Red Line (May 6)
All comments are edited for length and content. Due to content some comments may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Some weeks, due to the number of comments and space, some may not be published.
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A man who said he “was raised in Madera, called “about the Hall of Fame (dinner) for Madera High School.” He suggested, “we go back and look at some great, great hall of fame people.”
In his lengthy message he listed many athletes of Madera High “back in 1938, ’39 and early ‘40s” that had gone on to be outstanding athletes in college. The caller thought it was “a mistake to go ahead of all those (earlier) people that so deserve their day in court.” However, he did conclude by saying, “thank you for creating something that is needed and well deserved.” (Note: Future Hall of Fame inductions will continue to include former athletes of Madera.)
A man said, “the announcement of (Gov. Arnold) Schwarzenegger’s signing of a compact with the Mono Tribe was to be expected.” He went onto say that “the chief lobbyist for Station Casinos (Las Vegas) was “best man” for the governor’s chief of staff. “Got the connection?”
A woman who said she “lives out here, off (Avenue) 18 1/2, near where the new casino is going. They never came out and asked us. We don’t need it. Let them find some other place to put it. We were here first and I’m tired of people saying what a wonderful thing it is.”
Another lady said, “finally, there is some hope that money will again be coming into this county and city. They can’t build the casino fast enough. With over 1,000 jobs and payroll, let’s hope they hire a lot of local people who will spend their earnings here in Madera.”
A lady “who was driving on Riverside noticed, right by the walkway, there’s a sprinkler spraying the street.” She was concerned because of all the talk “about always saving water.” She pulled her car around to the sprinkler “and washed my car.” Afterwards she wondered, “all this water going to waste, what about the city?”
Another was “just wondering why, at the Department of Corrections, our county jail, they (the inmates) have HBO (television). How can the county afford that? Isn’t there a better use of money for the citizens of the county than providing inmates of the jail with HBO?”
A man called “about the article in the paper about the railroad police stopping the lady for stopping on the tracks and that she didn’t know it was illegal.” He asked, “lady, what do you do when you’re on the tracks and the lights start flashing and you have nowhere to go?”
Another call, a woman, “applauded the railroad police for citing the violators at the railroad crossing at Gateway (and) Cleveland. Whoever designed that intersection was a moron. Now I wish the police would come out to Parkwood. There it is 25 mph (speed limit) and where 9 out of 10 people are exceeding it.”
A woman saw “a fight at Courthouse Park on Yosemite near Gateway” and “called the police department. On the way back, I saw Zak’s security instead of the police department.” She wondered, “what we pay our (city) police department for.” (Note: Courthouse Park is a county park) She was “very concerned over who is paying for this.”
A man was “very upset” after he received his “sample ballot in the mail.” He said, “98 percent of it is printed in Mexican (Spanish). I am so d-mn sick and tired of this. Print the d-mn stuff in English and let them worry about how to read it.
“This is a bunch of garbage, and I hope you print this verbatim. I want to hear some replies.” (Note: The message was too lengthy to print in its entirety.)
A man called concerning what he thought was “the biggest waste of tax dollars that I’ve seen in a long time. The traffic signals at Stadium Road and Pecan Avenue are going out to bid again, for upgrades. Those traffic signals have never been put into full operation. They are brand new. If they are so brand new, why are they needing to be upgraded already? Why weren’t they put in right in the first place?”
A man who “just read Friday’s (May 2) letter to the editor with recollections of the writer about her family, Sheriff Barnett and Dr. Ransom,” had this follow up. “She probably knows that Dr. Ransom lived on North C Street, but I wonder if she knows where John Barnett lived during the time he was sheriff. If not, stay tuned.”
A gentleman called in regards to a newspaper (not the Tribune) printing a photo that showed “our American flag upside down. A Mexican rally has our flag upside down. They put the flag upside down and they print it.”
“Shame on you, Madera Unified School Board,” began a woman’s call, “for taking away 8th grade graduation ceremonies and replacing them with daytime, school hours, recognition events. But, more importantly, shame on us, the voters, to elect a school board with so little understanding of the students and families that they serve.”
