archives

Occasionally when I am making my rounds around town during the week, I get a chance to see what kinds of stories and issues are on folks' minds.

Yesterday, I was talking to a Merced resident who said the media were being racially biased in the case of a 16-year-old Florida girl who was savagely beaten by group of her so-called "friends". Worst part about it all, the suspects videotaped the episode with the intention of putting it on YouTube.

Air quality is an ongoing issue in this area, I can't think of anyone who would argue with that. That's why it's good to stay informed.

The way the Valley is addressing particle and diesel pollution has been in state news a lot lately as the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District prepares its PM.5 plan. There will be a hearing in Fresno on April 30.

But in Merced, local residents can learn more about this type of pollution on Monday. A talk about protecting families from particle and diesel pollution will be held 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Sam Pipes Room of the Merced Civic Center, on 18th Street between M and N streets. The list of guest speakers include Paul Cort from Earthjustice and Don Anair from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

If you've been following the saga of the Jeff Denham recall effort, you'll probably be interested to read this blog entry by Steve Wiegand for the Sacramento Bee's Capitol Alert.

Nothing personal

For those keeping score on SB 1686, it got out of the Senate Public Safety Committee yesterday on a unanimous vote. For those not keeping score, this is a measure by Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Atwater, that would make it a crime for signature-gathering companies to “knowingly” direct or allow people to lie about what they’re gathering signatures for, or lie about whether they are eligible to solicit voters’ John Hancocks on recall, referendum or initiative petitions.