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What do Santa Claus, pilots and intensive-care unit doctors have in common? If you're lucky, it's checklists.
If you're headed for a hospital intensive care unit anytime soon take a look at a commentary by Atul Gawande in the New York Times about the importance of simple checklists in health care.
A study by Johns Hopkins researchers discovered that when intensive care units observed that long-revered custom of pilots -- the checklist -- that lives were saved in dramatic numbers. The results were so compelling that of course, it would seem to be only right to institute this practice right away in as many hospitals as possible. This is not a long, involved deal. In one case, it was just five simple items on a checklist -- things like reminding doctors to wash their hands.
A year ago, researchers at Johns Hopkins University published the results of a program that instituted in nearly every intensive care unit in Michigan a simple five-step checklist designed to prevent certain hospital infections. It reminds doctors to make sure, for example, that before putting large intravenous lines into patients, they actually wash their hands and don a sterile gown and gloves.
The results were stunning. Within three months, the rate of bloodstream infections from these I.V. lines fell by two-thirds. The average I.C.U. cut its infection rate from 4 percent to zero. Over 18 months, the program saved more than 1,500 lives and nearly $200 million.
The interesting part about it is that an obscure little government office has declared this valuable program illegal and shut it down. How dumb is that? Deadly dumb!
I think the researchers should publish those checklists for the general public and let patients pack their own questions when they go to the hospital.
I was intrigued by a question posed by the writer about this study. If lives could be saved by this one simple tool -- a checklist -- what else could be accomplished? Makes you wonder about government, hmmm?
To read the whole Times commentary, click here.
To hear an interview with Dr. Peter Pronovost, who worked on the study, on National Public Radio click here.
To read Atul Gawande's full article about the study in the New Yorker, click here .
Our editorial today highlights some examples of people in our area that have inspired us with their actions. It's a reminder that we are surrounded by people who make our community a better place to live. We hope you enjoy reading about the ones we've included. Feel free to highlight others with your comments.
It's time to crank up those geography lessons in American schools.
The Bee's editorial board has been pushing for solutions to the high dropout problem in the San Joaquin Valley. Now a coalition of state law enforcement officials says California would be less violent if we could graduate a big chunk of those now dropping out.
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids says that just increasing the high school graduation rate by 10 percentage points would lower homicide and assault rates by 20%, and prevent 64 murders and more than 3,300 aggravated assaults each year in the San Joaquin Valley.
Here's more from today's editorial:
In addition to its connection to crime, there are more problems caused by not getting a high school diploma and striking out in life without the proper tools. Businesses complain about an unprepared work force. The foster care system is jammed with children being pushed from one home to another, largely because of substance abuse and incompetent parents. Experts tell us the state-leading teen pregnancy rate in the Valley is rooted in young people leaving school early. All this leads to a poverty rate in our region that's unconscionable.
The California Dropout Research Project says dropouts earn less pay, pay fewer taxes and are more likely to be on public assistance than those who have a high school diploma. California suffers billions in economic losses from the dropout problem, including $12 billion in crime costs, according to the dropout project.
It's time that our public school leaders give the dropout problem the attention it deserves.
There's been a lot in the media lately about autism, a disease that strikes one in 150 children in the United States. The Bee's Vision section last Sunday discussed issues surrounding autism. This story offered readers a guide to autism, and this story discussed the mysteries surrounding autism.
This is from the autism stories:
Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning it affects kids in different ways, at different levels of severity, regarding their ability to communicate, process thoughts and interact socially.
Because there's nothing abnormal about the physical appearance of a child with autism, and because kids develop at different rates, the disorder can be difficult to recognize.
The National Autism Association offers helpful information at its Web site, which is here.
California voters can begin requesting absentee ballots for the Feb. 5 presidential primary election on Jan. 7. That means you can actually vote on that day if you turn your ballot into the elections office in your county. Elections officials say many Californians will vote that day.
The California Voter Foundation offers this excellent guide to the election.
Here are other key dates in this election:
Last day to register to vote -- Jan. 22.
Last Day to request an absentee ballot -- Jan. 29.
There also are seven propositions on the Feb. 5 ballot. Read about them by clicking here. The include four Indian gambling measures, a transportation measure and a community college funding measure.
Melissa Griffin walked on Christmas! Thanks to a relentless inner determination and the generous gifts of caring people all over the Valley, who have paid for specialized rehabilitation not covered by insurance, she walked!
Melissa, you'll remember, was brain injured during a horseback riding accident last summer. Read Diana Marcum's story about Melissa's accident by clicking here.
Read previous blogs on Melissa by clicking here and here and here and here.
I got this excited e-mail from her mother, JoEllen Moreno, giving all the glorious details:
Woo hoo!! Well, Melissa worked very, very hard in therapy and was able to walk (with a walker) into Aunt Connie and Joe's house for our family Christmas party! What a beautiful sight! I was so proud and excited! So was everyone else! Althobeit slowly and with much concentration on her face....she did it!! Not only did she use her walker, she didn't even bring her wheelchair! What a joyous evening it was. Connie and Joe always give the most warm, fun family gatherings.
She is home for the holidays. She left [Centre for Neuro Skills] on Friday evening and gets to stay with family and friends until Wednesday evening. So she is a happy camper. But between you and I, I think she actually misses CNS and the people she works with there. She would never admit it though! lol
She is in her 5th week of therapy and continues to improve daily. Her voice is getting much stronger so it is getting easier and easier to understand her. She is going to begin a weekly vision therapy course to help her left eye straigtened out and they think she can do it without surgical intervention. Thanks to our family friend, Sheila Black! She works for a company that actually donated a $500.00 grant for vision therapy. This course is a 10 week course at $135.00 a visit. This $500.00 grant will take care of $50.00 per visit and Melissa's donation/gift fund with take care of the rest. THANK YOU EVERYONE!
