 Total circulation figures dropped by approximately 2,000 readers, or about 5 percent, between fall 2005 and fall 2006.Between spring 2006 and spring 2007, "News-Press" weekday circulation fell 9.5 percent, one of the biggest declines in the Southern California region.Readership for the "Santa Maria Times", the major daily newspaper of northern Santa Barbara County, increased by 6 percent during the same period.