Who would have thought that it’d take nearly 20 years to get Santa Maria’s downtown vision on the runway? I’d say off the ground, but it’s still taxiing around the tarmac. On Oct. 3, the city’s Downtown Specific Plan rolled a little closer to takeoff position, thanks to a 3-1 vote from the City Council […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Our hardworking local growers and ranchers deserve accolades every day for the work they do to feed the nation
Oct. 12 was National Farmer’s Day—a day set aside each year to honor the hardworking men and women who’ve dedicated their lives to feeding a nation. Did you even know about this event, or did it get lost in the clutter of “special days” on our calendars each year. North County has a very large […]
Posted inOpinion
Israel’s orchestrated cycle of violence
It is quite remarkable witnessing the corporate media’s coverage of the latest orchestrated cycle of violence in Israel. Was this really a surprise or an intelligence failure? The same questions were raised after 9/11 and are yet to be addressed. I say orchestrated because the attack by Hamas upon Israel—which I must emphasize was in […]
Posted inOpinion
With its many community-driven initiatives, Lompoc is a beacon of hope for our youth
The community of Lompoc is advancing a set of initiatives to provide new and motivating opportunities for its young people so they can navigate and thrive in the world beyond high school. This focus is critical given sobering national trends that reveal increasing death rates and other deteriorating outcomes among children in the U.S. National […]
Posted inOpinion
Confused and confuddled
Solvang updated its homelessness ordinance. Starting Nov. 9, you can camp overnight in a number of publicly owned spaces but for no longer than 24 hours at a time. Unless, of course, you do camp somewhere for longer. Then, the city can notify you that you have up to 72 more hours to vacate the […]
Posted inOpinion
Slippery suckers
While environmental organizations are celebrating a recent ruling in ExxonMobil’s lawsuit against Santa Barbara County, they might also rue the day the judge in the case issued it. At the end of September, a federal judge upheld the county Board of Supervisors’ right to deny ExxonMobil a permit to truck oil on the county’s highways […]
Posted inOpinion
I was left with only one option in the face of untenable state-mandated changes to Lompoc’s housing element
What does a person who is in a decision-making role do when having to “approve” something that their principles won’t allow them to vote “yes” on? Well, I can only speak for myself on this issue. I was part of the Lompoc City Planning Commission for several years. After a hiatus I was reappointed, and […]
Posted inOpinion
No one is above the law
By now, we’ve all heard the news that Donald Trump was indicted for a fourth time, this time on racketeering charges in Georgia for the criminal conspiracy he led to overturn the 2020 election. The indictments in Georgia and Washington, D.C., made clear that Trump knew he had lost the 2020 presidential election but worked […]
Posted inOpinion
Against the wall
It sounds like the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is taking the four cities it contracts with for a ride! Must be nice to be able to increase the rates that cities pay for through their respective contracts but not really give them the data they’re asking for. This issue first came up as part […]
Posted inOpinion
The Chumash marine sanctuary should fill in the protection gap between the Channel Islands and Monterey
Ten years ago, when the Sierra Club joined with marine sanctuary advocates in advocating for the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, we were all very clear: There is a “doughnut hole” in California’s marine sanctuaries. The Channel Islands sanctuary covers that environmental gem off the Santa Barbara Channel; the Monterey Bay sanctuary reaches down to […]
Posted inOpinion
We’re well along on a better path
Although neither a birder nor an ornithologist, I am a fan of The Canary opinion column in the Santa Maria Sun. It’s snappy and entertaining. But recently it bordered on the bird-brained (Aug. 24, “On the record”). This bird looks and sounds yellow. It ought not to quake and quiver. Refuse to be caged by […]
Posted inOpinion
Time’s a wastin’
Apparently, providing emergency services in Santa Barbara County is complicated. I mean, obviously it is. But for some reason I can’t quite grasp, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has made it even more complicated in the last six months. For 50 years, American Medical Response (AMR) has provided emergency medical services to the […]
