Comments by snugspout
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Posted on October 12 at 10:06 a.m.
Indy... looks like this article is posted twice, sequentially. I doubt that is your or Ms. Uribe's intention.[*incorrect: WebAdmin.*]
I agree with her analysis. The potential of Goleta Old Town has never been realized. And some great places... Pino's comes to mind... have been driven out by the redevelopment process. The Habit, Altamiranos, the Natural Cafe, and the Red Pepper survive, though.
Posted on September 14 at 8:59 a.m.
The other issue with the north of Hollister sites is the constant noise and pollution from the 101, as well as from the train. I sure hope the building code insists on strict noise thresholds, and then takes those thresholds seriously.
Posted on August 17 at 1:39 a.m.
Best benefits possible? The CA taxpayer has not contributed a cent to the UC retirement fund since 1990. Just about all other State employees have far better retirement benefits... the old 100% for 30 at 50 Davis put in, guaranteed by the taxpayer. UC is quite a bit less.
Well, if the UC pension fund were not in near bankruptcy, UC pension benefits would still be better than most in private industry. But the fact is the UC pension fund is about to fail, and current UC employees are looking at just their 401-k-type accounts as their only retirement $. JohnLocke should be crowing about how great the UC system is, actually, from his perspective.
Then there is the ever-increasing pay issue. In actual fact, UC salaries haven't had a concept of COLA since 1990 either, and have fallen (in real terms) by 10% since 1990, before the latest furlough stuff; the furlough takes the gap to 18%. JohnLocke again should be crowing about the deal the taxpayer gets.
At one time the Regents kept reminding faculty that their pensions were better than everyone elses, so the total compensation (salary + benefits) was still terrific. But that was before the pension fund was headed for belly up territory, and the State Legislative Analyst vacated any responsibility for UC pensions.
The average yearly funding brought in via highly competitive grants is $100K/faculty member. JohnLock should be congratulating faculty members on their entrepeneurial success.
There is only one ever-increasing aspect of UC compensation has been health care. Of course, what you (and all of us) actually get has plummeted, but the amazing inflation in health care costs has made it look like great compensation improvements have transpired. Oh boy.
It's not the economics, JohnLocke, it is that you make no effort to do basic fact-checking before mouthing off. Maybe you should save your fire for the wonderful Prison Guards union, which has given California the worst correctional system in the nation (measured by recidivism rate) for the highest price per prisoner in the nation.
Posted on June 26 at 8:21 a.m.
summersb... there were no raises for Faculty this year; the 10/1/07 and 10/1/08 salary scales are identical. See:
http://ap.ucsb.edu/compensation.and.bene...
No need to create a wedge between faculty and staff; both are treated very badly by the upper UC and UCSB management.
Posted on June 7 at 12:33 p.m.
Darn it! I was hoping it was 45,000. At $1,000/degree, UCSB could solve its budget problem.
Posted on January 9 at 7:12 p.m.
Well... I haven't claimed that North County folk are racist, or serial killers, or whatever. Just because someone disagrees with me doesn't make them a racist or a serial killer.
Let's remember, Steve Pappas and Nancy Crawford-Hall are trying to disenfranchise thousands... maybe even 10,000... voters. That action is the core problem. And their actions are consistent with literally hundreds of comments I've heard over the years from North County folk.
Sure I'm angry about it, and sure, it makes all sorts of old grievances float up to the surface. And I'll do everything I can to keep pushing IV residents to never forget what Pappas and Crawford-Hall are trying to do.
Further, the Christiansen case really should never be forgotten. Local law enforcement could never catch the guy, and the blame was really put on IV, wrongly. billclausen, you steadfastly refuse to absorb that point, and how it relates to the electoral politics. It is not that northern county folks are serial killers, but that they can't imagine that they are wrong, or so self-interested they pass into immorality, or that IV has a legitimate reason to vote.
I sure wish IV residents cared a lot more about the taxes they pay. All sorts of absurd things happen in IV with public money... but when you are 20 you just don't care.
Posted on January 9 at 1:10 p.m.
Hmmm, joshanders_84, you have some good points.
There is most definitely a sense of righteousness in the north, that they are `true' County residents and students in IV are `false'. They see themselves as champions of what is good and American, and IV as opposed to all that. This attitude survived all sorts of wild swings in IV's true political nature... so it seems deep seated in the north.
Is it hatred? Darned close in my experience. We'll have to wait and see if in the end COLAB, Cattleman's, SB Taxpayers, etc end up supporting Pappas' suit.
Are the Northerner's feelings so strong they want to act out Christiansen's behavior? I don't think so. That has never been my point.
My point is that the whole Christiansen case... that he was overlooked because of a feeling of righteousness and rectitude relative to IV... is analogous to the Pappas/Crawford-Hall viewpoint. The sense of righteousness and rectitude causes a blind spot in evaluating northerners' own behavior.
IV does it too.. they feel righteous in environmental issues, but they love their cars, and sometimes *drive* the 1/2 mile to west IV to surf. Good Grief. But I don't think anyone in IV has sued to disqualify 18 precincts of north-of-the mountains voting.
Posted on January 9 at 8:27 a.m.
Geez, billclausen, the incredibly high hurdles put up to keep black Southerners in the past from registering to vote are a fact. Your exaggerations are absurd.
Here is what Nancy Crawford-Hall says...
``What business do they [IV Residents] have “stuffing the ballot boxes” in an area they don’t live in and should not have any input into local decisions?''
http://www.santaynezvalleyjournal.com/ar...
Here is another quote from Steve Pappas:
``Pappas said that his concern is to make sure all the votes are legal, even if votes for him end up being thrown out in the process. ''
http://www.santaynezvalleyjournal.com/ar...
If he really believes that, why is he only challenging votes in Isla Vista/UCSB precincts, and not the whole County?
The analogy with disenfranchisement in the Old South is accurate. Thor Nis Christiansen, the Solvanger who murdered IV students is an appropriate symbol. I remember quite clearly the slant of the media and Sherriff's department in those days... they blamed those murders on hitch-hiking and loose IV morals. The real cause was criminal behavior by someone from north of the mountains.
Here again is an issue where northerners are accusing IV residents of illegal and/or immoral behavior. I think exactly the reverse is true.
Posted on January 8 at 6:25 a.m.
The Daily Nexus published a far more informative article on what Pappas is trying to accomplish...
http://www.dailynexus.com/article.php?a=...
His point is not that there was *actual* fraud, but that because registration cards were held longer than the letter of the law (even though Holland approved) *VALID* voters votes must be disqualified.
Mr. Pappas needs to read a bit about the Old South, where (in 1950) if you couldn't name the losing party's Vice Presidential Candidate in the 1840 elections ( you were deemed unqualified to vote, well, if you were black, anyway. Don't want uneducated voters!
He and Nancy-Crawford-Hall are conducting the Thor Nis Christiansen Memorial North County annihilation of Isla Vista Voting campaigns. Just give us your money, Isla Vista, and you can live with your 5-year-olds walking in the middle of the street to IV School in the morning, because the County won't spend money on sidewalks.
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Posted on November 18 at 8:46 a.m.
We often don't solve it before drifting off to sleep. She's woken me up to try to win the argument but I refuse to argue after about 11pm. Everything seems less important in the morning light... I think the real problem is holding the grudge the next morning.
On Going to Bed Angry