Desert Messenger

April 18, 2018 www.DesertMessenger.com 7 Opinions expressed in letters to the editor do not necessarily represent those of the Desert Messenger. letters to the editor MORE EASTER THANKS In last edition's (April 4, 2018) let- ter of thanks to Easter Egg Hunt do- nors, one very important donation was left out. The Quartzsite Desert Flyers have been donating to the Easter Egg Hunt for many years, quietly and from behind the scenes. The organizers wish to extend a huge thank you to the group for sup- porting our kids every year and not seeking attention. We all appreciate your generousity and look forward to your annual events next season! Shanana Rain Golden-Bear Vice Chair Parks Board CAROL'S CLOSET UPDATE Carol's Closet is doing an amazing job. Volunteers are awesome. We have caught up again with clothes so would be happy to take more clothes. Rainbow Acres folks have been fi ll- ing the food box each week with great donations for the food bank. If possible Carol's Closet could really utilize the following items through the summer: men's tube socks, dia- pers, wipes, Dawn soap, detergent, toilet paper, ladies hygiene items. You have all been amazing! Also we are collecting good items for our September Yard Sale fundraiser. Thank you all who have been so gen- erous to support us. We are always open for fi nancial donations also. Maggie Ross, volunteer. • Professional Quality Service! • References Available! • Mobile Service • UNLIMITED GUARANTEE! We don't just restring - We Repair Internally! • Qualified to Service Monocco Coaches • We Use FACTORY CHORDS and Parts • Removal & Install on Your Site! DAY NIGHT SHADES REPAIRED Local Resident • FREE Estimates Larry - Cell 928-273-3719 LIFETIME GUARANTEED WORK! Servicing Quartzsite FOR 9 YEARS! Factory Parts WANTED: We need a Line Dance Instructor over the summer at Silly Al's Piz- za. Would be at least an hour over lunch as they are not busy 11am to 12 noon. We don't have to do all kinds of dances. The Electric Slide and the Shuffl e are a few the people say, "I want to learn that!" All oth- ers are welcomed for free. If anyone wants to donate to the instructor, that would be fi ne. Call Pat 928- 927-5237. Pat Meisner Quartzsite Newspaper publishers across the U.S. already strapped by years of de- clining revenue say they're dealing with an existential threat: Recently imposed tariffs on Canadian news- print driving up their business costs. Last August, a New York-based hedge fund bought a small paper mill in Washington state. That hedge fund, One Rock Capital Part- ners, turned around and petitioned the U. S. Dept of Commerce to de- ploy federal trade and tariff laws to make newsprint as much as 32% more expensive per metric ton. The mill, North Pacifi c Paper Company, or NORPAC, asked the government for import duties on groundwood paper -that newspapers use- from Canada. NORPAC claims that the Canadian government has subsidized the paper companies, creating an unfair arrangement that injured NORPAC's business. A non-partisan group of legislators led by Reps. Chuck Fleishmann, R- Tenn., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., sent a letter to the International Trade Commission, urging denial of NORPAC's petitions. In the letter, the legislators said, "Duties on imported newsprint would further damage the printed news industry in the United States, which has seen a more than 50 per- cent decline in advertising revenue over the last 10 years." Canadian newsprint producers be- gan paying an average of 6.53 per- cent more to export their products to the U.S. in January 2018, when the Commerce Department con- cluded that would help offset the foreign paper mills' advantage over American companies. In March, the department increased the cost by another 22 percent after its pre- liminary investigation concluded that one Canadian company, Brit- ish Columbia-based Catalyst, was underselling the uncoated ground- wood paper newspapers use by that much less. The International Trade READER'S OASIS BOOKS 690 E. Main - Quartzsite (one block east of Family Dollar) New tariff threatens newspapers Commission is expected to make a fi nal determination on the tariffs in August or September. Canadian producers have already raised their prices to American news- papers. Even if we got no newsprint from Canada, American mills could not make up the shortfall because many have either closed or now produce paper other than newsprint. Ground- wood paper is a kind of newsprint. It is used to print and publish newspa- pers, large and small, across America. If the tariffs are imposed, costs will go way up on an already stressed indus- try. Other users include book publish- ers and paper merchants. The tariffs, imposed in January and increased in March, are not perma- nent yet. But newspaper publishers are bracing for another blow to an in- dustry that has shrunk with the loss of advertising revenue to the internet. Desert Messenger, along with News Media, encourages its readers to tell representatives in congress to stop the tariffs on newsprint. Call 202-225-3121 to leave a mes- sage for your representatives today!

• Cover