Some citizens and at least one architect believe State Street should concurrently accommodate retail, cars, shuttles, taxis, scooters, bicycles, pedestrians, sidewalk cafés,  parades and live happily ever after.

If our present pedestrian, bicycle and restaurant-friendly State Street is really in such a dire predicament, then why are there thousands of people trying to move to Santa Barbara to live, work and retire here?

Downtown developers are building scores of new housing units, without parking spaces, where retail formerly existed.

State Street, laid out with leather ropes of different sizes at its inception, and rebuilt after the 1925 earthquake, is too narrow a conveyance to safely accommodate a traffic wish list from the past.

With unlimited vehicles on State Street, Macy’s and Nordstroms still closed. Storefront-inhibiting factors like high rents, out-of-town management companies and Amazon shipments to your doorstep helped cause their demise and are here to stay.

Could car-centric architects and community leaders now build more infrastructure for alternative forms of transportation like walking, biking, pedi-cabs and electric trolleys on surface streets? Of course they could.

For nine whole blocks, keep the car-free zone on State Street just that. It’s a good start for a more densified Santa Barbara of the future.

Marty Conoley
Santa Barbara

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The State of California issues an audit report on the procedures for approving cannabis operations, including in Santa Barbara County, and Noozhawk simply publishes a March 18 news release from the county, “After State Audit, County Posts Plan to Improve Cannabis Licensing.”

Really?! Where’s the independent investigative journalism at Noozhawk to shine a light on what is happening with the review and approval process in Santa Barbara County?

And there’s not even a link to the state audit. Underwhelming and disappointing, Noozhawk.

Roman Baratiak
Goleta

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I would like to honor my dear friend and mentor, Diana Basehart, who passed away April 12 surrounded by family and friends.

Diana changed the lives of thousands of animals in need with her dedication and advocacy. After the death of her husband, Richard, she moved to beautiful Montecito with the idea she would retire, read books and rest. That lasted about five minutes when she realized her work was far from finished.

While visiting the Santa Barbara County animal shelter, she saw a real need for volunteers to help give the dogs much needed love, attention and a quality of life during their stay.

She insisted I go with her, and that was the start of our volunteer work together.

It was both rewarding and enlightening, but she soon realized a lot of people gave up their pets because they simply could not afford to keep them. Knowing she could help prevent more dogs coming into the shelter, she started the nonprofit Diana Basehart Foundation to help pay for crucial veterinary care for seniors’ pets and low-income families with companion animals.

When she set her mind on something she always accomplished it!

When a 5-month-old puppy named Davey was abused and tortured by his owner and later had to be euthanized, she knew she needed to bring more awareness to our community about animal neglect and abuse.

So another project — Davey’s Voice — was born, and she organized a march that drew nearly 1,000 people to protest abuse.

Diana’s decades of activism, hard work and selfless commitment for change has saved thousands of animals in our community. She has been an inspiration to all of us who love animals, and I want to thank her for opening my eyes and heart to such a deserving cause.

My heart is broken, and her beautiful and vibrant energy will be sorely missed. No doubt she is surrounded in heaven by all the animals she has saved over her many years of service. 

Lynne Shaw
Montecito

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Regarding Frank Sanitate’s April 16 commentary, “Here’s a Simple, Scalable Plan to End Global Warming,” his proposal is clearly not as simple, certain or risk free as he suggests.

For an in-depth discussion of such wide-scale geoengineering — and its possible complexities and adverse side effects — interested readers might turn to a well-researched lay article on the subject in a recent edition of MIT’s respected Technology Review.

It’s message: Let’s not jump into a swimming pool before we know its depth. 

Frederic Golden
Santa Barbara

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Regarding Bob Shapiro’s April 12 letter to the editor, as a registered American citizen voter, I encourage all legal U.S. citizens to register to vote. Either way. I have been active in doing just that for any party.

Reliable voting has legal registered voters. The last election showed this in spades when 60% of the 238,661 registered voters who got mail-in ballots did not vote because they were not interested, have moved on or died.

Some of the 90,000 who voted by mail are also unknown.

We do not know just who these hundreds of thousands of voters are. When voters come to the polls, they can be identified. Our voter reliability is much higher then. The outcome of the election is more secure then.

The Santa Barbara County Elections Division did a good job in meeting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s requirement to mail out ballots to all registered voters.  The problem we have is in the system.

Justin Ruhge
Lompoc

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My wife and I attended the Pacific Jazz Orchestra on April 13 at Santa Barbara’s Granada Theatre.

The 40-piece orchestra was led by Chris Walden as the lead arranger and conductor. He has collaborated with many artists, like Diana Krall, Rihanna, John Legend, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney and many more.

Walden is in a class with jazz arrangers like Don Sebesky, Rob McConnell, Bob Brookmeyer and Zoot Sims.

The orchestra is composed of 20 string instruments and 20 brass and percussion. Four extremely talented singers highlighted the program. I particularly liked Katherine McPhee singing “Cry Me A River.”

This concert is one of many being offered in Southern California with all $20 seats to introduce jazz to more people.

It was one of the best jazz performances I have ever attended, which included Stan Kenton, Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown.

Joe Dobbs
Santa Barbara

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