Signs of fall
The last of the crape myrtles, the dark red ones, are beginning to bloom. Their vibrant blooms signal the end of summer and the beginning of the fall season. The apple trees are beginning to show their ripe fruit, the pears are starting to turn yellow and the hummingbirds are showing an interest in the feeders again, what with the flowers on the wane.The temperatures are also beginning to reflect the changes as they are becoming increasingly erratic. A really hot couple of days is followed by cool days and even cooler nights. I am wondering just how long the solar system is going to work to heat the pool sufficiently. We have generally had a very cool summer; that is fine with me, as I am not that fond of the heat. It does, however, affect all living things such as plants and the breeding schedules of wildlife. I wonder if we will see tarantulas earlier than October this year? That is when they usually are seen crossing the roads in search of breeding partners.
Another sign of fall is the heating up of political conversations. Primaries have occurred all over the country that have had some interesting results. Everyone is debating whether — because of the general dissatisfaction with the direction the country is going in — the Republican Party will be able to take possession of more seats in the House and Senate. So far the results are hard to read.
One thing that I find disturbing is the application for waivers in getting military personnel votes counted. So far, 10 states have applied to not be held to the requirement that ballots be mailed at least 45 days prior to the election. Five states have been given the waiver to date. Most of the states applying are on the East Coast, although I believe both Washington state and Colorado are included. I can find no good reason why all states would not work their very hardest to make sure that all service people had their votes counted, as it is because of them over generations who have kept our system of government and our freedom safe from destruction.
It is clear to me and many others that the values we hold dear are not shared by a small but vocal group of people across the country, by some of our leaders and even here in the county. This is evidenced by the reluctance to focus our efforts to maintain our sovereignty by dividing us into sub-groups according to numerous categories including class and race. The fight about our border with other countries and the mosque in New York shows a clear resistance on the part of some to encourage assimilation into our society by immigrants. It was intended to be those immigrants to assimilate to us, not us to them.
It appears that there are those who would try to force us to not just accommodate their customs but to adopt them ourselves. We can’t even declare that we have a national language like every other nation in the world. This is truly shameful. Perhaps if you don’t want English to be the official language, you might find some other country that speaks a language you prefer. What we have now is an increasing number of people who cannot speak English, who cannot communicate with others outside their immediate community and who have isolated themselves from success in this country. This cannot continue, as it fractures our society into small enclaves of individual societies that will develop into frightened, suspicious groups of people who no longer can communicate with each other. The end result of this is warring factions leading to the end of the dream of America. For those who continue to foster the belief that parts of the U.S. should belong to some other country because of long past historic conflicts, it is time to wake up in the present. It is precisely because of our diversity of cultures while continuing to honor the principles of our founders that has made us great. I still don’t know why the emphasis these days seems to be on what is different about us, and to bash segments of the population and reward others just because of their skin color, heritage or economic class. Isn’t this just what we have tried so hard to stop?
Elections
The season of elections is upon us. I am already tired of the ads touting one candidate over another. I am sick of the incumbents with virtually no exception. I think we need to encourage a whole new bunch of people to run; people with a sense of right and wrong and a little common sense wouldn’t hurt, either. I am concerned that the wrong people are still running for office because they have the financial backing of the machines that have been operating for the past 30 years or so. It is time to say no more.Very often unions are heavy contributors to these candidates, and if one takes the time to see who is sending money to a given person, one can pretty much tell if that was someone that you would like to represent you. A large warning signal that this is not someone you would want would be if there are politicians you are already familiar with that you do not like who are supporting them. Some might say that the candidacy of Das Williams for Assembly is a case in point. Looking at the contributions to his campaign shows a very interesting picture. First there are the numerous contributions from out of state such as John Sperling, CEO of the University of Phoenix (Ariz.), Howard Marlowe, a registered Federal lobbyist from Chevy Chase, Md., Jeffrey Peterson, chairman Inter 123 Corp. Phoenix, Ariz., and Christo Artusio, Diplomat, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.. Then there are the union groups that are so numerous that I can only mention a few, such as SEIU Local 1000 out of Sacramento, UAW Region 5 Western States PAC, California Conference Board Amalgamated Transit Union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 PAC, Southern California Pipe Trades District Council #16 PAC, SEIU Local 721, California Teachers Assoc., California State Association of Electrical Workers and the California State Council of Laborers.
