Sound Off - soundoff's Blog - Bakersfield.com

Sound Off for Oct. 19, 2008

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:52:25 PDT

Reader: I opened my Californian newspaper
(Saturday, Oct. 4) and saw the headline
“Kern picks Palin in poll.” The article
stated that it was a Bakersfield.com poll. In
other words, the participants were not chosen
at random, they were self-selected,
which can cause significant problems on
how accurate the results are. The headline
should have probably read,
“Bakersfield.com users pick Palin”. This
would be closer to accurate. How do you
know that you had a broad cross section of
Kern County residents in this poll? Could
the participants respond more than once to
the poll? I know Channel 17 has done
phone-in polls for years, but they have
always mentioned that these are not “scientific
polls”. The Californian’s poll would fall
under the same category.

— Tom Greenwood, professor of mathematics,
Bakersfield College

Mullen: Thanks, Tom. You’re right in that
the poll wasn’t scientific, and we’ll be more
careful with our labeling in the future.

■ ■ ■
Reader: Two nit-picky thoughts for your
consideration:
1. The Californian is consistently inconsistent
in publishing the list prices of cars
featured on the front page of Saturday’s
Auto Section. Best to consistently make the
price one criteria for accepting a car dealer’s
press release.
2. The local gasoline prices fail to include
the 9/10 of a cent at the end; lowest price of
$3.21 is actually $3.219. I think it is strange
for gasoline vendors to still use the meaningless
9/10 of a cent price; which started
when gasoline sold for less than $0.20. But
prices are prices and to round-down is not
good policy.

— Jon Crawford

Mullen: Thanks, Jon. I’ll let marketing
director Robert Meszaros respond to your
first thought, as the Wheels section falls in
his department:
“The press releases we run don’t come
from the dealers as the reader suggests, but
rather from the manufacturers. Since there
are so many various trim levels and options
to any given model, the
price points are rarely
included in the releases we
run. From time to time, we
will look on the consumer
site and note a ‘starting at’
MSRP to give the reader an
idea. What’s more, most
times, since the Wheels section
is an advertising supplement,
the ad directly below the car we
feature on the Wheels cover will include the
price point and/or lease special at the local
dealership.”
To your second thought: Though we risk
being unclear, I think we will continue to
report average gas prices to the penny
rather than include the fraction, which, as
you point out, is largely meaningless to
most readers and consumers.

■ ■ ■
Reader: Marylee, Marylee, Marylee, there
you go again showing your dislike for the
gay community with your column about
PG&E’s contribution against Proposition 8.
You spoke about Brad Dacus, president
of the Pacific Justice Institute who did
research to find an independent, unregulated
gas company that would not “suddenly
support a cause divergent from what
mainstream Californians would support.”
Strange, the last poll I saw showed more
people opposed to Proposition 8 then there
were for it. Sounds like mainstream Californians
are heading in the other direction. I
think he was searching for a gas company
that supported the Proposition.
So, I checked Tiger Gas Web site and guess
who they currently distribute their gas
through, yes PG&E. I checked out the
NOtoPGE Web site and found it is a site for
Tiger Gas who in my opinion obviously
supports Proposition 8 as their home page
starts out with “Stand Up To PG&E’s Attack
on Marriage.”
Although Johnathan Burris of Tiger Gas
says the “company takes no public stand on
Proposition 8 the NOtoPGE Web site speaks
for itself. What a better way to go public
than a Web site. It criticizes the Supreme
Court’s decision and PG&E’s contribution.
The site was very interesting to say the least.
What a gimmick to get you to change gas
companies.
So by all means run out and change gas
service to an unregulated independent gas
company who distributes its gas through
PG&E and uses their lines. Tiger gas does
not get its gas for free. If any repairs are
needed they will have to be done by the line
owner, PG&E. They often do minor service
calls for no charge, but if it’s Tiger Gas, will
they.

— James McCall

Columnist Marylee Shrider responds:
Mr. McCall is, of course, entitled to his
opinion, but I’m going to be generous here
and assume he’s merely mistaken, and not
deliberately misleading, when he says Tiger
Natural Gas supports
Prop. 8 as evidenced
by the company’s
home page.
The NOtoPGE Web
site recommends
Tiger Natural Gas as an alternative for
PG&E customers rightly outraged by the
utility’s massive donation to defeat Proposition
8. The page includes a link to the
Tiger Web site, tigernaturalgas.com, where
potential customers will find not one word
in reference to or support of the measure.
They will, however, find an informative
overview of the company’s residential program,
some impressive testimonials
from clients like
Pepsico and NASA and a
convenient cost analysis
form.
I’m not sure what point Mr.
McCall was trying to make
with his gleeful discovery
that Tiger distributes its gas
through PG&E, but there’s no
secret as to how it works. The natural gas
market in our area is deregulated, which
means we may choose where we buy our
natural gas. While Mr. McCall is correct that
PG&E still owns the pipelines and will charge
customers for the transmission of the gas to
their homes, the customers will pay Tiger’s
price for their natural gas. And the money
they pay for that gas will go to Tiger instead of
PG&E.

■ ■ ■
Reader: As a child of the ’60s, I remember
the embarrassment when people first saw
TV ads for intimate apparel on partially
clothed women. People were shocked when
ads for tampons were discussed on TV,
much less shown. I remember when “Adult”
magazines weren’t displayed in stores where
youngsters could easily view them.
I remember when newspapers cared
more about the impact of advertisements
of a sensitive nature on young readers, than
they did on ads’ income. Yes, I’ve seen many
changes in advertising over the years.
I was recently “offended” by an advertisement
that appeared on the first page of the
“Science section” of The Bakersfield
Californian’s Sunday paper, titled “Slimmer
& Sexier.” Within the “tummy-tuck” type ad
it offered intimate female “… Makeovers”
as well as “… Rejuvenations”. I won’t repeat
the specific sensitive wording, but it offered
an “increase in sexual pleasure.”
Have we come to a time when sexuallyrelated
ads are going to appear in our
“newspaper”? Why did The Bakersfield
Californian feel the need to place such an
ad, and did it have to appear on the first
page of a section, in the Sunday newspaper
no less? Sunday, the one day that youngsters
are more likely to “thumb-through”
the paper, looking for the comics?
We are offered parental controls from
cable TV and Internet providers to protect
the morals of our children. Do we now need
to “thumb-through” The Californian daily
to remove sensitive items before our children
have the chance to see them?

— Rose Thompson

Advertising director John Wells
responds: While I can understand the reader’s
concern with the subject
matter, I also have to weight
the business if offering a
service desired by a target
piece of The Californian’s
readership. I personally feel
that the client has done a
tasteful job at describing the
surgical procedure and its
benefits. If there was not a
market for it here in Bakersfield, they would
not be using The Californian.

■ ■ ■
Reader: In your TV Guide you have “DVS”
in parentheses and “PA” in parentheses and
there’s nothing that describes what it stands
for. I’d appreciate an answer.

— Lillian Lett

Mullen: Thanks, Lillian, for reading our
TV listings. “DVS” stands for Descriptive
Video Service, a service for blind and lowvision
audiences. The designation means
that the program is optimized for that particular
service. “PA” stands for Parental
Advisory, meaning the show might not be
suitable for young viewers.

■ ■ ■
Reader: When I was a kid in the ’60s I
would buy MAD magazine. That whole
decade at first it cost 25 cents, then it went
up to 30 cents, then it went up to 35 cents.
Today, that same MAD magazine costs $4.99
plus tax which is ridiculous. It should only
be $1 or $2 at the most, which brings me to
The Californian. Fifty cents for the Monday
through Saturday paper but it’s too thin. I
don’t think it would be too much to charge
$1 today. That’s not too much if it would be a
lot thicker than that. We’d have more to read.
Just please don’t charge $4.99 for it.

— Mike Neufeld

Mullen: Thanks, Mike, for reading, and
it’s true we indeed have gotten smaller in
recent months, including a reduction in the
width of the paper. Most comments we’ve
received have been positive, as many readers
seem to appreciate the easier-to-handle
pages and some of the other format
changes we’ve made.
While I should point out that the subscription
rates we offer are cheaper than
the single-copy price, I’d argue that even at
50 cents daily and $1.50 on Sunday, you’re
getting more than your money’s worth out
of The Californian (especially if you use the
coupons and money-saving ideas found in
our pages and advertising inserts).
And at times, the local news is much
more amusing than what you might find in
a $4.99 copy of MAD.

Sound Off for Oct. 12, 2008

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:45:15 PDT

Reader: I noticed your response to a
writer in today’s paper who complained
that you removed two paragraphs from an
article that were critical of Sarah Palin. I
admire your decision not to print “anonymous”
comments. I am concerned, however,
about the following:
A New York Times article, printed in the
Sept. 21 Californian bore this headline:
“Vice presidential debate gets more structure
to satisfy Palin concerns.” Hmm?
Sounds like maybe the McCain/Palin “people”
are trying to guide the content of the
debate, doesn’t it?
Further down in the article I read the following:
“Both the McCain and Obama campaigns
have similar concerns about the vice
presidential matchup in St. Louis: that
Palin, as a new player in national politics, or
Biden, as a loquacious and gaffe-prone
speaker, could commit a momentumchanging
misstep.”
I’m curious to know why the headline for
that article only mentioned the supposed
concerns the Palin camp had.

--Carolin Reid

Jenner: Palin’s campaign staff called for
the stricter rules. The Biden camp was
happy to go along with them, but the actual
request came from Palin’s people.

■ ■ ■
Reader: We are very disappointed in the
coverage, or lack thereof, in the 20th District
congressional race between Jim Lopez
and Jim Costa. Jim Costa has been representing
the Central Valley for over 20 years
and today we have over 350 square miles of
fertile farm land lying dormant because his
party, the Democrat Party, has restricted the
development of new water sources.
Congressman Costa has been talking
about the need of water for over 25 years
with no results! Jim Lopez worked in the
fields as a young man and we are convinced
he will fight to get additional water for the
Central Valley. We are convinced that Jim
Lopez will work much harder than Jim
Costa to improve this unacceptable situation.
We are personally sick and tired of
Democrats portraying themselves as being
concerned about the poor and working
class when in fact nothing could be further
from the truth!

— John Dawson, director of Lincoln Pacheco
Center, signed by 40 individuals

Jenner: We are giving this race attention,
as evidenced by the story on today’s Local
cover. We were one of the only news organizations
to attend Jim Lopez’s press conference
on Tuesday. Even though Jim Costa is
heavily favored in this race, we are putting
Jim Lopez’s positions in front of readers.
We are not tagging along with the candidates
as they campaign. But we will continue
to cover this race as warranted.

■ ■ ■
Reader: First, let me say how much I
enjoy Sound Off. It is informative, entertaining,
thought-provoking and at times
very amusing to read what gets some people
in Bakersfield charged up. I do love the
finesse you have in handling this column. I
feel feedback is vitally important to continue
to offer a quality product.
As a customer of PG&E and a citizen of
Bakersfield, I was very interested in the letter
to the editor regarding the rate hike
which our illustrious City Council voted on
to improve our roads. (Of course, that is on
top of the 6% rate hike which PG&E has
mandated themselves!)
The letter writer
mentioned that the
proposal will be discussed
again in three
weeks, on Oct 8. Well, I checked the date on
the paper I was ready and it was dated
OCTOBER 9, 2008.
Rats, all hope was now dashed of attending
this meeting or having any input at all!
Having said that, I have a couple of questions.
It was obvious that the letter was written
three weeks prior, why was it published
so late? Since it obviously missed the date of
said meeting, why was it published at all?
Thank you in advance for addressing this.

— Kim Bean

Editorial Page Editor Dianne Hardisty
responds: Kim, I am sorry we missed the
date in the letter. As we near elections, the
backlog of time-sensitive letters awaiting
publication swells. Add to this the economic
meltdown and the volume of letters to
the editor has greatly increased.
We try to spot time-sensitive letters and
place them at the head of the publication
line. This one slipped through the cracks.

■ ■ ■
Reader: I find the new smaller-sized format
and cleaner bolder print to be most
satisfying. I thoroughly enjoy The
Californian and read it every morning.
However, I have a concern about an article
printed Oct. 4 about a government grant
given to Cal State Bakersfield. The way it
read to me was the grant concerning children’s
health issues from birth to age 21 was
a mandatory study and not voluntary,
meaning the parents have no decision on
whether or not their child is in the study.
Surely I must be wrong and the parents
would have to give written consent for this
study. I hope the government isn’t deciding
what parents and their children have to be a
part of without it being voluntary on their
part.
Could you please clarify this issue for me.
Thank you for your consideration of my
concern.
Sincerely,

— Scott Tellermann

Jenner: According to the study’s Web site,
participation in the study is voluntary. I’m
sorry we didn’t make that clear.

■ ■ ■
Reader: I’m calling in regard to the content
or lack of in The Californian. I’ve been
a subscriber for years. My father was military
editor of the Los Angeles Times. I no
longer can find any substance to your
newspaper. In other words, none of my
stocks are covered, except for once a week,
the Sports has become extinct almost and
there’s nothing newsworthy even locally.
You are just absolutely falling apart and
something needs to be done. I know you
have changed with the color and the smaller
size and you are trying to pinch as many
pennies as you can, it looks like to stay in
business. Even the Times has cut down their
size but they have some substance left in
their newspaper. It appears to me the Los
Angeles Times is going to cause an awful lot
of us to discontinue The Californian. It’s
sad.
It’s been a good newspaper over the years,
but it just keeps getting worse and worse
and worse. I believe this should go on to the
owners, the board of directors and certainly
to the managing editor. There is no substance
whatsoever to this newspaper.
Thank you.

— Tony Art

Jenner: Tony, I’m sorry you’ve reached
such a low opinion of our newspaper.
Yes, we’re smaller than we were a couple
of years ago. And if you want more national
or world news, the Times does have more.
But if you care about local coverage, I maintain
you still need to read The Californian.
We are committed to providing quality
local coverage, and will continue that focus.
We may be smaller, but I’d encourage you to
stay the course.
I believe our community needs us now
more than ever.
This feedback forum is designed to give
readers an easy way to voice criticisms and
compliments or ask questions about news
coverage.

Sound Off for Oct. 5, 2008

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:41:30 PDT

Reader: I was interested to compare the
Los Angeles Times article you printed on
Wednesday’s front page headlined “Don’t
take Palin lightly, aides warn,” by Stephen
Braun and Tom Hamburger, with the version
of the same story printed in the Times.
I realize it was a long article and you
couldn’t print it all, but two paragraphs you
deleted were two that were critical of her. It
seems to cause a furor in this community if
she is criticized in any way.
Usually, I feel that your paper does a good
job being fair to both sides.

— Susan Newberg

Jenner: I’m impressed you noticed the
difference. We did indeed delete those
paragraphs, but not for the reason you
think.
Those paragraphs contained harsh criticism
of Palin from two former aides
involved in her 2006 campaign for the Alaska
governor’s office.
Trouble is, the aides were not named.
We have a pretty strict policy regarding
the use of anonymous sources. We believe
it’s important that our reporting be “on the
record” whenever possible, with comments,
and especially criticism, properly
attributed to the critic.
As a part of that policy, when our staffers
wish to use material coming from sources
who don’t want us to name them, senior
editors have a conversation with the
reporter.
We want to be satisfied that the source is
credible and in a position to know what he
or she is talking about and has a valid reason
for not wanting to be identified.
Finally, we want to be sure there’s no
other way to get the information.
We obviously can’t do that with stories
written by other news organizations.
Although there are times when anonymous
sources will appear in wire stories, for the
most part we apply that same standard.
Some readers may not realize that we
select and edit wire stories involving the
campaign with great care.
Our editors keep a close eye out for bias,
and are instructed to delete it when they see
it.
That’s not to say we won’t publish negative
news about the candidates or their
pasts. We have not shied away from printing
critical news or information about any
candidate — as long as the information is
verifiable and relevant.

■ ■ ■
Reader: I would just like to thank you for
putting the highest and lowest temperature
in the nation back in the Weather section.
I called several weeks ago and asked if you
could do that and I see that you have
squeezed it in at the bottom of the Bakersfield
record setting and all that.
I really appreciate it. I get a big kick out of
seeing those temperatures. My friend, Janet
York, also called you about this at the same
time. She really appreciates it also. So it
does pay to call in, doesn’t it?

— Mary Lynn Conley

Jenner: We can’t please everyone, but if
we don’t hear from readers, we’re left to
assume you like what you’re getting.
Thanks for noticing the change and for
acknowledging it.

■ ■ ■
Reader: The Californian has launched a
“thinly veiled” smear campaign and witch
hunt against the Tilted Kilt for immodest
outfits. Oh, Marylee Shrider would like us
to believe the issue is all about breasts, but
don’t be fooled. After all, most of us fondled
breasts for nutrition. And we all know that
kids see way more skin at home, at the mall,
on the Internet and at the beaches.
So, what is the real and sinister agenda
here? I’m afraid it’s the same old one of
“faux” Christians dictating to the rest of us
where we can go and what we can look at.
However, there is nothing “Christian” about
these arrogant folks, and they always forget
Christ’s most important warning and tenet:
“Judge not lest ye be judged.”
No, it isn’t the Kilt waitresses who should
stay inside — it is Marylee. She’s a “closet”
Christian who should stay in the dark shadows
with her obvious little agenda. One can
only marvel at the gall and temerity of people
who think their role on earth is to lecture
to the rest of us while they slowly erode
our rights and freedoms.
The Californian and Marylee have proven
once again that moral “bullies” come in all
shapes and sizes. As a protest to keep our
constitutional rights, get to the Tilted Kilt as
fast as you can!

— Tom Jennings

Jenner: You’re wrong on several points,
Tom. First, there’s no smear campaign. Second,
Marylee didn’t take issue with the Tilted
Kilt’s right to exist. She did, however,
have a problem with the tavern taking the
cast members and their outfits on a public
road show.
Last but not least, Marylee Shrider is no
“closet Christian.”

■ ■ ■
Reader: Your article
about Boy Scouts of
America implies that
Mike Careatti was a
camp director at
Camp Kern as recently as two years ago.
Mike was arrested in 2003 and his employment
with Boy Scouts of America was terminated
at that time. Although he was not
formally sentenced until much later, he had
no direct association with Scouting after
2003.
In the span from 2003 until 2007, Camp
Kern was directed by several different outstanding
men and women who treated
their employees and campers with both the
respect and integrity that one should
expect from Boy Scouts of America. It is
exceptionally unfortunate that Mr. Careatti
made poor personal choices while
employed by an agency that has the highest
regard for strong moral values.
It is also sad to hear about alleged incidents
from the summer 2008 camp season
that draw negative attention to Scouting. I
hope your reporters will make sure in follow-
up articles to clarify that misbehaviors
by several individuals do not diminish the
large number of positive contributions
made by other camp directors.
These comments represent my personal
opinions and knowledge, and are connected
in no official capacity with Boy Scouts of
America or Southern Sierra Council, BSA.
Sincerely,

— Suzanne Bunker-Kishimoto

Jenner: I didn’t think our story was
unclear, but in the event some readers were
confused, thanks for clarifying.

■ ■ ■
Reader: I had to write to say how much I
appreciate your delivery man. He hangs the
paper on my door. This is so helpful
because I have poor balance and mobility. I
bless him every day as I reach for the plastic
sleeve.

— Mary Carpenter

Jenner: Thanks for your readership,
Mary, and for your lovely note.

■ ■ ■
Reader: On behalf of the Animal Control
Department of the Kern County Resource
Management Agency, I would like to thank
The Californian and its “Tails of Bakersfield”
project for your generous donation of
blankets and tin cans for storage. Your commitment
to helping homeless animals in
our community is sincerely appreciated.
Each year Kern County Animal Control
continues to advance its mission of protecting
and caring for the citizens and animals
of Kern County through numerous public
education and community outreach
efforts. The goal of Kern County Animal
Control is to provide humane care to homeless
animals in the county. With the help of
donation from supporters such as you, we
will continue to see improvements in these
areas.
If you have any suggestions as to how we
may improve our service, please do not
hesitate to contact me. My direct phone
number is 661-868-7102.
Thank you again for your donation.

