Spotlight

The County of Santa Barbara Commission for Women and the American Association of University Women are combining forces to present a free panel discussing the empowerment of women in the workplace on April 30. Featured speakers will be Angel Cottrell of Women’s Economic Ventures, Maria Fabula of the Nonprofit Support Center, Kelly Jenkins-Pultz of the […]

Bringing Our Community Home, an organization dedicated to ending chronic homelessness in Santa Barbara County, appointed John Buttny as interim executive director. Buttny previously served as the organization’s project coordinator and brings more than 30 years of community leadership and public service experience to the job. He received an undergraduate degree in philosophy from the […]

Banking analyst BauerFinancial awarded Community Bank of Santa Maria five stars in its annual ratings. That’s the highest rating the independent research firm can give. Community Bank of Santa Maria is headquartered in Santa Maria. It opened in March 2001 and now operates three local branches and boasts 52 employees. BauerFinancial has reported on the […]

Local restaurants are serving up fine food at delicious prices during the first-ever “DineOut: Santa Maria Style” promotion, set for April 20 through 26. Special menus and pricing will be available all week at five participating eateries: the Garden Room at the Historic Santa Maria Inn, the Hitching Post in Casmalia, Vintner’s Bar and Grill […]

Get your Bret Maverick on at the Nipomo Chamber of Commerce’s annual Old West Casino Night fundraiser, set for April 18 at Edwards Barn on the corner of Pomeroy and Willow Road in Nipomo. Running from 5 to 10 p.m., the event includes a barbecue dinner, casino gaming tables, dancing, a silent and a live […]

First-time homebuyers can find help when it comes to making loan decisions and avoid getting into a bad investment by attending a free seminar on April 22 in Orcutt. Peoples’ Self-Help Housing will be host to the workshop from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Mariposa Townhomes, 290 Park View South. Brian Kerrigan, the organization’s housing […]

The Santa Barbara Foundation, a nonprofit serving Santa Barbara County, announced Martha Harmon as its new vice president of programs. Harmon will oversee five employees, providing direction and managing the foundation’s discretionary grant making. She’ll also be responsible for building coalitions on community initiatives. The former CEO of the Arizona Scholarship Foundation also served on […]

Wells Fargo Private Client Services announced that it’s added a new financial advisor to handle investment clients in Nipomo and Grover Beach. Jay Hutchcraft, who has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Hawaii and more than three years of experience in financial services, joins Chris Corona, Jeff Oetman, and Scott Holmes on […]

The Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County welcomed city of Goleta councilmember Michael T. Bennett to its board of directors. Bennett has served on the Goleta City Council since 2006 and represents the city in the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments. He’s president of the League of California Cities Channel Counties Division and […]

Most people have heard of Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club. On April 24, Allan Hancock College will take a page from Tan’s book—so to speak—by hosting the Joy Work Club Women’s Conference from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Santa Maria campus Student Center. The club is a network of businesswomen meeting to […]

The Santa Maria Chamber of Commerce is holding its 19th annual Strawberry Industry Recognition Dinner on April 8 at the Santa Maria Fairpark to promote and honor strawberry industry workers. Two strawberry growers, one cooler or processing company, one sales association, and one supervisor or manager will be honored at the event, which begins at […]

Trent Bendetti, a certified public accountant and proprietor of the accounting firm Bendetti Associates, will present a Form 990 workshop on March 31 at the Santa Maria Public Library. New features on the tax form include changes to reporting on governance and management practices, executive compensation, endowments, conflict of interest policy, and whistle-blower policy. The […]