Articles by category: Politics

Every nation has its dark secrets. For the French, it was complicity in the murder of thousands of Jews during the Nazi occupation of World War II. Called the “Vel’d’Hiv Roundup” because of the use of the “Velodrome d’Hiver” sports arena to gather over 13,000 Parisian Jews for transport to the death camps, it was not until 1995 that the French government apologized to the world for their involvement in the Holocaust. This little known event has been powerfully presented through the cinematic direction of Giles Paquet-Brenner. Based on a French novel by Tatiana De Rosnay, “Sarah’s Key” or “Elle s'appelait Sarah” is a multilingual journey into one young girl’s devastating experience.

For anyone who lived through the turbulent racial segregation of the mid 20th century, “The Help” will be a haunting reminder of how far we have come as a nation. Kathryn Stockett’s engagingly written book has taken on a life of its own in this film that is sure to be a classic.

Set in Jackson, Mississippi in the pre – “I have a dream” days of the early 1960’s, we are witness to the unjust differences between white and black America. This is a time when white society, especially (but not only) in the south, lived as if black Americans were a servant class existing to meet their social and cultural needs. “The Help” is a poignant glimpse into the demeaning daily experience that was often the only employment option for women of color.

The Santa Barbara Peace Officers Association (SBPOA) announced today their endorsement of Joyce Dudley for Santa Barbara County District Attorney. 

Citing example after example of the Coastal Commission acting in an obstructionist manner, Stoker calls for the power to be shifted back to the counties that need to get work done instead of requiring lengthy certification plans that are onerous.  Stoker the Republican candidate for 35th Assembly.

City Clerk Services Manager, Cyndi Rodriguez, after conducting a manual audit of election results, has determined that a vote counting machine, in some cases, did not properly read a portion of ballots cast. As a result, she has decided to do a complete recount.

Assembly member Pedro Nava has been selected as the Planning and Conservation League’s (PCL) 2009 Legislator of the Year for his efforts to fight expanded oil drilling off the California Coast and for pursuing an oil severance tax. The award is given every year to a legislator who has made an outstanding contribution to California’s environmental laws and policy–making in the previous session.

Op-Ed: Assemblyman Pedro Nava has the same remedy for every problem facing California. Indeed, regardless of the question, Pedro's answer is essentially the same, create a new tax; hike an existing tax; or make a temporary tax wider, deeper, and permanent. Nava's advice for every fiscal ill that we face is to ask all of us to pay more taxes and call him in the morning…at which point he will probably be well on his way to his next political office.