Opinion

On my first day as interim superintendent/president at Feather River College, the Chips Fire was burning along the side of the road as I drove up Highway 70 on my way to work. This setting is the perfect metaphor for the current economic situation in Plumas County and the state of California.

  The Chips Fire was contained through the effort and determination of several firefighting agencies and an adequate investment in resources, even though we are currently mired in a poor economy. Right now California is at a similar crossroads — we must decide whether to fund an economic turnaround fueled by a trained and educated workforce or watch our state burn away like the initial stages of the Chips Fire.

  Good news for the public’s right to know. With the deadline approaching for taking action, California Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed a measure that restores the public’s ability to enforce the Brown Act when a violation occurs.

  Co-sponsored by the California Newspaper Publishers Association (CNPA) and Californians Aware, Senate Bill 1003, by Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), overturns an appellate court’s decision that existing law does not provide a remedy for past Brown Act violations by a local agency.

    When I look at a sheet of music the notes provide no clue to the melody. Once I could say, “I read music,” and my fingers would press the right keys on the piano interpreting the works of Mozart, Bach and Beethoven.

    Yet, as a high school freshman, I decided I no longer had a half-hour I could devote to practice. There was no time to play songs that had become familiar and so they were soon forgotten. The intention was not to let them slip away, but early mornings in front of a mirror putting on makeup; late nights practicing French for an oral test; poring over math equations; long chats with girlfriends; securing tickets to a rock concert; living out the details from the latest fashion magazine; dances; Friday night football games … “childish” pursuits were set aside.

  Have you ever been plugging along in life, footloose and fancy free, embarking on adventures just because you can, then going home at night, wondering what it’s all about?

  It was one of those evenings when I first decided to donate blood. I was living in Santa Barbara and happened to see a notice for a blood drive so I went in to donate.

  Once you’re in the system, there’s no escape. They’ve got your number: all of them. Every time you donate, they update your vital information to keep tabs for the next time they want to suck your blood.