Bush's pals in Saudi Arabia tell Prez that soaring gas prices are just fine with them
President Bush was in Saudi Arabia Friday begging his friends to increase oil production, but they told him they're not stupid. Soaring gas prices make them billions of dollars. So much for Saudia Arabia helping Bush out of the economic mess that he created with his oil-company-friendly administration.
The Associated Press reported that the Saudis told Bush there is "no reason to increase oil production until customers demand it."
This was the second time that Bush made a personal appeal to King Abdullah, but the longtime U.S. ally said he doesn't care if gasoline prices hurt the little people in the United States. Saudi officials said they will only pump more oil when the market demands it, according to the AP.
Oil prices hit $127 a barrel on Friday. That's another record high.
The AP reported that Bush spent the day with "Abdullah at his lavish farm complex outside Riyadh, talking mostly out of public view over multiple tea services and meals. Abdullah greeted Bush warmly at the airport, and rode with him in his limousine out into the desert."
The little people in Fresno were pumping $4-per-gallon gas and wondering how to make the mortgage payment.
Our editorial today is about Clovis Unified's administrators banning twin girls, both special education students, from participating in graduation ceremonies, even though the ed code specifically allows Amanda and Alyssa Reta to take part. Grr! Not fair! Fortunately, their father has appealed to the school board. I hope he prevails! Clovis says it is legal for them to be banned by the district. It's also legal to let them walk in the graduation ceremonies. In this instance, it's not a question of doing what's legal; it's a question of doing what's right. Read about Amanda and Alyssa Reta's story and photo by clicking here. Then spread the word to your friends. The school board takes this up on May 28.
Latest Westerlund mailer to District 4 voters touts going to Iraq
Councilman Larry Westerlund, who is scheduled to report for active duty in the Navy, had been playing down the military angle in his campaign for re-election in District 4. But his latest mailers are now pointing out that he will be serving his country as a lieutenant commander after being called to active duty from the Naval Reserve.
In a mailer that District 4 residents began receiving this week, there's a "message from your City Councilman Larry Westerlund." He compares his service to great Americans who came before him.
"Like our forefathers, when called to duty they served then returned to resume their lives," Westerlund says on the front of the mailer, and again in the text of a letter on the back.
Westerlund is being challenged in the June 3 primary by Susan Good, an aide to state Sen. Dean Florez. The incumbent points out in the mailer that he won't be able to campaign while overseas, but says his wife, Dora, and mother, Judy, will be talking to voters on his behalf.
"Two months ago, I was called to active duty to serve in Iraq," he says in a Dear Neighbors letter. "My orders are for 12 months and I am currently scheduled to depart and report for active duty on May 18, 2008. This means I will miss about six months of the current term and should I be re-elected, the first six months of my new four-year term."
Lawyer Paul Caprioglio, a District 4 resident, has been chosen by the City Council to replace Westerlund while he is on active duty.
My husband answered an interesting phone call this morning at home. A worker for Nathan Magsig was letting us know that she had our Magsig yard sign ready for us. Magsig, a member of the Clovis City Council, is running against Debbie Poochigian for Bob Waterston's District 5 seat on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
Thing is, we didn't ask for a yard sign. Denny laughed as he told the lady that. With my husband working as a reporter (he covers Fresno City Hall and the mayor's race) and me working on the Opinion pages for The Fresno Bee, a campaign yard sign is something you won't see in front of our house.
Can you see Ty Cobb sneering in that lovable way of his?
This just in:
BALTIMORE (AP) - Clay Buchholz was put on the 15-day disabled
list Wednesday by the Boston Red Sox because of a broken nail on
his right middle finger.
Geez, they sure don't make 'em like they used to. Remember the old days, when ballplayers would trot out onto the field with a compound fracture (in the snow, and uphill both ways) and then grit it out for nine innings?
Now a broken fingernail lands you on the disabled list.
In all fairness to Buchholz, the story goes on to say that in fact the nail was torn all the way off. It's on his pitching hand, and the team's manager, coaches and trainers were concerned that trying to pitch while the nail grows back would cause him to alter his motion, which can lead to serious arm problems.
