Here are some quick notes about editorial ideas that we’re kicking around for next week at the Gazette-Times:
For Monday, we’ll revisit the issue that was delayed in December by the Corvallis School Board: Whether to pull the plug on all-day kindergarten. The board is scheduled to take up the topic again at its meeting Monday night. Those of you who remember our previous editorial on this topic (click here to read that) won’t be surprised by Monday’s editorial.
We were struck by the recent ruling from the Oregon Supreme Court that allows the state parole board to treat some inmates like sex offenders after they’re released from prison – even if they weren’t serving time for any sex-crime convictions. (In both the cases cited by the court, the defendants were at one time charged with sexual crimes, although they were either reduced or dismissed in plea bargains.) Is this a decision that will help keep neighborhoods safer? Maybe. But is anyone troubled by the idea that this essentially punishes people for crimes of which they were not convicted? Anyone remember “Minority Report?”
We’re tracking the bill in the Legislature that would establish an economic gardening task force. As Rep. Sara Gelser said in an interview with our Mid-Valley InBusiness, this notion of economic gardening (which has been pushed by Corvallis Mayor Charlie Tomlinson) could be a good fit for Corvallis in that it works to help businesses that already are in the area and looks to help them grow and develop and hire addit
ional workers.
We are skeptical about another bill in the Legislature requiring institutions that foreclose on houses to keep up the maintenance on the house — mow the lawn, fix broken windows, etc. The idea is to maintain property values for nearby houses. That’s not a bad idea, but we’re not sure where the money will come from to allow cities and counties to enforce it. Without that, it seems to us that the bill is a toothless feel-good measure.
For a change of pace, we may offer a few thoughts on the Academy Award nominations. You’ll remember that this year, the academy nominated 10 movies instead of five for Best Picture. The academy says it did that to broaden the chances that audience-pleasing movies would get a shot at the top award. Left unsaid was the fact that the Oscar telecasts in which blockbusters are competing for the top prize (“Titanic,” “The Return of the King”) always draw the biggest TV ratings. Ironically, you can argue that the expansion this year will make no difference: “Avatar,” the year’s biggest hit, certainly would have been one of the Best Picture nominees even if the field had stayed at five films. The two movies that arguably did get the biggest boost from the expanded field: “District 9″ and “The Blind Side.” The best thing about this year’s Oscars? There appears to be a real race for Best Picture between “Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker.” The oddest thing? “The Hurt Locker” may actually win.
Do you have some thoughts about these ideas? Do you have other ideas that might make good editorials? Nominations for the Friday Roses and Raspberries column? Let us know.
