photos by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

Today B-Line assigned the new Orion buses to general routes including the 40 Route going to Paradise. One of the best photography platforms I've experienced, riding the new buss is almost like riding a living room on wheels. In the lower section, the passengers conversed as though in a friend's living room.

It may be because of the newness of the buses, but there was a much better feeling on the new buses than on those they will augment/replace. These buses may make the daily commute much more convivial.

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

Only the fifth Smart car sited in Butte County, this little convertible was parked at Safeway in Paradise. The closest dealer is still in Sacramento, but according to Mari Buckley, these cars are the rage in Europe.

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

Traffic was diverted this morning by Paradise Police after a power cable was cut on Clark Street between Wagstaff and Bille. Pacific Gas & Electric had the incident repaired and power restored before 10 am. The B-Line 40 route bus was delayed 20 minutes during the repairs.

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

My corespondent in England, Mari Buckley, observed at jpgmag.com; "Awwww !! It looks so tiny on your spacious American roads !!!"

Since I moved onto the Ridge in 2000, there was one stop sign on Skyway between Chico and Inskip. That was a very convenient landmark for me, as i could tell people to turn at the stop sign and get to my house.

The march of time and technology has finally changed that. While the powers that be declare that the intersection is now safer, once more Paradise has lost something that has made it special.

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

When a bank replaced a video store on Clark and Wagstaff a few years ago, they quickly leveled an old wooden bus shed. The Town of Paradise helped them by promising and building a metal bus stand, under the reasoning that modern is better.

What this shows is that the voice of the people does not matter around here. Money is all that counts, and it is better to move money faster than help people. Only when it is convenient for the rich to do a thing does it get done for the poor.

Just like the dog and pony shows that were BCAG's Unmet Transit Needs meetings, where the people came to speak to their needs, only to find that BCAG ruled that there were no needs that they could do reasonably, this is an indication of how Butte County deals with the poor folks.

We have no voice, so why bother?

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;

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

For the moment the skies look blue and the sun is visible up on the Ridge, thanks to the tireless efforts of the men and women who saved us from major problem. This year seems to have been bracketed b extremes in weather, giving us winter snow back in January and summer snow to begin this summer.

I have never seen either extreme before, but there has been a lot to remember about 2008. And I was just trying to get the helicopter visible at the top of this tree.

photos by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

Woke up this morning to the strangest pall I've seen in Paradise. With my nightlight still on at 9am, there was a lot of smoke up from the Concow fire.

At Wagstaff and Clark in Paradise, there was an unusual spectrum to the car headlights cutting through the smoke.

This cyclist forded through the smoky traffic on Clark and Wagstaff in Paradise this morning

Representative Wally Herger speaks to concerned Paradise residents at the C&MA church last Saturday soon after noon

Paradise Town Manager Chuck Rough is one of the most authoritative and concerned officials to speak

The Red Cross is using the C&MA facilities to help area residents during the last two weeks of fire emergencies. This is one of 12 such vehicles that the Red Cross uses nationwide.

The communications equipment that the Red Cross uses for emergencies stands ready to help the people of Paradise.

Butte County Supervisor Kim Yamaguchi discusses the emergency with a concerned citizen while Wally Herger stands ready to further assist.

photos by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

In the beginning, when the sky was just winter white, the only way one could see the sun was as a reflection

Unlike the gray quality of fog, the ghostly white nature of the smoke these lightning fires produce shrouds traffic with mystery. vibility is less than 1,000 feet and the air carries an ominous odor.

Wednesday afternoon was the first time the smoke allowed the sun to make an appearance, though shrouded with a bronze hue.

Shooting at Skyway was difficult because of the smoke, wrapping the path in a ethereal blanket.

photos by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008