Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

Forbes has a new write-up “America’s Dirtiest Cities.” The Forbes article is here. The America Lung Association report is here. Among the findings, cited in the report from the American Lung Association:

•California has seven of the 10 dirtiest cities, according the 2010 State of the Air Report from the American Lung Association.

•”Sacramento – Arden Arcade – Yuba City” is the sixth worst region in the nation for short-term particle pollution. (This includes the area represented by Dan Logue and Tom McClintock, who carried the torch for Prop. 23 to “undo” AB23).

•Nevada County ranks eighth worst in the nation by counties for ozone pollution. (The top 11 counties for ozone pollution all are from California).

Here’s the Forbes article:

“At the ballot box this November California voters showed that they are determined to clean up their state’s deplorable air quality. They quashed Proposition 23, which would have temporarily suspended key emissions-reduction tenets in the Golden State’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. How temporarily? Until pigs fly, or rather until the state unemployment level dropped to 5.5%–from the 12.4% it’s at now.”

“Having survived the challenge (62% of voters rejected Prop 23) the emissions cuts are now set to begin in 2012. A carbon cap-and-trade program will be launched later. The goal is that, in eight years, California will have greenhouse gas emissions 15% lower than they are now.

“That’s good news for the lungs of Californians. The American Lung Association, in its report State Of The Air 2010, finds seven California metropolitan areas with air quality bad enough that they make it onto the list of the Top 10 Dirtiest Cities in America. The 20 million people in these cities are at higher risk of asthma and chronic bronchitis.”

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The Union newspaper, whose editor/publisher likes to complain about runaway government spending, is doing its part to make it costlier for all of us taxpayers — in a recession, no less.

On Tuesday county supervisors are being asked to go along with renewal of a contract with The Union for advertising for all county departments. The ads, estimated to total $45,000 for the coming year, satisfy the county’s obligation to publish legal notices.

But get this: The average rate per column in the proposed contract is increased 7.8 percent from the previous year, according to a staff memo. Yup, a nearly 8 percent price hike in this miserable economy.

Last year’s bill from the newspaper was $43,400. The county staff argues the bill used to be higher — $78,000 in 2007-08.

As I’ve written before, state legislation was introduced for governments to handle more of their own legal advertising, saving taxpayers money. Many government websites are becoming more robust and feature oriented. Many legal notices are routine.

But the legislation died, thanks to vigilant lobbying efforts by the California Newspaper Publisher’s Association. See “Newspapers guard legal ad monopoly” here.

So it seems the blame for higher government spending is a two-way street, between private and public industry.

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Editor’s note: From Sierra FoodWineArt magazine and its website SierraCulture.com:

Historians aren’t sure what topped the table for the Pilgrim’s first Thanksgiving. But they suspect lobster, venison and partridge were on the menu — and not ham, pumpkin pie or mashed potatoes.

The Pilgrims were the original “locavores” and now, after decades of factory farming and processed foods, many people have come full circle. They desire a “local” meal for celebrating, with food sourced from local farms.

In the foothills, the possibilities abound for preparing a fresh, local feast — for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah or New Year’s. Here are some suggestions for finding the ingredients and preparing it:

Farmers Markets: “They’re only for summer,” you might think. Not so. The Foothill Farmers Market in Auburn is open year-round. It is on Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at the Old Town Courthouse parking lot, on Auburn-Folsom Rd. at Lincoln Way.

In the fall and winter, stalls at the market fill up with Mandarins, kiwi, salad greens, winter squash, root vegetables, pumpkins, persimmons, even fresh horseradish to dollop on your prime rib.

Placer County Real Food cookbook: This new cookbook has recipes and menus for every week of the year, prepared with local ingredients. “Fresh mandarins are a staple on holiday tables and are used in recipes from salads to desserts, sauces and syrups,” says co-author Joanne Neft.

Neft’s Thanksgiving “bird” comes from Natural Trading Co. in Newcastle. The well-illustrated cookbook makes a thoughtful gift. Go to PlacerCountyRealFood.com for more information.

BriarPatch Co-op Natural Foods Community Market: “The Patch,” the biggest organic market in the foothills, is a one-stop shop for local, organic produce as well as beef, venison, poultry and seafood for the holidays. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free items also are widely available.

