Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 1-30-20 E-edition

Thursday, January 30, 2020 | A4 | Mid Valley TiMes Editorial & Opinions
Serving the Readers of the Reedley Exponent, Dimuba Sentinel and Sanger Herald.
A Mid Valley Publishing Newspaper
Founded March 26, 1891, in a two-story building on the corner of 11th and F streets, by A.S. Jones
Fred Hall — Publisher
In my OPINION The price of angry and
emotion-driven decisions
Sadly, I have to admit that I was
one of those people who came to the
awareness late in life that decisions
made in anger or emotionally driven
were always wrong and usually detri-
mental. I mention this only because,
having watched some of the impeach-
ment "proceedings" and the “investi-
gations” leading to the two articles
charging our president, it has become
obvious that the entire mess has been emotionally driv- en. It's irrational to hate any man that much simply be- cause he was born wealthy and won an election which no one expected him to win.
Trust me, as someone who has had problems with anger management, self control of one's emotional outbreaks by mid-to-late teens will save a lot of heart- break; and yet we have individual participants of our political parties who are older, highly educated and extremely well compensated who are driven by child- like emotions. Probably not the ideal circumstances for people who have been charged with the security of more than 300 million of us Americans.
The whole mess will drone on for a few more days — depending on whether witnesses are called or not. There is no need — there should be no need. The “leak” of information from John Bolton's book by The New York Times is alarmingly similar to what the Demo- crats did during the Bret Kavanaugh hearings for the Supreme Court. Keep bringing in dirt, throw it against the wall and see it anything will stick! It never does!
We might point out that the book isn't even in print; therefore what The Times reported was nothing more than a rumor. The New York Times piece by Maggie Haberman is the latest in a long line of retracted stories based on anonymous sources against President Donald Trump and his administration. This piece of journalistic garbage was quickly followed by a column by Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post which was almost embarrassing in its lack of rational thought. There was a time when the Haberman piece would never have seen the light of day without proper sourcing. Although it was a classic piece of ignorance, the Robinson col- umn was opinion and, unfortunately, acceptable. Sadly, blind prejudice is not illegal. Journalism is quickly los- ing its reputation for credibility and becoming no more reliable than social media. That's a sad day!
Now that it's January 2020, one may rest assured that there is a whole slew of new laws on the books here in California; all written in such manner as to reward the state for their spendthrift methods and wasteful mismanagement. Those which are not about raising taxes are guaranteed to impinge upon the rights of the citizens of this ever-diminishing opportunity which was once the Golden State.
One of the simplest ways of determining the value of a recent attempt to repeal a tax measure would be an examination of the political shenanigans and machina- tions which led up to its defeat. The ballot measure on the gas tax came replete with a complete misrepresen- tation on the ballot by the California Secretary of State. When our own government is willing to lie and obfus- cate, everything is pretty much downhill from there.
Remember the ballot essentially warned that with- out passage of a gas tax there would a suspension of road repairs? Here's the truth about what we really got! California ranks number 49 in gas prices and 48 in road quality.
Number 50 is the lowest (worst) anyone can attain. Makes you proud, huh?
To reiterate, when public officials are willing to lie to you to get more money, there are better than even odds that they will throw it down a rat hole.
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
Fresno County clerk for elections fills public in on changes for 2020
Rick Curiel — Sanger Editor Jon Earnest — Reedley Editor Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
QUOTE
“There's only one way to have a happy marriage andassoonasI learn what it is I'll get married again.”
— Clint Eastwood (1930 - )
Fred Hall
By Brandi Orth
Guest columnist
The Voters Choice Act is an exciting new model for elec- tions administration. California Senate Bill 450 — passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor in 2016 — authorizes counties to send every voter a mail ballot and provide bal- lot drop-off locations and Vote Centers throughout the county.
In 2018, five counties suc- cessfully initiated the new law: Madera, Napa, Nevada, Sacramento and San Mateo. For the upcoming 2020 elec- tion, 10 other counties will launch the modernized vot- ing practice under the Voters Choice Act: Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Los An- geles, Mariposa, Orange, Santa Clara, Tuolumne – and Fresno! The Fresno County Board of Supervisors approved the new model in March 2019 begin- ning with the upcoming Presi- dential Primary this March.