Then there are the tribes including the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians of Coarsegold, Calif., Viejas Tribal Government, Alpine, Calif., Barona Band of Mission Indians, Lakeside, Calif., and the “Chumash” Band of Mission Indians. Next we find a long list of past and present politicos and activists including Harwood White, Santa Barbara City Councilman; John Buttny former representative to Gail Marshall District 3; Steven Bennett, County Supervisor, Ventura County; Charles Kimbell, Helene Schneider for Mayor; Hal Conklin, David Davis, Community Environmental Council Executive; David Landecker, Environmental Defense Center, Executive Director; Jeremy Tittle, Santa Barbara County executive staff assistant, former assistant to Lois Capps; Kate Rees, general manager, Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board; Friends of Salud Carbajal for Supervisor; Marc McGinnes, Jeff Bermant, Hannah-Beth Jackson, Micky Flacks, SBCAN, Richard Flacks, Gail Marshall; and Lotus Vermeer, The Nature Conservancy, Channel Islands director.
Does this give you an idea of who supports this candidate? You decide.
The jail question
I want to ask you a question. Why do you think it is that the Sheriff of our county is now having to beg for a half-cent tax to try to build a jail in North County when we seem to have had all the money in the world to do lots of long-range planning that may never come to pass. In fact, these exercises are really just wish lists for how some would like to see the county develop or not. Given the current status of the economy, it is going to be a hard sell, although this is something we have needed for many years. Is this another case of South County ignoring the needs of North County as they have done traditionally?How are we to respond to this situation? Do we turn our backs on law enforcement needs, and then turn around and complain about how many criminals are being prematurely released? Do we bite the bullet and say yes we need a new jail because there are going to be some new inmates? This is a decision we must all consider carefully. Perhaps if we can get our Board of Supervisors to stop spending money on things we don’t really need, we could find the funds to pay for the jail. What do you think?
Highway 154
I write frequently about how dangerous 154 has become, but some have not understood the situation primarily because they either don’t drive it often, they don’t live on it or they’re one of the problem drivers. Now we have had a tragic accident with a truck plowing into a home, killing all inside. This has caught the attention of many who now call to eliminate trucks from that highway.This is not the solution. There are companies that are located on Highway 154 that simply cannot move elsewhere. Besides while this accident was horrible, it was certainly not the first and won’t be the last, either. People have been dying or maimed on this road for as long at it has been in existence in all of its configurations.
When I was a child, the road was very narrow and windy. Rocks constantly littered the roadway due to the kind of geology we have here. Rainstorms made the pass a nightmare, with mud running over the road and rocks falling as you passed. A trip from the Valley to Santa Barbara was a major undertaking, usually being an all-day effort.
Over the years different portions of the road were straightened out and widened. Also, over the years, traffic increased that complicated the issue. At some point in the 1960s, we developed rush hour with the advent of commuters using the pass instead of the usual Highway 101. This created a problem for valley residents, who then had to deal with dodging multiple cars just to get out of their driveways safely. As is true of most “thru” traffic drivers, their focus is more on the end of their journey rather than on what occurs during the drive. This creates a dangerous situation where the daily route is not what is foremost on the minds of transit drivers.
The statistics of deaths on Highway 154 do not reflect the number of people who have died because of being on that road. This is because of a peculiar way that Caltrans counts deaths. Unless the person actually dies while on the road, not in the hospital three days later or in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, they are not counted as a death on 154. There are many deaths that have occurred along the stretch of road going through the ranch that are not counted.
Of course, the tremendous number of vehicles increased when the casino became popular with people from many locations. The local wine industry has also had an impact on the number of cars we have to contend with and alcohol is now becoming an issue as well. A few years ago trucks, including many that had no business in the Valley but saw 154 as a shortcut started becoming fairly routine. Aside from having to listen to their Jake brakes at 4 a.m. which is really annoying, they have become the newest threat to the peace in our valley.
It has been suggested a number of times that we make 154 a toll road, like in the Del Monte Forest where residents or persons having regular business here in the Valley are issued metal plaques for their front grills to indicate that. They are waved through the guard booths at all entrances to the road. An annual fee of five dollars would be charged for the plaque. All other vehicles would have to pay some fee each time they wanted to access the road, unless they were coming to visit someone here who would call the person in the booth to give their name whereby they could pass without paying. This would only apply to 154, not 246, so it would not impact Solvang or the casino. Wine-tasting establishments and restaurants or other businesses could make some special arrangements for passage for their customers as well.
Our wildlife might benefit from the reduced traffic also. We need to do something to change the slaughter of the wildlife, people, our fences and get rid of the bad drivers who seem to populate our roads today. What do you think? I’d like to hear from you with some constructive ideas on how to solve this deadly problem.