Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/231492
6A Daily News – Friday, December 20, 2013 Opinion Changes coming to the Daily News 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 In the coming months there are changes in store for the Daily News and the first of those changes will begin New Year's Eve when we introduce a new comics page. We're bracing for it. My first day at the Daily News back in March 2008 coincided with the first edition to be printed on a slightly narrower page. Most readers didn't notice the difference until they saw that several comic strips, which had been added less than a year before, were no longer included on the comics page. Readers take the comics seriously and that's why this change will likely upset a few folks. In an effort to reduce costs and the workload of building multiple comics pages each day, 11 of the MediaNews Group newspapers in Northern California will begin using common comics pages. Getting 11 newspapers to agree on the same comic strips meant none of us got everything we wanted. On a positive note, some of the strips we'll be adding are smart and very funny. But they are not the strips you're used to, with a couple of exceptions. For the record, the new page will include regulars Dilbert and Zits, Baby Blues, Pickles, Get Fuzzy, Sherman's Lagoon, Pearls Before Swine, Bizarro and Argyle Sweater. Sharing the page will be the crossword puzzle you're used to, Sudoku, Celebrity Cipher — a word jumble game, horoscopes and advice columnist Caroline Hax of the Washington Post Writers Group, who will replace Annie's Mailbox. George Will's column has begun appearing on Thursdays as part of the Washington Post package. That's a lot of change and I won't pretend it's all going to sit well with readers. But I will ask that readers give the new comics a chance. They are good, fresh strips drawn by talented artists. While many of our existing strips are familiar, some are reruns and most are dated. The newspaper business is well past its glory days of thick editions of keeping the Daily News and its sister papers in business. crammed full of adver*** tisements that allowed As for the other for rich diversity of changes in store, I'll expensive, syndicated leave them for another content. Controlling column. To minimize the cost of that content speculation, though, I is key to providing the will say that the Daily local coverage you News will be undergoing demand. a welcome redesign and If it came down to there is no plan on the losing another local horizon to reduce frejournalist or dumping quency of editions. comics altogether, the I know some will choice would be obviChip interpret this as the ous. Thankfully we're not at that point and Thompson demise of the Daily News, but a better lookthe new comics page is a pretty good compro- 545 Diamond ing product that is produced more cost-effecmise that will allow the Ave. tively is precisely aimed company to efficiently at preventing that provide comics and other features on the budget avail- demise. able. Chip Thompson can be As always, you're welcome to call me or send an email with feed- reached at 527-2151, Ext. 112 by email at back. Just know that this decision or editor@redbluffdailynews.com. was made months ago out of him on Twitter necessity and it's unlikely the Follow feedback will change the realities @EditorChip. Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Dan Logue, 150 Amber Grove Drive, Ste. 154, 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 A signer of the times I don't know about you, but I found the phony "signer" at the Mandela eulogy — as shown on TV around the word — absolutely hilarious. After all the pomp and circumstance honoring the late civil rights leader, to see that buffoon, with a poker face, hand signing away for the deaf in the audience, was just the thing to break away from the over-the-top rhetoric stemming from the event. And he looked so officious. I have often thought such hand signing was a questionable practice before an audience...and a bit much, but the missus says the hard of hearing need it...and as both of us qualify, I guess we should leave sleeping dogs lie. But the image of that fraud blissfully and meaninglessly flying his fingers in the air will remain in my memory long after he has done his last twitch...which I assume is forthcoming. Too much. *** TIME profiled Prince Charles, heir to the throne of England. It was mostly complimentary citing his many charities. But it also stated the unique position he holds. His whole adult life has been on hold awaiting his mother's death. This is his role in a monarchy. Ascension by birth. The United States came close to adopting this concept but Jefferson prevailed in favor of a republic and so our leaders today ostensibly have to come up through the ranks, not by birth by political maneuvering...and once they attain the lofty perch of President, they must relinquish it after serving only 8 years. The Queen of England, by contrast has ruled for over 60 years, and for a good part of that time, Prince Charles has been twiddling his thumbs. However, for his marching in place all these years, (he's 64 now) he is, according to TIME, "seriously rich." He earns about $32 million a year. Those exasperated by the diddling of our U.S. President might yearn for the simplicity of a monarchy in the modern era where royalty is merely present but not voting. And yet, perhaps we will be able to elect a President one of these days, worth his salt. Assuming the price of salt holds up, of course. *** In my day, circa 1940s, a local radio station was born. The call letters were KBLF. It was an A.M. station for I don't think the in an often un-humorous fashion and counterpart F.M stations were then on the decreed that his work would not see the light of day until 100 years after his air. In any event, it wasn't long death. We now know why. before Red Bluff Union In Volume One he was his High School developed a own rascally self. In Volclass in radio and began ume Two, he ridiculed transmitting student radio organized religion to an shows. extent seldom exceeded by The late Dr. R.G. Frey even present day writers owned the station and his such as Christopher son Russ Jr. and I were Hitchens. It is a sobering chums. We decided to put dissertation and not for on the air an un-authorized advocates of heaven, angels version of the high school Robert and so forth. Quite a revelaprogram. We titled it "The tion. Juvenile Delinquents Are *** On The Air!" and the backLast week's quiz went ground music began with a without correct answers. recorded sound of hundreds Asking what is so rare as a of tramping feet. day in June, the answer The names of the teenage participants would not likely be would be the 29th of February, and if Oliver remembered by today's KBLF audience, but Wendell Holmes, Jr. had his father's talent for the record they were Marilyn Dana, for writing verse, he could have been Kathleen Bulkeley, Russ Frey and yours dubbed a poetic justice. Pretty lame, huh? This week's quiz: What was the full title truly. There were others, but memory fails and the show did not air all that long until of the first book about the land of Oz, the we were cancelled. The reason for our get- full name of the author, and in the film, ting our walking papers was the content of which actor played the wizard, the wicked the show. We made fun of every establish- witch and the good witch. Everybody knows ment we could satirize. We might have been these answers, don't they? *** a forerunner of today's "Saturday Night The great George Carlin tells of the perLive" except we were not all that funny. However, one of the shows that brought us fect generic joke. A person goes into a place down had to do with the fey owner of a local and says something to another person. The haberdashery (that's what they were called second person says something back to the in those days) and his name was Larry. I first person, who listens to that and then says wrote the song and lyrics to a commercial something back to the second person. The and we all joined in to sing, "Drink Larry the thing he says back is really funny. For example, a guy goes into a bar, buys fairy's goat milk...puts hair on your chinney chin chin" and so on. It was sophomoric a drink and let's out an enormous burp. A which was fitting because we were sopho- guy sitting nearby with his wife says indigmores also. Anyhow, such was the rise and nantly, "How dare you burp before my fall of our KBLF program 70 odd years ago. wife!" And the first guy replies, "I'm I mention the station because a recent call to sorry...I didn't know she wanted to go KBLF produced 3 alternative stations, none first." of which are in Red Bluff. I wonder what's Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of going on at good ol'1490 on your dial? Red Bluff, former columnist for the Corning *** Speaking of humor, most will agree that Daily Observer and Meat Industry Samuel Clemmons, aka Mark Twain, was a magazine and author of the "The Knocking unique American writer. He penned his Pen." He can be reached at memoirs in 1906 deciding to vent his spleen rminchandmurray@hotmail.com. Minch I Say