Letters To The Editor

The oil and gas industry fear the continued drop in the prices of their products worsened by the pandemic. They want to ensure our dependency on fossil fuels by taking advantage of this life-threatening virus. While Gov. Gavin Newsom is heroically combating COVID-19, the federal government has been rolling back environmental protections and lifting restrictions […]

I am writing to you today with a heavy heart. My family owns a small business, 34 years in our community. Not a franchise, not a chain. We are a small business. More than 90 percent of our store is dedicated to local purveyors, wineries, farmers, and entrepreneurs. Each day we support our community. We […]

April is the month we celebrate Earth Day. With the COVID-19 health crisis, we realize how critical a healthy and safe environment is for all communities. Many Americans have pulled together to secure safety for themselves and others. This is such a positive example of how our country can make sacrifices to benefit all citizens. […]

Some of us in the coming weeks will experience something not unlike Neil Armstrong’s “one small step for man …” moment. We will decide to test the unknown. Not all of us will be that apprehensive because we suspect that this new virus entered California last December. I know I had the flu between Christmas […]

A cartoon can be ironic or satirical. But when it preaches at us, and lies at the same time, it fails miserably. Take the Mayfield cartoon of April 2. Referring to the recent congressional bailout bill that gave tens of millions of dollars to the middle class, working class, and the poor, and well over […]

Over the years there have been holiday periods with many thousands of vehicles disturbing the dune crust at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area. On those high-usage days, unless there was wind, there was no plume of air pollution. But the next time the wind blew, the dust went into the air and dangerous […]

The worldwide coronavirus pandemic is serious business. Every responsible citizen ought to inform themselves about that seriousness and do everything possible to protect themselves and others. That being said, I fear that our country is falling into a trap out of which it may never recover. That trap is the addiction to negativity and fear. […]

U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes of the Fresno district is one of the GOP’s top leaders in the House and is regrettably a Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, graduate. He thinks it is more dangerous for people to shelter at home from the coronavirus than be exposed to the virus itself. He has also encouraged Americans […]

The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused me, my family, friends, neighbors, and countless American citizens to lose our jobs and our livelihood. Hopefully with aid from the federal government we can pay our bills and buy food and necessities. This is help we earned and deserve because we paid taxes and are law-abiding American citizens. […]

For those of us who have been opposing the three proposed Cat Canyon oil projects, the announcement that PetroRock has withdrawn its application to drill 231 wells between Sisquoc and Orcutt is welcome news. Meanwhile, the fight continues against the two other Cat Canyon projects. Aera and TerraCore’s projects will add nearly 500 new wells, […]

I was a local teenager during the 1980s AIDS health crisis. I do not remember being told that there were too few condoms on the market so we should give all the condoms to the health care professionals! Of course there is a difference between the AIDS virus and COVID-19 virus. The comparison is far-fetched. […]

Wednesday, April 1, 2020—more than 1,000 Americans died from coronavirus. That number doubles the previous one-day high of 504 from the pandemic, set one day previous. Total U.S. deaths from COVID-19 by one count are now at 5,116. News accounts include state governors and hospital officials across the nation continuing to plead for protective gear […]