More than 160 years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans still face institutionalized racism that often has deadly results. Witness the fact, explained in Jon Vankin’s article about the death penalty (below), that Black Americans are exceedingly more likely to be executed for their crimes than White Americans. Today is a good day to consider that harrowing fact.
Some scholars have argued that Black Americans invented the holiday we now celebrate as Memorial Day. On May 1, 1865, a group of 10,000 Black men, women and children in Charleston, South Carolina, newly freed by Lincoln's order, marched to honor more than 250 Union soldiers that had been buried in a mass grave at a nearby Confederate prison. They then unearthed the soldiers, gave them each a proper burial, and placed flowers on their graves. That event may have served as inspiration when Commander in Chief John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic declared May 30, 1868 as the first Decoration Day, which was offically renamed and made a national holiday in 1971.
Honoring All Veterans
Memorial Day is primarily meant to honor those who gave their lives in military service to the United States. It is also a good time to thank living veterans for their service. If you or a loved one are a veteran, follow these links to find some information that we hope will be useful.
Facts About California’s Veterans and the Resources They Have Earned
‘Stand Down’ Events Provide Veterans a Lifeline
Find local nonprofits and community organizations serving veterans. (Follow this link and select your county from the drop-down in the upper left corner of your screen.)
Some Arguments for the Abolishment of Capital Punishment
"A 2022 report by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund tabulated all U.S. executions since 1976 and found that, though they comprise 13.6 percent of the American population, Black people have been executed at a rate almost three times as high: 34 percent of all executed convicts."
When Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium on the death penalty in 2019, he cited racial inequity as a primary driver of his decision. He also pointed to studies that strongly suggest that a significant percentage of the convicts on California's death row are innocent of their crimes. Whatever your opinion on this topic you are likey to find surprises in these accounts.
Is California’s Death Penalty Finally Dead?
The death penalty remains legal in California, but Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a moratorium on executions in 2019. Will capital punishment end in the state? Here’s what’s happening.
• Inaugural Lake Tahoe Litter Summit Brings Environmental Leaders Together
The inaugural Lake Tahoe Litter Summit, hosted by nonprofit Clean Up the Lake, brought together 50 of Lake Tahoe's agency leaders and citizens fighting litter in the basin.
(05/28/2023) → Tahoe Daily Tribune
• Tahoe Watercraft Inspection Program Opens for Summer
As Lake Tahoe's water level nears its maximum height from a record snowpack, agencies helping protect the region from aquatic invasive species are preparing watercraft inspection stations and new equipment for paddlers.
(05/27/2023) → Tahoe Daily Tribune
• Roseville Releases $784M Draft Budget
Roseville's draft 2023-24 budget consists of $784 million, with $214 million allocated for the operating budget while the remaining $570 million is primarily dedicated to the electric, water, wastewater and waste services utilities.
(05/26/2023) → Roseville Today
• TRPA Executive Director to Host Community Coffee Talks
Julie Regan, executive director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, will be hosting a series of morning coffee sessions around Lake Tahoe starting this summer.
(05/24/2023) → Tahoe Daily Tribune
• Turnboo Seeks Term 2 in District 2
District 2 Supervisor George Turnboo announced his re-election campaign to keep his seat in 2024.
(05/24/2023) → Mountain Democrat
• New (Old) Train on the Tracks
The California Trolley and Railroad Corporation of Santa Clara County has transferred ownership of a GE 65-ton center cab diesel locomotive to the El Dorado Western Railway Foundation of El Dorado County.
(05/24/2023) → Mountain Democrat
• EDC Community Action Council Seeks New Members
The El Dorado County Community Action Council is seeking to fill its member vacancies with individuals who can represent the interests and concerns of people and families with low incomes living in El Dorado County.
(05/24/2023) → Tahoe Daily Tribune
• Chipper Program Is Back
The El Dorado County Fire Safe Council’s Defensible Space Assistance Program for seniors, veterans and those who are low income has received grant funding and re-opened for new applications.
(05/24/2023) → Georgetown Gazette
• Next Steps After Hospital District Master Plan Omitted From 2040 General Plan
Truckee’s 2040 General Plan was adopted without including the Tahoe Forest Hospital District’s proposed master plan. The town says the hospital document is incomplete; the district says it was unceremoniously dropped from the town’s GP process.
(05/23/2023) → Moonshine Ink
• Free Yards Signs Offered to Tahoe Residents
Take Care Tahoe is taking on traffic safety by distributing free yard signs to the public that encourage drivers to “Take it Slow, Tahoe.”
(05/23/2023) → Tahoe Daily Tribune
• Diamond Springs Park EIR Ready for Public Comment
El Dorado County is preparing a draft environmental impact report for the proposed community park in Diamond Springs on which the public comment period will continue through June 16.
(05/22/2023) → Mountain Democrat
Service members stand in formation during a Memorial Day service.
