Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

Editor’s note: The new Nevada City police chief is from Marin County. I hope our local, vocal “far righties” can handle a growing contingent of ex-”Marinites” in the Inland Empires. What is the world coming to? Here’s the press release:

The selection process for a new Police Chief for Nevada City has been completed and Jim Wickham has been selected for the position by City Manager Dave Brennan. Mr. Wickham most recently served as Police Captain in the City of Mill Valley where he started his career in 1980.

Mr. Wickham was selected after an extensive recruitment process and a series of interviews that concluded that he would be the most qualified applicant who could bring valuable experience to serve the Nevada City community. During Mr. Wickham’s career he has acquired over 2000 hours of management training and applied those skills during his last 18 years in a management capacity with the City of Mill Valley.

As an integral member of the Mill Valley Police Department, Jim maintained close ties to the community through numerous civic, recreational and educational groups. Working with community stakeholders in business and education, Jim had developed strong ties and created local legislation and programs to serve community interests.

Mr. Wickham begins his tenure as Nevada City Police Chief on March 5th.

Mayor David McKay commented that, “The selection process attracted a number of very well qualified candidates and after two lengthy discussions of the City Council’s observations and desire to select the right person for Nevada City, the City Council and City Manager reached unanimity for offering the position to Jim Wickham. We are looking forward to Jim Wickham’s joining our Nevada City community”.

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“Mark Meckler’s resignation as an employee and from the Tea Party Patriots board follows months of discussions and good-faith differences on how best TPP can serve the Tea Party movement. He felt it necessary to step aside and pursue other endeavors. We extend our best wishes to him. He has done many good things for the movement.

“The Tea Party movement involves millions of Americans. No one person or even small groups of people are responsible for the movement’s success and vitality. Tea Party Patriots is successful because a great many people have given so much sweat and toil toward our goals of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free markets.

“The entirety of TPP remains committed to providing the movement and also our state and local coordinators with all the tools and support they need to extend the movement’s success throughout 2012 and beyond. We intend to expand that support which Tea Party Patriots provides.

“The movement and Tea Party Patriots will continue to grow stronger and to build an enduring grass-roots organization that increases public support for our ideals of fiscal responsibility, limited government and free markets.”

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RENO – I’m over in Reno this morning, but that isn’t stopping me from providing a small-town scoop:

Julia Jordan is going to be the new executive director of the Grass Valley Downtown Association, succeeding Howard Levine. Julia is now the project administrator for the Downtown Association and works tirelessly to promote the downtown in the “cul de sac” and beyond.

I have not spoken yet to Julia or one of the board members, but I am confident this decision has been made, so I stopped to file this report from the Courtyard Suites Hotel in Reno (the one next to Total Wine, where I just closed a deal to distribute our magazine and promote Grass Valley). It’s a good spot to check your email too.

I also hear she will take over on March 15 – the “Ides of March” and my birthday.

Julia won out from a large field of competitors and was one of three finalists. She has a bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Barbara and is a savvy and experienced marketer.

She understands the value of maintaining a unique and historic downtown, as well as promoting the downtown well outside (as well as inside) the county.

Our family is so proud of her! (We wrote a well-deserved letter of recommendation, along with more than a dozen others).

We will invite her and her “significant other” to Villa Venezia to celebrate.

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“Former New York City Mayor and 2008 Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said Thursday evening that he was concerned that Republican stances on social issues makes the GOP look ‘like it isn’t a modern party,’ Politico is reporting.

‘“I think the biggest problem right now, I think abortion you can work out… but I think the gay rights issue is a more current one right now. I think beyond all the religious and social parts, it makes the party look like it isn’t a modern party, it doesn’t understand the modern world we live in,’ Giuliani said on CNN’s “OutFront.”

“Absolutely,’ Giuliani added, when host Erin Burnett asked if the Republican Party’s positions on social issues could lead to the rise of a third party.”

The rest of the article is here.

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KCRA has a video of police cars chasing the stabbing suspect from Lake of the Pines. It is here. One man is dead and another is in police custody after a stabbing at a party at Lake of the Pines.

“Placer County deputies spotted the driver along Interstate 80 and started chasing the suspect,” according to KCRA. “Several miles down the road, they were able to use spike strips to puncture the car’s front tires, but they said the driver kept going.”

“Tack strips were deployed fairly early in the pursuit. They managed to slow him down, but he continued to drive on the rims,” said Deputy David Cuneo, of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, KCRA continued.

Another video of a lieutenant explaining the stabbing, chase incident is here.

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Quantcast, which measures web audiences using sampling data, shows a decline in page views at The Union since its “pay wall” was launched. Keep in mind, however, this is just sampling data — not the actual figures, which typically are confidential. It’s the best we can do, unless The Union decides to make its web statistics public. The Quantcast report is here. (Click on “month” for the longer-range view).

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“The first Republican presidential debate in a month – and perhaps the last of this primary campaign – was an uneven affair, as rusty candidates were forced to confront their opponents once again at close quarters while Rick Santorum struggled with the frontrunner’s mantle and the barrage of attacks that come with it,” according to Boston.com.

“The former Pennsylvania senator struggled to explain his endorsement of GOP turncoat Arlen Specter, his concern about allowing women to assume combat duties, and his distinction between “good” and “bad” earmarks.

“At one point, rival Ron Paul, the Texas congressman, complained, “This demonstrates the problem that I’m talking about: There’s always an excuse to do this.”

“But it was Mitt Romney, especially interested in preventing Santorum from beating him in his native Michigan, who left the former senator stammering moments later when he accused him of alternately embracing federal family planning funding known as Title X.

Santorum offered his own version of Democrat John Kerry’s famous 2004 “I voted for it before I voted against it” declaration in response.

“I think I was making it clear that, while I have a personal more objection to it, even though I don’t support it, that I voted for bills that included it. And I made it very clear in subsequent interviews that I don’t support that, I’ve never supported it, and have, on an individual basis, have voted against it. That’s why I proposed Title XX to counterbalance it,” said Santorum.

“The audience at the Mesa Performing Arts Center responded with boos.”

The rest of the article is here.

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Here’s an email I received: The Merry Widow Society of California passed an important milestone this year.

As of this 20th anniversary of the Nevada City Mardi Gras, the MWS have raised $52,000 in scholarship money to assist single parents who are going to college full-time.

The Merry Widows may seem all frivolous fun to the casual observer.

They carefully cultivate a madcap, fun-loving, slightly naughty image for the public’s entertainment.

Behind the scenes these ladies take on the very serious and hard work of helping single parents achieve their college educations.

The MWS recognizes the immense potential in this marginalized segment of society.

These good ladies understand the positive effects of the educational example these parents are modeling for their children.

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