Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

The tea party — including some vocal locals here — is blaming the left for exploiting the Tucson shootings for political gain.

On CNN tonight, however, Anderson Cooper brought up this as a disgusting tactic:

“The Tea Party Express sent out a letter to supporters Monday requesting donations in reaction to Saturday’s shooting at a political event in Tucson, Arizona, that claimed six lives,” as The Daily Caller reported.

The letter read: “It is quite clear that liberals are trying to exploit this shooting for their own political benefit, and they used deception and dishonesty to try and smear all of us and our beliefs.”

The group ended the letter with a request for donations. “We ask you to please stand with the Tea Party Express and show your support for our efforts. You can make a contribution online right now to the Tea Party Express – CLICK HERE TO CONTRIBUTE.”

The rest of the letter is here.

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It’s a relevant question since the issue keeps coming up.

This week the supervisors backed down from an opportunity to embrace a “science series.” They bowed to the hard right (and anti-global warming) blogs, who urged readers to send emails of protest because it wasn’t relevant to their duties (oh, and the organizers believed in global warming).

It comes in the wake of most, if not all, supervisors supporting Prop. 23 last fall. In this case, however, the hard right, anti-global warming bloggers argued it was OK for the full board to consider the issue. They didn’t.

As it turned out, Prop. 23 lost handily. The supes not only found themselves at odds with the state’s voters, but the county’s voters as well. Prop. 23 was soundly defeated in the county as well. (One blogger didn’t get the memo apparently and still has a “Yes on 23″ icon on his website).

Polls show that most Californians believe in global warming.

I’m starting to wonder again if the extremists in our county are leading the rest of us around by our noses.

The county is going “purple,” as the recent local results have shown in recent years. Sometimes change has to trickle up, rather than the other way around. Eventually, we’ll get there.

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“Yuba Highlands had its development sunk formally, and perhaps permanently, when Yuba County supervisors voted today to end a development agreement for the project,” according to the Appeal-Democrat.

“A community barbecue looks to be the only activity in the near future for the 2,000-acre property, which at one time was slated for hundreds of homes but never gained much favor from county residents.”

The rest of the article is here.

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Here’s a photo honoring outgoing county board chairman Nate Beason (second from right) and honoring incoming board chair, Ed Scofield (next to Beason). New Supervisor Terry Lamphier is on the right:

(credit: Eve Diamond)

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Editor’s note: Here’s the press release of Terry Lamphier’s appointments besides his planning commissioner Suzanne Smith, which you read about first on this blog.

Newly elected District 3 Supervisor Terry Lamphier has announced his appointees to a number of advisory committees and commissions. The appointments are as follows:

Airport Commissioner: Leo Granucci
Leo retired to Nevada City after a 42-year career in sales and marketing in the pharmaceutical and grocery distribution industries. He has been active in the community, having served on the Board of Directors for the Center of the Arts in Grass Valley and the Friendship Club in Nevada City. Leo currently serves on the Boards for Hospice of the Foothills and Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital. He has been a private pilot for 30 years and is a member of Angel Flight, a non profit organization that flies patients for specialized medical treatment.

Building Standards Board of Appeals: Jonathan Keehn
Jonathan has been a Nevada County resident for over 40 years and has worked as a general building contractor for most of that time. Prior to starting his business, he served for three years as a building inspector for the County of Nevada in the early 1980’s. He is also a founder and current President of the Wolf Creek Community Alliance.

Historical Landmarks Commission: Charlie Jakobs and Jim Dierberger
Charlie is being re-appointed to the Commission, having first been appointed in 1991 by Supervisor Jim Weir and reappointed by each successive District 3 Supervisor. He is currently serving his second term as Commission Chair. Charlie retired in 2009 from a 42-year career in firefighting with CalFire (formerly the California Department of Forestry), including 7 ½ years in the Nevada County Planning Department representing CalFire as the County Fire Protection Planner.

Jim, a Nevada County resident since 2001, is a Registered Architect with over 35 years experience in his field. His interests in historical architecture include research, documentation and adaptive reuse. Jim has served with the Empire Mine Park Association for over 20 years, including reconstruction of the compressor house building. He is currently involved in historic research with the Empire Mine State Historic Park and the underground tour project.

Planning Commission: Suzanne Smith
Suzanne has been a private planning consultant in Nevada County since 2007, when she retired as senior planner for the Nevada County Planning Department. Prior to joining the County in 2000, her career included planning program development and management in Santa Cruz and San Francisco counties. A member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, Ms. Smith holds a master’s degree in Urban Planning from Antioch University. She has been a resident of Grass Valley since 2000.

Sewage Disposal Technical Advisory Committee: Randall Yun
Randall is being re-appointed to the Committee, having first been appointed in 2000 by Supervisor Bruce Conklin and reappointed in 2005 by Supervisor John Spencer. He is owner-operator of Yun Environmental Design, a consulting firm specializing in sewage disposal, soils testing and related concerns. Prior to starting his firm in 2000, Randall was employed by the Nevada County Environmental Health Department.

Fish and Wildlife Commission: Ralph Silberstein
Ralph, a former employee of the Grass Valley Group, is self-employed as a software engineer in Nevada County. He served as Planning Commissioner for the City of Grass Valley from 2005-2007. Currently Ralph is president of CLAIM-GV (Citizens Looking at Impacts of Mining). He has a strong interest in wildlife biology and water quality, and volunteers as a river monitor for the South Yuba River Citizens League and the Wolf Creek Community Alliance.

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Nevada City Council members will again tackle a B&B ordinance at Wednesday’s meeting.

“Subject: Continued Public Hearing to Consider a Proposed Ordinance Adding
Section 17.72.071 to the Nevada City Municipal Code Allowing Reopening of Former Bed and Breakfast Facilities Recommendation: Introduction and First Reading of Ordinance,” it reads.

A robust public discussion is again expected.

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North State Assemblyman Dan Logue (R-Linda) has released the following statement in response to Governor Brown’s January budget proposal:

“Governor Brown is trying to make our temporary taxes much more permanent by extending them another 5 years. This will cost taxpayers an estimated 30 billion dollars!” stated Logue. “The public spoke loud and clear in 2009 when they voted nearly 2 to 1 against new taxes. Sacramento doesn’t seem to understand that taxes are not the solution to our budgetary problems.”

The Governor’s budget plan includes extending the personal income tax, sales tax, and the increased Vehicle License Fee for another five years, with revenues going toward the budget deficit. Brown’s plan secures California’s position as the most taxed and regulated in the nation.

When asked about alternative solutions to the budget crisis, Logue stated, “Jobs should be our main focus in getting the state back on track. Just last year alone, California lost 112,000 jobs while Texas created 129,000 new jobs. There is something wrong with this picture. We need to help our businesses and families get back on their feet first, not raise their taxes”.

Assemblyman Logue represents the 3rd Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes the communities of Butte, Lassen, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sierra and Yuba.

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As a parent but also as a person, I find this You Tube video and its title — “Daddy’s Little Girl” — disturbing. But others — including citizens in our community — think it’s cool and have said as much. Without sounding pollyanish, don’t you think it’s time we address this issue as a nation and as a community?

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