Lawmakers
California lawmakers ended a stalemate that started July 1 by approving a $145 billion state spending plan for fiscal 2008-09 – only to have the governor veto it 12 hours later. Even though it was a record 78 days into the state’s new fiscal year, the governor’s move makes sense. This is an abominable Read More →
It
With drought hitting much of California and the West, water is on everybody’s mind these days. Santa Barbara is talking about reviving its desalinization plant. Squabbles in the Santa Maria Valley and south San Luis Obispo County are ongoing. But in Ventura County, a big step has been taken toward guaranteeing the quality of Read More →
Businesses will bear brunt of security costs
Seven years after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, security remains a big concern for our nation. The good news is that we have not witnessed a major terror attack on our soil. In addition, the recent response to two minor catastrophes – Hurricane Gustav and the recent California earthquake – Read More →
Firestone going out with a bang
Brooks Firestone is not going out with a whimper. Anticipating the likelihood of a victory for self-proclaimed environmentalist candidate Doreen Farr in November, the outgoing 3rd District Santa Barbara County supervisor is using his last few months in office to take full advantage of his working majority. The supervisors have sent Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Read More →
SB375 needs a closer look before it
Senate Bill 375 – the so-called “climate change smart-growth bill” – is going to become a law if Sacramento politicians ever agree on a state spending plan. The law, which has had scant public scrutiny to date, is a broadly-defined growth management law, which ties transportation funding to growth patterns. Ideas similar to those Read More →
Height limits surface again
Santa Barbara city officials were awaiting word at presstime on whether 11,252 petition signatures will qualify a downtown building height-limit charter amendment for the November 2009 ballot. The signatures were delivered to the city clerk Aug. 15, signed by people who want to limit new buildings in downtown Santa Barbara to no more than 40 Read More →
Traffic measure makes a return to Oxnard
Traffic initiatives are like bad pennies. They just keep coming back. In Oxnard, by the narrowest of margins, Measure V has won certification for the November ballot. So, less than a year after defeating an earlier version of this job-killing measure, the Oxnard Chamber and other organizations have to do it all over again. Measure Read More →
