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May 31, 2008
Promo
Chris Voth is a talented comedian who grew up in Chico. Voth has appeared on recent promo spots for NBC's Last Comic Standing.
He calls himself a "three-time loser" based on his experience from the show. But those of us familiar with his comedy know he's hilarious and funnier than most of the other comedians.
Voth has an interesting blog entry on his latest experience with the show.
It's too bad we won't get to see him more on the show.
For some of Voth's highlights from past shows, check out:
Today's Scrabble word is gomer, an undesirable hospital patient.
Posted by dan_nt at 02:46 PM | Comments (0)
May 30, 2008
Terrorists
I've never been a fan of columnist Michelle Malkin. She rails against political correctness yet she espouses even worst demagoguery with her criticism of Dunkin' Donuts.
I don't know what's worse - Malkin or Dunkin' Donuts' decision to pull its ads with Rachel Ray.
This controversy makes me wonder what type of shoes Richard Reid - aka "the shoe bomber" - was wearing because we all should avoid promoting terrorism by wearing similar shoes.
Or maybe we shouldn't wear hooded sweatshirts like the Unabomber because that would be promoting domestic terrorism.
Today's Scrabble word is bute, a drug for treating arthritis.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:29 PM | Comments (0)
May 29, 2008
Budget Battle
The state budget fight is intensifying with Democratic and Republican legislators at odds over some major budget cuts.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger keeps talking about California's spending problem, but if that was the only problem he wouldn't be proposing to borrow against future gambling revenue.
Of course, Schwarzenegger could support reinstating the vehicle license registration fee ("car tax") to generate billions in revenue instead of pushing for more borrowing or cutting education and health programs.
If you think you can do better than the Governor or our state legislators, take the California Budget Challenge.
Today's Scrabble word is rachis, or the spinal column.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
May 28, 2008
Bus Shelters
Cool. Maybe we'll see more ads like the one above on Chico's bus shelters so we're all reminded that sex sells and consumerism prevails.
I'm sure the City through the Butte County Association of Governments (BCAG) will develop general guidelines of appropriate commercial ads on public bus shelters.
I'm assuming tobacco or alcohol-related ads may not be appropriate on public bus shelters.
But what about casino gambling ads? I've seen casino ads in Sacramento bus shelters targeting specific demographics.
And what about those "tasteful" American Apparel ads? Will we see similar ads on our bus shelters?
It will be interesting to read the the guidelines of what constitutes "tasteful" for ads on public bus shelters. I prefer the spoof ads from Adbusters.
Today's Scrabble word is agee, or to one side.
Posted by dan_nt at 01:01 PM | Comments (0)
May 27, 2008
Butte Creek
The efforts by Friends of Butte Creek were featured in yesterday's SF Chronicle front page article "Salmon resurgence in Butte County."
Friends of Butte Creek Executive Director Allen Harthorn and others have done amazing restoration work over many years.
In past years, I've seen the salmon runs near Harthorn's home and other parts of Butte Creek. I'm always blown away by the beauty of seeing salmon spawning and thriving in the lovely Butte Creek setting.
Included is a video and photo taken by Harthorn:
Today's Scrabble word is agave, a tropical plant.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
May 26, 2008
Veterans Bill
Leading up to Memorial Day, it's fitting that the country and our national leaders debated the current G.I. Bill of Rights drafted by Senators Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel.
The proposed new G.I. Bill of Rights would expand benefits for veterans to attend college.
The Senate voted 75-22 to provide a veto-proof majority since President Bush has threatened to veto the bill, but will need to reconcile its bill version with the House of Representatives.
As the NY Times editorialized:
"Mr. Bush — and, to his great discredit, Senator John McCain — have argued against a better G.I. Bill, for the worst reasons. They would prefer that college benefits for service members remain just mediocre enough that people in uniform are more likely to stay put. They have seized on a prediction by the Congressional Budget Office that new, better benefits would decrease re-enlistments by 16 percent, which sounds ominous if you are trying — as Mr. Bush and Mr. McCain are — to defend a never-ending war at a time when extended tours of duty have sapped morale and strained recruiting to the breaking point. Their reasoning is flawed since the C.B.O. has also predicted that the bill would offset the re-enlistment decline by increasing new recruits — by 16 percent."
