Letters To The Editor

The ICE assault of a disabled student walking to school on Oct. 21 still reverberates throughout Santa Maria. The just outrage is growing. The unhinged cruelty and arrogance of ICE, running rampant through Santa Maria and the 805, calls into question: why here? I would like to suggest a major contributing factor not seen in […]

Elections are an opportunity to consider the future of our community and the qualifications and qualities we value in those entrusted with representing it. The decisions we make, the trust we build, and the standards we uphold continue to shape our city long after the election is over. Throughout my years of service to Pismo […]

A recent article about the Santa Maria City Council meeting where protesters were questioning why the city didn’t do more to counter ICE activities (“Santa Maria delays hearing ‘to ensure safety’ of City Council,” Oct. 15) highlighted the ignorance of some of these groups.  The Constitution places immigration enforcement under the federal government, not the […]

On Nov. 3, Nipomo voters have an outstanding choice for the Lucia Mar Unified school board of trustees, Area 7. Donna Kandel has deep roots in the community. She raised her family, graduated from Allan Hancock College and Cal Poly and taught math at Nipomo High School for many years.  She is very experienced with […]

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has a dangerous new rule that was set to begin Oct. 22 that will threaten the healthcare of millions of Americans. The rule, “Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Mail Shipments,” will effectively end Americans’ ability to personally import their prescription medicines. CBP extended the date to […]

Another school shooting, and it’s off the news cycle in 24 hours. Columbine and Sandy Hook shocked our conscience and were discussed for years.  Have we accepted that losing children to gun violence is a necessary cost to prevent tyranny? Then why are gun advocates supporting a tyrant with insurrection and extrajudicial killings of U.S. […]

I stand behind Ricardo Valencia 100 percent in his run for District 5 county supervisor.  I will vote for Mr. Valencia because he is a leader and not a politician. He is honest and not owned by the big wheelers and dealers in the Santa Maria Valley. When elected, he will be responsible only to […]

Right now, in California, New York, Texas, and everywhere in between, ICE agents are ramping up to meet Stephen Miller’s new, hate-fueled quota of 3,000 people per day. Three thousand families ripped apart.  A father dropping off a student at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria was kidnapped in early October. A father in New […]

While Jim Crouch (see the Sept. 19 LA Times article on oak tree preservation) has dedicated himself to planting oak trees to help the environment, San Luis Obispo County is going in the opposite direction. The county supervisors approved the “Dana Reserve,” a proposed massive development in Nipomo where there are plans to destroy 3,000-plus […]

For two years I have stood on the corner of Broadway and Main with a group of good people on Mondays from 4 to 5 p.m., protesting America’s dangerous and illegal military aggressions around the world. We hold signs saying, “War is Not the Answer,” “Stop the Bombing” and “No Hate, No Bombs.” My sign, […]

Assembly Bill 715 is a well-intended proposal for protection of Jewish schoolchildren. But Jewish students aren’t alone in needing protection. The 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center was a timely reminder that, after the attack, Arabs and Muslims were stereotyped as terrorists and suffered widespread mistreatment. The wars in Iraq […]

Some militarists still claim that the country that has the greatest nuclear arsenal holds the best cards in the game of “mutual destruction.”  “It has kept America and Russia from starting a nuclear war for 60 years,” they say. “Why change the equation?”  They refuse to look at today’s total nuclear landscape and consider alternatives. […]