Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

Nevada County is the second whitest county in the state, but changes are afoot in the foothills and Sierra, making the region more racially diverse than 10 years ago, according to census data released this week.

The percentage of population that is “white alone” in our county stands at 86.5 percent, the data I examined shows. Only neighboring Sierra county ranks higher, at 88.1 percent.

The local census data shows an interesting dichotomy in a state that is becoming more racially diverse.

Some changes are occurring in the foothills and Sierra region, however. In 2000, Plumas, Butte, Sierra, Nevada, Placer, El Dorado, Amador, Calvareas, Tuolumne and Mariposa counties were 9.7 percent to 19.9 percent “non white,” the lowest possible percentages, the data shows.

In 2010, however, three of the nine — Placer, El Dorado and Amador — were now categorized as 20 percent to 34.9 percent non white. More of the neighboring counties, Sacramento and Stanislaus, are becoming more non white too.

The whitest areas in our western county are Alta Sierra at 88.7; Lake of the Pines, at 89.3 percent; and Lake Wildwood, at 90.7 percent, according to the data. The least white — relatively speaking — is North San Juan at 82.2 percent and Truckee at 77.7 percent. Nevada City is at 87.4 percent.

The statewide total stands at 40.1 percent.

SLOW POPULATION GROWTH

From 2000 to 2010, Nevada County also was one of the slower growing counties, at 7.3 percent, the data shows. Grass Valley grew fastest at 17.7 percent, followed by Truckee at 16.7 percent and Nevada City at 2.2 percent. (In more recent years, growth has stalled, as state data shows).

Among the 10-year decliners were Sierra County, falling 8.9 percent, and Plumas, dropping 3.9 percent.

By contrast, statewide population growth was at 10 percent.

A link to the census data, including some maps, is here.

” The U.S. Census Bureau released the 2010 Census Redistricting (Public Law 94-171) File for California on March 8, 2011. These are the first results from the 2010 Census,” according to the county’s Friday memo. “This file contains total population and population 18 years and older by race and Hispanic or Latino and total housing units, households (occupied units), and vacant units for local geographic areas
down to the census block level.”

As reader Bob Garza wrote in an earlier post, “Despite all the sound and fury emanating from certain parts of our county about immigrants and government and lord knows what else to afraid of, the truth is that social, cultural, and economic forces in the country and the world will change our community. The smart thing to do would be to embrace the change and make this an even better place to live.”

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A regular reader, with a wicked sense of humor, emailed this over:

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A regular reader and commenter to this blog, Tom Dalldorf of Nevada City, reported fleeing to higher ground on the Island of Hawaii as a result of the tsunami stemming from Japan’s big earthquake. Here’s his firsthand account:

“Jeff: Sitting in a closed Starbucks sucking up the still working wifi. Spend the night on the floor of a high school gym above the tsunami zone here in Kona. Beer Fest on Saturday but lots of clean up yet to do along Ali’i Drive. Our hotel got a foot of water in the lobby. We’ll never leave Nevada City again! Cheers, Tom.”

Tom is publisher of Celebrator Beer News, the oldest periodical of its kind in the United States. Tom, an authority on beer making, was in Hawaii for the 16th annual Kona Brewers Festival on the shores of Kailua Bay on the Big Island.

A profile of Tom is here. Celebrator Beer News is published out of Nevada City. Tom and I know each other, because he is a fan of this blog and our magazine, Sierra FoodWineArt. Thanks for the update!

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“Officials in Crescent City are reporting damage after tsunami waves began hitting the harbor this morning,” according to the Eureka Times-Standard.

‘”The harbor has been destroyed,’ said Crescent City Councilman Rich Enea in a phone interview at 9:45 a.m. ‘Thirty-five boats have been crushed and the harbor has major damage. Major damage.’

“Del Norte County Sheriff Cmdr. Bill Steven said most of the docks at the harbor are gone. Additionally, a recent surge filled the entire harbor and they are expecting that some of the other waves could send water into the harbor’s parking lot, Steven said.

“Enea said no injuries have been reported at this point, which he attributed to plenty of tsunami preparedness exercises and the diligent work of first responders in sealing off the harbor.

“The councilman said he’s heard about 100 people have shown up to a Red Cross shelter at Del Norte High School. He said tsunami waters have made it near the doors of the Crescent City Cultural Center, and he fears the worst is yet to come.”

The rest of the article is here.

Santa Cruz harbor also damaged

“The Santa Cruz Office of Emergency Services says that two docks and three vessels have sustained major damage and a number of other vessels have minor damage,” according to KION News. “At this time, there is a preliminary estimate of approximately $2 million dollars in damages. A proclamation of a local emergency has been declared by the Director of Emergency Services.”

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“As white Americans move into the minority, some are claiming they’re the ones now subject to racial oppression. Do they have a case?” writes Jeff Yang, who forecasts global consumer trends, in The Chronicle. The post is here.

“For a small, nerdy cluster of folk — social science and cultural studies wonks, market researchers, armchair political pundits — this month is the Super Bowl, Oscars and Olympics rolled into one. That’s because the next few weeks will see the gradual, yet grand unveiling of data from the 2010 U.S. Census, an event literally 10 years in the making.

