Regarding the two CVN opinion letters last week that spoke to Carpinteria culture, sound levels and lifestyle expectations of certain Carpinteria neighborhoods, the Marcussen household is happy to provide clarification, context, fact and our opinion to this dialogue.

In response to the ongoing letters and public comments regarding noise levels affecting the beach neighborhood, particularly the music from Island Brewing Company (IBC), I would like to add my two cents. When I purchased my property in the beach neighborhood in 1998, I was already aware of t…

Thanks again to the Carpinteria City Council for doing the right thing in keeping live music alive and well in Carpinteria.

Please attend this Architectural Review Board meeting on April 11 at Carpinteria City Hall, at 5:30 p.m. Developers want to build 159 units on 8.6 acres. Very, very high density! Don’t let the state or city destroy Carpinteria. 

I loved seeing the photos of the Carpinteria Children’s Project (CCP) “All in For Carp Kids” event in the CVN (CVN Vol. 30, No. 27). Thank you. CCP doesn’t get enough attention for offering the community a high-quality, inclusive preschool. It brings children together from every walk of life…

We appreciate Ms. Blue’s frustration (CVN Vol. 30, No. 28) with city hall’s responsiveness to residents’ complaints. Ms. Blue asks important questions that speak to the city’s priorities moving forward in this current, complicated, post-Covid-19, (affordable) housing-strapped environment.

At a special meeting, the city council approved the redevelopment project of the Suncoast Rentals property by a vote of 4-0. Actually, the meeting wasn’t even necessary as it was predetermined that it would be approved because of state laws that required it to be passed. 

High school is the opportunity to step out of that middle school haze and level up your skills in preparation for the real world and college. While sports are a fantastic way to develop character, fitness and grit, in honor of Theater in Our Schools Month, I want to spotlight an often-overlo…

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who signed our petition, attended or spoke at the March 25 Carpinteria City Council meeting in support of live music in Carpinteria. The many stories from long-standing members of our community of how music has historically been a ce…

One of my favorite quotes is from the Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh: “I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.” If he was still alive, Van Gogh would turn 171 years old on Saturday, March 30. Alas, he committed suicide at age 37, just a few years shy of the ave…

I have to think (and I am echoing the sentiments of many of my fellow players) that it’s high time that the city of Carpinteria support our rapidly growing community of pickleball players by constructing permanent (hopefully lighted) pickleball courts here in Carpinteria. Let’s get it done!

City Hall’s responsiveness to noise complaints is curiously selective. Is economic status the difference? Old Town Carpinteria is the third most expensive neighborhood in the United States (CVN, Vol. 30 No. 20), and a few of its resident’s complaints about live music led to swift action to a…

Election primaries are over, the final count in weeks after the vote. Once again, the animosity, the undercurrents, surfaced that exist within the political classes in District 1, southern Santa Barbara County.

How sad I am that the Coastland store is closing.

The smartphone app Next Spaceflight can provide many technical details about scheduled and past rocket launches anywhere in the world. Filters can also be applied to select only specific agencies and specific launch locations, for example, the Vandenberg Space Force Base. In addition, the ap…

The commendable actions of the Carpinteria City Council in opposing divergent development plans reflect a deep commitment to Carpinteria’s core values. The united effort to challenge the Planning Commission’s endorsement of a multi-use project on Carpinteria Avenue, alongside Brad Stein’s co…

We all love Carpinteria because it is a small, friendly, caring and family-oriented beach town. Many tourists come here for the same reasons. 

There is a basic, fundamental noise condition written into the city of Carpinteria’s entertainment license application: “Licensee shall not permit the noise level of the attendees or entertainment to reach a level that is offensive or disturbing to the surrounding neighborhood, residences, m…

The Carpinteria City Council deserves a huge vote of thanks for taking a strong stand against development that is not consistent with our city’s General Plan. I am referring to their unanimous vote to repeal the Planning Commission’s approval of the multi-use project on Carpinteria Avenue. 

I know that many of you are as worried and dismayed as I am, at the number of developers and speculators who are knocking at Carpinteria’s door.

Are you concerned about all of the development planning looming in Carpinteria’s future due to state housing requirements? Have you noticed that ever since Covid-19, things have changed in our little beach town? More traffic, faster drivers, story poles, VRBOs, vacant second homes, avariciou…

Usually, I write to Carpinteria City Council members to ask for something or possibly complain about something. This letter instead is one of appreciation. Our city council members work countless hours on behalf of our beloved community. 

Thank you to Carolyn Edwards for getting awareness raised for the Prop. 19 Ballot initiative. I missed the initial call, however, sign me up for the next round. I sent in a dozen signatures to the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association, and will join the community effort when we have the next op…

I appreciate everyone who signed the petition to place “Repeal the Death Tax” on the ballot this year. Its purpose was to fix Proposition 19 and preserve Proposition 13 for everyone’s family and future generations. 

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to lowering the volume of the music coming from Island Brewery Company. It has been so much better for the last two weekends, and I appreciate the effort.

