July 24th
Dear Editor,
It is unfortunate that people would feel that feeding wildlife is a cute or fun thing to do when in fact it often results in these animals being habituated to these ways and then when some human gets injured the animal is either put down or penned up for the rest of it's life. Animals are great teachers for us but they also deserve to be free of human impact that can adversely affect their life.
We move into their areas, build houses and then complain when they come back to what they have known for so long. This young bear may one day face a fate that could have been avoided if people would take time to understand they have a natural role to play in keeping the natural state in balance. There is a saying in many state and national parks that says a 'fed bear is a dead bear', meaning our influence on them can cause others to see them as a threat and they are destroyed.
Please take time to learn of the value of our animals and let them do their work without human intervention. Our local animal park is a great place to learn about them and the Discovery Center as well. One of the definitions of 'wild' is 'free'. Free from us thinking we know better than they of what their job is. Better to make noise and have the bear leave than feed it to its 'death'.
3 Hawks
Big Bear
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June 19, 2009
Dear Editor,
Cool solutions call for cool head
What a mess we’re in! The State of California is in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. It may be only a matter of days until there is no more money in the state coffers to pay the bills. As it happens with every impending crisis, we tend to play the blame game—blame the Republicans, blame the Democrats, blame the Governor, blame anybody but me. I believe the state has gotten to the brink of economic collapse primarily because the country and the world are in the middle of the Great Recession of the 21st century that has severely reduced tax-generated state income. The unemployed no longer pay state income tax, and pay far less sales taxes then when they were fully employed. Folks who have lost their homes no longer pay real estate taxes. Companies that go out of business, and there are many of them, no longer provide the state and local governments a steady stream of income derived from their sales. And at the same time, the need for human services is on the rise. Unemployment compensation, food stamps, law enforcement, health care, increased prison population, are likely to draw heavily on state and federal financial resources in times of economic downturn.
According to the California Budget Project (cbp.org) the budget gap is estimated at $21.4 billion. In his latest effort to find “solutions” Governor Schwarzenegger has ordered severe cuts in state spending. Warnings posted on the California Democratic Party website are pretty scary. For example—
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Nearly two million Californians will lose health insurance if the Healthy Families program for children is eliminated and Medi-Cal is cut by $1 billion.
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More than 1 million women and children will be left without any means of subsistence if the CalWORKS program is ended.
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California kids and young adults will be harmed if the Cal Grant program is axed and billions of dollars are cut from K-14 public education.
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About 70,000 abused and neglected children will suffer if $200 million is cut from foster care programs.
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More than 400,000 low-income seniors and people with disabilities would lose the ability to live at home with help and would be forced into more expensive nursing homes and group homes if In-Home Supportive Services are cut back.
The Governor’s proposal is unbalanced. Two-thirds of the dollars needed to balance the budget would come from cutting services while only one-third would come from increased revenue and borrowing. To my way of thinking the imbalance is at best unfair to Californians who depend heavily on state-funded support programs, and at its worst is unethical and immoral. We are in a no-win situation any way you cut the pie, but we must face up to the fact that the state needs huge increases in revenue, at least in the short term, until the normal revenue sources recover. The Governor, the Legislature, and the people must be willing to bear an additional tax burden, and especially those of us who can afford additional taxes. The big-profit making industries, like oil, insurance and tobacco companies, must shoulder more of the burden then they are currently. Tax loopholes need to be closed, such as the so-called “luxury” tax exemption on private plane and boat owners that was defeated in Sacramento a year ago. Unless all Californians are willing to pay more for the services they need and demand, all of us are going to suffer enormous pain when social services are reduced or eliminated. The time for clear, cool, unselfish thinking is now!
Dr. David A. Foltz, Ph.D.
Resident of Big Bear Valley
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