Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

A boardwalk is being proposed for Commercial Street in Nevada City, according to discussions among city planning commissioners.

A presentation by the Nevada City sustainability team at the March 17 planning commission meeting includes a proposal for a “modular and removable boardwalk seating area” to be located within three existing parking spaces on Commercial St., between Cooper’s and “Stik-It” kabob restaurant.

In addition, there will be a presentation of proposed uses and plans for the Alpha building as a marketplace, as previously reported, and a proposed architectural remodel to add a door to enter onto Calanan Park from lower level of building.

“Good evening!” I could bellow as I walked out onto the park at night, meeting the loiterers. I could be wearing a smoking jacket monogrammed with “JP.”

It’s information only and no action will be taken. Kudos to the sustainability team for its out of the box thinking in Nevada City!

At the risk of sounding uncool, here’s the Lennon sisters singing “On the boardwalk in Atlantic City.” It is a favorite.

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Nine local families have teamed up to bring Yuba City a new natural foods market called New Earth Market.

“New Earth Market’s focus will be on competitively-priced organic, sustainable and seasonal products harvested within a 100-mile radius. The market will feature an island-style deli, grab-and-go salad and sandwich offerings, cheese, meat/seafood, beer/wine and juice and coffee bar,” according to the market.

A grand opening is set for March 12, though the store already has had a “soft opening.”

More details are here.

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“Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has shown so much progress in her recovery from a bullet wound to the head that friends and family are making plans for her to attend the launch of her husband’s space shuttle mission next month in Florida, a person close to the family told The Associated Press on Thursday.

“The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the family and doctors have not yet publicized the decision. A news conference was scheduled for Friday morning at the Houston hospital where Giffords is undergoing rehabilitation.

“Giffords was shot in the head Jan. 8 at a political event outside a grocery store in an attack that killed six people and wounded 12 others.”

The rest of the article is here.

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We watched Nevada City’s Council meeting last night on television, because it’s always good theater.

Last night’s message was poignant, not entertaining: It showed a dichotomy in dealing with our homeless, as well as our tourists, when it comes to shelter. In most cases, people were talking past each other at the same meeting.

Rural towns such as ours have to contend with both: We have too few jobs and are too dependent on tourism. In short we have failed to diversify our economy enough.

On one hand was a discussion about caring for the homeless during cold, winter storms, brought on by the death of a local man.

On the other was a debate about where to put B&Bs for our tourists.

The younger speakers were the most sensible: One pointed to the irony of having vacant B&Bs in town while homeless people sleep out in the cold.

She pointed to the need for collaboration, not infighting. I wonder how many of the speakers who were present — often with clinched fists — got that message.

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“As Lee Laney’s letter in this issue suggests, 3rd District Assemblyman Dan Logue is planning a trip to Texas and taking some fellow lawmakers along,” according to an opinion in the Chico News and Review.

“He’s convinced Texas is some kind of employment Shangri-la where jobs are sprouting up like mushrooms after a rain, and he wants California legislators “to see for themselves how Texas has created all those jobs,” in the words of his Butte County field rep, Steve Thompson.

“Thompson touts the 119,000 jobs Texas supposedly created from 2009 to 2010, but the state’s unemployment rate as of December 2010 was 8.3 percent, only a percentage point under the national average. And many of those jobs are low-paying, with one out of three wage earners making too little to keep a family of four above the poverty line—double the percentage in California.

“For a better model than Texas, we need only look to California under former Gov. Pat Brown, whose investments in schools, services and infrastructure underpinned a prosperity that lasted for decades.”

The rest of the article is here.

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“Dealt a major setback Wednesday night in a high-stakes battle over union rights in Wisconsin, labor leaders nevertheless insisted that they would emerge from the three-week long saga energized and eager to continue fighting,” according to the Huffington Post.

“Hours after Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) and his Republican allies in the state Senate took nearly everyone by surprise and pushed through a stand-alone bill stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights, labor officials pledged to ramp up efforts to recall Republicans and challenge the legislation in court.

‘”Tonight, Scott Walker made it crystal clear to the people of Wisconsin — and the entire nation — the extent he will go to in order to pay back billionaires such as the Koch Brothers and bad actor corporations that want to destroy the middle class,’ said SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry. ‘This legislative gimmick proves Walker’s attack on the middle class was never about balancing the budget; it was always about stripping workers of a voice and rewarding the cronies who helped finance his campaign.’”

The rest of the article is here.

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