Letters for November 7, 2019

About that eco plan

Re “Seizing the moment” (Newslines, by Andre Byik, Oct. 31):

Chico is clearly situated to take climate change adaptability to a new level and provide pieces of a model for other cities to follow. I’m encouraged to see two City Council members embrace this responsibility.

But this Chico Green New Deal, while it goes in the right direction, doesn’t call for any kind of fundamental shift away from the wasteful, oil-fueled development that got us here.

As examples: Just like the Climate Action Plan, it takes no account of the production of commodities we habitually consume in Chico.

It contains the idea of “climate-friendly housing solutions,” but nothing on the imminent expansion of Bruce Road and all further suburban sprawl based on private automobiles.

The plan mentions upgrading housing to be more climate-friendly, “saving on energy costs for property owners,” and “in economically feasible ways.” But for the majority of residences in Chico, tenants pay the power bill. So I wonder, who does it have to be economically feasible for?

Someone may have called to “enhance” our bus system 30 years ago, but the reality is almost no one can entirely depend on it today. This isn’t a vision of walkable neighborhoods and city life where a private car is unnecessary.

Addison Winslow

Chico

Credit to Vice Mayor Alex Brown for caring, but their version of the Green New Deal is vague, lacks holistic thinking and parrots the false notion that we can “grow” our way out of an ecological crisis perpetuated by economic growth.

Lots of talk about solar panels and “green” energy, but not efficiency, which could be placed on the landlords who pass the cost of inefficiency onto already burdened renters. Talk of workforce development, but not of the fundamentally exploitative relationship between employer and employed, cooperative enterprise development, or eliminating profit- and rent-seeking. We need to democratize urban life.

The best section is the one on food, yet there is no smart objective, like “produce 80 percent of fresh fruits and veggies consumed within the city limits,” a wholly realistic and transformative goal. There’s a section on water reuse, an expensive proposition. Nothing about our insane waste/stormwater systems. Nothing about outlawing turf, or even eliminating city-owned turf. How about save water, recharge the aquifer, help pollinators and grow food by providing a framework and mandates for gray water stub-outs and edible streetside rain gardens? That’s holistic thinking. Business as usual won’t do. We need visionaries willing to be bold.

Steven Breedlove

Chico

Chico’s class divisions

“Diversity on the dais” (Newslines, by Ashiah Scharaga, Oct. 31):

Whether Chico can be improved by “district” elections, as opposed to an “at large” system, is anyone’s guess. What’s beyond doubt is that driving this change forward on the basis of ethnicity is just plain silly.

Many cities exhibit geographic concentrations along racial and ethnic lines; Chico has no such concentrations. What we do have are distinctly different neighborhoods, with class being the operative factor. That is, geographic concentrations at well above the median income/wealth level and concentrations at well below the median—an obvious example being Canyon Oaks versus Chapmantown.

What’s long been missing in Chico politics is representation of the 50 percent of our population falling at or below the median: the Walmart worker, the semi-employed construction worker, the elder caregiver, etc. Instead, we have a history of disproportionate representation by affluent professionals.

To further complicate matters, we’ve had Latinx candidates running the spectrum from not qualified, Mercedes Macías, to well-qualified, Lupita Arim-Law—though Arim-Law is yet another professional! And let’s not let this irony go unnoticed: Our only self-identifying Latinx council member, Mayor Randall Stone, voted for an ugly, not-at-all-progressive raft of homeless criminalization laws in 2015, while the lone dissenter was a white woman, Tami Ritter.

Patrick Newman

Chico

‘Love and respect’

Re “Awaiting rain” (Second & Flume, by Melissa Daugherty, Oct. 31):

Journalists covering jarring local news stories are a testament not only to the constitutional rights of freedom of the press and freedom of speech, but also to sacrifices people make for the betterment of our community.

Wendy, a principal in the Youth for Justice show I’m producing to air—on KZFR 90.1 FM at 6 p.m. Nov. 7—had this to say: “I Just wanted to thank you again for being a part of our recovery. That was really good for Dolyn (age 6) today.”

Every act of kindness has an impact. Documenting Camp Fire stories, a year later, of families who lost everything, on the sacred barren lots where their homes once stood, is the most personal healing endeavor of mine this year.

