SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced that scholarship applications are now being accepted for college-bound high schoolers as well as current college and continuing education students living in Northern and Central California.
 
More than 150 awards totaling nearly $500,000 are being made available through PG&E scholarships, which includes the employee resource group (ERG), engineering network group (ENG) and Better Together STEM scholarship programs.
 
PG&E scholarships information, including criteria and applications, is available on PG&E’s website. To be considered for a scholarship, all applications must be submitted by Feb. 7, 2020.
 
“Helping students in our communities attend college and achieve their goals is a big step toward improving lives. These individuals, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college, will be the leaders and innovators of tomorrow. We’re proud to invest in these promising young people,” said Mary King, PG&E vice president of human resources and chief diversity officer.
 
PG&E scholarships are awarded annually to help offset the cost of higher education. ERG scholarship winners will receive awards ranging from $1,000 to $7,000 for exemplary scholastic achievement and community leadership. Better Together STEM Scholarship recipients will receive a one-time scholarship of $1,000 to $10,000 to assist in their pursuit of higher education in engineering, computer science, cybersecurity or environmental sciences.
 
Since 1989, PG&E’s ERGs and ENGs have awarded more than $4.5 million in scholarships to thousands of recipients. The funds are raised totally through employee donations, employee fundraising events and Campaign for the Community, the company’s employee giving program.
 
Since 2012, PG&E’s Better Together STEM scholarship program has given nearly $3.6 million to accomplished students based on a combined demonstration of community leadership, personal triumph, financial need and academic achievement.
 
Funds for Better Together STEM scholarships come from the PG&E Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting charities that address critical social, educational and environmental challenges in the company’s service area. These scholarships are supported by PG&E shareholders.
 
More than 5,000 PG&E employees belong to the ERGs and ENGs. Each group helps further the company’s commitment to serving its communities and growing employee engagement.
 
PG&E’s ERG and ENG scholarships are available through these 12 groups:
 

• Access Network (individuals with disabilities)
• Asian
• Black
• Latino
• Legacy (tenured employees)
• National Society of Black Engineers (STEM career employees)
• NuEnergy (new employees)
• PrideNetwork (LGBT employees)
• Samahan (Filipino)
• Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers (STEM career employees)
• Veterans
• Women’s Network

 
In addition to the PG&E scholarships, the Pacific Service Employees Association (PSEA), a non-profit mutual benefit organization serving PG&E employees and retirees, also provides scholarships for dependents of company employees.
 
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ andhttp://www.pge.com/news.
 
 
  
 

 
(Washington, DC) – Today, Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) issued the following statement regarding the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) seeking reimbursement from Pacific, Gas, and Electric’s (PG&E) $13.5 billion fund that was originally set aside for wildfire victims.
 
LaMalfa said: “State and Federal governments should not have the ability to take settlement funds from wildfire victims. It is the government’s job to set aside funds for disasters, and victims should be able to receive the restitution they need. While it may never be able to make them whole, wildfire victims deserve every penny of the $13.5 billion fund to help them rebuild their lives – many from the ground up.
 
I recently sent a bipartisan letter asking FEMA to stand down on seeking a reimbursement from PG&E’s settlement fund for the wildfire victims. While FEMA is in the wrong, this letter did not mention that the State of California is seeking reimbursement from the PG&E compensation fund at the price tag of $3.3 billion. When preparing to respond to the needs of the victims, the state received $2.5 billion of the $3.3 billion from the federal government. The State of California is purposefully slighting its citizens by trying to earmark money from the victims’ compensation fund for themselves.”
 
Congressman Doug LaMalfa is a lifelong farmer representing California’s First Congressional District, including Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou and Tehama Counties.
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REDDING – The National Weather Service is forecasting a series of winter storms to move through Northern California, continuing Friday and extending through next week. Snow levels are forecast to drop to 3,000 feet through the weekend and into the beginning of next week, with the possibility of lower snow levels mid-late next week. Motorists should check weather and road conditions prior to higher elevation travel during this time period.

