Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/516432
GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIALBOARD 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@ redbluffdailynews.com Fax: 530-527-9251 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 Fewer Californians than ever are buying fish- ing licenses, creating a $65 million problem for the state. The Department of Fish and Wildlife seems oblivious to the trend. It's time for the Legislature to act if the DFW won't. In1980,afishinglicensefor the entire year cost $5. The state sold 2.3 million of them. In 2014, a fishing license cost anywhere from $43 to $101.50, depending on how many of the various stamps, tags and report cards were needed. The state sold less than 1 million licenses. The DFW doesn't seem espe- cially concerned. It keeps mak- ing the regulations more diffi- cult to follow, keeps planting fewer trout to get kids inter- ested in the sport, keeps rais- ing the price of licenses like clockwork. The DFW isn't concerned because it's all about collecting money. Though the number of licensed anglers has dropped from 2.3 million to 990,000 since 1980, the revenue from those poor persistent anglers has risen from $21.5 million to $63.3 million over the same period. The goose lays golden eggs, so the state keeps demanding more eggs. There's a limit, though. Li- cense revenue was higher five years ago. Anglers have reached a breaking point. You can bet the DFW won't roll back prices, but it can make one change that would help anglers — selling an an- nual license that lasts 365 days. The way it works now is, the license expires at the end of the calendar year. For avid an- glers who fish every month, it's not an issue. But for casual an- glers, who might fish just one or two times a summer, the story is different. Let's say a person decided in mid-May to buy a license. It costs a minimum of $43.50, but it's only going to last a lit- tle more than six months. Say that license didn't expire or 12 months, till mid-May of 2016. Would more people be in- clined to buy? Probably. But when the DFW was asked to consider a 12-month license, the agency refused. It said license sales might suffer. If the best argument a pub- lic agency can make is that it can't change anything because it won't be able to milk the public as much, that's a bad ar- gument. We don't see it that way. We think the DFW is just resistant to change, that it's much easier to just continue raising rates every year than think of ways to increase license sales. We think a 12-month license would actually result in in- creased sales. That's what hap- pened in some states that have enacted the 12-month license, according to the California Sportfishing League. The California Sportfishing League is among the many or- ganizations — including the California Chamber of Com- merce and the California Travel Association — that sup- port Senate Bill 345, which would do just that. The legislation by Sen. Tom Berryhill, R-Twain Harte, not only would mandate the 12-month license, but would also give a steep discount to 16- and 17-year-olds to help get youths interested (children un- der 16 are already free). SB345 is working its way through the Legislature, but it stalled in the Senate Appropri- ations Committee on Monday, where it may or may not be heard later this month. Berryhill's bill says Califor- nia ranks last per capita in the number of licenses purchased. In a state with hundreds of miles of ocean coastline, as well as an amazing array of lakes and rivers, it's hard to be- lieve that states like Nevada and New Mexico have greater participation in fishing. The state needs to real- ize that's because of poor pol- icy and nothing else. The DFW has to remember that anglers are allies, not enemies or ATM machines. That $65 million translates to a lot of DFW jobs and conservation programs. If the DFW won't make changes, we hope the Legisla- ture has to the good sense to force the changes. Thiseditorialwasoriginally published in the Chico Enterprise-Record. Editorial Actionneeded to stop fishing license decline You can bet the DFW won't roll back prices, but it can make one change that would help anglers — selling an annual license that lasts 365 days. MemorialDayreflection Editor: Monday the 25th of May we celebrate Memorial Day as a remembrance of all those that have fallen in the service of America. Behind the State Capi- tal there's a plaque — Viet- nam War — that says, "All gave some, some gave all." Vietnam was my war, it may be remem- bered as an unpopular war, yet we went, we served, proudly. I would like your readers to be advised that many of us are still fighting that war, medi- cally. Here's what I mean. The defoliant Agent Orange was used in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Korea — 20.2 mil- lion gallons. This has caused 41 presumptive diseases to those that served in those countries. Every Memorial Day week- end I am reminded of my fallen comrades that died in battle, and have died from Agent Orange or are fighting the 41 diseases caused by this chemical. I'm writing this letter to persuade those veterans that served in those countries to sign up for the Agent Orange screening through the Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs. If you know a loved one or a friend who served you should encour- age them to get checked. I did not, our war is not over. I was advised on Sept. 4, 2014, I have non-Hodgkin lym- phoma, one of the many can- cers resulting from the expo- sure to the defoliant Agent Or- ange. It is important that you re- alize that the repercussions of Agent Orange exposure will af- fect many more veterans across America. Onward. — David Ybarra, Red Bluff Honoring our fallen soldiers Editor: As we appreciate the ex- tra time off this Memorial Day weekend, please take a mo- ment to remember the reason for this holiday in our nation's history. The freedom that we are blessed with is never truly free. We are able to enjoy this free- dom because of the more than one million servicemembers who have died in conflicts. They died fighting to estab- lish our freedom in the Revolu- tionary War, and they recently gave their lives defending our freedoms in Iraq and Afghan- istan. Let us also remember those who went missing in ac- tion while on active duty