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In researching my column that ran today on Banned Books Week, I asked Fresno County Librarian Karen Bosch Cobb a question that my daughter Alyssa, 12, had.
Why is children's book "James and the Giant Peach," by Roald Dahl, on the list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books?
Someone (sorry, I didn't catch her name) called me back with the answers:
1. James is verbally and physically abused by his aunts.
2. The book makes reference to alcohol, tobacco and snuff.
3. The book "encourages disobedience."
Because we all know that will NEVER occur to children unless they read about it in books. Why don't we just forbid everything that promotes independent thought?
Saturday's Valley Voices section has been turned over to our young writers: Kira Armbruster, a college student at Azusa Pacific is writing about adjusting to college life, Amy K. Noel of Fresno State writes an eloquent defense of her history major and Brenda Rankin, also of Fresno State, writes a little reflection on autumn in the Valley.
Sunday's Vision cover page is another of the poetic letters from David Mas Masumoto, illustrated by former Bee artist Doug Hansen, who now teaches at Fresno State. Their topic this week is Who Owns A River?
Inside the section, you'll find a commentary by Betsy Lumbye, The Bee's executive editor and vice president discussing the delicate art of headline writing. Headlines frequently ignite readers enough to call the editor about them. Four Bee copy editors who write headlines comment on their philosophy and readers get a chance to write headlines of their own. Jim Boren's subject for the week is voter apathy and how much it costs us when we aren't paying attention to government. Victor Davis Hanson discusses "The New Anti-Semitism" and the Valley's Top 10 List gives reasons why the Bulldog Stadium skybox guests can drink alcohol at games.
The Sunday editorials will give our recommendations on the state bonds covering highways, transit, housing, schools and flood protection, and also on Proposition 83, which addresses sex offenders.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Wednesday told Britain's Labor Party leaders about efforts to turn Los Angeles into "the greenest and cleanest city in America."
That didn't sit too well with state Sen. Dean Florez, the Shafter Democrat, who fired off e-mails to the media to remind us that it's Los Angeles, under Villaraigosa's leadership, that wants to spread human waste on Kern County land, and is suing the county to overturn a vote by the people there to prohibit L.A. from using the Valley as its private toilet.
"Green at whose expense?" the Florez e-mail asks. Go get 'em, Dean.
Read on for the text of the Florez e-mail.
California Senator Rips L.A. Mayor's "Greenest City" Claims
BAKERSFIELD -- Senator Dean Florez, D-Shafter, challenged comments made by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at a meeting of Labor Party leaders while visiting England, where he claimed that Los Angeles will be greenest city in world. Florez wants to know: Green at whose expense?
Florez has led the fight to stop L.A. from spreading treated human waste, known as sewage sludge, on Kern County fields. This past June, the voters in Kern overwhelmingly voted to ban the practice, yet the City of Los Angeles is suing to overturn the will of the voters.
"Antonio is following the same pattern as past mayors, by shipping their environmental problems to neighboring cities. It's green at someone else's expense. L.A. is spoiling our environment, so Antonio should at least tell the world stage that his version of green means throwing your trash, or in this case your sewer sludge, at your neighbor," Florez said.
"The City of Los Angeles has trucked millions of tons of sewage sludge, with some of the world's most toxic by-products, to spread on Kern County farmland. Congress banned sludge from being dumped in the ocean because of it detrimental effects on ocean life, and now we're supposed to believe it is safe for farming? Given the recent spinach E. coli outbreak, does it really make sense to spread waste near food crops, with run-off and the potential to contaminate groundwater?"
"Maybe I'll take a trip to London to set the record straight," threatened Florez. "The City of L.A. should honor the will of the voters in Kern, get their sewage waste out of our community, and drop their lawsuit that is costing a poor rural county millions to defend. It seems that city leaders' idea of being green is to dump on their neighbor and when he complains, sue him into submission. I call it 'bullying green' and the mayor should at least be honest and take ownership for his part in ruining the environment of his neighbor. 'Green only up to the city's boundary' is a shortsighted and quiet frankly hypocritical position that the self-proclaimed 'greenest mayor' from the 'greenest city in world' should be embarrassed about."
I'm so glad to read in today's Bee that people are working on making Fresno County more of a tourist destination. We travel a lot and we've paid serious money to see things that are not half as great as what we have right here at home. Yosemite and all the lakes and national parks are of course a natural draw. But part of the secret is just bundling things together into a nice little package.
For example, some of the gardens in the Valley are just exquisite. I can see offering a tour that takes folks to the Forestiere Underground Gardens, the Duncan Gardens and the Shin Zen Gardens at Woodward Park.
A club-hopping tour might be fun, including a sushi bar, karaoke bar and a martini bar.
A theater or concert night could include dinner, then a concert or play and after-concert drinks and snacks.
Pretend you're a tour guide: What kind of package deals would you put together?
Want to see the future of city buses? Here's one take on that future from the Web site of the the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, which operates the Las Vegas transit system. The vehicles, called MAX, are examples of a new fusion of buses and trains that are sleek, futuristic and totally cool.
