Thank you for White Cane Days donations
We live in such a giving community!! Each October, members of the Santa Maria Noontimers Lions stand outside a few local businesses and ask the public to give on behalf of White Cane Days. We always get a great response, and this year was no exception.
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to each and every single person who donated coins and bills, large or small. Every penny we received was given directly to the local Lions Sight Conservation Foundation of Santa Maria (LSCFSM).
We also wish to thank the South Broadway branch of Mechanics Bank, the South Broadway Albertsons, and the South Broadway FoodMaxx for allowing us to collect contributions outside their businesses.
For 30 years, LSCFSM has been serving the Santa Maria Valley by providing eye exams and eyeglasses at little or no charge to families who are financially eligible. In some cases, it will even help cover the cost of surgery if needed. The Foundation also supports Lion volunteers who provide vision screening in schools and at health fairs and community events.
In addition, the Sight Foundation collects used eyeglasses which are reconditioned elsewhere and distributed to needy individuals throughout the state and beyond. If you have any prescription or reading glasses you no longer need, they can be dropped off at your local Mechanics Bank and most optometrist offices.
If you would like further information about the Foundation or wish to make a tax-deductible donation, please write us at PO Box 6293, Santa Maria, CA 93456, or you can email us at LionsSCFoundationSM@gmail.com.
Thank you again, Santa Maria, for showing us that we live in a caring and generous community!
Santa Maria Noontimers Lions Club
Give me the numbers behind electric bus efficiency
The recent article about Santa Maria Regional Transit's new electric buses reminded me of my days as a penniless college student.
I snacked on a lot of fig newtons because I found I could buy more ounces of fig newtons per dollar than any other cookie. So, if a college student could do a cost/benefit analysis, did the government officials who spend our tax dollars to protect the environment do the same? Are electric buses, at $1.4 million a pop, the best way to keep our air clean? I wonder, for example, how many smart traffic signals the city could install for the $22 million budgeted for electric buses?
Smart traffic signals autonomously look at oncoming traffic and control the flow of vehicles to minimize waiting time. Every driver has felt the frustration of waiting for a red light when there is no cross traffic present.
Smart signals eliminate this needless idling time. This makes every vehicle passing through the intersection more fuel efficient, reduces emissions, and shortens everyone’s commute time. Our merchants should love this, because it encourages shoppers to drive downtown.
I would like to be reassured the City Council, Santa Maria Regional Transit, Federal Transit Administration, and California Air Resources Board have done a cost/benefit analysis before deciding to buy electric buses.
I’m worried the politicians and bureaucrats jumped at the buses because: (1) They are very visible symbols of pollution reduction; (2) Politicians look better posing for photos in front of an electric bus than they look posing in front of a smart traffic signal; and (3) Much of the funding for the electric buses comes from state and federal taxes allocated by more politicians and bureaucrats who didn’t do any analysis.
Maybe electric buses are the best use of our tax dollars, but I’d like to see the numbers that prove it.
Avoid a holiday tragedy
The holiday season comes with family gatherings, social time with friends, and office parties. These joyful events can lead to life-altering consequences, like drunken driving.
When I was 16 years old in 1992, a drunken driver hit me. I was in a coma for four months, suffered broken bones, paralysis and brain injuries. My gait and speech are affected and I lost my driving and hearing abilities. For 30+ years, I've read lips and cannot enjoy holiday music due to my brain injury. Drunken drivers injure lives many ways.
Planning to take a local highway to attend a holiday gathering? Make smart decisions now if planning to drink: Don’t drive drunk. The law enforcement and I urge you to have a sober friend, taxi, etc. drive you to and from this location. This ensures everyone’s safety on the road, including yours.
My message to drive sober will never get old because it saves lives. Having a sober driver is a superb way to begin 2023.