A lady who gave her name said, “I know you can print some things more important and enlightening to put on your front page than a bunch of fools tormenting animals.”
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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24-hours a day by calling 674-4478, or by visiting www.maderatribuneredline.com.
The State Senate may want to consider the budget impact of SB1608 before voting. This bill protects business owners by complicating the process of filing lawsuits for disability access violations such as not putting in ramps or disabled parking, etc. In establishing such obstacles to disability access lawsuits, the bill appears to violate the “equal rights” clause of the U.S. Constitution. There is much case law protecting racial and gender groups to support this position. Brown Versus Board of Education is one example.
Such violation opens the door to very expensive legal challenges which could drain state coffers for years to come. The bill’s authors may want to look at cheaper ways to regulate the ethical behavior of the attorneys who file such lawsuits. Increasing the State Bar’s budget for regulating unethical attorney behavior would be a less expensive approach.
Bob Segalman, Ph. D.
Sacramento
To the man who awaits the responses regarding your ballot:
… You know life is tough at times and if you don’t like it, oh well!
You people who have nothing but negatives to write about us need to seriously get with the program. I’ve said it in the Red Line before, and I will say it to you Mr. Ballot Man, we’re here to stay, so tough cr-p! Maybe you should move far, far away, where the population of a city might be caucasians or whatever it is you are.
You people are old fashioned and ridiculous to complain about something like this. Like I said Mr. Do Something, why don’t you take some action and step it up!
You have to love the woman who lived on Ave. 18 1/2 complaining about the casino saying “build it somewhere else… they didn’t ask us and we were here first.”
To begin with, we should by now know by now who was here first unless we just don’t give a darn about history or reality. Second, we really didn’t ask the Indians about where they wanted to live either when we put a $50 bounty on their heads in the 1850s and forced them off the resource-rich coast and foothills to live in reservations in the Central Valley.
And guess where the reservation set aside for the North Fork people was? Yes, pretty much right where the City of Madera and proposed location of the casino is today. It’s one thing if you want to deny other citizens their personal choices of entertainment because of your own moralistic views, but to try to force your skewed view of history on everyone else is preposterous. Those are attitudes and actions we’d expect to see in Iran — not the US.
I saw your article on-line labeled ‘Western homage for a steel horse; Local invents ‘cycle spurs” and I saw that he sells items over the internet. The name of his company is Wild West Motorcycle Accessories, but I have been unable to locate it on the internet. Can you help me find his internet site??
Thanks in advance!!
Thomas Meador
WEBMASTER’S NOTE: I was unable to find the Web site either, but hopefully the inventor — who lives here in the Madera area — will eventually read this and come to our rescue with that bit of information.
A long time ago 8th grade graduation ceremonies were very important because that was only how far some people ever went in school. They had to know the 50 states, the U.S. Constitution and that was part of the 8th grade test to get out of school. It was important then. Not so much now with our modern world.
But is it any less important? Think about it.
Now thanks to NCLB and Education MONEY tied to TESTING. It is no longer important for our children to pass an 8th grade test to go onto High School. They just need to know how to fill in a scantron sheet, to prove their scores are as high as some other schools where students have more resources and advantages. Makes you wonder if our kids can actually think, or if they can think for themselves? Or be allowed to actually learn real subjects… Or have one creative thought of their own….
Testing is money. Testing is not Teaching folks. NCLB is creating a bunch of fill in the bubble students, and really leaving our future, our students behind. MUSD has their bottom line and it is not your child’s future…. it is all about the money. So they don’t care about the old custom of 8th grade graduation ceremonies.
It is sad to say, but I think it is because many students could not pass the 8th grade test if given today.
There are good and bad in all races, but let me see if I understand this:
You chose to leave your country to come to America. But instead of doing it the right way, like thousands of other people, you chose to sneak in like a thief, or put your self in the hands of a Coyote that may or may not charge you a whole lot of money, that may or may not have sex with you or abuse you, or may or may not kill you. Such is your need to come to the United States, because your own country treats your people like dirt.
