Regarding the July 12 article, “Economic and Policy Experts to Discuss California’s Problems, Santa Barbara’s Choices,” the speakers at Noozhawk’s upcoming July 23 event at the Lobero Theatre seem to have great experience in dealing with many of the problems we are facing here on the Central Coast.
Is there any way to make sure that our current(and future) City Council members and county supervisors are present? Maybe they would hear a different perspective than the one they constantly hear through their echo chambers and the local media.
Perhaps shining a light from a different angle on problems that seem to continually reoccur in our beautiful corner of the world would lead to some “enlightenment“ for them, as they seem to be perpetually in the dark.
Brian MacIsaac
Santa Barbara
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Couldn’t help noticing Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen ranting in his weekly column about the fact that Santa Barbara County is leading all California counties in the amount of people living in poverty here. We’re No. 1.
Nobody wants to be reminded how unaffordable Santa Barbara County is, starting with the housing situation that it has become. But, really, what do you expect when this county has made housing as sparse as it has for the past 40 years despite the constant increasing incoming population of college students who enroll in as many as five colleges here on the South Coast?
With no ability to restrict the sizes of the student population, what do you expect with a limited amount of new living quarters, especially on campus?
Then we have the newest problem of short-term rentals in a very valuable part of this world that competes with annual rentals here.
Obviously, the answer would be more affordable housing but several members of the Santa Barbara City Council have decided that affordability is by rent control, despite the fact that the city and county require incredibly expensive permit fees as part of the process to build housing.
To control housing costs we need to control supply and demand, and that is never going to happen because we have no control over the number of students who enroll.
When the environmental, no-growth citizens took over control of our city councils, water districts, planning departments and Board of Supervisors, we set this problem in motion and are living now with the result.
Dave Novis
Summerland
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Regarding the City of Santa Barbara’s proposed rent stabilization and just-cause amendments, the City Council needs to look at the larger economic picture of the long-term effects of such measures.
While these measures may be beneficial for some tenants in the short term, the long-term effects have been proven and presented to the council by UCSB Economic Forecast Project executive director Peter Rupert on several occasions.
The effect will be a deteriorated housing stock for those tenants that may benefit in the short run. The council is eliminating any reason for landlords to maintain and/or improve their properties.
The reality is landlords have the ongoing expenses of annually increasing property taxes, utilities, insurance and ever-escalating maintenance fees.
And, of course, most landlords have a mortgage to pay. Contrary to popular notion, landlords are not billionaires.
So before the council passes these measures, my question is: What are they going to do for the landlord when there is not enough rent to cover all of these expenses and fix the plumbing when it breaks or replace a leaking roof or whatever?
The council will have tenants paying a controlled amount of rent but they may end up with wet carpets if the roof leaks and the landlord doesn’t have the funds to fix it.
After all, the landlord’s first priorities have to be paying the mortgage, taxes and insurance, or they lose their property to foreclosure or tax sale. Has the council considered these consequences?
Finally, I have lived in Santa Barbara my entire life. We have had a number of rent control measures come before us.
They have never been decided by seven people! They’ve always been decided by a vote of all citizens.
Why is this different now?
Ed Edick
Santa Barbara
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Talk about disparity and a lack of facts! After reading the July 11 article, “Community Marches One Year After Glass House Immigration Raids,” I suggest Noozhawk match each article you write about perceived injustice for illegal immigrants with articles about the success of removing illegal criminal immigrants mandated by the majority of Americans and enforced by President Donald Trump.
Publish some articles about the victims of illegal criminals who were murdered, raped or taken advantage of by many of them. Post the statistics in comparison to what ICE has accomplished versus what illegal immigrant criminals have done over the last year.
Please feel free to write an article about the $52 billion in monetary support we give to these illegal immigrants. Write an article about how hard it is for low-income Americans to afford to live while supplementing people who should not be here in the first place.
