It is with great interest that I read Dan McCaslin’s Jan. 16 column, “Bridges, and Davy Brown — the Man, the Legend, the Camp.” Since I was born, raised and still live in Lompoc, since 1936, I am very familiar with the subject.
Since around 1950 when one of my uncles discovered Manzana Creek, we fished there. Whenever there was enough water and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife was able to stock it with fish, we would make several trips to Davy Brown and Nira to fish Manzana.
We would also make at least one or two camping trips to Nira and camp for a week or two each year. I have one sister and 10 first cousins and all have been there at least once and several at least three or four times or more a year.
I still remember the dirt and winding roads to Manzana. I recall at least twice my uncle and father having to stop and cut fallen trees on the road so we could get there. We almost always caught fish, usually a limit, until a rainfall shortage when the creeks would dry up so they were unable to stock them. That became a big disappointment.
You did answer one question I had: How did they come up with the name of Nira Camp? Now I know. Thank you.
Frank Signorelli
Lompoc
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The undersigned arts and cultural organizations from around the tri-county area are appalled by the recent vandalism and racist stereotypes against Corazón del Pueblo: The Cultural and Creative Arts Center of the Santa Maria Valley.
We are writing this on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday and were reminded of this quote of his: “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”
As nonprofits we are all dedicated to serving our communities, and that also means supporting each other. The vandalism and racism directed toward Corazón del Pueblo is an act of hate that we condemn, and one we hope the entire community rejects.
We feel we must declare our support because, as King also said, “We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
We, the undersigned, will not be silent and will continue our own work to be allies for each other and all parts of our community, knowing that working together for positive change is the only sustainable path forward.
In peace and solidarity,
Rebecca Anderson
Ganna Walska Lotusland executive director
Esther Jacobsen Bates
Elverhøj Museum of History & Art executive director
John Connelly
Santa Barbara City College Atkinson Gallery director
Alexis Elias
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center interim executive director
Larry Feinberg
Santa Barbara Museum of Art-Robert and Mercedes Eichholz director and CEO
Greg Gorga
Santa Barbara Maritime Museum executive director
Robin Gose
MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation president and CEO
Dacia Harwood
Santa Barbara Historical Museum executive director
Adri Howe
Channel Islands Maritime Museum executive director
Judy Larson
Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art executive director
Monica Orozco
Old Mission Santa Barbara and Santa Bárbara Mission Archive-Library executive director
Stacey Otte-Demangate
Wildling Museum of Art and Nature executive director
Anne Peterson
Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation executive director
Marco Pinter
Museum of Sensory & Movement Experiences executive director
Lisa Potter
Goleta Valley Historical Society director of operations
Lisa Renken
Lompoc Museum director
Gabriel Ritter
Art, Design and Architecture Museum at UC Santa Barbara executive director
Michael Shanklin
kidSTREAM executive director
Luke Swetland
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History president and CEO
Barbara Tejada
Chumash Indian Museum board chairwoman and acting director
Alexandra Terry
Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara chief curator
Laura-Susan Thomas
Allan Hancock College Foxworthy Gallery director
Steve Windhager
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden executive director
• • •
I don’t know a lot about surfing but I do enjoy watching it so I read the Jan. 16 story, “Ventura’s Dimitri Poulos Rises to Occasion, Wins First Rincon Classic Pro Surfing Title.”
The thing I noticed was that it was an all-male event and it looked like all of the top winners, including the kids, were male. Then I read down to the end and saw that there were women competing and winning. In fact, the top woman had more points than the top man.
Why, then, was she not the focus of the article? Why were there no photos of her? Do women win titles, too?
Jackie Peterson
Carpinteria
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Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara County urges our community and our elected officials to support the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) with critical enhancements and no rollbacks. VAWA saves lives, supports families and needs to be reauthorized.
Around the country, one in five women has been raped in her lifetime, one in three women will experience domestic violence, and an average of more than three women are murdered by their partners every day. COVID-19 is increasing the prevalence of gender-based violence.
At Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara County, we have been working with individuals and families affected by gender-based violence since 1977. Our emergency shelters safely house more than 400 people every year and, through client-centered programming, provide a path to an abuse-free life. We know firsthand how important it is to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.
It is crucial that we know where our elected officials stand when it comes to preventing gender-based violence and protecting survivors. Every current member of Congress should publicly declare their support for the reauthorization of VAWA with key enhancements and no rollbacks.
It’s time to hold Congress accountable for helping to make sure all survivors are safe and free from violence and fear. We call on Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., to support victims and survivors by co-sponsoring Sens. Dianne Feinstein’s, Dick Durbin’s, Joni Ernst’s and Lisa Murkowski’s upcoming VAWA reauthorization bill and voting for it on the floor.
We hope you will join us in supporting survivors in our community.
Julia Black-DeVré
Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara County
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