— Guy Shaw, R.E.H.S., director

■ ■ ■
Reader: I was really appreciative and
congratulative of the coverage of the Stop
the Violence movement in Bakersfield that
was orchestrated by Wendell whose son
was, I guess, murdered.
I live in a really bad neighborhood. I have
children and if I’d have known they were
marching, I’d have had my kids out there
marching too. Like the rest of the community,
I believe that the violence is out of
hand and something needs to be done.
Again, I salute you for putting this coverage
in the Local section. I don’t understand
why there was only one small caption
under the picture on the Local cover and a
photo inside showing four kids viewing the
marchers pass by. I think it was a much bigger
story. I could have actually seen it going
on the front page, but then again, you’re the
editor and I’m just a person calling in.

— Khalil Nash

Jenner: There are many worthwhile
events in our community — so many we
can’t write a story or shoot photos of every
one.
I think you make great points, and I
would’ve loved to have read a story, as well
as viewed the photos.
Thanks for reading, and for writing us.

■ ■ ■
Reader: In my opinion, Lois Henry’s
column should be discontinued in The
Californian. What did she say? “Chad Vegas’
repeated forays into cultural politics, getting
winter/spring breaks, renamed Christmas/
Easter ...” and “mandating ‘In God we
trust’ posters in classrooms” and, “... crazy
thing we call the Constitution” and, “...
Vegas’ attempt to shove his religion down
our throats ...”
“I don’t find that funny at all,” she said.
I don’t find anything she says funny.
When listening to Henry on Ralph Bailey’s
radio show, I labeled her as kind of a
sharp-tongue. I usually agree with everything
he says on his show; however, I think
he should remove her.

— Rena Butler

Jenner: Believe me, Lois wasn’t trying to
be funny.
Whether she appears on Ralph Bailey’s
show is up to her and Ralph.
And while I respect your opinion, I have
no interest in discontinuing her column,
which is hugely popular and one of the
most relevant features in the paper.

Sound Off for Sept. 28, 2008

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:37:31 PDT

Reader: Outstanding article! I want
you to know how very much I appreciated
the first-person article on officerinvolved
shootings that ran last Sunday
and Monday.
Felix Doligosa did an excellent job of
portraying his personal experiences. He
apparently tried very hard to place himself
into the role and capture what a
person feels and experiences.
I would say from my own experiences
that it is impossible to describe the
range of emotions that an individual
goes through after these events. It is an
amazing rush of adrenaline and always
a life changing experience, not unlike
what is experienced by military combat
troops.
I don’t know anyone who has shed the
blood of another human that isn’t
impacted. My first shooting was more
than 38 years ago. Not a detail has left
my mind — the date, the time, the
address, the suspect’s name, the victim’s
name — it is burned into my brain forever.
I really appreciated this effort.
Thanks.

— Riley Parker, CPI, CFS,
Parker & Associates Professional
Investigations

■ ■ ■
Reader: This is in response to columnist
Lois Henry’s Sept. 18 comments
regarding Assemblywoman Nicole
Parra.
Henry wrote: The most memorable
piece of legislation Nicole championed,
extending Megan’s Law, “was handed to
you by the Democratic leadership in
order to make you look ‘tough on crime’
so you could fend off challenges to your
seat.”
During my four-year term as sheriff of
Kern County, Nicole Parra always made
time to hear the concerns and needs of
law enforcement. In May of each year,
all 58 elected sheriffs of California traveled
to Sacramento to meet with legislators
and the governor concerning the
needs of law enforcement in California.
During the time we were attempting to
extend Megan’s Law and pass Jessica’s
Law. Assemblywoman Parra left a meeting
more than once to hear our concerns.
I remember when she took several
of the sheriffs back into a hearing
with her to make sure she got it right
when she pushed for a vote. In my opinion,
no other legislator did more than
Nicole to assist law enforcement. She
always returned calls.
She put herself on the line and went
beyond the call of duty many times to
assist law enforcement and the communities
they serve. Because of her
efforts the California State Sheriffs’
Association voted her Legislator of The
Year. Her work with law enforcement
around the state went unnoticed by
most and she never publicized the fact
that she worked so hard behind the
scenes to make a safe environment for
the citizens of California. The elected
sheriffs of California will not forget.

— Mack Wimbish

■ ■ ■
Reader: I really like what you do with
Sound Off.
Unfortunately, sometimes the inputs
from your readers don’t seem to belong
there. Case in point — last Sunday
(Sept. 21) a reader expressed herself at
some length mostly about gay marriage.
One may agree or disagree with her
views but it seems to me that her comments
belong in Letters to the Editor or
Community Voices rather than Sound
Off, where I expect “criticisms and compliments
or ... questions about news
overage.” Maybe I misunderstand the
intent of this feature.

— Gino LaMarca

Jenner: This column is intended to
deal with comments and criticism
regarding coverage.
The letter you refer to ran in Sound
Off because it was written in response
to a letter published here. But you’re
right; the second letter probably was
more appropriate for the letters to the
editor section.

■ ■ ■
Reader: I noticed the disclaimer at
the bottom of Marylee Shrider’s excellent
column exposing the Harvey Milk
Day fiasco. Does The Californian support
the bill, AB 2567, to require schools
to set aside a day to recognize gays and
lesbians? If so, cancel my subscription.
Thank you very much,

— Paul B. Homer

Jenner: No, The Californian hasn’t
taken a position supporting that bill.
The disclaimer at the bottom of
Marylee’s column appears with the work
of every Californian columnist. We
began running them simply to help
remind readers that the
columnists aren’t
speaking for the editorial
board or the
paper. That doesn’t
necessarily mean the position of the
columnist differs from the ed board’s.

■ ■ ■
Reader: I’m calling about a letter that
was in the Opinion section Sept. 20.
There’s profanity in that letter. I have no
idea why you’re printing profanity in a
public newsletter unless this is something
that society has degenerated to. I
strongly hope that this is not true of
your newspaper. I sincerely hope that
it’s been overlooked and I do not want
to see it in my newspaper again.
Thank you.

— Hal Williams

Editorial Page Editor Dianne Hardisty
responds: “Your complaint caused me
to rush back to Saturday’s Opinion section.
Oh my, what did we let slip
through? Hal wasn’t specific about the
word that so offended him. Was it ‘oil’ or
‘scam’ in the headline of the first letter
complaining about gas prices? Certainly
some have characterized the situation
as ‘obscene.’ It couldn’t be the nice note
of thanks; nothing profane about that.
Maybe you was talking about Lloyd
Lagace’s light-hearted letter in which he
observed that he loved ‘being an old
fart.’ If ‘fart’ is the ‘profane’ word that so
upset you, then I beg to differ with your
definition. ‘Fart’ is an embarrassing
escape of gas — a loud noise and bad
smell. But it’s hardly profane.”

■ ■ ■
Reader: I just wanted to say in regard
to the person a week or so ago who was
writing in about the Weather report
being printed the length of the page. I
agree with that person. It’s much easier
to read when it goes crossways across
the page. The eye doesn’t seem to want
to go down the page when the letters are
quite small.
Also, back to the crime report, which I
complained about the new setup. It
seems like if you could make the map a
little bit bigger, then perhaps you could
show more street names on there. What
I liked before was how you pinpointed
on the map where the event occurred.
I know you do put the names of the
streets, but that doesn’t help unless you
know the names of the streets in that
area, which I don’t. Also, like I said, it
was great on the old system where you
pinpointed on the map where the crime
happened. If you could show some
street names up in the area of Beat 14
that would be really helpful.
Thank you.

Jenner: We changed the orientation
of the Weather page from a horizontal
half-page to a vertical half-page simply
because that allowed us to use the space
more efficiently and we could fit more
data into the package.
Likewise, the new crime map presentation
is more efficient, but I do understand
the interest in more street names.
I’ll ask our graphics experts to see what
we can do.

■ ■ ■
Reader: I recently completed a onemonth
work assignment in Kern County
installing new electric meters for
PG&E. During this time I read your
paper almost every day and found it to
be far superior to my hometown publication,
the Contra Costa Times.
Your in-depth coverage of local news
and issues were outstanding. If more
newspapers were run like yours, there
wouldn’t be a declining readership
problem. Keep up the good work.

— Mike Walko

Jenner: Thanks for the nice note. Ever
thought about relocating?

■ ■ ■
Reader: As a faithful reader of The
Californian and frequent traveler, I was
disappointed with the recent change in
the world weather chart. In reducing its
size, you eliminated notable cities like
Johannesburg. My analysis indicates
the chart now includes 12 European
cities, seven from Asia, five from Mexico,
four from South America, three from
Canada, three from the Middle East,
one from Australia, and one from
Northern Africa (Cairo). Basically, you
have ignored an important continent
that is of interest to some of us who
travel overseas.
I doubt that you intentionally slighted
this politically important part of the
world, but how about a bit more balance?

— John E. Corson

Jenner: No, it wasn’t intentional. And
we can reconsider the spread of world
cities, but any additions we make to
Africa will reduce the number allotted
to the rest of the world.

■ ■ ■
Reader: A huge thank you to all of you
at The Californian for Tails of Bakersfield.
Not only was it very entertaining,
it also helped all of the organizations
supporting homeless animals in Kern
County. We appreciate your support
and hope you will do this feature again
sometime in the future.
Thank you all again,

— Vicki Eick, Friends of The Kern County
Animal Shelters Foundation

Sound Off for Sept. 21, 2008

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:32:22 PDT

Reader: A reader wrote to “Sound Off”
last week explaining how she was troubled
by the increasing displays of physical affection
between same-sex couples in the
media.
Every time she mentioned her concern
she was specific in saying it was “same-sex
couples” that were troubling. When you
answered her, you referred to her as one
who prefers “to not witness public displays
of affection.”
It is somewhat subtle but also rather
obvious you/your paper has once again
chosen to “handle with kid gloves” issues
regarding same-sex relationships. She
never said she didn’t want to “witness public
displays of affection.” She said she didn’t
want to witness “affection between two
men or two women.”
Would it have been hard for you to refer
to her concern with the same terminology
so as to be more accurate? It’s too bad the
liberal media as a whole refuses to tackle
the cold hard facts out there regarding the
destructive effects the gay lifestyle has on
those involved.
The vote on Proposition 8 is going to be
close. If it doesn’t pass, don’t be surprised if
when you take the kid gloves off, there is
some blood on your hands.

— John Caprarelli

Jenner: Kid gloves? Blood on my hands?
I meant what I said. I don’t want to see
photos of gay couples kissing, but neither
do I like to publish pictures of straight couples
making out.
I learned a long time ago to never say
never, but the only kissing pictures I like to
print are of the mom kissing her kindergartner
on the first day of school or the wife
kissing her husband when he comes back
from war.
Why do you think every decision or comment
you don’t like is part of a liberal media
agenda?

■ ■ ■
Reader: I’m writing in response to an
opinion expressed in the Sept. 14 “Sound
Off” column about television stations
showing gay couples kissing.
My first response was how sad that with
all of the dead/maimed bodies in Iraq, local
gang shootings and neglected animals that
the writer found a gay couple briefly kissing
on TV the most concerning thing for her
her young children to see.
Why is this involved parent allowing her
three young children to be watching TV
during the dinner hour at all, instead of
“nourishing their bodies” and discussing
the day with Mom and Dad with the TV
OFF? When I was a kid, my family didn’t
watch TV while eating. We talked about
school, chores and things going on in our
lives.
People who sputter about gay unions
remind me of people who would have written
30 years ago complaining it was “disgusting
to see a black person and a white
person kissing” and that it was against the
“laws of nature and decency” — an example
of how the majority is not always right.
You don’t have to agree with gay marriage,
or be comfortable seeing two samesex
people smooching, but how often have
you seen two gay people necking in public?
I don’t believe it is acceptable public behavior
for anyone.
Sensible people have to see through the
veiled hate and ignorance, and the phony
issue of “marriage sanctity.” If it’s so sacred,
why are so many us either divorced or have
divorced friends and family?
The main arguments against gay marriage
are religious, and also by those who
are fearful and narrow. Isn’t it more indecent
to take vows in a church before God
and then break that covenant as easily as
folks seem to do these days?
Now gay people wanting to be responsible
and committed are the new evil that
must be banned!
The bottom line about “gay marriage” is
that all we are asking is for the right to say
that: I, too, am a “viable human being” and
my life has just as much value as anyone’s. I
bleed, I pray, I cry, I work, I
pay taxes, and may have
children, too. I’m
someone’s mother,
sister, daughter, partner,
friend, and aunt.
I’m tired of living in
fear and I just want to love someone who
loves me while I live on this earth.
I’ll guarantee there are many more “live
and let live” people than there are frightened,
ignorant people who share the
writer’s views. I know, because I’ve met
many of them throughout my life and
thank God for them all.

— Colleen McGraw

■ ■ ■
Reader: The headline read “Tehachapi
prison fight breaks out.” It should have
been called a riot.
It seems like when things happen in
prison, they’re downplayed. It’s not a riot,
it’s a fight. Webster’s defines a riot as “a violent
public disorder; specifically: a tumultuous
disturbance of the public peace by
three or more persons assembled together
and acting with a common intent.” The
article goes on to report, “up to 200 people.”
People, they are inmates. I was wondering
if somehow up to 200 citizens of Kern
County got into a fight at Tehachapi state
prison. Then if once isn’t enough it is
reported, “the fight was between inmates
from southern California and people from
Mexico.”
Now I’m really left to wonder if there were
“people” visiting the prison from Mexico
and maybe the inmates from southern California
got into a riot with them?
Stop the downplaying! Call it what it is. A
riot between 200 inmates took place. The
riot participants were Hispanic inmates
from southern California and Mexico,
because I’m sure we can’t call them illegal
immigrants!

— John Langham

Jenner: I agree. We should have called it
an inmate riot.

■ ■ ■
Reader: This is the first year any local
high school has initiated the sport of water
polo. Garces High School recruited both
boys and girls to start learning the sport
and formed teams that practiced many
hours every day this summer. They must
travel to all of their meets except for two.
We have gone and watched our grandson
and his team. This is a grueling, physically
challenging, yet very exciting sport that has
captured very, very little coverage by our
only local newspaper, or TV media.
Would anyone care to answer why? Many
of these students would like to add their
stats from this sport to their resumes when
applying for college academic and sports
scholarships.

— Cynthia Williams

Jenner: I’m not sure if you missed it, but
we did a big Sports cover full-color centerpiece
spread when the season opened.
As for sending a staffer to every match, we
don’t even staff Cal State Bakersfield’s water
polo matches.
But like every other sport, if the coach or
his designee phones in the results, we’ll run
them.

■ ■ ■
Reader: What has happened to the great
NFL Sunday sports page? Last Sunday’s was
terrible, it didn’t have a couple of teams
even posted, no lines — JUST TERRIBLE!!!!
Please go back to the old format! I’m sure
that I’m not the only one who noticed this!
I had to get on the Internet to even find
out what was going on with the teams.
Very disappointed customer!

— Sharon Banks

Jenner: We inadvertently left out the New
Orleans-Washington game last week. No
excuses; we shouldn’t have. Sorry.
As for the line — the Vegas odds — those
can be found on the scoreboard page. We’ve
tried to reduce redundancy in the section,
and that was one of our areas.
We don’t plan to return to the old format.

■ ■ ■
Reader: I would just like to thank you and
The Californian for having columnist Lois
Henry on board. She is one of the bright
stars of the paper. And one of few times that
we hear really objective reasoning in various
issues involving the county. I applaud
you for having her and I trust that you will
keep her on.
I was particularly interested and gratified
in her response to Nicole Parra’s complaint
of the article covering her.

— C.J. Kirkemo

Jenner: Asking Lois to write a column
was one of the brightest ideas we’ve had.
We do intend to “keep her on.”

Sound Off for Sept. 14, 2008

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:28:18 PDT

Reader: After reading last
Sunday’s Californian, I
could not help recalling a
Shakespeare quote: “the
(Californian) doth protest
too much, methinks.”
Clearly, neither the liberal
press nor media can stand
the heat (and public outing)
now that a clear image has
been demonstrated as to
the media bias in this election
year. It has become so
obvious that even neutral
polling has made the point.
The Californian is no different
and the Sunday paper
further demonstrated this
point.
Your Sound Off comments
were The Californian’s
attempt to justify its
claimed neutral coverage,
including the “broadening”
of contributing sources. But
the inclusion of specific
articles is at the discretion
of The Californian, and the
“titles” are approved by
staff. Then, Robert Price
put in his op-ed piece
defending the media. At
least this piece was under
the “Opinion” section.
Nevertheless, Page A8 was
The Californian’s “Campaign
08” section. What was
covered? There was an article
describing the events of
the previous day. Fine.
There was an article
marked “commentary,” but
with a title suggesting
something else. This third
op-ed piece again defended
the media and press. Finally,
there was a “Fact Check
of Obama’s Rhetoric vs.
Reality.” Strange, Obama
was not mentioned or quoted
once. Why was this article
about McCain missteps?
I know, Mr. Jenner, all
simply oversights or
improper editing. Still, I
must wonder why so much
defense. There must be
something that needs
defending. Possibly, Mr.
Price and The Californian
should conduct another
investigation.

—Craig Beardsley

Jenner: Sorry if I sounded
too defensive, but I believe
there is indeed something
that needs defending.
I do take umbrage with
generalized complaints that
lump us in the same boat
with NBC, CNN and the rest
of the “liberal media elite.”
Our coverage has been
different. Here’s just one
example: When Sarah Palin
gave a series of interviews
with ABC’s Charlie Gibson
last week, rather than publish
endless analysis of what
she did or didn’t say, we
printed his questions and
her answers, so readers
could make up their own
minds.
And when we learned that
Gibson had misquoted
Palin about whether or not
the Iraq war was “God’s
plan” — and our wire services
failed to give us a story
about that detail — we
reported and wrote our own
story pointing it out.
I’m not saying we’re perfect,
or that no bias will
make it onto our pages. But
unlike our cable and broadcast
counterparts, we’re trying
to focus on issues and
substance. That’s why we’re
not blowing out “lipstick on
a pig” or stories about children
of candidates on the
front page.

■ ■ ■
Reader: Thank you for
running the “Fact Check”
articles by Associated Press
writer Jim Kuhnhenn concerning
the Republican
National Convention.
I found it interesting that I
do not recall having seen a
similar “Fact Check” article
appearing during the
Democratic National Convention.
I can only conclude that
The Californian either did
not choose to run a similar
Fact Check story during the
Democratic National Convention,
or the Associated
Press did not think it necessary
to “Fact Check” statements
made during the
DNC.
Am I wrong in my reasoning?

—Chris Padham

Jenner: The Associated
Press did not offer a similar
story on the acceptance
speeches of Sens. Barack
Obama and Joseph Biden.
For that reason we sought
and obtained the “fact
check” analysis from the
Dallas Morning News comparing
Obama’s campaign
rhetoric to the facts. We
published it last Sunday.

■ ■ ■
Reader: In last Sunday’s
paper, the piece headlined
“Obama’s Campaign rhetoric
vs. reality” focuses on
the claims made by Obama
in his acceptance speech.
At www.Factcheck.org,
the instances where
McCain also distorts the
truth in his acceptance
speech are clearly documented.
Why only focus on Obama?
This one-sided view is
evidence of bias in The Californian.

—J.Armento

Jenner: We haven’t
focused only on Obama. We
ran similar pieces examining
the claims and facts in
speeches by Sarah Palin and
John McCain.

■ ■ ■
Reader: Just finished
Robert Price’s Sept. 7 column,
that’s a classic. You
did an exceptionally good
job. I like your approach.
Hang in there, guys.

— Don Stewart

■ ■ ■
Reader: Regarding Monday’s
front-page story on
Down syndrome: I assume
next you will be running a
front page story on why
abstinence doesn’t work?
If one child is hands off
the other children should
also be!

—Judy Grayson

Jenner: The story was
about Down syndrome. It
reflected the comments and
feelings of local parents of
children with Down syndrome,
who believe Sarah
Palin’s run for vice president
will raise awareness of the
syndrome.
That’s all we were trying
to do. Beyond the Palin connection,
the story was not
political in any way, and did
not delve into personal or
private issues in the Palin
family.
It was a fine story, and I’m
glad we did it.

