FRIDAY, FEB. 20 • The Santa Maria City/County Coalition for the Homeless has its regular meeting from 10 a.m. to noon at the Betteravia Government Center conference room, 511 East Lakeside Parkway. • The Lompoc City/County Coalition for the Homeless has its regular meeting from noon to 1 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors Conference […]
Community Notebook
Posted inNews
Community clock comes to Old Orcutt
Shoppers and diners in Old Town Orcutt will soon be able to tell perfect time from a 17-foot-tall, 1,000-plus pound Orcutt community clock. On Feb. 24, at 5 p.m., locals and Santa Barbara County supervisors Joni Gray and Joe Centeno will watch the clock start to tick. The dedication and tree-planting celebration is at 120 […]
Posted inNews
Justice, judgeship, and Jean
Newly appointed Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Jean Dandona always knew she wanted to help people for a living. Unlike her father, Dandona didn’t want to serve in the Air Force, and she didn’t yet feel called to preside over a courtroom. “I actually wanted to be an FBI agent,” Dandona told the Sun […]
Posted inNews
Combat foreclosure with the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation
On Feb. 21, the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation and the city of Santa Maria will host a free foreclosure solutions workshop at the Santa Maria Public Library, 421 S. McClelland St., in Shepard Hall. The workshop will be held in English from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Spanish from 1 to 3 p.m. […]
Posted inNews
Santa Barbara County Supervisors will rethink their rejection of state-mandated housing project
Not long after voting to reject an affordable housing mandate from the state, Santa Barbara County Supervisor Janet Wolf (2nd District) sent a letter to her fellow board members requesting that they reconsider the matter at an upcoming meeting. Wolf’s suggestion seems to have been prompted by the threat of a lawsuit and the possible […]
Posted inNews
Santa Barbara County Planning Commission hands La Purisima Resort project over to supervisors
After multiple postponements and several meetings’ worth of discussion, the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission decided on Feb. 11 to let the Board of Supervisors have the final say on the potential construction of a hotel and resort in Lompoc. The Hunter/La Purisima Resort project calls for the construction of an 80-room resort, restaurant, spa […]
Posted inNews
Santa Barbara County Supervisors give proposed Lompoc wind farm the go-ahead
An energy company might soon harness Lompoc’s winds to provide energy to up to 50,000 homes. On Feb. 10, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0, with 4th District Supervisor Joni Gray abstaining, to approve the project after denying the only remaining appeal filed against it. Originally, two parties—the California Department of Fish […]
Posted inNews
School district braces for employee layoffs
At its Feb. 11 meeting, the Santa Maria Joint Union School District School Board of Trustees hammered out a framework for determining how teachers will get laid off. The district will lose almost $5 million over the next few years because of the state budget crisis. To cope with that financial hardship, the district is […]
Posted inNews
Help stop the cycle of abuse
The Santa Barbara County Human Services Commission is currently accepting grant applications for batterers’ treatment starting April 1 and running through July 30, 2010. Funds available for the period total $20,182.50, subject to the Board of Supervisors’ final budget decisions. Grant applicants must be nonprofit 501(c) organizations and comply with county nondiscrimination policies. The grants […]
Posted inNews
Be on the alert this tax season
Santa Barbara County Clerk, Recorder, and Assessor Joseph Holland recently sent out a warning to county taxpayers. “Our office reviews property values for free; it’s part of our job,” he said in a news release. “We proactively seek out and review thousands of properties.” His announcement came after mailers came to county residents, offering a […]
Posted inNews
HR has never looked this good
Your People Professionals and the Santa Maria Enterprise Center are holding a joint open house for local businesses. Your People Professionals, which handles human resources for companies and businesses, overhauled its technical infrastructure, remodeled its building, and added wireless networking to its conference room. Check out the shiny new improvements on March 5. The Santa […]
Posted inOpinion
Look to the right
True conservatives believe: Eight-hundred billion dollars to help our own country is too much, but $1 trillion for the Iraq War was money well spent. Spending is not stimulus, it’s how liberals waste our tax dollars. Tax cuts for the rich are the best way to help middle-class Americans—trickle-down economics works. Rush Limbaugh spoke the […]
