Letters To The Editor

Santa Barbara recently enjoyed a return of its International Film Festival. Films have played a legendary role in the culture of not only this country but internationally as well. It happened that the same week, Steven Spielberg’s movie The Post came up on my Netflix deliveries. Several things struck me. Spielberg … said it was […]

After reading Mr. Ron Fink’s opinion piece in the Opinion section of the Sun’s March 24 edition (“Our county needs change”), I am primed for the claptrap that follows the subhead, “Three county supervisors support inflation.”  I would challenge anyone to ask any of the supervisors, or anyone with knowledge of how our socioeconomic systems […]

The leaders of our City Council do not listen to the people of Santa Maria. Everyone who spoke to the council on the re-creation of our voting districts supported a change to four clear quadrants, so we could easily know our district and council person. Alice Patino and Etta Waterfield voted “no.” The mayor asked […]

I am very much opposed to the development proposed in Nipomo (“Develop and preserve,” Feb. 17). I usually exit Highway 101 at Willow Road to avoid the traffic on Tefft Street. If this development goes through, the traffic at this intersection will increase dramatically. I also am appalled that the developer will be removing 3,400 […]

I was feeling nostalgic for my hometown of Santa Maria and thinking of all the things that my family left behind and found your paper’s 2015 article on the Santa Maria BMX track (“Trick-less speed: Santa Maria BMX racing is alive and well,” March 31, 2015).  My father and our family built that track back […]

Why is it so important to save Diablo Canyon Power Plant from closing, from losing vital energy to sustain a reliable electrical grid, and avoid power shortages?  As I have written many times before, there is no perfect source or solution to fill the needs for electric power. Every single one has environmental and or […]

Los Alamos is a small town that relies on the county for governance. But we have been suffering under its bureaucracy and its unwillingness to admit obvious shortcomings of a development plan. And the county disbanded our planning advisory committee that might have reviewed this poorly conceived development project.  More than 200 residents have signed […]

While it is commendable that the Biden administration has done much to aid families with children and those seeking work with the recently passed infrastructure bill and stimulus checks, that aid did nothing to help the elderly living on Social Security or the disabled who cannot work.  Even if the Build Back Better bill is […]

The Santa Barbara Planning Commission recently voted to deny ExxonMobil’s proposal to restart offshore drilling and truck oil to Kern County on the dangerous and windy route 166; in March the final decision will be voted on by the Board of Supervisors.  Meanwhile, we face another threat to California’s goal of 100 percent clean energy […]

The undersigned arts and cultural organizations from around the Tri-County area are appalled by the recent Jan. 18 vandalism and racist stereotypes against Corazon del Pueblo in Santa Maria. We are writing this on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday and were reminded of this quote of his, “Every man must decide whether he will […]

I just read about the research study from Oregon State University, which found that consuming two cannabinoids (called cannabigerolic acid, or CBGA, and cannabidiolic acid, or CBDA) could prevent the spread of COVID-19.  Awesome! But the study falls short. CBG-A and CBD-A are both derived from hemp (i.e., part of the cannabis sativa species, but […]

It saddens me to see some members of the City Council reject funding from the county to house the homeless. They complain about riverbed encampments, then refuse money that could house people who live there. Around the country, cities have found that housing the homeless is key to their success as people. Once housed they […]