Bakersfield.com Opinion : Our View

Groundwater depletion must be addressed

Tue, 29 May 2012 23:09:00 PDT

The time for Central Valley farmers to make drastic and pervasive changes to the way they manage crop irrigation is very near.

That's the only reasonable conclusion anyone can draw from a groundwater depletion joint study by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Universite de Rennes in France.

CSU not the steward of tax dollars we deserve

Tue, 29 May 2012 23:08:00 PDT

We knew the salaries and perks of university presidents tended to be generous, but this is outrageous. The California State University has spent more than $2 million over the past 10 years renovating eight university-owned presidential residences.

California Watch reports that the CSU has paid for kitchen makeovers, added windows, expanded garages and tented for termites, among many other "favors" -- and this is on top of salaries that typically exceed $200,000 (in some cases by a considerable amount) and, at 12 of the system's 23 campuses, separate $60,000 housing allowances.

HITS & MISSES: Today we honor our nation's fallen heroes

Sun, 27 May 2012 23:06:00 PDT

HIT: Memorial Day weekend is the de facto start of summer, celebrated with barbecues, road trips and department-store sales. But it's important not to forget the true reason for the occasion: to remember the men and women who gave their lives defending our country, its values and its people. We devote a day to remembering them, but the families who have lost loved ones in our defense and the soldiers who live daily with the haunting memories of war are reminded of this sacrifice day after day in far less celebratory ways. Take time today to remember the heroes who fought and died for our freedom and their families who have also endured great loss.

MISS: Stalling on stolen info

Don't jump into Caribbean too quickly

Sat, 26 May 2012 23:08:00 PDT

The offer is awfully tempting: A Caribbean medical school wants to pay financially troubled Kern Medical Center $35 million in exchange for guaranteed training positions for its students over the next decade. But, enticing as it sounds, the proposal raises a host of questions that deserve careful vetting before the county signs on the dotted line.

The Board of Supervisors is being asked to approve the deal Tuesday. But that's too soon, considering the complicated issues at play.

Finalize federal transportation bill now

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:03:00 PDT

House Republicans are showing once again that pressing national problems take a backseat to partisan concerns. The latest battle concerns the transportation bill.

The Senate has passed a clean, sensible bill crafted by two partisan powerhouses, Barbara Boxer, a liberal California Democrat, and James Inhofe, a conservative Oklahoma Republican. (One of Inhofe's constituents was killed after being struck by a piece of a crumbling bridge while walking her baby.) The bill has been praised for cutting spending by consolidating programs while retaining money for alternative transportation projects that promote biking and walking promoted by Democrats.

No trees? Corps' levee policy goes too far

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:07:00 PDT

Beavers aren't the only threat to trees along the city's bike path. The Army Corps of Engineers recently informed Bakersfield officials that trees on the bike path need to be removed because they jeopardize the structural soundness of the levees on which the bike path is built. As a result, the city is disqualified from a federal program that covers 80 percent of the repair costs if the levees ever fail.

City Manager Alan Tandy has made it clear he disagrees with the corps on this one and the city doesn't plan to rip out trees on the bike path. He's absolutely right. The bike path is a community jewel that wouldn't be the same if it were denuded of trees that volunteers have planted over the years. And there isn't any hint of evidence that trees are damaging the levees. The city said a recent study found the levees to be just fine. Some experts even think trees strengthen the embankments by locking the earth in place.

Net metering has lived up to California's hopes

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:06:00 PDT

There's no doubt net metering, a solar incentive developed in 1993, has been a key driver behind the state's success with rooftop solar. It has created jobs, helped grow the fledgling solar industry and made the state a leader in solar energy. The Public Utilities Commission made the right decision in voting to continue the program.

Net metering allows surplus power from a home to be sold to a utility for credit against days when the home uses conventional electricity. Utility companies and consumer groups have some legitimate concerns about the program. They say the program's current structure creates a situation where non-solar power users are subsidizing solar customers, who tend to be wealthier. In addition, solar customers don't pay for the utility company's infrastructure to transport power, which is a cost that should be distributed among all users. These are issues that deserve attention, and under a provision added at the last minute, will get more study. But in the meantime, the momentum around solar can continue to grow. The PUC was right not to stanch this one bright spot in California's economy.