Reader: How could such
a blatant error be overlooked?
It is Down’s Syndrome,
not Down
syndrome, as Monday’s
Page One headline stated.

—Nancy Duncan

Jenner: At one point
“Down’s Syndrome” was the
most common usage, and is
still widely used.
But in the past several
years, The National Institutes
of Health and the
American Medical Association,
as well as many medical
dictionaries and
encyclopedias, prefer
“Down syndrome.” That is
the style that is preferred by
the Associated Press stylebook,
which is our reference.

■ ■ ■
Reader: In typical slanted
liberal voting standards
you’ve come up with a way
to poll readers and still keep
or remove the comic strips
you want while pretending
that it is the will of your
readers. Your misguided
poll in no way gives a true
measure of which comics
should stay or go.
Example: Let’s say my top
six favorite strips are Luann,
Zits, For Better or for Worse,
Blondie, Hagar the Horrible
and Beetle Bailey. My six
least favorite strips are Pickles,
Family Circus, Baby
Blues, Brewster Rocket
Space Guy, Dilbert and Real
Life adventures.
In your poll, I would only
be able to vote for two of my
favorite comics and two of
my least favorite.
I suggest that you have
readers list them in the
order of their preference. If
you don’t believe that there
would be a remarkable difference
I challenge The Californian
to poll both ways
and compare. I am sure that
your reasons for trying to
maintain control from your
readers’ true preferences
have to do with your cost
for certain strips over others,
but please don’t play us
for fools by trying to make
us think we have a choice.

— Christian Logan

Jenner: Here’s whatManaging
Editor Steve Mullen
has to say:
“We’ve done comics polls
many different ways over
the years, and we have never
been able to please
everyone. We’re trying
things this way in order to
‘spread out’ the votes a little
among different types of
strips. That way, all readers
must choose different
types.
“We thought that would
be more fair to the newer
strips, which have a disadvantage
to the tried-andtrue
ones.
“I appreciate that you
have given this a lot of
thought, enough to even
discover a masked liberal
agenda. That obviously
wasn’t the intent.”

■ ■ ■
Reader: I understand
why gay marriage has occupied
the news so frequently,
and I agree that gay marriage
is important to both
supporters and opponents.
I am deeply disappointed
with the recent content
being displayed during the
5 and 6 o’clock news hour.
As a mother of three, my
family gathers around the
table each night to enjoy
the company of one another,
the nourishment of our
meal time, and insight to
our wonderful city, state
and world we live in.
I have been noticing more
and more video of civil ceremonies
capturing the
physical affection shown
between two men or two
women.
I am troubled with segments
featuring kissing
between same sex couples
during prime time when my
children are at the dinner
table with us.
I am not asking for a
removal of same-sex ceremonies
on local news stations,
but am requesting
that affection (kissing) of
same sex couples not be
shown during the earlier
hours of the evening.
I feel it highly inappropriate
for children to see
something on local news
during prime time that they
may not be ready for at
such vulnerable an age.
So, I am asking for the
support of The Californian,
KERO, KBAK and KGET to
block out the kissing of gay
couples when reporting on
the issue of gay marriage.

— Melanie Stevenson

Jenner: I can’t and won’t
speak for the TV stations,
but will simply say that we
have worked hard to cover
this issue with respect for all
— including the many readers
like you who prefer to
not witness public displays
of affection.
We’ll continue to do so.

■ ■ ■
Reader: As a longtime
subscriber to The Californian
(60 years) I have often
been impressed with pictures
taken by your staff
photographers. Casey
Christie’s shots of Kern
wildlife are unsurpassed.
On August 29th a photo
by Harry Barrios titled “All
About Safety” immediately
brought to mind Dr. Chuck
Wall’s “Random Acts of
Kindness” movement.
It shows an older gentleman,
crossing guard
Richard Lavender, kneeling
at the curb tying the
shoelaces of a young boy so
that he might safely cross
Belle Terrace on his way to
school.
This is the type of scene
that Norman Rockwell portrayed
so well in his paintings
and were often on the
covers of national magazines.
I wish this one could
find its way there too — it
truly exemplifies the saying
“one picture is worth a
thousand words.”

— Pat Parsons

Jenner: I felt exactly the
same way when I saw that
picture. We’re truly fortunate
to have such a talented
staff. Thanks for writing.

■ ■ ■
Reader: On Page A7 of
Thursday’s Californian, not
the front page, near the bottom
of the page this story,
“Lawmaker admits mistakes.”
It’s about Charles Rangel,
a liberal pit bull congressman
always at the ready to
jump on any Republican for
sneezing too loud — just
ask Trent Lott.
Here’s a congressman
who’s committed a crime —
tax fraud. The article is only
five paragraphs and the story
comes from the Associated
Press and you can bet
the farm this will be the end
to this story.
In case you didn’t know,
The Californian is chockfull
of liberals of “low
degree.” That’s why the story
is at the bottom of Page
Seven. It’s not coincidence.

—Phil Patrick

Jenner: Rangel is the
head of the House Ways and
Means Committee, and the
story was certainly newsworthy.
But the New York congressman
hasn’t been
charged with a crime, and
at this point, the story was
played appropriately. It
wasn’t worth the front page.
We’ll follow this story, and
keep readers updated.
If Rangel is removed from
his post or Congress, or sent
to prison, you can be sure it
won’t be “the end of the story”—
and I’ll look forward
to owning a farm at last.

■ ■ ■
Reader: I would just like
to say I like the format of
The Bakersfield Californian
and especially the narrow
size, but I do miss having
the weather page across the
top half of the page.
It seems more complete
reading it crossways.
Thank you

— Jan Abbey

Sound off for Sept. 7, 2008

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:23:18 PDT

Reader: When it comes to scrutinizing
candidates, Editorial Page Editor Dianne
Hardisty’s “Sarah Barracuda” column misses
the point. The charge that the left-wing
media made, even before Palin had a
chance to stand before the American people,
is that she should not be running for VP
because she is a mother of children. Yet this
very media has never challenged Obama on
the same issue even though he is a father.
This is a double standard and pure sexism.
Even before Palin had the opportunity to
say a word, the mainstream media was digging
into her past, even as they have conveniently
ignored much of Obama’s history
such as his relationship with his unrepented
terrorist friend, William Ayers, and his
years under the leadership of his racist and
anti-American mentor/pastor, the Rev.
Jeremiah Wright. And even as the mainstream
media bloviates about Todd Palin’s
DUI over two decades ago, it fails to mention
that at the same time Obama was
doing cocaine.
The liberal media cried “foul” when
Michelle Obama was taken to task regarding
her public political statements while
proclaiming that family is off limits. Yet they
tore into Palin’s personal affairs because her
17-year-old daughter was blessed with a
baby that will be given life in a home with a
father and mother rather than being aborted
in true liberal fashion. I suppose what is
being said is that while it is OK to tear into
the past of a conservative Republican
woman, we need to leave secular progressive
Democrats alone.

— Don Wigton

Jenner: I can’t speak for other media, and
I’ll let Dianne Hardisty speak for herself,
but first I’ll clarify what we have and haven’t
done.
We have not taken Palin to task because
she’s a mother running for vice president.
Nor did we “tear into” her personal affairs
when her daughter’s pregnancy came to
light. We ran a short story on an inside page
when Palin announced her daughter’s pregnancy.
I didn’t think the story was worth the
front page. But I do believe it is not only
appropriate for us to report on Palin’s
record and her past, it’s our job and even
our duty. Until John McCain announced
her as his running mate, she was a complete
unknown to many of our readers.
We’ve written about the dirty laundry of
Obama, McCain and even Biden. Why
should Palin be exempt from scrutiny?
Here’s Dianne Hardisty’s response: “As to
my column, its basic messages were that
Gov. Sarah Palin is a tough, smart elected
official who isn’t afraid of a fight and has
shown she can both dish it out and take it. I
also noted that scrutinizing Palin’s qualification
and claims are legitimate — as did
Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine,
who I cited in the column.
“Over the past year and a half, all the candidates
— Obama, McCain, Biden, Huckabee,
you name them, have been scrutinized.
Some of the very things you refer to
regarding Obama you learned from the
“mainstream media.” How can you say the
media has ignored Obama’s ties to Ayers?
And the Rev. Wright controversy was the
central topic of news stories, columns, editorials,
cartoon and nighttime comics for
weeks. As to Obama’s drug use, he writes
about it in his own book. Palin has admitted
to smoking marijuana. But is that relevant
now? I suppose voters will decide that.
“The difference now is that Palin has just
landed in the public spotlight. She is a relative
unknown to folks outside her state.
There’s a lot of catching up to do regarding
her experience as it relates to her potentially
becoming president. As to the “liberal
media” dredging up the stories about Palin
— some of the reports surfaced first on the
Internet. The McCain/Palin camp called
press conferences and issued news releases
to rebut false stories. The media covered
and reported these events.
“I’m not sure what you would want to
happen. Allow the rumors to just swirl out
of control on the Internet, without allowing
Palin to respond?
“The next several weeks leading up to the
election will be an intense test for all candidates.
That’s how our elections are conducted.
That’s the way our system works.”

■ ■ ■
Reader: I would like to know how much
money the Democratic National Committee
paid to The Californian to run the Sept.
3 hit piece on Sarah Palin. This Page One
article is “masked” as being from The Associated
Press but could have easily been
written by the Obama campaign.
The headline reads “more questions arise
on Palin’s past.” The article then talks about
a “burst of new revelations.” But in total violation
of Journalism 101 no source for these
attacks or revelations is ever quoted.
Now let me think. Who would bring up
such “questions?” Who has a vested interest
in seeing Palin defeated? Why the Democratic
Party, that is who.
This is in no way, shape or form a news
article. It is an opinion hit piece masked as
news.

— Gary Julian

Jenner: The story was
not a “hit piece,” nor is
the past of a candidate
who may someday be
our president out of
bounds or off-limits.
I don’t buy your argument that the story
was a “total violation of Journalism 101.”
The details from Palin’s past itemized in
the story are not in dispute; they simply
hadn’t been reported at a national level.
The two questions you ask have different
answers. Yes, Democrats would have a vested
interest in seeing Palin defeated. But
every voter and every citizen has a vested
interest in knowing about who is running.

■ ■ ■
Reader:Watched Gov. Palin’s speech
Wednesday evening. Enjoyed it. Got Thursday’s
paper. Front “A” section full of negative
stories about Sarah Palin from the discredited
New York Times and from the leftist
Los Angeles Times—newspapers that do
the bidding of the Democratic party. One
heading stated that the “next” audience is
going to be harder to please and Gov. Palin
has “no” ideas. Doesn’t surprise me.
What disappoints me is that The
Californian uses these widely known liberal
papers. Why? Seems to me I’ve asked this
question before and have not yet gotten an
intelligent answer, only the runaround. The
Californian cannot call itself a fair and balanced
paper when it’s full of liberal propaganda.
Please, Jenner, someone answer my
question why The Californian uses all these
liberal papers to get us information when
that’s not what we really get? Any honest
libs there?

— Phil Patrick

Jenner: First, let’s get the facts straight.
We ran two stories on Sarah Palin and her
speech. The L.A.Times story quoted from
her speech at length and was nowhere close
to “negative.”
TheNew York Times story looked at the
campaign Palin and McCain will conduct
going forward. It indeed said Palin’s future
audiences might not be as supportive as the
convention’s audience, which former Sen.
John Danforth referred to as the “choir.” The
headline on the continuation of that story
absolutely did not say Palin has no ideas. It
simply said “Speech: Palin hasn’t offered
ideas for her role as VP.”
As for the sources of our news report, we
rely not just on The Associated Press, but on
other news organizations whose staffers
cover national events and topics.
We subscribe to services that provide the
reporting of a number of newspapers. If you
look back at our convention coverage from
the last two weeks, you’ll see stories not just
from The New York Times and Los Angeles
Times, but also from the Washington Post,
Chicago Tribune,Dallas Morning News and
the Gannett News Service.
The stories we publish are chosen
because they’re well reported, well written,
and relevant, wherever they come from.
Over the years, we’ve tried to further
diversify our base of national sources. I’ve
talked to editors from The Wall Street Journal
and other newspapers considered to be
“conservative” — but they’re not presently
offering their news reports for syndication.

■ ■ ■
Reader: I was extremely disappointed
with this headline above the article in last
Sunday’s Californian: “Democrats digging
for dirt as GOP prepares her defense.”
It implies an effort on the part of the
Democrats to find some mud to sling at
Mrs. Palin. We have unfortunately a sad history
during political campaigns of too
much such negative activity. It benefits no
one of either party to believe that there are
active efforts by the respective parties to
find some “dirt.”
Looking for something in the experience
or public life of the several candidates that
may raise questions regarding the individual’s
ability to fulfill the needs of the office.
The use of the pejorative “dirt” is not the
same as “background,” which would have
been appropriate.
The responsible editor should carefully
consider the words used in the headlines,
unless the intent is to slant the headlines. I
sincerely hope this is not true, especially
where politics is involved.

— Albert Abrams

Jenner: There was no intent to slant the
headline to bash the Democrats.
And I’d like to be as high-minded as you,
but when political operatives engage in
what’s called “oppositional research,”
there’s a thin line between “dirt” and “background.”

■ ■ ■
Reader: I understand your decision to
reduce the size of your paper, however I am
very disappointed in reducing the size of
the Weather page. I have many relatives and
friends in Alabama, Georgia and North
Dakota and was disappointed in your dropping
such cities as Mobile, Montgomery,
Augusta and Fargo.
Why not take a lesson from USA Today
and expand weather to a full page? This
would attract much more reader interest
not only from locals but visitors as well,
showing Bakersfield as a nationally minded
community.

— Kathryn Lee

Jenner: When we reformatted the Weather
Page, we had to trim some of the cities we
listed so it would fit into a half-page format.
For several years we did devote a full page
to the weather, but we ultimately didn’t feel
the benefits the larger page offered outweighed
the newsprint costs, which were
significant.
We have no plans to return to the fullpage
presentation.
Executive Editor Mike Jenner and The Californian staff welcome your
comments and suggestions. To offer your input by phone, please
call 395-7649 and leave your comments in a voice-mail message or
send a note to soundoff@bakersfield.com. Please include your
phone number so we can call you if we need more information.

Sound off for Aug. 31, 2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:45:16 PDT

Reader: I think that your newspaper
has ran more positive and
more stories supporting the
Democratic side. As a newspaper
you should be showing all information
for both sides. I am Republican
and do not like the information
you have been printing. If this continues,
I hope that more people in
my situation feel the same way and
discontinue your newspaper.
— Peter Martinez

Jenner: One week ago, on the eve
of the Democratic National Convention,
we ran a front page profile of
Barack Obama, with two pages
inside. We also gave front-page display
to the convention’s daily events.
Now that the eve of the Republican
National Convention has
arrived, we will give equivalent
treatment to the Republicans.
Today’s paper features several articles
and photos on the GOP, including
a two-page profile of Sen. John
McCain on Page A8. And, as we did
for the Democrats, the RNC will be
front-page news every day.
■ ■ ■
Reader: Since you changed your
paper I am missing the Eye Street
feature on movie stars that used to
be on the same page with the crossword
puzzle. I just wanted to tell the
editor that I miss that and wish they
would find a place to put it back.
— Doris Lewis

Jenner: We haven’t eliminated
People in the News. This feature on
celebrities still runs Monday
through Saturday. However, on a
couple of days we’ve reduced its
size significantly. We know that’s a
popular feature and we’ll try to
make sure we make it prominent
enough that its followers can find it.
■ ■ ■
Reader: My complaint is the size
that you’ve gone to in the paper. It
has made everything smaller. Each
line in the Classified section is kind
of squished. It’s like each column is
like squished together. Also, it
smears. I get smears all the time in
the Classified, so bad you can hardly
read it. I wish you’d go back to the
regular size paper. That’s my complaint.
— Cliff Cooper

Jenner: We didn’t reduce the size
of type in Classified, nor the space
between lines. We did take out
some of the space between the
individual ads. Our pressroom has
made great progress in reducing
complaints of smeared type and
continues to focus on that.
■ ■ ■
Reader: In regard to the crime
report, oh, boy, I don’t like it. I know
you’re trying to save space.
I check my area, which is 93301,
and I also check my son’s area,
which is 93305. He’s in beat 14. I
know the streets in my area, but I
don’t know the names of all the
streets in his beat. It’s very big.
Beats 13 and 15 are nearby and so I
like to look at those also. With the
way you have it laid out I have no
idea if any of the places that have
been targeted are in my son’s vicinity.
If you could maybe make the
original maps smaller, perhaps a little
bit, and still run one set each day
perhaps. The new system just doesn’t
work out for me. I don’t know if
any others feel the same way.
— Barbara Bates

Jenner: We’ll take a look and see
if we can present this in a more
useful way, but our previous presentation
of the city’s crime data
was inefficient and unworkable for
us. The new presentation does
allow readers to see the addresses
of all reported property crimes in
one package.
■ ■ ■
Reader: Every Sunday afternoon
I read the paper then, with great
relish, work the crossword puzzle
that has the Cryptoquip at the bottom,
which I also love. Now I can
no longer work the puzzle as it is
too small. Everything else about
your new format is fine with me. I
like being able to hold the paper
and read it with the new size.
PULEEZE change the crossword
puzzle back to its original size!
— Pat Eyraud

Jenner: You’ll be pleased to see
we’re making the
Sunday Classified
crossword
puzzle
bigger, as
well as the daily Classified Corner
feature.
■ ■ ■
Reader: I actually do like the
smaller-sized newspaper. There
were some things I did not like at
first, but I have seen improvements.
There is one thing, though, that I
really miss. You used to run an article
called “Best Bets” next to the TV
listings. I realize you have now
included more TV listings that take
up a lot of room, but I really miss
this article and hope you can find
room for it.
— Judy Dotson

Jenner: The “Best Bets” feature
fell by the wayside in the new format.
We’ll take a look, but I’m not
sure where we could put it.
■ ■ ■
Reader: I am real disappointed
in this new paper, I don’t like it at
all. I don’t like the length of it and I
don’t like the width of it. I wish
you’d go back to the way it was.
You’re not saving any paper by
lengthening it like this. It’s even
hard to read.
I know I’m not the only one who’s
disappointed in it. I wish you’d
change it back to the old way. This
is really just stupid.
I just want you to know how I feel
about it.
— Lorene Abshier

Jenner: I’m sorry you don’t like it.
I appreciate your opinion, but we
have no plans to return to the old
width — and the length hasn’t
changed.
Although I’ve run most of the
complaints in Sound Off, we’ve
also received a lot of comments
from readers who prefer the new
width. We’re now focused on
improving the new format and
making it as useful as possible.
To that end, I have a couple of
items to share with readers:
Now that we’ve increased the
type size in our TV grids, the company
that builds this page for us is
adding the Speed Channel, the
Travel Channel and the International
History Channel. These
additional listings should show up
late this week.
We’ll launch another survey of
reader comics preferences in next
Sunday’s Eye Street section. And
yes, Sherman’s Lagoon will have a
spot on the ballot.
■ ■ ■
Reader: Why don’t you have a
theater critic/reviewer at the
paper? Other cities larger and
smaller than Bakersfield offer this
service.
Perhaps if you were to offer this
to your readers, the theater venues
in town would have better attendance
and not be struggling so
much to keep afloat in order to
showcase the wonderful talent
here in Bakersfield.
Many thanks,
— Lori Hobmann

