Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

Facebook has a $50 billion valuation and “600 million+ monthly active users,” according to a document Goldman Sachs is showing clients.

So it’s good to see at least some (but by no means all) of our local “electeds” are embracing social media.

I was impressed by this post on Grass Valley city member Yolanda Cookson’s Facebook page this afternoon:

“So … Gen Y and Gen Xers . . . is this us? Would love to know what you think . . .”

It pointed to an article from the Wall Street Journal, “No McMansions for Millennials. Here’s what Generation Y doesn’t want: formal living rooms, soaker bathtubs, dependence on a car. In other words, they don’t want their parents’ homes.” Another key finding: “They want to walk everywhere.”

Needless to say, this trend has big repercussions for our county, which largely has been built on “their parents homes.”

Thanks Yolanda for asking the right questions!

One day I hope your colleagues will “do the right thing” and elect you Vice Mayor. (I’m still astounded at that one).

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I was glad to see The Union hopping on my “scooplet” about the Nevada City Marketplace opening and posting something on their website later in the day. “For more, see the Wednesday [print] business section of The Union.”

This blog doesn’t have a staff cartoonist such as RL Crabb, at least for now, but the drawing might look something like this (though with a more “neighborly” metaphor, like a rubber duckie). The internet is reshaping how we communicate:

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Apple CEO Steve Jobs today sent the following email to all Apple employees:

Team,

At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple’s day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011.

I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.

Steve

Jobs’ 2005 Stanford commencement address, which I’ve published before, is informative and inspirational:

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Since the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950, much of this rare and ancient culture has been destroyed.

Since 1989, however, The Sacred Earth and Healing Arts of Tibet Tour has been visiting the United States to help spread peace and tolerance through cultural exchange and Buddhist teachings.

This year, as in the past, the tour includes Grass Valley, Nevada City and Auburn. The events, including talks, meditation workshops, a dinner and viewing of an intricate mandala, are here.

This month, Tibetan Monks are creating a Sand Mandala at St. Joseph’s Cultural Center in Grass Valley. This year’s mandala in Grass Valley is AMITABHA (long life Buddha).

The labor-intensive two-dimensional images require incredible amounts of concentration. Mandalas are created for meditation.

The Tibetan Monks have support in the foothills. Sierra Friends of Tibet is a volunteer based group dedicated to raising the awareness of Tibet. The website is here.

Funds raised from the 2010-2011 tour will be donated directly to the Gaden Shartse Education Project, which is responsible for all the monastics, including teachers, buildings and outreach.

Our family will be going over to St. Joseph’s Cultural Center to see the exhibit. We hope you might want to see it too. When I worked at The Chronicle, a copy editor left the paper to live in Tibet with her husband. She returned yearly and we got together for dinner with some other friends to hear her recount her experiences. It was informative and always a good time.

An educational video is here:

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The new management team at Grass Valley Group — as long-timers call it — is a blend of old and new, including some longtime Silicon Valley executives. Up here, existing managers such as Dave Perillo, senior vice president of global operations, will stay on. I also expect some frequent trips here by “The Group’s” S.F.-based management team, and this will be good for business as well as our area’s visibility.

The new management team is being formed after Paris-based Thomson sold Grass Valley Group to Francisco Partners. San Francisco may seem like Paris, France, to some of our locals, but, in fact, it is closer and a good way to bridge our world with the rest of Northern California.

As I’ve reported before, the merger is a good match. “Why Thomson Grass Valley is an ideal fit for Francisco Partners” is here. This is the press release:

San Francisco, California, January 17, 2011 — Following its acquisition by Francisco Partners, Grass Valley has announced a new executive team which will be headquartered in San Francisco, California. Leading the team as President and CEO will be Alain Andreoli.

Alain was most recently an Operating Partner at Francisco Partners, and prior to that has held leadership positions at several technology companies including President of Sun Microsystems Europe, Chairman and CEO of Hubwoo, CEO of Xiotech, EVP Sales & Services at McData, President and COO of Verio, International CVP at Storagetek, as well as several global leadership roles at Texas Instruments.