Speaking of gift fund....believe it or not, we are STILL recieving donations!! I am telling you, people are so caring and we can never thank them enough! It warms my heart! Big time! (About the thank you note...we waited so we could add pictures of Melissa walking into the party but I promise you....a very very sincere thank you card is on it's way to you very soon!) As she is learning to eat again, she eats very slowly. Last week, I brought her lunch and we had lunch together. Her lunch is from 12:00-1:00. When she finished her lunch, she looked at her watch and was surprised to see that it was only 12:24....she looked at me, smiled very big and said "Mom, I am getting faster!" lol I want everyone to know that she continues to work very, very hard at her recovery. In fact, she is starting to give the therapists grief because she wants to work on walking more than they allow her to. She tells everyone at the facility...I will walk again and I will get better!
Her counselor said "Melissa, it concerns me because you are almost too well adjusted. Most people show more signs of depression". Her response was "I have nothing to be depressed about. I am very lucky to be alive." Plus she sees other patients at CNS that are much more injured that she was. So she feels blessed to be doing as well as she is. The receptionist at CNS stopped me and told me "your daughter is so precious. I have been working here a long time and I have a soft spot for all of them but your daughter holds a very special place in my heart. She is one of the most positive patients I have ever seen and so determined." She actually shed a few tears when she was telling me that which in turn, made me shed a tear....anyone who knows me is not surprised about that huh?
 Fresno Bee artist SW Parra, who draws editorial cartoons for us, again is listed in the "Best Cartoons of the Year." This 206-page book, edited by Charles Brooks, includes three Parra cartoons: One on "Gas Pains;" another on a "Toy Rope" made in China, and one celebrating space travel with the shuttle Endeavor carrying Barbara Morgan, the teacher in space, riding a school bus-like craft. This cartoon is on the cover page of the chapter on space and air travel.
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 The assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto today raises huge questions about the stability of Pakistan, a country that has nukes. In addition, President Bush and his advisers must be concerned about how the murder of Pakistan's opposition leader will impact relations with a country that's an important ally in the war on terror.
Bhutto was killed at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, according to the Associated Press. At least 20 others died in the suicide attack.
President Bush condemned the act. Here's a text of the president's statement from his ranch in Crawford, Texas. It was provided by the AP:
Laura and I extend our deepest condolences to the family of Benazir Bhutto, to her friends, to her supporters. We send our condolences to the families of the others who were killed in today’s violence. We send our condolences to all the people of Pakistan on this tragic occasion.
The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan’s democracy. Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice.
Mrs. Bhutto served her nation twice as prime minister, and she knew that her return to Pakistan earlier this year put her life at risk. Yet she refused to allow assassins to dictate the course of
her country.
We stand with the people of Pakistan in their struggle against the forces of terror and extremism. We urge them to honor Benazir Bhutto’s memory by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life.
(AFP photo: Angry Pakistani supporters of Benazir Bhutto set buses ablaze in Lahore on Thursday, following Bhutto's assasination.)
The AP also offered this analysis:
The United States had been at the forefront of foreign powers trying to arrange reconciliation between Bhutto and President Pervez Musharraf, who under heavy U.S. pressure resigned as army chief and earlier this month lifted a state of emergency, in the hope it would put Pakistan back on the road to democracy.
Bhutto’s return to the country after years in exile and the ability of her party to contest free and fair elections had been a cornerstone of Bush’s policy in Pakistan, where U.S. officials had watched Musharraf’s
growing authoritarianism with increasing unease.
Those concerns were compounded by the rising threat from al-Qaida and Taliban extremists, particularly in Pakistan’s largely ungoverned tribal areas bordering Afghanistan despite the fact that Washington had pumped nearly $10 billion in aid into the country since Musharraf became an indispensable counterterrorism ally after Sept. 11, 2001.
Irritated by the situation, Congress last week imposed new restrictions on U.S. assistance to Pakistan, including tying $50 million in military aid to State Department assurances that the country is making “concerted efforts” to prevent terrorists from operating inside its borders.
Under the law, which provides a total of $300 million in aid to Pakistan and was signed by Bush on Wednesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also must guarantee Pakistan is implementing democratic reforms, including releasing political prisoners and restoring an independent judiciary. The law also prevents any of the funds from being used for cash transfer assistance to Pakistan, but that stipulation had already been adopted by the administration.
Despite the congressional move, Richard Boucher, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs who had been instrumental in engineering the Bhutto-Musharraf reconciliation, said he had little doubt that the administration would get the money.
Mike Der Manouel Jr. wrote this commentary for The Fresno Bee on the lack of good presidential candidates in both major parties. The Republican businessman has this observation:
What does it mean that, after the longest presidential primary season in history, a record number of televised debates, hundreds of millions of dollars raised and spent on television, radio, YouTube, MySpace pages, e-mail bulletins, and Web sites, that voters have absolutely no idea who they will nominate for president in either party? Why is it that nobody has emerged as a leader?
The answer seems simple to me. There are no great candidates for president.
Fresno-area farmer Pat Ricchiuti tells The Sacramento Bee in this story that he's frustrated with the positions that the Republican presidential candidates have offered on the immigration issue. The Republican said he wants to hear alternatives to shipping illegal immigrants out of the country, according to The Bee.
Here's a quote: "We're what, the sixth or seventh largest economy in the world?" he said of California. "Do they really know what it would be (like) to send all these people off? It will cause a major disruption in the American way of life."
