Tag archives: cannabis
Purely Pathetic Due to my lack of wizardry with IT, my missive was printed under Bob Handy byline, my husband of 62 years. We did not mind, but if you reply do not refer to me as Mrs. Handy. Just call me Danute. Now about your missive. Yes, Donald Trump is a misogynist. For confirmation […]
Ever since the Santa Barbara Grand Jury issued its damning report last month on the explosion of cannabis cultivation in Santa Barbara County, a widening ripple of reaction has circled around Carpinteria, Goleta, and Buellton, where residents hope the controversy will aid their efforts to curtail the industry. As the Montecito Journal reported last week, […]
Our County… Our Black Hole So, Bari Weiss (NYT Op-ed writer/editor) recently resigned. What I found sad about her departure was her self-described truth: “Twitter is not on the masthead of the NYT… but it has become its ultimate editor.” This unfortunate reality is even more acute in Santa Barbara where the flames of legitimate […]
Purely Political Mr. James Buckley is a True Believer. When Donald Trump descended the escalator and announced his candidacy for president of USA, he declared that he is racist, misogynist, and antiimmigrant. For good measure he declared soon after, that he can kill somebody on Fifth Avenue, and it would not change any vote from […]
Das Williams, Santa Barbara’s First District Supervisor, suddenly found himself under a harsh, almost Perry Mason-style cross examination during a July 13 interview with Steve Chiotakis, host of KCRW’S Greater L.A. radio talk show. “Your campaign contributions come from pot lobbyists trying to grow weed,” Chiotakis scoffed at one point. “And look, it’s legal, yeah, […]
On June 30, Santa Barbara’s Grand Jury released an historic, scathing report detailing alleged official malfeasance by the Board of Supervisors as it sought to regulate cannabis over the past three years, particularly in Carpinteria but also in North County wine country. By law, the report mentioned no names and took no stand on the […]
Right Side of History As I read the LA Times coverage of the independent SB Grand Jury’s scathing report on the unethical way our cannabis policy came to be, I had one silver lining thought: “Thank goodness the Montecito Journal had the wisdom – and guts – to be on the right side of history […]
You might recognize the Santa Barbara Coalition for Responsible Cannabis from various letters to the editor and reader-submitted editorials that have run in the Montecito Journal, Carpinteria’s Coastal View News, and other local newspapers in Santa Barbara county. Although the group claims not to oppose cannabis per se, its members have consistently decried what they […]
Thanks to the fact that California has deemed cannabis to be an essential part of the state’s economy, Santa Barbara County’s cannabis industry is one of the few major employers that isn’t either completely shut down or drastically downscaled during the COVID-19 pandemic. CARP Growers, which represents legally licensed Carpinteria cannabis farms such as Autumn […]
A long–simmering conflict over cannabis odor and pesticide use continues in Carpinteria Smell, What Smell? On a recent afternoon, Hans Brand steers his electric golf cart-type vehicle from the main office of his Carpinteria cannabis farm to a sprawling greenhouse that seems big enough to fit a football field inside it. Inside the structure, at […]
There is a new supper club in town – but it’s not your granny’s get-together of the ‘50s. This is a chance to experience a meal on a new level… a “high”-er level, if you will. Just when you thought your Friday night couldn’t get more exciting, enter Melissa Petitto and Cynthia Abulafia. Both moms. […]
Not Sorry Thank you for your questions and observations regarding the power of apology in the February 20-27 editorial. Among other things, the editorial points to a number of principles of concern, the value of the press and ethics and honesty in politics. After the next election these issues will persist. We count on the […]
This political season feels tedious and interminable. Like watching Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar acceptance speech on a continuous loop. Set to elevator music. And then the elevator gets stuck. Unfortunately, for many of the races that matter to us, we still have eight months to go till November – eight months of promises, sniping, wooing, and […]
Water to the Wealthy Last Monday, I attended the Montecito Journal hosted debate between Sup. Das Williams and his opponent Laura Capps, president of the SB School Board. During the debate, I became aware how Montecito struggles to obtain sufficient water. I was not aware that over 80% of Montecito water comes from out of […]
Inaugural Event a Success Congratulations to the Montecito Journal on a very successful and well attended 1st District Supervisor Debate. The evening was informative, professional, well organized, and even had some humor sprinkled in. Although free to those of us in the audience, I’m confident that even with the support from the Montecito Association, the […]
By all accounts, Monday night’s candidate debate at Hahn Hall was a rousing success. Over 300 of Montecito’s finest showed up and packed the house to hear First District Supervisor Das Williams and challenger Laura Capps respond to questions from community leaders and to hear the candidates make their case why he or she should […]
It was standing room only on Monday, January 27, at Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall for the Montecito Journal Media Group’s inaugural event: the First District Supervisor Debate. Incumbent Das Williams and challenger Laura Capps faced off to answer several questions formulated by MJ CEO Gwyn Lurie and KCRW host and reporter Jonathan […]
Enough is Enough Conversation following Mt. Carmel’s school Christmas program, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Carpinteria, should have been about the adorable children and plans for the holidays. Instead, it instantly moved to concern about the near contact-high adults and children alike were experiencing that night in the Church. The odor of cannabis in […]
Our Banana Republic County Last month another article appeared in the WSJ about our Cannabis County. Unfortunately, every national story, and there have been many, is like a drip that slowly corrodes our historic brand. This story contained familiar themes: the odor, values, and the reality that cannabis tax revenues continue to underwhelm. What was […]
The Santa Barbara Medical Cannabis Conference and Expo – which would have been the first of its kind in the tri-county area save for a similar if smaller event held in Ojai last weekend – explores the science, and a bit of the spirituality, behind cannabis and CBD and their ability to heal ailments of […]
