Maldonado's Frog and Iya's Blue Line (No!)
I received the following from an avid reader (slightly edited for spelling) late this afternoon:
I also received an email wondering why Council Member Iya Falcone's "change of heart" about how the faux-controversy around the blue line made the front page like she was kissing News-Press management smack on the lips. Why the change of heart just because a few people think $12,000 will make a difference in the fight against gangs? The problem, as she well knows, isn't in the now....it is what she and past council members didn't do yesterday. Really, she isn't even to blame...it is past councils for not concentrating on this important issue when they had a chance. Bemoaning $12,000 won't, however, make a difference and she knows it. Why the symbolic change? Maybe because blue is the wrong color for the line....
This morning the News Press carried on it's front page the following photos, Abel Maldonado and his pet frog, a two day old photo of a small plane that crashed off El Capitan and five (count them five) pictures of Fiesta.
Buried on page A9 were the photos of the return of Army Specialist Jamie Rodriguez remains arriving at the Santa Barbara airport. Specialist Rodriguez a graduate of Carpinteria High was killed in Iraq, serving his country, by an improvised explosive device on 26 July 2007.
Burying Jamie's photos on page 9 is a insult to the memory of his life.
Please consider calling Associate Editor Scott Steepleton at 564-5200 if you agree.
Specialist Rodriguez deserves as much as Maldonado's frog
I also received an email wondering why Council Member Iya Falcone's "change of heart" about how the faux-controversy around the blue line made the front page like she was kissing News-Press management smack on the lips. Why the change of heart just because a few people think $12,000 will make a difference in the fight against gangs? The problem, as she well knows, isn't in the now....it is what she and past council members didn't do yesterday. Really, she isn't even to blame...it is past councils for not concentrating on this important issue when they had a chance. Bemoaning $12,000 won't, however, make a difference and she knows it. Why the symbolic change? Maybe because blue is the wrong color for the line....
Labels: Blue Line, City of Santa Barbara
posted by Sara De la Guerra | 8/03/2007 09:56:00 PM
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17 Comments:
The blueline project is a BIG JOKE. At least Iya can now admit it. I know other Councilmembers who voted for it and now regret it but won't say so.
Why do we need blue lines in our street? Why do we need to utilize city workers to literally stop traffic to paint blue lines that have zero scientific basis on our streets??? Have we lost our F-'in MINDS in this town?????
We are quickly becoming a LAUGHINGSTOCK with this silly silly sitty council
Ok NP hacks, justify why a frog is more important than a local resident who gave his life in service of his country. I am no fan of the Iraq war or Bush, but I do believe in respecting those who put their lives on the line for us.
Frog = valid criticism
Criticism of Iya = *yawn*
Iya's only admitting it now because she's picked up on how badly this silly blue line publicity stunt plays with the citizenry--and voters. Too little, too late for the self-designated mayor-in-waiting...
The most important thing for the News Press is to promote their favorite right wing politicians from the low density North County so you'll be confused about who the real NIMBYs are.
An edited quote from Maldonado (no relation) was "love the frog, hate the salamander."
ANON 10:38 P.M.
You seem to echo many comments I've been hearing around the larger community lately. I have to tell you that I am in complete disagreement with everything you have to say in your post. To answer your questions/ commments....
1.) There is need for the blue line. There is mucho scientific evidence and concensus, even from previous hard-line skeptic scientists that there is real danger to every coastline on the planet. So what is the harm in spending the $12,000 to educate the public about our own little pending disaster? The blue line seems a logical step for a city, that is on board with the published science and progressing toward mitigating this community's past and future impacts. Why not educate the public about the local danger and if nothing else the danger to their property values should we loose our existing coastline to the sea? We will all be impacted on both sides of the blue line!
2.) Have we lost our F-'in MINDS in this town????? you ask....well there is some weird thing that is occuring in our country and perhaps the world. Apparently you are one of those that "Have we lost our F-'in MINDS in this town????? as evidenced by your comments.
3.) Perhaps those council members who are reconsidering their votes are bowing to political pressure rather their usual deliberative style.
Again, I hear quiet a bit of people that agree with you. Just remember though that just because you may have some agreement between associates, that agreement does not mean you are correct. Perhaps you are all getting your information from an erroneously source and perhaps the source has unsubstantiated agendas.
By the way if you're getting your information from sources such as the RNC, FOX News and the News Press consider yourself at least somewhat to completely misinformed and perhaps they are the source of your anxiety.
Blue line? NO
Seawall Yes Yes Yes
The blue line won't stop a thing. So if the coast needs protection start building some, or head for the hills and stop all construction in the flood zone!
Donaldo:
No offense but I think the Blue Line is stupid and your defense isnt any different than Fox News. I myself think most people in this town are smart enough to know the impact of global warming, yet you seem to think we need to spend public money is it because you believe everyone here is stupid? Thanks for preaching down to us unwashed masses, now go hang out with Pritchett and convince yourselves we were all to dumb to be as hip to as you Bill O Reillys of the left.