Motorists that must travel into higher elevations are advised to carry chains, be prepared for winter driving conditions, expect delays and possible closures, and follow instructions of Caltrans personnel and law enforcement. Truck and/or vehicle screening may go into effect for northbound Interstate 5 travelers at Fawndale Road, approximately ten miles north of Redding, prior to or during storm systems. Caltrans District 2 Maintenance crews are fully staffed and prepared for winter weather travel. Motorists are urged to drive slowly and carefully around our crews as they work the highways.

For more information, please contact the District 2 Public Information Office during business hours at (530) 225-3426. The District 2 Road Conditions Hotline is available 24/7 at (530) 225-3452 and is updated with significant traffic impacts. Motorists can also follow Caltrans District 2 on our Twitter and Facebook pages.  ​

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today praised Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2020–21.
“Over the last year, my team and I have been collaborating with educational partners, including teachers and administrators all over the state, through my 13 workgroups, to establish and validate the areas of focus and priority initiatives for the California Department of Education,” said Thurmond. “Today, we were pleased to hear that many of the budget announcements were aligned with the work we have been doing. Governor Newsom and his team have produced a budget that is comprehensive, aligns with our goals to ensure equitable education for all students, and allows us to focus on helping our most vulnerable students in underserved communities.”
The budget includes the largest K–12 education per pupil expenditure in history. It proposes increasing K–12 education by $3 billion, with an investment of approximately $900 million for teacher preparation and retention.
“The Governor mentioned that students should have teachers that look more like them, and we couldn’t agree more,” said Thurmond. “We look forward to having the opportunity to invest in our teacher workforce and the pipeline of future teachers coming into the profession, specifically teachers of color and in the fields of science, math, and special education.”
The budget includes funding to allow schools to add key staffing to provide coordination and delivery of services that will help students have a healthy start and remove barriers that get in the way of academic and social success with a $300 million community schools grant and an additional $300 million in opportunity grants for wrap-around technical assistance. This will provide resources to train administrators, teachers, and students with curriculum and strategies that will solidify California’s investment in the social and emotional well-being of students.
The budget also proposes significant increases to funding for special education, both in terms of increased funding to address the growing need for existing services as well as funding for districts to provide increased or improved services.
“Our districts are faced with financial challenges to keep up with the needs of our most vulnerable student populations, and we are thankful for the financial support from the proposed budget to help our schools provide equitable educational opportunities for all of our students,” said Thurmond.
For the first time in over 10 years, the budget includes a 40 percent increase in state funding for school nutrition programs to boost the quality of meals provided and to expand access. It also includes $10 million for grants to foster innovative farm-to-school linkages that support sustainable agriculture and make more healthy foods available to our students.
Generators to help schools prepare for disasters and stay open during unforeseen power outages will be provided through a larger emergency fund through the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). This gesture alone shows that the Governor and his team are listening to the needs of school districts, even when they are unprecedented and ever-changing with these new challenges brought on by public safety power shutoffs.
 “I appreciate that even with declining resources, Governor Newsom has found a way to keep education as a key priority in the budget. We look forward to continuing a close partnership with him, the Legislature, and stakeholders in the next few years to increase our state’s education resources so that we can close opportunity gaps, and make sure all of California’s students have equitable opportunities to excel,” Thurmond said.
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The California Department of Education is a state agency led by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. For more information, please visit the California Department of Education’s website. You may also follow Superintendent Thurmond on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

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John Mosby and Doug Lawler.