Last week in CVN (Vol. 30, No. 23) a reader complained that a sonic boom from a SpaceX rocket caused a disturbance of the seals at the Carpinteria birthing area and suggested that the landings should be moved farther away. This information about the launches and sonic booms may help her plan…

To those of you unaccustomed to following Carpinteria City Council proceedings, you missed an interesting and unusual incident at the Feb. 12 Carpinteria City Council meeting regarding the development at the Sun Coast Rentals property (CVN Vol. 30, No. 22). 

On Valentine’s Day Wednesday, I counted three new pups at the Seal Rookery. Yesterday afternoon, while on my bicycle I heard a sonic boom, and quickly rode over to the rookery to check on the seal population. The docents said that many scattered at the boom, yet I still saw four babies safel…

Reading the Feb. 15 Coastal View News (CVN Vol. 30, No. 22) I was struck by the tone of letters favoring Roy Lee. The hostility toward Das in those letters I found disappointing and unfair.

As the leading advocate for a Senior Center in Carpinteria, I have had the opportunity to interact with Roy Lee in his role as a second-term member of the Carpinteria City Council and on the AdHoc Committee for the Senior Community. With his unfailing support over the past several years, the…

Wake up voters! I just read the latest editorial in the Montecito Journal by Executive Editor Gwyn Lurie, “Montecito, The Das, and a new Kid in Town.” 

They say that things are a mess in Washington. Few disagree. Party politics are morally bankrupt, and greed, power and just plain poor behavior have replaced serving the needs of our country. Unfortunately, we have some of that here in Santa Barbara County. It is time for a change. There is …

Remember there are only three harbor seal rookeries left on the California coast. Let’s protect our unique and special attraction, and preserve nature. Keep up the good work and stop the development on the bluffs. Protect nature by becoming a docent at the Carpinteria Seal Rookery. 

The attack on building on the bluffs has been challenged and hopefully defeated! Now developers and our present supervisor Das Williams want to contaminate the beautiful mountain views behind Casitas Village and Villa del Mar and many of our mobile home parks.  

I am Rogelio Delgado, former school board member from 2016 to 2020. Justice has spoken. The judge and a two people commission ruled in favor of Jay Hotchner, 3-0. The school district’s allegations have remained allegations. $1.4 million dollars were wasted in 2021, the district appealed and …

Like many of you I attended the Board of Architectural Review hearing to demonstrate my concern with the proposal to build a large hotel on some of the last remaining coastal open space in our community.

A public servant or a career politician? This is our simple choice in the upcoming election of first district supervisor of Santa Barbara County.

I’m an active community member in the city of Carpinteria, operating my business there and being a recent resident. I’m writing to express support and help others who are trying to make a decision on voting for the First District Supervisor role.

Roy Lee is an honest, kind and smart business owner with deep roots in our community. He has lived in Carpinteria for decades and recognizes how to prioritize Carpinteria’s needs and wants. Roy will not embarrass us and will always display common sense. He is not an outsider and surely will …

Now that the Carpinteria Unified School District (CUSD) has lost every case they have tried to bring against union president Jay Hotchner in the court of law, they are now trying to win the public relations game. 

Information about the termination of the former Carpinteria Unified School District (CUSD) teacher, Jay Hotchner, is now available on the Santa Barbara County Superior Court website, despite his legal attempt to seal the records, asserting it would cause him “irreparable harm, including emba…

Carpinteria is in urgent need of more pickleball courts! Currently, the city just has two temporary courts at Carpinteria Middle School, with access limited to only after school hours. The exponential growth in the number of players over the past two years has led to a tremendous increase in…

Why not have the city swap the current property (the Farm) for the Chevron Oil Property (or Bluffs Zero, as it was called by Architectural Review Board Chair Brad Stein) which is currently being decommissioned.

Having read the report on the current union president for over 300 employees at Carpinteria Unified School District, I am concerned that he continues to receive support for his leadership. 

In response to the epidemic of misinformation in the letters section of CVN on Jan. 25 (Vol. 30, No. 19) regarding the proposed resort (not actually on bluffs), and the cacophony of uninformed, unsubstantiated, inflammatory rhetoric – factual clarifications are in order. 

Kudos to Evelyn Spence and her whole team for a terrific issue (CVN Vol. 30, No. 19) solid, substantive and well-presented. Atmika Iyer’s guide to the glut of suspect housing legislation arising in Sacramento was well-organized and useful in understanding the scope of the all-out attack on l…

I am not opposed to certain new developments. Having said that, I am opposed to the recent Carpinteria Farm Preserve and Bungalows project presented to the ARB on Jan. 25. The project should be re-named the Bluffs Resort & Spa.

Just wow! I could not be more impressed by the turnout at the Architectural Review Board (ARB) hearing on Jan. 25. I think perhaps 300 Carpinterians turned out to give very compelling testimony against the development proposal for the Tee Time property. Hopefully the developer took the outco…

The town has spoken! We do not want the bluffs to have an eyesore built destroying the heart and soul of our town. Pouring tons of concrete and thousands of pounds of dirt and constructing buildings on our sacred land is unacceptable. The builder was trying to appease us at the meeting by sa…

What if there was a town that valued nature as much as people?