NORTH BAY BOH EMI A N | SEP T E M BE R 1 2–1 8 , 20 1 2 | BO H E M I AN.COM
6
BOHEMIAN
Rhapsodies No Recommendation A brickbat to Halifax Media Acquisition BY GABE MELINE here it was, in the Press Democrat: the announcement that under new rules from its current owners Halifax Media Acquisition LLC, the longest-running daily newspaper of record for the North Coast is no longer allowed to endorse candidates for elected office.
T
As an editor sometimes at odds with the Press Democrat’s recommendations, I might be misconstrued to find some amount of joy in this news. Nothing could be further from the truth. Since Halifax’s purchase of the Press Democrat from the New York Times in December of last year, the word from the big building on Mendocino Avenue is that everything’s stayed the same. Sure, we know that Halifax has a no-jeans dress code and that family members are barred from working in the same newsroom (a rule presumably grandfathered for the several married employees at the Press Democrat). But despite initial concern that the Florida-based company might impose a conservative bent on the content of the Press Democrat, Paul Gullixson, Jim Sweeny and the rest of the paper’s editorial board have been allowed to do what they’ve always done. Until now. Election recommendations, done responsibly, are long work. All candidates must be interviewed one-on-one. Research on the issues and candidates’ backgrounds is required. A board then convenes to discuss, and finally the recommendation is written. That’s the only reason you don’t find candidate recommendations in the Bohemian. With our small staff and expansive, threecounty coverage area, we cannot possibly do proper justice in recommending candidates within the areas we serve. The Press Democrat, with its larger staff and resources, certainly can—and has, for years. In its own announcement of the policy change, the PD’s spin was to emphasize the old journalism saw of “giving readers the information they need to make decisions for themselves.” But make no mistake: this is a gag order from a faraway company, and one that’s shown dubious ethics. (In 2011, the owner even encouraged his news reporters to sell advertising.) This is the first major change we’ve seen imposed on the Press Democrat by its new owners, and it’s not a good one. Gabe Meline is the editor of this paper. Open Mic is a weekly feature in the Bohemian. To have your topical essay of 350 words considered for publication, write openmic@bohemian.com.
Financial Blame Game
This letter is in reference to your article, “House and Home” (Aug. 29). I take issue with both Celeste Singh and Deborah Kay. No one put a gun to their head and had them sign their loan documents. They both were given the information that showed them what their loan payments would be for the length of their loan. It should have come as no surprise to them that their payments would escalate if they had read the paperwork. And at no time in the article do they take responsibility for their plight. I have sympathy for Ms. Kay at the loss of her daughter, but she quit her job. That has consequences, which were her choice. Why is it the bank’s responsibility to negotiate and make her life easy, and to negotiate to “reflect her current financial situation”? My wife and I have been homeowners in the Napa Valley for over 20 years. We are both self-employed and live within our means. We lost equity in the housing crisis but are not asking for a bailout from our lender to “reflect our current financial situation.”
MICHAEL CHRISTOPHEL Napa
What Rule Broken? Both as a youth and now as an older woman, I’ve walked almost daily. Years ago I lived on Brush Creek Road. Monday, on a whim, I parked my car and revisited Brush Creek, relishing autumn air and changing neighborhoods. A police car passed me, then turned around. One of two officers asked, Are you OK? Yes, I am. Why are you walking on a dangerous road? Enjoying the day. Saying we needed to talk, he beckoned me to follow him to the roadside and opened the rear door. I got in reluctantly. Seated on uncomfortable metal, bars inches from my face, was an affront. Again concern was expressed.
Where do you live? What are you doing here? Can we take you home? No. How about to my car? He agreed, continuing his questioning.
Now, I’ve hiked rugged trails and walked dangerous New York and Chicago streets. However, never have I felt as unsafe as I did that day with the Santa Rosa police. By walking on a city street, what unwritten law did a rational, old woman break that could provoke such condescending behavior? In the above, I submit, lies the difference between true compassion and intimidation. It’s also called profiling.
TERRY POPP Santa Rosa
Self-Serving Agenda Working families in California are facing the biggest and most devastating attack on our rights this election in November. Proposition 32, set to appear on the ballot, is a deceptive and destructive measure that threatens the jobs, wages and retirement of workers like us— while at the same time giving corporate special interests even more power and influence over our politics and government. The proponents of the so-called Stop Special Interest Money Now Act claim the measure would actually lessen the big-money influence in Sacramento, but the truth is the ex-CEOs and ultrawealthy anti-worker activists behind this measure secretly wrote in a whole heap of exemptions for themselves and their Wall Street cronies. We cannot afford to sit back while corporate CEOs and billionaires trample our rights in order to push their own self-serving agenda.
CHRIS KNERR, LOCAL 300 Santa Rosa
District Decisions It’s sad that the powers that be in Santa Rosa are so scared of district elections, claiming it will divide our city and lead to political provincialism. What could be more provincial than having the northeast section of the city dominate our city council for decades?