Huge amounts of love and respect for my radio colleagues, print journalists and TV broadcast news for telling the stories that help all of us heal.

Bill Mash

Chico

Chiding the congressman

Re “Stuntman LaMalfa insults constituents” (Editorial, Oct. 31):

I know my Republican friends do not belong to a Trump cult, because if he shot a member of the Chico community in the middle of Main Street, they would not dispute a murder charge. However, I’m not sure about LaMalfa.

Andy Hanson

Chico

We knew from recent fires that climate crisis denier (akin to flat-earther) Rep. LaMalfa is a “don’t let science get in the way” firebrand. But who knew he is also a red tie/blue-suited anti-law-and-order firebrand?

Beau Grosscup

Cohasset

Anniversary thanks

Last year on Nov. 8, we moved out of Paradise, after 40 years, 20 minutes. After almost a year, living in Chico, I just want to say thanks to all of you, for helping all of us. Thanks for caring and giving and helping. You are wonderful people and you know who you are.

Pete Lipski

Chico

Nov. 8 marks one year since the Camp Fire, the most devastating and destructive fire in the history of California. Within minutes of Gov. Jerry Brown being told of the Camp Fire, he ordered an all-out response. Thank you, Jerry.

The rebuilding of towns on the Ridge and the lives of survivors will take years. But this is a time to once again thank all those in law enforcement, firefighters and private contractors (with bulldozers, etc.), from all over California, who drove into the fire to rescue hundreds of people. And, of course, there are many government staff (including school officials), nongovernment organizations and businesses who have done so much for so many survivors since, and we are all grateful. The leadership of the Paradise Town Council has been extraordinary; they themselves were made homeless and yet they have persevered.

A special thanks to the hundreds of families (including my wife, Linda, and I) who opened their homes, garages and driveways for people to stay, as they dealt with insurance companies, FEMA, etc. All of Butte County appreciates everything done by so many for the thousands of survivors.

Karl Ory

Chico

Editor’s note: The author is a member of the Chico City Council.

Wildfire, PG&E and Trump

PG&E isn’t alone when it comes to wildfires destroying California. There is plenty of blame to spread around.

Trump, who hates California and the idea of climate change, is at the top of the human-caused inferno. When he deregulated America and crippled the Environmental Protection Agency for greed and jobs, he turned up the heat and pollution. Then, threw it on our dry state. Now, he says, let it burn! Pollution from the south has dehydrated our forests. While trees clean air, they also poison themselves.

All levels of government have permitted Sierra Pacific to clear-cut our forest, leaving a patch quilt of dead and dying trees. Piles of dead slash are ready to ignite the healthiest trees in the forest. Beetles invade the clear-cut, slash and dehydrated trees. Sunshine on snow-covered clear-cuts causes snow to evaporate quickly, instead of melting into Mother Earth.

Pat Johnston

Red Bluff

More on POTUS

Republican Liz Cheney was right when she deplored President Trump and other Republicans for attacking Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. Vindman and his twin brother fled Ukraine with their dad at the age of 3, as many Jewish families did.

Both brothers are in the U.S. Army and both were assigned to work in the White House. I guess neither had a bone spur.

Vindman speaks English, Ukrainian and Russian—the perfect American you need in the military, State Department and White House. He also served in Iraq, where he was wounded and awarded a Purple Heart. He was assigned to be on the call with President Trump and the Ukraine president. He reported the call to his supervisors. Then Trump ordered Republicans to attack him as an unpatriotic American.

About 20 veterans a day commit suicide, twice the rate of nonveterans. What must veterans, dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts, think when they see Trump tweeting out attacks on an Army officer who was wounded and served with valor? Maybe, “I am not worth much.” For myself, also wounded (101st Airborne, Vietnam), I have been thinking of all the guys with whom I spent almost a month, as we recovered from our wounds.

Bob Mulholland

Chico

Blame the lefties

How do you get to where we are in this state? The answer lies with the Democrats. They are directly responsible for all the decay that this great state continues to endure. I am just appalled at their agenda of hating the police and making us less safe.

