Regarding the Oct. 14 article, “Proposed Rent ‘Stabilization’ Ordinance for Santa Barbara Fails Over Lack of Transparency,” the City of Santa Barbara is doomed unless financially literate, math-proficient business people are identified and elected.
Housing policies are actually economic ordinances, as noted by City Councilman Mike Jordan.
Reserves for disasters and the unexpected are near depletion. The City Council gifts money it doesn’t have to protect illegal immigrants, creates a dysfunctional maze of our streets, and wastes costly staff time pursuing projects like rent control that it has no money to enforce.
One local stated, “compassion is not sustainable.” YES, IT IS! City Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon, the richest person on that dais in the district least impacted by council edicts, says, “Increase revenues. We need to increase fees, create new fees.” She wants “no people, pay or positions cut! Rather cut capital projects.”
Sneddon and her husband, Santa Barbara County Public Works Department director Chris Sneddon, are compensated around $750,000 annually by county taxpayers with guaranteed lifetime pensions, according to Transparent California.
Rent stabilization was PAUSED to the end of the year, it did not “fail” as Noozhawk’s headline stated. Rather, prepare for local rent control, a rent registry and then for an ordinance mandating spare bedroom rentals.
What “failed” is the latest Santa Barbara Unified School District graduating class with 18% math proficiency.
Denice Spangler Adams
Montecito
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Regarding the Oct. 4 article, “County Health Officials Recommend Flu, COVID Vaccines,” the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department still recommends COVID-19 injections as safe even though tens of thousands of reports of injuries and deaths have been made to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System due to COVID-19 injections.
The government-run VAERS states that it acts as an early warning system to detect possible safety problems with U.S.-licensed vaccines and it includes problems with COVID-19 injections.
No good reason has been given why this avalanche of reports should be trivialized. Dissenting opinions and the injected injured were censored at the behest of the government that tried to convince people the injections are safe.
California passed Assembly Bill 2098 (since repealed) to silence the speech of dissenting physicians. The surgeon generals of Florida and Louisiana do not recommend the injections but consider them dangerous.
It is diabolical to know of these issues for years and still recommend the injections as safe.
Clint Belkonen
Santa Barbara
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Regarding the Oct. 13 article, “Santa Ynez Valley Foundation Celebrates Community Champions,” credit was highly deserved but unfortunately not given to the Women Winemakers & Culinarians Foundation, which contributed the delicious array of foods, savory and sweet, and beverages for the event.
It would not have been the successful celebration it was without them!
Jamie Edlin
Santa Ynez Valley
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Joyce Dudley’s Oct. 5 commentary, “My Most Unexpected Mentors Are the Ones I Cherish Most,” is beautiful. I’ll try to remember those lessons, too.
Anne Towbes
Santa Barbara
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High praise is due for the organizers of the Oct. 15 Senior Expo at Earl Warren Showgrounds.
I was amazed and impressed by the extent of the information and services available, the organization of the enormous space indoors and out, and above all the friendliness and kindness of all the volunteers who helped to run everything so smoothly.
It was gratifying to see that Santa Barbara values and cares for its elderly population so much.
Susan Shields
Santa Barbara
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