North Santa Barbara by Renee; Central Coast News Mission

Santa Maria Police Officer Shot

2012-01-29T21:33:00.000-08:00

Here's today's lesson boys and girls: When the cops come for you, if you resist arrest, or pull a gun, you will be shot dead, even if you're a cop.
29 year old Albert Covarrubias Jr. was an officer with the Santa Maria Police Department who was the subject of an internal criminal investigation surrounding allegations of sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl.

Allegations are not convictions. This is quite scary. If they'll shoot a colleague, where does that leave the rest of us if we become suspects?
Officer Covarrubias was near the end of his shift at a DUI checkpoint when supervisors arrived after 1 a.m. to detain him. There was a struggle, the suspect officer drew his weapon and fired his gun; a fellow officer then shot the suspect in the chest. A four-year veteran of the department, Covarrubias was pronounced dead at Marian Medical Center after undergoing emergency surgery.
At a press conference Police Chief Danny Macagni said developments forced police to take immediate action. According to Macagni, Officer Covarrubias knew that he was under investigation, that witnesses were being intimidated, and that the public would be at risk if authorities did not take him into custody before he left his shift.

What they felt he'd go on a murderous rampage?
Macagni said, "He chose to resist. He drew his weapon. A fight ensued. He fired his weapon. And one of my officers that was there also discharged his weapon and the officer was fatally wounded."
Regarding this evidence that they had Macagni added, "Information unfolded during the time that the officer was on duty and unfolded very rapidly. It was very explicit, very specific, that indicated that the officer was involved in not only an inappropriate sexual relationship, but a very explicit one and it demanded immediate action." He declined to reveal further details about the alleged crimes.
I sincerely hope that the evidence he's referring to includes that he chain-sawed his family, the neighbors and people walking their dogs by his house, because shooting him makes no sense otherwise.
Why didn't anyone think of using a Taser? Surely the officers at the SMPD have them?
Macagni also said, "The information that we had in hand demanded that we not let him leave that scene, get in a car, drive somewhere. It would put the public at risk if he did. We just did not know what was going to happen. And we did not expect him to react the way he did."
Really? Aren't officers trained to anticipate any and all reactions. They're supposed to be able to "cool down" a situation, that's why they get to wear guns.
The police department declined to name him, but the family of Officer Cavarrubias spoke out about their loss.
His father, Albert Covarrubias Sr said, "It's going to be a great loss to me because I love all my children with all my heart and a piece of my heart has been ripped out of me now. They said they had all this information to arrest him. Why on the streets? Why there? Was it to ridicule him? My son was a beautiful person. My son was respected to everybody. My son was a hardworker."
He is demanding answers leading up to his son's death.
I'd like to know as well. I'd also like to know why a Taser wasn't used. Since he can no longer speak, they will never know the entire story. Ever.

Is our All-American City now Gangland Central?

2011-12-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Back in 1998 Santa Maria was awarded the All-American City designation. This award is given to communities whose citizens "work together to identify and tackle community-wide challenges and achieve uncommon results."

Interesting terminolgy for something that's nothing more than a marketing tool. Nonetheless, then-Mayor Abel Maldonado pushed for the designation, since he more than likely viewed it as a feather in his cap while on his way to bigger and better things for himself.

That's right, soon after, he got himself elected the the California State Assembly for this district. After watching him and seeing him speak, I'm still amazed he got any votes. Oh well.

Moving on, it's important to mention that a mere eight years prior to this award, mail carrier-cum-mayor George Hobbs announced that Santa Maria had a "Mexican problem." His claim was that "immigrants were destroying Santa Maria's neighborhoods by crowding into rental houses, drinking beer outdoors and urinating in yards." Additionally, "they kept junk cars all over the place and were draining the state's social and medical programs." Despite this racist rant, Hobbs was re-elected mayor in 1992. I guess people have short memories.

Not surprisingly, it turned out that the bigger "Mexican problem" in town was that this faction was unable to come together to mount a concerted effort to oust him as mayor. Meetings were held, opinions were aired, pontificating occurred along with the requisite number of Letters to the Editor. Unfortunately, because everything got bogged down due to disagreements over who the leader was going to be, nothing productive happened.

So, here we are in 2011, and while the city might still have the All-American designation, We've got another big problem. We're living with big city style gangland killings. On December 8th, 24 year old gang member Samyr Ceballos was shot to death by the police who were there to arrest him. Perhaps if he hadn't pulled a gun, he'd have only lost one Christmas instead of losing his life. Then on December 9th, another gang member, 32 year old Alberto Diaz Jr. was stabbed to death. Last August, Maria DeJesus Martinez was shot to death by her gang-affiliated soon to be ex-husband.

Considering that violent crimes in Santa Maria have almost doubled since 1999, the question is, "Why"?

What city-wide programs, beginning in grade schools, has been pushed? What has been put in place to help the obviously overworked and overwhelmed parents? It's painfully obvious that education is the key here, preferably to both parent and child.

What has been done by the city council and other "movers and shakers" to combat this problem? When I say "movers and shakers" I mean someone other than me. I have a big mouth, but that's all I have. Perhaps someone more important could get the ball rolling.

Despite the naysayers, it just might be true that "it takes a village to raise a child." Sometimes the parents just aren't up to the task. Lack of parenting skills can oftentimes create criminals, other times it creates non-productive members of society. Surely I'm not alone in this belief.

I know this first hand. I have an aunt who was such poor mother material that her children got the short shrift, and as a result, her grandchildren got the shaft. How could her children be effective parents when they didn't learn anything from her? Think about it.

We must all come to terms with the fact that something terrible is happening to our youth when they feel that their only option is joining a gang. Somewhere along the line they lose their way, their hope, their self-esteem. Something must be done, otherwise those neglected and abused children could one day grow up to prey on the very people who ignored their plight in their formative years.

Politics or oversight?

2011-11-29T21:00:00.000-08:00

On November 16th, I wrote the following letter to the editor at the Santa Maria Times:

On October 26th, the Santa Maria Times dutifully reported on the "El Día de los Muertos " display sponsored by the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department, that took place at the Veteran's Memorial Community Center.
A few days later, another story appeared in the Times, this time it was about the event at Dana Adobe.
It's wonderful to know that the Times writes about this celebration of life that dates back hundreds of years. Anything that makes people aware of cultural differences is a good thing. Learning about other cultures enriches all of our lives.
Having said that, I'd like to know why the Times did not send anyone over to the Town Center Mall to cover the "El Día de Los Muertos" display that has been sponsored by the Mexican-American Scholarship Cultural and Recreation Association (MASCARA) for 17 years.
MASCARA's event had been consistently reported by Times, up to and including last year, so I'm at a loss as to why they didn't merit a mention this year. This event began in Santa Maria as a one day event, when Gina Rodriguez set up a display in her backyard. From there it has grown enough to require the larger venue at the mall.
I'd like to think that not seeing a story in the Times about Gina's event was merely an oversight. However, I do understand that politics seems to enter every aspect of our lives these days and this must be factored into account whether we agree or not, but if this was the case regarding which event to cover in detail, it was, in my humble opinion, the wrong one.

Well, they didn't see fit to publish my letter. I'm okay with that since they're so full of typos, my letter's intent could have been badly misrepresented, rather like what Larry King would constantly do with the questions that the callers to his show would ask. Consequently I'm posting it here, since I feel it was a good letter that raised a good point.

Domestic Violence

2011-08-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Domestic violence is a pattern of behavior in a relationship used by ignorant jackasses to gain power and control over a partner. These jackasses usually have nothing substantial to offer to another human being. Abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, economic. It can be in the form of threats or other psychological actions to frighten, intimidate, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame or injure. This occurs within all races, ages, genders, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic groups and education levels and at all levels of a relationship.

Emotionally and verbally abusive partners withhold affection, threaten to harm their partner/wife/girlfriend and/or the people and pets important to them; name-call, insult, humiliate, excessively criticize; are possessive, jealous, distrustful, isolate, spy/monitor, exert financial control and force submissiveness such as obedience and obtaining permission.

Physically abusive partners damage property. This can include throwing things, punching or kicking walls and doors; push, slap, bite, kick, choke; will abandon their partner/wife/girlfriend in an unsafe or strange environment; drive recklessly, threaten with a weapon, hold them against their will, prevent them from contacting the police or other emergency services, harm their children or pets and forced sexual activity.

Sexually abusive partners objectify women, enforce strict gender roles, is obsessively jealous, frequently to the point of paranoia, refers to or defines their partner/wife/girlfriend by using sexual language; through manipulation, coercion, verbally demands or physically forces sexual acts.

Now for some sickening statistics to bring the above into sharp perspective:

On average more than three women a day are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in the United States.

In 2005, 1,181 women were murdered by an intimate partner.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published data collected in 2005 that finds that women experience two million injuries from intimate partner violence each year.

Nearly one in four women in the United States reports experiencing violence by a current or former spouse or boyfriend at some point in her life.

Women are much more likely than men to be victimized by a current or former intimate partner.

Women are 84 percent of spouse abuse victims and 86 percent of victims of abuse at the hands of a boyfriend or partner and 75 percent of the persons who commit family violence are male.

Women were more likely than men to be victims; the rate for rape/sexual assault for persons age 12 or older in 2007 was 1.8 per 1,000 for females and 0.1 per 1,000 for males.

To bring all of this into even sharper perspective, here in Santa Maria, the 35 year old woman pictured above was murdered by her husband a week ago Friday. He shot her three times. He evidently didn't care that his children would be without their mother.

The jackass husband, Isaac Martinez, 32, is the father of the four youngest children, ranging in age from 4 to 14. Immediately after murdering her, the coward fled the scene. Luckily he was arrested the next day near Yuma, Arizona, when his vehicle was spotted matching a description provided by Santa Maria police.

Maria described the years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of this useless jerkweed. He's a piece of work. In the paperwork filed seeking the restraining order, Maria said she left him on May 27 and was no longer living with him and was planning to divorce him.

She wrote, “He is physically, emotionally and psychologically abusive all of our 15-year relationship. He would slap me, kick me, punch me and choke me unconscious. He has even pulled a rifle out on me in the few years we were together."

She went on to describe several incidences of abuse, including having her face slapped at work in 2002 while she was pregnant, and an altercation in 2006 when he hit her, cracking her nose and making it bleed.

A search of criminal court records in Santa Barbara County revealed that this jerk has been busy.

He has a history of criminal convictions and prison stints: including a false-imprisonment case in 2006, a felony DUI in 2004, fighting in public, robbery, burglary and resisting an officer in the 1990s, suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon in April of 2010, and he's a documented Santa Maria gang member.

Now, the son of a bitch is facing murder charges, using a gun to cause a death, making criminal threats and being a gang member in possession of a firearm.

He is currently being held without bail in Arizona awaiting extradition to California.

I sincerely hope that other women in this situation will not ignore the signs of domestic violence. I also hope that they have a secure and dependable support system to shield them from the assholes they're running away from.

Our "Post Racial Society"

2011-08-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

Let's take a moment and look at all of the reasons why all of this talk about a post-racial America by various blowhards is so absurd.

How can we claim to be living in post-racial America when nearly 40 percent of black children under the age of 5 live at or below the poverty line?

How can we claim to be living in post-racial America when the level of school segregation for Hispanics is at its highest in forty years and segregation of blacks is back to levels not seen since the late 1960s?

How can we claim to be living in post-racial America when the gaps in wealth, income, education and health care have widened over the last eight years?

In 2006, 20.3 percent of blacks were not covered by health insurance, 34.1 percent of Hispanics were not covered by health insurance, compared to only 10.8 percent of whites.

In 2007, the unemployment rate for blacks was twice as high as that for whites.

There are those who will continue to insist that the gap in wealth, income, health care and education is due to an inherent culture of victimization.

There are some who will continue to say, "If people of color only worked harder, they’d be fine."

Well, to put it bluntly, that's an idiotic assumption.

This economy has never provided enough jobs for everyone.

The manner in which education is funded gives a leg up to those who grow up in wealthy districts.

Health insurance is a necessity, more so to those without the means, since they rarely see a doctor.

Like it or not, admit it or not, institutional racism persists.

President Obama once said, “Our union can be perfected. What we’ve already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.”

His election and his words redeem some of the sacrifices of so many during the protests at lunch counters and on Southern roads. However, it does not fix nor will it make the racism and bigotry go away overnight.

You still think that we've achieved a post-racial society simply because we have a black president? Well then, consider one more thing, the vast disparities still remaining between the conditions of blacks and whites in America. According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median black worker earns just over $600/week, about 80% of what the median white worker makes. Black men are incarcerated at 6.6 times the rate of white men, with almost one in twenty black men in prison. Unemployment rates are nearly twice as high for blacks as for whites in almost every demographic category. Almost half of all young black men without a high school education are out of work nationally.

So much more needs to change before we start spouting off about a "post-racial" society.

Adult Day Health Care Programs

2011-07-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

Things aren't looking too good for adult day health care (ADHC) programs in the state. Unfortunately, this includes the Santa Maria Wisdom Center.

In his infinite wisdom, Jerry "the guv" Brown vetoed legislation that would have provided funds to allow adult day health care programs to continue to operate. In his world, other services will be available for the 35,000 medically frail or disabled clients. Naturally, he's dreaming. There are no alternatives for many of the clients.

According to him, the benefit would be available to Medi-Cal recipients until December 1, allowing enough time for a smooth transition to in-home care or other community-based support services.
Currently, so many programs are already so understaffed and overloaded that even if the former ADHC clients qualify for them the waiting lists would be incredibly long. Before they began to receive these community-based services, these people would end up in the emergency rooms suffering a myriad of problems due to being left alone while their children work, if they're lucky enough to have children to live with.
Apparently he seems to think that the Department of Health Care Services will ensure that "those who are most at risk of institutionalization have access to services that will help them remain in the community."

Then there's Lydia Missaelides, the executive director of the California Association for Adult Day Services. She says that nearly a quarter of ADHC clients will end up in a nursing facility within 30 days of losing daycare services. She also says that within 90 days, as many as 87% would need emergency room care for preventable falls, medication mismanagement and other complications.

Considering that ADHC services pays around $77 per person per day, and emergency room visits cost triple that or more, I'm rather curious where the savings will be.

Alas, "the guv" has an answer for that. He says that adult day care services will remain an option for Medi-Cal recipients, but will be provided to them through managed care programs.
Apparently managed care programs will suddenly crop up when needed.

He said, "The principle here is that California does not have enough money to do all the things it has been doing. We’re looking at each of these individual people, their cases, and we’re going to handle them in the most humane way we can."

Brown signed a separate bill that will allow the more than 300 adult daycare centers in California to continue operating without Medi-Cal licensing for participants who pay for their own care or are covered by private insurance.

Guess what? The only insurance that would cover these services would be a long-term care policy. How many seniors have that coverage? Since the ADHC is a Medi-Cal program, how many private pay clients does he believe there are that might be able to pay $77 each day?

Since the the majority of ADHC clients are covered by Medi-Cal, 95% of the centers would close within two months without those funds.

But hey, Jerry "the guv" Brown thinks he's got a handle on the situation.

Central Coast Cross Burning

2011-03-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

People in these here parts are shocked, shocked to think that hate, racism and bigotry has reached the Central Coast. Apparently some of them are under the illusion that those thoughts and feelings don't exist in their little community. Well yeah, it must be nice living inside their heads with Peter Pan, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny.

For example, Reverend Stephanie Raphael, president of the San Luis Obispo Ministerial Association who said, "I was horrified. We live in a paradise, and I think the first thought was, this can't really be real."

Stephanie needs to get her head out of the sand and focus on what entitled whites do to people of color every day of the year.

Reverend Steph also offered, "Any kind of hate crime is not a joke, it's not a prank. It's designed to intimidate and frighten. We live in a beautiful area, but it's only beautiful if every single person feels safe conducting their lives and living here."
She needs to get herself out into the community and talk to a greater variety of people. She might want to take a translator along to get a clearer picture of how things really are up and down the coast. Reading a few letters to the editors of the area newspapers might give insight as well.

Police assigned extra patrols to the neighborhood in Arroyo Grande — a city that hasn't seen a hate crime in nearly a decade — and rewards were offered for information leading to an arrest.

FBI agents and investigators from the county and the state Department of Justice were involved in the arson and hate-crime probe. Police said $3,500 in rewards were offered.

Officials are saying that there was no evidence that an organized racist group was involved.

So I guess these investigators believe that all racist assholes shave their heads and carry Nazi flags? How obtuse is that?

