MONDAY, NOV. 9 • The Santa Maria City Block Grants Advisory Committee has its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Conference Room, 110 E. Cook St., Santa Maria. TUESDAY, NOV. 10 • The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has its regular meeting at 9 a.m. in the Betteravia Government Center’s […]
Community Notebook 11-5
Posted inNews
Hobnobbing with Helen
What is it about the Foodbank’s annual Empty Bowls event that attracts ever so many people? About 700 showed up for lunch on Oct. 28, 11:30-ish, at the Fairpark. This is amazing! Every year, the crowd gets larger. Those at the head of the line got first crack at choosing a bowl from […]
Posted inNews
A tree grows in Lompoc
As a gift to beautify the façade of Homebase on G, a new housing development for disabled residents and low-wage earners in Lompoc, four adult trees were planted with help from a $1,500 donation from the Lompoc Valley Botanic and Horticultural Society. The trees are two holly oaks, and two Chinese flames. “It […]
Posted inNews
Local cops aren’t subject to drug testing
Many jobs these days require random drug testing: If you want to drive a bus in Santa Barbara County, get ready for random drug tests. If you drive a limousine, a taxi, or an ambulance, you’ll be tested over the length of your driving career. And while the Santa Maria Joint Unified School District doesn’t […]
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Kokkonen to race again
When he was 16 years old, Matt Kokkonen emigrated from Finland to the United States. Kokkonen said he knew he wanted to live in America shortly after his father died. “I dragged my mother down to the U.S. Embassy at Helsinki and went [abroad] by myself,” Kokkonen recalled in a recent interview with the […]
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Book teaches people what to do If Love Hurts
Santa Barbara County nonprofit Domestic Violence Solutions recently published the book, If Love Hurts, in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Written mostly by survivors of abuse living in Santa Barbara County, the book is a collection of stories designed to tell the truth about the effects of physical and emotional violence on children, […]
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Hancock development workshop is open to all local contractors
On Nov. 6, Allan Hancock College will be hosting a free contracting workshop where participants can learn more about the upcoming capital improvement projects being developed as part of the college’s facilities master plan. This includes the Student Services Center set to break ground early next year. Sponsored by the college and the Santa […]
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Vandenberg schedules controlled burn to collect air quality data
Vandenberg Air Force Base engineers are planning to conduct two separate controlled burns on land near the base in Lompoc from now until Nov. 13, base officials recently announced. The burns will take place from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in two different locations. The Grant Burn includes more than 300 acres north of […]
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Waterfield leaves Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce to focus on Assembly race
After almost six years of service, Etta Waterfield is stepping down as head of the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Committee to focus on her campaign for the 33rd District Assembly seat. Her last day at the chamber was Oct. 30. “The reason I am stepping down from this wonderful organization […]
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SLORTA gives up on $900,000 green dream and goes back to diesels
The hybrid vehicle movement had finally come to public transportation on the Central Coast. At least that’s the way it was advertised when the San Luis Obispo Regional Transportation Authority (SLORTA), the consortium that operates more than 40 buses on routes between San Simeon and Santa Maria, bought two hybrid-electric buses a few years ago […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Bridget Wilson
After Bridget Wilson scored the “winning goal” on Dr. Jose Ortiz, Allan Hancock College president, during the unveiling of the new soccer scoreboard, I approached her with utmost caution: It’s not wise to make the school president look like a bad goalie. Wilson has no recollection of when she started playing soccer. From what […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Soft tip, dead aim
Think you’ve got the chops to put plastic on target inside a space the size of a quarter from six feet away? There are some people at DJ’s Saloon in Lompoc who want to have a word with you. DJ’s hosts an open soft-tip dart tournament every Sunday starting around 1 p.m. and running […]