Cover Story

More than 25 years after Kristin Smart’s disappearance, the murder trial for her alleged killer, Paul Flores, and his father, an alleged accessory, finally started in July. In opening arguments, SLO County prosecutor Chris Peuvrelle laid out the case to two Monterey County juries: that Paul raped and killed Smart in his Cal Poly dorm […]

A large sign with large lettering that says “Welcome to Santa Maria,” greets drivers cruising down Highway 101. A blue ship with a sunburst behind it is tiled onto the overpass above the sign.  That ship adorns Santa Maria’s city website, city documents, and until June was the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District’s […]

While Betsy Jones leads her students through multiplication charts, English lessons, and science experiments, a special education co-teacher goes around the room, making sure students with disabilities understand and are keeping up with their peers.  “I am a general education teacher and I co-teach with her all day long,” the fifth grade Liberty Elementary School […]

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has already responded to more than 4,900 incidents this fire season—a number the department expects to increase as this year’s season will be longer and drier because of climate change and drought.  Los Padres National Forest is currently working to prevent extreme wildfires through the proposed Ecological […]

 Local students will be returning to campus later this month for the 2022-23 school year, and they’ll be met with a few changes. In our annual Education Today issue, we delve into those changes on the statewide and local levels. Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor talks with officials about how local school districts and community nonprofits […]

“Thank you for calling the city of Santa Maria,” a happy, automated voice chirps over the line. “Para español, por favor presione el signo de los numeros.”  Selecting the pound sign, a loud beep sounds off, followed by a pause. A woman’s voice relays this message in Spanish: “If you know your party’s four-digit extension […]

The largest proposed housing development in San Luis Obispo County in 25 years would cut down close to 4,000 oak trees, disrupt protected plant and wildlife species, and strain local traffic, among other impacts, according to a draft environmental impact report (EIR) released last month for the Dana Reserve in Nipomo. The 1,289 single- and […]

Nine weeks into Lauren’s pregnancy, doctors detected a weak heartbeat during an ultrasound. Two weeks later, Lauren started bleeding, and she went back to her doctor’s office for a second ultrasound.  “Sure enough on the ultrasound screen you could tell it was a fetus disintegrating,” said Lauren, who asked the Sun to change her name. […]

Stacy McNabb cooks 400 meals a day. Five days a week, she plans, prepares, and plates food that will get loaded into cars, and make its way to the doors of people—primarily seniors—who are in need or live below the poverty line.  “Sometimes we’re the only people seniors see. We are their lifelines,” McNabb said. […]

Eric McDaniel was 18 when he started his first job, working in the kitchen of Giavanni’s Pizza in Orcutt. Could he have predicted owning the joint about two decades later? “It kind of is a little bit of a dream come true,” said McDaniel, who bought the pizzeria with his wife, Brittany Jones-McDaniel, in early […]