The market carries many brands of local and regional free-range meats and poultry, including Diestel Turkey (Sonora), Betz Ranch venison (Grass Valley), Fowler Family Farms poultry (Penn Valley), Nevada County Free Range Beef and Liano Seco pork (Chico) as well as “sustainable” seafood.

Organic produce is available seasonally from 20 farms in the area — Red Hill Mandarins in Brown’s Valley, for example — and local free-range eggs are available when the hens are laying.

Bulk grains come from Grass Valley Grains and rice come from Lundberg Family Farms in the Central Valley. Olive oil comes from Apollo Olive Oil (Oregon House) and honey from McClaughry Farms (Grass Valley), among others.

The store carries many local wines, including Avanguardia, Montoliva, Naggiar, Nevada City Winery, Smith Vineyards and Solune.

BriarPatch also has teamed up with Wendy Van Wagner of In the Kitchen in Nevada City to offer hands-on cooking classes. A class on holiday salads and sides is offered in November, for example.

BriarPatch is at 290 Sierra College Dr. in Grass Valley. The phone is 272-5333, and the website is briarpatch.coop.

Nevada County Free Range Beef: “There’s no gentle way of saying this: artificial junk has no place in our cows, on our land, or on your table,” modern-day cowboy Jim Gates says about his grass fed beef. “Our cows eat and live the way nature intended. No hormones, no antibiotics, no grain, no corn. And no confinement.”

Gates’ filet mignons are a favorite for holiday dining. This time of year, the stew meat, short ribs and soup bones make for a gourmet comfort food meal.

Gates’ beef is available at at BriarPatch. Packaged ground beef is available at SPD Markets in Nevada City and Grass Valley, Natural Selection in Grass Valley and Mother Truckers in Nevada City.

Gates’ beef is sold direct from the ranch from April to November, though you can order any time of the year. It is sold by the eighth, quarter half or whole animal. Cost per pound is $6 for quarter, half or whole, and a family pack (eighth order) costs $6.50 per pound and weighs about 45 pounds.

You can order anytime, online, by emailing orders@NevadaCountyFreeRangeBeef.com or call 273-1025.

Sinclair Family Farm: This farm in Penryn raises grass fed lamb and beef, pastured poultry and cage-free pasture raised eggs.

“We have grown by leaps and bounds this last year,” says owner Karin Sinclair. “We have added chicken and beef to our product list. Our aim is to keep things as natural as possible.”

A dozen eggs costs from $3.50 to $5 depending on the size. A butterflied leg of lamb roast costs $8.99 a pound, and an eight-bone or four-bone rack of lamb is $15.99 per pound.

To order lamb, poultry or eggs, email Karin@SinclairFamilyFarm.net or call 916-803-1777.

Newcastle Produce: This store and deli is a “one-stop” shop for all things “PlacerGrown.” The fresh produce aisle includes the best of what’s in season.

The store’s grocery aisle includes fresh-make breads and pasta, home-made jams, sauces, marinades, chocolates and wines.

For the holidays, Newcastle offers gourmet gift baskets that include its cookbook, fruits, Mandarins, nuts, olive oils and chutney.

Holiday cooking classes include baking Christmas cookies and making a gingerbread house. “Come decorate your own gingerbread house and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate,” says owner Jan Thompson.

Newcastle Produce is at 9230 Cypress St. in Newcastle, just minutes from I-80. The phone is 916-663-2016 and the website is NewcastleProduce.com.

Grimaud Farms: This farm in the San Joaquin Valley specializes in fresh Muscovy duck, raised without the use of steroids, antibiotics or growth hormones.

Muscovy duck is lean, meaty, tender and flavorful. A Muscovy duck has less fat and calories per pound than turkey, according to Grimaud Farms. A Moscovy drake can be the centerpiece to a holiday celebration, serving six people. It costs $36.

The farm also raises fresh guinea hen, a bird long favored by European cooks.

Grimaud Farms poultry is sold at Nugget Market in Roseville, but it also has an online store. Go to GrimaudFarms.com for more information.

