Commission Impossible

It's part of the artwork inside Sierra Nevada's brewery.

Greg,

There is a strong resmblance to that artwork, which I believe has a more biege color. But that is not what it is.

Lon

The bikeway you desire is in the bike plan but will be on the Sycamore and Mud Creek levee's from Five Mile Dam to West Sacramento Ave. The first phase, to Cohasset Rd, is funded and should go out to bid shortly.

Thanks Ed.

Lon

Greg Jones last day is Sept 13th.

I need more accuaracy from a City Manager Candidate!

In the past, I thought of most bike paths as a waste of money. But now that I have kids that I want to take with me to Upper Park and Wildwood I don't care to cheat death every time we cross Manzanita. A bike lane would be a welcome addition in that area also, I think that is in the works also.

Something else I think we should be looking at to improve biker/pedestrian safety is red light cameras. At Marigold school, parents drop off their kids in their cars and then race out of the parking lot to beat the red light at East Ave. It's almost comical to watch if not for the potential tragic results for those of us that walk/ride with our kids to school. Heck, maybe the cameras could help us raise more money for bike paths or parks for people.

Sean,

I've got one word for you... School Buses. Just kidding, I walk my son to school at Emma Wilson and the traffic is awful. What's really odd is that so many of the parents never leave the car.

Elementary schools need to bring back buses, or set aside parking areas to meet the traffic needs. Probably the best thing we could do is ensure our community is one where kids can walk to school. To do these things we must invade Durham (see previous post for clarification).

Lon

Jason,

There are really a couple of points I should make. The first is that in the City Manager world you always quit working a month before the date you give as your last day. This allows time for packing your desk up and having lunch with old friends. It's in Jones' contract, which you can't see because your not a registered and certified member of MUMS (Managerial Union of Municipal Services). MUMS the word buddy, MUMS the word.

Second, even if I was incorrect on the date we should consider how close I actually came to being right. The solar system is something like 4 billion years old (the high priest of global temperature stations would know for sure). That puts 1 month at about 1/48,000,000,000 of the total time of our solar system. So I'd say you're being a bit nitpicky, and in the whole scheme of things I was pretty much dead-on.

Lon

CI Challenge... Man, this is really bugging me. I KNOW that I've seen it before. Seems like it should be from a coin, paper money, or on an official seal. Or, it could be the Jolly Green Giant's girl friend.

" ...I don't care to cheat death every time we cross Manzanita."

Yea...I could write a book on this project. We're 5 years into this 2-year project which was approved in May 2002, with about 18 months to go before completion… that is if the current time holds.

Strangely, the section of roadway that will deliver the greatest public benefit has been languishing in last place in terms of priority. For some undecipherable reason, they thought that it more important to start with widening the section from Cal-Park to Hwy32.

The good news is that there does appear to be movement with the near completion of the pedestrian bridge across Chico Creek, and the creek way permit process appears to be well under way….We might see the widening of the bridges happen this year, with the hopeful completion of the roadway and Eaton/Manzanita/Wildwood/East intersection in 2008….

That has been (IMHO) a big problem with approved projects: properly managing their progress and getting them completed within a reasonable assemblance of time and money. They do have a ridiculous bureaucratic mess that they must navigate. And, fortunately they have added some good folks (e.g.:Tom Varga, Craig Murray) to the Capital Projects team.

Lon,
I would gladly subsidize school buses if I thought they were the answer, but in my little Marigold microcosm they clearly are not. I live 1/2 mile from school and while I can understand a parent dropping a child off on the way to work, what truly baffles me are the numerous parents that I see drive less than that 1/2 mi to school and then go straight back home. Is it any wonder we have a childhood obesity epidemic (not to mention the lack of neighborhood parks for people)?

Sean,

I agree that they are not the answer. It's just that I think of the large volume of traffic, and couple that with the general desire parents have NOT to let their kids walk to school.

School buses used to work, and I wonder why they no longer do. I'm sure it's cost related. I know some school district knowledgable folks read this blog, maybe they could provide some background.

Lon

Mark,

Pretty bold move assuming the Jolly Green Giant is heterosexual. After all he does self-describe as "Jolly". For all we know he dates large vegetables (I'm guessing he's an eggplant man). But whatever his personal preferences the image has nothing to do with him.

In the glory days of the RDA Citizen's Committee didn't we suggest that the city provide detailed ongoing economic pictures of all capital projects? Did they ever get around to doing that? The newer budget docs I've seen do seem easier to read, which is good.

Lon

I know I've seen this one too, and it looks like everybody is giving up. Here's my CI Challenge Shotgun Blast in the Dark Guess:

"American Heartland" US Postage Stamp

Some other than Sierra Nevada Eric Grohe Mural

Communist propoganda poster

"Rainbow Earth Godess Whole Grain Organic Foods" label

"St. Pauli Girl Wheat" label

Gregg,

No,no,and no. Mark was getting warm, it is a currency.

Bunch of quitters.

Lon

CI Challenge Answer: 1000 dinara of Yugoslavian currency. Not a big Yugo enclave in Chico I guess.

Lon