Ron Fink

It seems that when our elected representatives in Sacramento dream up new laws designed to “help the people,” they wind up hurting the people they want to help more than helping them. Lately there has been considerable conversation concerning “supply chain issues.” The main issue is how to get shipping containers from ports or manufacturing/processing […]

In 2016, the Lompoc City Council approved the unlimited manufacturing; sale; and, with few restrictions, the use of cannabis in the city. At the time, the police chief testified that he anticipated an increase in crime if this new policy was enacted; a City Council majority ignored his warnings. But by ignoring the warning of […]

Many people, specifically social libertarians and those who advocate for the legalization of recreational drugs claim that personal drug use is a “victimless crime.” Well, a recent crime in Lompoc and others around the nation, including recent mass shootings where recreational drug use was a contributing factor, rebut that theory. Others have criticized police officers […]

Last week there was another senseless shooting death in Lompoc, and over the last couple of weeks there have been scores of murders, all caused by irresponsible people using guns all over the country. Eventually the Lompoc suspect was found dead of a gunshot wound in another county. The Second Amendment to the United States […]

When any plan is developed, there can be some questionable ideas as it makes its way through the process and is eventually implemented; but sometimes groupthink can produce an idea that’s a hit. Recreational bicycling has gained traction in the last couple of decades. In some countries, bicycles are used primarily for transportation, but that […]

This is the story of how early Santa Barbara’s moneyed ranchers forced their will upon the more rural ranchers and farmers who lived and ranched in the Santa Ynez River watershed. It has long been acknowledged that politics and political advantage can be used to accommodate the powerful near the seat of government; the trend […]

The availability of affordable housing has been a big issue in California for decades. I received a mass e-mail from the California attorney general, Rob Bonita, the other day and he is concerned about “skyrocketing housing costs” and “a housing crisis of epic proportions.” The current city of Lompoc Inclusionary Housing Ordinance specifies that “the […]

A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. First let’s stipulate that a community needs a recreational venue like an aquatic center; in Lompoc the city’s aquatic center currently serves about 10,000 users each month. The second […]

A recent headline in the Sun reported, “Lompoc officials, community organizations respond to violent crimes through investment in public safety and youth violence prevention” (“Pieces of the puzzle,” March 17), and a follow-up editorial opined that Mayor Jenelle “Osborne does a lot of glossing over of the violence that’s happening in Lompoc”; and claimed that […]

Inflation impacts everyone no matter what their political affiliation is. The Free Dictionary defines inflation as the “reduction in purchasing power of a currency.” Inflation has historically occurred when a country prints too much of its currency in too short a period of time. When COVID-19 surfaced two years ago, federal, state, and local governments […]

When the city of Lompoc considered licensing the manufacturing, distribution, sale, and on-site consumption of cannabis in our city, the subject of how many permits to issue was discussed.  If our City Council would have bothered to listen to the information presented by the staff when this issue was decided, they would have understood that […]

On Feb. 2, the Lompoc City Council and the public received a presentation concerning the need to adjust the four City Council districts. The staff report started with “Every 10 years, cities with by-district election systems must use new census data to review and, if needed, redraw, district lines to reflect how local populations have […]