The Sac Bee points out that the Republican candidates, with the exception of John McCain, have taken hard lines against illegal immigrants. "Amnesty" is a non-starter, and they wouldn't be allowed to earn legal residency.
That may win the candidates support in Iowa and New Hampshire, but it won't solve the illegal immigration problem in the United States. Comprehensive immigration reform must include increased border security, a reliable supply of labor for industries that use these workers and an opportunity for those here illegally to earn legal residency.
Congress could have passed a reform bill this year, but the Senate killed a comprehensive measure that had bipartisan backing, including the support of President Bush. But that wasn't good enough for reform opponents in the Senate who would rather demagogue the issue than fix it.
In a tight race, paying attention to details is the key to winning a political campaign, which brings us to this Reuters story about Sen. Hillary Clinton. The Democratic candidate's campaign has been urging Iowa voters to go the caucuses -- but on the wrong day. The campaign had been giving out pledge cards asking voters to promise to go to the caucuses to support Clinton on Jan. 14. The only problem is the Iowa caucuses are Jan. 3.
Politico.com reports that at campaigns events, the Clinton pledge cards are still being given out, but the mistake has been scratched out and the correct date written in. Details, details.
Mitt Romney stepped in it again recently when he said he "saw" his father march with Martin Luther King in the '60s. Whether George Romney, then governor of Michigan, actually marched with Dr. King is in dispute; it's certainly possible, because the elder Romney had a good record on civil rights and did in fact lead marches in favor of the movement.
But the younger Romney wasn't even in the country on the dates when his dad is alleged to have marched with Dr. King.
Too bad. When I first heard Mitt talking about his dad, I thought we might at last have something in common. I did see my dad march with Martin Luther King, back in June 1964 when the civil rights leader was in Fresno to lead a rally and give a speech at Ratcliffe Stadium. I saw him because I was there, too.
Earlier Romney got in some rhetorical hot water with a claim that he's been a life-long hunter, when in fact, he's only been a couple of times at most. If that's the definition of life-long hunter, then I guess I'm one, too. So me and Mitt have something in common after all.
Today we offer our annual Christmas Eve treat on the opinion page: "Is there a Santa Claus?" The question was asked by young Virginia O'Hanlon in 1897, and answered by the New York Sun in one of the most famous editorials ever written.
The answer to the young girl's question of course, is "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give your life its highest beauty and joy."
Enjoy, and Merry Christmas.
Local Democrat Marc Scalzo sent me this YouTube video by Neal Gladstone singing about why he's a liberal. It has a catchy tune, and a gentle political message about why Gladstone is on the left of the philosophical spectrum.
This could be a perfect last-minute Christmas gift for your conservative friends. Pass this item on and see how they respond to your giving spirit.
Thanks for sending this video to me, Marc.
Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity can barely control themselves when the subject of global warming comes up. The Republican Party fires off anti-global warming talking points. And everyday conservatives spit and sputter when they discuss the subject. I don't get it. Why does global warming throw conservatives into such a dither?
I understand that climate change -- and who's responsible for it -- seems to be one of those issues that defines liberals and conservatives in our nation today. That part I get. Liberals believe the planet is doomed and humans have caused it and conservatives say the global warmers have swallowed a big mouthful of junk science, and there's nothing to their climate-change claims.
But there are a lot of other issues that break down along firm liberal/conservative lines and don't seem to engender this kind of venom. Taxes, welfare, even the war in Iraq are bread-and-butter issues in the daily political debate, but they don't hit the hot button that global warming does. Mention Al Gore and it sends folks on the right over the cliff. Mention Al Gore getting the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on climate change and there's no controlling them.
Someone out there please explain to me how fighting global warming claims has become such a huge cause for the right.
The holidays really bring out the fun in some writers. We got a note from a colleague, Fred Fiske of the Post-Standard in Syracuse,NY, who found this humorous "ecumenical" Christmas greeting being passed around the Internet in Unitarian Universalist circles. Just to be perfectly clear to folks who take everything seriously -- it's just for fun.
Please accept with no obligation, implied or explicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.
The Environmental Destruction Agency -- to use Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's new coinage -- denied California the waiver it needed to move ahead with aggressive efforts to cut emissions of greenhouse gases from vehicles. That's the subject of our editorial today.
It's not that surprising, given the dreadful record of the Bush administration in all matters environmental. California immediately began plans to appeal, file lawsuits and generally erupt all over the EPA and its bosses in the White House. Other states will follow suit. The early consensus is that California is likely to prevail in court, although that's never certain.
But the upshot is that, even if the state wins in court, the new standards it wants to impose on vehicle emissions will be delayed. That's something of a win for the Bush/Cheney Pollution 'R' Us team, the wholly owned subsidiary of the automobile industry.
So you think Christmas crept up on you fast this year? Well, the voting in the 2008 presidential election in California begins in just over two weeks. Forget about Iowa and New Hampshire. The presidential action will be right here in the Golden State under the compressed primary schedule.
With relaxed early voting laws, you don't have to wait until Feb. 5 to cast your ballots in the California presidential primary. Absentee ballots will be available to the state's voters beginning Jan. 7. You can actually vote that day if you pick up your ballot at your county elections office. If you don't want to do that, your sample ballot and absentee ballot request form should land in your mailbox a few days after Jan. 7.
And for those who still like to go to the polls -- that's so last century -- you'll have to wait until Feb. 5 to vote at your neighborhood polling place. But that's only 47 days from now. So get ready.
Do you know who you are voting for in the presidential election? Rudy Giuliani is leading the Republican candidates in California, according to the Field Poll. Hillary Clinton leads the Democratic pack among California voters.