The former mobile home park property sold at auction January 10th at the Courthouse in Downieville with Judge Charles Ervin presiding. Bidding were John Mosby of M3 Multifamily, LLC and Jim Johnson of Auburn. Jim Turner of Loyalton had planned on bidding yet had a personal check rather than the required cashier’s check. The Judge asked bidders of any objection and Johnson told how it is “important to follow the law.” Johnson had been at every potential bid. Mosby had not been involved before.
First bid was $150,000 by John Mosby after the Judge opened bidding at half a million dollars. Bidding was slow with Johnson increasing the bid by $1,000 at times. Final bid was
$205,000 by M3 Multifamily, LLC after Johnson announced $200,000 was his final bid. M3 Multifamily, LLC, according to its website, was formed in 2008 by John Mosby and Jon Martin for the purpose of acquiring, renovating and managing existing apartment communities in order to create stable cashflow and profits from sale for their investors. Property size ranges from 100 to 300 units.M3 presently owns nine apartment communities in four cities; Austin, Nashville, Reno, and Tucson, totaling 1,749 units. Most of these properties are self-managed through M3’s affiliated property management company, M3 Property Management, Inc.
John Mosby is Managing Partner of M3 Multifamily, and President of M3 Property Management, Inc. John specializes in the acquisition, asset management and operational management of each property. John has been in the multifamily housing industry since 1989. Prior to forming M3 Multifamily, Mosby was a VP with NALS, Inc. since 1995, where he was responsible for asset management on over 6,000 apartment units in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Georgia and North Carolina. Since 1989 Mosby has overseen the management of over thirty-five multifamily communities in eleven cities, and has extensive experience in acquisitions, due diligence, inspections, staff management, regulatory administration, asset repositioning and renovation.
Doug Lawler, who has lived in Sierra Brooks four years, attended the auction and will be Managing Partner.  Mosby and Lawler stated they were "good investors and a strong team," with a good plan and acknowledged the transition would be a long one. They are very interested in rebuilding the community in a positive way.
Following the auction, the Judge explained how liens would transfer to the sales proceeds and would give 30 days for presentation of any claim with claim forms to be used, although claims don’t have to be on the form. 
Friday, February 14th is a Claims Bar date by noon for any  part of the proceeds. The Judge stated some may be former tenants and he advised filing a claim, stating no one should risk not filing. There will be a review 30 day after the filing of claims, on February 25th at 2 p.m. and court appearances will be determined.











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10.24 Acres of Land for Sale by Bid in Sierra Nevada Mountain Valley
Property Address: 205 and 300 Hill Street, Loyalton, California 96118
Judicial Sale Time: Friday January 10, 2020 at 11:00 a.m.
Judicial Sale Location: Department 1 of the Sierra County Courthouse located at 100 Courthouse Square, Downieville, CA 95936
Do not miss this unique opportunity to purchase over 10 acres of land with a 23-unit storage facility. The property will be sold through a judicial sale at the Sierra County Courthouse starting promptly at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, January 10, 2020  

Recently a sale of the property in the amount of $450,000 fell through. We are anticipating a sale of the property in this price range.
For more information prior to the judicial sale, please contact California Receivership Group on (310) 471-8181 or at info@calreceivers.com

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Staff Report
Ted Gaines
ProvidedSOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Ted Gaines, a former California Senator and now a member of the Board of Equalization, will be in South Lake Tahoe this week to discuss a proposed amendment to Proposition 13, known as “Split Roll” tax initiative.
The proposed amendment would remove commercial properties in the state from their property tax protections and tax them on market value and not purchase price.
The South Lake Tahoe Lodging Association is inviting interested community members to attend its monthly meeting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, at the Tahoe Chamber/Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority building located at 169 U.S. Highway 50 in Stateline.
Proponents of the amendment, that would be a significant tax hike, announced they have collected 25% of the valid signatures required to place the proposal on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Tahoe Chamber is planning to join with other state organizations to oppose the measure should it make the ballot.
The ballot initiative would amend the state constitution to require commercial and industrial properties, except those zoned as commercial agriculture, to be taxed based on their market value, according to Ballotpedia a nonprofit, nonpartisan online political encyclopedia. In California, the proposal to assess taxes on commercial and industrial properties at market value, while continuing to assess taxes on residential properties based on purchase price, is known as split roll.
As of 2019, Proposition 13, which was passed in 1978, requires the taxable value of residential, commercial, and industrial properties to be based on 1% of the property’s purchase price, with an annual adjustment equal to the rate of inflation or 2%, whichever is lower. 
According to the state Legislative Analyst’s Office, market values in California tend to increase faster than 2% per year, meaning the taxable value of commercial and industrial properties is often lower than the market value.
The fiscal impact is $4 billion ($6.5 billion to $10.5 billion in most years). After paying for county administrative costs and backfilling state income tax losses related to the measure, the remaining $6-$10 billion would be allocated to schools (40%) and other local governments (60%).