As the Sacramento Bee opined:
"Webb's bill would create benefits that mirror the college and job training benefits provided to returning soldiers after World War II. The benefits would cover the cost of in-state public college fees and provide a stipend for housing and books. The cost: $2 billion a year. That's less than one week of the Iraq war."
McCain and Bush are concerned about retention in the armed forces.
McCain and Bush make a simple but flawed argument: We want to be generous, but not too generous for our veterans.
If the benefits are too generous, especially for those who only enlist once or a few times, then more people might choose to leave the military as a result of better education incentives.
But as others have pointed out, better education benefits will also lead to greater enlistment numbers.
Today's Scrabble word is to dawed, or to dawn.
Posted by dan_nt at 02:29 PM | Comments (0)
May 25, 2008
Innovating Now?
Kudos to 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary candidates Jeff Morris and John Jacobson for campaigning hard over the past few months and articulating a strong message for change vis-à-vis incumbent Wally Herger.
Even the E-R editors, who have endorsed Herger over the past decade or longer, recognize that “Herger won't have a cakewalk.”
The E-R editors wrote:
”Herger usually barely needs to campaign. He can avoid most voters forums and ignore most of the many questionnaires he receives. He probably forgot what it's like to give a campaign speech. He'd better start practicing.
This follows the last election cycle editorial when the E-R editors wrote that “As Herger seeks an 11th two-year term, we're concerned he has lost the drive to innovate."
I think two years ago one example of why the E-R questioned Herger’s drive to innovate is that he didn’t even have a functioning campaign website one week before the election.
At the very least, having a formidable Democratic challenger to Herger forces a good debate in the district about the direction of this country.
Despite the poise and ideas brought forth by either Morris or Jacobson, it’s hard for me to imagine the E-R endorsing a Democrat in the general election, despite the E-R’s past concerns about Herger’s positions on torture, federal surveillance, and environmental protection.
But perhaps the E-R editors might consider a “no endorsement” as a acknowledgement that Herger’s rubber stamp of President Bush’s policies over the past eight years has been, for the most part, a disaster in terms of foreign policy and economic policies (unless you represent the wealthiest 1% of Americans making more than $400,000 per year).
A "no endorsement" is unlikely to happen, but elections are sometimes about surprises.
Today’s Scrabble word is bey, a Turkish ruler.
Posted by dan_nt at 10:13 AM | Comments (1)
May 24, 2008
The Shining
This is one of my favorite videos taking clips from the horror film The Shining and turning them into a trailer for an entirely different type of movie.
Today's Scrabble word is fico, something of little worth.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:57 PM | Comments (0)
May 23, 2008
Game Over
This video is dedicated to District 4 Supervisor candidate Mark Jensen.
Today's Scrabble word is cuprite, or an ore of copper.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
May 22, 2008
Cuts
I think a majority of the City Council made the right decision this past week to recommend a 7.5% across-the-board budget reduction in all City departments.
This was not an easy decision. I’ve advocated for an across-the-board cut in the past.
But since police and fire departments represent the largest General Fund expenditures, a public safety reduction of only 5% would be tantamount to other City departments taking a 12.5% or more reduction to off-set a lower public safety cut.
Councilor Mary Flynn is correct, as reported in the News & Review:
“I’ve been thinking about that a lot,” Flynn said, “and one of the things that occurred to me is services provided by the police and fire departments are very visible, but services provided by General Services [i.e. public works] are more … opaque. That’s one thing the survey hasn’t been able to capture.”
Many citizens don’t realize the essential services other City departments provide that are not entirely visible.
Less employees in the City Clerk’s office means less responsiveness to public requests for government information. Less employees in the Building Department means the permitting process may slow down.
And less employees in Public Works means that pothole gets fixed in a less timely manner.
