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March 30, 2007
The Hand Job
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| The City of Chico is trying to fill the new position of Neighborhood Services Manager. I meant to mention this when I first saw the classified ad a few weeks ago. The salary for this position will be around $103,000 annually, with "additional merit-range maximum salary of $123,940 per year, based on performance." So I guess if you're hired you can earn over $100K, but if you do a good job you can make 25% more. I like it that they give you the "option" of working hard and doing well, or just being a crappy employee. Personally, I'd go for the lazy $100,000 since taking pride in your work is way overrated. With the median income per household in Chico at around $30,000 this is a pretty choice job. When benefits are added the job will cost taxpayers closer to $150K-$175K per year. The Neighborhood Services Manager might even be able to go toe-to-toe on the 1040 with some of our tenured Chico Staters. Just to put the amount of money in perspective we could buy 2.5 new giant hand sculptures with that money every year (that's 5 new hands annually, or 50 hands in 10 years). Imagine a giant hand garden in Bidwell Park! Maybe we're rushing into whole neighborhood planning thing a little too fast. Perhaps the hands would be a better "quality of life" investment. |
Posted by Lon at 01:30 PM | Comments (0)
March 29, 2007
Let Me See Your Paper!
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| Bans, bans, and more bans. I'm living
through the battle of the bans. San Francisco's Mayor will likely approve
a ban on plastic grocery bags. More power to him. The ban on plastic grocery bags is worth discussing on several fronts. Across the globe nations are dealing with the problems associated with plastic bags as they contribute to wind blown litter and bulging landfills. Some nations have created taxes specific to the bags. For example, Ireland has had a $0.20 tax on each bag a consumer uses since 2002. They have seen a 90% reduction in bag use since the tax. California has discussed a tax from $0.03 to $0.25 per bag. Taxing each bag would dramatically reduce use here as well. More interesting to me is that these bags can easily be recycled as is. In fact they were introduced in part to provide an easily recyclable bag for shoppers. All major grocery stores will accept empty bags, and recycle them. Many communities can recycle them as part of their waste processing services. Consumers have no good reason not to recycle plastic grocery bags. It's pretty clear that after a couple of decades of use people have never wanted to recycle plastic bags. They just won't change their behavior. And if the proletariat won't behave, they must be shackled into obedience (via laws and taxes). I suspect that's where we are going with environmental legislation in California. Some of it will work out as a benefit, some of it won't. MTBE is one example of a failed solution. Lead free (or ROHS, pronounced row-hoss) compliance in the electronics industry may be another. The long term effects of lead free assembly are not known, although some say consumer electronics may fail much more frequently due to high assembly temperatures and solder joint failures. Not building power plants was a pretty big failure too (well, it knocked out Davis, who was a dweeb, so maybe it was carbon-neutral). Certainly the plastic bag ban in San Francisco will work. And while not a tax, it will increase the cost of groceries in the city. Don't worry, a program to provide free canvas bags to the poor will be funded through the new "plastic bag compliance permit process". That'll increase grocery costs too. Personally, I would prefer a plastic bag tax to a ban. I can always avoid the tax and feel like I'm sticking it to "the man". Don't confuse this with supporting a tax or a ban. But liberal democrats in California are well on their way to legislating morality with regards to the environment. Since that is the case I prefer policies that allow me to change my behavior as an alternative to taxing me over it. On a somewhat unsettling note I am starting to get a "big brother-y" feeling about all these bans. |
Posted by Lon at 12:00 AM | Comments (3)
March 28, 2007
Who Is Big Al? - CI Investigative Report
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| Who is Big-Al? That's a question that's
been asked around Chico for decades. This elusive corn-dog magnate has
been a fixture in Chico politics for years. His 1989 purchase of Bidwell
Mansion caused turmoil over expected transformation of that landmark into
a burger joint. At the time Big-Al quietly moved into the mansion's attic
and hasn't been seen since. Big-Al's burger fueled finances still work their magic silently in the background of our fair city. For example, Big-Al funds the annual manicure for the Big-Hands down at City Hall, and paid for the team of Clydesdales to move the Silver Plow onto Park Avenue. Big-Al came onto the scene here in Chico just after World War II as a destitute veteran looking for work. At the time he just went by "Al". "Al's Dogs and Dames" was his first foray into the restaurant business. It was a success. His natural ability to marry fluffy dough corn dogs with scantily clad dancing girls is made more clear by today's news. At its height "Al's Dogs and Dames" had 35 establishments throughout the U.S. But during the 1960's Al seemed to pull back from socially questionable endeavors. He sold the "Dogs and Dames" trademark to MGA Entertainment who would later re-brand it "Bratz". In the mean time he adopted the moniker "Big-Al" and focused on family related work. For years Chicoans speculated on Big-Al's background. Where did he come from? Who were his parents? The crack team of CI's investigative reporter (me) has spent days evaluating this very question. The science of DNA testing for cartoon characters has not progressed to the point where its results are definitive. However, graphic design software has reached the point where it may provide answers. Professional analysis of existing logos and cartoon characters suggest that Big-Al may be the love child of Betty-Boop and The Pillsbury Dough Boy (see images below). Boop's history is one plagued by illicit sex, drug addiction, and serial rehab attempts. The dough boy, on the other hand, has long been an icon of the religious right in this country. But it is interesting to note that he began calling himself the "Pillsbury Dough Man" at around the time Big-Al would have been conceived. The details of this relationship and Al's early years will be part of a follow up story as more investigative research is completed. But for now one piece of the puzzle that is "Big-Al" has been uncovered. The dichotomy of Big-Al's early and later life can be explained to some degree by the contrasts in his lineage. |
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| SATIRE ALERT: There is no actual evidence that Big-Al is related to other cartoon characters, or has ever owned "Dogs and Dames". Betty Boop did not have issues with drugs or sex, as she is a cartoon character. The Pillsbury Dough Boy is not an icon of the religious right. This is all just for fun. |
Posted by Lon at 08:35 AM | Comments (4)
March 27, 2007
Parks Produces Possible Pricey Poop Prosecutions
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| What could be the most important discussion
