A woman lays down on the railroad tracks. It’s chilly. She’s cold. Lonely. Darkness drapes about her like a threadworn cloak. El Niño washes over San Luis Obispo bringing rain to some and despair to the mentally ill homeless of which she is a sad member. It’s a disease of the mind that isolates her […]
It’s time to help the mentally ill homeless
Posted inNews
Santa Maria students attend GATE Institute of Technology
On Wednesday, Jan. 13, approximately 200 gifted and talented students from the Santa Maria-Bonita School District were set to gather for the 8th annual GATE winter enrichment workshop held at Jiménez School. This year, the focus was on technology, and the event was referred to as the GATE Institute of Technology. The fifth through eighth […]
Posted inNews
Registration underway at Hancock College
Registration for spring classes at Allan Hancock College’s Santa Maria campus is currently under way with more than 800 courses still available. Many begin the week of Jan. 25, and registration will continue until Jan. 24. Students will not only be able to fulfill their general education requirements with the many options available, but also […]
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Spotlight on: Monarch Wealth Strategies
Talk to any financial planner out there and most—if not all—will agree that it’s never too early to start saving money. Certified financial planner Aaron Clark agrees. How you go about doing that is all up to you, and people like Clark are there to help. Clark is a certified financial planner (CFP) for Monarch […]
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‘Godzilla’ El Nino begins wreaking havoc, but won’t cure the drought
It wasn’t unexpected, but it’s finally here and there’s been no shortage of fiascos in the first week of the global weather phenomenon that is El Niño. Predicted by weather scientists for the past year, El Niño is a band of warm ocean water that develops over the eastern/central portion of the Pacific Equator. […]
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SpaceX Falcon 9 to launch from Vandenberg AFB
Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) is ushering in 2016 with a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch scheduled for Jan. 17. It’ll be the base’s first launch of the year. The Falcon 9 rocket will be used to haul a satellite into space that’ll monitor global sea surface heights and how tropical cyclones intensify, according to 30th […]
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Santa Barbara County wine has a $1.7 billion economic impact
The movie Sideways may have helped put Santa Barbara County on the map as a wine destination, but if there was a way to quantify the impact county wineries have on the state economy, a recent report may be able to shed some light on the subject. All total, the 191 wineries in the county […]
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Federal Court denies ‘frivolous’ motion against Chumash
A U.S. District Court has denied Save the Valley LLC’s motion to intervene in a century-old case related to the establishment of the Santa Ynez Indian Reservation. The motion called for enforcement of the case’s judgment, which Save the Valley said prohibits the Chumash tribe from commercial development on the reservation’s land. The motion to […]
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Lompoc to annex northern parcel for development
Lompoc will expand its city limits to include a 10-acre parcel for the construction of a housing development, following a 6-1 approval vote by the Santa Barbara Local Agency Formation (LAFCO) Thursday, Jan. 7. Lompoc City Administrator Patrick Wiemiller estimates the annexation will go into effect mid-February, preceded by a 30-day wait period and the […]
Posted inOpinion
What should news organizations cover more in 2016?
Dale Hobe retired professional horse trainer “Why are we sending our oil overseas and buying from OPEC? Shouldn’t we be supporting ourselves?” Ken Guge owner, Leisure Time Games “Newspapers should do a better job to make known that the community calendar is free and open to the public.” Ishmael Torres culinary specialist 2nd class, U.S. […]
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Marijuana, interrupted: New local medical marijuana cultivation laws leave growers and patients trying to figure out what they will mean for the industry
Sixteen months ago, Kate Kytle received a grim diagnosis—she had an aggressive form of breast cancer already in the late stages that had spread into her lungs. She was told she only had 18 months to two years to live. With two to eight months left to go, she arrived at a deli patio in […]
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Northern Santa Barbara County schools reopen after winter break
Many students are gearing up to restart the school year after a long winter break. Santa Ynez Valley Unified High School District, College School District, Ballard School District, and Solvang School District students all returned to school on Jan. 4. Lompoc Unified School District, Blochman School District, and Cuyama Joint Unified School District all return […]