Fatal plane crash

What happened: A Tracy man died in the crash of a stolen plane west of Fresno. The pilot, Ray Pirro, 52, did not own the plane. Pirro had crash-landed once before -- in a plane he owns but was not licensed to fly, according to federal aviation records.

What it means: The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. The last fatal plane crash in Fresno County occurred in November 2008.

What readers said:

"Oh great so we could have another 9/11 or worse a terrorist with a nuke could easily steal a small plane and detonate a nuke over a city. Why isn't there security at the airport this plane was stolen at."

-- rebelmountainman45

"So I can just walk up to a small airplane field and steal a plane but I can't get on a big plane with a large bottle of hair gel."

-- acearm26

Mining controversy

What happened: Hundreds packed into a standing-room-only hearing of the Fresno County Planning Commission to have their say on a decision on whether to mine Jesse Morrow Mountain. The meeting ran long and the panel put off the decision.

What it means: The Planning Commission will meet again at an undetermined date to decide whether Mexican cement company Cemex will be able to dig rock out of the southern slopes of Jesse Morrow Mountain for the next 50 years. Most who spoke at the hearing were against the plan.

What readers said:

"Oh boy, I can't wait to see which one of the board of supervisors will come out and say that 'we really need to blow up Jesse Morrow Mountain' and ignore the people who should rightfully be in the position of deciding the fate of this sacred site."

-- salamero

" 'Sacred?' For what reason? Five years ago you wouldn't have known the name Jesse Morrow from the man in the Moon."

-- JoeVideo

Dropout task force

What happened: Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson announced he is creating a high-level task force to find ways to keep students in school until they graduate.

What it means: The district's dropout problem has been debated for years and became a hot topic again after The Bee published a series in November highlighting the issue. It's expected to be a theme of this year's school board elections.

What readers said:

"Wow ... it only took repeated negative articles about the district not wanting any involvement by the community to address this problem to actually get the Superintendent to admit there is a problem."

-- tcfarmguy

"I'm very interested at which chosen 'experts' will truly be advocating for the low income and students of color that are disproportionately affected by this issue. The youth are the experts. This conversation should begin and end with their voices."

-- Rhevolutionary