Aug. 8 Daily News editorial

A great way to give back

A big thumbs up to Dan Rennells for helping the families of Bravo Battery personnel keep their yards nice and tidy during the local National Guard unit’s second deployment to Iraq. The full-time Longview firefighter and owner of Beyond Landscape maintained the lawns of three Bravo Battery families free of charge over the past six months.

“It’s no big deal for us,” Rennells told Daily News reporter Tyler Scott. “Sometimes you have the opportunity, and it doesn’t take too much time or money. It’s our way of giving back.”

We think the service Rennells and his employees provided these families is a big deal, and we’d bet the returning soldiers feel the same.

We would have preferred rain

Thumbs down: There’s not much to be gained from turning a thumbs down to the weather, we know. Mother Nature isn’t likely to take notice. But when the weather acts out in a way that ruins our parade — literally and figuratively — we’ll make an exception. The 100-plus degree temperatures that descended on this area during the week of the county fair prompted the first cancellation of the kids parade in over 80 years. The heat also dramatically depressed fair attendance.

The fair had been on a roll since opening the gates admission-free in 2006. Attendance jumped from 27,631 in 2005 to 51,127 in 2006, then increased to 56,474 in 2007 and 60,248 last year. It took a dive this year, to roughly 45,000. That’s thanks to a 105-degree opening day, followed by another 100-plus degree day, then two 90-plus degree days. Not nice, Mother Nature.

‘Downtown Live’

Thumbs up: They aren’t rolling up the streets at night in downtown Longview anymore — at least not on Friday nights. Daily News reporter Amy M.E. Fischer reports that every Friday night this month many Commerce Street stores and restaurants that normally closed around 5 p.m. will be staying open until 9 p.m. Blocks 1200, 1300 and 1400 of Commerce will be closed to vehicle traffic, merchants will have sidewalk sales and live bands will perform. There'll also be prize drawings and raffles.

It’s “Downtown Live,” an experiment organized by the Longview Downtowners and community stakeholders to demonstrate what the downtown are has to offer. Chances are it’ll be a successful experiment. As Downtowners President Dan Ouellette told Fischer, Longview’s downtown is “just really coming around.”

People deserve a real town hall

Thumbs down: The Columiban newspaper reported Thursday that Congressman Brian Baird has decided not to show up in person at a town hall meeting over the August recess. The Washington Democrat reportedly wants to avoid the loud, unruly groups that have been showing up at town halls of late to protest health-care reform efforts.

The Brian Baird we’ve seen at hundreds of town halls over the years wouldn’t fold his tent in the face of a few organized hecklers. Granted, there have been reports of some pretty bad behavior on the part of these groups. But it shouldn’t be anything Baird couldn’t handle in person, and Baird’s constituents deserve to hear directly from him. The congressman should reconsider.