By Quint Studer
If you looked only at the big picture, you'd have to say we live in deeply troubled times. It seems we've never been more polarized. Political discourse feels more like a war zone than a thoughtful national conversation. But what happens when you zoom in closer?
That's the question I ask myself as I reflect on the past year spent exploring dozens of small and mid-sized communities across America. I've talked with hundreds, maybe thousands, of mayors, chamber of commerce members, new entrepreneurs, business owners, and citizens of all ages. I've sat down to great meals in downtown restaurants, listened to fabulous bands, and attended some of the world's coolest festivals. And what I've found is that the America one sees "up close and personal" bears little resemblance to the America one sees on the national news.
I'm not saying we don't have real problems. We do. But we have more bright spots than dark—more courtesy than incivility—and often that good news flies under the radar. I've always been a believer in shining a light on the positive until it overcomes the negative. Gratitude is more powerful than griping. And what I'm grateful for today, at the turn of the year, is America's communities.
Real life doesn't happen nationally. It happens locally. And at the community level, I see people partnering with their neighbors to solve problems, working hard and playing hard, listening and compromising, and—quite often—making sacrifices for the good of others. Locally is where we're at our very best. It's where we can use our influence and our gifts to make our communities strong and to make life better for everyone.
I view communities through a lens of revitalization because that's the work I do. As things have gotten more dysfunctional at the national level, the by-product is that people on the local level have kicked in. And what I see is that citizens aren't counting on government to "save" them. They're doing the hard work of revitalization themselves. They're owning it. They're investing in their cities and towns. And they're starting new conversations: How can we make our community the best it can be? How can we reinvent ourselves, start and grow local businesses, and transform into a great place to work, live, and play?
This mindset has kicked in everywhere: big cities, small towns, communities of every shape and size. And no wonder. The chaos and uncertainty of the past few decades have made us crave personal connections with our friends and family. We want our children and grandchildren nearby (with good jobs to keep them there). We want lively downtowns with great restaurants, funky stores, cool living spaces, and plenty of fun things to do. And we're making it happen.
In Thomas L. Friedman's book Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations, he talks about how rapid accelerations in technology, globalization, and Mother Nature are disrupting our lives and leaving people feeling destabilized. He says these forces are like a hurricane, one in which the winds of change are swirling so fast that families can't find a way to anchor themselves.
Friedman makes the case that the only answer is building healthy communities, ones that are flexible enough to navigate this hurricane and provide stability for the citizens within them. He quotes the words from a ballad by Brandi Carlile, "You can dance in a hurricane, but only if you're standing in the eye." Our communities are that eye. They provide a firm place to stand and find stability while all this change is swirling around us.
My hope is that 2020 will be the Year of the Community. We can make it so. We can hold our families close. We can reach out to neighbors to connect with them, to help them, to engage them in the work of making things better. We can shop local. We can partner with government the right way. We can smooth the way for entrepreneurs. We can galvanize our small business communities to drive positive change. And we can act as ambassadors for our communities so that others want to invest, live, work, and play here too.
Won't you join me? Celebrating all the good in our communities, and working together to make them stronger, will make for a 2020 that's even better than all the years that have come before.
# # #
Quint Studer is author of Building a Vibrant Community: How Citizen-Powered Change Is Reshaping America and Wall Street Journal bestseller The Busy Leader's Handbook: How to Lead People and Places That Thrive. He is founder of Pensacola's Studer Community Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on improving the community's quality of life, and Vibrant Community Partners, which coaches communities in building out a blueprint for achieving growth and excellence. He is a businessman, a visionary, an entrepreneur, and a mentor to many. He currently serves as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of West Florida. For more information, please visit www.thebusyleadershandbook.com, www.vibrantcommunityblueprint.com, and www.studeri.org.
 

