• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently awarded a federal grant worth $289,150 to the Santa Barbara County Department of Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health. The money will go toward funding the department’s methamphetamine recovery services.The county is expected to use the funds to improve the drug court system, and to expand substance abuse treatment services offered to the county’s hardest-to-treat and severely addicted clients. In a release to the media, U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) said, “I am eager to see the results of these efforts to help individuals move away from the darkness and despair that feeds meth addiction. It is time that we take our communities back from meth.”
• Bust out the voter registration materials—the Republican North County Headquarters is now open to the public. Located at 307 Boone St. in Santa Maria, the center provides voter materials and information, along with yard signs, bumper stickers, and buttons supporting the party. For more information about the new center, call 937-0043 or 937-6706. Speaking of Republicans, on Sept. 26, the Santa Maria Valley Republicans will welcome keynote speaker Tony Strickland, 19th District State Senator candidate, at its monthly meeting and dinner at the Santa Maria Terrace (formerly Atria Maria del Sol), 1405 E. Main St., in Santa Maria. Dinner begins at 6 p.m. Cost is $20 per person. RSVP by calling 928-2955. And on Oct. 1, the Lompoc Valley Republican Club will sponsor a public forum featuring candidates for Lompoc mayor and city council at 6:30 p.m. at New Life Christian Academy, 816 North C St., in Lompoc. For people unable to attend, the forum will be aired later in October on TAP-TV channels 23, 24, or 25.
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 2, 2008.