The Buellton Chamber of Commerce will honor businesses certified as “green” by the Green Business Program of Santa Barbara County (GBPSBC) during 2010 at a luncheon on Feb. 9. Mark Heintz, corporate responsibility and sustainability director for Deckers Outdoor Corporation, will serve as the event’s keynote speaker. The luncheon will be held from 11:30 a.m. […]
‘Green’ businesses to be honored
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Paramount Communications gets political
Salinas-based public relations firm Paramount Communications is launching a Political Action Committee (PAC) in Santa Barbara County to raise money for Republican and other fiscally conservative, pro-business candidates for public office. The PAC—the Central Coast Local Leadership Fund—is currently recruiting a Board of Advisors. The Convere Group, LLC, a communications and development firm in Silicon […]
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McCune Foundation distributes grants
The McCune Foundation on Dec. 20 announced the award of more than $360,000 in grant money for community organizing and social justice initiatives in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. The group made a total of 15 grants to support organizing efforts by farm workers, renters, parents, youth, and others seeking to improve their lives and […]
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Community Notebook – 12.30
TUESDAY, JAN. 4 • The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has its regular meeting at 9 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 105 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara. Agendas are available at santabarbara.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx#current. • The Vandenberg Village Community Services District has its regular board meeting at 7 p.m. in the District […]
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Political Watch – 12.30
Based on the first wave of U.S. Census data released on Dec. 21, the state of California will maintain its 53 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. According to House officials, each district will now include approximately 710,000 people. Texas will gain four congressional seats. Florida will gain two seats. Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, […]
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Hobnobbing with Helen
Smells of Costco lasagna wafted through the kitchen—not quite chestnuts roasting on an open fire, but you get the idea. It was a Christmas party with twinkling lights and the din of holiday conversation filling in for Yuletide carols. Jack Frost wasn’t anywhere nearby, but Dale Johnson was. This past president of Breakfast Rotary whispered […]
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Aspire with Aspiranet
The Central Coast has a dire need for more local foster families. Aspiranet is a community-based nonprofit that’s brought children and families together for 35 years. Though headquartered in San Francisco, Aspiranet has been serving the Central Coast—from Northern Santa Barbara County to all of San Luis Obispo County—for 19 years. It’s helped provide safe […]
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Trash your tree responsibly
The city of Santa Maria will be conducting curbside Christmas tree collections Jan. 3 through 7 on regular residential garbage pick-up days. Santa Barbara County residents will receive similarly scheduled services from Health Sanitation Services. To be picked up, Christmas trees must be placed on the curb at least three feet away from all trash […]
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State Parks Oceano Dunes study held up by appeal
The already complicated process for developing a dust-control strategy for the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreational Area has hit another snag. On Dec. 3, the San Luis Obispo County Planning Department approved a minor-use permit for the state’s two-year plan to install five 30-foot air monitoring towers, which would be used to measure wind patterns […]
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No charges for arrested Santa Maria police officer
After a nearly three-month investigation, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office decided it won’t file charges against a Santa Maria police officer arrested in October on suspicion of domestic violence. Investigators cited a lack of evidence in the decision regarding Israel Diaz, 25, who remains on paid administrative leave from the Santa Maria Police […]
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Walmart challenges Lompoc planners on expansion’s potential to increase ‘urban decay’
After losing a battle over a proposed expansion to its Lompoc store, Walmart is fighting back, arguing the project won’t negatively impact local businesses or cause downtown blight as city planners fear. An update to the project’s Urban Decay Study, submitted to the Lompoc Planning Commission on Dec. 16, contends downtown Lompoc shows no signs […]
Posted inFood & Drink
To the new year!
What is it about the arrival of a new year that calls for a beverage alive with crystalline bubbles? Happy toasts delivered over spirits or still wine just don’t seem as festive as those made while lifting glasses teeming with ascending columns of sparkling light. With all the attributes of a fine wine, Champagne pleases […]