Public safety is a top priority, but those departments must share in the burden to help balance the City’s budget.
As for Councilor Larry Wahl, the News & Review reported:
“Wahl characteristically dissented, rolling out a list of other ideas: pay reductions, outsourcing, scheduling and overtime changes, and a two-tiered compensation system. “Unless we’ve addressed those things, we haven’t done our job,” concluded Wahl, the Finance Committee’s lone conservative.”
This is very typical of Wahl, who has served on the Finance Committee for close to eight years.
For over a year, the Finance Committee has deliberated these tough budget issues and Wahl rarely offers any constructive solutions or concrete suggestions.
In short, if Wahl wants the Council to do their job, he should start with himself by more actively participating in Finance Committee meetings with some concrete suggestions.
Offering budget balancing ideas during a Council meeting after over a year of Finance Committee deliberations is rarely helpful, especially if you're one of three Councilors sitting on the Finance Committee.
If you ever attend these monthly Finance Committee meetings, you’ll see other Councilors and City staff trying to work through difficult issues. Wahl rarely offers any constructive ideas, even when other Councilors on the Finance Committee directly ask him if he has a better idea to solve a thorny budget or finance issue.
Typically many Finance Committee meetings will go by without any feedback from Wahl and then he ends up voting “no” at the last minute and comes up with “reasons” why he’s dissenting, even though he’s had months if not years to offer a better solution.
It's easy to vote "no," but it's hard to actually offer alternative solutions when they matter - like during Finance Committee meetings when three Finance Committee-appointed Councilors work with City staff to grapple with tough issues and eventually make recommendations to the rest of the City Council.
Today’s Scrabble word is prithee, used to express a wish or request.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:52 PM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2008
Self-Deprecation
There's The Real John McCain and the self-deprecating John McCain. Above is the somewhat funny McCain.
Today's Scrabble word is dipt, the past tense of dip.
Posted by dan_nt at 02:49 PM | Comments (0)
May 20, 2008
Wine Tasting
Today's Scrabble word is zuz, an ancient Hebrew silver coin.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
May 19, 2008
Shubert's
You have to be living under a rock to avoid knowing that Shubert's Ice Cream is in the running for "Best Scoops In America" as part of Good Morning America's contest.
I'm getting so many emails from friends who are Shubert's Ice Cream fans that I'm starting to think that these emails have reached legendary viral status.
I suspect this week I will receive more unsolicited emails about voting for Shubert's than I will receive random emails inviting me to invest in an African bank or meet someone named AleXXXa on some porn site.
Someone with an alias hidebb posted this online comment on ABC News website:
"SHUBERT’S Ice Cream is located in the heart of Chico, California. In a town of over 100,000, Chico has maintained the small-town feel through the years. We still have farmers markets and concerts in the park. While other towns in America lost their original downtown areas to the malls in the 1970's, Chico's downtown has remained healthy and vibrant, thanks to businesses like Shubert’s. On a Thursday or Friday night, business leaders and college students, street musicians and teenagers: the young, the rich, the old, the poor, all gather together as family. And a favorite stop is Shubert’s Ice Cream. When you walk through downtown Chico, ice cream cone in hand, people still smile and say "hello." When asked about their town, Chico residents will go on and on about our wonderful city. Chico is a place people love to call home, and small businesses like Shubert’s are one of the reasons."
That's a great description of Shubert's and Chico in general.
By the way, Shubert's is celebrating its 70th anniversary on Sunday, May 25 from 11 am-3 pm when you can get cones for only $1.
At 3 am on May 25, you can join the Shubert's crew for the Good Morning America Weekend live broadcast when the "Best Scoops in America" winner will be announced.
Today's Scrabble word is trundle, to propel by causing to rotate.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:50 AM | Comments (0)
May 18, 2008
Real McCain 2
Brave New Films has been producing some of the best, most insightful political videos using old footage to highlight John McCain's inconsistencies.
Today's Scrabble word is zenana, the section of a house in India reserved for women.
Posted by dan_nt at 07:31 PM | Comments (1)
May 17, 2008
Frankly...
