Before putting tax measures on the ballot, most cities get the word out and gauge public sentiment. But that didn’t happen in Guadalupe. The City Council recently voted to put a bond measure on the ballot to raise funds that will help pay to revitalize Guadalupe’s historic theater. And while the city may have had […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
We need to transition away from fossil fuels, and wind is part of the solution
Regarding “Semantics and spin” in the May 30 Sun, it really saddens me to see a group like REACT and their spokesperson, Mandy Davis, continue to use divisive rhetoric to oppose offshore wind energy. A few examples of their misinformation: • The article claims that the fossil fuel industry “almost never” funds campaigns against wind […]
Posted inOpinion
Protest the use of ICBMs till they’re eliminated
“When I say that there is a step that could reduce the risk of nuclear war significantly that has not been taken but could easily be taken, that is the elimination of American ICBMs.” –Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023) An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a land-based nuclear weapon. U.S. ICBMs are stored in underground silos across […]
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We still have time to preserve a livable planet
I appreciate that news publications are increasingly covering our planet’s worsening climate crisis. I read recently that May was the 12th consecutive month with average temperatures higher than all observations since 1850—probably the highest in more than 100,000 years. Shortly after that, I found out that California has in one year seen a doubling in […]
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Big bucks
After almost getting shut down by the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District last year for noncompliance, one cannabis company agreed to pay more than $1.3 million for its polluting ways. Central Coast Agriculture will now hold the incredible title of paying more than any other for violating air pollution regulations in the county—even […]
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Has your family’s standard of living improved in the last four years?
Your standard of living is defined as the degree of wealth and material comfort available to a person or community. Your quality of life is similar, the standard of health, comfort, and happiness experienced by an individual or group: the things that are needed for a good quality of life. Inflation is a general increase […]
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We’ve come close to an actual dictator in the Oval Office
The May 18, 2024, issue of The Economist reflected upon the vulnerability of the United States to becoming a dictatorship. But while the writer’s focus was on another Donald Trump presidency, I think our closest encounter with dictatorship was in our not-so-distant past. A “dictator” is defined as a leader who has absolute power, […]
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Pay to stay
Is there a limit to how high we can raise taxes, even on tourists? Every four years, it seems like local municipalities devise a way to increase sales tax or transient occupancy tax (TOT). Boy, public safety sure could use a boost, or the roads sure could use an influx of funding, or it’s not […]
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Santa Maria High teacher and coach Bill Yanez deserves to be inducted into the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame
I recently came across the list of second year inductees to the Santa Maria High School Athletics Hall of Fame and was, once again, disappointed to find that longtime Saints’ baseball and basketball coach Bill Yanez was not included. When he was left out last year, I assumed he was simply overlooked by the committee, […]
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Arguments against wind help fossil fuel
Yes, it is semantics and spin, and the fossil fuel industry and groups like the Charles Koch Foundation must be delighted to have people like Mandy Davis and the REACT Alliance parroting the propaganda they have been feeding them (“Semantics and spin,” May 30). A recent piece in [the Sun’s sister paper] New Times (“Environmental […]
Posted inOpinion
‘Donald Trump has shown us who he is’
Trump’s conviction in New York reaffirms the principle that no one—not even a former president—is above the law in the United States of America. The evidence presented to the jury was damning, including numerous falsified documents with Trump’s signature on them. Falsification of business records is a serious crime, and Trump is finally being held […]
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Trump still poses a danger to our democracy
It’s official: After making secret hush money payments to an adult film star 11 days before the 2016 election and falsifying official filings to hide the truth from the public, Donald Trump has been found guilty by a New York jury. Trump’s conviction in New York should remind us all that no one—including a former […]
