Regarding the Oct. 23 article, “Cottage Health Nurses Announce Intent to Hold Union Vote,” we are writing to offer a different perspective on the recent conversation about forming a nurses union at our hospital.
As members of the Emergency Department team at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, we take great pride in our work and believe we should consider the full picture before making a decision that could significantly change our workplace.
Nurses’ concerns about wages and working conditions are real, and every nurse deserves to feel valued, heard and supported.
But we should also recognize the support our hospital already provides and consider whether continued collaboration, instead of an outside union, is the best path forward for nurses and, ultimately, the care we provide for our community.
We are proud and honored to care for the thousands of patients who come through our Emergency Department each year.
Our hope is that we make this decision thoughtfully, not out of frustration or pressure, but with open minds and honest conversations. There is a time and place for unions, but we do not believe that a union is necessary for nurses at Cottage Health.
We are not suggesting that everything is perfect or that nurses should stop asking for better.
We are asking that we recognize what is working, protect the positive culture we have created, and give collaboration a genuine chance.
Our ER is a team of dedicated professionals who show up for one another and our patients every day. That is a future — and a 135-year culture — worth protecting.
Kerry MacIntosh
Santa Barbara
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The tone-deaf Cottage Health nurses calling for unionization can cry me a river.
Yes, Santa Barbara County’s cost of living is too high, but that’s why it’s called “the cost of living.” No one is forcing you to live here.
It sounds to me like these disgruntled nurses don’t understand how good they’ve got it. I wish my employer was able to provide even half of what these nurses get.
Pathetic.
L. Gutierrez
Lompoc
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The Santa Barbara City Council spent more than three hours on Oct. 27 on changes to the just cause ordinance and agreed that the work will take more time.
Good. These amendments need it.
Staff has said the proposals came from tenant advocates, not staff recommendations, and that the council directed their drafting.
Property providers, who must live under these rules, had little direct role in writing them. Public comment is not the same as helping write the draft.
The result is one-sided. The amendments expand restrictions on evictions, remodels, maintenance, relocation costs and owner move-ins, and remove exemptions for single-family homes, duplexes and new rentals.
Owners who evict to move in would have to live there 36 months instead of 12.
Small owners respond to costs and legal risk. Some will sell, stop renting or never offer their homes at all. You cannot protect tenants by shrinking the supply of housing they need.
This is also why a referendum on the rent stabilization ordinance is likely. When owners are shut out of drafting, they take their case to voters.
The City Council should slow down, bring everyone to the table and own the outcome. Santa Barbara needs more housing, not more barriers to providing it.
Loy Beardsmore
Santa Barbara
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Thank you to Jay Casbon for his delightful Oct. 17 commentary, “What Maine Coons Can Teach Us About the Art of Governing Ourselves.”
This “tail” of three cats is so well done to artfully describe this personal domestic reality as a hilarious “fairy tale” that shares timeless principles of life and the 10 Coon Cat rules.
What a much needed gift of lightness and laughter through a story of how very different personalities can live together. I can’t wait to read it to my two granddaughters!
This story (like any good fairy tale) can also apply more broadly to our lives, and shows how through creative expression the community can be uplifted and able to see things in a different way.
I vote for more stories like this and more poetry from our elected officials!
Cassandra Ensberg
Santa Barbara
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I’m supporting Devon Wardlow for Santa Barbara’s Fourth District on the City Council because she is the most qualified candidate.
Raised by our town, she has built a career in community-informed public policy, and she’s given back to Santa Barbara through service such as her five years on the Planning Commission.
Her track record and her character are represented in her endorsements: Firefighters, Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party and labor unions all recognize her exemplary community service and qualifications.
Each Fourth District candidate went through rigorous endorsement processes that evaluated their professional backgrounds thoroughly, and Wardlow was their choice time and time again.
She’s earned the endorsement of our most respected organizations. I hope you’ll join me in voting for Devon Wardlow.
Rob Pearson
Retired Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara CEO
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Several years ago a neighbor and I contacted Santa Barbara City Councilman Eric Friedman on behalf of our homeowners association about the problem of cars speeding on Calle de los Amigos.
He immediately set up a meeting with appropriate persons on the city staff. He participated in the meeting and continued to monitor progress on our situation.
Ultimately, the city installed improved signage, two traffic islands and newly painted pavement markings. The speeding problem has gotten better, although some people still drive too fast and probably always will.
But we appreciated the way Eric Friedman responded quickly to our concern and worked seriously with us to find solutions.
