Opinion

Feb. 26, 2013 — An estimated 80 or 90 Lassen County residents recently packed the dining room at the Pizza Factory to attend a TEA Party Patriots meeting featuring a presentation by Lassen County Sheriff Dean Growdon.

With gun control proposals coming from both the federal and state governments and reports of gun violence taking up lots of bandwidth in the national media these days, it’s not surprising many TEA Party Patriots expressed their concern about this issue and their constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

Feb. 19, 2013 — So, just how long should it take to get a ruling from the Lassen County Superior Court?

Tom Hammond, one of the proponents seeking the recall of Lassen County District 5 Supervisor Jack Hanson, filed a petition for a writ of mandate with the court seven long months ago — on Aug. 10 to be exact. A writ of mandate is a court order to a government agency to follow the law by correcting its prior action or ceasing its illegal acts.

Feb. 19, 2013 — In January during an interview with Oprah Winfrey, cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted he took performance-enhancing drugs to boost oxygen levels in order to achieve victory in the Tour de France. Apparently his motivation was a “ruthless desire to win.”

I supported Armstrong until it was very clear he had indeed, cheated. My husband watches the Tour de France and is a cycling fan, so I was familiar with the athlete’s career. I remembered the articles I had read about his strict training regimen. Now we will never know the extent of his talent.

Feb. 12, 2013 — The Lassen County Times seeks the details of the settlement agreement of a recently resolved wrongful termination lawsuit filed by a veteran Lassen County employee.

The county declined to release a copy of the settlement agreement between the parties — which is not included in the court file — when the newspaper asked for it last month. Then the employee’s attorney also declined to comment or reveal the terms of the deal.

Why should the newspaper and its readers care about this? Neither party has disclosed the details of this settlement so no one knows for sure, but it’s reasonable to suspect the employee may have received taxpayer money to resolve the dispute and dismiss his lawsuit. Clearly the public deserves to know how government entities spend the public’s money, and without a transparent response, the newspaper must ask the question and seek an answer.