The same man suspected of robbing Coast Hills Credit Union in Santa Maria on Sept. 6 is connected to at least eight other similar incidences since April of this year, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). “He’s had a pretty busy summer,” the bureau’s LA Field Office Public Information Officer Ann Parillo told […]
SPENCER COLE
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Failure to communicate: With the city’s financial future in question, the Lompoc City Council struggles to find common ground
It’s Tuesday night, Sept. 5, and the Lompoc City Council is in session. After a long and arduous meeting, the city’s 2017-19 budget has finally passed, albeit contentiously, at a 3-2 vote. The boogie man of a budget—now four months late and the source of countless hours of bickering, bemoaning, and battling for a say […]
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County supervisors debate climate change during meeting
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors was presented the progress report from the county’s 2015 Energy and Climate Action Plan at its Sept. 12 meeting, and the supervisors used much of their designated comment time to reiterate their stances on climate change and how best to tackle it. Fourth District Supervisor Peter Adam directly […]
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Spotlight on: Coast Development Partners
Don Conner, founder
Buellton and Santa Barbara County wine country will be injected with a healthy dose of nightlife next fall. Don Conner of Los Olivos-based Coast Development Partners told the Sun that by then his firm should be wrapping up construction on its ambitious inaugural commercial property project, The Commons. “We would describe it really as a […]
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Whittier Fire area may be dangerous during the wet season
The Whittier Fire may no longer pose a direct threat to nearby residents, but the effects from the blaze may be felt for years to come, particularly in the area’s main arteries of travel and at Lake Cachuma reservoir, according to a recent U.S. Forest Service report. On Aug. 29, Los Padres National Forest biologist […]
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Local Forest Service chief killed in truck crash
A Los Padres National Forest battalion chief stationed in Santa Maria was killed in a head-on collision on Aug. 31 while driving his truck home from the Railroad Fire in the Sierra National Forest. U.S. Forest Service Santa Lucia District Battalion Chief Gary Helming, 47, was driving southbound on State Route 41 when Antonio Avalos, […]
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Cap-and-trade extension has mixed local support
When it comes to gauging the business community’s reaction to the recent developments with California’s cap-and-trade program, it depends who you ask. Mark Schniepp, director of California Economic Forecast in Santa Barbara, told the Sun that the July 17 vote in the state Assembly to continue the program would most likely change little. “[Cap-and-trade] is […]
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Spotlight on: Coast Electronics
John Weiss, owner
When John Weiss, 58, and his father started Coast Electronics in 1978, they did so with one simple philosophy in mind—quality, familiar customer service. A lot has changed since then, most notably the advent of personal computers, ubiquitous wireless internet, and cellphones, but Weiss said a comfortable niche still existed for locally owned, brick-and-mortar electronic […]
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ICEing the system: Legislators claim ICE enforcement is freezing criminal justice system
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers are arresting undocumented immigrant witnesses and victims of crimes at courthouses across the country, effectively throwing a wrench in the criminal justice system and its ability to prosecute criminals. This is according to state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), who told the Sun on Aug. 24 that stricter […]
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Groups battle over state water safety bill
Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel) announced on Aug. 23 the amended version of Senate Bill 623, which would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund to finance infrastructure improvement projects across the state with the help of a coalition of environmental activists, agricultural industry representatives, and labor groups. The bill will need to garner a […]
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Sheriff Bill Brown asks ICE for help against sanctuary state bill
On Aug. 23, The Intercept published the second story in its series focusing on sanctuary states for undocumented immigrants. The article details email correspondence between Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials discussing SB 54—a bill proposed in the California Legislature that would give undocumented immigrants “sanctuary state” […]
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Two years after the Refugio oil spill, Plains All American Pipeline seeks to replace the pipeline responsible
The company responsible for an oil spill near Refugio State Beach in 2015 recently announced its intent to rebuild corroded pipelines that have sat idle in the two years since the disaster. On Aug. 16, Plains All American Pipeline said it had filed permit applications with Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties to replace […]