News opinion 2008-06-27 Andanh.com

Editorial: Gun rights belong to individuals Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:00:00 -0700
The Supreme Court rightly strikes down a D.C. ordinance

Editorial: Governor should declare statewide fireworks ban Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Given the unusually dry conditions and the obvious danger, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is right to urge Californians to boycott fireworks this year. But appealing to people's good will and common sense will not be enough. The governor should use his powers to declare a state of emergency and ban the sale of fireworks everywhere in California.

Editorial: The 5-year hitch Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Charter schools in California have charters with five-year terms. So it makes sense for the school districts that authorize them to have matching facilities agreements with five-year terms. Having parallel charter and facilities agreements gives both the charter school and the authorizing district stability, predictability and program cohesion.

Election-map initiative helps voters, state progress Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT
California's current redistricting system, in which legislators draw the political districts for which they also compete at election time, is truly counter to voters' best interests.

Robert M. Hertzberg

James L. Brulte

Richard Perle: Too many cooks in confronting Iran? Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT
"A successful multilateral coalition" is how Condoleezza Rice described those countries, "united in confronting Iran," on which the administration's Iran policy critically depends.

Letters: Crops close to home, Yolo court, Israel, presidential race Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Locally grown food is healthier

Workers haul turnips last week at Soil Born Farm in Rancho Cordova.

David Sedeno: Obama pledges to court Latinos Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Barack Obama did a couple of things last week in an effort to maximize his campaign strategy beyond the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

Eric Mink: U.S. torture tactics harm our security Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT
More pieces of the U.S. torture puzzle fell into place last week.

Joel Brinkley: Bush gave Egyptians false hope Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT
CAIRO, Egypt — President Bush's second inaugural address, in January 2005, included rhetorical flourishes that certainly brought smiles to the faces of his speech writers as he delivered them from his podium in the House of Representatives.

Kathryn Jean Lopez: Cindy McCain: Ready on Day 1 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT
If you're looking for a first lady, you've got one in Cindy McCain. But John McCain would be well served by a more audible wife on the campaign trail.

E.J. Dionne Jr.: Gun ruling spotlights true judicial activists Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT
In knocking down the District of Columbia's 32-year ban on handgun possession, the conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court have shown again their willingness to abandon precedent in order to do whatever is necessary to further the agenda of the contemporary political right.

DERRICK K. BAKER: Obama at bat against the two R's Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:40:44 PDT
If you've ever played an outdoor sport, you know firsthand the impact of distractions while you're trying to perform at your best. For example, if you're in the batter's box during a friendly softball game or a hotly contested baseball game, nothing is more irritating and distracting than trying to ignore or swat that pesky fly buzzing around your face just as the pitcher is going into his windup.

KENNETH YALOWITZ & WILLIAM COURTNEY: Georgia and Russia can avoid war - if the West helps Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:30:44 PDT
Russia may be provoking a war with Georgia in a territorial dispute over Abkhazia.

EMILY WALSHE: Let's be surprised - don't put so much faith in personal Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:30:44 PDT
Have you noticed? People rarely ask for directions anymore.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: A housing-rescue bubble Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:30:44 PDT
Congress hopes to pass a bill soon that aims to rescue enough at-risk homeowners to put a price floor under a collapsing housing market. In theory, everyone benefits. In practice, well, the rescue plan itself might end up needing a rescue, at taxpayers' expense.

JAY SEKULOW: Politically motivated law stifles religious leaders' freedom of speech Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:20:48 PDT
The IRS is stifling the free speech rights of religious leaders in a world where most Americans understand that the intersection of faith and politics is a well-recognized part of this nation's culture and heritage.

THE REV. BARRY W. LYNN: Clergy can preach for or against any issue, but endorsing candidates violate Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:20:48 PDT
Houses of worship exist to fill spiritual needs and bring people closer to God. But many offer much more: Their soup kitchens provide meals to impoverished families, they give counseling to couples and they sponsor youth groups, among other endeavors.

DAVID SEDENO: Obama pledges to do better with Latinos Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:15:13 PDT
Barack Obama did a couple of things last week in an effort to maximize his campaign strategy beyond the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

ROSS MACKENZIE: College tuition, liberal ideology show no sign of slowing Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:15:13 PDT
The cost of running the family car is all over the news these days, and rightly so. But what about the cost of a college experience for Melissa and John?

