CHUMASH LAND: FROM SEWAGE TO SANCTUARY! (AND LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT HOUSING)

Your humble Whipping Post has observed the Santa Barbara Independent once again conjuring ancestral spirits, this time to advocate for an 'ocean protection area' off our glorious coast. Apparently, a 'large Chumash village site' met an unfortunate end as a sewage plant. While we certainly empathize with the historical, shall we say, *misplacement* of ancient settlements, one can't help but notice the convenient timing when the conversation shifts from municipal infrastructure to marine sanctuaries.

Indeed, the Inky seems to believe that by 'honoring what the Chumash people have left' – which, as they subtly hint, isn't much if it stands in the way of a sewer – we should cordon off more coastline for… well, presumably for very important, non-housing, non-economic development reasons. It's the classic Santa Barbara playbook: discover a pristine ecological (or archaeological) imperative just as someone proposes building something practical. Perhaps a few more homes for the beleaguered middle class? No, no, let's protect the tiny sea creatures first. The housing crisis can wait; the clam's comfort cannot.

One might wonder if this sudden surge of historical piety would be quite as potent if the Chumash site were, say, under a proposed high-density apartment complex instead of a sewage treatment facility. The stench of hypocrisy is thicker than raw effluent when the Independent conveniently overlooks the irony of swapping one ancient indignity for a modern one – the indignity of skyrocketing housing costs and endless regulatory hurdles in the name of 'progress' that always seems to involve *less* of everything for everyone but the politically connected. Let's just create an ocean park; it’s far easier than addressing why the sewage plant was built there in the first place, or, heaven forbid, building more housing.