Jenner: I asked Jennifer Self,
who directs our arts and entertainment
coverage, to respond to your
note. Here’s what she has to say:
I couldn’t agree more with your
assessment of the wonderful talent
here on Bakersfield stages. But I do
disagree with your belief that we’re
ignoring local theater. I glanced
through the last few weeks of our
Eye on Entertainment section,
which publishes every Thursday,
and found:
A full-page piece on Bakersfield
Community Theatre, which featured
its season-opener, “Plaza
Suite.” The piece, which included
several photos of past productions,
also mentioned an exhaustive new
compilation by Steven Bradshaw
that lists every play mounted at the
theater in its 82-year history.
Four profiles of standout stage
performers Jeremiah Heitman,
Abby Bowles, Amy Hall and Tim
Fromm.
A rave of “Madea” at the Empty
Space by Californian arts columnist
Camille Gavin, who encouraged
readers to catch the last performances.
Features with photos on the
Youth Theatre production of
“Charlotte’s Web” at Bakersfield
Community Theatre; the Spotlight
Theatre’s popular “History of Rock &
Roll: Born in the U.S.A.”; the Mountain
Shakespeare Festival in Frazier
Park; “Evita” for Cal State Bakersfield’s
Theatrefest; and profiles of
the playwrights who contributed
work to Bakersfield Community
Theatre’s annual One-Act Festival.
Smaller items on “Monterey
Jack” at the Gaslight Melodrama
and auditions for Bakersfield College’s
annual Shakespeare Festival.
A complete listing of theater
performances in our weekly entertainment
calendar.
The arts are the heartbeat of any
city’s cultural life, and we at The
Californian consider it our mission
to promote them. In fact, we’re currently
devoting our Thursday covers
and two pages inside to a project
called Eye Gallery, which features
the work of local visual artists. We
started the project last year as a way
to introduce our community to
these tremendous talents.
Of the four contributing Eye
Street columnists, one is devoted
solely to the arts, with an emphasis
on the performing arts — despite
our needs for coverage in other
topics of interest to our readers.
And though our space is limited,
we have given Camille Gavin’s Arts
Alive column greater prominence
in the last year, with more photos
and usually positioning on one of
our coveted color pages.
It’s true that we rarely run reviews.
With limited staffing, we have to
make tough choices and we feel it’s
more helpful to our readers to know
about a production before it opens.
Reviews, of course, are a doubleedged
sword: Any honest reviewer
must include observations about a
play’s weaknesses as well as its triumphs.
Whether that would help
turn out audiences is debatable.
Still, we welcome the public to
write reviews of any local performance.
Go to Bakersfield.com
/yourwords and fire away. We’ll
consider any review for publication
in the paper.
■ ■ ■
Reader: I have been a subscriber
of this paper for at least 30 years
and have noticed that your sports
section is so in love with the L.A.
Dodgers that even when they lose
they make the front page of the
Sports section and sometimes even
the front page of the first section.
Meanwhile, even though the
Angels are the best team in baseball
today they just barely make it
into the third to fourth page of the
Sports section.
I am a big fan of the Angels and
was wondering why this is so. Is it
to get me to go through the complete
Sports section to get the
results or is it just prejudice?
Thank you for listening.
— Clinton Johnson

Jenner: Prejudice seems like a
harsh word. But we do believe that
fan interest is higher for the
Dodgers, and more readers closely
follow the Dodgers than the Angels.
It’s true that the Angels are one of
the top teams in baseball — one of
three teams playing .600 ball or better.
With the next-best team in their
division some 15 games behind, it
would be almost impossible for
them not to win their division.
The Dodgers, on the other hand,
are in the thick of a fight for their
division — or at least they were till
they entered an eight-game losing
streak.
Rest assured that as the season
progresses and the race for the
pennant intensifies, we’ll give the
Angels their due.
■ ■ ■
Reader: Dear Dianne Hardisty,
Surely you have noticed some of
the idiotic comments the N.Y.
Times and other very liberal papers
continue to make and their constantly
being supportive of extreme
liberalism. You and The Californian
are in a position where you could
“educate” your readers.
Even though Bakersfield is fairly
conservative, there are still many
terribly uninformed residents. I
read some of the “letters to the editor”
and some of these poor people
just don’t have a clue as to what is
going on in this nation, no understanding
of the market and/or economics.
Why is “common sense” so
uncommon?
Many letters show a total rejection
of the Godly values this nation
was founded on, totally ignoring
what has happened to this nation
the past 60 years since abandoning
Godly principles.
I am assuming YOU as an educated
person are aware of such things.
You and the paper could be an
instrument of learning and do this
nation a tremendous favor in the
process. Look behind the problems
this state is in and the underlying
cause.
Dianne, I would really appreciate
your thoughts and comments
regarding my comments! Make an
exception and answer me, please!!
— Lynn Anderson

Dianne Hardisty responds:
What can I say? Those you describe
as clueless have responded similarly
to some of your letters.
In fact, I recently had someone
who shares your name submit a
letter disavowing what you had
written and wanting her friends
and neighbors to know it was not
the “Lynn Anderson” they knew
who had penned the words.
People have different perspectives.
That does not make them
clueless or idiots. We will always
attempt to inform and educate in
our editorial and column writing,
as well as our publication of news
stories.

Sound off for Aug. 24, 2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:36:57 PDT

Reader: I just wanted to tell you that
I was really surprised at all the nega-
tive comments that were made con-
cerning the new format.
From day one, I found the new size
totally easier to handle. The expanded
TV section is awesome, and I find the
print extremely easy to read. And this
comes from a person who sometimes
uses a magnifying glass to read direc-
tions. I really prefer the magazine-size
papers as far as handling goes, but I
am not going to complain about what
you are doing about the smaller size.
As for the comics, I will leave that for
another day.
Thank you.
— Norma Schmidt

Reader: Since you have agreed to
list Speed Channel again, please,
please also list Travel Channel! This is
the most important listing for my
household.
— Linda Cohen

Reader: I want to complain about
the new format. The printing in the
classified ads and the TVsection is so
small you can’t hardly read it. In most
cases it’s blurred. The printing isn’t
clear. The printing in the majority of
the paper is way too small. If you can’t
read it, there’s no sense in keeping
your subscription.
— Mrs. Neff

Reader: I’m not happy with the new
format of The Californian because of
the smaller print. For older people, it
makes it more difficult to read. I don’t
know if that was a consideration
before, but I’m finding that I cannot
read the paper as easily as I used to
when you had the larger pages. Maybe
I’m wrong, but there are some things I
can’t find. Maybe they’re just in
another location which is also a prob-
lem, but I am not happy with it. Thank
you very much.
— Leah Garthoffner

Reader: I’m very fortunate. I retired
early. I’m 60 years old. Our favorite
thing to do in the morning is to come
out on the patio, have coffee and read
the paper. We sincerely enjoy the
Cryptoquip. It takes a little brain
power.
We watch the funnies. The funnies
you put in were Sherman’s Lagoon,
Pearls Before Swine — we enjoyed
them. You saw fit to remove Sherman’s
Lagoon, but you left Retail, Brewster
Rockit and idiot cartoons aimed at
people who are brainless. I hope that
you can bring back Sherman’s
Lagoon.
— Mr. Bussard

Reader: I’m calling to comment on
the paper’s new size. I think it’s great.
It’s a lot easier to hold and handle.
— Jan Winchester

Reader: I will certainly miss Marvin;
it was one of my favorites. I used to cut
them out and mail them to my grand-
children. I would just like to ask that
when you do your survey that you
include it in your survey.
— Carolyn Bergman

Reader: I’m calling about the new
format of the newspaper which I like
fine. The only thing that I miss that I
really enjoyed was in the Weather sec-
tion. You used to have the high in the
nation and low in the nation for the
day before. If possible, I would like to
see you bring that back.
— Janet York

Reader: I just wanted you to know
we really enjoy and appreciate the
smaller paper. It’s so much easier to
read and the darker print is good for
our aging eyes.
Thank you so much.
— Ruby Tyree

Reader: Love, love, love the new,
smaller newspaper. It’s so much easier
to handle. Thank you.
— Mary Cummings

Jenner: Thanks for all the com-
ments and suggestions about our
recent format change.
Although we reduced the width of
pages, we did not reduce the size of
our body type. And while we did
reduce the amount of spacing
between the classified ads, we did not
reduce the size of the type in classified
listings.
We’ve asked the company that pro-
duces our TVlistings to bump up the
size of type that appears in the grids,
and we’ve lightened the color tints
that appear over some of the boxes.
We will launch our next comics poll
on Sept. 7 in Eye
Street, and readers
may voice their
opinions on our
comics lineup,
and on Sherman’s Lagoon.
I appreciate every letter and call,
and we’ll consider implementing all
reasonable suggestions.
Thanks for taking the time to com-
ment.
■ ■ ■
Reader: Now every drunk in this
town will now “KNOW” it’s better for
them to just leave the scene of an acci-
dent, thanks to your article. Do you
really think this is smart reporting?
When the statistics start showing an
increase in “hit-and-run” accidents
next year, will you think twice about
your article?
I don’t believe this was a good idea
to write this article. Sure, it does get
me thinking and fired up about
increasing the punishment of leaving
the scene of an accident; and maybe
that was your point. But I guarantee
you there is probably a young college
kid who will one day find himself in
this situation; and now his chances of
staying at the scene are decreased
because he will now contemplate the
“easy route.”
Thank you,
—Rachelle Hunt

Jenner: By merely reporting any
crimes, we run the risk of encouraging
“copycat” behavior. In this case, we
reported on a problem that has been
around for years.
Few crimes are as reprehensible as
hit-and-run driving. It’s outrageous
that perpetrators often dodge the
punishment they’re due by fleeing the
scene.
Editors and the reporter discussed
in advance the possibility that some
readers would voice such objections if
we published this story.
But we felt it was important to
inform our readers about this prob-
lem. Ibelieve the likelihood of a sus-
pect fleeing the scene of an accident is
more dependent on their character
than what they may have read.
And we don’t do the community any
favors by ignoring real life.
■ ■ ■
Reader: I have always found Bak-
ersfield to be an extremely supportive
place to live, but I have to say that I am
absolutely amazed at the lack of
response and support from the public
and local media.
Bakersfield has, for the first time
ever, placed a baseball team in the Cal
Ripken League World Series in
Aberdeen, Md., but no one seems to
know or care.
These boys have worked hard and
played hard to earn the right and the
honor to play, yet have had no local
support. The Northwest Bakersfield
team (Pacific Southwest in the league
listings) went 4-0 until losing in semi-
finals.
Yet there were no announcements
or stories, no support of any kind from
home, even when they were two
games away from playing in the World
Series.
Shame on Bakersfield’s public, local
officials and the local media who have
ignored a great story and/or the
chance to support some very deserv-
ing young men.
In today’s society, when bad news is
usually the only news you hear, it
would be great for Bakersfield to know
that we do have good things happen-
ing and have the opportunity to sup-
port those individuals.
— Kellie Salmon

Jenner:Here’s what we published:
• Tuesday, Aug. 5 — A team picture
and 10-inch preview story.
• Wednesday, Aug. 13 — “NW
clinches spot in Ripken semifinal,” a
recap of the first 3 days, Page C5.
• Thursday, Aug. 14 — “NW All-Stars
finish perfect in pool play,” Page D6.
• Friday, Aug. 15 — “Northwest elim-
inated,” Page E8.
These stories were produced by
staffer Ron Stapp by gathering info
from the Web.
The team opted to not call us with
highlights even though we told them
beforehand we’d put stories in the
paper if they did so.
Ihope this helps reshape your feel-
ing that there were “no announce-
ments or stories”or that “bad news is
usually the only news you hear.”
■ ■ ■
Reader: The Lowrider Nationals
was a success as a car show and con-
cert; however, there was an unfortu-
nate incident near the close of the
Lowrider Nationals event on Aug. 3.
To the immense relief of all con-
cerned, car owners and clubs, fans,
staffers and organizers, things did not
go sideways. The trouble was isolated
and the event continued with the
presentation of awards, prizes and
trophies continuing until 8 p.m.
We are deeply saddened that Mr.
Aguilar was injured and we are reach-
ing out to him and his family. We also
express our deepest regrets to the fans
that were put in harm’s way by a few
unruly patrons.
There is no excuse, nor should there
be any tolerance, for this behavior at a
fan-friendly event that attracts fami-
lies and folks from all walks of life.
The organizers will not tolerate this
type of behavior and will make every
effort to ensure that the safety of the
attendees and competitors is first and
foremost.
We thank the sheriff and police
departments for their quick response
and peaceful approach to the situa-
tion. Thanks also to the Kern County
Fairgrounds management for their
diligence and assistance in keeping
everyone safe. Additionally, we thank
the security company for their efforts
to keep things calm.
We apologize directly to those who
have been hurt. The event seeks to
provide a platform for individual car
builders, owners, car and bike clubs
and sports enthusiasts to showcase
their creativity and artistry. The
event’s producers uphold the car
clubs’ principles of leadership, sports-
manship and the spirit of community.
We feel it is necessary to explain fur-
ther in order to properly put this inci-
dent in context.
1. The show was NOT completely
shut down. The awards and prizes
presentation continued until 8 p.m.
Over 300 trophies and $30,000 in
prizes were presented.
2. The trouble was isolated and
most of the fans watching the concert
were unaware of the incident.
4. Reports of large fights were incor-
rect.
3. Organizers were on the stage and
on the grounds and were NOT con-
tacted by any media outlet for com-
ment. As of this message, any media
representative has not contacted us.
4. All performers performed.
5. Next year’s event is scheduled for
Aug. 9, 2009.
— Oralia Michel

Jenner: We didn’t report any large
fights. While awards indeed were pre-
sented after the incident, deputies did
take the stage and announce that they
were shutting down the event.
We did not overplay the news about
the stabbing and the response. We ran
two stories in the Aug. 4 edition, and
the stories and photos on the event
dominated the short piece we did on
the stabbing.
■ ■ ■
Reader: Regarding the Aug. 16 story
reporting the death of Bakersfield
Christian High School player Patrick
Allen, why was the last paragraph of
that story published?
This is a news story. I want facts,
even if the facts are, “They don’t know
exactly what (the cause of death) was”
— a quote from Derik Washington.
But you go on to print a quote from
an anonymous source from a Web
site, “For the record, it wasn’t ‘heat
stroke’ but that may have been a trig-
ger that led to further problems.” It
goes on to say things like “I’m not
sure” and “I heard.” Wow. What is pre-
sented as on the record is nothing but
total speculation, rumor, hearsay. Is
this person a doctor? Can you identify
him/her? What authority does the
person have that would lead you to
quote him “for the record?”
Give me facts in the news article and
leave the anonymous postings to
other sections, please.
In my opinion, you missed it this
time, guys.
— Brian K. Wohlgemuth

Jenner: I agree.
The staffers who put that story
together were working under extreme
deadline conditions and were strug-
gling to include context in the story.
But we shouldn’t have relied on an
anonymous blog post for a medical
opinion.
■ ■ ■
Reader: “Tails of Bakersfield”is a
great idea for a fundraiser for the
S.P.C.A. Kudos to The Californianfor
contributing the cost to print the pic-
tures of our precious pets.
I’m sending in my second picture of
my Australian shepherd today. Keep
’em coming, Bakersfield.
— Patsy Sadler
■ ■ ■
Reader: I have been looking at the
paper and various news reports about
the participating countries and the
Olympics. I looked in the Sports sec-
tion and found the section where “all”
the countries that participated
showed the medals they won.
Where is tiny Israel? Why don’t we
show the medals they won? What is it
about us that has the disgust not to
show “all” the winning countries.
This nation that is founded on the
principles of freedoms of everything
can’t publish the winnings of a coun-
try that is beloved by some and espe-
cially God?
What am I missing and why doesn’t
this local newspaper publish that?
— Bruce Neal

Jenner: The omission of that medal
in Thursday’s Sports section had
nothing to do with God’s love for Israel
and everything to do with deadlines.
Shahar Zubari won Israel’s only
Olympic medal in the early morning
hours Thursday, well past our 11:25
p.m. press deadline.
The medal has been included in
subsequent listings.
This feedback forum is designed to
give readers an easy way to voice
criticisms and compliments or ask
questions about news coverage.

Sound off for Aug. 17, 2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:20:57 PDT

Reader: Messing with the
comics again. You are using
old survey results to elimi-
nate comics that are miles
ahead of some of the newer
ones. Sherman’s Lagoon in
really funny on almost a
daily basis. Marvin is so-so,
and can be at least cute.
Mutts and Brewster
Rockit aren’t even worth a
chuckle. How about a new
survey before you do some-
thing so drastic?
— Mindi Pugh

Reader:I can understand
your wanting to go to a
more up-to-date format.
Saving paper is a good idea
as it saves trees. What I
want saved is “Sherman’s
Lagoon.”
I hope my letter and oth-
ers I am sure you receive
will change your decision.
Sharks Rule!
—Phillip Anderson

Reader: Really disap-
pointed with the paper. The
smaller size? Not good,
awful actually. You say “oth-
ers” use this format? I have
not seen it.
You get rid of Sherman’s
Lagoon and leave idiotic
comics like “Mutts.” You
have not taken a comics
poll in a very long time. It
would have been nice if
you had done one.
I have been a subscriber
for over 40 years, unfortu-
nately that is about to
change, too. I hate to do it,
because I enjoyed the
paper.
Sorry to see you go, but I
have a feeling I am not the
only one jumping ship. Too
bad, but you have not lis-
tened to your subscribers
in the past, why start now?
—Neal Janzen

Reader: You have spent
two articles saying how
GREAT your new format is,
and you tell us how GREAT
we will think it is “once
readers become accus-
tomed to the new format.”
Please be advised that you
do not speak for us.
Concerning the NEW
TYPE, you do not tell the
truth when you state you
“didn’t make it smaller.”
“Utopia” is much smaller
and almost impossible to
read.
You have taken out our
favorite cartoon, Sherman’s
Lagoon, to save space for
useless stuff. The comics
are still the best part of this
paper — add another skin-
ny page for them.
—Brown Higginbotham

Reader:I wanted to com-
plain about eliminating
Sherman’s Lagoon.
Here are some you can
get rid of that are a lot
worse: Retail, Brewster
Rocket, Red & Rover, Fred
Bassett, Mutts and Pickles.
—Adam Jones

Reader: I just wanted to
say that I am very pleased
with what you’ve done with
the paper.
The smaller pages are
easier to handle. I am visu-
ally impaired, but the print
is good and you’ve brought
daytime TVback, all of our
comics are back and all of
the editorials.
I love the pictures, espe-
cially Casey Christie’s. I
really think this is great.
Thank you for the paper.
I’m a 35-year subscriber.
—Edie Lyons

Reader:I take your paper
but I don’t like your little
mini paper. If you’re trying
to save some money why
don’t you just charge more
for the damn paper. Give
me back what I can see.
—Ray Moore

Reader:I’d like to tell you
that your TVGuide is not
readable. You have to use a
magnifying glass.
I would appreciate it if
you could do something for
all of us.
—Sally
Morrison

Reader: I just wanted to
tell you that I’ve been tak-
ing your paper for more
than 70 years and I really
enjoyed Sherman’s Lagoon
and Marvin. I’m very disap-
pointed that you cut them.
Also, the crossword puz-
zle should be moved up
higher on the page —
above the fold. It is very dif-
ficult to do with the fold in
the middle of it.
—Mrs.Stull

Reader: On the Weather
section of your paper Tues-
day, you had Salem, Ore-
gon, listed twice, but you
left off Seattle, Washington,
which has been on there
previously. I feel Washing-
ton should have a little
clout since you didn’t list
any town in the state of
Washington.
— Betty Shaffer

Reader: Is there any rea-
son you couldn’t use a one
point smaller font for the
Horoscope so there would
be room for the whole “Ask
Heloise” column? I looked
at last week’s papers and it
seems like one point small-
er would be the same as we
were used to before.
By the way, I too, am one
who has saved the Sunday
Mini Page for grandkids. I
am glad you are at least
keeping it, even though you
had to change the format,
so we have the whole con-
tent.
I do disagree with the
writer to Sound Off about
the smaller print. I find kids
can read smaller print
much easier than those of
us who are older!!
— Bobbie Hulson

Reader: Thank you,
thank you for making the
newspaper smaller and yet
giving us everything like
before. It’s so much easier
to read now when I sit near
the pool in the morning. I
applaud you for taking this
step.
— Mardi Hinse, sub-
scriber for over 30 years.

