« March 2008 | Main | May 2008 »
April 30, 2008
High Above
The view of Chico from high above isn't so bad. You can click on the image for a bigger view.
Today's Scrabble word is druse, a crust of small crystals lining a rock cavity.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)
April 29, 2008
John Garamendi
Lt. Governor John Garamendi is in Chico today.
Garamendi will be speaking at 1:30 pm at a press conference in the Free Speech Area near Meriam Library on the Chico State campus.
According to a press release:
“...Garamendi, and California education leaders representing nearly 10 million students, educators, and educational staff, will join forces to highlight the devastating effects of more than $5B in proposed state budget cuts for education. In Butte County, the current budget as proposed would translate into $628 less per pupil in the public school system and would restrict enrollment at CSU campuses at a time when the state is already struggling to meet workforce shortages.”
Other speakers at the press conference include Supervisor Jane Dolan; Esmeralda Campos, Director of Legislative Affairs, Associated Students, CSU Chico; Dean Murakami, Vice President, California Federation of Teachers; Les Jauron, Vice President, Information and Technology, Butte College; Kelly Staley, Superintendent, Chico Unified School District; Susan Green, California Faculty Association, President, CSU Chico; Paul Zingg, President CSU Chico
Our Republican state representatives – Assemblymembers Rick Keene and Doug LaMalfa, along with State Senator Sam Anaested – are conspicuously absent.
After the press conference, Garamendi is hosting a forum at 2 pm in Kendall Hall Room #207 to discuss state workforce issues.
In case you haven’t noticed, Garamendi is already campaigning for Governor to succeed Arnold Schwarzenegger. It will be a very crowded primary.
Today's Scrabble word is spume, or to foam.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (9)
April 28, 2008
Downtown Art
Mayor Andy Holcombe will officially dedicate the public art in the City Plaza this Thursday, May 1 from 5-6 pm.
The public arts work of Owen Gabbert, Elizabeth Devereaux and William EverOne will be recognized.
Gabbert created the copper and elm sculptures near the game tables. Devereaux designed the mosaic map and game tables. EverOne painted the trolley mural.
Downtown Chico is a much better place to live, work, and stroll because of its public art - whether our murals, downtown benches, or COBA-art pieces.
Today's Scrabble word is mense, or to do honor to.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:15 PM | Comments (4)
April 27, 2008
Passing Stansbury
This photo is a Chinese funeral procession passing the Stansbury house on 5th Street.
Image courtesy of James Snidle and Special Collections Dept. Meriam Library, CSU, Chico.
Today's Scrabble word is oyez, a cry used to introduce the opening of a court of law.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:03 PM | Comments (0)
April 26, 2008
Colbert Report
Stephen Colbert's show is the best on television.
Today's Scrabble word is glime, or to glance slyly.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:54 PM | Comments (0)
April 25, 2008
Critique
This is the current national Democratic Party ad critiquing John McCain.
People can debate the statistics, but overall the November election is about whether more American voters feel better about Iraq and the economy than they did four or eight years ago.
Will change continue to be the operative national political mood?
Interestingly, at the local level in Chico, the case for change needs to be made to thwart the re-election bids of Mayor Andy Holcombe and Vice-Mayor Ann Schwab.
Hard to make this case when Councilor Larry Wahl is also likely running for re-election.
Wahl has been the most vocal "dissenting" vote on many key issues over the past few years, but he's been primarily a lone vote.
Even Councilor Steve Bertagna, who is likely not running for re-election, has been voting with a 6-1 majority lately on some key issues related to development (Meriam Park) and development impact fees.
But as anyone paying attention to this City Council knows, there are a lot of differences among Councilors who people think would be ideological similar.
Today's Scrabble word is nom, or name.
Posted by dan_nt at 10:19 AM | Comments (0)
April 24, 2008
Tough Decisions
The City’s Finance Committee continues to grapple with potential budget cuts.
As I’ve written before, I support an across-the-board reduction in all City departments as City Manager Dave Burkland recommends.
Since police and fire departments represent the biggest share of General Fund personnel and operating costs, a 7.5% across-the-board cut represents the largest absolute dollar budget reduction.
It’s not an easy decision, but if police and/or fire department reductions are lessened – and for a good reason since public safety is paramount in the public eye – then bigger cuts must be made in other City departments to make up the difference.
There's a big trade-off in every budget reduction decision.
