Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/23691
4A – Daily News – Tuesday, January 25, 2011 Opinion D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Reaching out Editor: My name is Shauna and I am wanting to reach out to the Red Bluff community in helping me locate a person willing to donate one of their kidneys to my hus- band Derrick. 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 let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer’s home street address and home phone num- ber. 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 submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong com- munity 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 vehi- cles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its com- munities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the resi- dents 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 My husband is currently doing home hemo dialysis and has been for two years. He has been on the kidney transplant list for 3 years. In 2005 he got a kidney infection which made his kidneys work at 50 percent. From that time up until 2009 his kidney decreased in function. We decided to look into live kidney donation in 2007. We were told that a live kidney transplant would be less likely to reject if the person had not been on dialysis. Since my husband has had one transplant surgery he has built up a better immune to attack a transplant. He is able to have another transplant but it has to be an even closer match then what I or my daughter were. We have a total of 5 amazing children, my husband is still working every day to support his family but 5 days out of the week I hook him up to the dial- ysis machine for 2-3 hours each of those days. You may reach me at 526- 0595. Shauna Maston, Red Bluff Knee jerk reaction Editor: The shootings in Arizona illustrate the inherent tenden- cies for persons who are angry or unbalanced to use violence to further their agenda. As humans, we have always had the tendencies to be capable of violent acts. The unfortunate by product of this is the grief and terror that the victim or victims and the persons close to the event have to endure, for life. The other by product, in today’s society, is to assign blame and to legislate. Frankly neither of these is ever going to resolve the funda- mental issue. When a human decides to act, they act, period. The knee jerk reaction by lawmakers to enact new laws and point the finger of blame is as irresponsible as the actual act they wish to curtail with their legislation. Assigning blame by political pundits is also irresponsible and damaging and causes more divi- sion throughout the ranks. Humans have been killing humans for ever, it was first with rocks and it worked its way up to the sophisticated weapons we use today to kill our enemies on the battlefield. I implore society to step back, take a breath and remem- ber, the actions this young man took were not the fault of any- body but his own. Legislation and security teams will not curtail this. Rhetoric by either the left or right or the press just inflame issue. We as humans are ultimately responsible for our own action. Blaming this young man’s actions on the conservative right would be comparable to blam- ing the president’s failure to ful- fill his campaign promises on Oprah Winfrey because she endorsed him as president, it is a silly notion. Usurping the constitution any further won’t work either. Ervy George, Red Bluff SmartMeters Editor: We were part of a volunteer study sponsored by PG&E. The study was to see the accuracy of the SmartMeter in comparison to the analog meters. The study ran for about six months. This is what we learned. 1. PG&E has a tol- erance on their meters which is 2 percent. Our analog meters are on the minus side which means it’s in the customer’s favor. The SmartMeters are on the plus side which means it’s in PG&E’s favor. Thus increasing your bill. 2. When PG&E installs these meters your analog meter is dis- connected and they take it away. Unless you read your meter, to know how many kilowatts you’ve used, you’ll have no idea the actual amount you’ve used before PG&E adds the kilowatts on to your new SmartMeter. Thus increasing your bill. 3. These SmartMeters are digital and they have a transmit- ter/receiver which will increase your kilowatt usage. Smart- Meters are wireless and transmit to a receiver which then trans- mits to a satellite which then is read by PG&E and this can be done every 2 minutes. People are challenging PG&E over the EMF radiation that SmartMeters give out, sighting health issues and the jamming of emergency radio frequencies. Marin County put a one-year moratorium on the installation of the Smart- Meters but PG&E is ignoring it saying they only get direction from the CPUC. So PG&E is allowed to continue installing them. PG&E claims the health issue is a mute subject because Your Turn of all the EMF radiation that everyone is exposed to on a daily bases. It would be