by

James D. Veltmeyer, MD


One of the crowning achievements of the Trump Administration over the last three years has been the President’s successful campaign to rollback the excesses and costs of the regulatory state.
By the regulatory state, we refer to the monster of a federal bureaucracy and its alphabet-soup agencies that have suffocated         the U.S. economy through an endless stream of unnecessary rules       and regulations. Rules and regulations that have served more to empower and enrich the bureaucrats and administrators themselves than serve any real public purpose.
When we think that when the American Republic was founded there were just four cabinet-level Departments: State, Treasury, Justice, and War and now we have hundreds of departments, agencies, bureaus, and commissions imposing their mandates and guidelines upon the American people, the mind just boggles.
Today, we have 15 cabinet-level departments, controlling almost every aspect of our lives from Housing and Urban Development to Energy, Education, and Transportation. Many, if not most, of these departments are Constitutionally-questionable at best as there is no authorization in the Constitution for most of these federal activities.
And, let’s consider how these Departments have actually performed. The Department of Energy was created in 1977 and currently has a budget of $30 billion. Yet, in more than forty years of existence, DOE has failed to produce even one drop of additional energy for the nation’s needs. Instead, it has only served to shackle our energy producers. President Reagan had promised to abolish the Energy Department but failed to do so. President Trump should take this action and transfer the nuclear weapons responsibilities of the Department to the Department of Defense.
The Department of Education was created by President Carter as a payoff to the teachers’ unions for their support in his 1976 campaign  for President. Despite spending $66 billion a year, America’s public schools are a national disgrace with collapsing test scores, rampant crime, and declining academic standards.
And, what can we say about HUD? With $47 billion a year at itsdisposal, our homelessness crisis only intensifies while our largest    cities are overrun by crime, drugs, and joblessness.
The Federal Register is that unwieldy accumulation of federal rules and regulations written by pampered Washington bureaucrats from   the comfort of their cushy D.C. suites. Back in 1936, when Franklin Roosevelt was launching his New Deal revolution patterned after Mussolini’s fascism, there were a mere 2,620 pages in the Federal Register. By the time President Obama took office in 2009, there       were 68,598 pages, 34 times as many. Obama and his regulators had       a field day during his eight years in the White House, increasing the pages in the Federal Register to 95,894, a jump of 40% by 2016.
Let’s consider the cost of all these regulations to the U.S. economy and U.S. households.
According to the  Competitive Enterprise Institute, federal regulations in 2016 cost American consumers and businesses almost $2 trillion, 10% of our GDP. If these regulations constituted a distinct country, it would be the seventh-largest economy on the planet, ranking behind India but surpassing Italy.
Federal regulations are a hidden tax passed on to U.S. households through higher prices. The cost: nearly $15,000 per household. The nearly $2 trillion in regulations actually exceeds the $1.92 trillion the IRS collected in both individual and corporate income taxes in 2016.
Now, Congress is supposed to write our nation’s laws. That’s what the Constitution provides for. Yet, in 2016, the 214 laws enacted by Congress were massively outstripped by the 3,853 rules issued by the regulatory bureaucracy. That’s 18 rules issued for every law Constitutionally-enacted by our elected representatives.
The impact on our economy has been dramatic. The Mercatus Center   at George Mason University estimates that if regulations had been held just to the level they were in 1980, our economy would be at least 25% larger today.  That’s a loss of $5 trillion and about $15,000 per capita.
With his fervent commitment to economic growth and his background as a businessman who has had to deal with the dead weight of the federal bureaucracy, President Trump targeted federal regulations with one of his first  Executive Orders in 2017. In his EO entitled REDUCING REGULATION AND CONTROLLING REGULATORY COSTS of January 30, 2017, the President ordered that at least two old regulations be eliminated for every new one imposed. He’s actually done much better, repealing five old regs for every new one.
This is the most impressive effort to free the U.S. economy from thechokehold of the federal regulators since the Reagan presidency three decades prior. In fact, in just three years, it has gone well beyond Reagan’s attempts to tame the federal dragon.
According to libertarian economist Dr. David Henderson, the Trump Administration’s work on deregulation will result in raising real U.S. incomes by over $3,000 per household. In just his first year in office,    the President succeeded in whittling down the size of the Federal Register by 34,000 pages over Obama’s last year, an impressive reduction of 35% and bringing the number of pages down to the     lowest level since 1993. He also slashed the number of rules by almost 600 in one year, a 15% cut.
The President’s deregulatory policies have sparked an amazing rebirth of the American energy industry, leading to our nation becoming a net exporter of energy  for the first time in decades. It has freed us from dependence on OPEC and unstable and undemocratic Middle East governments. The Environmental Protection Agency – one of Washington’s most obnoxious agencies – has been reined in. The FDA    is now approving more and more drugs--especially generics – at a   faster pace, bringing down prices and enhancing competition. The banking system which was largely stifled and prevented from making loans due to Dodd-Frank is now operating in a freer environment.
The result of these policies has been the strongest U.S. economy in five decades with record-low unemployment, rising wages, and steady growth. The heavy  hand of government is being swiftly lifted from the private sector and for that we can only applaud the Trump Administration and urge it to stay on course in taking on and taking down the job-killing regulatory state.


