Editor,We seem to love immigrants when it comes to cheap labor. The cotton boys went to Africa, kidnapped black people, enslaved them, and put &#x2018;em to work in the fields. Worked great, unless you were a black person. You want a railroad built though some of the toughest granite on earth, exploit Chinese. Want cheap food? Get some Mexicans and their children. Do you know the principles and design of the atomic bomb (ended WWII) were developed primarily by immigrant European Jews. Pretty nifty. The meat packers, hire Mexicans and their children also. Now some states want to lower standards for child labor laws. Those morbidly rich capitalists are never rich enough..Don McKechnieSierraville and Sparks, NV

Immigrants

At the April 26th Portola City Council meeting, the council decided unanimously to prohibit remote participation that has allowed people to engage with meetings from home (or work) for years. Why would the council choose to limit public participation rather than encouraging different options for people to comment? This move is possibly contrary to state law and will not prevent critics of the council from speaking out, as it is clearly intended to do. What it will do is prevent public participation by those who are older, people with disabilities, people with children or no childcare options, those working night shifts, those who can&#x2019;t drive (or can&#x2019;t drive in the dark), those with serious chemical or electrical injuries and sensitivities, those concerned about respiratory diseases as well as caregivers of ill residents (who may not be able to physically appear at the council). Basically, normal, everyday people.Portola City Council is moving in the wrong direction under the new city m...

Why Does the Portola City Council Reject Remote Participation in Public Meetings?

It&#x2019;s a societal thing. There have been uses for guns over the centuries, all being violent. Guns were used to take over the new continents (at least new to those in the labeled European continent). Guns were also used to subdue and take all of the other continents, for a time. There is a long history.Baring arms is a whole other story that shows the flesh. Human flesh can be utterly decimated by citizenry who use the battle hardware of guns now. Children killed in a mass shooting at their school could not be identified by parents looking at their bodies. They looked at their clothing, their shoes.The main rationalization, much of it reality based, especially in humanly crowded places, where there is easy access to this weaponry is &#x2026; &#x201C;I need to protect myself and my family&#x201D;. Never mind the studies and the statistics that put everyone around more in danger with the accumulation of the number and killing power of the battle tool. A gun in the home is more likely to injure or kill someone ...

Guns and Baring Arms

Dear Editor &#x2014; I am looking at the April 20, 2023 edition; I was totally surprised to see Sierra County had a birthday! Seems to me, somehow, we should be having some sort of celebration. We, meaning, Downieville!My hope is that the Downieville Volunteer Fire Dept. would come up with some idea. People are starting to come up here and the businesses and economy could profit. Fishing, rafting and beautiful places to stay! This is a gorgeous place!Kristine WhartonDownieville CA

Can’t Believe We’re Not Doing Something!

Now Republicans pretend they care about free choice (but not really), putting Americans first (unless it is inconvenient to do so), and reining in big government (until they control it).Republicans: You say you want small government, yet you want government to create and enact discriminatory legislation against people who are different than you &#x2014; simply because they&#x2019;re different than you.You say you want small government, yet you want government to control a woman&#x2019;s body and spend more time legislating embryos than protecting children already born. You oppose universal healthcare and covering contraception, while championing other policies diminishing the quality of life for people outside the womb.You say you want small government, yet you ridicule &#x201C;lazy, entitled&#x201D; welfare recipients while gladly accepting government agriculture subsidies, WIC, Medicaid, SSI, Medi-Cal and similar programs.You say you want small government and claim you love the Constitution, yet you regularly write an...