Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

Nevada City continues to receive national media attention for its bid to become a test site for an ultra high-speed broadband network. The New York Times also reported on Google’s bid. The S.F. Chronicle and Fox News also have visited Nevada City since year-end, reporting on the charm of our town.

The Nevada City Chamber of Commerce led by Cathy Whittlesey, and residents including National Hotel Owner Tom Coleman, Spiral Studios’ Chip Carman and John Paul and Mayor Reinette Senum, among others, are working hard to keep our town in the national spotlight. Thanks for that.

The video is here:

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The recent local candidate forum sponsored by KNCO, The Union and the Tea Party Patriots was widely criticized for being exclusionary for a supposed community-wide event. The Democrats didn’t set up a table, though Democrats carried the county in the Presidential and Congressional elections.

The county’s League of Women Voters is holding their own candidate forums with a more inclusive and spontaneous format. I spoke to them this week, and here’s what’s happening:

•All the local media has been invited, including KNCO, The Union, KVMR, NCTV and yubanet.com. All of them will be allowed to ask questions.

•The audience will be allowed to ask questions, which will be read by a moderator from the League. Most, if not all, questions are expected to be answered.

•Candidates will have 1.5 minutes to answer questions. If they are attacked by a candidate, they will have a chance to rebut — something that didn’t always occur at the KNCO/The Union/Tea Party candidate forum.

The dates are:

April 21, Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Clerk-Recorder and Supervisor District 3

May 11, Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Treasurer-Tax Collector and Assessor

The forums are at the Community Room of the Superintendent of Schools, 112 Nevada City Highway. (Junction of Ridge Road and Nevada City Highway).

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Russ Steele, the very conservative columnist and Former Union Columnist, got his nose bent out of joint by Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist Mark Fiore’s cartoon, so he attacked me personally (again) on his blog this morning. He forgot to mention that I linked to previous cartoons from Fiore where he (not me) made fun of other politicians, including Obama. It’s what political cartoonists do. Here’s a screen shot from Russ’ countering video, “I’m proud to be a tea bagger!” It shows used tea bags being thrown at an unflattering photograph of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, knocking it down, shattering the glass and then covering up her face. I can’t help but wonder if this depiction proves the cartoonist’s point about offensiveness. You decide.

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