Dana Milbank from The Washington Post put together this hilarious list of phrases and their true meanings.
A few of my favorites:
We have full confidence in his integrity.
We will cut him loose by nightfall.
The president has always said …
The president is announcing a new position.
I don’t pay attention to the polls.
My job-approval rating is 32 percent.
By the way, President Bush's approval rating is down to 31%.
Today's Scrabble word is ruana, a woolen poncho.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:54 PM | Comments (7)
May 16, 2008
Marriage Ruling
I wonder how busy Butte County Clerk Candace Grubbs and her staff will be issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
The California Supreme Court made a historic ruling this past Thursday to overturn a ban on same-sex marriage supported by voters in 2004.
California voters will likely weigh in on a proposed constitutional amendment on same-sex marriage in November of this year.
I think California voters will reject a constitutional amendment. Younger voter turnout will be high during a Presidential election year and an increasing number of young voters likely support same-sex marriage.
Today's Scrabble word is gee, to turn to the right.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:34 PM | Comments (6)
May 15, 2008
Bill O'Reilly
Warning: Foul language.
I'm sure Bill O'Reilly is a nice guy off-camera. Or not.
Maybe O'Reilly has received better parenting to handle temper tantrums since his Inside Edition days.
UPDATE: Here is the Stephen Colbert's video Chuckles refers to in the comment section. Hilarious.
Today's Scrabble word is naif, a naive person.
Posted by dan_nt at 10:49 AM | Comments (4)
May 14, 2008
Scrabble Satire
The Onion article ""Boyfriend Keeps Bringing Up Scrabble Victory" can only be fully appreciated by Scrabble geeks.
I've learned there are many closet Scrabble geeks out there. Very few are willing to admit it.
My favorite line: "He works the word 'esteemed' into conversation whenever possible and then says, 'Gee, I really like that word 'esteemed,'" Vanderploeg said. "He was so proud that he'd used up those four e's in one word and used all seven tiles."
Today's Scrabble word is cuprum, or copper.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:08 PM | Comments (0)
May 13, 2008
Wedding
The Daily Show celebrates a beautiful weekend event.
By the way, check out Jon Stewart's full interview of Douglas Feith, who was Under Secretary of Defense for Policy in the run-up to the Iraq War.
Wikipedia has a good summary of critiques of Douglas Feith by some of his former colleagues.
Today's Scrabble word is paca, a large rodent.
Posted by dan_nt at 09:09 AM | Comments (0)
May 12, 2008
Upcoming Forums
The League of Women Voters of Butte County has organized the following slate of candidate forums in anticipation for the June 3 primary election. I've added a few editorial comments.
May 15th from 7-8:30 pm
Supervisor District 1: Bill Connelly, Gordon Andoe
Media Panel: Roger Aylworth, Matt Ray, Mary Weston
Location: County Board of Supervisors Chambers, 25 County Center Drive, Oroville
The race between Connelly and Andoe pits "city" versus "county" interests. Connelly has upset a significant City of Oroville constituency with a few votes, but it's unclear whether that's enough to swing the election to Andoe, who previously lost his re-election campaign for Oroville Mayor.
May 19th from 7-9 p.m.
U.S. Congress (House of Reps) District 2: Jeff Morris, John Jacobson, A. J. Sekhon
CA State Assembly, District 3: Sue Horne, Dan Logue
Media Panel: Larry Mitchell, Evan Tuchinsky, Rick Silva
Location: Chico City Council Chambers, 411 Main St. Chico
Morris and Jacobson are both active campaigners with strong local supporters. I'm behind Morris because I respect his service on the Trinity County Board of Supervisors and his small business experience. Sekhon has not been as active as his primary competitors, but don't underestimate Sekhon. He was the challenger against Herger last time so he's got name recognition from being on a previous ballot.
As for the Horne and Logue race, this is a proxy battle between Assemblymembers Rick Keene and Doug LaMalfa political camps. Keene supports Logue, while LaMalfa supports Horne. Both are running as strong conservatives in this conservative district.
