Salud Carbajal has never helped my business! Michael Smith writes on Feb. 18 (“Carbajal has acted in businesses’ favor”) that he was surprised to read a letter claiming Carbajal has been bad for business (“Dear Congressman Carbajal, now is your chance,” Feb. 4). Here are my two experiences with Carbajal’s office. I own a small […]
Opinion
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Greenhouse politics
Who knew building a greenhouse on agriculturally zoned land could be so controversial? Ooh, pick me! Pick me! It’s definitely not surprising that the same county that brought you years of discussion over whether or not hoop houses should be allowed over a nice view from Highway 101 is the same county in which a […]
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Santa Maria’s new user fee study sheds light on city operations, expenses
We believe that Santa Maria residents and customers appreciate understanding where their hard-earned money goes for city services. And we sometimes hear that government should be run more like a business. You are invited to learn more about a new city user fee analysis that ties these principles together. The city is sharing with its […]
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Is Lompoc’s water quality in danger because of homeless camps?
On Feb. 2, the Lompoc city manager tried to justify using fees collected to operate and maintain the drinking water utility to pay for homeless camp cleanups in the riverbed by saying that “funding the ongoing costs for cleanup and patrolling from the water enterprise fund would be a legitimate use” because the homeless population […]
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Ever-changing shades
Great news, everyone! California residents eligible for the next phase of vaccines can now make appointments to get vaccinated! Well, actually, just kidding! According to the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department’s top peeps—Dr. Van Do-Reynoso and Dr. Henning Ansorg—only part of that phase (aka 1B) is actually eligible for vaccines, and they’re only eligible […]
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Carbajal has acted in businesses’ favor
I was surprised to read Keri McMillan’s recent condemnation of Congressman Salud Carbajal over his votes regarding the pandemic (“Dear Congressman Carbajal, now is your chance,” Feb. 4). McMillan is rightly upset that she has lost business revenue because of shutdowns, but I believe she is pointing her finger in the wrong direction. First, Carbajal […]
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On that day this year, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force at the United Nations
Who wouldn’t appreciate a family physician whose name is Dr. Good? He was of the “old school,” arriving at our home or our hospital bed, his stethoscope around his neck and his black medical bag in his hand. He treated our entire family for everything from colds to flus to broken bones to meningitis. We […]
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Inmates in waiting
How long does it take to build something? In the case of the the Santa Barbara County Jail under construction in Santa Maria, at least eight years, maybe longer. Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown has touted the facility as the future savior of the county’s justice system woes since at least 2013. Every malady […]
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Keep rallying for Trump
We must continue to support President Trump now as we have for the past four years. He has every right to encourage his supporters to rally peacefully before Congress to support and promote important Republican issues now. When the president was at Walter Reed Army hospital to treat his case of COVID-19, his supporters rallied […]
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Planners must pay attention to neighborhoods’ reality
Los Alamos is in the midst of a development blunder aided by our own county Planning Department. This can happen to any small town, or any neighborhood within a city. A builder seeks to develop an acre-and-a-half lot that is bordered by three roads. He may build as many as 11 dwellings. One of the […]
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What marks should we give to Lompoc Unified School District for its performance?
So, after nearly a year of COVID-19 related closures, let’s give the Lompoc Unified School District (LUSD) a “progress report”; how is it doing and what grade would it get if this were a classroom project? I am not an educator, but I think we can figure this out based on the progress made so […]
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On top of it!
Did you guys hear the good news? Blue Shield of California, a health insurance company, is going to handle COVID-19 vaccine distributions in the state moving forward. What about Kaiser Permanente or Anthem Blue Cross customers? Will they get access to the vaccines? Well, I’m covered by Blue Shield, so that’s good news for me. […]
