Sound Off - soundoff's Blog - Bakersfield.com

Sound Off for Oct. 19, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.