I laughed when I read about schools being too hot in the Aug. 26 article, “Extreme Heat Forces Short Day for Some Santa Barbara Schools,” and the Sept. 11 article, “As Classrooms Heat Up, Goleta Schools Look for Cool-Down Options.”
Ummm, when we were in school, in the Agoura area in the 1970s, we did not start classes in August, school started in September. Sure, there were still some random hot days, but not weeks of scorching heat.
I am sure there is some reason schools in California changed their schedules to begin in August and end in May, but maybe that is part of the problem?
That said, all schools should have air conditioning/central fans of some sort in every classroom. No one can think straight when sweating and getting sleepy in an overly hot classroom.
Karen Roberts
Los Olivos
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Regarding the Sept. 14 article, “Residents Push for Off-Leash Dog Park in Montecito,” I understand why people with dogs want an off-leash area.
I am born and raised here, and am familiar with the area’s legal off-leash places for dogs.
An enclosed area in Manning Park would be much better than the wide open spaces of Arroyo Burro Beach only because many dog owners don’t bother to pick up after their dogs. As long as I can remember (I am 65 so this is a LONG time), Arroyo Burro has been nicknamed “Dog Shit Beach.”
I am pretty sure this will never see print as a letter to the editor.
Kathy Poulos Gregory
Santa Barbara
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I am so grateful that Noozhawk reposted the Sept. 16 CalMatters article, “How Allan Hancock College Gym, a Farmers Market and MMA Fighters Landed Millions in Gavin Newsom’s Last Budget.”
The blood boils but it is so important this scandalous information is researched, distributed and read.
Russ Patrick
Santa Barbara
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Regarding the Sept. 16 article, “Lompoc Council Motion to Censure Stephen Bridge Fails After Tie Vote,” ethics is defined as “moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity.”
The Lompoc City Council has trouble incorporating this principle when it applies to one of its members.
City Councilman Steve Bridge has been charged with multiple felonies concerning an application for an environmental rebate and his business practices. Nearby Vandenberg Space Force Base revoked his entry privileges when these matters became public knowledge.
Apparently, some members of the City Council and, specifically, Mayor Jim Mosby don’t think this breach of ethical conduct by an elected official is worthy of censure.
Noozhawk reported that Mosby “vehemently backed Bridge, again trying to put the blame on city staff review procedures.”
But numerous members of the public don’t agree.
“I’m here tonight because I believe our community deserves something that cannot be measured in dollars or votes: trust,” said Yasmin Dawson, a community activist.
One thing is certain: Bridge and the absence of any ethical standard for elected officials is an embarrassment to our city and this matter has left an indelible stain on Lompoc.
Ron Fink
Lompoc
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Regarding Paul Levine’s Sept. 12 commentary, “The Common Sense Guide to the Messy Business of Writing,” I always read Noozhawk but rarely write in and never to say thank you.
However, I am thrilled that Paul Levine will be writing, especially about other writers. He gives rare insight and information about the process that other writers go through. He is also a fabulous raconteur and that comes through in his writing.
He is a welcome addition.
Beryl Kreisel
Montecito
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Santa Barbara County Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann should represent and advocate for Los Olivos, but her recent comments about its wastewater do the opposite — as outlined in her Sept. 18 op/ed, “Los Olivos Can Still Choose Its Own Future with Wastewater Vote,” and two previous commentaries.
Los Olivos is a small, tight-knit community whose economy depends on tourism. Our town attracts visitors and new residents because we offer a pristine, beautiful, rural destination.
When a sitting county supervisor publicly makes unsupported associations between Los Olivos and fatal infant illness and chronic disease in an apparent effort to force support for an oversized sewer construction project, that stigma sticks.
When tourists see this article, we cannot expect them to distinguish between shallow monitoring wells and deep aquifers.
Beyond suppressing tourism, labeling Los Olivos a “public health crisis” triggers material disclosure requirements for realtors, which can chill buyers’ interest and damage property values.
To be clear, the drinking water standard for nitrates applies to water that comes out of the tap. No documented case of exposure or illness exists in Los Olivos.
Connecting the catastrophic health effects of contaminated drinking water to a town with perfectly safe drinking water is irresponsible and harmful.
Our community deserves facts. Hartmann should retract her unsubstantiated “health warnings” before causing permanent damage to Los Olivos.
Michelle de Werd
Los Olivos
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During a recent “coffee with a director” session (a regular, informal gathering designed for one-on-one community Q&A), Los Olivos Community Services District board president Julie Kennedy shared a vital piece of information.
