People make the news



Transportation issues? Wave to the guy riding a Vespa on the freeway. Cheer Jan O’Hanlon-Wilson, who hung up a 27-year career as a Goleta school bus driver to begin a new life traveling the Pacific on a 44-foot cutter with her husband, George.

Out of a job? Give a hand to the people who willingly — even cheerfully — do the dirty jobs. How would you like to file the teeth of a 1,350-pound stallion, Dante? Dr. Steve Goss, a veterinary dentist, does. Or how about the guy who sprays for mosquitoes at Lake Los Carneros to ward off West Nile Virus? That’s the job of people like Santa Barbara County Vector Control District employee Royce Sharp.

Gripes about government? Run for office. Ten people did, packing a race for Santa Barbara City Council.

Got problems? Applaud those who worked to save one of the priceless commodities for South Coast boys and girls — the Page Youth Center.

We rode with the 30-something men who paddled from Santa Cruz Island to Santa Barbara to support a childhood buddy with brain cancer.

We continued to band together in support of the Unity Shoppe and Foodbank.

We sighed with those who reflected, for personal reasons, on the second anniversary of 9/11.

We saw a local kid never give up his dream and Scott Randall started a major league game for the Cincinnati Reds.

We said sad goodbyes to icons, legendary Dos Pueblos High School coach and role model Scott O’Leary, media magnate Bob Smith, philanthropist Pierre Claeyssens. The South Coast will be poorer without them.

We had a visit from Governor-to-be Arnold Schwarzenegger. Michael Jackson was followed to Santa Barbara by half of the world’s media. Tom Sneddon became a household name. We watched the Ben and Jen show fade into the sunset.

We smiled at old cats, cute dogs, a curious alpaca. In Santa Barbara you can be a kid at Fiesta — or a Harley mechanic at 92.

It’s all about people.

– Sally Cappon