In March, longtime Santa Maria residents Dorothy and Mark Smith donated a new 2009 Dodge Caravan to the Santa Maria-Bonita School District’s Special Education Department. The van will be used for the severely handicapped students’ community-based instructional program, which develops students’ functional skills and fosters independence at school and within the community by taking them […]
Santa Maria-Bonita School District’s special education department gets some new wheels
Posted inNews
Children can get a ‘Head Start’ with the Economic Opportunity Commission
The school year might be winding down in the next few months, but the Economic Opportunity Commission is already recruiting children and families for its Head Start programs. The Early Head Start program is a home-based program, and the Head Start program offers part-day centers at several Central Coast locations, including Nipomo, Oceano, and San […]
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Santa Maria’s looking for a few good junior firefighters
For boys and girls dreaming of putting on a firefighter’s helmet and getting up close and personal with a fire truck, the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department is offering a Junior Firefighter’s Camp July 13 to 17 at Fire Station No. 2, 416 W. Carmen Lane, in Santa Maria. The hands-on four-day camp is […]
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Balloons in the classroom
Integrated science teacher Ty Frederiks (center) and his Orcutt Academy students collected data from balloon-suspended sensors to monitor the weather during the school’s first-ever Balloon Festival on April 23 and 24. The students made projections about different weather components—temperature, atmospheric pressure—and then compared those hypotheses to the data they collected. “I’ve never done anything like […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Table up for beer pong
I enjoy the finer things in life. For instance: ping pong and beer. I like my ping-pong to be played in dirty garages on old, faded, warped tables, and I like my beer in the bottle, or in the can, or from a keg, I suppose. Eh, come to think of it, when it comes […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Get your pottery
Support local artists and browse the Allan Hancock College spring pottery sale from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 15 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 16, inside the Santa Maria campus student center (building G), room 106. Find handmade, unique pieces for birthdays, anniversaries, or Mother’s Day. The two-day event features […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
And sing some more
The California Mid-State Fair is seeking national anthem singers. Each year, the fair offers opportunities for singers to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” prior to shows at the Main Grandstand Arena. Applicants must submit a DVD showing the applicant singing the national anthem along with contact information to California Mid-State Fair, Attention: Kim Tankersley, P.O. Box […]
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Hear them sing
Singing auditions for children for the seventh annual Central Coast Follies benefit Love is in the Air will be held from 5:30 to 6 p.m. on May 31 at the Clark Center Studio Theater in Arroyo Grande. Love is in the Air, directed by Jason Sumabat with help from Kalleen Corley, will benefit Parkinson’s disease […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Local blues
When you go to a Pryor Baird and the Deacons performance, there’s no doubt you should do what you want to do: clap your hands, stand up and dance, whatever—as long as you get swept up in the jazzy, bluesy tunes that bounce from the band. Pryor Baird, on the other hand, does what he […]
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Get caught up in Deathtrap
There’s no suspense like live theater suspense, when the plot is unfolding right before your eyes. And there’s no better place for that kind of suspense than an intimate space, where you can feel like you’re right in the room with the characters—a space like Santa Maria Civic Theatre’s. The group’s latest production, Deathtrap, is […]
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Meet baseball’s new chiefs
Baseball fans saddened by the news that the Santa Maria Indians won’t be taking the field this year, take heart. There’s a new tribe in town. When the California Collegiate League begins play in June, the upstart College Wahoos will take the field as a last-minute replacement for the financially troubled club. Team organizer Vince […]
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Out for trout at Lopez Lake
Anglers of all ages will be fishing for cash prizes at the eighth annual Reel ’Em In Trout Derby set for May 2 and 3 at Lopez Lake. The grand prize for the most tagged trout is $3,000. Second place wins $1,000, and $500 will be awarded for third. Kids 15 and younger and adults […]