Commission Impossible

« July 2006 | Main | September 2006 »

August 31, 2006

Upper Park Renamed!

The ultra-powerful disc golf lobby succeeded in officially changing the designation of "Upper Bidwell Park" to "Upper Bidwell Par". This move was accomplished through a loop-hole in the city code that allows the Parking Commission to redesignate all city areas that incorporate parking into their use patterns. In a back-door move, and unkown to the more prominant preservationist groups, disc golfers have been quietly building a majority on the very powerful Parking Commission over the last few years. Actually I'm not sure what's up with the sign. I saw a couple of gentlemen working on the new sign at the entrance to upper park on Tuesday. The sign looks pretty good. It's very bright and has a rustic looking font. This morning on the way to have a breakfast picnic in the park I noticed the "K" is missing from "PARK" (this is not a "photoshopped" image). I'm not sure if the workers forgot the "K" and will be back to fix this later, or if it fell off, or if some of those Bidwell Golf Course (ball golf) guys are up to their old prankish ways. Maybe the city is subliminally letting us know that disc golf is on it's way to formal approval.

Posted by Lon at 01:33 PM | Comments (0)

Curfew Moves Knife Fight to Prime Time?

The knife attack and beating that occurred in 1-mile last night is exactly what the local neighbors were complaining about at the last Park Commission meeting. Unfortunately, the violence occurred at 9PM, before the curfew. I guess that's proof the curfew worked, after all nothing happened between 12AM-5AM. I think this is just further evidence that community policing is required in our parks. When the list of parks with transient problems includes lower park west of highway 99, Annie’s Glen, Ringel Park, Children’s Park, Depot Park, Lost Park, Plaza Park, and the city owned property in Little Chico Creek west of highway 99, should we ask how the problem got this bad? And lets remember how clean and safe the $170,000 downtown planning charrette said our downtown area was. It may be that the community needs to accept responsibility for these problems through a stronger Park Watch organization. I don't blame the Chico Police for these problems, but they have to get out of their cars and mingle with the community. All the curfew tools in the world aren't going to make these issues go away. FYI: The curfew is not in place until approved by the City Council. So this post is primarily pointing out the fact that the curfew would not have been of any use in preventing this very serious incident from happening.

Posted by Lon at 08:08 AM

August 30, 2006

Second Black Bear Spotted!

A second black bear was found in the Chico urban area recently. This bear was located near Big Chico Creek west of highway 99 and appeared to have established an encampment. Bolstered by recent sensitivity training and equipped with the new park curfew rules the bear was quickly cited by the Chico Police. He was then escorted out of the park system. The infraction will cost the bear $100, or the equivalent in bear currency, 13lbs of berries. If the bear returns and breaks the curfew again the fine may be increased. The bear was quoted as saying "this park stinks, I'm going to the Bear for a burger." A local officer was overheard saying, "I hope he doesn't really go to the Bear, there's no curfew "tool" there, and we haven't received funding for our tranquilizer gun yet."

Posted by Lon at 07:33 AM | Comments (2)

August 28, 2006

Park Director Gains Power To Close Any Park Any Time! Oh, and Curfew Approved

A single line of the curfew related proposed inclusion into new city law gives the General Services Director (GSD - currently Dennis Beardsley) the ability to close any part of any park immediately. There does not appear to be a restriction on time and or reason. But the GSD said it would only be for immediate saftey reasons (example: downed power line) and would only be temporary. This took about 5 minutes to discuss. But for park watchers it was an interesting addition to the law. The other 55 minutes covered the new curfew. Tonight we took a further step away from small town Chico. After a 7-0 vote by the Bidwell Park and Playground Commission many of our downtown park areas may be closed to public use from 12AM-5AM. I believe this was misreported by the ER as a 5-2 vote, which was the pre-vote to approve a park closure in theory, but not the vote to approve the actual park closure. The City Council will still need to approve this, but the first hurdle (Park Commission approval) occurred without any real resistance. Some years ago I watched the Park Commission debate removing dogs from Children’s Park. Dogs already need to be on-leash, but this was proposed as a “tool” to be used to remove unwanted visitors. It didn’t pass. Tonight the curfew for lower park west of highway 99, Annie’s Glen, Ringel Park, Children’s Park, Depot Park, Lost Park, Plaza Park, and the city owned property in Little Chico Creek west of highway 99 was discussed as a necessary law enforcement tool. I watched as the number of areas off limits expanded like a party balloon. Nobody stopped to ask why the problem was so widespread. It did pass.

