Should we allow gun stores to set up shop close to schools and day care centers? It seems like we’ve been doing it for a long time: Get R Gun in Santa Maria, for instance, is across the street from Santa Maria High School. In Goleta, prior to recently opening next to Here We Grow […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Guadalupe City Council and administration need to be held accountable now for their ongoing mismanagement of funds
When my husband and I moved to Guadalupe in 1997 and bought our first home, we did so because we saw potential. This little coastal city was frozen in time and offered beach weather without a high price tag. Granted, if the city had a dollar for every time someone said they saw potential, Guadalupe’s […]
Posted inOpinion
Look closely, listen, and choose candidates carefully
As the midterm campaign season begins in earnest, it’s a good time to get grounded. When considering which candidate to vote for, remember that an elective office is first and foremost a job. The campaign is the job interview, and every citizen is part of the interview panel. The questions to ask oneself are: Which […]
Posted inOpinion
Saving dollars
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is getting a new payroll system! Hopefully one that will prevent the overtime cost overruns that have plagued the law enforcement agency for years. How is it going to do that? Umm, that part isn’t exactly clear. “We’re still working on exactly how the system is going to be […]
Posted inOpinion
Lompoc City Council may address its long-brewing political scandal, or is it just electioneering?
So, what’s the Lompoc scandal in question? City Councilmember Steve Bridge faces “20 felonies and five misdemeanors. The charges include allegations of forgery, grand theft, fraudulent claims, identity theft, misappropriation of public funds, and fraudulent use of a contractor’s license number,” (Santa Maria Times, Aug. 13). During the Aug. 18 meeting, City Council members discussed […]
Posted inOpinion
Future local tax measures should put roads first
What if we could fix more roads, bring home more state and federal transportation dollars, and do it without raising the overall tax burden? The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) board and the county Board of Supervisors voted to remove Measure H from the November ballot after consultants concluded it did not have […]
Posted inCanary
Phone a friend
Since last December, Lompoc City Councilmember Jeremy Ball has been asking his colleagues on the dais to join him in doing something about fellow Councilmember Steve Bridge’s predicament. No, not to help the guy. To slap him on the wrist. Ball finally got his wish, kind of. The council agreed 3-1, with Bridge abstaining and […]
Posted inCommentaries
Trump is coming for California’s coast
Our coastline is in jeopardy of losing protections under
a new federal review singling out the Coastal Management Plan
The same administration that is slashing funding for climate research and the Environmental Protection Agency, propping up the coal industry, gutting the Endangered Species Act and planning to open the entire California coast to offshore oil drilling is now taking aim at the California Coastal Commission. In 2016, Donald Trump began a decade-long fight with […]
Posted inLetters To The Editor
Oceano airport renovation should not have been approved
The California Coastal Commission approved a renovation plan for Oceano airport which will cost us more than $4 million. This decision underestimates the environmental injustice the presence of the airport does to Oceano. Dedicating 60 acres of prime coastal wetlands to a limited-use, recreational airport does a great injustice to Oceano, which is starved of […]
Posted inOpinion
Santa Maria special
Santa Barbara County gave unanimous approval for an oil-related thing. I know. Pick those jaws up off the ground! It was fairly routine—the county Planning Commission gave the go-ahead for an ownership transfer of an asphalt refinery near Santa Maria. But the last time an ownership transfer came before the county, it was denied! (Yes, […]
Posted inOpinion
The Lompoc Valley Needs Assessment report was not a reliable indicator of the city’s health
The Lompoc Valley Community Healthcare Organization recently commissioned a report, the Community Health Needs Assessment, to assess the “health and well-being of Lompoc residents through four focus areas: financial stability and affordability, chronic illnesses, behavioral health, and healthy lifestyles.” Did the “organization representatives” have a hidden agenda? And were reports of chronic illness only based […]
Posted inOpinion
Why are we tipping more?
What happened to the good old days when a restaurant employee who served you promptly and accurately was happy to get a 10 percent tip? I’m not sure those days were any better, but I am sure it is not the fault of the minimum-wage worker in front of you who is offering a tip […]
