Comments by snugspout
Page 1 of 2 | Next
Posted on March 20 at 12:20 p.m.
ITK, you are so sensitive. There is no hatred or condemnation in those remarks, and a substantial amount of telling it like it is. There has been a lot of corruption here... the Sheriff's Council was one source, and then there was good old Honey. Now maybe a whole lot less than some other places, and also, there have been and always will be a lot of good deputies here too.
Hey, are you saying they are not dangerous? They'd better be, but we want them to be a danger to the meth heads and gangsters. What is bad is when a homeowner gets shot 11 times at 8am in a residential area. And yes, I realize it is a really, really hard job.
Then there is this whole phrase `Monday Morning Quaterbacking', which implies that the sheriffs view the taxpayer as an opposing team. The taxpayers and the sheriff are on the same team, my friend, and the critic of the sheriff's department is their best friend, because the critic helps the department get better and not diverge into worse corruption and violence. It is the lax folks who always say `never mind' who allow the department to descend in level.
Posted on March 20 at 12:17 p.m.
ITK, you are so sensitive. There is no hatred or condemnation in those remarks, and a substantial amount of telling it like it is. There has been a lot of corruption here... the Sheriff's Council was one source, and then there was good old Honey. Now maybe a whole lot less than some other places, and also, there have been and always will be a lot of good deputies here too.
Then there is this whole phrase `Monday Morning Quaterbacking', which implies that the sheriffs view the taxpayer as an opposing team. The taxpayers and the sheriff are on the same team, my friend, and the critic of the sheriff's department is their best friend, because the critic helps the department get better and not diverge into worse corruption and violence.
Posted on March 8 at 7:04 a.m.
Thanks for posting, livinginsb. I too have been a juror (not in the Frimpong case) and it was neither fun nor rewarding. Thanks.
I also agree that the media only presents a small portion of the facts, and in a manner that does not always allow the full impact of the facts to be perceived.
Could you enlighten us as to which facts really swayed you that Frimpong did this deed to beyond all reasonable doubt? Thanks.
Posted on January 6 at 8:29 p.m.
Yes, I don't really enjoy any part of downtown State Street anymore... only the bookstores, which still don't match Earthling.
The lower part isn't much fun if you're over 25. The only idea I've had is to move the college age stuff to the vicinity of the Elephant Bar by the airport. Where the old Cinema Twin was. Great parking in the offsite Airport lot.
If a deal could be worked out with the City of Goleta to keep the clubs on the City of Santa Barbara property and let restaurants go on City of Goleta property, maybe something could happen.
At least that area is isolated from residential areas, and closer to IV... but not IV. The County has never been able to handle clubs in IV (remember the Anaconda).
Posted on January 6 at 10:17 a.m.
It may well be that parent's liquor is that most frequently obtained by minors. But is the first step to bring in the police? How about a campaign to raise the consciousness of parents to this issue before bringing in the police to regulate behavior inside peoples' homes. Bringing in the police is way too blunt an instrument in absence of efforts to educate and mobilize parents.
Forging of ID is a *huge* problem. Kids from all over the County drive to Isla Vista to use their fake IDs, because the alcohol outlets there are easy and know that if they are fooled by a fake ID, it is not their fault under law.
Why don't we just scan the mag strip on California driver's licenses? You have to wipe your license to get Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) now. Why is it easier to get alcohol than Sudafed, when alcohol is a much bigger societal problem?
If you don't learn moderation at home, where do you learn it? In a college dorm? At a bar where they make money selling you drinks? The problem is the alcohol industry wants maximum consumption, so they lobby against any outreach to parents that would encourage parents to teach moderation.
As for sex, the proper analogy would be: if the police get a tip that two young people might be having sex in a home, then they can investigate, and if the see two young people holding hands in the home, they can arrest them and fine the parents (and charge them for the call). That is not a situation I want to have happen.
Is it the position of the advocates of this measure that parents should *not* teach their children about sex and the use of alcohol? If so, they should state that upfront.
Let's at least not add to the problems of enforcement and hypocrisy in this country.
As for the lower State Street bar scene: the city of Santa Barbara knowingly redeveloped (with public funds) that area to get the economic activity. It was a conscious choice by the city. It is a good idea to find out if it worked.
Posted on January 4 at 2:49 p.m.
I'm certainly against underage drinking in most circumstances. I'm not convinced this measure is the right direction, however.
First, this concerns behavior on private property. If I want to let my children drink (like they can in France or Italy) I don't want police interfering. According to his ordinance, a nosy neighbor can call in the police, and if they see a big family picnic in my backyard where a few kids are drinking (with my approval) I can be cited and charged a few thousand dollars for the fine and the costs of police coming to my house.
Second, you can bet the kids of the rich and powerful, including the police, sheriff and deputies, DA etc are not going to ever be subjected to this. The police just won't respond to calls at the homes of people they know. Wasn't it in Orange County that the son of the Sheriff and his friends committed a rape, and that got hushed up and drawn out? This measure will never be uniformly enforced, and will only be enforced on the poor and badly connected.
Third, complete prohibition on underage drinking is not helpful. A problem in our culture is that kids don't learn how to drink in moderation, so they go nuts when they finally get access to alcohol. Kids need to learn gradually how to drink at home, and never to excess.
Fourth, this money would be better spent on regulating local retailers that distribute alcohol.
You don't even have to swipe your driver's license in a magnetic card reader to purchase alcohol. That is simply insane. Kids still forge drivers' licenses and other ID. Let's put the money that would go into this program making retailers swipe driver's licenses before alcohol can be sold.
Posted on May 31 at 3:37 p.m.
Indy Admin... lots of the .pdf's you posted during the long controversy, such as the suit against Paterno by Ampersand, are no longer at their old URLs. Any chance of getting those very interesting .pdf's made available again? Thanks a million for all your great reporting.
Posted on May 3 at 3:28 p.m.
Nora Wallace is still the North County Reporter... she was on the South Coast for some time, however, and she is still reporting, I see. I think highly of her work.
Posted on May 3 at 2:42 p.m.
I count 63 resignations/firings/separations since the mess began.... not including early birds like Joe Cole, Morgan Green, etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Barba...
Isn't there a longtime North County/Lompoc reporter, a woman, who is still with the N-P... don't recall seeing a story from her for a while, though.
Page 1 of 2 | Next
Previous Month
Posted on March 27 at 8:16 p.m.
Nick, you still haven't explained Lee Moldaver. The exception that tests the rule?
On Dog Eat Dog, or K-9 Kannibalism