We, the people of California, elected Jerry Brown governor to get our state back into sound fiscal condition. The governor’s proposed budget calls for cuts, sacrifices and an extension of existing taxes.

I hate to see the cuts in services to the old, young, and poor. Unavoidably, we must all share the burden in returning California to economic health. Overall, Gov. Brown’s economic program
seems reasonable.

The governor has proposed a special election for his budget. Our Republican Party elected officials do not seem to get the message. They can only say “no.” This is unfortunate.

As a small-business owner, the last thing I want to see is more taxes. Brown has proposed extending existing taxes for five years. Extending existing taxes would be preferable to a meltdown of California’s economy, which would be much more expensive and would disrupt business, costing Californians much more in the long run.

Let’s give Gov. Brown our support and a chance to get California on solid, fiscal ground. The governor has shown a willingness to negotiate and compromise. We need our California State Assembly members and state senators to step up and do the same. Drop the political rhetoric, and make the compromises necessary to get California’s economy prospering again.

James Lex Bufford,
Madera County Democratic Central Committee

It is my opinion our Madera mayor is not serving the people of Madera. He is not getting involved in the decision making of the community as he was elected to do.

What has he done about which route will be selected for the high-speed rail, other than stand in the background and wait for something to happen. He was elected to take charge, not wait to
be contacted.

The high-speed rail, if it ever happens, will go through Madera
County, no doubt. So why don’t all entities of Madera unite as one
body — instead of dividing — and select one route?

The other thing that was brought up: some don’t realize that railroads and highways are built next to towns and communities, not the other way around.

The City of Madera was split before the freeway went in and continues to be divided. The railroad does not split the city, people do.

Madera South High was bad planning, so don’t blame the traffic on the freeway. Where was the mayor during that planning?

Also editor Doud must have been at a different meeting than I, because all I heard was mostly farmers from Fresno, Kern, Kings and Merced counties say, “Not in my back yard.” Doesn’t he think light rail lines will displace farms? He further implies getting 1,200 jobs is not a big thing; after all, these are mostly highly technical in nature. What? Do we not have technical people in Madera?

Let’s all get together, form one committee and select a route. Maybe it’s not too late to get the maintenance yard also. Did anyone see the price farmland has taken? Maybe, if they stall long enough, they will get a better price.

Cesar Correa,
Madera

All comments are edited for length and content. Because of content and space limitations some comments may not be published. More than one comment from the same person in the same week will normally not be published. Please keep your calls to two minutes or less.

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After “reading in the paper portions of that book about the Chowchilla kidnapping,” began a woman who then had this to say. “What if the kidnappers were released and commit the crime again? Then it could be your grandchildren or great grandchildren. Would you be so quick to approve the kidnappers release?”

A man “wanted to comment more on the Chowchilla kidnappers. If you do a little bit of math you’ll figure out each kidnapper has spent only one and a third years for each of the victims. They need to spend about 30 years for each of the victims.”

A man and “third generation Mexican,” said, “I am sick of all the illegals’, job taking, underbidding, non-English speaking law breakers. These border brothers need to be stopped. I will hit the ground running and expose the companies that hire illegals. I am fed up. Are you? I look forward to your comments on this subject.”

A man commented “on the letter by Sam Pistoresi. He is 199 percent right. He understands the burdens put on taxpayers. Stop it all.”

A man agreed with last week’s Red Line. “They should put a cop on Yosemite and Tozer, along Raymond Road, on every road, to keep these illegal aliens from tailgating. They don’t know the law.”

A female and regular caller said, “People in America, everyone needs to get up and go against our government to not give Japan any money for their children and people. Remember the war between America and Japan. They were mean, brutal, and ugly and vicious. We can be an ally with them, but we don’t have to give them money. I’m a white female without any money. I might have a can of beans, or corn. I have no milk. I have nothing to feed my family. People of America lets take care of each other first.”

The caller later said, “I hope those people in Japan make it. But I want everyone to remember the war.”

Several callers were against a nuclear plant being built nearby. “I read in today’s paper,” began a lady. “The Board of Supervisors supported this developer who wants to put a nuclear plant in Fresno County or Madera County, I’m not too sure.” She didn’t support the supervisors and said, “They are talking about using gray water and giving it to the farmers to use. What if, someday, we are growing almonds that glow? Or in 20 years our great grandchildren are all getting cancer? Their decision is not realistic. I’m totally against any nuclear facility anywhere in California.”

Another man said about the nuclear plant, “It’s a bad idea. Real bad. We have been told to expect a big earthquake here. Also, it’s not clean energy at all. We’re dealing with uranium and radiation. Solar and wind, that’s clean energy. It could harm our water supply, or a meltdown. It’s just not worth it.”

A woman responded “to the person who said people at Walmart should get real jobs.” This week’s caller said, “Let me tell you, as an unemployed teacher with a master’s degree any job is a real job. Whether it’s working nights, harvesting crops, it’s a real job.”

A regular caller asked, “what did Chernobyl, the tsunami in Japan and agent orange infestation in Vietnam, Korea and Colombia have in common? Massive government coverups of serious problems. The Japanese thing is just another serious problem. Wake up America you’re not getting the truth anywhere.”

