Letters To The Editor

It is clear that some investments really pay off but not yours and mine, currently. The banks have been investing in politicians, and they are getting their money’s worth. Banks get bailed out, and we don’t. What if we invested our money in politicians and what if banks, corporations, and lobbyists were prevented from doing so? What if we […]

I am a member of the Town Center Gallery and the Los Padres Art Guild in Santa Maria. I would like to thank and commend Shelly Cone for her continued support and appreciation in print of the many artists in and around our area. These two groups are avenues for artists to not only develop […]

A recent issue of the Pediatrics journal found that teens who take virginity pledges are just as likely to have sex as those who do not take the pledge. Also, they are less likely to use condoms or other forms of contraception, thus resulting in unwanted teen pregnancy, which is an epidemic in Santa Maria. […]

The time is deliciously ripe for genuine political unity and perhaps even a shot at reasonable equity for the tattered, beleaguered, ever-shrinking, working middle class. First, the large segment of the populace that has apparently been living in monastic seclusion on an eight-year camping trip in remote Absurdistan needs to be welcomed back into the […]

In honor of the “Day of the Teacher,” the California Retired Teachers Association, Division 17, has donated to the Lompoc Public Library $200 to purchase books for their children’s section. The local organization of the CRTA honors all teachers, but especially those teaching in Northern Santa Barbara County. We are proud of the teachers and […]

On Friday, May 1, approximately 70 students from both Pioneer Valley and Santa Maria high schools decided to cut school so they could protest America’s current stand on illegal immigration. All of the students held Mexican flags as they marched from Main Street to City Hall, where they finally congregated on the corner of Broadway […]

It seems that in California’s current/annual budget debacle, it’s one public employee union against another. “Guns or butter?” we are asked, each side having valid points. What we really need is a healthy private sector that can provide a robust tax return to an inclusive and functioning government and at the same time can provide […]

Chrysler will not survive if it becomes part of Fiat and the UAW. When I purchased my new Dodge truck in 2006 it was then Daimler/Chrysler. That is Mercedes Benz. They invented the automobile and the diesel car and truck. My truck had Mercedes and German technology. After three years, I have had no problems, […]

About 10 years ago, my son was rear-ended by an illegal. “Hit and run,” my son’s vehicle was disabled and unable to chase the driver of the damaged-but-not-disabled vehicle that hit him. The police were called. They wrote the usual report, but cannot take the time to look for all of these “minor” incidents. My […]

I just sent a donation to PCPA Theaterfest, not because I am rich, but because PCPA makes my life richer with the live theater they bring to me year round. I came to Santa Maria in 1985 to perform at PCPA in Gypsy, and last performed and taught there in 2000. I know from the […]

Why isn’t that (sometimes) nice young fellow Rob Krider in every edition of the Sun? He’s funny. He’s self-effacing. O.K., maybe he’s just honest. But his column is the reason I read the publication. Truly. Won’t you consider it? Or, how about alternating with a column by his wife, whom he loves? Might be interesting […]

I am a student at Nipomo High School, where, a month ago on March 13, we held a demonstration protesting the unfair budget cuts that could cost our school a third of its teachers. More than 800 kids, including me, stood out on the quad in support of the teachers whose jobs have been threatened. […]