Saturday's Valley Voices page features an essay by Chris A. Schneider, executive director of Central California Legal Services. He's warning folks about tax preparation services that market predatory "refund anticipating loans." Denise Sciandra has written a charming piece about the birthday preparations for her twin sister's 60th birthday. Sciandra is president of the Arne Nixon Center Advocates, the friend group for the Arne Nixon Center for the study of Children's Literature in the Madden Library at California State University Fresno. Dr. Linda Halderman, a general surgeon practicing in rural south Fresno County, calls our attention to the state rip-off of physicians here. A surgeon who takes out an appendix in Selma gets hundreds less than she would get for the same operation in Oakland. Ridiculous.

In Sunday's Vision section, there is a story about some young and creative gaming enthusiasts, who are bringing folks in communities together in some remarkably fun ways. Michael Hanson and Larry Moore square off on the Fresno Unified School District's focus on the Op-Ed page. Hanson is the superintendent of the Fresno Unfiied school District and Moore is president of the Fresno Teachers Association.

In editorials, we discuss the importance of protecting our elders from financial predators - sadly that includes their own children and grandchildren. In another piece, we raise the issue of bulimia and anorexia in the fashion industry. It took four dead girls from Brazil to get the industry to face its own obsession with thinness and attention to this problem is long overdue.

Columnist Maureen Dowd says President Bush has read his history books way too late to help the country; Jim Boren says he does not appreciate reality TV and their incessant pranks. Victor Davis Hanson points out the hypocrisy of some of the U.S.'s loud critics in the Mideast who nonetheless send their children to live here.

Joann K. Schilling is our letter writer of the week.

Enjoy!