City Councilor Scott Gruendl was quoted in the E-R saying:
"None of this has been easy and I don't really enjoy being in a position where I'm pitting one department against another ... I don't think we will come out the other end happy.”
Come on Scott, enjoy it! Life is fun.
Okay, making budget cuts is really no fun. Ask the Chico Unified School District Board of Trustees, who also recently made some very painful preliminary budget cuts.
Gruendl is correct about "pitting one department against another." Or more specifically, pitting non-public safety departments against public safety departments.
The non-public safety City departments, which have significantly smaller General Fund operating budgets than police and fire departments, will need to make up the difference in absolute budget dollars by likely making 15% or more reductions in their budgets.
That’s likely what happens if the City Council does not implement an across-the-board cut to all City departments.
Today's Scrabble word is scabble, or to shape roughly.
Posted by dan_nt at 09:02 AM | Comments (0)
April 23, 2008
Pledged Delegates
This is not a new explanation for any Barack Obama supporter or realistic Hillary Clinton supporter, but at least Chuck Todd does a good job explaining basic pledged delegate math.
I guess the battle moves on to Indiana, North Carolina, Oregon, Kentucky, West Virginia, Puerto Rico, and others.
Clinton continues to hold hope that uncommitted superdelegates will overturn Obama's almost insurmountable pledged delegate lead, a move which would basically implode the Democratic Party.
Today's Scrabble word is crepy, or crinkly.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:17 AM | Comments (0)
April 22, 2008
E-Waste
This Friday and Saturday (April 25-26) you can take your electronic waste to the Silver Dollar Fair from 9 am-4 pm.
You can drop off the following items for recycling free of charge near the main entrance: TVs, monitors, computer towers, mice, keyboards, LCD screens, plasma screens, laptops, printers, copiers, faxes, calculators, speakers, and cell phones.
Items not accepted are batteries, light bulbs, microwaves, rubble from university building construction, and Mike Huckabee presidential campaign signs.
Okay, you can probably recycle the Huckabee campaign signs on your own.
Today's Scrabble word is et, the past tense of eat.
Posted by dan_nt at 02:42 PM | Comments (0)
April 21, 2008
BikeChico!
This coming Sunday is the annual Chico Velo Wildflower Century.
Among non-university events, I believe the Wildflower Century probably attracts the most visitors from outside the region for one single weekend. It's an unbelievably popular event bringing lots of tourist dollars to the region.
By the way, this year's Bike Chico! Week is May 11-17. Here is the BikeChico! Calendar.
You can also find an online listing here for Bike Chico! Week.
Today's Scrabble word is rex, an animal with a single wavy layer of hair.
Posted by dan_nt at 06:24 PM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2008
Eco-Friendly
These "pundits" are masterfully dead panning their suggestions on how to wage a more eco-friendly war in Iraq and to fight terrorists.
Today's Scrabble word is equites, a privileged military class of ancient Rome.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
April 19, 2008
$5
The cost of a gallon of gasoline is moving closer to the retail cost of a ChicoBag.
Local company ChicoBag continues to receive great national media coverage. ChicoBag was highlighted in a recent NPR story.
And someone pointed out that ChicoBag was shown in April 21, 2008 edition of People Magazine in a story about the plastic bag ban that several cities have implemented.
The City of Oakland plastic bag ban has stalled due to the plastic bag industry lobbying and lawsuit.
While I've advocated that the City of Chico and other local jurisdictions consider its own plastic bag ban, it's better to let the City of Oakland lawsuit unfold rather than inviting an industry lawsuit by passing a local plastic bag ban now.
Today's Scrabble word is kef, or hemp smoked to produce euphoria.
Posted by dan_nt at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2008
Baracky
This is a hilarious and entertaining video by filmmaker Michael Fox in support of Barack Obama.
The best grassroots videos during this Presidential season are the pro-Obama videos.
I watched some of this week's debate and I wholeheartedly agree that it was awful in terms of format and questions.
In reference to this week's debate, Obama made a great speech highlighting that it took 45 minutes until the moderators asked questions of substance.
While I still respect Hillary Clinton's contributions to civic life, I am joining the chorus of voters growing weary - and I guess somewhat "bitter" - of her attacks.
Even some of my friends who support Clinton over Obama are tired of her petty attacks.
The "Tonya Harding" strategy is not welcome. Apparently, many others agree with this assessment.
