2013 Editorials Archive Stories

Other than the pertinent building and environmental codes and the other rules and regulations all new business construction must comply with, there's only one thing that ought be considered in planning and permitting of a gambling casino. It might again be an opportunity for us to think about whether or not we should condone full-scale g

Generally speaking, Appeal-Democrat readers have some mixed-up feelings about the economy. • More than a third of those responding to an informal survey when asked, "How are things at work, compared to before the recession?" chose "troubled" as their response. Many others said "slow but steady" or "average." Only 17 percent said "do

The last paragraph in a story Thursday by Eric Vodden was probably its main point: "There is nothing more important in this region than having secure levees." So said Curt Akin, Yuba County Water Agency manager, in a story about a new collaboration of agencies responsible for Yuba-Sutter flood protection. We take them for

Let's lay out a few numbers before you jump the gun on those summer vacation plans: • A day pass at Disneyland now costs $92 for an adult, $87 each for a kid. • Gas is still hovering around $4 a gallon. We're not trying to discourage good ol' family road trips, but rather encourage locals to be, well, a little m

Where are you headed this weekend? Chances are good that a fair percentage of us will visit a park or recreation area. It's an opportunity to get out in the open, catch some rays, cool off in the shade or with a dip, spend some time with the family, have some fun. Americans love their parks; and Californians especially. S

Yuba-Sutter is in the thick of graduation season. Dozens of schools are sending seniors out into the world over the next couple weeks, and we asked editorial board members and community liaisons to offer up 100 words or so of advice. (We'd like to hear your advice; or, if you're a graduate, we'd like to hear your responses. Send your mes

The general point of view about the economy? It seems to wrap around caution and skepticism. In an informal, online survey, we're asking: "How are things compared to before the recession?" Out of a sample of 75 respondents as of early Monday morning, a third picked "troubled" from the available choices and 25 percent said "slow but stead

We're not against having a reasonable minimum wage law; but we'd like to urge proponents of a state bill to raise the minimum to avoid being dismissive of the arguments of opponents. The California Assembly passed a bill late last week to provide the first raise in six years to the minimum wage. It will now be considered by the full Legi

There's nothing quite like fresh-cut grass and rooting for the home team. The Marysville Gold Sox opened their 2013 summer series last Thursday with a win and we encourage locals — and visitors — to take a trip over to Appeal-Democrat Park to catch the action. The field is ready, the brick backstop looks as classic as

Congratulations, members of the class of 2013. You're in good company, and a lot of it: starting this week and running through June 13, schools all over our area — nearly three dozen of them — will start graduating students. You have worked hard and waited a long while to make it to this milepost. The trip has

For the first Memorial Day on May 30, 1868, flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. Nearly 50 years later, poet Moina Michael conceived of the idea to wear red poppies on Memorial Day to honor those who died serving the nation during the war. It seems these days we don't

It's hard to make a decision about something you're unsure of. It's hard to create an action plan; it's hard to get something done about something you have mixed feelings about. The problems and issues connected to homelessness are like that, in our estimation. For many of us, if you want to be honest, you see homeless people out on a si

Interesting. The Marysville City Council voted 3-2 on Tuesday night against installing red-light cameras on southbound J Street at Fifth Street and on southbound Ramirez Street at East 10th Street. Had they passed the measure, it would have brought to 10 the number of sites approved for the cameras (although a couple are out of c

It's estimated some 50 rounds were fired in the early morning hours of April 3 at a downtown Yuba City intersection. No confirmation on that, yet. It was at a place where some customers were still coming and going from a convenience store, where there was still some traffic, where residences are not far off (in fact, at least one round w

We're like a lot of people: so adamantly opposed to drunken and drugged driving that we're hesitant to even question any tactic engineered to reduce the calamitous effects. So here we are, questioning with some trepidation the wisdom of the latest recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board. It recommended last week that s

There is a fair amount of angst out there concerning the proliferation and use of surveillance cameras; but almost just as many people think those who worry, worry too much. Well over 700 respondents told us what they think of surveillance and law-enforcement monitoring cameras. The Appeal-Democrat's informal online survey closed

Prepare to be patient. Better yet, prepare to change your route in and out of Marysville over the next two years. In just a couple weeks, grand-scale work will begin to reconstruct major roads through town. It seems to us that plans have been well laid and lots of consideration has been given to how to keep traffic moving and bus

Do you know what a "California stop" is? According to comments made in our informal survey about surveillance cameras, that's where you slow way down but don't totally stop if there's no cross-traffic. And it will get you in trouble if there's a surveillance camera watching the intersection. With a growing prevalence of cameras w

It's a little clumsy for the city of Marysville. In the midst of a drive for renewal and revitalization via the Bounce Back plan, city government must take up discussions on how to mitigate a significant drop in city revenues. It's an untidy coincidence. We're encourage town leaders and boosters to engage fully on both fronts. In

We asked members and guests of the Appeal-Democrat editorial board to give us 100 words on "What do you think about trends in statesmanship?" Following are replies: • Sunday before last, the A-D ran a wire service story about Bob Dole, the former Kansas senator who was a Republican leader for the last 11 of his 26 years in the Senat

We appreciated responses by local representatives to proposed legislation meant to recognize rights of homeless people to use public walkways to sleep and live. Authored by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, Assembly Bill 5, according to our story last Saturday by Laura van der Meer, "was written to provide rights to everyone, reg

We think it's a good idea for Yuba City leaders to travel to China to seek out new and mutually beneficial business and economic ties. We have to admit to some nervousness, but all in all we think it's actually what leaders of a community this size should be doing more of. Yuba City's trade mission to China will cost taxpayers about $15,

For just about every opinion concerning immigration issues, there's an opposing view. Even on the one item that most survey respondents agree on — that politicians are interested in immigration to bolster their poll numbers — there are different views on whether it's good or bad. The Appeal-Democrat conducted an informal onli

On the surface, it seems silly: The California Department of Parks and Recreation buying land for a state park that no one can get to. Yet, we think it was a good investment and we hope that some day it will pay off (fully realizing that that day will be a long, long time from now). The state spent $2.9 million in 2004 for 1,785

Wow. That's what I said at the breakfast table after reading the "day-in-the-life-of" piece last week about Assemblyman Dan Logue. Appeal-Democrat reporter Eric Vodden spent most of a normal legislative day with Logue at the capitol. It doesn't matter what sort of political philosophy you espouse, you look at what our assemblyman