Tag archives: immigration
Many immigrants have come to our country as desperate refugees, some fleeing for their lives. The fact is most immigrants are honest, hardworking people, and this group has a lower crime rate than U.S. citizens. Unless you’re a Native American, you’re an immigrant or come from immigrants. Many of the immigrants we came from were […]
I’d like to speak about the escalating federal immigration enforcement. I respect the Chair’s request for us to not unnecessarily wade into national issues, but what is happening with ICE is an issue affecting the people we represent on a daily basis. ICE is here on any given day, in our neighborhoods on our streets, […]
Trump has lawlessly used Federal agents in U.S. cities and against law-abiding immigrants. Many protests have resulted. At one August protest in D.C., Justice Department employee Sean Dunn threw a sandwich at one of the heavily armed and armored federal agents. Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi went after Dunn with the full force of prosecution […]
Tension hung thick in the air at the Franklin Community Center on Tuesday evening, July 15, as residents packed the room – and spilled out into the parking lot – to demand answers about recent ICE activity in Santa Barbara. Some even brought blankets and picnic dinners, watching the proceedings from an outdoor screen when […]
About 10 days ago, ICE was reportedly in Montecito and detained several hardworking gardeners on Hot Springs Road — individuals who are not criminals. This has raised serious concerns in the community. Separately, the ongoing construction, particularly with the new roundabouts, is creating significant safety issues. The traffic flow and congestion are becoming increasingly dangerous […]
Over the past few weeks, a palpable tension has gripped communities in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties as unmarked vehicles, masked agents, and unannounced detentions have marked a dramatic rise in immigration enforcement. At the center of this escalation stands last week’s explosive ICE raid on Glass House Farms in Carpinteria and Camarillo — a […]
Sanctuary City, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok, makes its Central Coast debut in what could scarcely be a more timely moment. The powerful coming-of-age story is set in Newark in 2001, shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but it could easily be taking place in any city right now. In the coming-of-age story, two […]
As one of the most visible legislative representatives of our 37th district, Assemblymember Gregg Hart has this past week provided accurate information regarding two important issues facing California: funding efforts for recovery from the Los Angeles fires and resident’s rights regarding DEI and immigration. Recovery Efforts & Funding Post Wildfires Hart reports that California Legislators […]
In my last two articles I reviewed the policies of candidates Harris and Trump. Here’s my take on the two. Just so you know, the standards through which I analyze politics and policy are things that have worked best over the years to make us the most prosperous country in the world: individual liberty, freedom […]
Trump claimed that he was going to go after “bad hombres” who were illegally in the U.S. But then he went after people like Juana Flores, right here in Goleta. She had been in the U.S. since 1988. Her husband and her many children and grandchildren were all legal U.S. citizens. She probably would have […]
“Radical” is often used to disqualify an idea as “extreme.” Did you know that it comes from the same origin as “radish” and means to “go to the root” of a problem? Every night, the news is full of the crisis at the US-Mexico border. The “analysis” is limited to the immediate humanitarian issues along […]
The Art of Compromise Dear Mr. Hazard, I know you expect an answer from President-elect Joe Biden. But here is mine to your letter. One Party Rule. Read Constitution, Article II, sec. 1. The concept of electors did not make any sense then, and it does not make any sense now. The country is mature […]
No Risk, No Return, No Electricity In my nearly 30 years of serving as a local government watchdog, I would be hard pressed to recall a more foolish proposition than that which is known as community choice energy (CCE). CCE is a scheme by which local government entities assume responsibility to purchase electrical energy supplies […]
Unchained and Untamed Thank you for running “The Nation-State Solution” (Letters to the Editor, MJ # 25/42) though “The Nation-State Problem” would probably been more fitting. I appreciated Bob Hazard‘s expose (“The Public Pension Problem,” MJ # 25/41) of CA and SB (as reported by 4th District Supervisor Peter Adam), fiscal problems attributed to retirement […]
Twisting The Truth Mr. Buckley’s response to Glenn Griffith’s letter in the June 6-13 Journal, is yet another example of twisting the facts to suit one editor’s politics. Robert Mueller’s report did not indict the president, nor did it exonerate him. Rather, the report lays out a roadmap of Mr. Trump’s activities for Congress to […]
In Defense of New Sanitary District Building The need for staff showers at the Montecito Sanitary District wastewater treatment plant should be obvious. Staff are working with pathogen-loaded water that also contains antibiotic resistant microbes and their genes. This is biologically loaded pathogenic material (liquid and solids) capable of transferring pathogens to staff, their homes, […]
By the Numbers Congress declining to deal with border issues has permitted an “estimated” 11 million illegal immigrants into California. Trying to solve California’s shortages for funding for housing, education, road and bridges repairs and medical care will be like trying to fill a bottomless pit unless, and until, the ultimate number of people using […]
East Valley Road to Perdition I am astonished to be writing again about the Ennisbrook Owner’s Association and their unwillingness to fulfill their responsibilities to us as members and residents. Ennisbrook owns our entire road. It starts at East Valley Road, and continues past ten properties and the four Ennisbrook members are the last four […]
While politics appear more partisan than ever, at least one weekly news show takes pains to pair party opposites in discussions that are polite if still vociferous. “Left, Right & Center,” produced by KCRW, features one panelist from each position to argue, civilly, the particulars of policy and issues as well as the politics. The […]
Referencing Dick Shaikewitz‘s letter to the editor (“Ethics in Journalism,” MJ # 24/51), it is apparent that former Montecito Water District (MWD) Director Shaikewitz and I have a difference of opinion over how to provide water security for the residents of Montecito and Summerland. He believes that, contrary to state law, a written strategic plan […]
