My House Is Still Standing

Dear Editor,

Last year I was standing in my yard in Pioneer when a column of smoke rose over the trees and ash began to fall around me. I have been in the fire service for 25 years. I know what that column means, and I know what that ash on my shoulders means. The hair on my arms stood up. I thought this was the one. The big one. The fire that was finally going to reach my family and my neighbors. It didn’t. The Tiger Fire ran uphill fast through heavy brush, straight toward the community of Buckhorn. Then it hit a fuel break that crews had built and maintained years before. With less fuel to burn, the fire slowed and firefighters got ahead of it. Not a single home in Buckhorn was lost. That is the hard truth about prevention. When it works, nothing happens, and nothing does not make the news. But standing in that ash, nothing was everything.

In 30 years, I have heard a lot of politicians talk about wildfire, and most don’t understand what our firefighters face. So when I heard Michael Masuda (Fifth District Congressional candidate) speak at a town hall in Jackson, I paid attention. He is an engineer, and he had done the homework, sitting down with firefighters, fire chiefs, and the people who do the actual work before he ever offered a plan. He talked about the fire before it starts, not just the emergency after.

That is what has been missing. I know what it feels like to watch the smoke rise and wonder if your family is about to lose everything. And I know the quiet work done years before a fire is what gives us a fighting chance. Masuda understands that. That is why he has my vote.

Matthew P. Johnson

Moral Compass

Dear Editor,

I have lived under presidents of both parties and disagreed with many of them. But none, until now, was elected after two impeachments, one for incitement of insurrection following the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

None was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a payment tied to an extramarital affair. None tied federal funds to whether a state voted red or blue. None signed legislation cutting hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid and food assistance. None believed that dismissing experienced professionals at the military, FBI, the Justice Department, the CDC, FEMA, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency made us safer. None sent masked, armed, and often hastily trained ICE agents into American neighborhoods to carry out a flawed immigration policy.

Past presidents while in office, placed their finances at arm’s length while in office. Forbes reported that this president’s net worth rose by billions in a single year.

Even Richard Nixon, when leaders of his own party told him to resign or face impeachment, ultimately put the country ahead of himself. Republicans then had a moral compass. I wonder where it has gone.

Sincerely,

Larry Podolsky

Let Me Decide

Dear Editor,

Another election year and the television and mailbox are filled with election material on the candidates and the propositions on the ballot, most of it telling us what to think. We don’t seem to get simple facts anymore or the opportunity to think for ourselves and make up our own minds.

Here are some facts; on the cost of living: “Ranked 49th of 50, second most expensive” (source: costoflivingusa.com); “Ranked 3rd most expensive behind Hawaii & Massachusetts” (source: paychecktaxcalculator.net).

On taxes: “#48 overall. California combines high tax rates with an uncompetitive tax structure, yielding one of the worst rankings on the Index” (source: taxfoundation.org); “Ranked #45 overall” (source: ustax.tools).

On education: “California’s education ranks in the lower half near the bottom tier for K-12 education as of May 23, 2025” (source: thedesertreview.com); “Ranked 37 of 50: Pre-K-12 education in California graded low as of January 22, 2025” (source: granitebaytoday.org).

Here are some more facts. Since 1998 California has had 3 Democratic Governors (one recalled) and 1 Republican, (source: governors.library.ca.gov). Since 1992 the Democratic party has held a trifectas for 21 years. For those same 34 years the Democratic party has held complete control of the Senate and control of the Assembly for all but 2 years. (source ballotpedia.org).

Given the control the Democratic Party has had over California government, I submit that we, California citizens, have exactly what the Democratics want us to have. They designed it, built it, installed it, and maintained it for 34 years.

For those who are tired of what we have here and honestly believe that the way to effect change is to put another Democrat in the Governor’s Office ... Have I got a deal for you! Cash please. Small bills. Used currency. Non-sequential serial numbers.

Stephen Wofford