Letters to the Editor

STOP

I believe it is ABSOLUTELY SCANDALOUS during the COVID CRISIS to have all five Board Members of the Montecito Water District, during the next 60 days to:

1. Mail a Public Board Notice
2. Hold a Public Open House
3. Hold a Public Hearing to Massively Raise its New Rates
4. Approve its New Rates for Desal

This is what the New Board proposes to do all by July 1.

They think the Water is needed to secure its future, and the cost will not be great.

I believe the cost will be huge, and there are much better and effective ways to deal with droughts. They are taking advantage of this huge problem to the disadvantage of us, the rate payers.

If the Board believes what they are doing is correct and fair, then give everyone a chance to fully understand and think about it; certainly not during this massive costly critical time.

During this COVID CRISIS, we all need to carefully think through and consider is this WATER NEEDED NOW? Unfortunately, if we do nothing in two months, we will all soon owe additional huge sums of money for years to come. I urge you to call and write through May and June to STOP THEM.

Montecito Water District, 583 San Ysidro Road, 93108; 805-969-2271

Dick Shaikewitz
Montecito

Trump Endangers American Lives

You just saw it in Wisconsin, where Republican state lawmakers insisted on making voters put their health and the health of others on the line to turn out and cast in-person ballots. Right-wing justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court – in a decision written by Brett Kavanaugh – sided with Republicans against Wisconsin voters.

It’s become clear that to Republicans, everything is an opportunity for a power grab – even an unprecedented public health crisis. In Wisconsin, even with health experts advising people to stay at home and extreme shortages of poll workers due to the pandemic, Republicans would not push back Election Day or expand absentee voting to allow voters to cast their ballots by mail.

In a crisis like this, people’s true character comes out. For the most part, we’re seeing incredible resilience and resolve from Americans. People are sacrificing like they never have, supporting their neighbors and their communities through this hardship. Many – including people like you – are calling and petitioning Congress to make sure the most vulnerable among us get the resources they need to survive this crisis.

But right-wing Republican politicians and activist leaders are showing their true character too – and it’s not pretty. They’re even using their own supporters as pawns in a deadly game for their own political ends, encouraging them to violate stay at home orders and turn out to crowded in-person protests against the social distancing policies that scientists and public health experts say we need!

Trump and his enablers are willing to do anything, say anything, create chaos, and even endanger American lives to win. This is what we’re up against. Together, we’ll defend democracy, save the soul of our country, and restore the American Way… but only together.

Sincerely,
Leoncio Martins

Slick Operator

Has Gov. Newsom been honest with Californians and fellow Democrats? On April 7, he appeared on MSNBC with Rachel Maddow. He said, “In the last 48 hours we have secured through a consortia of nonprofits and a manufacturer in the state of California-upwards of 200 million masks on a monthly basis that we’re confident we can supply the needs of the state of California, potentially the needs of other western states.” However, the manufacturer was not in California. It was BYD, “Build Your Dreams,” a Chinese company not known for making personal protective equipment. John Meyers of the L.A. Times pointed out, Newsom failed to reveal it was a $1 billion dollar deal that will cost the taxpayers 30% more than the governor’s January budget allotted for infectious diseases for the whole fiscal year. The next day, San Francisco Democrat Phil Ting, chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, told reporters “we don’t have any information as to how many masks we’re buying, who we’re buying them from and at what price.” Democrat Holly Mitchell, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, demanded details. The actions of Newsom bring up many questions. Why did he hide a taxpayer funded contract from legislative leaders? (Oversight.) Why did he do business with BYD that has a history of supplying allegedly faulty equipment, has ties to the Chinese military and communist party? Finally, why did Newsom reject American products and labor? Is Gov. Newsom acting like he is the leader of a small nation?

Diana Thorn
Montecito