According to her, any community member who both a) lives on a larger parcel that is not near the two downtown wells with elevated nitrates and b) has a functioning on-site wastewater treatment system (whether traditional septic system or new advanced on-site system) can apply directly to the Santa Barbara County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to request that their parcel be detached and removed from the Los Olivos Community Services District.
No more assessments. No more worry over paying for a system for the downtown core.
I felt this information was so critical that I brought it up during the public comment period at the most recent community services district public meeting. Unfortunately, that meeting was not recorded, meaning this valuable update was left out of the public record.
Because the availability of this option could significantly impact local property owners, it is vital that the community be aware of it.
Interested district residents who wish to explore this detachment process can and should contact LAFCO directly at sblafco.org/contact-us.
Kathryn Lohmeyer Rohrer
Los Olivos
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Regarding Michael Rattray’s Sept. 16 commentary, “Santa Barbara County’s Plans for All-Electric Future Look a Lot Like a Costly Past,” it is reprehensible that Noozhawk would provide a platform for a climate-change denier and fossil fuel zealot.
The science is settled, as any real scientist will tell you. Clean energy like electricity is the responsible future for the planet without the negative consequences of fossil fuels.
I would think a so-called news company would know better than to post such irresponsible distortions.
C. Williams
Santa Barbara
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Michael Rattray lays out a scientific opinion defending natural gas, itself a potent greenhouse gas, and its burning (more greenhouse gas) as somehow not a problem.
In climate science, things are very complex, because of multiple variables that interrelate. There’s plenty of argument over how much, how long, how quickly the planet will heat.
The main systematic way of doing science on this is to make enormous computer models, compare to real historical data, and compare to each other. This yields results, constantly upgraded, that have a high probability of being accurate.
The overwhelming majority of scientists working in the field support the models and the underlying evidence. The process takes thousands of scientists and data modelers. These are the results we use to make policy.
Oddball ideas can be kept around in case some new evidence makes them relevant, but the best evidence we have points in one direction: a direct linear relationship between global heating and manmade release of methane, CO2, water vapor and some less important drivers.
We’ve also found that reducing maritime ship sulfur pollution has made skies clearer, and increased the warming a little. That’s the kind of complexity that has to be included in models.
I’m no expert and neither is Rattray. Noozhawk should use actual experts, many of whom teach at UC Santa Barbara, when writing commentaries about the most important issues for mankind’s survival.
John Fisher
Noleta
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Michael Rattray seems very blind to current events. California has successfully built enough solar and battery storage for electricity that we have had zero emergency power black-outs this year.
This means that what Rattray proposes — continuing fossil fuel usage — runs counter to sane, reasonable, scientific progress to assuage the obvious crisis of climate change we are experiencing.
Meanwhile, the Pacific Ocean locally is 6 inches higher than it has been for millenia and authorities are warning residents to make preparations for intense El Niño storms.
Rattray should continue his research so he is up to date with reality.
Hill Sutton
Ventura
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An interesting recent survey by Realtors.com measures home-buying affordability. The 2026 State Report Cards show Des Moines, Iowa, as the housing winner where affordability is 27.5% of income (I think Santa Barbara is near double that).
Des Moines is building sewer and water lines out ahead, declaring, “If you build it, they will come.” Texas, Florida and the Carolinas are all in the Top 10.
Metropolitan regions where regulations and anti-development abound populate the bottom of the survey. California is low on the list (Los Angeles rated an F).
Santa Barbara is entering with rent “stabilization” to cement disdain to development in housing. No real starter homes are planned, and renting is to be stabilized at a level that makes it hopeless regarding ownership.
To buy a home properly without working three jobs and still not keeping up, visit the Realtors.com report, pick a Top 10 metro area and go buy a home there.
The top cities boast vibrant music and dining scenes per the survey. You will be able to move back to Santa Barbara, of course, but your time away will not be an ordeal.
In five years start back. You will have the savings, equity in that starter home and the credit score you will need. Buy a house in Santa Barbara with an ADU to rent out, offsetting the affordability cost jump from 27.5% of your income back to 40%-50%, and you made it!
This is not pie in the sky. These steps would culminate in buying a Santa Barbara home that anyone would prefer to just renting.
David Sullins
Santa Barbara
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I was born and raised in Santa Barbara and I have seen mayors come and go. As far as I am concerned, the most important quality of a mayor is judgment. It is judgment informed by heart, as well as based on critical and objective thinking, not beholden to any political party.
In addition, such a person is willing to bring people together through compromise in order to find solutions that benefit us all.
Santa Barbara City Councilman Eric Friedman is such a person and that is why I am supporting him for mayor.
Hadley Johnson
Santa Barbara
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