Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

County clerk-recorder candidate Barry Pruett said Monday night he “accidentally” missed a deadline for filing campaign finance paperwork that was due at the close of business.

The other candidates had turned in their paperwork on time, as I reported here.

“The missed deadline will be remedied tomorrow by the campaign’s volunteer treasurer,” Pruett said.

An Election’s Office official told me earlier in the day that candidates could be fined for failing later paperwork, as Pruett did — showing it is a serious matter. But she added fines weren’t normally issued.

The full report will be posted on Pruett’s website by 5 p.m. tomorrow, the candidate said.

Pruett listed donations from Kimberly Janousek ($100), Betty Hood ($80), George Rebane ($280), and Greg Marks ($80), among others — all conservative stalwarts. Janousek is co-owner of B&C Home and Garden Center in Grass Valley.

UPDATE: On Tuesday, Preutt included a link with the completed document. It is here. I noticed, for example, a $100 contribution from Fran Freedle, who also is the Treasurer. The background in Fran is here. Shouldn’t she know the deadline with this background?

Filed under: Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

Monday was the latest deadline for filing county campaign spending reports, so my second-grade son and I went over to the Rood Center to check out his artwork on the wall (his class drew trees) — as well as the filings.

The artwork was right across the wall from the Elections Office, so it was a “twofer.” We ran into Supervisor Hank Weston, who is running unopposed, and visited for a while.

Here’s what the latest reports (known as form “460″) for the June elections show. By the way, the documents are publicly available to anyone and cost 5 cents to photocopy. More campaign finance reports are due as the election draws closer.

ASSESSOR:
In the county assessor’s race, Sue Horne has raised $23,979, partly from the county’s conservative “old guard” and some from Forest Springs LLC (the Grass Valley mobile home park and its manager). Forest Springs donated $2,500 and manager Damian Burt kicked in $1,000, according to the filing.

This compares with $12,260 for real-estate agent Rolf Kleinhans. Four thousand dollars for Rolf’s campaign comes from the California Real Estate Political Action Committee, according to the filing.

Sue’s backers also include the likes of Alan Kilborn ($250), Quality Metal Fabrication ($2,000), George Foster ($1,000), Robinson Family Enterprises ($500), Hansen Bros. ($250), Robert Ingram of Sierra Pacific Industries ($100), Carl Van Son ($200) and John Drew ($100).

Rolf listed John Wallace, a stockbroker with the Royal Canadian Bank in Santa Monica ($1,000); Bernard Gross, a dentist from Calabasas ($500); and Michael Peterkin ($200), a lawyer from Bend, Oregon.

DISTRICT 3 SUPERVISOR:
In the District 3 Supervisor race, incumbent John Spencer has raised $2,838, compared with $1,597 for Terry Lamphier, according to the filings.

Spencer’s donors include Supervisor Nate Beason ($150), Charles Fowler ($100), Marlene Fowler ($100), Robert Ingram ($100), B&C co-owner Kimberly Janousek ($100) and (Carol) Scofield and Associates ($100).

Lamphier’s donors all donated less than $100 each, so they were not listed, according to the Elections Office.

CLERK-RECORDER:
Clerk-recorder Gregory Diaz has raised $12,312, according to the election filings. (As I have reported here before, my wife and I have donated $500 to Diaz’ campaign — not normally our style — as explained here).

Challenger Barry Pruett’s latest campaign finance report was not yet publicly available, according to the Elections Office. He had raised $5,223 as of Dec. 31, but I’d expect the latest report to show significantly more. We’ll follow up when it becomes available.

UPDATE: Later on Monday night, Pruett issued a press release stating he “accidentally” missed the filing deadline. The details are here.

Just a friendly commenter warning: Elections around here stir emotions, so let’s try not to get personal. We want to keep it civil, with signed names.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

This statement was issued by 95959google:

The 95959google video will have its “world premiere” at this Wednesday’s (March 24) Nevada City City Council meeting which starts at 6:30pm. The video will be shown at approximately 7p.m. In Nevada City style, attendees are requested to dress for the red carpet.

The video’s Producer/Writer/Director, Suzanne Warren of Silver Avenue Pictures, will be attending along with the video production team:

David Nicholson: Co-Director/Director of Photography/Editor/Graphics
Larry Huntington, PJ Kolackovsky: Additional Camera
Andi Good: Illustrator

The video will be posted on YouTube this Thursday, in anticipation of the filing of Google’s Request for Information that is due this Friday.

95959google is western Nevada County’s bid for Google’s Fiber for Community initiative. It includes the zip codes of 95959, 95945, 95949.

Meanwhile, the New York Times mentions Nevada City’s effort here.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

The following statement was issued Monday by Barry Pruett, candidate for Nevada County Clerk-Recorder:

“An experienced elections official should know both the elections code and the case law that clarifies it. As established in Clark v. Burleigh and in Hammond v. Agran, general statements of a candidate’s views and ideas are permissible when they contain no direct criticism of another candidate.

“In the Clark case, a judicial candidate named the incumbent judge he was running against directly, and then stated ‘it’s time to get tough on criminals’ and ‘it’s time to end court interference in community affairs.’ Both statements were allowed by the California Supreme Court.

