Ron Fink

For several decades, a homeless encampment has existed near and under the H Street bridge on the north end of Lompoc. Until the last five years or so, the homeless largely stayed to themselves and didn’t bother anyone. Now they are everywhere, including the shopping center that occupies the northeast intersection of Central Avenue and […]

Last week was Thanksgiving. The day represents a couple of things; one is that we give thanks for having a warm, dry place to sleep and food to eat. We are also thankful for the health and well-being of our families and wish that there hadn’t been as many tragedies over the last 12 months. […]

The election was just completed, and the winners and losers are spinning the results. One welcome outcome is that my home phone stopped ringing with unwanted political calls and so did my cellphone. These annoying calls were designed to convince me to vote for this or that, but in my case all it did was […]

I got my Santa Barbara County voter guide in the mail a couple of weeks ago; these guides are always informative, and I read each candidate statement carefully before I cast my vote. I know that many of you have already voted, but here are some things to consider. I read the proposals carefully and […]

Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne is seeking reelection for a third term in office; why should you choose her instead of her opponent? If you have witnessed many of the City Council meetings in the past couple of years, you will have noted a change in the tone of meetings. As mayor, Osborne is responsible for […]

The city of Lompoc is the cannabis capital of Santa Barbara County, and considering the number of licenses issued for retail, manufacturing, and growing, it’s probably the largest in the state. Why? Because the number of licenses based on the population of the area is denser than any other jurisdiction issuing permits in the state. […]

Ms. Jerri Thiel is running for an at-large seat on the Lompoc Unified School District (LUSD) board of trustees.  She says, “We need to get back to the basics: reading, writing, math, history, civics, and science.” There are a lot of issues that the LUSD board of trustees must deal with during each meeting, but […]

Former Lompoc City Councilman Jim Mosby is someone who thinks highly of himself. Apparently, voters in the council district he lives in didn’t think so highly of him when they rejected him in a landslide election to represent them as their councilman.  Now he is running for mayor; maybe he thinks if he misrepresents his […]

The Lompoc Unified School District (LUSD) is asking voters to approve a bond measure four years after they twice rejected similar efforts. This bond would be used to fund facility improvements. Recent events over at the LUSD should cause the board of trustees to withdraw a school bond from consideration on this ballot. Why? Well, […]

When is an “emergency” not really that emergent? Apparently, some of the “experts” in Lompoc can’t figure that one out as they tried to claim an emergency declaration was needed and then explained that none exists—at least in our city. On Tuesday, Aug. 3, the Lompoc City Council held a hearing to determine if a […]

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 […]