Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/305925
VisitorstoRedBluffaregreetedwithsigns announcing what we already know — "A great place to live." But the City Council is being asked to consider deeper cuts to the Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Com- merce that could change that. Thecity'sbudgetcommit- tee — Wayne Brown and Rob Schmid — is looking to further reduce, by half, the chamber's portion of Transient Occupancy Tax paid by those visiting Red Bluff. The cut would come just two years after the city capped the chamber's portion of the reve- nues from TOT at $70,000 — slashing more than $40,000 from funding to the chamber based on 2013 figures. The chamber responded to that cut by creating member advertising opportunities, es- tablishing fundraising partner- ships with other entities and implementing cost reductions to keep its good works going. Cutting that amount fur- ther, in half, would effectively prevent the chamber from or- ganizing events such as the Downtown Christmas Parade, Round-Up Parade and many of the 11 Days of Round-Up events. It would likely mean reduced hours at the chamber office and cuts to the already small staff. It could even jeopardize the very popular downtown farm- ers markets. When the TOT was put be- fore voters in 1988 it was sold as a way to increase tourism by funding the promotion of Red Bluff to outsiders — a primary function of the chamber — and help pay for police, parks and streets, all of which contribute to visitors' experiences. It passed 2,295 to 592. Residents made it clear that promoting tourism was, and is, a budgetary priority. Over the years, following a change in the law, the City Council has shifted TOT reve- nue, which has increased nearly 35 percent over the last decade, away from the chamber and used it to shore up its general fund. This despite the cham- ber's direct hand in generating those tourism dollars. We realize the economy is slow in recovering and the city, while continuing to issue pay raises, struggles to balance its budget. Doing so on the backs of those who promote the com- munity and bring tourism dol- lars into the city is biting a hand that feeds us. Sales tax revenues continue to grow and the city has made some positive moves to com- bine departments and cut costs. There's a light at the end of the tunnel. Now is no time to further gut the organization charged with promoting the city and providing events popular with residents and visitors alike throughout the year. Editorial Proposedcut to chamber goes too far Cartoonist's take So much for the hope that a new, democratic, non-confronta- tional Russia would emerge in the 21st century -- hopes that began on Nov. 9, 1989 when Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev took up President Ronald Reagan's challenge and tore down that 30-year-old Berlin wall. Increasingly, some pundits, analysts and policy makers face a tough choice. Should they say Russian President Vladimir Pu- tin, cloaked in a fig leaf of "plausi- ble deniability" during transpar- ently aggressive military actions and as vigilantes abduct and bru- talize gays, is starting to remind them of the Nazis or Josef Stalin? If Gorbachev and the hapless Boris Yeltsin seemingly starred in "The Fall of the Soviet Union," Putin is starring in a revamped vampire movie: "The KGB Has Risen from the Grave." The world watches as Putin seems poised to come up with a pretext to swal- low Ukraine. Russia increasingly seems like it's back to the 1940s -- or ear- lier. A recent report that Jews in the eastern Ukrainian city of Do- netsk were given leaflets alleg- edly from pro-Russian militants telling them they had have to "register" with Ukrainians trying to make the city part of Russia, give a list of their property, and pay a fee or it'd be confiscated, sparked an international media furor. Some argued the leaflets were phony, and tried to make pro-Russians look bad. Real or not, the bottom line is that leaflets sounding like some- thing out of Nazi Germany mean it's stressful being Jewish in parts of the Ukraine. In an NPR interview, chess master, economist and Harvard Professor Kenneth Rogoff said Putin is playing a game reveal- ing good tactics but perhaps bad strategy: Putin is making gains in the short term but could hurt him- self in the long-term. Indeed, Pu- tin's behavior on several fronts has been a jolting bucket of ice wa- ter thrown on a world that seem- ingly had concluded that some of 20th century tensions were finally over. As polls show Putin's domes- tic popularity soar, he's giving Eu- rope and the U.S. cause to isolate him -- and never trust him again. What happened? In a recent interview in The Daily Beast, Russian expert Strobe Talbott blames the Russian Federation's first President, the drunken Yelt- sin, for picking as prime minis- ter the man who would start dis- membering Yeltsin's and Gor- bachev's legacy. You want to see the embodiment of political retro? Look at Putin. The 20th century is dead: long live the revived 20th century. JoeGandelmanisaveteranjournal- ist who wrote for newspapers over- seas and in the United States. He can be reached at jgandelman@the- moderatevoice.com. Joe Gandelman A look at the retro world of Vladimir Putin Another view I say that some local businesses advertize they are "Veteran owned" and I wonder what's the bene- fit of such a statement. Is it meant to suggest that an owner, having served in the military, deserves a cus- tomer's preference over and above one who does not make such a declaration? The statement is preferable to those who adver- tise "American owned," but the admonition still needs vetting. • • • Although I do not relish defend- ing a bigot, the recent flap over re- marks allegedly uttered in pri- vate by L.A. Clipper's owner Don- ald Sterling, resulting in his being banned for life from professional basketball, was unnecessary and probably illegal. Free speech and so forth. It was designed to illus- trate "great indignation" suffered by other major sports owners and players. For public relations pur- poses, they were forced to im- mediately get on the racial band- wagon and illustrate their sound and fury. If lynching was still in vogue, Sterling should fear for his life. However, without said sanc- tion, this Donald's reign is over. His players would boycott fu- ture games, if they did not win the playoffs, fellow owners and Clip- pers fans would avoid him like the plague and he would be out of the game anyway. But everyone has to get into the act. The Rev. Al Sharpton is front and center and J. Jackson cannot be far behind. Tsk, tsk. • • • TIME magazine has just issued its 100 Most Influential Men and Women report, and I regret, once again, not being included in this august group even though I only recognized about 20 names or