“I can’t agree more with the headlines in the paper today,” began a lady. “Stop the train. We do not need high speed rail going through our area to get rid of all our farms that so many farmers have passed down from generation to generation. Why don’t they take the money and make Highway 99 three or four lanes? Californians like to drive. They don’t need this d-mn high-speed rail. Stop the train.”

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Thank you for your calls. Remember the Red Line is open for your messages 24 hours a day by calling 674-4478, or by accessing maderatribuneredline.com on the World Wide Web.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

I’m beginning to believe there may be very little that dogs can’t do — that is, unless it requires opposable thumbs.

News has just come in that there now are certified, bedbug-sniffing dogs. Presumably, these dogs can sniff out bedbugs, but it doesn’t say what happens next. Do these dogs bark at the bedbugs to make them go away? Do they dig at the bedbugs? Do they eat them?

Or do they tell their humans: “Okay, I’ve done the difficult work, here are the bugs, now you get rid of them with your opposable thumbs.”

I saw a photo of the bedbug dog, and it looks like a beagle I used to have. Are they all beagles? I’m not sure mine ever was any good at sniffing out bedbugs. I do recall what it was good at, however: barking. It would bark at anything — larger dogs, butterflies, cats (of course), cars, and people. It would bark at me.

It also had a habit of running away, so I spent a lot of time walking around the neighborhood looking for him. “Here, Captain,” I would call (for that was his name), to generally no avail. Then, later that day, a neighbor would bring him back.

“Isn’t this your dog?” the neighbor would ask. I would admit it was. “It’s sure a cute little dog. If you ever decide you don’t want
him, let me know.”

So, one day, I said, “Captain and I are tired of each other. Go ahead and take him,” and she did. In a week or two, however, I opened the front door to go onto the porch, and there was Captain. Perhaps he had spotted some bedbugs and wanted to tell me.

I sat down on the porch and petted the dog, and soon the neighbor lady came along, shouting, “Here, Captain.” I called her over. “He likes to run away, doesn’t he?” she asked. She didn’t want to take him back, but I talked her into it.

There’s a good chance she’s never had bedbugs since.

A big thank you to Madera South High School for hosting the annual Madera Showcase.

It was wonderful to see all the junior and high schools perform percussion and color guard. We truly have some talented individuals out there.

A bigger thank you to all the coaches and teachers who made
this happen. Good luck at the championships at Clovis North. Bring
home some awards.

Amy Roberts,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

My computer uses a battery-powered cordless mouse, which most of the time works pretty well. Its advantage is that it doesn’t have a cord that gets tangled up with other stuff on the desk.

But it has one big disadvantage, which is that when its batteries run down, that’s that.

It flashes a little message on the computer screen that says “Mouse batteries running low,” and when you see that, you know you don’t have much time left. It doesn’t do any good to shake the mouse, or to change out just one battery. You have to put two fresh batteries into the mouse before you can continue working.

What makes it frustrating is you happen to have run out of batteries. When that happens, you are walking all around the office, trying to borrow batterries from colleagues, who all give you the gimlet eye and swear they have no AA batteries, even though their drawers may be stuffed with them.

The answer, of course, is to buy rechargeable batteries, and keep a recharged set handy. I keep thinking I am going to do that, but I don’t. As soon as I get the mouse running again, my mind shifts immediately to what I’m going to have for lunch.

You are being served all this information because it reminds me of why I think plug-in electric cars are unlikely to sell as well as hybrids or gasoline-only powered cars any time soon. They have been making battery-driven electric vehicles since 1832, and they haven’t quite caught on. When the batteries run down, you’re stuck.

Even though the new ones are very nice, and I applaud the manufacturers for making them, they have rather limited use — mainly as vehicles in which to run around town. That is something we all need, a nice little 30-mile range runabout that we can plug in and recharge overnight. But gasoline-powered or hybrid cars will rule the road for a long time to come.

It is interesting to see this new addition to The Madera Tribune, “Got Hope?” It reminds me of a small town in northern Arizona called Hope.

As we drove through town we saw a sign just outside the city limits that states, “You Are Now Beyond Hope.” On the way back to California, on the other side of Hope, Ariz., the same sign, with the same message, gives pause to consider the meaning of how we can all have hope.

The best of wishes to the folks who are undertaking this endeavor of hope.

The “Editor’s Corner” today has another important message — about nuclear energy. We all need to ponder and study both of these (messages) and be involved in what is best for America.

Audrey Poole,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

The death of actress Elizabeth Taylor on Wednesday reminds me of something I heard on the radio the same day. A fellow was reminiscing about having seen one of her first films, “National Velvet.”

“At the end of the movie, everybody stood up and cheered,” he said. “Nobody cheers in movies anymore. I think that is kind of sad.”

He was right. Happy endings that bring people to their feet clapping and cheering haven’t been in vogue in the movies for many years.

I remember college writing instructors who told their stuudents that happy endings should not be on any of their stories. “Those are Blarney,” said one of those teachers in whose class I toiled. He never smiled, and chain-smoked through his lectures. He was a
fairly nice guy, but would downgrade a happy ending faster than Elizabeth Taylor slapped Richard Burton in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia
Woolf?”

