I just got the first press release I’ve had from the Los Padres National Forest since before Christmas! Why does that matter?
Well, I’m glad you asked. It means that—drum roll please—the United States of America is back, baby! The federal government is no longer partially shut down! For at least three weeks, possibly longer, but I’m not going to pin any hopes and dreams on that.
As our fair-weather elected officials duke it out over border security, furloughed federal workers are back in action. But they still won’t likely get paid until Jan. 31.
The good news is, if people want to celebrate getting paid to work again, they can head on into that beautiful national forest of ours and light up a campfire or a charcoal barbecue (in designated areas, of course, unless you have a California Campfire Permit)! Snow and rain have made the Central Coast moist enough to reduce fire restrictions in the national forest, according to that super exciting first press release of 2019.
Speaking of exciting, volunteering for the Point In Time Homeless Count is apparently extremely exhilarating if you don’t follow the safety rules outlined for the counters who walk the streets of Santa Maria in the pre-dawn darkness searching for homeless people to survey.
More than 500 volunteers fanned out across Santa Barbara County on Jan. 24 to help perform the biennial count of the homeless population. There were enough volunteers to cover all of the geographical areas that the count needed to take into consideration. Most everything went to plan, according to the Northern Santa Barbara County United Way. Most every group probably followed those aforementioned safety rules.
I guess you never know what’s going to happen when you call the police. For instance: They could handcuff the people you’re trying to help, because those people look a certain way. It’s called profiling—you’ve probably heard of it and it’s alive and well in Santa Maria. Also, just know that something interesting is always happening at a 7-Eleven near you.
It seems as if at least one corporation reads the news—and doesn’t think it’s fake. Southern California Edison. The company is embroiled in about 75 lawsuits due to the Thomas Fire, which many claim the utility provider caused, and the resulting Montecito mudslide. Well, the Southern California electricity company recently filed a cross-complaint alleging that Santa Barbara County knew there was the potential for deadly debris flows in the area.
Although Edison spokesperson David Song didn’t tell our reporter that a certain Los Angeles Times article was the reason for the counter-suit, the timing is telling. The LA Times article in question (published on Dec. 20) outlines a history of county documents that detail the dangers of potential debris flows in the area and alleges that the county could have done more to stop the mudslide, but did not.
A month after that article comes out, the company files a countersuit.
You know what’s crazy? The fact that Southern California Edison probably has more time, money, and resources to spend on that kind of research than the LA Times, but didn’t: #journalism.
The canary is all about that boots in the air reporting at canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 31 – Feb 7, 2019.