The concept is called bus rapid transit. Here's a Web site that explains it. It's not about the old yellow dog school buses some of us remember -- and some children in Fresno and the Valley still ride today. Nor is it the wheezing old diesel version of the city bus we've all come to -- ahem -- love.
Check out the videos of the bus in action on the Las Vegas Web site. Then imagine these puppies whipping around the Fresno-Clovis metro area some day. Ah, sweet dreams...
With all the momentum in the Fresno County sheriff's race seemingly going with Cal Minor, a retired California Highway Patrol captain, Margaret Mims, an assistant sheriff, got a big boost on Wednesday. Fresno Mayor Alan Autry and eight other mayors of cities in Fresno County endorsed Mims' bid for sheriff in the Nov. 7 election.
Here's Kerri Ginis' story in today's Bee.
This is what Autry said about Mims: "This is about the person who can best do the job and take care of the county," he said. "I know Margie Mims. I've seen what she has done and I know what she can do."
Minor responded to the endorsements this way: "I'd much rather have the support of law enforcement," said Minor, who has been endorsed by deputy sheriffs, correctional officers and Fresno police officers. "They're the people out there day in and out."
Tomorrow's editorial page will come down hard on the Fresno City Council for its lack of support for Storyland and Playland. While researching this piece, I came across a piece that Cyndee Fontana wrote last May. It's such a great example of the high esteem Fresnans hold for these little playparks. The city needs to show at least as much class as 1-year-old Sofia Fanucchi, whose birthday gifts were all turned over to Storyland and Playland.
Here's the story:
Humpty Dumpty to return to life
Fresno family does what all the king's horses and king's men couldn't do.
Humpty Dumpty soon should have a new perch at Fresno Storyland -- thanks to a birthday girl and hundreds of her friends and family.
Two weeks ago, 1-year-old Sofia Fanucchi's benefit birthday party raised roughly $23,500 for Storyland and Humpty Dumpty's return. Her parents, Eddie and Mimi Fanucchi, also hosted a similar party for the Fresno Chaffee Zoo when their son, Luca, turned a year old in 2004. That pulled in $20,000.
Wayne Thomas, president of the board of trustees for Fresno Storyland and Rotary Roeding Park Playland, said the new contributions should rebuild the attraction by the end of season.
"We really appreciate donations like this," he said. "For somebody to come in like this and restore a whole exhibit is unusual."
Both Eddie and Mimi Fanucchi grew up in Fresno and have fond memories of the zoo, Storyland and Playland. Eddie Fanucchi said it's important to help continue those traditions.
"Toys come and go," he said. "But having a great zoo ... a great Storyland and a great Playland, that's something our grandchildren will benefit from."
Thomas said Humpty Dumpty once lived in Playland. The exhibit was removed several years ago to make room for a new roller coaster and additional access.
Since then, the wild-eyed, 2,500-pound egg has languished in a storage yard. As the Fanucchis planned Sofia's party -- always intended as a benefit for Storyland -- Mimi Fanucchi began matching appetizers to exhibits: pigs in a blanket for the Three Little Pigs and gingerbread cookies at Hansel and Gretel, for example.
She envisioned quiche and deviled eggs at Humpty Dumpty, but discovered he was gone. The Fanucchis learned that the board was working to bring back the exhibit and volunteered the benefit for that cause.
The Fanucchis invited friends and family and asked for donations to Storyland rather than gifts. About 300 adults and 100 children attended the party, Eddie Fanucchi said.
Volunteers, staff and a paid crew planted 200 flats of flowers supplied by the Fanucchis to help spruce up Playland and Storyland grounds.
Storyland also has returned another familiar attraction: story boxes. When activated with a plastic key, the boxes play a one- to two-minute recorded nursery rhyme or tale in English or Spanish. Keys can be purchased for $2.75.
"The exciting thing is that old-time Fresnans remember going there with their keys and now we finally have them back," Thomas said.
The National Intelligence Estimate, declassified Tuesday by President Bush, has concluded that Iraq has become a "cause celebre" for jihadists. Read the declassified portion of the report here.
Here's the Associated Press' take on the story:
"At a news conference Tuesday, Bush said critics who believe the Iraq war has worsened terrorism are naive and mistaken, noting that al-Qaida and other groups have found inspiration to attack for more than a decade. "My judgment is, if we weren't in Iraq, they'd find some other excuse, because they have ambitions," the president
said.
"But Sen. Joe Biden, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said Wednesday that Bush has allowed Iraq to fester as a training ground for terrorists, and U.S. voters are worried about it."
Here's a link to a story about the president refusing to release the full intelligence report.
A story in The Bee's business section today discusses the problem of e-waste -- discarded electronic devices -- and points to some solutions. It's a real environmental nightmare: Computers and other electronic equipment contain significant amounts of heavy metals and other toxic materials, and they're usually not recycled and disposed of properly.