According to police Cmdr. John Hough, the 11 foot cross was stolen from a garden at Saint John's Lutheran Church weeks ago and set ablaze Friday in a lot behind the house where the family lives.
One of the residents, a 19 year old, saw the flaming cross from her bedroom window. She called the cops who used a garden hose to put out the fire.

Police declined to release the names of the family because the incident was considered a hate crime — the first since 2002 in the city of 17,000 in mostly rural San Luis Obispo County, a region of vast farms, picturesque towns and a state university campus.

More than 30 clergy members signed a letter to the editor of the San Luis Obispo Tribune urging that the crime be taken seriously.

Well that's nice, but shouldn't their letter have gone to the cops or the FBI?

The 100 pound cross was usually bolted to a base in the garden, but each year it was taken inside the sanctuary during the Lenten season before being moved to a beach two miles away to be decorated with flowers for an Easter sunrise service.

Pastor Randy Ouimette said that the theft at the church was discovered March 5 but that the robbery may have occurred weeks earlier, indicating that they're not really all that good at keeping an eye on things.

More than 100 members of the congregation signed a giant card of compassion they planned to deliver to the family with two handmade prayer quilts — even though they didn't know the family. The pastor said, "We wanted to bathe this family in prayer and love. Obviously they're feeling rejection and ... hate."

Well guess what pastor? The chances are excellent that this was done by Bible-totin' fire-breathing assholes who attend church and call themselves Christian.

Día de los Muertos

2010-10-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

Día de Los Muertos was originally a ritual observed by the people of pre-Colombian Mexico, who dedicated the time not only to the dead but also to the end of the agricultural cycle, the celebration has endured as well as stuck close to its original roots.

Marked by vibrant color, dancing, and feasting, the celebration is anything but the solemn sort of memorial typically seen in the United States. The holiday invites a lively interpretation of the very concept of death itself. The ancient Aztecs believed death wasn’t the end of life, but a continuation of it—the ultimate liberation. Death was actually something to be celebrated, not mourned.

This belief led to Día de los Muertos. When the Spaniards arrived in Mexico in 1519, they were shocked to see the rituals that seemed to mock death. The rites had been practiced for about 4,000 years. Not only did the Spaniards destroy the majority of these civilizations, but they decided to impose Christian beliefs in an attempt to eradicate them their rites. Nonetheless, the festivals endured and mark one of Mexico’s biggest celebrations.

In general, the events take place over two days: November 1 being Día de los Angelitos in honor of children who have died, and November 2 celebrating adults who have passed on.
Wanting to bring this tradition to Santa Maria, Gina Rodriguez decided to put up an altar in her mother's backyard sixteen years ago to honor departed loved ones and to celebrate their lives and memories on Día de Los Muertos. Nine years ago it had grown so large that the displays had to be moved to the Town Center Mall.

As the president of the Mexican-American Scholarship Cultural and Recreation Association -MASCARA- Gina continues the tradition that so many people have grown accustomed to.

The free event, which opened Thursday, continues through Tuesday on the first floor of the Santa Maria Town Center during mall hours.

Gina says that many of the original families have continued to set up colorful altars and offerings, which have grown from year to year to recognize recently lost loved ones.

While altars have grown more creative and elaborate over the years, even the simplest display tells a distinct story, said Rodriguez, whose altar memorializes deceased family members.

Gina says, “Día de los Muertos also helps teach future generations about their heritage, adding “We want children to be aware of who have gone before them and their stories.”

Attendees are invited to bring a picture of a departed loved one to place on the community altar. It was sad for me to take a photo of Dad to place on the family site, but I also was happy to be able to display it on the family site that already had photos of Gina's parents and our aunts and uncles.

If there's a celebration like this where you live, go see it, just don't eat the food, it's there for the departed souls.

Getting Healthy

2010-04-12T17:49:00.000-07:00

Just the other day, my sister wrote about how old ladies have to exercise for one hour a day to maintain their weight and, disgustingly, longer if they want to lose the poundage.

Check out the graph to the left if you doubt me. Hispanics of every variety and Mexican-Americans in particular must mind what we eat if we prefer to walk instead of roll.

With that in mind, I have some tips. There has been considerable angst within the medical and health expert communities during the past ten years. The main reason for this is that eight out of ten adults are overweight and some 40 million people are considered obese. One of the reasons for this is that as a rule, we eat junk. According to the experts the foods contain tightly-packed calories in smaller packages and we sit on our asses. Therefore, as a Public Service Announcement I bring you these exercises from Dr. Mao.

The number one cause of being overweight is inactivity. The human body is designed for physical activity. Our ancestors were hunter-gatherers who spent most of their lives on the move; their metabolic functions matched their physical lifestyle. Nowadays, we live in opposition to our nature. The reason most diets fail is because our bodies are not designed to subsist on meager foods. We are designed to consume a good amount of energy -- and then to burn that energy. Physical activity is the key to a healthy metabolism.

Physical activity does not necessarily mean abrupt, fast-paced and forceful exercise. Taken from a tradition that is thousands of years old, here are three qigong exercises that target your weight and get you in shape.

Exercise 1: Swimming Dragon speeds up your metabolism

This simple qigong exercise can help speed up your metabolism and reduce your appetite. Not unlike a belly dance, Swimming Dragon is a wriggling rhythmic dance of the torso, which burns energy and promotes fat burning in the abdomen.

1. In a comfortable, quiet place stand with your feet together and ankles touching, or as close together as you can get them. Bring hands over your head, with palms together and fingers pointing up. Keep your palms together during this entire exercise.

2. Inhaling, push your waist out to the right side while keeping your head and upper torso straight. Simultaneously move your right elbow to the right, so that it rests at shoulder height.

3. Exhaling, push your waist out to the left side while keeping your head and upper torso straight. Simultaneously move your left elbow fully to the left at shoulder height.

4. Repeat this movement several times. Every time you move your waist to the right, bend your knees slightly more, lowering your entire body as you squat. Be sure to keep your upper torso and head straight.

5. With each right movement, move your hands lower, keeping your palms together and fingers pointing up. When your arms reach your chest, turn your fingers toward the ground and continue the movement.

6. When your arms reach your knees, you should be squatting.

7. Continue the movements, now rising with each right movement until you reach the standing position. When your arms reach your chest, switch the direction of your fingers so that they’re pointing up again.

Throughout this exercise, your hands should produce an S-shaped movement and your body should do a rhythmic belly dance. Remember to inhale on the rightward movement and exhale to the left. Only do this exercise on an empty stomach. Begin slowly and increase speed, warming up the whole body, but not to the point of perspiration.
A word of caution here, be standing next to a chair when you squat, you'll need it to pull yourself back up, or so I've heard.

Exercise 2: Arm Swing

Energy exercises like tai chi and Eight Treasures Qigong have been found to improve cardiovascular health. Here is the Arm Swing, a warm-up movement to tai chi that will invigorate your daily workout.

1. Start with your feet should-width apart. Freely swing your arms from front to back until you reach a point of natural resistance. Now let your arms swing to the front again.

2. After a couple of minutes of arm swinging, increase the work out by bending your knees and lifting your heels as your arms swing back and forth.

3. Increase your work out further by jumping off the ground as your arms swing back as though the momentum of your arms carries your body upward. Jump progressively higher each time. Swing your arms for 15 minutes. Gradually slow down and stop. Perform this exercise twice each day.

Exercise 3: Merry-Go-Around

With a daily practice of Qi Gong exercises like the Eight Treasures you can strengthen your hormonal system, help balance your blood sugar levels, and maintain your proper weight. Below I describe a simple walking exercise called “Merry-Go-Around.”

1. In a quiet outdoor setting find a thick-trunked tree, 10 - 12” diameter with at least 5 feet of clear space around the trunk in all directions. Perform the following walking exercise for 15 minutes.

2. Walk with a relaxed but steady gait, with hands raised to your trunk. With each completed circle change the position of your arms by slightly raising or lowering your hands in front or on the sides of your trunk.

3. For the first half of the exercise walk clockwise around the tree. For the second half, walk counterclockwise. Do the Merry-Go-Around twice each day.

How often should you exercise?

4 or more times per week, for 30 minutes each time is best, less until you get used to it to prevent heart attacks. It might even be better to take a brisk walk around a block or two to begin with. If your daily routine consists of fatty foods followed by inertia, you might want to start slowly.

Hoopleheads on the loose

2009-12-01T18:48:00.000-08:00

I came home from work the other day and found this dubious artwork on my fence. I cannot even begin to describe my anger at the audacity of people destroying or defacing other people's property. I was so angry, I would have machine gunned them had I seen them. I paid a lot of money to have that fence built. It completely encircles the property and looks fabulous, so to see it marked in this manner raised my blood pressure to levels that it rarely gets to.

Luckily, I cooled down, and the top of my head didn't blow off.

I had to remind myself that just because it would never occur to me to destroy or deface other people's possessions or property, others might not feel the same way. The world is full of people who are not cursed with self-awareness or the concept of Karma.

Those that fall into this category are often gangbangers who get thrills from this type of ignorant behavior. They somehow think it's cool to tag buildings, fences, signs, etc to "mark their territory." Dogs do this, so what does that make these people?

I often wonder where the parents are whenever I read about tagging with gang signs or other unsavory activities. What I also need to consider is that sometimes the parents are ranking members in this all too idiotic career choice.

Apparently when they're moved past the tagging or graffiti phase, they're shooting at cops as they lead them on a wild goose chase through the city.

Just this week, one of those chases with a pendeja at the wheel, ended with three knuckleheads under arrest. The pendeja was Barbara Trevino. 49 years old and still behaving stupidly.

Officers attempted to stop her vehicle at about 4 pm, but instead of pulling over and shutting up, she led them on a wild chase through residential areas for close to five miles.

Her passengers were Joseph Deleon, a 33-year-old wanted parolee and Albert Valdez, age 30. At one point during the chase, Deleon leaned out of the passenger window and shot at the cops at least three times. At one point Valdez tossed the gun out of the car. Police recovered the gun, a 9-mm semi-automatic pistol.

Trevino stopped the SUV briefly allowing Deleon to run away, but he was captured and arrested after a brief foot chase. He was emptying his pockets as he ran but the cops recovered his meth at the scene.

The vehicle pursuit continued for a few more blocks, when Trevino stopped she was promptly arrested. She also had some meth in her purse. Valdez also tried to run away, but was captured almost immediately.

According to the cops, all three hoopleheads are local gang members. All were booked for a variety of charges, including six counts of attempted murder on peace officers, transporting meth, resisting arrest, violating parole and being felons in possession of a gun along with six gang-enhancement charges. Additionally, Trevino was arrested on suspicion of felony evasion.

They're in deep doodoo and might end up in prison for a long time considering the six counts of attempted murder charges.

Back to my fence. I called the police who came over to take my report. The officer gave me a phone number to call about removing the paint. I called the following morning, and by noon that day my fence was back to normal. Apparently the city employs a team of graffiti removers that are kept busy full time by these vandals.

Apparently some are simply entitled

2009-10-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

There's a team of scientists over at Yale University led by evolutionary biologist Stephen Stearns who have suggested that humans are still evolving. I will have to agree. We as a species have clearly not evolved enough. If we had, would there be so much strife? So many murders over picayune reasons? Irrational behavior by people -who by all accounts- should know better?

Bizarre behavior is a given in this society, but when that behavior is a by a former judge who is having a tantrum because he thinks that laws, rules and regulations don't apply to him, then it's clear the knucklehead feature in our species has not been, what's the word... "Deselected"?

Let's face it, society expects a certain modicum of poise, or at the very least, moderately acceptable behavior from a former judge.

However, it appears that this former judge, James Slater, has once again disappointed the casual observer. This man was on the bench for 20 years. 20 years! This man heard both criminal and civil proceedings. Dare I ask what his behavior was during those proceedings? I wonder, since the behavior he exhibited this past Monday was beyond bizarre, it was petty. Perhaps he's entitled? Perhaps he feels that as a former judge he doesn't have to abide by the rules that the rest of us peasants live by?

As a result of his recent antics, he was cited for reckless driving. It seems that Slater doesn't believe that he has to wait, so he didn't. He came close to hitting several adults and children when he drove onto a curb after a concert was being let out at the Santa Barbara Bowl.

The Yamato Wadaiko Drummers of Japan performed for an estimated 5,500 elementary school students at the Bowl that morning. The concert was over and people were exiting the bowl when Slater came driving by at 10:25 that morning.

According to SBPD Lt. Paul McCaffrey, Slater drove on the curb at Milpas Street and Garcia Streets to avoid a barricade preventing him from turning right onto Milpas from Garcia, where he lives. Security officers—one of whom was brushed by the side view mirror of Slater’s Toyota Prius—witnessed Slater maneuver around the barricade at Garcia and Milpas, as well as almost hit someone pushing a stroller.

He proceeded past another barricade, driving into the County Bowl, where an officer had to get out of the way.

McCaffrey said, “He was not going fast but he was not stopping.” Slater parked the car to rest on the lawn of the County Bowl, got out and was angry, demanding to speak with the head of the County Bowl. Instead, he was ticketed for reckless driving.

This isn't the first time Slater has behaved as though he's above the law. Some years ago, while still sitting on the Santa Barbara Superior Court bench, he admitted to deflating the tires of a vehicle with a handicapped card that he found parked in his courthouse parking space.

Word is that this guy now works as a mediator and arbitrator. I hope that his duties are confined to a video game, or in a laboratory working with rats, since clearly, his lack of judgement is not what should be found in someone mediating real life situations where clear thinking, fairness and intelligent decisions are required.

Presidential Speech Meets the Freak Show

2009-09-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

I for one, am thoroughly disgusted over the temper tantrums from the right over the fact that President Barack Obama intends to talk to school children about the importance of staying in school and studying hard to achieve their goals. Is the right so addled that they have forgotten that in 1988, then-President Reagan spoke to students nationwide via C-SPAN telecast? Among other things, he talked about his positions on political issues of the day.

Have they forgotten that three years later, then-President Bush addressed school kids in a speech broadcast live to school classrooms nationwide? Among other things, he promoted his own administration’s education policies.

Now, President Obama comes along and wants to deliver a message to students next week emphasizing hard work, encouraging young people to do their best in school. The reaction from the right only helps reinforce how far gone 21st-century conservatives really are.

The administration has offered to make the text of the address available in advance, just so everyone can see how innocuous it is. It's made no difference. Conservatives don't want school kids to hear a message from their president. Those who claim superiority on American patriotism have decided to throw yet another tantrum over the idea that the president of the United States might encourage young people to do well in schools.

Fox News personalities have adopted the same line, calling a stay-in-school message from the president "cultist" and reminiscent of "North Korea and the former Soviet Union."

Whether some people like it or not, President Obama is the leader of this entire nation. It doesn't matter if you voted for him or even if your head threatens to explode every time you think about him. Trust me, my head was in danger of exploding every single day from November of 2000 until January 20, 2009.

This man is the president, and, as such, it's a big deal that he's speaking directly to students about the importance of education. The idea that any child should be kept home from class just so their parents can make an empty political statement about an apolitical speech is ridiculous. Is the idea that we should shelter children from any contact with or knowledge of any president we personally dislike? Should we pretend that the president doesn't exist, just because our favored party is not currently in power? Yeah, that's really healthy and intelligent.

How can a speech about studying hard and staying in school be political? If this bothers everyone so much, perhaps putting the little darlings in front of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly afterwards will ease their anxieties.

As luck would have it, some cooler heads prevailed.

Idaho school superintendent, Murray Dalgleish of Council, urged people not to rush to judgment. He said, "Is the president dictating to these kids? I don't think so. He's trying to get out the same message we're trying to get out, which is, `You are in charge of your education.'"

So which is it? Do we want students to get the message that staying in school is important, or would we as parents be happy to hear them say things like, "Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?"
You decide.

*Image courtesy of John Cole, Scranton, PA, The Times

Incompetence At The State Level. Again.

2008-09-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

Here's Arnie trying hard to not burst a blood vessel. He has threatened to veto the state budget because he said the long overdue spending plan that lawmakers have approved lacked long-term fiscal reforms and would burden taxpayers.

He said, "I think nothing is more important than getting our fiscal house in order, and I promise the people of California that I will not stop until the job is done."
However, our illustrious and irresponsible lawmakers are saying that they're not going to back down. They're prepared to override the veto. The bill is going to land on Arnie's desk tomorrow morning, and because he's channeling Conan the Barbarian, the only response he was able to come up with for this sticky situation was to proclaim that his plan was: "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women." Nevermind that billions of dollars in payments to schools, medical clinics, daycare centers, adult and otherwise, as well as payments to state vendors continue to be in limbo. What's wrong with this picture?