All of this discussion stemmed from a complaint of litter in the downtown Children’s Playground by the Chico Mother’s Club. Not regular litter, but condoms and syringes. Man, things have changed since I was in college! It’s interesting to note that since the City Council Finance Committee meeting back in April(?) I have never seen a member of the Chico Mother’s Club at these meetings. They’ve found a way to maximize political pull and minimize effort. The Chief actually asked me if I was a representative of the Mother’s Club at one of the Council Meetings (to be fair I had my son there and was speaking in support of additional police presence at the playground, and nobody else was). I’m starting the Chico Disc Golfing Mother’s Club tonight, and I’ll just sit back and watch the wheels of progress turn. So was this a good decision?

Commissioner Tom Barrett questioned the need for the new law. After Chief Hagerty recounted giving the Park Plaza back to the community (the old one, before all of the cement) Barrett pointed out that that was done without a curfew. He’s right; it took police attention to fix that problem, not a curfew. Randy Abbott of the Friends of Bidwell Park suggested that the park should not be closed to anything but alcohol and drug use (which are already against the law). He said that many in our community are night-owls and deserve access to nature after-hours. I found it strange to agree with both of these men having watched them work so hard to remove thousands of day-time park users from the upper-park. Abbot once compared disc golfers to transients in a letter to the Park Commission in order to keep a practice target from being placed in Annie’s Glen. Tonight he stood up for the transients. Most of the Commission asked poignant questions. One by Commissioner Steve Lucas deserved an answer that he never received. He asked if it might not be more affordable to hire someone to cleanup Children’s Playground every morning as opposed to hiring new officers to police the area. Commissioner Rich Ober asked where we draw the line on closing parks, since each addition to the list was to keep people from drifting in from other closed parks.

In the end, after listening to the 6 or so residents that came to support the curfew (all 1-mile neighbors), and listening to the Chief and Commissioners debate this topic, I guess I can support the curfew. But I do think it’s another example of passing a law instead of enforcing existing laws. For years the Park Department has been trying to get a legal handle on how to evict undesirables. Now they have it (at least from 12AM-5AM). I hope it works for them, because our access to public property is about to be further diminished. The Chief has said that his officers are paid well to make good decisions about who to stop. I'm sure he's right. But I think the reality is that the problem is too widespread and the police too undermanned for this to even make a difference. The curfew will be reviewed on 12/31/2007, and sunsets on 12/31/2008 unless extended. It can be revoked at any time (it can also be made permanent at any time). You are allowed to pass through the parks during the 12AM-5AM closures. You are not allowed to stop. Swimming in 1-mile will be limited on a complaint basis (so if you’re quiet you should be OK).

Posted by Lon at 11:02 PM

August 25, 2006

Ron Glazzner is a Bunch of Bunk!

Ron Glazzner helped his good friend Fred get his blog running again. It's a bunch of bunk that city officials don't listen better to the advice of someone who has 50 years of experience in the management and planning of our fair town. Those of you hip to my jive understand the "Ron Glazzner" joke. Those of you not hip to my jive can post a comment here if you'd like for me to explain it.

Posted by Lon at 11:13 PM

Chamber Candidates Forum

I attended the Chico Chamber City Council candidates forum this morning. For those of you that were concerned over non-members paying more, I'm happy to say that that was not the case. There were also no mobs of disadvantaged voters locked outside the gates of high finance over at the CARD Center. About 40 people attended, including all of the current City Council. For the most part all of the candidates did a pretty good job answering questions. Tom Nickell seemed extremely nervous during his 5 minute introduction and his voice cut out several times. Nerves are to be expected when your financial plan for the future of Chico includes raising taxes (yep, he said he'd like to raise taxes).