John Devereaux
Santa Barbara
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As a longtime Santa Barbara resident and community volunteer, I’d say City Council Fourth District voters are extremely fortunate to have Devon Wardlow.
As we struggle with budget deficits, planning the future of State Street and the eternal need for affordable housing, it will take more than just being raised here — though she was — or an abundance of civic pride — which she has, also — to be an effective council member.
Wardlow’s strong background in public policy at the national level and her track record from five years’ service on the Planning Commission is what has earned her the endorsement of so many of respected organizations, including the Sierra Club, City Firefighters, the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party, Planned Parenthood and labor unions, as well as individual leaders such as City Councilman Mike Jordan, Assemblyman Gregg Hart and former state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson.
More than anyone in this district race, I’d trust Wardlow to find innovative ways to make Santa Barbara both prosperous and more affordable, while preserving what makes us want to live here.
I encourage Fourth District voters to support this remarkable candidate.
Charles Clouse
Santa Barbara
• • •
If you haven’t read about the corporate cash flooding in to elect Eric Friedman as mayor, now’s a good time: more than $300,000 — including $170,000 from the National Association of Realtors, developer, landlords and construction lobbies, and the billionaire founder of Simon Property Group, one of the world’s largest mall developers.
Friedman’s nine-year City Council record shows why these corporate interests have found their guy.
As a tenant organizer, I’ve witnessed Friedman reliably vote against efforts to rein in runaway rents, address habitability and stop unjust evictions.
City Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon’s leadership has enabled us to pass historic tenant protections, stopping “renovictions,” fund affordable housing and even pass rent stabilization.
This year, Sneddon and the city briefly paused rent increases for many units to protect tenants during a vulnerable time. The Rental Property Association lashed out with a baseless lawsuit a judge dismissed.
Friedman proactively bent the knee to the landlord lobby, refused to fund the city’s legal defense, and publicly legitimized the far-fetched corporate attack on the city and our working families.
While Friedman’s politics punch down, Sneddon uplifts people closest to the brutalities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, low wages and high rents. She’s earned virtually all of the endorsements from trusted community groups of tenants and workers, and the public interest.
Kristen Sneddon would be a fantastic mayor. Let’s get her elected, for all of us!
Stanley Tzankov
Santa Barbara
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We want to extend our gratitude to Noozhawk for publishing our Oct. 23 support letter for Eric Friedman for mayor.
We submitted our letter to several local online news services and, for some unknown reason, to date Noozhawk is the only service that published it.
We believe ALL opinions matter, including those that do not share our views. Thank you, Noozhawk.
Lesley and Scott Wiscomb
Santa Barbara
• • •
Joe Dana for Santa Maria Joint Union High School District board!
Hugh Rafferty
Santa Maria
• • •
Vote for America and our Constitution. Vote Bob Smith! Let’s unite to send Bob to Washington to make a difference locally and in Congress.
330,000 ballots have yet to be submitted. Please contact 10 people to remind them their vote is needed.
Bob will bring high-paying jobs to our district, will ensure our tax dollars are returned to fund local infrastructure needs, plus he will help secure our national and individual safety.
Think hard on national security. Remember World War II: Japan attacked only one place in the continental United States, and it was right here! China is not our friend; they’re strategic.
Bob Smith has unparalleled experience, depth of knowledge, and proven leadership as a Navy commander of 100,000 enlistees! Salud Carbajal has done nothing for citizens!
Our time is now.
Denice Spangler Adams
Montecito
• • •
Affordability is on every political candidate’s lips. I’m more interested in which policies they’re willing to change.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office has identified barriers to homebuilding as a major contributor to California’s high housing costs. We have spent years making homes difficult to build, then wondering why they’re difficult to afford.
Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, supports buyer assistance and construction incentives. But I favor challenger Bob Smith’s emphasis on expanding housing supply and examining additional land for development.
I want more attention to what prevents homes from being built in the first place.
Protecting the coast matters. So does allowing the people who work here to build a life here.
The view is magnificent. The monthly payments are less photogenic.
What good is an environmental utopian dream if no one can afford to sustain it?
Nick Koonce
Santa Barbara
• • •
In his Oct. 23 letter to the editor, Jim Delmonte stated that the “(No Kings) protesters would help the community more if they got a job and paid taxes so we can spend it on wonderful projects for Santa Barbara.”
He also stated protests are dumb when they have no real cause or reason. He’s entitled to his opinion, but I’m wondering how he determined none of the participants have jobs?
Trina Larson
Lompoc
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