Stories from surrounding communities, closest first.
New Times · Pismo Beach, CA
Nearby: Pismo Beach, CAPismo Beach City Councilmember Scott Newton is the frontrunner to be the city’s next mayor, according to the latest vote counts in San Luis Obispo County’s election. A supporter of the Central Coast Blue project, Newton’s served on the City Council since 2020. As of Nov. 10, he’d won almost 68 percent of the vote share, widening the margin between himself and his most vocal challenger, Cynthia Replogle. Replogle earned 27 percent of the votes, while the third candidate, Shelby Bowen, won 5 percent. Newton didn’t respond to New Times by press time. On Facebook, he celebrated his early lead hours after polls closed on Nov. 3. “Thank you to the voters of Pismo Beach, the early results are looking extremely promising,” his Nov. 4 post read. He’s endorsed by Mayor Ed Waage, fellow Councilmembers Mary Ann Reiss and Marcia Guthrie, and the Republican Party of SLO County.
New Times · Paso Robles, CA
Nearby: Paso Robles, CANobody wants to need an ambulance, but when you do, you sure as hell expect it to be there for you. San Luis Ambulance (SLA) has enjoyed an 80-year monopoly as the SLO County service provider, but there’s been a cacophony of complaints about response times from fire chiefs, mayors, city managers, and community members. So, what’s the solution? The current idea on the table is a proposed “public-private partnership” model led by Paso Robles that “allows a county board of supervisors to contract with a fire agency, which then subcontracts with a qualified private ambulance provider to support the delivery of emergency medical services,” Paso Robles City Manager Chris Huot told New Times. “This is not based on a predetermined conclusion that one provider is best.
Santa Maria Sun · Santa Maria, CA
Nearby: Santa Maria, CAThree candidates vied for a seat on the Santa Maria Public Airport District board, including incumbent Michael B. Clayton. The local attorney garnered 3,390 votes—or 43 percent—of the 8,512 ballots tallied, as of Nov. 10. U.S. Army veteran Alejandro Arredondo led by 126 votes, scoring 45 percent of the votes counted, with 3,516 total. The Santa Barbara County’s Elections Division will issue updates on new vote counts Tuesdays and Thursdays around 3 p.m. Airport District Division 4 has about 17,600 eligible voters. In 2022, the last time Clayton ran, voter turnout in his race was a little more than 50 percent. Arredondo told the Sun that regardless of how the final election results turn out, he’ll continue advocating for what he wants to see implemented at Santa Maria’s airport in the future. “For the last 37 years, my family’s owned and operated a business here at the airport.
New Times · San Miguel, CA
Nearby: San Miguel, CAThe races for three seats on the San Miguel Community Services District (CSD) board remain close, with two candidates overtaking early leaders as additional ballots were counted. According to the Nov. 10 vote tallies, John McClure maintained his lead in the five-candidate race for two four-year seats, while Andrew Havard moved into second place, narrowly surpassing John Butler II. McClure leads with 141 votes, or 25.5 percent, followed by Havard with 129 votes, or 23.3 percent, and Butler with 125 votes, or 22.6 percent. Incumbents Rod Smiley and Owen Davis trail with 90 and 67 votes, respectively. The latest count marks a change from election night, when McClure and Butler held the top two positions. Just four votes now separate Havard and Butler in the contest for the second seat. A similarly close race is unfolding for the remaining two years of a vacant board seat.
Santa Maria Sun · Lompoc, CA
Nearby: Lompoc, CAAfter five years as a Lompoc City Council member, it looks like Jeremy Ball will serve his town as mayor. “It’s just really great that a lot of people have put their trust in a new direction,” Ball told the Sun. He had 61 percent of votes counted as of Nov. 10. Sitting Mayor Jim Mosby had accumulated 38.3 percent. The margin was 2,018 votes. Running on a “laser focused” goal to make Lompoc “a little bit more attractive,” Ball said his campaign resonated with voters without necessarily being politically charged. He thinks residents want to take more pride in their city. “I think a lot of people share that understanding that Lompoc has so much potential but at the same time just watching nothing happen,” Ball said. “I think a lot of people just want to see what happens if we shoot for the stars and get halfway there. What might that look like?
Santa Maria Sun · Lompoc, CA
Nearby: Lompoc, CAAndrew Velikanje and the group he created have removed around 700,000 pounds of trash from the Central Coast in the past six years. “Most of that is ocean-bound waterways, too,” Velikanje told the Sun. “It’s amazing to think how much trash that would look like if it was above ground, … how big it looks underwater.” Collective cleanups To learn more about Heal the Ocean’s and Earthcomb’s missions and ongoing projects throughout the Central Coast, visit healtheocean.org and earthcomb.org. For him and the small team at Earthcomb, every day that they increase the total number is a good day. In October, the organization removed nearly 37,000 pounds of trash and hazardous materials from Lompoc’s Santa Ynez Riverbed thanks to financial support from Heal the Ocean. Some of the help came from two unhoused individuals. Velikanje was homeless from 2017 to 2020, he said, and he remembered being embarrassed after moving into an encampment on a beach that was littered with trash.
Santa Maria Sun · Lompoc, CA
Nearby: Lompoc, CAThere is a pungent odor in Lompoc, and it isn’t from the broccoli fields after they have been mowed and before they are plowed under to enrich the soil. Several months ago, one of the City Council members was charged with multiple felonies related to his applications for utility rebates. Then the council was informed that there had been other errors in the rebate program. Following these charges, the Santa Maria Times reports that “the city hired RSG under a contract of up to $38,895” at the City Council’s direction to conduct an impartial review (“Lompoc utility rebate review finds recordkeeping deficiencies, urges tighter oversight,” Oct. 20). The innocent explanation is that they were exercising their oversight responsibilities and simply wanted to know how many other applications were defective, since an in-house review had already identified about a dozen erroneous submittals.
