For Your Amusement

Oscar, the dog who doesn't know his name. By Rick Doehring Santa Barbara Independent, Animals. Photo Credit- Cindy Mayer.jpg — *Oscar*, the dog who doesn’t know his name. *Photo: Cindy Mayer*

Living > Animals, Santa Barbara Independent
Dog Days in Santa Barbara
Speculations While Walking My New Dog

By Rick Doehring
Sept 15, 2023
https://www.independent.com/2023/09/15/dog-days-in-santa-barbara/

Who knew that our Barbarian history included the great Atlanta Braves baseball player? Wait… that was Dale Murphy. So who’s Dwight? *Credit: Rick Doehring*

Opinion > Voices, Santa Barbara Independent
What’s in a Name?
A Lot

By Rick Doehring
Tue Feb 06, 2024 | 5:00pm
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/06/whats-in-a-name-2/

Beneath this ocean lies a 300-foot-wide, 7-mile-long corridor that connects Santa Barbara to the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport. True or False? | *Credit: Rick Doehring*

Opinion > Voices, Santa Barbara Independent
The Rest of the Best
According to a Contrarian Santa Barbarian

By Rick Doehring
Fri Dec 15, 2023 | 8:54pm
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/15/504697

This photo was taken in our Old Mission’s Rose Garden. We named a rose after her. What would happen if we named the town after her? | *Credit: Rick Doehring*

Opinion > Voices, Santa Barbara Independent
Broadway Comes to Santa Barbra
Real Music, Fake Rumors, and Saint Barbra

By Rick Doehring
Mon Nov 06, 2023 | 4:45am
https://www.independent.com/2023/11/06/broadway-comes-to-santa-barbra/

On display in Old Mission Santa Barbara, this photo was taken of Rafael Solares, who the caption identifies as “chief of the Ineseño Chumash Community” and that he wears “a traditional dance outfit.” Judging what constitutes acceptable anthropological records displaying Indigenous peoples is left to the reader. | Rafael Solares, circa 1878, *original photograph by E.J. Haywood*

Opinion > Voices, Santa Barbara Independent
Sure, We Celebrate Old Spanish Days, but What About Old Chumash Days?
Viva La Fiesta

By Rick Doehring
Sun Aug 13, 2023 | 2:37pm
https://www.independent.com/2023/08/13/sure-we-celebrate-old-spanish-days-but-what-about-old-chumash-days/

Is the Santa Barbara area really at the center of the universe? | *Credit: Rick Doehring*

Opinion > Voices, Santa Barbara Independent
Degrees of Separation
The Santa Barbarian Connection

By Rick Doehring
Mon Jul 03, 2023 | 6:23pm
https://www.independent.com/2023/07/03/degrees-of-separation/

Parking in Santa Barbara is like a rigged lottery — if we buy enough of these, we win a prize: We get to pay for the city budget. | *Credit: Rick Doehring*

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
Santa Barbara Budgetary Math
How $1 Million in Salaries Is Paid at a Rate of $2.50 an Hour

By Rick Doehring
Fri Jun 02, 2023 | 4:11pm
https://www.independent.com/2023/06/02/santa-barbara-budgetary-math/

Can you find all 10 of the hidden 2022s in this Number Search Puzzle? | *Credit: Rick Doehring*

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
A Look Back to the Future
Do You Remember 2022?

By Rick Doehring
Fri May 05, 2023 | 2:37pm
https://www.independent.com/2023/05/05/a-look-back-to-the-future/

One acceptable translation of Virgil’s quote above our Santa Barbara Courthouse is, "Learn justice: you are warned”. In that same chilling spirit I here offer the effects of some new laws beginning in 2023. *Credit: Rick Doehring*

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
How to Avoid Arrest in Santa Barbara
Breaking Down Our New Laws So We Don’t Break the Law

By Rick Doehring
Wed Mar 22, 2023 | 11:28am
https://www.independent.com/2023/03/22/how-to-avoid-arrest-in-santa-barbara

Actual college sports team names. I couldn’t fit in Sea Beggars but I still wonder how you chant it, and what they are. Credit: Rick Doehring

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
What’s in a Name?
Gauchos, Warriors, and Barbarians

By Rick Doehring
Dec 27, 2022
https://www.independent.com/2022/12/27/whats-in-a-name/

Yes, all these books have been banned at one time or another in our country, along with thousands of others. Credit: Rick Doehring

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
Let’s Ban a Book!

