July 30th, 2008 12:01pm
by admin
The Santa Rosa City Council wasn’t the only government body to turn down a quarter-cent sales tax measure on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the Marin Board of Supervisors also rejected a sales tax measure, one for open space acquisition, wildland fire prevention and farm protection.
Of the two measures, that was the one SMART supporters were most concerned about. Santa Rosa represents just 12 percent of the voters …
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July 25th, 2008 04:10pm
by admin
Here’s
an idea sure to generate some road rage.
The
Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a regional planning agency for the Bay
Area, has decided to offer solo drivers a chance to use car-pool lanes.
But
it’s going to cost you.
Under
the plan approved this week by the MTC board, solo drivers could pay a toll to
use car-pool lanes on Bay Area highways, using Fastrak or a similar electronic payment
system.
They
call them HOT lanes.
And
that may be apt given the …
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July 23rd, 2008 09:00pm
by admin
A Sacramento Bee editorial today smacked state legislators
for the annual “show of Capitol Kabuki,” dueling press conferences, rallies and
town hall meetings staged by members of one party to try to bring pressure on members of the other
party to budge on the state budget.
A few hours later, the Bee scooped this story: Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger plans to sign an executive order next week that will reduce pay
for more than …
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July 22nd, 2008 06:17pm
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How many tax measures will voters be willing to support – especially during a down economy?That may be the big question going into the fall. The Marin Board of Supervisors today tentatively voted to move ahead with a quarter-cent sales tax for open space (and other items), and it has supporters of the SMART train nervous.Why? Because the vote comes less than a week after …
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July 21st, 2008 04:45pm
by admin
There have been any number of efforts to get people to the
polls – some a lot more successful than others.
California
has made it far easier to vote by mail. Oregon
requires it. California and Texas have opened precincts early.
Mendocino
County didn’t too badly
by putting a pot measure on the June ballot. In an election with a statewide
turnout of less than 30 percent, nearly 60 percent of Mendocino County
voters cast ballots. Only tiny …
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July 14th, 2008 05:01pm
by admin
Let’s start with what this is not. It is not a suggestion
that firearms are never used in self-defense. Obviously they are. Two years
ago, a man was shot and killed after dressing as a ninja and breaking into the
Healdsburg home of a former employer. A Cloverdale man shot an intruder in his house later
the same year. Both incidents, by the way, received widespread coverage in the
news media.
And let’s get past supposed …
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July 11th, 2008 09:13pm
by admin
In our lead editorial on Sunday, we report the findings of our latest Press Democrat reader poll. This one shows North Bay residents are emphatically against suicide barriers on the Golden Gate Bridge. We were somewhat surprised at how strongly locals feel about it – particularly given the momentum that has been building to have something installed.
This week, bridge officials unveiled the various options for a barrier, each …
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July 9th, 2008 02:33pm
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Some people say the initiative system has run amok -
handcuffing policymakers with ballot-box budgeting, its stated purpose of
citizen oversight subverted by the high cost of qualifying for the ballot and
the deep-pocket special interests that regularly spend what it takes. But if it
weren’t for the initiative system, we wouldn’t have stories like this one from Denver’s Rocky Mountain
News:
A video that purportedly shows …
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July 8th, 2008 02:48pm
by admin
The Golden
Gate Bridge
is a national icon. It’s also one of the most popular – if that’s the right
word – suicide spots in the world.
Putting a suicide barrier on the bridge has been debated for
years. Some methods were deemed unsightly on the iconic span. Others were too
costly. Some argue that it’s pointless because determined people will find a
way to end their lives. But the issue persisted as the macabre …
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July 7th, 2008 12:54pm
by admin
Well so much for that. Those who waited until Saturday night to watch fireworks were in for a big disappointment if they went out to Bodega Bay. Because of the low cloud cover, they only got to see half the show – the lower half.
Rachel Stemson of Santa Rosa was one of the many who crowded around Bodega Harbor at Westside Park to see the fireworks show at 9:30 …
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