Commentaries

Twenty years ago, voters agreed to tax themselves for road improvements throughout Santa Barbara County. Measure D raised the sales tax rate one-half of one percent and paid for a lot of freeway construction projects and road maintenance projects. One project promised by the measure but not completed was the widening of the 101 freeway […]

Dental insurance through my job is expensive but well worth it. Twice now it’s completely paid for a comprehensive exam and full set of x-rays that have definitively established I cannot afford to have my teeth fixed. Both estimates for the work I need came in around $12,000 with the good news that the insurance […]

This is in reference to the Santa Maria Sun commentary titled “The Thin Green Dollar” (Oct. 8), written by Ed Apalategui. As a new volunteer hunter safety instructor with the California Department of Fish and Game and sportsman (hunter and fisherman) for more than 40 years throughout the United States and overseas, I am impressed […]

Your cover story about game wardens (“For the love of nature,” Sept. 10) states there are too few of them, they are deputized federal agents, they start at $41,000 per year, they have trouble recruiting due to collegiate requirements, and they depend upon fine money to finance this incredibly important job that they do.   […]

When I volunteered at the Orange County animal shelter, people often brought in a pet who had belonged to a deceased relative. It appeared that those who inherit the house, etc., also got the pets.   The kill rate was very high at that time.   I would try to encourage the person to make […]

The Fourth of July has special significance at my house. That’s because I am married to an English gentleman who, although he arrived in the United States in the 1960s and became a naturalized citizen, continues to live the lifestyle of a true Brit. While I run about draping the porch in American flags, he […]

Recently, the former principal of Tunnell Elementary School in Santa Maria, Brookann Collier, pleaded guilty to three felony charges arising from a sexual relationship she had with a teenage girl. She reached a plea bargain that will result in her serving one year in county jail, five years on probation, and the surrender of her […]