By Rick Doehring
Nov 25, 2022
https://www.independent.com/2022/11/25/lets-ban-a-book/

For anyone under thirty, this object is called a radio. News comes out of it every minute of every day. All you have to do is turn it on. Credit: Rick Doehring

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
Listen, Don’t Waste Your Time
Why Santa Barbarians Should Love KCLU

By Rick Doehring
Oct 15, 2022
https://www.independent.com/2022/10/16/listen-dont-waste-your-time/

My Answer Depends on Which Hat I'm Wearing. *Credit: Rick Doehring*

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
Ask a Santa Barbarian and a Midwesterner a Question
And They’ll Give You Different Answers

By Rick Doehring
Aug 20, 2022
https://www.independent.com/2022/08/20/ask-a-santa-barbarian-and-midwesterner-a-question/

One sign that has exploded around downtown Santa Barbara. Credit: Rick Doehring

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
The Meaning of State Street Store Names
An Incomplete Guide to What Those Names Signify

By Rick Doehring
May 29, 2022
https://www.independent.com/2022/05/29/the-meaning-of-state-street-store-names/

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
What to Do with a One-Year-Old in Santa Barbara
A Guide for Grandparents (and Other Hosts)

By Rick Doehring
April 23, 2022
https://www.independent.com/2022/04/23/what-to-do-with-a-one-year-old-in-santa-barbara/

Santa Barbara Municipal Airport. Credit: Rick Doehring

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
What Happened to Our Santa Barbara Airport?
Conditions at the Airport, for Those Who Haven't Been

By Rick Doehring
Mar 19, 2022
https://www.independent.com/2022/03/19/what-happened-to-our-santa-barbara-airport/

The Santa Barbara pandemic checklist. Credit: Dave Coverly

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
Is the Pandemic Ending? A checklist.

By Rick Doehring
Feb, 28 2022
https://www.independent.com/2022/02/18/is-the-pandemic-ending-a-checklist/

Until the pandemic, we had several great downtown parades each year — but the closure of State Street has left us with only a narrow path between chairs and tables. *Credit: Rick Doehring*

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
Santa Barbara: A One-Horse Town?
The Problem Is … We May Be Way Too Nice for Our Own Good

By Rick Doehring
Feb 5, 2022
https://www.independent.com/2022/02/05/santa-barbara-a-one-horse-town/

One of many incarnations of Theodor Geisel's grouchy green protagonist — this one on a train in Italy. *Credit: Nicholas Gemini / WikiCommons*

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
Putting the Santa in Santa Barbara
Ho Ho Ho

By Rick Doehring
Dec 22, 2021
https://www.independent.com/2021/12/22/putting-the-santa-in-santa-barbara/

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
Santa Barbara’s Forgotten Election
What Would the Official Bird Be?

By Rick Doehring
Nov 13, 2021
https://www.independent.com/2021/11/13/santa-barbaras-forgotten-election/

A bronze of Jerry Garcia's hand at the Santa Barbara Bowl. Credit: Paul Wellman (file)

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
Listen to the Dead
A Clash of Counter and Cancel Cultures?

By Rick Doehring
Oct 4, 2021
https://www.independent.com/2021/10/04/listen-to-the-dead/

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
Memoirs of a Chipmunk Rancher
Not for the Faint of Heart

By Rick Doehring
Sept 6, 2021
https://www.independent.com/2021/09/06/memoirs-of-a-chipmunk-rancher/

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
Remodeling Santa Barbara
What's a Homeowner to Do?

By Rick Doehring
Aug 3, 2021
https://www.independent.com/2021/08/03/remodeling-santa-barbara/

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
Santa Barbara’s New Streaming Service
It’s just too good to be true

By Rick Doehring
June 12, 2021
https://www.independent.com/2021/06/12/santa-barbaras-new-streaming-service

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
A Mis-Guided Tour of Santa Barbara Streets
Getting Around This Town Can Be Confusing

By Rick Doehring
May 21, 2021
https://www.independent.com/2021/05/21/a-mis-guided-tour-of-santa-barbara-streets/

*Credit: Peter Kuper, PoliticalCartoons.com*

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
The Final Exam for the Class “How Santa Barbara is Handling the Pandemic”

By Rick Doehring
April 5, 2021
https://www.independent.com/2021/04/05/final-exam-handling-the-pandemic/

Multi-media > Photo, Santa Barbara Independent
The Two Chairs Project
Photo Essay. Click arrow to advance.

By Rick Doehring
Aug 14, 2020
https://www.independent.com/multimedia/the-two-chairs-project/

Multi-media > Photo, Santa Barbara Independent
The Walk
Photographic Essay. Click arrow to advance.

By Rick Doehring
Oct 7, 2020
https://www.independent.com/multimedia/the-walk/

Multi-media > Photo, Santa Barbara Independent
Santa Barbara’s Metaphorical White House
Photo Essay. Click arrow to advance.

By Rick Doehring
Dec 30, 2020
https://www.independent.com/multimedia/santa-barbaras-metaphorical-white-house/

“Heres toilet paper”, John Darkow, Columbia Missourian, caglecartoons.com — “Heres toilet paper”*, John Darkow, Columbia Missourian, caglecartoons.com*

Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent
The Mid-Term Exam for the Class “How Santa Barbara is Handling the Pandemic”
A Quick Mid-Term Exam on Instant History

By Rick Doehring
June 13, 2020
https://www.independent.com/2020/06/13/how-santa-barbara-is-handling-the-pandemic/

Answering 36 Questions for a Steemit Interview
https://steemit.com/story/@leighlim/meet-a-young-ish-baby-boomer-the-guy-who-is-fascinated-by-passionate-humans

Links to published work, interviews, and other oddities.