Former Santa Barbaran here. Thanks for the Dec. 21 coverage of the storm, “Storm Causes Flooding, Road Closures in Santa Barbara; More Rain Expected.” It’s shocking there is such bad drainage in so many areas in town.
Very happy to see the rain, though, after so many drought years.
Shawn Meehan
Minden, Nevada
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In the Dec. 16 article, “One Man’s Christmas Light Tour Now a Santa Barbara Holiday Tradition,” Harley Hahn describes his reason for creating a light tour for people to drive around and see Christmas lights.
“That’s really what Christmas is about,” he said, describing the time and effort and money it took for others to make their homes beautiful in order to make their neighbors happy.
However, that is not what Christmas is truly about. Christmas is really the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, by name humankind’s Messiah, who was born and died to give eternal life to all who believe in Him.
Jesus changed history (His-story) forever, setting a dividing line from which Western civilization takes its counting of the years since His birth.
When you think of Christmas this year, think of this special person and what He means, rather than all the hoopla that has developed over the years to celebrate the date.
JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!
Nan Morrow
Santa Barbara
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I wrote in a Dec. 15 letter to the editor that I thought UC Santa Barbara was at fault in moving ahead without approval from the California Coastal Commission to replace natural grass with artificial turf on its baseball field.
Mark Patton’s Dec. 17 column, “Coastal Commission Trips Up UCSB on Some Tough Turf,” provides an alternative viewpoint on the issue.
Nevertheless, I still feel natural grass is preferable. Studies are still not clear on injuries related to the various surfaces, with most studies indicating more injuries on artificial surfaces.
Environmental impacts of artificial surfaces have also not been fully studied.
All major sports facilities in California except SoFi Stadium still maintain natural surfaces. The climate lends itself to maintaining natural grass.
Plastic and paved-over surfaces, wind farms and solar panels spreading everywhere to save the planet is a future that doesn’t particularly appeal to me.
Jarrell Jackman
Santa Barbara
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Mark Patton’s column about the California Coastal Commission’s denial of UCSB’s plan to use artificial turf on its baseball field is just another example of bureaucratic overreach by the commission.
While the original intent of the Coastal Act and the Coastal Commission are laudable, the commission has a history of decisions that are far outside of their charter. So this latest decision, which has nothing to do with the intent of the Coastal Act and should not even have gone to the commission for a hearing, isn’t surprising from that agency.
But it certainly is disappointing.
Addison Thompson
Santa Barbara
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The Coastal Commission has no business micromanaging artificial turf on a sports field. Their purpose is to keep the coastal area healthy, not enter into every decision the public makes on its own property — like artificial grass or the type of roses someone plants.
John Burk
Santa Barbara
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I always enjoy Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen’s weekly “Best of Bill” columns, and his Dec. 22 column did not disappoint.
A lot of us who support law enforcement are frustrated that the Santa Barbara Police Department treats citizens with such disdain when they refuse to be honest about crime in our city. So Macfadyen’s description of the State Street stabbing resonated when he wrote “somehow — the victim had become stabbed.”
It’s a dereliction of SBPD’s duty to seemingly shrug off this incident with the equivalent of “trust us, we have everything under control.” Do they? From Cmdr. Kasi Corbett’s vague statements in the story, it sure makes them sound like they don’t.
On a lighter note, the “Storm Throws a Drench in Santa Barbara’s Pre-Christmas Plans” headline was clever.
Thank you.
Kim Evans
Santa Barbara
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I’m curious. It’s been brought to my attention that crime in Santa Barbara seems to go unreported? Is there a reason? Is Noozhawk told not to report crime?
Mike Smith
Santa Barbara
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Does anyone know why there are street closures all around Santa Barbara? Or is it just another irritation for cars, trucks, delivery vans, forcing them to turn into unwanted directions. Does anyone know?
Bob McNall
Santa Barbara
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Regarding the Dec. 15 article, “Buellton Council Rejects Proposal for In-N-Out Burger at Old Theater Site Amid Traffic Concerns,” I do not support the addition of In-N-Out Burger at the location of Buellton’s old movie theater. Actually, I would love to see the movie theater return.
Another fast food restaurant that would cause traffic delays at Highway 246 and McMurray Road is astounding to me. My husband and I have recently moved to Buellton from Santa Ynez, and find that particular intersection already too congested. Adding an additional enticement for more traffic makes no sense at all.
There are already plenty of fast food restaurants and businesses in the area for people use. In-N-Out should look for another spot, perhaps at Los Alamos, to put a fast food restaurant there.
Casey Bemis
Buellton
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Steve King’s Dec. 15 letter to the editor misstated the cost of Goleta’s new GridStor battery facility. The actual cost is $55 million, not $55 billion.
Spread among 30,000 customers, it’s $1,833, and over 20 years, it’s $7.64 a month. As a ratepayer, I find that a reasonable cost for no-emissions resilience.
The same letter pointed out the high energy density of oil versus solar. The result appears in a paper by Bradley Layton of Drexel University that considers the “entire column from a solar panel to the sun” as the “volume” that produces energy in the panel.
That’s not relevant. Yes, oil has a lot of bang per ounce, but a 400-watt solar panel is still a good thing.
In fact, the same paper makes the case that solar energy is abundant. Covering the state of Texas with solar panels that are 10% efficient would provide “all” of humanity’s energy needs (but of course, that’s not how to do it — the point is that there’s a lot of solar energy, and grabbing some of it will help — as the original letter writer himself does, by the way).
The writer goes on to criticize solar and wind energy as inherently inefficient. They might be, and if that’s all that matters, oil would be the answer.
But since burning oil has potentially catastrophic environmental effects, we need to embrace these less energy-dense sources.
Michael Fay
Goleta
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