Today's Scrabble word is chichi, or elaborate ornamentation.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
April 17, 2008
David Letterman
Last night's Late Show with David Letterman cited the Chico E-R.
In Letterman's small town news segment, Letterman noted:
"The Enterprise-Record (Chico, California): 'A woman stopped for suspicion of driving under the influence badly failed a field sobriety test. She asked friend Jon Akerson to pick up the passengers from her vehicle. Akerson allegedly showed up inebriated and was also arrested.'
The Letterman citation apparently comes from this E-R local news brief from Hamilton City, which got picked up by a few other outlets.
I'm still disappointed the terrorizing goose story didn't get more widely circulated.
Today's Scrabble word is blet, a decay of fruit.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2008
Green
The Chico Beat broke an interesting story about the university possibly losing its LEED-certification for its new activity center due to the practices of one of its contractors.
This issue involving a contractor is certainly a wake-up call for all agencies to pay closer attention to contractors. I applaud Chico State's commitment to sustainability, especially initiatives launched over the last five years.
I think this issue is one setback among many good efforts by the university.
Today's Scrabble word is jink, to move quickly out of the way.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:32 PM | Comments (0)
April 15, 2008
PiratePalooza
This year's PiratePalooza ’08 will take place on April 18 at Manzanita Place (Elks Lodge). The event starts at 6 pm.
Tickets are $40 and can be purchased by calling ILSNC at 893-8527 or at the Independent Living Services of Northern California (ILSNC) office.
This is a great event for a great cause. Proceeds from the event fund ILSNC's efforts to assist individuals and families with disabilities to secure safe, affordable and accessible housing.
Some of the money raised also supports ILSNC's Nursing Home Transitions program, which enables people who are physically able to leave the nursing home – yet financially unable – to move into community living.
Today's Scrabble word is gout, or a metabolic disease.
Posted by dan_nt at 02:39 PM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2008
Foundations
It's great news about the new PVHS Foundation.
There's already a Chico High School Foundation established in 2003. And the Bidwell Jr. High School Foundation formed in 2005.
All of these foundations benefit from using the North Valley Community Foundation's fiscal and organizational umbrella.
Given the significant budgets cuts expected with our school districts, these foundations play an important role raising funds to augment teaching and learning in our schools.
It's impressive how many former teachers, staff, and administrators serve on the various organizational boards.
These educators - including Roger Williams, Alberta Simic, John Watson, Dick Cory, Ramona Flynn, Mike Rupp, Bob Cranston, and many others - continue to make a difference in the lives of the community's young people even during their retirement.
Today's Scrabble word is vaunt, or to brag.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
April 13, 2008
Delegates
Today Democrats throughout California participated in caucuses to determine pledged delegates to the national convention for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
In the 2nd Congressional District, Supervisor Jane Dolan and former Chico Mayor Mike McGinnis were selected as Clinton delegates with Redding Mayor Mary Stegall as an alternate.
Stegall deserves extra accolades since her supporters mainly came from Redding to Chico to vote.
Kim Durso and Ryan McElhinney were selected as Obama delegates. Durso has been incredibly active organizing for Obama in the region and McElhinney has been leading efforts to organize campus student chapters.
Congratulations to all of them for rallying supporters and working hard on behalf of their preferred candidates.
Fellow blogger Dan Carter gave the most energetic speech proclaiming that he had no chance of winning but sharing his enthusiasm for the high turnout at the Obama caucus.
Carter’s message was right on the mark. The real story, in my opinion, was the turnout. I heard over 490+ people cast votes in the Obama caucus, while over 220+ people voted in the Clinton caucus.
Many new Democrats are engaged in this election. It was quite common to hear people comment that this was their first Presidential election they’ve felt passionate about.
There’s still a significant Republican voter registration advantage in the 2nd Congressional District, but I still think Democrats are more passionate right now, even amidst a bitter Democratic primary, about this year’s Presidential election.
And this passion will translate well in November to help the Democratic challenger to Wally Herger and local candidates throughout the 2nd Congressional District.
Today's Scrabble word is var, a unit of reactive power.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:36 PM | Comments (0)
April 12, 2008
First Pitch
A few weeks ago President Bush elicited boos and cheers during his baseball opening pitch.
Not a bad pitch though - high, but at least he didn't let the ball hit the dirt.
Today's Scrabble word is ovally, or in the shape of an oval.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
April 11, 2008
Luke Skywalker
Even Luke Skywalker supports Barack Obama.
