Commentary by Samuel Strait – March 24, 2023 Having attended most Board Of Supervisor meetings for some time, there are almost certain "givens" when listening to Board members over the course of time. What has become evident over the past couple of years is the inevitability of District Two's Supervisor, Valerie Starkey, and her penchant to become involved in an obsessive fashion with anything related to the local youth. Most often her advocacy is directed towards, applying government solutions to problems, problems that should be left to parents, or in many cases the simple notion that the youth must be allowed the room to make mistakes early in life in order to learn from them for the future. Somehow she has the notion that to "fix" some societal problem the only solution is for her to bring the power of the bureaucracy to bear. The idea that when she says, "we have to do something", quite often the best solution is to do nothing. Clearly the concept that young people must be allowed the freedom to begin the process of learning how to make correct decisions before they can become an adult has escaped her. Not all parenting is a matter of "words of wisdom" from some higher authority. Young people are more likely to learn from the poor decisions made when they become invested in finding solutions for their failures. Recently, at a Board of Supervisor's meeting, and now at the City's Council meeting, Supervisor Starkey became involved, as she was with the County, in advocating for retail licenses for the sale of tobacco products. The intent being the inclusion of vaping products as well. Clearly Supervisor Starkey is not hearing the chorus when they say that for nearly all cases, young adults do not get their tobacco or vaping products from retail outlets, making any such ordinance immaterial and a pointless burden on local businesses. Smoking or vaping is not something anyone can do much about. I'm sure Ms. Starkey would be horrified to learn that as a child growing up, tobacco products, for the steep price of a quarter, could be purchased from a vending machine suitably attired with prohibitions from purchase due to age. Compared to that era of tobacco use, the world has come a long ways. Needless to say, Del Norte County's "Helicopter Mom" is unlikely to change her ways in any substantive fashion and the young adults when faced with difficult decisions growing up will be ill equipped to become functional. Sad to say, that more often than not many youth learn valuable lessons from their failures that pay dividends towards their futures, something smothering with "good" intentions does not accomplish. Of course Supervisor Starkey's good intention do not focus merely on the "youth" of our community, and is well represented in many other forms of the County's business. Clearly her time yoked to California's probation system for many years has created a certain blindness to limited government and the cost to the citizens she is meant to serve. According to the documents that formed this great nation, governance was to be minimalist in nature and not the monstrosity it has become. Just the burden of local taxes make for many a struggle. Senseless and useless ordinances and licenses do not ease that burden. What made this Country grow and proper did not include Helicopter Moms or the "nanny state" that government at all levels has become. For centuries through out history great civilizations have come and gone, mostly because governments became "too" oppressive. Perhaps it is time to learn that lesson before 2025 comes around when the latest "forecast" by the United Nations has us all "doomed" by "Climate Change".