There are few places where people experiencing homelessness can simply be without fear of being asked to leave, such as public libraries, community centers, homeless shelters, and parks. The pandemic changed that. Libraries, including Santa Maria’s, closed and may continue to stay that way for months. Homeless shelters’ resources are stretched thin. Now, parks in […]
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Head Start preschools will begin to reopen starting in July
Some local children who attend preschool through Head Start, the children’s services program at Community Action Commission of Santa Barbara County (CAC), will be able to return to the classroom starting on July 6. CAC’s nearly 900 preschool children had to stop attending in-person class on March 13, when health orders forced the center’s various […]
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Santa Maria’s proposed budget will keep library, pool closed for months to come
The Santa Maria City Council will vote to approve the city’s proposed 2020-22 biennial budget on June 19, which seeks to address COVID-19 related deficits. So far, the city has lost $3.8 million because of the pandemic, and it could be facing more than $10 million in revenue losses over the next two years, according […]
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Rancho Laguna Farms workers allegedly faced retaliation for striking
As the work day nears an end on May 28, a small gathering arrives at Driscoll’s Santa Maria office. The company’s large green cursive logo—“Driscoll’s: Only the Finest Berries”—glistens in the late afternoon sun. Mask-clad community members stand below it, and a man named José Luis Ramírez Carrera clutches a manila envelope. Inside is a […]
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Public health officer loosens restrictions on graduation ceremonies
After speaking with concerned school administrators, district officials, and parents, county Supervisor-elect Bob Nelson sent a letter to public health officials on May 22 asking for a few concessions in the county’s initial restrictions set for graduation ceremonies. On May 26, Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg issued an updated health order allowing for some […]
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U.S. prisons implement security measures in response to nationwide protests
After a weekend of protests and unrest nationwide, the federal Bureau of Prisons told the Sun that it is implementing “an additional, temporary security measure” within its prison facilities, including those in Lompoc. The bureau stated that no protests occurred inside the prisons, and that the measures are purely in response to actions occurring outside […]
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Santa Maria City Council approves local emergency orders
Santa Maria City Council approved a resolution Tuesday confirming local emergency orders and actions of the city’s director of emergency services regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. These included an order “prohibiting temporary flower stand sales,” as well as one “permitting temporary modifications to retail and restaurant operation and authorizing the Public Works Director to temporarily close […]
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From the National Guard, to AmeriCorps, to the Medical Reserve Corps, local volunteers keep the county on its feet
When National Guard Master Sgt. Joseph Magat and his unit heard that they were being deployed to help with COVID-19 relief efforts, initially they thought they’d be serving somewhere nearby. Magat’s unit is based in Ventura County, out of the Channel Islands National Guard Station. “We were all told it was going to be local, […]
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Santa Maria starts neighborhood street improvement project
A street improvement project in Santa Maria that broke ground last week is set to take until the end of September, and will give some neighborhood streets and sidewalks new life. Eric Riddiough, the city’s Public Works Department senior civil engineer, explained that the city rates all the streets in town periodically, and determines “what […]
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New plan brings the potential of 1,168 homes near Southwest Blosser
Santa Maria’s revised plan for a housing development at the corner of Blosser and Stowell roads increases multi-family housing and adds 200 more homes than the original nearly 30-year-old blueprint. The update to a draft specific plan was released earlier in May and details changes to zoning for a housing development for Blosser Southeast Area […]
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The Patch is back for its third year to teach local students how to grow pumpkins and other vegetables, from ‘seed to sale’
Back for its third consecutive season, The Patch isn’t letting a pandemic get in the way of growing pumpkins. Launched in 2018 by four local agricultural enthusiasts—all of whom graduated from Santa Maria high schools in 2012 and 2013—The Patch provides local high school students with leadership and agricultural opportunities through pumpkin and corn growing […]
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New school named to honor former Boys and Girls Club director
On May 13, the Santa Maria-Bonita School District (SMBSD) board of education unanimously voted to name the district’s new elementary school after Bill Libbon, who worked with the Santa Maria Valley Boys and Girls Club for 40 years. William “Bill” Libbon Elementary School is still under construction but is expected to be ready for students […]