Opinion
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Our Pearl Harbor moment

Changing the built environment – making it healthy, energy efficient, and job creating – is not something merely pleasant, nor an aesthetic wish. It is the code blue response to a life-endangering crisis.
by RICHARD JACKSON

The world we are giving our children and grandchildren is in critical condition, wracked by a terrible combination of social, environmental, and economic catastrophes. We must no longer deal with these ongoing calamities in an atomized, piecemeal way as we did during the last century, because, as we are now beginning to recognize, they are […]

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What’s your dream piñata?

by Sun Staff

Ben Lukens student “Maybe a giant SpongeBob—that would be funny.” Janet Silveria chief operating officer “A sombrero, so I’m not hurting an animal.” Lizzett Cuadros new accounts representative “A toro—that would be pretty cool. Only because that would be fun.” Jose Parra hairdresser “I’d only hit one shaped like a star, because I couldn’t hit […]

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Honor immigrants, celebrate diversity

I am inspired and humbled to glimpse how some recent immigrants from mainland China strive to succeed in a new home very different from their origins
by ED CONNOLLY

I accompanied a Chinese friend to renew her business license at City Hall, where we filled out several forms and were sent to another office a few blocks away to complete more. The clerk at the second office saw my friend’s mailing address is in San Gabriel—not the Santa Maria address of the business—and mentioned […]

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Allow the county to correct you

on behalf of Chandra Waller, Santa Barbara County executive officer
by Cam Van Wingerden

On April 28, the Sun ran a cartoon indicating that Santa Barbara County management employees have maintained the ability to cash out vacation time (vacation conversion) while non-management employees have had that ability taken from them. The purpose of this correspondence is to provide you with correct information and request that you publish the correction. […]

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Forget bullets–use peels!

Carpinteria
by John Hankins

I loved your article on gang sweeps (“Swept away,” April 21), but was particularly drawn to the photo of the police conducting an early-morning sweep. One had a coffee cup in his gun hand, the other a banana.   I assume due to budget cuts these are new, low-cost weapons, in that the policeman could […]

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Beware of the soulless corporations

For-profit corporations are by nature amoral, not patriotic, not compassionate, and held to no standard other than whether their actions improve earnings
by JIM DUENOW

The vast majority of wealth and many politicians in our nation are owned by for-profit corporations. But rarely are some aspects of for-profit corporations discussed. Five decades ago, a wise old law professor told his corporations class: “In this class, you will learn how to create a legal person, a person potentially immortal, a person […]

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Face the harsh nuclear reality

Morro Bay
by Melanie Statom

It will take only one catastrophic incident at Diablo to cause untold long-lasting genetic and environmental damage, no matter what the cause of such a disaster. The moving audio narrative of photographer Paul Fusco at inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essay/chernobyl, documents the devastating consequences of Chernobyl 25 years ago. Those of us living in the shadow of Diablo, in […]

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Do not let Obama win again

Orcutt
by Larry Bargenquast

After doing more damage to the country than even the Democrats could have imagined, Barack Obama has already begun his re-election campaign for 2012. With his new slogan, “Change That Matters,” he’s been meeting for weeks at campaign headquarters in Chicago to plan his strategy, which, since he has no accomplishments to run on, is […]

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What’s your favorite Easter candy?

by Sun Staff

Troy Reynolds window cleaning business owner “Those Reese’s peanut butter eggs, ’cause I put peanut butter on everything. I just love it.” Walt Greenawald retired engineer “A chocolate caramel.” Dan Ontiveros retired “Cadbury chocolate Easter eggs.” Cesar De Alba YMCA staff “Reese’s for sure, ’cause I love peanut butter.”

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Reduce our footprints now

We groan over our energy bills and making wars on oil-producing countries, yet we don’t take the simplest steps to curb our energy use
by Richard Kranzdorf

From oil to coal to natural gas and now nuclear power: As one by one the use of these energy sources results in catastrophes, we keep searching for a safe alternative, but even if we champion solar, hydro, wind, ocean waves, wood, and other such renewable energy sources, our insatiable appetite for energy simply can […]

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Are you a sunshine or a rain type of person?

by Sun Staff

Irma Valdez hair stylist “Sunshine. I don’t like when it’s cold. I don’t like wearing sweaters.” [image-2] Anthony Ibarra student “Sunshine for sure. It’s warm, and you get to be outside and do active stuff.” [image-3] Hugo Lopez student “Sunshine, because it’s not depressing.” [image-4] Jim Newell manager “Rain. [I] grew up in Las Vegas […]

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