Shooting investigation. Homicide investigation. Firearms seized. Homicide investigation. Homicide arrest. Felony hit and run arrest. Two homicide investigations. Gang-related shootings. The list continues as you scroll through recent posts on the Lompoc Police Department bulletins page, which announces the department’s activities and investigations. Violent crime is tangled throughout Lompoc’s history, and city officials, grassroots organizations, […]
Taylor O'Connor
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Santa Maria-Bonita picks new voting areas despite extension requests
After more than an hour of debate on March 9, the Santa Maria-Bonita School District board approved a new map designating board member voting areas, in the face of a community push for more time to consider all of the maps presented during the redistricting process. Following the 2020 census—a data collection process that occurs […]
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Potential Santa Maria redistricting map promotes accessibility
Santa Maria could be looking at a future where City Council members are chosen based on the city’s classic dividing lines: Main Street and Broadway. The city’s voters starting electing candidates from the districts they lived in during the 2018 election, and now Santa Maria’s adopting new district boundaries based on the 2020 census—a data […]
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The Santa Maria Women’s March comes back together for its first in-person celebration in two years
Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” inspired Lata Murti and fellow Women’s March Santa Maria Valley planning committee members for this year’s women’s march: Still, We Rise. “It’s also inspired by the fact that women all over the world are always rising up against injustices, and part of what identifying as a woman [means is] […]
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Santa Barbara County Fire announces new Orcutt station
Emergency and fire response times in Orcutt could improve in the future as the Santa Barbara County Fire Department begins the process of adding a new fire station in the unicorporated area. Fire Chief Mark Hartwig and county 5th District Supervisor Bob Nelson hosted a community meeting on March 1 at the proposed site for […]
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A Central Coast Dignity Health nurse raises funds for Cuddle Cots to help families with newborn deaths
After 14 weeks of pregnancy, Ashley Agnitch was told her daughter had trisomy 18 (or Edwards’ syndrome), a genetic abnormality that limited her daughter’s heart from fully developing, and was not expected to survive pregnancy, labor, or delivery, Agnitch recalled. “They had told me that the pregnancy would end in miscarriage and also offered—and recommended—medical […]
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Mental health survey highlights disparities in Spanish-speaking communities
Although the majority of the public experienced mental health impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most Spanish speakers in Santa Barbara County reported no negative impacts, according to a county behavioral wellness assessment. Behavioral Wellness Chief of Strategy and Community Engagement Susan Grimmesey presented these differences and the general need for more universal care at […]
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Santa Maria officials and organizations collaborate for riverbed cleanup
Trained volunteers from several organizations collected an estimated 50,000 pounds of trash and abandoned materials from the Santa Maria Riverbed and connected about 35 people to resources during a homeless encampment cleanup, Santa Maria Public Information Officer Mark van de Kamp said. “We’ve had—like most cities in California—homelessness is a very complex social problem with […]
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A recent Board of Supervisors decision opens doors for cannabis growers, but residents remain concerned
When California legalized adult recreational cannabis consumption in 2016, Santa Barbara County created an ordinance to regulate the new industry and welcomed cannabis into the agricultural community. But that approach created a new set of challenges. “What we’ve done with cannabis in Santa Barbara County is we’ve built the plane while we were in mid-flight, […]
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More than a dozen arrested during human trafficking sting
Almost 500 people across the state were picked up for crimes associated with human trafficking in a February sting operation that included more than 80 federal and local law enforcement agencies—14 were arrested in Santa Barbara County. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force participated in the eighth annual Operation Reclaim and […]
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Lompoc man sentenced to federal prison for involuntary manslaughter
Lompoc resident Michael Culligan—who crashed a stolen Jeep near Vandenberg Space Force Base, killed another driver, and severely injured the passenger while under the influence of drugs—was recently sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison. The 30-year-old drove a 2019 Jeep Wrangler on base property, swerved into oncoming traffic, and collided head-on with a […]
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K-12 students experience heightened anxiety and combat other mental health-related issues as they return to in-person learning
Fighting, fidgeting, or a lack of focus. Sudden withdrawal or violent outbursts. Students can express their anxiety in many ways, it all depends on the individual and their experiences, said Lompoc Unified School District Social-Emotional Learning Counselor Emily Stone. “A lot of students are coming in for panic attacks. Often they say, ‘I zone out […]