about Bidwell Park in the last few years was postponed because of late
notice to a private property owner. I hope to post on that topic later. But in the meantime the Bidwell Park and Playground Commission had a busy night. For instance, Park Commissioner Tom Barrett was appointed to the CARD Master Plan Citizen Advisory Committee (which I take part in). On a side note Barrett is also "The Sustainable Guy" during his hour long radio show on KZFR. So he'll be at all of the sustainability "Task Force" meetings. This is great, because Tom and I are great friends, and can now spend much more time emailing each other. In other news a proposal to ban riding bikes at the downtown plaza was forwarded to the City Council. This will expand the existing ban on riding bikes on sidewalks to include the plaza. Bike racks are to be replaced with industrial shoe racks. Also banned are skateboards, hover cars, M1 Abrams main battle tanks, ocean liners, and red giant stars in danger of going super-nova. It's been a good year for bans. But the biggest news of the night came under the category of Dachshund droppings. An upper limit of $1000 and 133.33 hours of community service will be applied to people caught not picking up their canine's creations. Commissioners Walker and Lucas fought a brave, and somewhat effective, fight to ensure reasonable penalties for producing unwanted Chihuahua chocolates. First offense is $25, second offense is $50 and 6.7 hours community service, all they way up to the maximum penalty previously mentioned. In reality very few citations will be issued for Labrador logs, and it's doubtful that anyone will get the $1,000 fine. The actual fine amount and final approval still has to go before the City Council. Both the bike and poop discussion were in front of the commission at the request of Councilor Tom Nickell. I decided to attend this Park Commission meeting as opposed to watching on TV, which may have been a mistake. I may have nightmares related to the Bidwell Park Master Management Plan tonight. |
Posted by Lon at 12:00 AM
March 26, 2007
Term Papers Must Be Turned In On Time - CI Special CSU Strike Edition
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| It looks as though the CSU strike has been avoided and term papers will need to be turned in on time. The following emails were sent out by the CFA and the Chancellor's office. If you're busy and don't have time to read them here is my summary. CFA- The "report" supports us you dirty stinking capitalist administrators! Negotiate or suffer a thousand deaths. Oh, if we negotiate we need to finish up before the summer break. Thanks. Chancellor- How 'bout we negotiate. If you don't believe me feel free to read the actual emails. |
Subject: CFA HEADLINES - March 25, 2007 - SPECIAL STRIKE EDITION FROM CFA
From: Green, Susan To: All Faculty Subject: CFA Headlines –March 25, 2007-Special Strike Edition CFA HEADLINES March 25, 2007 - SPECIAL STRIKE EDITION FROM CFA BREAKING NEWS: FACT-FINDING REPORT SUPPORTS CFA'S PROPOSAL ON NEARLY ALL COUNTS The administration must now face the facts and settle a fair contract The fact-finding report recommending how to end the bargaining impasse between CFA and the CSU administration became public on March 25. CFA immediately called on the administration to Face the Facts, accept the report's recommendations, and settle the contract. "We call on the Chancellor of the CSU to return to the bargaining table and settle an agreement now based on the fact finder's report," said John Travis, CFA President. "If he refuses then he forces us to proceed with a strike. That is not what we want and it's not what the CSU needs." To view the fact finders recommendations as well as the fact finding reports from both CFA and the CSU administration please visit: http://www.calfac.org/factfinding.html More news to come on this developing story in Tuesday's regular edition of CFA Headlines. |
Subject: CSU Chancellor's Office news release on CFA contract negotiations
Below is a news release from the CSU Chancellor's Office regarding contract negotiations with the California Faculty Association:
Contacts: Claudia Keith, ckeith@calstate.edu Clara Potes-Fellow, cpotes-fellow@calstate.edu, (562) 951-4800 CSU and Faculty Union Agree to Extend Current Contract Until Settlement Agreement Finalized Settlement Reflects Fact Finder’s Recommendations (March 25, 2007) – The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees announced today that the current contract with its faculty union will be extended until April 6, 2007 while a settlement framework is being finalized. During this time, no concerted strike activities will occur on any CSU campus. The CSU has attempted to reach a settlement that uses the fact finder’s report as a framework, and will continue to work with the faculty union bargaining team to finalize the details. The specific details of the settlement efforts will not be made public until it is accepted and finalized. “We have indicated both to the fact finder and to the faculty union that we are willing to use the report as the basis for an overall settlement agreement,” said Roberta Achtenberg, chair of the CSU Board of Trustees. “We are hopeful that at the end of this process, we will have a finalized agreement so that we can move forward with getting our faculty their salary increases.” The CSU and its faculty union have been negotiating for the past 22 months in an effort to resolve issues including salary and parking fees for faculty. The current contract has been extended a number of times during this period of negotiation. “The settlement discussion tracks very closely with the fact finder’s recommendations and shows substantial movement from our offer of November 20, 2006” said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed. “We have shown that we are committed to securing a contract with our faculty union.” |
Posted by Lon at 09:25 AM | Comments (0)
Day On The Green
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| Bob Maloney, owner of Bird In Hand,
is a hometown hero. He's brought us Kite Day, yo-yo championships, and
the toy-store equivalent of Collier's. I'm sure he's done lots of other
things as well (I don't know Bob). But the three things I just mentioned
qualify him for a big shiny medal with purply-frills, and a couple of colored
stripes on the ribbon. The true wonder of Kite Day isn't the event itself. Don't get me wrong, seeing hundreds of kites flying at once is an awe inspiring spectacle. What's really wonderful is just flying a kite, and Kite Day is the big reminder every year to dig out your nylon wind sail. Kite Day reminds us that these inexpensive hyper-colored toys even exist. As usual the variety of kites was impressive. There were lots of sharks, dragons, fighter planes, and a couple of paramecium (for lack of a better description). Rainbow motifs were in full display. Mr. Maloney, CARD, and the other sponsors of Kite Day put on a great event. They did it by reminding us to get out a toy most of us used as kids, and by turning up the music on some fabulous old rock tunes. Now, if we can just get someone to start Lego Day. |
Posted by Lon at 08:06 AM | Comments (1)
March 25, 2007
Magical, Mystical, Master Plans
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| All sorts of local government and tax
districts are reviewing their master plans these days. During
