" I would say from reading these everytime they come out that a certain race has a drinking and driving problem or they are being discriminated against by the police dept. "

" I didn't know being a drunk was a race... "

" I noticed not all those arrested are reported. If you look at the number of arrests (99) you will notice only 93 names are on the list. I am wondering what accounts for the difference. Perhaps the NVR staff can explain why they leave some names off the list. Otherwise, we are left to wonder about the bias of the NVR in not reporting news that hits a little too close to home or is uncomfortable to the editors. I am trying really hard here to be objective, and write a comment that is within the NVR guidelines, as my last three posts have been deleted for some reason... "

" donawwho - Not all who are arrested are convicted. NVR posts only those who have been convicted though I can hardly believe this "news" paper doesn't play personal politics. "

" As I understand it, donawwho, 99 were arrested but only 94 were found to be guilty or pleaded guilty. I have personally sat on alcohol related jurys where the "defendant" was attempting to prove their innocence. That could explain the discrepancy in numbers. Some of them may still be in the justice system. "

" most who were arrested in march will not have thier final court date for many weeks and if they fight and postpone maybe not for several months. Very few, if any, of the convictions from march were arrested in march unless they plead guilty at arraignment early in the month, sentencing is usually a seperate hearing a couple weeks after the verdict has been reached "

" It's really sad that this list never decreases in size month after month. What will it take for these people to learn? I say make the punishment even more harsh - our state needs money right? It's more fair for people making horrible decisions to pay rather than hard working citizens that obey the law like myself to pay for their mistakes. "

" Thanks to those who offered help on the numbers of names adding up to less than the stat's indicate. However,the convictions/plea still don't add up. We are either missing six arrestee's or one convicted name from the list.
We clearly have a disconnect. IF we are reporting the names of those CONVICTED or those who PLEADED guilty , then the total 94 should be reflected in the list of names, but only 93 names are listed. If we are listing the names of those simply arrested (and assumed innocent, yada yada...), then the number of names should be 99, again the 93 number does not add up.
So, if NVR is in fact reporting names only after a conviction/plea- not after an arrest, it should say so.
In the other parts of the paper we usually see SUSPECTS reported arrested, and their name goes in the paper on the basis of just the arrest. If it is true that NVR is applying a different standard to the DUI report, then they may want to consider at least adding a caption to the chart showing the names indicating the suspected drivers status as they weave their way through the wheels of justice.
Which brings back the question of the missing arrestee.
In some parts of the world arrestees can be "disappeared", that is one reason our founding fathers gave the press the right to know just who the police have taken away. But I am afraid here the PRESS has "disappeared" an arrest. (I hope she is safe).

Donna "

" I've been away since Friday afternoon so I did not see the conversation taking palce here.

We post the names only of those convicted ... in this month's the listed number is 94 but the chart only has 93 ... so I need to go back and see what I did when uploading the list of names to match up the totals.

I am already at home, though, so matching up the lists will take until morning.

Sorry for any confusion ... and for giving any fodder to the conspiracy theorists who, once again, are incorrect in their assumption(s)

--Dan "

" Dan, thanks for reporting back on the apparent mismatch between arrested and convicted. Sadly, a certain segment will usually reach for the conspiracy theory, despite what's put before them. Perhaps there aren't enough "juicy" names on the list for the voyeurs here to sink their teeth into. "

" Dan,
The Devil made you do it. -:) "

" OK, so what we know now is the list of names is correct at 93 ... one person was listed twice on the form we received and we correctly included him only one time.

What we need to still verify, however, is the proper reported blood alcohol level, as each listing for the person had a different count. If you add up the blood alcohol numbers, they equal 94 individuals now. This will be 93 once we verify the right number.

--Dan "

" dan- would that mean that person got two dui's in March? if so, that might make sense as to why the name is listed twice and the BAL's are different. Just a thought- i don't know how the report works. anyway, thanks for looking into the confusion for us. "

" Dan,
Thanks for your attention to the disparity.
Thought I was onto something big...
Gota admit, a good conspiracy would makes the day go faster...

Donna "

" Interesting discussion of semantics, but the important thing to realize is that these listed individuals flagrantly disregrded not only their personal safety and well being, but more importantly, that of the other drivers and passengers that happened to be in the vicinity of their drunk driving. What if one ofyour family members were severely injured or killed by their abuse? That is the real problem. Congratatuons to the police, sheriff and CHP deputies for trying to make a difference. All of us know at least one person who has a drinking or substance abuse problem. It is our responsibility to become involved. Witness the story on the front page of today's paper about the program at Vintage High: "every 15 minutes.) The stu faculty and administration are to be praised for their foresight in offering such a program, as are the the professional authorities who made both the grant and the actual program possible. Most of all, the students should be praised for their attention and thoughtfulness throughout the program demonstrated far more maturity than anyone who is listed as convicted of driving under the influence. Maybe we can all learn from them "

" OK, I was going to try and not comment about this ridiculous list, but tragedy compels me to once again SCREAM that we should also have a list for cell-phone users if we REALLY are making an effort to curtail impaired driving.

A guy I used to work with was involved in an accident a couple of days ago in Santa Rosa. He was hit by a driver who was apparently reaching for her cell phone and didn't see them stopped at a red light.

His five-year-old son died.

I heard nothing about whether the driver was drunk, so she won't get her name on any list. "

" The April 2009 DUI Report will publish online Monday morning "

" Thanks, Mr. Ross.

I will mention the death of my friend's son due to impaired cell-phone-driving in that list also.

When does the April 2009 Cell-Phone Conviction Report start ?

What will it take to start one ? The death ( I hope not- I'm not wishing that on anyone ) of a loved one or friend of the NVR staff ? How about we start one BEFORE that happens ?

Once again, I heard a CHP Officer state on TV that the #1 cause of accidents now is distracted driving. Studies have shown that drivers on a cell-phone are as impaired or more impaired than drunk drivers.

What is the NVR doing to combat the #1 cause of traffic accidents ? What is the NVR doing to shame the drivers that are as impaired as drunk drivers ?

Not much. "