LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Little League kickoff
Editor: Mark your calendars, the Sebastopol little league board
would like to share the celebration of 54 years of Sebastopol
Little League.
On March 26 at Clahan and Laguna fields behind the Community
Center from noon until 6 p.m.
We will have a cakewalk, face painting, a dunk tank, jump houses
and other fun activities for all ages, including a couple of
baseball games by the major and t-ball divisions.
Sebastopol Little League wants to thank the community we are a
part of. All the business that support our teams, our billboard
programs, and the sponsors that donated for field renovations,
scoreboards and equipment. It is wonderful to know when we are in
need the community and business step up to the plate and help. We
very much appreciate the support.
The families that volunteer their time to our players, umpiring,
team parents, and scorekeepers, we could not do it without you.
A special thank you to the families who run the snack bar. There
is so much work to be done every day and so many times we forget to
say thank you.
The board members who spend countless hours going over rules,
selecting managers, picking out uniforms, caring for our fields,
fundraising and making each season better than the last.
Managers and coaches give so much of their time and are role
models for the players and their families. We are so lucky to have
such a great group of people leading our players.
The players are great kids and it is a joy to watch them grow up
from t-ball to the Junior and Senior programs.
Finally, we may not always agree but we are family, we support
each other win or lose.
Thank you and I hope to see everyone at the ballpark. Team
announcements start at noon. We will have Billy Bob’s Angels team
throw out the first pitch to recognize everything Bill Boltz has
done for Sebastopol Little League.
Michelle Carreras
President
Sebastopol Little League
Twenty-two years ago
Editor: Unbelievable as it seems, if someone asked me where I
was and what I was doing on January 14 and 15 of 1989 I could tell
them. In fulfilling one of my New Year’s resolutions — to clean up
the clutter in my office — (I make this resolution every year) I
found a copy of The Weekend Australian newspaper issued that
weekend with a full three page coverage on the presidency of Ronald
Reagan who would be turning over the reins of his office the
following week to George Bush. At the time I was on a study tour
with Elderhostel. The happenstance is that I am again on a study
tour in Australia with Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel) and I
found the newspaper just a week or so before leaving on the current
trip.
Michael Ruby whose byline is on the front page story itemizes
Reagan’s promises against his achievements It is interesting to
note that some of his goals were similar to the present day Tea
Party. And at least one or two similar to President Obama’s. I will
list just a few examples: Goal: We must cut government spending.
Result: In fiscal 1981 spending increased by 15 percent. In fiscal
1988 it rose to 6 percent. Goal: Across the board cut in personal
income tax rates from a range of 14 percent to 70 percent to a
range of 10 percent to 50 percent. Result: Personal tax now ranges
from 15 percent to 33 percent.  Many poor people have been dropped
from the tax roles. On social programs Goal: The measure of a
country’s compassion in how it treats the least fortunate. Result:
The Reagan administration has slashed $45 billion from health,
housing and social services programs.
The reporter speaks to Reagan’s legacy in the following quote:
“Reagan’s tangible bequests include an economy in the midst of the
longest expansion in U.S. history … it created 16 million new jobs
without inflationary excesses of the past. Regulatory and spending
restraints are the order of the day; free markets are doing more of
the job of allocating the nation’s resources. But there is a dark
side to the domestic legacy. He also passes on a huge federal
budget deficit; a trade gap draining productive capital; a nation
that is now the world’s biggest debtor and cumulative debts and
imbalances that almost certainly will haunt his successors for
years to come.”
Reading this 22-year-old account gave me the feeling that we
haven’t progressed very much in terms of our value system and
compassion for the less fortunate.
Today, as then, people and businesses are clamoring for tax cuts
and the elimination of social programs in health care, housing and
education.
The review in its entirety is much more flattering and
complimentary than I have indicated. It will be fascinating to
discover if The Weekend Australian newspaper is still published and
how they are evaluating President. Barack Obama’s goals and
achievements…. It also gives me some small, smug bit of
satisfaction about the things I don’t throw out because I might
want to refer to them later— even if it is 22 years.
Lucie Jensen
Healdsburg