Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/54352
6A Daily News – Thursday, February 2, 2012 Opinion Water meeting Editor: 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 There has been much said and written about the disruptive people at the recent Northern Sacramento Valley Integrated Regional Water Management Plan meeting in Red Bluff on Jan.18th at the Commu- nity Center. This is not the first time tem- 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. 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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 pers have flared at a water meeting and it won't be the last. These guys wanted public input and they got it, the real problem is that we aren't going to roll over and just accept their ideas. This meeting went just fine as now it has attract- ed attention of those that didn't know anything about it. I attended that meeting and I'd like to point out a few things that have riled up Northern California residents in the past. The EPA and our state representatives seem to think that the Delta smelt, sucker fish, fairy shrimp, etc. are more important than our life sustaining ability to grow and irrigate our crops. We've witnessed it in the Kla- math Basin in 2001 over sucker fish and more recently in the virtu- al dust bowl that is the San Joaquin Valley, caused by the delta smelt. So, why wouldn't Northern Cali- fornia residents be up in arms at a regional water planning meeting? The entities behind the plan should have started by sending a newsletter out to every resident in the 6 counties that are involved stating that they are aware of the water problems we've had in the past and they want to help us pro- tect our water. If protecting our water is truly the case, then they should have presented that case, then set up meetings and formed a committee made up of many landowners, not just supervisors and their appointees. The point is the public should have been there at the ground floor, not 2 or 3 steps up. Instead of having fact sheets of the horrific conditions caused by over regula- tions or environmental BS they had fact sheets that tells us they've been working on this plan for over 10 years to address such things as flood, storm water, ecosystem pro- tection and enhancement, etc. These, of course would only send up red flags to the people that are aware of the destruction of our industries because of the environ- mental preferences over humans. No, instead we received ques- tionnaires that asked about our pri- orities of clean drinking water, safety of water supplies, wetland restoration and then what race/eth- nicity we fit into and what our income levels were. And we are being told that, "we're here to help you." We all remember President Reagan's words about government help. Exactly why was it out of line to demand to know who these people were and who is paying them? We are American's with a Constitu- tion protecting our rights to stand up and speak out. The money for putting this plan together first came from Prop 50 — water security, clean drinking water, coastal and beach protec- tion act of 2002. Then along comes more funding from Prop 84 which was passed in 2006 as a safe drinking water bond. This program is not helping us. Under this prop the requirement is to achieve a 20% reduction in urban per capita water use by Dec. 31, 2020. The state is required to make incremental progress towards this goal by reducing per capita water use by at least 10% on or before Dec. 31, 2015? The NSV Integrated Region Water Management Plan is to be imple- mented in December 2013. I don't think I'd be too far off base by saying that all in atten- dance were property owners that feel threatened over the loss of water rights, government imposed fees and encroachment on our pri- vate property. This meeting was productive as we pointed out the discrepancies in their time lines, and they're connected with the water resource board. Patty Smith, Paskenta The right thing Editor: So, what do you do with a brand spanking new $88 million dollar, 150-room, veterans resi- dential care facility you can't afford to open? Although 98% complete, the Redding veterans' home proba- bly won't open until around Jan- uary 2014, if then. Gov. Brown says there's no money to hire the required staff and operate the facility. Even by government stan- dards of inefficiency and inepti- tude, this screw-up rises to a new level of incompetence and luna- cy. Heads ought to roll for mak- ing a decision to construct such a facility without guaranteeing funds were going to be available to actually use it. The governor's solution is to put the home in 'mothball' status until the state can afford to offi- cially open it. This includes pay- ing a cadre of folks to babysit the facility even though no one's going to be using it for quite some time. For the 2012-2013 fiscal year, according to my sources, Cali- fornia taxpayers get to pay a tidy little sum of $1.4 million to implement Brown's 'mothball' plan for the Redding home. That's roughly $140,000 a month. What an absolute waste. Nothing like pouring good money down the proverbial rat hole and getting absolutely noth- ing in return. It's an insult to every taxpayer in the state. And voters ought not tolerate it. If the state can't open the Redding Veterans Home on schedule for its intended purpose of serving