Regarding the March 19 article, “Santa Barbara May Rename Calle César Chavez after Sexual Abuse Allegations,” it is so sad and disappointing to see the allegations against the late César Chavez.

While some clamor to rename monuments and streets because of the allegations, I recommend patience and thoughtfulness prior to acting. Why not wait until the State of California decides what to do about the César Chavez holiday?

We should continue to honor the good he did, perhaps with a more generic term. The Legislature seems to favor “Farmworkers Day,” but that doesn’t seem to be a good street name. How about “Campeseno Day”? It needs to be thought out and discussed.

John Bowen
Goleta

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Funny how fast it took the left to drop St. César Chavez from their Hall of Heroes.

Don’t know where they’ve been all these decades because his womanizing was pretty well known in the good old days of grape boycotts. I guess he’s no longer useful, and he was an outspoken opponent of illegal immigration.

I wonder if President Bill Clinton is feeling some heat right about now?

R. Phillips
Buellton

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Regarding the March 11 article, “Carpinteria Cannabis Farms Have Had Enough Time to Deal with the Odor, County Supervisors Say,” there are ongoing concerns about the cannabis issue in Carpinteria and Santa Barbara County.

Simply put, there has been a rapid expansion of cannabis cultivation.

The good news: Residents, city officials and local groups have raised concerns. Some of these concerns are the odor impact, locations near schools and legal issues. And the revenue issue is another factor.

Thankfully, some officials have said “enough is enough.” As a Carpinteria Valley residents, I do not want Carpinteria to be known as the “pot” capital.

It is time for everyday citizens to speak up about this issue.

Diana Thorn
Carpinteria

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Regarding Dan Walters’ March 15 column, “As Gas Prices Soar, California’s New Carbon Emission Rules Prompt War of Words,” rising gas prices are all self-induced. Yes, the war in Iran is an issue but so is the current California government.

The price you need to focus on is the diesel price in green in the picture. Diesel fuels everything that you purchase in grocery stores, restaurants, etc. Name anything that travels by truck for delivery and you will be paying more.

Go on the GasBuddy app and see the gas prices in Texas or Tennessee, or wherever ever you want. It’s not what it is in California.

In reality you can’t get rid of oil as we get thousands of products from it, the actual percentage for fuels is maybe less than 40% of production. It’s not just for fuels.

John Sween
Santa Barbara

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Regarding the March 16 article, “Sable Restarts Oil Production, Transport in Santa Barbara County After Federal Order,” the corruption coming out of President Donald Trump’s administration apparently knows no end.

To overcome state and local objections in California, the administration is invoking an obscure Cold War-era national security law so that a scandal-ridden Texas oil company can restart a long-disputed pipeline system through Santa Barbara County.

The rationale? There’s an energy emergency; gasoline prices are rising; California must have more oil production; the Iran War is causing shortages of oil.

The truth is America is the largest producer of oil in the world. We produce more than we can use. We export large amounts to the rest of the world.

The rising global price of oil and its impact on gas prices in America, created by Trump’s war on Iran, will mean huge profits for U.S. oil companies, including Sable Offshore Corp., if they get away with this travesty.

Trump is well known for his transactional politics. In his campaign for the presidency, he openly offered oil companies a quid pro quo: fund my campaign and when elected I’ll more than compensate you by removing regulations so you can pollute more and provide you with more tax incentives and drilling opportunities to pad your profits.

Sable’s sweet deal should be understood as part of that transaction.

Robert Taylor
Montecito

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Regarding the March 4 article, “Landlords Plan Lawsuit to Challenge Santa Barbara’s Rent Freeze Ordinance,” would Santa Barbara knowingly approve a $1.8 billion loss of property tax income to force landlords to disperse $300 million in rent discounts?

Here is how that happened, curtailing public safety, education, roads and community benefits for years, elsewhere:

Cambridge, Massachusetts (population 120,000), had rent stabilization end when Massachusetts banned it statewide in 1994. The surge and recovery of property values, with no other dynamic present, is considered double-blind evidence for probability; that reduction in investment use and profitability affects the property’s inherent (taxable) value.

During 1970-1994, the property tax losses of $1.8 billion compared to discounted rents of $300 million over that period were considered an abject failure for Cambridge.

Value is a human nature issue and is universal. It cannot be regulated and can be expected as an “expense” in Santa Barbara. Responding saying, “sure that happens, but not here” is misleading, not true and irresponsible.

Building remains the best use of money, as opposed to losing it or giving it away, for addressing housing shortage problems.

David Sullins
Santa Barbara

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Regarding the March 10 article, “American Airlines Ending Santa Maria-Phoenix Route in Early May,” I was quite saddened, as I’m sure others in Orcutt are, to hear that SkyWest will be discontinuing twice a day service to Phoenix from Santa Maria.

So, in spite of being the largest city in Santa Barbara County, we have to drive to Goleta, San Luis Obispo or Los Angeles to travel by air to anywhere else in the United States except Las Vegas.

Those of us living in Orcutt will continue to have to deal with all the impacts of an airport (noise, pollution, traffic, uncontrolled commercial building, etc.) and be deprived of the main benefit of having an airport nearby.

John Deacon
Orcutt

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Thank you for the March 3 article, “Santa Barbara Council Debates Potential Ballot Measures to Increase Taxes,” about the Santa Barbara City Council wanting to raise taxes instead of managing their budget and reducing their spending. Looks like Mayor Randy Rowse agrees.

Most politicians’ first reaction is to raise taxes. Whose taxes should I raise to cover my overruns? The buck needs to stop at the city council, not at the taxpayer.

I am sick and tired of government raising taxes. How about cutting salaries starting with the city council’s or that recent 70% increase the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors just voted themselves.

Thank you, Mayor Rowse, for standing up.

Bart Bader
Goleta

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