Councilors Larry Wahl and Steve Bertagna, along with Butte Supervisor Bill Connelly support Logue. Butte Supervisors Curt Josiassen and Kim Yamaguchi support Horne.
It will be interesting to see who throws more mud before June 3 since each campaign will try to undermine the opponent's "conservative" credentials in the primary.
May 21st from 7-8:30 pm
Supervisor District 5: Kim Yamaguchi, Robin Huffman, D.H. Grumbles
Moderator: Jerry Oylnen
Media Panel: Roger Aylworth, Rick Silva, Matt Ray, Evan Tuchinsky
Location: Paradise Town Hall, 5555 Skyway, Paradise
Unfortunately, while Huffman's attempt is admirable, she's running against an incumbent in Yamaguchi who has raised significant campaign money and has high name recognition. Huffman needs to make a strong case for change and I'm not convinced she's done it.
May 22nd from 7-8:30 pm
Supervisor District 4: Steven Lambert, Mark Jensen, John Byrne
Media Panel: Roger Aylworth, Evan Tuchinsky, Matt Ray, Paul Wellersdick
Propositions: Charley Turner
Location: Chico City Council Chambers, 411 Main St
Lambert has secured most of the major Republican endorsements in this race despite the fact that Byrne is a former Butte County Republican Party chair. I think Lambert is going to win this race by a large margin.
Today's Scrabble word is rick, or to pile hay in stacks.
Posted by dan_nt at 06:28 PM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2008
Pedestrian
These boots are made for walking in downtown Chico.
Alan Chamberlain and many other individuals should be applauded for continuing to move forward with ideas to enhance the downtown experience.
As Chamberlain noted in the preface to the "A Walkable Downtown" report:
"Prior efforts to plan parking resources have focused on the convenience of the motorist. This has resulted in incoherent policies and regulations, with inconsistent enforcement, and a pedestrian‐hostile environment. The purpose of this planning effort is to provide an optimized experience for the pedestrian."
Some of the ideas, like smart meters which will allow differential parking pricing, will require upfront costs but will achieve significant long-term dividends to downtown users, merchants, and the city at large.
Today's Scrabble word is miffy, or easily annoyed.
Posted by dan_nt at 01:20 PM | Comments (2)
May 10, 2008
Bertagna Poll
Someone should organize a roast of Steve Bertagna if this is his last term in office and invite David Guzzetti to emcee.
And while he's contemplating more ways to vote his conscience to contrast with the more ideologically rigid Larry Wahl, Bertagna might tune into this inspiring song:
Today's Scrabble word is eucrite, a type of meteorite.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (1)
May 09, 2008
Episcopal Church
This is St Augustine of Canterbury Church, which was formerly located on 5th and Broadway. In 1912 the church building was moved to 3rd and Salem.
Image Courtesy of Dorothy Hill and Special Collections Dept. Meriam Library, CSU, Chico.
Today's Scrabble word is neve, a granular snow.
Posted by dan_nt at 11:46 PM | Comments (2)
Dog Bite
This photo was taken at a Rose Parade in Germany earlier this year. The Germans already knew the Democratic primary outcome before most Americans.
I'd like to see more creative floats like this one in our local Pioneer Day Parade, but that takes a lot of effort.
It's much easier just to drive a fire engine or tractor pulling a trailer.
Here's the video of the German Rose Parade to prove this photo is not a joke.
Today's Scrabble word is surd, a voiceless speech sound.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
May 08, 2008
Charlie Brown
While Republicans Doug Ose and Tom McClintock battle in the Republican primary in the 4th Congressional District, Lt. Col. Charlie Brown released his first ad for the 2008 general election.
The good news for Republicans is that Congressman Wally Herger's good friend and incumbent John Doolittle is not in the race.
Today's Scrabble word is cony, or a rabbit.
Posted by dan_nt at 01:03 PM | Comments (0)
May 07, 2008
No 98, Yes 99
There's been many state propositions on the ballot over the years, but Proposition 98 is one of the worst in recent history.