In addition to the presidential contests, there are seven ballot propositions to be decided by California voters. Are you up on this batch of propositions? Proposition 91 is a transportation measure and Proposition 92 is a community college funding measure. Proposition 93 would loosen California's term limits law. Propositions 94 through 97 would overturn gambling compacts already approved for California's four richest tribes.
Once you vote in this election, you can get ready for the June primary for all the other races besides the presidency. And then the general election is in November. Happy voting in 2008.
Now that the state's High-Speed Rail Authority has settled on a route to bring the trains into the Bay Area — it chose Pacheco Pass over Altamont Pass -- the real crunch time begins. Steve Weigand writes about the issue in today's Sacramento Bee.
The danger is that the governor and the Legislature will pull the November bond measure that would fund the first phase of construction of the 100-mile system. And further, there is a danger that choosing the Pacheco Pass route — opposed by most of the northern San Joaquin Valley and some in the Bay Area, will diminish support for the bond.
There's also speculation that San Diego area voters, who would not be part of the first phase, will be cool to the project.
But if the bond measure is pulled again — it has already been postponed twice — the project would die altogether. “If it is postponed, it is finished.” That's from authority chairman Quentin Kopp, the respected former legislator who helped start the high-speed project more than 20 years ago.
One of the problems faced by backers of high-speed rail is the fact that too many people regard it as an answer to commuter congestion. It's not. High-speed rail commuting is an oxymoron. High-speed trains are designed to move large numbers of people over great distances, not stop and start at every town and village in their path. Rail systems are a good answer for commuters — but not high-speed rail lines.
So we wait and see whether California has the vision and the will to catch up to the rest of the developed world, or whether we're content to slog along with 1950s technology, building and ever-vaster system of increasingly congested and polluting freeways.
 ... and the winner is -- Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Here's what one article had to say about the pronouncement:
The Person of the Year, says the magazine, is not an endorsement or an honour, but a reflection of the individual who most shaped the world we live in, for better or worse, during a given year. After all, previous winners have included Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
Time's managing editor, Richard Stengel, told NBC that Mr Putin was "dangerous" and "not a good guy."
Last Sunday, our Two Views feature addressed the question "Did Vladimir Putin use Russia's Parlimentary election to establish himself as national leader for life? You can read the two opinions here and here. Following the recent election, many are calling Putin Russia's new tsar.
Time's runners-up are Al Gore, J.K. Rowling, Hu Jintau and Gen. David Petraeus.
Here's what Time says is the criteria for the designation:
At its best, it is a clear-eyed recognition of the world as it is and of the most powerful individuals and forces shaping that world — for better or for worse. It is ultimately about leadership — bold, earth-changing leadership.
Did Time pick the right person? Who do you think should have been the Person of the Year for 2007?
 Charles B. Reed, the chancellor of the California State University system, wrote this commentary for The Bee explaining why he thought Fresno State had to fire Stacy Johnson-Klein as women's basketball coach. The commentary essentially lays out Fresno State's case, which was made to a Fresno County Superior Court jury. Earlier this month, the jury found that Johnson-Klein was discriminated against in her firing and she was awarded $19.1 million.
Reed, who oversees all CSU campuses, does not make reference to the two other high-profile sexual discrimination cases against Fresno State. A jury awarded fired women's volleyball coach Lindy Vivas $5.85 million (a judge reduced that to $4.52 million) and Fresno State settled with former associate athletic director Diane Milutinovich for $3.5 million.
Reed does say the problems in the athletic department are in the past and he gives a vote of confidence to Fresno State President John Welty: "There have been many changes in the athletic program at Fresno State over the past three years. It was President Welty who hired a new athletic director with much experience, including with gender equity issues, and who has already taken many dramatic steps to move the athletic program forward."
Reed is correct in pointing out Johnson-Klein's many serious transgressions, but this case was about whether her case was handled the same way the university handled the cases of male coaches. Reed says it was, a jury said it wasn't.
OK, there may be no Leno and no Conan because of the writers' strike. But just for your holiday amusement, here's a little political parody from a Milwaukee colleague, Rick Horowitz, who's making his own kind of musical mincemeat on public television. His targets are, of course, our colorful candidates and our guvmint. Enjoy.
Donalyn Miller, a sixth-grade teacher also known as The Book Whisperer on her blog, couldn't get her eager readers to settle down this week because of all the holiday excitement, so she got them talking about their favorite books. For those with last-minute purchases to make for children, consider this list from the experts in Room 1217.
You might have predicted that "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and "The Golden Compass" would make this year's hot read list, but investigate some of these new, old, and classic books.
* "Peak" by Roland Smith
* "The Terrorist" by Caroline Cooney (This one is out of print, but used copies are available.)
* "Full Tilt" by Neal Shusterman
* "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
* "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
* "Uglies" (the whole series) by Scott Westerfeld
* "Midnighters" (the whole series) by Scott Westerfeld (Hey Scott, can we get a fourth book here? You left Jessica, and all of us, hanging...)
* "Fairest" by Gail Carson Levine
* "The Last Dog on Earth" by Daniel Ehrenhaft
* "The Lightning Thief"(the whole series) by Rick Riordan
* "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
* "Kensuke’s Kingdom" by Michael Morpugo
* "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
I am reminded again and again that my students want to talk about the books they are reading, share their love of books, and make recommendations to other readers. Their comments, spontaneously and freely given, do more to promote reading in my classroom than any book report could ever do.
**If you would like to swap out your own books, there are many Web sites which provide book swap services such as Book Mooch and PaperBackSwap.
I'm delighted to see that the city and the zoo are now pledging to work together in a more professional, proactive way. It impresses me how quickly knotty problems can be sorted out when smart folks come together resolved to fix things. Process is expensive. As the days tick off, expenses are going up on the construction projects the people are paying for.