those reviews the planning process is sometimes imbued with magical powers. Historically contentious or economically important decisions no longer need to be hashed out in the messy political arena. All those tough to answer questions will now be resolved during the planning process. For example, a downtown planning component of Chico's General Plan can be counted on to fix most problems. The City Council must be counting on that since they recently punted on dealing with anything more divisive than changing the paint that defines parking spaces. Meanwhile the county and cities are expected to incorporate BCAG's Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP/NCCP) into planning. The HCP/NCCP will normalize mitigation costs for development and streamline the permit process throughout the county. BCAG has hired Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Public Planning to make this a reality. I'm poking a little fun at the planning process that so many consultants make so much money off of. The planning process is important. But general plans, master plans, conservation plans, whatever plans, don't address divisive issues. Those issues occur when plans don't meet public needs, or when ambiguous goals in the plans cross purposes. |
| What's The Point? As the
planning process moves forward across Butte County the public should be
aware of a
number
of things. When you hear that a "plan" will address a contentious issue,
please realize that it probably won't. When decisions regarding a contentious
issue are postponed in order for a plan to be completed, please recognize
that
this is not a method of resolving the issue. Also, during the process of updating planning documents there are plans galore that are already in place and are perfectly suited to guiding political decisions. A General Plan update doesn't nullify the existing General Plan that has been in effect for years. All the necessary planning documents already exist to guide elected representatives to make tough decisions. Plan updates at the county, city, or special districts shouldn't prevent leaders from making decisions or cause them to delay decisions until new planning documents are completed. Master Plan's are not magical documents, and shouldn't be treated as the solution to our most difficult problems. Solving those problems is the job of elected officials. |
Posted by Lon at 09:38 AM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2007
The Watch List
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| I bought my first house in Chico ten
years ago. That was the same year I got married, turned 30, and lost
one of my parents. It was a pretty big year as far as life changes go. Owning the home brought out all sorts of desires to change it so that it would reflect our lives. We even skipped a honeymoon and instead used our savings and time off to replace the failing fences around the property. And we began planting our own plants. On weekends we'd walk downtown for coffee and then on to Hubbard's Nursery (now closed) on 6th Avenue. Round trip it was about 50 blocks. It's amazing how much spare time you have in the BC years (before children). During those long walks I spent lots of time checking out people's landscaping. That's when I noticed azaleas. I noticed other things as well... roses, dogwoods, elephant ears, Japanese maples, and the list goes on. I started looking up at some of our towering Chico trees. Recognizing the intricacies and differences in our green canopy made Chico more interesting to me. I even started noticing the differences in wildflowers in Bidwell Park, and took time to really look at them beyond the pretty colors. This time of year some of the azaleas are carpeted with incredible blooms. Some of the older examples of these plants are huge and vibrant and deserve an extra look since the blooms don't last. Chico State's campus will be a nice walk in the coming weeks to see a variety of azaleas, camellias, dogwoods, and other plants in bloom. Take a little time to appreciate these plants, and your Chico spring will be even more scenic. |
Posted by Lon at 12:00 AM | Comments (2)
March 23, 2007
Don't Shoot the Messenger
| I received this link from my friend local artist Gregg Payne. He also sent it to Anthony Watts and some others. There was no message in the email so the point he was trying to make in sending us this could have been almost anything. He could have been saying "hey, you global warming nays ayers, pull your head out before it's too late!" Or he could have been saying "have you noticed the environmental lobby marketing pieces are starting to use the same music as major car manufacturers?" He might even be implying that Carl Sagan is finally cool, even though only me and 15 other Chicoans enjoyed Cosmos. Personally, Sagan's comments about the ability to "ask skeptical questions" at the end of this clip struck me as something everybody should consider. But even though I can't fully decipher the odd mind of the artist I think he sent this to us to give us a different message. We only have one planet and it carries everything we value, or have valued, or will value. That's a message I can buy into. It's not Al Gore's church of the upcoming apocalypse. It's more BEC's Clean Creeks, USA; and less BEC's anti-highway 149. This is a message I heard as a kid. An owl with a funny hat and a memorable tag-line said it. It's also a good piece of film work, as far as messaging goes. I don't think many people would disagree with the sentiment expressed in the clip. So I thought I'd post it here. |
Posted by Lon at 12:00 AM | Comments (3)
March 22, 2007
Double Edged Sword
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| The photo above is from the San Francisco
Zoo. The eagle's name is Sequoia. She's 18 years old and weighs in at
12 pounds. Sequoia was shot when very young and doesn't have tail control,
so she can't fly and has lived in captivity most of her life. This was the closest I've ever been to a bald eagle, but unlike most of the other zoo attendees I've seen them in the wild. Here in the North State there are many opportunities to see these raptors. I've seen them in Lassen National Forest, Shasta Lake, and a few years ago I saw one flying over Bidwell Park from the disc golf course on highway 32. It's easy to forget that Chico stands at the gateway to some incredible wilderness. Going to the zoo is always a double-edged sword. Seeing living examples of what's on the Discovery Channel is a compelling experience. It's also good that zoos have changed their primary missions from "entertainment" to conservation over the years. But whenever I leave a zoo I can't help but realize how small they are. The chimpanzees are lodged into a set of cages no bigger than my backyard. That's the case with many of the animals. The exhibits that were the center of attention when I was a kid are now decrepit and unused. The elephants were gone. Where did they go? The SF Zoo recently opened a savannah exhibit where the giraffe, zebra, ostrich, and antelope live together in a large open area. The happy zoo goers wander through and around the area. This exhibit was much more natural than the older ones. I hope this is the direction many of the exhibits take. I would even be willing to pay $7 for a hotdog and bottle of water if it helps renovate some of the older exhibits. The $6 I paid seemed on the low side. |
Posted by Lon at 08:01 AM | Comments (0)
March 21, 2007
Doing Something Better than Doing Nothing?
