Letters
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
We have a governor who, with his wife, made a beautiful ad inviting everyone to visit California. Now, he and you, our legislative body, want to close the very facilities people are being invited to visit.
My husband and I have been docents for over 11 years and have seen visitors from all over the world at Clear Lake State Park. Do you realize how much time is given to state parks by volunteers? The state pays for only a portion of man-hours to keep our parks open. Now you want to shirk your legislative duty to the people in California who own the parks by eliminating great numbers of them.
I am totally disgusted with the lack of knowledge by the legislature on how to handle a state budget. If you are overwhelmed with the job, then resign and let us elect someone who can do the job. It is obvious you do not know how.
Stop reckless waste. Items you might look into: law books for prisoners; redecorating and refurnishing offices needlessly; out-of-Sacramento conferences, committee meetings and workshops. Who picks up the tab? This is waste big time. Hasn't anyone heard of a conference call or email conferences?
Although we have some dedicated state employees, are all state employees really working? Private companies cannot put up with what can be seen in some government situations.
If you close the parks, you might as well build a fence around California to the east and the north. A fence should have been built to the south years ago.
In this stressful time, brought on by government mismanagement from California to Washington, where can a person go to commune with nature? I am beginning to think that not a one of you sitting in Sacramento have ever experienced a state park.
When you close parks, you open any structures within the park to decay and infestation by rodents and insects. As you close parks and remove the watchful eyes of our park rangers, you open them to vandalism, poaching and to increased fire danger.
You apparently do not realize that many state parks, such as Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, has 13,000 feet of frontage on Clear Lake that cannot possibly be closed.
I agree with the following statement by the California State Parks Foundation:
“Impacts to the state will go far beyond simply a $143 million 'savings' to the state's General Fund. Local economies in many areas of the state, particularly rural, rely on state park visitors to generate local economic activity that keeps small businesses alive. A recent report by CSU Sacramento found that park users, on average, spent $57.63 per visit. Across the system, this amounts to a more than $4.2 billion in positive economic impacts, impacts that will be lost if the parks are closed. This is exactly the wrong time to be proposing to eliminate the state's core commitment to state parks.
“California's state parks were set aside precisely to safeguard resources and opportunities that would not otherwise be available without the strong support of the public sector. These 279 state parks are part of the public good, which requires a stable and consistent investment by every generation, to ensure their availability for the next generation. Our state parks system is a legacy with which we have all been entrusted.”
I think it is time the people of California no longer “strongly urge you to seek creative solutions that provide adequate revenue to keep our state parks open and accessible to all Californians,” but demand that you become a responsible body and do the work you took an oath to do.
Leona Butts lives in Clearlake Oaks.
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- Written by: Andi Gletty
I hear a lot of different discussions and have seen things in the news regarding the "gay lifestyle." People say they are scared, angry and other not-so-nice things.
I thought about it all quite a bit, and wondered what that lifestyle is that scares people so much.
I know for me, I wake up to an alarm at 5 a.m. and that can be scary. I then shower and dress before I do prayer and meditation. Then I have breakfast, get my things together and head out for work.
I do that routine five days a week. Frightening, isn't it?
Sometimes there is a variation of the theme; I swim, walk, see a movie, laundry or work in the yard. Aside from all that, I might sit on the porch, watch a sunset, talk to a friend on the phone.
So, that's this gay lifestyle, and if that is as scary to you as it is to me, I understand people's concerns. Otherwise, I am completely baffled. Anyway, hope that helps.
Andi Gletty lives in Kelseyville.
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- Written by: Bruce Arnold
At or near the end of George W. Bush's Presidency, the combined net worth of all U.S. households was only $51.5 trillion: www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/03/us-household-net-worth-falls-18/ .
This means that as of the end of George W. Bush's Presidency, if everyone in America sold off everything we owned and applied every penny to America's obligations, we would all be homeless, penniless, starving, and still in debt to the Chinese, et al., for at least $1.5 trillion.
May our children forgive us ... and may God help our grandchildren.
Bruce Arnold lives in Miami Beach, Fla.
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- Written by: Ari Hauptman
Accessible, affordable and adequate health care is necessary for all people, including children. By eliminating or reducing the number of children eligible for the Healthy Families program, California will put more children at risk for chronic illnesses.
Obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol – diagnoses previously reserved almost exclusively for adults – will go unchecked as parents are forced to forgo preventative care for their children, only seeking care in emergency situations.
As a pediatrician, I know that regular well child visits support a healthy childhood. All children have a basic right to a "medical home" where there is continuity of care that includes preventative health and anticipatory guidance (on issues such as healthy eating, active living, immunizations, safety, age appropriate issues) as well as a relationship with a health care provider built upon trust.
We’ll all pay a much higher price years from now, when heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other preventable illnesses shorten the lives of our next generation.
Ari Hauptman, M.D., F.A.A.P., is a North Bay board member with the American Heart Association. He works with the Department of Pediatrics at Kaiser Santa Rosa.
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