PD Editorial: Thumbs up, thumbs down

Petaluma students win wage case

Thumbs up for Yanelli Vargas, Lorenza Tapia and Alessandra Chavez. The three teenagers, students at San Antonio High School in Petaluma, learned some rough lessons when they took jobs at a Subway sandwich shop. By standing up for themselves, they set a good example for others. The teens say they weren’t always paid and often worked in unfsafe conditions. The U.S. Department of Labor investigated and obtained a preliminary injunction against John Michael Meza and his corporations, Crave Brands LLC and MZS Enterprises LLC, owners of 14 Subway franchises, including six in Sonoma County. The agency said Meza and his companies owe $265,294 in outstanding wages to the Petaluma students and other workers. Meanwhile, Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez set up a hotline for county residents to report wage theft. The number is 833-88WAGES.

Pricing goats out of the market

Among the many pleasures of a summer stroll at Spring Lake Regional Park in Santa Rosa is watching a small herd of goats grazing on bush and grass that otherwise could fuel a wildfire. Sonoma County parks aren’t alone in relying on the sociable, and photogenic, ungulates to assist in fire prevention efforts. But new state labor regulations are making it more expensive to provide goat-grazing services, the Associated Press reported, and herding companies say the rules threaten to put them out of business. At issue is overtime pay for goat herders, which AP reports will differ from overtime pay requirements for sheepherders beginning in January, driving the cost of grazing groats — but not sheep — up as much as threefold. Only in California. Thumbs down.

Teens chased from competition

After a week of online abuse, two California teenagers withdrew from the state track and field championships. The transgender teenagers, one of them a student at Sonoma Academy in Santa Rosa, were targeted by conservative media outlets and various organizations advocating for restrictions on girls sports. The California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports, has allowed athletes to compete “in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s records” for 10 years. There is neither scientific nor empirical evidence that trans athletes have an unfair advantage. But there is plenty of evidence that transphobia is metastasizing from politics to harassment of vulnerable youngsters. Thumbs down.

Keeping firefighters in the sky

Thumbs up for U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen. In a ruling that recognizes the threat of wildfires in this era of climate change, Christensen rejected a conservation group’s petition to stop the U.S. Forest Service from dropping fire retardant from airplanes. Clouds of red retardant are a welcome sight when flames are spreading, especially in rugged terrain. Yet the ammonium phosphate-based mix also pollutes waterways, violating the Clean Water Act. It would be practically impossible for airdrops to avoid lakes and streams, but losing this tool would make it vastly harder to slow advancing fires. Christensen’s ruling strikes a balance, allowing the Forest Service to make air drops while seeking a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency. The Forest Service says the amount of ammonium phosphate in fire retardant has been reduced 30% since 2011. Making retardant safer for water is preferable to allowing wildfires to grow unchecked.

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