Letters for January 23, 2020

A cathartic read

Re “Self-care basics” (Cover story, Healthlines, etc., by CN&R staff, Jan. 16):

I have an affinity for “Self Care 101,” starting with the editor’s Crohn’s disease flare-up (I was diagnosed with Crohn’s at 31), mindfulness (I practice with varying degrees of diligence), diet (I fast 12 hours a day), exercise (I walk or bike daily), and sleep (always a strength of mine).

And although I’m not in therapy, I meet a dear friend with a doctorate in the behavioral health field once a month for lunch. I also practice all the “Taking extra care” recommendations, most of them with vigor.

My passion for self-care has been more 201 than 101 the past 12 months, with some hiccups. I started feeling whole a month ago when I gave up self-medicating with adrenaline via video games. Today, I’m less irritable, less exhausted and happier with myself and those around me—more than I have been in years. Reading this issue was cathartic!

Bill Mash

Chico

Retort time

Re “But … the economy” (Letters, by John Blenkush, Jan. 16):

There is a major problem with John Blenkush’s recent letter on the Trump economy. It doesn’t appear to be true. The real unemployment numbers are nearly double the published number. Since the Clinton administration, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has used the U-3 rate to calculate unemployment instead of the historic U-6 rate. The U-3 doesn’t count the “underemployed,” people who work part-time and desire full-time jobs or are employed below their education level.

Also not counted are “discouraged workers,” people who are no longer seeking work. Also, according to the most recent Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), job openings in November dropped by a massive 561,000, the biggest annual drop since the financial crisis!

The Trump tax cuts have been used by corporate America to set four consecutive quarterly records for stock buybacks, inflating the stock market. Commercial and consumer debt have increased and the government has set peacetime deficit spending records, soon to reach $1 trillion.

You would have to be dreaming or not paying attention to believe what our government tells you about our economic situation. Blenkush is right about one thing: We’re “uninformed.” No honest news from the Corporate Propaganda Ministry, our media.

Paul Ellcessor

Durham

Speaking of POTUS

Re “Poor get poorer in Trump’s economy” (Guest comment, by Roger S. Beadle, Jan. 9):

Dear Mr. Beadle: I just read your piece in the guest comment and about lost it. You claim the economy is not good; I’m not sure you would have a clue when it is good. You claim that people are having to work more than one job to make ends meet. I’m not really sure how that is Trump’s fault?

We raised the minimum wage in this state and it keeps going up, but all that will happen is businesses will go out of business due to not being able to pay people that much money. No business owner would stand for such nonsense. You do realize poor people eat at fast food, too, so when the value meal is no longer a value it hurts them worse. The unemployment rate is the lowest it’s ever been, the economy is red hot as jobs are everywhere.

Please give credit where it is due, and the fact that companies love less regulation is showing in this booming economy.

Travis Smith

Biggs

Election chatter

I’m excited about Sue Hilderbrand’s candidacy for Butte County supervisor. I first heard about Sue while I was employed at Chico State. Students commented to me how much they enjoyed political science classes she taught. Since then, I’ve had occasion to work with Sue on projects with a local nonprofit organization. I’m very impressed by her organized, collaborative approach to problem-solving and getting things done.

Because I was raised in Butte County, and worked on the almond harvest as a young person, I know first-hand how important agriculture is to our economy. This is especially true for District 4, which includes farming communities such as Richvale and Durham, as well as parts of south Chico. Sue has demonstrated strong understanding and respect for agriculture.

Water issues are vital to Butte County, especially policies related to water sales. Sue has a solid grasp on these issues and will fight to be sure our water doesn’t get shipped south, which would hurt small farmers and residents dependent on wells. As a supervisor, I’m confident Sue will keep all stakeholders in mind to protect our precious water resources.

For these reasons and many others, Sue Hilderbrand deserves your vote.

Nancy Park

Chico

I’m observing something very interesting in the District 4 supervisor’s race. I see a few liberal Democrats endorsing Tod Kimmelshue in that race. They say he’s a nice fellow and a reasonable moderate and they appear to believe he would enact their vision of what is best for Butte County.

Then I see him getting enthusiastic support from some far-right Trump-loving Republicans. They obviously believe he’s one of them and will enact their vision of what is best for Butte County—a very different vision from the other group.

Then he’s getting quite a lot of financial support from outside business interests who don’t care a lick what’s good for Butte County, but must believe he will be good for their business. And, for some of them, their business appears to be exporting water from Butte County and promoting sprawl development.

My conclusion? All these people can’t be right. Somebody is getting fooled. That’s why I’m supporting Sue Hilderbrand—the candidate who is beholden only to the regular working people of Butte County.

This time in our county’s history is too important to take a chance.

David Welch

Chico

We are writing to support Sue Hilderbrand for county supervisor of District 4.

As owners of a small farm in Butte County, TurkeyTail Farm, we worry about water. We have experienced our well going dry in August. We know there is increasing pressure on our aquifer in Northern California. Sue Hilderbrand will stand up for the preservation of water for our community. Moreover, she will ensure a transparent process.

