Each week we’ll run through the sublime, the trivial and profound issues, decisions and goings on that strike us as Hits or Misses. you can join in, too, by emailing your Hits & Misses to news@theunion.com.
Hit (from Nevada City Councilmember Lou Ceci): To Thomas D. Elias for his January 10 opinion piece about the State usurping local housing authority. Elias correctly identifies SB 9 as an example of trickle-down housing: the theory that denser housing inevitably leads to cheaper housing. There is no evidence to support this notion, but there is evidence that, in towns with a broad wildland-urban interface like Nevada City, denser housing is dangerous. Solutions created for large urban areas are a bad fit for small rural communities, a mismatch legislators apparently can’t see from Sacramento.
Miss (from reader Jo Ann Rebane): To the low ratings Nevada Union Joint High School District received from the California Dashboard report this month. Competency in English Language Arts and mathematics are keys to better job opportunities and success in the work force.
Miss (from Rebane): To high school trustee Johnson’s opinion that students need to have more input to the trustees. If so, students should be seeking less social justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity studies and more and better emphasis on academics such as English Language Arts and math, assuming those students care about their future careers.
Hit (from reader Dennis W. Wescott): To the nine 7th and thirteen 8th graders that were winners in the Nevada County 2023 Writing Tournament. Well done to all those that participated, we need more like you.
Hit (from Editorial Board member Thea Hood): To Karen England, founder of the California Resource Institute, who received the 2022 American Hero Award from the American Council, for her unwavering fight to promote a pro-family, pro-parent, pro-life, pro-faith society.
Hit (from Hood): To the Superintendent of the Penn Valley Unified School District for having an open door morning coffee the first Wednesday of every month at 8 am.
Miss (from Hood): To the recent California State CAASP standardized test, where less than 50 percent of the students in the Nevada Joint Union High School District were proficient in English and less than 30 percent were proficient in Mathematics. Maybe the school board should question what is more important in this District: promoting academic excellence or promoting equity (equal outcomes)?
Miss (from reader Bill Bright): To the recent mishandling of classified documents. When I check out a book from the library, it is tracked and I am responsible for returning it. But they can take all these important national defense documents out of the archives, and nobody seems to know who took them out or where they are? or when they are due back?
Hit (from reader Shanti Emerson): To the new Lyric Rose Theater Company that just gave Nevada Countians a wonderful play, Into the Woods. Sunday’s brilliant performance was sold out to an enthusiastic audience. Thank you, Nevada Union graduate David Endacott-Hicks as well as Judith Merrick and the entire talented cast.
Miss (from Emerson): To accepting a liar into the House of Representatives in DC. How low can we sink?
Hit (from Emerson): To all the people helping Wild Eye Pub stay in business. This has been a venue for local musicians and poets since 2018 and scraped by during COVID. Let’s support Beth and David.