Senate Minority Leader Dave Cogdill said said that no one has the stomach to keep going down this path. He says, "It is a mistake, and I will vote to override the governor's veto, as should every other legislator who approved this budget."

It has been 78 days since the start of the fiscal year. They finally passed a $143 billion budget shortly after 2 a.m. this morning. As you can see by Abel Maldonado, he's truly riveted and interested in the process. One of these days I'll figure out why he's there.

Meanwhile, Arnie said that the reforms that our duly elected lawmakers added to the budget were flawed and would do nothing to halt the state's persistent imbalance between spending and the amount of money it takes in. What is the deal with these people? Why can't they do anything right by the people that voted them in?

As it stands now, the budget's main feature requires that the screws be applied to their constituents. How? Well, we get to pay our income taxes sooner. This is their brilliant idea to help close a $15.2 billion deficit without borrowing or imposing new taxes. Here's another idea? How about if these knuckleheads go without their pay for a while? Might that light a fire under them? If nothing else it might wake them up.

Even lawmakers who voted for the plan agreed that it merely delayed the toughest fiscal decisions until next year.

If they cannot get it together to pass a decent budget that makes sense now, what's going to change by next year? Do you suppose that they think they'll be smarter in another year?

Saying that the current budget would require a major tax increase or massive cuts to education Arnie said, "If lawmakers think that's what the people of California deserve, then I don't know what their thinking is of the people of California. I think the people of California deserve better."

Yeah, as a matter of fact we do. However, enough knuckleheads voted for you Arnie, so in essence, at least THEY are getting exactly what they deserve. The rest of us however are feeling the pinch in a variety of ways.

Arnie went further with his threats. He said that if lawmakers override his budget veto, he'll not be kind to their legislation, potentially wiping away a year's worth of work. He said, "Hundreds of bills will be vetoed."

Yeah, that's just all kinds of helpful.

Armed and Dangerous

2008-08-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

By reenee, Santa Maria

Okay, I'm back. I took a bit of a break for no reason in particular, since I never seem to run out of things to say over here. It's quite difficult to get any real local news since I quit reading the Santa Maria Times. It's so poorly put together that it shocks me that people still subscribe to it. I will usually read the Santa Barbara News Press, which is a bit better. I guess not every newspaper out there can be the New York Times, huh? The one good thing is that the Times does carry news from the Associated Press.

This one from the AP might just have people in Santa Maria buzzing, in particular the teachers. A district in Texas will be allowing teachers to carry a concealed weapon. This is their bright idea to deter and protect against school shootings. The impetus for this was the fact that the small community of Harrold is a 30 minute drive from the sheriff's office. Harrold Independent School District superintendent, David Thweat said that the campus sits near a heavily traveled highway which could make it a target.

Now on paper, this might sound like a fairly good idea. However, in the real world, I've seen good teachers and I've seen bad teachers. In fact, didn't we have a teacher in the Santa Maria Bonita School District that once tied a kid to a chair? Didn't we have another that assaulted a kid? Hasn't this school district had teachers who were discipline problems? Why yes, yes we have.

If we have these types of problems here, then every school district must also have them, or have the potential to have them. If you arm the teachers, what happens then?

Let's face it, not every teacher out there has both oars in the water. Nor does every teacher know how to behave in stressful situations. They are as flawed as the rest of us in certain situations.

I remember way back when I was but a tiny little blogger, one teacher rapped my knuckles with a ruler when I had the gall to use my left hand to write. Another time I watched a teacher throw a book at a kid and bean him in the head. I'm not sure that things have improved all that much when a teacher finds him/herself under fire from an unruly student. Therefore, I don't see it as a good idea to arm the teachers. Nonetheless, this part of Texas is armed and ready.

Barbara Williams, from the Texas Association of School Boards, said her organization did not know of another district with such a policy. Ken Trump, a Cleveland-based school security expert who advises districts nationwide, said Harrold is the first district with such a policy.

Trustees approved the policy change last year. For employees to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun; must be authorized to carry by the district; must receive training in crisis management and hostile situations; and must use ammunition designed to minimize the risk of ricocheting bullets.

Officials researched the policy and considered other options for about a year before approving the policy change. The district also has other measures in place to prevent a school shooting.

Superintendent Thweatt said, "The naysayers think a shooting won't happen here. If something were to happen here, I'd much rather be calling a parent to tell them that their child is OK."

No details on which teachers and assorted staff will be armed and dangerous. The supe wants that to be a surprise.

What's in a name?

2007-09-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

by reenee,
Santa Maria

Some people are up in arms about it. Other people are having palpitations over it. Some are suffering gastric distress over it. Others still are writing to editors of newspapers, or calling radio and television stations. What's got them so angry and fired up?

Well, it seems that our state Legislature has voted to add commemorative signs along Highway 154 in honor of the tribe that has lived in this area for thousands of years. Maps will still designate it as Highway 154, but that's not good enough for the groups that already have their jockeys in a knot over the Chumash Casino Resort.

This highway, to my knowledge, has almost always been referred to as the San Marcos Pass. Rarely have I ever heard it called Highway 154. However, the Santa Ynez and Los Olivos folk have taken exception to the entire idea. They say that renaming the highway has nothing to do with the Chumash culture. They say that is has everything to do with marketing.

If this is the way that they feel then the next thing to be on the lookout for will be bullet holes in the signs. This of course is not to say that those good folks would do it, but there is after all, a lunatic fringe to any well organized group.

Vincent Armenta, tribal chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians said, "Travelers taking the scenic route from Santa Ynez to Santa Barbara cross a journey that the Chumash people have traversed for thousands of years."

He said the groups had ample time to comment on the resolution, after it was introduced August 23rd. The final vote was September 21st.

He added, "Their accusations are typical of the type of vile rhetoric that they routinely spew. I find it appalling that they have taken something so wonderful and turned it into a controversy. It's a few signs along a route that goes through the middle of Chumash country. The signs will not fundamentally change their lives so I'm confused as to why they have created so much drama."
Because they can, Vincent.

The Santa Barbara News-Press carried a story on it. In it Nora K. Wallace writes:
Michael Glassow and Chumash expert John Johnson, curator of anthropology at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History provided information for the legislature's designation discussion. The resolution was then passed unanimously.

The area's local politicians, Assemblyman Pedro Nava from Santa Barbara, Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee from San Luis Obispo, and state Sen. Tom McClintock from Thousand Oaks, all voted in favor of the designation. However, even though Nava is the Assembly member for the district that includes this highway, the item was carried by Assemblyman Joe Coto from San Jose. Apparently, due to the fact that the resolution was carried by a legislator from out of the area, most political observers had no idea it was working its way through the legislative process.

Aren't political observers supposed to have their fingers on the pulse of the legislature? Isn't that why they're called political observers?

Leaders of the groups Preservation of Santa Ynez and Preservation of Los Olivos expressed the loudest complaints about the highway naming. Those groups, among several others in the valley, have long challenged the tribe over its economic development and real estate purchases.

That right there might be the real reason for the gnashing of the teeth.

Santa Maria Wisdom Center

2007-08-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

by reenee, Santa Maria

The California budget has finally passed, albeit at the expense of some of the state's most vulnerable citizens. There is no excuse for what happened. If the GOPs and Dems in Sacramento are so willing to stall the passage for their personal convictions, pet projects or principles, then they ought to be willing to have their own payments withheld instead of allowing the payments to be withheld from the facilities that are in place to help these poor, elderly and disabled.
Love him or hate him, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger traveled to the central coast on August 13th to put a face on the people that were in danger of losing a facility that they have come to depend upon. When the governor arrived, he toured the Wisdom Center, and spoke to the participants before holding a press conference to address his concern about the seniors, a most vulnerable group, that would be negatively impacted, had the budget remained stalled for much longer.
All of us at the Santa Maria Wisdom Center were very happy to see the governor take the time to do this. At this point it really does not matter if this was merely a political move. Who cares? It really does not matter if we agree or disagree with his politics. Who cares? The bottom line is that he gave our center the visibility it needed and allowed us to explain how very important these facilities are to this population.
The budget was already almost two months late on the day that the governor went to the Wisdom Center. We all know that partisanship is always a barrier to a smooth running government, so we were hopeful that the visit by the governor would motivate the politicians to pass the budget without further delay. Too many centers and other care facilities that serve our senior population, and that rely on government funding were at risk. This population is not the one that should ever take a back seat to partisan politics.

The Wisdom Center is an Adult Day Health Care facility, and in most instances, the only place our clients have where they can go for their physical and or occupational therapy, nursing services, social work services, or to join in on the many different activities that are offered daily. As the Activity Director, I know the circumstances of our clients. They are most often from board and care residences that offer very limited services. The center is very often the only place they go to when they are not in these board and care residences. Some go every day, others only once a week, with the average being three times a week. Some of our clients live at home with their families who care for them. These daughters, sons, grandchildren, nieces and nephews very often have jobs. Every one of our clients cannot be left home alone, due to safety issues. Having a facility like ours allows them to stay in their homes if there is not a board and care facility available. Without us, they might be institutionalized when their families are out of options. The fact that the average daily attendance is fifty-five people, with a growing waiting list, is proof enough that it is vital to many people.

When the news came that the budget had passed ensuring that our center would remain open, it was met with relief by all of our participants, some of whom had already spent some sleepless nights worrying over whether or not they'd have a place to go.

Who gets stop signs?

2007-02-18T19:20:00.000-08:00

by reenee, Santa Maria

About 18 months ago I was grousing about West Fesler Street. This is the speedway that I have to back up into from my driveway. Lately, due to more than a few close calls from drivers on this speedway, I've taken to backing up into my driveway, so that I can be eye to eye with the driver that slams into me. This is a residential street with four lanes. This wide street, begins at the Broadway intersection that has a stop light. Traveling west it turns into North Railroad Street with no stop signs for eleven blocks. These aren't the normally short subdivision type blocks.

See the picture I've included? This is what I see every day on this street.

Okay, now factor in an idiotic three way intersection where Fesler turns into Railroad in a sharp right turn. Drivers from Depot Street, the third street in this intersection, try to squeeze in as cars go by. If you want to turn left, you have to stop and wait for cars coming off of Railroad turning left onto Fesler at top speed, or turning right onto Depot. If you're lucky, the cars waiting at the Depot Street stop sign will not get impatient and cut in front of you before you can make your turn. If however you want to continue west on Fesler, you have to turn right and then immediately turn left, if the coast is clear.

Why am I mentioning this again? Well, I'm going tell you.

Fesler Street heading east from Broadway is as wide as on the west side, but after only three blocks there's a stop sign. This is the Miller Street intersection. Once you cross Miller, Fesler gets very narrow. Drivers generally do not speed through this area, speeding would create too many side swipes since cars are usually parked along the curbs. Even dumb drivers know this. So imagine my surprise to see yet another stop sign two blocks past Miller Street at the intersection of Elizabeth and Fesler. It's still so new it's adorned with blinking lights. This is only two blocks before the next stop sign at the intersection of Fesler and College. That's three stop signs within a seven block stretch of a very narrow street.

Meanwhile, West Fesler, with four lanes has no stop signs. What's up with that? According to a few people I've mentioned this to, East Fesler got the new stop sign because it's the "gringo" side of town. Since there are quite a few "gringos" on this side of town, I'm going to take the less hysterical view and guess it's because we haven't hollered loudly enough. Or perhaps we've not paid for one. Or perhaps it's because there aren't as many churches over here. Or perhaps it's related to property values. I don't know. Whatever the reason is, we need one over on West Fesler as much if not more than on East Fesler.

There have been too many accidents on this street. Last year a speeding car lost control making a turn and took out a neighbor's fence. Quite a few collisions have occured, and just yesterday, a speeding car almost smooshed two children crossing the street. The driver left skid marks for several yards.

Did I mention that there is a school two blocks away? This means that kids are all over this intersection crossing Fesler twice a day. One of those times is early in the morning when people are hurrying to work.

That's it, I'll have to go fight City Hall. Hopefully I won't be detained and I'll be back soon with more original gripes.

"You've got to vote for someone. It's a shame, but it's got to be done." ~Whoopi Goldberg

2006-11-05T08:21:00.000-08:00

by reenee, Santa Maria

The headline asks the question, "Why do so few people vote in the U.S.?" There are so many opinions as to why people stay away from the polls in droves. Laziness? Apathy? Ignorance? I'd say it's a combination of all three mixed with a good helping of complacency, but then I'm very judgmental and opinionated. It's that obnoxious behavior that we find in children of all ages. Everyone that has ever been a parent understands and recognizes it. You know what I mean. Children will often sit and ignore you until you holler at them or threaten them. Children that grow into adults with some or all of these features still intact are the poorer for it. In children, these tendencies can be redirected into positive behaviors by parents that put forth efforts to raise responsible, interested and interesting people. If you see a lazy, apathetic, ignorant and complacent adult, then chances are they either had a stupid parent, were kicked in the head by a horse, or they're too busy sitting at the dock waiting for their ship to come in to rescue them.

Laziness is nothing to be proud of. Why people would strive for this is beyond me. That anyone would choose to sit idly in a hovel or remain satisfied with minimal efforts on the job or incompetency in their government amazes me.

Apathy is even worse. For a person to exhibit a general lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance that relates directly to them shows a lot of ignorance.

Obviously, ignorance is the condition of being uneducated, unaware, or uninformed. However, if someone is lazy or apathetic, they will never care about how ignorant they are. It's pretty much a vicious circle.

Then there's complacency, which is the real killer. This would be a person that has the feeling of contentment or self-satisfaction, with their lot in life, even when there might be danger, trouble, controversy or incompetency in their government.

In any event, there are many reasons that people do not vote. Quite a few people believe that their vote won't count. Another group of people feel that all politicians and crooks and liars and refuse to vote for any of them. Other people will vote for the straight Democratic or straight Republican ticket without bothering to learn about who it is that they're voting for. All of these types bear the responsibility for the outcome.

This article goes on to say that about 40 percent of U.S. citizens of voting age population cast ballots in nonpresidential year elections. In 2000, just more than half turned out. In 2004, the turnout climbed over 60 percent. This is sad to me. Voting is one of our rights that have not yet been whittled away, so we all need to get off of our butts and go vote. How will we as citizens ever have a voice in Washington when we fail to put forth the effort to vote?

A shining example

2006-10-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

by reenee, Santa Maria

Have you ever noticed how the worst of the worst always makes the front page, especially when it involves the salacious? When it's good deeds, or amazing accomplishments, the story is relegated to a lesser part of the newspaper. This is no less true for the marginally acceptable Santa Maria Times.

Today's front page featured story was about the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department needing more officers. Section B, page 3, had a headline that read, Lauded local woman laid to rest. This woman was Dorothy Jackson, an educator for 40 years, the last 10 as the Principal of Clarence Ruth School, in Lompoc, California. She was the first black woman to hold that position, and by all accounts did her job admirably. Some will argue that this story was where it needed to be due to the other obituaries on the same page. Well, sorry, this is not a valid argument. The day before there was a front page story on the less accomplished former mayor of Santa Maria, George Hobbs. Yes, he was the longest serving councilman and mayor, but he was also the man who said that this town had a "Mexican problem." The story was all about how there were two hundred people paying their last respects. This man's passing apparently elevated him to sainthood. Pretty much the same thing happened when the 40th president died.

Getting back to Dorothy Jackson. She was a force to be reckoned with, a proud, honorable and strong woman. According to this sadly abbreviated story, Ms. Jackson was a confidante of superintendents and mayors who fought tenaciously for programs to assist fieldworkers and single mothers.

That was the portrait painted by speakers from the diverse strands of Jackson's life as they gathered Saturday morning to share recollections of a woman too strong to be denied, yet who never forgot from whence she came.

A crowd of 300 composed of family, her Beta Sigma Pi sorority, staff and clients from the Dorothy Jackson Family Resource Center, members of her church, and scores of colleagues from the Lompoc Unified School District filled First Presbyterian Church.

Rubbing shoulders with the prominent were dozens of people associated with Jackson's proudest creation, the family resource center that bears her name.

After Jackson retired in 1995 she served as chairman of the school district's School Attendance Review Board (SARB) which monitors school attendance. “Stories are legion of her challenging parents,” Steve Straight said afterward. Bradley added that it seemed “dishes clattered” in those meetings.

But Jackson is also widely credited for changing SARB's approach away from a strictly punitive one. “It became more parent friendly,” said Cindy Callaham, a member of the SARB board with Jackson. “Truancy is just the symptom. She was Mother Teresa, Dr. Phil and Santa Claus all in one.”

