Letters for July 4, 2013

Rehabilitation is lacking

Re “Fighting for face time” (Newslines, by Howard Hardee, June 27):

The article brings up a dangerous point: the lack of total rehabilitation of released prisoners. The recidivism rate in California is a shocking 65 percent. It’s 45 percent nationwide, so obviously the system isn’t working. Norway’s recidivism rate is only 20 percent, so I suggest we implement their system.

Oh, by the way, I’ve read that crime is up 25 percent locally, so AB 109 didn’t work, either. Since in California most recidivism is due to parole violations, it’s clear that most prisoners are being released without being rehabilitated—and that creates a clear and present danger to the public.

Mike Peters
Chico

Forget tunnels, go green

Re “Looking in the wrong direction,” (Guest comment, by Tony St. Amant, June 27):

Southern California needs to be looking west. The Sacramento River twin-tunnels water-diversion project is estimated at $24.5 billion! Northern California farmers, wildlife and salmon will not survive this. That money would be better spent on green projects of solar and wind, and desalination of ocean water.

Australia, Egypt and other countries are using this green tech to turn deserts into farmland. Please, Gov. Brown, apply this common-sense solution to this never-ending nightmare of Southern California’s ever-growing need.

Daniel Moore
Berry Creek

Keep Chico an arts town

I am saddened to hear that Chico’s arts commissioner, Mary Gardner, has been pink-slipped. Without the commissioner, can there be an Arts Commission? The Arts Commission is an important part of our community and serves as a voice for art, artists and galleries, and anyone who comes across art in Chico and is pleased by it.

Art brings in tourists, and newcomers looking to move to a vibrant community—and it beautifies and gives Chico a sense of self, an identity. Without art, Chico could be Anywhere, USA. But with it, we can be—and are—so much more. This is supposed to be an art town!

Robin Indar
Chico

Retaliation in the foothills

Re “Disaster in the foothills” (Editorial, June 6):

Medical-cannabis growers are getting pretty fed up with the discrimination coming from the county of Butte. This has nothing to do with unpermitted grading or building of greenhouses.

DA Mike Ramsey used his resources in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Office to fly around the county looking for new grading intended for cannabis growing. Ramsey then went to the Department of Public Works and told them [to order the owners to mitigate the problems] and gave the shortest possible deadline (14 days), hoping they could not comply, and he could then prosecute them with a criminal misdemeanor.

If you attempt to talk to the public-works grading department about this, they tell you this is a “new” process and are not sure how it works—and refer you to the DA for information.

What does Ramsey have to do with building-code matters such as grading, and why is he subjugating public works? I think it’s obvious. The county is retaliating against medical-cannabis growers because they’ve lost the war, and are now just grasping at straws. It’s sad, really.

Mark Zeh
Feather Falls

A family’s only hope

Re “Vanished from Oroville” (Newslines, by Vic Cantu, April 11):

I realize that Neal King’s disappearance from Oroville is still undergoing investigation, but something is amiss.

King’s family put up “missing” banners around the area he disappeared from, including the fence around the house he was living in. Someone has been stealing these banners. The family is heartbroken about this—there is absolutely nothing they can do from Texas. Here is the link to the Missing: Neal King page: www.facebook.com/MissingNealKing. You can read more about the story.

King’s family is not there to defend him. We are all trying to rally together to protest the theft, because that is what the family is holding onto at the moment, the only hope they have left in Oroville.

Amanda Allen
Houston, Texas

A pathogen-free holiday

What ever happened to the good old days when the worst things we had to fear on the Fourth of July were traffic jams and wayward fireworks?

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Meat and Poultry Hotline, this year’s top threat is food poisoning by nasty E. coli, and salmonella bugs lurking in hamburgers and hot dogs at millions of backyard barbecues. The hotline’s advice is to grill them longer and hotter. Of course, they don’t bother to mention that the high-temperature grilling that kills the bugs also forms lots of cancer-causing compounds.

Luckily, a bunch of enterprising U.S. food manufacturers and processors have met this challenge head-on by developing a great variety of healthful, delicious and convenient veggie burgers and soy dogs. These delicious plant-based foods don’t harbor nasty pathogens or cancer-causing compounds. They don’t even carry cholesterol, saturated fats, drugs or pesticides. And, they are waiting for us in the frozen-food section of our supermarket.

This Fourth of July offers a great opportunity to declare our independence from the meat industry, and to share wholesome veggie burgers and soy dogs with our family and friends.

Charlie Navajo
Chico

Celebrate in Biggs

I am sorry to hear that there will not be a fireworks display at Lake Oroville this year.

I want to make sure that Oroville residents and everyone in the surrounding area knows that we will again be hosting our All-American Hometown Celebration in Biggs, which includes a parade, all-day music, vendors and a car-and-bike show—and, best of all, we will have amazing fireworks.

The Fourth of July is our nation’s most important holiday, and it is crucial that the torch be lit in celebration for all to see. It is truly about more than just fireworks. What better way to celebrate the victorious birth of our free nation than with real bombs bursting in air? Our fireworks show is free to attend, but we depend heavily on the generous donations of all. Everything from large sponsorships to just a few bucks in the donation buckets is greatly appreciated.

Angela Thompson
Biggs