“Similarly, my statements that ‘over the past years, the Nevada County Clerk-Recorder’s office became an embarrassment,’ ‘we need new management’ and ‘let’s stop the drama and put professional management in charge’ include no direct reference to Greg and are allowable under the Elections Code and California Supreme Court case law precedent.

“I approached county counsel with this information and they agreed to discuss the matter with the Elections Office. I was willing to allow simple amendments to the language to clarify that I was expressing my views and not making a direct reference to Greg. Greg’s office has refused to contemplate the possibility they made a mistake.

“I’m disappointed that Greg’s office is stubbornly clinging to their position. Rather than handling this matter like they did the other two candidate issues in this cycle, they issued a press release and coordinated a media blitz. Now they’re trying to save face. These actions have raised legitimate questions about the continued use of Greg’s office for political purposes.

“I ran to become our next Nevada County Clerk-Recorder to end the drama we’ve seen over the past years, so despite the overwhelming legal precedents in our favor, I won’t be filing any legal injunctions to force the issue. After all, the belligerent conduct of Greg’s office and their dramatic refusal to apply the law fairly has sent a crystal clear message to the voters about the need for change – a message far more convincing than anything I could have written in that candidate’s statement.”

Filed under: Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

“I pray that my democratic colleagues — drunk as they may be with power — will consider carefully the implications of the action they are about to take,” our congressman Tom McClintock said in his speech on the Floor of the House this weekend.

Meanwhile, here’s the French media’s take on the House vote on health-care reform in “Astonishing: US Republicans turn backs on history”: “Not one, not even a single one, will vote with the Democrats for a reform which, after all, doesn’t hold a candle to health care systems in Europe – but which will prevent over 30 million of their fellow citizens from having to resort to emergency rooms for access to a doctor.” The L’Express article is here

Filed under: Uncategorized | 23 Comments »

Let’s put politics aside for a moment and figure out if the health care reform passed this weekend will benefit a small, rural county such as ours.

Some of our characteristics include: an aging population, high unemployment, large ranks of self employed, dearth of young families, a doctor’s shortage, and a real “have” and “have not” economic divide.

OUR UNEMPLOYMENT:
“We all know, and it’s been said over and over again, that our economy needs something, a jolt and I believe that this legislation will unleash tremendous entrepreneurial power to our economy,” Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi said Sunday night. “Imagine a society and an economy where a person could change jobs without losing health insurance, where they could be self-employed or start a small business. Imagine an economy where people could follow their passions or their talent and without having to worry that their children would not have health insurance.”

Under the legislation, small businesses with 100 employees or less will be able to join a health insurance exchange, benefiting from group rates and a greater choice of insurers, according to a district-by-district analysis on the impact of health care reform. There are 20,600 small businesses in our congressional district that could benefit from this provision, the report said.

The legislation will provide tax credits and other assistance to 19,500 small businesses.

All told, the reform would appear to offer some benefits to a workforce such as ours, which is largely self employed. Anything that encourages more entrepreneurism would be welcome, because many of the jobs that are being eliminated won’t return for a while.

SENIOR CITIZENS:
There are 132,000 Medicare beneficiaries in our district. The legislation improves their benefits by providing free preventive and wellness care, improving primary and coordinated care, and enhancing nursing home care, according to the House report.

In addition, each year, 14,800 Medicare beneficiaries in the district enter the “donut hole” and are forced to pay the full cost of their prescription drugs. Under the bill, these beneficiaries will receive a $250 rebate in 2010, 50 percent discounts on brand name drugs starting in 2011, and complete closure of the donut hole within a decade. A typical beneficiary who enters the donut hole will see savings of over $700 in 2011 and over $3,000 by 2020.

QUALITY OF HEALTH CARE:
“The overhaul’s extension of insurance to millions of more Americans likely will add to the patient loads of many doctors, which could exacerbate the physician shortage and raises questions about whether having insurance will really mean gaining access to health care,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

The demands placed on physicians by the new legislation may lead to greater use of other health-care professionals, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

The American Medical Association and AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) backed the plan despite some concerns.

Doctors, for example, are worried about a pending cut in Medicare reimbursement rates. The bill increases reimbursement rates for Medicaid, however.

The quality of care could be the biggest risk in our county when it comes to health care reform. We already have an acute doctor’s shortage. On the other hand, our hospitals are improving their facilities, such as a stroke center at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital. In addition, other health-care professionals can handle some of the duties that doctors can’t.

OUR HOSPITALS:
“The legislation will give hospitals something they desperately need: more patients whose insurance will pay the bills. But officials at public and urban hospitals also worry that the law calls for cutting millions in federal aid dollars,” as the Journal stated.

All told, you’d think this would be an upside for Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, where the uninsured tax the emergency room facilities.

OUR POOR AND UNINSURED:
The legislation will extend coverage to 44,500 residents in our district and protect 1,700 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs.

It also will provide millions of dollars in new funding for nine community health centers.

An interactive graphic from the New York Times explaining the details of health care reform is here.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »