First Anniversary; An Internet Globetrotter
Just over a year ago, Chico Enterprise-Record Editor David Little sent me a dispatch advancing the notion pf putting together my own weblog, after I had become a pest with letters to the editor. Today is the one year anniversary of that experiment. If you Google my name, there are a lot of entries under its name – An Internet Globetrotter.
theme "The Big Valley" by George Duning
My mission over the next year was to have something that when it matures, it will be something to be proud of. As the strains of Airwolf and other television themes erupt from my conputer, I etch this in silicon in the hopes I will succeed.
Mail has come in from Connecticut, New York, Las Vegas and Chicago. Mari Buckley, who lives in England, note my highlighting of a small car; “Aha - a Smart Car !! Yes, we have them running round all over the place in our cities - have you ever seen the wonderfully multicoloured ones, some of them are bright green or pink. A very interesting website with loads of great photos.”
Then there is Tammy Espino from Las Vegas, who observed; “What amazing capture you had of the fires in C.A. I live in Las Vegas and every year we get the smoke from the fires and I can not even imagine what it would be like to be in it. We even get the smell. I was just leaving San Francisco when the fires started this year and could see a bit of the smoke starting! Applause to you for such great photo's and the eye to capture it all!”
Here is a retrospective of my year's work
theme "The Rebel" sung by Johnny Cash
Obviously, this weblog would not be complete without a bit of writing. As the editors of the ER lifted quotes to fill their weekly Blog Log, a few of my controversies got some focus, like this;
“Blog Log Chico Enterprise-Record Article Launched: 09/03/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT; As presently designed, the new transit center seems about as useful as costume jewelry. It dazzles and looks to be designed for the politicians to feel good and not for the bus riders to use.”
I did get benches installed on Normal Street, but that side still doesn't have a shelter because there is no money or willingness to build one.
“Blog Log Chico Enterprise-Record Article Launched: 10/15/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT; Last weekend Ted Koppel, formerly of ABC's "Nightline," broadcast a program on the Discovery Channel about the overcrowded California prison system. One of Koppel's ironic segments followed a parolee from his prison cell to the community where he was released to -- Oroville.
“What was ironic about this report is that, unless Butte county District Attorney Mike Ramsey successfully negotiates a plea from Greg Wright which means that he will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole, after an extensive prison sentence, the 17 year old boy that allegedly raised hell at Las Plumas High School will be paroled -- to Oroville.”
Then there was one story which I broke for the Enterprise-Record.
“Blog Log Chico Enterprise-Record Article Launched 03/31/2008: Following in the tire tracks of its big brother ceremony in San Francisco, the early Friday evening was descended upon by about 200 bicycle riders in Chico's own Critical Mass. Riding in an orderly, law abiding manor, some of the riders chanted as they passed through Normal Street on Second.
“Critical Mass is a leaderless event where its riders do not proceed on a fixed route. They are trying to assert greater rights and awareness for bicyclists in a way to protest the domination of the automobile in modern American society.
“These riders were unescorted by Chico and California State University police officers, even while passing in front of the Chico State police office.”
The entries below developed into an interesting story.
“Blog Log Chico Enterprise-Record Article Launched: 05/26/2008 04:12:45 AM PDT; As the veterans of Chico celebrated the opening of their new Veteran's Hall on Armed Forces Day 2008, they reminded me of the status of H.R. 3380, which is still stalled in the House of Representatives. There are 13 members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties and all have out-of-district e-mail blocks in their Web site.
“Last week I dashed off an e-mail to Wally Herger explaining the problem and asking for status. So far he has not gotten back to me. It seems that nobody in Congress is interested in helping American veterans honor our flag”
Quentin Colgan, who publishes at www.norcalblogs.com/uncomfortabletruth replied; “I dare say the only salute Congress deserves is with my finger.”
The e-mail below was in answer to this post; Hi Mr. Brune, I was just reading your blog post excerpted in the Chico E-R about the status of H.R. 3380, the bill that would amend the federal “Flag Code” to permit members of the Armed Forces and veterans out of uniform to render the military salute during the hoisting, lowering, or passing of the flag...I wanted to let you know that the text of H.R. 3380 has actually passed Congress and become law. It was included as Section 594 of H.R. 4986, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2008, which was signed into law by President Bush on January 28 of this year.
Sincerely,
Jay Sulzmann
JAY SULZMANN
Legislative Assistant
Rep. Wally Herger (CA-02)
2268 Rayburn HOB
(202) 225-3076
And of course we've made national news with the fires that erupted in Butte County. Because of the work dome by Web content Editor Brian Olson, I was able to file a few pictures from the Ridge, including this entry;
“Blog Log for June 23 Chico Enterprise-Record Article Launched: 06/23/2008 01:35:55 AM PDT; As evacuee and Butte County Supervisor Kim Yamaguchi saw firsthand, the ridge has a problem concerning disasters. Because we still do not have a passable escape route above the ridge, the roads out of this area were jammed. I was on one of the last B-Line buses coming into Paradise last Thursday, and as we inched along the detour route, the radio crackled with evacuation news for the entire community. There was much confusion as our bus, a normal 40-minute ride up Skyway, took the back way in just before the access points were closed.
“I was lucky, being able to get home on a ride that took over two hours.”
Cade's County by Henry Mancini now erupts as I close this filing. With a bit of luck I'll graduate from California State University, Chico with a degree in Journalism, and just a little help from An Internet Globetrotter. We'll see.