POLLUTION CZARS GRAPPLE FOR MORE POWER! LAWYERS NEEDED TO JUSTIFY NEW EDICS

The ever-expanding Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD), already flush with taxpayer cash, is apparently feeling a void in its ranks. Not enough bureaucrats, you see. Specifically, the *Santa Maria Times* reports with breathless enthusiasm, they need an attorney for their 'hearing board.' One can only imagine the vital legal gymnastics required to justify the next round of mandates on our barbecues or lawnmowers. It's truly a marvel how these folks manage to find new ways to spend public funds while simultaneously making life harder and more expensive for everyone else.

This isn't about clean air, folks; it's about control. And lawyers are the perfect instruments for control. When a bureaucracy starts recruiting attorneys for a 'hearing board,' it's a sure sign they're gearing up for more 'hearings' – which is bureaucrat-speak for 'making up new rules we'll fine you for breaking.' Perhaps they need someone to craft the legal loopholes that allow them to bypass common sense and property rights, all in the name of some elusive, immeasurable 'environmental benefit.' Meanwhile, the average county resident just wants to fill up their tank without taking out a second mortgage, a concept apparently alien to the APCD.

This move by the APCD is a classic example of the progressive left's insatiable appetite for power and the accompanying legions of highly compensated professionals to wield it. While hardworking Santa Barbara County residents are struggling with inflation and overbearing regulations, the APCD is busy hiring more staff to tighten the regulatory noose. It's almost as if the goal isn't actually cleaner air, but rather expanding the regulatory state and ensuring that well-connected lawyers have a steady stream of billable hours. Perhaps this new attorney can draft a legal opinion explaining why the APCD needs to monitor our carbon footprints while ignoring the actual economic footprint they leave on our community.