Opinion

01/12/2009

Save local pets
For the two decades I've been involved with animal care, I've witnessed the struggle to reduce the steady stream of animals that enter our shelters -- tens of thousands each year locally and more than 1 million statewide.

Unite in housing recovery
The nation's weakening economy is having disproportionately devastating effects across the Inland Empire, leaving our region with one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country and a soaring unemployment rate of 9.5 percent.

01/11/2009

Give employers relief in fragile economy
In our ailing economy, businesses need innovative ways to save money and jobs and provide benefits to their employees.

Yet California businesses continue to face the most stringent and complex labor laws in the nation.

01/10/2009

how to Let firms fail
This year, after a quarter-century of relatively free-market governance of the economy, the only thing protecting Americans from the complete vaporization of the financial industry has been the United States government. Treasury secretary Hank Paulson spent the past nine months using the trillions of dollars in promises and loans that only the government is powerful enough to make to avert the immediate collapse of the insurance giant AIG and those two mortgage behemoths, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Government officials hoped that their actions would persuade the financial world's private lenders, trading partners, and customers to stop fleeing financial institutions in a Depression-style terror. The efforts failed. As the private credit markets collapsed in September and early October, the government stepped in to guarantee new lending to banks and to provide new investment capital to financial firms so that the industry wouldn't fail utterly and drag the rest of the economy down with it.

More of the same won't save Ramona
Ramona Bowl's problems have been fostered by the community. Some homeowners near the bowl do not want traffic, noise, lights or distractions from their way of life. Many want the bowl to be used only for the Ramona Play and a few summer programs, with free parking, free food and free transportation. The San Jacinto and Hemet chambers of commerce and area residents must have a united commitment to programming that will attract diverse audiences.

Vagrancy is not terminal for bus station
I made some interesting observations on what may have been my last trip from Riverside on a Greyhound bus.

Quick Takes: In what ways do you feel optimistic about your personal future?
Cheer new leadership

01/09/2009

Nix destruction of trailer park
I just about choked when I read that the Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted to remove the 63-space Cottonwood Mobile Home Park in order to build a 63-unit low-income housing development ("Unwanted uprooting," Jan. 6).

After reviewing a video of the park online, I made these observations:

1. Isn't a mobile home park, by definition, a low-income housing development?

01/08/2009

Don't shrug off service for the disabled
I am dismayed to see that Riverside must officially amend its policy on eminent domain and negotiated settlements ("City amending policy," Jan. 8).

01/07/2009

Warehouse jobs aren't worth the cost
Letter writer Meredith Teague was heading in the right direction with her views of the Skechers warehouse development ("Distrust Skechers plan," Your Views, Jan. 5).

The real 'demon' in DUI death: the court
As a 20-year university health educator who, in that role, addresses alcohol use, I started reading the article about the mother who drove drunk and killed her daughter with great interest, only to be thoroughly disappointed ("Driver sentenced in fatality," Dec. 20).

01/04/2009

Praise, nurture young leaders
Many Riverside residents appreciate the commitment of the young professionals in our community, for they recognize that the future greatness of the city is determined by the quality and involvement of its youth.

Housing slide
Our foreclosure story is not so unique, but it reveals what can happen to a typical middle-class family.

After 20 years of renting, my wife and I decided to try to buy a house. We had lived all of our lives in the Orange County area and knew at the time (January 2002) that we could not afford a home there. So we considered the Inland area.

01/03/2009

Put patients before price
If political campaign promises mean anything, this will likely be a watershed year for health care reform. Chief among the reforms we are likely to see is the adoption of a new technique for evaluating medical treatments known as "evidence-based medicine." As envisioned, the government would bankroll clinical trials to test the efficacy of various treatments, using the results to inform doctors, patients, and public insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Border sanity
Just when I thought the subject of illegal immigration was moribund, columnist Cynthia Tucker spoke up boldly ("Hire illegals, go to jail? Absolutely," Dec. 19). Maybe it's a regional thing -- her state of Georgia has far fewer illegal immigrants than California does -- but her analysis is only about half on target.

Costly highway will hurt rural community
The Riverside County Transportation Commission's proposed Mid-County Parkway, a 32-mile divided highway connecting Corona to San Jacinto, will create a unnecessary burden on taxpayers while hurting area residents and wildlife. At an estimated $3.2 billion, the cost of this long-term project is unreasonable -- we can't build it with current available funds, and commission officials have yet to acquire the balance.

