Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

Hindi Greenberg this week was elected president of the Center for the Arts in Grass Valley, I learned during an intermission chat at TCCA’s Vienna Boys Concert on Tuesday night.

A press release is coming out soon.

Hindi has been a longtime contributer to the arts in our area. She also is a contributor and fan of TCCA, now becoming In-Concert Sierra.

In just one decade, the Center for the Arts has become one of the leading entertainment and arts venues in the Foothills.

More upgrades are planned, thanks to a $250,000 grant from the city’s redevelopment agency.

The Center’s executive director is Julie Baker.

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Terry Lamphier of Grass Valley will run against incumbent John Spencer for the District 3 Supervisor’s race.

The deadline to enter races for the June election is the end of this week.

Lamphier and Spencer are politically opposed on nearly all issues, so it will be a closely watched, contentious race.

District 3 is evenly split among Democrats and Republicans, and more than 60 percent of residents vote by mail.

Lamphier is a licensed contractor.

A list of candidates is here.

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The Union likes to tout shop local in its editorials, explaining that we need to keep our dollars “local” to sustain our fragile economy during the recession and double-digit unemployment.

Our western county is built on an economy of “mom and pops.”

“The box stores in Roseville, Auburn and Sacramento give NOTHING back to this community (not to nonprofits or sales taxes). Every dollar you spend ‘off the hill’ stays there,” the paper’s publisher likes to remind us.

“Unfortunately, and unbelievably, there are those among us who don’t really care. That’s because they probably don’t have a ‘stake’ in our community.”

On Tuesday, however, The Union is runnning a full-page ad on A10 for an outfit called “99 cents only” in, well, Yuba City.

“Save more, shop us first!” the brightly colored ad reads.

The store is offering iPods for only 99 cents to the first nine customers for its grand opening. You have to line up at 8 a.m. on March 9, however.

The ad also touts 99 cent produce. It also is promoting its other stores in the Sacramento area.

The revenue generated from a full-page color ad can help any newspaper muddle through the recession, but it makes you question the “unfortunately and unbelievably” rhetoric.

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