By Allyson Tabor — Hallelujah! In 2021 the U.S. officially recognized Juneteenth as a Federal holiday, signed into law by President Joe Biden, with no opposing vote in the Senate and only 14 Republicans, including Rep. Tom McClintock, voting against creating the new Federal holiday named Juneteenth “National Independence Day.”
By Jay Michaelson, The Daily Beast — I am approximately zero percent surprised by the draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, authored by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, that was leaked to Politico. Not only am I unsurprised—I predicted it, several times, in this publication. And not just me, of course, but everyone in my profession.
By Susan Gamache, El Dorado Hills — “Gay Pride Day” initially began as a day of commemoration, but soon grew to encompass a month-long series of events, and to be celebrated as LGBTQ Pride Month. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is celebrated in June to honor the Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, and the greater issue of human rights.
El Dorado County has declared a shelter crisis as a new strategy to address homelessness on the West Slope.
Health and Human Services Agency staff last week presented to the Board of Supervisors a way to quickly provide beds for unsheltered residents and potential locations for short-term congregate and non-congregate shelters and a navigation center.
By KIÊN VU, Oak Ridge High School Student — The Union is in peril — it always has been and must always be. The volatile nature that constitutes the foundation of the United States is what strengthens it. The unending struggles between the states and the federal government, among the states themselves and between sectional and national identity provide the catalyst with which America has been able to achieve global prominence. The democratic experiment proved to be, by most measures, a runaway success. The Revolutionary War gave birth to a country sturdy enough to grant its citizens significant liberties, with ample ability, though not necessarily abundant will, to facilitate social change — all inside a federal framework that has effective, though not dictatorial, power. However, that struggle has evolved beyond a healthy test of character and threatens to tear the country into two. The Union is in serious jeopardy, threatening democracy in America, and by extension, the very idea of democracy.
By SUMMER DIXON, Oak Ridge High School Student —Throughout history, it is evident that the ability to vote has significantly evolved to expand the political power of citizens. Classical Greece, the Roman Republic, the United States, universal white male suffrage, and the 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th Amendments all illustrate this distinct global and domestic development.
By MADISEN BERRY, Ponderosa High School Student — Voting has always been an integral aspect of the United States; it represents our democracy and freedom from the previous tyranny of past monarchies. Throughout the country’s brief history, one can see the ups and downs of voting rights, from the highs of women’s suffrage to the lows of the Three-Fifths Compromise. With all that has gone on surrounding voting rights in the United States, it remains a controversial topic. I whole-heartedly believe in equal voting rights. The ability for someone to vote should not be hindered by their ethnicity, social status, or race. That being said, some people still struggle to vote because of the systems put into place by the government. State governments have recently been changing their laws to make it easier, or harder, for some people to vote.
For those inspired to change habits, or adopt new ones, here are some ideas.
BY HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
CBS News has hired Mick Mulvaney as a paid on-air contributor. In his first official appearance on Tuesday morning to talk about President Joe Biden’s budget proposal, anchor Anne-Marie Green introduced Mulvaney as “a former Office of Management and Budget director,” and said, “So happy to have you here…. You’re the guy to ask about this.”
South Lake Tahoe has seen a drop in its homeless population over the past year with Project Homekey programs and the efforts of the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless.
Right on cue, Republican Senator Mike Braun of Indiana today told a reporter that states not only should decide the issue of abortion but should also be able to decide the issues of whether interracial marriage should be legal and whether couples should have access to contraception.
BY THE SACRAMENTO BEE EDITORIAL BOARD
The decision to place a loved one in psychiatric care can be traumatic, let alone the more overwhelming possibility that they might decline the care they need. Left untreated, psychiatric disorders can lead to homelessness, crime and incarceration or isolation in which the conditions may worsen.
Since I (Allen Stansbury) shut down my daily briefing e-newsletter I’ve been asked to contribute to the El Dorado County Democratic Central Committee monthly newsletter by way of a column.
The naturalist who was leading the hike was skilled at pointing out the little details. I spotted several small foamy blobs on the riverside vegetation and inquired, “What’s that?” “Oh, that’s what spittlebugs do in the springtime,” replied our hike leader. I was immediately fascinated by these tiny plant-sucking nymphs which encase themselves in foam. It was the beginning of a lifelong passion and interest in the study of nature.
A salute to our libraries serving everyone in the community in the best and worst of times. Thanks to Sara Schwartz, library patron, and C. R. Kendall, library commissioner.
Ah! Conspiracy Theories—the new American pastime! Such fun! And so democratic! Anyone can play. You don’t need to be smart or rich or have any special equipment to participate.
El Dorado Opportunity Knocks Continuum of Care’s proposed five-year plan to combat homelessness countywide centers around four goals — stopping homelessness, increasing access to housing for all county residents, increasing access to homeless emergency response services and building collective solutions.
El Dorado County continues its mission to override the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s decision to deny individual assistance for residents impacted by the Caldor Fire.
Due to the recent school board decisions not to enforce the state’s mask mandate, teachers have been caught in the crossfire. These decisions were presumably made because of the recent protests, some of which went way too far —
I am compelled to write this letter to the EDUHSD because of the weak and harmful decision to ignore state health laws to pacify those that were loud, vitriolic, and even violent. The Board has made the choice to allow the State mandates to be broken, although they were elected and sworn in to uphold the law. That is a fact that is undeniable.