Sound Off for Sept. 28, 2008
Reader: Outstanding article! I want you to know how very much I appreciated the first-person article on officer-involved shootings that ran last Sunday and Monday.
Felix Doligosa did an excellent job of portraying his personal experiences. He apparently tried very hard to place himself into the role and capture what a person feels and experiences.
I would say from my own experiences that it is impossible to describe the range of emotions that an individual goes through after these events. It is an amazing rush of adrenaline and always a life changing experience, not unlike what is experienced by military combat troops.
I don't know anyone who has shed the blood of another human that isn't impacted. My first shooting was more than 38 years ago. Not a detail has left my mind -- the date, the time, the address, the suspect's name, the victim's name -- it is burned into my brain forever.
I really appreciated this effort. Thanks.
-- Riley Parker, CPI, CFS, Parker & Associates Professional Investigations
•••
Reader: This is in response to columnist Lois Henry's Sept. 18 comments regarding Assemblywoman Nicole Parra.
Henry wrote: The most memorable piece of legislation Nicole championed, extending Megan's Law, "was handed to you by the Democratic leadership in order to make you look 'tough on crime' so you could fend off challenges to your seat."
During my four-year term as sheriff of Kern County, Nicole Parra always made time to hear the concerns and needs of law enforcement. In May of each year, all 58 elected sheriffs of California traveled to Sacramento to meet with legislators and the governor concerning the needs of law enforcement in California. During the time we were attempting to extend Megan's Law and pass Jessica's Law. Assemblywoman Parra left a meeting more than once to hear our concerns. I remember when she took several of the sheriffs back into a hearing with her to make sure she got it right when she pushed for a vote. In my opinion, no other legislator did more than Nicole to assist law enforcement. She always returned calls.
She put herself on the line and went beyond the call of duty many times to assist law enforcement and the communities they serve. Because of her efforts the California State Sheriffs' Association voted her Legislator of The Year. Her work with law enforcement around the state went unnoticed by most and she never publicized the fact that she worked so hard behind the scenes to make a safe environment for the citizens of California. The elected sheriffs of California will not forget.
-- Mack Wimbish
•••
Reader: I really like what you do with Sound Off.
Unfortunately, sometimes the inputs from your readers don't seem to belong there. Case in point -- last Sunday (Sept. 21) a reader expressed herself at some length mostly about gay marriage. One may agree or disagree with her views but it seems to me that her comments belong in Letters to the Editor or Community Voices rather than Sound Off, where I expect "criticisms and compliments or ... questions about news overage." Maybe I misunderstand the intent of this feature.
-- Gino LaMarca
Jenner: This column is intended to deal with comments and criticism regarding coverage.
The letter you refer to ran in Sound Off because it was written in response to a letter published here. But you're right; the second letter probably was more appropriate for the letters to the editor section.
•••
Reader: I noticed the disclaimer at the bottom of Marylee Shrider's excellent column exposing the Harvey Milk Day fiasco. Does The Californiansupport the bill, AB 2567, to require schools to set aside a day to recognize gays and lesbians? If so, cancel my subscription.
Thank you very much,
-- Paul B. Homer
Jenner: No, The Californianhasn't taken a position supporting that bill. The disclaimer at the bottom of Marylee's column appears with the work of every Californiancolumnist. We began running them simply to help remind readers that the columnists aren't speaking for the editorial board or the paper. That doesn't necessarily mean the position of the columnist differs from the ed board's.
•••
Reader: I'm calling about a letter that was in the Opinion section Sept. 20. There's profanity in that letter. I have no idea why you're printing profanity in a public newsletter unless this is something that society has degenerated to. I strongly hope that this is not true of your newspaper. I sincerely hope that it's been overlooked and I do not want to see it in my newspaper again.
Thank you.
-- Hal Williams
Editorial Page Editor Dianne Hardisty responds: "Your complaint caused me to rush back to Saturday's Opinion section. Oh my, what did we let slip through? Hal wasn't specific about the word that so offended him. Was it 'oil' or 'scam' in the headline of the first letter complaining about gas prices? Certainly some have characterized the situation as 'obscene.' It couldn't be the nice note of thanks; nothing profane about that. Maybe you was talking about Lloyd Lagace's light-hearted letter in which he observed that he loved 'being an old fart.' If 'fart' is the 'profane' word that so upset you, then I beg to differ with your definition. 'Fart' is an embarrassing escape of gas -- a loud noise and bad smell. But it's hardly profane."
•••
Reader: I just wanted to say in regard to the person a week or so ago who was writing in about the Weather report being printed the length of the page. I agree with that person. It's much easier to read when it goes crossways across the page. The eye doesn't seem to want to go down the page when the letters are quite small.
Also, back to the crime report, which I complained about the new setup. It seems like if you could make the map a little bit bigger, then perhaps you could show more street names on there. What I liked before was how you pinpointed on the map where the event occurred.
I know you do put the names of the streets, but that doesn't help unless you know the names of the streets in that area, which I don't. Also, like I said, it was great on the old system where you pinpointed on the map where the crime happened. If you could show some street names up in the area of Beat 14 that would be really helpful.
Thank you.
-- Barbara Bates
Jenner: We changed the orientation of the Weather page from a horizontal half-page to a vertical half-page simply because that allowed us to use the space more efficiently and we could fit more data into the package.
Likewise, the new crime map presentation is more efficient, but I do understand the interest in more street names. I'll ask our graphics experts to see what we can do.
•••
Reader: I recently completed a one-month work assignment in Kern County installing new electric meters for PG&E. During this time I read your paper almost every day and found it to be far superior to my hometown publication, the Contra Costa Times .
Your in-depth coverage of local news and issues were outstanding. If more newspapers were run like yours, there wouldn't be a declining readership problem. Keep up the good work.
-- Mike Walko
Jenner: Thanks for the nice note. Ever thought about relocating?
•••
Reader: As a faithful reader of The Californianand frequent traveler, I was disappointed with the recent change in the world weather chart. In reducing its size, you eliminated notable cities like Johannesburg. My analysis indicates the chart now includes 12 European cities, seven from Asia, five from Mexico, four from South America, three from Canada, three from the Middle East, one from Australia, and one from Northern Africa (Cairo). Basically, you have ignored an important continent that is of interest to some of us who travel overseas.
I doubt that you intentionally slighted this politically important part of the world, but how about a bit more balance?
-- John E. Corson
Jenner: No, it wasn't intentional. And we can reconsider the spread of world cities, but any additions we make to Africa will reduce the number allotted to the rest of the world.
•••
Reader: A huge thank you to all of you at The Californianfor Tails of Bakersfield. Not only was it very entertaining, it also helped all of the organizations supporting homeless animals in Kern County. We appreciate your support and hope you will do this feature again sometime in the future.
Thank you all again,
-- Vicki Eick, Friends of The Kern County Animal Shelters Foundation