First let me say that this is the first time in years that there aren't 37 candidates in the race. Where's DNA? Where's Barbie? I'm disappointed. But the six folks that are running fall directly into two camps. They are liberal and conservative. Anyone that says there aren't two slates running is wrong. 5 Questions were asked, and on most issues there was consensus and little disagreement. Here are a couple of issues where that wasn't the case (I've left my own editorializing out until later). Downtown Parking Structure: Tom Nickell and Mary Flynn were against a new downtown parking structure. Mark Sorensen and Dan Herbert were for the downtown parking structure on 2nd and Wall. Michael Daily and Scott Gruendl supported a new structure but not necessarily the design as it "kind-of" exists today. Bidwell Ranch: The most defining land issue in recent history, Mark Sorensen suggested that this decision was not in keeping with the general plan and put pressure on the greenline (all candidates expressed a desire to protect the greenline). Sorensen, Dan Herbert, and Michael Daily said that the public should have the option of voting on this issue because of the effect it has on park funding and housing. It was also stated that the "open-space" has been closed to the public except for a few people. Scott Gruendl, Mary Flynn, and Tom Nickell said that the case was closed. No additional voter input is necessary. Scott said the property would begin generating income to pay for itself after studies were complete, and Mary echoed those comments suggesting it would be open to the public in the future. Nickell said case closed.

My Opinion: This was a very vanilla forum. Here's a few points about each candidate. Tom Nickell said he would raise taxes to pay for needed improvements (he can't really raise taxes, we'd have to vote to raise our own taxes, he supported a tax increase). He also took positions that were not moderate but completely in line with the environmental special interest groups that seem to run the progressives. Mark Sorensen had a dramatic grasp of the facts. He started out speaking too quietly, but finished very strong, and even forced the mayor to respond to a comment about the recent nexus study that fails to list the police station as something to be funded (partially) by development impact fees. Michael Daily is a very personable guy. He speaks well, looks good, and has a great story. That won't be enough. A couple of times he came off as too "me to". He did break from this when he suggested a university/city parking structure on the west side of town was feasible. Scott Gruendl is a solid politician. Of the progressives he was the most knowledgable, and more middle of the road than the others during this forum. The downside, he seemed to be talking too loud, and tried to take credit for economic development that hasn't really occurred as far as I can tell. Mary Flynn might be a clone of Anne Schwab. She seems to be the annointed preservationist candidate, and you can tell by the verbal cues (park is a cathedral kind of talk). She suggested that Bidwell Ranch, if built, could be seen from Vallombrosa. Does she think 1 mile is Bidwell Ranch? Even so she does have the confidence to do well in this race. Dan Herbert seemed very at home and comfortable here. He might need to get a little less at home and comfortable to provide direct contrasts between himself and the other slate. He raised the need to assess development impact fees against new developments to pay for a new police station. Not much happened at the forum. Each candidate said things that you would expect from their political standpoints. If I had to pick a winner I'd pick the conservatives on this one just based on the fact that they had a cohesive argument about poor financial management on the part of the liberal majority.

Posted by Lon at 04:13 PM | Comments (6)

August 17, 2006

Canstruction

Check out Canstruction a national charity of the Design and Construction Industry and created by the Society for Design Administration. Teams lead by engineers and architects design large scupltures out of canned food. 45 cities in North America host the event and over 1 million pounds of canned food from 400 structures was donated. The donations go to food banks, shelters, soup kitchens, day cares, and senior centers. There are some really creative examples shown. In addition to the slideshow (under Multimedia menu), check out the past winners (under Competition menu). Things we could stack in Chico to create sculptures include unused studies created by well-paid consultants, pieces of trees removed from the downtown area, pot-holes, and empty beer cans retrieved from porches on Sunday mornings.

Posted by Lon at 04:13 PM | Comments (4)

Planning Commissioner Resigns

Word on the street is that Planning Commissioner Kirk Monfort will or has resigned his position. The resignation may have had to do with a conflict of interest issue as defined by state law. There's no scandal, and details are vague on the actual conflict of interest, although it might be related to the purchase of investment property within an RDA zone. Monfort is a CSU Chico professor and has been on the Planning Commission for something like 17 years. He's shown in this photo discussing the kinds of keggers Chico State used to have before he was on the commission. As you can see the students love stories from the golden ages of the party school. Of course I'm kidding. This is just a staged PR shot from the internet. Losing 17 years of experience is a pretty big deal for the city. When you look at all of the other losses to personel it's even more significant. Hopefully his replacement will come in understanding that managing growth is not something we've been very good at in Chico. A lot of time and money could be saved (by the city and citizens) if the number of planning appeals was reduced. As it is city staff have no time to do their jobs. That's taken a huge toll on our infrastructure.

