The Republican party is attempting to overturn democracy yet again, this time in California. Trump allies, conspiracy theorists, and anti-vaxxers are counting on low turnout among Democrats, Independents, and progressives to pull off their scheme to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom with a right-wing Republican. The stakes are high: Our governor has the power to appoint […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
County schools are eager to bring their students safely back on campus for the new academic year
As school begins and routines shift from summer to school mode, students, staff, and families adjust in multiple ways to help launch the year successfully. Children and family members learn bus schedules, sort out carpools, reset morning alarms, and excitedly wait to see which friends are in their classes. Teachers and staff reunite at schools […]
Posted inOpinion
We need the freedom to choose
There was a time in this country when people suffering from disease were forbidden the opportunity to try experimental treatments for their malady. President Trump succeeded in getting a “right to try” bill passed because it was his view that, as a human being, your liberty to choose your treatment, experimental though it may be, […]
Posted inOpinion
Raceway rescinded
I don’t know whether I’m surprised or not, but the owner of Stadium805—aka the Santa Maria Raceway—announced the impending closure of the landmark of Highway 101. Owner Nick Duggan posted his long rant about why and when via Facebook on Aug. 9. Apparently, it’s all San Luis Obispo County’s fault—well, big, bad SLO County and […]
Posted inOpinion
Does the city of Lompoc have a sound financial plan?
The budget is a topic that isn’t normally of concern to most people; in fact, I would guess that most residents in Lompoc or anywhere else don’t even know what’s in the budget or how it is prepared. Most certainly very few people know anything about the principles that govern municipal budgets. History suggests that […]
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Diablo Canyon and desalination
We in California face a historically deep drought advancing on our state, in addition to the global warming increase that takes our Western U.S. water more every day. Yet, what are politicians fretting about? The plight of our Golden State? Not so much. The governor worries about the recall and where donations will come from […]
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Discrimination station
Man. You guys. If it wasn’t for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Santa Maria would still be racist against agricultural workers. Thank God that federal agency found out about the city’s “discriminatory” housing ordinance and threatened a $400,000 fine for noncompliance. If the city hadn’t repealed its employee housing ordinance, agricultural […]
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The full environmental impact of trucking oil across the Central Coast is hardly shown in the final report
Between an explosive sting video starring a senior lobbyist and a shareholders meeting that saw three seats on their board going to climate activists, ExxonMobil’s been having a rough year. It couldn’t happen to a nicer oil company. But it hasn’t slowed their roll on the Central Coast. It’s been almost a year since I […]
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Public parody
If I could point out one thing that’s wrong with our health care system right now, it’s this: A health care system that essentially has a monopoly on providing services in Santa Maria just terminated its contract with one of the largest health insurance providers in California—and it’s legal. In fact, it happens all the […]
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Neglected minor crimes lead to larger quality-of-life crimes that rot the core of society
In September 2017 in a locally published commentary, I observed “Broken windows; Lompoc is full of them”; this commentary was based on a theory by social scientists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling in 1982 that used broken windows as a metaphor for disorder within neighborhoods. Expanding on the theory, they wrote: “If the first […]
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In answer to your question
Vandenberg Village resident and frequent Sun letter writer Jan Lipski asked a question in the opinion section of this issue (“Still scared,” page 10) that hit too close to home. If I were in a generous frame of mind, I would figure that this is exactly what he intended to do—to ask a personal question […]
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A fearful, right-wing agenda
The three SLO County Board of Supervisors government obstructionists did it again. Instead of appointing the current deputy clerk recorder to fill the vacant SLO County clerk-recorder position, they want to open it up for their review of candidates. They want their hand-picked interim candidate for an elected position. They expect to get candidates from […]