As we transition to vote centers for the March 2020 election, it means that Fresno County voters will have more choices on where, when and how they would like to cast their ballot. It is essential that Fresno County voters check their current voter registration (go online to votefresnocounty. com – click on “check your reg- istration status”) and ensure that they are set to vote in 2020.
All registered voters will be sent a ballot in the mail 29 days before the election, so
you won’t have to request a vote-by-mail ballot in advance. Voters will also be able to mail their ballot with no postage or drop it off at one of 50 Vote Centers or 33 secure drop boxes conveniently located throughout Fresno County.
In addition to the drop- boxes, 10 days before Elec- tion Day throughout Fresno County, 10 Vote Centers will be open to the public. As Elec- tion Day gets closer, 50 Vote Centers and 33 secure drop boxes will be open three days before and on Election Day.
Community members have been very involved in the pro- cess of selecting locations for Vote Centers and drop boxes. We have several committees which will continue to meet through this process and we encourage public participation.
With the new model, tra- ditional polling places will be replaced by Vote Centers. In- stead of being assigned a single polling place, voters will have the freedom to cast a ballot in- person at any Vote Center in the county. The Vote Centers will look and feel like polling places, but they will provide additional enhanced features to make vot- ing easier and more convenient.
At any Vote Center in Fresno County, a voter may vote in-per- son, drop off their ballot, get a replacement ballot, vote using an accessible voting machine, and register to vote or update their voter registration. This new process will make it easi- er to vote where and when it’s
convenient. Ad-
ditionally, Vote
Centers will
have staff who
will be available
to support all
voters, includ-
ing those with
disabilities and those who may need translation and language assistance.
Also, free public transporta- tion to Vote Centers will be pro- vided in the Cities of Fresno and Clovis and rural parts of Fresno County, including FAX, Handy Ride, Clovis Transit and Fresno County Rural Transit Agency.
Increased voter participa- tion is expected by providing voters with increased flexibil- ity to vote when and where it is most convenient for them. The new process also modernizes elections in Fresno County.
Overall, the Voter’s Choice Act gives voters more options so voters can choose when, where and how they vote. Based on ex- perience in other Counties, Vote Centers will be busy on the last two days (Monday and Tuesday, March 2-3), to avoid waiting time consider mailing your bal- lot, using a drop box or visiting a Vote Center before that Monday.
If you have questions, please contact the Fresno County Elec- tions office at (559) 600-VOTE (8683), at Clerk-Elections@fres- nocountyca.gov, or visit Vote- FresnoCounty.com.
Brandi Orth is the Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters.
Brandi Orth
Sanger's main north-south road back with reopening of Academy Avenue
Sanger residents, and visi- tors alike, will be getting the southern roadway hub of their city back this week if all goes as planned.
The stretch of Academy Av- enue from south of 9th Street to just south of Annadale Ave- nue is scheduled to reopen this week, meaning motorists will get a detour-free drive along the city's main north-south arterial for the first time in four months (red light-free isn't guaranteed).
Soon, people again will be able to easily access the popular Chuck Wagon eatery and other businesses along Academy. And they'll have a new, smooth piece of roadway to drive on and an expanded turn area and new traffic signal on North Avenue.
Residents in the Mid Valley Times coverage cities all have
new additions and projects in the near and more distant future. In Reedley, ground was broken last week on the new Math and Sci- ence building at Reedley Col- lege, and construction continues at Reedley High School to build a new frontage road, a varsity soc- cer field and remodeled baseball facility. And in Dinuba, the early stages of developing the site of the new Dinuba High School are taking place. All in all, plenty to get excited over.
•••
Like many Americans and
basketball fans around the world, I'm still wrapping my head around the shocking news of the death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others in a helicopter crash the morning of Jan. 26. As so many others have shared, it doesn't seem real but
sadly it is.
All nine
lives lost have
their own heart-
breaking sto-
ries, including
longtime junior
college baseball
coach John Al-
tobelli of Orange Coast College and his wife and daughter. Three of the victims were teenage girls headed to a youth basketball tournament, including 13-year- old Gianna (Gigi) Bryant, Kobe's daughter. Young lives tragically cut far too short. But that goes for all nine victims.
There always will be debate about whether Kobe Bryant was the greatest basketball player ever. But this fact is indisputable: the list of players better than him is a short one — a very short one.
Jon Earnest