It only took one good meeting with a process wrangler for the whole tone and tenor of this project to improve. I hope next time things stall, help will be called in after three hours, not after three months.
Read our editorial about the project by clicking here.
 A friend of mine (Thanks, Margie) sent this link to a fun quiz on the Chicago Tribune Web site, testing readers' knowledge of Christmas carol lyrics.
Here's how I scored on the 25-question quiz:
"You got 72% correct. Not bad. You stand to be the life of any winter holiday party you attend, should caroling break out."
How will you do?
If Christmas carols aren't your thing, they also have links from that page to the "Scared of Santa" and "Tacky Sweaters" photo galleries.
A Fresno State scientist says the public needs to become much better informed about Valley air quality issues. Couldn't agree more.
David Lighthall, senior scientist for the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at Fresno State, says in a new report that, while people are very much aware that we have a problem, there is a "low level of public engagement in the issue."
A good place to start is with The Bee's special report, "Fighting for Air." It's a follow-up on the "Last Gasp" report from five years ago that put air quality issues at the top of the list of Valley residents' concerns.
And get familiar with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. It's been in business for 16 years now, but most of us "have little or no knowledge of the agency," Lighthall said. Check out the district's Web site here.
A better understanding is crucial, because all the regulations in the world won't clean up our air if we don't make some pretty serious changes in our behavior. And that starts with knowing just how bad the problem is.
From the "Bah, humbug" files: A helicopter carrying Santa Claus on a trip to visit kids in a Rio de Janeiro slum was fired upon Tuesday, apparently by drug traffickers who thought the chopper was part of a police raid.
Santa escaped unharmed, and later was taken by car to the Nova Mare slum, where a party was being held for children. The helicopter had two bullet holes in it when it landed.
Al Gore blamed global warming for the attack. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for a special session of the state Legislature. Jay Leno and David Letterman were silent on the incident because their writers are on strike, and Vice President Dick Cheney urged the president to invade Brazil.
The changes in the newspaper that were launched Sunday have our section moving around a bit. Today's Opinion pages can be found on Pages C4 and C5 in the business section. That will be our home Tuesday through Saturday. We'll still be in the Vision section on Sunday. We've also gone to one page on Mondays to save newsprint as part of a more compact paper. The Monday page is in the back of the Local & State section.
I believe in role models, because they make liars of the dreamcrushers.
That's why it's exciting to see the name of Tony Vang as the first Hmong president of the Fresno Unified School District Board of Trustees. For every no-vision do-nothing who tries to pour water on the aspirations of bright and ambitious Hmong residents, he stands as living proof that hard work can take them far.
We hope to see many more Hmong following his path by seeking positions in public service. We need their bright minds.
Read our editorial about Tony Vang by clicking here.
 Saturday morning, my husband, daughter and I took part in a very inspiring event. It was cold and it was early, but I'm so glad we went to Woodward Park to be a part of the Sebastian Amezcua Fun Run. The two-mile run/walk was a fundraiser for the family, who lost their 9-year-old son Sebastian after a car accident earlier this month.
We've written already about the grief and grace of the Amezcua family. But to watch German push his wife, Jessi, across the finish line in a wheelchair was amazing. German wore the same hat of Disney character Stitch's ears that his son had worn in the picture that was to be their Christmas card this year (photo of the card above taken by Bee photographer John Walker).
I plan to write more about this event in a column that will run sometime this week.
I've been accused of being overly critical of the Legislature for not getting anything of substance done over the past decade. But there's no other conclusion that an objective observer can reach about the effectiveness of our state lawmakers. There is little evidence to argue that the 80 members of the Assembly and 40 members of the state Senate have been earned their pay in recent years..
They've been space-takers. They occupy offices in the Capitol, have staffs in their districts and send out newsletters to constituents who don't pay attention. But they've been AWOL on the biggest issues facing California, especially the budget. Over the past five years, the state has been upside down financially, yet they won't deal with the problem in any meaningful way. Now the budget deficit is $14 billion.
Here's the reason: The Legislature refuses to reduce spending and won't raise taxes. That may work if you had a balanced budget, but when you already are spending more money than you're taking in, the deficit is only going to grow if you spend more. It's a concept lost on the Legislarure. In addition, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been as ineffective as Gray Davis was when it comes to controlling the state's finances. We've got a pack of fumbling misfits.
Some say California is ungovernable, but we'll never really know. When you have weak legislators, the problems aren't going to be solved. It starts with the four current legislative leaders: Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, Assembly Minority Leader Mike Villines, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata and Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman. They may be California's worst group of legislative leaders ever. At a time when the state needs vision, the luck of the draw has given us hacks.
The biggest problem is in the Assembly where the speaker has been a lightweight ever since they ganged up on Willie Brown to end his long and flamboyant reign. At least he was productive. Consider these successors as speaker: Doris Allen, Brian Setencich, Curt Pringle, Cruz Bustamante, Antonio Villaraigosa, Robert Hetzberg, Herb Wesson, Fabian Nunez. Not a leader in the bunch.
The California Legislature was once considered the best in the nation. Now it's a sorry bunch of politicians looking for the next government job that will have them.
 We are lucky to have an artist in house who does occasional editorial cartoons for our pages on local issues. This one, on the ongoing saga of Donald Trump's interest in the Running Horse project, ran in our Friday paper.
Now you can view a slide show featuring SW Parra's cartoons on our Opinion Web page. Here's the link to the ones from this year. Other year's cartoons can be viewed as well.
