In response to Mr. Ron Fink proposing that the Ten Commandments be displayed “in every school, library, courthouse, and city hall in the United States” (“What’s the fuss?” July 25): I can only reply that many citizens, myself included, resent being subjected to archaic and divisive Christian orthodoxy and dogma. How about a new set […]
Sun Staff
Posted inOpinion
Factual errors may get in the way of opinions
The editorial by Dan Dennis in the Aug. 1 Sun (“The stakes are too high”) was largely correct in its explanations of our national political situation. Good writing, Dan. Unfortunately, there was a factual error early on which may have kept knowledgeable readers from giving full credence to his opinions. The repeal of the Glass-Steagall […]
Posted inOpinion
Opinions are one thing, but keep the facts straight
Kindly allow me space in your paper to correct two flagrant fictions contained in Dan Dennis’s opinion piece of Aug. 1 (“The stakes are too high”). President Franklin Roosevelt’s Glass-Steagall law was passed in 1933; the Great Depression had been already raging since the collapse of the stock market in October 1929, four years earlier. […]
Posted inOpinion
Let’s teach how to think, not what to think
In response to Ron Fink’s July 25 “What’s the fuss?” commentary about the Ten Commandments in public schools, I have a couple of points to make about the Constitution mandating a separation of church and state. He claims it was not to keep the church out of the state, but it was that, and to […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: August 8, 2024
• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) announced that he recently secured several top water infrastructure priorities for California through the unanimous U.S. Senate passage of the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024, according to an Aug. 2 statement from Padilla’s office. The legislation includes provisions Padilla fought for to address the Tijuana […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: August 1, 2024
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla wrote to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Department of Commerce to express their strong support for swiftly designating the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary while facilitating the development of offshore wind energy, according to a July 26 statement from Carbajal’s […]
Posted inOpinion
Harris should look to history for VP pick
All Americans—not just Democrats—should be eternally grateful to President Biden for his success in defeating Donald Trump in 2020. We applaud his forbearance in turning over this task now, four years later, to his inspired choice for vice president, Kamala Harris. Democrats are already uniting behind Harris and will make every effort to elect her […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
55 Fiction 2024: The winners of our annual short story contest are in!
The world’s shortest stories, with a twist
Tiny tales: A hallmark of the 55 Fiction stories submitted to our annual short story contest is the “surprise” at the end that ties the preceding sentences together. They show up in stories about murders, love, food, animals, cars—really, you can craft a tiny twist into any tall tale. We’re here to publish the best […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: July 25, 2024
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) is one of nearly 100 House Democrats cosponsoring new legislation that would repeal an antiquated federal law that has been raised by conservative voices as the potential foundation for enacting a federal ban on abortion nationwide, according to a July 18 statement from Carbajal’s office. The legislation introduced […]
Posted inOpinion
Give our firefighters the wages they deserve
This past week proves to be the perfect time for this letter. Why? The sky was dull with smoke and ashes cover everything. Fire! A big one and out of control. We’ve all seen the convoys of firetrucks and support equipment … some staged at our local Elks rodeo grounds. Firefighters from all over the […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: July 18, 2024
• U.S. Sens. Laphonza Butler (D-California) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) introduced the Keep Families Together Act, a legislation that would mandate immigration enforcement to prioritize keeping families together and provide guidelines to ensure they are kept together throughout the legal process, according to a July 11 statement from Butler’s office. In 2018, the Trump administration […]
Posted inOpinion
Cover the other side of the YMCA issue
Your feature article of July 4 titled, “All day, all night: A YMCA in Santa Ynez wants to stay open 24/7, but its neighbors are against the plan,” by Taylor O’Connor is very one-sided, whether intended or not. Most of the article focuses primarily on the reasons why it is a good idea to convert […]