A California law passed last year bans such waste from landfills, and that has created a lucrative business opportunity for people like John Shegerian, who runs Electronic Recyclers in Fresno, which recycled 5 million pounds of equipment this month -- up from 200,000 pounds last September.
It's another example of a sometimes overlooked fact: Cleaning up the environment is not simply a matter of health and safety, though those are paramount concerns. There are also profits to be made, and that kind of incentive usually works better than appeals to good sense and altruism.
Today's front page features a story by Diana Marcum about a corner in west Fresno where a group gathers each day to pass time playing dominoes.
Games are something we don't spend enough time playing anymore. They bring us together, slow us down, make us laugh at ourselves and each other.
At our house, sometimes we gather around the dining room table for a spirited game of Yahtzee. Even our 3-year-old gets excited about rolling the dice cup, even if she doesn't understand about how the scoring works.
I enjoyed reading Diana's story because I used to play dominoes -- or "bones" -- all the time. It's something my ex-husband and I used to do together. I can't believe I haven't taught my kids to play. I need to.
And they say California is wacky: I was cruising through a teachers' magazine the other day, and I came across this link to a story about a geography teacher in Colorado who got suspended for flying foreign flags in his classroom. Eric Hamlin was corrected for displaying the U.N., Chinese and Mexican flags in his classroom. What ridiculous nonsense. Apparently, it's state law in Colorado that you cannot display any foreign flag permanently in a school unless it applies directly to the curriculum. The school district suspended him, then reinstated him and made a rule that he can have them up for only six weeks at a time and then he will have to rotate them out.
Those Colorado folks would really pitch a fit if they could see our house. So far this year, we've had Norwegian, German, Slovakian and Danish flags flying at our house to welcome our much-adored exchange students. Those beautiful flags are flying high as long as they're living or visiting in our house. Right now, we are hosting a Norwegian student and our neighbors are hosting a Danish student, so the neighborhood's starting to look like embassy row.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein should have an easy time getting re-elected on Nov. 7, and the only question is how she will spend her next six years in the Senate. But don't be surprised if she considers running for governor in 2010. That would only happen if Democratic nominee Phil Angelides loses to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Most think Schwarzenegger will have an easy time, which is one reason that some Democrats are already talking about the 2010 governor's race.
The biggest thing standing in Feinstein's way is her age. She's 73. But she's in good health and is the most popular politician in California. Here's my take on Feinstein and the Democrats in a column published in The Bee today.
...when The Associated Press moves a breaking news bulletin announcing that Paris Hilton has been charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence, according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorney's office.
Who cares?
We hear all the time about the need to get parents more involved in the education of their children, and the need is real. But one PTA president in Mississippi went a bit overboard, according to a school principal and at least some parents.
Dr. David Gatlin handed out a survey at a parent-teacher conference at a Jackson, Miss., school that included, as one choice, the line: "No, I do not want to get involved. I want my children to be thieves, drug addicts and prostitutes."
The principal yanked the survey, but Gatlin was unremorseful. "We want people to understand that if they really care about their children, they will get involved in their children's lives and set the proper example for their children."
And if it takes a hard sell, well...
I spent an exhilarating morning listening to speakers at the Fresno County Community Forum on Mental Health at the Piccadilly Inn. The question at hand was supposed to be whether to consolidate Fresno County mental-health services for adults and children into a single agency or leave their care in the hands of two independent departments. The decision affects more than 21,000 county residents with illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety and severe depression. It was great to have such an eager crowd focused on mental health.
The short answer from a distinguished panel of experts seemed to be that we are asking the wrong question. For Fresno County, it's putting mascara on a heart-attack patient. While it's, of course, good that the forum is happening at all, the very irrelevance of the question reveals a lot about how clueless the county is about the essence of its deficiences.. Many forms of organization can work if there is, first, a strong vision for what the mental health care system should be and, second, if you have the right people in place to carry that out. At the moment, neither exists and, as one speaker bluntly pointed out, the county is in a big mess.
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors now is basically faced with 1) getting a consensus vision on what a dynamic mental health care system for this area should look like and 2) hiring the right people to carry that out.
At lunch today, I heard a couple talking about the wildfires burning in Southern California. The man was telling his companion that fires are only going to become worse and more costly to fight because of the conditions that have been allowed to develop in the forests, through a combination of reduced logging and the neglect of thinning projects that would reduce forest fires' size, ferocity and cost. He mentioned that a couple of hundred years ago, the Indians took measures into their own hands to keep the size and impact of fires manageable -- if a couple of years went by without a major fire, they would set one themselves before the conditions got so bad that the resulting blaze would be overwhelming.
The situation is further compounded, a Sacramento Bee article reports, by the fact that more and more people are moving into forested regions, making it impossible to let wildfires burn themselves out and risky to stage controlled burns.
I drove past the Day fire in the Los Padres National Forest, which as of Monday had burned about 134,000 acres, or nearly 210 square miles, since Labor Day. I was on my way to Disneyland with my daughter. Long before we became aware of the fire (it was only a few days old at that time), we could smell the smoke, and the ash in the air caused the full moon to rise red over the mountains. Then we drove past the flames, on hill and in ravines along I-5.
