Almost exactly a year after VTC Enterprises closed the doors of its beloved Santa Maria thrift shop in February 2018, it opened a bigger and better version of its Lompoc store in a new location. Now, with the store and its staff finally all in order, VTC Enterprises is ready to celebrate. VTC Enterprises and […]
Kasey Bubnash
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Cuyama passes pay-to-pump groundwater sustainability structure
Cuyama landowners will soon have to pay to pump groundwater, a decision that some say will place the burden of Cuyama’s dwindling water supply largely on farmers’ shoulders. At a board of directors meeting on July 10, the Cuyama Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency voted to approve a pay-to-pump funding structure, in which landowners are charged […]
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Santa Maria offers free bus passes to students
Santa Maria kids can now apply for free monthly bus passes through the city, a program that was initially conceptualized and pushed for by a group of high school students who noticed that their peers’ transportation needs weren’t being met. On July 15, the city began accepting applications for its 1,129 free monthly city bus […]
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Coastal Commission votes against proposed limits to vehicle riding in Oceano Dunes
Niklas Hugosson rode an ATV for the first time as a child on Thanksgiving Day of 1992, and he was instantly hooked. He and his family were on a vacation at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, and that first time, he rode for so long that the palms of his hands bled. […]
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New pesticide reporting app improves investigation process
California recently released a new pesticide reporting app that can be downloaded on smartphones, and state and local officials expect the new technology to expedite the pesticide incident reporting and investigation process. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation announced on June 26 the launch of its new pesticide incident reporting app, CASPIR (California’s System […]
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Spotlight on: Santa Maria Public Airport, Chris Hastert, general manager
Hordes of Central Coast residents took to their social media pages on June 26 to cheer the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport’s announcement that it will soon offer direct flights to Las Vegas, a move that could impact the Santa Maria airport’s limited flight options. Santa Maria Public Airport General Manager Chris Hastert […]
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Cunningham tables e-cig marketing bill for stricter anti-vaping legislation
It’s been several months since Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) introduced a bill in December 2018 that aimed to deter e-cigarette use among minors by prohibiting “deceptive e-cigarette marketing” geared toward children. That bill has since been tabled, and now Cunningham is including its provisions in a more robust and stringent anti-vaping bill. On […]
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A $50,000 grant will go toward getting more residents involved in finding a fix for Cuyama’s water problems
While many areas in California rely at least partially on groundwater for drinking, plumbing, and irrigation, few are completely dependent on groundwater as a sole water source, and even fewer pump so much water each year that basins are slowly running dry. But Cuyama is one of those places, and an environmental justice grant is […]
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Study finds correlation between immigration policy concerns and health issues in Latino children
Much of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign hinged on a promise to crack down on immigration—sweeping deportations, stringent asylum policies, a wall. Since getting elected, Trump hasn’t followed through with all those ideas, but he’s tried, and the debate over who can stay in this county has intensified to the point that a group of […]
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Cuyama, Chumash awarded thousands for environmental justice projects
With the help of seperate $50,000 grants, two Santa Barbara County groups will soon be working to address pressing environmental concerns in their communities. In late June, the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) announced a long list of participants in its 2019 Environmental Justice Small Grants Project, a competitive program that offers up to $50,000 […]
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Study finds Diablo closure would be insignificant to Santa Barbara County
State Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) and researchers at UC Berkeley hosted a public forum on June 28, where they presented the findings included in a study regarding the economic impacts that the closure of Diablo Canyon Power Plant would have on Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. In the 144-page report, which was […]
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Study finds Diablo closure would be insignificant to Santa Barbara County
State Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) and researchers at UC Berkeley hosted a public forum on June 28, where they presented the findings included in a study regarding the economic impacts that the closure of Diablo Canyon Power Plant would have on Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. In the 144-page report, which was required […]