Revamp system for supervisors' slush accounts

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:52:09 PDT

Despite all the good will Kern County supervisors have spread in recent years with targeted spending from special discretionary funds, the practice needs an overhaul. Allowing elected supervisors to spend taxpayer money on pet projects without broad public input just carries too much potential for trouble, inadvertent or otherwise.

Over the years, county supervisors have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars from these slush funds on worthy projects. But, at the end of the day, it's with money that was robbed from the collective Peter to benefit the selective Paul. That system of governing is undemocratic and littered with landmines.

DA right to take closer look at closed sessions

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:07:00 PDT

Kern County District Attorney Lisa Green is to be commended for acknowledging that her duties go beyond the prosecution of crime, violent and otherwise.

The DA's office also has a responsibility to make sure local government agencies are fulfilling their obligations under state law. And, in the case of the Kern County Board of Supervisors, there is some question as to whether the state's open-meeting law, known as the Ralph M. Brown Act, is being routinely skirted.

It's about time America took aim at Alzheimer's

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:06:00 PDT

Today, 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's. As the U.S. population ages, that number is only likely to grow.

It is welcome news, therefore, that the Obama administration has announced plans to devote $130 million in federal funds to Alzheimer's research over the next year and a half. The goal is to find a cure or an approach to treatment that might slow its advance.

Would tobacco tax money go out of state?

Mon, 21 May 2012 23:08:00 PDT

Both sides of the Proposition 29 debate are making a big deal about whether or not the cancer research that would be funded by the proposed tobacco tax will go exclusively to California labs or be distributed, in part, to research centers elsewhere.

Well, who cares? If major breakthroughs in lung cancer research come to pass in Houston rather than Palo Alto, should we really be concerned? Yes, the $810 million in funding that's expected to come from tobacco sales in the program's first year will have a stimulating effect on the economies of the areas surrounding recipient labs. So there's ample reason to try and keep those research dollars in state.

In Bakersfield, a piece of the past slips away

Mon, 21 May 2012 23:07:00 PDT

Pioneer Mercantile always had the look and feel of a bygone era, with its aisles and aisles of garden tools and fix-it devices for home and pasture. Now the Bakersfield hardware store really is bygone, having closed its doors after 123 years in business. One hundred and twenty-three years? We thought you had to go to Britain or points east to find a business that's been conducting commerce for that long.

Bakersfield is changing and evolving every day, growing evermore out of its farm-town roots. It says something about continuity, consistency and mutual respect between merchant and customer, therefore, that Pioneer Mercantile managed to stay afloat for so many years -- long after the Lowe's and Home Depots of the world ingratiated themselves to 21st-century suburbanites.

HITS & MISSES: Amgen was a big hit and not a big mess

Sun, 20 May 2012 23:08:00 PDT

HIT: The Amgen Tour brought out an estimated 20,000 professional cycling fans Thursday, helping to fill up Bakersfield hotels, restaurants, stores and tax coffers. It won't fill the landfills with trash, though -- at least not nearly as much as it might have.

Bakersfield's Solid Waste Division worked with tour organizers and food vendors to make the race a "zero-waste" event. Solid Waste Division employees and volunteers set up 100 pairs of recycling and composting bins and provided vendors with compostable plates and utensils made of materials like corn, bamboo and sugar cane. Their effort helped make the Amgen Tour's fifth-stage stop in Bakersfield a success in more ways than one.

Deadliest days for teen drivers are here

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:01:00 PDT

Here's something every parent of a young driver must know: The deadliest driving season for teens is upon us.

The period between Memorial Day and Labor Day has been labeled "The 100 Deadliest Days" for teen drivers. Teens are more likely to be on the road this time of year, with annual events like proms and graduation parties, and, of course, the start of summer vacation.

UFW must refocus its efforts on helping farmworkers

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:00:00 PDT

The United Farm Workers, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last week, was pivotal in bringing recognition and dignity to the work of farm laborers in California. It instituted critical reforms that improved conditions for farmworkers and consumers alike, from requiring portable toilets to cold water and shade for workers in the fields. But it was also a broader social triumph of a group of powerless and exploited people demanding basic rights.

But the fruits of that hard-fought victory are waning.