Proposition 98 was supposed to be about eminent domain and removing rent control, but it's so badly worded that the measure significantly affects agriculture and water districts.
Proposition 98 is so bad that the measure has brought together one of the broadest coalitions to defeat it.
The coalition includes California Chamber of Commerce, California Building Industry Association, Housing California, California League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club California, American Civil Liberties Union, California Labor Federation, League of California Cities, and California State Association of Counties.
Read the facts and vote No on Prop. 98 and Yes on Prop. 99.
Today's Scrabble word is aniline, a chemical compound.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (1)
May 06, 2008
Sewage Plant
A joke started in a bar in San Francisco will likely become reality if 10,000 registered San Francisco voters sign a petition by July 4 to place the following question on the local San Francisco ballot in November:
"Should The City And County of San Francsico Rename The Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W Bush Sewage Plant?
Ballot proponents, under the auspices of the Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco, are making the following ironic case:
"As we near the end of George W Bush’s presidency, we think it is important to select a fitting monument to this president’s work. On matters ranging from foreign relations to fiscal and environmental stewardship, no other president in American history has accomplished so much in such a short time. To honor George W Bush for his eight years of honorable public service, the Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco is sponsoring a ballot initiative this November."
While the idea started as a joke, I hear this is a serious petition gathering effort.
If the petition is approved via valid signatures, then the name change only requires a simple majority vote in November. I think voters in San Francisco will approve this measure if given the opportunity.
At the very least, I anticipate the ballot arguments for and against this initiative will be very amusing.
Chico's wastewater treatment plant, which features a 1.1 megawatt solar system, is simply called the Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP).
Today's Scrabble word is midi, a skirt or coat that extends to the middle of the calf.
Posted by dan_nt at 09:51 AM | Comments (3)
May 05, 2008
McSame
Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton continue to fight in the Democratic primary.
While they battle in Indiana and North Carolina, some groups like MoveOn.org are already trying to paint John McCain as a continuation of the Bush administration.
You can even take the McCain-Bush challenge.
Today's Scrabble word is sward, or to cover with turf.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
May 04, 2008
Impact Fees
As the E-R reported, development impact fees are set to increase on new construction.
Jurisdictions typically raise development impact fees to cover higher costs associated with providing services and infrastructure to support new growth.
”Development impact fees are one-time charges applied to offset the additional public-service costs of new development. They are usually applied at the time a building permit is issued and are dedicated to provision of additional services, such as water and sewer systems, roads, schools, libraries, and parks and recreation facilities, made necessary by the presence of new residents in the area….They are essentially user fees levied in anticipation of use, expanding the capacity of existing services to handle additional demand.”
Almost every time a jurisdiction, whether the school district or city, considers raising development impact fees, the Building Industry Association (BIA) tends to raise ojections.
The E-R published this quote from Jason Bougie of the BIA:
”When asked, Bougie said the cost of development impact fees goes directly to the buyer of the home. "It's absolutely built into the cost of a house, there is no doubt the homebuyer pays those fees; it's not a secret or anything," Bougie said. ”
There’s been much research on this topic of development impact fees and their impact on the homebuyer.
I think Bougie is partially correct, but his perspective only provides one side of the equation.
Development impact fees can affect both the home price and the profit margin for the developer.
While the homebuyer may pay for a share of development impact fees, the developer may pay too in the form of reduced profit margin.
My belief is the share of development impact fees that get passed to the homebuyer depends on the local or regional housing market condition.
When the housing market is slow or depressed (less demand on housing supply), higher development impact fees tend to have a greater effect on the developer’s profit margin since the developer cannot pass on higher costs as easily by inflating home prices.
When the housing market is hot, like during the late 1990s and early 2000s, developers can more easily pass on higher development impact fees onto the home price because increased home buying demand pushes up housing prices.
In short, the share of development impact fees either passed onto the homebuyer or affecting the developer’s profit margin depends on the local or regional housing market condition.
Today’s Scrabble word is regrate, or to buy up in order to sell for a higher price in the same area.
