Santa Maria residents mourned the loss of 17-year-old Alexis Mendoza Raymundo on Feb. 10 by holding candles and signs and crying for “justicia,” Rebekah Spicuglia—executive director for nonprofit One Community Action—recalled. Mendoza Raymundo was shot and killed on Feb. 5 at the Santa Maria Mall Town Center parking lot, leaving behind his mother, a monolingual […]
Taylor O'Connor
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Santa Barbara County rescinds indoor mask mandate
After analyzing recent data and looking at omicron’s characteristics, Santa Barbara County Public Health officials decided to end the local indoor mask mandate effective Feb. 16, aligning with California Department of Public Health decisions. “While the omicron variant has proved to be more transmissible than previous variants, it has also resulted in shorter periods of […]
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Santa Barbara County’s One Climate Initiative focuses on new planning elements with a goal of environmental justice
Santa Barbara County started the One Climate Initiative in 2020 to bring planners together to tackle major issues tied to climate change, according to county Planning and Development Senior Planner Zoë Carlson. “I like to think of One Climate as an umbrella of all our different planning elements. We are all moving forward concurrently with […]
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A county- and state-funded housing project proposed in Santa Maria exposes a bigger debate
A controversial plan to convert a Motel 6 on Santa Maria’s East Main Street into permanent housing for the homeless led to questions about the city’s ability to collaborate with Santa Barbara County on similar projects. Fifth District Santa Barbara County Supervisor Steve Lavagnino asked to pull the project from the Board of Supervisors’ Jan. […]
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The Santa Maria-Lompoc NAACP receives county recognition and hosts several Black History Month events
At the beginning of the month, Santa Maria-Lompoc NAACP President Lawanda Lyons-Pruitt drove up and down Santa Barbara County to receive resolutions from several cities and the Board of Supervisors recognizing February 2022 as Black History Month. “Our theme is Black joy and legacy and focuses on health and safety. … We talked about highlighting […]
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Grand jury points out issues with projects Homekey and Roomkey
While state-funded projects helped address some homelessness issues by creating more housing units during the pandemic, a recent Santa Barbara County grand jury report found that the county needs more permanent funding sources to continue its recent successes. “The grand jury found there was overwhelming evidence that demonstrated the effectiveness of Project Roomkey in providing […]
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Santa Barbara County passed its omicron peak
COVID-19 case numbers had dropped by 66 percent from Santa Barbara County’s peak in January, county Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso said on Feb. 8. “We looked at other places internationally that were ahead of us, and we saw that same rapid decline. We are pretty confident that the omicron variant had its peak in […]
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Lompoc teacher’s union declares impasse in salary talks
After nearly 100 hours of negotiations over salaries, the Lompoc Union School District decided it can’t give its teachers more than a 1.25 percent ongoing raise and $1,000 one-time payment. The Lompoc Federation of Teachers, the teachers union, has been pushing for raises to attract new employees to what it calls an “isolated” district and […]
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Santa Barbara County debuts its first all-electric bus
The Clean Air Express has a new 45-foot fully electric, inter-city commuter bus—the third electric commuter bus in the nation—that will begin weekday routes between Santa Maria and Lompoc and routes to employment locations in South Santa Barbara County. The bus made its debut with a ribbon cutting ceremony and guest speakers U.S. Rep. Salud […]
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Santa Maria Mayor’s Youth Task Force offers new activities for February
After Santa Maria experienced a series of violent incidents a few years ago, Mayor Alice Patino called parents and businesses together to brainstorm a way to combat the youth-on-youth violence and alarming rates of teen murders. Santa Maria saw 21 homicides in 14 months in 2016, a rate 80 percent higher than the national average, […]
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Santa Barbara County stopped allowing mental health evaluators to enter the Main Jail, pausing services for inmates
The Santa Maria Police Department arrested Jonathan Paul Thomas on suspicion of domestic violence and false imprisonment on Jan. 11 at 9:32 p.m. They transported him to the Santa Barbara County Main Jail, where the 45-year-old made statements about suicide and was escorted to a single-occupant safety cell, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Deputies found […]
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Corazón del Pueblo museum vandalized, staff verbally assaulted
An individual who works in the same building as the Corazón del Pueblo Cultural and Creative Arts Center destroyed an art panel, damaged the center’s floors, and physically threatened employees while shouting racial stereotypes about Latino communities on Jan. 18, Executive Director Alex Espinoza-Kulick said. “It was really upsetting to go through the vandalism. I […]
