Opinion

April 16, 2013 — A few people in Lassen County think I must be the most biased, unprofessional journalist of all time on the planet — nay, in the entire universe. They have a right to their opinions, and I doubt there’s much I can do to change their minds. I won’t lose any sleep worrying about this, I promise, but I wanted to add my perspective to the conversation.

When I first landed here at the Times about 14 years ago some people thought I was an unwanted newcomer in town on a mission to take down the good old boys. I was the wringer wordslinger (I share a name with a professional writer from New York) brought into town just to launch the revolution. Some said I was a student radical from Berkeley, even though I never went to school there. Still others said someone like me had no place in conservative, Republican Lassen County.

April 16, 2013 — Early morning is my favorite time of day. I like the sights, such as the mist that sometimes hovers above Walker Lake; I like the stillness and solitude found before the world begins to move; and the taste and smell of rich coffee.

In Psalm 5, King David says he met with God in the morning and so do I. Like David I can say, “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up,” (Psalm 5:3). It is what I do first.

Mornings are hopeful, mornings hold promise. I wake with a heart of expectancy.

April 16, 2013 — Living in small-town America is a choice most of us make for specific reasons.

  We would rather avoid the hustle, bustle and traffic of busy cities. We prefer to greet the people we meet on downtown streets or while out shopping, instead of averting our eyes. We wave and give a friendly smile as we approach people or cars in the country — whether we know them or not.

  And we actually know who our neighbors are and look out for and interact with them on a regular basis.

                  Ah, I love the smell of “off the record” in the morning. It smells like … journalism! Well, sort of.

                  Last week in this space I took exception to the Redding Tea Party’s establishment of rules that would not allow the Redding media to report on the question-and-answer session during its townhall meeting with U.S. Congressman Doug LaMalfa. They said that portion of the meeting was “off the record.” I also wrote the Redding media and the congressman should not have gone along with the Redding Tea Party’s attempt at prior restraint — that is controlling a news source’s content before it is published or broadcast.