Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

“Jane Russell, the dark-haired siren whose sensational debut in the 1943 film “The Outlaw” inspired producer Howard Hughes to challenge the power and strict morality of Hollywood’s production code, died Monday at her home in Santa Maria, Calif. She was 89.

“Russell, who would later turn her sexy image to comic effect in films with Bob Hope, Marilyn Monroe and other major stars, had respiratory problems and died after a short illness, her family said.

“Russell’s provocative performance in ‘The Outlaw’ — and the studio publicity shots posing her in a low-cut blouse while reclined on a stack of hay bales — marked a turning point in moviedom sexuality. She became a bona fide star and a favorite pinup girl of soldiers during World War II. Troops in Korea named two embattled hills in her honor.

She went on to appear in 18 more films in the 1940s and ’50s and, though only a few were memorable, she remains a favorite from the era for her wry portrayals of sex goddesses who seem amused by their own effect.”

The article is here.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Filed under: Uncategorized | 8 Comments »

“The California State Board of Equalization (BOE) today announced that the list of California’s largest unpaid sales and use tax delinquencies has been updated at http://www.boe.ca.gov,”; according to a press release. “The BOE replaced 11 names on its list of debtors. Those added to the list have delinquencies totaling $11.4 million in sales tax owed.”

“Registered Business Name Doing Business As (DBA) City/State Liability Amount Due
Weaver Automotive Inc. Grass Valley, CA $641,591.00″

The BOE statements are here and the full list is here.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

I’m out of town, but a citizen journalist has passed on this business scoop: Starbucks is coming to the vacant Arby’s drive-through in the Pine Creek Shopping Center in Grass Valley.

A sign is on the side of the building confirming the deal. Though rumored, this marks the first official confirmation.

Starbucks will relocate from its previous location in Pine Creek to the drive-through location. In this case, the permitting is minimal.

It’s a welcome switch. The empty Arby’s building has become an eyesore, in full view from the freeway.

It’s a big, open space, so you can envision couches and chairs and reading material, including Sierra FoodWineArt magazine.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 25 Comments »

“Mary Carolyn Dobbs, a California State University, Fresno alumna who became a teacher and internationally renowned pioneer in special education, passed away Jan. 12 in Grass Valley. She was 99,” according to Fresno State News.

“Ms. Dobbs was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the California State University at Fresno State’s 2004 Commencement. The honorary doctorate recognized her contributions to special education through her advocacy at the state and national levels and her tireless efforts to win teaching and legislative improvements for children with special needs.

“It wasn’t easy overcoming prejudices based on stereotyping.

‘“My career was fraught with vast, intense challenges because of all of the opposition in my work,’ Ms. Dobbs said in 2004,. “Handicapped people were looked upon with disdain and scorn, and we had to put forth our best efforts to change that on a global scale. We had much to overcome.”

“Her selfless work brought significant changes at the state and national levels in the classroom and in everyday life for students, and she also was an advocate for support and assistance for teachers of special needs pupils.”

The rest of the article is here.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

The power outages in our area lasted for days, compared with Lake Tahoe, which had few outages. People were cold, hungry, lost the items in their refrigerator. Some accrued motel expenses.

If you want to make a claim, PG&E will send you a form and will consider reimbursing you from $25 to $100.

Nowadays, however, we perform little scrutiny of corporations. Instead, its fashionable to bash government. Then let’s bash the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates PG&E.

On the front line, however, thanks to the many men and women of PG&E who worked hard to get power restored.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

“As one essayist wrote not long ago, it’s become an article of faith in Conservative America that Hollywood is a ‘collection of hopeless la-la-land liberals — or worse, an elitist gaggle of heartland-bashing snobs,’” the L.A. Times writes.

“Conservatives have routinely ridiculed Oscar movies for attacking the military (‘Avatar’), promoting homosexuality (‘Milk’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain’) and depicting corporate executives as evil villains (‘The Constant Gardener’ and ‘Syriana’).

“So it must’ve been quite a shock to watch all the la-la-liberals at the Oscars Sunday night honoring their elders and celebrating tradition on a show where the first clip of the night was from ‘Gone With the Wind’ and the two guys who may have had the most screen time were Kirk Douglas and Bob Hope. Outside of a couple of lesbian jokes and one tiny barb directed at Wall Street from documentary filmmaker Charles Ferguson, the awards were drearily free of controversy, outrage or anything remotely resembling lefty sanctimony.

