It’s not that we don’t want and/or like what the city has to offer us for now, and it’s not that we don’t want to have what they have to offer us now. It’s because I feel that we as residents of the city of Santa Paula should have some adult programs so we could have some adult activities here, too, like open league and church league softball like we used to have here back in the day.Men and women’s and coed softball were played at both the high school baseball field and at the Harding Park baseball field. Well, since the City Council cut these programs out of the city budget, a lot of people have gone on to other cities like Ventura, Oxnard, Fillmore or Ojai to look for adult programs to participate in.Just like the city has senior programs to keep the seniors busy and active - I have nothing against that at all. And they also have the youth programs for the young kids, too, and I don’t have anything against that either; I’m very happy that we have those two programs for the seniors and the young kids to keep them busy and active.But we need to have some adult programs for the young adults of Santa Paula, 18 and on up, otherwise they will go to other cities like the ones that I just said. Even some go to as far as Santa Clarita to participate in adult programs, as well as Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village and Newbury Park, and we’ve been losing participation by the tons and by the years.So wake up, city of Santa Paula. It’s time to bring back the adult programs so the young adults of Santa Paula can have fun again, and so they won’t have too far to drive and to go, because I think it’s about time that we have something like this again.So come on Santa Paula, let’s bring back the adult programs again to the city of Santa Paula so the young adults can have fun like I said, okay.Thank you,John BravoSanta PaulaEarth Day?To the Editor:What I find alarming on this Earth Day is the indoctrination of our children while at school with the current Global Warming hysteria. Surveys show that at least one in three children in the U.S. believe that they will witness the effects of catastrophic global warming during their lifetime.Will they?Well, I’m not so sure.For Example:The South Pole is not melting, in spite of all the hype over a large chunk of sea ice breaking loose. Actual data shows that there has been a huge 45% increase in ice concentration since 1980.If you have doubts about the increase in ice you can run the numbers yourself at the National Snow and Ice Data Center’s website (part of the University of Colorado and funded by the National Science Foundation). Antarctic Sea Ice for March Extent Concentration2009 5.0 million sq km 2.9 million sq km1997 3.8 million sq km 2.2 million sq km1980 3.5 million sq km 2.0 million sq kmI would encourage those concerned to keep an open mind and see who is saying they are not so sure about GW and why they are that way.From what I can tell, the Earth’s climate does NOT appear about to implode and destroy us all. The oceans are not going to inundate New York ...or Oxnard . The computer simulations have been WRONG so far. The accelerated warming trend has not happened, the sea level is not rising as predicted. There is no such thing as a Greenhouse Effect except in greenhouses. CO2 is not a pollutant. It is what plants breathe to stay alive and prosper. Our children need to know that.Ken ChapmanSanta PaulaOngoing discussions about Santa PaulaTo the Editor:In the ongoing discussions about Santa Paula’s prospects for the future, residents often describe Santa Paula as the “poorest” city in Ventura County. What residents are referring to is either the Median Household Income, or Median Family Income, as established by the year 2000 Federal Census. At the time of the Census, Santa Paula had a median household income of $41,651 per year, which was the lowest for any city in Ventura County.While working directly with a number of other cities on a committee at SCAG (Southern California Association of Government) in 2006, I discovered that most of them had Median Household Incomes similar to Santa Paula’s and that they did not consider those incomes to be particularly low. I decided to try and gain a new perspective, and gathered data from the official Census website, www.census.gov.What I found was that Santa Paula’s Median Household Income, while low for Ventura County, was fairly typical of incomes in most of the SCAG Region. (The SCAG Region includes Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial and Orange counties.) In fact, Ventura County had the highest Median Household Income of the six counties, and therefore might be described as the “richest county” in the Region. It is correct to say, then, that Santa Paula had the lowest Median Household Income in the highest Household Income county, which doesn’t really tell you very much.I put together a list of the 72 cities in the SCAG region with Median Household Incomes similar to or lower than Santa Paula’s. While there are over 180 cities within the SCAG Region, the 72 with similar incomes and their surrounding unincorporated areas likely account for a majority of the population of the Region. Some of the cities on the list may be obvious, such as Blythe or Indio in the desert, or Compton or Commerce in southern LA County, but others may be surprising. The two largest cities, Los Angeles and Long Beach, are on the list, as are the cities of Glendale, Palm Springs, Ontario, San Bernardino, and Riverside. While Santa Paula may not aspire to be any of these other cities, many of them have characteristics our community may wish to emulate, such as a vibrant tourism economy, a strong retail base, or a solid manufacturing sector.We have many challenges as a community, some of them revolving around income and finances, and we should always look for better ways to serve the needs of our residents. But... when the discussion goes negative in Santa Paula, please remember that we are more typical of the Region than of the County, and that is nothing for residents to be ashamed of.Mary Ann Krause, AICPSanta Paula
