Letters for January 25, 2007

Walk the walk(ability)
Re: “Envisioning downtown” (Newslines, by Robert Speer, CN&R, Jan. 18):

Chico residents live in a time where physical inactivity and poor nutrition trends will result in our children having a shorter life expectancy than their parents. This is why, as a Chico resident and mother of two young children, I want to make sure our community’s tree-lined streets and easy walking and biking routes are maintained for the health of all of us now and for future generations.

Strategies that engage the broader community in obesity prevention activities are major components of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s health-care proposal. Therefore, it is time for Chico city planners and local officials to join the governor’s Vision for a Healthy California by adopting and implementing “walkable” community policies as a part of the vision of downtown and the upcoming general plan for Butte County. After all, walking is one of the most convenient and cheapest forms of physical activity.

With every new parking structure built (even though the charrette report shows current parking is underutilized downtown), we detract from the aesthetic appeal of the downtown area. This detracts from the interactive qualities of our community that one can only get by strolling downtown or biking through our streets. The health of our children and our community depend on our local leaders’ commitments to making sustainable, active living environments a priority.


Gina Sims, Sierra Cascade
Nutrition Network Collaborative
Chico

Our ‘oasis’ is growing—sustain it
Re: “Planning, please” (Letters, by Dan Herbert, CN&R, Jan. 18):

I heartily agree with Dan Herbert’s recent letter regarding planning today for our future. Growth is inevitable, and if handled properly and intelligently, is desirable. Cities that don’t grow eventually shrivel and fade away (see numerous examples in the Midwest).

Chico remains a unique “oasis” in the North Valley, and it would be nice to be able to plan and grow for the future with that in mind. Why not be a leader in developing sustainable and environmentally sound products that can be used throughout the country? We have an educated workforce that comes out of the university every year—let’s put them to work!

Chico’s biggest problem is not homes that are only for the elite, but providing quality, high-paying jobs to its people so they can afford those homes. Our Economic Development Department should be looking for ways to attract those kinds of businesses to Chico, as opposed to simply promoting big-box retailers that pay minimal wages.


Mitch Cox
Chico

He chooses to dissent
Re: “Choosing to celebrate choice” (Guest Comment, by Shauna Heckert, CN&R, Jan. 18):

Oh, lordy, here we go again: Abortions are good for you. Abortions are not good for you. Seventy-one percent of couples who have an abortion break up shortly thereafter, and there are 33 states of mental depression that women go through after an abortion, according to the data I’ve seen.

Feminism has produced social havoc on an enormous scale since its inception in the 1960s. The divorce rate shot through the roof, welfare increased, stress increased for women, as did heart attacks, strokes, car accidents, alcohol and drug abuse, etc. Feminism is criminal in its societal impacts.

There is some good news about abortion: The birth rate for Caucasians is not enough to sustain the Caucasian race, so these white, bourgeois, middle-class feminists will breed themselves out of existence in another generation or so.

Now I think I’ll be an empowered male and go trout fishing—that’s my “choice.”


Michael M. Peters
Chico

Sound-off on Wal-Mart
Does the beautiful town of Chico need two Wal-Mart Supercenters? Does your town of Chico even need one? Can you do anything from stopping Wal-Mart from taking over our fair city? Yes you can!

The city is now taking public comment on both environmental-impact reports for these projects. Write to the Planning Services Department, 411 Main Street, Chico, CA 95928 (or e-mail <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> </script>).

In addition to writing letters, you can attend a public meeting 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 30, in City Council chambers, and let your voice be heard.


Daniel and Heidi Gonzales
Chico

Hopeful Thursdays
As a youngster in the late ‘60s, I was very politically active but fell into despair about the power of the democratic process to make positive changes. This pessimism lasted until I attended the Bioneers Conference three years ago. It was life-changing for me.

New hope was sparked as I listened to each speaker share knowledge and experience regarding resources they have discovered and are using to undo much of the damage done to the earth and its communities. I became an activist again, in new ways. One of them is sharing this hope with others.

The Chico Women’s Club is having a Bioneers video series with 12 speakers over four Thursday nights (Jan. 25, Feb. 1, Feb. 15, Feb. 22) at 7 p.m. They are calling it “Transfusions of Hope.” I can see why!


Tanha Luvaas
Chico

There’s no place like …
When I came to Chico four years ago, I planned on staying only two years. Get in, get some experience, and get out—the mantra of many aspiring broadcasters. But there’s something about Chico that draws you in. I can’t describe it; hopefully you know what I’m talking about.

Perhaps it’s the local peach grower selling you juicy fruit on a sunny Saturday morning, the older couple walking their dog who stop to say hello, or the person who doesn’t honk even though you’ve been sitting at a green light for five seconds. Chico is unlike any other place in the world. Where else can you get nachos at 2 a.m. after ‘80s night at LaSalles?

When I received the offer to move to Florida, I thought this would be a good time in my life to start a new adventure. Now that I’m here, I find myself searching for enchiladas as good as Casa Ramos', a burger that compares to Nobby’s, a slice of pizza half as good as Gashouse’s, or a shoe sale like GiGi’s!

Some of my best memories came in Chico, and it’s because of you. Thank you to those who sent me e-mails or stopped me on the street to say I brought a smile to your face. That brightened my day. To that special someone: I still want to spend the rest of my life with you.

I will never forget you, Chico. You’ll always hold a special place in my heart.


Melissa Cabral
Fort Myers, Fla.

Editor’s note: Melissa Cabral, a Best of Chico ‘06 award winner, left the CW10 anchor desk last month to become WINK’s Eye on Education reporter—jumping from TV market No. 130 to No. 64.

Our just reward
The people of California’s 2nd Congressional District didn’t get their way in the House of Representatives last week. Although Congressman Herger voted to ensure that we pay higher and higher prices for gasoline, heating oil and electricity for decades to come, the congressional majority voted to create long-term energy alternatives in order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. By voting against H.R. 6, Herger also expressed the district’s intention to expand America’s invasion of the Middle East to secure its oil reserves for U.S. energy companies.

Perhaps the energy corporations and military corporations that have benefited from Congressman Herger’s votes over the years will divert some of their profits to the people of CA-2 to offset the cost of increased energy as a way of rewarding us for the votes of the man we sent to Washington to represent us.


John Omaha
Chico