If Life Hands You Carrots …

The Angry Poodle Barbecue makes a brilliant proposal for carrots — incentives to solve problems of Isla Vista, Goleta, and Santa Barbara. Here’s another carrot to consider. If Target would agree to build some affordable two-bedroom apartments, first for its own employees to rent, and second for university students with a child or two, that would solve several problems at once. The stable families of students who make S.B. their home for two or more years while working on advanced degrees are not the stereotypical students that Goleta folks fear might vote independently. They need apartments year-around, not dormitory units they have to vacate in summer.

While we are dreaming, let’s include a large parking lot with solar panels offering shade and electric power and a bike path from airport property leading to UC bike paths. Wouldn’t that be a great win-win-win for the university, for a sales-tax-generating business, for struggling student families, and for the whole community, including Goleta and Santa Barbara?