A crucial concern that directly impacts our citizens’ well-being lies in the heart of our community: affordable housing. As the CEO of the SLO County Housing Trust Fund, a nonprofit affordable housing revolving loan fund, I want to share the significance of this challenge and advocate for its role in shaping our community’s future. Here’s […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Saddle up
We’ve finally got some races on our hands for the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors! Not one supervisor who’s up for reelection is running unopposed in the March primary. Huzzah! Great! What do we have for quality candidates? Mm. That one’s a bit tough to discern. Restaurateur and Carpinteria City Councilmember Roy Lee is […]
Posted inOpinion
The Oceano Community Services District is in disarray thanks to one elected official
The drama from Oceano is so extensive that it continuously reverberates throughout the Central Coast. Every week, newly elected Oceano Community Services District (OCSD) board member Charles Varni publishes verbose, sanctimonious, and self-victimizing diatribes every time someone disagrees with him. Varni completely melts down in a feedback loop of replaying his grievances against the district […]
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Too many risks in Oceano
Before the last big storm, heavy rain and high tides were predicted by the weather forecasts. The disastrous washout on Oceano Beach, on Dec. 28, 2023, should not have been a surprise. Several trailers and vehicles were dragged into the ocean where they lost all their contents: provisions, pots and pans, plasticware, trash. The debris […]
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Cuckoo’s nest
When the rooster crows, it gets kicked out of a Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting! On Jan. 9, during a hearing about future rooster regulations, the cacophony was a little too loud, upsetting the delicate balance of debating deeply held convictions with decorum. Instead of simply enjoying the peaceful boredom of facilitating discussion […]
Posted inOpinion
The harder policymakers try to help us, the worse everything gets; 2024 is no exception
The new year brings some questionable policy changes to Californians, most notably to the medium- and low-income families in every community. First is the new minimum wage law that applies to national fast-food businesses. CalMatters reports that “California-based fast-food workers for chains with 60 or more locations around the nation will earn at least $20 […]
Posted inOpinion
Trump simply should not be elected again
This month marks three years since the Jan. 6 insurrection—a direct attack on our democracy, our freedom to vote, and a preview of how far Donald Trump is willing to go to cling to power. Jan. 6 was the violent and deadly culmination of a months-long criminal conspiracy after the 2020 election, when Trump attempted […]
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Sleight of hand
Oceano is hoping for a brand new 2024. The little town in southern San Luis Obispo County is hoping that its Community Services District will finally pull itself together, that the governing board will do more than bicker, and that its new leaders will move forward into a more civil era of policymaking. I wouldn’t […]
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In response to his recent signing of the Orphan Well Prevention Act, AB 1167
My question is how do we enforce that law? What good are laws, rules, regulations, codes if there is no enforcement mechanism? Without consequences for noncompliance, laws are ignored. We don’t need new laws. We need the old ones enforced. If the old ones failed because of noncompliance, what can we expect from the new […]
Posted inOpinion
For the birds!
We sure did a lot of fighting this year! Maybe it was all that rain in January and March, filling up Northern Santa Barbara County’s streets with mud and debris, causing our reservoirs to spill over, and leaving us with repair needs—some of which have yet to be fixed. It made us grumpy for the […]
Posted inOpinion
Elections matter—new political leadership is greatly needed
Every year many of us make New Year’s resolutions that we sometimes keep; this year will be no different. Instead of sharing my personal resolutions, I will talk about those that voters should make and keep in the coming year. We need new leadership in our county, state, and country. The current crop of appointed […]
Posted inOpinion
The Dana Reserve development is too big
In response to Michael Massey (“We need housing,” Dec. 21). I notice you have not addressed the traffic problem on the 101 freeway that has gotten exponentially worse in the past few years. I have realized we need more responsible housing projects, but this one is far too large! Alyx Michell Nipomo
