Spotlight

After leaving the library building, the Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library was without a location for its bookstore for more than a year.  The nonprofit left its space in the building’s lobby following numerous disagreements with the library over contracts and lease agreements. During the past year, the Friends primarily sold its books […]

Jose Martinez and Ruben Dorado originally came to Guadalupe to add new territory to their cleaning business. They had already established themselves in Santa Barbara and wanted to grow the North County presence of their business, U.S. Cleaning Company. When they got to town, they found two things: a building for a good price and […]

After 31 years of owning and operating A Touch of Elegance, a wig shop on South Broadway in Santa Maria, Vicki Stovall-McKinley is looking forward to retirement.  She purchased the shop, which first opened 56 years ago, shortly after finishing beauty school when she was 30 years old. Stovall-McKinley said she felt compelled to visit […]

A new mental health clinic in Santa Maria is designed to give patients short-term, intensive care. #img15141 Balance Treatment Center offers an intensive outpatient program (IOP), which for most patients means a nine- to 15-hour weekly commitment. Coraline Robinson, the program director at the new location, which opened in early September, said it’s meant to […]

The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that 5.8 million people are living with Alzheimer’s disease in the U.S. The association projects this number will increase to nearly 14 million by 2050.  #img15118 Donna Beal, vice president of the Alzheimer’s Association Central Coast Chapter, said it’s hard to pin down an exact cause for this increase. However, she […]

David Ketelaar went to the Santa Maria City Council to ask for help.  As director of emergency services at Marian Regional Medical Center, he’s seen a growing number of patients with mental health needs and no local services that can offer emergency treatment. The Sierra Land Group, which used to own the Marian West campus, […]

Business is still booming for Katherine Fischer and her husband, Neil, who have operated a jewelry store in downtown Santa Maria for 40 years.  When Fischer’s Fine Jewelry opened in 1979 in the 600 block of South Broadway, it didn’t have a storefront. The business started as a trade shop where Fischer and her husband […]

”Come in and I’ll give you a taste of something fun.” The invitation came from Tim Woodbury, the owner, or as his business card reads, “Head Honcho” of Woody’s Butcher Block. He followed it up with a wave of a meaty hand. Toothpick between his fingers, he speared a piece of sausage, an experiment he […]

When Shane Piper first began brewing homemade kombucha about five years ago, it was limited to a 1-gallon container in one room of his house. This setup didn’t last long. After experimenting with different flavors, he began expanding into another room to make space for additional containers. “The kombucha moved from the office to the […]

What would become personal trainer April Sargeant’s life’s work first began as a request. It came from Lisa Murray, a fellow attendee of a women’s group who asked Sargent to work with her husband, Ed. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative condition that weakens motor skills and often slurs speech. Sargeant had […]

For 23 years, the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum has provided children with a space to play while learning about the Central Coast and developing important motor and social skills.  Educating children has always been at the core of the museum’s mission, but since last year, the museum has worked on strengthening this effort, Executive […]

The idea was simple: offer folks a seed library and watch the community bloom. Librarian Gillian Speicher took the lead of the project at the Santa Maria Public Library, a chance to latch on to a national sensation that sought to turn gardeners into library members.  The movement reached national heights in 2013 on the […]