Posted by Lon at 03:31 PM

Catch a Fish, Build a Playground, This Saturday 8/19

Randy Cunningham (Randy's email), a volunteer for the Nico Project has put together a Salmon Derby for this Saturday at Scotty's Landing. Check-in is at 5:30AM and you may fish anywhere in the Sacramento River. Weigh-in must occur before 3PM. The Derby is open to all comers up until 3PM. Email questions to Randy, or post them here and I'll get answers for you. There's still plenty of room for new competitors and the chance of winning one of the prizes (raffle or for your fish) is very good. There are over $4,000 in donated prizes and raffle items... 1. Trout Fishing Cabin on the Trinity River - 2 nights stay 2. Chuck Smith River Guide - Half Day fishing trip 1 person on the Sacramento River. 3. Chinook Guide Service - 2 Person full day trip on the Sacramento river 4. North Star Guide-2 Person full day trip on the Sacramento river 5. S and S Guide- 2 Person full day trip on Eagle Lake 6. 2 Person Fly Casting lessons 7. Raptor Rod Works - Custom Loomis 7.5 ft. casting Salmon Rod. 8. Chico Fly Shop - Custom "Sac. Special" 6.5 ft. Salmon Rod 9. 1 Abu Garcia 6.6 ft. Salmon Rod 10. 1 Abu Garcia 6.6 ft. Salmon Rod 11. 1 "Tournamount" 6.6 ft.Salmon Rod w/reel combo. 12. H&A Outdoors - 1 Bag assorted fish tackle. 13. 2 $20.00 gift certificates at Kittles Bait and Tackle Colusa 14. 1 Big fish net 2 lunches for 2 gift cert. at The Oasis 15. 1 Custom fishing pliers w/ Franky`s 4 person dinner gift cert There's more than listed here. The derby itself will take place at 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 19 at Scotty's Landing (12609 River Road) on the Sacramento River. There is a $75 entry fee that includes a barbecue dinner, T-shirt and raffle tickets. All money goes towards adding an improvement to Caper Acres. This is a great project, take part if you can. My wife and I are working the Salmon Derby, and later retiring to the CARD fundraiser (see previous post) for some pool-side relaxation in Hawaiian shirts.

Posted by Lon at 02:27 PM

August 16, 2006

Who's Cuter Part 2

Fellow blogger Michael Jones posted a blog of who's cuter, David Little (editor ER) or that guy who probably won't do a story on sex toys (editor CNR). What Michael doesn't know is that David shaved his mustache and can no longer be recognized by his family or friends. I've made some adjustments to the photo, so be on the look-out for this guy. Note: David won't actually look like this unless he smears silly-putty on his upper lip, I'm just not that good at doctoring photos. If I had to describe him without the 'stache I'd have to go with Luke Duke (Tom Wopat) of the Dukes of Hazzard. I think he's even driving that "General Lee" copy that we all see around town. Not to be out-done in the "image change" category, David's one-time rival and editor of the soon to be released Chico Beet, Tom Gasgoyne has been seen about town with a Sombrero. This affectation is designed to show solidarity with his sole advertiser "Tacos El Pinolero" (very good pork burritos). I still don't know why he named the new paper after a vegetable? Maybe he's going for the whacky news stories like the The Onion.

Posted by Lon at 10:58 PM

Political Play with the RDA?

At last night’s council meeting the Mayor (Scott Gruendl) and RDA Overlord (also Scott Gruendl) suggested abolishing the volunteer RDA Citizen’s Committee. There were two areas of concern. The first was that there were two complaints from people about being excluded from meetings. The second was that there was no real purpose for the committee. The matter was moved to the Internal Affairs Subcommittee for in depth discussion.

What’s an RDA? This question has to be answered every time the redevelopment agency is discussed. The RDA is a separate entity from the city. It is managed by city staff, and directed by the City Council. Confused? It gets worse. RDA funds are bond issues created on a whim (no voter approval required). If you are in the RDA zone (most of Chico) and your property is reappraised (like when sold) some of your property taxes are diverted from government agencies and goes instead to the RDA. This is called “tax increment income”. The RDA does not increase your property taxes, it just diverts a portion for local spending. The RDA is used to pay for large projects, low cost housing, and public art. It also diverts some $3million+ from the General Fund on an annual basis. We will likely use RDA bonds to pay for large infrastructure for the next 50+ years. We have over $200 million in capital project needs. Citizen’s need to play a greater part in the discussion of project prioritization. RDA Funds are very important to our community, and seemingly necessary.

