Letters for October 12, 2006

Forceful responses—pro and con
Re: “Ballot-box blues” (In My Eyes, CN&R, Oct. 5):

Thank you, Evan Tuchinsky, for expressing my exact feelings about the upcoming election. Or any election.

I haven’t always been this jaded; in fact, I actually thought my vote might make a difference. But with the introduction of the [voting] machines, and particularly Diebold machines, I’ve lost faith in the honesty of our system.

So for me, and undoubtedly for many others, thank you for putting our feelings into words.

Dorothy Biby
Chico

I just finished reading your column in which you bemoan being a Democrat in a safe Republican district and whine about your inability to affect most local races with your vote. Shame on you for being so utterly unimaginative. And double shame for publishing this and helping to make others feel the same way.

For those who wish they could do something to get rid of Wally Herger, you can do something even better. A couple of much more dangerous far-right Congress members are very close by and have viable Democratic opponents running serious campaigns.

John Doolittle (4th District) and Richard Pombo (11th District) are widely recognized as two of the most extreme and corrupt members of the Republican power structure. Their relatively rural seats were supposed to be safe for them.

But somebody forgot to tell Charlie Brown and Jerry McNerney. These are viable and attractive candidates running hard-hitting, effective campaigns and clearly have Pombo and Doolittle running scared. Even if they don’t win, they have forced the national Republican Party to put serious money into these races to try to save the seats.

Check out their Web sites. Send them a few bucks. Volunteer. Doolittle’s district is even close by, stretching into southern Butte County.

Don’t whine—do something. The country you save might be your own!

David Welch
Chico

I think your view is held by many people on both sides of the political debate. I believe this feeling is held by so many because of the shift in the nature and influence of our elected officials over the past 50 or 60 years. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote more that 150 years ago that America’s experiment with self-rule would do well until we discovered that we could give ourselves access to the public treasury.

Unfortunately, he was prophetic. In return for our elected officials getting money for special interests or their district, we have given them life-long jobs. They can get reelected almost without fail. They have become more like royalty than public servants. In many ways, they live by a different set of laws than us common folk.

Our founding fathers set a two-year limit on congressional terms because they wanted short-term accountability but, just as important, felt that we would not be able to get competent people to serve if they had to be away from their businesses or farms for more than two years.

At the root of our elected officials’ power is the fact that we have given government far too much sway over our daily lives: to tax us and use that money as they see fit, to regulate our daily lives in ways that are far too intrusive, and to regulate voting districts and political funding in ways that allow them to keep on doing it until they decide that they want to retire from “public service.” Shame on us.

Tim Edwards
Chico

I guess we’re being encouraged to give up and not vote? “I’ll make no difference anyway?” This is pathetic.

The 26 Americans who died for nothing last week in Iraq probably wouldn’t thank you for not taking a stand—and as a Vietnam-era vet who has lost many along the way, neither do I.

This area is ripe for change—I have seen it in the faces, believe it or not, of Iraq veterans who have been in my writing classes at Butte. It wouldn’t take much for your paper to challenge Herger and the others you mentioned, on the front page, before the election. I’d like to see this three weeks in a row—on torture, on the Iraq war, on meddling with the science of global warming. Then people might vote differently! You could play a major role for change here.

And by the way, don’t lump Michael Dukakis and Al Gore together—Gore is not wooden anymore, and he speaks the truth!

Ed Schilling
Magalia

Happy, indeed!
Re: “Happiness” (From the Edge, by Anthony Peyton Porter, CN&R, Oct. 5):

Every day, I read the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and weekly The New Yorker, The Economist and several other periodicals, books, etc. This column about happiness is one of the best things I have ever read.

This man is good. He needs to do some serious writing. I hope that there is more—and why is it buried on the back page?

Susan Minasian
Chico

We’re here now
Re: “So this is Chico?” (Guest Comment, CN&R, Oct. 5):

In this column, Larry Phipps chose to lash out at people who aren’t from Chico. Ironically, he stated “my family and I moved here from Oregon in the early ‘80s.”

