Letters To The Editor

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]