BOARDS OF SUPERVISORS INK MORE 'GOOD SAMARITAN' DEALS: WHO'S THE REAL SAMARITAN HERE?

It appears the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, in its infinite wisdom and bottomless taxpayer pockets, has decided to rubber-stamp yet another 'amendment' to an agreement with something called 'Good Samaritan Shelter.' For a cool $350,000, we're told this will fund 'Bringing Families Home' and 'Home Safe' programs, which, if past is prologue, means more feel-good headlines for them and more expenses for us.

One can't help but wonder how many 'amendments' a single 'agreement' can sustain before it becomes clear the original plan was as sound as a screen door on a submarine. This endless cycle of escalating contracts for ever-shifting programs is less about 'good samaritanism' and more about 'good gravy train' for the well-connected non-profits, all while the actual housing crisis remains stubbornly unresolved. Of course, the Supervisors declared this financial alchemy 'not a project' subject to CEQA review, because apparently, government spending a third of a million dollars doesn't count as an 'activity' if it's dressed up in enough progressive pieties.

Perhaps the real 'Good Samaritan' in this scenario is the Santa Barbara County taxpayer, who year after year faithfully funds these endless programs with ever-inflating budgets, all while the bureaucracy swells and the 'homeless problem' somehow manages to persist. It's almost as if showering non-profits with cash without demanding real, measurable results isn't solving the problem, but rather sustaining a very comfortable industry built around it. But don't worry, the Supervisors have it all under control – just like they always do. Until the next amendment, of course.