Let’s face the fact that there is no fracking in Santa Barbara County. Why they brought up this initiative is a distraction because they know there is no fracking, but rather a ploy to stop oil production. The loss of those tax dollars, more than $16 million, is going to come out of the already distressed taxpayers’ pocket. It’s going to cause the loss of the much-needed jobs in the North County’s depressed economy, as well as the loss of donation monies to the schools and other nonprofit groups that the oil companies will not be able to help.
This article appears in Jul 3-10, 2014.