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| The Mayor's Sustainability Task Force is
getting ready to meet for the first time next week. I've been appointed
to the commission as Councilor Steve Bertagna's pick. I'm not aware of
all the other members of the group but David Little wrote an editorial
(here)
that names a few people. A major thrust of this body seems to be the creation
of a Climate Action Plan. I think if I had to categorize myself, I'd be one of those awful global warming "deniers". I'm hoping I won't be burned at the stake anytime soon. Knowing a little bit about science, math, computers, and people, I don't see how any definitive announcement of global warming's cause can be made. In fact, the angry response to people that disagree with the premise of human caused climate change seems more like religion than science. But still, doing something is better than doing nothing, right? Maybe... Seeing Al Gore, John Edwards, and Arnold Schwarzenegger pay for carbon credits just reminds me of buying absolution for your sins. If Chico was to follow these "leaders", then we could simply stop funding local non-profits with our hotel tax, and instead buy carbon credits. Problem solved. Is that better than doing nothing? |
| I doubt that's what Chico is looking for out
of this task force. It is funny that these politicians get a pass on paying
to cleanse their sins, but the rest of us know it's B.S. to solve a problem
that way. Even though I haven't jumped aboard the global warming bandwagon I think this commission could do some positive things. Reducing energy use and finding synergy between waste and commercial needs could save the City money. And if there is some way for Chico to sell carbon credits to Arnold, Al, and John, that would be great as well. I don't believe that "doing something" is necessarily better than doing nothing. That would imply a moral value to the "something" you do that exceeds the fiscal value. That's a slippery slope I hope this commission decides to avoid. Virtually anything could be proposed if the objective is to meet a moral obligation. As an example, let's say we build a parking structure in Los Molinas to solve the downtown parking problem and limit green-house gas emissions in downtown Chico. You simply drive to Los Molinas and then take a bus into Chico. Is doing that better than doing nothing? No, it costs too much and doesn't effectively address either issue. I'm looking forward to learning about sustainability as part of this Mayor's task force. But I will be asking two questions every time a new program is discussed. 1. Does it reduce energy use or waste? 2. How much does it cost? I may be in the minority in making the answers to those questions a priority. But I think the public is better informed when they have that information on new sustainability proposals. |
Posted by Lon at 09:39 AM | Comments (2)
March 20, 2007
Enloe Appeal of SEIU Vote Reportedly Denied
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| This afternoon KPAY is reporting that
the courts have come back with a decision on the Enloe union vote. In
the report they are saying that the courts are affirming the elections
of a union at Enloe. In other words, Enloe lost its appeal and the previously
held union elections are valid. A couple of months ago I heard the interim CEO of Enloe, Beth O'Brien, speak before a group. She said that the results of this court decision would determine whether Enloe accepted the existence of the SEIU, or whether another vote was needed. In her opinion the appeal results would determine the next phase of the Enloe / SEIU relationship. While I haven't seen the actual response from the courts I would expect Enloe to honor the words of the interim CEO. If the appeal has been denied, then the union is in at Enloe, and should be negotiated with as appropriate. The mayor shouldn't feel a need to express an opinion on this result. But he probably will. |
Posted by Lon at 02:21 PM | Comments (0)
March 16, 2007
See You Later Crocodile
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| I'll be spending the weekend in San Francisco,
so there won't be any spectacular blog posts for the next few days. That's probably
okay since I pissed off one of my regular blog readers with the "Luvaas
Again" post, and my only other reader is upset with me because I
posted a blog about his garage yesterday. To commemorate the Planning Commission denial of cell-tower service to north east Chico last night I'll be staying under Sutro Tower (location shown above). My mother-in-law rents a small house under the tower in the midst of a eucalyptus grove. It's very scenic, unless you look directly overhead and start wondering about the stability of large towers during earthquakes. My mother-in-law has been moving a lot lately. That can create pressures in our relationship, because the only thing worse than carrying something heavy is carrying something heavy for someone else. But she also collects wicker furniture. That relieves a lot of the pressure. And she got rid of her piano, which has made moving her downright pleasant. So this weekend my family and I will be at the SF zoo which has been renovated over the last several years. I'm going to see an IMAX movie (the 300, sans the kid) and might take the subway there (did you know SF had a subway?). There may even be time for dim sum (Chinese food breakfast), a museum (DeYoung-MOMA?), or the Exploratorium. And to finish it off were going to one of the nation's top sushi restaurants on Sunday. While I'm out of town feel free to give me a call on the cell phone. I'm pretty sure I'll get good reception where I'm staying. |
Posted by Lon at 08:37 AM
March 15, 2007
Skateboards Banned in Neighbor's Garage
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| The City of Chico recently
banned skateboarding* in my neighbor's garage, and for him it couldn't have come too soon. "I was surprised, and pleased, to learn that the new ban on skateboarding extended to my garage" he said. "I'm not sure how my garage became listed as a neighborhood park in the first place, but it was designated one last year" he continued. Last May a city worker showed up at his residence with a checklist. As my neighbor describes it, she went through the list looking for neighborhood park amenities. No restrooms... check, no basketball court... check, minimal parking... check. It was a go, shortly thereafter his garage was listed as a neighborhood park. "At first I was happy, they'd [the city] show up once a week, blow out the garage, tighten a few screws, and be gone" he reminisced. "Then one morning I got in my car to go to work and a homeless guy was sacked out on my workbench." But that was just the beginning of his problems. As he tells it, the city, without warning, installed some public art where he used to hang his fire extinguisher. "I can't tell what it is" he opined, "it's got 13 legs and 5 dangly things, a single big eye, and what could only be described as a hairy funnel." The label affixed to the sculpture reads "Bottle of Pepsi". Two months ago he found a half dozen people ripping out the periwinkle in front of his house. "I said, what the **** are you doing, and I got this never-ending diatribe about invasive plants, global warming, and protecting my garage for future generations." That was his first experience with the "Friends of Tom's Garage". Tom and his wife have since been trying to get together a Master Plan for the garage. State law requires that they plan for, and protect, the sensitive daddy-long-legs spiders that reside in his now-unused garden tools. And then last week skateboarders showed up en masse and began ollieing his lawnmower. They also mock him regularly for not "getting" Blink 182. "It doesn't even feel like my garage any more." He said, as a tear welled up in his eye. "The park curfew has cut down on transients." Tom said. "And I'm hoping the skateboard ban will clear out the skate-punks. To be honest, I just want my garage back." *note: this is satire, no skateboard ban has actually been applied to my neighbor's garage. |
Posted by Lon at 06:04 AM
March 14, 2007
Luvaas Again
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| Jon Luvaas can't catch a break on the
Planning Commission. Back during the Enloe expansion debate he made some
unfortunate comments about the life expectancy of the elderly and the
need to take extreme steps to extend those lives. When taken in context
what he said was pretty logical. It was the kind of thing that a managed
care behemoth might put in its quarterly report. It didn't play well on local
TV as a sound bite. The City Council decided to do nothing to punish the
Planning Commissioner, assuming it was just a glitch. Luvaas has been instrumental lately in holding a number of "extra-city" gatherings to discuss local issues that meets weekly (some have referred to the group as "Common Ground"). The names of the people attending these meetings would be widely known by people that follow local issues, including at least one developer. One of the stated purposes of the meetings is to reduce political polarity around local issues. From what I've heard the discussions have been on the new-agey side of things, but generally positive opinions come from those that have attended. Recently Mayor Holcombe had to apply the brakes to the Planning Commission which was beginning to delve into policy issues. The City Council normally creates policy, and the commissions apply it. A gentle correction may not have been enough. |
| Luvass recently sent this email to a member of Planning
Staff... Hi Karen, I do have the EIR (draft and final), so won't need a new one. And I have a suggestion. I mentioned to Bob Summerville that I'd prefer that our upcoming review of this project be considered a conceptual review rather than a time for project approval, since it's a huge and sensitive project, has been very long since we first looked at this, and we have a new commission. I'd very much prefer that it not be considered even a conceptual "approval" at this stage, but only an opportunity for feedback, because there's a fairly good chance we'll send it back for significant design work. Who knows, but I don't want anyone's expectations of quick action to be disappointed. Going a bit further, I'd consider it best for staff not to make a recommendation on this project, but simply to give an analysis of the project and our options. Jon From today's E-R story the concerns of Councilors Wahl and Bertagna are pretty clear. They think Luvaas is stepping outside of his authority as a Planning Commissioner. They would like to see him removed from the Planning Commission because of this. Luvaas states that the email was only a suggestion, but in reading it it's pretty clear that he is also asking staff not to give a recommendation (that's not part of his "suggestion" and he recognizes that he's going "a bit further" in this request). He makes assumptions about Planning Commission decisions prior to the public forum. Both of these instances seem to undermine a fair public process for the land owner. All of this relates to a development that's been in the works for a decade or so. I've been told the Planning Commission has seen this development, but not this new Planning Commission (new since the last election). If the standard is that a newly seated commission needs to review all developments from scratch, then every two years anything being built will be restarted. Talk about "no growth". |
| Summary: Jon Luvass
seems to have overstepped his role as a Planning Commissioner in directing
city staff not to provide a recommendation
on this plan. It doesn't rise to the level of removing him from his seat.
