Category Archives: General

Tight budgets will ground some Air Force aircraft that traditionally appear in smaller air shows, but the organizer of Thunder Over the Valley in Santa Maria retains high hopes of landing an F-22 demonstration team and other military aircraft in 2012. The Air Force’s Air Combat Command has announced a reduction of single-ship demonstration teams …

Family, friends, strangers and one special dog gathered at the Santa Maria Public Airport on Thursday afternoon to welcome home Navy corpsman David Oliver. Barbara Romero of Orcutt said her son had one simple request.  "He said,'I just want to see my dog,'" she said as the yellow-haired Sly tugged at his leash while standing …

The P2E Neptune air tanker sitting recently on the tarmac at the Santa Maria Jet Center won't be a permanent fixture - even when a full-time tanker reload base opens at the airport next fire season.  It's one of a federal fleet of air tankers that fly to bases across the country when they're needed …

SkyWest passengers arrive Monday at the Santa Maria Public Airport from Los Angeles. More than 42.5 million Americans are expected to travel during this Thanksgiving week. Thanksgiving holiday travelers might want to add a few items to their checklist this year: an umbrella, a raincoat and, if they’re driving, maybe some new windshield wipers. The …

A bit of Stuttgart has come to Santa Maria. Over much of the next two weeks, German car-maker Porsche is making its all-new 2012  911 Carrera available for the first time to the world’s automotive press at the Central Coast Jet Center on the south side of the Santa Maria Public Airport. The event places …

A federal air tanker reload base at Santa Maria Airport, which allows immediate access to retardant in case of a wildfire, will be fully operational throughout next year's declared fire season, Los Padres National Forest officials announced today. U.S. Forest Service officials and the Association of Santa Barbara Fire Chiefs have been working on an …

After delays created by the temporary shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Santa Maria Public Airport runway extension project is on pace to be completed early next year. The second phase of the project, estimated to cost $5.4 million, will extend the runway pavement 1,700 feet and relocate navigational aids for the facility’s instrument …

The U.S. Forest Service is close to re-establishing a full-time federal air tanker base at the Santa Maria Airport during fire season, but the details need to be fine-tuned, county officials said Tuesday. The movement came at a meeting Tuesday — attended by representatives from the offices of Reps. Elton Gallegly and Lois Capps, Los …

Santa Barbara County officials have continued a push to reinstate the federal air tanker base at the Santa Maria Airport to full-time status by writing a letter to the U.S. Forest Service, but 4th District county Supervisor Joni Gray said Monday that there has been no response yet. The Forest Service air tanker base was …