Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/733995
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, 728Main St., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS It has been frustrating trying to prepare for the election this year; not only have we had to deal with the junior high school style presidential campaign, we are faced with a myriad of complex issues on our state ballot — and we haven't even re- ceived our ballot pamphlet yet. I am try- ing to become an informed voter, but it is taking more work than in most years. LastweekIwroteaboutthe propaganda and semi-facts be- ing presented to oppose Prop- osition 61. This week I tried to read some in- formation about Propositions 65 and 67, the mea- sures that have to do with plas- tic bags. Both measures are a result of SB 270 which was passed in 2014 and was sched- uled to take effect in July 2015. That law would have required a ten cent fee be charged for single use, e.g. carry out bags, by stores. Most of those bags are plastic bags. State law, however, does allow for a voter referen- dum before a law can take ef- fect if the referendum qual- ifies for the ballot. The plas- tic bag industry went right to work and petitioned for Prop- osition 65 to be placed on the ballot; this forestalled the im- plementation of SB 270. Prop. 65 would require the fees col- lected by the stores be depos- ited in a special state fund to improve the environment. In other words, the stores were faced with a choice of increas- ing prices or not recovering the costs of the bags. Some felt the Prop. 65 folks were misleading and deceitful. Therefore, they placed Prop. 67 on the ballot to compete with 65. Proposition 67 essentially reinstitutes SB 270. If both measures pass the one with the most votes will prevail. In my research I discov- ered an organization called the American Progressive Bag Alliance. I was not sure what a "pro- gressive bag" is or why it needed an alliance. Perhaps the name was cho- sen to make those seeing it think that it is composed of "progressives" opposing Prop- osition 67. "Progressives" is a vague term often associated with Bernie Sanders who is not opposing Proposition 67. It may connote "liberal" to some as well, although I am not sure how "liberals" and "bags" would relate to each other. It is clear the name is meant to be misleading. What I found out was that "The American Progres- sive Bag Alliance — officially known as the American Pro- gressive Bag Alliance, A Proj- ect Of The Society Of The Plastics Industry (Non-profit 501 (C) (6)), Yes On 65 And No On 67 — is a ballot measure committee based in Washing- ton, D.C. and San Rafael. The committee was formed by the American Progressive Bag Al- liance, which seeks to promote and advocate for public pol- icy initiatives that serve as the frontline defense against plas- tic bag bans and taxes nation- wide." In other words, it is not for progress. Many claim that Proposition 65 was put on the ballot by the plastic industry to confuse vot- ers and penalize grocery stores for supporting the bag ban; I think I agree with that assess- ment. Voter confusion is not an uncommon goal for those ad- vocating one cause or another. Based on the fact that the only contributors to support the proposition are plastic manu- facturers it seems plausible it was, indeed, put on the ballot as a retaliatory measure. The campaign in support of the Prop. 65 is being led by the same American Progres- sive Bag Alliance which claims that, while opposed to plas- tic bag bans, the organization would rather see state-man- dated fees on carryout bags go towards environmental proj- ects than to grocers and retail- ers. That is their "rationale" for Proposition 65. If you believe that I know a bridge for sale. At least the plastic folks have not stooped so low as to use veterans as a cause to do this, but they have chosen a politically correct cause. In other words, instead of recap- turing the cost of the bags the grocery stores would have to send the money they collect to the state who could use it to clean up plastic bag waste caused by the Progress Bag Al- liance's very own products. The APBA has raised more than $6 million to support this "environmental cause." I think that money could have been put to better use. Proposition 67 would imple- ment SB 270 which kicked off this whole brouhaha in the first place; stores could keep the fees they receive for the use of such bags, recapturing some of their costs. Our "progressive" bag folks have raised more than $6 million to oppose this while the proponents have raised slightly more than $2 million. I am not sure the state should be telling us how to be- have, in this case how to pick up our room, so to speak, but it does make sense to me that we work together to decrease the amount of waste and pollu- tion caused by plastic bags, for example. SB 270 may seem like a draconian measure to plas- tic bag manufacturers, but it makes sense to me. It may be that the ten cent fee will en- courage many of us to use re- usable bags like most of the rest of the world. Let's not pun- ish grocery stores who support Prop. 67 and encourage the thinly veiled self-interest and reprisal embodied in Prop 65. JoeHarropisaretired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net. Joe Harrop They're trying to put a bag over our heads Cartoonist's take Visionofeducational advancement Editor: I was just spit balling to myself the other day about a wild vision for Red Bluff and the Redding and Chico area and how it can become the next Silicon Valley. There is a lot of talent at Chico State, and if possible turn Shasta College into University of California at Red Bluff with a starter class of 5,000 students. This would help the local econ- omy greatly and be able to tap into the federal student aid funds such as student loans. Also University of California at Red Bluff should have a law school, dental school, medical school and a computer science post doctorate program and have the teaching institution of Chico State as a feeder school. I have walked out to the Shasta College campus here in Red Bluff and I noticed one thing: the college grounds and the