 Wasn't it just two days ago when Mayor Alan Autry held a press conference announcing that a deal with billionaire Donald Trump to revive the bankrupt Running Horse golf course project was off again? Autry said Wednesday that he believed this time was final.
Apparently not. Apparently, no doesn't always mean no in Trump's world. Trump's back again today, telling us that the Fresno City Council would have to make a "commitment" to using its eminent domain power if the billionaire developer is to continue working with the city to revive the stalled Running Horse golf course development in southwest Fresno.
Finally, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has recognized the seriousness of the state's budget shortfall. It's at $14 billion and counting and now the governor says he'll declare a fiscal emergency in January.
The Sacramento Bee reported that this will allow Schwarzenegger to use special authority under Proposition 58. He can call the Legislature into special session, and lawmakers would have 45 days to act on the budget. If they don't, they can't take action on any other business, or even adjourn, until they fix the budget crisis, according to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Democratic leaders are suggesting tax hikes to close the budget gap. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez wants the state to consider several taxes, including taxes on purchases made over the Internet, according to the Times. That won't go over well with Internet shoppers. But it's only fair. Why shouldn't they have to pay taxes on their purchases, most often to out-of-stae companies that don't employ Californians.
Other possible tax increases being suggested include more taxes on cigarettes. It would be a real crisis for government if people stopped smoking. How would we pay for all the government programs that smokers fund? So smoke, smoke, smoke that cigarette.
 We're showing another side of our creativity today. Different departments here at The Fresno Bee designed entries for a gingerbread house competition. Our entry is inspired by the upcoming presidential election. We designed an entirely edible replica of the White House. What do you think? (It's a little hard to read from this angle, but on top it says "Vote '08.)
The newsroom did a gingerbread crime scene in which Mrs. Gingerbread is arrested on suspicion of killing her husband and his mistress. A department on the third floor did a scene out of "It's a Wonderful Life." In all, there are 21 entries, which will be judged later today.
Gov. Schwarzenegger is No. 4 in the Time magazine list of its Top 10 most popular stories of the year for his fine performance during the firestorm disaster. The magazine carries a photo of his press conference during the Lake Arrowhead fires and says the "Governor projects both command and compassion with a dollop of competence, just like his movies."
Take a look at him in action by clicking here.
By the way, this issue is a list-lovers buffet table. Time's got 50 -- count 'em 50 -- top 10 lists including the top 10 editorial cartoons, news stories, underreported stories and that perennial favorite, campaign gaffes. Yummy!
The Mitchell report hit "like a bomb," as the headline on our story put it today. A glittering roster of All-Star cheaters was revealed in the long-awaited investigation.
But here was not a lot added to our understanding of what happened in baseball over the past couple of decades. Did we know people were cheating? Yes. Did we know that the owners of the franchises in baseball's cartel were complicit? Yes -- they loved the fact that juiced ballplayers put fannies in the seats. Did we know that fans didn't really care? Yeah, they showed up in record numbers to see freaks of un-nature perform wondrous feats.
We just didn't have the list of names that the report provided. Now we do, and rather than explaining what happened, it just deepens the sadness.
Still, it's only 62 days until the pitchers and catchers report for spring training. Hope springs eternal.
More encouraging news arrived in today's e-mail from JoEllen Moreno, mother of Melissa Griffin, who's recovering from a brain injury that resulted from a horseback-riding accident last summer. Thanks to generous donations from the community, Melissa is able to get treatment at a special hospital in Bakersfield.
Melissa had a good week her second week of rehab. I met her for lunch on Monday and when I saw her, I realized something was different. All of a sudden, I realized that she was not in her wheelchair! OMG! She is being transported in her wheelchair to her rehab but then she is moving from rehab to rehab with her walker. What an amazing thing! She has only been at CNS for two weeks! We are so thrilled. She said her goal is to walk into our family Christmas party on December 23rd. I actually think she will do it!
Read the full story about Melissa's horse-riding accident here.
Read previous blogs on Melissa by clicking here and here and here and here.
A federal judge in Fresno handed the auto industry another setback in its efforts to shackle California and other states that want to take aggressive action against greenhouse gasses, blamed for global climate change. Here's our editorial on the ruling published this morning.
The automakers are trying to overturn AB 1493, which requires a 30% reduction in statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 2016. They argue that the law would let the state regulate fuel economy standards, a job they said belongs to the federal government.
But U.S. District Judge Anthony Ishii disagreed. "Both EPA and California ... are equally empowered to promulgate regulations that limit the emissions of greenhouse gasses, principally carbon dioxide, from motor vehicles," Ishii wrote.
Now the automakers -- abetted by the Bush administration -- will likely try to use the energy bill to stop California's efforts. Congress should not permit that. The administration has been woefully inadequate in protecting the environment, and states have been forced to take the lead in the absence of leadership from Washington.
An Australian politician has learned an important lesson: If you're going to get handcuffed to a stripper's pole, be sure you're wearing clean underwear.
Nigel Scullion, before he was elected a senator, made a trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, as part of a fishing delegation. One evening the delegates and their Russian pals rounded out a boozy evening with a visit to a strip club. Scullion, who said he was in the company of some ""lunatic fishermen from Newfoundland" -- is there another kind? -- was cuffed to the pole and stripped to his skivvies.
The Northern Territory senator was uncontrite: "Everybody has a colorful past, I think most Territorians do."
Right. Boys will be boys. With this attitude, the guy's a lock for a high-ranking job in the athletic department at Fresno State.
The lawyer for Fresno State says he may ask for a new trial and a change of venue in the Stacy Johnson-Klein case. It's a stunning admission. The local university has such a bad reputation in Fresno County that its lawyers would rather try the sexual discrimination case in Barstow, San Francisco, Ukiah or wherever. Anyplace but Fresno.
