Roughly 40 Santa Maria residents, and city and state officials talked housing and employer requirements on Aug. 23 at the Edwards Community Center, where the city held its third of five community forums regarding the H-2A guest farmworker program. While the first and second meetings included presentations from city and county officials, the Aug. 23 […]
Familiar questions asked at third city forum on H-2A
Posted inNews
County prohibits duck feeding at Waller Park
Like bread for a duck, a new animal feeding ban at Waller Park could be tough to swallow. New educational signs outlining the park’s rules–and reasons for them–were installed on Aug. 23, and North County Parks Operations Manager Dan Pedersen said the move is an effort to protect Waller Park’s ducks, fish, and ponds. For […]
Posted inNews
Santa Barbara County supervisors mull improvement options for emergency dispatch services
Santa Barbara County staff presented to the Board of Supervisors four options to help improve emergency dispatch services at its Aug. 28 meeting. It’s been a little more than a year since the supervisors last received an update on the issue. Currently, the county’s Public Safety Dispatch Center is managed by the Sheriff’s Office, who […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Hancock College professor nominated for literary award
Diane Auten, a communications professor at Allan Hancock College, was nominated for a 2018 Author Academy Award for her book The Joys of Raising Boys: The Good, the Bad, and the Hilarious. Auten’s book is a memoir chronicling her life as a mother raising two boys. She spent more than 10 years writing the book, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Local naturalist presents workshop on animals
The Santa Ynez Valley Natural History Society and Solvang Library will host naturalist Tim Matthews in a presentation titled Skulls and Skins of Local Animals. Matthews, a fisherman, birder, and avid hunter who has led many guided field trips for the Santa Ynez Valley Natural History Society, will present information on local wildlife using examples […]
Posted inOpinion
Response to Ruhge
Once again, Justin Ruhge demonstrated in his response to Ken McCalip’s excellent letter (“Misdeeds in La-La Land,” Aug. 9) that he’s been gulping the red Kool-Aid being brewed by the current administration and Fox News (“Too much Kool-Aid,” Aug. 16). There are so many mistruths in Ruhge’s homage to Donald Trump, one hardly knows where […]
Posted inOpinion
Vote Trump’s supporters out of office
Justin Ruhge’s recent letter “Too much Kool-Aid” (Aug. 16) is exhibit A in just how low the Republican Party has sunk under Donald Trump and how effectively Fox “News” has duped its adherents. President Trump is: (1) an impulsive liar (the Trump Tower meeting with the Russians was about adoption, size of his inauguration crowd, […]
Posted inOpinion
Enough with the egos
Canary, some thoughts on “Frenemies” (Aug. 23). So let me get this straight, a nonprofit, the Friends of the Santa Maria Library, created to support a public entity, the Santa Maria Public Library, with a limited budget wants no oversight, a free space to conduct business, and use the credentials of the public entity to […]
Posted inOpinion
City librarian got it wrong
I have been a volunteer in The Library Shop, which was built especially for the Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library, for 10 years. I do not support the city librarian, Mary Housel, or the city coming up with a requirement that was unnecessary until a control issue by the library arose. This librarian, […]
Posted inOpinion
Piling up
Have you ever ignored a problem for far too long, letting things pile up until you’re left with a festering, rotten mess? That’s why it’s handy for me to have all these newspapers around to line my cage, which I change out often. If I didn’t do that, this bird’s home might look and smell […]
Posted inNews
HOBNOB: Summer’s end soirees
You don’t have to be a sports fan to enjoy the annual Joe White Memorial Dinner and Auction. This event raises money for athletics programs at Allan Hancock College and thus has a sports theme. Quite a few of the auction items were sports related as well. About 300 trickled into the Santa Maria Elks […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Julia Vargas
Pioneer Valley High School golfer Julia Vargas is only a junior, but her years of experience on the varsity team are putting her ahead of the competition. As the lowest scoring player and captain of her team and an A-plus student, Vargas has a full plate. But head coach Marcus Guzman said her work ethic […]