They should have spent 12 grand on low flow faucets or something that would actually make a contribution. As for the NP and the frog what can you say but disgusting and par for the course..
Maybe the blue line would have more credibility if the council members showed more spine when they encounter developers. Here's one: Barnwell tried to coax just a tiny bit of solar out of Cottage for their St. Francis project--and he was taken to the woodshed, so to speak--and backed off completely. He could have made a real symbolic gesture and voted against it as a protest in favor of solar. But he didn't do that, which would have showed a lot more about his strength of conviction about the environment and how our actions affect it.
Anon 2:42
I know the people in this "town" are reported to be farely educated. However I don't think most really care about much beyond their own front door or driveway. The reality is that we have a bubba or backwards side to our town. When there's a flood, fire or earthquake we all come together, dust off our crucifx, and get busy rebuilding. The problem with rising sea levels is that once its here we won't be able to reclaim, rebuild or repair the species loss. Sorry if I or the blue line comes off as being preachy but there is potentially a lot at stake. The blue line is an art exhibition and the intent of art at times is to provoke. If the blue line is shocking enough then perhaps the city's inhabitants will "Wake Up" and stop criticizing the council for $12,000 provocative art displays and maybe get involved.
Anon 2:54
I would love to stop all new developement and start a truly sustainable economy. Many problems with developement cessation including our U.S. of A. style economy. It's the Chamber of Commerce love affair with growht and investment schemes such as the home owner equity real estate pyramid. We literally buy into it so we need a new economic model and that won't be easy. You see our government is fairly reflective of us and when you complain about "the council" or other governmental bodies you're really complaining "The People." Perhaps we don't really like ourselves and the results is all this acerbic commentary. So if you're going to complain to anyone start complaining to anyone start with your Chamber of Commerce, the Rotarys and even the ever growing Non-Profits for promoting the continuous cycle of more jobs, more business, more housing (repeat.) Oh complain to the RNC and COLAB and the Industrial Associations. As bad as the DNC can be at least there is some hope for moderation.
Deah, ddsb, you are right on; jobs and houses are bad for the environment. The last thing we need, or want, is more wealth in our community...perhaps we can become what Grant House laments, the Bangladesh of California.
It is the few million dollars the city gets from HUD in return to the city promise to house all the homeless that is driving growth.
And who does the city ask for support to get this HUD money?
The very same non-profits paid by the HUD money who claim they are helping house the homeless. Which they are not.
Thenon-profits getting paid by HUD are just lobbying for all the really dumb ideas that they claim will solve the homeless problem bu giving them cheap places to live in Santa Barbara. All of them. What a sweetheart deal.
The developers are only exploiting this stupid HUD boondogle circus because they don't care about building affordable housing one bit -- they only add it on because they know it will get their larger projects through and will make them more money at the public's expense.
If the developers had their way, they would build fewer and more expensive units. So it is the non-profits feeding off the public trough that are demanding the city inflict all this extra affordable housing on the rest of this city -- so they can continue to get their grant funding to pay their own salaries --- and to support more demands that developers build more and more affordable housing.
Time to get off this self-destructive merry-go-round and just say no to HUD money and tell all the non-profits to fold up shop because they have only made the housing problem worse encouraging more and more people to think they will get a cheap house at public expense.
This is a recipe for disaster ...but, hey for a few moments, doesn't it feel really really good .... to dump the problem in someone else's back yard? And let someone else pay for it?
"slightly edited for spelling"
So does that mean that you added the misspellings "it's", "Rodriguez remains", "Rodriguez a graduate", and "a insult"?
H. Schneider (up for re-election) reported in Daily Sound wants to take the money aspect out of painting the blue line by raising the money from volunteer sources. She misses the point.
The point is to get off this automatic genuflecting in front of every wacko pseudo-science feel-good social program that comes before them, engineered solely by self-serving special interest groups, and start acting like adults who make deliberative and reflective decisions as representatives of the voters of this town.
Even worse, again thanks to TA editorial today, the Blue Line plaques embedded permanently into the city sidewalks include a website for the organization who are asking for donations to support more of this nonsense.
THESE SOLICITATIONS WILL BE PERMANENT FIXTURES ON OUR PUBLIC STREETS!
How did the city council overlook and allow this crass commercialization of our public streets?
Thank you Travis Armstrong for protecting our city. At least trying to but your words fall on their deaf ears. This has to change.
Yup. We have lost our minds, and our leadership.
Here's something interesting to consider when voting for CC:
Helene is one of the more vocal Measure D renewal supporters, yet failed to raise a plugged nickel for the renewal campaign. Now she goes and solicits $12K for the blue line. How out of balance and out of touch is our local leadership? This is ridiculous.
None of the local south coast elected officials raised any money for the Measure D renewal effort except for Salud, who should be acknowledged and lauded for his efforts and leadership.
I want to make a spiderweb art project from City Hall to the offices of the developers and architects and campaign donors that dramatizes quite artfully the interconnection of all of them. Somehow I don't think this will be embraced quite as heartily by the art critics in City Hall as their pretty blue line--but the effects of the web are a lot more immediate and toxic than global warming is right now.
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