Are Questions About the RDA Committee Political in Nature? Based on recent interactions on my blog posting Candidate’s Fundraising Letters this is at least a possibility. Mark Sorensen is the chairperson of the RDA group, and is a candidate for City Council. His role in the RDA Committee has been mentioned in the press as one of his credentials. Giving the committee a black eye, by suggesting publicly that we exclude people from meetings would benefit the candidate that made that accusation last night. Earlier this year the Mayor and City Manager addressed a meeting of CANA (a neighborhood group near Enloe Hospital) on the RDA topic. Other City Council members were not informed or invited to the meeting. I think the Mayor can realize from that event that RDA meetings can sometimes happen without all parties knowing about them, and still no nefarious purposes are involved. The fact is that not all contributors to the RDA Committee have attended or known about all of our meetings. The unspoken rule is that you show up, play nice, and recognize how important this money is to the public. But it has been up to the individual to “get involved”. There are no Brown Act requirements for this group, and that was a stipulation of a City Council majority. Our budget has been $0. If an argumentative and disruptive member of the public were to take part in our meetings, we would not have paid city staff to play defense. And yet, there has been no intentional attempt to exlcude anyone. The only thing the City Council has done on our behalf (that I’m aware of) is give us a time-specific speaking opportunity at an all-day finance meeting. Contrary to some public statements any citizen can meet with the city manager at any time, as long as an appointment is made. The members of the RDA committee received no special treatment from Greg Jones when he met with some of the members. So I hope that questions regarding the RDA Committee are not an attempt to wound a political adversary. We’ll see at the Internal Affairs Committee meeting and afterwards at some future council meeting. But with the election nearing I’m not convinced that’s the case.

Why is an RDA Committee Important? Here are some of the projects the RDA will/might pay for. 1. The $25million dollar police station 2. The humane society expansion 3. Children’s playground security and facility improvements 4. The downtown Plaza Park 5. Any new parking structure Have any of these been in the news lately? Yes. All of them are major stories about major components of our community. Few citizen’s are watching how these projects get prioritized, or understand the actual cost of how they will be paid for. And yet they are major stories. The city recently spent $15,000 and sent out super-glossy, super-big mailers describing how the RDA improves everything including the flavor of beer. It was called the “Chico Today News”, and I believe it was a response to the questions the RDA Committee was asking. Here is information that was not in the “Chico Today News”. 1. There is no cash-flow analysis of how the city will pay back the RDA bond debt. 2. There is no estimate of income into the RDA from “tax-increment” (used to pay back the debt) nor is there a formula outsiders can use to calculate estimated income. 3. There is no fixed cap on RDA spending for this bond issue. If the income to the RDA cannot pay back the bond, another bond will be issued to pay back this bond. By-the-way, the last RDA bonds were paid for with this bond. So we are looking at a bond being issued to pay for a bond issued to pay for some bonds. That’s bad news. 4. The estimated amount that can be spent is $40million to $60million. That could be restated as $50million +/- 20%. A pretty wide target. If we miss the target and overspend… take another look at #3. 5. City budget documents list a net RDA fund balance (I think it’s around -$23million today), with no break-down of its various components. Imagine if you were audited and you gave the IRS your checking account balance as the documentation for your financial transactions. No income versus expenses. A little more detail is required. The RDA Committee should probably be a formal brown act committee or board. It is not one today. It is a group of volunteers that are asking important questions. So far we’ve asked important questions and not received very detailed answers. Somebody other than city staff need to have a depth of understanding of this subject. So far that is the Citizen’s RDA Committee.

