Off Beat: Castro speaks to Yuba County

Fidel? No, Ariel.

You can always count on Yuba County supervisors to have interesting items of correspondence in their agenda packets.

The other governing boards around here are usually buttoned up pretty tight, but not Yuba County.

Last month, Ariel Castro wrote a letter to the board. Ariel is 17.

As part of my government class, I have been assigned to write to a government agency or political figure on a matter of personal concern. I have chosen to write to you regarding something that has bothered me for some time, which has to do with the Yuba County Library.

The library? Well, she's in high school.

May I ask why you allow the library to charge such high prices for overdue movies? I have a library card in Placer County as well as Yuba County, and I find a big disparity in fees between the two. Whereas Placer County allows their cardholders to keep movie for three weeks and then charges 25 cents a day in late fees, Yuba County only allow them to keep it for one week and charges $2 a day in late fees! Recently, for example, I checked out three films and was three days late returning them and for that I was charged $18!

And now for the big finish.

I think that is an outrageous price.

You go, Ariel. That shows 'em! But wait, there's more.

I believe the main purpose of libraries is to increase education and cultural awareness in citizens; however, I also believe that Yuba County is sending out an unfavorable message through its library and that is, that it is set up as a money-making institution. I ask, do you really want that to be the view that Yuba County residents have about their library?

She ended the letter by asking the supervisors to "consider the matter carefully and opt to reduce" the penalties for late movies.

Yuba County, the ball is in your court.

Kudos to Calapini

Melissa Calapini was in the Appeal-Democrat on July 31. Earlier this month, she was in the New York Times.

Why?

The story, which carried the headline "Fathers Gain Respect from Experts (and Mothers)" touched on the same academic study about how to improve parenting that the A-D wrote about a few months back.

The big difference between the two stories: The Times likes to quote academics, lot and lots of academics. Are you surprised?

Interestingly, the Times didn't bother to offer any description of Olivehurst, such as location, population or demographics.

To Times readers, Olivehurst was just another blissful suburb somewhere in California. Maybe that was for the better.

How odd, though, that the Times used the same woman as the centerpiece of its story as the Appeal-Democrat.

The newspaper business is indeed mysterious.