Posted by dan_nt at 08:15 PM | Comments (3)
May 03, 2008
Gas Tax
Hillary Clinton and John McCain are pushing a gas tax holiday. This is another reason why I think Barack Obama is the better candidate.
Most economists, including Republicans, know a gas tax holiday is a bad idea.
This policy is not the way to reduce consumption to reduce demand pressure on gas supply. And there are better ways to directly provide financial relief to working families instead of a gas tax holiday.
Here is Obama's campaign video response to Clinton's proposal:
Here's Clinton's choice to pander to voters:
Today's Scrabble word is middy, a loosely fitting blouse.
Posted by dan_nt at 08:19 AM | Comments (6)
May 02, 2008
Six
The E-R reported that six people have filed to run for Chico City Council – Councilor Larry Wahl, Mayor Andy Holcombe, Vice-Mayor Ann Schwab, Park Commissioner Jim Walker, Mark Sorensen, and Ali Sarsour.
The E-R failed to report a seventh candidate - Tom Gascoyne. I hear Gascoyne plans to change his name to DNA for this year's election. Okay, there's no declared seventh candidate so far.
City Councilor Steve Bertagna, however, has been lobbied strongly by his supporters to run for re-election for a fourth term, but he’ll likely step away from the public limelight.
If this is Bertagna’s last year on the City Council, he deserves thanks for his years in public service.
He’s certainly felt the highs and lows of public service. He’s mostly handled his public service with humor and respect for other points of view - two qualities important to maintain sanity in the middle of ongoing contentious issues.
Interestingly, as Bertagna likely faces no re-election pressures, he’s lately cast votes with a 6-1 majority on some important issues like Meriam Park development and several development impact fee increases. This has left Wahl as the lone dissenting vote on many key issues.
With four Council seats open, we’ll likely see at least eight candidates, if not more.
Presidential election years tend to draw more candidates so I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up seeing 10 or more candidates by this fall.
If I were to handicap the current six candidates, I’d bet on Holcombe and Schwab getting re-elected, along with Walker and Sorensen.
During his past two elections, Wahl has only been the fourth highest vote-getter, which basically means he’s been on the edge of winning or losing in two election cycles.
Wahl has his base of supporters, but even they don’t seem to be enthusiastic about him. And he definitely has not expanded his base of support over the past eight years.
Sorensen wasn't helped running as a "slate" with former Councilor Dan Herbert, who lost his re-election bid but is likely a happier man now.
I suspect Sorensen will do everything he can to avoid running as a "slate" with Wahl. For example, I doubt we'll see Sorensen holding a press conference with Wahl to officially announce their bids. And I don't anticipate any photos of Sorensen hugging Wahl like John McCain and George Bush.
Of course, a lot can change in terms of election dynamics between now and November so I would never consider any of these six declared candidates a guaranteed winner or loser.
Walker and Sorensen are both strong candidates. Sorensen came close to winning two years ago and he’s continued to remain active in the community, particularly with the Chamber of Commerce.
Walker has served on the Park Commission for many years and was previously an elected member of the CARD Board.
Sarsour has also been very visible in the community through the Interfaith Council and many other community initiatives. If you’ve ever shopped at Radio Shack, you’ve likely met Sarsour who is a long-time employee.
Who else is contemplating running? Maybe a college student steps up who is inspired by the Presidential election. Maybe another local realtor or banker.
Maybe even a few mean people with an ax to grind might run for office, or perhaps they’ll sit out and direct their ranting energies towards N&R editor Evan Tuchinsky.
I’ve got a hunch on a few other potential candidates, but I’ll leave my speculation for another blog.
Today's Scrabble word is sward, or to cover with turf.
Posted by dan_nt at 12:00 AM | Comments (7)
May 01, 2008
30 Seconds
MoveOn.org's fifteen "Obama in 30 Seconds" finalists were announced.
Once again, I'm amazed by the creativity demonstrated in many of the videos.
Here are some of my favorites:
Today's Scrabble word is linnet, a European songbird.
Posted by dan_nt at 01:32 PM | Comments (0)