Taxpayer dollars should not help fund Charlie Kirk memorial at Cal Poly | Opinion

Turning Point should pay for Cal Poly memorial

The Oct. 1, 2025, article in The Tribune about the Charlie Kirk memorial at Cal Poly said, “According to (Matt) Lazier, the costs of putting on the event were shared by both the organizers and the university.”

This was a religious event and therefore, I believe any monetary support from the university was a violation of the First Amendment. It was also a partisan political event promoting the Republican Party. I object to the spending of our taxpayer dollars to support either party.

How much did the university spend to support the event? I’m asking the university to require Turning Point USA to pay the full cost of the event.

Jesse Arnold

San Luis Obispo

‘Mega donor’ story had omissions

Lia Russell’s article (”Anti-Prop. 50 mega donor warns CA redistricting will further gridlock Congress”) fails to mention that Prop. 50 is designed as a temporary measure with the intent to return to the independent redistricting commission.

It does mention that it is counteracting Texas’ recent redistricting, but not that it appears to be permanent in Texas, nor the five seats for five seats aspect.

Finally, it fails to mention the recent endorsement of gerrymandering by the Supreme Court. Prop 50 is playing by the rules and could even be considered conservative in that it leaves four safe Republican seats intact in California.

John Sherwood

Topanga

Antifa is not a ‘gang’

Columnist Clive Pinder’s column published last Sunday, “SLO Democrats just dove head first into the political sewer,” needs some help.

Antifa is not an organized gang, but a phrase brought back to our country by our service men after the end of the Second World War. It refers to anti-fascism, nothing else. This word in his column is being used pejoratively to misinform people as to its true meaning. I believe most Americans are not fascist. Instead, they support democracy and not authoritative, one-man rule.

Fred Raleigh

Templeton

Kudos for Hampian

Here’s something rare: Good news about good governance.

Former SLO City Manager Ken Hampian was recently honored by the International City and County Managers Association for his more than 50 years of distinguished public service .We were delighted – and not a bit surprised.

Bestowed by an association that represents municipal governments across 32 countries, this is a truly prestigious honor. Think of it as a Nobel Prize for Good Governance.

Ken served SLO City for more than two decades, steering the city through good time sand tough challenges.

After his retirement as SLO City manager, Ken continued to serve – and still serves! Among his many post-SLO efforts, Ken served pro bono to extricate Bell, California, from a corruption scandal, putting the city on sound financial footing while restoring citizens’ faith in their government.

Ken also has led training seminars for public officials throughout California while also publishing many articles about best practices in the arts of leadership and governance.

Ken’s 50-year career reflects his fierce belief that good governance brings people together to benefit the greater good. Gifted with razor sharp smarts, a joyful sense of humor and a bottomless reserve of caring, Ken is a true servant leader.

We thank and celebrate Ken on this richly deserved award, and the bright light it throws on our community.

John Dunn, former SLO City Manager

Dave Garth, former SLO Chamber of Commerce CEO

Take care of SLO dog park

The San Luis Obispo dog park is nice, but the current condition of Laguna Lake is not useable. Weeds and scum have taken over. No word about what the city is doing about it by applying the proper weed killer. There are many safe ones to use. Where is the urgency from our city?

Dale Thompson

San Luis Obispo

Synagogue attack

I have written several times about your coverage related to Israel since Oct. 7, 2023 — your op-eds misreading the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, and the coverage of The Diversity Coalition holding an anti-Jewish “Two Minutes Hate.”

The reason I write with such passion revealed itself again on Yom Kippur in Manchester, England, where a synagogue was attacked and two people were murdered. The way these issues are framed is mortally serious for me and my community. Two years of the normalization of a sustained campaign against not just Israel, not just Zionists, but Jews worldwide once again led to violence and death. Like 99.99% of Jews, I am not a member of the Israeli government, war cabinet, general staff, or chain of command. I have no control over how the war is waged. Harming me or seeking to cast me and my fellows out of the public square will not change Israeli policy. In fact, the likely outcome of all of this is massive immigration to Israel, which will only strengthen it. But this is no surprise. Most of this is not calculated to lead to a change in Israeli policy or an improvement in the lives of Gazans. They are simply meant to terrorize Jews.

Jon-Erik Storm

Los Osos

This story was originally published October 12, 2025 at 10:00 AM.