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4A Daily News – Friday, May 11, 2012 Opinion A modest, encouraging first step DAILYNEWS 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 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 #TehamaLive web chats May 3- 10 with six county supervisor candidates — one candidate for a half-hour each evening. While those participating live in the chats were few in number, the series allowed the newsroom to work out a few bugs and become familiar with the new format before hosting future chats, which may include sub- jects such as the police chief, sheriff, district attorney, mayor, coach, musician, hospital admin- istrator and other news makers. It's up to you. With whom would you like to chat? We held the debut series of subscribers and the chat tran- scripts remain available on red- bluffdailynews.com for digital readers. news maker and put that news maker in direct contact with con- sumers of news for a question and answer session. A true town hall meeting right in your living room or office. The idea is simple. Find a In the instance of candidate chats, edited versions were pub- lished in the next edition for print Thursday's chat drew 25 or so participants at any given time and subsequent chats had as many as 40. We guessed it would take some time for readers and visitors to warm up to the new format. But those who took part offered positive feedback. I was disappointed not to see more questions submitted by readers, especially when you consider how many people claim they could do our jobs better than we do. On the other hand, the busi- ness of county supervisors can be pretty dry stuff. The conversation each evening was largely generated by questions from the newsroom, but we did get a few good queries from visitors. Those participating could respond to poll questions while waiting for answers to be posted. The pace wasn't blazing, but there were no large pauses either. The biggest sur- prise? Roughly 75 per- cent of those participat- ing in the chats were 50 or older — so much for the web being just for kids. The live chats repre- sent our biggest step yet into a company-wide move to involve readers in the news gathering process. Allowing read- ers, even non-readers, to pose questions directly to candidates is about as involved as it gets. Chip Thompson 545 Diamond Ave. the live chats, any extra effort came at the front end as Sports Editor Rich Greene and Web- master Senia Owensby set up and learned the new platform. As for time spent producing drop me a line and we will start scheduling them. editor@redbluffdailynews.com. 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. Friendly to selected businesses Commentary The new Daily News "Live Chat with Candidates" format debuted a week ago with Greg Latourell answering questions and stating his positions on a variety of sub- jects. Tehama County Public Works department, but I became acquainted with him, and his wife Vickie, when we united with other con- cerned citizens and brought down a cabal of County Supervisors by recall. That was way back in 1996 when we deemed them "The Gang of Three." It was a traumatic but rewarding experience. Greg has the background to be a diligent supervisor, but one question was not asked, and I would like to hear his answer. In the chat he stated he would make the county a business friendly climate and a place easy for business to start and would not create ordinances or rules that would inhibit growth. However, has he not been in the forefront in thwarting Walmart's attempt to build a super store on land they own on Mill Street? His actions have not previously appeared "friendly to business." *** Greg has been for many years with the A group of 30 or so folks observed the National Day of Prayer on the courthouse steps last week. Several pastors joined in to pray with the group. It seems like a harmless pastime. No demonstrations, no signs, no pepper spray used in controlling an unruly mob. True, on courthouse grounds, it does not reflect separation of church and state. Some might think an organized prayer group might best confine their activities to a church of their own. However, that might not prove as effec- tive, prayer wise, as a more public venue such as the courthouse steps. It proba- bly is a step up from the drive-by-prayer method of bestowing blessings...but not much. *** Speaking of interviewing candidates, I note Pete Stiglich is a State Republican Can- didate for United States Representative. His signs read "Colonel Pete Stiglich," which is interesting in several respects. To show he is a regular fellow, he goes by his nickname "Pete." As a colonel in the armed forces, however, he probably had to go with his given name which I assume is "Peter." Noth- ing wrong going about civilian life as "Pete" and there is precedent when General Dwight Eisenhower allowed himself the familiar "Ike" in his campaign for president. So "Pete" may be a step towards garnering the vote of the common man. But preceding it with "Colonel" might possibly align him with the military faction, which is often not in favor with the voting public when young potential voters are dying in faraway places. On the other hand, attaining the rank of Colonel requires a certain savvy and perse- verance, which might provide a person, entering the public forum, an asset. In any case, it seems unlikely a candidate would advertize himself as, say, "Corporal John Jones" ...or "Private First Class Stan Smith." It just wouldn't carry the clout, would it? *** merchandise sold therein. They do attract attention, and attention is what every busi- ness requires to be successful. I m not against attempts to stimulate sales, but 12-foot flags lined up on a busy thoroughfare such as Antelope Boule- vard could cause the eye to wander and drivers to won- der if a jousting tournament or some such is about to commence. *** Robert Minch I Say While parking at the Wellness Center, I encroached on the parking stall to my right, which evidently made it difficult for the occupant later to get into his car and exit. As a result, to call attention to my insensitive parking behavior, I found, when returning to my pickup an hour later, the tailgate down, both windshield wipers upright and both side mirrors folded flat against the doors. While no harm was done, I believe it pru- dent, in the future, to observe the lines and not encroach. Whereas this may be attrib- uted more to stall than road rage, if this had happened in San Francisco, for example, I could have been shot. *** In last week's effort, I casually mentioned the old Ed Sullivan pronouncement "And now something for the children," and asked if a coin is dropped into a bottle and closed with a cork, how could the coin be retrieved without pulling the cork or breaking the bot- tle. Answer: Shove cork into the bottle and shake out the coin. *** The sign police have apparently ignored the plethora of flags now implanted here and there about our fair city. They are huge. Unlike conventional flags, they are vertical rather than horizontal and usually embossed to indicate that a business is open or the type archy, Argo, Argos and Argus *** Birth of Venus" with Botticelli, "At the Moulin Rouge" with H. Tolouse-Latrec and "American Gothic" with G. Wood. This week's quiz: Identify the following; county fire department was called out but the blaze was too big for them to tackle, so they called in a part -time volunteer force. The volunteer brigade showed up in a dilap- idated old truck. The county fire chief was about to apologize to the farmer for the embarrassment the volunteer force were causing when, to his amazement, the volun- teer truck fearlessly drove into the very heart of the fire! Within minutes, the center of the fire was extinguished, breaking the blaze into two controllable sections. An hour later the entire fire was out. The farmer was so impressed that he immediately presented the captain of the volunteer force with a check for $1,000 dol- lars. A local newsman asked the captain what he was going to spend it on. "I'm going to get the brakes on that gaw- dam truck fixed!" replied the captain. A huge fire broke out near a farm. The 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@hotmail.com. Last week's quiz was answered by more art lovers than you could shake a paint brush at. Of the 10 or more responders, J. Bahlke was first in and matched up "The Scream" with E. Munch, "Water Lil- lies"with C. Monet, "The Consider the hour or so a reporter would have spent interview- ing each candidate and another two hours or more to write a candi- date profile. The 45 minutes each evening to conduct the live chat and edit the tran- script represents a big time savings — espe- cially important now that the newsroom is down to four. With some experi- ence under our belts, we'll be looking to host regular live chats with the people you want to hear from, so Chip Thompson can be reached at 527-2151, Ext. 112 or by email at