The costs of fighting these forest fires are growing. The Bee article says: "If current patterns hold, 2006 will become the most costly year ever, exceeding the $1.27 billion spent in 2002."
Is there something we should be doing differently to keep these costs down?
I took some time off last week, and the highlight of an otherwise delightfully inert vacation was a visit from a couple of young relatives from Texas, my second cousin and his wife.
They had never been to Yosemite before, so on Wednesday, my brother and I drove them up and we toured that natural jewel. I worked in Yosemite a couple of summers many years ago, while in college, and my brother is an old hand; he worked there for a couple of years right after he graduated from college.
I've always enjoyed taking people up Highway 41 and through the Wawona Tunnel for the first time. That famous vista -- Bridalveil Falls on the right, El Capitan on the left and Half Dome in the middle distance -- still has the power to stun me, and it just bowls over first-timers. We came out of the tunnel and stopped, as almost all visitors do, and took a million pictures, then we wandered around the valley, punctuated by lunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel -- another jaw dropper for newcomers. It was a grand day.
I was impressed -- again -- as we stood at the base of El Capitan, with the power of nature to humble mere mortals. And Yosemite has that power in abundance. Of course, as with any good editorial writer, that humility had vanished long before we got back to Fresno. But I know where to go to get it back.
It's time that the public begin pressuring local elected officials to consolidate public safety services in the Fresno/Clovis metropolitan area. The erratic boundaries make it costly and inefficient to deliver public safey services. There's a movement to fix this problem, but I get the feeling that the politicians aren't really interested in it, and are just going along to keep people off their backs. Fortunately, the Fresno Chamber of Commerce has grabbed onto this issue and its leaders are trying to get some action out of elected officials.
Here's our editorial from today on the issue.
The real answer, of course, is getting rid of all the county islands and making the metropolitan area one jurisdiction. But good luck on that one. . . The public, especially those living in the county islands, don't want to be part of the city. But they sure want urban services. Seems like they ought to have to make a choice. If you want to be in the urban area, you have to be part of the city. If you want to live in the county, move to a rural area.
It was a stunning sentencing. On Friday, the judge sent a high school baseball player to jail for a punch thrown during a play in a high school baseball game in April between McLane High School and Fresno High School. The boy and his family were expecting probation, but Fresno County Superior Court Judge David Gottlieb sentenced Brandon Madrid to eight months in jail.
The details of the incident and the sentencing are laid out in this story in The Bee.
What do you think of the sentencing? After all, the victim's jaw was broken by the punch, and he has had four operations to repair it. Has street violence now become part of high school baseball? Maybe this sentencing will send a message to the players, coaches and school officials.
You fear the long lines at the DMV now? Just wait until the federal Real ID Act kicks in beginning in May 2008. Drivers wanting to renew their licenses will have to produce a birth certificate in person and other identification to verify who they are and that they are legally entitled to a license. There will be other requirements, but the feds have yet not determined what they are yet. They are still in what's called the rule-making stage.
The Riverside Press Enterprise explains what else is at stake in this post-9/11 law. Read it here.
All this is supposed to make us safer. We'll see.
We caught the spectacular performance of Cirque du Soleil's "Delirium" Tuesday night at the Save Mart Center. We had great seats smack in the center of row two on the floor and were completely entranced by the creativity in this amazing presentation.
I couldn't help thinking that this company could make an even bigger fortune as consultants to government. I would love to see the imagination, innovation and determination that went into this show applied to education, city planning, addressing the homeless issue. These people took the simplest things -- bolts of fabric, hula hoops, balloons, confetti, spotlights, white fabric -- and turned them into design elements that just boggle your brain. What they could do with a blighted neighborhood, low-income housing, downtown Fresno -- a high school full of underachievers -- I'd love to see them put their mark on those projects!
The conversation from the anonymous voices in the ladies room after the performance was pretty funny. Though not as insightful as Bee reviewer Donald Munro's assessment, they pretty much summed it up.
"So what was that all about?"
"I have no idea, but I liked it."
"I think it was about life."
"I think it was a dream."
"Whatever it was, it was great."
A Clovis man hired an attorney after officials at a local Indian casino told him that a malfunction caused a nickel slot machine to show that he had won a $737,203 jackpot, a story in Sunday's paper reported.
According to the article, Sornpaserd Unkeowannulack, 31, was playing at the Table Mountain Casino on Friday when the "Deep Pockets" machine announced he hit the jackpot. But when Unkeowannulack began celebrating, officials at the Indian gaming club said the machine was broken and he wasn't eligible for any prize.
After a preliminary investigation Table Mountain Casino officials said Tuesday they would pay Unkeowannulack $10,000 -- the cash-equivalent jackpot for the progressive slot machine he was playing on -- as a "consideration and appreciation" for his patronage. As of late Tuesday night, Unkeowannulack's attorney said that his client did not yet have an answer for casino officials.
