The Sacramento Bee from Sacramento, California • B10

10B SACRAMENTO BEE TUESDAY MARCH 26 2024 Opinion Call 916-321-1096 to comment on the opinion pages CUSTOMER SERVICE 800-284-3233 or COLLEEN McCAIN NELSON Executive Editor MARCOS California Opinion Editor ROBIN EPLEY Opinion writer ANTONIO HILL Opinion writer TOM PHILP Editorial writer HANNAH HOLZER Op-Ed Editor Opinion content from syndicated sources may be trimmed to fit available space. Sending a letter Include your name, ad- dress and phone number. Letters should be limited to 150 words and will be edited. Online form sacbee.com/submit-letter More letters and discussions at sacbee.com/letters-to-the-editor We are delighted that LeBron Antonio Hill joins The Sacramento Bee Editorial board today as a columnist and editorial writer. A thoughtful and compassionate writer, Hill is a native of the great state of Tennessee, where he established himself as a distinctive voice during the last five years as an opinion journalist.

Hill, 29, was most re- cently the editor of the opinion page at the Chat- tanooga Times Free Press. There, he wrote eloquently about the di- chotomy of a Tennessee governor who increases funding for public educa- tion but plays politics with the curriculum. He has demonstrated the in- stincts of an investigative reporter by writing crit- ically about a publicly financed ballpark in Chat- tanooga. One of his most notable pieces came with this headline: denounce white suprema- cy only when it also celebrated Ten- national parks and has written about Taylor Swift and TikTok. Hill will work alongside Bee opinion writers Robin Epley, Tom Philp and our op-ed editor, Hannah Holzer.

He will also be a part of Cali- fornia Opinion team, which includes Tad Weber, opinion editor of The Fresno Bee and Stephanie Finucane, opin- ion editor of the San Luis Obispo Tribune. byline will also appear in the Merced Sun-Star and Modesto Bee. thrilled LeBron is joining our talented Sacramento opinion said Peter St. Onge, national opinion editor at McClatchy. bring another pow- erful voice and thoughtful perspective to the urgent, local opinion journalism Bee readers get each Hill began his career in 2019 as a columnist and editor with the Nashville Tennessean.

He was also the lead curator of Black Tennessee Voices, an initiative to reflect Nash- Black community in the pages of the Ten- nessean. super excited that my career has taken me to Hill said. I graduated from Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2019, The Bee was the first place I applied. I get the job, but fulfilling to have a full circle moment now by getting to work on such a great Hill has been an opin- ion editor at the Memphis Commercial Appeal and a contributor for USA To- day. He has won writing awards from the Ten- nessee Press Association and the Online News Association.

given my perspec- tive on many issues that have come through Ten- nessee, from the police killing of Memphian Tyre Nichols to the mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville where three adults and three children were murdered. Those devastating trage- dies sparked a fire in Tennesseans across the state to seek change, and I was lucky enough to capture that desire in my Hill joins our team months ahead of a presi- dential election, as Cali- fornia legislators begin debating reparations for the descendants of slav- ery, as the city of Sacra- mento considers who should be our next mayor and as our region experi- ences booming growth, political change and eco- nomic challenges. happy to welcome LeBron to our editorial board, and eager for him to share his thought- provoking, incisive com- mentary with our read- said Colleen McCain Nelson, executive editor of The Sacramento Bee. are fortunate to have such a talented team of columnists and editorial writers at The Bee, and arrival under- scores our commitment to delivering high-impact local opinion journalism that Sacramentans find anywhere Hill will relocate to Sacramento in April, mak- ing him part of a signif- icant influx of new residents reshaping our community. is a city that looking forward to calling home.

I believe the best way to write opinions is to keep every opinion in mind. Listen- ing to our fellow Sacra- mentans is how we best represent our communi- ties, and so I encourage you to get a cup of coffee with me and share what you think are important issues in the city, state and region. make Sacramento better, to- Marcos 916-321-1096, The Sacramento Bee hires a distinctive new columnist BY MARCOS This year, we are once again facing an election that will define the future of American democracy one in which we must choose between unity and division, between hope and chaos. a choice that faced once before, and a choice that we cannot afford to get wrong. Democrats have spoken, and President Joe Biden clinched the 1,968 pledged delegates to be- come the Democratic presumptive nomi- nee for president of the United States.

ar- rived at this moment be- cause millions of Amer- icans made their voices heard, putting their faith in vision of free- dom and progress. As Democrats across the nation continue to show overwhelming support for the Biden-Harris ticket, our focus now shifts to the next stage of the demo- cratic process: preparing for the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. This August, delegates from every U.S. state and territory will convene to formally nomi- nate Biden and Kamala Harris as Democratic nominees for president and vice president. As we come together as a party, we will also have an op- portunity to tell our story to the American people.

a story of resilience, possibility and progress. Chicago is the perfect place to tell this story. Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, seen what makes this city great. I spent my childhood in public schools and with my con- gregation at Third Baptist Church. Watching civil servants such as Mayor Harold Washington and working for trailblazers such as the Rev.