college are scalable: this means it can grow because of the land available. When the university is estab- lished, with all this talent here in Red Bluff, we'll have the most ed- ucated and motivated students in the world who can create start- up corporations and maybe the next big thing such as Google or YouTube or Yahoo or Microsoft. Let's roll the dice and petition the University of California Sys- tem to add a new campus called the University of California at Red Bluff or University of Cali- fornia at Shasta. I prefer the sec- ond one due to it being more gen- eral and reflective of the stun- ning natural environment and beauty here in Red Bluff and the local Redding-Red Bluff-Chico metroplex. — Paul Louis Blank, Red Bluff My stance on those who kneel at our flag Editor: I offer an apology if it seems like I'm fired up about our Con- stitutional right whether to stand for our symbol of free- dom or not. Of course, I stand, no matter what, for our symbol of your freedom. A large number of us veter- ans have marched in numerous parades for years, decades and then some. That flag always leads the parades. From every small town to the largest cities veterans lead and are involved in parades with their service organizations. They come to- gether for these events, not for themselves, but rather for you. Courage is one of many vir- tues that all veterans and many Americans share in ways that can't be numbered. All veterans who march and ride in these pa- rades make a wish each time. Will all able bodied Americans stand as our symbol passes by? How difficult is it to stand for six paces before the flag passes in front of you and until six paces after that symbol marches by? A few professional and col- lege athletes and other able bodied Americans seem to feel that by kneeling they are protesting a few items in our Constitution that they feel are not being adhered to; being violated. I feel they have some legitimate complaints. America isn't easy, never has been and never will be. Just ask a veteran or any active sol- dier, sailor, airman, guardsman or marine. Also ask a cop, fire- fighter or public safety person. But they love their land and love protecting your rights. But alas, they are not perfect and human errors occur and innocent blood is shed. But our nation needs to, and will, survive. And that's because all of those men and women patriots and their fami- lies will ensure it with their con- tinued sacrifices for you. Won't they find another way that's more appropriate to pro- test? Their protests so far are non-violent and we veterans ap- preciate it. So many veterans have experienced their share of violence. They and their fami- lies have made the sacrifices to preserve their right to peace- fully protest as our Constitution provides them. When searching for another way to protest I hope they please keep that non-violent also. I feel that leaves a door open and a place to sit down with each other to hear our combined concerns. It can open a dialogue. — John Minton, Red Bluff What's at stake in the election Editor: Barack Obama was all about change and boy did we get that. People are leery of Mr. Trump because he talks of change, a change that can only be guessed at, assumed. Hard charging Hillary may be dragged across the finish line, dead or alive, because the "witch of the east" can be con- trolled. With the Donald, who knows? With all the people in this country why were these two in- dividuals allowed to vie for the Presidency of the United States? Two people who represent graft, corruption and deceit. We need to be ashamed for our compliancy and weakness in allowing this to happen — it is a very sad selection. Don't you think? — Joseph Ostrowski, Red Bluff Making America respected again Editor: After four Iranian patrol boats followed and harassed the USS Nitze in the Persian Gulf Aug. 23, Trump said at a Florida campaign rally, "When they circle our beautiful de- stroyers with their little boats and they make gestures at our people that they shouldn't be allowed to make, they will be shot out of the water, okay?" At Monday's debate, Hill- ary condemned Trump citing such could start another war. Trump denied it would. While it's dubious as to whether the Iranian sail- ors constituted a legitimate threat, I appreciate that Trump wouldn't tolerate their shenanigans. Such would communicate to hostile countries and terror- ists throughout the world that we take our defense seriously. By doing so Trump would not only ensure the morale and safety of America's armed forces, he'd earn the offenders' respect. It would also render Amer- ica's military presence more foreboding and effective. In making this statement I'm not saying America's mili- tary presence in these areas is always justified. I'm just say- ing that for the safety of ev- eryone — America and its ad- versaries — clear boundaries should be established and en- forced. — Nathan Esplanade, Rancho Tehama Letters to the editor In other words, instead of recapturing the cost of the bags the grocery stores would have to send the money they collect to the state who could use it to clean up plastic bag waste caused by the Progress Bag Alliance's very own products. State, National, Local •Assemblyman James Galla- gher, 2060 Talbert Drive, Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 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, Sacra- mento 95814, 916 445-2841, fax 916 558-3160, governor@gover- nor.ca.gov •U.S. Representative Doug LaMalfa, 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, fax 415 393-0710 •U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, 1700 Montgomery St., San Fran- cisco 94111, 510 286-8537, fax 202 224-0454 Tehama County Supervisors, 527-4655 •District 1, Steve Chamblin, Ext. 3015 •District 2, Candy Carlson, Ext. 3014 •District 3, Dennis Garton, Ext. 3017 •District 4, Bob Williams, Ext. 3018 •District 5, Burt Bundy, Ext. 3016 •Red Bluff City Manager, Richard Crabtree, 527-2605, Ext. 3061 •Corning City Manager, Kristina Miller, 824-7033 Your officials Joe Harrop OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, October 1, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4