Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached another settlement with some former clients of the Casmalia Resources Superfund Site, a now defunct toxic waste dump that collected more than 5.6 billion pounds of waste in the 1970s and ’80s. Since the mid 1990s, the EPA has been seeking monetary settlements to help pay for […]
Casmalia revisited
Posted inNews
Make way for the prisoners
Under a bill recently signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, tens of thousands of lower-level state inmates will be transferred to county jails over the next few years, and counties are scrambling to figure out where to put them. With April’s passage of Assembly Bill 109, up to 50,000 state inmates convicted of nonviolent crimes could […]
Posted inNews
State Assembly passes anti-rape legislation
State legislation that aims to strengthen rape statutes is one step closer to becoming a reality. On May 9, the Assembly unanimously approved AB 765, a bill introduced by Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian (R-San Luis Obispo) and championed by Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley. If passed, the bill will clarify that an attacker who […]
Posted inNews
Pink slips issued for Santa Barbara County employees
At the beginning of this month, approximately 130 Santa Barbara County positions were cut to help close a $72 million budget deficit. Jeri Muth, interim human resources director for the county, said in addition to the pink slips for some current employees, some unfilled positions were also eliminated. However, the total number of employee reductions […]
Posted inNews
It’s official: The Lompoc Walmart expansion is happening
After years of back-and-forth bickering, it seems Lompoc residents opposed to enlarging the existing Walmart retail center have exhausted all their options. The grassroots activist group Citizens Against Walmart Expansion (CAWE) filed an appeal to the city planning commission’s February approval of the project. At its May 3 meeting, the City Council finally put the […]
Posted inNews
Bill to authorize Orcutt memorial moves forward
A state Senate bill that would allow for the construction of a veterans’ memorial at the entrance to Old Town Orcutt is on its way to the Senate Appropriations Committee. With an 8-1 vote, Senate Bill 443, authored by Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Simi Valley), passed through the Transportation and Housing Committee on May 5. The […]
Posted inNews
Goleta double homicide from 1981 linked to Original Night Stalker case
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department officials have positively linked a 1981 double-homicide in Goleta to the Original Night Stalker, a serial killer believed to have terrorized Sacramento, Ventura, and Orange counties in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The department announced May 5 that with the help of advances in DNA technology, investigators were able […]
Posted inOpinion
What’s your dream piñata?
Ben Lukens student “Maybe a giant SpongeBob—that would be funny.” Janet Silveria chief operating officer “A sombrero, so I’m not hurting an animal.” Lizzett Cuadros new accounts representative “A toro—that would be pretty cool. Only because that would be fun.” Jose Parra hairdresser “I’d only hit one shaped like a star, because I couldn’t hit […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The necessary invention of mothers
This month I celebrate mothers, especially my own, in honor of Mothers’ Day (this Sunday, just in case it slipped your ungrateful mind). My mother and I have a solid, communicative, and loving relationship because my mother has always accepted me for who and what I am—a punishment from God. I admit, I was not […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
‘Devotion’ to music
The Allan Hancock College Singers have been practicing their parts diligently all semester (not acting parts, but singing parts: bass, tenor, alto, and soprano), in preparation for the choir’s spring concert “Devotion.” The program includes music that spans centuries of musical tradition. “It’s a little open ended, because I don’t tell you devotion to what, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Lend a helping hand to Japan
The Japan Earthquake Tsunami Support organization, along with the Santa Maria Japanese Community Center (SMJCC), in conjunction with Christ United Methodist Church and other civic/religious organizations, is sponsoring a fundraiser to be held at the Santa Maria Town Center on May 14 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to benefit the victims of the earthquake […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Arts Council winners set to perform
The winners of the Santa Maria Arts Council Grants in the Arts have been selected; they’ll perform at the Grants Showcase on May 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Center. The $1,500 first-place award winners are Christopher Cortez of Guadalupe (dance), Sean Peters of San Luis Obispo (drama), Thomas Li of Lompoc (music), […]