What good did the RDA Committee do? The death of the Citizen’s Redevelopment Agency (RDA) Committee may be nearing. If so, it was a good run while it lasted. I had the great opportunity to work with some very smart people from all sides of the political spectrum. Here is what we accomplished with no budget and resistance from both the city and some elected officials. When I say “accomplished” it’s my opinion that we provided influence to move the council in this direction. 1. Politicians have begun to support improving infrastructure in our older neighborhoods. The RDA Committee helped ensure that $10million allotted to a “slush” fund labeled “infrastructure improvements” will now be spent on neighborhoods. An additional $4 million was added to this amount. The neighborhood association CANA will likely get $6.3million in improvements immediately. This is a result of their work independently, and within the committee. 2. Instead of spending $65 million dollars on a list of projects provided by city staff, the City Council has held at around $25-$30 million, and will take more time discussing spending the rest of the RDA bond. 3. The city is improving the way it documents capital projects (usually really big projects like roads), so citizen’s can have a better view of what’s in the works, what’s planned, what’s funded, and what’s behind schedule. It should be easier to understand how a project got onto the list. 4. The city had half-a-dozen lists of capital improvement projects. Each was different in some way, listing different projects, or different costs for the same project, each difficult to locate, and impossible to get answers about. This is probably a thing of the past as well. Regardless of whether or not the RDA Committee becomes formal, stays informal, or dies an unnatural death, I think the list above has improved Chico.

Posted by Lon at 07:56 AM

August 14, 2006

Warp Factor Love!!!

NOTE: Some of the lyrics of Warp Factor Love are a little "racey". Nothing too bad, no swear words, but if you're easily offended don't follow this link. However, if you like to boldly go where no one has gone before, this is a weirdly funny song. I received this through my back-channel Star Trek video source. I think it sends a very positive, uplifting, and timely message. I hope all of our City Council candidates will commit to discussing the issues important to the future of our community and avoid calling names (like "frak", oh wait, that's from Battlestar Galactica, I'm mixing my sci-fi genres). Afterall, this "Enterprise" we call Chico is something we all have a stake in. I hope there can be an avoidance of pointless labels and a recognition that Romulans and Klingons... I mean progressives and the rest of us... all have common interests. In other words, I hope working as a team... no.... make that a Federation.... we can find a way to achieve Warp Factor Love! Live Long and Prosper! By the way, I don't own a Star Trek outfit or attend conventions. I just think this is funny.

Posted by Lon at 01:11 PM

August 12, 2006

CARD Fundraiser Could Use Your Support!

CARD is holding a wine and beer tasting fundraiser to benefit Degarmo Park and the American Cancer Society. Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door. The event will be held pool-side at In Motion Fitness and can be purchased at the CARD office on Vallombrosa or at In Motion Fitness. This is an adult event (21 years or older) and tropical attire is appropriate (get out your ugliest Hawaiian shirt). It is easy for parents to take CARD for granted. The organization provides a lot of opportunities in our community. In addition to the activities for our kids, CARD employs young people and allows adults to teach their specialties to kids around town. CARD maintains numberous parks around town, and is expected (by the City) to handle future recreation needs. Those of you with children will recognize the common thread that CARD weaves through our community. As an example, my son just finished the week-long Camp Chi-Da-Ca at Hooker Oak Recreation Area. He now has in his repertoire Go Bananas, The Shark song, and The Littlest Worm. These may not seem like strong social connections, but every kid in our neighborhood has learned these songs at some point in the last 5-6 years. If you can't attend this event consider sending in a check for the amount of the ticket price. Chico Area Recreation and Park District 545 Vallombrosa Avenue Chico, CA 95926 530.895.4711 * 530.895.4721 Fax

Posted by Lon at 08:25 AM

August 10, 2006

Breaking News!!! Progressive Slate Shakeup.

BREAKING NEWS (OR NOT): Shortly after the announcement of the Slate Slate and just days before the Slate Slate Debate, there has been a shakeup in the lineup of the Progressive Slate. Earlier this month candidate Gruendl stated that "I think having a law enforcement professional really legitimizes the progressive stance," he said. "I'm really excited about our group. And first of all, we're running a woman." Shortly thereafter candidate Law Enforcement bolted the slate. Insiders have suggested that candidate Woman might not get the backing of some of the more aggressive preservationists. A decision was made to bring in some heavy hitters for the new slate. The candidates vying for City Council now include Scott Gruendl, Fire, and the Wheel. The latest campaign mailer states that "In addition to protecting the foothills from giant locust attacks, Fire has been an instrumental part of keeping Chico a great place to live." Fire is quoted as saying "I cook your food, vote for me!". Without a doubt the addition of the Wheel to the slate can pose problems for the Slate Slate. The Wheel has suggested that "without me the Slate Slate couldn't even get to the Slate Slate Debate". The scrabble word of the day is Divisive Class Warfare It's great when important issues can be boiled down to labels.

