After 16 years with Bill Brown in office, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Juan Camarena thought it was time for a change and decided to run for sheriff in the June 2022 election. “I’m very passionate about law enforcement, and I want to bring new leadership and ideas. I want to bring the Sheriff’s […]
Taylor O'Connor
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Environmental nonprofit plans to sue Santa Maria Airport
Disturbing land that’s home to the California tiger salamander put the Santa Maria Airport District on the Center for Biological Diversity’s short list for a potential lawsuit. Despite acknowledging the salamander’s existence by putting together a habitat conservation plan (HCP) on behalf of the endangered species in 2016, center Senior Scientist Tiffany Yap said the […]
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Presale tickets are available for the Santa Maria Strawberry festival’s in-person return
Bright pink strawberry lemonade and powdered-sugar coated strawberry funnel cake will soon be sipped and devoured as the Santa Maria Strawberry Festival makes its return to an in-person event at the Santa Maria Fairpark. “The strawberry festival has been around for over 30 years. In 2020 we were unable to do it, and in 2021 […]
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Residents and workers complain about oversight at the Santa Maria Cemetery, which is showing little sign of changing
To honor the memory of her son, Connie Branquinho recently placed a $100 personalized cross on his gravesite at the Santa Maria Cemetery, but it disappeared. He passed away from an accidental fentanyl overdose in May 2021, and it’s not the first time items have disappeared from the family’s gravesites. Branquinho’s father—a war veteran—is also […]
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County officials expected higher numbers from homeless count
After more than 400 volunteers hit Santa Barbara County’s streets in February to capture a snapshot of those experiencing homelessness, the 2022 Point-In-Time Count’s preliminary results showed a 3.4 percent increase over 2020. The count showed 1,962 people were experiencing homelessness in the county on Feb. 23, according to a county Housing and Development press […]
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Santa Maria mobile home residents advocate for rent stabilization through challenging city politics
Rancho Buena Vista Mobile Home Park resident Gary Hall has spoken at the last 27 Santa Maria City Council meetings. His mission: to get a mobile home rent stabilization ordinance on the council’s agenda. A rent stabilization ordinance would limit the amount by which landowners can increase the rent each year, said Hall, the North […]
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Cottage Health awards toxic stress prevention grants to community organizations
When a child is exposed to a prolonged amount of stress—like caregiver neglect, substance abuse, mental illness, exposure to violence, or emotional abuse—it can affect their mental health and well-being in the long run, said Cottage Health Population Health Program Manager Ama Atiedu. The constant adversity in their lives can lead to toxic stress, a […]
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District Attorney rules Lompoc officer-involved homicide was ‘justifiable’
Fifteen of the 26 bullets Lompoc police officers fired at 32-year-old Travis Daniel Carlon on Oct. 9, 2021, struck his body, according to a recently released investigation from the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office. The office ruled Carlon’s death a “justifiable homicide.” Senior Deputy District Attorney Anne Nudson said the DA’s Office concluded that […]
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Board of Supervisors candidates run unopposed in 2022
For the third cycle in a row, 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino will be running unopposed for his seat on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. “I either figure people think I’m doing a good job—or doing my best—or it’s so screwed up that no one wants the job,” he said. “I get a […]
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Guadalupe projects receive millions in federal funds
Guadalupe’s Escalante Meadows Community Center and LeRoy Park will get long-awaited facelifts after receiving $4.2 million in federal funds—approved by the Biden administration on March 15, U.S. Rep Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) told the Sun. After going through a rigorous application process, the Escalante Meadows Community Center will receive $2.5 million to create an early […]
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The Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum reopens to the public
Arts and crafts, Lego building, space exploration, farming opportunities, and sea life discovery returned for kids when the Santa Maria Discovery Museum welcomed the public and celebrated its re-opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce on March 18. The Discovery Museum opened its doors—with modified hours—after 22 […]
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County supervisors’ rejection of the ExxonMobil oil trucking proposal highlights a decades-long debate
About 200 community members’ voices—crying out either for climate change awareness and against the oil industry’s negative environmental impact, or for jobs needed in the community and in favor of the industry’s economic benefit—echoed in rapid-fire one-minute public comments on March 8. Although the project up for discussion at the Santa Barbara County Board of […]
