What would the city of Lompoc give to have an extra $35,000 floating around in its general revenue fund just to spend on TV advertising? For one, it would mean the Lompoc Fire Department would have earthquake-retrofitted fire stations. This year for the first time in more than a decade, Lompoc was able to balance […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Representation in Guadalupe
I would like to share my appreciation for my 3rd District Supervisor Joan Hartmann and all she has done for our community. Since taking office, Supervisor Hartmann has kept her promise to be there for Guadalupe and care about our concerns, from providing letters of support for funding for LeRoy Park, to providing recommendations to Congressman […]
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As the city’s representative in county government, I’m never not thinking about Guadalupe
Guadalupe—the little town with the big heart—enjoys the world-renowned Guadalupe Dunes, distinctive downtown architecture and murals, excellent cuisine, and, above all, wonderful people. The rich agricultural lands have drawn wave after wave of different ethnic groups to work the fields—and each has left their distinctive mark on the city. Even though Guadalupe is on the […]
Posted inOpinion
Hartmann has helped Guadalupe
Regarding the “Representation” opinion piece (Canary, Nov. 11), I’d like to correct a misrepresentation of Supervisor Hartmann’s support for the community of Guadalupe. While I am neutral on how the new supervisor districts should be drawn, I do take issue with Supervisor Hartmann being too stretched to be effective for Guadalupe. Here are a few […]
Posted inOpinion
Thorny issues
Do we actually think the Northern Branch Jail will open in December 2021? I can’t even count then number of stories the Sun has run about when Santa Barbara County’s newest $110 million to $120 million detention facility is going to open. First it was September 2018, then it was August 2019, then May 2020, […]
Posted inOpinion
Reality rehabilitation
How do we live well in reality while also dreaming about and moving toward a better future? Well, some in authority don’t really do a great job of either, until they get caught or something gets broken. In the case of the Santa Barbara County Main Jail, both happened. The county got called out for […]
Posted inOpinion
Two Lompoc City Council members showed their lack of understanding of budgeting when they voted against public safety
One thing you can always count on when an item involving a cooperative agreement between the city of Lompoc and the county of Santa Barbara is that Councilman Dirk Starbuck will oppose it every time. Even though he is usually wrong in his assumptions, at least he is consistent. The other thing you can count […]
Posted inOpinion
Representation
One thing is clear when it comes to redistricting: Santa Barbara County’s 3rd District doesn’t make sense, and something needs to change! Joan Hartmann’s district—which stretches from Lake Cachuma through the Santa Ynez Valley, down to Isla Vista, over to Lompoc and Vandenberg Space Force Base (I’m never going to get used to that), and […]
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Dishonest, partisan reporting is guaranteed to harden positions on either side of the COVID-19 vaccine debate
Well, just when we figured that the pandemic was finally in our rearview mirrors, the virus has come roaring back, and the blame is now being focused on all those red-state anti-vaxxers. The pandemic and the vaccine have been politically weaponized. Caveat: It is dumb to refuse vaccination, and I have myself been vaccinated. […]
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Sensible and small
An outsized debate in Solvang prompted one City Council member to ask city staff to just make it stop. “At the most minimal effort and cost, I want us to assist this group to make this go away,” City Councilmember Robert Clarke said during the Oct. 25 Solvang City Council meeting. Here, here, Clarke! This […]
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We’ve seen too many unintended consequences of politics; a change in strategic thinking is needed now
When politicians get together to hatch their latest and greatest contributions to society, they sometimes make some unforced errors. Lately local, state, and federal elected officials have made some whoppers. In our county, the political class, who are strongly influenced by their well-heeled contributors, has always sought to lead the nation in environmental extremism. Their […]
Posted inOpinion
Pants on fire
Santa Barbara County dodged a bullet by telling the Natural Healing Center (NHC) to bugger off when it came to setting up an Orcutt cannabis shop. NHC’s former big cheese Helios Dayspring finally and officially pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and tax evasion on Oct. 14. And a week prior, the city of San […]