Some movies still have happy endings. “Sleepless in Seattle,” with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, was a happy ender, and is still a popular film, even after 22 years. It is lighthearted and rare. No murders, car chases or explosions.

Happy endings are good because they make their audiences happy, too, if only for a little while. For a lot of people, happiiness is hard to come by, and these folks shouldn’t be denied a chance to soak up a little pleasure from a happy-ending film or book.

A wise person once said that happiness isn’t so much having what you want, but wanting what you have. Elizabeth Taylor may have found that to be true. She was wealthy, beautiful and adored
by her fans. She got married eight times. No doubt, she had a lot. But as she aged, she gave more than she got, both in money and friendship. Perhaps that helped make her ending happy, too.

In the years I’ve spent as a licensed psychiatric technician, youth family advocate and as a board member on the Madera Unified School District, I’ve come to work every day with one overriding goal: Protecting and investing in our kids.

The nation’s catastrophic economic meltdown has made this job much harder. It has devastated many area businesses and the families whose jobs depend on them, and sharply reduced revenues just when more families with children need help with basic needs like food and shelter.

And there’s more pain coming as a result of the state’s budget crisis. It’s a frustrating situation for all of us who want to keep
kids out of poverty and invest in their future.

But if we come together, Republican and Democrat, we can make the best of this bad situation, get California through this crisis, and preserve the services that keep our kids healthy and safe.

The governor’s budget recognizes that we can’t put off the tough choices any longer; years of delay coming out of a divided Capitol in Sacramento have only made the problems worse. The only way to fix this mess is through a balanced approach, with Democrats compromising on program cuts and Republicans compromising on taxes.

Already we are far beyond trimming the fat from programs. You don’t have to look far around Madera to see the impacts on our communities. Libraries shuttered. Fewer sheriff’s deputies on the beat. Long lines for food assistance. Additional reductions will be painful and we must work to minimize the damage.

With $18 billion in reductions schools have endured over the last three years, we have seen larger class sizes, fewer support services, cuts to transportation and programs like music, arts, and athletics. Gov. Brown’s budget wisely spares classrooms from more cuts, but schools won’t be protected if California voters don’t vote in June to maintain existing tax revenues that are set to expire. In fact, if these tax extensions don’t pass, Madera Unified School District stands to lose over $6 million per year.

This is equivalent to the school district’s entire transportation
budget.

Voters deserve a chance to weigh in and be part of the decision: For me, the choice is clear. If we reject maintaining existing
taxes in June, the cuts will be twice as large. Making deeper
cuts to the K-12 education is like a farmer eating his seed corn. Education is the key to our children’s future and to our state’s ability to compete economically.

Many Valley families have been tightening their belts in recent years, and we need to learn from them: Make painful choices, but always put our children first. Just like these families, there’s no way for us as a state to avoid making choices. For example, I admire a lot of the work of Redevelopment Agencies around the state, including here in Madera, but our children have to come ahead of these 435 agencies, which are not accountable to us and which drain billions of dollars a year from schools with no proven effect on overall job growth.

Finally, Brown’s budget works to repair the state-county relationship that has been fractured over the years and has jeopardized local services, including services for children, with red
tape and unfunded mandates. Moving control over these services to the local level will streamline government, bring it closer to the people it serves, and preserve vital public services from more cuts that imperil our kids.

Whatever your political beliefs, I hope we can all agree that protecting our children and investing in their future ought to be the top priority. That’s why I urge support of Gov. Brown’s proposed budget. It’s not about us. It’s about the kids.

Lynn Cogdill, member,
Madera Unified School District Board of Trustees

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

Some folks say, and I agree with them, that repairing the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami may be good for the Japanese economy. Why shouldn’t it be? Repairing damage from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake certainly worked for that city.

After that quake, 225,000 of San Francisco’s 400,000 residents were homeless. You would have thought they would have gone as far from that hell-like scene as quickly as they could. But no, most of them stayed. In the first 19 months after the quake, San Francisco spent some $90 million on reconstruction. That’s about $2.2 billion in today’s money.

The Japanese aren’t poor people, and they certainly aren’t stupid. Once the rubble is cleared, and a period of mourning has passed, they will begin to rebuild most of the cities that were destroyed, and the results of their energies will be astounding. Naturally, they will make changes. More thought will be given to making their new cities less vulnerable to quakeand-tsunami disasters. Better safety measures will be incorporated into their nuclear reactors.

All that planning and building will create prosperity for Japan, because it will put a lot of people to work and add a lot of new value.

In 1989, another savage quake hit San Francisco and destroyed the Bay Bridge. That structure is still being rebuilt. Some $7 billion has been spent on it so far. In the United States, cities that have been hit by disasters, such as quakes, hurricanes and floods, have rebuilt themselves, or are in the process of doing so. Rebuilding promotes economic activity, and usually results in something new to attract future generations of visitors and residents.

Most people are inclined to stay and build in areas that have been hit by destruction. The Japanese will be, too.