Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/126747
6A Daily News – Thursday, May 2, 2013 Opinion DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes letters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submitted will be considered for publication. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong community newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehicles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its communities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the residents and businesses of Tehama County. How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Summing up the issues of AB109 Editor: I have just read Joe Harrop's Commentary "No Room at the Inn?" in the Saturday, April 27 edition. I hope everyone of the Daily News' subscribers reads this informative and well investigated article. Those who attend the Red Bluff Tea Party have been informed of much of this same information by Sheriff Dave Hencratt, Chief Probation Officer Richard Meunch and Senator Jim Nielson in several presentations they have made over the months that AB 109 has been implemented. It seems to me, though, that there is another alternative to resolving the state's prison overcrowding, one that I have not seen suggested. Why not build more prisons? Maybe a couple more would solve the problem. Of course, no community wants a prison in their backyard, but since these state prisoners are being moved to our county jails anyway, what's the difference? Surely a prison can be better secured than a county jail, and we would avoid the problem of incarcerating these inmates with local prisoners who have committed lesser crimes. This is likely too much common sense for Sacramento politicians. Of course, the state is broke, right? Well, wait just a minute. Isn't the state spending billions of dollars on a high speed rail system? Why not divert that money to build prisons? From reports I've read, the rail will not be built from Los Angeles to San Francisco as originally considered, only a portion of that distance. This will certainly minimize it's use, and make it even less likely to survive financially without government subsistence forever. Are you ready for even higher taxes? So why are they building it? Frankly, I see it as a move by progressives in our state government toward sustainable development. This kind of transportation works well when the vast majority of the population lives and works in major cities and are moved out of rural communities. And it's just been reported that the rail will be managed by Diane Feinstein's husband, who I would guess is just as lib- $75 an hour as part-time execs, eral as she is. I believe it is like- while drawing their generous ly this is where progressives pensions. Governor Brown wantwould like to move the state, ed people like this removed but which happens to coincide with they slipped through somehow. where progressives in the federI wonder how many people al government would like to could have had jobs if these jerks move the population. hadn't stolen the If we all live in metromoney. California is politan areas, they can broke but they don't Your sustain, or control us, care. They take care of that much easier. themselves first. I can't Seems pretty far even begin to say how fetched doesn't it? this galls me. Unbelievable nonsense? Open This very thing in every aspect your eyes, people. goes on and on, nobody is made It's all a matter of what agen- to pay back, they get off with no da we the people choose to punishment and don't have any allow our government to take. I guilt about it. The human race is say, build more prisons and going downhill fast. These peoreverse AB 109, and cancel the ple don't care, they come high speed rail. The rail is the first. God forbid they have to live one that's not sustainable. on their generous pensions. Skip John Ward, Red Bluff an occasional martini at lunch, skip a vacation now and then, play golf a little less. To hell with the working poor. Well, they got caught, I think their names should be published Editor: in the paper and how much they In today's paper is an article made. Betcha they didn't do about retired execs still found on much work either. Freeloaders books. These jerks are retired usually don't. They just freeexecutives, who have made exor- load. Pathetic is what they are. bitant salaries for many years, but Bernice Cressy, Cottonwood continue to draw pay from $45 to Turn Another part of the problem Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Dan Logue, 1550 Humboldt Road, Ste. 4, Chico, CA 95928, 530-895-4217 STATE SENATOR — Jim Nielsen, 2635 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico, CA 95928, (530) 879-7424, senator.nielsen@senate.ca.gov GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 5583160; E-mail: governor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Doug LaMalfa 506 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, 202-2253076. U.S. SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 3930710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224-0454. Commentary Return of the curmudgeon It's been one of those mornings. I woke up remembering the horrible playoff loss my team had taken the night before. As the sleep decrusted out of my eyeballs I noticed — probably because I was watching that game — I had forgotten to move my much-needed laundry over to the dryer. Then driving to work I finally remembered that for the umpteenth time I had forgotten to grab that Redbox rental to return. That movie I rented, I don't know around Easter, and never finished anyway. Uh, oh, I think this usually mild-mannered reporter is about to unleash into his alter ego Curmudgeon Rich. So once again bear with me as he lets out steam about trivial things boiling in his blood recently... *** Are the pages that explain how traffic lights work ripped out of every driving instruction manual in Red Bluff? For the most part Red Bluff's traffic lights are idiot proof. They alternate sending traffic in segments of four in some north, south, east, west formation. The light at South Main Street and Diamond Avenue is slightly different. It always has been, but it's come into play a lot more since a certain pharmacy priding itself on convenience, value and service opened its doors there. The light runs in segments of three, with drivers headed from the parking lot and Diamond Avenue expected to know how to share a simultaneous green light. Unfortunately at least onefifth of all drivers I've encountered there believe a simultaneous green light means drivers should play a game of chicken with opposing traffic. My gut tells me many of the drivers in this area who have never heard of the phrase "yield for oncoming traffic" are students coming from the Shasta College campus. I implore anyone with a relative who fits such a description, to ask their loved ones if they understand how an intersection works when there is no green turn arrow to be found. *** I was at a friend's house awhile back when I commented how awfully plain her refrigerator door was considering the amount of rugrats she had running around the place. It's a phenomena I've noticed with the majority of residential refrigerators in recent years. The refrigerator used to be a family bulletin board of photographs, spelling tests, sports schedules, to-do lists, birthday cards and long-distance correspondence. Refrigerators used to give great insight into someone's life and were springboards of conversation. All that stuff is still around, just now it's digital and in the form of someone's Facebook page. Meanwhile conversation has been dummied down to clicking a thumbs up. I will say the next time I returned to my friend's house she led me to the kitchen where she proudly showed off a Cray- ola-based gallery her children every sweat drop drip down Buster Posey's forehead or I had made since my last visit. just can't enjoy *** myself. Watching "ApocaAnd if you're a lypse Now" the other satellite subscriber, night I commented to get ready to punch in my wife how much some channel numgreat music came out bers that resemble of that time period. Social Security numI was always led to bers. I'm pretty sure believe that it was a 3244i is an imaginary result of the counternumber. culture movement as Last night after a the youth bucked brutalizing seven against the establishminutes of searching ment in response to the Rich I finally found my Vietnam War. That hipteam. pie culture, like it or For the next hour I not, furthered our arts. got a message across I think it was all just the screen telling me that the coincidence now. In the past decade we've had game may be blacked out in my two wars no one wants and the area and if it was I would see a music industry has produced message and should go to a virtually nothing of value. You website to find out what channel it was on. can keep your Auto-Tune. The scroll went by every *** I shouldn't be in such a minute. No message ever cranky mood. This is one of the appeared. Obviously I wasn't subject best times of the year for a to a blackout and all I wanted at devoted sports fan. Baseball has started, basket- that point was the 10 percent of ball and hockey playoffs are in the screen I paid for back from full swing and with today's the scroll monster. Actually you know what I communication improvements it seems as if every game is would have preferred? A scrolling message that said available for viewing. The trouble is finding the "Hey dummy, you're team's not things — and good luck if the coming back. How about you game before yours goes into spend the next commercial break flipping your laundry overtime. Wait, do I need CSNB+ or over and putting that Redbox Comcast California? You're movie next to your keys." telling me the game is on Rich Greene can be CNBC — that doesn't even reached at 527-2151, Ext. 109 make sense. by email at OK, I found the game, but or this is standard definition and rgreene@redbluffdailynews.c I'm an HD snob and need to see om. Greene