The nasty little cold that's going around has taken hold at the Press.
The blog will be back in business as soon as its author can breathe through his nose again.
Thanks for the patience. And get your flu shot, if you haven't already.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Really, there is cause for optimism
If anyone thought today's column was overly negative, that wasn't the intent.
There are real problems in Tracy, however, and a real change of direction is needed. Building more houses and dedicating limited resources to that kind of development does not make sense in the current climate. Pretending that isn't the case won't help.
Yes, eventually, we will need more houses. But that eventually is not now. And the priorities of the City Council must reflect that reality.
I'm an optomist about Tracy. I think that with the right decisions and foresight, this good community populated by great people can become even better.
But the betterment of a family, neighborhood, city, state or country often requires adjustments of trajectory. Tracy is in need of one of those right now.
I also think that our elected officials — long-sitting though some of them are — have more than enough ability to accomplish that. I know that some of them have the desire.
The question is, will they actually do it?
There are real problems in Tracy, however, and a real change of direction is needed. Building more houses and dedicating limited resources to that kind of development does not make sense in the current climate. Pretending that isn't the case won't help.
Yes, eventually, we will need more houses. But that eventually is not now. And the priorities of the City Council must reflect that reality.
I'm an optomist about Tracy. I think that with the right decisions and foresight, this good community populated by great people can become even better.
But the betterment of a family, neighborhood, city, state or country often requires adjustments of trajectory. Tracy is in need of one of those right now.
I also think that our elected officials — long-sitting though some of them are — have more than enough ability to accomplish that. I know that some of them have the desire.
The question is, will they actually do it?
Friday, November 7, 2008
Random election thoughts...
• One step closer to the Taliban: Congratulations California voters, you have just written discrimination and a narrow religious precept into the state constitution by passing Proposition 8.
• Big. Hypoctires: According to Prop. 8's writers, the initiative was meant to be retroactive, meaning that folks peddling themselves as defenders of marriage purposefully took it upon themselves to try and break thousands of unions asunder.
• Now the real work begins: Barack Obama won the election, but those celebrating need to keep in mind that it could take a lifetime — let alone four or eight years — to fix what hath been wrought. Progress will be slow and measured, not sweeping and grand. Get ready to pitch in and help. Change won't happen if we just sit around and expect the politicians to do it for us.
• The work is local, too: Mayor Brent Ives is back for at least another two years, and it's up to us to give him the support he needs to steer Tracy in a better direction. And speak up if he wanders off course.
• An investment in Tracy's future: An educated town is more likely to draw serious consideration from potential employers, and the passage of the Measure S school bond on the heels of Measure E is a sign that locals are serious in building a strong community, from the kids on up.
• Guess it wasn't so brilliant after all: Selecting Gov. Sarah Palin was an instant shot in the arm for John McCain's campaign, but her complete unreadiness for the job ened up a deal-breaker for many voters.
• Good to know the spin machine is still well-lubricated: Obama's 7 million vote margin isn't a mandate, according to Robert Novak. Of course, he said Bush's 2004 margin of 3.5 million was.
• Big. Hypoctires: According to Prop. 8's writers, the initiative was meant to be retroactive, meaning that folks peddling themselves as defenders of marriage purposefully took it upon themselves to try and break thousands of unions asunder.
• Now the real work begins: Barack Obama won the election, but those celebrating need to keep in mind that it could take a lifetime — let alone four or eight years — to fix what hath been wrought. Progress will be slow and measured, not sweeping and grand. Get ready to pitch in and help. Change won't happen if we just sit around and expect the politicians to do it for us.
• The work is local, too: Mayor Brent Ives is back for at least another two years, and it's up to us to give him the support he needs to steer Tracy in a better direction. And speak up if he wanders off course.
• An investment in Tracy's future: An educated town is more likely to draw serious consideration from potential employers, and the passage of the Measure S school bond on the heels of Measure E is a sign that locals are serious in building a strong community, from the kids on up.
• Guess it wasn't so brilliant after all: Selecting Gov. Sarah Palin was an instant shot in the arm for John McCain's campaign, but her complete unreadiness for the job ened up a deal-breaker for many voters.
