Emergencies don’t often happen when expected. The unforeseen is usually what contributes to panic and disorder during a crisis. This is when the American Red Cross Preparedness and Response Center in Santa Maria would step in. That is, if it existed. In order to help residents of northern Santa Barbara County more efficiently the Red […]
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Santa Barbara County joins efforts to ease volatile fire season
Planning on grilling steaks or roasting marshmallows over a campfire during the Fourth of July weekend? Well, don’t do it—unless it’s at a designated campfire location. According to a press release from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, the county fire department, in conjunction with all other fire departments in the county, is banning open […]
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Federal funds for repairs to Santa Maria River Levee await final approval
The U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved the earmarking of $8.5 million in the 2009 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill on June 25, to help stabilize and repair the Santa Maria River Levee. Earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) requested federal funding to allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin […]
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Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury questions status of Child Welfare Services
A recent Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury report, investigating the county’s Child Welfare Services, found that the department “lacks stability.” According to the report, “While Child Welfare Services (CWS) has a process to deal with the children at each age stage in the system from initial contact, to court hearing, to permanent placement, to […]
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Meet Matt Kokkonen
The 23 District Congressional candidate shares his vision of American life
To hear him answer the question “How do you see yourself?” Matt Kokkonen is a living embodiment of the American Dream. “I’m just an immigrant boy from Finland,” he answers, deliberately understating his achievements and his ambitions. He may have washed up on the shores of New York with only a single suitcase, and 16 […]
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Born free
Local group pressures hospitals to let mothers give birth naturally after c-sections
Members of the local organization Birth Action Coalition gathered on June 23, outside Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, carrying signs in one hand and babies in the other, to protest what they called the hospital’s “ban on Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC).” The coalition’s goal is to “help create supportive natural birth environments in the […]
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A very bad joke?
John Denver, Sisyphus, and a survivor Twinkie. This assortment of characters has all the makings of the worst joke ever told. Or the best assortment of short stories ever published. You’ll have to be the judge. I can’t believe that the cold, clinical measurements and algorithms of science and math could ever be applied to […]
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Benefits of Being Thrifty On the Central Coast
The ribbon has been cut, opening a new thrift store with the lofty goal of benefiting the homeless and the poor of the Central Coast. Free hot dogs and sodas weren’t the only benefits attributed to the grand opening of the Central Coast Rescue Mission’s thrift store on 306 N. Broadway in Santa Maria, although […]
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Santa Maria, Guadalupe to receive millions in state funding for water treatment plants
The cities of Santa Maria and Guadalupe announced earlier this month that they are planning to use a little over $9 million, awarded by the state, to help fund two major projects in the Santa Maria Valley area. In Santa Maria, $4.8 million will go toward expanding the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The city of […]
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Deadline for hands-free cell phones approaches
Starting July 1, Californians ages 18 and older, will be required to switch from using hand-held wireless phones to hands-free devices while driving a car. According to a press release from the California Highway Patrol, there are two acts going into affect in July. The first law prohibits all drivers from using handheld wireless phones […]
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County supes put out fireworks’ fire
Waving sparklers and other non-explosive fireworks in honor of Independence Day is now a thing of the past in Santa Barbara County following the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors June 17 decision to ban all fireworks in unincorporated areas of the county. The board voted 4-1, with 3rd District Supervisor Brooks Firestone dissenting, to […]
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Delta II rocket carries ocean reading satellite to space
A satellite intended to collect information about the ocean’s topography successfully launched aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base Saturday. The Delta II rocket launched from Space Launch Complex-2 at 12:46 a.m. Saturday, carrying the OSTM/Jason-2 satellite into an 830-mile near-circular orbit. Col. Steve Tanous, 30th Space Wing commander, was the spacelift […]
