Ron Fink

“Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor the gloom of night stays these couriers from the completion of their appointed rounds” has been the unofficial motto of the U.S. Postal Service for generations. According to its website, one of the official missions of the U.S. Postal Service “is to provide the nation with reliable” service. […]

Why are gas prices in California higher than the rest of the United States? The political class in Sacramento blame the oil companies, saying that they are “profiteers.” But it is those same politicians who are driving them out of business to “save the planet.” So, who is really to blame? Maybe a recent decision […]

There are two City Council seats in Lompoc being contested in the upcoming election; one is for mayor and the other for the 1st District, on the north end of the city. The only qualification to run for a City Council seat is to be at least 18 years old and a registered voter. The […]

Do you think that local politicians should be able to set the minimum wage for workers whose efforts support the nation? And what would happen if they did? Well, some of the more liberal members of the Board of Supervisors are “studying” a proposal to set $26 an hour as the local labor wage rate […]

Attention minimum wage workers, the government is here to help you—or is it? The U.S. census estimates that the median household income in Lompoc was $66,947 in 2023 and that 17 percent of the population was living in poverty. In Santa Maria the median income was $81,237 and 13.5 percent of the population lives in […]

The election season is in full swing locally, regionally, and nationally. In most places the candidate filing period is closed, and each candidate is busy trying to convince voters to support their ideas. On the federal level, two very different people are competing to become the president of the United States; each has a public […]

What is democracy? Merriam-Webster defines it this way: “rule of the majority; a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.” Earlier this year there was a primary election where registered voters of each political party […]

The Ten Commandments have existed for centuries. Early on, people realized that there should be a set of common-sense rules to guide civilization. The basis of our Constitution and public laws are found in those guiding principles. For people to coexist in harmony they must become familiar with them at an early age. Some states, […]

The last time I watched a presidential debate was in 1956 when surrogates represented Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson who was challenging incumbent Republican President Dwight Eisenhower. Since then, I have relied on press/media reports and analysis of what was said or how the candidates acted. But I changed my strategy when President Joe Biden “debated” […]