Tuesday, June 5, is the state primary and several local races will be determined then rather than in the November general election.
For the past month, Marshall and I have been writing about many of the races which will be on the local ballot.
All four of the judge’s races (May 17, 24 and 31), the Riverside County Board of Education (May 10), the Third District Supervisor (May 24 and 31) and the Assembly District 71 (May 24 and 31) competitions have appeared on these pages.
In addition, two propositions — the cigarette tax increase for cancer research and the change in state Legislature term limits — were in the May 10 issue.
In case you missed these when they first appearred and haven’t kept your papers, you can find them online at www.idyllwildtowncrier.com. Then choose “Election 2012” under the News category.
If you vote by mail, your ballot has to be at the Registrar of Voters’ Office by 8 p.m. June 5. One easy solution, if you’re worried about mailing it now, is to drop it at one of the two Hill polls (Town Hall or the Pine Cove Water District). The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
One comment about Mr. Isaac’s letter recommending a Strawberry Creek pathway. Just last week, May 25, Christopher Leinberger wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times about this very subject. His research indicates that the more accessible these urban walkways or paths are the greater the property value appreciation.
On another local note, the Town Hall Preschool program has been closed because of the lack of a state permit. If they need a permit, they should have it.
Nevertheless, I believe the process has created several unintended consequences. An anonymous complaint was filed and the state contacted the Town Hall management.
I don’t understand why the complaintant felt the need for anonymity. Why couldn’t the concerned parent or adult have approached GeGe directly?
Do not misunderstand me, I’m not defending the county for the lack of a permit, but the suddenness of the closure created hardships for local parents and the preschool children.
Secondly, once the community became aware of the need to close the pre-school, the buzz turned to “Who did this to us?”
Naturally, given the tone and passion of the discussion when the county terminated the contract with ICRC last July, some people turned their attention to Kathy and Bob Lewis.
That’s unfair and unfounded. Blaming them, because they disagreed with the county’s decision, is wrong. Likewise, believing that anyone else managing a local pre-school did this just to gain more enrollment, is equally wrong.
That is one of the major problems with anonymous comments and submissions. The person taking action can hide.
I will quickly defend the right of whistleblowers to remain anonymous. After all, they’re protected to prevent retaliations from employers. But what action could the county take to hurt the complainant? Would they raise their property taxes? Oh yeah, have to raise them on the other 3.9 million county property owners.
If they are genuinely concerned about the safety and protection of the children at Town Hall, that’s legitimate and nothing to be ashamed about. So I see little value for the anonymity protection. Instead I see damages spread through the community as a result.
Well, county officials say they are meeting this week to try to restore the children’s program as soon as next week.
Good.
