To the Editor:
When the SOAR organization began its renewal effort three years ago, our focus was on renewing one of the strongest sprawl prevention measures in the nation which is set to expire in 2020. However this is no longer just an effort to renew SOAR, this is a battle for the life of SOAR. The developers and large landowners who fought the approval of SOAR in 1998 are back again and this time their attack is in the form of a completing initiative. If their Measure F wins, SOAR will come to an end the day after the election, and thousands of acres of open space and farmland will no longer be protected by SOAR. We know there is nothing more effective that Fillmore residents can do to protect the quality of life for themselves and future generations than to approve SOAR. Vote Yes on Measures A and C and No on Measure F and W to preserve the Last Best Small Town in America!
Brian Brennan

***

To the Editor:
I have been honored to serve as your Third District Supervisor, and am proud to have earned the trust of those I have had the privilege to represent for the last 20 years. I believe that trust, respect and integrity is built with hardwork, mutual respect, and a commitment to the health, safety and welfare of all residents of Ventura County. There is only one candidate who is qualified to serve as your next Supervisor: Carla Castilla. I trust the experience, goodness, and leadership that Carla Castilla will bring to the job of County Supervisor.
The Third District is the most diverse District on the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, and includes interests in agriculture, the environment, coastal resources, tourism, Naval Base Ventura County, as well as five cities and unincorporated areas. I trust that Carla Castilla will effectively use the 16 years of experience she gained while working for and with Congressional and State leaders. Carla will ensure our county retains the quality of life we have strived for the last two decades—a healthy environment, safe communities and strong economy.
Carla Castilla is proud of her heritage, culture, and family. Her roots in Ventura County are deep. Carla is a home grown success story, the first in her family to attend college. She is completely genuine and has earned the support of working families, teachers, and nurses. I proudly stand with my endorsement of Carla Castilla along with Congresswomen Julia Brownley and Lois Capps, Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Senator Fran Pavley, Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, Supervisors’ Steve Bennett, John Zaragoza, and Linda Parks, and the men and women of the Sheriff’s Association and Firefighter’s Association.
You’ve trusted me to represent you for 20 years, and I ask you now to join with me and vote for Carla Castilla for Third District Supervisor on November 8th.

***
To the Editor:
Re: Questions about Measure V - The School Bond
Fillmore Unified School District Superintendent Palazuelos is trying to make a case for passage of Measure V, a $35 million general obligation bond. However, he doesn’t address many of the concerns that should accompany the request for such a large G.O. bond. First, how did the District arrive at the figure of $35 million? I assume a report was generated listing needed improvements. Were district employees directed to do it? How large of a wish-list was also included? Did qualified licensed professional engineers or licensed construction experts generate the report? Did a licensed structural engineer do the report? When a Wall Street Investment Bank underwrites a bond, it will put pressure on the issuing agency, in this case the school district, to do a bigger bond than necessary. The bigger the bond, the more fees and commissions are earned. Did this happen? $35 million is a lot of money.
The public has not been made aware of what is contained in the bond’s Official Statement, often incorrectly referred to as the prospectus. For example, what is the interest rate? What is the length of commitment? What fees are being paid by the District? etc. The governing document of the bond issue is called the Trust Indenture and it outlines the rules and responsibilities to which each must adhere. There always are loopholes in the Trust Indenture that permit shenanigans other than what the taxpayers expect. For example, Fillmore Unified could conceivably use some of the money to build a Taj Mahal of a district office. There is no assurance the bond funds will only be used to improve our schools and our students’ education.
There is no doubt that Fillmore schools need repair and upgrading. However, the past few years have seen many additions to the administrative staff to the point that teachers refer to the district office as the district “compound”. Ventura Unified School District with 17,500 students has about the same number of administrators in their district office as Fillmore has with less than 4,000 students.
It is also my understanding that administrators have attended expensive, out of state conferences. Why wasn’t most of this money used to do necessary maintenance on our sites? I regret that the public has little faith in money being used wisely. I further regret that I am compelled to vote “NO” on Measure V.
Mary Ford

***

Malibu Beach project delayed one year
The residents of Fillmore learned, almost too late, that hundreds of sand-filled trucks could be rumbling from the quarry at Grimes Canyon to Malibu's barren Long Beach. The project is designed to reestablish Long Beach's scoured shore. Grimes' sand would reestablish Malibu's beach.
The project is now delayed for a year because the proponent Malibu home owners forgot to do a sand test. Thank God.
This is the most preposterous and destructive proposition in California's history, except for the "bullet" train. One might think the plan was designed by Governor Jerry Brown. It is simply difficult to imagine that any such mountain to Mohammad scheme would be proposed by rational people, without massive opposition.
Imagine a stream of more than 100 tractor-trailers, fully loaded with sand, snaking down Grimes Canyon and bullying through Fillmore, down Highway 126 to Santa Paula, on to Ventura and Oxnard, to add its product to the reclamation efforts in Malibu - EVERY DAY FOR 10 YEARS! All to assuage the appetites of the political elite lounging on the beach that Mr. Magoo made famous.
What would the traffic on Grimes Canyon be like? How about in the City of Fillmore? What would happen to our roads? Let's stop this thing!
The whole plan is beyond preposterous. I wish I had the time today to do a full story on this. I promise to do so soon. The more I read of this proposal the more it stinks of the same kind of people Thomas Frank writes about this week, John Podesta's friends. Keep your powder dry - I'll be back with this soon.