But mostly please don’t cherry pick articles that do not fairly share the facts of the articles you present.
Roy Belluz
Lompoc
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The article is a reminder that 12-14 underage children were caught up in the raid and we’ve never heard anything about what happened to them.
Were they legal, was their employment at Glass House legal and, most important, what happened to them?
Can you help us find out?
George Lilly
Santa Barbara
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Noozhawk sure went all out to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the “notorious” Glass House raids. Very thorough reporting.
At the time, however, Noozhawk actually reported that ICE officers arrested a convicted child molester during the raid. You also reported that more than a dozen children — “unaccompanied minors” — were allegedly being exploited by the cannabis company.
Where’s the follow-up on that?
G. Chavez
Santa Barbara
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Regarding the July 14 article, “‘Enough Is Enough’: Santa Barbara Mourns 2 Men Killed by ICE,” Noozhawk professes to be a hyperlocal news site relevant to Santa Barbara County and the Central Coast, stating issues beyond our local region are low priority.
So a dozen people held a vigil at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse for the purpose of denouncing ICE and honoring two men — one in Texas and one in Maine — killed while attempting to evade arrest by ICE officers and this warrants a local Noozhawk story along with a picture.
Immigration enforcement is a hot topic in our country, but why is it only one side is ever reported?
Vigil attendees claim they are hurting (some in tears) demanding justice and saying enough is enough.
Where is the outrage (and equal coverage) from Noozhawk and our local leaders for the U.S. citizens killed recently as a result of undocumented, non-English-speaking immigrants issued commercial drivers’ licenses in California, Florida and Ohio who caused highway carnage and the violent deaths of Americans?
I am certain the families of those individuals killed are also hurting, yet they do not get honored and their pain never seems to make the news because it doesn’t fit Noozhawk’s narrative.
Patty Darr
Lompoc
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Big surprise: Noozhawk has another story about protesters upset by ICE enforcement of U.S. immigration laws — this time involving incidents in Texas and in Maine! Maine is about as far away from Santa Barbara County as one can go and still be in the United States.
Noozhawk only ever tells one side of the illegal immigration story, that of illegal immigrants. What about the numerous victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants against U.S. citizens — and also against other illegal immigrants?
Murders, robberies, beatings, rapes, child molestations — the list goes on.
As far as I know, Noozhawk has never reported on any crimes committed by illegal immigrants locally. Why are you hiding that information?
J.T. Rivera
Santa Barbara
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Noozhawk doesn’t tell the reader until three-quarters of the way through that the killings of the men fleeing ICE officers in Maine and Texas were in self-defense.
Why, didn’t Noozhawk put self-defense in the headline? Because they wanted to get people outraged to read the article.
What about the THOUSANDS of U.S. citizens who have been killed by illegal immigrants in the last four years that is requiring ICE to man up.
All the killings are bad and sad for many, many families, but we have to stop ramping this up and find a solution.
I like Noozhawk, but you let us down on this one. Perhaps you should just present the news and not sensationalize it to sell.
Bart Bader
Goleta
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Did I miss the story about the Santa Barbara County Courthouse vigil for U.S. citizens killed, raped, maimed or robbed by immigrants in this country illegally? To quote Myra Gomez Labrada: “I can’t stop thinking about how it could have been my dad.”
David Wright
Solvang
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Regarding the July 15 article, “Lompoc City Manager Keeps Job After Council’s Closed-Session Review,” what happens when a politician — in this case, Lompoc Mayor Jim Mosby — oversteps his bounds?
Mosby engineered what he thought would be a coup to fire City Manager Dean Albro because, as one speaker said, “because of a personality clash.”
From Noozhawk: “I’m here to remind you this is a pattern of behavior by the current mayor,” said Jenelle Osborne, who previously served as mayor and as a council member. “Every time he’s been on this dais, he’s had a desire to fire a city manager. He’s made life unbearable not only for the person in that position but for all of the employees.”