Reader: I just wanted to
call and thank Jenner, I
guess, for putting the TV
Guide back in. I didn’t like
him for quite a while, but
now I’m back loving him
again. I’m very happy now.
Thank you.
—Rita Barlow

Reader:I’m just calling to
say I do not like the new
format of your newspaper
nor does my husband. We
don’t like it. It’s too small.
The print’s too small. It’s
hard to read. We’d be will-
ing to pay more for a news-
paper that you can read.
I hope a lot of other peo-
ple are making the same
complaint. We’ll pay more
money for a newspaper like
you had before this stupid
thing that somebody came
up with. Even though you
say it’s keeping cost down,
oh well, everything else is
going up. Why not the
newspaper, too?
— Ms.Gonzales

Reader: I definitely do
not like the smaller-sized
newspaper. It no longer fits
properly in the bottom of
the rabbit’s cage. I have to
use two sections now!
—Frank Valente

Reader:I’m calling about
your new format for the TV
listings. You left out Speed
Channel. I want to get an
answer for that.
Thank you very much.
—Art Bagnall

Jenner: We know we’re
playing with fire when we
mess with the comics.
When we decided we
needed to drop two comics
we dropped “Sherman’s
Lagoon” and “Marvin”
because reader feedback in
the past suggested their fol-
lowings weren’t that strong.
We’ve received next to no
complaints about losing
“Marvin”; less than two
dozen about “Sherman’s
Lagoon.”
In the meantime, readers
should note that while we
cancelled the daily strip, it
still appears in Sunday’s
comics.
As for the size of our news
body type, we did not
shrink it. We did change the
font to Utopia, which we
feel is more readable.
We also did not reduce
the size of our classified
type, although we did
reduce the spacing
between classified ads.
We’ve asked the compa-
ny that produces our TV
data to increase the size of
the type on that page.
Readers should see the
larger type size appear by
month’s end. And we’ll get
the Speed channel back in
the listings.
The listing of national
cities contained a couple of
errors on the day we intro-
duced our new Weather
Page, those have been fixed
and cities like Seattle are
once again in the list.
Finally, we moved the
daily crossword back to the
top of the puzzle page.
Thanks to all those read-
ers who shared their opin-
ions about our new format.

Reader: Thursday morn-
ing I ate breakfast without
the usual Bakersfield Cali-
fornianas part of the decor.
I am over 90 years old and
live in a wheelchair; there-
fore, my useful activities
are rather limited so the
newspaper consumes
much of my time in the
morning.
The comics section livens
up my day with Dagwood’s
dawdling, Luann’s naivete,
Beetle’s composure and
Fred Bassett’s rationaliza-
tions. The word games and
puzzles have a way of keep-
ing my brain functioning.
I could call The Californ-
ianand be obnoxious but
some glitch happens about
every three years which cal-
culates out to be better
than 99.9 percent perfect!
With that record, who am I
to “cast stones?”
We don’t appreciate
some things until they are
not there anymore, but this
is only temporarily tempo-
rary; be thankful!
—Harvey Brockmeyer

Jenner: That’s the nicest
complaint we’ve received
in a while.
A glitch in the software
we use to produce plates
prevented us from starting
our presses at the normal
time Wednesday night. We
usually are running the
presses shortly after mid-
night and have all the
papers in the city delivered
by 5 a.m. on weekdays.
Thursday’s press run didn’t
begin till after 5. The prob-
lem has now been fixed.
We received thousands of
calls from subscribers won-
dering where their papers
were — so many they took
down our switchboard.
I apologize for the incon-
venience to our readers. It’s
impressive how many peo-
ple count on us to help
them start their day.

Reader: The front page
headline of Tuesday’s paper
was really inappropriate.
The article features a photo
of a woman clearly devas-
tated at the loss of her
child, a casualty of the war
between Georgia and Rus-
sia. Your “Empire Strikes
Back” headline seems flip
and unbelievably unfeel-
ing. Shame on you!
—Paula Ransom

Jenner: Editors who
wrote that headline were
referring to the “Evil
Empire”label given to Rus-
sia by the late President
Reagan. They didn’t mean
to be flip.
However, the headline
was subject to several inter-
pretations, and I think we
should’ve played it straight.
It’s much more impor-
tant to be clear than to be
clever.

Sound off for Aug. 10, 2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:15:24 PDT

Reader: I guess I just don’t quite get it,
but it never occurred to me that any article
written by one of your column writers was
anything but his or her opinion, and not the
opinion of the newspaper.
I just couldn’t believe when I saw it that
you actually had to put what amounts to a
disclaimer stating that the opinion is not
that of the newspaper, but of the writer.
You are essentially covering yourself
from any liability associated with that arti-
cle, but it is just so disturbing that you
have to go to that degree at all.
Your column writers are so very good
and mostly very humorous. I love them all
and look forward to their next column.
I also would never get the idea that they
were writing from the newspaper’s objec-
tive or stance, whatever that may be. I
only wish you could cut the disclaimer out
—PLEASE!! It is such a put down to the
writer’s freedom of expression, which
should be understood by all no matter how
ignorant the reader may be.
—LaVonne Hilario

Jenner: Thanks for your comments.
The disclaimers have nothing to do with
trying to protect ourselves from liability.
We’re responsible for everything we pub-
lish, disclaimer or not — although the First
Amendment offers broad protections for
comment and criticism.
The disclaimers are simply to keep read-
ers from confusing the columnist’s position
from the newspaper’s editorial positions.
Our columnists at times take strong posi-
tions on local issues that differ from those
taken in our editorials, and we’re simply
trying to remind readers that our colum-
nists’ views are theirs, not the paper’s.
Like you, I wish we didn’t have to do it.
But I don’t see it as a putdown to the
columnist’s freedom of expression. We’ve
always supported their taking strong posi-
tions, and will continue to do so.

Reader: Regarding the photo with the
caption of Shauna and Pamela, saying
Pamela with her new wife, Shauna. “Wife”
in the dictionary is a woman married to a
man. And there hasn’t been one printed yet
that says otherwise.
I just wonder, does the paper know that
or not? If the paper does, it reeks of a sub-
tle indoctrination of accepting same-sex
marriage.
— John Caprarelli

Jenner: Not to burst your bubble, but I
found several dictionary definitions of a
“wife” as “a married woman” that made
absolutely no references to a man.
But that’s really beside the point. We’re
not trying to make a political statement.
And I’m willing to admit that the use of
“husband” and “wife” in such an instance
may not make sense, and we may be better
off simply using “spouse” or some other
term.
As for “accepting” same-sex marriages,
they are now legal here. Voters will have a
chance to change that legality in Novem-
ber’s general election, but as long as they
are legal, we’ll cover them as though they
exist.

Reader: I’m glad that some attention has
been brought to the plight of one of our
national refuges. Columnist Lois Henry
may not have a problem with aesthetics,
but I for one do.
If you drove into Yosemite and saw over-
grazed and manure covered lands, you’d
call it ugly and be very angry with the fed-
eral government for letting it happen. Our
national parks, refuges and other public
lands are just that, belonging to the public.
We expect the federal government to take
care of them, not let one or two private
individuals use them exclusively for their
own financial gain. Do you really think this
is the purpose of our protected lands, to
provide income for the very few?
The point that the Board of Supervisors
and Ms. Henry have missed is that Bitter
Creek National Wildlife Refuge is not a
ranch.
I read the environmental assessment
and the prescribed burns as described in
the document are much different than is
being touted by the board and Ms. Henry.
For those who have not read it and those
who claim to have read it; the purpose of
the document is how to best MANAGE the
refuge for the wildlife (not for those two
ranchers). Don’t be fooled, their problem
isn’t the burning, it’s that they want to use
the refuge like it was their own land not
ours. They don’t want ANY restrictions on
their grazing. The fire is being used to
scare people and it’s despicable.
—Denise Stockton

Jenner: Thanks for your comments.
Henry’s column took issue with the fact
that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
reached its decision with no public input.
And Ithink she’s as concerned with aes-
thetics as she is with the way ranchers are
being treated. In this case, as in so many
others, beauty’s in the eye of the beholder.

Reader: On the front page of last Sun-
day’s paper I find my favorite example of
current grammatical ILliteracy in “To Our
Readers:”
“... the Mini Page will move from it’s old
home, ...”
A contraction is a shortened, often one-
word form, of more than one word, in this
case, “it is.”
You know you should have used “its,”
the possessive, sans apostrophe, as in “his”
or “hers” or “theirs.” And when is the last
time you saw “hers” written as “her’s”?
Use of “it’s” where “its” should be is
endemic. We need to put “its”on the
endangered word list.
Mistakes like this push me ever closer to
the edge. When I go off it and wind up in
3B, I’m instructing KMC to send the bill to
the paper, because YOU will have put me
there.
Your friend,
—Liz Keogh,sergeant in the
Grammar Police Department

Jenner: Believe me, the abuse of the
apostrophe is as troubling to us as it is to
you in the Grammar P.D.
Ihate it when we make such mistakes.
Unfortunately, when we do, we do it in
front of more than a hundred thousand
readers.
We take the criticism to heart. We’ll
redouble our efforts to keep these errors
from creeping into print. Our expenses are
bad enough without taking on your hospital
bill.

Reader: Please put the Mini Page back
in the same format that it has always been
until last Sunday and back in the Comic
Pages. This is for children, it does NOT
belong inside the Sunday newspaper.
You have changed the fonts and the font
sizes are small and you really expect chil-
dren to be able to read it? Or adults either?
Thank you.
Regards,
—Alice Manalo

Reader: I don’t expect you are going to
go back and fix it, but it’s really too bad you
decided to change The Mini Page. It wasn’t
broken. It was good as it was.
For many years teachers have collected
the Mini pages, laminated them and saved
them for their classroom libraries. They
were used year after year. Experienced
teachers always told new teachers about
The Mini Page as a resource. I've been sav-
ing them over the summer for a new
teacher.
You might as well just delete it from the
newspaper now. The format of a child’s
own folded little paper is spoiled. The full-
sized page is too large for little hands to
handle.
The print is too small for children to eas-
ily read. The games are printed too small
to be used.
I suppose the idea was to save space or
paper, but instead you ruined the whole
thing, what a shame.
— Leslie Gail Oblinger, retired teacher

Jenner: The costs of printing our comics
section had become prohibitive.
Moving the Mini Page out of the comics
and into the Sunday Eye Street section
made it possible for us to continue to pro-
vide this content, although we had to
change the shape and size.
Another alternative was to eliminate it
altogether.
I believe it still is of value to the children
who use it.

Reader: I attended the Founders’ Day
Celebration at Allensworth State Historic
Park on Saturday, August 2. It was one of a
series of events honoring the centennial of
that community’s beginning.
I became aware of the celebration upon
reading your article about it. I met a num-
ber of people from Taft and Bakersfield
who said they were there, also, because of
the fine piece which appeared July 30 on
The Californian’s front page.
I thank you for the excellent coverage,
complete with fine photography. It afford-
ed those who read it and attended a great
experience in learning about and support-
ing the efforts toward restoration of that
historic place.
There will be a final big celebration of
the Centennial in October, and I would
hope to see more coverage given prior that
occasion. Thanks for your good work.
Sincerely,
—Dolly Hei

Jenner: Thanks for your kind note.
Reader: The Californianis to be congrat-
ulated on your “Tails of Bakersfield” fea-
ture. Because of your featuring pictures of
the adorable animals that have been res-
cued, I am sure adoptions have increased.
Keep up the good work!
—Sandee Morris

Jenner: I’m glad you like the feature —
more adorable pets appear in today’s Eye
Street section.
For those unfamiliar with this feature,
we’re publishing pictures of pets submit-
ted by readers, along with a donation of
$10. Every penny goes to a local animal
shelter or rescue operation.
We’ve now raised more than $6,400 in
just a few weeks for this worthy cause, and
we plan to continue until we surpass the
$10,000 mark.
Turn to Page D4to see today’s photos
and learn more.

Reader: As I sit here reading Dianne
Hardisty’scolumn on the Fairfax detour, I
have only a couple questions: 1) How
would you master-plan the building of this
bridge? 2) Where would you designate
detours to your convenience? 3) What
about Rosedale Highway and the incon-
venience of daily traffic for the past 15 or
more years to people who also work down-
town?
I have lived in East Bakersfield my
entire life. It’s about time that we have a
little inconvenience (18 months) to have
our roads restructured for decades. Too
bad you see this temporary inconvenience
as a burden.
Here’s an idea: leave for work a little
earlier and enjoy what you usually don’t
see, or plan for the next road improve-
ment.
Dianne, how about commending Jeff
Payne, Security Paving, Caltrans and those
who are inconveniencing you and work so
hard to do that with a “thank you” for the
many years ahead of better driving condi-
tions?
—Denise Woodin Earhart,
east Bakersfield resident (44 years)

Dianne Hardisty responds: Hey, I’m
with you. In fact, I said that in my column.
I was not complaining of an “inconven-
ience.” What I was noting in the column
was the need to knock down the dirt berms
that block the view in all directions, warn
traffic on Morning Drive that an intersec-
tion is ahead and slow the traffic on Morn-
ing Drive.
As someone who has endured the Fair-
fax and 178 signal light for as long as it has
been there (and no signal light before that)
I am anxiously awaiting the interchange.
The column was written only to draw
attention to a problem that needs fixing
now — while work is under way. And the
fixes I suggested have minimal costs.
Thanks for reading, neighbor.

Sound off for August 3, 2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:09:09 PDT

Reader: I was surprised to find that, once
again, Planned Parenthood was omitted
from the list of health and wellness organi-
zations named in the Annual Edition of the
Kern Life Magazine.
For a magazine that claims to inform
Kern County residents of available servic-
es in their community, I find omitting
Planned Parenthood to be a huge disserv-
ice to those seeking a comprehensive list of
options. Perhaps if editors were aware that
the Bakersfield Planned Parenthood clinic
gets more than 33,000 visits a year, they
would not continue their huge mistake of
neglecting to mention this organization
committed to the health and wellness of
Kern County citizens. Or maybe the edi-
tors don’t know that Planned Parenthood is
active in providing a variety of services for
both men and women, ranging from STD
testing and treatment to breast exams.
While I doubt this consistent omission
has occurred by accident, I hope it has.
Otherwise I will no longer have confidence
in a newspaper and its associated maga-
zines, which claim to be the source of accu-
rate and complete information for their
readers.
—Amanda Whitney

Jenner: I can assure you the omission of
Planned Parenthood from the 2008 print
edition of Kern Life was not an intentional
slight or the result of political bias.
The fact that this has happened more
than once is embarrassing, but the omis-
sion was not intentional.
The organization is listed under Health
and Wellness Organizations on the Kern
Life Web site, www.kernlife.com, and will
be included in future editions.

Reader: I am very upset about the pref-
ace to the homeschooling section in Kern
needs to know that homeschooling IS legal
in California.
Yes, we are awaiting the results of a
court case; however, the Governor, Dis-
trict Attorney, and the State Superinten-
dent of Schools all support the right to
homeschool. In fact, all of them filed briefs
for the case in question, urging the court to
uphold the law as it stands. Furthermore,
the governor has stated that if the courts
do not protect the right to homeschool, the
legislature will.
According to Kern Life, you should “con-
tact the school district/Valley Oaks Char-
ter school to determine if your
homeschooling program is legal.” The
truth is, you do not need to do this. There is
no law that says so. The public schools
want to entice you to enroll your child into
their programs, so that they will receive
state funds.
There are other legal ways for non-cre-
dentialed parents to homeschool. Parents
can file a simple form online, or they can
enroll their children in a private school’s
satellite program, which provides over-
sight, support, testing, activities and more.
If you want more information about
homeschooling, Christian homeschool sup-
port groups, or preschool at home, contact
me, at mentormom@bak.rr.com. Don’t be
scared away from homeschooling by the
legal mumbo-jumbo. Homeschooling is
legal for non-credentialed parents.
— Susan Lemons

Jenner: The last sentence of the home-
schooling section mentioned the court rul-
ing that said the right to homeschool was
not guaranteed by the constitution. Kern
Life Editor Jennifer Baldwin "agrees that
while it’s an accurate statement, if taken
out of context the sentence could give
potential homeschoolers the wrong
impression. She’s deleted it from the Web
illegal immigrants. It is commonly under-
stood in our society that the typical illegal
immigrant is a poor and downtrodden per-
son from Mexico or Central America. Con-
sider the fact that the vast majority of this
“demographic”is legal.
This particular article appears to be
openly biased, it was not thoroughly
researched, and it seems to manipulate
the two leaders’ opinions. With this partic-
ular type of article, the only major news-
paper in the southern San Joaquin Valley
appears to be influencing the public to
wrongly believe that illegal immigrants
cause Kern County to be a dump and
hopeless. Please, consider that illegal
immigration has complex causes and
effects. Illegal immigrants are a fabric of
our society. They are exploited. They take
advantage of what they can; no different
from others.
The consequence of this kind of journal-
ism is the promotion of negative attitudes,
including blaming, division, ill-will, all of
which can lead to hate and hurtful actions
at individual and community levels.
The people of Kern County, both legal
and illegal, need people like you to help us
all to be problem solvers and creative
thinkers of good will. Illegal immigrants
are not thecounty’s problem; they are one
part of the many serious problems we face.
All of us, every single human being who
lives and works in Kern County, are the
problem as well as the solution. Let us be
part of the solution, and not part of the
problem.
— Armando Apraicio

Jenner: I do agree that we have a
responsibility to look for solutions to help
our community. But we also have a respon-
sibility to identify the problems.
It’s neither divisive nor biased to look at
Kern’s demographics to try to understand
“I understand this is also an emotional
issue for many people and that seems to be
the case with this letter writer. But I was
looking at it from a purely economical
point of view.
“I do believe the vast majority of illegal
immigrants are here to work and that they
don’t come here to live on welfare. But the
truth is, they are also poor, uneducated and
have a more difficult time climbing the
economic ladder, leading to a permanent
underclass.
“Ignoring illegal immigration’s impact
on poverty or deeming it too politically
sensitive to study will do nothing to help us
find solutions.”

Reader: Your Monday, July 28, 2008
article “DA’s control of crime lab raises
questions,” included a sidebar that “Crime
labs around the country have had trouble.”
This letter is to correct a misimpression
created in the final bullet point in that side-
bar. That bullet reads, “In 2002, a San Jose
Police Department detective described the
use of ruse crime lab reports ‘standard
procedure.’ The crime lab is a division of
the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s
office.”
The ruse crime lab report was created and
utilized by a San Jose Police Department
detective unbeknownst and unauthorized by
anyone at the Santa Clara County District
Attorney’s Office or the crime lab. To the
extent the use of phony crime lab reports
was a “standard procedure,” it was a prac-
tice that was not and never has been author-
ized by the Santa Clara County District
Attorney’s Office or its Crime Laboratory.
It should also be noted that the mistakes
made by the investigator, who failed to
mark the report as a ruse, and our prosecu-
tor, who failed to recognize this, would
have carried no more or less significance
the country. In this case since it was the
San Jose Police Department that wrote a
phony crime lab report and the crime lab
did nothing wrong, the listing shouldn’t
have been included.

Reader: While there is much to cause
one misery in reading/viewing/hearing
both the local, national, and worldwide
news (especially with our own Kern Coun-
ty special brand of demagogues/looney
tunes), just viewing the photographs on
your “Tails” page(s) in the paper gives one
Happy Thoughts.
Please continue to publish the “Tails”
pictures and make them one complete
page every day and two pages on Sunday.
Whoever on your staff thought of this idea
deserves congratulations, a huge bonus
and a huge raise!
—Janette McFarland

Jenner: The space we devote depends on
the volume of pet photos submitted, but the
feature’s longevity depends on how long it
remains popular with pet owners and with
readers like you. Thanks for the kind note.
Reader: I just had to send a quick review
of the recipe for “Slowcooker pulled pork
sandwiches” from Wednesday’s paper. I
made this dish for dinner tonight and it
was amazing. My only comments were that
even on “low” it seemed that the meat was
drying out so I mixed the sauce again,
minus the cider vinegar and added it about
half way through.
The red pepper flakes made the dish a
bit hot for this wimp, so I put mayo and
sliced avocado on my toasted bun to cut the
heat. If there had been any room left in my
stomach I might have had seconds — like
my hubby did. Great meal!