“This is an exciting time to be taking the helm at Grass Valley”, confirmed Andreoli. “Together with the experienced and talented team at Grass Valley, we have ambitious and exciting plans for the
company and I look forward to being a part of this impressive organization – and helping lead the
team to new heights of success.”

As part of the senior executive team, supporting Alain in his drive to build on Grass Valley’s 50 years of success in the marketplace will be Jeff Rosica in the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer. An industry and company veteran who previously served as a senior vice president and the division head for the organization, Jeff will take global responsibility for all customer-facing activities and drive the organization’s marketing functions.

“I’m looking forward to working with Alain and the other members of the leadership team to help drive continued success at Grass Valley” stated Rosica. “I am also excited about working closely with our tremendously loyal customer base around the world which can expect an even greater amount of innovation and customer focus from the newly independent Grass Valley.”

In the role of Executive Vice President and CFO, the newly appointed Ian Halifax will take responsibility for all G&A functions including Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Legal and IT. He comes to the Grass Valley organization with extensive leadership experience in publicly-traded technology companies, serving most recently as CFO at Wind River Systems. Prior to that, he held CFO roles at Micromuse and Macrovision, and began his career with Sun Microsystems in Europe.

In addition, the following key appointments are being confirmed, all of whom will be part of the core leadership team and will report to the CEO:

• Based in Beaverton, Oregon, Charlie Dunn, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Editing, Servers & Storage (ESS) Product Group.

• Based in Nevada City, California, Martin Fry, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Routing & Signal Management (RSM) Product Group.

• Based in Breda, The Netherlands, Marcel Koutstaal, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Cameras Product Group.

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Maine Gov. Paul LePage made a surprise visit to a Martin Luther King Day event today despite his earlier assertion that critics of his decision to skip it can “kiss my butt,” TPMDC.com is reporting.

“Last week, leaders of the NAACP had criticized LePage’s decision to skip multiple events organized by the group, saying it was part of a larger pattern,” TPM said. “In response LePage called them a ‘special interest’ and said: ‘Tell them to kiss my butt. If they want, they can look at my family picture. My son happens to be black, so they can do whatever they’d like about it.’”

But today, the Portland Press Herald reports, he showed up at a local breakfast in honor of MLK.

“Dr. King is someone who spent and ultimately gave his life making sure that people got a fair shake regardless of race,” LePage said. “We have come far through the years, but the journey continues to make Dr. King’s dreams a reality. I urge all Mainers to work as one for a better life for all.”

LePage previously caused a flap during his campaign when he said that if elected he would tell President Obama to “go to hell,” according to TPM.

The rest of the article is here.

The Portland Press Herald report is here.

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It’s been a long row to hoe, but the Nevada City Marketplace opened for the Wild & Scenic Film Festival this weekend.

The Marketplace at 115 S. Pine, with the new Clavey Wine Tasting Room, provides a new “hub” of activity in the downtown.

It was booming during the Wild & Scenic Film Festival. (As an aside, it was refreshing to see so many upbeat Film Festival “citizen journalist” reports on Facebook this weekend, complete with photos. Social media is changing the media landscape in our community).

The Marketplace includes hand-made, fresh sushi, which was going fast when we visited with owners Caroline and Rick Szekely on their first day. The Marketplace has sandwiches and burritos too.

A coffee cart from Java John’s is in the store too.

They also are selling fresh fruit and vegetables, wine and beer, Dedrick’s cheese and gourmet food items such as Apollo Olive Oil from Oregon House. The focus is on show-casing local products such as Wendy Van Wagner’s sauerkraut from In the Kitchen.

Next door, Clavey Vineyard’s new wine tasting room (whose opening was reported previously) was booming. Owner Josh Orman was pouring wine. Outside, a portable pizza oven was cranking out oven baked pizzas to go with his wine.

We enjoyed a glass of Syrah and a pizza. Josh’s place is comfortably furnished with bar stools and chairs and leather furniture. It is a “hip” inviting interiors.

All told, the Nevada City Marketplace will compliment the downtown as it helps transforms the historic district into a place for locals and visitors alike.

Clavey’s new wine tasting room next door.

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