What do you think? Should the casino give Unkeowannulack anything, if it was a malfunction? Or should he get what the machine said he won, even though there was no winning combination of symbols showing on that play?
I love riding trollies so I was really excited to hear about the midday trolley downtown . Tomorrow's editorial page will comment on the new trolley that the city's rolling out. We almost always like it when the city tries out ideas for downtown that have proven successful elsewhere -- provided they replicate the projects accurately. It's common for government to say it's following a successful idea, but then the designers decide to take shortcuts here and there. Before you know it, it's like a copy of a copy that bears only a shadow of a resemblance to the original. When it fails, they're just scratching their heads, wondering what happened.
The recent effort to take downtown workers to the Tower District died for lack of riders, and that's unfortunate. Thankfully, folks didn't give up on the idea and now the city's trying out a downtown version. We hope it works. Trolleys add charm to the urban experience, they keep cars off the streets and offer real convenience.
Unfortunately, The Bee's block isn't on the route so it won't be a regular treat for the employees here. I'd be interested in how they formulated that route, since there are several hundred folks on this one block with the post office, the IRS and a few dozen small businesses. Maybe if it works on the central core, they'll branch out a little bit.
I'm anxious to know your experience, so if you try it out, let us know how it worked for you. What was good and what could be improved? We want this to succeed and it will only happen if folks speak up.
The recent E. coli outbreak that has been connected to packaged spinach is too bad. Spinach is so good for you. But right now, health officials are urging consumers to avoid all fresh spinach until more answers have been found. Spinach products -- packaged and fresh -- have been removed from store shelves and restaurants have stopped serving dishes that include fresh spinach. Here's an article about how Fresno restaurants have responded.
As of Monday, 114 people in 21 states have been sickened by contaminated spinach. One person has died in Wisconsin.
The Food and Drug Administration has linked the outbreak to fresh spinach from Salinas-based Natural Selection Foods LLC, the country's largest grower of organic produce. The company has recalled 34 brands of fresh spinach sold at stores around the country.
Natural Selection Foods brands include: Natural Selection Foods, Pride of San Juan, Earthbound Farm, Bellissima, Dole, Rave Spinach, Emeril, Sysco, O Organic, Fresh Point, River Ranch, Superior, Nature's Basket, Pro-Mark, Compliments, Trader Joe's, Ready Pac, Jansal Valley, Cheney Brothers, Coastline, D'Arrigo Brothers, Green Harvest, Mann, Mills Family Farm, Premium Fresh, Snoboy, The Farmer's Market, Tanimura & Antle, President's Choice, Cross Valley, and Riverside Farms. River Ranch, which obtained bulk spring mix from Natural Selections, also has recalled packages of spring mix containing spinach. Its brands include Farmers Market, Hy Vee, Fresh and Easy.
We're offering an exclusive commentary to our readers on Tuesday on The Bee's Other Opinions page. The president of Iraq is in the United States this week and will meet with President Bush on Tuesday afternoon. In advance of coming here, President Jalal Talabani wrote this commentary for McClatchy Newspapers about the war in Iraq.
Talabani addresses the commentary to ''Dear Americans." This piece gives the official Iraqi perspective on the war effort in his country. No matter how you stand on the war in Iraq, you'll want to read this commentary. It gives an insight into the thinking of the Iraqi leader. Check it out this commentary on Page B9 in Tuesday's Bee.
. . . and you can't vote unless you're registered. The last day to register to vote in the Nov. 7 election is Oct. 23. Registration forms are available at libraries, post offices, fire stations, city halls, the DMV and some Fresno County offices. If you're not a Fresno County resident, check with the registrar of voters in your county.
Voters can also register to vote online: www.ss.ca.gov.
Fresno County Clerk Victor Salazar says the Fresno County Elections Department, 2221 Kern St. will be open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on the four Saturdays before the election -- Oct. 14, Oct. 21, Oct 28 and Nov. 4 -- from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Voting by absentee ballot begins Oct. 9.
If you have questions, call 488-3246.
Remember the notorious Danish cartoons that set off such a furor in the Muslim world a few months back? The bright lads running Iran thought they'd strike back with a cartoon exhibit poking fun at the Holocaust.
The good news: The exhibit is a bust, attendance-wise. It drew only about 300 visitors a day in its first week after opening, and that's since fallen to about 50 daily visits. Here's the full story:
It appears that California will soon get serious about requiring drivers using cell phones to operate more safely when driving on the state's roadways. Here's a news advisory from the office of State Sen. Joe Simitan, who carried a law requiring drivers to use a hands-free device:
"Governor Schwarzenegger announced today that he will hold a bill signing ceremony in Oakland to sign into law State Senator Joe Simitian's (D-Palo Alto) SB 1613, which will require California drivers who choose to use a cell phone while driving to use a hands-free device. The bill, which will go into effect on July 1, 2008, allows exceptions for drivers calling law enforcement or public safety agencies, as well as emergency services personnel driving authorized vehicles."