The Mayor should
issue
a more
direct
correction than the last one (which appears to have been ignored). The conservative Councilors seem to have overstepped their role as a 5-2 minority. They will likely be portrayed as in the palm of the developer once again. Even though they are standing on principle here, this is bad politics. This could have been handled without throwing the "removal" hand grenade, which will be a dud unless more information comes forward. Luvaas should spend a little more time with his "Common Ground" meetings. He should invite Pete Giampaoli of Epick Homes (whose development process he's trying to restart). I suspect Giampaoli will have something to say about depolarizing the community and treating people in a fair manner. He might even have his lawyer say it for him. |
Posted by Lon at 09:38 AM | Comments (2)
March 13, 2007
Speaking of Art
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| The Chico
Beat's editorial on the recent
art survey created by some local artists (and others) was pretty much to be expected.
They didn't like it. When I had previously read some nice
things about the survey in the E-R that was a
solid indicator that the Beat would disapprove. The Beat writes... "It looks more like an effort to manipulate the public's existing antipathy toward public art. This suspicion is reflected in the way the survey is designed. Respondents are presented with a set of public arts projects and asked to grade each on a scale from "strongly like" to "strongly dislike." But each project is listed with how much it cost the city, with no reference as to which of several pots of money funded the project." |
Daniel Donnely, one of the survey creators, addressed this concern when he wrote in the E-R... "Out of the 300 respondents who have taken the survey, there have been three or four who have commented that the survey is trying to manipulate people by asking how they feel about specific public art projects while also listing the dollar amounts of these projects. I feel that it's important for people to know how much a project costs when taxpayer funds are being used..." I agree that the price of public art is an important factor. There are people in town that won't like public art at any price. There are some that will like it no matter the price. Most people will like it at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, "reasonable" is a subjective term. From Donnely's comments on the survey results it can be deduced that "COBA" was deemed very reasonable in price and the "Silver Plow" not so reasonable at $130K (COBA was the over-sized paintings featuring rotating artists that hung on Zucchini and Vine for a few years). It would be odd for an Art Commission to not want to see the survey results, no matter what the scientific value is. Public opinion on art is hard to come by. What's more odd is that the Chico Beat is so antagonistic towards the survey. They seem to have an agenda of their own. Apparently they can express their own opinion of art, but the rest of us need to keep quiet. This was most true when they decided to offer their own antipathy towards public art with their opinion of the Martin Luther King Jr. statue. From the Beat editorial discussing the King statue in Community Park... "Maybe if the coalition had not been so focused on the idea of a bronze statue in the first place, another piece might have been selected, one more creative, more interactive, more appropriate to the site. It probably also could have cost less than $70,000." They must have an agenda since they mentioned the price. Even worse, they forgot to tell us which of the several pots of money that statue's funding came from (in this case half the money was private). Or maybe they just enjoy being hypocrites. If you want to give your opinion on public art projects, take the survey here. |
Posted by Lon at 12:00 AM | Comments (2)
March 12, 2007
Oak Way On Display
 |
| CARD is displaying examples of the three
kinetic sculptures proposed for Oak Way Park (at the corner of 8th Ave
and Nord). Above is a kinetic sculpture game I played as a kid. On the
second page of this post are photos of models of the proposed sculptures. The models are on display at the CARD center at 545 Vallombrosa, and will be on display until March 17th. An art selection committee made of local folks will select one of these sculptures, and then the Art Commission and City Council will have a say. Now is the time for the public to give their opinion of the pieces. Questionnaires for the public to fill out for each sculpture are located at CARD. They ask the questions: 1. Is the proposed sculpture playful and fun? 2. How well does the proposed art work relate in scale, materials, and form, to Oak Way Park? 3. Have the issues of vandalism, weathering, ease of maintenance, and safety been addressed. Each question is supposed to be answered on a 1 to 5 scale with 5 being the most successful. I'm guessing that these questionnaires are a rehash of what the "art selection" committee is supposed to ponder. Number 3 doesn't seem like the kind of info most members of the public would have at their fingertips. You could go to CARD and fill out the forms, or you could just send your opinion to the emails listed below, and ask that it be made available to the selection committee. |
| From The City
Web Site: The final selection
will be made on March 26, 2007, at 4:00 p.m. in Conference Room 1, Council
Chamber
Building,
421 Main Street, Chico, CA. The Selection Panel’s recommendation
will be forwarded to the Arts Commission and the City Council for review.
All meetings are open to the public. For more information contact: Arts
Project Coordinator Mary Gardner at 896-7214 or email mgardner@ci.chico.ca.us or
go to the City’s web site
www.ci.chico.ca.us and click on "City Arts" PS. I would copy any email sent to the City to ArtsCommissioners@ci.chico.ca.us just to verify that your opinion is received by appointed officials in addition to paid staff. |
 |
| Proposal #1 - Artist: Robert Ellison Description - The object on the left has a rotating top, the one on the right has a top that rocks back and forth. This display gives a good idea of the size of the finished art pieces. |
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| Proposal #2 - Artist: Matt Auvinen Description - The "rocket" has a spinning wind-vane thingy on top, and this is the only art piece that appeared to include lighting. |
 |
| Proposal #3 - Artist: David Brown Description - The dingily thing in the middle spins. This is the piece most likely to be used by me as a disc golf target. Just kidding, I like this sculpture. |
Posted by Lon at 08:32 PM | Comments (1)
March 11, 2007
Big Pile O' Dirt
 |
| I had 6 yards of topsoil delivered to my
house on Friday, and spent all day Saturday wheelbarrowing it into my backyard.
