Joe Scott student “The weather — it beats the hell out of the cold. You’re not limited.” Lauren Addington student “Probably all the wildflowers and just the nice weather and everything.” Crystal Daly student “The weather—it’s fresh. The air is crisper. With winter being more depressive, your emotions change. It’s more peppy. It’s all about […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
If we go bankrupt, everyone else will sleep better
Santa Maria
From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, our government seems incapable of breaking its addiction to meddling in other countries. One more time we’ll spend billions of dollars, borrowed from China, to level someone else’s home in the hope that they’ll grow to love us when they get to know us better. […]
Posted inOpinion
Let money directly benefit students and teachers
Santa Maria
I have reservations about the wisdom of implementing the well-intended Teacher Advancement Program here on the Central Coast (“TAP into the future,” April 7). I thought our school districts and the federal and state governments were broke. The TAP program is a very expensive program to administer. The start-up costs for the Lucia Mar Unified […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t be distracted by diversion tactics
It’s a frequent but false claim that pension costs will bankrupt state government
Only very rich individuals and big businesses gain from pitting worker against worker. A diversion tactic such interests have recently employed is to blame unions for the state deficits we are experiencing. A prime example of this twisted logic is the rhetoric of Justin Ruhge (“Public employee benefits are breaking taxpayers,” March 31). He claims […]
Posted inOpinion
If you transformed into a car, what would you be?
Veronica Garcia student “A Jetta. It’s a car that I would personally drive. And they’re little, cute, and gas efficient.” Lauren Gomes student “I’d be a Chevy Camaro because they look sleek, but they are also powerful. Plus, they’re pretty.” Alexis Lemus student “An ’89 Acura Integra. It’s as old as I am, and it […]
Posted inOpinion
Help the EPA do its job
Counter the political campaign against science
“To waste, to destroy, our natural resources … will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them.” So said Pres. Theodore Roosevelt in his seventh message to Congress on Dec. 3, 1907. Propelled by funds doled out by billionaire owners of […]
Posted inOpinion
Stand firm, GOP 5
Santa Maria
In the ongoing and difficult California budget process, the Republican Party has been called “obstructionist.” Governor Brown has challenged Republican leaders to step forward with proposals that will move California forward and solve the state’s structural deficit problems. Our own District 15 senator, Sam Blakeslee, is showing real leadership with tangible and concrete proposals for […]
Posted inOpinion
Allowing nuclear power is madness
Shell Beach
Wise public policy is central to a society. It should be based on such principles as the greatest good for the greatest number for the longest time. The policy to allow nuclear power is, by these principles, the greatest evil in history. Nuclear power creates many toxic products, including plutonium 239, the deadliest substance known. […]
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U.S. nuclear power is safe
Santa Maria
I am sending the following to local, state, and federal officials, the media, and others regarding the important facts about Japan’s nuclear power disaster, which have been grossly neglected. The disaster in Japan regarding their old nuclear plants has been devastating. The disaster has generated the greatest media attention to radiation leaks from the older […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t compare vet techs to nurse practitioners
Santa Maria
In response to your article titled “Nurses of the animal world” (March 24), I applaud the fact that Allan Hancock College may be teaming up with the Humane Society to produce a vet tech certification program. It is a gross mischaracterization, however, to compare a person who receives this one-year certification at a community college […]
Posted inOpinion
Are you fearful of radiation coming from Japan?
Julian Andrade student “Not really. The chances for high radiation are not very likely.” Nate Brookshire student “We got bigger things to worry about than radiation.” Robin Ponder student “I don’t think the levels will be high enough to be concerned about. Hawaii, being closer, would show symptoms before California.” [image-4] Zachariah Thomas student “No. […]
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I don’t think ‘shot potato’ is a real tradition
Grover Beach
Kudos to K. Reka Badger’s recommendation of Guinness instead of green beer (“Irish food in the New World,” March 17). The Bleacher Bum’s drinking games however, border on the irresponsible (“The Bleacher Bum Chronicles XII,” March 17). Drinking multiple shots of whiskey not only ensures an early end to the night, it can also lead […]