The bill signing will be at 11:15 a.m. Friday.
A Florida woman paid the price for taking a judge's parking spot. She had to wait for hours in the courtroom, while the judge blocked her car in with his Cadillac. Judge Stanley Mill said, "There's two perks to the job. I have my own bathroom, and I have my own parking spot, and you're not going to get to use either."
A Michigan man protesting abortion rammed his car into the Edgerton Women's Health Center in Davenport, Iowa. The center doesn't perform abortions. It doesn't even give referrals for abortions.
In Salinas, A 37-year-old parolee named Johnny Camel tripped over his baggy pants and fell while police pursued him last Friday.
Playboy magazine, that font of liberal mischief and soft porn, has more Republican readers than Democrats.
I had to make a mad dash into the underground garage downtown this week. I found a parking spot right away this time, but finding spots in parking garages isn't always such a quick and easy project. Two ideas we saw during our vacation last month really made the process easier. In long-term parking at the San Francisco airport, a digital sign on each floor tells you how many parking stalls are available -- if any.
A parking garage we used in Vienna, Austria went one step further. The Austrians have a system for telling you precisely which spots are open. Each parking space has a sensor connected to a light on the ceiling above it. Red light means the spot is taken. Green light means it's available. You can just look down each aisle and go for the nearest green light. Simple!
Now that Grizzlies Stadium has a new name -- Chukchansi Park -- I guess it's time abandon my long-cherished dream for the ballpark moniker. I always thought it should be Chance Field, named for Frank Chance, the Hall of Famer and native Fresnan who played so long ago he was a member of Chicago Cubs teams that won the World Series.
Besides honoring Chance, we had an opportunity to rename Tulare Street and Van Ness near the stadium. We could have called them Tinker and Evers. Then giving directions would have been a simple matter of telling people to take "Tinker to Evers to Chance."
If you're too young to know that one, or too baseball-challenged, here's a pretty good Web site.
And here's the original source of the phrase, from a New York Giants fan and newspaper columnist named Franklin Pierce Adams, written in Frank Chance's heyday.
Baseball's Sad Lexicon
These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double --
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
A Bee article by Doug Hoagland yesterday reported that a "ban on booze during Fresno State football games doesn't apply to everyone. Fans in the 23 skyboxes at Bulldog Stadium still can drink."
This story was one of the most viewed articles yesterday on the Bee's Web site. In today's paper, we wrote an editorial and Bill McEwen wrote a column saying that the same rules should apply to everyone.
What do you think? Does it make sense to allow the exception for skyboxes? Or is Fresno State in the wrong on this?
Now we learn that the CIA -- our CIA, acting on our behalf -- has been operating secret prisons around the globe, holding and interrogating suspected terrorists.
Setting up an American gulag was tricky. Americans have always had a quaint aversion to state-run, institutionalized terror, so we couldn't do this sort of thing on our own soil. The president swears we haven't been torturing people. No, we've just outsourced the task, like so many other things these days.
What next?
A group called Voices for Excellence in Fresno Unified is running a slate of candidates for four scool board seats in the Nov. 7 election. The group's leaders are Congressman Jim Costa, Assemblymember Juan Arambula, former Congressman Cal Dooley, former FUSD Superintendent Chuck McCully, former school board members Richard Johanson and Nancy Richardson, and Peter Weber, a retired business executive who has been involved in a number of community projects.
The group is supporting incumbents Pat Barr and Luisa Medina and newcomers Julie Hornback and Stafford Parker.
Here's the text of an email that the group has been sending around the community:
Dear friends and colleagues:
Rarely in recent memory has the future of Fresno Unified School District been so filled with hope. Under the leadership of new Superintendent Mike Hanson, the District has set ambitious goals for improving its finances and raising student performance. We are writing to encourage your support for four School Board candidates who are committed to keeping Fresno Unified moving forward on the path of reform.
We sincerely hope you will show your support by replying to this email stating that you will allow us to use your name as an endorser or wish to volunteer. We also hope you can lend your support for a September 26, 2006 fundraiser in honor of these candidates.
The stakes in this School Board election could not be higher for our community. The economic viability of this region is directly tied to the success of Fresno Unified. Employers are routinely forced to leave job openings unfilled because of the lack of qualified applicants. Since today's high school graduates are tomorrow's job seekers, it is up to our schools to make sure students are prepared. Our schools only serve students well when guided by strong leadership on the School Board that ensures the system's academic and financial health.
Two Fresno Unified Board incumbents, Patricia Barr and Luisa Medina, have played leading roles in bringing Superintendent Mike Hanson to Fresno and setting out the vision for academic and financial success. Through four years of hard work and bold leadership, Luisa and Pat have earned re-election, and they deserve your support.
Two eminently qualified new Board candidates, Julie Hornback and Stafford Parker, have the leadership skills to sustain and accelerate the reforms currently underway. Julie is Fresno County's Director of Employment and Temporary Assistance, and Stafford is the City of Fresno's former Director of Housing and Community Development. Throughout their long public service careers, Stafford and Julie have shown the kind of backbone, passion, and capacity for reasoned decision-making that the District needs now, at this critical time i n its history.
