Regarding the May 13 article, “Santa Barbara Pursues Grant to Improve Castillo Highway Underpass,” I’ve only lived in Santa Barbara since 1973 but as long as I can remember, it has been a wet mess.
How much money has the City of Santa Barbara wasted on that underpass, to no permanent result? Now the city is going to give it the State Street underpass treatment for millions of dollars more?!
Throw in the towel already. But an Eastside overcrossing IS money well spent. Do that instead.
Rob Nelson
Santa Barbara
• • •
“Rent stabilization” has within its very name, its own demise. The intent of the program is to artificially stop the increases to residential rents that have been increasing nationwide.
However, several aspects of a rental environment are damaged if stabilized in this way.
Sociology regarding habitat identifies filtering and mobility as integral to a healthy housing economy.
New arrivals to the market often begin renting older stock and filter upward as earnings increase, as families enlarge and responsibilities change. They would normally make the transition to newer, larger rentals, with some also buying.
Seniors have less need for their larger places and also must leave unsafe stairs and hazards considered normal to others.
But the “frozen” costs entice the young to stay and take advantage. This blocks newcomers from access. And elders will forgo healthier choices, increasing personal dangers.
When jobs or fortunes change, the aspect of finding better jobs and/or more affordable regions through mobility become constrained by an artificially “stabilized” program.
The existing stock, closed to new entries now promotes less options to local workers who commute and cannot find affordable Santa Barbara housing.
Nothing is improved or solved by invoking financial motivation to impede these normal sociological processes.
The rentals occupied at the start become frozen. The shortage is only increased.
David Sullins
Santa Barbara
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Regarding the May 8 article, “Suspect Arrested After Police Officer Shot Near Santa Barbara’s La Cumbre Plaza,” it’s odd that Noozhawk failed to report that Mitchell Grant Grote was arrested in 2023 for critically stabbing in the neck another man, even though Noozhawk covered that 2023 incident.
What were the circumstances behind Grote returning to the streets? Was it humane to return him to his suffering? How many times can one attempt to kill another before being incarcerated?
There’s a bigger story here.
Robb McLarty
Santa Barbara
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I’m surprised at how many people still subscribe to the bankrupt notion that automobiles are going to revive State Street. All they will bring is noise and pollution.
State Street didn’t decline due to the lack of cars. The decline started with the mortgage meltdown of 2007-2008.
I walked up and down State Street and photographed more than 40 empty storefronts.
Then the rejuvenation of the Funk Zone brought locals and tourists away from State Street.
Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic hammered the nail in the coffin.
There is adequate parking off of Chapala and Anacapa streets for automobiles in our several parking structures. That’s where people already park to shop.
Trying to make room for automobile parking on State Street will do no more than cause cars, SUVs and trucks to hit each other, bicycles and pedestrians.
Beautifying State Street with the new draft plan will bring people back downtown.
Yes, action will still have to be taken for e-bike enforcement, high rents for businesses and to provide help for the homeless, but the draft State Street Master Plan will bring beauty to State Street and is the needed first step.
Let it go forward.
Brian Epstein
Santa Barbara
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Regarding the May 8 article, “Modoc Multiuse Path Opens New Route Between Santa Barbara, Isla Vista,” many, many thanks to all engaged in bringing this project to such a happy end.
I — an 85-year-old Valle Verde resident — am now able to safely walk the entire route to my favorite coffee house, Java Station.
Once again, thank you all.
Ken Johnson
Santa Barbara
• • •
The opening of the Modoc Multiuse Path would be a cause for celebration if bicyclists would use it. However, their path of choice seems to be the very narrow lanes reserved for them on both sides of Modoc Road.
When I asked a devoted cyclist why he and his fellow riders didn’t use the new path, he replied, “Real cyclists don’t like to stop.”
I urge Santa Barbara County to remove the old car-adjacent paths for the sake of both cyclists and drivers.
Barbara Greenleaf
Santa Barbara
• • •
Thank you to Sally Bass for her May 8 letter to the editor. I heartily endorse her brilliant suggestion that SpaceX should give back to the community to make up for the fact that it is disturbing the peace in Santa Barbara County.