Mr. Phipps identified himself as a chairman for the Butte County affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Health. I am certain this is a good thing and that it allows him to do a lot of good for our community. But when he wrote that he could “tell” newcomers to Chico via “their eyes” and “their rapid and impersonal speech” (among other degrading statements), he forgot to mention the pages of the DSM-IV to which he was referring in order to make such a diagnosis.

Are such “tells,” as Mr. Phipps puts it, listed in peer-reviewed journals and backed up with reliability and validity studies? Are they perhaps part of a separatist and supremacist sentiment that divides us?

Mr. Phipps is right, of course, that Chico was once a sleepy town, and that traffic is worse now. One could say that it got much worse from 1890 to 1920, and worse still from 1940 to 1960, etc. Whose fault is that? The people from the Bay Area? The people from Oregon who came here in the ‘80s? The people who were born and raised here? Perhaps the planning commissions and politicians over the decades?

Where we came from makes no difference. We are here to do our best for ourselves, our families, and our community. Chico was, is, and will be a wonderful place.

Eric Hitchcock
Chico

Neighbor-friendly folks
Re: “Developers take a drubbing” (Newslines, by Robert Speer, CN&R, Oct. 5):

Neighborhoods are starting to get support and protection from the [Chico City] Council majority, overturning the injudicious efforts of the Planning Commission and planning staff. The General Plan directives to protect the character and the lifestyle of existing neighborhoods have come at last. (Hopefully, it’s not too late.) Previously, builders have had free rein to change Chico’s way of life one neighborhood at a time. Now we have a chance to preserve it one neighborhood at a time.

Nobody would object to infill if it were compatible with the neighborhood, with developers having to build with the zoning as purchased (that which the majority of the homeowners desired).

Scott Gruendl, Mary Flynn and Tom Nickell would strengthen the majority desire to preserve Chico’s unique way of life.

Jerry Olio
Chico

Flynn fan
Mary Flynn has done an incredible service by humbly admitting to a past mistake and apologizing ("Opening the Book,” Newslines, CN&R, Sept. 7). Humility is a symptom of integrity. What a wonderful example for all of us!

Melissa Joan Hormann
Chico

Another endorsement
The Sierra Club is pleased to endorse Maureen Kirk for Board of Supervisors, District 3, and Mary Flynn, Scott Gruendl, and Tom Nickell for Chico City Council.

As a Chico City Councilperson, Kirk has consistently voted in support of environmental protections (e.g. keeping Bidwell Ranch as open space, moving Oak Valley development into lower foothills, acquiring Commanche Creek). As the Chico member of the Butte County Water Advisory Board, she has consistently advocated and voted for quality water and protection of this vital resource. She has worked constructively on the state-mandated Nitrate Compliance Program.

Flynn, Gruendl, and Nickell will place high priority on clean water and air, alternative energy sources, increased energy efficiency, alternative transportation, smart growth, protecting the Greenline, making Chico more bikeable and walkable, promoting affordable housing, protecting Bidwell Ranch, preventing urban sprawl, protecting the foothill viewshed and taking local measures to help reduce global warming.

We are confident that, if elected, Kirk, Flynn, Gruendl and Nickell will balance policies promoting needed economic development with protecting the long-term well-being of our natural resources and fragile environment.

Grace M. Marvin
Sierra Club—Yahi Group

An anti-endorsement
You’ve all seen big signs of Bertagna, Herbert and Sorenson in the empty lots and hillsides waiting to be developed. What you haven’t seen are the facts about these candidates that may affect how our city is run.

[Steve] Bertagna, [Dan] Herbert, [Mark] Sorenson and [Michael] Dailey seek to open 11 new growth areas surrounding Chico to build thousands of new homes, even faster, in our open space, orchards, and foothill groundwater recharge areas. The sprawling homes they support are unaffordable to 80 percent of Chico.