As news of her death spread, heartfelt testimonies jammed the center's phone lines. They came from people spanning the American tapestry of ethnicity and income and their descriptions were as revealing as the books Jackson so prized.

Her direct style was evidenced with the following:

“What are you doing here? Get your butt into college.”

Those were the sledgehammer words Dorothy Jackson wielded on one of her former students when she saw him working in a fast-food outlet. Today the anonymous young man is studying for the bar exam to become an attorney.

This is what teachers should attempt to become. This is the behavior, attitude and support that people in power should present to others. This is what the chunkheads in Washington, who are in a position to do the most good, will never understand. This woman was light years ahead of them with integrity and character, and those bozos will never know it.

Habla American, amigo!

2006-09-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

by reenee, Santa Maria

¡ Noticias importantes !

Here's an item that will cheer up the people that are getting the drizzles over whether or not English will be lost forever in the communities where those pesky Spanish speaking people congregate. This was one of the front page stories in the Santa Maria Times on Thursday, September 14th, but when I looked for it on their extremely limited and not at all attractive "Online Gateway to the Santa Maria Valley" it was not to be found. I wonder why. Perhaps I'm not as computer savvy as I think? Anyways, no matter, I found the story at the Monterey County Herald.
Are you ready for this? A few generations after families move to the United States from Latin American countries, fluency in Spanish dies out and English becomes the dominant language, according to a new paper published by sociology professors from New Jersey and California.

This study effectively deflates the argument that so many alarmists raise about a bilingualism. For example the one that stresses that the size of Latino immigration to the United States could create a bilingual society and a fundamental change in American culture.

The paper -- authored by Douglas Massey at Princeton University and Ruben Rumbaut and Frank Bean at the University of California-Irvine -- found Spanish giving way to English among Southern California's heavily Latino population. The study suggests that Mexican immigrants arriving in Southern California today can expect only five out of every 100 of their great-grandchildren to speak fluent Spanish. Among Mexican-Americans with two U.S.-born parents but three or more foreign-born grandparents, only 17 percent spoke fluent Spanish. Among those with only one or two foreign-born grandparents, Spanish fluency dropped to 7 percent. Only 5 percent of Mexican-Americans with U.S.-born parents and U.S.-born grandparents spoke Spanish fluently. Among the third generation of Mexican-Americans, 96 percent prefer to speak English in their homes.

I really do not think that reports like this are going to make an impact on the "English only folks." I never did understand the resistance to learn another language. Wouldn't knowing how to speak Spanish in an area like this make you a more viable candidate for employment? Many other countries require their schools to teach other languages, why don't we?

Immigrants

2006-09-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

by reenee, Santa Maria

Get ready boys and girls, the next 66 days until the November 7th election will bring out the best and worst in people as always. One of this year's hot button topics is of course, immigration. Even Janet Napolitano, governor of Arizona, has announced that she's heading to Mexico during her re-election bid. It's the issue.

Both sides have valid arguments. To be fair, it also has to be said that both sides have idiotic arguments.

Let's start with this one: "We need to deport the 11 million illegal immigrants that are already here."

Yeah, good luck with that one.

How about this one? "Let's grant amnesty to all of them and allow them to become citizens."

That one isn't going to fly either.

It's obvious that something has to be done. It's also obvious that the nitwits in power aren't going to do anything. Perhaps the borders can be made more secure, but how would that help this country if Mexico is not doing anything to help their citizens? There are people living there without things that we take for granted. You know, simple things like running water inside of the house or a toilet, or perhaps electricity.

Most of us don't think about these conveniences since we have a decent roof over our heads, instead of cardboard or tar paper. The people that you see among us have already been through the most brutal of journeys just to labor in our agricultural fields. They are not here to make people angry, they are here to fill a need that no one else will. There are extended families living in less than desirable conditions in order to survive. Cultural differences aside, they all are not the sloppy and dirty and lacking in manners that so many say they are. Whether we like to admit it or not, the sloppy and dirty and lacking in manners type are in every ethinicity and socio-economic group on this planet.

The immigration issues that people are arguing over are not new. While working for the Jackson County Education District in Medford, Oregon, in the 80s, I met many, many immigrant families. They were hard working decent people who were there to harvest the fruit that you see beautifully packaged by Harry & David. I found family after family living in small shacks with smudge pots as heaters. Forget running water. If they were lucky, there was a sprinkler nearby.

I'd like to believe that the conditions for these workers have improved.

Now, the immigration proponents feel that marching in the streets again is going to make a difference to the lawmakers. Perhaps a few in Congress will try to appeal to this side, what with it being an election year, but in the end, nothing will be done, again. It's a complex issue and there are too many dodo birds in Congress, that we put there by the way, protecting their own special interests to tackle something this huge. Look at what happened when Alan Simpson, the former Senator from Wyoming tried to do something in the 80s. The only thing that really took off with any success back then was the hugely profitable industry that sprang up to make forged passports and forged green cards.

Meanwhile, immigrants from Mexico and further south will continue their attempt to enter this country at greater and greater peril to themselves. Let's face it, immigration has been an ongoing problem in this country since Leif Erickson and Christopher Columbus came ashore.

News, noteworthy and otherwise

2006-08-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

by reenee, Santa Maria

What is the media's fascination with the JonBenet Ramsey murder case? How about our fascination? Was it that she was a six-year old beauty queen? Was it the public's perception of her parents without having any substantial facts about them? Was it that she was from a wealthy white family? As horrendous as this murder was, there have been other murders just as horrific if not worse.

Other parts of the country do not have a monopoly on crimes against children. Here in the Santa Maria area we have our own brand of psychotics running around loose. One homegrown pathetic loser killed his pregnant girlfriend and her small child. Yet another loser beat, tortured and almost killed her newborn baby trying to get her boyfriend's attention. More recently, we have the Grover Beach grandmother convicted of murdering her former son-in-law. These heinous crimes happen all over the world and in increasing numbers. But, I digress.

The Ramsey murder occurred almost ten years ago. When it happened, the Boulder, Colorado Keystone Cops, who obviously could not find their collective butts with both hands felt that their best suspects were the Ramseys themselves. This child's mother had to live with a cloud of suspicion over her head until the day she died this past June. Naturally, the media, forever looking for news to discredit the rich and famous, jumped on the bandwagon and ran with it. It was a disgusting feeding frenzy that continues today.

Every single day since he was arrested, John Mark Karr has been in the news. It's usually the same information, rehashed with perhaps one new "bombshell" added. Today's new addition was "the suspect sought treatment at a sex change clinic." In addition to the usual titillation over this little piece of information that in reality is none of our business, people will now demonize those that have sought this treatment.

Just to add to the circus that continues to surround this case, this guy was escorted out of Thailand by an investigator from the Boulder, Colorado District Attorney's office, a security officer wearing a Homeland Security t-shirt and a few others. So we wouldn't have to wonder needlessly about the minute details, we were told that Karr arrived in a white van, was not handcuffed, and enjoyed a glass of champagne before the airplane took off. The investigator however, had orange juice. Aren't you glad you know that? I know I am, I was breathlessly waiting for this information, although I am somewhat disappointed that we still don't know whether he wears boxers or briefs. I'm hoping that once they land, the media will fill in all of the missing gaps with as much useless information as they can, because, well, inquiring minds want to know.

This is not going to end any time soon, evidenced by the fact that when you type John Mark Karr into the Google search engine, you get no less than 3,880,000 results. So, settle down, get some popcorn and let all of this flow over you. At that point it's up to you whether you pay attention to it or not.

Good manners are made up of petty sacrifices

2006-08-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

by reenee, Santa Maria

I'm still so aghast at how people behave towards those in wheelchairs that I posted this here and on my own blog. I can usually tolerate ill-mannered boorish behavior by chalking it up to the fact that they are more than likely peasants, unrefined and unaware of niceties like simple common courtesy.

As I mentioned yesterday on my blog, I went to the Old Spanish Days Fiesta to specifically attend the Mariachi Festival. I went with two friends and Mom. Although she won't admit it, Mom is a little bit slower at walking than the rest of us, so knowing that the huddled masses would be teeming, we decided that putting her in a wheelchair was our best option, and hers, due to her bad knees. Not only that, our parking space would be greatly improved, thus aiding the rest of us with our own physical deficits. Okay, mine. Hey, one has to use all of their advantages when among the unwashed. Anyways, getting into the Santa Barbara Bowl was not a problem, we arrived early enough to make it easy. Getting out was another thing. People were stampeding to the exits, as if their lives depended upon it. One woman almost beaned Mom with her cane as I tried to navigate through these peasants. One of the security guards had to scream at them to allow us though the gate. Once we'd made it down the elevator it was another trauma for Mom. As I was hollering for people to get out of the way, a young man saw my predicament and offered to help me. When I agreed, he took hold of the arm of the wheelchair and began to push his way though the crowd propelling us through as he hollered, "Make way! Wheelchair coming through!" Let me tell you, the crowd parted for him. I think it was not only due to him pushing through, but also because of his friend who was at least 6'4" and built like a refrigerator and hollering, "La Señora!" These two young men saved us, otherwise we might still be there.
Perhaps if these rude people were to put in some time in a wheelchair, they'd understand. However, I'm not going to hold my breath.

The County Split

2006-06-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

By reenee, Santa Maria

For a long time now I've been railing against splitting the county of Santa Barbara. However, I've been at a loss for words over this entire subject in polite company. None of it has ever made sense to me. The first issue is the least important. The name: Mission County? Whose bright idea was that one? The second issue: Who benefits? Not me, I'm not a big oil company, nor am I a developer who stands to reap millions more if this boneheaded idea goes forth. Anyway, I'd begin to unravel every time I thought about it, then I found this fine editorial by Marianne Partridge, dated May 11, 2006 in the Santa Barbara Independent. So naturally I ripped it off, after condensing it a wee bit here and there, and adding my own thoughts hoping that she doesn't mind, since I included her link. So, here it is:

"If Measure H passes, it would be a disaster of epic proportions for everyone. In particular, those of us stuck in the economic chaos of the new Mission County and then those stranded in what would be left of Santa Barbara County. If you care about the environment, good government, the plight of the poor, regional planning, or common sense, then splitting Santa Barbara County would be an assault on any rational thought. Surely we all understand by now that a new county would be very good for private developers like Jim Diani, who has underwritten loans to the county split effort totaling $240,000."

Hmmm, I wonder, who would get those contracts for new county buildings?

"The proposed plan is to split Santa Barbara County at the Gaviota Pass. The new county would include Hollister Ranch, Point Conception, the Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Maria, the majority of agricultural land, rolling hills, and open space. And it would include Lake Cachuma, the single most important humanmade source of water for the entire South Coast. Why would the south county vote to be separated from Lake Cachuma? To believe proponents of Measure H, with their bland assurances that the new county will honor Santa Barbara’s old water contracts, flies in the face of reason. It also defies California’s entire history of water, politics, and power.

If the proposed Mission County were to be approved, it would begin with a $30 million budget shortfall. Nice huh? The Governor's special commission concluded that the whole idea was economically unviable. Even if its sales taxes were raised by one cent it wouldn't be enough. The only way to balance the budget would be to cut services at least 35 percent. That means less law enforcement, less fire protection, less help for the poor, and fewer road repairs."

Not a problem for those that don't have these issues.

"Another thing, the new county would be forced to pay its fair share of the old Santa Barbara County’s capital debt, its workers’ pensions, and other retirement costs. Hotel bed taxes won't help raise money because it has few of the tourist attractions found in the South County, most notably accessible beach frontage. So how will Mission County ever be able to pay for anything?"

Oil companies, of course.

"The most immediate and lucrative way to increase property tax revenue would be to allow offshore oil development and the building of its requisite onshore processing facilities. Why would this be a problem? Aside from the obvious concerns of air and water quality, the biggest problem is the profile of oil companies operating in Santa Barbara County today. Instead of the old energy companies like Exxon and Chevron, we’re seeing smaller, more opportunistic companies fighting for the last drops of oil. Even if the new county had the will to implement strict environmental standards, most of these companies wouldn’t have the money to comply with them.

Those are just a few reasons why anyone living north of Gaviota should vote against the split. But why should South County voters care? In fact, it’s no secret that some environmentalists are quietly hoping the split occurs. The reasoning is that all the pro-growth lobbyists will suddenly leave the slow-growth residents of southern Santa Barbara alone: “If we never have to hear that obnoxious Andy Caldwell whine again, so be it! Let them build and pollute to their hearts’ content.” It might sound appealing, but it plays out badly.

Air, water, and ecosystems do not recognize county lines. Traffic, pollution, and toxins travel. Those environmentalists hoping to preserve valley oaks, steelhead trout, or other endangered species should remember that most of these still exist only because of the wild, open ranchlands in the north. The irreparable damage that a desperate new county government could do — goaded by developers spouting property-rights jingoisms while actually promoting get-rich schemes to build cluster-housing on agricultural land — will truly be awesome. For the wildlife — flora, fauna, and cowboy alike — it will be a death sentence: one passed, in part, by any South County environmentalist voting for the county split.

And what will happen to the funding necessary for commuter rail or other new transportation options? All those commuters from the north will not be quitting their jobs down south. To do anything about traffic, we must use the whole tax base of the present Santa Barbara County.

But perhaps the most moral, principled reason for anyone to vote against a county split is the recognition that the majority of our poor will be isolated in a virtually bankrupt new county. Surely this would be an act of cruelty."

See? Wasn't that better than me simply saying "Aaacckk!! Vote NO!!"

So now I'm asking, are the proponents of the split really all that focused on those that will be hurt the most, or are they focused on dollar signs?

The failed presidency

2006-05-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

By reenee, Santa Maria

Wowsers! It's been a while since I've been here. Looks like everyone else has taken a powder as well, huh? I've been doing most of my ranting, raving and angst filled posting on a site I maintain with my sister/co-blogger. I don't have to be quite as polite over there. The added bonus is that I can blame her for quite a few things. We finally decided that important conversations about deeply held opinions go a lot better when you conduct them outside your own head, hence, the birth of the blog.

So where was I? Oh yeah, the failed presidency. A 29 percent approval rating for the White House occupant. Yanno, if more people had listened to my rantings before the 2000 elections, none of this would be happening right now. This new rating reflects a seven point drop since April. Why did it take six years for people in the country to wake up to the fact that this president is terrifyingly moronic? Could it be because there is no real plan in Iraq? Could it be because those pesky Mexicans are showing themselves too loudly? Good thing my grandparents didn't hear that one. Could it be that gasoline is now close to $3.50+ a gallon? Could it be that people have noticed that nothing has been done to secure health insurance for the huddled masses? Could it be that the country is waking up to the fact that there is no real leadership in our government? Quoting Randy Alcorn, in today's Santa Barbara News-Press: "Given the people that Americans have allowed to take leadership positions in our society, one has to wonder if the average quotient of common sense in America is in severe decline. No matter what your political affiliation, an empirical examination of the state of American political leadership reveals dreadful mediocrity, and even outright incompetence." I must also agree with him when he says, "I don't want to belabor the deficiencies of the Bush administration, but these people couldn't lead ants to a picnic." If you subscribe to the News-Press then you can register online for free, and if you don't, then you might want to, it's better than being stuck with the local rag. Anyways, whatever the reason, only one quarter of Americans agree that the country is headed in the right direction. Worse yet is that less than half of Republicans say that things are headed in the right direction.

Congress fared even worse, they have an 18 percent approval rating. No one is getting any breaks there. The Republicans are rated 20 percent positive and 76 percent negative while the Democrats who have been either passive or comatose got a rating of 23 percent positive and 72 percent negative. In an effort to save themselves, Republicans are trying to distance themselves from Dubya on several different fronts. The latest sign of rebellion is their move to break with the administration's position that the enrollment deadline for the Medicare perscription plan and late penalty should remain. There's a 10% per 12 month period penalty for late enrollment of Part B Medicare already, so what's a few more dollars for the financially strapped seniors? Oh wait! It's an election year! Now I get it.

Oh well, at least the dutiful wife is supporting her husband. She says that she doesn't believe the polls that show such a low approval rating. I suppose I'd not believe it either if I lived in the Lalaland of denial. Added to that, her audiences are hand picked for her. Most of the people that will trip over themselves because they want to personally meet her and shake her hand are not the kind of people that will look her in the eye and say that her husband is a loser.

Political operatives that prepare each locale in advance are worth their weight in gold.

Oh yeah, Happy Mother's Day!

Socrates said that the hallmark of wisdom is knowing what you don't know.

