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Sound Off for June 29, 2008
| Saturday, Jun 28 2008 6:19 PM
Last Updated: Saturday, Jun 28 2008 6:24 PM
Reader: It amazes me that we allow freedom of expression when it is convenient to our own personal agenda, and the last time I checked we still had the right of free speech in this good old U.S.A. I have always enjoyed Leonel Martinez's column and will immediately cancel my subscription to The Californian. What will be the reason for his column to be discontinued? You will truly have lost a great journalist and I feel that your loss will be someone else's gain.
Sincerely,
-- Norma Navarro
Jenner: I'm glad you enjoyed the columns of Leonel Martinez, which appeared every other Thursday.
I felt it was time for a change. I hope to appoint a columnist soon who will focus more on local issues and local people.
Thanks for your comments.
Reader: Thank you, thank you, thank you.
It was next to impossible to read the paper in a two-reader household on Monday morning before work. I appreciate the Local and Eye Street together. It makes for a better combination.
Now let's talk about the obscure section headers. Sometimes they are embedded in the art work so subtly that it makes it hard to identify the section you are looking for.
Particularly on the old newspaper pile when you want to go back to check out an article you may have missed.
Thanks again for the restoration of the Monday Local Section.
-- Joyce Hulen Montgomery
Reader: I was one of the closet grumblers who hated last year's format change of the Monday paper. I felt that the A section had no distinct break from national to local and back again.
I applaud you and the paper for listening to the community. I highly approve of the change you have made to meld the Local and Eye Street sections. This is so much better of a fit!
-- Sandy Moffett
Reader: I was very happy to see the Local section returned to the Monday paper. I always felt like something was missing when I read my Monday paper. Please keep it coming.
-- Alice Brown
Reader: Please reconsider the Local/Eye Street combination in Monday's paper. More serious news should be combined in the front (front page/local). In fact, usually one story on the front page is a local story (as it should be). The Eye Street section is more of a lifestyle type of area. It should be left that way.
-- Brent Michaels
Jenner: Thanks for the comments on our new Monday format. When we moved Local news into the A section last year, we upset many readers. Although I recognize the change we introduced a week ago (restoring the Local section and putting the Eye Street section inside it) is still a compromise, I believe it's an improvement.
Reader: THANK YOU for bringing back the Monday Local section! I always read the paper in the same order -- Local section first. Thank you from those of us who are creatures of habit and routine!
Also, for a few months my paper was delivered with a rubber band instead of a plastic bag. I neglected to contact you, but I APPRECIATE PAPERS BOUND WITH A RUBBER BAND, rather than a plastic bag. In "the olden days," papers were only delivered in plastic bags on rainy days.
Aren't the rubber bands more environmentally friendly than bags? Both are probably petroleum products, but rubber bands are much smaller -- AND much more useful around the house than the narrow bags.
As long as I am writing, I am VERY HAPPY with the current delivery person in my neighborhood. I never know who is delivering papers (I remember when the paper boy came around to "collect"), but for the past six to eight weeks, the paper has been ON my front porch! I am very grateful, and if you can please either pass on my appreciation, or allow me to contact my delivery person, I will be most grateful.
Thank you for your time.
-- Tricia Holian
Jenner: I don't know if rubber bands are cheaper, but they're certainly more environmentally friendly than plastic bags.
We leave the decision of whether to band or bag the papers up to the carrier. Although it doesn't rain much, many carriers will bag their papers to keep them from being soaked by lawn sprinklers.
Thanks very much for writing about your satisfaction with your delivery. We've made improved delivery a significant customer service focus over the last year, and are delivering the paper in metro Bakersfield earlier than ever before.
I must tell you our circulation and delivery managers were thrilled to read your letter, and they were very happy to share it with your carrier.
Reader: I am writing to correct the headline of the article that appeared in Tuesday's issue of The Californian. The headline, which read "Martinez family wins Habitat for Humanity house," misrepresents Habitat for Humanity-Golden Empire's mission and the families we serve.
Habitat for Humanity is not a lottery. It is not a game of chance, nor is it some kind of give-away. Habitat for Humanity is an ecumenical, Christian ministry that provides simple, decent affordable housing for low income families.
The process used to select a family is highly structured and can take from six to eight weeks to complete. Potential homeowners attend an orientation, complete an application, provide financial, credit and other documents and open their current homes to Habitat volunteers who evaluate the family's living conditions. Once selected, families must participate in the construction of their home and pay for that home through a thirty-year, no interest mortgage.
Thank you for the opportunity to "set the record straight" on this matter.
We at Habitat for Humanity appreciate all of the support that we have received from The Californian over the past 17 years and value the publicity, volunteer days and financial contributions made by you to our organization, but please remember the winner in this exercise is the community in which the home was built.
Sincerely,
-- Dennis Wallace, executive director, Habitat for Humanity-Golden Empire
Jenner: Thanks for clarifying that point.
Reader: According to the numbers I could find online, 250 people have died in the Kern River between 1967 and fall of 2007. Over the years, The Californian has run many stories about the deaths on the river and even won awards for the photos and coverage.
Why, knowing that the river is so dangerous, did you choose to run two photos in two sections of the June 18 edition of "tubers" walking to the river at Hart Park (pages A8 and B1)? The tubers were not wearing life vests or helmets.
It is irresponsible and contradictory to publish photos which perpetuate the myth that the river is a safe place to play.
-- David Koeth
Jenner: I'm not going to argue that any stretch of the Kern River is hazard-free. People can drown in ankle-deep water.
But some parts of the river, particularly in the Kern River Canyon, certainly are more dangerous than others.
I may sound contradictory, but I don't think it's irresponsible to print a picture of a trio of kids walking along a path carrying colorful inner tubes.
Reader: I can't believe that my morning paper recently printed another article about Bruce Sons and printed his picture again. Let it go!
After all the media coverage generated by the initial shooting, plus four long trials, nobody wants to read about him any more. Let it go!
-- Gail Oblinger
Jenner: The news was that an appellate court denied an appeal by Sons to wipe his slate clean of any wrongdoing, saying his conviction was just.
While I understand you're tired of reading about Sons, that story was important and worth reporting. Despite the community's fatigue with the case itself, I believe most of our readers feel the same way.
Reader: I'm writing regarding the article Steven Mayer wrote on June 13 regarding Bob Otto, the veteran who had ended his days playing taps at the military ceremonies for more than 5,000 funerals since 1984. What a wonderful man and we admire his dedication and selflessness in volunteering his time to do this all of those years.
How many of us would take our own personal time to provide the fitting ceremony for our fallen veterans and grieving families?
We were especially touched by your article as we had just been to a funeral at Riverside National Cemetery and had stopped overnight in Bakersfield on the way home. We saw your article in your paper that evening.
The funeral was for a dear friend who was an 83-year-old veteran of World War II who helped liberate France and Poland and then went on to Germany. He was at the liberation of a concentration camp which was in his memory the rest of his life. The ceremony included yet another group of retired veterans who did the full military honors including a gentleman who played taps.
I don't believe that any person could attend that kind of ceremony without tears or a lump in your throat.
I wish we could convey our appreciation to Mr. Otto in some way and possibly you could share this with him. We wish him and his wife well. Thanks, Mr. Mayer, for your insight and time in writing such a nice, positive article. We see few in print anymore of good things that happen in our world.
Thank you,
-- Mr. and Mrs. Ron Gray
Jenner: Your letter meant a lot to reporter Steven Mayer and to me. I'm sure it will be just as meaningful to Bob Otto. Thanks for writing.