The other night, I heard an elected leader talk about her time as an activist and how the “inside-outside” approach has been a theme in her life. This local female leader is what I would label a “badass.” Time and age have mellowed her but if you scratch the surface, the hard-core activist is still […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Politics not commitments
It sounds like San Luis Obispo County wants the Santa Maria Riverbed cleanup remnants to land squarely in the lap of Santa Barbara County. And by cleanup, I really mean clear-out. As in, a clear-out of the miniature cities that have popped up in the riverbed since last year’s flooding pushed them out, visible from […]
Posted inOpinion
A useless vote
A recent Solvang Planning Commission meeting gave us proof that artificial intelligence will take over human jobs. Instead of drawing names out of hat, the city relied on ChatGPT to tell it the commissioner who would remain on the dais to decide on whether to recommend rezoning city land for housing purposes. Three commissioners lived […]
Posted inOpinion
Are the steelhead back in the Santa Ynez River yet?
Normally the once proud and gracefully flowing Santa Ynez River is reduced to a dry sand bed with its banks occupied by numerous homeless camps, but occasionally during heavy rains it flows almost as it did when steelhead were abundant, long before Bradley Dam was built and Lake Cachuma was formed. For the last two […]
Posted inOpinion
Left turn signals are neither safe nor sane
About every four minutes of every day, at nearly all controlled traffic signals in Santa Maria, two and sometimes four vehicles traveling toward each other nervously swerve to avoid a collision. This game of automobile chicken plays out in all controlled traffic signal left turn lanes. This is neither safe nor sane. You and your […]
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Complaints all around
I’d almost rather pay for a wedding than vote in the primary election. I might not be the only person who feels that way. There isn’t a lot of exciting stuff on the ballot. The choices are almost predetermined. But, hey, at least no one is running unopposed! You’ve got incumbent conservative 4th District Santa […]
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Does ‘social justice’ really require that poor people be given the same bragging rights as the wealthy?
Whoever knew that equity and social justice requires that folks be able to live in Beverly Hills regardless of their financial means? This may the biggest lifestyle boost since the Beverly Hillbillies struck crude and rolled into town. The legendarily swank enclave of Beverly Hills is in a real lather. The enlightened social engineers in […]
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The Oceano beach death is on the ODSVRA
On Jan. 10, 2024, a man was found dead on the beach at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (ODSVRA) by State Parks rangers. The next day his car was found in the ocean. On Jan. 18, the Sun published a letter by Oceano resident Mary Martin: “Too many risks in Oceano.” What else […]
Posted inOpinion
The bond and the baby
What can I say about Proposition 1? It’s hard to know how to vote—unless you’re adamantly against the state taking out a $6.4 billion bond to build more places where people can get mental health care and substance abuse treatment and more housing for people with health and substance abuse challenges. Sounds like a problem […]
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There is only one promising, nonpartisan candidate for 3rd District supervisor
Voters have received vote-by-mail ballots. All three incumbent county Supervisors running for reelection need to be replaced, but I want to focus on the 3rd District because that’s where I live. The 3rd District supervisor’s seat is being contested by two people: One is widely known in the Lompoc Valley, and the other is relatively […]
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America doesn’t need to start over; it just needs tweaks
I have never understood the MAGA movement. Make America great again? America has always been great. I should know. I have been to at least 50 countries and all 50 states. While America may need to be tweaked once in a while, as democracy is dynamic, she does not need to be destroyed, as Trump […]
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What a racket!
Tennis players and pickleball players are frenemies who simply cannot share a court—and the battle over volleying space is getting tense in Solvang. Hans Christian Andersen Park hosts the city’s only two pickleball courts but they’re on the verge of closure with cracking and drainage issues. “The current courts are getting to the point where […]
