Posted on July 3 at 9:25 p.m.

Thank you, Santa Barbara Independent, for being the absolute newspaper of record now in Santa Barbara. Your coverage of this and previous fires is tremendous; a public service beyond measure. Those of us threatened by the fire can look to your website for up-to-the-minute information. Truly, thank you.

I must add that I am astonished, flabbergasted, that when I go to Wendy McCaw's News-Press website to try to get information about a dangerous fire that threatens our community, I am prompted to "log on" to a paid account before I can read any article. This is about like saying "Please deposit $5 before we connect your 911 call". Serving the community in an emergency is the hallmark of a true newspaper. Shame on the News-Press and Wendy McCaw for failing to do this and caring about nothing but MONEY. Shame,shame, shame.

On Goletans Advised of Blackouts, Reverse 911 Calls, Air Quality

Posted on January 18 at 8:11 p.m.

These guys in your article were all quite good, I agree. BUT... they all owe their inspiration to the REAL pioneers who started the modern popularity of surfing on the north shore of Oahu in '69, '70, '71 and '72: guys like Jock Sutherland (the immortal Jocko) who famously surfed 12'-15' Sunset on full-moon nights; Tiger Espere, a fearless big-wave charger in the days before surf-leashes; Tom Stone, unsung hero of Kammie's and Pupukea, Billy Hamilton (Laird's dad), Owl Chapman, an ironman in huge waves, Charlie Gallanto, whom I saw take the drop on nineteen foot face at Makaha with suicidal perfection, Sam Hawk, shredding on the precarious shifting peak at Velzyland on radical big days at low tide, and of course, Gerry Lopez, deeper and more masterful of Pipeline than anybody else before or since. I was there, I saw, and I know. So do the guys lauded in this article. We respect them, but before them came the true giants. And let's not forget: Greg Noll, the BIG man, who made Waimea a world-famous break. There were others as well, most still among us. Those were the days, when "The Country" was truly that. No crowds, no fast-food, just huge, perfect waves, a small group of real surfers, and the best days of our lives.

On Big Waves, Beat Downs, and the Birth of Modern Surfing