Sound Off for July 20, 2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:57:29 PDT

Reader: Love the paper. Read it
every morning. Thanks to a great
delivery person who has it in my
driveway early. That said, pet
peeve. I realize the line dividing
“sports” from games and exhibitions
has been blurred, but come
on, poker is a card game! Are the
results of the World Series of Poker
featured in the sports section
because World Series is in the title?
Riveting action here, right there
with the infomercials airing on television
at 2 a.m.

— Mark Wagner

Mullen: Mark, I’m glad you love
the paper and we’re hitting your
driveway. This “sport vs. game”
argument has raged since the
beginning of time. I can see it both
ways, but my gut feeling is the
Sports section is still the best place
for poker tournament coverage.

Reader: Whatever happened to
the informative articles that used
to be in the Sunday Real Estate
section? My husband and I used to
really enjoy reading the excellent
tips on home improvement, investing
and other useful info. It seems
even David Myers’ column has
been shortened. He offers great
advice and deserves a longer column
if anything! Please consider
bringing back some of these great
articles of interest.
Thank you,

— Diana Rutledge

Mullen: Diana, thanks for reading
and I’m glad you found the old
Real Estate section informative.
Space in that section was reduced,
and we have less room now for
those features on Sundays. We do
have a “Your Money” page on Saturdays,
however, which will continue
to showcase investing advice
and other consumer-focused information,
including how-to real
estate advice.

Reader: I was very disappointed
in (outdoors columnist Steve
Merlo’s) column of July 11, in
which you claim to bring greater
clarity to the new lead ammunition
ban in California’s Condor Zones. I
was particularly disappointed in
your lack of clarity on the use of .22
rimfire lead ammunition. For true
clarity on this particular item, go to
www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/c
ondor.com and click on “Questions
and Answers.”
The Dept. of Fish and Game
clearly states that .22 rimfire lead
ammunition is legal to use in hunting
small game mammals, such as
Jack rabbits, cottontails, and tree
squirrels, but not ground squirrels
even in these same lead-free
ammunition areas of the state.
Therefore, contrary to your article,
regular .22 rimfire ammunition is
NOT banned altogether and can be
used to hunt small game mammals
in these new lead-free ammunition
areas of California.
I commend your efforts in tackling
such a touchy issue, especially
with hunters, environmentalists
and sport shooting enthusiasts, but
a simple surf into the Dept. of Fish
and Game Web site would have
added true clarity to your article.

— Carlos Esquivel

Columnist Steve Merlo
responds: Actually, I did my
research by telephone, and I got
my information (actually a little
misinformation) from a Department
of Fish and Game employee
in Fresno. I argued with her, but
she seemed to know more than I. A
warden finally set the issue
straight:
You’re right about .22 rimfires —
but you may not use these to hunt
ground squirrels, bobcats or coyotes
in the condor’s no lead zone,
because non-protected (bobcats
must be tagged after taking), nongame
animals do not have to be
retrieved and/or utilized and therefore
provide food for our largest
carrion eaters.
A .22 rimfire can only be used
when hunting for resident small
game in the condor zone, which
includes cottontails, tree squirrels
and Jack rabbits, all of which must
be retrieved and utilized by the
hunter.
Thanks for pointing that out for
our readers.

Reader: I am prompted to write
this letter in response to your Tell
Us What You Think column on
Tuesday, July 15th. You had invited
comments regarding the cover
of the New Yorker featuring caricatures
of Senator Obama and his
wife. The comments you posted by
Bakersfield Superman on page B1
and by TSM on page B3 both read
in part, taking the Lord’s name in
vain, and I quote: “…I mean for ***
sakes is satire, everyone knows it.”
I used asterisks where they and
you did not.
I was stunned when I read this,
TWICE no less, and frankly could
not believe you actually published
these writer’s exact words. This
strikes me as nothing less than an
intentional and blatant disregard
for Christians in our community,
like me, who find this profaning of
Jesus Christ very offensive. I have
to question the judgment of your
staff in publishing this part of these
two comments. I know from personal
experience that your staff
cuts things from letters to the editor,
even things that are not profane,
but rather, factual. Why
would you not cut this vulgar and
offensive language from the column?
Why would you not use an
asterisk to indicate profanity, as is
frequently done in other publications?
I dare say that if something had
been sent for publication which
insulted or offended some group,
other than Christians, you would
have likely cut the offensive portion.
Sadly, it seems, Christians in
this instance were open game for
insult and offense. I for one would
like to see an apology for what you
have done and an assurance that
you will more carefully remove
profanity of this type in future
columns.

— Cynthia Giumarra

Mullen: Cynthia, you have both
my apology and my assurance. I
can also assure you there was no
scheme to attack all of Christendom
by running those comments
from our online readers. We have,
on occasion, inadvertently offended
people of all religions, races and
creeds.
When we omit expletives from
the paper, typically we don’t use
asterisks, but substitute in the
word “expletive” in parentheses.

Reader: Got The New York Times
west paper Tuesday, July 15, and on
the B front section was the picture
of Obama and his wife Michelle on
the New Yorker. Loved it.
Of course, the un-American left
was in an uproar. Had a cow. If I
don’t know anything I know that
liberals can dish it out but can’t
take it. Kids in adult skin.
It continued, “readers split on
Obama cartoon,” and then I proceeded
to read all eight or ten
responses to the cartoon and guess
what, there was no split. The Californian
is a toilet propagandist
paper. No news. Just embellishment
and lies. Ninety percent or
more of the paper is filled from corner
to corner with the likes of The
New York Times and other leftist
papers.
Man, my one wish before I die is
for Bakersfield to have a fair and
balanced paper. But I must admit, I
do get it from time to time. When I
run out of toilet paper.

— Phil Patrick
One more item. Kiss my conservative
(expletive)!!!! Yea, nothing
wrong with being conservative
except when your a (expletive) lib!

Mullen: Thanks for reading, Phil.
To your point about the balance of
the Obama blog posts: I reread it
and found varying opinions —
some believed the cartoon was fair,
others didn’t.
P.S. I’m glad you’ve found more
uses for the paper beyond reading
it. You might want to trade up to
Charmin Ultra. It costs a little
more, but there are more sheets
per roll — and it’s sure to be a bit
softer.

Reader: In an article in Wednesday’s
paper there was a sentence
which read: “On Friday night,
Wooten and his sister-in-law had
WENT to a birthday party ...” Why
must you hire people who do not
know the fundamentals of the English
language?

— Anne Grogan

Mullen: Anne, I cringed when I
saw that, too. We’ll strive to be
more careful in the future during
our writing and editing.

Reader: After reading Sunday’s
feature article regarding the backgrounds
of the parents of the five
boys charged with beating a man to
death, I was left with two questions
I would have appreciated seeing
addressed in the article:
• The criminal records of the
parents seemed to be (on the
whole) of years over five years
past. Were the parents still having
problems with drugs or had they
turned their lives around in the
time since their last arrests?
• How many of the boys were
raised in single parent families or
by their grandparents?
It is too bad that there wasn’t
enough space to allow this bit of
information. I would hope that
some of the parents found the
strength to turn their lives around
and tried to be good parents in the
last few years.
Best regards,

— Jon Crawford

Mullen: We tried to find the parents
to ask them exactly those
kinds of questions. Unfortunately
we were not able to find any of
them at the addresses we had
obtained. Without talking to them it
is hard to answer these kinds of
questions. Of course, we want to
continue to report this story as fully
as possible, and we wish to talk
to parents and other relatives of the
accused children if we can locate
them and they are willing.

Reader: I don’t condone what the
five young black boys (are accused
of doing) to the elderly gentleman.
This was a heinous crime. My concern
is why did The Californian
have to print their pictures not
once but twice? The articles said
they will probably be charged as
adults, but so far they have not, yet
you ran their pictures in two separate
articles, even though they are
juveniles. This is not the first time
your paper has done this. I’ve
noticed usually when the criminal
is black your paper feels it necessary
to have the picture appear
with the article. Why is this? Posting
their pictures again on the front
page of the Sunday paper with the
inflammatory article was wrong.
Thanks,

— Donna Ward

Mullen: Thanks, Donna. We
weigh carefully how we identify
juvenile defendants. In most cases
we don’t print names or pictures,
and in most cases, police and court
officials don’t release such information
or allow us access to juvenile
hearings.
In the case of serious crimes
such as murder or rape, the court
often grants public access to hearings
and the identity of juvenile
defendants, and this case falls into
that realm.
That said, I must take issue with
your assertion that we are running
their photos because of their race.
We re-run photos of criminal
defendants in many cases. The
seriousness of the crime they are
charged with, and the public’s
interest in the story, is what influences
our coverage, not the color of
anyone’s skin.

Reader: I’m sure Mullen and Jenner
are both very nice people. I
have to say that I felt no tension
while reading “Sound Off” this
morning.
Mr. Mullen, your responses were
very positive. I hope all the readers
that you responded to are also happy.
Thanks for a relaxing start to
the day. Have a great week.

— Kelly Bishop

Reader: I usually read the Sound
Off and get upset most of the time
when Jenner doesn’t listen, he simply
defends. OK, we know who
pays him, and we know he has his
viewpoint, but when you ask a community
to sound off, it isn’t like
they need a slap in the face verbally
to remind them not to sound off
again.
So, when reading Sunday, the
13th edition, I read the first reader’s
report, and saw the answer. I
thought, “Wow, Jenner finally gets
it.” And then I read the others, and
it was unbelievable; no harsh
remarks, just a simple, “you are
right” or a similar agreement that
maybe there were some problems.
As any communication expert
will tell you, when hearing a criticism,
if there is a grain of truth in
it, agree with the speaker. Someone
once said “powerful people don’t
defend or justify. Every time you
say more than two sentences in
explanation of something you have
taken a defensive position.”
Thank you, Steve Mullen, for listening
and not overreacting. I hope
they see how you are able to listen
and respond in a kindly fashion.
You made my day, Steve, and probably
my week. I’ll look forward to
more from you over the years. You
have brought a way to voice a concern
or criticism to us without our
fearing a retaliatory comment.

— Barbara Meuleman

Mullen: Barbara and Kelly, you
both made my day too. Thanks for
the kind words.
Not to sound defensive here, but
Mike is indeed a nice person —
maybe the nicest I’ve worked for.
The fact that he began this column
speaks to his commitment to openness
and accessibility.
And I’m not just saying that to
head off one of his trademark blind
rages when he gets back from
vacation and reads this. Honest.

Sound off for July 13, 2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:53:31 PDT

Reader: You people seem to
be playing tricks with the news-
paper. Why?
You put the Local section in
the headlines section; then you
undid that and put the Eye
Street section in the Local sec-
tion.
You put photos across the top
of the front page and move the
masthead up and down across
those from one day to the next,
until last Wednesday when you
moved it completely off the
page!
You’re making me crazy!
What is going on?
Sharon Vignol

Mullen: Sorry to mess with
your mind, Sharon. We did col-
lapse the Local section into the
A section, to save a little
newsprint and also to give read-
ers a more compact paper on the
busiest morning of the week. We
then heard from readers that
they liked having a Local cover
each day, so we made the Eye
Street switch you mentioned.
We understand the value of
consistency, but we also like to
act when a change is needed.
We really do try to keep the
interests of our readers fore-
most in our minds during any
change.
That said, the missing mast-
head last Wednesday was a
design/production error. We’ll
try to be more careful. I’m glad
you still found us.

Reader:I’m taking issue with
the overly alarmist nature of
your new e-mail alert entitled
“4th of July Mayhem.” This title
suggests a violent and chaotic
series of events that separates
this year’s festivities with other
years. Not only that, I couldn’t
help but feel there was an
undertone of anti-fireworks sen-
timent to the whole thing, that
readers wouldn’t be off base to
equate this year’s “Mayhem”
with the existence of fireworks,
and perhaps we would do good
to prevent the “Mayhem” next
year. Wink Wink.
Frank Costa

Mullen: Frank, I’m in agree-
ment that “mayhem” wasn’t the
right word, and the headline
could have been much better.
Reader:I know you try to
accommodate all your reader-
ship, but catering to the little
green men who arrived in flying
saucers is a bit much! The head-
line on page B5 of the July 6
issue, “Xpxo xpxo xpxo xp xo x
pxo xpxo xpxo xpxox,” couldn’t
be for much of anyone else.
Everett Greene

Mullen: This is clearly an
example of mayhem in our pro-
duction system. This “place-
holder” headline made it into
only about 1,000 papers before
we fixed it, but I wish we’d
caught it sooner.
Still, if we find that such head-
lines attract a significant num-
ber of little green readers, I
assure you that you’ll be seeing
more of them.

Reader:I was just reading the
“Barnett’s Numbers Wrong”
story and I noted some apostro-
phe abuse that raised some
questions for me. The abuse
came in the quote ascribed to
Randy Thomasson:
“Our attorney will be issuing
a well-researched legal analysis
later this week which show’s
this ordinance is indeed consti-
tutional, said Randy Thomasson,
President of Campaign for Chil-
dren and Families, which wrote
the ordinance. The constitution
says county’s can pass any ordi-
nance that is not in conflict with
statue.”
Obviously, the verb “shows”
does not take an apostrophe, just
like every other verb in the Eng-
lish language, and the plural
noun “counties” will not take an
apostrophe unless the writer is
referring to something pos-
sessed by multiple counties, as
in “the counties’ borders.” I will
not go into the images created
by being in conflict with a stat-
ue.
I have never worked for a
newspaper, but I know that sto-
ries often have to be rushed to
publication, leaving little time
for editing. Thus, I usually for-
give malapropisms (one of your
reporters once made reference
to “a basic tenant of law”) and
punctuation errors without prej-
udice, despite the fact that I am
an English teacher. But in this
case, I could not help but be
curious.
Were these the errors of Mr.
Thomasson or your reporter? I
know that reporters are human
and mistakes do occur. Mike
Griffith never met an apostro-
phe he did not want to abuse,
but I still enjoy his columns.
Just curious,
Jason Ruff

Mullen: The misplaced apos-
trophe was our error. Luckily,
this mishap appeared only
briefly online, and was correct-
ed a short time later on Bakers-
field.com and in print.
I agree we shouldn’t make
these mistakes. We’ll continue to
correct them, but also continue
to push news onto
Bakersfield.com as quickly as
possible.

Reader: Here’s a question: Do
writers for The Californian read
The Californian?
Today’s issue has a short
piece on the heat wave
(Unsigned and I can see why)
referring to the anticipated high
for the week of 105 degrees on
Wednesday. The weather page
(B6) says the high will be on
Thursday at 106! Hmm.
David Campbell

Mullen: This is a bit of a pet
peeve for me, too. Our reporters
talk to different forecasters,
whose predictions sometimes
differ from our weather page
provider, and they all change
what they say throughout the
day. We try to be consistent as
possible, and we will try harder.
The main thing we should
take away from all of this is, it’s
hot.

Reader: On the whole I like
The Californian, the layout and
am glad the Local section is
back on Mondays. Dianne
Hardisty, Lois Henry, Robert
Price and Herb Benham con-
tribute greatly to the paper.
I do have one complaint, and
that is those sticker ads on the
front page that advertise every-
thing from pizza to tires.
When I pull them off they
invariably take part of the page
with them and usually this is in
the middle of an article I am
interested in. Needless to say,
whatever they’re selling I ain’t
buying.
Lloyd Kingham

Mullen: I also hate it when
those things pull off a word or a
chunk of headline. I weigh that
feeling against the fact that they
help pay the bills (both the
paper’s and mine, and also the
advertisers’ for that matter).
If you enjoy Dianne, Lois, Bob
and Herb, take that ad and
spring for a new set of white-
walls. We’ll all feel a little extra
traction.

Sound Off for June 29, 2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:49:35 PDT

Reader: It amazes me that we allow freedom
of expression when it is convenient to
our own personal agenda, and the last time
I checked we still had the right of free
speech in this good old U.S.A. I have always
enjoyed Leonel Martinez’s column and will
immediately cancel my subscription to The
Californian. What will be the reason for his
column to be discontinued? You will truly
have lost a great journalist and I feel that
your loss will be someone else’s gain.
Sincerely,

— Norma Navarro

Jenner: I’m glad you enjoyed the
columns of Leonel Martinez, which
appeared every other Thursday.
I felt it was time for a change. I hope to
appoint a columnist soon who will focus
more on local issues and local people.
Thanks for your comments.

Reader: Thank you, thank you, thank you.
It was next to impossible to read the
paper in a two-reader household on Monday
morning before work. I appreciate the
Local and Eye Street together. It makes for
a better combination.
Now let’s talk about the obscure section
headers. Sometimes they are embedded in
the art work so subtly that it makes it hard
to identify the section you are looking for.
Particularly on the old newspaper pile
when you want to go back to check out an
article you may have missed.
Thanks again for the restoration of the
Monday Local Section.

— Joyce Hulen Montgomery

Reader: I was one of the closet grumblers
who hated last year’s format change of the
Monday paper. I felt that the A section had
no distinct break from national to local and
back again.
I applaud you and the paper for listening
to the community. I highly approve of the
change you have made to meld the Local
and Eye Street sections. This is so much
better of a fit!

— Sandy Moffett

Reader: I was very happy to see the
Local section returned to the Monday
paper. I always felt like something was
missing when I read my Monday paper.
Please keep it coming.

— Alice Brown

Reader: Please reconsider the Local/Eye
Street combination in Monday’s paper.
More serious news should be combined in
the front (front page/local). In fact, usually
one story on the front page is a local story
(as it should be). The Eye Street section is
more of a lifestyle type of area. It should be
left that way.

— Brent Michaels

Jenner: Thanks for the comments on our
new Monday format. When we moved
Local news into the A section last year, we
upset many readers. Although I recognize
the change we introduced a week ago
(restoring the Local section and putting the
Eye Street section inside it) is still a compromise,
I believe it’s an improvement.

Reader: THANK YOU for bringing back
the Monday Local section! I always read
the paper in the same order — Local section
first. Thank you from those of us who
are creatures of habit and routine!
Also, for a few months my paper was
delivered with a rubber band instead of a
plastic bag. I neglected to contact you, but
I APPRECIATE PAPERS BOUND WITH
A RUBBER BAND, rather than a plastic
bag. In “the olden days,” papers were only
delivered in plastic bags on rainy days.
Aren’t the rubber bands more environmentally
friendly than bags? Both are probably
petroleum products, but rubber bands
are much smaller — AND much more useful
around the house than the narrow bags.
As long as I am writing, I am VERY
HAPPY with the current delivery person
in my neighborhood. I never know who is
delivering papers (I remember when the
paper boy came around to “collect”), but
for the past six to eight weeks, the paper
has been ON my front porch! I am very
grateful, and if you can please either pass
on my appreciation, or allow me to contact
my delivery person, I will be most grateful.
Thank you for your time.

— Tricia Holian

Jenner: I don’t know if rubber bands are
cheaper, but they’re certainly more environmentally
friendly than plastic bags.
We leave the decision of whether to band
or bag the papers up to the carrier.
Although it doesn’t rain much, many carriers
will bag their papers to keep them from
being soaked by lawn sprinklers.
Thanks very much for writing about
your satisfaction with your delivery. We’ve
made improved delivery a significant customer
service focus over the last year, and
are delivering the paper in metro Bakersfield
earlier than ever before.
I must tell you our circulation and delivery
managers were thrilled to read your
letter, and they were very happy to share it
with your carrier.

