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Foreign-born voters have big Valley voice
WASHINGTON -- Naturalized citizens in the San Joaquin Valley could decide future elections, immigrant advocates conclude in a report issued Thursday.
Nearly one in six voting-age residents in some Valley congressional districts are naturalized U.S. citizens, the report shows. This is twice the national average and could shape Valley politics for years to come.
"We have the ability to carry an election," said Tuyet G. Duong, the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants. "We're a force to contend with."
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About the Measures
PROPOSITION 1A
Puts restrictions on how the state can spend unanticipated revenues, meaning tax receipts that come in above the average of the previous 10 years.
The extra money must first be spent to fulfil school spending obligations, to pay off debt and to boost the state’s rainy day fund, which would grow from 5% of the general fund to 12.5%. Money left over could only be spent on specified items such as public works or tax cuts.
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Dam would be a mistake
It is difficult to refute an idea that has the support of so many in this Valley, but a new dam at Temperance Flat would be a political, economic and environmental mistake.
One wet year does not justify spending billions of taxpayer dollars on a dam that would hold no water behind its facade. For every above average year of precipitation, there are countless more that are below average.
The California Department of Water Resources' Division of Flood Management reports that Millerton Lake has an average high-water volume of 416,936 acre-feet in June, far below its capacity of 520,000 acre-feet. Why would certain provincial citizens waste billions in state and federal taxpayer dollars on a project that will rarely serve the purpose intended? Why would the citizens of this Valley, who pride themselves on fiscal conservation, waste so much on a dam that will generate so little?
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Bush and the Baltics
The president visited Riga, Latvia, my birth town, where for two centuries many of my ancestors were born, lived and were buried.
The three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, had regained a weak independence after the collapse of the Soviet Empire. Weak, because the European countries were too timid to let them into NATO or the European Union. Shortly after entering the White House, President Bush reversed the course of the previous administration and opened the door and thus gave safety from the Russian behemoth.
The president continued a policy begun under Czar Peter the Great 300 years ago -- to use the Baltic States to shine light into Russia and wean it off its murderous ways. The tiny Baltic states, now independent, show all Russians that democracy is the way for a better future.
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Valley counties still rank among the poorest in the United States
In good economic times or bad, the story never changes in the central San Joaquin Valley -- on average, its residents are among the poorest in California and the nation.
New data from the U.S. Census Bureau drove that point home Tuesday.
In 2007, the bureau's American Community Survey listed Tulare County as having a higher percentage of people living in poverty than any other California county of the 40 for which data were available. Almost 24% of that county's residents lived in households where the income was below poverty level. Second worse in the state was Imperial County, with nearly 22%.
Age: 56
Occupation: Classified substitute: Fresno Unified clerical, library technician; worked at Tower Records for over 20 years. Other odd jobs.
Hobbies: Reading about psychology, spirituality, history, poetry, doing photography, listening to music, yard art, travel.
Bee reader since: 1965.
How many letters: 23 since 2001.
Favorite topics: Understanding one's intent as a motivation to action, empathy (or lack thereof) in the average American citizen, hypocrisy of our politicians, taxes, spirituality versus dogma, complete lack of the average American to understand Psychology 101.
Why do you write? I offer my viewpoint as a challenge against those that would use money and power against the average American, the working class, the environment, and the civil rights of all American citizens.
Education: Fresno State: two years physics major (enjoy science and engineering), two years Russian studies (enjoy cultural studies), plus one year in Enology plus whatever. Took all photography classes at Fresno City College.
Family: Married 10 years to Mary; two cats; one brother; one sister; parents in mid eighties and still feisty.
Political philosophy: I lean toward but am not limited by what is often called the left. I suggest learning basic human psychology and empathy before you try to solve the world's problems. Liberty requires responsible citizens, not anarchy.
-- Compiled by Pam Rowse
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