California's veterans community, then it needs to find another good use for it — at least in the short term. Frankly, it seems uncon- scionable to me to have such a beautiful housing facility sit idle and empty when so many of our brothers and sisters find them- selves without shelter from the elements during these hard times. Perhaps a partnership between state and local philan- thropic groups could be formed to make something good out of an otherwise very distressing sit- uation. Dare I say, it's the right thing to do. Pete Stiglich, Cottonwood 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 3070 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), 2595 Cean- othus Ave., Ste. 182, Chico, CA 95973; 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; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Danger of the Obama administration's loose lips Commentary During World War II, posters displaying the slogan "Loose lips might sink ships" reminded service members and civilians alike to avoid indiscreet discussions about secure information that could be exploited by the enemy and used against America during wartime. People understood that freedom of speech did not give them license to spill their guts because national security was vital to victory and victory was paramount to Ameri- ca's survival. But that was then. Today, we have an administration that embraces a "Loose Lips For Politi- cal Expediency" philosophy. (No, I'm not talking about Vice Presi- dent Biden.) Case in point: A head- line I read the other day titled "SEALs becoming [the] face of Obama's defense strategy." Say, what? Until this administration drew them to the light (like a bug zap- per), SEAL Team Six was, for all intents and purposes, a figment of our imaginations -- the stuff little (and big) boys dream about, and a terrorist's biggest nightmare. This group of "quiet professionals" is quite content doing their job back- stage without a spotlight and would prefer to keep it that way. Nonetheless, they were mentioned yet again in the State of the Union address. Obama claimed the mis- sion was successful " because every member of that unit trusted each other" knowing someone was "watching your back." Obama was partially correct, but someone with a bit more (38 years) experience has another take as to why the operation was suc- cessful. Admiral Eric Olson, for- mer commander of U.S. Special Operations Command and former Navy SEAL, spoke to a group at Aspen Institute last summer. Olson explained the raid was successful "because nobody talked about it." Oh the shock and awe one must experience after accomplishing such an extraordinary feat only to discover your commander-in-chief cannot "watch your back" because he won't keep his lips zipped. (To the unaware: unzipped lips are worse than unzipped pants. Ask Bill Clinton.) In the address, Obama accurate- ly quantified getting bin Laden was apolitical and said everyone in the Situation Room was unified in pur- pose. He failed to mention the "Loose Lips" pact agreed upon by those in the room. (I guess he left it out because it didn't last long.) Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said everyone agreed to "not release any operational details from the effort to take out bin Laden." Gates said it "all fell apart on Monday, the next day." What about the word "secret" does the Obama administration not get? They are now under investigation by the Inspectors General of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) per a January 5, 2012 press release by Homeland Security Committee Chairman Representative Peter King (R-NY). The investigation is underway because the administration purport- edly granted "high level access" of information to Hollywood filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow and Sony Pic- tures for the making of a film about the bin Laden operation. King claims the information may put operators and their families in dan- ger and said some "in the intelli- gence and special operation com- munities express support" for the probe. In earlier correspondence to DOD and CIA Inspectors General, King questioned another alleged controversial decision, which by all intents and purposes blew the cover for special operators, when filmmakers were invited to attend "a meeting with special operators and Agency officers at CIA Head- quarters." While everyone involved rejects the idea of foul play for political Susan Brown gain, it should be noted the film was originally scheduled to be released just three weeks before the November 2012 elections, which could have been an "October surprise" of Chicago politics proportion. Obama himself said taking out bin Laden was not political, but actions subsequently emphasize the impor- tance of having a per- son of sound character and disciplined tongue in the Oval Office. Had one of those been in charge, he'd have mostly like gained the trust of these clandestine cohorts by congratulating them in private -- because they do what they do for love of the country, not for glory or praise. If they needed that kind of stuff, they'd run for president. Susan Stamper Brown is an opinion page columnist, motivational speaker and military advocate who writes about politics, the military, the economy and culture. Reach Susan at susan @susanstamperbrown.com, her Web site www.susanstamberbrown.com and Facebook.