Saturday is Valley Voices Day on the Opinion pages, a day reserved for commentaries by local writers. This week, we've set aside the page for young people's voices, which we do once a month. We've got Donald Norman of Fresno Pacific University encouraging local high school students to consider the benefits of staying in the Valley to go to college. Clare Godhino of Fresno City College, remembers the joy of growing up in Fresno and Amy K. Noel of Fresno State talks about what she learned from a book by Jack Kerouac about living in the moment.
The Vision section cover, coming up Sunday, is another of David Mas Masumoto's letters to the Valley. This time it's called "Flowers for Soldiers" and it's a letter to his uncle, who was killed while fighting in World War II. Victor Davis Hanson's family farm is just up the street from a fatal car accident that happened recently in Selma. The driver ran away from the scene. He writes about how our lax immigration policy, one that is predicated on a cynical violation of the law, places people unnecessarily into truly tragic circumstances. Maureen Dowd of the New York Times analyzes the competition between Al Gore "Ozone Man" and Hillary Clinton, whom she now sees emerging as "Ozone Woman."
On the Opinion page, we discuss the financial crisis facing people who overextended themselves on their mortgages during the real estate boom. Now their monthly payments are sky high and foreclosure statistics are reflecting scores of families losing their homes. We also give a slap to Bill Conrad, running against Tom Berryhill in the 25th Assembly District, for sinking to a new low in campaigning. You thought it couldn't go lower? Wait til you see what this slimy team came up with.
Our letter writer of the week is Carrie Krikorian Zulewski, a hairdresser and fundraiser who most often writes about the schools. Jim Boren analyzes the sorry state of the sheriff's race, with none of the candidates standing out from the rest. Look for the Word for Word column of quotes on the back page, and a new feature, the Valley's Top 10 List. This week, it's the Top 10 things Madonna should do when she comes to Fresno. We'll soon be listing the top 10 gifts for Valley graduates so take advantage of opportunity to join in. We'd love folks to come up with their own lists.
Blog Roll
In The Middle- Blognetnews.com/California
- Bill Bradley's New West Notes
- The Hotline's Blogometer
- Rough & Tumble
- PolitickerCA
- Fresno Bee Opinion Page
- fresnobee.com
- Huffington Post
- Daily Kos
- Red State
- Flash Report
Local Media
On The Left
On The Right