2006-03-31T21:22:00.000-08:00

By reenee, Santa Maria

Way back in the Dark Ages when I was a kid in school, there was never a good reason for students to get up from their desks and wander around at will. Permission was required to even scratch our noses, so if we did get up, we'd better be on fire. If the teachers were scary and humorless nuns, we'd have willingly burned sitting at our desks, it would have been a less painful death than to cross them. Most all of us students would simply sit there and do what we were told. If we didn't study, we were given a failing grade. If we failed to learn, we flunked. Ah yes, memories of accountability.

These days however, there's an experiment going on in Rochester, Minnesota, where kids are allowed to stand, sit or lie on the floor. The last time I actually saw a student on the floor was during a tantrum. One of the goals in this classroom is to get kids to move around. In a study that might even combat childhood obesity which in itself has become a big problem, researchers are trying to figure out the reasons for the general slippage of what is learned by students in twelve years of school. This classroom allows children to walk around, balance on big exercise balls, or even lie down on mats. In addition to being allowed to move around, they have access to laptop computers, a wireless network and iPods.

So far, the classroom teacher, Phil Rynearson and Superintendent Jerry Williams say that these fourth and fifth grade students are more focused on the subjects being taught than their peers in a comparison group in an ordinary classroom. Plus, there are fewer distractions than in the traditional setup, where a lot of time is spent trying to get children to sit still. Interesting. To be sure, something has to be done, now that children are advanced to the next level whether they learn or not. If you check out the average high school kid, you will see quite a few deficits in their abilities. I'm talking about the average kid here, not the ones that remain focused on their studies either out of an innate ability to do so, or because they are encouraged and helped by their parents.

Let's face it, not enough parents are invested in their child's education. There are some that feel that getting their children to school every morning ends their participation and responsibility. You know the ones, they blame the schools when their child fails to learn. I certainly do not have all of the answers, but I spent ten years in the school system working with parents of fifth and sixth grade students, trying to get them involved, and I made one important discovery: You cannot fix stupid. I have seen college educated parents who remain clueless and disinterested about their children or their education, and I have seen high school dropouts who are extremely involved in their children's education, because they desire something better for them.

This study is at least a good start into how they learn, or at the very least, why they don't. The added plus is combating obesity. My humble opinion on that of course is the fast food available in an age where both parents are required to have jobs just to keep their heads above water, along with the technology that allows kids to remain in one spot all day long. Nothing like a good bag of chips or a hamburger and a Gameboy to deaden the brain. Ah yes, gaming, now that's a good skill to have to enable a student to go to college and then someday get a good paying job, huh?

Extremists and Terrorists

2006-02-15T20:27:00.000-08:00

By reenee, Santa Maria

Reading about the riots over caricatures of Mohammed I got to thinking about what exactly defines an extremist, or a terrorist. Extremism is of course going to great or exaggerated lengths, exceeding the ordinary, usual, or expected to make a point, while terrorism is the systematic use of terror as a means of coercion. Which of these defines the individuals rioting in the Middle East? People have been rioting, fire bombing and burning buildings in those countries for weeks now over what they percieve as blasphemy, and instead of lessening over time, they seem to be gaining momentum. It was almost laughable to hear Condo Rice say that the rioters "might spin out of control." These people are already angry, so to hear her also suggest that "they ought to organize peacefully" was not helpful. These are people that gather by the millions for the annual hajj. They all believe that each one of them, at least once in their lives, must take part in the pilgrimage. At the stoning of the devil ritual, the massive crowd is so out of control that hundreds end up dying in a stampede, yet they all attend the following year. Anyone saying that they should gather peacefully to protest is seriously out of touch. These people take their religion and their prophet very seriously. Does anyone wonder why the rioters are now targeting the west? We don't have to agree with this behavior to try to understand it enough to quit making bizarre suggestions.

As I continued reading the news, the nine church bombings in Alabama and Mississippi since February 2nd, reminded me that we have our own terrorists and extremists in this country. Who could be bombing those churches? Perhaps extremists, terrorists, idiots? Some of these churches have black members, some have white members. I guess that the person or persons responsible for this dabble in equal opportunity hatred and intolerance. Whoever is doing this surely feels justified in some way. Apparently, believing that you have a one-way ticket to the hereafter where you'll be fed peeled grapes by seven virgins is not a requirement to be a terrorist. When and if we ever find out the reasons for destroying these churches, will it make a difference in stopping this kind of behavior? Probably not. We cannot control thoughts, despite the last general election results. We can have gun control laws, but people will still rampage through post offices, other places of business and schools. We can prosecute vigorously any and all hate crimes, but people will still seek out some ethnic group to bully, attack or kill. People will simply continue to think and do things that they feel justified in thinking or doing to others that do not fit their idea of "what is right" in their minds. So, while we might discover that organized terrorists or extremists are bombing churches, we might also discover that these "terrorists" are idiots with too much time on their hands.

Another excellent yet disturbing example of home grown extremism/terrorism is the Westboro Baptist Church. These people do not toss bombs at churches, nor do they shoot at people, that we know of. They are however extremists and terrorists. They like to stand outside of churches with signs that advertise hatred, intolerance and ignorance. Yep, this shining example is Fred Phelps. The Reverend Phelps is the leader of the virulently homophobic Westboro Baptist Church, in Topeka, Kansas. His church has about 100 members, and of those, at least 90 of them are related to him through blood or marriage. This scary guy has a website that claims to have staged "20,000" protests across the nation and around the world in the last decade. At the funeral of murder victim Matthew Shepard, they held up signs reading "No Fags in Heaven" and "God Hates Fags." He not only told the mourners that Matthew went to Hell, but that they would be there to join him when they died. It's obvious that hatred and intolerance motivates this guy. His church website is: Godhatesfags.com. He also has a website named: Godhatesamerica.com, where he contends that the United States is "doomed" because it supports gays. According to Fred Phelps, "God invented the Internet for us to preach on." They also demonstrated at the funerals of the miners killed at the Sago Mine. They held signs that said these men were killed because our government tolerates homosexuals. These people call themselves Christians. Hey Fred, what would Jesus do? Lest you think I'm making this stuff up, go here.

How about someone like Eric Robert Rudolph? Rudolph is described as an American Christian terrorist who committed a series of bombings across the southern United States, murdering three people and injuring at least 150 others. Yep, he was the Olympic Bomber. Rudolph declared his bombings as part of a guerrilla campaign against abortion, "the homosexual agenda" and perceived support for them from the United States government. Rudolph purports to have committed his crimes for religious reasons.

Then there's Timothy McVeigh. Would he qualify? Well maybe, the FBI describes him as an "American domestic terrorist." He did blow up a building that 167 people died in, children, men and women. How does anyone get to that point? People from all walks of life say that there is no room in a civilized nation for terrorism, yet here we are. We have our own versions of extremists and terrorists here, yet when people think of terrorists or extremists, they look to September 11th, or the USS Cole or the rioters in the Middle East.

Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.

2006-01-15T20:30:00.000-08:00

As a society, there are so many things that we could try to be better at. Extending our kindnesses would be one. We could begin with kindness towards ourselves and then extend that kindness towards others. As we learn to be kind, one of the more important things that we could try to improve with simple kindness would be how we as a society treat our elders. We have a tendency to stumble here. We're too busy skipping through life as if we will never get old, and then, when we do, we’re shocked. Let me tell you, it's a sobering moment when you look in the mirror and see gray hair and wrinkles. For being such a civilized and accomplished nation, we fail to adequately recognize this reality and as a result fall short when it comes to the senior population. How sad for us since we'll all be there, sooner than later.

It’s important for us to remember than even in this youth oriented society; we’re ALL going to get old. It’s amazing how many people never think about this. I know I never thought about it. I thought I was still in my 30s when I realized I was closing in on the half century mark with the speed of light. It's not important how long ago that dose of reality slapped me around. Granted, some of us will age faster than others, but we’re all headed down that road eventually, if we’re lucky. As we sit around rubbing our bad knees while we age, we ought to be looking around at those who surround us and perhaps think about how they will treat us if anything like frailty or dementia visits us. Unless you’re Blanche DuBois you cannot sit back and depend upon the kindness of strangers. As for myself, I happen to believe in Karma. If you do good things, good things will happen to you - if you do bad things, bad things will happen to you. In other words, what we give is what we’ll get in return. If we treat our elders or elderly parents like second class citizens that have nothing left to offer, then our own children will learn from us, and this is how they will care for us. Frightening, isn’t it?

According to Heather Aeschleman, in an article for the Elder Law Journal, by 2050, the minorities make up less than 20% of the senior population. However, the Hispanic/Latino population will increase from 1.9 million to 13.8 million. Asians will increase from 783,000 to 5 million, while African Americans will increase from 2.8 million to 7.6 million. That’s a lot of multi-generational households. She goes on to say that these minorities face many barriers in accessing nursing homes. Overt discrimination by nursing home operators is one problem. Another is the high cost of nursing care. Yet another is the inability to purchase long term care insurances. These are all viable arguments for the existing disparity that is seen in nursing homes, but she fails to address the reluctance of so many minorities to access these services. There are some very valid reasons for this.

Keeping family together is very important to many minority cultures. In the Hispanic/Latino community care of the elderly is provided by the family and extended family, often residing in the same home. These families are not likely to seek long term care from outside sources, choosing instead to take on this responsibility themselves. Elders are respected, obeyed and looked upon as sources of wisdom by all family members. In my own family, my grandfather lived with us when we were young, and then with one of my aunts until he became so frail that my mother brought him to her house and cared for him until he died. My grandmother was in her own house until she became ill, and then, once again, my mother, as the eldest daughter, brought her into her home. As a result, we all have a healthy respect for the elderly. This is not unusual in our culture. This is also very often the case in African American families who in addition to family, often include a network of friends who are considered family. Native Americans and Asian groups, including Japanese, Chinese and Filipino, treat their elders in a similar way, also choosing to take on the responsibility rather than going outside the home. In these cultures, it’s very important to “care for their own.”

In this country, most of these minority cultures revere their elders, doing everything that they can to keep them in their own homes. When the time comes that this is no longer possible, the sons or daughters, or in some cases, the grandchildren, will bring them into their homes to care for, or they will move in with them. It never occurs to the greater majority of these minority cultures to move them out to a skilled nursing facility, more commonly known as “rest homes or nursing homes.” Yes, there are times when these families will place their elders in a nursing home, but these instances are the exception.

Interestingly, the result is that nursing homes remain overwhelmingly white, despite the changes that have made this country more ethnically diverse. Despite the fact that minorities make up 16% of the 65 and older in this country, they make up only 7% of the nursing home residents. Yes, there are income barriers, discrimination and lack of insurance, but the desire to keep the family together is a bigger reason for many families.

For the past several years I’ve had the pleasure of working with the elderly in a variety of different ways. From assisting them with Medicare issues to arranging transportation and in some instances transporting them when there were no other options available to them. While spending time with them either talking with them, laughing with them or simply listening to their reminiscences of times past, and more recently, dancing with them, I’ve discovered and appreciated everything that they have to offer. The lucky ones are still part of a family surrounded by loving and caring relatives. Others are in nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities because they have no other place to live and no family to help care for them.

It is in settings where the seniors are no longer in their own homes that we could extend our kindnesses more often. If we open our eyes it’s not all that difficult for us to look down the road and place ourselves in their shoes. What would it cost each one of us to go to any one of the several nursing homes in the area and talk to the Nursing staff or Activity Director to find out who never gets visits from friends or family? Let’s face it, most people believe that they do not have time to volunteer, but most everyone can spare an hour a week to give back to the elders in the community. It’s a lot more rewarding than spreading their derrieres in the easy chair and gripping the remote control. Try it, you might find that you like it. Take your children if they have no grandparents, what they stand to gain from this experience far outweighs what they’ll lose by spending an hour or two in front of the television or computer.

Happy New Year! ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

2006-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

By reenee, Santa Maria

Ah yes, another year is here. A time to look forward to all of the wonderful things you might accomplish this coming year. An exciting new year with no mistakes in it yet. Looking forward is always better than looking back at our bonehead mistakes in the past, don't you think? Some of us never learn from our mistakes anyway, so it's best to just let them go. Why focus on our mistakes when we all have that one special someone who is always ready, willing and able to remind us?

January 1st is after all the time for resolutions and a new beginning for most of us. On my own blog, I suggested that people go easy on themselves with their resolutions, unless they have the tenacity to go through with them. Some of us have a tendency to overreach what we're capable of, especially when prodded by others that want us to do something or make a change for them. When we fail we end up feeling guilty over not following through.

Therefore, save yourself from really serious resolutions! You'll no doubt be needed for more important tasks throughout the year. You might be called upon to settle an argument, or perhaps to start one. You might be the one responsible for putting together the family reunion, or a big birthday bash for a close friend. You might be the only one who knows how to prune the roses! Or, you might be the only male in your family who asks for driving directions or reads instructions! You'll need all of your faculties for a number of things throughout the year, so it's best to not get bogged down with petty little issues that are beyond your abilities or interests.

Yes, we all must make an attempt to recognize our own limitations. After all, isn't that what Harry Callahan told us? To give you an example, I would never take on my mother's suggestion that I resolve to visit my extended family more often this coming year. I never visit family. There's a reason for this. I know already that it never pans out. I recognize that I cannot keep my mouth shut. I usually express my honest opinions to those that would prefer to remain in denial. Therefore, I'm never a good guest to have around for "small talk." Come to think of it, that might be why I never made it into politics, or into the diplomatic arts.

So, for your entertainment, here are some resolutions that you might be interested in to get you started.

1. Gain weight. At least 30 pounds.
2. Stop exercising. Waste of time.
3. Read less. Makes you think.
4. Watch more TV. You might be missing some good stuff.
5. Procrastinate more. Starting tomorrow.
6. Don't date Paris Hilton or Colin Farrell.
7. Take a vacation to someplace important; like to see the largest ball of twine.
8. Don't have eight children at once.
9. Start being superstitious.
10. Set a personal goal to bring back disco.
11. Don't wrestle with The Rock.
12. Don't bet for or against the Minnesota Vikings.
13. Buy an '83 Eldorado and invest in a really loud stereo system. Tint the windows. Buy fur for the dash.
14. Speak in a monotone voice and only use monosyllabicwords.
15. Only wear jeans that are 2 sizes too small and use a chain or rope for a belt.
16. Don't eat cloned meat.
17. Create loose ends.
18. Get more toys.
19. Get further into debt.
20. Believe all politicians.
21. Break at least one traffic law.
22. Don't drive a motorized vehicle across thin ice.
23. Avoid airplanes that spontaneously drop 1000 feet.
24. Stay off the MIR space station.
25. Don't worry that mad cow disease will cause the end of the world.
26. Don't swim with piranhas or sharks.
27. Wear a cheerleading outfit to work and talk about Bill O'Reilly. Pretend you don't think he's an idiot.
28. Spread out priorities beyond any ability to keep track of them.
29. Wait around for opportunity.
30. Focus on the faults of others.
31. Mope about your own faults.
32. Drive on sidewalks when you're in a hurry.
33. Keep your back to the wall and knives out of the hands of others.
34. Believe everything you read in the National Enquirer.
35. Put your dog, cat, self on a diet...someday.
36. If you cannot be a role model for someone, at least serve as a good warning.
37. Never suffer in silence when you can moan, whimper, and complain.
38. Don't hate yourself in the morning. Sleep till noon.
39. Become even more self absorbed.
40. Find someone to blame before you begin that new project.
41. If at first you don't succeed, lower your standards.
42. Never read the fine print. There ain't no way you're going to like it.
43. Resolve to only read books that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
44. Quit wasting time reliving the past; spend it worrying about the future.
45. Be spontaneous, as long as you have a good plan.
46. Assume full responsibility for your actions, except for those that are someone else's fault.
47. Do not sit in the living room all day in your underwear. Instead, move your computer into the bedroom.
48. Honor and express all facets of your being, regardless of state and local laws.
49. Learn Pig Latin and use it at work.
50. Sing in full elevators.
51. Learn to graze in the produce sections of grocery stores.
52. Rent a Seinfeld episode and learn the "Elaine Dance."
53. Write to "Dear Abby" for advice instead of using your head.
54. Speak in clichés once a week.
55. Never make New Year's resolutions again.
56. Learn about how New Year's resolutions got started and why.

Yuletide Greetings To All

2005-12-25T00:15:00.000-08:00

"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires."

2005-12-19T22:00:00.000-08:00

By reenee, Santa Maria

Why do so many people get so riled up when someone says, "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas"? Coming from the "live and let live" school of thought, this entire debate escapes me. There are far too many different religions out there all celebrating their view of the holiday season, to expect that everyone should say "Merry Christmas."