Given the profit being made from these rocket launches, it would seem only natural, and ethical, that some of it should be used for humanitarian purposes.
Susan Shields
Santa Barbara
• • •
Under the leadership of Joe Holland, Santa Barbara County’s current elected clerk-recorder-assessor and registrar of voters:
- The upcoming June election process in the county is running smoothly, despite major nationwide election upheaval.
- The assessor’s property tax roll, the county’s largest revenue source, is prepared accurately and efficiently.
- The more mundane clerk-recorder functions are processed properly.
The department is running just fine; any assertion to the contrary would appear to be artificially manufactured for political purposes — and politics has no place in the department that runs the elections.
No changes are needed. Re-elect Joe Holland.
Rick Holly
Santa Barbara
• • •
Like many others, I have been following the normally mundane election for Santa Barbara County clerk-recorder-assessor. Historically, this elected position has garnered very little attention.
Like so many others, I was shocked to hear that the current incumbent, Joe Holland, has not been in the office for months — yes, months! There are department employees who have never met or spoken to Holland.
Also, troubling is the fact that Holland is already receiving a retirement check in addition to his full-time county salary. A loophole in the state law allows for elected individuals to file for retirement and then get re-elected.
While remote working and double-dipping may be allowed for an elected individual, it is behavior that I believe the general public should find intolerable. The adage, “Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should,” is applicable here.
As a former deputy public health director and former chief of emergency management at the County of Santa Barbara, I had many opportunities to work with Melinda Greene; both during normal county business and rapidly unfolding emergencies.
With the revelations regarding the current incumbent becoming public, I believe it’s time to stand with an individual such as Greene who has a distinguished career at the county and is widely admired for her dedication, honesty and commitment to the people of this county.
I ask my fellow citizens to join me in voting for true leadership with Melinda Greene.
Michael Harris
Santa Barbara
• • •
I am endorsing Melinda Greene for Santa Barbara County clerk-recorder-assessor and registrar of voters.
I was employed with that Santa Barbara County department for more than 20 years, during which I received two commendations from the Board of Supervisors for my work and service in the Assessor’s Office.
It is a large department with critical services that are often overlooked or taken for granted. There is much attention on elections these days, but property tax administration and the services provided by the clerk-recorder are also very critical to the health of the county and its community.
During my time employed with the county, I worked many years with Greene. She is driven, passionate about her work, dedicated, and is physically present in the workplace on a regular basis.
She is very competent and I have seen her have a hand in almost every aspect of the department in some capacity.
In addition to overseeing the clerk-recorder division, Greene has been involved for years with elections. She is very hands-on with any assignment, is always hustling, and willing to do the smallest task to ensure successful outcomes.
In elections, I remember her helping with training, technology, troubleshooting, hosting observer tours, and more.
Grene is very competent and tenacious, and I have no doubt, should she win election to department head or not, she will continue to be an effective, accountable leader taxpayers can feel confident giving their support to.
Vida McIsaac
Petaluma, and formerly of Santa Barbara County
• • •
As Melinda Greene’s former husband, I had the opportunity over many years to see firsthand the kind of person and professional she is.
Long before this campaign, I watched her approach public service with integrity, discipline and a genuine commitment to doing the job well.
What stands out most about Melinda is that she truly respects the responsibilities of government service. She understands that the work of the Clerk-Recorder-Assessor’s Office affects people’s lives in important ways, and she has always believed the public deserves competence, accuracy and accountability.
Melinda is thoughtful, organized and exceptionally hardworking. I saw countless examples of her dedication and professionalism, often putting in long hours because she cared deeply about getting things right.
Her experience is not theoretical or political — it is decades of hands-on public service experience.
Santa Barbara County would benefit from her experience and steady leadership, and I encourage voters to support Melinda Greene for clerk-recorder-assessor.
Justin Greene
Buellton
• • •
It was bad enough when it was reported that longtime Clerk-Recorder-Assessor Joe Holland hasn’t been to his office in 18 months, and didn’t show up in person for the recent budget workshops at the Board of Supervisors.
It got worse when, last week, he didn’t show up remotely or in person to present the elections update that was on the agenda, and that is his responsibility.