• Good to know the spin machine is still well-lubricated: Obama's 7 million vote margin isn't a mandate, according to Robert Novak. Of course, he said Bush's 2004 margin of 3.5 million was.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
After the election
Today, a tired, election-battered community and country wake to find a brand-new future, even though almost everything is the same as it was 48 hours ago. A little encouragement to get through the day...
"I read that scientsits are trying to make computers that think. Isn't that weird?? If computers can think, what will people be better at than machines?" "Irrational behavior." "Maybe they'll invent a phsychotic computer."
"Mom and dad say I should make my life an example of the principles I believe in. But every time I do, they tell me to stop it." "I'm not sure that total self-indulgence is really a principle."
"Our lives are filled with machines designed to reduce work and increase leisure. We have more leisure than man has ever had. And what do we do with this leisure? Educate ourselves? Take up new interests? Explore? Invent? Create?" "...Dad, I can't hear this commercial."
"Why do I get the feeling that society is trying to make us discontented with everything we do and insecure about who we are?" "I suppose if people thought about real issues and needs instead of manufactured desires, the economy would collapse and we'd have total anarchy."
"Everything is so darn hard! I wish I could just take a pill to be perfect and I wish I could just push a button to have anything I want." "The American Dream lives on." "Why should I have to work for everything?! It's like saying I don't deserve it!"
"I read that scientsits are trying to make computers that think. Isn't that weird?? If computers can think, what will people be better at than machines?" "Irrational behavior." "Maybe they'll invent a phsychotic computer."
"Mom and dad say I should make my life an example of the principles I believe in. But every time I do, they tell me to stop it." "I'm not sure that total self-indulgence is really a principle."
"Our lives are filled with machines designed to reduce work and increase leisure. We have more leisure than man has ever had. And what do we do with this leisure? Educate ourselves? Take up new interests? Explore? Invent? Create?" "...Dad, I can't hear this commercial."
"Why do I get the feeling that society is trying to make us discontented with everything we do and insecure about who we are?" "I suppose if people thought about real issues and needs instead of manufactured desires, the economy would collapse and we'd have total anarchy."
"Everything is so darn hard! I wish I could just take a pill to be perfect and I wish I could just push a button to have anything I want." "The American Dream lives on." "Why should I have to work for everything?! It's like saying I don't deserve it!"
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
The party's over
California polls just closed. And already the major networks are calling the whole shebang for Barack Obama.
Our local races will take some time to sort out, but one thing is clear — at least nationwide, a message of "change" took root. (After eight years of the President Bush fiasco, who can you blame?)
We'll see if similar sentiments reign closer to home. Check back at www.tracypress.com for updates. I'll be back with you tomorrow, alert readers.
Enjoy the evening.
Our local races will take some time to sort out, but one thing is clear — at least nationwide, a message of "change" took root. (After eight years of the President Bush fiasco, who can you blame?)
We'll see if similar sentiments reign closer to home. Check back at www.tracypress.com for updates. I'll be back with you tomorrow, alert readers.
Enjoy the evening.
My voting snafu
Turns out the soggy folks in Virginia aren't the only ones with voting problems.
I strolled into the Tracy Community Center to cast my vote today — same place I cast my primary ballots in February and June — and was summarily instructed to go to the Grace Baptist Church. My polling place had been moved, and I hadn't paid close enough attention to notice.
So I walked to my car, drove down to the Tracy Boulevard polling place and, after two screwed-up ballots, cast my vote.
And I wasn't the only one. At least two other people at Grace Baptist had stories to match mine.
I strolled into the Tracy Community Center to cast my vote today — same place I cast my primary ballots in February and June — and was summarily instructed to go to the Grace Baptist Church. My polling place had been moved, and I hadn't paid close enough attention to notice.
So I walked to my car, drove down to the Tracy Boulevard polling place and, after two screwed-up ballots, cast my vote.
And I wasn't the only one. At least two other people at Grace Baptist had stories to match mine.
Monday, November 3, 2008
The lay of the land
With one day to go, we decided to take a survey of the local electoral landscape.
Congress, 11th District:
Incumbent Rep. Jerry McNerney is poised to reclaim his seat -- a poll taken two weeks ago gave him an 11-point lead over challenger Dean Andal, but the conservative from Stockton is known as a strong closer. Andal was the underdog in previous races, especially for his first campaign for an Assembly seat, and he has always pulled it out in the end.
