Call That News?

I find it surprising that The Santa Barbara Independent (online) can’t find anything more substantive to report on than a CHP officer arresting a fire battalion chief [“CHP Officer Cuffs Montecito Fire Battalion Chief,” 2/24/10]. My history class at Laguna Blanca School actively reads about current events and important issues; I was caught off guard when I looked for an article to write about and the first thing I saw was this story, knowing there are more important issues, such as creating jobs for the people who live in Santa Barbara County. How about writing on the county’s budget deficits? Businesses closing and moving from the county, and the effect this has on unemployment? These are the types of issues that really affect the people of our communities.

More readers should be writing to the editors and getting their voices out there; in other places around the world, people are not able to voice their opinions, but we are lucky here in America, and Santa Barbara. We the people should be taking advantage of our right to speak freely, and to scrutinize and complement the issues we read about everyday. — Joey Eckert, 9th grade, Laguna Blanca School