Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

Will Hearst and I have known each other for years, starting when he ran the S.F. Examiner and I worked at The Chronicle. We also got together when he left the Examiner for Kleiner Perkins, the Silicon Valley venture-capital firm.

Here’s a pioneering multimedia clip with Will, circa 1996, when I was Editor at CNET. We liked to meet at San Franciso’s Zuni Cafe to catch up.

Now Will (the grandson of William Randolph Hearst) has a film venture called San Simeon Films that is going to release a documentary on our county’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet Gary Snyder in May. Called “The Practice of the Wild,” it is produced by Will and writer and poet Jim Harrison.

I’ve become acquainted with Gary since we moved here, and he’s a class act. Gary, as many of you know, is refreshingly down to earth. We’ve had some thought-provoking conversations.

“This film, borrowing its name from one of Snyder’s most eloquent non-fiction books, revolves around a life-long conversation between Snyder and his fellow poet and novelist Jim Harrison,” according to the film’s Facebook page.

“These two old friends and venerated men of American letters converse while taking a wilderness trek along the central California coast in an area that has been untouched for centuries.

“They debate the pros and cons of everything from Google to Zen koans. The discussions are punctuated by archival materials and commentaries from Snyder friends, observers, and intimates who take us through the ‘Beat’ years, the years of Zen study in Japan up to the present — where Snyder continues to be a powerful spokesperson for ecological sanity and bio-regionalism.”

Here’s a trailer from the documentary, which will be shown at the S.F. Film Festival but will undoubtedly make its way up here:

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There’s no word about this in the local media (which were busy tooting their own horns with their own “save the library” campaigns — in the news pages, no less). But NCTV raised $7,500 for the county libraries in a telethon this past weekend, executive director Paul Minicucci told me on Wednesday.

Though supervisors unanimously agreed to accept a Friends of Truckee Library plan to reduce costs instead of outsourcing, as expected, the library still faces myriad future challenges.

In the meantime, the grassroots community effort paid off — including the one from NCTV. I can’t help but think that the fundraising would have been even more powerful if KNCO, The Union and NCTV had joined hands for a single campaign, rather than a fractured one. That requires real community leadership.

NCTV is now providing live streams of government meetings on your PC. This is unique among the local media outlets and is a good example of embracing Web 3.0 technologies to inform the public.

NCTV’s website is here.

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The county assessor race, supposedly a nonpartisan race that should go to a person most qualified to be a tax assessor, has turned into a highly partisan race as well — just like the county clerk-recorder one.

It shows how elections still shape up in our small, rural county — though I do believe the voting patterns are changing, as I’ve written before. Perhaps this helps explain the political “bear hug” approach that comes with supposedly nonpartisan races like tax assessor or clerk recorder.

The list of people endorsing former county supervisor Sue Horne provides an example. They largely include fellow Republicans, as well as some people who always told me they were sticklers for people with the proper career credentials — no matter what your political stripe. George F., are you out there?

Sue, who lost to Dan Logue for our state assembly race, also was considering running for (and boning up on the qualifications for) the county treasurer-tax collector slot, according to my sources.

For assessor, Sue is running against Jim Blashford, who has years of experience working in a county assessor’s office. Blashford was a runner-up for the appointed post of assessor, when Dale Flippin retired early. Supervisors Nate Beason and Ted Owens are supporting Blashford. Both Sue and Jim live in Lake of the Pines.

In a county with a high unemployment rate and few high-paying jobs, the assessor’s salary also is worth noting: It pays $123,000 annually, not including benefits — three times what a supervisor makes.

Here’s the list of people who support Sue, according to her website. Why isn’t the local media reporting this information?

Elected Officials
Rene Antonson, Nev Co. Supervisor, Ret.
Crawford Bost, Nev. Co. Supervisor, Ret.
Christine Foster, Nev. Co. Supervisor, Ret.
Bill Schultz, Nev. Co. Supervisor, Ret.
Yolanda Cookson, Grass Valley City Councilwoman
Dan Miller, Grass Valley City Councilman
Patti Ingram Spencer, Grass Valley Mayor, Ret.
George Foster, Nevada City Treasurer, Ret.
Georgie Coulter, Nevada Union High School District Trustee
Aaron Kline, Sierra Community College District Trustee
Nancy Palmer, Sierra Community College District Trustee
John Drew, NID Board Member
Don Carey, Lake of the Pines Assoc. Board Member
Chuck Lautrup, Lake of the Pines Assoc. Board Member and Past President
Lisl Hicks, Lake of the Pines Assoc. Board Member, Past President (Ret.)

Community & Business Leaders
Lavonne Amaral
Mike Apcar
Bob and Karen Baldwin
Wes and Mary Baumgardner
Tim Brady
Fred and Margie Buhler
Dan Castles
Michael Caston
Gregg and Rona Cook
Jay Cooper
Dick Corn, Nev. Co. Assessment Appeals Board Member
Mark Davis
Hank and Karen DiPillo
Bill and Susan Drown
Debbie and Alan Edgars
Jack and Phyllis Feller
Henry and Sheri Fiser
John Foster
Steve French
Tony Gosalvez
Harold and Patricia Graves
Roger Haines
Anthony Halby
Orson Hansen
Rick Hansen
Larry Harley, Past President of Nev. Co. Association of Realtors
Pam Harley
George and Pat Harper
Eric Hatch
Don and Nancy Herman
Robert Ingram
Bruce and Louise Ivy
Linda Kelly
Alan and Barbara Kilborn
Bob and Debbie Krogman
Charlie Litton
Sean Metroka
Jim Moule
MaryAnn Mueller
Allen and Sabine Ostrofe
Jeff and Erin Pardini
Greg Peters
Sue Peterson
Coy and Bobbie Powell
George and Joann Rebane
Mike Reed
Dave Remillard
Lowell Robinson
Terry and Maxine Robinson
Pieter Rossi
Ed and Diane Rossovich
Eric Sams
Greg Seghezzi
Ray Shine
Thom Staser
Maj. Gen. Orlo “O.K.” and Katherine Steele
Russ and Ellen Steele
Lou Travato
Carl VanSon
John Voter
Ed Walker
Jerry Weilder

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Elaine Meckler, who sent out the email inviting candidates to a “meet the candidate” forum sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots/The Union/KNCO, is actually listed on clerk-recorder candidate Barry Pruett’s website as one of his endorsers.

“Stan and Elaine Meckler (Chicago Park),” are on “a very early list of the people in Nevada County who are endorsing Barry Pruett,” according to the website.

George Rebane, who writes a monthly column for The Union, also is listed as endorsing Barry.

“The Veteran’s Memorial Hall holds 996 people, and we expect to fill the auditorium. Please mark this event on your calendar,” Elaine wrote in her email. “This will be a great venue for you to introduce yourself to your constituents and answer questions regarding your candidacy.”

As I reported previously:

•The League of Women’s Voters was not invited to join the Tea Party Patriots, The Union and KNCO radio for its community candidate’s forum on April Fool’s Day. The league will hold its own “meet the candidate” events.

•The event is co-sponsored by the Nevada County Tea Party Patriots, KNCO Radio and The Union Newspaper. The moderators will be Bob Breck, general manager of KNCO Radio and Jeff Ackerman, editor/publisher of The Union. This forum will also be broadcast live on KNCO.

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