SUPERVISORS TAKE $212K TO 'SUPERVISE' DUI FELONS. WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, in their infinite wisdom, just green-lit a tidy $212,000 handout from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to 'intensively supervise' high-risk DUI offenders. This isn't just about catching drunks; it's about the County's unshakeable belief that more government programs and more money are always the answer, particularly when the problem is a direct result of their own soft-on-crime policies. One has to wonder, with all these 'intensive' programs, why are we still seeing so many 'high-risk' and 'repeat' offenders in the first place? Maybe, just maybe, the current system isn't working, and simply adding more layers of bureaucracy isn't the solution.

Our esteemed Supervisors, in their usual fashion, also declared this financial shell game is exempt from CEQA. Because, of course, pouring taxpayer money into a program designed to track repeat offenders — presumably because they're *not* being effectively tracked now — has absolutely no 'potentially significant physical impact on the environment.' Apparently, the environmental impact of these chronic DUI drivers, who probably aren't just joyriding electric cars, is less concerning than the paperwork required to approve a new sidewalk.

Here's the real story everyone else missed: This isn't about public safety; it's about keeping the grant spigot open and the bureaucratic payroll humming. While law-abiding citizens endure escalating crime and crumbling infrastructure, the Board of Supervisors finds new ways to fund programs that treat symptoms rather than tackling the root causes. It's almost as if they benefit from the revolving door of recidivism, creating an endless need for 'intensive supervision' rather than, say, actually punishing offenders and upholding common-sense justice.

So, as your county taxes continue to climb, rest assured that a portion of it is now dedicated to the latest government-funded experiment in 'intensive supervision.' We at The Whipping Post predict a shocking lack of 'intensive results,' but hey, at least someone's getting paid. Just remember whose bright ideas lead to these predictable outcomes the next time you see another 'high-risk' individual making headlines.