and have not returned home. Around the country, pa- rades, fireworks displays and concerts will be held in honor of those who have died defend- ing our country. Wherever you choose to spend Memorial Day, please take the time to honor our fallen servicemembers with those around you. One of the most important things we can do this Memo- rial Day is to teach younger generations about the sacri- fices made by our fallen he- roes. Our world is a safer and more peaceful place because of the honorable commitment our servicemembers made in an- swering the call to defend our freedom. We must never forget the price they have paid and must provide their friends and families that were left behind with comfort and solace know- ing their many sacrifices will not be forgotten. I wish you and your family a safe and meaningful Memo- rial Day. — Assemblymember James Gallagher Letter is only one opinion Editor: Pat Johnston's letter in the May 16 Daily News is her opin- ion. This page is for opinions whether they're liberal or con- servative or in-between. Her criticism of Don Polson is obnoxious but her being a liberal, which is true-to-form, doesn't surprise me. There's another liberal con- tributor with a weekly column, but his is okay because he's a liberal. I think the only part of his column worth reading is the joke at the end of the page. Everything else is trivia. Sev- eral months ago he stated Cali- fornia is doing just fine. Not everybody has the op- portunity to go to college, get an AA or a BA or a PhD or a MD. Some have to go to work, make a living, choose work above an expensive college de- gree, which many times means you owe $80,000 and can't find a job. Some are more fortunate. I don't know what Don Pol- son chose, I'm sure he's fine whether or not he has any cer- tificates. But liberals have to attack, it's their only tool. Win- ning is supreme. Years ago the Los Angeles Times listed all elected officials in office and stated who had college degrees or not. Some didn't have any. My son-in-law went to work out of high school, married my daughter, had four children, worked his way up in a suc- cessful medium-size plating company in southern Califor- nia from truck driver to presi- dent. No college. He was hon- est, ambitious, intelligent and driven. A man of his word. If the Daily News only re- ported articles from liberals the paper would die for sure. There are other people who think differently than a liberal. Look at all the cities who are dominated by liberals for years and years. In ruin. So goes Cal- ifornia. Hopefully we won't be here, we'll be in Arizona. Of course, what do I know. I have no AA, no BA, no PhD and no MD. — Bernice Cressy, Cottonwood Your opinions Cartoonist's take State and National Assemblyman James Galla- gher, 150 Amber Grove Drive, Ste. 154, Chico 95973, 530 895- 4217, http://ad03.asmrc.org/ Senator Jim Nielsen, 2634 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 879-7424, senator. nielsen@senate.ca.gov Governor Jerry Brown, State Capital Building, Sacramento 95814, 916 445-2841, fax 916 558- 3160, governor@governor.ca.gov U.S. Representative Doug La- Malfa, 507 Cannon House Of- fice Building, Washington D.C. 20515, 202 225-3076 U.S. Senator Dianne Fein- stein, One Post St., Ste. 2450, San Francisco 94104, 415 393- 0707 Local Tehama County Supervisors, 527-4655 District 1, Steve Chamblin, Ext. 3015 District 2, Candy Carlson, Ext. 3014 Your officials Here is what the death sen- tence for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will achieve: It will remind the world that America is not en- tirely the home of exceptionalism as many politicians suggest. Retaining the death penalty while virtually the entire civilized world has rejected it is, indeed, exceptional — but in the wrong sense of the word. It will prolong, through the valid Constitutional appeal pro- cess that could take a decade, the agony suffered by Bosto- nians and all those affected by the 2013 bombing that killed three and injured more than 250 people. It will serve as a powerful re- cruiting tool for global terrorist organizations as they seek more like Tsarnaev and his brother to wreak havoc on American soil. It will be a deeply emotional affront to the citizens of Massa- chusetts, who are overwhelm- ingly opposed to the death pen- alty and have not presided over a state-sponsored execution since 1947. Even though Tsar- naev's death would occur out of state and under federal juris- diction, the action of the Bos- ton jury is not what most Bay State residents wanted or sup- port. It will trigger more superflu- ous national debate about meth- ods of execution. Death penalty opponents understandably chal- lenge the process in every way possible — from the nature of chemicals used to the cost of the operation — while knowing that such considerations are com- pletely beside the larger point: that courts should not kill peo- ple. It will underscore the double standards of American justice. Setting off a bomb in a crowded public place is a heinous crime. However, the fact that the Jus- tice Department deemed it an "act of terrorism" should have no bearing on what the appro- priate punishment should be. It will confirm, yet again, that America's lawmakers stubbornly fail to acknowledge the science showing that the human brain is not fully developed until a person reaches his mid-twen- ties. This is by no means an ex- cuse; rather, it is a basis for de- termining punishment. Tsar- naev was 19 at the time of the bombing. It will fuel even more sensa- tionalism by those media outlets bent on exploiting the story for commercial gain. It will force some of us to ad- vocate for a person we would rather despise and then forget. Here is what the death sen- tence for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will not achieve: It will not make America stronger. It will not make America safer. It will not make The Ameri- can Way a point of pride. And, sadly, it will not bring back the lives or limbs taken by Tsarnaev's horrendous act. Peter Funt is a writer and speaker. His book, "Cautiously Optimistic," is available at Amazon.com and CandidCamera.com. Peter Funt Boston bomber's sentence punishes us all PeterFunt OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, May 23, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6