I look around at our current state and just can’t believe people would vote for such chaos. The gas price is outrageous, people are leaving in droves, and the deviant teachings that our children are enduring in public schools. We have more homeless than at any time in our history and it’s totally caused by the leftist policies that have consumed this state. When you give out needles and food and even money you don’t help the homeless, you get more. If the Democratic Party is all about the poor and downtrodden, why is this state so expensive to live in?

Travis Smith

Biggs

PG&E isn’t my favorite utility. In past years, friends have told me they owned stock in this privately held company. Meanwhile, I struggled to pay my ever-increasing bills. So, you’ll understand when I give you my opinion about this company’s present state.

The California Public Utilities Commission (an appointed body) has great power over PG&E. For many years, CPUC has used its power to “encourage” PG&E to concentrate on “sustainable” power sources. Because this company must pay its workers and its bills, plus give something to its shareholders, decisions had to be made. PG&E can now report 20 percent of its power sources are sustainable!

Unfortunately, this meant the lack of funds to repair, upgrade and insulate existing lines. Now that wildfires have burned much of PG&E customers homes; who can we blame? Surely not the environmentalists or the CPUC!

We can’t blame liberal leaders in Sacramento. No, we must break up PG&E or make it a state-owned utility! Worse yet, we must take gunshots at blameless workers who are just doing their job!

There’s a super majority of liberal politicians in Sacramento that need to go and let common sense rule our once great state again.

Loretta Ann Torres

Chico

Let’s talk taxes

Re “Revenue seekers” (Newslines, by Ashiah Scharaga, Oct. 17):

The city of Chico needs revenue, so I would support a sales tax. But it is important to know that this tax weighs heaviest on the lower middle class and the poor. It was designed that way. The city is boxed in by the limited options allowed by the laws written and sponsored by those who are wealthiest. That is why it takes a 50 percent majority to pass a ballot vote.

A more fair tax would be a parcel tax, but it requires a two-thirds majority. A parcel tax would tax only property owners, but based on area. So my Chapmantown quarter-acre lot would have the same tax as a quarter-acre commercial lot between Main and Broadway or in an industrial park, etc.

A much fairer tax would be on the assessed value of the land (not the buildings on the land). Such assessment is already carried out and the tax would be easily collected. Such a tax was proposed in the 1880s by Henry George. His book “Progress and Poverty” is available in both text and audio free online and is part of the philosophy that inspires the community land trust movement today.

Perhaps the best long-term approach for Chico is to start a rebellion to rewrite state tax law to tax those who have benefited greatly from a very rigged system.

Richard Roth

Chico

‘A huge gap’

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) provides the president the ability to speak to the nation over radio and television in times of national emergency. It’s also available to state and local authorities for warnings about tornadoes, fires and child abductions.

Unfortunately, EAS isn’t working particularly well.

A reliable source advised that EAS scored poorly during a national test this past summer. While an official report is not yet available, it appears the receiving station in Redding failed to even receive the national test message.

With a new reliance upon computers and cellphones, EAS has lost much of its original shine.

I’ve never received an EAS message while watching Dish or Direct TV. Even last winter’s National Weather Service tornado warning for Shasta County was not received.

Given the obvious importance of such warnings, I contacted the chairman of the California Emergency Communications Committee. I wanted to know if I should be receiving alerts from Direct and Dish TV providers.

Here’s the Chairman’s reply, in part: “…unfortunately Sirius XM, Direct TV, Dish and satellite services cannot technically provide local EAS alerts. They do send out National Alerts.”

Dare I say, this huge gap in local EAS coverage must be fixed now. Lives depend on it!

Pete Stiglich

Cottonwood

Pick up your trash

To the individual who broke the glass beer bottles at Salmon Hole, thank you for motivating me to write this. I feel very fortunate to reside in this town with one of the largest city parks in the nation. As someone who utilizes this wonderful place more days of the week than not, it saddens me deeply that every visit it is far too easy to find a piece of trash to clean up.

I would also like to thank the person who left the unused doggy poo bag, as this was a way for me to gather the shards of glass so that my pooch wouldn’t impale his paw. Additionally, I was able to pick up bottle caps, a fishing hook, fishing line, other rubbish and my personal favorite—cigarette butts. Please do not confuse my love for Upper Bidwell as love to clean up after other capable human beings.

Allison Paul

Chico