Water: A Life Force Harnessed as News
Water is the essence of life, and its cleanliness, availability, and our use and abuse of it are stories meriting reporters’ and editors’ attention. Yet as Stuart Leavenworth, who covered water issues for The Sacramento Bee and describes the wide array of issues he took on, reports: “To my chagrin, I had the beat largely to myself for four years. Across the country, papers have tackled problems of water pollution and degradation, but have overlooked fundamental issues of supply—and sustainability. This is curious.”
Here are some excerpts from columns that appear in the book, “Frank del Olmo: Commentaries on His Times:”
“A Dissenting Vote on the Endorsement of Pete Wilson,” October 31, 1994
… Unfortunately, my deeply felt belief that [Governor Pete] Wilson does not RELATED ARTICLE
"Frank del Olmo’s Words Are a Tribute to His Life"
- Frank O. Sotomayordeserve the Times’s endorsement did not carry the day. Under normal circumstances, I would quietly accept that decision and move on. This time I cannot. Because this is not just another political campaign. And the Wilson endorsement is not … just another endorsement.
… This campaign is unprecedented in the harm it does—permanent damage, I fear—to an ethnic community I care deeply about and a state I love. The reason, of course, is its weapon of choice: the complex and emotional issue of illegal immigration.
In the form of Proposition 187—the mean-spirited and unconstitutional ballot initiative that would deprive “apparent illegal aliens” of public health services and immigrant children of public education—the immigration issue has become the cornerstone of Wilson’s desperate and cynical effort to win a second term.
… That is why the Times’s endorsement of Wilson is not just another endorsement and why I must register my dissent so publicly. I want people out there to know—especially the young Latinos and Asian Americans who will be the leaders of this state in the future and, I hope, readers of this newspaper as well—that not all of us here at the Times feel good about Pete Wilson. Many of us share your anger.
“Frankie’s Journey to Manhood,” December 21, 2003
… I have dreaded Frankie’s adolescence. But there is no postponing it. My little boy is becoming a young man. He’s going to need more of my time, which is one reason I will write less frequently for this page. He’s also going to need more privacy than I have allowed him. He’ll need it to decide how he prefers to cope with autism.
So the two great gifts I can give Frankie this Christmas, and in years to come, are my presence and his privacy. And he shall have them both.
“A Dissenting Vote on the Endorsement of Pete Wilson,” October 31, 1994
… Unfortunately, my deeply felt belief that [Governor Pete] Wilson does not RELATED ARTICLE
"Frank del Olmo’s Words Are a Tribute to His Life"
- Frank O. Sotomayordeserve the Times’s endorsement did not carry the day. Under normal circumstances, I would quietly accept that decision and move on. This time I cannot. Because this is not just another political campaign. And the Wilson endorsement is not … just another endorsement.
… This campaign is unprecedented in the harm it does—permanent damage, I fear—to an ethnic community I care deeply about and a state I love. The reason, of course, is its weapon of choice: the complex and emotional issue of illegal immigration.
In the form of Proposition 187—the mean-spirited and unconstitutional ballot initiative that would deprive “apparent illegal aliens” of public health services and immigrant children of public education—the immigration issue has become the cornerstone of Wilson’s desperate and cynical effort to win a second term.
… That is why the Times’s endorsement of Wilson is not just another endorsement and why I must register my dissent so publicly. I want people out there to know—especially the young Latinos and Asian Americans who will be the leaders of this state in the future and, I hope, readers of this newspaper as well—that not all of us here at the Times feel good about Pete Wilson. Many of us share your anger.
“Frankie’s Journey to Manhood,” December 21, 2003
… I have dreaded Frankie’s adolescence. But there is no postponing it. My little boy is becoming a young man. He’s going to need more of my time, which is one reason I will write less frequently for this page. He’s also going to need more privacy than I have allowed him. He’ll need it to decide how he prefers to cope with autism.
So the two great gifts I can give Frankie this Christmas, and in years to come, are my presence and his privacy. And he shall have them both.