The force is strong with both actor Mark Hamill and Obama.
I'm waiting for John McCain to trot out his Darth Vader endorsement so we can see another epic duel between Skywalker and Vader as proxies for Obama and McCain.
I think Iraq is the Death Star.
Here's what General Petraeus had to say about our current situation in Iraq: "We haven't turned any corners, we haven't seen any lights at the end of the tunnel. The champagne bottle has been pushed to the back of the refrigerator."
E.J. Dionne's latest column on Iraq is right on the mark.
Here's Hamill during his younger years as Luke Skywalker.
Today's Scrabble word is adit, or an entrance.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
April 10, 2008
Cuts
The E-R’s headline on the City budget deliberations, “Potential police, fire reductions ‘painful,’” is absolutely true.
Any public safety budget reduction is painful.
But it’s also painful to reduce the budget for all the other City departments too – public works, planning, parks, city clerk, and many others.
That’s why I favor an across-the-board budget reduction for every department. Every department should experience a similar percentage cut to its budget.
Some might argue that an across-the-board budget cut is not targeted.
The argument is that public safety is so paramount that the police and fire departments should be valued more than other City departments.
Keep in mind that when we’re discussing projected budget deficits, we’re primarily talking about projected General Fund deficits.
The General Fund is money primarily used to pay personnel and department operating expenses.
Affordable housing projects, creekside greenway acquisitions, infrastructure and road projects tend be funded from others sources outside the General Fund.
I favor across-the-board cuts because I recognize the value of each City department making contributions to ensure an efficient delivery of government services, whether that means processing a planning permit or preparing public notices.
These City departments may not be as visible to the general public as public safety, but they’re valuable as well.
Councilor Larry Wahl said in the E-R:
"I don't like to see the cuts in public safety and I hope there's a way we can lessen, reduce them, or even drive them to zero. I'm not sure how we can do that without strangling other departments, so across-the-board cuts may be needed or we may have to hunt and peck, which can be difficult ... It's going to be a tightrope to walk."
He’s right. No one gladly wants to make cuts in public safety.
But if the public safety budget remains relatively untouched given that public safety constitutes the largest General Fund expenditure, then other departments will suffer disproportionately.
Today’s Scrabble word is tor, a high, craggy hill.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:29 AM | Comments (0)
April 09, 2008
No Services
The City Council’s Internal Affairs Committee comprised of Vice-Mayor Ann Schwab, Councilor Tom Nickell, and Councilor Steve Bertagna made a wise decision to take a pass on the request by the Mechoopda tribe to consider providing public safety services to the proposed casino off of Highway 149.
Some Councilors, based on past public statements, seemed to be open to at least considering providing public safety services.
But in the end, it was clear to the Internal Affairs Committee that the City of Chico had no business providing services miles outside of the City limits in light of demands by city residents for existing services.
It's hard to imagine any City Councilor making a strong case different than the unanimous Internal Affairs Committee.
It helped that City Manager Dave Burkland strongly recommended that the City not pursue discussions with the Mechoopda tribe on this issue, especially in light of the County’s decision to litigate.
Councilor Nickell, a strong opponent of the proposed casino, openly questions why the Mechoopda tribe wants to allow a Las Vegas developer to build a casino on environmentally sensitive aquifer recharge land.
If the City of Chico refuses to provide public safety services to the casino, along with the County’s refusal, I have no idea about the options to provide services.
Either the City of Oroville needs to step up, or a federal ruling mandates that the County must provide services, or the tribe must pay for and train its own public safety personnel.
I’m not sure what other options can be pursued to provide public safety response to the proposed casino.
Today’s Scrabble word is azan, a Muslim call to prayer.
Posted by dan_nt at 10:28 PM | Comments (0)
April 08, 2008
Victory Path
This is a hilarious video pointing out the challenges Hillary Clinton faces to win the Democratic nomination.
As I've mentioned many times before, I respect Clinton but this race has been over for many weeks.
The only way Clinton wins is if Obama's campaign completely implodes, uncommitted supedelegates create havoc within the Democratic Party, or if Michigan and Florida delegates are awarded unfairly to her.
Today's Scrabble word is herl, a feathered fishing lure.
Posted by dan_nt at 10:04 PM | Comments (0)
April 07, 2008
Bad to Worse
The McCain Girls go from bad to worse. We started with "Raining McCain." And now we've got "Here Comes McCain Again."
