Santa Maria
Temp ties record high for Nov. 14
Offshore winds and high pressure over the Pacific Ocean warmed the Central Coast Wednesday for the start of the week, tying a record high for the date in Santa Maria.
Santa Maria reached 88 degrees, matching a mark set in 1906, according to data from the National Weather Service.
Although the area saw temperatures almost 20 degrees above normal, the cooling marine layer is expected to return tonight into Friday, said Stuart Seto, weather specialist in the Oxnard office of NWS.
Officials are forecasting highs in the 70s for the rest of the week in Santa Maria and other inland areas. The coast is expected to see highs in the 60 today and mid 50s to upper 60s by Friday, according to the weather service.
Santa Maria
Cause found for street sink
A rupture roughly the size of a pin-hole is the source of a water leak that has caused a segment of a Santa Maria road to sink up to a foot, according to city officials.
A 30-inch, steel water line buried more than 10 feet below the road is the source of the leak, said Mark van de Kamp, a management analyst with the city.
Today crews are expected to further evaluate the pipe and determine the best way to fix the problem, he said. The pipe in question was installed in 1988.
A depression between eight and 12 inches was noticed in an 18-foot-by-6-foot section of road at Miller Street and McCoy Lane Monday afternoon.
While crews are working in the intersection, traffic has been restricted. Officials were unsure Wednesday night when the road would be fully restored.
Nipomo
Man injured in cycle-van collision
A Nipomo man suffered major injuries when his motorcycle collided with a van on Tefft Street west of Mary Avenue.
Christopher Ware, 29, was transported to Arroyo Grande Community Hospital with a punctured lung and broken ribs after the crash about 4:20 p.m. Tuesday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Kathryn Silva, 55, of San Luis Obispo, driving a 2003 Ford van, turned from a parking lot eastbound onto Tefft in front of Ware, whom she reportedly did not see.
Ware was driving a 2001 Suzuki motorcycle on Tefft at 30 to 35 mph when his motorcycle struck the left side of the van.
Ware was wearing a helmet, which likely saved his life, the CHP said.
Solvang
Detectives seek bank robbery suspect
Detectives were still looking for leads Wednesday in the Friday robbery of the Los Padres Bank branch at 610 Alamo Pintado Road.
A man, wearing big sunglasses, a dark gray hooded sweatshirt and a satchel bag, entered the bank at about 5:30 p.m. as employing were preparing to close the bank, reported Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Erik Raney.
The man walked behind the teller's area where drawers were open as employees balanced the tills and reportedly pulled a semi-automatic hand gun and waved it at several tellers. His image was captured in surveillance camera shots.
He emptied several cash drawers before he left the bank, Raney has said.
Raney reported Wednesday that $16,000 was stolen in less than one minute.
The man is described as possibly being in his 30s and tall with a slender build.
Hope Ranch
Coroner identifies house-fire victim
The woman killed in a Saturday night house fire has been identified as 94-year-old Charline B. Whittaker, according to the Santa Barbara County Coroner.
Santa Barbara County firefighters were called to a home in the 1400 block of Cantera Avenue just before 8:30 p.m. Officials found the home engulfed in flames.
Crews attempted to revive Whittaker but were unsuccessful. Two other people who live in the home were away at the time of the fire, officials said.
Fire Capt. Eli Iskow said Wednesday that the fire was still under investigation.
Santa Ynez
Motorcycle crash victim identified
Robert Jeffery Driggers of Santa Ynez has been identified as the man killed Monday afternoon in a motorcycle accident on westbound Roblar Avenue in Santa Ynez, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department.
For unknown reasons, Driggers, 48, lost control of the Ducati motorcycle he was riding and was thrown more than 200 feet. The accident occurred about 4:35 p.m. near the intersection of Calzada Avenue. He died at the scene.
Nipomo
Cal Poly to hold planning workshop
Nipomo residents are invited to a community visioning workshop Saturday hosted by Cal Poly's City and Regional Planning Department, where students will discuss the community's future growth and development opportunities and constraints.
