Opinion

May 24, 2011 — You have heard us defend the Brown Act on more than one occasion in these pages. That’s because it is among the most powerful tools the public has to hold government officials accountable.

That is why Feather Publishing has joined more than 90 other newspapers, led by the First Amendment Coalition (FAC), in filing an amicus brief last week in an appeal of a Brown Act lawsuit involving the Tulare County Board of Supervisors. The suit challenges the supervisors’ practice of holding lunchtime meetings — regularly and often — that were nonpublic and held without notification to the public or media.

May 17, 2011 — Two strong opinions have surfaced recently at Lassen County Board of Supervisors meetings regarding the future of the Local Reuse Authority properties acquired by Lassen County during the Defense Department’s Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) process. The first and louder view is we’ve already spent too much money, gotten too little return and now’s the perfect time to just jettison the excess property and walk away. The second, quieter view is we should look forward rather than backward, stay the course and continue to explore the many economic development opportunities in the South County.

Truth be told, District 3 Supervisor Larry Wosick’s frightening cost projections probably aren’t too far off the mark — since about 2003 the county has spent something like $800,000 in an attempt to develop the properties into something positive near Herlong.

May 10, 2011 — The Lassen County Grand Jury is a judicial body of 19 citizens impaneled to act as a community “watchdog.” The rules governing the makeup, organization, powers and duties of grand juries in California are found in the California Penal Code §888-939. The rules to be on the grand jury can be found at lassencourt.ca.gov.

Lassen Union High School Board member Skip Jones resigned Wednesday, May 4 from the Lassen County Grand Jury in a preemptive action before a noon LUHSD meeting held to discuss in part the conflict of interest of Jones serving on the high school board and grand jury simultaneously.

May 3, 2011 — With people going more green and a recent celebration of Earth Day, we thought now was a good time to look at what the printing industry has done to decrease its environmental footprint.

Print values trees: Most paper now comes from sustainable forests — not old-growth trees. These forests are essentially “tree farms,” where trees are grown as a crop, just like broccoli or wheat. When these trees are harvested, new stocks are planted. Print on paper gives landowners a financial incentive to renew forests rather than convert them for other uses, such as development.