Opinion

April 23, 2013 — Our legal system and the rule of law are alive and well right here in Lassen County.

The case of recall proponent Tom Hammond seeking a writ of mandate to compel Lassen County Clerk Julie Bustamante to move the recall process for Lassen County District 5 Supervisor Jack Hanson forward plainly reveals the adversarial nature of our legal system.

On one side, Bustamante and Lassen County argue the recall proponents used a form the clerk had previously rejected, and therefore the signatures on those forms should not be counted.

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.