The workshop will be held in Olympic Hall at Nipomo High School, 525 No. Thompson Road, Nipomo. During the workshop, Cal Poly students will present preliminary findings of their two-month long study of Nipomo and ask for input from the community, according to a Cal Poly spokeswoman.
Information about population, jobs, housing, water and other factors affecting community life and future growth in Nipomo will be presented during the workshop, the spokeswoman said.
For more information about the workshop, call Zeljka Howard at 756-1507 or Kelly Main at 756-2285.
Santa Maria
Man slightly injured in van rollover
Two Santa Maria men escaped serious injury Tuesday when the van they were riding in overturned about 4:30 p.m. on southbound Highway 101, just north of Broadway.
The 1997 Ford E-150 van driven by Gus Franklen Snijdewind, 36, rolled over but did not hit any objects, said California Highway Patrol Officer Gus Lopez.
Snijdewind was taken to Marian Medical Center with complaint of pain, and his passenger, 28-year-old Leo Frank Sizemore, was not injured.
Lopez did not have information on the cause of the crash.
Snijdewind was not under the influence of alcohol when the van rolled, he said.
Arroyo Grande
Man found dead in overturned car ID'd
The California Highway Patrol has identified a 26-year-old Arroyo Grande man found dead in his overturned car Sunday.
A passerby found Nicholas Spalding's body in his upside down car off Orcutt Road north of Lopez Drive early Sunday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP reported that it appeared Spalding's car left the roadway, traveled up a dirt embankment, hit a barbed wire fence and rolled over. He was wearing a seat belt, according to the CHP.
The car, a 1997 Geo Prizm, was located by the passerby at about 6:15 a.m., but it's unknown what time the accident occurred.
The incident remained under investigation Wednesday.
Nipomo
Man in crash died of natural causes
The 48-year-old Nipomo man who died Saturday after his 1989 Volkswagen Golf drifted from the road and slammed into a wooden fence and a power pole has been identified by the California Highway Patrol.
Sheriff's Sgt. Erik Raney reported Wednesday that Quinston Dear died of natural causes and not as a result of the crash.
Dear was driving southbound on South Oakglen Avenue at a slow rate of speed about 3:25 p.m. when his car left the road at Mads Place, about a block south of West Tefft Street, the CHP said.
The vehicle first hit the fence and then a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. power pole, according to the CHP report.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation at press time, but the CHP reported a possible medical condition may have caused the driver to swerve from the roadway.
The driver, reportedly wearing an oxygen mask, was transported by ambulance to Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria, where he was pronounced dead, the CHP said.
Santa Maria
Cyclist injured in hit-and-run crash
Police are seeking information from the public regarding a hit-and-run crash Tuesday evening that injured a 16-year-old Santa Maria boy who was riding a bicycle.
The boy was riding his bike just before 7 p.m. northbound in a marked crosswalk at the intersection of Main and Pine streets when a westbound sport utility vehicle struck him, according to the Santa Maria Police Department.
The boy, whose name was not released, fell and hit the pavement, and was transported to Marian Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries.
Witnesses described the vehicle that left the scene as a dark sport utility vehicle, possibly a Cadillac Escalade. The driver was described as an older Hispanic man with a beard.
Anyone with information on the crash is encouraged to contact the Santa Maria Police Department at 928-3781.
Grover Beach
Free e-waste drop-off Saturday
The Exploration Station, in conjunction with 800-GOT-JUNK, will host a free e-waste collection from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at 867 Ramona Ave. in Grover Beach.
All forms of electronic waste, including computers, monitors, televisions, VCRs, DVD players, cell phones and more, will be collected during the event.
Proceeds will benefit ongoing programs at the Exploration Station.
For more information, call the Exploration Station at 473-1421, 1-800-GOT-JUNK or Keith at 704-4189.
- From staff reports
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