This is the same Fresno, by the way, that the university is targeting for fund-raising appeals for its Comprehensive Campaign. They'll take our money, but not our verdicts.
Maybe lawyer Mick Marderosian should consider the other likely reason that Fresno State has lost three sexual discrimination cases in a row: It discriminated against the employees.
The Fresno Bee's editorial board argues in this editorial that the university should ask that the $19.1 million award to Johnson-Klein be reduced. But a new trial would be wasteful, and there's no reason to think that the results would change. Here's a portion of the editorial:
Asking for a new trial and putting this community through more soap-opera testimony about sex, drugs and inappropriate behavior is nonsense. Someone has to be bold enough to stand up for the university's reputation.
Fresno State must face the facts. It tried to make its cases and lost. Two trial juries -- a total of 24 men and women -- unanimously found that the university discriminated against its women coaches. And Fresno State settled another lawsuit with Milutinovich. It could have -- and should have-- settled this case.
But Fresno State refuses to admit that it could be wrong, and says its problems are everyone else's fault. The university will never get past this sad era if it refuses to accept any responsibility for the problems that are costing it multi-million dollar verdicts.
So maybe Fresno State should argue for a change of venue. It doesn't trust its community with the truth. That's the most disappointing outcome of all.
What is it about people in Fresno going nuts with Samurai swords? Is it our water? Is it our air?
A 31-year-old Fresno man was arrested Tuesday night after he attacked his roommate with a Samurai sword when the two men got into an argument over a video game, Fresno police reported this morning.
Former Fresno State basketball player Avondre Jones was convicted in 1998 of two misdemeanor counts of brandishing a sword in a rude and angry manner.
It's just so weird.
I checked in at the Kennedy School of Government Web site at Harvard to get a little more information on this seminar that Fresno County Supervisor Henry Perea's going to be attending -- it sounds fascinating.
Here is our story from Saturday:
Henry Perea, next year's chairman of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, plans to leave today for a weeklong leadership program at Harvard.
Perea is scheduled to attend the John F. Kennedy School of Government Executive Education's National Preparedness Leadership Initiative. The program is designed for state, federal and local government leaders who must handle crisis situations such as natural disasters and terror events.
Perea said it's his duty to be ready to lead in a crisis. He also said that as chairman next year, he wants to look at strategies to identify potential targets and protect those assets.
Perea said he was selected for the program through a competitive process and received a partial scholarship; the other half of his tuition is being paid from his campaign account.
I cannot wait for him to get back to talk to us about what he learned there.
Meanwhile, I got sidetracked by an interesting new online effort by the Kennedy School's Institute of Politics to boost youth voting in the primaries.
The Insitute of Politics has set up this homepage here to offer ways for young people to register to vote and get news and information about the candidates and campaigns of the 2008 presidential primary process. Young people are also being invited to create their own original or mashup video showing “Why Voting Matters,” and upload the video to the “No Vote, No Voice” YouTube.com channel here. Sounds like an intriguing way to reach young people to me -- and there is so much at stake for them.
The press release says:
A key component of the “No Vote, No Voice” project is a Facebook.com application young people can download to their online profiles. Using the application, youth who “pledge” to vote in an upcoming presidential primary or caucus will be sent important state-specific voting deadline reminders to their Facebook.com page, including those for registering to vote and sending in an absentee ballot.
Navigating the logistics of where and how to vote can be confusing, particularly for those who have never voted before or who choose to vote by absentee ballot. Intended to be an easy-to-navigate voter education web portal, http://www.novotenovoice.com will offer – all in one place – links to voter information and registration websites to help first-time voters. For example, a visitor to the “No Vote, No Voice” homepage can quickly learn more about presidential candidates and their positions on various issues via a searchable website (http://www.votegopher.com), find youth-oriented news and perspective on the 2008 race, and get links to candidate websites if interested in volunteering on a presidential campaign. Additionally, the website will offer a selection of video clips from inspirational speeches given by political leaders over the past several decades.
"The most glaring weakness of American democracy is the primary process where candidates are chosen and platforms established," said IOP Director and former U.S. Representative (R-IA) James A. Leach. "Americans like choice and the chance to participate in decision-making, but the irony is that the vast majority of citizens have left to a narrow few the responsibility of choosing who will represent the political parties in general elections. College is about preparing for the future, but citizenship can’t be put off."
Although younger voter turnout has – like the rest of the electorate – traditionally been much lower in primaries and caucuses than in general elections, in 2000 and 2004 youth turnout in general elections increased markedly and the "No Vote, No Voice" project is part of the Institute’s effort to expand youth participation at the beginning as well as the end of the electoral process.
While older voters have a history of voting in higher percentages than young voters, exit polls indicate that during the 2004 presidential election the 18-29 year-old demographic group cast in total slightly more votes than seniors aged 65 and older.
Young people who forward the Facebook.com application and encourage their friends to vote will be automatically entered to win weekly prizes including gift cards and an Apple iPod “Touch.” All eligible participants will also be entered to win the “No Vote, No Voice” grand prize, an all-expenses paid trip for two to watch a taping of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” in New York City in the Spring of 2008.
The Institute is also inviting young people to create their own original or mashup video showing “Why Voting Matters,” and upload the video to the “No Vote, No Voice” YouTube.com channel (http://www.youtube.com/group/novotenovoice). Submitted videos will be played on the channel until the conclusion of the contest period (February 15, 2008), and the creator of the best video will receive an Apple iPod “Touch.”
In this hotbed of methamphetamine production and addiction, all eyes of our public officials should be on the promising reports surrounding a new drug-treatment regimen for drug addiction called Prometa.
