Ups and Downs

Thumbs Down! To both BP and the White House in regards to the broken oil pipe in the Gulf of Mexico that continues to gush oil and is causing untold economic and ecological damage to Louisiana and surrounding areas. How was BP granted rights to drill without a safeguard plan that could be implemented immediately in case of a major disaster? Everyone continues to point fingers and no one is solving the problem. On May 12, a House subcommittee investigating the disaster discovered the possibility that BP had finished work for the day on the oil rig even though a seal at the top of the well had a failed a pressure test a few hours before the explosion and that a hydraulic leak may have disabled the blowout preventer. Obama announced plans to split the Minerals Management Service which oversees offshore oil drilling into two parts since they were ineffective in their duty to enforce safety regulations. This lax in overseeing offshore oil drilling has been going on for a long time. Makes you wonder about the power of campaign contributions and royalties the government collects. And now a new bi-partisan commission is going to investigate the cause-the government and BP need to work together to do whatever it takes to plug the leak and clean up the mess. Investigating the cause can be done later.

Thumbs Up! The Ramona library has reached the halfway point in construction. If you haven’t been down Main Street lately, take a drive and check out what will soon be the finest library in San Diego County.

Thumbs Down! To Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman, who will spend $100 million on just the primary race to see who will face Jerry Brown in November, what a waste.

Thumbs Up! To the athletes and coaches at Ramona High, once again it’s not the size of the school, but the size of the heart that matters. Also to the five RHS auto students who earned state championships at the SkillsUSA Competition. Congrats!

Jeff Mitchell