Political history was made during the public comment period at the Lompoc City Council meeting on Dec. 2. It wasn’t the kind of history any city would be proud of. I have been commenting on the political scene in Lompoc for more than three decades in various publications. During this time, there have been numerous […]
Commentaries
Posted inOpinion
California’s body politic is missing connective tissue
“Energy policy is not within our purview.” This was the response from the California Coastal Commission when recently presented with information about the critical role that Diablo Canyon Power Plant plays in the state’s clean, baseload energy supply. This statement, while perhaps a narrow interpretation of the Coastal Act, is the perfect encapsulation of a […]
Posted inOpinion
Thanksgiving is a time for celebration, not acrimony
Thanksgiving is the time of year when we sit back, smell the turkey, stuff ourselves with too much good food, and then reflect on the good things that have happened to our families in the last year. Sometime during the day’s festivities—amid the turkey feast, football, and basketball games on TV, and visiting with family […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s time for a divorce, Democrats
Let’s face it, it just isn’t working. You Democrats have grown too far apart. It is time for a divorce. After losing the election to political zombie Donald Trump, who arose from the crypt of loss, impeachment, and prosecution, you are looking for a way forward. New leadership is being pushed by your progressives, with […]
Posted inOpinion
The U.S. should look to New Zealand for democratic inspiration
On No Kings Day, a chant reverberated throughout America as 7 million protesters marched in 2,700 cities and towns all across the country—including the Central Coast: “Tell me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!” After a two-week tour of New Zealand, here’s what one version of democracy looks like: This small […]
Posted inOpinion
Lompoc’s school district is failing the community
The Lompoc Unified School District (LUSD) is failing our community when objectively measured against the state of California education standards. Keep in mind that California rates in the bottom third of the nation, and the LUSD performance is well below that. A recent report in the Santa Maria Times put it this way, “Results from […]
Posted inOpinion
Trump’s campaign against detractors smacks of repeated history
I am old enough (barely) to remember the era when Joseph McCarthy declared that there were communists within the government, the military, and Hollywood. He claimed that he was going to ferret them out and put them on trial. And he did, not in secret but on television, ruining numerous lives. Finally, when McCarthy charged […]
Posted inOpinion
Dana Reserve development hurts the environment and doesn’t help the people who need it most
San Luis Obispo County’s biggest development proposal in decades, the Dana Reserve in Nipomo, just cleared a major hurdle—but the new Dana Reserve plan is still a bad deal for both housing and the environment. After a settlement with the developer, the project now promises only 78 deed-restricted affordable homes instead of the original 156—that’s […]
Posted inOpinion
Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 6 is poised for a modern facelift
Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6) has been around for several decades. First built for the Manned Orbital Laboratory in the 1960s, a project that was canceled 50 years ago, it was later modified for the space shuttle, which was canceled in 1989. Other projects followed, and they too were canceled or completed. Fast forward to […]
Posted inOpinion
What really drove the LA fires?
”Total garbage.” That’s how wildfire scientist Jon Keeley describes studies blaming climate change for Los Angeles’ catastrophic 2025 fires. Every summer and fall, Southern California braces itself for fire season. On June 2, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department officially declared the start of high fire season, suspending all burn permits and ramping up resources […]
Posted inCommentaries
Congress should be held accountable for not producing a budget on time
Government “shutdowns” have occurred numerous times over the last few decades due to a lack of an approved budget, but the politicians we elect to provide funding have never been held accountable. It’s time for a change, but how? Based on an email recently sent by Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara), it appears that the […]
Posted inOpinion
California’s high utility bills are caused by fighting climate change-impacted wildfires
What do the Gifford Fire and our exorbitant electricity rates have in common? It’s hotter and drier now, exacerbating both wildfires and the cost of electricity. Global warming, better known as global heating, has raised the frequency, size, and price tag of wildfires. In the early 1980s, the annual cost to Cal Fire to suppress […]