And make no mistake: this is a critical time for Fresno Unified. With financial and academic reforms underway, signs of improvement are beginning to show. Starting with its 2005-06 budget, the District has shown that it can meet its financial obligations for three years, averting the threat of a state takeover. The Board recently adopted an ambitious, well-thought out plan to strategically target resources to accelerate student learning and ensure that school environments are conducive to learning.
Despite the good news, immense challenges remain. The district continues to suffer low high school graduation rates and high drop out and expulsion rates. Fewer than 30% of students meet grade-level standards in English and math, and almost half of the schools in the District rank in the bottom 10% on the state's Academic Performance Index (API). At the same time, unfunded liabilities in the workers compensation and the retiree health benefit program threaten the District's long-term fiscal health. Further, while the District is currently enjoying the benefits of a statewide fiscal upswing, it must set aside reserves sufficient to maintain strong academic programs d uring the inevitable next economic downswing.
Years of hard work remain to put the District on solid academic and financial ground. Stafford Parker, Julie Hornback, Luisa Medina, and Patricia Barr have proven that they are the best candidates for the job.
We owe our children a Valley where a good-paying job is within the reach of most residents. And, we owe it to the children to keep Fresno Unified moving forward on the path of reform. Please join us in supporting Luisa Medina (Area #1), Stafford Parker (Area #3), Julie Hornback (Area #4), and Patricia Barr (Area #7) for School Board.
Santa Barbara County sheriff's deputies had an interesting time at La Purisima Mission in Lompoc the other day. Around midnight on Wednesday they found a 69-year-old Huntington Beach man, Alfred Thomas Steven, naked and covered in oats.
Deputies said the man had covered himself in olive oil, rolled around in the oats and then allowed the horses at the mission to lick him clean. He told deputies this has always been a fantasy of his and he decided to just drive up the coast and play it out.
He was cited for trespassing, animal cruelty and sexually assaulting an animal, and then released. Apparently it's not a crime to turn yourself into a granola bar for purposes of personal gratification.
A school board member in Dallas wants the city council there to do something about an issue that's apparently reached crisis proportions: baggy pants. Here's the story from the Austin American-Statesman.
"I think it's disrespectful, it's dishonorable and it's disgusting," said Ron Price. "I have no problem with the top of your Hanes label being shown. My problem is when grown men walk about the city with pants (hanging) below their buttocks."
But at least one fashion expert says baggy pants are on the way out. Mary Ruppert, assistant professor of fashion at Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., told the Associated Press that super skinny pants for both men and women are the coming thing this fall.
Legal experts suggest that Price's idea won't get very far. Similar efforts in other cities and states haven't passed muster. Seems the notion just doesn't hold up.
My column complaining about rude cell phone users has generated dozens of emails from readers. Most of them are in agreement with me, but some say I should get a life and accept the technology of the day, even if it encourages bad manners by many users.
One gentleman said I'm lucky I didn't get punched in the nose after I "interrupted" a cell phone conversation while I was trying to fill my plate at a salad bar at Whole Foods. A man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, emailed me that "some a--hole from California" shouldn't be trying to regulate people's behavior.
But most of the emails were similar to this:
"Loved your article although I expect the notion will be lost on the most egregious transgressors -- just wait until we have to use a headphone to drive and talk -- I suspect we will witness a greater expansion of the syndrome you described. How many of these self-important fools REALLY need to be on the phone?"
Here's another:
"Dear Mr. Boren -- Cheers to you!!! I'm in total agreement with your column about rudeness in the cell-phone-using community. I prefer a bit of passive-aggressive behavior (on my part) to homicide! If I come across someone on their phone while in a store (usually dawdling and driving shopping carts recklessly), I loudly say' "Excuse me" as I make my way past them. Driving phone talkers get the horn from me if I'm near as I want them to know where I am...what really frightens me is seeing old people driving and talking on the phone. I'm going on 62 years old and have really noticed the lag in my reflex time. Sigh... anyway, just wanted to say THANKS... I read your column in the San Diego Union Tribune."
And one more:
"Thank you for articulating what so many of us agree with. I have never spoken to anyone using a phone in public, but came very close to it on Friday while shopping in Miller Music for teaching materials. The silence of the room was pierced by a person entering the store on her cell phone.
"Please continue to publish articles and editorial comments on this issue. I'm sure it is partly a generation thing. I am 65, and was raised with the sensibilities of that time. Sadly this has not been the case for many years, since children became the 'center of the universe.' "
Because my cell phone column was picked off the news wire by several newspapers, I'm getting comments from people all over the West. This issue has struck a chord with people. There's definitely a clash between this technology and how some people use it.
Well, if you cannot trust a bar code, what can you trust?
A story in the Ventura County Star found lots of errors in a recent test. It's always up to consumers to be vigilant, but more inspectors also are needed to keep merchants honest.