This time, though, throwing a tantrum didn’t work. Apparently, Mosby can’t count votes because at least three council members gave Albro a positive review. Instead of succeeding at overstepping, he got stepped on.
If voters remember this in November, his days are numbered.
Ron Fink
Lompoc
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It was disappointing to read Ernie Salomon’s July 10 letter to the editor regarding affordability of housing in California: “Just pay up or get out.”
He is correct that the availability of affordable housing for workers and their families, retirees, students and other residents is vastly hampered by the presence of hedge funds, über rich folks with a yen for multiple homes, owners who buy in order to rent to vacationing folks, and others.
But his cynical advice to just accept this bullying exercise of wealth is sad.
We, the voters, have every right to craft laws that take back our state from such exploitation.
We can tax vacation rental properties at higher rates than owner or long-term rental properties. We can zone to prohibit certain activities in residential neighborhoods (though at present the exploitation lobby is trying to restrict that power). We can free commercial spaces that make local neighborhoods uninhabitable. And so forth.
At a time when California’s population is allegedly falling and we are building popup condominiums and apartments throughout the state, there should be no “shortage” of housing.
What we are experiencing is the corrupt influence of the billionaire class and their agents who convince folks to chase the wrong people as enemies and buy politicians to facilitate that.
A less congested California is a goal to be chased.
Glen Mowrer
Santa Barbara
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I’m surprised by the short-sightedness of Ernie Salomon’s letter. He says if people can’t afford to live in Santa Barbara, they shouldn’t live here.
But if all the people of lower income were to leave, Salomon wouldn’t be able to shop at grocery stores, because all the people who work there would have to leave.
Only a few of the restaurants with the highest prices would be able to stay open, and their prices would have to go up.
Almost all the retail stores would have to close. Nursing assistants and home health aides would be gone. Either that, or they would have to be paid a whole lot more.
The tax base would collapse, meaning taxes would have to go up, and Salomon’s tax bill would skyrocket.
One last thing: Many healthcare workers and first responders already have to live far from the community.
When the next earthquake happens, they would probably be unable to commute here. That would leave Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Sutter Health and fire stations understaffed. The consequences will be catastrophic.
Salomon’s letter seems to approve of this. I hope it doesn’t come to pass.
Brian Epstein
Santa Barbara
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It is well known I am not a fan of the Downtown Santa Barbara Improvement Association, with its self-serving and wasteful ways.
However, this week was the third time the organization has power washed the entire block of West Anapamu Street — except in front of my store. This is petty, unprofessional and unwarranted.
Regardless of my support, or lack of, of the DSBIA, all downtown businesses must be treated equally and fairly.
The DSBIA needs to treat all its members with the respect and professionalism it is missing now — or put in place leadership that will.
Bob Ficarra
Metro Entertainment
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On July 11, I attended the best Santa Barbara Unified School District meeting I have witnessed in my 28 years of following local school board issues.
The facilitator, Dr. Suzette Lovely, presented a creative and thought-provoking workshop on “Governance.”
Two slides set the tone for the day:
- Definition of the Greek root of the word governance (“to steer”)
- A ship, with steering wheel (board) and oars (administration)
Lovely led four hours of exercises and questions, structured dialogue and self-examination to, simply put, help the SBUSD board in steering, and the superintendent and administration in rowing, the ship.
What resulted was refreshingly open and honest dialogue between board and administration in understanding their distinct roles and in identifying “Situations that Need Attention.”
A key frustration expressed by board members was their desire to be able to come to board meetings better informed and prepared to deliberate.
Two constructive “next steps” discussed were:
- Organize perhaps four special meetings (community meetings) annually that focus on a single subject.
- Provide in-depth staff reports on these specific topics.
I would like to thank Superintendent Hilda Maldonado for choosing Lovely to lead this remarkable meeting.
Alice Post
Coalition for Neighborhood Schools, Santa Barbara
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