I'm eagerly awaiting the McCain Girls' rendition of "Purple McCain" or "I'm Singing in McCain."
By the way, here's the original Eurythmics video:
Today's Scrabble word is trigo, or wheat.
Posted by dan_nt at 09:42 AM | Comments (0)
April 06, 2008
Disc Golf
David Little's latest column "A Little civil disobedience" is hilarious.
After Little and his buddies "Lon" and "Gregg" play disc golf on Comanche Creek and Bidwell Ranch, they should also try a makeshift disc golf course at the Wal-Mart parking lot.
There are plenty of moving and standing targets where a supercenter expansion is proposed.
After playing on the "Always Low Priced" disc golf course, they can then play on the site of the proposed Mechoopda casino project, followed by a game of poker and drinks.
Today's Scrabble word is trig, or neat.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:53 PM | Comments (2)
April 05, 2008
Speed Limit
There's been a lot of front page news about vehicular accidents.
Speeding is one of the primary cause of accidents. But what happens if people actually drive the speed limit?
This old video turns that question into an absurd experiment.
It's too bad Tom Nickell wasn't patrolling this highway back then. He would have told these kids to drive the speed limit, but not in a blockade formation.
Today's Scrabble word is ginny, or affected with gin.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2008
Collision
We all hope the Chico High student bicyclist recovers from his serious head injuries.
The circumstances of this accident are unreported in terms of fault.
On the same day of this accident I received this email photo from a friend's trip to Paris showing how to more clearly show the bicycle right of way on pavement.
And below is a video showing a novel way, particularly in high traffic areas like NYC, to move parking spots away from the sidewalk to create a buffer between moving vehicles and bike lanes/sidewalks.
Today's Scrabble word is honda, or a part of a lariat.
Posted by dan_nt at 03:49 PM | Comments (0)
April 03, 2008
Metrics
This blog entry is hilarious for political junkies closely following the Democratic primary between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Clinton keeps spinning the metrics of how the public should continue to view the “horse race” and Cameron Fredman skewers the situation in his blog “Five ways Clinton leads Obama.”
Obama continues his campaign fundraising prowess with his $40 million haul in March.
The only way Clinton wins with her "new math" is for Obama's campaign to completely implode leading her to miraculously win the popular vote, along with some crazy recognition of the Flordia and Michigan contests, and thereby persuading enough superdelegates to cast their vote in her favor.
I respect Clinton’s achievements and service, but it’s time to rally behind Obama. I cannot wait to see Obama debate John McCain, instead of imagining a McCain versus McCain debate.
The contrast between Obama and McCain will be stark. Change vs. McSame. Future vs. Past. Hope vs. Crotchety.
Unnecessary tax breaks for the 1% or investments in affordable health care and public education. One hundred more years in Iraq or an end to the perceived American occupying military force in Iraq.
In the meantime, enjoy McCain's biographical tour:
Today's Scrabble word is orzo, a rice-shaped pasta.
Posted by dan_nt at 02:19 PM | Comments (1)
April 02, 2008
Bollards
Building and Development Services Director Fritz McKinley wrote a concise, thoughtful summary of the issues surrounding the use of bollards in the City.
McKinley essentially proposes a review of all bollards on a case-by-case basis. He recommends implementing a flexible bollard on the new Sycamore Creek Bike Path.
McKinley does not recommend hiring the Muppets as consultants to compile the database of all City bollards.
Today's Scrabble word is bod, or a body.
Posted by dan_nt at 10:31 AM | Comments (0)
April 01, 2008
Surprising News
Already several potential City Council candidates are preparing their 2008 campaigns.
It’s been widely expected that both Mayor Andy Holcombe, Vice-Mayor Ann Schwab, and Councilor Larry Wahl intend to run for re-election this year.
Their colleague Councilor Steve Bertagna is unlikely to seek a fourth term.
Yet to the surprise of his friends and supporters, Mayor Holcombe announced today that he won’t seek re-election.
Holcombe issued the following short statement:
“I am tired of having lunch with Evan Tuchinsky.”
Holcombe further added:
“By announcing my intentions early, I want to prepare for an orderly leadership transition that can never been accused of being disorderly under the new disorderly events ordinance language. Without a City Council campaign to plan this year, I can now dedicate myself to preparing for this summer's National Scrabble Championship in Orlando, Florida. April 1 is the day I begin my Scrabble march towards victory in Orlando."
Today's Scrabble word is chott, a saline lake.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (3)