Fresno Bee Opinion Talk

Sen. Hillary Clinton has decided to accept the nomination for secretary of state, according to the New York Times. Here's the breaking news story.

This is from the Times story:

Mrs. Clinton came to her decision after additional discussion with President-elect Barack Obama about the nature of her role and his plans for foreign policy, said one of the confidants, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the situation. Mr. Obama's office told reporters Thursday that the nomination is "on track" but Clinton associates only confirmed Friday afternoon that she has decided.

"She's ready," said the confidant. Mrs. Clinton was reassured after talking again with Mr. Obama because their first meeting in Chicago last week "was so general," the confidant said. The purpose of the follow-up talk, he added, was not to extract particular concessions but "just getting comfortable" with the idea of working together.

A second Clinton associate confirmed that her camp believes they have a done deal. Senior Obama advisers said Friday morning that the offer had not been formally accepted and no announcement will be made until after Thanksgiving. But they said they were convinced that the nascent alliance was now ready to be sealed.

Now here's a news flash: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told President-elect Barack Obama that he would be willing to serve in the Obama administration when his gubernatorial term expires at the end of 2010. Schwarzenegger told Fox News this morning that the only qualifier would be to get the approval of his wife, Maria Shriver. She, of course, supported Obama for president. But she may not want to move to Washington from Los Angeles.

Here's the Los Angeles Times story on the Schwarzenegger phone call with Obama.

Schwarzenegger's office said the governor and the president-elect spoke by phone Sunday. Obama made the phone call. It was a return call. Schwarzenegger had called Obama after the election to congratulate him but did not get through, according to the Times.

Schwarzenegger, a John McCain supporter, made fun of Obama's physical stature while campaigning with McCain in Ohio. This is part of what Schwarzenegger said at the time:

"That's why I want to invite Sen. Obama because he needs to do something about those skinny legs. I'm going to make him do some squats. And then we're going to make him do some biceps curls to beef up those scrawny little arms. But if he could only do something about putting some meat on his ideas. Senator McCain on the other hand is built like a rock. His character and his views are solid."

In the phone call Sunday, Obama joked about those shots taken by Schwarzenegger during the campaign. This is how the governor explaned it to Fox News:

"He told me that he's going to build a big gymnasium in the White House to bulk up and that I should help him bulk up. And I said only if he helps me play basketball."

It's no wonder that student performance in the Fresno Unified School District is so uneven. Some schools do well by their students and other schools do poorly. At Edison High School, and some other schools, students can have excessive absences and still get top grades.That practice smells.

This came to light in the grade-change scandal involving a star athlete who missed 66 classes at Edison and still got an A. The grade was just enough to make the athlete eligible for this football season. It's all a coincidence, of course.

The teacher, Jeff Powell, says he gave the athlete and F in math but the grade was changed to an A by someone above him. Superintendent Michael Hanson, based on a $50,000 outside investigation, has concluded that the teacher changed the grade himself.

But the problems at Fresno Unified are much bigger than this one student's grades.

Here's our editorial from today explaining The Bee editorial board's take on the scandal.

This is from the editorial:

The report is an indictment of the district's ability to offer every student the support needed to graduate from high school. That's very troubling, especially considering that the district has made the improvement of student performance a key objective.

In announcing the results of the investigation Tuesday, Hanson vowed to fix policy questions raised in the report. That's good because the grade-changing allegations have seriously hurt the school system's credibility, as well as splitting the Edison community.

Grades and attendance data are easily quantifiable.The district must ensure that procedures are in place to maintain the integrity of these measurable standards.

Hanson acknowledged that there is "significant disparity in our practices and procedures across the district." He wants to create a position to deal with "major deficiencies" in keeping students on target to graduate. He also wants a districtwide tutoring and support system for students involved in co-curricular and athletic programs.

As we have the past two years, we are planning a special page of readers' Thanksgiving memories to run on that holiday next week. If you have a favorite Thanksgiving anecdote, a turkey-disaster story or if you just want to share what you are thankful for, we invite you to send it to us at letters@fresnobee.com before Nov. 24. Include your name, address and phone number. Limit letters to 200 words in length. All submissions may be edited.

(United Feature Syndicate Inc. Photo)

In Bill McEwen's column today, he talks about how people who live in the Valley sell our region short. And in doing so, they hurt our economy:

"Tourism does more than help hotel and restaurant owners. It adds precious sales and room taxes to city and county treasuries -- taxes from visitors instead of our pockets.

"Tourism provides a city with an opportunity to sell itself to students, families, retirees and businesses. Good first impressions can lead to relationships that benefit Fresno over and over."

His launching point into this discussion is the way some residents have reacted to the recent inaugural Fresno marathon -- the first Fresno has hosted since 1999. We've seen some of the discontent in our letters to the editor.

Putting on a marathon is a major undertaking. It's not just something you can reschedule if it rains or allow some cars to go through while runners are on the road. There were some glitches, yes. But if organizers are committed to making this an annual event, they'll learn from their mistakes. If not, area residents won't have to worry about it because runners and walkers won't take part in a poorly run event.

