Letters To The Editor

Facts: 1. Our country has very, very low taxes. It is almost at the bottom of the list of top 30 developed nations, 26th in fact. 2. Millionaires default on home payments at more than twice the rate of us ordinary citizens. 3. The right wing agitators lie, lie, lie. Check it out for yourself […]

As an old ’60s counter-culturalist, I should rejoice at the prospect of my state finally legalizing marijuana. Certain things bother me, however, such as the 1,198 alcohol-related driving deaths in California in 2008. I have to assume that if we legalize marijuana, the number of DUIs and their attendant deaths will also increase. Legalization should […]

With respect to the article “¿Cuánto cuesta?” (June 24), illegal immigrants do indeed benefit from our social service programs: According to a United States General Accounting Office Report to Congressional Committees (see gao.gov/archive/1998/he98030.pdf) in fiscal year 1995, about $1.1 billion in AFDC and Food Stamp benefits were provided to households with an illegal alien parent […]

Bill Denneen We had an expensive special election on June 22. It will be repeated Aug. 17 with the exact same candidates. Total cost? A million dollars. Like me, more than 60 percent of citizens will be voting by mail. Rather than hiring 650 people to cover polling places, voting should be by mail only. […]

Thank you for a somewhat balanced, lighthearted approach to what is a very difficult issue (“¿Cuanto cuesta?” June 24). Most articles I read take one side and ignore all the issues on the opposite side. The last six months or so I have been trying to become more informed regarding this issue. One thing I […]

During my first week here in California, I have been taken by its striking beauty. I had no doubt it would live up to its majestic reputation, but I had no idea that the mountains, always looming in sight, would provide such a spiritual, if you will, backdrop. We made our way up through southern […]

America’s economy is under siege by unemployment, housing, Afghanistan, illegal immigration, and a $13 trillion debt, and all Obama does is spend money, spew rhetoric, blame Bush, sue BP, and start a civil war in Arizona. His ratings are plunging, 62 percent of the people think the country’s going the wrong direction, and even his […]

I read with interest your article on the pesticide drift study in Sisquoc (“A better alternative?” June 24)—in particular, the quote from Lea Brooks at the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) calling into question the validity of the sampling methods used: “When [DPR] and Air Resources Board conduct monitoring, we follow U.S. EPA protocols,” she […]

Regarding your story “¿Cuanto cuesta?” (June 24): I wonder how many of your readers will consider the root cause of illegal immigration: the failure of source countries to provide their citizens with education, job opportunities, social services, and civil rights. We demonize poor people who risk their lives and leave their families for an insecure […]

San Luis Obispo just took a poll to find out how its residents feel about their city. Not surprisingly, 95 percent responded they were very happy where they live. And why shouldn’t they be? My husband and I have visited nearly every square mile of San Luis Obispo over the years and have found it […]

It is clear that people who make statements like “[electrify] vehicles of all types” or “[create] livable communities where transit, walking, and biking are important” (“Kick the oil habit,” June 17) have no earthly idea what is going on beyond their front doorstep. One trip down any highway in California and you will see hundreds […]

So I see this front page headline, “New Times investigates the economics of illegal immigration,” and on the sister publication’s cover of the same week, “Dollars and Deportations” (June 24). Hmmm, I thought, very interesting, maybe someone is going to shed some light on the situation, especially here in Santa Maria. Well, upon reading both […]