As Camp Fire victims, we appreciate the attention Sue has given to those who have lost so much. She also understands that the county is facing development pressures. We are wary of big development moving into our area and creating increasing pressures on our infrastructure. Sue wants smart growth, not outsiders who want to make a buck.

We have known Sue since we moved to Butte County. We’ve seen her bring together diverse groups of people to work on a common cause. One of the things we appreciate about Sue is that she listens to people. We need someone with her energy and commitment to bring people together to solve problems.

Sue Hilderbrand will listen to regular folk and take their issues seriously. We need her as a Butte County supervisor.

Susan and Stephen Tchudi

Yankee Hill

Remember Korematsu

Jan. 30 is the 101st birthday of Fred T. Korematsu, a California state holiday. Korematsu was an American civil rights activist who refused to go to this country’s incarceration camps for families of Japanese descent during World War II. After conviction and appeals, the Supreme Court ruled that incarceration was justified due to military necessity. Supreme Court Justice Frank Murphy dissented in the case declaring, “I dissent from this legalization of racism,” making it the first Supreme Court opinion ever to use the word “racism.”

Recently, I and others from Butte County joined Tsuru for Solidarity for a protest at the ICE detention center at the Yuba County Jail in Marysville.

Tsuru for Solidarity is a group of survivors now in their 80s and 90s who were children in the U.S. incarceration camps. Their website reads: “Americans turned their backs on us as we disappeared but we will not do the same to the asylum-seekers now crossing our border.”

Korematsu would agree that history is repeating itself and that we must close all migrant detention camps. He urged us to speak up when you see injustice. We must reunify children with their families. Fund humanitarian aid and solutions. Never again is now.

Diane Suzuki-Brobeck

Chico

Not feeling the ‘bern’

Well, true to form, Bernie Sanders is up to dirty tricks again. Starting with a doctored video of Joe Biden claiming to cut Social Security, and telling Elizabeth Warren that a woman couldn’t win the presidency. Disgruntled Bernie backers, turned Trump voters in 2016, have already saddled America with ilk like Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, not to mention the entire Trump travesty, and it appears they’re hell-bent on adding similar clowns on the SCOTUS in Trump’s second term.

Seems like Bernie would be a kinder and gentler candidate having one foot in the grave the way he does. For certain the Democratic National Committee needs to rid itself of ghastly Chairman Tom Perez for the 2024 campaign. The DNC just can’t afford red-headed stepchildren, aka independents.

Ray Estes

Redding

Poor park maintenance

Marred gem Peregrine Point, on the south rim of Bidwell Park, offers majestic views: 100-plus-year-old blue oaks, seasonal wildflowers, and opportunities for birding, hiking, biking and disk golf. However, measures agreed upon to control erosion and protect sensitive plants and trees from disc hits and trampling have been either not completed or insufficiently maintained.

In 2010, Chico Outsiders (course operators) agreed to maintain the course at no cost to the city of Chico, but their maintenance focuses on disc golf play, not protection of natural features. Other groups who operate city facilities seem in compliance with their agreements (golf course, CARD, equestrian, observatory, and rod and gun).

The Bidwell Park & Playground Commission has the power and duty to ensure the proper management of the course. They must direct limited city staff and their partner, Chico Outsiders, whose contract is up for renewal in June, to protect this natural gem.

Ann Elliott

Chico

Where’s the outcry?

At the Jan. 14 Tehama County Board of Supervisors meeting there were public comments regarding the board’s proposed Measure G tax increase. A man who often represents the ostensibly libertarian State of Jefferson punted on the issue. He wouldn’t say whether they oppose it or not. Also, not a peep out of the local Tea Party, which normally can’t wait to scream down a new tax. None of the usual anti-tax zealots have come out publicly against Measure G so far.

Could it be because the four bad old boys have promised to spend the money they raise on projects those people love? Like staffing the new downtown jail they approved before they had the funds. Or continuing to give over half a million to Code Enforcement every year to conduct warrantless searches on state-legal cannabis growers. I cannot think of any other reason the “liberty or death” crowd would keep their mouths shut about a tax increase.

Aaron Standish

Manton

‘Too many things’

I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed. I build stuff out of wood and use a lot of tools. Man’s very first tool was probably a stick. Way better than our fingers for digging roots, grubs and earwax. Everything that has ever been made evolved from that first stick. We improved on it and became good at making tools, too good.

A good tool can make things. A great tool can make a lot of things. We make too many things. We are being buried by things. Tools are a means to an end, perhaps our own end. I see a deconstruction of one kind or another on the horizon and can’t help but wonder what our world would have looked like had our ancestors just held onto that first stick and we dug our graves with it instead of burying ourselves in all of the crap we’ve made.

Danny Dietz

Chico

Plan better, please

This past Saturday, Jan. 18, I was not happy that I missed the route 14 due to the B-Line buses having to re-route due to the Women’s March. I had to wait for the route 17 to show up. I talked to somebody; he said he was sorry about it.

The city of Chico needs to plan this better in the future, OK? I was frustrated this happened, OK?

Eric Matlock

Chico