Letters To The Editor

In an April 29 commentary (“Americanism”), Susan Chapman wrote: “Please do not divide us into conflicting tribes. We are all Americans, and that is what we hold dear.” One good way to help accomplish that goal is to avoid publishing inaccuracies and falsehoods about our elected leaders.  Among several arguable statements, Ms. Chapman claimed: “Nancy […]

It’s interesting to see Mr. Cunningham respond to a Sun letter (“Achieving sound public policy,” April 22). In addition to full-time state legislator, gym lawyer, parent, and husband, he is now newspaper commentator? It wouldn’t take a genius to notice that someone is getting the short  end of the stick here. I would kindly ask […]

While his office should get credit for helping residents secure their unemployment benefits during the pandemic, Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham called for a reopening of our county in April, just one month into the pandemic. When other cities and counties reopened throughout the state, they were hit with a wave of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. We […]

The blatant and misleading political hit published in this paper last week deserves response (“Remember this,” April 15). (The letter writer, it should be noted, is the chair of the San Luis Obispo Democratic Party, and perhaps let partisan bias seep into a false narrative.) Since day one, our office has taken the COVID-19 pandemic […]

If we close down the Oceano Dunes to recreational vehicles, we need to shut down all California downhill ski resorts as well. They are a blight on the landscape—wide swaths of forest devoid of trees that caused increased erosion. They are also big contributors to climate change, needing large amounts of power to run ski […]

From previous letters in this space, readers may be aware of ill-conceived plans for a widely unpopular housing project here in Los Alamos. It involves as many as 13 dwellings on a relatively small plot with poor road access and traffic hazards. Sacramento is requiring our county to add 25,000 new housing units this decade. […]

An article featured in the Sun stated that U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal recently visited a border facility that temporarily housed unaccompanied minors (“Carbajal says border facilities are improving, but work remains,” April 1). If he is so concerned with the safety and welfare of these illegal immigrants, mostly children, why doesn’t he sponsor a few […]

Last year an oil tanker crashed on Highway 166 and spilled 4,533 gallons of oil into the Cuyama River. Someone certainly needs to be held accountable for this disaster, but is blame only to be placed on the truck driver who was charged? What about the fossil fuel company that decided to transport crude oil […]

More than 7 million Californians live within 1 mile of an oil or gas well. Of those, 362,000 live in Santa Barbara County, the majority in low-income communities or communities of color. Living near oil and gas wells is linked with an increased risk of cancer, asthma, high-risk pregnancies and learning disabilities in children, as […]

Last year, on the first day of spring, an oil tanker truck crashed on Highway 166 east of Santa Maria, spilling 6,700 gallons of crude oil and fuel into the Cuyama River. The driver was speeding and is finally being prosecuted by the Santa Barbara County district attorney. ExxonMobil recently revived plans to send 70 […]

Only after constant pleas from youth requesting the school board to adopt a new grading system to address the record amounts of F’s given during distance learning did the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District (SMJUHSD) finally decide to do something. This whole ordeal is about understanding that students are human and that they […]

The Wilderness Act called for “an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” In 1964, it was one of three pieces of legislation—along with the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act—that essentially determined what kind of country we […]