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Joe Carroll on the Presidential candidates As The
Sentinel’s political prognosticator and resident curmudgeon, I herewith
offer my thoughts on the presidential primary election to be held
February 5. After watching Senators Clinton and Obama verbally
duke it out on CNN while former Senator John Edwards just stood there
like the southern gentleman he is, all I can say is that New York City
Mayor Michael Bloomberg would get my vote if he ran as an independent. And
after catching GOP debates in which Senator McCain told us how tough
he’d be on terrorism, Governor Huckabee spoke with piety, former
Governor Romney bragged about his business expertise and ex-NYC Mayor
Rudy Giuliani ballyhooed his 9/11 heroics, Bloomberg is looking better
all the time. For purposes of the national media, a
Clinton-Giuliani matchup would be a barnburner, but I don’t believe
that Rudy can win his party’s nomination. The November election will be
between Clinton and McCain, but wouldn’t it be peachy if Mayor
Bloomberg somehow got into the mix? Joe Carroll is a longtime reporter and writes the weekly "Auburn Augur" column.
* * * Don Chaddock on the Presidential candidates
As a young man
(very young), I shook hands with a sitting president – Jimmy Carter. He
was campaigning for re-election and stopped in Merced, CA, to give a
speech at Merced College. I was 10 years old in 1980 and was one of a
line of Boy Scouts to shake his hand. This experience sparked my
interest in politics, particularly of the presidential order.
For
the GOP, I’m casting my vote for John McCain. As a moderate Republican,
I believe he represents more of “middle” America than the hard core
right wing or the extreme liberal left. His common sense approach,
coupled with his experience in the U.S. Senate, make him the logical
choice to lead the country.
For the Democrats, ignoring the hype
of the first woman president or the first black president, I believe
John Edwards is a sound choice. In an Edwards vs McCain match, I would
be hard pressed to choose.
While these are my personal choices,
the Democratic nomination will probably go to Barack Obama. It would be
wise for him to offer Edwards the VP post if he is chosen to carry the
banner.
Don Chaddock is the executive editor for the Sentinel newspaper and writes the weekly column, "Biscuits & Gravy."
* * *
Bill Martin on Proposition 92
As a Sierra College Trustee
and monthly Sentinel columnist, I was invited to comment on my view of
Proposition 92, the Community College Initiative. Our Board has
unanimously endorsed this proposition. In casting my vote and in
responding to this invitation, I troubled to study not only the
arguments pro and con but also the proposed legislation itself.
The
initiative accomplishes three things that I favor because they will
strengthen the community college (CC) system. First, the state
constitution will be amended to recognize the CC’s as an independent
element of the public school system. This is long overdue considering
that the California CC system is the largest in the world, enrolling
about 2.5 million students annually. Second, the formula for
calculating state funding of the CC’s will be made independent of the
formula for grades K-12. At present the two are linked, which makes
little sense, especially in periods (such as this one) when CC
enrollments are forecast to grow significantly while K-12 enrollments
are not. Third, per unit student fees will be reduced from $20 per unit
to $15 together with limitations on the legislature’s ability to
increase them. This will further support the CC’s role in making
higher education accessible to all Californians.
The details of
the legislation are not perfect. The independent formula for
calculating CC support is tied to total population of young adults
rather than to enrollments. The rules for increasing per unit fees are
structured to make increases highly unlikely even when it would be
wise. The initiative is opposed by the UC and CSU governing boards as
endangering part of their own funding to better meet CC needs.
However,
my summary view is that California will be a better place if we approve
Prop. 92. I don’t know of a better investment of your tax dollars. The
CC’s are widely recognized to be the most efficient and most
underfunded element of public education. They more than pay for
themselves in the long run, resulting from the increased skills,
earnings and tax payments of their alumni. Their role in the state is
increasing rapidly as the lowest cost path to higher education, as the
focal point for career technical education (e.g. nurses, firefighters,
and law enforcement), as the source of remedial training for the 80% of
college age students who need it, and as the center for lifelong
learning for everyone.
The looming statewide budget crisis will
almost certainly result in an increased demand for community college
enrollments as the universities restrict admissions and as more people
seek retraining. Anticipating budget cuts, CSU has already accelerated
its application deadline in order to reduce enrollments. CC’s will have
to pick up the slack. In these tough times, we need to support the CC’s
in their role as the entry point to higher education for all. Even in
times of stark famine, we must not consume our seed corn.I am voting “Yes” on Prop. 92. I hope you will as well.
Bill Martin is a Sierra College Trustee and pens the monthly “Sierra College Notebook” column for the Sentinel.
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