Living in dangerous times

Library does a lot to help community

exceptional aspect of what makes Santa Barbara such a special place to live.

final highest salary for the rest of their lives after they retire. These pension costs are extremely expensive, and the costs can’t be controlled because the funds are dependent upon stock market returns.

Hence, the question is: Do we want to add some 46 people at the dispatch center, and dozens of additional paramedics and EMTs, to this pension, system meaning the county taxpayers will be on the hook for shortfalls? An alternative for the new hires who run the county fire dispatch and ambulances would be to give them a 401k type retirement contribution that has fixed costs.

Moreover, the county, due in part to its pension liabilities ($178 million per year), charges anyone receiving “services” from the county to fund the entire cost of the services received by them via a county policy called full-cost recovery.

Similarly, cities that contract with the county for sheriff services saw their bill rise tremendously because of this policy.

Well, to be true to form, the county should require the new dispatch center and ambulance service to be held to the same standard. That is, the costs associated with these new services should be self-sustaining without any subsidies from county taxpayers.

For instance, when the fire ambulance service gets sued, it should have to pay for the insurance coverage and losses out of its own funds, not relying on Santa Barbara County’s general insurance policy to pay for the same. After all, AMR has had to cover all these costs themselves as a private sector company.

My concerns about the dispatch center and the nonexclusive ambulance contract have to do with the fact that nothing the county does is affordable.

For example, the average salary and benefit package for county employees is now $166,000 per year — and that does not include unfunded pension liabilities.

W e are lucky to have the Santa Barbara Public Library. Through a personal experience, I recently discovered the scope of the extraordinary services offered by the Santa Barbara Public Library. A friend of mine was frustrated in seeking employment. Someone suggested that she might try the library for assistance.

To our great surprise, a very friendly and responsive librarian made us aware of help in preparing a resume and tips on presenting yourself to advantage in a job interview. The staff couldn’t have been more welcoming and helpful.

I am happy to report that the result was success in attaining the position that my very happy and grateful friend was hoping for. A further benefit of my experience was a discovery of the many other beneficial opportunities that are available at our library -— everything from helping to prepare your taxes, to English as a Second Language classes, to preschool story time for kids and moms. The extent of the community benefit of our library was a wonderful surprise.

We are very lucky to have this free resource as just another

Art Merovick Santa Barbara

Editor’s note: Art Merovick is a retired headmaster of Laguna Blanca School.

Let’s make State Street great again

At one time State Street was one of the most attractive and vibrant streets in California.

A drive down State was a must for visitors and locals alike to enjoy the Spanish motif, as well as, to get a glimpse of the many boutique shops that adorned the street. Equally enjoyable was the convenience of the electric trolleys and, of course, the parades and festivals that make Santa Barbara special. This changed with COVID-19 as restaurants struggled to survive, and the city offered help by closing off State Street and allowing restaurants to erect parklets for outdoor dining. While this rightfully helped restaurants, State Street became less accessible, and the parklets turned out to be eyesores as well as breeding grounds for dirt and rodents. With COVID-19 officially over, there has been a great deal of discussion on how to return State Street to an attractive and vibrant thoroughfare. The best suggestion I’ve heard came from a restaurant owner whose main interest is making State Street a world class destination for locals and tourists alike.

With that as the goal, we suggest the following:

Widen the sidewalks and allow restaurants and retailers to use the space as they do in Paris, Rome or the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

Outside dining in settings with attractive wrought iron fencing, colorful awnings and umbrellas that contribute to the beauty of our city.

Make State Street a one-way street with a dedicated bike path. Add to this the return of electric buses for easy access to local businesses, and, most important, bring back the parades and festivals to State Street that make Santa Barbara a destination for people from all over the world.

Expensive? Yes.

Worth it in the long term?

Absolutely!

Boy do I feel stupid. I have always complained how inadequate, corrupt and inefficient the government is, but I had no idea how badly it jeopardizes the lives of every American. And I mean not just by squandering tax dollars or being unable to fix our roads, but actually putting our heads beneath the guillotine. As horrible as mass shootings are, the danger our government puts over 300 million human souls in should be the headline.

My first reaction, like many of you I’m sure, was when all the secret documents were revealed that it may be considered a treasonous offense. However, what the documents exposed is how much worse our government is. Or to be more specific, the Biden crowd. You surround yourself with stupid people, you’re going to get stupid results.

It used to be that the media had investigative reporters. They would seek out the truth, then let America know what they found. Now if they know the truth and it doesn’t fit with their political view point, they hide it. So instead of sticking to facts, the media hugged themselves, labeling the kid who made secret documents public as a gun-loving, right winger military guy. Trying to paint that as something bad. That’s probably 80% of country. The Biden administration then tried to pour sugar over all the dangerous revelations and dance around how it got caught with its pants down to bare its irrationality for the world to see.

As we now know, when it was first reported there was a big Chinese balloon flying around, it wasn’t revealed by our military, but by some guy out for a walk. Only then did it garner attention, and the military had to fess up. Now it turns out from the documents there were many more.

I don’t want to take up space in the column to regurgitate facts but to point out that American citizens are considered peons and idiots in our own country. Why does the deceitful media continue to be the voice for the left and not the voice for the people? This makes them part of the woke pack endangering our lives. Tell the truth, we can handle it.