COUNTY TO CUT HEALTH SERVICES, DECLARE IT'S 'NOT A PROJECT' — CEQA, SCHMEQA!

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, in their infinite wisdom, is set to 'consider recommendations' (read: rubber-stamp cuts) regarding county medical services. Our intrepid bureaucracy, always leading the charge for smaller government, is poised to close, eliminate, or reduce critically needed health services for the very people who rely on them. But don't worry, they've got a plan: a 24-hour information hotline! Because when you can't get an appointment, a comforting recorded voice explaining *why* you can't get an appointment is just as good, right?

In a move that truly cements their legacy of common-sense governance, the Supervisors are also expected to declare that gutting medical services isn't a 'project' subject to environmental review under CEQA. That's right, the famed California Environmental Quality Act, which can hold up a new driveway for years, apparently has no jurisdiction over sick people no longer receiving care. One has to wonder: a new bike lane? CEQA! Fewer emergency room beds? Administrative activity, move along, nothing to see here!

This is the kind of fiscal innovation you get when 'compassion' is measured in hotlines and bureaucrats are allowed to define what constitutes an 'environmental impact.' The real story here, of course, isn't just the cuts themselves, but how easily our county government sidesteps accountability. While the mainstream papers will focus on the 'tough choices,' The Whipping Post knows this is simply another shell game, likely dictated by unfunded state mandates or some progressive pet project elsewhere sucking up the cash. Expect more of this brilliant budgeting as our 'leaders' continue to prioritize image over actual public service.