Ever lose track of everything you need to be concerned about?
Gun death, domestic violence, human trafficking, natural disasters, ongoing drought, social media threats—it’s a lot to process!
We should be concerned about all these things. The Cachuma Reservoir has only risen to 50 percent this past water year, and the wet season won’t last much longer.
What are people in the Santa Ynez Valley going to drink if Cachuma and the river dry up? That’s a real concern, among everybody from artists (see cover story on page 10) to municipal water agencies (see news story on page 9).
All that concern over a lack of drinking water has led to an interesting outcome in Santa Maria. In 2016, the city purchased 84 percent of its water from the State Water Project. That’s a lot of state water, especially if you’re sitting on the largest aquifer in the Santa Barbara County.
But hey, Santa Maria is concerned about the drought, no matter what the state says. We need to hoard all that precious water, for the strawberries, gosh darnit!
Another concern that everyone has to live with now is the threat of gun violence. I don’t blame the parents of Santa Maria High School students who yanked their kids out of class when a social media post from another student appeared to threaten a shooting at the school just days after the horrific attack in Parkland, Florida. It turns out the kid just had a BB gun, similar to a case from August of 2017, when an Ernest Righetti High School student was investigated by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office for making a social media post threatening Orcutt Academy High School with a photo of two toy firearms.
Everyone knows about copycat killers. It can happen, it does happen, and parents and students are justifiably concerned, whether the guns turn out to be fake or not.
The gun that was fired at the Chumash Casino on Feb. 20 was real, and its use had fatal results after a casino security guard allegedly shot someone in the parking lot after an altercation. The Sheriff’s Office and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians couldn’t say much about the incident that day, but I want to know more: What kind of training do security guards have at the casino? Do they all carry guns? What did the deceased and guard do before the shots rang out?
But not every issue has stakes so high.
Honestly, it was a nice break from all the heaviness to hear youth from Santa Maria and Guadalupe speak up at the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors’ last meeting in hopes of seeing a walking trail between the city and the town. They’re concerned about their access to open space, getting exercise, and enjoying the sights.
But as usual, Andy Caldwell of COLAB was there to to crap on their youthful dreams. He’s more concerned about the well-being of the agricultural industry and its ability to use pesticides than having walking spaces. Fourth District Supervisor and lifelong local rancher Peter Adam said farmers are already “under assault,” and restricting more pesticide use would only make it harder on them.
Well, you can’t say we don’t know what they’re concerned about.
The Canary has no lack of concern. Send your thoughts to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 22 – Mar 1, 2018.