I hope store clerks will read this story and stop treating the bar codes as if they were the penal codes. Computers -- and their human operators -- often make mistakes.
Boy, it's getting harder and harder to be a "liberal professor" these days. Here's a current events quiz. Match the quote with the speaker:
A. "They are racists, murderers, sexual deviants ... and they could be teaching your kids!"
B. "Our educational system has been affected by 150 years of secular thought and has raised thousands of people who hold Ph.D.s. Changing this system is not easy and we have to do it together."
1. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
2. Rev. Pat Robertson
Answers follow...
A. Pat Robertson
B. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
I'm a member of a local Yahoo group, a group of women friends who support each other in many ways by hashing out family and personal issues in an online forum. We get together in person, too, when we can. But we're there for each other nearly 24/7 on the Internet. Together, we've helped each other through divorces, moves, deaths and births.
Friday, one friend posed a question to the rest of us: How do you help a friend who is being abused by her husband? Tons of answers flooded in and lots of helpful suggestions: have an emergency plan, know the emergency numbers, the shelters, the police, have some money put aside even if it IS only a little at a time.
Today, she reported back that she had talked to her friend again and established a code: "If she ever needs help and can't say the words, all she has to do it tell me in any words that she has a rock in her shoe."
That is a great idea. All girlfriends -- and parents and their children -- should have a code like that, something innocuous to a casual listener, but off-kilter enough to trigger a reaction from someone who is alert to what the words might mean. Another friend said this: "Your code reminds me, when we knew of some abusive problems that were going on, the code was that somebody needed some bananas."
Listen to what the people around you are saying, even when they are tiptoeing around the truth. Maybe that's all they're ready to say or all they can say ... for now. And be there for them when they need more.
Fresno activist Vincent Lavery is returning to his native Ireland. Below are some remarks he made at a recent farewell party. The item begins with an email note that Lavery is sending to friends. It doesn't meet our rules for letters to the editor, but we thought his sentiments would be appropriate for our Opinion Talk blog. . .
Hello: Because the following farewell poem/letter is over 200 words, it violates the Fresno Bee's guidelines for letters to the editor and since it is not long enough for a Valley Voice, I am sending it to a few of you who have shown interest in it or who I think may enjoy it.
Please feel free to share it with your friends. I read it at the farewell party and several have asked for copies of it. Perhaps The Bee might publish it in its original form so that I can share it with all.
To my friends -- to my Fresno friends -- through a rear view mirror.
O Fresno! you are America, you are what is magnificent about America and equally what is sad about America. You are not just Fresnans - you are not just Americans -- you are a microcosm of the entire human race.
I see in Fresno the negative and the affirmative, I see New Orleans, New England, Kalispell and Tupelo. And above all I see the peace sign with two and its opposite with one. Your water tower is your king's palace, your Eiffel, your Taj Mahal.
O Fresno! you are Spanish in meaning but you are Hmong and Armenian, you are Swedish and Asian and dare I say Russian, Chinese, Korean and Iranian. Your past is history - you can hear it daily on 580, your present is confusing and heart breaking but it is your future that lies in your hands.
You can do nothing about the past, you can only react to the present but you can and you must help to change the future. It lies in the scarred hands of the farmworker, in the soft hands of the grandmother inmate in Chowchilla and in the questioning hands of the student.
As Oscar once said, we are all in the gutter; but some of us look at the stars. My Fresno friends you have always looked for the stars and I know one day, because you look at the stars, the river will run free and the Original American will then sleep in the sleep of peace. Let each of you move your grain of discontent and one day that mountain of hate will crumble because enough of you Fresnans cared."
Regards,
Vincent Lavery
Ireland
Saturday's Valley Voices section has commentaries by Armen Bacon on a trip she took to New York with a life-long friend; Katherine Andes laments the end of a fun summer vacation with her daughter; and Homer Gee Greene Jr. recounts the history of the Old Administration Building at Fresno City College.
Sunday's Vision section contains a commentary by George F. Gruner, retired executive editor of The Bee, on the 30th anniversary of The Bee Four. Gruner and three colleagues went to jail in a landmark freedom of the press case that drew international attention. Jim Boren, editor of the editorial pages, discusses why politicians would prefer to meddle in public education, rather than doing their own jobs well. Victor Davis Hanson writes that the building of democracy in the Mideast is messy but better than no democracy at all.
The Sunday editorials analyze the Valley's challenge to improve wages and criticize the Bush administration's cheap shots at folks who disagree with the war strategy.
The Valley's Top 10 list contains Fall TV Shows we'd like to see, including "West Side Worry," a gripping drama about land retirement and "Desperate Housebuyers," tawdry lives spent inside the real estate bubble. Don C. Craib is our letter writer of the week. Blogging Across America has items that address Bag Lady Syndrome, which is a common axient among women that they will end up on the streets; Portland, Oregon's solution to the homeless problem called Dignity Village and the possibility that photography is no longer a reliable source of evidence.
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