Page 4 - Dinuba Sentinel 12-7-17 E-edition

Opinion
A4 | Thursday, December 7, 2017
Fred Hall - Publisher Keven J. Geaney - Editor
In My Opinion
News stories should Honly report the facts
aving complained about the are the purview “mainstream media” for of the opinion- the past several months, it editorial page
seems only fair that I commend ABC News for their recent recognition of incorrect reporting on part of one
of their staff—Brian Ross. Ross' penalty for reporting damning—and false—information on the Trump administration was a month's leave with pay. There was a time when the rule of thumb used to require three sources to verify information. We don't know what happened to that bit of reporting wisdom. No wonder these guys often go off half-cocked!
Yes, it is essentially a vacation
for Mr. Ross but I give credit to
the television network for openly confirming their reporter was wrong. This small movement gives me hope that the “get Trump at any cost” movement may have subsided and there can be a moderated return
to an old fashioned, professional approach to journalistic reportage. Although there are still many others in the media who ruefully display their contempt for those who voted for President Trump we thank ABC for the first step.
Much of the slide toward slanted and mediocre reporting during the past decade has been precipitated by a loosening of standards, allowing— even driving--the polarization of the country and allowing speculation to make its way into print. Certainly there is blame attributable to social media since it has become the news source for millions of Americans. The individuals who ply their trade on the internet have a complete lack of journalistic standards. More and more younger reporters are convinced there is no problem with their personal bias becoming part of a story. In their view, a little slant won't hurt anything. If one is a reader in search of facts, believe me, there is no interest in what some reporter believes. They should have strong, knowledgeable editors but they aren't always that fortunate and wind up learning the business from each other!
To make it perfectly clear, straight news should only deal with provable facts with no opinions or personalclarification. Opinions
The Truth Hurts
eNewspaper gives Treaders more choices
Fred Hall
where community journalism should be practiced, allowing readers
to respond to a writer's personal view without fear of reprisals. Unlike the
internet, you won't be attacked here. Addressing those of who pen
opinions on a regular basis, I would note that, though there appear to
be fewer and fewer of us, every day some very ordinary men or women sit down in front of our typewriter or word processor to share opinions with the general public. We don't claim to be smarter than anyone.
The only thing extraordinary about these writers is a willingness to share their thoughts with a critical reading audience and open themselves to public critique. Their mandate is to be rational, honest reasonable and factual in the information they share. We never claim to be smarter than anyone else, we are just willing to share an opinion with readers and allow them an opportunity to tell us what they think.
Being in the position which provides one the luxury of being allowed to address a large audience through op-ed is both a blessing and a curse. We're allowed to share with each of you our personal beliefs and experiences but have to be thick- skinned and open minded enough
to deal with repercussions from
those with a different view. Know what? We love your responses. That, after all, is the reason we do what
we do and are allowed space in the newspaper to share our thought process.
We're prejudiced to the point that we believe newspaper readers are more sophisticated consumers of the news but don't want anyone to forget there is a difference between the op-ed page and hard news. We, in turn, owe you a firm adherence to journalistic standards.
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion!
FredHallispublisheroftheSentinel
Guest Column
Keep America great
he Sentinel is changing with paper, or both at a the times and I like what discount.
I'm seeing. Just last week I am normally
Everyday thousands of people wake up before
the sun rises, pack their lunches, and drive or carpool their way to work. Some toil underneath
the hot sun, while others are inside feverishly packing perishable items to make sure they make their cross country or ocean voyage in time. Six days a week they repeat this routine and how are they rewarded, with the fear that they will not be able to continue this routine.
These are our agricultural workers. Who provide
us with the safest food that we, our representatives in Washington D.C., and officials in the White House buy at our stores, farmer’s markets, and restaurants.
These workers have children, many born in the U.S., that they must figure out who is going to take them to and from school, practice for sports and other activities, or who is going to care for their child while they’re at work. The same thing that any U.S. citizen parent must figure out.
They pay taxes and Social Security deductions, the later which they will receive no benefit from.
They are the backbone of an industry, where in California alone, farmers sold almost $50 billion worth of food in 2013. Yet, between 2002 and 2014, the number of field and crop workers in the state declined by about 85,000, leading to a drop in the number
of entry-level workers available for difficult jobs like hoeing, harvesting, and planting. While technology is often touted as a cure for every economic ailment, when it comes to delivering California’s crops to the nation’s kitchen tables, there is no app for that. Instead, we need skilled farmworkers, along with smart land and water use, to maintain our agriculture rich history.
