Students from lower-income families are poised to receive much-needed school supplies through a debut partnership between the Central Coast chapters of Planet Fitness and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast. Theresa Cappelletty, Planet Fitness’ regional manager, told the Sun that the two groups came together to promote a judgment-free environment for kids. […]
Local Boys and Girls Clubs, Planet Fitness organize school supply drive in Santa Maria and Atascadero
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Political Watch: August 6, 2023
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) joined members of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments and other state and local officials to highlight more than $70 million in federal funding that his work in Congress helped deliver for improvements to U.S. Highway 101 in Santa Barbara County, boosting the more than 17-year effort […]
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Newsom’s senior advisor on homelessness visits Santa Barbara County
Hafsa Kaka, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s senior advisor on homelessness, was scheduled to visit Hedges House of Hope in Isla Vista, Buena Tierra in Goleta, DignityMoves in Santa Barbara, and a future housing project, La Posada, in unincorporated Santa Barbara on Aug. 2, after the Sun went to press. Lucille Boss, Santa Barbara County’s encampment response […]
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Project developer defends Dana Reserve ahead of final impact report
Titan Drama Hall of Fame photos presided over the more than 300 people seated in metal folding chairs at Nipomo High School’s cafeteria/performing arts center on July 24. Green Nipomo Action Committee shirts competed for attention with heather blue Home For All tees as South County Advisory Council chair Kevin Beauchamp attempted to call attention […]
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County looks to future ag industry challenges after releasing 2022 crop report
Agriculture remains Santa Barbara County’s largest producing industry with a gross production value of more than $1.93 billion, according to the 2022 county Agricultural Crop Report—a 5 percent increase from the 2021’s numbers. “We are certainly seeing an increase as we are getting out of the COVID-19 pandemic, as more and more people are going […]
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Whose water?
As the Cuyama Unified School District stepped out of a financial crisis after years of budget struggles, Bolthouse Farms and Grimmway Farms sued the district over groundwater rights. And if the district didn’t join in the adjudication case, it risked losing water rights altogether, Superintendent Alfonso Gamino said. “We have it in our budget for […]
Posted inOpinion
Wake up, organize, register, vote!
One year ago, the Supreme Court of the U. S. (SCOTUS) overturned Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs decision, thereby denying the autonomy of American women by proclaiming the state’s right to control their wombs. Coupled with this are efforts by some to build a border fence to keep immigrants out and to corral America’s […]
Posted inOpinion
A glaring omission in the Sun
I was perusing the movie reviews in this week’s Sun and then started looking through the archives for the last several weeks. I noticed one glaring omission, Sound of Freedom. The Starkeys have reviewed every top box office movie in the last several weeks except Sound of Freedom. This movie has held the No. 2 […]
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Converting to all electric vehicles for low- to medium-income families is a pipe dream
I honestly believe that the political class in Sacramento is losing their collective minds. In my last commentary (“Solutions?” July 13), I pointed out that “the U.S. government is now preparing to hand out $400 billion for green energy projects, and this is just the beginning of the trip down the climate change rabbit hole.” […]
Posted inOpinion
Longevity
I’m more bird-brained than usual this week because instead of our typical in-depth news, we’re running our annual 55 Fiction contest winners. It’s a highlight of the year for our publication, to be sure, and it gets me all inspired to be shorter and more to the point in this column. So bear with me. […]
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The Santa Barbara County APCD opens up new grant programs to help residents transition to equipment that relies on renewable energy
For 35 years, the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District has been helping residents and business owners replace old equipment with newer, more environmentally friendly versions through its Clean Air Grants. “It’s been interesting to see how the technology has evolved over time and how the options have grown for cleaner engines, and also […]
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Political Watch: July 27, 2023
• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) voted to move the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act out of committee and into the Senate for consideration. The committee action follows recent public reports detailing potentially unethical behavior by members of the Supreme Court, highlighting the lack of transparency and enforceable ethics standards for the […]