Mayor:
As I wrote this, my phone buzzed with another mayoral phone ad. Conventional wisdom has the three-way race for the mayor's seat whittled down to two main contenders: Mayor Brent Ives and challenger Celeste Garamendi. Councilwoman Evelyn Tolbert, though widely popular, has simply been dwarfed in the fundraising category this election cycle. Her pledge to not take more than $99 per donation -- that happens to be the threshold above which donations must be reported -- hampered her in comparison to Ives and his backers (he's also been given plenty of "independent" support from a PAC called For A Better Tracy, which was organized by developer Tony Souza to batter Garamendi and Councilwoman Irene Sundberg) and Garamendi and her coalition of donors. This race might be too close to call on Election Night.
City Council:
A five-man race for two seats is largely down to three contenders: Councilman Steve Abercrombie, Councilwoman Sundberg, and former police captain Mike Maciel. While challenger Larry Hite is well-known in the community and Larry Gamino has done some great work as a South Side activist and earned a Tracy Press endorsement, it would be a real shocker if one of the two Larrys pulled off an election victory.
Measures:
Polling data doesn't exist for Measures S (TUSD bond) and T (term limits for mayor and council), but there's been neither sight nor sound of organized Measure S opposition. Tracy Unified has proven itself extremely reliable in handling the money from its most recent bond issue (Measure E in 2006), and voters will probably trust the board of trustees again to use taxpayer money wisely to upgrade middle and elemetary schools. As for Measure T, term limits have been popular in other jurisdictions, passing almost every time they appear on a ballot. Again, no polling data exists for this specific measure, but I wouldn't be surprised if Tracy voters gave it a green light.
Propositions:
The most contested one on the ballot is Proposition 8, and it's coming down to a dead heat. The question seems to be: how many social conservatives vs. how many social liberals will come out for this initiative given that the presidential race for California is all but decided.
Congress, 11th District:
Incumbent Rep. Jerry McNerney is poised to reclaim his seat -- a poll taken two weeks ago gave him an 11-point lead over challenger Dean Andal, but the conservative from Stockton is known as a strong closer. Andal was the underdog in previous races, especially for his first campaign for an Assembly seat, and he has always pulled it out in the end.
Mayor:
As I wrote this, my phone buzzed with another mayoral phone ad. Conventional wisdom has the three-way race for the mayor's seat whittled down to two main contenders: Mayor Brent Ives and challenger Celeste Garamendi. Councilwoman Evelyn Tolbert, though widely popular, has simply been dwarfed in the fundraising category this election cycle. Her pledge to not take more than $99 per donation -- that happens to be the threshold above which donations must be reported -- hampered her in comparison to Ives and his backers (he's also been given plenty of "independent" support from a PAC called For A Better Tracy, which was organized by developer Tony Souza to batter Garamendi and Councilwoman Irene Sundberg) and Garamendi and her coalition of donors. This race might be too close to call on Election Night.
City Council:
A five-man race for two seats is largely down to three contenders: Councilman Steve Abercrombie, Councilwoman Sundberg, and former police captain Mike Maciel. While challenger Larry Hite is well-known in the community and Larry Gamino has done some great work as a South Side activist and earned a Tracy Press endorsement, it would be a real shocker if one of the two Larrys pulled off an election victory.
Measures:
Polling data doesn't exist for Measures S (TUSD bond) and T (term limits for mayor and council), but there's been neither sight nor sound of organized Measure S opposition. Tracy Unified has proven itself extremely reliable in handling the money from its most recent bond issue (Measure E in 2006), and voters will probably trust the board of trustees again to use taxpayer money wisely to upgrade middle and elemetary schools. As for Measure T, term limits have been popular in other jurisdictions, passing almost every time they appear on a ballot. Again, no polling data exists for this specific measure, but I wouldn't be surprised if Tracy voters gave it a green light.
Propositions:
The most contested one on the ballot is Proposition 8, and it's coming down to a dead heat. The question seems to be: how many social conservatives vs. how many social liberals will come out for this initiative given that the presidential race for California is all but decided.
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