There's also Happy Winter Solstice, Happy Kwanzaa and Happy Hanukkah, just to name a few, all happening about this time of year. Then there's the Jehovah's Witnesses who do not celebrate Christmas at all because they do not participate in "pagan celebrations," because they say that Jesus was not born on December 25. What shall we say to them? Are they not Christians too?

So, is Christmas based on Pagan origins? Some say yes. The exact dating of Christmas has been a subject of great debate and disagreement, although tradition and custom has it affixed now to December 25th. This date has little to do with actual Christian history and much to do with attempts by Christians to appeal to potential pagan converts by appropriating their own festivals of Saturnalia and Brumalia. Indeed, the earliest calendars to even list December 25 as Christmas do not appear until 336 C.E. Pope Julius formally selected December 25 as the day of Christmas in 349 C.E.

There is no hint in the Gospels about the time of the year when Jesus is supposed to have been born--except that it couldn't have been midwinter, because in that part of the world this is the rainy season and shepherds would not be out at night. This means that early Christianity found itself in the odd position of trying to tell everyone about what they claimed was the most tremendous birth ever without being able to say when it happened.

How about the entire Christmas/Holiday tree issue? Originally, trees were decorated by Pagans, but they never cut them down and dragged them inside, that would have been too destructive for them. The 16th century Germans began the custom of bringing them into the house. They brought this custom to the United States about 1700. In 1850 the idea of the Christmas tree became popular with the general public.

There has been much controversy throughout the ages about most of the holidays recognized as religious. Religious Tolerance is not just a motto. It is something that should be practiced by everyone, due to the diversity in this country. People that bully others, be they individuals or large retail stores to say "Merry Christmas" do not know very much about tolerance or history.

People in the U.S. and Canada are going to need religious understanding and tolerance in the future, because these are the currently most religiously diverse countries in the world--and we are becoming increasingly diverse. If current trends continue, Protestants will become a minority by 2006, Christians will become a minority in the U.S. about the year 2042, and in Canada about 2023.

I'd like very much to refer people to the December 17th entry on the blog entitled "archy." He very succinctly says, GROW UP YOU INSUFFERABLE CRYBABIES. Well, I must agree. For those of you that will not visit "archy", he goes on to say that there are much more important issues to worry over, than how you are greeted in a store. Hunger, despair, diseases that go unchecked in Third World countries, illiteracy in our own country, just to name a few. The idea that something as innocuous as being greeted with "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings," by someone whose religious beliefs they don't know, is getting people riled up, is truly ludicrous.

While I do not share her belief, I respect that my mother is very devout in her Catholicism. The rest of my family, immediate and extended, exhibit various levels of this belief with a few non-believers for whatever reason. There are some of different faiths, with a sprinkling of Pagan tossed in just for fun. I cannot speak for any of them, with regards to the "Happy Holidays" debate, nor would I want to. I have the utmost respect for other faiths and would never denigrate what they feel or believe. At the same time, I want my own choices to be respected as my own, as I respect theirs as in Ethics of Reciprocity. Isn't this after all, the "Golden Rule" no matter what your faith is?

For another mind boggling eye opener, don't forget the entire Santa Claus connection. His origins are also Pagan. Most religious historians and experts in folklore believe that there is no valid evidence to indicate that St. Nicholas ever existed as a human. In fact, there are quite a few indicators that his life story was simply recycled from those of Pagan gods. Many other ancient Pagan gods and goddesses were similarly Christianized in the early centuries of the Church. The Christian church created a fictional life history for St. Nicholas. He was given the name Hagios Nikolaos (a.k.a. St. Nicholas of Myra).

This season means many different things to many different people, and celebrating and embracing those differences when we find them could enrich us all. So, regardless of your faith or traditions, may peace find each of you at this special time of year.

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Winter Solstice! Happy Kwaanza! Happy Ramadan! Seasons Greetings!

Common Sense vs Governments

2005-12-09T18:40:00.000-08:00

By reenee, Santa Maria

In an interesting twist of priorities, the Santa Maria City Council has nixed a homeowner's request to remove a tree from in front of his house. Root damage? No problem, they'll fix it they say. Let's take a look at how they've fixed it in the past, shall we? This particular sidewalk was patched in 1985 and 1988 as a result of root damage, then it was removed and replaced in 1990. It was patched again in 1997, and again, earlier this year. Now, it's on the list for replacement on the 2006 schedule. I for one would love to know how much this repetition has cost the city, both materials and labor, since it's common knowlege that it takes a crew of no less than six to seven people to do the work.

He needs to widen his driveway? No problem they say, expand towards the neighbor's property. Branches fall off of the tree? No problem, we'll clean them up, they say. You don't like the tree? No problem, when you get old like us, you'll appreciate it. How condescending and pompous is that? This is a young couple wanting only to make improvements to their property, they aren't stupid, and they aren't unappreciative. Instead of cooperation, they got arguments and reminiscences of tree climbing.

I'm willing to bet that this couple would have been happy to replace this tree with another, perhaps even two trees that would not be so damaging to their property or the city sidewalks. I wonder how many of these city council members objected to the removal of all of the trees that were ripped out by their roots right behind city hall over on McClelland Street. Oh wait! Perhaps they weren't "heritage trees." Besides, the library needed expansion, and I'm sure that those trees are sitting on ice somewhere ready to be replanted. Yeah, that must be it.

Considering that the Recreation and Parks Department earmarks more than $300,000 for trees, you'd think that all the trees all over the city would look better. However, a drive around town will tell you that some trees are not as well maintained as others, and neither are the sidewalks. I wonder why.

I happen to know from personal experience that if a tree or bush is on a corner, and a police officer driving by says that it obscures the view of oncoming traffic to drivers trying to cross the street, that tree or bush will be removed, no matter how long it's been there. Yes, it happened to me. However, as I digress, when large vans or industrial sized pickup trucks are parked more than 18 inches from the curb, obliterating the view of traffic for the hapless souls backing out of a driveway, or on a corner, obliterating the view of traffic for the hapless souls trying to drive across a street, nothing is done. Why is that? I was seriously thinking about painting the curb red, just west of my driveway, you think anyone would notice?

"It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense."

Next big problem for me when I'm not busy minding my own business is the way in which Arellanes Junior High School dealt with Hector Maldonado. I can understand calling the law if someone has a weapon, but a "scuffle"? There were originally four boys, ages 12 to 14, involved in two fights, but only two were taken to Juvenile Hall. Arellanos Principal, Carl Sousa says, "Santa Maria-Bonita School District rules mandate that law enforcement be notified whenever there is a conflict between two students." Apparently some administrators do not know the meaning of discretion. Cops being used as the last resort, or as a teaching tool is why a five year old Florida girl was handcuffed last April.

Officials of the local school district, county sheriff and federal immigration services say they are only following procedure that applies to every juvenile who is arrested and then determined to be in the country illegally. How about if the school tries to contact the parents about the student's behavior before calling the cops? How about if the cops try to find out if the parents are here legally before calling immigration? How about if immigration contacts the parents to try to further determine as to their resident status? The Public Information Officer at SMBSD, Maggie White says, “The school district and the school didn't do anything to create this situation, if anyone did this, it was the students involved.” But, Ms White, if common sense had kicked in at any one of several levels, would this 13 year old child have been driven all over the state in chains? This reminds me of the story of the men who were chasing a chicken they wanted to eat. When the chicken ran into a barn to hide, they blew up the barn to kill it.

Perhaps the people that are in positions that allow them to gloss over the real problems, or like to pass the buck, ought to imagine being the parents of a 13 year old that has been taken away. Then, they need to imagine what we'd all be paying for our fruits and veggies and wines if the undocumented workers, or illegal aliens, as the whiners like to call them, weren't here.

"Theories and goals of education don't matter a whit if you don't consider your students to be human beings."

2005-11-29T19:30:00.000-08:00

By reenee, Santa Maria.

Ah yes, in yet another example of how to remain firmly cemented in denial, here comes a story out of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, about a high school newspaper that was confiscated by school administrators due to the content. The student newspaper, The Oak Leaf, dared to include an article on birth control, along with information on how to obtain contraceptives from doctors and the local health department. Additionally, it had a photo of an unidentified student's tattoo. The student had not told her parents about the tattoo, which begs the question, "How did she get a tattoo?" Aren't most reputable tattoo artists required to demand parental permission for anyone under 18? Of course they are. More on this later.

All of this takes us to the brutal reality that, "some kids will find a way to do what they want, despite parental objections."

Superintendent Tom Bailey in defending his actions said, "The article needed to be edited so it would be acceptable for the entire school." He went on to say, "We have a responsibility to the public to do the right thing, We've got 14-year-olds that read the newspaper."

Call me crazy, but wouldn't it be better to have a 14 year old educated on how to prevent pregnancy? What would be worse here, a 14 year old finding out about how to obtain contraceptives, or a 14 year old getting pregnant? Gee, let me mull this one over.

Is it possible that there are people still living in a world where they think that if as adults, they don't talk outloud about certain things, then the kids won't find out about them and do them? Well, yes, yes there are. This mythical land is called "Denial."

Denial is after all, a refusal to accept or believe something. It's an unconscious defense mechanism characterized by the refusal to acknowledge painful realities, thoughts, or feelings, and as a result, we want to avoid the pain. It's a very powerful force. Who wants to be hurt, angry, or disappointed? Everyone does it at some point in there lives, it can be very comfortable. However, the trick is to not set up housekeeping in the "Land of Denial." If you have to go there, trust me on this one, never unpack your bags, just visit.

It's obvious that this particular lesson in censorship was the result of Superintendent Bailey reacting to his own kind of peer pressure. The kind of pressure that comes from people that are scared of parental reactions. In my humble opinion, the nation's school's might turn out thousands of more well rounded students if instead of dissecting frogs, and looking for the meaning of poems, they concentrated on life's skills, things like reading comprehension, writing skills, managing/budgeting money, sex education, choices in birth control, and how to prevent the rampant spread of sexually transmitted diseases. All students who are not allowed to attend the birth control and sex education classes could be enrolled in parenting skills classes.

You think I'm crazy? Check out this graph. Whatever it is that we're doing right now to educate our teens is clearly not working. Apparently, neither is ignoring their raging hormones.

Parents thinking that their teenagers are going to do what they say all of the time, are of course, living in denial. When some children find that their parents remain closed off from certain subjects that they're curious about, then they will go to their peers, they always have and always will. Some parents fear the term "peer pressure," without acknowledging that it can be positive at times. Not all children will abandon their value system when hanging around with their friends. Strong, accessible parents will never be completely abandoned by their children. At the same time, parents must realize that no matter how great their relationships are, some children will look to their peers for certain acceptance and or answers. Sadly, for some parents it's easier to lay the blame on television, the movies, music, friends they disapprove of, and even at times, each other, when they don't find the time for them. Perhaps more parents should get involved and keep in mind what Coretha Henderson did when her 14 year old began to misbehave. This woman was both villified and praised. What ever opinion you might have about this woman, what is undeniable, is that she did something.

Regarding the aforementioned tattoo, Superintendent Tom Bailey said, "I have a problem with the idea of putting something in the paper that makes us a part of hiding something from the parents."

Well, I'm sorry, but this makes no sense to me whatsoever. As I mentioned before, the student paper had included picture of a tattoo on an unidentified student. If the student allowed it to be photographed, chances are someone already knows, and the student will have to ready herself for the inevitable moment when her parents find out. Considering this country's preoccupation for minding other people's business instead of their own, odds are that the parents already know.

There are so very many more important things in life to focus on rather than a tattoo or parents boohooing. There are so many other things that could be getting the school boards, parents and administrators to sit up and take notice. Confiscating a student newspaper seems so obtuse. Let's face it, kids are having sex. That's a fact. It matters little whether we approve or disapprove. That's not the point. Dealing with it would be better than ignoring it and hoping that it goes away. Not talking about it will not make it go away. Kids that are aware, are already using birth control. The ones that could profit from this information will not. Getting on our high horses and telling teens to "just say no" is not going to work with all of them, so all we need to stop thinking that it will. Isn't it better to give a teenager the facts about prevention before they're pregnant?

Here are some sobering facts regarding pregnancy:

Despite recent and encouraging declines, the United States still has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and birth among comparable nations.

Nearly four out of 10 girls still become pregnant at least once before they reach age 20. Nearly 1 million teen pregnancies occur annually, some 55 each hour.

Four-fifths of teen births are to unmarried teens. In fact, nearly half of all non-marital first births occur to teens.

Why should this matter to us?

Teen pregnancy is closely linked to a host of critical social issues-welfare dependency and overall child well-being, out-of-wedlock births, responsible fatherhood, and work force development, in particular.

Teen mothers are less likely to complete high school and more likely to be on welfare.

Children of teen mothers are at a significantly increased risk of poverty, welfare dependency, poor school performance, growing up without a father, low birth weight and prematurity, and abuse and neglect.

The only real lesson that the administrators gave to the students was, "We're in control, you have no voice."

What Can We Do To Protect Our Children?

2005-11-21T12:15:00.000-08:00

By reenee, Santa Maria

Well, it hapened again. Three more teens are dead because the driver lost control of the speeding car they were in. It's only been a week since I wrote about the last horrific waste of lives. Just last December three boys died on Rice Ranch Road. The fourth boy miraculously escaped with minor injuries and a concussion.Then barely three weeks ago, on October 31st, two boys in Lompoc died in an accident that left the third boy in the car with major injuries that have required continued hospitalization. That's eight local teenagers in less than a year. The driver of this latest accident, is 18, and has been arrested for manslaughter and "hit and run" because immediately following the accident he got out of the car and ran away into a nearby field, trying to get away. Obviously he panicked. Panic is usually the first response of quite a few eighteen year olds, so this alone certainly should not condemn him. What the authorities do to him will be minor when compared to what his own psyche will do to him. He had four passengers, two girls and two boys. Three of those passengers died outright, and one of the girls is in critical condition. There's no word yet if he was driving under the influence.

This accident occurred at 8:30 in the morning, but that certainly does not eliminate the possibility of being impaired. It could have been that he was just simply going too fast for the conditions of the road. Isn't that one of the main driving rules? Could it have anything to do with the fact that the car was full of teenagers? Was he showing off? Was it a new car? Had he done this a hundred times before with no ill effects? Considering that three kids are now dead, does it really matter? Motor vehicle accidents remain the leading cause of death in youths from 16 to 20 years of age. What can be done? Stricter laws for teens? More hours of instruction? More emphasis on safety? Graphic films of accidents involving teen drivers? Will that make a difference? How many of us believe that any of the kids in that car on Saturday were thinking of the boys that died Halloween night, or last December? As I had mentioned when I last wrote, there are a few states that already have established laws to deal with teen drivers. However, since the laws are aimed at teens between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, the boy that was driving this past Saturday would not have been affected by those laws.

This is a small town. As a result tragedies like this always affect a lot of people. Therefore we will see another big story in the local newspaper. Our imported local columnist/romance novelist/color commentator will devote a column or two no doubt. We might even see the local city councils get involved with at least some commentary, if not a plaque, or proclamation of some sort. There's even a possibility that the Board of Supervisors will weigh in with their opinions. The television and newspaper reporters will probably interview the Chief of Police, along with some spokesman from the Motor Vehicles Department, perhaps even some teachers, all who will no doubt have have something important to say. Nearly everyone who's anybody or anyone who thinks they are, will have something to say. Like me, for example.

The problem with all of this is that no matter how well intentioned it is, it will not be enough. Words are simply words. Actions are needed. Something really big has to happen. Something significant that will have an impact on these young drivers. Something that will grab their attention and make them sit up and take note. Something really ugly. What happened Saturday is very ugly, but will it affect other young drivers? Will delaying their driving privileges be the answer? The nationwide movement to make Graduated Driver Licensing a law in every state is another possible solution. Is not getting their driver's license until they show a certain level of maturity the answer? While I understand that this might be difficult to measure, given the number of adults that have not yet become full fledged grownups, it is at least a thought worth entertaining.

