The Feb. 6 article, “Dan Walters Covers California History, Politics, Challenges in Santa Barbara Talk,” stated, “To a packed theater, Walters, a CalMatters columnist who has been covering California politics since 1975, spoke about the state’s big issues that he said include high housing costs, power shortages, insufficient infrastructure and a lack of leadership from state politicians.”
I would suggest another topic not mentioned by Walters: The authorization for public employee unions by the 1968 Meyers-Milias-Brown Act and especially the 1978 State Employer-Employee Relations Act (the Dills Act).
Before then, public employees received job security in the public sector rather than somewhat higher pay in private sector jobs. Now the public employees get both.
Through their unions’ support or nonsupport of politicians who oversee their employment contracts, they demand and get increased salaries, substantial benefits and lucrative pensions as compared to most private employees.
And when one group in one location gets a lucrative contract, staffs in other locales use that to stairstep up their pay and benefits at their next contract renewal time.
This is usually justified that we have to do that or all of our employees will go to work at that other city/county/agency — as if all employees could even be hired by that highest-paid locale.
The net result is that personnel costs are generally the largest public expense, and funds left to actually implement the projects required to keep up with our infrastructure needs are lacking.
So, to have sufficient funding to accomplish the various city/county/state functions we need to — you guessed it — raise taxes.
Sadly, now that we’re in that hole there seems to be no way out of it.
Art Thomas
Santa Barbara
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Regarding the Feb. 10 article, “Hundreds of High School Students Walk Out to Protest ICE,” it is truly amazing to me that accountability is lacking when basic laws and standards are not followed.
What gives students — who are required to be in school — the right to walk out without any repercussions? I certainly hope all those students had unexcused leaves and school authorities are held accountable for their actions.
School officials are responsible for the students while in their care! Can students leave any time they want? They are there to learn, not leave school and protest! Teachers are there to make sure it happens.
Those school officials should have called the police and had the students taken in for truancy violations.
If my child was caught up in the hysteria of the moment and was coerced into leaving school, I would sue the school for lack of supervision. I expect and demand that, when my child is in school and if he leaves without permission, that at the very least I be called.
Roy Belluz
Lompoc
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Thank you, Noozhawk, for running Dennis Whelan’s Feb. 8 commentary, “UCSB Must Grow Without Erasing the Architecture That Made It Ours.” I especially appreciated his insights about the need for stewardship of historic buildings owned by UC Santa Barbara.
The Campbell Ranch house and barn designed by Mary McLaughlin Craig were built in 1925, long before the establishment of the university. They have not been treated with the care that would be expected of such storied structures in the hands of an educational institution.
Also of concern is the alarmingly poor condition of another unique and important architectural feature dating back to the Campbell Ranch era, the circular-shaped dovecote reminiscent of the rural estates of Great Britain. It is also worthy of recognition, protection and preservation.
It is quite ironic to me that it was due to the tireless efforts of our most notable historic preservationist, Pearl Chase, that UCSB came into being.
Imagine her horror if she were to see how those historic structures on the university’s property have been allowed to deteriorate. The phrase “not-so-benign neglect” comes to mind.
Chase’s continued support of the educational institution after its establishment is well-documented in the massive collection of papers she donated to UCSB that form the Community Development and Conservation Collection.
Her example as a preservationist should be kept alive and honored by the university that is lucky enough to have significant historic structures on its property — and should behave as a proper steward of them.
Perhaps UCSB can design a course of study centered around the historic restoration of the property, resulting in a positive result for students, the university and the community.
Cheri Rae
Santa Barbara
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Los Olivos, your vote might not count the way you think. Los Olivos Community Service District board members Tom Fayram, Lisa Palmer and Julie Kennedy are moving forward with the Proposition 218 process for the Alamo Pintado sewer pipeline to Solvang.
But still, the deck is stacked, and the Prop. 218 Committee refuses to open its meetings to the public or record them.
What’s more, “under Prop. 218, votes are weighted by benefit/financial burden rather than
‘one person, one vote.’”
In other words, in order to defeat it, 50% plus one of the TOTAL DOLLAR VALUE of ballots cast must protest.
Look at the math in the image provided by the district’s website in its Jan. 14 board packet:
- Residential Parcels: 461 votes
- Commercial Parcels: 3,770 votes
Los Olivos homeowners are being outvoted before they walk through the door with a 50% plus one-vote majority.
A few large commercial property owners hold more power than hundreds of Los Olivos residents. This means small property owners in the Los Olivos district, even those without septic issues, could be forced to subsidize the commercial core’s expensive sewer problems and the construction of the massive Alamo Pintado sewer pipeline to Solvang, and pay Solvang sewer rates as determined by the City of Solvang — forever.
The Los Olivos board members are not being forthright about this issue, which may force many long-term community members to sell their properties if the excessive tax is passed.
Michelle de Werd
Los Olivos
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Noozhawk should use its platform for news, not cult propaganda like D.C. Collier’s Feb. 5 commentary, “Jesus Is God. If Not, He Could Be No Savior.”
Collier’s ridiculous tirade about who/what “God” is, complete with a photo of indoctrinated children, is highly inappropriate and pandering to an oppressive organization.
Nancy Miller
Santa Barbara
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I don’t know how Noozhawk can keep a “columnist” such as Karen Talleen-Lawton. As with her Feb. 9 commentary, “Sitting Back or Standing Up,” her ill-informed, Chicken Little, “The sky is falling” columns are just too silly to even be considered rational thought.
Deconstructing her arguments should be the tasks given to seventh-graders in a critical-thinking class, which, of course, no longer exist due to our poorly run school system. But I digress.
NPR is the life blood of our country? While some of the programming was entertaining, most was pure propaganda at best or deliberate misinformation at worst.
With all the information readily available on the internet, it was deemed, as it should have been, an unnecessary expense paid for by our tax dollars.
Telleen-Lawton then goes on to lament the dismissal of our “senior leaders” of government agencies because of their longtime knowledge associated with their agencies.
But the ones dismissed are the people who have been around so long that they know how to milk the system through baseline budgeting and other gimmicks to expand redundant programs throughout our federal government.
Brian MacIsaac
Santa Barbara
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In his Feb. 6 letter to the editor, J.W. Burk’s reply to my points about the casual use of fossil fuel to get some orca photos in the Santa Barbara Channel are totally inline and what one would expect from an entitled and reactionary modern American. You only have to look at our leaders to see how that reflects onto the world.
Obviously, a complete cessation of motorboat or airplane or car activity is not what I am advocating even though Fox News would probably use this same line.
I venture to say that Burk’s attitude is also quite laughable given the almost zombie-like use and abuse of earth resources by the typical American, among the highest in the world. Does Burk know the values of anything?
Correct, my life is almost a chop-wood-carry-water kind of routine. I am a carpenter and wood sculptor and get a bit beat up keeping tools sharp and functioning, my mind included.
It seems citizen Burk likes to stand on a burn baby burn, drill baby drill platform in order for the people to find happiness. Good luck in the 2030s.
Probably not a bad idea to learn a handicraft or two someday.
William Dentzel
Solvang
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