That's a lot of dirt. But as I worked I noticed that the dirt was attracting
neighborhood kids like concrete Plazas attract skateboarding miscreants. Early in the day it was easy to work around the kids. I set up a line of demarcation that they couldn't play beyond. As the pile got smaller my shovel began encountering small fortifications manned by tiny grenade throwing soldiers. They were sometimes bivouacked with the odd storm trooper or teenage mutant ninja turtle. At times a flip of the shovel would send anti-aircraft batteries and armored personel vehicles tumbling into the shrinking play zone. Two aircraft carriers and a B17 bomber were moved into the region from a neighboring super power (my next door neighbor's house). Diplomatic discussions took place and fell apart several times. Alliances were forged and broken. Over time it became apparent to all involved that the island was disappearing. One estimate was that it would be gone in 25 years. In actuality it disappeared just 4 hours later. At the end of days a group effort was put together to move the armies to another planet. It turns out that aircraft carriers can sometimes make interstellar trips. My labor was made much easier by being able to work around kids at play. But it made me think about how fun a pile of dirt really was. I wonder if maybe somewhere in Chico we could find a nice spot, and just install a great big pile of dirt. Or if we really want to give our kids a magnificent playground we could install two great big piles of dirt. And wouldn't it be cool if they were different colors? No that's just getting too fancy. |
Posted by Lon at 10:08 AM | Comments (3)
March 10, 2007
Don't Be A Cranky Old Man
 |
| After the last "State of the City" address
I thought Councilor Larry Wahl cornered the market on the role of "cranky-old
man" on the council. But it looks like there's another strong contender
for the title. Tom Nickell's recent expedition into the the Downtown Plaza clearly establishes his street "cred" with the vexed and venerable. In addition to tracking poo across the plaza he pointed out that the damage being caused by those malevolant minors on coasting devices (here in California they are often called West Coasting devices). From Jenn Klein's E-R story... Nickell said he walked around City Plaza and saw damage caused by skateboarders riding on rails and beer cans and trash. He also stepped in a couple of piles of dog droppings. Nickell, who began his first term on the council in January, said he's concerned the plaza the city spent $4.1 million on is getting trashed. |
| Nickell even complained about those pesky teenagers
and their loud rock-and-roll music coming from those new fangled "8 tracked tapes". "The councilor said he's also received e-mails from people about music booming from cars in downtown. Nickell said the loud noise is an issue to those who are trying to eat downtown or shop in stores. He is suggesting a ban on loud music and noise coming from vehicles in the downtown area so people can enjoy the area." Back to reality... neither Nickell or Wahl are really being all that cranky when it comes to their concerns. In fact I think Wahl and Nickell's concerns may have have some linkage with regards to the Plaza. Wahl expressed concern over spending without planning, and Nickell is concerned over impacts to an expensive Plaza that weren't planned for (ignoring his comments on loud music for the time being). The Park Commission recently, and reflexively, supported the General Services Director's request to ban skateboards at the Plaza. But a question I would like for some official to ask is.. here it goes... How did the City spend $4.1million on a primarily concrete Plaza design without considering use by skateboarders? I can pretty much guarantee that some discussion of skateboard use occurred during the design. I think councilors and commissioners should review assurances provided by the park designers that these problems were solved. This shouldn't be done to establish blame, but to improve future plans. I do agree with a previous Chico Beat editorial that the skateboarders shouldn't be banned from the Plaza. I think it has become common practice to remove recreation from public property instead of seeking to find compromise. For example, skateboarding could be restricted by only allowing it between 5PM-8PM, reducing impact and still allowing some access. On Nickell's "loud music" coming from cars concern... how in the world would that be enforced? Are you going to post police with decibal meters downtown? This is unenforcable, and a CHP officer should know that. Yeah, it's annoying, but it's also a free country. |
Posted by Lon at 08:42 AM | Comments (5)
March 09, 2007
CARD Opens Up
|
| Last night CARD held an open house for
the public to begin taking part in their Master Plan update. The last
CARD
plan was created in 1988, and it's easy to see that it hasn't always
been followed, and park management in Chico may not be at its most efficient
level. Part of the problem is that there is overlap between CARD and City of Chico services. And the two institutions sometimes have different capabilities and focus. For example, CARD runs Community Park, but the City runs Wildwood Park, both are considered "community parks". The City sometimes builds parks and then hands them over to CARD if the price is right. For Wildwood Park the price was wrong, and so the City awarded upkeep to a cheaper private company. Less than a mile away CARD runs Hooker Oak Recreation Area, also a "community park". Having two institutions running two similar parks less than a mile from each other is not efficient. |
| Another example of the City operating at odds with CARD's existing Master
Plan can be seen in "neighborhood parks". Recently approved City "neighborhood
parks" have also been built with reduced emphasis on recreation. CARD's
1988 Master Plan says "neighborhood parks" should have restrooms,
picnic areas, basketball/tennis courts, children's play areas, and open
space. These facilities are desired to relieve pressure on Bidwell Park, and other community parks. Recent parks have been built intentionally without those facilities. If CARD were to adopt these locales in the future, they would not meet its current Master Plan goals. Few people showed up at the CARD open house while I was there. There seemed to be more people at the kid's karate class down the hall. I think that's to be expected, but really too bad. Supervisor Maureen Kirk, who recently joined the Citizen's Advisory Committee hit the nail on the head when she described public interest in planning. Paraphrased, she said "many people don't have an opinion on what you do until after you do it". The consultants at EDAW are trying to gather information on Chico. A lack of public input can dramatically change how the information is understood. And can lead officials to incorrect conclusions. Here are a few examples I noted. EDAW used 5 similar cities to compare with Chico. They said that only one had a disc golf course. I could tell that 4 of 5 of the cities had disc golf courses. They also felt that Chico was over-served by tennis courts and swimming pools as compared to other communities. I think that data is wrong. Our tennis courts have been removed or are part of schools and may not be accessible to the public if schools decide to lock gates. Our pools are in terrible shape, and that includes one-mile. The Citizen's Advisory Committee which includes notables such as Supervisor Maureen Kirk, Councilor Ann Schwab, and Planning Commissioner John Merz, will continue to meet throughout the year. And other "open-houses" will occur as well. I hope the public takes part in future opportunities. |
Posted by Lon at 09:06 AM | Comments (6)
March 08, 2007
Captain America Dead?