Posted by Lon at 10:00 AM | Comments (5)

August 09, 2006

Breaking News!!! Towers Embody Spirit of Chico

NOTE: Satirical introduction of Annie and John Bidwell onto water towers is entirely the fault of Gregg Payne. However text and other references can be considered my fault Overnight these images magically appeared on the downtown water towers. Paranormal experts have been called in from as far as Oroville to investigate. Madame Ruby has suggested that the continuous use of Annie's name during the Centennial Celebration, and the disregard of John's contributions to Chico's history may have angered their spirits. Only time will tell if these are good spirits, or if the Bidwell's wrath will soon shower upon Chico. Actually, local artist Gregg Payne (local patron of all things good, guardian of children, and true spirit of nature) sent this image, that ironically comes from the last Art Commission Public Art Survey meeting. In addition to calling Gregg names, the commission chair and arts coordinator discussed this project. "These murals will be applied with special holographic paints that allow the gaze of their faces to follow you around the city no matter where you are. The coating will be etched by lasers projected from various coordinates from cell phone towers and when complete will be a bargain at only 50 Million Dollars paid for by RDA Funds. Take that! Redding Sundial Bridge!"

Posted by Lon at 03:24 PM | Comments (4)

August 08, 2006

The Two Towers

One of my business partners mentioned the scaffolding on the downtown water towers after he passed them riding to work. It looks like at least one of them is being painted and repaired. Although they are not visible from most of downtown these are still a great part of the skyline. The town I grew up in had hills, so we had no water towers. But in my many travels out to the midwest water towers were often the first thing you saw of a community. Many had team logos, the town name, or some other design to make them stand out. When my son was 3 I had him convinced they were the tips of space-rockets. It was fun to walk past them on the way to Bidwell Park and talk about where they might take us.

In the TV show "That 70's Show" the kids snuck up their water tower and painted a pot leaf on it. That makes me wonder what we could paint on ours. In a town full of murals there has got to be some idea that would really do Chico justice. Here are a few ideas.. 1. They could be painted like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale bottles. Or if we don't have much money in the public art funds we could go for Keystone Light with the silver can (our water's great, because of the specially lined towers!). 2. To pay homage to a Halloween near-riot I once attended downtown one could be emblazoned with the words "Less Filling!" and the other "Tastes Great!". 3. We could paint Annie on one and John on the other. John Bidwell seems to get ignored a lot these days. He could be on the one facing the town, so we don't forget that he was instrumental in the Bidwell Park gift. 4. We could paint Butte County Checkerbloom on them, and then use their presence to prevent improvements to Annie's Glen. Do you have any ideas?

Posted by Lon at 08:49 PM | Comments (2)

August 02, 2006

Candidate Fundraising Letters

Here are two fundraising letters from two local politicians on separate sides of many issues. The contrast in writing style and dialogue is pretty dramatic. There's no doubt that these are written to the 1-2% of Chicoans that donate to local races, and not a wider audience. But they are public statements and I think it's fair that they be seen. But I'm curious to hear how people feel about the comments included in these letters. Who do you most identify with? Is either one too political? Does one seem more negative than the other?

Scott Gruendl For Chico City Council Dear Constituent, Your help is needed now as our great city is under attack. Ultra-conservatives are working hard to take over the Chico City Council because of our historic decisions like Bidwell Ranch, the Tree Protection Ordinance, the Humboldt Road Burn Dump and Oak Valley. Our efforts to protect the quality of life in our community have lead to an all out assault on our progressive city council. Local ultra-conservatives are so mad that they have now formed the Hooker Oak Alliance Political Action Committee to remove me from office. They have already raised $17,000 and will raise much, much more. They specifically want to attack me over my decision to take a stand on the undemocratic labor situation at the local hospital. The November election will be the nastiest election in recent memory. The extremist conservatives and developers want to take back the council majority at any cost. They are even trying to sue me for $17 million for saying NO to housing in the foothills. They are even attacking progressive members of our city commissions. I need your help now to stop their attack on our Chico values. You can participate directly in my campaign by donating $25, $50, $100 or any other amount today. Please complete and return the response card with your check as all contributions are reportable (the total limit per contributor for this election is $500). Send the message now that Chico is not for sale. I thank you for your continued support and look forward to serving you further on the Chico City Council. Together, we can keep Chico the beautiful community that it is. Please join me today. Sincerely, Signed Scott Gruendl Scott Gruendl Mayor, City of Chico