“On the other hand, the Academy Awards were true to the spirit of this past year’s movies. As this year’s show demonstrated, Hollywood isn’t so easily stereotyped. It may be a town full of liberals, but when it comes to its most prestigious awards show, the most exalted statuettes went to films that espouse conservative values. ‘The King’s Speech,’ which won four Oscars, including the climactic one for best picture, is a profoundly conservative film, paying tribute to King George VI, an aristocratic English monarch who, humbled by a humiliating stutter, develops a deep friendship with a commoner, his speech therapist.”

The rest of the article is here.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Nobody who works on The Union’s editorial staff has a three-digit address in Nevada City, as far as I know.

But that isn’t stopping the newspaper paper from carrying water for outsourcing the city’s police services – on the Op-Ed pages, the news pages and reader polls. There have been countless columns, including one from the editor/publisher, and two online reader polls in the past month alone.

In the latest example, a Penn Valley resident, no less, writes: “It is disingenuous (or naively misinformed) at best for city council members to suggest economic efficiency in a contract might only be achieved at the expense of control or responsiveness to local concerns.

“At worst, it appears a shameful exercise of valuing political power over the public good.”

“it would seem the elected council members of the Nevada City Council owe their constituents an apology.” The rest of the article is here.

Well, thank you. Could I make a humble suggestion: Why doesn’t Penn Valley become a nuclear-free zone? LOL.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Our local Tea Party/hard-right blogging contingent wants to join a national tea party effort to monitor City Council members and the county Board of Supervisors.

It harkens back to the days of widespread political tension in our community during the days of NH2020 involving extremists.

“I am volunteering to be a local trainer for all those first timers who want to get involved. Let me know if your are interested,” Russ Steele writes on his blog. “I am hoping that idea we have bloggers tracking state legislators, mayors and city council members.”

Here’s an exchange between Steele and CABPRO founder Todd Juvinall:

Juvinall: “We used to do this here as CABPRO. We were the only counterpart from the logical people. The RQC and the rest of the left-wingnut eco-groups paid their people to be there. Ah, those were the days.”

Steele: “Yes, Margaret and Barbara Bashall (of the county Contractors Association) used to attend every BOS meeting. They were there the day the RQC tried to slip their version of the new zoning regulations in to the record at the very end of the meeting, when everyone had left the room except the BOS and Margaret and Barbara.

“We need to get back to that level of observation and monitoring. If we can get local Tea Party Members of volunteer to monitor City Council Members and Supervisors and then post on the Tea Party web site.

“Should make for some dynamic content and assure our leaders that ‘we the people’ are watching. Now that the proceedings are live video, it would be possible to do a lot of the monitoring from the den with an adult beverage in hand. Then the citizen journalist can follow up with meetings and phone calls. Like the meeting we had with Congressman McClintock.

Juvinall: When Drew was elected, along with Robin the left went apoplectic. Conklin got beat and so did Izzy. So the left had a couple of older women sit through the meetings taking notes and knitting as well. Anyway, they were not interested in the laws. They were waiting for someone to slip over their tongue and say something they could use.

“When I started CABPRO up until we hired Margaret to take my place, I was usually the only one at the meeings from business all during the General Plan and zoning.

“The RQC nuts were there as was the Sahara Club, err, Sierra Club. There were a bunch of nuts from the ridge who were only there to trash the GPD’s and the Milhouse’s. Ananda even got slandered by some of the nuts. Oh those were the days. Much of my testimony is still making them mad to this very day.”

Filed under: Uncategorized | 15 Comments »

“Former pizza executive Herman Cain won on Sunday a 2012 presidential straw poll of attendees of a Tea Party conference in Arizona,” according to TheHill.com

“Cain won 22 percent of the vote in a straw poll of in-person attendees at the American Policy Summit, the first-ever conference organized by Tea Party Patriots, one of the larger umbrella organizations for Tea Party activists.

“Texas Rep. Ron Paul (R), meanwhile, won nearly 50 percent of the votes cast by 2,300 online straw poll participants.

“The win is a minor coup for Cain, the long-shot presidential candidate who’s the only one to have actually formed an exploratory committee so far. Behind Cain amongst in-person attendees were former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) at 16 percent and Paul, at 15 percent. All three of them spoke at the convention.

“Mr. Cain and Rep. Paul positions resonated with Tea Party Patriots this weekend and the straw poll indicates the enthusiasm for these strong conservatives,” said Mark Meckler, national coordinator of Tea Party Patriots, in a statement.

The rest of the article is here.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 5 Comments »