The regimen was explained in detail Sunday nighgt on "60 Minutes." No region stands to gain more from a treatment that could work for a sizeable segment of the addicted. Drug and alcohol addiction is a complex, chronic illness to treat. Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous work for some. Outpatient, traditional treatment will work for others. Residential inpatient sometimes works. Faith-based treatments save some; psychiatric care rescues others. Perhaps this drug therapy will get at a deeper level of addiction that other treatments don't reach. One strata at a time, we must find ways to defeat drug abuse and the collateral damage it causes.
To read about Prometa treatments, click here.
Watching "Hairspray" last night with my daughters, I gasped out loud at one scene early in the movie. Two ladies in a bar, sipping cocktails and taking drags off their cigarettes -- then the camera zooms out and you see they are both very pregnant.
Which shows how far we've come, doesn't it? Today, everybody knows that it's not safe to smoke or drink while pregnant. Everybody knows that secondhand smoke is dangerous to other people, don't they?
Apparently not. We just aren't that smart. Good thing we have lawmakers looking out for us.
As of Jan. 1, California will become the third state in the nation to ban smoking in cars with minors.
The measure,carried by Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach, imposes a $100 fine on drivers and passengers cited for smoking in a car with another person aged 17 or younger. The infraction will be a secondary offense; a police officer could not stop a motorist only for smoking in a car with a minor.
My parents smoked with us children in the car when I was growing up. But most people know better now.
I blogged about this issue in March, when Oropeza first introduced this measure. I didn't think it was necessary then, and I still don't. Why can't our legislators tackle some of the big issues facing the state instead of nanny legislating?
I agree with Ed, who commented on the topic when I wrote about it before: "It's a totally phony issue.The purpose is to harrass smokers and 'protecting children' is meant to gain sympathy for a tyrannical proposal."
The Bee's editorial board is very direct in its criticism of Fresno State President John Welty: If he's going to stay in the job, he needs to rebuild his credibility with the community. The board explains its position in this editorial in today's paper.
In many ways, Welty has been a gifted president in his 16 years overseeing California State University, Fresno. But his biggest weakness has been allowing the athletic department to run amok, and then not taking responsibility for the trangressions that occurred on his watch. Welty's supporters say the problems in the athletic department have been corrected, and it's unfair to keep attacking him for things that happened in the past.
That might be an acceptable argument if those past occurrences weren't costing the university money today. Fresno State owes more than $27 million in judgments in three sexual discrimination lawsuits. The latest was a $19.1 million judgment for former Fresno State women's basketball coach Stacy Johnson-Klein. In addition, former volleyball coach Lindy Vivas won a $5.85 million judgment, which a judge reduced to $4.52 million, and former Associate Athletic Director Diane Milutinovich got $3.5 million in a settlement with Fresno State,
The gender equity cases weren't the only problems that occurred in the athletic department. There was academic fraud, substance abuse by men's basketball players, tainted drug tests, major NCAA violations and the misdirection of matching donor gifts.
The university won't be able to put these problems behind it until Welty takes responsibility for them.
Here's my nomination for dumbest move by a government agency: The Environmental Protection Agency has issued a permit that would allow the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino to discharge treated wastewater into Coarsegold Creek. This incredible story is right here in my favorite newspaper.
Call me crazy, but doesn't it say in the EPA's name that the agency is supposed to protect the environment? How does dumping wastewater -- even if it's treated -- into a creek protect the environment?
According to The Bee story, the treated sewage would be released into Coarsegold Creek, which feeds Hensley Lake in Madera County. That lake is an irrigation reservoir, as well as a recreation area for boating sports and fishing. Coarsegold Creek also flows past an RV park where residents wade into the water during warm months. I'd rethink that practice.
This story gets even more absurd when a spokesman for the Indian casino says this: "Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino has no intentions of discharging water at this time. The permit is merely a measure the casino is taking in the event the water discharge is needed."
Yeah, right, and the odds are with you when you're pumping quarters into their slot machines.
A political analysis that ran today in the San Francisco Chronicle says that New York Sen. Hillary Clinton may not be the slamdunk winner in California's presidential primary election on Feb. 5. Everyone expected her to easily carry the Golden State, but Carla Marinucci reports that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is building momentum in California. Obama challenging Clinton for California's Democratic delegates would be a stunning turn of events.
Both Clinton and Obama campaigned in our state today. The Chron had this quote from a political expert: "California isn't a lock at all" (for Clinton), said Michael Semler, professor of politics at Cal State Sacramento, who added that success in the Golden State is vital for the former first lady. "She'd better win California -- or she's history."
Clinton campaign officials aren't worried, the Chron reports, because the senator long ago built a campaign organization across California that her people claim will withstand an Obama challenge. I wonder if they are tryng to convince us of Clinton's invincibility or themselves.
Obama is sporting a new weapon on the campaign trail: Oprah Winfrey. The Los Angeles Times reports that Winfrey has been magic on the campaign trail for Obama.
California is one of 22 states holding presidential primaries on Feb. 5. That day has variously been referred to as "Super Tuesday" and "Tsunami Tuesday." Either way, California holds the big prize of delegates on Feb. 5.
The nation's voting for president begins next month. The caucuses in Iowa meet on Jan. 3, while New Hampshire voters will cast votes in their primary on Jan. 8. That voting could have a big impact on California voters and in the other states that cast ballots on Feb. 5.
Prepare to enjoy a tsunami of letters to the editor on the Stacy Johnson-Klein verdict on Tuesday's Opinion pages. The Valley's letter writers opened their intellectual floodgates and we've cleared out the entire op-ed page to give letter writers room to talk. You can |