Residential sprawl costs the city too much, causing deteriorating public services and facilities as we grow. How can Chico afford all this growth?

Emerald Behrens
Chico

Vote for change
Outgoing Chico school board member Scott Huber was the dissenting vote too often, because he had the integrity to vote with his conscience on what would be best for children instead of the district office. We wish Huber well, and hope we do get to replace as many incumbents as possible with free thinkers.

There are four great challengers running for school board. All will be a healthy improvement over “business as usual” incumbents. My only regret is that Huber had enough. He was the one “breath of fresh air” who too often became silent because of the nonstop nonsense discussions of the others. I think the public looks forward to three new board members.

Mary A. Jenkins
Chico

Up in Paradise …
Virgil Hales, candidate for Paradise Town Council, has the full support of our organization because he is an “independent” who supports the parliamentary California Parliament Inc., a nonprofit vote-counting entity for integrating all people into government.

Hales has shown his willingness to involve all voters in the electoral process and will serve the residents of Paradise with complete fairness and honesty when he is elected.

Lynnette Shaw, Gail Lightfoot, Jack Harrison and Don Grundmann
California Parliament

‘Highway robbery’
Governor Schwarzenegger in his debate (Oct. 7) perpetuated the deception of Hydrogen Highway to solve energy and environmental problems. He has been ill-served by his science team. Even President Bush has backed off this pie-in-the-sky sloganeering.

Earth has no elemental hydrogen. Present knowledge mandates to harness this fuel in quantities needed as an alternative fuel, one must electrolyze sea water. This entails building innumerable power plants using solid and liquid fossil fuels (largely imported)—burning the fuel away from the sight of public, nonetheless creating far more pollution than presently from autos.

The electrolysis will produce hazardous by-products. Hydrogen gas is the worst offender of leaking from storage tanks—a perpetual danger to all in terms of frequent probable explosions.

Presently, there is no such thing as Hydrogen Highway. It is highway robbery to use taxpayers’ money to create these filling stations and give money for research that we know has no meaningful use in the near future. Based upon this, Schwarzenegger fails to qualify to be the governor again.

Brahama D. Sharma
Chico

Blue about Colors
I’m writing in regards of the recent “business decision” that Results Radio recently made to cancel Colors 92.7. The new format is a computer that goes by the name of “Bob.”

With this moronic decision, I don’t see where the Colors listeners are left to go. There isn’t a local station that can provide a similar variety of music. I’ve come into contact with almost 500 people; I have found a total of three who like the new format.

We all will miss waking up with Tad in the morning, getting through our days with Eric B., and calling it a night with Marco. All there is to ask is that everyone listens to anything except Bob-FM. It’s the best thing we could do at this time.

Chico and its surrounding areas miss you three! We hope to be hearing you on the airwaves soon!

Rita O’Neal
Orland

Creek concern
The spring-run salmon of Butte Creek have been swimming in the Pacific Ocean since leaving the creek in 2003. They returned last spring to summer over in the deep pools of the creek. Now it is time to spawn and give birth to the next generation. In the Pacific Ocean they were being chased by all their predators. Now safe in the creek they are being challenged by poor stewardship.

The diversion dam on Honey Run Road is being mined for thousands of yards of gravel in the creek. The gravel is then being dumped downstream below the dam, causing who knows what kind of damage to neighbors downstream during a high-creek-flow event.

The gravel operation is called the Butte Creek Bank Protection Project. Why could it not have been done when the salmon were not spawning in the gravel of Butte Creek? If this would have been done during the summer, it would not have had such a high impact on this threatened species.

Courtney Casey
Chico

Correction
Re: “Developers take a drubbing” (Newslines, CN&R, Oct. 5): The breakdown of the City Council vote to approve one of the alternative plans for the Wildwood Estates subdivision misidentified one of the supporters of Councilman Andy Holcombe’s motion. Councilwoman Maureen Kirk voted in favor of the motion, along with Holcombe and Councilman Dan Herbert. The error has been corrected in our online edition.