Posted on September 9 at 4:07 p.m.

These services are certainly beneficial to our community and the health of individual families, but I'm surprised that you would do a feature like this without mentioning Sheperd Farms Community Supported Agriculture. To focus exclusively on delivery systems and ignore the farmer who is equally dedicated to fresh, organic produce boxed for customer convenience is not good journalism. You don't mention pricing here, but I suspect that with his greater experience in the field, so to speak, Tom Sheperd pulls this off more economically. True, CSA participants don't get home delivery, but there are central pick-up locations, not to mention the opportunity to get out to the farm regularly for communal agricultural activities. Heck, he even feeds us on occasion! Why would you avoid providing this option for your readers?

On Organic Deliveries

Posted on April 26 at 6:59 p.m.

Barney has put this latest (probably not the last) outrage in perfect historical perspective. From his narrative we get a great sense of what sort of people put out our local newspaper, but also what sort of community we were forty-some years ago. Now I am wondering what this city is made of today. We are being presented with a clear test of community character here, and the results still appear to be very much unsettled.

There seems to be a vocal and articulate element in Santa Barbara who have kept abreast of the disintegration of the N-P and made active choices to respond, both by severing connections with the rag and by speaking out for justice for those injured by it. But it is also obvious that the vast majority of subscribers take the view that these issues are not their concern. Some actively approve of what's going on and see improvement in the product. Others may condemn the paper, but can't ween themselves off its daily presence in their home.

I'm wondering if now we will see any significant drop in subscriptions. Will local businesses shun advertising in this paper despite short-term inconveniences? And will citizens let it be known they won't patronize any remaining News-Press advertisers? I'm even waiting to hear if there's any limit to what slime a local attorney is willing to associate himself with and attempt to justify.

Obviously the News-Press is no longer a Pulitzer caliber newspaper, but I wonder if Santa Barbara is still a town that deserves one.

On Campaigns of Vilification