Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

If you want to know how we are home to “wing nuts,” read these two reports of the Glenn Beck rally in Washington D.C. on Saturday:

Here’s what CBS reported: 87,000 people at the event. A news account is here.

Here’s what George Rebane, The Union’s columnist and financial contributor to Tom McClintock, Mark Meckler as well as Sue Horne’s vision of a “community leader” reported — an event that “drew somewhere in the neighborhood of 400,000 people.” Read his “armchair quarterback” report here.

What entity will call them out? Where’s the local media? Where’s the critical reporting? Where’s the civic, business and elected leaders? If you think this “political culture” will attract the retiring baby boomers, you’re, well, nuts. “We’re Californians,” and this mindset is more like Kentucky or downstate Indiana.

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Sierra Sun reporter Greyson Howard is going to become a reporter for The Union, according to a Facebook post, another example of The Union’s “All in the Family” approach to hiring. Kyle Magin also joined the Union from the Sierra Sun.

Both newspapers are owned by Carson City-based Swift Communications.

Patrick McCartney of Truckee (one of Greyson’s Facebook friends) posted this on The Union’s Facebook page on Friday: “Glad to hear Sierra Sun staff writer Greyson Howard will be covering his hometown, reporting for The Union.”

Howard’s parents own the Emma Nevada House B&B in Nevada City. He graduated from UC Davis in ’05.

Don’t look for any announcement at The Union — just a new byline.

As previously reported, Dave Moller — The Union’s most experienced reporter — recently departed to become Editor of the weekly newspaper in Louisiana, Mo. Missouri is Dave’s home state.

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We’ve been enjoying making home-made ice cream all summer with fresh fruit from the Farmers Markets: Peach, strawberry, cherry and so on. We use an old-fashioned maker or one where you freeze the canister. But here’s a quicker way: Make ice cream in only 30 seconds — with liquid nitrogen. (Wear goggles and gloves!) We do not recommend this, but the video from Cooking for Geeks cookbook is funny.

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I’ve spent the past week writing this blog on an iPad, the new Apple device that epitomizes the shift toward mobile devices and away from print.

iPads are meant for reading rather than creating content, so I wanted to challenge that premise. With a 3G network, I can blog “anytime, anywhere” on a small, portable device — from Cafe Mekka in downtown Nevada City to Meeks Bay at Lake Tahoe.

Instead of using the touch screen, I’m using a small, portable keyboard that plugs into the device. I’m a touch typist, so it’s a lot faster with the keyboard. But I’ve blogged using the touch screen too.

It takes a while to master some of the commands, such as copying and cutting and pasting content, including hyperlinks. You use your fingers rather than keystrokes in many cases.

All told, however, it works fine. An iPad is lighter and more portable than most laptops. It’s also less costly. I like it better than a net book. And unlike my wife’s iPhone, I’m thrilled it doesn’t ring.

This exercise further illustrates the migration toward digital and away from print (highlighted in the USA Today blog post below).

I also can watch live baseball games on this device at MLB.com and read books (I’m reading “Jesus” by Paul Johnson). No need for a print newspaper either.

It’s been a fun device to use and learn about this summer. More “apps” are being written for iPads, just like iPhones.

Small portable tablets like this are the wave of the future.

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USA Today is remaking itself to stress digital and de-emphasize print, addressing a problem that has tied the entire industry in knots.

“Faced with this dour reality, USA Today announced on Friday the most extensive reorganization in its 28-year history. The paper will eliminate about 130 jobs, or 9 percent of its work force, and shift its business model away from the print edition that has become ubiquitous in airports, hotels and newsstands across the country,” the New York Times reports.

“The paper’s focus will now be on its digital operations. It will emphasize breaking news on its Web site, aiming to post articles within 30 minutes of a breaking news event. It will create a stand-alone sports edition called USA Today Sports. And it will shift more of its resources toward making content more available in digital form, an effort to win a larger share of the tablet and mobile phone news market.”

The industry’s ongoing problems are an LOL for me. In the ’90s we started an online business called CNET News.com that did just this, tying the print technology business publications in knots. CNET was since sold to CBS for nearly $2 billion.

In our local market, the Sacramento Bee has embraced an online blogging network (and is selling ads on it) while The Union is largely stuck in a print model business world.

The mobile version of this blog, for example, includes some online ads on Sacramento Connect.

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The deadline is ending soon to participate in a geotourism map guide for our Sierra region. Go here to participate.

“Share your knowledge and experiences about California’s Sierra Nevada region. Be a contributor to the Interactive MapGuide. Here’s your chance to tell your story and share your knowledge and experiences with residents and visitors to the Sierra Nevada region. Be a contributor to the Interactive MapGuide. It’s easy and fun!”
 

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Tea Partier Joe Miller, who is poised to defeat Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the GOP primary in Alaska, compared a potential third-party bid by his opponent to prostitution.

Miller took to his campaign Twitter account Friday, writing: “What’s the difference between selling out your party’s values and the oldest profession? http://bit.ly/93kXBr,” as the hill.com reported.

Later, the message was removed from his site.
 
Murkowski demanded an apology from Miller. “They lied about my record during the primary and now they have resorted to name-calling–it’s disgusting,” Murkowski said in a statement Friday. “Mr. Miller owes all Alaskans, women and my family an apology.” 

Sarah Palin endorsed Miller over Murkowski, who holds a narrow lead over the incumbent, with absentee ballots still being counted.

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The Glenn Beck rally — “Restoring Honor” — is on Saturday at the Mall in D.C. The event is expected to draw tens of thousands of people, and speakers will include heroes of the tea party movement.

Though the event is billed as “nonpolitical,” it comes just nine weeks before the mid-term elections, where candidates backed by tea party supporters — including Carly Fiorina here in California — will face incumbent Democrats.

The organizers ask that you bring no political signs — or pocket knives.

Prohibited Items
DO NOT BRING ANY SORT OF WEAPON, INCLUDING A POCKET KNIFE

• Tents/canopies/structures
• Glass containers
• Alcoholic beverages
• Firearms (real or simulated)
• Ammunition
• Explosives or incendiary devices of any kind (including fireworks)
• Knives, blades, or sharp objects of any length
• No staking of grounds
• No digging or trenching
• No attachments to existing landscaping
• No firearms or explosive devices, no open fires

We request that you not bring the following:

• Signs political or otherwise
• Aerosols
• Laser pointers
• Mace and/or pepper spray
• Helium balloons
• Sticks or poles
• Pocket or hand tools, such as “leatherman”
• Packages, large bags, duffle bags, suitcases
• Animals other than service/guide dogs

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