Roy Reed, Santa Maria

The mantle of victimhood is never a comfortable one, particularly for the proud employees and families supported by Santa Barbara County’s once-vibrant oil industry. Being oil people, they are all too familiar with the cyclical nature of their industry, most often the result of market fluctuations and the influences of foreign supply, but they have […]

I was saddened to learn that Helen Thomas’ June 27 Hobnobbing With Helen column would be her last. I have been a member, volunteer, and board member of local nonprofits for over 20 years and Helen Thomas was a welcome and valuable contributor to all of them. Her smile, notebook, and camera were ubiquitous, a […]

With the approach of Santa Maria’s first City Council election by district, city voters are faced with a clear choice–do we rely on representatives with deep roots and longtime service to the community, or do we support another incremental step in the plans of those who seek to engineer a radical change in direction for […]

As three area oil companies prepare to submit their plans to upgrade oil production in the East Cat Canyon oilfield, a growing chorus of familiar voices has appeared in local media with dire predictions of future disasters should those projects gain approval. One writer, a principal architect of the failed Measure P anti-oil campaign, wrote […]