ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER BUREAUCRAT NAMED TO 'ENERGY' BOARD! WHOSE POCKETS ARE WARMING UP?

It's 2026, President Trump is busy restoring American energy dominance, and here in Santa Barbara County, our progressive-leaning Board of Supervisors is still playing musical chairs with unelected appointments to 'green' energy boards. This week's dazzling display of bureaucratic brilliance involves sliding County Executive Officer Jana Petersen onto the Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) Operations Board, with an alternate because, well, even government appointees need their beauty sleep, or perhaps a second job advising on which shade of beige paint is most eco-friendly for the next public works boondoggle. The real shocker? They declared this administrative shuffle completely exempt from environmental review under CEQA. Because, naturally, moving a bureaucrat from one cushy government seat to another has absolutely no 'direct or indirect physical changes in the environment,' unlike, say, building a new apartment complex or drilling for the affordable energy our families desperately need.

The real genius here, missed by every other local outlet, is the sheer audacity of a government entity creating a "community energy" board, then staffing it with government employees. It’s the ultimate self-licking ice cream cone, funded by ratepayers and overseen by the same folks who just appointed themselves. Where’s the 'community' part when it's all just another branch of the growing county administrative tree? This isn't about energy; it's about control, and the constant expansion of public payrolls under the guise of saving the planet, one committee seat at a time.

And let's not forget the subtle nod to the future: 3CE's entire existence is predicated on ditching reliable, affordable energy sources in favor of pie-in-the-sky alternatives. These appointments are not just organizational; they are ideological. They ensure a steady hand guiding our county deeper into the regulatory quagmire of green mandates, all while ignoring the common-sense energy policies coming from a White House focused on American prosperity. The true environmental impact is on taxpayers' wallets, as these 'organizational activities' lead to higher energy bills and less accountability. It’s an administrative sleight of hand, pure and simple, and The Whipping Post is here to call it out.