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These guys are basically thugs. They’re borderline criminals.” “The stuff they’ve been doing is harassment.” “They would go to people’s homes after dark.” “What they’re doing is blackmail.” These were just a few of the opinions—those that were fit to print anyway—voiced by local business owners who’ve dealt with Camarillo-based Carpenters Local 150.  Exactly what […]

Imagine a family in crisis: The teenage son has become increasingly defiant since his parents’ divorce. Once a straight-A student, he’s started sneaking out at night to party with friends. When his mother confronts him about it, the son becomes irate and threatens her physically. At the end of her rope, the mother pleads with […]

Less than three years after Santa Maria’s red light photo enforcement program began, the cameras and strobe lights are gone from the intersections where they once perched. All that remains are the poles to which they were attached—for now. On Feb. 22, as workers removed video and photo equipment from two intersections, the city was […]

Political hopefuls have always seized technological advances to get an edge in their campaigns. JFK did it with television. More recently, President Barrack Obama’s team executed a social media strategy largely credited with bringing mass voter attention to his message of hope and change. Considering the results—Obama is in the White House, after all—it’s no […]

Spanning 700 feet, standing 1,200 feet high, and sitting as green as the California oaks growing beneath it, the Cold Spring Canyon Bridge is an architectural sight to behold.  It’s recognized as California’s longest steel arch bridge and is considered a Santa Barbara County and State Scenic Highway landmark. But along with these accolades comes […]

One by one they grinned, backslapped, and handshook their way past each other into the small conference room. Here—attended by his earnest aides—was Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, the lawmaker who had gathered the group together. Already at the table, fiddling with the projector, was the oil-spill expert with the sardonic sense of humor (his screen-saver image […]

Alternative energy is on everybody’s mind these days. California leaders have mandated that 33 percent of the state’s power come from renewable energy sources by 2020. Even the most ardent members of the “drill here, drill now!” crowd agree that diversifying our energy portfolio makes sense. When people start talking about the particulars of alternative […]

Built in the early 1970s, Santa Maria High School’s auto shop serves as a classroom, a storage facility, and a mechanic’s workroom. Fluorescent lights flicker overhead as students gaze intently at a projector screen hanging on the back wall. There’s the distinctly pungent scent of motor oil and grease in the air. A silent army […]

Playing as a tight end and linebacker for Lompoc High School’s football team, Steven Morehart was enjoying a terrific junior season in 2007. Then, in a contest against Paso Robles, lightning struck. “From what the trainer told me, I took a short kickoff and tried to run it back through the wedge,” Morehart said. “They […]

Wanted: Volunteers to cuddle babies, play with puppies, and taste ice cream. Looking for volunteer opportunities? You won’t find that ad—not in real life, anyway. Then again, you probably won’t see one detailing the true work behind an opportunity: Wanted: Someone to wash 20 loads of laundry, mop poopy kennels, and rake dirt. For free. […]