If an average person sold automatic weapons to known drug cartels, notorious gang members, and assassins, federal law enforcements officials would be all over them with possible criminal charges, incarceration, and accomplice charges in the resulting crimes. Yet when that person is the attorney general of the United States, the media and our local Congresswoman […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Eliminate birthdates on job applications
Nipomo
Job discrimination against senior citizens is a real problem in California (“An age-old question,” Sept. 22). It should be illegal for employers to require a birthdate on the job application forms that are most common. What reason is there for such a request other than judging based on age? It is easy to look at […]
Posted inOpinion
Behold the next subprime loan crisis
College students are, on average, $25,000 in debt upon graduation and face an unemployment rate between 14 and 17 percent
In California, indeed throughout the nation, student loan debt surpasses credit card debt, and youth unemployment hovers between 14 and 17 percent. We are witnessing the next subprime crisis of the United States. Students have demanded relief, yet we hear only the same bromides about better times to come, how we’re the future, how investment […]
Posted inOpinion
What life lesson did you have to learn the hard way?
Mitch Maiden trophy shop owner “Twenty-five years of marriage isn’t easy, but it’s not about me. It’s about us.” Bill Reynolds pastor “Don’t lie. It always catches up with you.” Cathy Miller homemaker “Do not abuse a credit card.” Ron Glenn retired “Being honest.”
Posted inOpinion
Protest spotlights space militarization
Vandenberg’s testing of strategic missiles and launches of intelligence satellites from the base shouldn’t be mistaken for defensive or deterrent measures
When demonstrators gathered for a vigil on Wednesday, Oct. 5, outside Vandenberg Air Force Base, they joined a series of actions in more than 40 locations worldwide marking Keep Space for Peace Week. Actions took place in such locations as Menwith Hill, England; Jeju Island, South Korea; Nagpur, India; Kaua’i, Hawaii; and National Security Agency […]
Posted inOpinion
Where do you go to get away from it all?
Tempest Plott sandwich artist “Go swimming. It’s very peaceful to swim under water for as long as you can.” Adrienne Roy-Gaster retail worker “Go hiking up Orcutt hill.” Jose Guerrero student “My pad.” George Vivanco musician “My room.”
Posted inOpinion
Now they’ll have to pay
Martinez
PG&E recipients of million-dollar bonuses, stock options, and other excessive executive compensations, over the years when funds were diverted, neglecting underground gas pipelines, now must help pay the costs of injury, death, and destruction. Republican and Tea Party leaders, those wanting to mix church and state, those wanting to privatize Social Security, as well as […]
Posted inOpinion
We want a voice in nuclear storage
San Luis Obispo
Whether you believe Diablo Canyon should be relicensed, or that evacuation plans are workable, or that the spent fuel in pools and casks is safe, one fact remains: Thousands of tons of high-level radioactive waste have accumulated on our Central Coast, and more will pile up during the remaining license and possible relicensing period. The […]
Posted inOpinion
Quit studying and stop the ‘recreation’
Nipomo
I live on Nipomo Mesa. Like many other mesa residents, I have terrible lung congestion. Vehicles on Oceano Beach and Dunes disrupt the crust, releasing tiny (10 microns) particles, which are blown eastward. Rather than the Air Pollution Control District studying this for another four years, stop the dune “vehicle recreation” right now.
Posted inOpinion
Turn. Out. Those. Lights.
Nipomo
Just visited Santa Maria for the first time tonight. My God, what happened there? The whole city looks like a hospital ward in a horror film after dark. Whatever you’re trying to save with the Alien Microwave Orange —the environment, money, whatever—it isn’t worth it. It makes Newark, N.J., seem downright homey by comparison. So […]
Posted inOpinion
Teach your children about money
A good education about finances can be a profound influence for success, but few elementary or high schools provide such curricula
Teens today are often accused of being entitled, materialistic, and impulsive—most of them spend money as though it grows on trees—but I think they’ve gotten a bad rap. They’ve been taught to spend. Since their days in a snuggly, they’ve watched adults buy ice cream, shoes, movie tickets, cell phones—endless purchases. Every magazine, billboard, and […]
Posted inOpinion
What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?
Ernesto Martinez restaurant manager “[My wife gave] me a son.” I.D. Hernandez student “Taking me to Disneyland. ” Mike Godinez respiratory care practitioner “Thanking me at work.” Brad Bunkelmen retired “My mother gave birth to me.”