so. But then, with Miley Cyrus on the list, I question how she has influ- enced my life. However, Ms. Cyrus apparently sings and looks stun- ning in some quarters and per- haps, by her good conduct, influ- ences legions of teeny boppers. The list includes a record num- ber of women: 41. That is pro- gress. The ages range from 16 to 78. Alas, no octogenarians. We ap- parently don't influence anybody except those who would like to live to a ripe old age • • • If you are like me (and fortunate to be so, but dis- counted for age) when reading an obituary, you scan looking for the cause of death. This is not merely morbid curiosity. If we knew and admired the deceased, we would hope he or she had a good death. But, according to a recent article by Kathryn Shulz in The New Yor- ker, cause of death is not always accurate or succinct as described in Death Certificates. This docu- ment has evolved over the years… the earliest such being the Bill of Mortality emerged in England in the early 16th century. No earlier civilizations kept systematic track of its dead: not the ancient Egyp- tians, not the Greeks, not the Ro- mans. Even early Christianity, one of the world's most successful pur- veyors of ideas about death, sel- dom attended to the specifics of why we die. The Death Certificate has been described as the saddest of diplo- mas, the most mysterious of pass- ports. Of the roughly 50 million people who will die this year, ap- proximately only half will get this dubious certificate. That figure in- cludes every fatality in every de- veloped nation on earth. The poet Tokef, in the 11th century, noted that people shall perish "by water and by fire, by sword and by beast, by famine and thirst, by earth- quake and by plague, by stran- gling and by stoning." Today the International Statis- tical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems have a list that runs to 2,200 pages enu- merating more than 8,000 ways to die. Not content to peruse said list, I asked a retired County Coro- ner what selections are on today's Death Certificate. He said "Death by homicide, suicide, accidental or natural causes…and unknown." It may be that the reason for one's demise being notated as "un- known" is the most disturbing of "diplomas"… an unfulfilled jour- ney. • • • The reenactment of a Civil War skirmish, recently concluded at Dog Island Park, is a curious dis- play and of questionable value, in my opinion. The participants make a lot of noise, frightened the horses and upset the neighbors on the hill. It appears to be more for the benefit of the actors who like to dress up and play soldier than of it being a reminder of a glori- ous moment in the history of our nation. It was not a glorious mo- ment, of course. It pitted Ameri- cans against Americans, and of- ten brother against brother caus- ing much suffering and loss of life. Why dig up this inglorious mo- ment? To make certain it does not happen again? A better way would be to ad- dress the inequality of all our citi- zens today…and I haven't the fog- giest idea how to go about that. It would surely not take a small scale pageant…but regrettably guns might enter the picture once again. • • • Last week's quiz was answered first by N. Rick via e- mail and then by F. Boest via snail mail. The code names for the D-Day invasion beaches in Normandy, France during WWII, were, for the Americans, "Omaha" and "Utah," and for the British and Ca- nadian forces "Sword," "Juno" and "Gold." Li'l Abner's girl friend's name was Daisy Mae Scraggs and Flash Gordon's girl friend's name was Dale Arden. This week's quiz: What was the given name of Sancho Panza's mode of transportation in "Don Quixote," name the two moons of Mars… and what cards were in the "Dead Man's Hand" held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was shot and killed? • • • Because of a storm, a teenage girl was forced to stay at a friend's house overnight. She called her mother the next morning and said, "Mum, it's Caroline. Please don't be mad at me for not calling sooner." The woman on the other end of the phone realized that the caller had the wrong number and said, "I'm sorry, but I don't have a daughter named Caroline." And the girl said, "Gee…I didn't think you would be that mad!" Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff, former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine and author of the "The Knocking Pen." He can be reached at rminchandmurray@hot- mail.com. What's in a name? GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIAL BOARD How to have your say: 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 no more than two double-spaced pages or 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151ext. 112 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS Robert Minch The issue brought to light in the Donald Sterling matter is this: neither passing legislation nor even electing a black presi- dent can cleanse all minds of evil thoughts. Sterling, owner of the Los An- geles Clippers basketball team, is alleged to have made racist re- marks about African-Americans. Considering Sterling's past be- havior, including paying $2.7 mil- lion in a housing discrimination suit, the allegations ring true. His is said to be the voice in a tape, released by TMZ.com, in conversation with Sterling's fe- male friend named V. Stiviano. The male voice says it's un- wise to post messages and pho- tos on social media about friend- ships with blacks. The male even goes so far as to berate Stivi- ano for bringing the NBA great Magic Johnson, a black who is part owner of the L.A. Lakers, to Clippers' games. The tale is complicated by the fact that Stiviano faces a lawsuit from Sterling's family in which it is alleged that she embezzled nearly $2 million. Sterling has de- nied making the comments that were recorded, presumably by Stiviano, and given to TMZ. But regardless of whether the NBA's investigation confirms that the voice is Sterling's, the fact is racism remains a serious problem in America. Blacks are the NBA's dominant achievers, and a black man holds the high- est office in the land, yet in a per- verse and tragic way, such ad- vances probably increase the level of ill-will among bigots. If the voice on the record- ing is Sterling's, and if it was re- corded without his knowledge by Stiviano, then what we have is a crude, yet private, conversation. Under California law, similar to those in 11 other states, it is illegal to make recordings with- out the prior consent of all par- ties, unless the conversation oc- curs in public where there is no reasonable expectation of pri- vacy. Stiviano could face a year in jail for such an offense. PETER FUNT Sterling's message OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, May 2, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4