 |
| ABC News reported yesterday that Marvel
Comics superhero Captain
America would be killed in the latest edition
of the Captain America comic
book. "It ends a long run for the stars-and-stripes-wearing character, created in 1941. Over the years, some 210 million copies of Captain America comic books, published by New York-based Marvel Entertainment Inc., have been sold in 75 countries." The fact that this made the news is pretty amazing. It shows that these characters have become household names. There are probably a half dozen comic titles that feature the Captain America character, not all of which will quit using him (example: the Ultimates). There is also a movie in the works scheduled for release in 2009. And of course characters in this media are killed off and resurrected at will. The depth of storylines and characters this genre has produced over many decades is staggering. I grew up reading Marvel comics. Both of my older brothers read them as well. This left me with a pretty large and diverse library of comics, a lot of which I still have. As I got older the stories aged as well. The comics became more graphic and addressed adult topics. My favorite superhero, Iron Man, was written as an alcoholic superhero shortly after I quit following comic books. Not the best story arc for little kids, but it showed the storylines were aging with the audience. Iron Man is also being made into a movie to be released in 2008 (with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges, "the Dude" from Tron). For people like me that enjoyed superhero comics as a kid these are good times. Captain America's death follows years of few original ideas coming from Hollywood. Marvel's many comics are a natural crutch for an industry heavy on technology but light on creativity. The characters also come with a built in audience. I've already seen Spider Man, X-Men, Daredevil, Elektra, Punisher, The Hulk, Ghostrider, Fantastic Four, and Blade be made into movies. I expect to see many more childhood heroes grace the silver screen, and it's nice to know Captain America will be one of them. |
Posted by Lon at 12:00 AM | Comments (1)
March 07, 2007
Sweet Revenge
|
| At Tuesday night's City Council meeting
the Council asked the City Attorney to provide an opinion on a change
in annual allocations of discretionary general funds. No timetable was placed on the attorney's
response. The possible change would prevent discretionary
funds from going to any organization that took part in political
speech. By the way, political speech is also known as "free speech"(even
though it is often associated with money). These funds are typically doled out annually to a couple of dozen local non-profit organizations which include CARD, DCBA, Chamber of Commerce, Chico Cat Coalition, and a slew of others (here is a May '06 post on last year's spending). This was pretty funny to watch because although nobody would say it outright, this had the appearance of "pay-back" for the Chico Chamber of Commerce (who endorsed only conservative candidates in the last election). Councilor Steve Bertagna asked who the policy was directed at, and none of the other councilors wanted to give a specific example. I posted in December the fact that the firefighters union takes general fund money and supports a PAC that engages in political speech. The police union does the same. I also posted that the Chico Chamber raises private funds for its PAC (it does not use city funds). The Chamber also submits to audits to ensure general funds are not used for political purposes. With no complaints or examples of wrong-doing, and with other organizations supporting PACs while accepting City money, this looks to be a political pot-shot. |
| Even if a new policy is
enacted it won't work. The Chamber received $122,000 from the City for
'06-'07 (this is much more
than the private money its PAC raised). If a rule change occurs the Chamber
should just close doors on its PAC and continue to receive City money.
And then members of the Chamber should form a new PAC called the "Chico
Chamber of Businesses PAC". They could adopt a cool moniker like "The
Chamber" or "The Chico Chamber" for advertisements. The City Council should not try to control private money raised and spent on private political free speech. They look vindictive when they do, and it won't prevent people from supporting candidates that they identify with. |
Posted by Lon at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 06, 2007
Playing Hooky
 |
| Monday I ducked work and took my son on a hike to Feather Falls. Now is a wonderful time of the year to go. The weather is great for a hike, and the water flow is at full power. The photo doesn't do it justice. The waterfall is 640' in height and thunders into the rocks below with constantly changing sprays of water. It is a lot like watching a campfire on steroids. |
 |
| It takes about an hour to drive from Chico to the Feather Falls trailhead. The hike out to the falls takes less than a couple of hours. A fantastic overlook has been built to provide a stunning view of both the falls and the valley the water runs down. The overlook is shown above and is built out onto a precipice. It's a
a great place for lunch, or a long break in the middle of the hike. It
is also a fine place to have a light saber fight. Once again I
suffered defeat at the hands of a young padawan.
Oh well, that's what happens when you delve into the "dark side". Below is a picture of my son showing off some of the lady bugs we came across. From November to March you can find large clumps of these bugs wintering together. Finding the ladybugs was just one of the mini adventures we had. |
 |
Posted by Lon at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 05, 2007
Planning a Course Correction
 |
| With all the emphasis on making City
government more efficient and reducing the cost to city staff in "time served" on
various projects, you have to wonder what some of our Planning Commissioners
were thinking. I posted about Susan Minasian's idea to revamp the Nexus study fee process back in February. And at the same time commented on John Merz's uneccessary pronouncement of the "good ole boy network being dead in Chico". It seemed like some of the Planning Commissioners, while new to the job, were ready to clean house. Of course the house wasn't that dirty, unless you consider the redundant and expensive replay of the same issues to be a dust bunny. More problematic was that the Planning Commission, neighbors of new developments, and City Council all disagreed on what was desirable. This made life hard on the wretched souls who make their living planning Chico's roads and houses. In Saturday's E-R Jenn Klein reported that Mayor Holcombe emailed in an executive order to the Planning Commission via Jon Luvass. It was reported that Luvaas said... "the mayor had requested it (Planning Commission) diligently work on its two-year work plan and in the meantime not discuss policy changes or ask staff to spend time on policy issues" You could blame the liberal council for appointing people to this commission that were known as no-growth community activists. But after winning an election that was their option. I have to give credit to Andy Holcombe for stepping in and making this course correction before the Planning Commission threw heaps of unwanted work on City staff. After the last few meetings there were rumours of more city workers wanting to leave Chico's gainful employment. With the Planning Commission starting to sound like a shadow City Council, Holcombe showed strong leadership in directing the Planning Commission to concentrate on it's core job. These points are reiterated in additional statements as reported in Klein's story. "But Holcombe, who previously expressed interest in how other cities fund development impacts, said a discussion of mitigating impacts is a policy and financial issue, not a planning one. While boards and commissions definitely have a role to advise the council about policy, he said Friday the commission should do that through its work plan or through upcoming community meetings on the city's General Plan update. Holcombe said he sent an e-mail to Luvaas, the commission's chairman, that the panel shouldn't address policy issues on day-to-day matters. He said the commission should call him if it had policy questions." Note: That's not a mug shot of Holcombe. It's a photo from a link describing an award he received for providing free legal service to the homeless. |
Posted by Lon at 09:48 AM | Comments (0)
March 04, 2007
Deforestation
 |
| I dined at Redwood Forest once (downtown
Chico). It was quite a while ago. It didn't strike a chord with me,
but apparently many other people enjoyed the establishment.