So I open the paper and find you are not married, in jail for drugs, killing, child abuse, tagging, other gang activities, or not married and have had six or more children so that they can be U.S. born and get free: WIC, social services, food, medical, dental and vision care, 12 years of education, all free. There are in Madera free English classes, for all people.
It should be against the law to tell Americans that we won’t hire you in your own country if you don’t speak a certain language. All of these services are what the U.S. taxpayer pays for.
And once you get caught for being here like a thief, you whine about your lack of rights (and) get sent back to your country… Then once you get back to your own country apply to come here like you should have done in the beginning. The right way. Like thousands of other hard working people. That are proud to have become Americans. No one owes you a free ride.
WEBMASTER’S NOTE: You make many assumptions and generalizations in your comment. But for the record, the most recent study released on the subject — “Crime, Corrections, and California: What Does Immigration Have to Do with It?” by the Public Policy Institute of California (Feb. 2008) — reported that the state’s foreign-born population, including illegal immigrants, are only a sliver of the state’s jail or prison inmates. Although they make up a third of the state’s adults, foreign-born residents are disproportionately less likely to be involved in serious crime than native-born residents. This was reported by the Associated Press and various newspapers.
It should also be noted that as of 2001 the divorce rate in the U.S.A. was 4.1 per 1,000, which allegedly is the highest divorce rate in the western, developed world. Meanwhile the divorce rate in Mexico was 0.48 per 1,000, which was the 7th lowest divorce rate in the world.
WEBMASTER’S NOTE: This comment began with alleged statistics on illegal immigrants that apparently was copied from another Web site word-for-word (possibly BorderSense.com), and thus can’t be reprinted here verbatim without permission. The statistics, which were said to come from the FBI and INS, are at least partly unreliable according to a rumor-busting Web site, TruthOrFiction.com. She then concludes in her own words…
Again, there are good and bad people. Most immigrants that I know, and their children, are good hardworking people. However even given the above report, which I personally find to be biased, all I have to do is open my local paper to find the statistics to reflect Madera’s population base.
I’m curious but can users post pictures on the Red Line? I have a picture of a couple of businesses in downtown Madera that for some reason started construction and then stopped without completing it — Now the unfinished add ons to the buildings are dirty and disgusting looking.
Maybe a picture is not even necessary and everyone knows what I am talking about. It was so bad that I was embarrassed for the city of Madera when I witnessed a visitor to the city, who was probably scared before by the … (train) station in the middle of nowhere, had to go by and witness that. Why will the city build new shopping centers but won’t clean up this or force someone to do it? I think there’s something wrong here.
WEBMASTER’S REPLY: At this time, users cannot post photographs on the Red Line. It is unlikely that will change in immediate future.
The people who own those businesses should be ashamed. One should take pride in ownership, and allowing a place to get totally run down is terrible. The city really should start enforcing some serious rules when it comes to the appearance of its buildings. People are much more likely to go to a tore and spen money when they don’t feel like they might catch something from simply stepping inside. I have not stepped foot in a store downtown in years.
My comments are to “Ashamed and Emabarrased”
I completely understand. As a business owner myself I take pride in my store and its store front.
Recently I was invited to a conference in Bass Lake and I represented Madera. Everyone who came through Hwy 99 had to take Hwy 145, Yosemite Avenue, to get to Hwy 41. I was so embarrased to claim Madera as my area when we had to stand up and introduce ourselves. I had already heard people speaking in the lobby saying “glad I don’t live there” “is that what they call a down town, who’s running that town?’ “maybe these people should get out more and see the rest of the world and they would know what a real downtown that would attract business should look like” The last of my examples prompted me to try to defend downtown and explain that not all of Madera is like that. That we are a wonderful little town that is still growing and improving each and everyday. LIttle has happened to improve downtown since then. I am just hoping that next year when we have this conference again that the so called improvements to that building have been completed.