Before starting on a new campus at Blosser Ranch, builders need to secure enough dirt to fill around 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools. They also need drivers to bring it on-site. Over the course of six to 10 weeks, it’ll take 12 to 15 trucks hauling dirt eight to 10 hours a day to get the […]
education
Posted inNews
Orcutt students graduate with high school diplomas and Hancock associate degrees in a new college readiness program
Jackson Payne took his first college class when he was a freshman in high school. He arrived around 7 a.m. to Orcutt Academy High School. The campus was quiet except for his 29 other classmates in the Early College Cadre program. Soon enough their professor showed up and introduced the group members to their first […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
A Santa Maria music teacher released her first EP in more than 25 years
In a 1992 episode of Golden Girls, Dorothy sat at a table inside a bar. Next to her a piano player led her in song. Dorothy started singing the melancholic “What’ll I Do” by Irving Berlin. Dorothy rose to her feet midway through, completely serenading the crowd. When Christine Fogh watched the scene on TV […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria-Bonita brings on a statewide nonprofit to run after-school programs
Two local groups will continue providing after-school enrichment for elementary and middle school students in Santa Maria, but a statewide organization will soon be in the mix, too. Santa Maria-Bonita School District board members voted 4-1 on April 15 to approve three-year contracts with the Boys and Girls Club of the Central Coast, the Santa […]
Posted inNews
Santa Maria-Bonita sites transition to community schools
About 90 percent of Santa Maria-Bonita School District students fall into at least one high-needs category. They might be a foster youth, a special needs student, a second language learner, or part of a low-income household. The district aims to better support students with a holistic approach called community schooling, made possible by more than […]
Posted inOpinion
Lompoc school district should not support student walkouts at the expense of education
On Jan. 30, high school and junior high students in Lompoc and other parts of North County took part in demonstrations against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), (“Local high school students take part in nationwide walkouts to protest ICE,” Feb. 5). The Lompoc Record reported that “at Lompoc High School, students were released early […]
Posted inNews
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center kicks off its 2026 membership drive
The perks of lending the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center a helping hand can appeal to folks from pretty much all walks of life, Outreach Coordinator Saule Baipsys explained. “There is really a place for everyone if you are willing to learn and grow,” Baipsys told the Sun via email. Just dune itTo get involved at the […]
Posted inOpinion
Lompoc’s school district is failing the community
The Lompoc Unified School District (LUSD) is failing our community when objectively measured against the state of California education standards. Keep in mind that California rates in the bottom third of the nation, and the LUSD performance is well below that. A recent report in the Santa Maria Times put it this way, “Results from […]