Pro and Con of the Mid-County Parkway
Seven years have passed since the extension of Interstate 210 was christened amid predictions that the San Bernardino County project would be California's last major new freeway. The project, some suggested, marked the end of California's era of freeway construction.

01/02/2009

United is the way to meet social needs
'Give. Advocate. Volunteer. Live United."

This is the clarion call recently issued by United Way of America to encourage people to stand together to meet our challenges. This is a noble call to action. Can we do it?

12/30/2008

The key to well-rounded kids? Money
The editorial "Sonata gap" (Our Views, Dec. 26) is correct about the need for music education for children.

As a school board member, I can assure the public that music educators are among the best and most persistent advocates for children's needs and their school programs. The problem isn't the music teachers.

12/29/2008

Don't worry; Samaritans still exist
I want to urge op-ed writer Salley Fuller of Riverside to not give up on motorists ("Dear person who hit me, I forgive you," Dec. 19).

She said that after her hit-and-run accident, "not one person had stopped to see if I was OK."

12/27/2008

Slump? Blame yourself
How proud we Americans were after World War II. Our veterans received jobs, joined unions and produced products that were made in America. The economy was expanding day after day. We proudly bought goods labeled "Made in America." But those days are gone and a new day is upon us.

Happy, despite it all
It's hard to avoid bad news about the economy. Financial markets are collapsing, an unprecedented number of homes are in foreclosure, billionaires are begging for handouts and people are losing jobs. But despite everything, many of us have a remarkable capacity to maintain optimism, confidence and even some cheer -- about ourselves and the world around us.

Republicans ushered in bad economy
The United States economy has been best when the combination of capitalism and socialism were in balance to create a just society and an environment for economic growth.

12/26/2008

Judge goes easy on drunken driver
I'm not sure I have words strong enough to express my outrage at Riverside County Superior Court Judge W. Charles Morgan over his decision to grant probation to Marisol Garcia ("Driver sentenced in fatality," Dec. 20).

She is the mother who chose to have nine drinks, put her children in a two-seater car and drive 100 miles an hour until she hit a stopped car.

Dysfunction junction
What has led to the elimination of Greyhound bus service in Riverside and a very large settlement of $625,000 of taxpayer dollars ("Bus station lease to end," Dec. 16)?

Pick a reason: a) a leadership void, b) a shift in policy-setting from the City Council to the city manager, c) an abuse of the use of eminent domain, d) a discriminatory practice toward a class of city residents, or e) all of the above.

12/20/2008

A FITTING GOP DEFEAT: Republicans must return to core values
I hate to admit it, but we Republicans got what we deserved on Nov. 4. After all, the Republican revolution, born in such earnest hope and expectation in 1994, died an ugly death several years ago.

Business near base will boost Perris economy
The Press-Enterprise editorial board has unfairly criticized the Perris City Council for its decision to approve a new business almost a mile south of the March Air Reserve Base runway (Our Views, "Airport folly," Dec. 7).

Quick Takes: Do you think President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet nominations are consistent with his campaign promises?
Clinton, Rice off target

Being a conservative of sorts, I am more pleased with some of Obama's Cabinet picks than I expected to be, but I was not a supporter -- I am not one he promised to please. Was he consistent with his campaign pledges, though? I would say he has reneged a bit on his promises.

City regrets flub of bus-deal process
As your editorial correctly pointed out, Riverside wasn't sufficiently open and communicative regarding the downtown Greyhound bus station ("Shameful silence," Our Views, Dec. 18).

12/19/2008

Dear person who hit me, I forgive you
Nov. 17 started out like most of my Mondays. At 5:30 a.m., I left home to start my six-mile journey to work. Little did I know that within 10 minutes, my life would be altered way beyond what work in a social service office usually yields.

At 5:40 a.m., I made a right turn onto Tyler Street from Indiana Avenue. I approached the intersection at 20 or 25 mph, comforted by the benefit of a green light.

Meat Disgrace
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's office of the inspector general released its long-awaited audit of slaughter practices and procedures, launched after The Humane Society of the United States uncovered rampant cruelty to sick and crippled cows at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Co. packing plant in Chino earlier this year.

12/17/2008

Don't question First 5's integrity
I am responding to the article that raises questions about the grant-awarding standards of First 5 Riverside, the Riverside County Children and Families Commission ("Losers want grant rescinded," Dec. 13).