• Lompoc resident Robert Cuthbert, who’s running as a 33rd State Assembly candidate, recently released a statement in response to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision to make statewide job and pay cuts until the state’s budget impasse is resolved: “The governor’s following through with his threat to eliminate 10,000 temporary and part-time workers, and to pay […]
Political Watch
Posted inNews
Girl Scouts go for the gold
Superheroes save planets, soar through the sky, fight evil, and still manage to lead pseudo-normal lives. With a lot of the public’s attention now focusing on heroes of the big screen, it’s time to remember the role models that exist in our own community. That’s where the Girl Scouts of Troop 50778 shine. This year, […]
Posted inNews
Hobnobbing with Helen
Roy Allen is Alzheimer’s man in Santa Maria. This effusive, personable fellow is determined to get out the message on the diseases that rob millions of people of years of life: Alzheimer’s and dementia. These disorders of the brain tax and wear out caretakers as well. For the first time in four years, the local […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria DMV halts Saturday service due to state budget cuts
As of Aug. 16, 53 Department of Motor Vehicles offices—including the Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara offices—will suspend service on Saturdays because of the delayed state budget and staffing restraints. For more information and service updates, visit www.dmv.ca.gov.
Posted inNews
Farmworker deaths prompt fines, more investigations
After a three-month-long investigation, the California Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health has issued six citations and $262,700 worth of fines against Merced Farm Labor Contractor, the Atwater-based employer of a 17-year-old farm worker who died of heat stroke in May. The fines are the largest assessed to an agricultural firm […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria will get ‘specific’ about goals for downtown
Want to make an impact on community development in the downtown Santa Maria area? Staff members from the Santa Maria Community Development Department are holding an Aug. 14 meeting to update the public about the city’s Downtown Specific Plan. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the Minami Community Center, 600 W. […]
Posted inNews
Plan your detours: Multiple road construction projects are slated for August
Remember to drive extra safely around Santa Maria for the next few weeks—there are three big road construction projects in the works. The city’s annual street maintenance chip seal program, which began Aug. 11 and is scheduled to last for four weeks, will treat approximately 100 street segments and cost about $800,000. Chip sealing involves […]
Posted inNews
Santa Barbara County receives an award from a technology company
Santa Barbara County was recognized on Aug. 6 for its use of the geographic information system (GIS), by the company that makes it, ESRI. The award was presented at the 28th Annual ESRI International User Conference in San Diego. GIS combines computer hardware, software, and data to create a tool for analyzing and displaying geographic […]
Posted inNews
Director of utilities is key speaker at business luncheon
Rick Sweet, director of utilities for the city of Santa Maria, will be the featured speaker at the Business Development Luncheon on Aug. 19. Sweet has worked for the city for 21 years, starting as an assistant civil engineer, then becoming Santa Maria’s city engineer, director of public works, and finally director of utilities. Sweet […]
Posted inNews
Find a piece of Southern Italy in Orcutt
The Trattoria Uliveto, a new restaurant in Orcutt, is set to open its doors for the first time on Aug. 22. Owners Jim Spallino and Alfonso Curti, formally of Grappolo in Santa Ynez, have created a menu emphasizing the simple tastes of an Italian kitchen, from a salad of arugula and parmesan to a spinach […]
Posted inNews
New superintendent is ready to start the school year
Phil Alvarado can trace his career in education back to one single moment. It was 1973, and Alvarado was leaving after his last day as an instructional aide at Oakley Elementary in Santa Maria. It was to be his last day as an educator—he was on his way to the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara […]
Posted inNews
Trial by peers
The door opens, and the judge, draped in legal-grade black, enters the room. A bailiff gruffly commands everyone present to “please rise,” and proceeds to swear in the jury members. Silence settles on the courtroom as a fresh-faced youth and his mother are ushered in and seated at the defendant’s table. The trial is about […]