Tag archives: government
I often rage about the fact that our County spending continues to increase (this year by 7.3%), while our population slowly decreases. So, yes, it’s difficult for a devout fiscal hawk to write about salaries that might be depressed, yet in a county that employs 4,763 people there may actually be five individuals – just […]
We think about money constantly. How to get it, how to keep it, and how to spend it. This is the human condition whether you are rich, poor, or just doing ok. This article is about the problem of keeping your money in a world of inflation. The Federal Reserve, the U.S. Treasury, the President, […]
The Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee (SBWPC) held its annual January Endorsement meeting to review and qualify the candidates for the 2024 election season they are endorsing. For Santa Barbara County District 1 Supervisor, the vote yielded a “no endorsement” of any candidate. This is an important clarification for voters, as written campaign materials for […]
Bravo (yet again) to Rinaldo Brutoco’s August 11 column. He always comes up with the best adjectives when clashing up against “Big Power” greed: “Preposterous shibboleth” … Makes me laugh every time I look at it! In throwing big shade last week at the PG&E & Edison monopolies, he calls back to his group’s white […]
As we head into the close of the 2022 California Legislative session, bills are passing that could help our community, and some that could hurt it. Here’s a round-up of the bills we’re watching: Conversion of commercial zones to housing. Senate Bill 6; Caballero. This bill allows a housing development project on a parcel that […]
Editor’s Note: In this industry, you’re only as good as your last mistake. And we made one. A big one – in the Voter’s Guide in the previous issue (MJ Issue 19, May 12-19). Somewhere between juggling incoming stories and caffeine stares our collective eyes missed two candidates in the United States Representative, District 24, […]
As a world and as a county, we face monumental challenges: climate, poverty, education, income inequality, systemic racism and sexism, houselessness, mental health, inflation, access to healthcare, etc… It’s a too-long list of issues that are intersectional and deep. And the only way for our leaders to even begin to unpack such a multiverse of […]
Misplace your sample ballot? We have you covered. Here are the candidate statements for the upcoming election: United States Representative, District 24 Also referred to as a congressman or congresswoman, each representative is elected to a two-year term serving the people of a specific congressional district. Among other duties, representatives introduce bills and resolutions, offer […]
Imagine being elected to serve in local government, only to find yourself in a global health emergency. That’s exactly what happened to Gregg Hart, then Chair of the County Board of Supervisors, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020. “I was hoping to use my chairmanship to highlight the need for emergency and disaster […]
These K-Rails on the 101 are extreme causes of fear. Who pays for the cleanup after accidents, including the semi on fire in Summerland backing up traffic for hours? Does the City have recourse for cleaning up after the fire and accidents? This superhighway they are building will have big effects on the community. I […]
Public trust in government is at a 50-year low. According to an ambitious Harvard Business School study, the problem in our contentious duopoly is the lack of competition and resulting lack of accountability. Santa Barbara is the poster child for what this study raged against — a system that no longer focuses on the public […]
As I write this, Putin is brutally attacking Ukraine. Do these things really still happen in the 21st century? Is it finally time to put an end to such unilateral behavior with a world government? The idea goes back to ancient times, when it was largely promoted by powerful emperors who wanted to expand their […]
It’s become a useful axiom in national politics to ask voters: Are you better off than you were four years ago? Applied to the City of Santa Barbara, I don’t know anyone who would answer that question in the affirmative. I don’t even believe the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party (known to insiders as the […]
What kind of a word is “filibuster,” how did we get stuck with it, and what the heck does it mean? Those of us old enough to remember seeing the 1939 classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, starring the legendary Jimmy Stewart, grew up with a badly distorted view of what the filibuster actually is […]
Winston Churchill famously said, “…democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time…” I write this as Joe Biden has been declared “president-elect” in the news and while Donald Trump still sends out repeated appeals for money. Record numbers voted for each side. […]
Who we vote for, in many ways, determines how, and how well, we live. This has never been more obvious than it is right now. And not just at the highest levels of government; from the ballot’s top to bottom it matters. The dangerous perspective that a single vote does not make much difference allows […]
Most of us take voting as a right, which we may (or may not) choose to exercise. To me, voting is a privilege that I cherish and use in every primary and election. How else can I – together with my fellow citizens – put leaders in place with the authority to govern us wisely […]
In our recent four-part series, “New Federalism in a Post COVID-19 World,” we extensively reviewed the pre-Colonial origins, the subsequent history, and the modern evolution of the Federal government’s relationship with the individual states. That’s what the subject of “Federalism” usually means in a political context, as if the only governmental authorities in the United […]
Andy Caldwell wants to be our Representative for the 24th U.S. Congressional District, which encompasses all of Santa Barbara County along with a big chunk of the Central Coast from Oxnard to well north of San Luis Obispo. Mr. Caldwell is running against incumbent Salud Carbajal, who’s hoping to garner a third term as the […]
As evidenced by the January 27 debate between First District Supervisor Das Williams and challenger Laura Capps – the Montecito Journal Media Group’s standing-room-only event at the Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall – we’ve been paying a lot of attention to local politics of late. Continuing with that mission, we offer this guide […]
