Why are ghosts such terrible liars? Because you can see right through them! How can you tell a vampire likes baseball? Every night he turns into a bat! What do witches use on their hair? Scare spray! Everybody loves a good pun and, as much as the Sun would love to take credit, the Lompoc […]
MALEA MARTIN
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Incumbent Jim Mosby runs against Jeremy Ball, Lompoc’s only new City Council candidate this year outside of the mayoral race
Jim Mosby, a businessman, property owner, and incumbent City Council member, is facing off against challenger Jeremy Ball, a business owner and host of Good Morning Lompoc, for Lompoc’s 4th District council seat this November. While the two contenders hold many things in common—they were both born and raised in Lompoc, grew up attending local […]
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Santa Maria families receive tablets to keep them connected during pandemic
Twenty Mixteco families from the Santa Maria-Bonita School District (SMBSD) received free tablets on Oct. 9 in an effort to connect parents with online resources as their children continue to learn at a distance. The Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE), an organization that provides programming to engage and empower parents of schoolchildren, was awarded […]
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Osborne, Ball lead the pack for money raised in Lompoc city races
Candidates running for city office in Lompoc have raked in thousands of dollars in campaign contributions so far. Incumbent Mayor Jenelle Osborne leads the pack for money raised from campaign contributions, while City Council candidate Jeremy Ball has raised the most total money from both campaign contributions and a loan. According to state campaign finance […]
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Carbajal reintroduces bill to incentivize renewable energy
As Diablo Canyon Power Plant’s closure nears, many fear the impact that job and energy losses may have on the Central Coast, with the plant currently employing 1,500 people—but a new bill aims to mitigate some of those losses. U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) announced on Oct. 6 that he will be re-introducing the […]
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Santa Barbara County schools could open Oct. 13, but not all will
If Santa Barbara County continues to remain in the red tier in the state’s reopening plan, K-12 schools would be allowed to reopen starting Oct. 13. But it doesn’t mean that every school will choose to reopen. “The decision of when and how to reopen schools remains with our locally elected school board leaders,” said […]
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Alberto Ugalde and Will Smith are seeking to unseat incumbent Santa Maria Mayor Alice Patino
Editor’s note: This article is the second of a two-part series highlighting Santa Maria’s three mayoral candidates. The first part, “Incumbent upon us,” published on Oct. 1. Alberto Ugalde, lifelong Santa Marian and business owner, and Will Smith, a former educator and preacher, are each hoping to win the Santa Maria mayorship this November. Born […]
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Mayor Alice Patino reflects on her years as Santa Maria’s first female mayor, and plans to continue that legacy
Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series highlighting Santa Maria’s three mayoral candidates. Santa Maria Mayor Alice Patino’s upbringing taught her how to roll with the punches. With her father stationed at Camp Cooke (now Vandenberg Air Force Base), Patino said her childhood was full of the archetypal moving around that comes […]
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Santa Barbara County moves to less restrictive reopening tier
As of Sept. 29, Santa Barbara County has officially moved to the red tier in the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, according to the reopening plan’s website. California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly confirmed the update in a Sept. 29 virtual press conference. This means that the county’s COVID-19 adjusted […]
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Santa Maria District 1 candidate outraises everyone in city races
Santa Maria District 1 City Council candidate Carlos Escobedo has received more campaign contributions during this calendar year than anyone else running for city elected office. According to a campaign finance statement filed with the city Clerk-Records’ Office on Sept. 25, Escobedo has received a total of $26,799.38 in the calendar year to date. More […]
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It’s not too late to sign up for the Central Coast Writers Conference and learn from industry bigwigs
The Central Coast Writers Conference may be starting Sept. 24, but the annual event’s executive director, Teri Bayus, wants everyone to know that it’s not too late to get in on the fun. That’s because this year’s conference, normally held at Cuesta College, is going 100 percent virtual. “Because people don’t have to make a […]
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Bureau of Prisons says pre-release quarantine lasts two weeks, but family members say otherwise
It’s been more than two months since a class action lawsuit forced the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to consider releasing more incarcerated individuals into home confinement from the Lompoc federal prison due to COVID-19. But before someone can be released into home confinement—or fully released, if their sentence is complete—they are first quarantined in the […]