Time to grill nuclear outlaw Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:09:49 -0700
A 1-kiloton nuclear bomb can fit inside a suitcase and could kill about 25,000 people if it exploded near the White House.

Letters 6-26-08 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:08:34 -0700
Should we privatize public education.

Letter: Paragliders could be a nuisance Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:09:31 PDT
When discussing whether paragliding should be allowed in upper park, the City Council members should address the following issues.

Letter: Tax could bring another revolution Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:10:13 PDT
King George III and the Stamp Act helped start a revolution, and I believe the city of Chico is treading in this direction also.

Letter: Citizens should demand transparency Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:10:14 PDT
I couldn't agree more with the recent letters to the editor from Steve Wolfe and Tim Voris regarding the Chico city councilors being responsible for the city's current budget woes.

Sow There: Let the garden be your teacher Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:34:55 PDT
The summer solstice just passed, which is as good a time as any to take a mid-year assessment. We can do this for our hairstyle, garden success, life plans or savings accounts.

Editorial: Fire logistics in capable hands Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:09:30 PDT
One of the most striking aspects of the response to the Humboldt, Ophir and Butte fires is the coordination of people and services.

Immigrants we need Fri, 27 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Fifty years ago, Jack Kilby, who grew up in Great Bend, Kan.

Marriage is ever-shifting idea Fri, 27 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Think Barbie ever lusted after anyone but Ken?

Obama faces issue of race bias in campaign head-on Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

The question isn't whether race will be an issue in the general election campaign between Barack Obama and John McCain. Race is already an issue, even if largely confined to the shadow world of implication and coded language.

Job of telling truth about Iraq falls to John McCain Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

There is a reason progress in Iraq is not receiving more attention. It isn't that Americans are "bored" or "tired" or have "moved on" or "don't care" or "have already made up their minds that the war was a colossal mistake.

A lesson in teamwork Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:41:32 PDT
What a delight it is to be able to say this: The Fresno State Bulldogs are the champions of collegiate baseball.

Carbon era is ending Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:50:32 -0700
David Bolling - INDEX-TRIBUNE EDITOR Let's talk about paper. Over the course of a year, the average American consumes more than 700 pounds of paper for everything from drinking cups to toilet tissue to the newspaper you hold in your hand.

SF's answer to immigration reform Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:50:33 -0700
San Francisco has aroused the ire of conservative Americans before. There was its pioneering legalization of gay marriages.

Lessons in letting go Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:50:33 -0700
They say that all good things must come to an end and recently I faced it twofold. Last week I lost my 12-year-old, blind cat Stevie. Diagnosed with heart disease three years ago, Stevie has been on a regimen of daily pills and bi-yearly checkups to stay ahead of any problems that might occur. Then, three months ago a seizure sent us to the emergency clinic, only to find that he now also had stomach cancer and finally kidney failure. The daily pills and regulated diet could not forestall the inevitable. Finally, after days of not being able to let go, I did. It came after a particularly restless night where he no longer could be comforted.

It's the heat, stupid! Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:50:33 -0700
Editor, Index-Tribune: In the past week, I witnessed a dog left in a car at a parking lot for over two hours. I was just about to call animal control when the owner returned to the car and left. California Penal Code section 597.7 states that: "No person shall leave or confine an animal in any unattended motor vehicle under conditions that endanger the health or well-being of an animal due to heat, cold, lack of adequate ventilation, or lack of food or water, or any circumstances that could reasonably be expected to cause suffering, disability, or death to the animal."

A 'greener' Relay for Life Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:50:33 -0700
Editor, Index-Tribune: Kudos to MacArthur Place and Stacy Ward for being the recipient of the Sustainable North Bay Award. This goes to prove that by starting with small efforts, we all can make big differences that impact our environment.

Best wishes, Veda and Kathy Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:50:33 -0700
Editor, Index-Tribune: This is in response to your front-page article about Veda Lewis and Kathy Aanestad regarding their "30-year engagement." As a heterosexual, friend and a CalTrans colleague of Veda's for many years, I wish to congratulate both of them on their long-awaited marriage. To me, and many of us heterosexuals, what really matters is the love that people have for each other, and if two people love each other for 30 years, whether hetero or homosexual, this is a wonderful thing.