But still, can you imagine some of those legendary tough guys of yore seeing that lead paragraph in the sports pages? They'd die laughing.
I just got an e-mail from Brandy Ramos Nikaido with some excellent news. The University of California regents have authorized UC Merced to continue planning for a future medical school. The Bee has heartily supported this important effort. Read our editorials here and here and here and here .
Now the university will establish a medical school planning office, develop curriculum and prepare a full proposal and business plan. The school's goal is to present that to the regents by the end of 2009.
This is a small step in the overall process, but an exciting and unanimous vote of confidence from the regents. For months, the Valley has been aligning its energies toward this goal, and it's impressive to see so many people successfully moving forward together.
Rail projects, including California's high-speed system, would get a significant boost in funding under legislation passed by the House of Representatives recently. The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (HR 6003) would invest $14.4 billion over five years. The money would be used as matching funds for states that are building passenger rail lines.
In the past, such matching funds have amounted to only 50% of the states' costs, well below the 80% that highway projects receive. The new legislation would raise rail matches to the same 80% level. A similar measure passed the Senate last year.
It's about time. Environmental concerns and the cost of oil and make rail travel look better and better, but we're still stuck in our 1950s addiction to highways.
There are signs people are getting it, though. Amtrak ridership is at record levels, and growing rapidly. During fiscal year 2007, more than 25.8 million passengers used Amtrak. Ticket revenue was more than $1.5 billion, up 11% over the previous year. And in the first quarter of fiscal year 2008, that trend continued, with an increase of 11% in ridership. Revenue for the quarter was up 14.6%.
What would you do if someone trashed the campaign signs on your lawn?
Clovis lawyer Patricia Brown wrote in Valley Voices Saturday about her outrageous neighbor, a guy I suspect has applesauce for brains demonstrating his high regard for aesthetics by tearing down the yard signs for Hillary Clinton that she and another neighbor had placed on their front lawns. Unbelievable! It's even more complicated because they live in a condominium complex, so there is a homeowners association to deal with. Do you have campaign signs on your lawn? What would you do if someone tore them down?
To read the entire essay, click here. This is an excerpt:
Welty admits mistakes at Fresno State, and apologizes to community
In a very candid commentary published in The Bee today, Fresno State President John Welty admits to a painful year at the university and apologizes "for the things that have happened that have disappointed so many people in this community."
Those include multi-million-dollar verdicts against the university for sexual discrimination, misdirecting funding intended for academics to the athletic program and not being transparent in university dealings. The once solid support for Fresno State in the community has crumbled, turning much of the region against the university. Fresno State still enjoys backing from those who think the Bulldogs can do no wrong, but Welty's commentary today is an indication that he feels it's time to mend the wounds and attempt to move forward.
Here are the key quotes from Welty's piece: "It has been difficult to watch what has been happening; especially the frustration and anger these incidents have generated in the community. I would like the community to know that I take full and final responsibility for what has occurred.
"No university president would want to see these problems occur during his or her presidency. I do, however, apologize for the things that have happened that have disappointed so many people in this community."
Welty can prove that he actually means what he says by dropping the university's appeals in the Lindy Vivas and Stacy Johnson-Klein cases. Dragging out these appeals will do just the opposite of what Welty wants to do: Continue the split in the community.
Serving in the Peace Corps is the next best thing to carrying a baby out of a burning house to most Americans. But according to a former Peace Corps country director, Robert L. Strauss, the Peace Corps has never been what it should be, it's severely broken and is in need of a fix. To see his whole, surprisingly negative story in Foreign Policy magazine, click here. Did you serve in the Peace Corps? What was your experience?
If you think the Peace Corps is one of the best things America has ever done, here is Strauss' response:
Dream on. Today, the Peace Corps remains a Peter Pan organization, afraid to grow up, yet also afraid to question the thinking of its founding fathers. The rush to fulfill John F. Kennedy’s 1960 campaign pledge was such that the Peace Corps never learned to crawl, let alone walk, before it set off at a sprinter’s pace. The result is a schizophrenic entity, unsure if it is a development organization, a cheerleader for international goodwill, or a government-sponsored cross-cultural exchange program. In any case, the Peace Corps tries to do too many things in too many places with too few people to really get much of anything done at all.
