Students from Taylor Elementary School are preparing for colder weather by helping locals in need. Members of Mario DiCarlo’s third grade class are collecting used coats and jackets for the Good Samaritan Homeless Shelter. Friends, family members, and people in the local community are being asked to clean out their closets and donate clean garments […]
Baby, it’s getting cold outside!
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Doing their part
Tunnell Elementary School teachers David DuBransky and Patsy Mitchell, along with student Ashley Salinas, recently contributed to the fight against cancer. The teachers participated in a cancer walk at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, and Salinas donated her hair to Locks of Love. Salinas, who had never had her hair cut, told her parents that […]
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Hitching Post products are now available by mail
Away from home and in need of some barbecue? Not a problem. The Hitching Post recently launched a mail-order service that can deliver its famous steak, lobster, ribs, and artichokes anywhere in the United States. The products are flash frozen and then shipped, meaning that the food is prepared exactly as it would be at […]
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Santa Maria Community Television and Hancock College team up to provide programming
Starting in October, Santa Maria Community Television will be airing University of California Television programming on Comcast Cable channel 24. The new programming is provided under an agreement with Allan Hancock College, which will sponsor a daily block of educational programming from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nationally distributed and commercial free, UCTV features educational […]
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Drew Sugars steps in as public information officer for Sheriff’s Department
The new spokesperson for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department is someone with whom a lot of people on the Central Coast are already familiar: former KCOY anchor Drew Sugars. Sheriff Bill Brown has appointed Sugars as the public information officer for the department, effective Oct. 6. Sugars has been with the department since March […]
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Yes, it’s a party; no, there won’t be alcohol
Seventh and eighth graders from Santa Maria, Orcutt, and Guadalupe will be partying in a drug- and alcohol-free environment on Oct. 18 from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Santa Maria Saturn dealership thanks to Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley. “This is a chance for kids to have a good time without the pressures of […]
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Caltrans to fund local school safety programs
Traveling to school is about to get safer for Santa Barbara County, following Caltrans’ Oct. 9 awarding of $46 million to cities and counties throughout the state—including Lompoc and Santa Barbara County—for projects funded through the federal Safe Routes to School program. The program is designed to help students in Kindergarten through eighth grade travel […]
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County drops felony charges in Zaca Fire case
Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Zel Canter recently dismissed five felony counts and additional charges filed against a local ranch and two of its employees for allegedly starting the Zaca Fire last summer. On July 4, 2007, Rancho La Laguna LLC employees Santiago Iniquez Cervantes of Santa Maria and Jose Jesus Cabrera of Santa […]
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Santa Barbara County supervisors reject PXP project appeals
On Oct. 7, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1, with 4th District Supervisor Joni Gray dissenting, to deny appeals against an offshore oil-drilling project that would give Plains Exploration & Production Co. (PXP) sole drilling access to the county’s Tranquillon Ridge. The board voted in favor of a previous decision made by […]
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Santa Maria Public Airport hires new general manager
After a nine-month search, the Santa Maria Public Airport finally hired a new general manager. Chris Hastert, the former deputy director of two Ventura County airports, began on Oct. 14. As general manager, Hastert is responsible for managing hundreds of commercial leases, private and county hangar license agreements, and the future development of several airport […]
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Peace by peace
Community members from all walks of life came together to enjoy food, music, and religious reflection in honor of Santa Maria’s 12th annual Peace Week, Oct. 13 through 18. Hosted by the People for Nonviolence Committee of Marian Medical Center, Peace Week offers a series of free public events aimed at bringing the communities of […]
Posted inOpinion
What’s the worst bicycle accident you’ve been in?
Brenda Lee mother “Ran into the back of a car and hit my ‘personal area.’ What’s worse, I hit the same car in the same spot two weeks later.” Lewis Height retired from Shell Oil “Never had a bike. I grew up during the Depression.” Mary Height retiree “I fell off my granddaughter’s bike and […]