Letters to the Editor
April 24, 2009
Opinion
“Tired” subject of mountain lions
To the Editor:I’ve been making an effort to stay off the ongoing, worrisome, controversial and “tired” subject of mountain lions in residential areas of Santa Paula but I’m involved because my neighborhood has been affected with sightings. It kind of frames our comings and goings right now. It’s not a stale issue yet: I wasn’t thrilled to recently find out about a lion in a tree about 9:00 p.m. on an adjacent property. It’s a little too close for comfort. And also weird, as my extended family had lived in our house for many, many years and, of all their wildlife stories here in the McKevett Heights subdivision, even from when it was less populated, mountain lions never came up that I can recall.When the sightings started occurring many weeks ago and we got the first of several REVERSE 911® calls to come, I happened to be driving home, saw the Fish & Game truck coming down North 6th Street and then some Dana Drive residents with grim faces. It felt sad at the time to learn of a mountain lion cub being killed and I had a lot of questions but few facts; tired to do some studying to understand so that I didn’t get too self-righteous about it. If anything’s good about any of this, at least many of us have become more educated about mountain lions than when the saga began. I will tell you, though...having to be “on guard” about mountain lions is getting to be a drag, having to check over my backyard every morning just to let my cat get a little sunshine on the porch, completely supervise my dogs day and night whenever they’re outside, make sure I have a large, heavy flashlight with me when I walk back and forth to my car from the minute the sun falls and also continue to be an unofficial street warden whenever I see people walking alone, or with a small pet or, particularly, with babies in strollers and meandering little children, especially at dusk (although it seems the mountain lions are strangely showing up at all hours, not just twilight and dawn).You see, I can’t keep my mouth shut, because I’m feeling afraid for these pedestrians, so I’ll start a dialogue and come to find that they invariably live in other neighborhoods and are unaware of mountain lion threat in mine. They didn’t get the helpful pamphlet put out by the Santa Paula Police Department like we did. Maybe they aren’t newspaper subscribers, so haven’t read about it. Perhaps they don’t have access to a computer for the Santa Paula Blog. They’re obviously out of range for the REVERSE 911® alerts. (Some of our walkers and runners are long-distance exercisers!) We, in the areas directly impacted, have been duly informed and know to be on the lookout, and I definitely notice my own neighbors and other regular walkers taking an alternate route, or walking in numbers or at a different time of the day (and definitely carrying big sticks!) However, there are clearly other citizens who are not as informed through no fault of their own. I’ve also come upon people who thought the mountain lion threat ended with the shooting of the cub.The weather’s getting warmer. More and more exercisers are enjoying being outdoors deeper into the evening to walk, jog or run when it’s cooler. In any other year, they should be able to take pleasure in the activity and be safe. But, so far, this is the Year of the Mountain Lion. My concern is, what more can we do to spread the about caution? Without it causing a panic, could a few (hopefully temporary) street signs be posted that show an image of a mountain lion or something with a visual warning? Some of us have wondered. May sound silly or over the top now, but I fear we’re going to wish later that we’d done everything possible if someone should wind up being hurt with these mountain lions exhibiting unusual behavior in general. Much like in the Oaks neighborhoods up Santa Paula Canyon (who are also having mountain lion sightings), these older streets north of the high school on the hill have dense, well-established foliage, are heavy on trees and the streets are dark with few to no streetlights. I know we “get what we get” with this type of setting. Lots of hiding places for thirsty, hungry mountain lions who seemed to have dug in, decided to stay and try to reclaim their habitat unless they’re just terribly dazed and confused for some other unknown reason.I wish we didn’t have to look at this current group of mountain lions as human risk and that we could just leave them alone to find their path back home or onward. If not that, then some way to cohabit the hillsides and canyons peaceably. But I think it may only be possible in a Disney movie this late in the game. We’ve crowded each other out. The lions aren’t retreating. I can’t go back to 1923 when my house was built. It’s a joyless tug-of-war and one side will lose. (Of course, this could become a long, philosophical discussion by anyone about the state of our planet, environmentally and otherwise.)One additional item...we have a very noticeable oddity: a complete absence of our usual raccoons and young opossums for this time of year. The nights are quiet and our vegetable garden lies undisturbed except for the bugs. This has never happened before in my personal experience. Apparently nobody’s left who would be nibbling! Do you think the squirrels are the next to go since they’re sharing the same trees, or are they too quick for the mountain lions?Vicki EntrekinSanta PaulaLooking forwardTo the Editor:Laura Espinosa is Santa Paula’s MILLION DOLLAR