Movie screenings, local filmmaker showcases, and guest speaker panels will be held as part of the Central Coast Entertainment Expo, a two-day event with happenings on Friday, Nov. 4, and Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande. The first day of the expo kicks off at 5 p.m. […]
Central Coast Film Society honors local legends and young filmmakers at Entertainment Expo
Posted inOpinion
Trashy talk
Santa Maria City Council candidate Steven Funkhouser set the new bar for city politics in 2022. And that’s not a good thing. How low is low? You have to come up with something that sinks beneath the level of altering photographs and featuring them in the dark, gritty campaign mailers delivered to the homes of […]
Posted inOpinion
Concern for Buellton’s future
I am a concerned citizen when it comes to Buellton’s future. I have interviewed both candidates running for mayor—these are my observations. Elysia Lewis came into Buellton’s political arena just two years ago and is running for mayor while she still has two years to serve on the City Council. She feels she is better […]
Posted inOpinion
Vote Karamitsos for council
Dr. Carol Karamitsos will be a great member of the Santa Maria City Council. She brings to this office a lifetime of passion for helping families as their doctor, and 16 years of work on the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District board. Like her father, Dr. John Karamitsos, she has birthed hundreds of […]
Posted inOpinion
Frost supports our students
I am writing in support of a board leader who will make a difference for our children here in Santa Barbara County. Please consider Judy Frost for the Santa Barbara County board of education. I have known Judy for almost 20 years, and I worked closely with her husband, Erik Frost, as an educator earlier […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria-Bonita test scores decline more than state, county average
Only 16 percent of Santa Maria-Bonita School District students met or exceed standard proficiency in math on the 2021-22 state assessments, and only 26 percent of students did the same for language arts. That’s a drop from 2018-19’s scores of 35 percent and 26 percent, respectively, district Instructional Services Director Laurie Graack said. “It’s in […]
Posted inNews
Doctored photos show up on Santa Maria’s District 3 mailers
One candidate running for Santa Maria City Council on Nov. 8 has been sending campaign mailers to voters that feature his opponent in altered photos that give an ominous message to residents. “Politician Gloria Soto has ignored our requests,” one of the mailers states in capital letters underlined in red. “And her irresponsible votes have […]
Posted inNews
State of the City highlights new Santa Maria businesses, future developments
Several businesses on Betteravia Road in Santa Maria celebrated grand openings this year, including a fast food joint that helped solidify Mayor Alice Patino’s nickname for the street, “chicken alley.” When Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers opened during the spring, it joined the likes of Chick-fil-A, Popeyes, and El Pollo Loco, each with a location on […]
Posted inNews
St. Joseph High School student receives national academic recognition
St. Joseph High School student Paige Beal said she always wants to seize her moment and be present in life. “For me, I see so many people on electronics these days; some people close to me spend [a lot] of time on their electronics, and they regret it, and they say they wished they experienced […]
Posted inNews
Oso Flaco Lake remediation project will target ‘persistent and pernicious’ DDT pollution
Nearly a decade after researchers found more DDT pesticides in Oso Flaco Lake than in any other water body in the state, local stakeholders are finally zeroing in on a project they say will help fix it. The Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District (RCD) is partnering with Teixeira Farms on a remediation project to […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: November 3, 2022
• U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla (D-California) and Dianne Feinstein (D-California) announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded more than $68.2 million to 21 California schools and districts to replace 177 existing school buses with zero-emission models, according to an Oct. 26 statement from Padilla’s office. This funding comes from the EPA’s Clean School […]
Posted inNews
Bus stop dispute puts Santa Maria development on hold
The Santa Maria Planning Commission wants to require an apartment building developer to fund a new bus turnout in the area but is waiting on a price tag. Although city staff estimated that the turnout would cost between $40,000 and $50,000, commissioners opted to delay voting on the project until staff lands on a specific […]