Reader: I am writing to correct the headline
of the article that appeared in Tuesday’s
issue of The Californian. The
headline, which read “Martinez family wins
Habitat for Humanity house,” misrepresents
Habitat for Humanity-Golden
Empire’s mission and the families we serve.
Habitat for Humanity is not a lottery. It
is not a game of chance, nor is it some kind
of give-away. Habitat for Humanity is an
ecumenical, Christian ministry that provides
simple, decent affordable housing for
low income families.
The process used to select a family is
highly structured and can take from six to
eight weeks to complete. Potential homeowners
attend an orientation, complete an
application, provide financial, credit and
other documents and open their current
homes to Habitat volunteers who evaluate
the family’s living conditions. Once selected,
families must participate in the construction
of their home and pay for that home through
a thirty-year, no interest mortgage.
Thank you for the opportunity to “set the
record straight” on this matter.
We at Habitat for Humanity appreciate
all of the support that we have received
from The Californian over the past 17
years and value the publicity, volunteer
days and financial contributions made by
you to our organization, but please remember
the winner in this exercise is the community
in which the home was built.
Sincerely,

— Dennis Wallace, executive director,
Habitat for Humanity-Golden Empire

Jenner: Thanks for clarifying that point.

Reader: According to the numbers I
could find online, 250 people have died in
the Kern River between 1967 and fall of
2007. Over the years, The Californian has
run many stories about the deaths on the
river and even won awards for the photos
and coverage.
Why, knowing that the river is so dangerous,
did you choose to run two photos in
two sections of the June 18 edition of
“tubers” walking to the river at Hart Park
(pages A8 and B1)? The tubers were not
wearing life vests or helmets.
It is irresponsible and contradictory to
publish photos which perpetuate the myth
that the river is a safe place to play.

— David Koeth

Jenner: I’m not going to argue that any
stretch of the Kern River is hazard-free.
People can drown in ankle-deep water.
But some parts of the river, particularly
in the Kern River Canyon, certainly are
more dangerous than others.
I may sound contradictory, but I don’t
think it’s irresponsible to print a picture of
a trio of kids walking along a path carrying
colorful inner tubes.

Reader: I can’t believe that my morning
paper recently printed another article about
Bruce Sons and printed his picture again.
Let it go!
After all the media coverage generated
by the initial shooting, plus four long trials,
nobody wants to read about him any more.
Let it go!

— Gail Oblinger

Jenner: The news was that an appellate
court denied an appeal by Sons to wipe his
slate clean of any wrongdoing, saying his
conviction was just.
While I understand you’re tired of reading
about Sons, that story was important
and worth reporting. Despite the community’s
fatigue with the case itself, I believe
most of our readers feel the same way.
Reader: I’m writing regarding the article
Steven Mayer wrote on June 13 regarding
Bob Otto, the veteran who had ended his
days playing taps at the military ceremonies
for more than 5,000 funerals since
1984. What a wonderful man and we
admire his dedication and selflessness in
volunteering his time to do this all of those
years.
How many of us would take our own personal
time to provide the fitting ceremony
for our fallen veterans and grieving families?
We were especially touched by your article
as we had just been to a funeral at
Riverside National Cemetery and had
stopped overnight in Bakersfield on the
way home. We saw your article in your
paper that evening.
The funeral was for a dear friend who
was an 83-year-old veteran of World War
II who helped liberate France and Poland
and then went on to Germany. He was at
the liberation of a concentration camp
which was in his memory the rest of his
life. The ceremony included yet another
group of retired veterans who did the full
military honors including a gentleman who
played taps.
I don’t believe that any person could
attend that kind of ceremony without tears
or a lump in your throat.
I wish we could convey our appreciation
to Mr. Otto in some way and possibly you
could share this with him. We wish him and
his wife well. Thanks, Mr. Mayer, for your
insight and time in writing such a nice, positive
article. We see few in print anymore of
good things that happen in our world.
Thank you,

— Mr. and Mrs. Ron Gray

Jenner: Your letter meant a lot to
reporter Steven Mayer and to me. I’m sure
it will be just as meaningful to Bob Otto.
Thanks for writing.

Sound off for June 22, 2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:47:03 PDT

Reader: Well, it seems County
Clerk Ann Barnett has a friend in
Californian columnist Marylee
Shrider. They both seem to have a
hatred for gays and the gay marriage
issue. Shrider wrote that “they
of the slippery slope school are left to
ponder the logic or lack thereof
behind the courts ruling.” Did she
even read the ruling or was she only
quoting the opinion of the Heritage
Foundation? Everyone has their own
opinion but some show such hatred it
blinds their thought process. But I
think this open hatred will actually
bring the gay community closer
together and develop a stronger
drive to keep the new law in place.
All gay/lesbian couples who plan
to marry should invite Ann Barnett
to their weddings and present her
with a rainbow bouquet for coming.
— Jim McCall

Jenner: Marylee Shrider doesn’t
hate gay people. But she also doesn’t
approve of gay marriage.
She responds:
“In my columns, I try to focus on
the marriage aspect. I believe in traditional
marriage — with one man
and one woman. People can read
whatever they want to into that.”
Shrider also confirms that she did
indeed read the state Supreme
Court ruling:
“The ruling is clear and to the
point. In a 4-3 decision, the justices
ruled that people have the right to
marry whomever they like and that
gender restrictions are unconstitutional.
What important point did I
miss?”
Also, she said the analysis of the
ruling by the Heritage Foundation
was not the only one she read, just
the one she found most compelling.
Reader: Today (June 15) is Sunday
and Father’s Day.
I am curious as to which story in
today’s paper makes you the most
proud? The one on the front page of
the gay male couple, the story about
the unknown person taking out
recall papers on Ann Burnett or the
story about the people signing the
petition against Ken Weir?
Since today is Father’s Day, I do
not know if you are a parent, but if
you are, how do you go about
explaining to your children or
grandchildren what the homosexual
lifestyle is all about? How do you
encourage them to live a normal
lifestyle? Since it is the parent’s job
to discuss sex with our children at
some point in time so that they do
not make horrible mistakes and they
are responsible in their private
lives, how do you prepare them for
the adult world? You also have to be
careful to not make them cruel to
those who live different lifestyles.
Today’s paper did not make me
feel good — only sad that this fine
city has to go through this.
— Irene Edmonds

Jenner: The first story you mention
was about how two gay men
who have been a couple for 25 years
were affected by the recent court
decision that legalized same-sex
marriages in California.
The second story you reference,
which ran inside the Local section,
was a straightforward story about a
man who asked for and obtained a
recall packet.
The third story dug into an assertion
made by Ward 3 Councilman
Ken Weir that environmentalists
and city employees were behind an
attempt to recall him.
Each of these stories was relevant,
well-reported, thoughtful and
fair.
You didn’t ask me about the more
than 26 other stories and columns in
that edition written by our staffers.
Or about the most unique and moving
package in the paper — the 58
essays and photos shared by local
men and women about what their
fathers mean to them. I know the
stories you mentioned dealt with
topics you don’t want to read about
— but these topics are important to
our community and many readers.
It’s easy these days to find a blog
or a radio or television program that
presents news only from a certain
point of view, or that won’t touch
certain stories or topics. That’s not
what we’re about.
I am a parent. My children are too
young to understand some of the
lifestyle issues that make the news
these days, and I honestly can’t tell
you exactly how my wife and I will
discuss all these things with them.
But I can assure you that ignoring
and avoiding discussion of these
issues will not be an option we
embrace.

Reader: In the wake of the recent
California Supreme Court ruling
legalizing homosexual marriages,
Kern County Auditor-Controller
Ann Barnett has been under fire for
making a budgetary decision.
In this climate of economic uncertainty,
I applaud her for exhibiting
fiscal responsibility. After all, isn’t
that why the taxpayers of Kern
County voted her into office?
Furthermore, I am under the opinion
that all marriage ceremonies,
conducted in any taxpayer-owned
city or county office, whether it be
between a man and woman or people
of the same gender, is disruptive to
the internal operations of that office.
It’s my understanding that marriage
licenses were issued Tuesday
and that her office conducted themselves
professionally and in accordance
of the law. Unfortunately,
The Californian has tried to paint a
different picture.
Thank you Ann Barnett! Keep up
the good work!
—Tom B. Underhill

Jenner: Your accusation that we
tried to “paint a different picture”
about Barnett’s office members
conducting themselves professionally
and in accordance with the law
is absolutely not true.
I also can’t buy your assertion
that Barnett came under fire for
making a budgetary decision.
Californian columnist Lois Henry
questioned her about her plans to
respond to the court’s ruling. Henry
and our editorial writers criticized
her for being evasive and for seeking
legal advice from advisers outside
the county counsel’s office.
Our reporter investigated the
numbers behind her statement that
her decision was driven by budgetary
issues, but while she’s disputed
our math, she hasn’t shared the
details of her own math with us —
or with the public.

Reader: My complaint is about the
comment in the paper on Sunday,
June 15 regarding the TV guide saying
that surveys showed that a small
percentage of readers used it.
I want to just say please do not
judge our intelligence like that. The
majority of us out here were never
asked our opinions. I have talked to
hundreds of people out here and
everyone of them are very passionate
about how much they used the
TV guide.
Please don’t test our intelligence
by saying a small percentage of
readers used it. You know, tell it
like it is.
I understand that you’re not going
to put it in again and that’s your prerogative
but there are many, many
of your readers out here who did
use it and are very disappointed
with The Californian because it hasn’t
been put back.
Just tell it like it is. Just tell us you
can’t afford to put the TV guide in,
but don’t say it’s because the readers
didn’t want it because that’s not
true. You know that as well as all of
us out here know it.
Thank you.
— Lois McAdoo

Reader: I really don’t expect to
get a response. I’d like to address
this to Mr. Jenner and also Mr.
Mullen.
There was a note in last Sunday’s
paper about the TV guide again. It
was expensive to produce and a
small percentage of readers used it.
That’s not necessarily true.
I’m one of the senior citizens in
this town who lives on a limited
income, does not have access to other
programming and I really
depended on that TV guide. I’m
sure I’m not the only one. There are
a lot of us. I think we should be considered.
— Ima Taylor

Jenner: You are not the only one.
We know the guide was very
important to the readers who relied
on it. But our Sunday paper reaches
many, many thousands of people.
And our research did indeed tell us
that most readers didn’t depend on it.
I’m sorry we couldn’t continue to
provide it.

Reader: (K)alifornia has finally
gone way overboard and the ship is
sinking. First, it was fish over man.
Second, it was condors over man.
Third, it was the spotted owl stopping
the health of our forests. Now
we have a travesty called “same-sex
marriage.” Who cares if Harry and
Dick get married? I have never
noticed The Californian getting
excited over a “REAL” marriage. In
fact, The Californian charges people
who “really” get married a fee to
have their picture in the paper.
It is time now (I guess) to stop
getting married and just run down
and get a test tube and be like the
“gay community.”
When will the insanity end?
— John Keyes

Jenner: We do charge for wedding
announcements. But we’ve
also published many, many stories
over the years about traditional
families, couples and marriages.

Reader: How many days in a row
has the front page of your pathetic
sports section featured Kobe
Bryant’s picture? Most people know
what he looks like now. Do the Lakers
have any other players on their
team? There must be some locals
who are worthy of your attention.
MLB coverage is a joke. Go Celtics!
A sports fan,
— Ralph Krafve

Jenner: You should’ve waited to
write till the championship series
ended. It’s hard to say we didn’t
give the Celtics their due, particularly
in the way we displayed photos
of the decisive games.
Reader: Today’s paper (June 20)
A1 headline (& text): “Woodland
Hills hits 113 degrees.” A5 story: “a
record 109 at Woodland Hills.”
So which was it? Or are there two
different Woodland Hills being referenced?
Your friend,
— Liz Keogh

Jenner: The Page One item
should’ve reflected the numbers
contained in the story — 109
degrees, in other words. I have no
explanation for the discrepancy.
We’ll try to be more careful.

Reader: This concerns Friday’s
editorial, “Who’s playing ‘political
games?’ I would like to discuss the
pejorative use of the term “extortion”
and other examples cited of
supposed “Republican” misuse of
their power as the “loyal minority”
regarding passage of the state budget.
Would The Californian editorial
page be so quick to yell “foul” if the
Republicans controlled the state
Legislature? If the Democrats were
the “loyal minority” extracting concessions
from the hypothetical
Republican-controlled budget
process, The Californian would
whistle a different tune joined by
Grumpy of the Seven Dwarfs. The
Californian would then applaud the
“masterful political power play” by
the Democrats!
No, The Californian can NOT
have it, as they seem to want it, both
ways. It is the political process. No,
there shall not be any steamrolling
allowed, nor will the Republicans
play dead.
As another example, there are
many reasons it takes a 2/3 vote
according to our national Constitution
to: Override vetoes, expel a
member of either House, convict of
Impeachment, ratify treaties, and
pass proposed Amendments
through both houses of Congress,
etc. It is our Republic.
— Larry Vernon Hallum

Editorial Page Editor Dianne
Hardisty responds: You betcha we
would object to these games — no
matter who is in charge. If the
Republicans controlled the Legislature
and the Democrats blocked the
budget to extort support for unrelated
legislation, we would howl our
heads off.
Hello, we have a BUDGET CRISIS.
Every day the state has to borrow
money to make ends meet puts
taxpayers further in debt. Nothing is
more important than forging a fair
and balanced state budget.

Reader: I wonder why media people
are so annoying? Why do they
follow up on stories that are not a
huge deal?
While I think that it is wrong for
an elected official to press her personal
beliefs on her constituents by
not performing civil marriages and
then not making a statement about
the real reason for it, is very wrong.
Gays have their glory; they march
in gay pride, which is ridiculous to
flaunt your homosexualness like it
is something to be proud of.
I believe that you are who you are
so why do you feel the need to press
it on everyone.
I think there is other news we
need to follow up on. Instead we get
news people who are rude and have
no respect for others. I used to work
at a local hospital where reporters
would show up with their pen and
paper and start questioning family
of people who had just died.
Reporters just pop in and ask questions
without any heart. They mob
everyone who will say something.
Take a hint when someone says
that they don’t want to talk to you.
Give him or her some space, have
some heart, and stop using the First
Amendment when asked to leave.
For the most part, the media
SUCKS at respecting people’s
boundaries.
—Marshall Smith-Bakersfield
Security Attendant
Kern County Government Center

Jenner: I can’t speak for “the
media,” only the behavior of the
staff of The Californian.
I can tell you that we don’t tolerate
reporters who have no regard
for the rights of ordinary people
who don’t want to speak to us.
Our staffers go to great lengths to
respect the rights and feelings of
people, especially those who are
cruelly thrust into the spotlight by
fate or circumstance. Our reporters
are very compassionate and display
great sensitivity when dealing with
people caught up by tragedy or
events outside their control.
At the same time, these same
staffers can be quite tenacious
when trying to get answers from
public officials and public figures
responsible for decisions and
actions affecting the public and our
readers. We also can be tenacious
when we’re denied access to things
that are public — whether that’s
public information found in documents,
or access to public areas in
county-owned and taxpayer-built
facilities.

Sound Off for June 15, 2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:42:50 PDT

Reader: Truth at last. Mr. Jenner,
you finally told us the truth
about why The Californian no
longer publishes the TV Guide on
Sundays. Last week on Sunday your
answer was to a lady who had written
who was disturbed about the
non-publication of the TV Guide on
Sundays. You quoted her as
“extraordinarily expensive to produce
and the alternative was making
deep cuts to local coverage.”
Well, finally, finally the truth
instead of that baloney that you put
out for nine months about a survey
being made which was laughable to
any intelligent person. A reader
would see through that promptly.
Again, thank you very much for
finally telling the truth that it will
put a few more dollars in the pocket
of the lady who owns The Californian.

— Bill Tinsley

Mullen: We haven’t changed our
tune, Bill. The fact is the TV guide
was expensive for us to produce,
and that reader surveys showed
that a small percentage of readers
used it. We hate to cut anything, but
when push came to shove, cutting
less-used features like the TV guide
made more sense than cutting local
coverage.

Reader: Can you imagine how
shocked I was when I got the Sunday
newspaper and the front page
“headline” read “Stand by our
man” with Hillary’s picture. What a
sexist and degrading line.
What first came to my mind was,
hmm, sounds like the editor has
problems at home. Where were
you? At a bar listening to Tammy
Wynette’s song: “Stand by your
man?”
Is this for real? Is this the best
you can do? Your subtitle read
“Senator vows to fight for Obama.”
Why couldn’t this have been the
headline? But “Stand by our man?”
I don’t think so.
How about these lines that are
not sexist “Yes we can,” “Together
we can elect Obama,” “Let’s stand
together,” or how about this,
“Hillary supports Obama with her
18 million votes.” I didn’t think that
was really hard unless, your headline
was intended to be sexist.
Senator Clinton is a hero to me
and to the 18 million people who
voted for her. She went against all
odds to become the most successful
female presidential candidate in
US history (as stated in your article)
and the best you could do was
“Stand by our man?”
Even Barrack Obama made a
statement of Hillary’s speech “She
shattered barriers on behalf of my
daughters and women everywhere,
who now know that there are no
limits to their dreams.” And the
best you could do is “stand by our
man?”
How degrading and offensive
this is to all women who continue to
fight every single day of their lives
for equality. And the best you could
do is “Stand by our man.” Shame on
you.
As a women “Stand by our man”
is very offensive to me since I voted
for Hillary. Give us women a break.
We are more independent than
that. Hasn’t Hillary’s campaign
proven that?
Furthermore, Barack Obama
could very well be the next president
of the United States of America.
Address him, as the leader he
truly is and not as someone’s MAN!
He deserves the utmost respect.

— Cynthia Bell

Mullen: Cynthia, the headline
you’re referring to was an obvious
nod to Hillary Clinton’s own “stand
by your man” statement during the
1992 presidential campaign. And
for the record, the headline was
written by a woman on our copy
desk. Assistant managing editor
James Bennett, who supervises
production of the paper, responds:
“I liked it for the feelings it seemed
to capture, including that a lot of
women are disappointed Hillary
won’t be the nominee (as evidenced
by Ms. Bell’s letter). She was asking
people to ‘stand by’ Obama who
is now ‘our man’ (at least for the
Democrats). But it obviously hasn’t
been easy for her to admit defeat
(‘Sometimes it’s hard to be a
woman ...’) and a lot of her supporters
are left in a difficult position (as
evidenced by Ms. Bell’s letter) of
supporting the man who defeated
their woman.”

Reader: I was extremely disappointed
in today’s paper, June 7th,
2008. Yesterday at CSUB, three
graduation ceremonies were held
on the campus for the School of
Humanities and Social Sciences,
the School of Education and the
School of Business and Public
Administration. Today, the final
two ceremonies will be held for the
second half of the School of
Humanities and Social Sciences
and the School of Natural Sciences
and Mathematics.
In today’s paper, there was not a
single mention of these ceremonies.
These students, both under
graduate and graduate students
have spent countless hours studying
and working hard to finish their
college degrees.
I proudly sat at the School of
Humanities and Social Sciences
with my family and friends to
watch my husband, Calvin Fields
receive not only his BA in Psychology,
but he was also the honored
recipient of a generous scholarship
given to him by San Joaquin Bank.
All of these students deserved to
have a standing ovation in celebration
of their success.
It is truly sad and disappointing
that the local paper did not have the
courtesy to cover these graduation
ceremonies which are very important
to the students, families and
the faculty of CSUB. I hope that
future CSUB graduation ceremonies
will be covered by The Californian
so that everyone can read
about the graduates who have met
their goal of completing college and
earning a degree.

— Jennifer Fields

Mullen: We do make an effort to
cover CSUB graduation ceremonies
each year in some way, as
well as the graduation ceremonies
of other local colleges and high
schools. We covered CSUB’s graduation
ceremony on June 7. Several
photographs appeared on the Local
cover of the Sunday paper.
We are also happy to tout accomplishments
of individual graduates,
such as scholarships or other
recognition they’ve earned. Readers
should e-mail those to
Local@bakersfield.com, and we
will include them in our “Class
Acts” column that runs periodically
in the Local section.
Reader: Thank you for your follow-
up editorial on Kern County
Auditor-Controller Ann Barnett’s
action. Mrs. Bertia and I agree
wholeheartedly with your criticisms.
In some towns, like Bakersfield,
the newspaper is the first line of
civilized defense for minorities
against the moral, uncompromising
majority. The Supreme Court is a
tardy second.

