Pop quiz, readers. When you read the statement: “The public figure did not respond before press time,” what do you perceive? How does that sound to you? Do you: a) shrug—public figures are busy and deadlines are tight. b) roll your eyes—it takes just a second to respond. c) lose faith—public figures should stop hiding. […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Much stayed the same after the election, for better in Lompoc, and for worse beyond
The election was just completed, and the winners and losers are spinning the results. One welcome outcome is that my home phone stopped ringing with unwanted political calls and so did my cellphone. These annoying calls were designed to convince me to vote for this or that, but in my case all it did was […]
Posted inOpinion
Nipomo is not the county’s fix
Some 20 years ago, there was an effort to enact an innovative but controversial program in San Luis Obispo County for open space conservation purposes. This program, called a transfer of development dredits (or TDC) program, had as its main goal the conservation of sites with important habitat or other conservation values. The concept is […]
Posted inOpinion
Normalize volunteering
Guys! Teens are smoking pot. Surprised? I’m not. In a recent presentation to the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Commission, Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley Programs Director Dawnette Kingsley-Smith vouched for an ordinance restricting public tobacco and marijuana use. She said it would help “denormalize” pot smoking among youth. “The myths around the health of […]
Posted inOpinion
The big game
Should we cry for ExxonMobil? The multi-national energy corporation sued Santa Barbara County over what’s known as a “takings” in May for the Board of Supervisors’ decision to deny an oil trucking project that would have enabled the company to restart its operations offshore near Santa Barbara. Recently, a judge ruled that a bunch of […]
Posted inOpinion
An alternative to war
“Now, therefore, I, Harry S. Truman, president of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the cessation of hostilities of World War II, effective 12 o’clock noon, Dec. 31, 1946.” I was a little more than 10 months old when President Truman proclaimed an end to war and the beginning of what the world […]
Posted inOpinion
Reflecting on wars and diplomacy, past and present
Sixty years ago, the world stood inches from nuclear armageddon as President John F. Kennedy went mano a mano with Nikita Khrushchev to force the USSR to remove nuclear missiles stationed in Cuba. Sun readers are mostly much younger than me, but you probably know how the crisis was resolved if you’ve read anything about […]
Posted inOpinion
Read your voter information guides carefully and make educated decisions at the polls
I got my Santa Barbara County voter guide in the mail a couple of weeks ago; these guides are always informative, and I read each candidate statement carefully before I cast my vote. I know that many of you have already voted, but here are some things to consider. I read the proposals carefully and […]
Posted inOpinion
Trashy talk
Santa Maria City Council candidate Steven Funkhouser set the new bar for city politics in 2022. And that’s not a good thing. How low is low? You have to come up with something that sinks beneath the level of altering photographs and featuring them in the dark, gritty campaign mailers delivered to the homes of […]
Posted inOpinion
Concern for Buellton’s future
I am a concerned citizen when it comes to Buellton’s future. I have interviewed both candidates running for mayor—these are my observations. Elysia Lewis came into Buellton’s political arena just two years ago and is running for mayor while she still has two years to serve on the City Council. She feels she is better […]
Posted inOpinion
Vote Karamitsos for council
Dr. Carol Karamitsos will be a great member of the Santa Maria City Council. She brings to this office a lifetime of passion for helping families as their doctor, and 16 years of work on the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District board. Like her father, Dr. John Karamitsos, she has birthed hundreds of […]
Posted inOpinion
Frost supports our students
I am writing in support of a board leader who will make a difference for our children here in Santa Barbara County. Please consider Judy Frost for the Santa Barbara County board of education. I have known Judy for almost 20 years, and I worked closely with her husband, Erik Frost, as an educator earlier […]
