4 Thursday, January 30, 2014
Simply. Great.
BRUNCH WEEKENDS SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS
9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Featuring our popular Lunch items, Eggs Benedict & so much more!
LUNCH WEEKDAYS
11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Classic Seafood Louis Salad Mussels & Fries Sand Dabs & Field Greens Burger & “those” Onion Rings
DINNER NIGHTLY from 5:00 p.m.
Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail Blue Plate Specials Fresh Local Abalone Hand-cut Filet Mignon
WORLD’S SAFEST HAPPY HOUR SEAFOOD STEAKS COCKTAILS
“Ground Fresh Daily ”
your views
Coastal View News • Carpinteria, California
4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Today’s Classic Cocktails $8 Well Drinks & Wines by the Glass $6 Bar & Happy Hour Menu
805.684.6666 SlysOnline.com
Reservations
686 LINDEN AVENUE – DOWNTOWN CARPINTERIA
Just blocks from the World’s safest beach!
CITY COUNCIL: Continued from page 1
Another item on the city council agenda was an update on the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program, which is designed to reduce the use of pesticides in city-owned areas. Matthew Roberts, the parks and recreation director, said “The good news is that in 2013 the parks department did not use any pesticides in public parks.” However, the Public Works Department was involved in using an insecticide to control a psyllid infestation in Tipuana tipu trees on Linden and Carpinteria avenues. Several city council members questioned why this had occurred, and Corey Welles, IPM committee member and Lotusland plant health coordinator, said, “I would have loved a chance to review other options.” Roberts said that the IPM program is designed to help the city use the least toxic substance first by allowing the committee to give input. He said that the process was circumvented because the situation was deemed an emergency, but this is not how the system is set up. “It got short circuited,” he said. The IPM report also emphasized the importance, and cost, of gopher abatement. Roberts said that the parks department set and checked gopher traps on at least 77 days and caught 150 gophers. The cost for gopher control for the calendar year was more than $7,000. “It is a pretty expensive gopher program,” he said. In the future, city staff is considering using fumigation with aluminum phosphide, in conjunction with trapping, to help address this problem During the city council meeting, there was also a mid-year review of the budget. Durflinger said, “We are predicting that the city will end the year in the black.” John Thornberry, administrative services director, said that, if predictions are correct, the city will not only end in the black, but will have a $50,650 excess of revenues over expenditures.
Free Snowden
This is the United States of America, “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.” Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning (formerly Private Bradley Manning) are certainly brave but not free. They are citizens of the USA, and to many heroes. President Obama could prove he too is a hero by issuing unconditional pardons to both for any charges that may be brought against them.
Bud Fink Carpinteria
Low down dirty doggone shame
In response to Karen Harper’s letter, “A doggone shame,” from Jan. 9: helping out a dog with no collar, that had no home, is very commendable. She is not responsible for any driver hitting the dog, as Steve Augerot’s follow-up letter, “A doggone shame part deux,” claimed, and it was in fact a nonsensical thing for Augerot to even assert. My hat’s off to Karen Harper for her compassion and due diligence!
John Somner Carpinteria
Brown in state of denial
California Governor Jerry Brown used his “State of the State” address to congratulate himself on the state’s recovery. He boasted: there are a million new jobs,
a budgetary surplus in the billions and a $10 minimum wage raise hike. Unfortunately, he ignored problems: high unemployment, massive debt driven by pension obligations, a hyper-expensive high speed rail line and a $67 billion Delta twin tunnel project to move water from the north to the south. On the good side, there is a $3.3 billion dollar surplus, some of which will be saved for lean years. On the bad side, Brown will give nothing back to the taxpayers, but will use it to restore government spending. But, what is Governor Brown doing to grow California’s economy and solve its long-term fiscal problems? Very little, and his current approach is failing. California’s unemployment is among the highest in the U.S. at 8.5 percent, and the middle class is migrating to other states. Furthermore, Brown refuses to face up to California’s massive debt and unfunded liabilities related to powerful public sector unions. Finally, he dwelled on drought conditions and blamed global warming. Never mind there is a cooling trend and today we see frigid conditions in the U.S. and throughout the world. What’s Brown’s solution for fighting so-called global warming? Reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. Would this change climate patterns? Wouldn’t an increase in exploration and production of fossil fuels wipe out our debt and unemployment? So why is California in such denial? Could it be due to media bias, an uninformed public and dishonest, misleading politicians?
Diana Thorn Carpinteria
Coastal View News welcomes your letters
Letters must include your name, address, phone number and signature. Letters are subject to editing. Letters over 300 words will be edited in length. Email news@coastalview.com
Carpinteria’s finest
eVelyn CeRVanTeS
Past Carpinterians of the Year who attended the 2014 Community Awards Banquet on Saturday were, from left, Karen Welty Graf, Doug Treloar, Wade Nomura, Fred Lemere, Roxanne Nomura, June Van Wingerden, Robert Lieberknecht, Nilo Fanucchi, Bradley Miles, Terry Hickey Banks, Lou Panizzon, Debbie Murphy, Martha Hickey, John Welty, Donna Lemere, Robert Berkenmeier, Marybeth Carty and John Franklin.