On October 2, 2017, Congressman Goodlatte introduced H.R. 4092, it provides a pathway for our undocumented agricultural workers to obtain an agricultural work visa (H-2C visa). It also provides for a system, instead of our broken H-2A program, to bring
in more agricultural workers into the U.S. to make up
for our shortfall. By October 25, 2017, the bill had been amended to the detriment of our current agricultural workers. There are many flaws with the legislation, especially the deduction of 10% from these worker’s wages which was to be put in a trust account. The purpose of this is to provide “a monetary incentive for H-2C workers to return to their country of origin upon expiration of their visas.” To receive the money that they already earned, they must apply and establish that they have complied with the terms and conditions of the H-2C
program. They then have return to their home country to obtain the payment.
Did we not learn anything from the Bracero Program, implemented between 1942 to 1964, that also withheld 10% of the worker’s wages as an incentive to return
to Mexico? They never received those wages and the workers of the proposed legislation may have received the same fate.
The inability by Congress to provide legislation for our undocumented agricultural workers living in the U.S. and a workable guest worker program, has led to more members in my industry clamoring for more H-2A workers. This is a betrayal to the hardworking men and women who work for them.
Some have been living and working here for over 25 years, hoping that Congress passes legislation similar
to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986;
the last time Congress passed meaningful immigration legislation for our undocumented agricultural workers. Instead of meaningful legislation, some want to give them pink slips. These are skilled, hardworking people that are vital members of our communities and some want to toss them aside. What will become of them, their children, our communities?
Not only has Congress failed to protect our undocumented agricultural workers, but they seek
to punish them. Congressman Lamar Smith recently introduced H.R. 3711. The bill would make mandatory and permanent requirements relating to use of an electronic employment eligibility verification system, more commonly known as E-Verify. It is a federal program that allows businesses to check a new employee’s immigration status within a matter of seconds. It will replace the current system where the new employee fills out Form I-9 and present documents that they are eligible to work along with an identity document. The employer must take the documents at face value.
This would decimate our agricultural workforce along with the hospitality industry, and in California the building industry. It won’t just effect businesses, but more importantly, it will hurt families. Families that go to our schools and churches.
It is time for Congress and for all the members in my industry to get behind some of the hardest working members in our society and provide them with legal status. These are the people who make America great!
Manuel Cunha, Jr. president of Nisei Farmers League
the Mid Valley staff, consisting of the Dinuba Sentinel, Reedley Exponent, Sanger Herald and Parlier Post, met to discuss an eNewspaper in the works for all four papers. The online newspaper will be available free to the public starting next week, until the end of the month. After that it will be available to purchase at a yearly rate of somewhere between $25-$30 dollars.
Besides the convenience of getting the paper the morning of Thursday, instead of later that day or a few days later for our subscribers in other counties and states, the online paper will have some extra perks that the paper doesn't have. One subscriber in Sacramento was so tired of the mail delivering his paper four or five days after the paper came out that
he asked me if I could mail out his paper. He took the time to fill out
48 envelopes and pay for stamps
for them just so he could get the paper a day or two earlier then in
the past. Now if he subscribes to our eNewspaper he can get it the day we come out.
Some of the perks we currently will have includes all the pictures in the paper in color, links to quickly email us any comments you have, and links to other sites for more information about a story. We are also working on having some video links, photo gallery links for certain events and creating an archive link so you can look up past stories.
For those of you who still enjoy picking up a paper and reading it we will continue to publish and print a quality paper for our readers. Now you will just have more choices.
You can continue to subscribe to
the Sentinel, or purchase the online
Keven J. Geaney
hesitant on change, but I like this change. And what makes it so great
is that it won't affect our current subscribers who
don't want to change. It will only help entice the readers who enjoy reading stories on their phones, tablets or desktops. These are usually the younger readers, but not all are. My wife is big on reading the morning news on her phone.
My mom is currently a technology reader as she now reads most of
her books on her tablet. I still enjoy reading a newspaper and regular books. My book shelves at home are overflowing with an assortment of books. My current loves are books by Clive Cussler and Dan Brown, but I also love autobiographies.
But I'm currently excited with
all the bells and whistles that the eNewspaper will offer. I feel like a boy eagerly waiting to open up my Christmas presents. Luckily we only have to wait until Dec. 14 to witness the first edition of the Sentinel's eNewspaper.
By the way, the eNewspaper could be a great gift to give someone for Christmas. Maybe you have a son
or daughter who's away at college and misses hearing about his/her hometown. With the eNewspaper they can stay connected to what's happening at their alma mater [Dinuba High or Orosi High] and hear what's happening in their town.
Keven J. Geaney is the editor of the Sentinel He can be reached at editor@thedinubasentinel.com
Join the discussion
The Dinuba Sentinel welcomes submissions of letters to the editor on topics of local relevance. Word limit is 350.
Letters must include the author’s name, phone number and address for verification. Mail to 145 South L Street, Dinuba, CA, 93618, or e-mail to editor@thedinubasentinel.
com.
Letters will be edited for length, grammar and clarity.
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