It's sad to see yet another downtown business close, especially one that
has
been in place and enjoyed by many people. This closure goes hand in hand with other downtown businesses calling it quits including Oy-Vey, Lee's Pharmacy, Main Street Music, Tower Records and Books, Redwood Forest Toy Store, Trends and Traditions, and even Juanita's (Hey Juans). Other important changes in downtown include Chevy's dumping a load of money into an anchor locale and then running screaming from the area. Or both theatres calling it quits. Kinkos and Sports LTD also qualify as exits worth noting. I read a couple of letters-to-the-editor today that have me scratching my head. First there was this referring to the restaurant closure... It would be one thing if it were due to tough times or a lack of business, but to know that a longtime family-run Chico business is being forced to close because of sheer greed is appalling to me. Then there was this... Apparently the owners of the building feel that getting more money from the rental space trumps keeping a popular and successful well-run "non-chain" local restaurant from going forward. |
| I'm not sure where to go with these public complaints.
If Redwood Forest is not closing due to tough times (or the owner's desire
for change), then they should relocate. A business that doesn't own its
building should always be prepared for the financial cost of a move, or should demand a long duration lease. Arguing that greed is the cause of increased downtown rent is either socialist hyperbole or a capitalist reality. Either way it doesn't matter, the property owner has the right to do what they want. That's one of the strange side effects of private property rights. If people want to rent property at a loss, they should buy property and do so. It could also be said that all of the Redwood Forest patrons over the years should have paid more for their meals. The diners greed must have contributed to a lack of profits, right? Alternatively, the restaurant owner could haved raised prices in order to weather increased expenses. Would that be greed as well? No, probably not. Businesses are tough to run. As far as small businesses go restaurants have to be the hardest to run. I think its a shame that another local business will close downtown. But come on folks, are you not seeing a trend over the last decade? Recently, the Planning Commission gathered together with City staff to identify "priorities" for local planning decisions. Each Commissioner rattled off top concerns that included sustainability, open-space, conservation, and alternative energy. No Planning Commissioner mentioned economic development as a concern. We need to recognize that planning for economic development downtown, and throughout Chico, should be a priority. Until then the business environment will continue to degrade. In the meantime the City of Chico is just paying lip service to being "business friendly". Blaming property owners for local business conditions might be convenient but its not going to do anyone any good. |
Posted by Lon at 09:46 AM | Comments (3)
March 03, 2007
Snakes in the Grass
 |
| During a hike in upper park today we came across a
rattlesnake. It was in the process of dying and we didn't see it until
my 6 year old was just a couple of feet from it. It wasn't in any condition
to strike, but certainly freaked the kid out. We were looking for lizards
a few feet "off trail" when we ran across the snake. It had probably
been run-over by a mountain bike on the adjacent trail, or had a run-in
with
someone
further up the food chain. It wasn't too old, and was about 3 feet long
and pretty skinny. It seems like I see one every other year, and often during the months approaching Spring. I figured it would be a good idea to remind people that rattlesnakes are common in Bidwell Park. I've never seen one in lower park, but other than Sycamore Pool and Caper Acres I'm not in lower park that often. I'm sure they are there. I've seen two on the disc golf course off of Highway 32, both were on the "short course" that carries the majority of the foot traffic. In previous years I ran across two in Middle Park (between Manzanita and Horseshoe Lake). One was at the old Horseshoe Lake parking area, and the other had been run over by a bike near 5 Mile Recreation Area. The main reason I'm reciting locales is that in most cases I wasn't off the beaten path. Most rattlesnakes I came across were in areas regularly used by park goers. I've never heard of a person getting bit by a rattlesnake in Bidwell Park (I'm sure it's happened), but a friend of mine had his dog get bitten. But no matter where you are in Bidwell Park, keep your eyes on the trail for those critters with the vibrating tails. They are out there and are looking for ways to avoid people. If you see them first that makes it all the easier. |
Posted by Lon at 05:23 PM | Comments (3)
March 01, 2007
That's Comcastic!
 |
| A few months ago I switched from DSL to a cable modem
for Internet access. I'm not an early adopter of technology. When I buy some "newish" electronic
device it's been on the market for a while (and should have most
of the bugs worked out). I learned to avoid early technology releases
from my brother who championed Betamax after a high dollar purchase
in
the
1980's. That didn't work out too well. So, I was enjoying my Motorola DCT6412 DVR from Comcast when things began to go terribly wrong. First, I lost the sci-fi channel. That seemed like a personal attack. Then I lost the rest of the higher cable channels (History, Science, TV Japan, you know, the good ones). It was just on one of the tuners, but that meant you couldn't schedule recordings. Then the sound went out, but would come back if you changed the channel........and then go out again. Using all of my electronic engineer and blogger skills I started researching the DVR. The list of common Motorola 6412 bugs is lengthy, and I've listed some classics below. I also ran across some forums and blogs where Comcast customers were livid with this product. On one Bay Area site every time a new bug was reported somebody would chime in "That's just Comcastic!"(it wasn't a positive exclamation). I'd have to agree, it has been a Comcastic experience. On the up-side I recently swapped out my DVR at the Comcast office and the replacement seems to be working pretty well. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed. |
| Some interesting problems Comcast
DVR users have reported. Problem: When turning the box on, it may not display a picture or sound. Changing channels has no effect Cause: The problem may be caused by a bug with scheduled recordings. The problem may occur when the box has shut itself off following a scheduled recording. Remedies: Don't turn off the box Play a recorded program for a moment, then return to live programming Reboot the box (unplug power for a minute) Problem: Box turns off by itself Cause: Viewing began after box had turned itself on for a scheduled recording. Recording concluded. Remedy: None (Never turn DVR off) Problem: The box may stop responding to the remote while watching live TV or a recorded program Note: The show will play back fine without stutter. When you press fast-forward or rewind, the box will ignore you. This goes on for maybe 30-60secs. Then, the box will respond to all the buttons you have pressed. Cause: Unknown Remedy: A DVR Authorization and Factory Full Reset may help. Problem: Box locks up between 4:20 and 4:50 AM or PM Cause: This was caused by i-guide purge and rebuild of data. Blogger Note: Can you say "stoner programmer"? Remedies: Delete all of your series recordings from the Series Priority List, then recreate them. Use DVR HDD RESET to wipe everything and start from scratch. |
Posted by Lon at 07:30 PM | Comments (0)