Anyone who has ever spent time with teenagers knows that they go through a period of time when they cannot be told anything. They know it all. They're smarter than anyone else. They know what they're doing. Add to this, busy parents trying to make ends meet. Consequently, a lot of the teens that need to get the message, will not see it, nor will they hear it, at least not in the sense that it will have a lasting impact. Once the shock of a friend's death wears off, they will re-inhabit their bubble. They are after all, invincible. Weren't we all? Between the ages 14 to 16 they are trying to establish their independence while still very aware of their dependence. At times their attitudes suck and they seem impervious to any signs of parental control. They've not gone crazy, they're just teenagers being insufferable, which, if memory serves, is normal behavior for this age group. Reading James Windell's explanation should remind us all of how and why we were like this. The average teen will not realize that they didn't know it all until they get older, if they survive their driving. In order to get through to them, a message has to be dressed up in whatever appeals to them and the group they hang out with. High school kids are already dealing with so many pressures from every direction, that they will not respond to pussy footing around a subject. Something needs to grab their attention in a very big way. Teens live for driving privileges, so once again, will threatening this "rite of passage" be the answer?

Parents, teachers, school administrators, police, health care workers, and anyone else who wants to address this continuing problem in a positive manner, need significant input from the teenagers they are trying to reach. All of them. I don't mean just the National Honor Society students, or the "Stepford Children," I mean all of the students. Some adults need to get in touch with how they used to be at this age, and understand that these kids are not "Children of the Damned" or, "Children of the Corn". All kids can bring something positive to the discussion. Today's teens are very smart and much more sophisticated that we were. We might not like the attitudes they display, we might not like the language that they choose to express their opinions in, we might even detest how they dress, but all of these things are not at all significant in the scheme of things. We need to keep in mind what the real issue is: trying to keep kids educated enough so that they will remain safe behind the wheel, and alive long enough to finish growing up.

So how about beginning driver's education much earlier? It just might be that waiting for the high school years is already too late to begin the brainwashing. The sooner this education begins the better. Perhaps with more awareness, these children can grow into adulthood. This latest accident has robbed one local family of two sons. They join the sad circle of other families that have been equally devasted by this life altering tragedy. Eight dead teenagers in less than a year in our small area is totally unacceptable in a civilized society.

"It Is The Mark Of An Educated Mind To Entertain A Thought Without Accepting It."

2005-11-13T15:00:00.000-08:00

By Reenee, Santa Maria

Well, I must say, the break I took was well worth it. For creativity to flow unfettered when you need it, you must go some place...any place, to clear out all of the unnecessary stuff that clogs your already overworked and occasionally misfiring synapses. While trying to get in touch with my alpha waves I discovered that I have none; however, in my quest, I ran across an excellent book, that everyone should read. The title of the book says it all, but I do recommend reading it anyway. Living Successfully With Screwed Up People, by Elizabeth Brown. It won't change your life, nor will it solve all of your problems, but you might get a better insight into why people do what they do. More importantly, you might at least begin to understand why you do what you do. Give it a whirl, or not.

What compelled me to take my much needed break were two stories recently in the local news. One was my irritation at the coverage that the newspapers were giving to Santa Maria Judge, Diana Hall. Yes, she's a judge, and yes, some of us will hold her to a higher standard than perhaps we would a drug pusher, but we must also keep in mind that people make mistakes.

Some mistakes are bigger than others. Some people only make the headlines because of their position in the community. Each and every time that her current woes are reported on, there has to be a mention of the fact that it all began with a domestic disturbance. Actually, were it anyone else, the story would move on.

However, since it involved her "former live-in partner Deidra Dykeman" this must be mentioned as well. Is this as important as the subsequent events? Or is it there for titillation? I'll answer that, it's the latter. We're never given a chance to forget something about her personal life that really and truly is none of our business! What is it with the preoccupation of her lifestyle? How in the world is that going to affect anyone's life? I suggest moving on.

In any case, the formal proceeding Diana Hall faces is rare. According to today's story, the Commission on Judicial Performance received complaints on about 848 of the state's 1,610 judges in 2004. Interestingly enough, Diana Hall's case is the first to result in a hearing this year. Imagine that. Others that have followed this story have taken a decidedly different view, and implied that Judge Hall cannot get a fair trial in Santa Maria. That might be true, and considering the Michael Jackson fiasco, anything is possible. Hmm, perhaps if someone wanted to write a book...now there's a thought.

The other story was the heartbreaking waste of two young lives in Lompoc, in a horrific accident on October 31st. High school boys. One was 16, the other was 17, and the third, also aged 17 is still in very serious condition.

Only last December, Santa Maria lost three teenaged boys. In that accident, the dead were two 17 year olds and one 14 year old. A fourth, aged 16, survived. Why does this happen so often? Could it be that most teenagers believe that they're invincible? I know that they think they're smarter than everyone else, this is what makes them so insufferable for a while, at least I know I was. But indestructible?

Does this temporary "superiority complex" extend to their belief that nothing can ever happen to them? I never once thought this, but then I had a mother that had convinced me that she'd simply "take me out" if I got too big for my britches. I'd like to think that these deaths will in some way have a impact on how all other young drivers behave when behind the wheel of a car. Perhaps in the days that immediately follow a such tragedy of this magnitude, these kids do think about how short life can be. However, after the shock wears off, they'll be back to the "it won't happen to me, I'm too smart" mode.

You don't believe me? Drive around town before and after school hours. Or better yet, pay attention to who's driving beside you during the summer or weekends. I've been noticing that these young drivers also, many more times than I can count, seem to have a cell phone stuck in their ear. Will banning hand held cell phones help? Well, no, it won't. Wearing a headset won't eliminate the distraction, all it will do is get them to maybe put both hands on the steering wheel.

How about the ever present "need for speed"? There are several streets in Santa Maria that double as "speedways." It has been noted that "teenagers' perceptions of their own skills and those of the drivers around them contribute to their risky behavior. Drivers who believe they are highly skilled are less likely to properly evaluate a risky situation. Young drivers in particular are much more likely to overestimate their skills."

Whatever the cause of these accidents is, it's clear that something must be done. At present, 27 states have restrictions on teen drivers. Some would be viewed as harsher than others, by both parents and teens.

For example, in New Jersey, drivers under 18 years old can have no more than one passenger; teen passengers are not allowed in a car operated by a teen driver, and the curfew for teen drivers is midnight.

California has passed laws that will go into effect January 1, 2006 that many teens and parents will be grumbling about. Before they groan, grumble and write letters to the editors, they might want to go spend the day with the parents that lost their teenagers. This should prove more educational than anything else.

America: A Secular Or Christian Nation?

2005-10-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

By Reenee of Santa Maria.

In the increasingly bitter battle over separation of church and state, and what the Founding Fathers had in mind, we now have two sides pitted against each other in a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania courtroom.

A trial is taking place as we speak...er...blog, to determine who is right and who is wrong in the ongoing battle between Intelligent Design and Evolution. Yep, it's another battle over what can be taught in school.

Why does everything always have to come down to "I’m right, and you’re wrong?" Why can't we simply embrace our differences and celebrate them as we all dance around a Maypole? No? OK, sorry, I went to LalaLand for a moment.

Heathens vs God?

The eight outraged families that are suing the Dover Area School District in Harrisburg, maintain that the district policy in effect promotes the Christian's Bible view of creation, violating the constitutional separation of church and state. The rural school district of about 3,500 students argues it is not endorsing any religious view and is merely giving ninth-grade biology classes a glimpse of "differences" over evolution.

Well now, if they were really seriously offering a "well rounded" glimpse, wouldn't the school district also be teaching students about the Koran, or the Torah, or the Sacred Texts of Wicca and Neo-Paganism? What about the Vedas of Hinduism? Or, perhaps the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism? I could keep going, but why?

What A World It Would Be

I think we all know what would happen. People that never go to church, except to show off their "Easter Duds" would be arm in arm with those that think going to church is all they have to do to not only keep their ticket to Heaven valid, but to absolve their own weekly "misdeeds." People that truly believe and follow their own belief system's Golden Rule, will not be telling you that you're wrong.

Then there's the fear factor. Anything different than what we're used to or at least somewhat familiar with, is frightening to most people. Fear can overwhelm, paralyze, or cause odd and bizarre behavior.

Speaking of oddities, why you might ask, is this argument raging again? Well, despite what so many people believe about the founding of our nation, this country was founded as a secular republic by the Founding Fathers. Over the years, several factions have added to the original document and ideals.

Start At The Start

Let's look at the original motto. It was, "E Pluribus Unum," which means "one from many." However, 72 years later, in 1861, eleven Protestant denominations began their campaign to add references to God to everything they could think of. They finally got to the Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase and in 1863 he asked the Director of the U.S Mint to prepare "some suitable wording" to be used on some coins.

Ultimately, "In God We Trust" was chosen. My previous contribution here covered what the 1950's Congress did to the Pledge of Allegiance 165 years after the constitution was adopted, along with other references to God. For those of you interested, "In God We Trust" did not appear on currency until 1957.

Many Reasons Immigrants Came To America

People originally arrived on these shores looking for treasures or to claim more land for their governments. Others came for the fishing, trapping and trading opportunities. Still others, fleeing religious persecution all over Europe often ended up on this side of the Atlantic as well.

Certainly there were many reasons for arriving in America besides freedom from, or of, religion. From the first recorded sighting in 1000 to the 1791 finalization of the Constitution, many people of many different religions and cultures arrived, much to the consternation of some of the Native Americans. After the Revolutionary war ended in 1784, Congress got busy and by September of 1787, the final draft of the new Constitution was approved.

In 1789 Congress submitted 12 proposed constitutional amendments to the states for ratification. The first ten were be ratified and added to the Constitution in 1791 as the Bill of Rights.

Framers Specifically Wanted Separation

In the first Amendment, the Constitution clearly established that there was to be a separation of church and state. Since then some people have argued that because the words, "separation of church and state" do not appear in the constitution, it does not exist.

How about the phrases, "right to privacy" or "right to a fair trial"? They aren't in there either, so using that same argument, they also don't exist. I guess some people will cherry pick what they need in order to make their cases. The words that do exist are, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Apparently "no law" was not, nor has it proven to be, clear enough.

Others argue that the Constitution refers to Christianity and Jesus due to the fact that authors and signers of the Constitution relied upon a dating system which marks as its beginning the birth of the founder of Christianity. OK, how about the names of the months and days that have Pagan rather than Christian origins? This entire argument falls flat in the face of that contradiction. Even though some now argue that the Constitution somehow reflects fundamental Christian morals and principles, the Quakers were fit to be tied about how the authors of the Constitution showed "general disregard of" and "cold indifference towards religion."

Document Unlike Others At The Time

The Constitution is, in fact, unusually secular for the time when it was written. That this was very obvious to the people at the time can be seen in the fact that so many Christian preachers stood up and attacked it specifically because it lacked any overt protection or promotion of Christianity.

Arguments will continue to go on and on about what the Founding Fathers meant or implied or believed. From the people who say that widespread belief in God may contribute to the dysfunctions of a society, all the way to the other side where the Christian Right hang out with their assorted agendas. Extremism can be found on both sides of the argument.

None of this will be answered easily or to everyone's satisfaction. As long as we have people in high profile positions who do not really know the history of the Constitution and what the Founding Fathers meant, we will have people like Alberto Gonzales and George W. making statements based on their own misinterpretations. This will ultimately lead to further confusion.

Lenin once said, "A lie told often enough becomes the truth," and Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth." Confusing isn't it? So, agree or disagree, just go get your popcorn, because it's going to be an interesting battle.

The Next Big Fight

2005-09-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

By guest bloggette, Reenee of Santa Maria.
Check her blog: hastalosgatosquierenzapatos

Get ready folks! The next big fight looming on the horizon will be the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance. It has all the earmarks of yet another fight which will bring out the hubris of those in Congress who still reside in the 50s, among others.

The opposition will have "Those Godless Creatures!" who will stop at nothing to destroy the "American Family." You know, the Liberals. Forget poverty, the disenfranchised, unemployment, women's personal rights, child abuse or the more important issues like "hand to mouth" survival.

It'll be the debate about the pledge that will pit the talking heads against each other. I can see it now: Faith! God! Country!

Facts For Your Consideration

Here are facts and links. You decide, and then if you want, be like Mark Twain who said, "Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please."

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892, by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister and a Socialist. It was first published in the children's magazine, Youth's Companion in 1892 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' arrival. He initially wanted to add the word "equality," but since women and blacks were not yet equal, he didn't. Some might argue that they still aren't.

The original pledge was:
"I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

First Change To The Pledge

In 1924, the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution, at the National Flag Conference, changed the words "my flag" to "the flag of the United States," much to Bellamy's dismay. When he protested, he was ignored; after all, he was only the author. The following year they added the words, "of America."

For the next thirty years, the pledge was recited as:
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

During the 1950's the nation was suffering the drizzles as a result of the cold war and the McCarthy communist witch hunts. In 1953 the Knights of Columbus, mounted a campaign to add the words, "under God." As a knee jerk reaction to the fear of "Godless" Communists, Congress added them to the otherwise secular pledge, and in 1954 it became official. (In the 1950's the federal government's mottos changed as well.)

Second Change To The Pledge

The pledge now was both a patriotic oath and a public prayer. When Eisenhower signed it into law he said, "From this day forward, the millions of our schoolchildren will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty." Bellamy's granddaughter said he would have resented this second change as well.

Now the pledge was:
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic, for which it stands; one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

This country was founded as a secular republic. The U.S. Constitution was first drafted in 1787 in Philadelphia by the Constitutional Convention of the new American republic and was officially adopted in 1789. The first amendment is very clear. It begins with, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." How can that be misconstrued?

America's Founding Misconstrued?

The pledge didn't show up until 103 years later and was quite innocuous, yet some people believe this nation was "founded under God." These are educated people too. But then, look at how George Bush Sr. responded to this question from a reporter for the American Atheist news journal, while campaigning for the presidency in 1987:

Q: "Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are Atheists?"
A: "No, I don't know that Atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."

Yep, that's what I like to see in any candidate, compassion, tolerance, a good grasp of the history of this country and the understanding of separation of church and state.

What Does Religious Tolerance Mean To You?

To me, religious tolerance means extending religious freedom to people of all religions, even though you sincerely disagree with their beliefs and practices. Religious freedom means that you can believe, worship and witness as you wish; and join with others to express your beliefs.

Was this ignored in the 50s? Yes, due in part out of fear of Communism. As for today, I've not seen too much tolerance in the country lately. It's "my way or the highway" for certain factions, which gives weight to what Friedrich Nietzsche said, "The Christian resolution to find the world ugly and bad has made the world ugly and bad."

The Constitutional Issue Is Not Settled

Since the courts are not filled up enough with polarizing cases, we're going to see a rerun of the Pledge of Allegiance Debate. The same attorney that filed a lawsuit back in 2002 to prevent his child from reciting it is at it again. If you recall, the Supremes weaseled out of having to rule on the issue by saying that this man "had no standing" since he did not have custody of his daughter.

OK, fine. Now he's filed on behalf of three other kids and their parents. Tenacious little guy, ain't he? Prepare for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to weigh in as well. After all, his comment was, "The high court affirmed time and again that such official acknowledgments of our nation's religious heritage, foundation and character are constitutional."

Oh yeah, don't tell me I’ll burn in Hell; I don't believe in it. --Reenee

It Ain't Over Till It's Over

2005-09-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

As I was reading the newspaper last week, I came to a screeching halt when I choked on my coffee over the story about the "Reluctant Aquitter." It seems that Jackson juror, Ray Hultman and his wife, are suing to get out of the "after-the-verdict-book-deal." Am I guessing correctly that the missus is also a plaintiff due to the community property rules in this state?

Anyway, this juror is claiming that they were misled by the publisher's representatives and that their "simplicity, naiveté, overly trusting natures, lack of sophistication and inexperience" was the reason they were duped. Excuse me, but aren't those the very attributes that the attorneys want in a juror? Well, OK, defense attorneys anyway.

Immediately after the verdict, both jurors and alternates, 19 in all, gave a press conference where they were all waxing nostalgic about "life long friendships, how close they got, how they'd stay in touch, etc, etc." At this press conference Mr. Hultman said that he and two others didn't initially share the opinion that Jackson was innocent, but the majority eventually convinced the three that the evidence wasn't strong enough to convict. Everyone was slap happy and fancy free.

Then by the time August rolled around, Mr. Hultman gave another interview, this time with with fellow juror Eleanor Cook, where they both whined about being pressured to acquit. This of course came hand in hand with their announcement to write books about the trial, most especially about being bullied. They said in the interview that they believed that Jackson was guilty, but were "railroaded into acquitting him." Mr. Hultman then went on to say that he felt that the other panelists were not educated enough, so he went along with them knowing he'd never be able to convince them that Jackson was guilty. Ouch. Think Roy is off their Christmas card lists?

