The call came in around 8 p.m. on a Friday night and the worst fears were quickly confirmed. A wildland fire on the north side of Goleta, fanned by 40 mph wind gusts, was pushing down the mountains rapidly toward homes, neighborhoods, and the city proper. Fire crews, stationed nearby due to a Red Flag […]
SPENCER COLE
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Even with budget issues, Santa Maria capital projects receive funding
Santa Maria may have issues keeping its budget balanced, especially with its general fund, but its capital projects are by-and-large well financed, according to city officials. “We’re going to be spending more money on those projects,” Mark van de Kamp, the city’s public information officer, told the Sun. In all, the proposed capital projects budget […]
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Ballot initiative aims to redraw county supervisorial districts
A new group claiming to represent the “radical center” in Santa Barbara County aims to change how the municipality creates district boundaries for its Board of Supervisors. The self-described “social welfare organization,” Reason in Government, had its ballot initiative presented to the supervisors on July 3 with 16,000-plus signatures, more than enough to place the […]
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Spotlight on Community roundup: Local events and business highlights
The hot dogs have been be grilled, the fireworks launched, and holiday parties–at least for the time being–complete, but there’s still plenty of goings-on in and near Northern Santa Barbara County. So many, in fact, we thought it might be fun to highlight a few that caught our attention. Speaking of parties, this 4th of […]
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Dumping ground: EPA announces final Casmalia cleanup plan at surprise ceremony
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt made a surprise visit to Santa Barbara County on June 28 to sign and announce the final cleanup plan for the Casmalia Resources Superfund Site. Pruitt’s presence was welcomed only by a handful of reporters, three county supervisors, and a smattering of other local officials, as he […]
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Spotlight on: Quilting Angels
Janie Walker, philanthropy committee
The long-arm sewing machine gives off a high-pitched whine as Janie Walker adjusts her nearly completed quilt beneath a two-inch steel needle. “What I’m doing is pretty much putting together a sandwich,” she says. Walker’s fingers deftly glide across the quilt’s surface, below is a layer of padding, which is protected by two sides of […]
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‘Totally exhausted’: Santa Maria dips into reserve funds to balance budget
Santa Maria has a balanced budget for its next two fiscal years, but the equilibrium came at the cost of millions of dollars in precious funds usually reserved for times of economic instability. Officials say the move was necessary given the city’s growing pension payout obligations, which saw a spike of nearly $4 million in […]
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Lompoc city council places pot tax on November ballot
Lompoc residents will get to decide whether to pass a new tax on cannabis in the Nov. 6 general election following the adoption of two resolutions by its City Council on June 19, effectively reversing their decision this past March to not explore a ballot measure. At that time earlier this spring, Councilmember Jenelle Osborne […]
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Hollister Ranch hearing set amid public backlash
Out of the hundreds of comments submitted to the California Coastal Commission regarding public access to Hollister Ranch, only a handful are positive. As of the Sun‘s press time, more than 600 hundred public comments had been submitted to the commission, all but three of which were intensely critical of the deal that would limit […]
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Spotlight on: Santa Maria city department closures
Mark van de Kamp, public information officer
On June 14, Santa Maria public information officer Mark van de Kamp sent out an email explaining that some city departments would begin closing every Friday starting on June 29. He said the decision was made due to budget cuts. “The Friday closures are in an effort to aid staff in completing job duties during […]
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Waterwise: Twitchell Management Authority gives update on Santa Maria groundwater while wary of fluctuating future
The public has a little more than 30 days to comment on a report released by the engineering firm Luhdorff and Scalmanini detailing hydrologic conditions for the Santa Maria Valley Management Area. On June 12, at the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors hearing room in Santa Maria, Senior Hydrologist Liese Schadt told a small […]
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ICE arrests 22 in county, 15 in Santa Maria
Officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested more than a dozen undocumented Santa Maria residents over the course of a three-day sweep beginning on Sunday, June 10. The arrests were part of a larger operation that resulted in more than 160 arrests in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. […]