FYI: For full disclosure I'm an active member of the Hooker Oak Alliance. I'm not an "ultra-conservative" as far as I know. I don't believe we have any plans to attack the city. We have built giant robots to do that for us. Learn more here...

Dan Herbert City Council Dear Friend, I am excited to announce my candidacy for re-election to the Chico City Council and would ask you to consider financially supporting my campaign. The City Council has enjoyed many accomplishments during the last four years. At the same time, I believe that the loss of a fiscally conservative majority has impacted our financial stewardship and placed the City in a precarious position for potential legal battles and quality of life concerns. Accomplishments: *Strong City/University relationships have allowed us to make critical safety related inroads with “special events” (e.g. Halloween, Labor Day). *Road, lighting, and other infrastructure projects throughout our city have recently been completed, are underway or are scheduled to begin soon, addressing serious concerns. *Significant increases have been made in Police and Fire Department staffing. Concerns: *While the City Attorney issued stern warnings, the Council majority illegally reversed its own previous action leading to the largest lawsuit in the city’s history. Legal costs could reach $100,000 by the end of this year according to city staff and the case hasn’t even gone to trial. *A political “about face” on a previously agreed cooperative effort to clean up the Humboldt Rd. burn dump increased the city’s final costs by millions due to project delays and set the stage for additional lawsuits against the City. *As we wrestle with how to spend $40 to $60 million in RDA funds with over $200 million in proposed capital projects, the current Council majority makes “opportunity purchases” such as nearly $2 million dollars for a “Creekside Greenway” along Edgar’s Slough just off the Midway in south Chico. *2006-7 budget projections fall short of fully funding reserves required by city budget policy. As you know, the Chico City Council lost its narrow conservative majority four years ago. The current liberal council subscribes to a philosophy of “tax and spend” big government. I am committed to the people of Chico…this is our hometown. Please consider a generous contribution to this campaign as we work together to maintain Chico’s unique quality of life and if you have any questions or comments, please give me a call at xxx-xxxx! Signed Dan Herbert

Posted by Lon at 07:43 PM | Comments (16)

The Naughty Protest

I passed the weekly peace protest in downtown Chico on Saturday. There were about a dozen people. Most had the traditional signs that are not a big deal. "No Blood for Oil" and all that. Then there was this gentleman. Not knowing the blog rules for propriety I blocked out the big middle finger and swear words. This seemed so absurd to find in the middle of downtown Chico, with my 5 year old, on the way to get some coffee. When I took the picture the gentleman asked if I was a veteran. The answer was yes. Then he asked how the VA was treating me. I responded that I was self-employed and didn't need help from the VA. If I had the opportunity to respond again I would have told him that I bought my first home with a VA loan which allowed me to be a homeowner a few years earlier than non-veterans in the same financial boat. So my only experience with the VA was a good one. Of course that's kind of like my only experience with the DMV being getting my license as a 16 year-old. A great moment in time, but probably not representative of a long term relationship with that institution. I have no doubt that people dealing with the government can become bitter and resentful. But you'll notice the signs have no mention of the VA. How an American standing on a street corner with profane signs can compare this country to Nazi Germany is beyond me. He'd be dead if we were Nazis. I just can't make the connection between these signs and where I live. Is it more hyperbole? Does he really hate Texas, and want to see it bombed? Does he not see the historic inaccuracies in comparisons between Bush and Hitler? I think I feel the same way about these intense beliefs as I feel about religious cults. Believe what you want, but why do you have to stick it in my face. It's a free country and I should have the right to be free of profanity on public streets. I would feel the same way about a sign that said "Accept Jesus or Burn in Hell". I'm not sure what the end goal of the local peace movement is. But if it is converting people to their point of view, this is probably not the way to do it.

Posted by Lon at 10:02 AM | Comments (3)