This is one of my favorite points on Skyway. Taking the 40 route B-Line bus down to Chico found today's smoke worse on Skyway than it was in Paradise

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

My favorite point of irony just changed hands. The Money Saver on Fair Street in Chico is now a Beacon to the ongoing rush to $5 a gallon gasoline. It's starting out with a comparably low price, but that won't be around long.

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

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

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

posted at the downtown Chico Chevron station

This is a new entry in the economy vehicle sweepstakes. According to Sandi Winthrow of Winthrow's Motorsports here in Chico, this 1,000cc vehicle can conservatively maintain a 35 mpg mileage rating. Priced at under $17,000, the Can-Am Spyder comes in at about the same price as the Smart Car pictured below. It is listed as a roadster, and as such can be driven with a standard driver's license.

photos by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

Not yet for sale in this region, the Smart Car is available through the Smart Center of Sacrament. Drivers report a mileage of about 37 mpg. The 71 mpg diesel version is available in Canada and Mexico, but not in the United States yet.

I filed the story below on August 17, 2007, I heard the CEO of PiaggioUSA interviewed last weekend, and he said that at the end of next year they plan to introduce a hybrid version of this three wheel vehicle. He expected the mileage to come in at 140 miles per gallon

New motor scooter; Piaggio MP3

I don't believe what I just saw on YouTube. Piaggio, the company that brought us the Vespa scooter, which I owned a long time ago, has just come out with a three wheel scooter. Called the MP3, it has two steering wheels in the front and it's drive wheel astern.

Piaggio says the MP3 is available in two sizes, 125cc and 250cc (and now 400 and 500cc models). The video sells this concept extremely well in that even in a steep lean, all three wheels stay on the ground. The most unique saddled motor vehicle I've ever seen, this thing claims to be much more stable than its two wheel cousins. Yet it is small enough to be registered as a two-wheel scooter.

Tomorrow, ah well we can dream, right?

Shot from Tuscan Ridge Golf Course and on Skyway. The Butte County Firestorm burnt up a good part of the vegetation on the Skyway but people still play golf..

photos by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

Thor Sparre is also the security advisor for the post. He expressed concern about the fire danger in Butte County a couple months ago, but some of the events that occurred, such as the blockage of access to Paradise, the running out of gasoline supplies, and the shortage of some foodstuffs in the grocery stores, were items he has tried to hammer home to the membership for a few years.

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

We in Central Paradise were on our own during the fire's height because of the blockage of all the usual access points into our town. Sparre had predicted that we would face such. The picture with this essay, $4.79 a gallon gasoline, was the former Shell station at Wagstaff and Skyway, apparently one of the gas stations that had run out of gas during the major evacuation. It dropped its price 18 cents by mid-afternoon Saturday.

As evacuee and Butte County Supervisor Kim Yamaguchi saw first hand, 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 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.

Again I was lucky, being able to get home on a ride that took over two hours. The one time our humble community made the national news was for one of the most disturbing events we've seen in a long time, which will reshape the Ridge for a long time to come.

I thank the almost 4,000 firefighters who came in from such as Orange County, Newcastle, Santee, and Copperopolis to make this a bearable experience for us. Yes I am lucky as is this town that became the subject on statewide and national concern.

Photos by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

Skyway was opened this morning for traffic after a fire scorched the Honey Run canyon yesterday and forced the closure of the primary route to Paradise. The Soundslides presentation below depicts the detour shot from a B-Line 40 route bus.

Even though only one lane was open this morning was open on much of Skyway, there was little obstruction for traffic descending to Chico and the 10am bus I took these shots from

theme "Emergency" by Nelson Riddle

“Butte County Clerk Candace Grubbs said the action has nothing to do with gay marriage and everything to do with money. “

The problem is this decision made Statewide news reports on KGO radio out of San Francisco. Last night Christine Craft did an hour on Grubb's announcement. Craft called this an act of prejudice and excoriated Grubb, suggesting she should resign her post and hire on as a church clerk,

In the only time that Butte County makes statewide news aside from the Oroville fire, this decision makes us a laughing stock. As Craft said Grubb is not working for a religious organization, but for the government which represents everybody, and is responsible to all citizens of Butte County.

Grubb is right about one thing. This is about money. Same sex marriage is a new funding source for local government, as Craft pointed out. So one of the poorest counties in California is doing this?

“California is blessed with one of the world's most dynamic and diverse economies, but when it comes to the state budget process, we are highly dysfunctional. The economic slowdown and autopilot state spending have created a budget shortfall of $3.3 billion for the current fiscal year, and it could grow to an estimated $14.5 billion by July 2009.”

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

His main concern seems to be, after two attempts to reform the budget process, to deal with fixed expenditures which are part of this process. He believes that these elements are the main reason the budget is out of balance. He proposed a 10 percent across-the-board to nearly every General Fund program from 2008-09 levels.

“ I am proud that higher education spending will still increase”, he wrote, “by $1.6 billion-bringing its total funding level to $21.7 billion. This includes $5.5 billion for the University of California System, a net increase of $81.3 million; $4.4 billion for our California State Universities, a net increase of $35.1 million; and $9.1 billion for our California Community Colleges, an increase of $146.5 million”

In order to fix what he calls a budget mess, Governor Schwarzenegger wants to propose an automatic mechanism that would trigger lower funding levels already approved by the Legislature equivalent to the deficit.

This is another case of fixed programs not addressing the problems that inevitably occur during the budget year. It takes judgment out of the hand of the people we elect to fix California's difficulties.

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

As a starving student at Chico State, I haven't had the money to run a car for quite some time. Still, I held onto the hope that such a convenience would come my way. Prices like this completely dash the dream and confine me to a bus driver as chauffeur for the foreseeable future.

While walking slowly on the streets of the Ridge, I see all these bricks with wheels speeding past and muse on how they can afford to keep their piece of the road running. The traffic hasn't seemed to have diminished over the last couple of months so there must be an out somewhere.

Another writer I read this morning ranted about the increased cost of corn flakes. With me it's wheat bread and meat, but everything else I can eat increases its presence in my budget as well. And yet there is no movement yet to do anything about this.

The sign I pictured here is from Conoco/Phillips Union 76, all of which used to be separate service stations. Isn't this the way things got out of control a hundred years ago when the reformist movement broke up Big Oil? I fear what will happen when the American people reach their breaking point this time.

photos by Gary D. Brune, Adjutant Post 259, Paradise copyright (c) 2008

Yes Mr. Barret, veterans can now salute the flag in or out of uniform.

Veterans in Paradise celebrated Memorial Day by raising 13 flags at the Veteran's Hall and firing off a 21 gun salute at the Memorial Day ceremonies at the Paradise Cemetery.

To quote from Sulzman's dispatch this morning; "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. I believe the language was originally added as an amendment by Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma when the bill was going through the Senate.

This information is a wonderful way to celebrate Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day