— Joe Bertia

Reader: It’s regarding the gay
marriage thing. I’ve noticed every
day now I see in the newspaper the
gay marriage. I’m just wondering,
is it getting under The Californian’s
skin? You guys are upset about this.
Why don’t you just let it go for a
while and see what happens, you
know. Many of us believe it will be
solved here in a few months and
many of us believe that the
Supreme Court overstepped their
bounds and are legislating right
now. If the county clerk doesn’t
want to give marriages, then let it
go.

— Michael Nimms

Mullen: Michael, I guarantee you
we are neither upset nor gleeful
about this issue. But we are committed
to covering it, no matter how
it turns out. I’m sorry if our reporting
seems excessive, but the issue
of gay marriage is clearly of high
interest to our readers, regardless
of what their opinion on the matter
might be.

Sound off for June 8, 2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:40:28 PDT

Reader: I always enjoy reading
up on various and unique food
joints Bakersfield has to offer,
but restaurant reviewer Pete Tit-
tl’s description and review
regarding the “deep-fried burg-
er” and Green Frog Deli was pet-
ty.
It’s bad enough when The Cali-
fornianreviews and rates Kern
County Fair foods: fried Twinkie,
fried snickers, etc. Now, I know I
don’t speak for all, but I for one
would sure like to see some of
Tittl’s reviews and articles that
don’t contain the word fried or
grease.
In a city that battles the bulge,
I sure would like to read all the
healthful hotspots Bakersfield
has to offer. Thanks and bon
appetit.
— Jolie Brouttier

Jenner: I’d point out that Pete
does indeed write about healthy
food. But Ishared your com-
ments with him and asked for his
response. Here it is:
“I can certainly back any
efforts to promote public health,
but this is America, and although
it’s not part of the Bill of Rights,
we still have the freedom to con-
sume any item, fried or not, that
satisfies our palate.
“And while I certainly think
that we provide plenty of cover-
age of healthful spots, there is
significant news value in any
restaurant that concocts some-
thing as unusual as a deep-fried
hamburger. But to ignore any
restaurants that fry foods would
be a grievous disservice to the
Bakersfield public.”

Reader: Did you see all those
great write-ups about Memorial
Day celebrations in our local
newspaper on Tuesday, May 27? I
didn’t.
Were you off work, were
schools out, were some business-
es closed? What for?
It would be good to read about
good things sometimes and more
about what goes on in our home-
town.
—Fern Alfred

Jenner:Are you kidding?
The top half of the front page
was devoted to local observations
of Memorial Day. Above the
newspaper’s nameplate was a
photo of a woman surrounded by
flags and headstones at Union
Cemetery as she obtained a flag
for the grave of her father, a
World War IIvet. The picture
was the width of the page.
Below that was a story about
local services, headlined: “Veter-
ans remembered for valor, hon-
or.”

Reader: Monday’s AP news
story about the May 12 immigra-
tion raid in Postville, Iowa was
puzzling. The story said immi-
gration enforcement is imbal-
anced, easy on owners, hard on
illegal immigrants. The only evi-
dence presented was the sentenc-
ing of 297 illegal immigrants
while no company official has
faced charges.
The story omitted significant
facts, so I located it on the Inter-
net. The start of AP’s article
matched The Californian word
for word, but where The Californ-
ian stopped, AP began the other
side of the story.
I learned that ICE search war-
rants targeted the company and
management for violating sever-
al federal laws, including harbor-
ing illegal immigrants.
Last year more than 90 of 863
company personnel ICE charged
with crimes held supervisory
positions and there were 4,000
administrative arrests. A week
after the raid, Congress grilled
James Spero of ICE, who said
they routinely target and develop
cases against management and
owners. Kelly Nantel points out
that developing evidence against
employers can require complex
white-collar crime investiga-
tions.
The immigrants who were sen-
tenced pled guilty to using false
IDs to get the job, false Social
Security cards or numbers, and
unlawful re-entry into the U.S.
Five rejected the plea and await
federal trial, as do 20 facing
deportation for illegal immigra-
tion. This simple but compelling
evidence explains the pleas.
In my view, wondering why no
company official has been
charged after three weeks of
investigation is laughable.
Because of evidentiary differ-
ences, to compare company offi-
cials to those 25 awaiting trial is a
stretch, to compare them to the
sentencing of those who pled
guilty is to mislead.
One-sided stories are some-
thing other than news. Your
readers deserve better.
—Ray Stamper

Jenner: We weren’t able to run
a full version of that story
because of space restrictions. I
agree it would have been better if
we could have published the
complete story.
But I disagree with your con-
clusions about the story. The por-
tion we ran focused on the one
raid in Postville, not every immi-
gration raid. Asking why no com-
pany officials were charged when
more than a third of the work
force was arrested is not laugh-
able.
These days, human resources
managers have a duty to ensure
their workers are legally allowed
to work in the U.S. One phone call
to a Social Security office can
reveal if someone is using a false
Social Security number.
I do wish we’d been able to give
our readers every word of that
story. But it was not irresponsi-
ble of us to run the portion we
did.
We’ll watch for updates on that
story, and if members of manage-
ment face charges, we’ll report it.

Reader: There’s stupid and
then ...there’s STUPID!
I always look at The Day in Pic-
tures and enjoy the photos. Tues-
day there was one that to me is a
very STUPID photo and perhaps
should not even have been print-
ed.
It showed a man using an elec-
tric leaf blower to clear his drive-
way after a flood. If he were to
drop that, he, that lady and the
dog could be killed. I never cease
to be amazed by how stupid some
people can be! I hope printing it
does not give anyone ideas.
— Phil Anderson

Jenner: Editors who selected
the picture found the juxtaposi-
tion of a man appearing to con-
front the massive body of water
in front of him with a leaf blower
both futile and humorous.
Yes, if he had entered the
water with his leaf blower, he no
doubt would have put himself at
risk.
But I can’t imagine that a read-
er who looked at that photo would
be inspired to wade into a lake
lugging an electric appliance.
Occasionally we’ll hear from
readers objecting to photographs
of activities that they consider
hazardous. We get calls when we
run a photo of a boy riding on the
handlebars of another’s bike.
Back in the day when there was
water in the Kern River in town,
we’d hear complaints when we
ran photos of people playing in it.
We do take care when selecting
photos. We don’t want anyone to
do themselves harm because
they tried to copy some risky
behavior we depicted.
But just as we need to use good
judgment, so do our readers. If
we never ran any picture show-
ing behavior others shouldn’t try
at home, we’d deny our readers a
lot of great photos.

Sound Off for June 1, 2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:37:40 PDT

Reader: This week we received
in our newspaper a very professionally
done flier for Cliff
Thompson.
The Californian goes to great
lengths to make sure that everyone
who is a candidate or an
elected official must present all
kinds of information about themselves
and their clients, if they
have any, any and all gifts and
who their contributors are to
their campaigns.
It would be interesting to know
who paid for the flier for Cliff
Thompson. Who are the contributors
to his campaign?

— Irene Edmonds

Jenner: When we saw the big
Cliff Thompson flier, we too wanted
to know who his latest campaign
contributors were and how
much they gave — but we couldn’t.
That’s because Thompson
missed the May 22 deadline to
report contributions and spending
between March 18 to May 17
of this year.
Elections staff say they usually
give candidates a 10-day grace
period to turn in their reports. If
they miss that grace period, candidates
are fined $100.
Thompson told us this past
week he forgot about the report
deadline and was scrambling
Thursday to draft his report and
turn it in. We received a copy Friday.
Contributions for the period
ending May 17 for both Thompson
and his opponent, incumbent
Supervisor Ray Watson, appear
on this very page.
We believe voters should know
who’s offering financial support
to candidates and elected officials.
That’s why we diligently published
all contributions reported
by candidates for local office.
We’ve done this for the last 10
years now — and we plan to continue.

Reader: Today I canceled the
paper. Why? Because I have had
enough.
There is a problem there in
Bakersfield with your mailing out
of subscriptions. Number One:
For instance, the May 5 paper I
got on May 12. There’s no reason
for this. Somebody is not doing
their job.
What good is a paper that’s a
week old?
Why would I want to even
spend the money when I can go
online and get it for free?
So, Bakersfield Californian, you
are losing money because of the
ineptness of the distributor mailing
out your paper. I have sent
many e-mails.
That’s it. Thank you.

— Lauri Hayes

Jenner: There are a few parts
of Kern County where we don’t
offer home delivery. Unfortunately,
you live in one of them.
I agree that no Kern County
resident should have to wait a
week to receive a newspaper
mailed from Bakersfield, but the
“somebody” who’s letting you
down is not one of our carriers or
employees, it’s the U.S. Postal
Service and its delivery contractors.
We do offer alternatives to mail
delivery. You mentioned reading
the paper online. You certainly
can visit our Web site at
www.bakersfield.com. There’s a
whole world of local news and
information there, from breaking
news to video.
But there are things in our
print edition that aren’t offered
on our Web site, from world and
national news stories to comics,
puzzles and local display ads.
A green alternative — a pdf
version of the paper — may be
found at www.bakersfield
.newsstand.com.
You can subscribe to this service
at a much lower rate than
home delivery (there’s no
newsprint or gasoline involved in
production and distribution) and
you can read the paper at the
same time people in Bakersfield
are reading it.

Reader: Why would you publish
such a letter to the editor? This is
the most racist thing I have ever
seen. People are so uneducated
about the United States and more
importantly the state of California.
There is a reason that there are
a lot of Hispanics and Mexicans
in the state. People are quick to
forget that this was once Mexico
until it was taken away from the
Mexican people.
Also I would like to add that
many people have an issue with
the fact that Spanish is widely
spoken in the state of California.
Well, if you look for the official
language of the United States, we
don’t have one. Hmmm, maybe
there is a reason for this.
I don’t agree with a racist opinion
like this being posted and I
demand an apology to all Hispanic
people for allowing this to be
put in the paper. This says a lot
about the character of those who
are in charge of what makes the
paper and what doesn’t.

— Ruben Gonzalez

Editorial Page Editor Dianne
Hardisty responds: No apology is
needed — or offered — for a letter
to the editor criticizing the
benefits received by immigrants
living illegally in this country.
The immigration debate is a
heated exchange between proponents
and opponents of undocumented
immigrants. Congress
and the Bush administration’s
failure to implement necessary
reforms has allowed this problem
to fester.
While Ruben Gonzalez strongly
objects to a critical letter writer,
we receive many similar responses
by readers to commentaries
published that sympathize with
the plight of those living illegally
in the U.S. We strive to keep the
debate civil.
But we allow the publication of
strongly held views on all sides of
this emotional issue.

Reader: I just wanted to thank
reporter Louis Medina for writing
the story “With me always: So
many ways to memorialize loved
ones.”
My brother is Matthew Peppler
and he has gone through so much
over the past two years with losing
our dad and then his little
daughter, Madison. The best way
he knows how to cope with
tragedy is to get tattooed.
I just really appreciate your
story because it gets the word out
that people with tattoos have feelings
and have a reason behind the
ink. A lot of people cannot get that
through their heads.
They just see a kid with a ton of
tattoos and see him as a piece of
trash. So again, thank you so
much. This means a lot to me and
my mom. We live in New Jersey
and I was able to read the story
on Bakersfield.com.
— Kelli Peppler

Jenner: Thanks for your kind
note, Kelli. Louis did a great job
explaining how people follow a
variety of paths to ensure their
loved ones won’t be forgotten.
Reader: What’s on TV before 7
p.m.? A large number of people
who are homebound with illness,
disability, surgery recovery, you
name it, would like to know. A
supplement in the Sunday paper
could list the programs for the
coming week which includes daytime
programs.
We used to have such a supplement
and most papers in other
cities of our size do publish daily
schedules for the entire week.
Have mercy on the shut-ins
who rely on TV to pass the endless
hours.

— Harriet Kellenberger

Jenner: A year ago we discontinued
our weekly TV supplement.
I know it disappointed
many people who relied upon it,
but it had become exorbitantly
expensive to produce, and the
alternative was making deep cuts
to local coverage.
Our formats and our design
continues to evolve, and if we find
a way to list daytime programming
that doesn’t take up much
space, we’ll consider it.
But we have no plans to bring
back the weekly section.

Sound off for May 18, 2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:35:57 PDT

Reader: The editorial board lost a great deal of credibility with its backhanded
endorsement of Supervisor Ray Watson.
There (are) a number of reasons for The
Californian not to like Supervisor Ray Watson.
Most notable is the fact that most of
his professional career was devoted to
being a successful and aggressive competitor.
Watson developed KGET-17 into a
powerful force that effectively competed
with The Californian for the role of being
the community’s journalism leader, and
for the community’s advertising dollar.
Politically, Supervisor Watson doesn’t
line up with The Californian. He doesn’t
call news conferences to tout his accomplishments,
and he doesn’t scour the headlines
to second guess other government
officials. His style doesn’t sell newspapers
for your advertisers. He’s too conservative
politically for The Californian, even though
he does share the views and desires of
most of Kern County.
It would make sense for the editorial
board to question Mr. Watson’s conservative
political positions. You showed your
extreme bias, though, when you latched
onto an opponent’s campaign tag line and
questioned his work ethic and commitment.
While Mr. Watson could comfortably
retire, he’s chosen to dedicate his time to
the county that has treated him and his
family so well. He tirelessly travels the
state to work with water and air quality
issues. Locally, he spends countless hours
working on our critical transportation
problems. He has participated in parades,
dedications, town hall meetings and other
events in EVERY part of his district. Your
board wouldn’t want to compare your work
week to his, and if you tried to compare
your record of volunteer service, you’d be
humiliated.
There are a number of reasons for The
Californian to not like Supervisor Watson.
There is no reason, though, for you to give
him advice on how to serve his community.
You’re simply not qualified.
— Ray W. Watson (Jr.)

Dianne Hardisty responds: Give us a
break. It’s commendable for you to defend
your father. But contending The Californian’s
“backhanded” endorsement of Watson
was motivated by some long-harbored
jealousy of a former news competitor is
hilariously lame.
The editorial was written in response to
the disappointing and uninspired performance
of Ray Watson Sr. on the Board of
Supervisors. When we endorsed him in
2004, you didn’t drag out your jealousy theory.
I guess you were satisfied that the newspaper
in 2004 liked a “competitor” enough
to make that endorsement.
As to being qualified to give Supervisor
Watson advice, that’s what’s great about
our representative form of government.
Everyone — even newspapers or attentive
sons — are free to give elected officials
advice. There’s no “qualification” requirement.
We stand by our advice that Watson
should get out of his office more and visit
folks in the outlying communities of his
district. Many people have written The
Californian claiming they have been abandoned.
Reader: The story on the Local section
cover on May 16 again contained inferences
and assumptions for which there is
no proof. You imply again that The
Canyons project, Councilman Ken Weir,
and his attempt to remove Mr. Johnson
from the Planning Commission are all
related, because the content of The Californian
repeatedly attempts to assert that
Mr. Weir is for the Canyons Project. Please
give some facts to support this.
Can you quote something to this effect,
which Mr. Weir has either said or put in
writing? Otherwise the assumption must be
that you are on purpose telling half-truths,
which then are “partial” lies, if there can
be such a thing.
Your credibility is on the line!
— Gerhard H. Schmidt, M.D.

Jenner: The story you cite — about a
Planning Commission vote on The Canyons
project being delayed — did not assert that
Ken Weir supports the project.
But yes, Weir’s attempt to replace Russell
Johnson on the Planning Commission
is indeed related to the Hillside Ordinance
and The Canyons project — according to
Ken Weir.
In the last council meeting, Weir specifically
criticized Johnson for being “proud
to have voted to take two-thirds of a man’s
land without compensating him for his
loss.” He also, earlier, criticized the Hillside
Ordinance, and Johnson’s vote, for
“unfairly and possibly unlawfully taking
an individual’s land.”
This is the only specific vote that Weir
has cited in his criticism of Johnson. The
reference to the taking of “two-thirds of a
man’s land” can only refer to Gordon
Downs’ land, part of The Canyons project.
We asked Weir directly in an e-mail to
specify if he was referring to a different
vote. He did not reply.
As for our credibility, it is on the line
every day, with every story, every word.
Reader: I opened the newspaper on May
7 and saw a story about the man that killed
Dorothy Anne Walter. I read the story in
disbelief as it had little to do with the victim,
Dorothy Anne Walter, but focused on
Danny Espinoza, the man that injured himself
the night he killed her.
I knew Dorothy Anne Walter for 46
years and she was an incredible person.
Boots, as she was lovingly called by her
family and friends, was very giving and
kind. She was an accomplished athlete,
writer, musician, and a well-rounded person.
Boots always found time for others.
She taught her children compassion and
love, and to accept others, regardless of
their faults. She also taught her children
the difference between right and wrong,
and that there are consequences for your
actions.
Boots reared five successful children.
Her children have become her voice since
it was silenced on March 5, 2006. The night
is fresh in the memory of those who loved
her. The night is a memory that will never
leave them. Those who loved her have suffered
greatly. They cope with her loss on a
daily basis. People say that time will heal;
perhaps, but they did not know Boots.
Boots was a terrific person, not yet ready to
leave this earth. Her death has shattered a
family; her family. Boots was the matriarch
of the family. She was the thread that
held their worlds together. Her loss is
something that is difficult to put into
words. How do you measure a life in just a
few words?
I read the one-sided, biased story in The
Californian and I was numb. The victim is
and has always been Dorothy Anne Walter
(Boots). She was killed while driving home
with her two beloved dogs by Danny
Espinoza, who was speeding at over 94
miles per hour. The man who killed Boots
injured himself that night. Now, his family
is seeking input from the court of public
opinion on how cruel her family has been
in pursuing justice. The family did not
charge Danny Espinoza. The state of California
charged him in the death of Dorothy
Anne Walter. We live in a country with
laws. When laws are broken, there are consequences.
With consequences comes
accountability, and Danny Espinoza should
be held accountable for the death of
Dorothy Anne Walter.
There are no winners from the night of
March 5, 2006. Dorothy Anne Walter was
killed, her family has been shattered, and a
man must now face the consequences for
his actions. I knew Dorothy Anne Walter
for 46 years because she was my mom.
— Nancy Walter-Frazier

Jenner: I’m sorry for your family’s loss,
and I’m sorry this case continues to drag
on without resolution. I know that makes
the tragic loss of your mother even more
painful.
We felt this case deserved coverage. You
and your family members certainly can
speak to this great loss better yourselves,
but because you wouldn’t talk to us, we had
to rely on court documents to present your
side.

Reader: One of my favorite things in the
morning is to see what pictures are going
to be on your photo page. I enjoy about 98
percent of them. But in the last year or so a
picture keeps coming up that makes me
physically ill. That is the picture of the
“brave and daring” matador killing the
“ferocious” bull! What a load of bull!
Before I get into this I do want to thank
you for the great articles on animal control,
animal abuse, death shelters that kill these
great animals day after day. Reporter
James Burger has been great in bringing
this to light.
And then you show this picture, (more
than one time), this killing of the bull, and
call it sport! This is cruelty and animal
abuse, and it is not a sport.
For one thing, the picadors half kill the
bull before the “brave matador” gets into
the ring. I see no sport in killing a halfdead
bull that is bleeding and weak from
blood loss.
I hate the picture of blood coming to my
breakfast table in glorious color, not once,
but a few times.
I have been taking the paper for more
than 30 years and I love the paper most of
the time (I said 98 percent of the time
already). Keep coming up with these great
articles on dogs, cats and horses being
killed or abused. We need to educate those
who think a dog or cat should be au natural.
But please, no more bullfighting pictures.
Thank you.
— Mrs. Terry Hogan

Jenner: I shared your comment with
Director of Photography Alex Horvath.
Here are his thoughts:
“The killing of an animal for sport can be
gruesome. In the past two years of the Day
in Pictures we’ve used maybe a half-dozen
bullfighting pictures. We’ve even run a picture
of a bull goring a bullfighter.
“I chose the photo you’re referring to for
the emotion and feeling in the man’s face
as he slayed the bull and to share with
readers that bullfighting (right or wrong)
does exist. We didn’t run it to glorify the
sport.
“If I offended you, I’m sorry, but if I
stirred any emotions or feelings and made
people think about this, I have done my
job.”