 Dr. James Veltmeyer is a prominent La Jolla physician voted “Top Doctor” in San Diego County in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019.  Dr. Veltmeyer can be reached at dr.jamesveltmeyer@yahoo.com





 
 
 
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Sandra A. Groven
District Attorney
Sandy Marshall
Administrative Assistant
Victim Witness

 
                                                                              
 
People v Christopher Girard Gill (19CR0404)
 
On December 10, 2019, Christopher Girard Gill, age 38, of Pinole, was convicted of violating Penal Code 647(f), drunk in public.  He was placed on 6 months summary court probation and ordered to attend AA classes.
 
People v. Jaime Montenegro Diaz (19CR4056)
 
On December 10, 2019, Jaime Montenegro Diaz, age 56, of Lincoln, was convicted of violating Fish and Game code section 2006(a), having a loaded weapon on a public roadway. He was ordered to pay a fine.
 
People v. Clyde Marshall Lopez (19CR4054)
 
On December 10, 2019, Clyde Marshall Lopez, age 53, of Lincoln, was convicted of violating Fish and Game Code 4336(a), failing to fill out a deer tag.  He was ordered to pay a fine.
 
People v. Francis Michael Boucher (CR04052)
 
On December 10, 2019, Francis Michael Boucher, age 64, of South Lake Tahoe, was convicted of violating Vehicle Code section 23103.5 (wet reckless).  He was placed on 18 months summary court probation; ordered to attend a wet reckless class, and pay a fine.  
 
People v. Ronald Carl Nagy (19CR4051)
 
On December 10, 2019, Ronald Carl Nagy, age 49, of Cotati, was convicted of violating Fish and Game Code section 2006(a), having a loaded weapon on a public roadway.  He was ordered to pay a fine.
 
 
People v. Michael Preston Evans (19CR4074)
 
On December 10, 2019, Michael Preston Evans, age 55, of Galt, was convicted of violating section 550(x)(1) of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, who was in possession of alcohol in department lands.  He was ordered to pay a fine. 
 
People v. Cameron Alexander Valois (CR04008A)
 
On December 10, 2019, Cameron Alexander Valois, age 19, of Carnelian Bay, was convicted of violating Penal Code section 415(1), fighting in public.  He was sentenced to 3 years summary court probation and ordered to pay restitution. 
 
 
People v. Yosef Kevin Perez-Luna (CR040008B)
 
On December 10, 2019, Yosef Kevin Perez-Luna, age 19, of Kings Beach, was convicted of violating Penal Code section 415(1), fighting in public.  He was sentenced to 3 years summary court probation and ordered to pay restitution. 

by Robert Charles, National Spokesman for the
Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC]

Have you ever thought about it? America’s entire way of life depends on honor. You may not think so, but it is a fact. Absent self-respect, respect for others, a sense of perspective on one’s place in society, history and the civic order, rule of law swiftly devolves into lawlessness. In short, America is premised on a sense of honor. If we lose this cornerstone, this all-important societal footing, we lose the nation.

Recently, we witnessed an impeachment process ram-rodded down the throat of a minority party. We saw due process ignored, co-equal members of Congress over-talked, overridden, gaveled to silence. We saw 200-year-old procedures thrown over, simply trashed. We saw lawyers schooled in civil and criminal procedure, technically “officers of the court,” boldly ignoring established legal procedures.

We saw a sense of equity unceremoniously dumped, material witnesses forbidden, false statements trumpeted, and dishonorable behavior from people of whom we should expect more. They have a duty to deliver more – as a matter of honor.

Let me simplify – and illustrate that my concern is not about political parties or figures, but for the country. Why do you stop at a red light, when no one is looking? Why respect a person or property of others when no one will call you out? Why do you pay for goods rather than walking out, even if you could abscond? Why do you vote, fill out census forms, report crime, intercede to stop an injustice, stand for our National Anthem, put hand on heart, teach your children right from wrong, or serve as a soldier, sailor, airman, marine, police officer – or simply a dutiful American? Honor – that is why.