The first Thanksgiving feast
Foods that might have been on the menu:

Wild fowl: Turkey, goose, duck, crane, swan, partridge
Meat: Venison, seal
Seafood: Cod, clams, lobster
Grain: Wheat flour, Indian corn
Vegetables: Pumpkin, peas, beans, onions, carrots
Herbs and seasonings: Olive oil, leeks, dried currants, parsnips

Source: History.com

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The Sac Bee has a front-page story about the Gold Country raising objections to reopening gold mines, including the Idaho Maryland Mine in Grass Valley.

Though gold prices are “sky high,” scarcity of capital and strict environmental standards stand in the way, the Bee writes.

“The landscape of the community has changed,” Grass Valley Mayor Lisa Swarthout told the Bee. “When it was an operating mine … it was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The community has grown around it.”

“Swarthout said she hasn’t yet taken a position on the proposal,” according to the Bee.

The article “candy coats” the opposition and financial shortcomings of the “penny stock” Vancouver gold mining company that wants to reopen the mine. It ignores — for example — the shortcomings of a draft environmental impact report to reopen the mine.

Instead, it cites a survey quoted by the mine that “72 percent of Grass Valley residents in a survey conducted four years ago by the city.”

You can expect the Bee reporter will be getting an earful from both sides as this application winds its way through the process. I suspect the next story will show some more detailed insight.

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The media has been busy building apps that will allow their content, including newspapers, to be read on mobile devices such as iPods, iPads and “droids.” But I’ve been skeptical.

“Apple won’t save newspapers, however — they’ll have to save themselves by more radically reinventing their culture,” I wrote in Jan. of this year:

•Content must be faster and more unique than ever.

•Newspapers need a 24/7, not a 16/5, fully integrated multimedia newsroom operation.

•You must be where, when and how your readers want you, or you will miss them.

The storm this past weekend was a case in point. Though the snow began to fall and emergencies began on Friday night, none of the dominant local media outlets — The Union or KNCO — updated their websites then.

They didn’t update them on Saturday either, as the 911 calls escalated. In fact, they didn’t get around to posting an online story until Sunday morning.

In the meantime, blogs, Facebook pages and other social media were reporting the fallout from the storm: via “citizen journalism” reports, links to real-time PG&E outage maps, CalTrans reports, CHP reports and photos. Online-only Yubanet ran some information.

This blog had registered more than 20 comments — including detailed reports of snowfall, downed trees, closed roadways and so on — before the first “real-time” media report occurred. “People were talking.”

“I’m connected via iPad and intermittent cell (Edge or 3G depending on conditions) data signal I get in one part of the house,” one reader still without power wrote here. “Thanks for the outage map and info. The hardest part of this is feeling so cut off when I am so used to being so connected. You fill in the info gap.”

I thought the 49′er fire in Auburn in August 2009 — also on a weekend —would have helped the local media to better embrace real-time reporting. I was getting updates from the wall of my Facebook page and online CalFire scanner.

Like I said back in January and last August, the media needs to radically reinvent their cultures. It’s not going to happen overnight, but we’re years into this revolution and counting. The only reactions I get are defensive ones.

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It’s Nov. 22, a full 47 years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

“Few remain who were close to John Kennedy (aside from his daughter, Caroline) following the deaths of Ted Kennedy last year and “ask not” speechwriter Ted Sorensen three weeks ago,” Walter Shapiro writes for Politics Daily.

“Today’s Americans – no matter what age – have become hardened by the shock of wrenching events from the 9/11 attacks to the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy and the shooting of Ronald Reagan. But for teenagers born after World War II, this was not how it was supposed to be in 1963. Assassination meant John Wilkes Booth and Mrs. Lincoln’s evening at the theater.”

•USA Today has created a retrospective website JFK’s America.

•Leonardo DiCaprio is going to produce and star in a JFK assassination movie, the Washington Post is reporting. He will play FBI informant Jack Van Laningham, who claims to have witnessed the confession of Mafia godfather Carlos Marcello for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Post said.

•The assassination continues to attraction from conspiracy theorists but also historians. A museum curator earlier this year released new color video footage showing Kennedy’s arrival in Dallas, the best home movie made of the event. It is here:

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