We have voted this person into office five times, and he is asking us to vote him in a sixth time. An aging elected official who isn’t showing up and doing the work isn’t what we need or deserve.
Holland is completely absent from the daily work of his very important department, and not performing one of the basic functions of a department head — reporting on the status of the programs he is supposed to oversee. This is unacceptable.
Fortunately, we have a choice this time, someone who is both competent and committed to doing the work.
Melinda Greene, Holland’s chief deputy for 12 years, has been doing all the in-office work he has not (and presumably other parts of the job as well).
She’s certified in every area covered by this department — which handles our property records and taxes, and our elections. She’s working with the other deputies, supervising their programs to make sure that we are getting the services we need, updating IT and systems, and serving the community.
24 years in the job is a long time. If Holland isn’t up to the task, he should step aside, especially since there is a highly qualified person ready and eager to take it on.
Gerardo Ayala
Santa Barbara
• • •
I have known Maribel Aguilera-Hernandez for more than 10 years, both professionally and personally.
Over that time, I have watched her build a reputation not through slogans or political theater, but through hard work, integrity and service to our community.
As a fellow attorney and Spanish-speaking woman serving the same community, I have seen firsthand the way Aguilera-Hernandez approaches her work: with preparation, compassion and a deep respect for the people she represents.
She is not someone who seeks attention. She is someone who solves problems.
What makes Aguilera-Hernandez uniquely qualified to serve as Santa Barbara County Fifth District supervisor is the combination of her legal experience, her understanding of the local community, and her ability to navigate complex systems responsibly.
Her work in business law has given her extensive experience interpreting contracts, understanding regulations, negotiating solutions, and analyzing how policy decisions affect real people and local businesses.
Those are critical skills for a county supervisor, whose decisions often involve budgets, public contracts, land use and oversight of county operations.
But beyond technical qualifications, Aguilera-Hernandez has demonstrated a genuine commitment to vulnerable members of our community.
She has been appointed by the court to represent minor children, a responsibility that requires not only legal skill, but trustworthiness, patience and sound judgment.
Anyone who has worked in or around the legal system understands the seriousness of that role. Courts do not appoint attorneys to advocate for children lightly.
In my own work as an immigration attorney, I have also seen the growing fear and uncertainty many immigrant and mixed-status families are experiencing.
Families are afraid to seek help, afraid to report crimes, and afraid to fully participate in community life because immigration issues and ICE enforcement have increasingly become tools for political messaging rather than thoughtful public policy discussions.
Our community deserves leaders who understand the law, who can separate political noise from practical governance, and who treat all residents with dignity. Aguilera-Hernandez has consistently demonstrated those qualities throughout her career.
At a time when many people are losing faith in public institutions, leadership matters. Character matters. Competence matters. Aguilera-Hernandez brings all three.
That is why I believe she is the strongest candidate for Fifth District supervisor.
Rebeca Vasquez
Santa Maria
• • •
It is clear to Santa Barbarans that the establishment approach to California’s crises is failing.
Career politicians offer incremental tweaks that ignore the economic struggles my generation faces. Santa Barbarans are dealing with a stalled downtown, atrocious utility bills, and a healthcare system that remains a profit haven for middlemen.
Tom Steyer stands out among the candidates for governor because he identifies the root cause: corporate consolidation.
In Santa Barbara, we’ve felt the power of utility monopolies like Southern California Edison for years. Steyer is the only candidate with a populist plan to break these monopolies.
This means opening the grid to competition and lowering electric bills by 25%. He understands the Public Utilities Commission should work for ratepayers and not lobbyists, unlike Xavier Becerra.
PG&E and other special interest groups are spending insane amounts against Steyer. Despite his financial past, you can tell everything about a candidate by who their enemies are. If the monopolies are terrified of him, he’s doing something right.
Steyer’s plan to cut red tape and corporate tax loopholes is exactly what us young Californians need to build 1 million affordable homes and fund our schools.
Finally, Steyer is the only candidate with a firm commitment to single-payer healthcare. No other candidate will cut out the insurance companies that squeeze patients.
We don’t need more politicians telling us what we can’t do.
Elle Steiner
Santa Barbara
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