Jesse Jackson instilled in me the values of hard work and service. When I look around Chicago, I see the story of America, and when Dem- ocrats across the country gather here this summer, I know see it, too. see the diversity that makes our party and our country great, walk the streets built by union labor and see Biden-Harris investments in action. As we build the convention stage, bring that same story to all of America. The Biden-Harris ad- ministration has shown us that progress just possible, necessary and devoted their first term to delivering results for the American people.

Since taking of- fice, the president has signed more than 400 bipartisan bills, working to, among other things, curb gun violence, rebuild our crumbling infrastruc- ture and expand health care for veterans. Even on issues in which Repub- licans stood in the way, the president and congres- sional Democrats pressed forward, taking vital ac- tion to lower health care and prescription drug costs, tackle the climate crisis, forgive student debt and so much more. These are popular policies mak- ing a big difference in the lives of the American people. In August, we will put faces and names to people across America who have benefited from the Biden-Harris record and have a stake in this next election. While Democrats are focused on delivering results for middle-class families, extreme MAGA Republicans have made it clear that if given the opportunity, they will undo the progress made under leadership.

threatened to roll back the clock on key issues such as health care, reproductive freedom and gun safety because they care more about scoring political points than ad- dressing the issues affect- ing American families. As these Republicans contin- ue to wage war on our freedoms, Democrats will use this convention as an opportunity to un- derscore how the future of democracy at home and abroad is on the line. With the eyes of the American people turned to Chicago, the convention will offer a contrast between two competing visions for America: one guided by hope and progress and one motivated by a desire for political retribution. Biden made this case this month in his State of the Union address. As we face yet another battle for the soul of our nation, the Democratic National Convention will show the world why a mistake to bet against America and a mistake to bet against Biden.

We will build the stage where Bi- den and Harris will accept the nomination, but we are setting the stage for some- thing much bigger: electing Democrats up and down the ballot across the coun- try so that we can build on our progress and finish the job. Minyon Moore is the chair of the Democratic National Convention. DNC chair: convention will tell the Biden-Harris story BY MINYON MOORE Chicago Tribune BRIAN CASSELLA Chicago The convention logo is displayed while representatives for the Democratic National Convention hold a media walkthrough on Jan. 18 at the United Center in Chicago. The convention will be in August.

Updated COVID guide- lines merely confirm what we knew long ago Amer- icans are in the accep- tance phase of living with the virus. Regardless of recommendations from experts, dealing with a virus that is here to stay requires common sense and common courtesy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month eased guide- lines for those who have tested positive for COVID. After previously recom- mending five days of iso- lation after testing posi- tive, the CDC now urges people to stay home until their fever has disap- peared for at least 24 hours. Officials also have broadened those recom- mendations to apply uni- versally for COVID, influ- enza and respiratory syn- cytial virus.

remains an important public health officials said, it is no longer the emer- gency that it once was, and its health impacts increasingly resemble those of other respiratory viral The Washington State Department of Health also issued new guidelines echoing the CDC changes. Like the federal agency, it stressed that those most at risk for developing severe complications should take extra precautions. As Dr. Tao Sheng Kwan- Gett, chief science officer, said: life is return- ing to normal in many ways, we must remember that for many in our com- munity with chronic con- ditions and weakened immune systems, respira- tory virus infections such as COVID-19, flu and RSV remain a deadly Indeed, none of this means that COVID has disappeared. As a health department spokeswoman said: important to remember that though COVID-19 activity is de- creasing, more than a dozen people in Washing- ton lose their lives to CO- VID-19 each But it does mean that health officials have rec- ognized the reality that most Americans long ago returned to their daily lives.

Four years ago, the prospect of such a devel- opment seemed far- fetched. A previously unknown virus landed in the United States after originating in China, and severe symptoms and fatalities occurred at high rates. Businesses and schools in many states including Washington were closed in an attempt to stem the spread of the disease. President Donald Trump, after calling COVID a and insisting it would publicly speculated about injecting disinfectants to kill the virus. (Public serv- ice announcement: That is not a good idea).

administration also oversaw the rapid development of vaccines, which have proven to be safe and largely effective. Through all this, COVID and vaccines became fod- der for heated debates that both reflected and exacer- bated political divides. Meanwhile, throughout the pandemic, Washington has ranked among the states with the lowest rates of COVID infections and deaths. While The Colum- Editorial Board has criticized Gov. Jay Inslee for not involving legislators in setting COVID policy once the initial emergency had passed, his decisions saved the lives of Washing- tonians.

Amid that, updated guidelines provide sugges- tions for how we can live with the virus. That is where common sense and common courtesy come into play. Health officials stress that even if symptoms appear to have improved, people recovering from infection can remain con- tagious; hand-washing and physical distancing are warranted, and the CDC recommends the wearing of masks for a time after exposure. Although our reaction to COVID has evolved over the past four years, we still are all in this together. For COVID, use common sense and courtesy The Columbian, Vancouver, Editorial.