And that is why the nation should stop – right now – and think hard about what is expected of us. Political differences have always existed, levels of acrimony ebbed and flowed. At our country’s founding, before and after the Civil War, in testy days before World War II, American tempers ran hot.

That is why we are blessed to live in a republic, where we can deliberate, moderate, modulate, accommodate, discuss, compromise, persuade, dissuade, and level rough spots – and then honor our agreements. Honor again – without it, we are nothing.

Think of other ways in which we depend on that unspoken commitment – to honor. Every contract we sign, every service we perform or expect, every promise we make, receive or seek is premised on honor. The notion that “our word is our bond” means something. We, in America, take the bond seriously.

When you get right down to it, most of the time we do what we do not because we will be punished for failing to do it, not for fear of being called out, but because we have self-respect. We honor our own mettle – our role in society, big or small – by staying true to what we think right. We live by honor.

The truth is that this unstated fact is the lynchpin of America, the basis on which a representative democracy – centered on freedom – is and must be based. If in our daily lives we stray too far from the idea that interactions depend on honor, we find others dishonoring commitments to us. The circle tightens, trust evaporates, and life becomes intolerable.

That is why seeing national leaders dishonor our hard-won history, losing perspective, indulging violations of established procedure, pressing partisan gains at a cost to intergenerational principles, entertaining lawlessness – and indifference to honor – is so unsettling. If our leaders do not think honoring principles like rule of law, due process, fairness, even-handed treatment of their peers, and constitutional norms matters, what kind of example is that for the rest of us?

In short, representative democracies – republics like ours – are fragile. They depend at core on honor. Absent the commitment to being honorable, from red lights to impeachment protocol, society becomes untethered, lawless, disrespected both within and from without.

At present, our society remains one of laws, not personalities. We remain a place where laws are largely abided – not ignored. Our society is that rare repository of painful, hard-won victories, hallowed and heroic histories, depth and commitment to ideals of a kind few nations have tried or strived to live by.

For our society – for this blessed nation – to long endure, we must remember what we are built on. In a word, our lives, our shared past, our common future, our personal safety, our prosperity and America’s promise are founded on rule of law, keeping faith with an unspoken code, living by honor. This would be a good moment to reflect on honor. Without it, we are nothing. With it, America is unbounded.

Robert Charles is a former assistant secretary of state for President George W. Bush, former naval intelligence officer and litigator. He served in the Reagan and Bush 41 White Houses, as congressional counsel for five years, and wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003) and “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), the latter on WWII vets in a Maine town.

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The 2 million member Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC] [https://www.amac.us] is a vibrant, vital senior advocacy organization that takes its marching orders from its members. We act and speak on their behalf, protecting their interests and offering a practical insight on how to best solve the problems they face today. Live long and make a difference by joining us today at https://amac.us/join-amac.
AMAC | Washington DC | 917-846-8485 | Email | Website

SUSANVILLE, Calif., December 30, 2019 -- The Almanor Ranger District on the USDA Forest Service’s Lassen National Forest (LNF) is scheduling its Annual Guided Snowshoe Tours for this winter season with the first tour scheduled for Jan. 17.  These tours are open to the general public, community, and school groups.
The tour covers a variety of topics during the one to two-hour program. Some of the topics covered are basic winter survival skills, environmental education, and local history. The Tours take place in the surrounding LNF, but locations vary depending on current snow conditions.  
Snowshoes for these tours are provided free of charge and are geared for beginners but can be strenuous depending on terrain and snow powder conditions. There is the option of tailoring the tour program to include the California State Standards for environmental education by request. 
This is a great way to enjoy this winter season on the Lassen National Forest and to explore the forest while on snowshoes,” said Deb Bumpus, forest supervisor.  “There’s the magical experience of floating over the snow on snowshoes among snow-laden trees, animal tracks to follow, and the quiet of the snow-hushed forest.”
Upcoming 2020 Winter Snowshoe Tour Schedule (Times to be announced)

• Friday, Jan. 31
• Saturday, Feb. 8
• Friday, Feb. 22

All tours require reservations. To reserve your spot, schedule your school, or get more information about our snowshoe program, contact Carlos Holguin, Visitor Information Services, at (530) 258-2141 or by email at carlos.holguin@usda.gov.
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