Editorial: Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs up to Fresno City Councilmember Steve Brandau and Assemblyman Jim Patterson for success in their bipartisan work this month.
Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, is using his personal experiences in adopting three children to introduce and work for legislation that makes it easier for all California families to adopt. This week Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 1049, addresses paternity, egg donors and surrogate mothers. According to American Academy of Adoption Attorneys Fellow Allison Foster Davis, the measure “ensures that all interested persons — birth mothers, birth fathers, extended family members, adoption agencies, attorneys and prospective adoptive parents — can know with greater certainty their legal rights.” Patterson has adopted three children through international, private and county adoptions. This is the third adoption bill turned into law carried by him in as many years.
Brandau helped the Central Valley Tea Party raise $10,000 for the Central Valley Honor Flights. The flights take veterans and a companion on a tour of Washington, D.C., to see the war memorials. Brandau, a coordinator for the tea party, said honoring veterans is something that spans party lines and philosophical lines. The next Honor Flight leaves Oct. 19 from Castle Airport in Atwater. It costs $177,000 for each flight.
Thumbs down to the touring company management of “The Book of Mormon” for its inconsistent sound quality. People were blaming the Saroyan Theatre for the problems when, in fact, it is the touring company’s responsibility to make the Saroyan’s equipment work for them. As Bee theater critic Donald Munro noted in his very positive review of the play, the tour for “Wicked” made it work just fine. At those prices ($48-$128) audiences deserve the best. The show performances go through Sunday.
Thumbs up to UC Merced Professor Andy LiWang and Fresno State Professor Krish Krishnan for winning a nearly $1.4 million grant that will help under-represented minority students from Fresno State earn doctoral degrees in biomedical and behavioral sciences at UC Merced. The team received the Bridges to the Doctorate grant from the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences. The Valley program will recruit four to eight Fresno State students each year. Congratulations to the grant winners and good luck to the applicants.
Thumbs up to Jenny-Pauline Mendoza of the Dandelion Salon for giving free haircuts and the group of 15 Valley girls who joined a Facebook campaign to donate their hair to children who have none. The organization is called Children With Hair Loss. A minimum of eight inches in a ponytail or braid is required and the group made a big party of it all. On Facebook, the group is Short Haired Princess and the nonprofit’s website is ChildrenWithHairLoss.us.
Thumbs up to the generous Valley man who donated a trailer to a landscape maintenance worker and his wife who were brutally attacked by a former family friend and are still recovering. Elias Sanchez and his wife, Francisca, are thrilled with the $2,000 trailer because their attacker stole the equipment he needs to do his work. Other folks have sent money as well. “This never happened to me before,” he told ABC-30. “No one ever gave me something for free like that, something like this.” The Valley spirit is unfailing when the chips are down.
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This story was originally published July 17, 2015 at 8:24 AM with the headline "Editorial: Thumbs up, thumbs down."