Meanwhile, people in the community should learn to be more gracious when we have guests in our home. As Bill pointed out, the organizers put together an attraction that filled about 900 hotel rooms for the night.

We've got time to get better before next year's marathon (planned for Nov. 8, 2009). We'll get another chance sooner than that to show visitors how welcoming we can be. Lance Armstrong's participation in the Amgen Tour of California in February (the 18th and 19th) is sure to draw lots of cycling enthusiasts to the Valley host cities of Clovis, Merced and Visalia.

Get out there and cheer on the athletes. Plan ahead and be patient if road closures delay your travel a little. Recommend good restaurants to people visiting our area. And if you can't put on a friendly face, maybe you can plan your own trip out of town so your negativity doesn't spoil it for everyone else.

President-elect Barack Obama now leads John McCain in Fresno County. While Obama easily carried California on Nov. 4, the vote count in Fresno County has changed hands several times. Right now Obama has an 877-vote edge out of more than 252,000 ballots cast for president in Fresno County.

Fresno County Clerk Victor Salazar says they are about 21,000 ballots still to be counted, including 18,000 provisional ballots and 3,000 ballots that were damaged, and couldn't be read by the county's scanner, according to a Bee story on the Nov. 4 results. Salazar said those ballots must be reconstructed.

Here's the latest count in Fresno County:

BARACK OBAMA DEM 123,132 49.16%
JOHN MCCAIN REP 122,255 48.81%
RALPH NADER PF 1,754 0.70%
BOB BARR LIB 834 0.33%
ALAN KEYES AIP 741 0.30%
CYNTHIA MCKINNEY GRN 561 0.22%
Write-in Votes 1,170 0.47%

Today former rivals President-elect Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain met today and had a cordial discussion over ways they might work together on climate change, immigration, Guantanamo Bay and more.

After such a long and bitter campaign, it's promising to see that there is hope for a more unified approach to the many serious problems facing not only the U.S., but the entire world. Comprehensive immigration reform was also part of the discussion. Our editorial in today's paper urged attention to that issue.

After the meeting, the two issued a joint statement saying: "At this defining moment in history, we believe that Americans of all parties want and need their leaders to come together and change the bad habits of Washington so that we can solve the common and urgent challenges of our time."

This united front harkens to each man's words on election night:

"These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him [Obama] tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face. ," said Sen. John McCain. "I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world ... Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans."

And these were the words of President-elect Barack Obama: "So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other. ... In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people."

I am hopeful that these words, followed by today's actions, signal the beginning of a new way of doing things in Washington, D.C.

A couple of shout-outs this morning to people involved in the re-opening of the Fresno Metropolitan Museum, which had been closed for a $28 million renovation project. It was worth the wait.

First, a shout-out to Executive Director Dana Thorpe and her staff, and the Met board for their well-conceived -- and well-executed -- 55-hour marathon opening. Classy operation all the way around. Admission was free for the opening and there was plenty to see and do.

Next, a shout-out to San Joaquin Valley residents who responded in a big way. There were 2,000 people there when the doors opened Thursday evening, and then they kept coming and coming. At 2 a.m., there were lines of people waiting to get in. Children loved it, especially the 14-foot therizinosaurus, which greeted them as part of the "Feathered Dinosaurs" exhibit.

A final shout-out to the Fresno City Council for helping the project by guaranteeing a short-term $15 million loan through United Security Bank, and then granting the Met two extensions to secure long-term financing. It was worth it.

On a personal note, I had a chance to see the spot where I used to work as a young reporter. The Met is at the old Fresno Bee building, and the fourth floor is now open. That floor housed the old newsroom. I found the place where my desk once sat. It was a big deal only to me. But I digress.

The re-opening of the Met was a success and the investment in this project will be repaid many times as an investment in our community. Good job to all who had a hand in this project.

Mayor-elect Ashley Swearengin will be on the Boren/McEwen political podcast Monday to discuss her transition plans in preparation for taking over the mayor's post in January. You can listen to today's podcast by clicking here.

Swearengin is scheduled to announce her transition team Monday and Bill McEwen and I will ask her about what that group will do to prepare her for taking over City Hall. We also will zero in on some of her immediate priorities as she assumes power over California's sixth-largest city. She will be sworn in on Jan. 6.

Swearengin was elected mayor on Nov. 4 and will succeed Mayor Alan Autry, who has served two terms as Fresno's top elected official. He could not seek re-election because of term limits.

Under Fresno's strong-mayor form of government, Swearengin will run the City Hall administration through her city manager. Right now, she plans to keep Andy Souza, Autry's city manager, in place for about the first six months. She said she'll then conduct a national search for a city manager, and has told City Hall reporters that she hopes that Souza applies for the permanent position.

A new study has set a price tag on our dirty air, and it's steep: $6.3 billion annually, and more than 800 people who die prematurely in the Valley each year. Here's our editorial today on the subject.

That's about double the cost the same group of Cal State Fullerton economists determined in a similar study three years ago.

The news comes as the state Air Resources Board gets set to consider strict new standards for diesel engines. The new standards will be expensive to implement, but the state will be helping truck operators meet the costs. In any case, the cost of cleaning up the engines is far less than the price we pay in illness, missed work days, school absences and deaths.