hard to differentiate the amount you’re receiving from the SmartMeter from the amounts you receive from other radiation. Example, cell phones, iPods, iPads, com- puters, TVs, WiFi, microwaves, outlets, etc. The SmartMeters’ receiver gives PG&E the ability to send a sig- nal to the SmartMeter to turn off the electrici- ty if the bill isn’t paid in the allotted time. Or turn on the electricity for a new customer. It also can turn off or on your electricity anytime day or night whenever PG&E deems it necessary. If anyone wants to know what a transmitter/ receiv- er looks like, that reads then transmits your SmartMeters’ information, go to the corner of Walbridge and Baker road at the top of the utility poll you’ll see a box with antennas sticking out. Thus increasing your bill. 4. Manipulation of PG&E’s billing also comes into play. They choose how many days will be charged on every billing cycle. I was billed for 34 days in one billing cycle. When they’ve received raises they’ve inserted them in the middle of the month. Then they put in how many days they billed you at the old rate and how many days they billed you at the new rate. They’ve received more then six raises in 2010. Thus increasing your bill. 5. Customers of PG&E were to receive a decrease on their January 2011 bills because of over charging. However, on Jan. 1 PG&E received another raise so we won’t see a reduction. PG&E has three more raises within the first part of this year. Kathy Nelson, Red Bluff Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3063 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Don't balance budgets on backs of public employees Commentary Most public servants are not overpaid. Most make a decent wage. They’re what’s left of the middle class. Republicans won’t raise taxes on the wealthiest, but want to take away earned and legally negotiated wages and benefits to balance budgets. The rich needs tax breaks to make more jobs; yet, after 10 years of breaks, where’s the jobs? Over- seas. No union blackmailed elected officials to pay these wages and benefits. They wanted the same for themselves. Private sector used pay decent wages with ben- efits, until the rich shipped their jobs to other countries. Republicans so damaged America’s economy, America was bottoming, before Obama. It is cheaper for government employees to take a $1,000 tax increase, rather than pay their own benefits. Balancing budgets on the back of government workers will destroy the only people who are barely paying their house payments and keep- ing the economy going. Does Republicans want to ruin the middle class by taking away their hard earned money and benefits, causing them to lose their houses. Haven’t they done enough damage to our economy? Are they intent in destroying all of America through their mishandling of our tax dollars? Republicans blackmailed President Obama, during last month’s negotiation. Republi- can’s bottom line was either pro- tect the rich or everyone else will pay. There are plenty of over-paid appointed and elected officials. They are the sheriffs, planning and public works directors, city and county administrators and legal counsel. They are Presi- dent Obama, Governor Jerry Brown, Rep. Wally Herger, Assemblyman Jim Nielson and State Sen. Doug LaMalfa and other self-serving politicians using our capitols to play politi- cal roulette in. Lawmakers want to set a good example, cut their own over-inflated wages and benefits first, then maybe public workers will feel more comfort- able taking a financial hit. Until then, don’t balance their out of control budgets cutting wages and benefits to public sector employees and call it cutting govern- ment, when it will cost them 12 times more money than if Obama had let the tax breaks run out. It is unconstitutional and an act of discrimination to selectively tax public employees by cutting wages and benefits, letting the rest of the country keep their tax cuts. Public employees are not the bad guys. They’re your neigh- bors, who maintain a nice house, support our local econo- my, churches and charities. Most know how lucky they are to have good jobs, and yes, there are lazy and incompetent ones. Guest View Pat Johnston Start demanding results from programs and employees or dis- mantle and fire them. There are plenty of qualified, unemployed people, who would take their job and do a better job, knowing what its like to be jobless. Our budgets should be operated by need not by want. Grants and projects should be analyzed for need, success or failure. Legislators need to shut down all satellite offices and fire aides. They need to do the job they were elected to do, five days a week, with holidays and limited vacation time off. If they can’t produce a balanced budget on time, they should lose wages until they do. Just the legislatures, not the rest of the public employees. Govern- ment wants us to blame each other, that way they don’t get burned, even though they start- ed and stoked the fire of deficit spending.