Interestingly enough, while researching for this article I found a news story dated June 07, 2005 that Mrs. Cook's granddaughter had been talking to the Associated Press about how her grandmother, talked about wanting to write a book about her jury duty experience, back in February when she was first chosen. She also mentioned the possibility of being on 60 Minutes and the Oprah Winfrey Show. Huh?

There was no way to tell how it would play out as this trial progressed. The Santa Maria Times columnist/romance novelist, Steve Corbett was always writing about jurors behaving badly, or jurors talking to other people about the case during the trial or some other colorful issue, while the "Hang 'Em High" anchors on Court TV were discussing detailed plans on how they were going to draw and quarter Jackson. once he was convicted. The only thing that ever changed was the number of helicopters hovering.

According to Robert Frost, " A jury is a group of 12 people, who, having lied to the judge about their health, hearing, and business engagements, have failed to fool him." Since the extremely organized no-nonsense Rodney Melville presided over the Michael Jackson jury selection, I'd say that's probably a fair statement, since they were chosen so quickly. Judge Melville is an excellent jurist. He's definitely raised the bar, whereas countless others like Lance Ito have done everything they could to lower it, and in some instances, bury it, while becoming a joke. I often wonder why we've been so very lucky to have him in Santa Maria, but i'll be quiet about it so as not to jinx it.

However, once the trial was came to an end, I found that H.L. Mencken's quote, "A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer" was much more appropriate. Since I might be one of the three people in all of Santa Maria that stayed away from the court house, I never saw Thomas Mesereau in action, but after seeing him and his flowing silver locks coming and going on Court TV, I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that he out maneuvered Thomas Sneddon, since his team won.

Andy Warhol said that in the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes. My guess is that Mrs. Cook and Mr. Hultman want more time and money to boot. This puts a whole new spin on "doing your civic duty." --reenee

How Long Did You Wait In Santa Maria Today?

2005-09-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

By guest bloggette, Reenee of Santa Maria.
Check her blog: hastalosgatosquierenzapatos

Back in the day when doctors were considered Gods, people were required to endure interminable hours in waiting rooms, sitting next to someone who was coughing, hacking and sharing their virus-ridden breath with everyone within a 20 foot range. But enough about yesterday.

(Photo: Virginia Commonwealth University)

There are some little known alternatives to this ugly scenario. There are success stories everywhere about some doctors' offices telling a patient to come in the same day that they call.

No, this is not a cruel joke, it’s really happening out there. Apparently this is happening in different parts of the country, much to the delight of both the doctors and the patients.

What Does A Long Line Of Patients Signify?

For these patients, gone are the days when being booked for months in advance meant "the doctors must be good." There are several ways doctors' offices can achieve what is being referred to as "Advanced Access". Simply put, this means that if somebody wants an appointment, you offer them an appointment today, and not just because they're on death's door.

According to those that have done this, it's not that difficult to implement. It's time consuming and frustrating at its inception, therefore doctors resist it. Among others, the main reason for this resistance is that a completely booked schedule, at times months in advance, translates into guaranteed income. This works as long as the patient remembers he even had an appointment that day.

Then of course, since most doctor's offices are abuzz with more people behind the window than in the waiting room, they're happy with this method as well. However, when the patients that have already waited for what can seem like months when they're sick, have to wait hours cooling their heels in the waiting rooms, not to mention sucking in microbes of every variety, it's not a good thing.

Looking For Advanced Access In Santa Maria

Advanced Access was originally put into practice in managed care environments, but these innovators worked with organizations throughout the United States, Canada and Europe testing and refining their principles. They discovered that same day appointments work equally as well, if not better, in "fee-for-service environments."

In an effort to discover if Advanced Access was being practiced here in Santa Maria, I called several doctor's offices at random. The answer I got most often, after the laughter stopped was, "Our practice is so full that new patients can often wait as much as six to eight weeks to be seen." Followed by, "We keep a few slots open for emergencies in between our follow-up patients" and "if the person only has a wart to remove, then they can wait."

I know that in some if not all doctor's offices, you are a new patient if you have not seen him/her in at least a year. You'd better hope that during that six to eight week wait, whatever it was that made you call to see that particular doctor, doesn't fall off. If you're the patient that has the wart, you'd better hope it doesn't get bigger, develop a life of its own and talk to you.

Anyway, as I continued my research trying to find a doctor in Santa Maria that practiced "same day care," I was told, among other things that I was "nuts," "dreaming," "not thinking clearly," "out of my mind," "had clearly never worked for a doctor," and "didn't understand the need to generate surgeries."

My personal all-time favorite was that I "was so far out there that I needed ropes and a compass to get back to reality."

OK, I'll admit, I'm pretty much "off center." I would put more thought into the other accusations, but right now I'm on my way to find a compass and some ropes as I've not been near reality for quite some time now. --Reenee

Do STAR Tests Tell Us Who Teaches Well?

2005-08-25T00:37:00.000-07:00

by guest blogger, Dr. Andrew Millar, Clinical Psychologist, Santa Maria. See more archived published articles, PsychologyCenter Blog

As a newspaper columnist on psychology, I focus on questions that might be of interest to Central Coast readers. Some of my articles take significant research and consideration before they are ready for publication. Other articles don't seem as though they will work for the column. I plan to use this forum to work out ideas, get feedback for additional points of view and find out what issues might be of most interest to people locally. Please write: Dr. Andrew Millar at gmail.com

Today I'm working on an idea about the problems with applying the results of school-based standardized testing to make decisions about schools and the careers of educators.

These are achievement tests, assessing what students know. I know of no research that supports the use of these test results for political and administrative decisions.

The STAR Test Defined

After a few years of controversy and changes, the current version of this testing program in California is STAR, for Standardized Testing And Reporting. The news has reported how teachers throughout the country are motivated to teach about how to take tests well, which sacrifices time and energy they might otherwise use to teach academic subjects. Some have even cheated by giving students test answers and correcting answer sheets before the tests are submitted for scoring.

There are incentives for good outcomes, including bonus money. There are consequences for low-level outcomes, including probation status for schools and possible job termination for teachers and principals.

Psychologists are well-trained in developing, using and interpreting standardized testing. I believe that testing can provide useful information. I have no quarrel with a well-designed test.

Can A Test Measure A Teacher's Ability?

The problem is that the tests are not necessarily good indicators of teacher ability and school adequacy. They measure student knowledge, but student knowledge is influenced by more than just teacher and school performance. Some students know more about some subjects because of things they have learned at home.

The most prominent example are the results of tests of ability in language. I can do well in English tests, largely because I learned English from my family. I would fail any test of Spanish, French, Hmong or any other language.

What the standardized tests showed in past years is that some parts of the county have a higher proportion of native English speakers in the schools.

We don't need the expense of statewide testing to find that out.

What We Really Need To Do

We also don't need to sanction teachers for teaching at schools where the students don't have the extracurricular advantages that will give them an edge on tests.

I know that we can use tests to tell how individual students and groups of students compare on abilities. We can use the results to guide decisions about academic abilities and needs for improvement. We can decide where to place community resources so that students have the best chance for success.

It is up to the school system to prove that rewarding and punishing teachers and schools for students' test performance will benefit society. It would be best that they conduct the necessary experiments on small samples of students and teachers before they make the entire academic population the subjects of a state- and nation-wide experiment, because they might be wrong.

Their being wrong will cost us all time, money, opportunities and possibly the expertise of good educators who might stop teaching after being punished for something over which they have no real control.

Subdivisions, Narrow Streets and Race Tracks

2005-08-22T14:54:00.000-07:00

by Reenee,
from Santa Maria, who holds forth on her blog:
hastalosgatosquierenzapatos

Has anyone else noticed how subdivisions in Santa Maria have changed over the years? Surely I am not the only one who has noticed that the streets are getting narrower?

According to my mother who also happens to be my chief historian, the first subdivision built in Santa Maria is the area north of West Alvin Street and west of North Broadway, in the early 50's. There is always the possibility that she might be incorrect, but way back when I was a tiny little blogger, I learned to never question her memory.

However, we do have home movies to prove that just past the 500 block of West McElhenny Street there were acres and acres of agricultural fields, as far as the eye could see. So she might be right.

Also on one of these antique 8mm rolls of film, George Hobbs can be seen waving to the camera as he delivers mail long before he went on to fame and fortune as Mayor of the town that had the "Mexican problem." (As provocative as that little nugget is that led to a lawsuit, it's a different rant for another day.)

Back To Narrow Streets

Some of these older subdivisions have streets almost as wide as the ones that border the block I live on. The two streets that intersect on my corner have four lanes each. The one street that runs east and west has no stop signs for seven long blocks, before it curves to the north turning into Railroad Street.

There are no sudden dips or pesky bumps anywhere to obstruct the many race car drivers that frequent the area. There are a few other streets this wide found in other older parts of town, but they have stop signs. You'll recognize these sections of town easily, it's where the houses don't look like they all came from the same mold.

Wide Streets, More Cars

Having wider streets is a very good thing since there always seems to be a thousand cars parked along every inch of curb no matter where you go. Also, the older areas have alleys down the middle of the block, these alleys are curiously all in the East/West direction. Once I find out the reason for this I’ll report it here.

Getting back to the subdivisions, they have blocks that have no alleys. Why is that by the way? Subdivisions that have been built most recently have the narrowest streets in town, lanes really. Also, some of the streets dead-end without rhyme or reason and you have to try to find your way around hoping you're going in the right direction to avoid driving around in circles.

Mice scurrying around in a maze comes to mind here. Considering the ever increasing cost of these homes, I can guess why the builders want narrow streets with no alleys. Yes, you got it, more houses! Consequently, these houses are so very close together that in some areas, people could share breakfast and the morning newspaper by merely leaning out of their windows.

New Neighborhoods, Small Streets

The biggest problem with these narrower streets is that they can barely accommodate two cars going in the opposite direction, so you imagine what happens when cars line every inch of the curbs. Yes, it turns into a stand off, both drivers squinting at each other to see who's going to go first.

You can almost hear the theme from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" as each driver wonders who will blink first. Sometimes it's a game of chicken to see who can beat who and save ten seconds. It's pretty much the same game at stop signs.

The next time I renew my driver's license I'm going to have to read the manual thoroughly this time so I can find the section that says, "Two vehicles at a time can proceed after coming to a stop, instead of just the first vehicle." It's probably in the same section that states, "A driver can roll through a stop sign if the oncoming traffic is moving too slow for them, or if there is no traffic."

I’ll need to highlight it and keep it in my car to show the traffic officer that stops me the next time I roll through an intersection simply because I didn't see any cars, or him. I'm certain I’ll also find the section that says, "Any city street that has two lanes going in each direction for several blocks can be used as a racetrack at any hour of the day, rain or shine. We recommend Fesler Street for this activity." As I sit here typing, I can hear racing going on. (But, I digress.)

I know that the influx of cars in Santa Maria is due to many reasons, not least of which is that every single human being over the age of sixteen simply has to have a car. I know that when I was sixteen I had to have one. I didn't get one of course, but I still felt I had to have one.

Why So Many Cars?

One of the lesser acknowledged reasons, is that several houses around town have several families living in them. All of these families come with several cars and when their owners run out of room in their driveways and lawns, they park in the streets. They always seem to save the spots on the corners for either the large vans or huge pickups, so that the drivers of standard sized cars have to inch out into the middle of the street at the intersections to see if the coast is clear before proceeding.

Hint: If a car is bearing down on you at that point, the coast was not clear. My Aunt found this out...twice. Another favored spot for these huge vehicles is next to driveways. Due to the fact that my driveway empties into a four lane street (race track), it can take me up to five minutes or more to back my car out since there is always a huge pickup parked next to my driveway that blocks my view.

The upside to this is that it's good exercise. I back up my car a few feet, then I put it in "park" jump out, run into the street to see if anyone is coming, then jump back into my car and back out a little bit more. I repeat this process until I'm out of my driveway. This gets ugly in a rainstorm due to the umbrella action.

I once asked the neighbor that drives this huge pickup if he could park it in his driveway instead to prevent this obstruction, but he told me that he prefers to park in the street. He went on to tell me that backing out of the driveway was too time consuming for him. As I was enjoying this knee slapper, he told me that if I'm so concerned I should get a "taller car."

Had he not then bid me adieu and firmly closed the door, I’d have explained the "good neighbor policy" of our All-American City.

Good 'Ol Networking Requirements

2005-08-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

(Note: this is part two of a two part contribution from Santa Maria blogger "Reenee" in an occasional series of items from North Santa Barbara County residents.)

by Reenee,
from Santa Maria, who holds forth on her blog:
hastalosgatosquierenzapatos

This brings me to the reputed "good ol' boy network". Now that was a good segue, if I do say so myself. Ah yes, what a deal! Getting appointed to a city council seat will lead to being appointed Mayor. Why campaign?

When our previously elected Mayor ran for and won a seat as a County Supervisor, he declined the invitation to step down as mayor, thereby ensuring that the next mayor would be appointed.

Conspiracy Theories In Santa Maria?

Now, if I were a rabid conspiracy buff I’d imagine all sorts of little coffee klatches going on behind the scenes. Heated little discussions and debates, surreptitious little meetings, busy little footsteps running back and forth ignoring the loud outcry several residents demanding to have the choice of electing a mayor.

The majority of the residents were busy trying to make a living blissfully unaware of the goings on, which is something that the movers and shakers count on by the way. Palace intrigue can be highly entertaining, as long as it's not directed at you.

The GOB Networks Are Everywhere

In any event, there are "good ol' boy networks" everywhere in this town. If someone doesn't play by the established "rules" or looks a certain way, or behaves a certain way or knows someone who knows someone else, it will never matter how good they are at their job. The ax will fall, heads will roll and people's names will be sullied.

Yes, politics! It starts in the playgrounds with finger pointing and whispering, and it never really goes away.

I will end my rants with these words attributed to the 19^th century English publisher, Ernest Benn: "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies."

(email contributions are welcome; send to the address at the top of the next column.)

Where Did The Name "Mission County" Come From?

2005-08-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

(Note: this is part one of a two part contribution from Santa Maria blogger "Reenee" in an occasional series of items from North Santa Barbara County residents.)

by Reenee,
from Santa Maria, who holds forth on her blog: hastalosgatosquierenzapatos

Because I get so very cranky about things that I see happening in this town, I decided to share on this blog. I have been described by some family and friends as a very liberal conservative. Others simply call me a wacko and dismiss my rants as they walk away from me with their hair standing on end.

My response to these accusations and compliments is a hearty thank you! You noticed! As my mother once told me, "If they are talking about you, you're important to them."

Now I’d like to opine on a couple of subjects. First, I want to expound on the county split.

The County Split: Who Benefits?

No, let me back up a bit further. Whose idea was it to come up with the name "Mission County?" Was there a vote? When? Where? Did I not get the memo? The name of the proposed new county is almost as dumb as the idea. Whose brain-child was this?

I seem to remember some grumblings over the county supervisors a while back, but is that still a valid complaint? After all, there are new faces on the board. Are "we" still not represented fairly in the north part of the county? Does it mean that "we" are still not getting our way?

I think that I'd probably be all for the split if I was one of those developers or construction companies who will make out like fat rats at the landfill when the need for new county buildings arise. However, being a lowly taxpayer, I'm simply not looking forward to more taxes to make up for the astronomical debt we'd start out with.

Are the county split proponents aware of who is using most of the county services that are paid with funds that are generated chiefly by the south county? I’ll tell them. Santa Maria is!

Santa Maria Home Sales Booming

Are they paying attention to who is buying all the houses around here? A news story in the Santa Barbara News Press in June of 2004 told us that "nearly 1,000 homes had been built in the past year in Santa Maria, and another 2,400 are under review--more new housing than anywhere else in the county."

The article continues, "but they are primarily market-rate homes selling for at least $400,000; and middle-class couples of all ethnicities who work in Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo are snapping them up." And, "according to the city, fully two-thirds of the local work force earns less than $18,000 per year."

Let's look at the industries in this valley. The major employers in the Santa Maria area include agriculture and Vandenberg Air Force Base. Given this data, I doubt that the two-thirds mentioned above are buying any of those houses. There was a story not too long ago about the high number of people that live here and work in the Santa Barbara area, I cannot remember the exact percentage, but it was ugly.

The Future of Santa Maria

This all reminds me of what one of our appointed city council members said, "We don't want Santa Maria to become a bedroom community." OK, let me get my "Duh" stick. Hello! This had been happening for years before this profound statement and is obviously still happening. I'm not sure acute awareness is a prerequisite to be elected to the city council.

Oh wait! This council member was appointed!

(part two from Renee appears here on Sunday.)