Bee Opinionated: Breast cancer awareness + West Sac candidates + First Partner speaks up
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Hi and hello again, it’s Robin Epley with The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board.
It may not feel like fall outside, but it’s definitely October in my heart. My house is thoroughly decorated for Halloween and I’m ready to start wearing cozy clothes and flannels again. Darn that global warming.
You know what else October is, though? It’s Breast Cancer Awareness month. And last week, we were proud to publish Elk Grove Unified School District board member Nancy Chaires Espinoza’s op-ed on her recent diagnosis and ongoing fight against breast cancer.
“As one of the estimated 264,000 new cases of breast cancer expected to be diagnosed in U.S. women this year (along with about 2,400 men), I ask that you familiarize yourself with the many ways the disease can present. Be attuned to changes in your body, and get mammograms on the schedule recommended by your doctor.”
One in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer at some point in their lifetimes. That includes women who have no family history of cancer or known genetic predisposition to the disease. Doctors recommend getting a yearly mammogram at the age of 40, or earlier if you have a family history of the disease.
Chaires Espinoza wrote movingly about her journey thus far:
“I don’t yet know all that my breast cancer journey will entail, but thanks to early detection, my prognosis appears to be good,” she wrote. “While I don’t quite feel like a ‘warrior’ yet, I do feel extraordinarily lucky for more blessings than I can enumerate here. I draw strength from the women who have been so candid with me about their experiences with breast cancer.”
West Sac is Back, Facts
We just couldn’t end this year’s election endorsements without taking one final look at the candidates vying for City Council in West Sacramento, a city that has changed dramatically in the 35 years since it was first incorporated.
“A city of roughly 51,000, West Sacramento has seen a boom in new housing and investment, bike trails and parks. All of it was accomplished by smart leaders such as former Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, who was a central figure in a city now considering its next generation of leaders,” The Bee’s editorial board wrote in its final endorsement editorial.
That next generation of leaders appears eager and ready to leap into action, and we were proud to interview candidates for the city’s new districts — 3 and 4 — who will represent an area where much of the city’s infill development and growth has occurred.
Find out here who The Bee endorsed.
Seriously What Does That Even Mean?
This week, California’s First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom announced she would take the stand in the case against prolific, convicted sexual predator, Harvey Weinstein. Siebel Newsom alleges the Hollywood producer raped her at a business meeting she says turned into a trap.
Siebel Newsom and four other women will testify as Jane Does during the eight-week trial in Los Angeles, where jury selection began a week ago.
Metro columnist Melinda Henneberer took deep umbrage to Weinstein’s counsel’s accusation that Siebel Newsom didn’t act enough like a rape victim in the aftermath of the assault.
“I already admired Siebel Newsom for her willingness to testify,” Henneberger wrote. “Because like all accusers, she’s doing so knowing that she’ll be vilified. But that she’d do so, fully aware that her entreaties to Weinstein would be aired in court, only makes what she’s doing more credible and commendable.”
Opinion of the Week
“The simple truth is that the city’s report looks like a whitewash.” — The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board on the city of Sacramento’s recently released “investigation,” in which the city cleared councilman Sean Loloee of any wrongdoing and attempted to silence claims that he does not live in his district — despite extensive evidence to the contrary.
Got thoughts? What would you like to see in this newsletter every week? Got a story tip or an opinion to tell the world? Let us know what you think about this email and our work in general by emailing us at any time via opinion@sacbee.com.
Stay spooky my friends,
Robin Epley
