the day before fall semester starts on Aug. 21. The courses are the school’s effort to introduce more flexibility and convenience to student schedules, according to a Hancock press release. All online classes run six to eight […]
Kasey Bubnash
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Santa Maria High School agricultural program wins state awards
The Santa Maria High School agricultural program recently won two state awards at the California Teachers Association Annual Awards Banquet at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. The program was named Outstanding Large School Program and Overall Outstanding Agriculture Program for 2017, according to a press release from the Santa Maria Joint Union High […]
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Santa Maria-Bonita School District continues free meal program
The Santa Maria-Bonita School District recently announced its plan to once again offer free breakfast and lunch to all students through the federal Universal Free Meals Program, which has been available in the school district since 2005. The Santa Maria-Bonita School District serves about 4.2 million meals to its students each year, according to a […]
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Apio employee abuse lawsuit reaches proposed settlement
Guadalupe’s Apio Inc. recently reached a proposed $5.9 million joint settlement with several employees who claimed the vegetable shipping company had abused workers’ rights. The class action suit against Apio, a company contracted by Pacific Harvest Inc., claims the company failed to provide appropriate rest and meal times to workers, while also failing to pay […]
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Santa Maria defends youth task force criticisms
The city of Santa Maria recently posted its proposed response to a Santa Barbara County grand jury report on the city’s Task Force on Youth Safety, and in short, the city did not agree with the county’s findings. After a series of gang-related murders shocked Santa Maria in 2015, city leaders responded with the Mayor’s […]
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Orcutt students to watch total solar eclipse
Orcutt Academy High School (OAHS) students will have an opportunity to break one of the fundamental rules of childhood on Aug. 21—they’ll look straight at the sun. North America will experience the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in almost 100 years, according to an OAHS press release, and students from Orcutt Academy in Los Alamos […]
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High School District spends millions on summer construction
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District has spent more than $30 million on a plethora of construction projects this summer as part of its mission to improve its facilities for staff and students, and it’s only the beginning. The district, which is the largest high school district in Santa Barbara County, also plans to […]
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Two injured after falling 300 feet from Highway 154
Santa Barbara County first responders used a helicopter and the Jaws of Life to save two people from a car on Aug. 6 after it fell 300 feet from Highway 154 near Windy Gap, trapping the occupants inside the vehicle. The driver of the 2015 Toyota Tundra was Christopher Scott, according to California Highway Patrol […]
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Finger gun gesture sets off Lompoc police investigation into alleged death threat
Jim Mosby couldn’t believe what he had just heard. It was a typical summer night for the Lompoc City Council member, spent chatting up community members and representing his city’s leadership at Lompoc’s Old Town Market, hosted every Friday in July. As a woman came up to the table to speak with Mosby where he […]
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Growing concerns: Community members speak out on cannabis cultivation at county scoping meeting
Aside from a few knowing glances, snarky scoffs, and rolling eyes, the tone of Santa Barbara County’s July 27 environmental scoping meeting remained passive-aggressive, if not submissive, despite many attendees’ vehement concerns over the meeting’s topic: cannabis cultivation. Noise, traffic, odor, water—roughly 10 community members shared their most pressing cannabis-related fears at the meeting in […]
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Local family agencies merge to offer services countywide
The Santa Maria Valley Youth and Family Center and the Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara County (FSA) recently merged to form a single countywide organization that will provide mental health counseling, basic needs assistance, and case management services to more than 28,000 residents a year. Services are now more readily available countywide, according to […]
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Salud Carbajal opens Santa Maria office
Along with residents of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria voters can now indulge in all the luxuries that accompany having a fully staffed congressional district office within city limits. Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) hosted an open house on July 31 to celebrate the grand opening of his newest district office in Santa […]