Remembering war's terrors Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:50:33 -0700
Editor, Index-Tribune: Mr. Irv Mills, I salute you for your front page war stories, of which there were many during World War II. My husband, John M. Cook, was also a World War II POW, but in another theater, the Pacific. He was a prisoner of the Japanese in Cabanatuan, Philippines for three-and-a-half years.

Mayoral misunderstanding Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:50:33 -0700
Editor, Index-Tribune: I was surprised to see Mayor Sanders make such a factual error (in an I-T interview) when citing a city ordinance. She misunderstands the Living Wage Ordinance. Ben Boyce, one of the members of the Living Wage Coalition said in his letter to the Index-Tribune, "the Living Wage Ordinance is applied only to a small subset of the labor market, i.e. persons who work for the city or businesses that have major contractors with the city. It does not apply to every private business, unlike the minimum wage law. No business is compelled to pay the living wage rate."

Hopes Salute to Arts returns Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:50:33 -0700
Editor, Index-Tribune: As a 20-year performer at top art festivals throughout the country, the Salute To The Arts has been one of the very best. The event has top notch organization and the best aesthetic appeal of any event I have attended. I hope the event will return in 2009.

SVUSD unfair to Dunbar Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:13:39 -0700
Editor, Index-Tribune: A school principal is the vital position for providing leadership and safety to the students, faculty and parents who constitute a school community.

Says Supe Brown misleads Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:13:39 -0700
Editor, Index-Tribune: This is not something I normally do, but the information I just received in my e-mail has prompted me to write. Enough is enough!

Living wage: Setting the record straight Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:13:39 -0700
Editor, Index-Tribune: The Tuesday, June 10 issue of the Index-Tribune featured a page-one interview with Mayor Joanne Sanders. Having been one of the architects of the 2004 Living Wage Ordinance (LWO) for the City of Sonoma, I was taken aback by Ms. Sanders' statement that what put her "over the edge" politically was "watching the city council pass a living wage ordinance, a policy governing wage and price floors. It's a disservice to small business owners, local government saying you can't pay less than $11 or $13 an hour - there's no way to enforce it."

Valley forum Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:13:39 -0700
I am one of the 25 to 30 Dunbar parents, teachers, and staff who attended last week's SVUSD board meeting in hopes of getting our 50-percent principal position reinstated to 100 percent. So many brilliant points were made on our side (too many to list here - I'm sure you're getting an earfull of them already), but something else struck me after I walked out of that meeting ... nobody gave specific examples of how their child has been impacted by having a 50-percent principal!

Duck junk food Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:13:39 -0700
If you want a quick definition of cute, drop by the Plaza duck pond and look at the adolescent quackers basking in the sun. If you want a definition of healthy, look somewhere else. If you ate what they ate you'd probably die. White bread and soda crackers are not a healthy diet but that's mostly what people are giving the ducks. The city is loathe to offer real food because it attracts pigeons which are a nuisance. So if you want to feed the ducks, we suggest cracked corn and no cocoa puffs.

Staff notebook Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:13:39 -0700
There's only about a month until candidates can start filing papers for various local offices.

Brown mailing was poor judgment Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:13:39 -0700
One of the reasons incumbent politicians are so hard to unseat is that they can promote themselves politically with nearly limitless zeal while conducting official business. Elected officials cannot, after all, be expected to stop doing their jobs while running for re-election.

Moni Raiff's plea for help Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:40:56 -0700
Moni Raiff, former Sonoma resident, wants to come home, but she needs a job and a place to live to make it happen.

Op-ed Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:40:56 -0700
Next week, two small neighborhoods in Sonoma will join several California counties, including Monterey and Santa Cruz, in a program to eradicate the light brown apple moth, aka LBAM. The program includes hanging hundreds of pheromone (synthetic moth sex attractant) twist ties along Sonoma streets and in residential backyards - if we let them. The cost: roughly $30,000. Twist ties are labeled as harmful if absorbed through skin and dangerous to the eyes.

California focus Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:40:56 -0700
There was a time when the phrase "states' rights" was code for trampling on the rights of individuals. That was during the great 20th Century civil rights battle, when many states asserted they had the right to prevent some citizens from enjoying rights like voting and eating in the restaurants of their choice.

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