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1. OUR VIEW: Don't tear down efforts to protect US wilderness

   By The Bakersfield Californian

   Monday, Apr 18 2011 11:00 PM

   The rumbling sound you may have noticed coming from the general vicinity of the Sierra Nevada is Teddy Roosevelt rolling over in his grave.

   The great war hero, outdoorsman and early 20th-century president would not have been pleased to see his Republican Party heirs tearing away at his single greatest legacy: Recognition that this nation's natural landscape -- especially in the West -- is a vulnerable treasure that demands more than our mere appreciation. It demands protection.

   Members of the House of Representatives' majority party must have missed class that week -- or at least their history and earth sciences classes -- because they've moved to strip existing protections and, perhaps worse, bar future efforts to set aside worthy, sensitive areas from commercial development and exploitation.

   Leading the charge is our own Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, who has introduced a bill, the Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act, that would rescind the Clinton-era rule that protects 60 million acres of Forest Service land, most of it roadless and inaccessible. His bill would allow a broad range of uses.

   Paul Spitler of the Wilderness Society calls McCarthy's bill the "greatest attack on wilderness in the history of the Wilderness Society."

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2. OUR VIEW: What to expect from an all-cuts solution

   Gov. Jerry Brown erred by not clearly spelling out for California voters -- and recalcitrant legislators -- much earlier what an all-cuts budget would mean to the people of this state. But others have picked up the slack as the window drops ever lower on a proposed June election to consider tax extensions.

3. OUR VIEW: GET's decision to look at new bus routes welcome

   As gas prices rise and Bakersfield's geographic footprint continues to grow, public transportation becomes an increasingly important part of this city's future. But the all-too-common sight of a near-empty Golden Empire Transit bus isn't exactly an inspiration to those who might otherwise be inclined to consider that transportation option.

4. OUR VIEW: Ground-level or elevated rail? We like elevated

   Bakersfield City Manager Alan Tandy has expressed dismay over the latest turn of events in the state bullet-train saga. Noting that the California High-Speed Rail Authority is trying to maximize its miles-to-dollars ratio with "value engineering," Tandy revealed that more of the route through Bakersfield will be at ground level, as opposed to elevated, than we've previously been led to believe would be the case.

5. OUR VIEW: Anti-graffiti app makes sense if residents use it

   Thanks to a new smartphone application provided by Bakersfield's Public Works Department, residents wanting to get involved in cleaning up the city now have an easier way to contribute. The free "Bakersfield Graffiti" app allows users to take a picture of vandalized surfaces and report the location via a GPS tracking system, which tags the location of the photo.

6. OUR VIEW: Redistricting panel, keep this point in mind

7. EDITORIAL: Mass poverty on fertile land: Irony we cannot abide

   How do you describe a situation in which one of the most agriculturally prolific valleys in the world is home to such profound poverty and hunger? How do you portray circumstances in which rampant malnutrition co-exists alongside unparalleled bounty? The word "irony" does not seem adequate.

9. EDITORIAL: Embrace reality: Repeal valley's EPA ozone fine

   We've got to work together, here in the most polluted region in America, to make our air more breathable. We've got to make sacrifices, accept restrictions and change long-entrenched habits.

10. EDITORIAL: Sports fans shouldn't have to fear for safety

    The recent incident in which a San Francisco Giants fan was assaulted by two unidentified men in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium after a baseball game should serve as a reminder that the safety of spectators ought to be a top priority for those who manage pro sports venues.

11. EDITORIAL: Medicare proposal would just shift elderly's burden

    Rep. Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican who has been characterized as an "honest, deeply serious thinker," has a plan for your golden-years health care, and you may not like it very much.

12. EDITORIAL: Some lawmakers making budget problems worse

    Knock it off already. We know you want to be seen as actually doing something, but if it puts a bigger hole in the state budget, unless voters have already OK'd it, now is not the time.

13. EDITORIAL: 1 percent hike isn't too much to ask of wealthy

    Cuts will have to comprise a major portion of any budget-balancing plan for California, no question. But an all-cuts budget would slice far too deeply into far too many areas. Republicans seem to have successfully blocked a June ballot measure that would have asked voters about an emergency extension of temporary tax hikes.

14. EDITORIAL: Communitywide cleanups have a very real effect

    Bakersfield attacks its ever-present litter challenge Saturday, when scores of teams fan out across the city for the 10th annual Great American Cleanup.