Every year, we celebrate Thanksgiving as a time to count our blessings, spend time with family, eat our fill of a traditional feast, and watch a parade and football game while reclining with our pants unzipped—and it’s perfectly acceptable. So from whence did this tradition come? Oh, I know it has something to do with […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
What do you think is going to happen in 2012?
Jason Cassaro welder “Absolutely nothing. It’s absurd that people are even worrying.” Natasha Delgado teacher “I hope the world doesn’t come to an end, but the movie freaked me out. I just wanna be alive.” Emily Rodwald intern “I think it’s gonna be like Y2K and life is gonna go on. It’s all just marketing […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t delay widening 101
Santa Barbara County residents have already waited long enough for what’s been promised
Twenty years ago, voters agreed to tax themselves for road improvements throughout Santa Barbara County. Measure D raised the sales tax rate one-half of one percent and paid for a lot of freeway construction projects and road maintenance projects. One project promised by the measure but not completed was the widening of the 101 freeway […]
Posted inOpinion
What do you think of this hubbub over Obama’s health-care reform?
David Rude pianist “I think they’re rippin’ it up. They’re making it all politics, but it shouldn’t be.” Tim Favorite food service employee “I do not like how they will make it mandatory to have health care. They’ve made it too socialistic; it should be someone’s choice whether or not they want health care.” Rick […]
Posted inOpinion
This ancient plant is beating the ‘War on Drugs’
Nipomo
California seized 4.4 million marijuana plants this year—a new record. The street value of this “crop” is estimated at $17.8 billion. The time has come to legalize and tax its sale. Let’s face it, the so-called expensive “War on Drugs” has failed with this ancient plant grown since the start of civilization.
Posted inOpinion
This isn’t what we want
Lompoc
My God, do we miss President George W. Bush. What we have now is not our kind of America. What we want is prosperity, not socialism!
Posted inOpinion
The United States doesn’t have the best car
Mercedes Benz Club of America, Central Coast section
Going green with the wrong technology will always put you in the red. Look at green hybrid buses that will not haul the passengers up a hill purchased by federal and state money and administrated by people who have no glue. Members of the Mercedes Benz Club of America recently toured the Mercedes factory […]
Posted inOpinion
Here’s how to truly end terrorist threats
Santa Maria
Lives and finances depend on President Obama’s careful analyses and procedures concerning the war in Afghanistan, and he must consider the will of the people. With so many demands on his time, thank goodness he is taking the necessary deliberations. Ever since we used our own weapons of massive destruction—the nuclear bombs ending the […]
Posted inOpinion
We will always remember this celebration
Santa Maria
I was recently honored, yet humbled, by the effort put forth by our Santa Maria firefighters in recognizing my tenure as their fire chief, with a retirement celebration held on Oct. 16. My family and many friends—along with co-workers, community leaders, and several fire service colleagues—were treated to a first-class event that included the Central […]
Posted inOpinion
How much are we paying for people who don’t pay?
Santa Maria
One thing that was conspicuously absent from the Nov. 5 cover article, “Underinsured and overstretched,” was the effect of the illegal aliens in this county on the hospital. I would assume that, considering all the pregnant illegals walking around the streets of Santa Maria, they are having their babies at Marian. How many actually pay […]
Posted inOpinion
Is there anything you would like to accomplish before the year ends?
Ismael Conas retail employee “Finish the nine-book series X-Wing before I go to basic training on Dec. 8.” George Ramos sales representative “Basically they are work related: stay in business, and make money.” Alisha Logan fashion designer “Start my clothing website: Rock n’ Roll Inject.” Jared Mack M.P. “Get my finances in order.”
Posted inOpinion
My denture adventure
Estimates for the work I need came in around $12,000
Dental insurance through my job is expensive but well worth it. Twice now it’s completely paid for a comprehensive exam and full set of x-rays that have definitively established I cannot afford to have my teeth fixed. Both estimates for the work I need came in around $12,000 with the good news that the insurance […]
