Opinion
I emphatically support the objectives of Senate Bill 714 and strongly assert that the problems with our criminal justice system go far broader and deeper than overcrowding ... and in fact that the steady rise in inmate populations is a consequence of this overarching failure.
Incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders is a huge part of this critical problem and in context of the lives of inmates and their families now being devoured by the ramifications of incarceration, 18 months is too long to wait.
The American people deserve to have a JUSTICE SYSTEM that works for the well-being of ALL involved yet the fact is that the damage being done by the war on drugs is – in and of itself – as criminal as is waterboarding.
Better to take the tens of billions of our tax dollars currently being wasted on the enforcement of negatively effective draconian policies and spend it on healtcare, education and energy self-sufficiency.
In addition to Senator Webb's legislation, I also call for immediate support of HR 1466 with the addition of a retroactive clause as this would quickly help many who are now unjustly imprisoned and prevent more atrocity from coming to pass …
Christine Beems lives in Shirley, Arkansas.
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- Written by: Christine Beems
First up came an application from a cell phone company that is trying to extend their service area into Lake County, but that unlike some other recent applicants was not attempting to straddle a scenic vista with yet another glaring eyesore. Instead, they followed suggested guidelines and found enough colocation sites to meet their needs. Staff recommended approval, and the commission agreed.
The last, and most extended, item on the agenda was the Avalon Springs project, an innovative proposal to renovate and expand the historic but derelict Howard Hot Springs property southwest of Lower Lake in a manner that will preserve and enhance the unique advantages of a remarkable site, while creating a sustainable, ecologically sensitive facility that will be a magnet for visitors and a model for resort developments elsewhere in the county. The commission approved that one too.
In between came a far more problematic proposal, that would have added to the unsightly billboard array south of Lakeport. For reasons that are not immediately obvious, the Community Development Department backed this application as well, even though the site is plainly visible from the nearby Highway 29 vista point and does not satisfy location requirements adopted just a few months ago. The commissioners very wisely turned the application down.
Unfortunately a most dismaying episode marred what would have otherwise been a very encouraging meeting.
This disruption occurred when Commissioner Clelia Baur attempted to expand the billboard discussion into general principles governing outdoor advertising, and was dismissively interrupted by Chair Gary Briggs.
Asserting that the subject had been discussed at length several years previously (before Commissioner Baur's appointment), he cut her off then and there.
How can the public be expected to respect the commission, when its members fail to maintain even a minimal standard of collegial courtesy in their dealings with each other?
Victoria Brandon is chair of the Sierra Club Lake Group.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
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