I got an e-mail with some good news today from Tonya Luiz from the Office of Communications at UC Merced. She says that more than 1,000 freshmen have declared their intent to register for classes at UC Merced this fall, an increase of 46% compared with the previous year.
In January, University of California officials announced that more than 9,000 freshmen had applied to UC Merced for the fall 2008 semester – the university’s largest applicant pool yet. Campus officials expect to enroll about 900 new students for fall 2008.
UC Merced also seems to be making good progress toward another of its goals, which is to help create a college-going culture in the Valley. Here are some more good numbers.
* The number of Central Valley students who have applied to UC campuses has increased 19% since UC Merced first opened its doors in 2005 (3,668 in 2005 vs. 4,379 in 2008).
* Admission rates have increased 21% (2,794 in 2005 vs. 3,388 in 2008).
The rise in applications and admissions among that population is even more dramatic – 41% in applications and 45% in admissions -- when compared to the statistics from 2004 – when students did not have UC Merced as a choice (3,100 applicants and 2,344 admitted in 2004 vs. 4,379 applicants and 3,388 admitted in 2008).
Want to know more about UC Merced? To see the Web site, click here.
NPR is reporting that a compromise is in the works that could seat delegates from Florida at the Democratic National Convention in August. According to the article:
"Florida and Michigan are important states for the fall," said Alan Katz, a member of the Democratic National Committee and an Obama supporter. "And I think, at this stage of the game, since it looks like Sen. Obama will be the nominee, it's in everyone's interest to move forward."
Because Florida and Michigan broke party rules by holding their primaries early, the DNC stripped the two states of all its delegates.
I don't think those delegates should be seated. The state leaders broke the rules, they should have to suffer the consequences. What do you think?
Today's editorial gives details on three school bonds worth passing in the region for Central Unified, Kerman Unified and West Hills Community College District. Among the many benefits, Central's assessment will provide funds for a third high school, fast-growing Kerman Unified will be able to add an elementary school and West Hills will be able to add improvements to the northern third of the district, a portion that has been very eager in past elections to add to its educational choices. To read more, click here.
One of the best benefits of passing school bonds expeditiously is that the schools become eligible for millions in state matching funds and when they do not pass, well, guess what? That money goes elsewhere. No children are more deserving than those in the Valley. The bonds require a supermajority of 55% to pass.
I got a call this morning from a grumbly property owner concerned that renters will vote for a tax on his property. If you are a property owner, nothing makes your property values go up faster than being in a great school district. When families move to the area, it's the first thing they look at when choosing a location for their new home.
Want a glimpse of what high-speed rail will look like in California? The Web site of the state's High Speed Rail Authority has a virtual rail trip feature that lets you pick a departure site -- say, Fresno -- and a destination along the proposed route, and watch the trip in computer animation. It's pretty cool.
And if you look quickly, you can see somebody's vision of the Forest City development arising south of the ball park in the very brief Fresno segment.
How do you campaign against a councilman called to military duty?
In today's column, I explore the challenges that Susan Good faces as she attempts to unseat Councilman Larry Westerlund in Fresno's District 4. Westerlund has been called to active duty, and is expected to end up in Iraq for most of his tour. So Good not only must take on a soldier going off to fight for the US of A, she also must contend with the complication of him not even being here for the last 18 days before the June 3 primary election.
Good complains that Westerlund has ducked her during the time he has to campaign. She says she has brought out issues early out of fairness to Westerlund, but he hasn't responded. She has a point. Westerlund seems to be adopting the tactic of a football team with a lead in the final quarter: run out the clock. He leaves for active duty on Friday.
This is a fascinating race that hasn't received the media attention that it deserves. Read my column on the fascinating twists and turns in this campaign by clicking here.