LIABILITY! She has no competition!! For years she has cost Santa Paula huge legal expenses and she is obviously not going to stop now. Laura has a single agenda to destroy Santa Paula’s economics whether she is in office or not.Our current City Council, Ralph, Jim, Fred and Bob are doing a wonderful job, but they probably wish they did not have to carry the cross of Laura Espinosa on their backs. The efforts of our city council’s smart choice for our waste water treatment system has given us National Recognition from Global Water Intelligence. The PERC water treatment option saved the Santa Paula residences millions of dollars, many of us will appreciate this for years to come.The city has to spend a lot of money to pay for many services we receive, but continuing to fight Laura’s instigated legal battles does not accomplish anything but are wasting more of Santa Paula’s tax dollars.David KaiserSanta PaulaStatewide propositions 1A through 1F, May 17, 2009To the Editor:There was a half page dedicated to Propositions 1A, 1B, & 1C on Sunday’s Ventura County Star soliciting votes for the May 17, 2009 special election, 22 local school superintendents allegedly authored the article. I hope the voters will have the common sense of investigating the dire need for voting this scam down! Foremost on the voters mind should be whether or not they want to continue the additional tax burden for an additional 2 years that was shoved down our throat by the corrupt politicians both Democrat and Republican alike. Gov. Arnold Schwarznegger started out right when he unseated Gray Davis but is ending his terms worst than imagined. This last budget stalemate tipped the scale on corruption. All along the Governor, the Democrats and Republicans were in cahoots. They past the budget and shoved the tax burden into us. This tax hike should have been voted on by all the voters in California not the legislators. But now is our golden opportunity to let these clowns have our revenge. On April 15, 2009, I witnessed Americans coming together, Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and Independents at the Ventura County Government Center to let the politicians and the corrupt journalist know that we taxpayers are fighting back and if this latest phenomena comes to fruit, these bozos will be at the end of California’s 11.2 % unemployment line!Regarding Proposition 1A, 1B, & 1C, once again folks, do you really want to pay an additional 1 % sales tax on all future purchases whether it’s a refrigerator, automobile or a new house? Do you really want to pay a higher car tax? Do you really want to pay a higher state income tax? Do you really want your tax credit for dependent (per child) reduced by $200.00? Don’t fall for the phony crap these bozos feed us with “its for the children” Do you as a taxpayer want to throw additional good money into the hands of wasteful politicians? School spending has dramatically risen but student achievement has remains relatively stagnant. What is wrong with this picture? We should ask our local school boards! If these propositions are not defeated on May 17, 2009, hold on to your wallets and life savings, they’re coming after those too!Andrew F. CastanedaSanta PaulaLeft-handed complimentsTo the Editor:A bit belatedly (though I believe with good excuse) I would like to thank the EMTs and any other emergency personnel who assisted me Easter Sunday morning when I fell and dislocated my right shoulder. Their rapid response to my husband’s 911 call was greatly appreciated!Special thanks to the EMT who had to keep my extended right arm in a steady position all the way up to Santa Paula Hospital (across railroad tracks and other obstacles), no easy or comfortable task. Also to hospital personnel who so ably “relocated” the errant shoulder, and carefully took the x-rays to discover my “greater tuberosity fracture.”Bruised and healing after surgery to deal with the “chip on my shoulder,” I wish I could be more specific in naming those who gave comfort to me in my distress. Unfortunately, morphine does not assist memory in naming names or seeing faces, but I am very glad we have this caliber of emergency personnel here in Santa Paula (hoping, of course, that I don’t require their services any time in the near future!).Suzi SkutleySanta PaulaAnother one of the good guys left usTo the Editor:Another one of the good guys left us April 16th. Sam Avendano, also known affectionately as Avocado went to his home in the sky. If you went to SPUHS from 1944 to 1948, you knew Sammy, it didn’t make any difference what year you were in.. You’ve all heard of the Big Man on Campus, well Sam was the Small Man on Campus. He was short in stature but BIG IN HEART. He was the SPARK PLUG for all of the teams whether he was on the team or was the team Manager. He was active in Student Council, Cardinal Staff, Letterman’s Club and the Athletic Committee. He was on the following teams; football, gymnastics and track, and was the Manager for the basketball team.Sammy always had a smile on his face, and I never knew him to be mad at anyone. I had not seen Sam for quite a few years, but thought of him often, particularly when talking over old times with some of the other good guys. So “Avocado” even though you’re not here in body, you’re always here with us in our memories.Wayne AlleeSanta PaulaLet’s bring back the adult programsTo the Editor:I don’t know how long it has been since the city of Santa Paula has had adult programs through their programming system and through the city of Santa Paula, but I think it’s about time to look forward to the 2010 year for next year to bring back a number of things. And one of them is the adult programs that us, the young and much older adults, would like to have back with or for us to do here in the city that we would also like to have.