“The direction the numbers are headed isn’t likely to be surprising: The trend line of increasing racial and ethnic diversity seen in the past three Censuses is expected to continue deep into this century, with experts generally marking 2050 as the year that — barring radical shifts in policy or social trends — the U.S. is projected to become ‘majority minority,’ with non-Hispanic whites making up less than 50 percent of the population.

“The Tea Party is often labeled the epicenter of the new White Anger Movement. But while the Tea Party is indeed angry and, according to an August 2010 CBS/New York Times survey, about 89 percent white, it resists being identified as such.

“If the new white rage movement has its origins anywhere, it might actually be a column written back in February 2008 by Colorado writer-photographer-real estate broker Gary Hubbell, titled “In election 2008, don’t forget Angry White Man.” The essay, published in the 15,000-circulation Aspen Times a full year before the Rick Santelli rant that unleashed the Tea Parties on America, is a lyrical cri de coeur on the glories of independence, firearm ownership, Constitutional literalism and radical self-sufficiency.”

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“Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin have reversed half-a-century’s middle-class progress in the state by erasing collective-bargaining rights for public employees,” according to an editorial in the New York Times. “Union members, caught off guard and infuriated by the Senate vote on Wednesday and the Assembly vote on Thursday, immediately talked of legal challenges and general strikes, but the outcome was probably inevitable given the Republican success in the 2010 elections. Now union members have to make sure they do not stay away from the polls again when their rights are at stake.

“Undermining public unions — and the support they give to Democrats — has been a long-sought goal of the Republican Party and many of its corporate backers. Koch Industries, one of the party’s biggest supporters, spent $1.2 million last year to help elect Mr. Walker and other Republican governors who want to eliminate or reduce bargaining rights. On Wednesday, the State Senate’s Republican leader, Scott Fitzgerald, told Fox News that if unions lose the battle for their rights, they would have less money to help President Obama win re-election.

“More broadly, the overreach by Mr. Walker and Republicans elsewhere has finally revealed their true agenda to blue-collar voters who either voted for them last year or who stayed home. These voters are not going to benefit from a crippled union movement; they live next door to the teachers and nurses and D.M.V. clerks who are about to lose what little clout they had in the state capital. Many have suffered during the recession and have watched in pain as private-sector unions have been battered to the point of ineffectiveness.

“They understand the power play that took place this week. The place to exercise some power of their own is at the voting booth.”

The editorial is here.

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“Most stories about inequality in America miss an important point: rising disparities are not just about investment bankers versus auto workers. They’re about entire communities of ‘winners’ and ‘losers.’ And as these communities continue to diverge, the idea of ‘an American economy’ looks more and more like an anachronism,” according to The Atlantic.

“We analyzed reams of demographic, economic, cultural, and political data to break the nation’s 3,141 counties into 12 statistically distinct ‘types of place.’ When we look at family income over the past 30 years through that prism, the full picture of the income divide becomes clearer—and much starker.

“Seven of our 12 county-types saw their median family incomes fall. ‘Immigration Nation’ counties fared the worst, as Latino immigrants, many with little education, moved in. The ‘Service Worker Centers’ also saw steep declines, as manufacturing dried up. Leading in growth were the well-educated ‘Monied Burbs,’ where white-collar positions bloomed in office parks. Income in the ‘Industrial Metropolises’ also rose, driven by gentrification and new wealth in inner-ring suburbs.

Click here to see how our county compares to the rest of the country. We are labeled a “monied burb” — higher-than-average family income and educational attainment; closely divided politically.

Neighboring Sierra County is “tractor country,” (white and rural; sparse populations) and Placer is a “boom town,” (relatively wealthy; before the last recession, saw rapid growth) at least relatively speaking, according to the map.

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“A massive, 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan on Friday, setting off a devastating tsunami that swallowed swaths of coastal territory and fanned out across the Pacific Ocean, threatening everything in its path,” according to the L.A. Times.

“A widespread tsunami warning is in effect for much of the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii, where authorities have warned damage could occur along the coasts of all islands.

“‘These are not like surf waves,’ Chip McCreary of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center told reporters. ‘These waves effectively wrap around islands so all coasts will be affected.’

Authorities said hundreds of people were killed. “The 8.9-magnitude earthquake — the world’s fifth largest since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey — struck at 2:46 p.m. local time, shaking buildings violently in Tokyo for several minutes and sending millions fleeing for higher ground,” the Times said.

“Japanese television showed aerial footage of an ominous 13-foot muddy wave washing across the northeastern coast near the epicenter, consuming farms and small rural communities.”

The rest of the article is here.

•”Tens of thousands of people across the islands are preparing for a tsunami borne from a huge Japanese earthquake that could hit all sides of Hawaiian islands, beginning with Kauai at 3:07 a.m. today,” according to the Honolulu Advertiser. Wave heights of six feet are possible.

•The front door of Google’s website — normally a minimal design — read: “Tsunami Alert for New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, and others. Waves expected over the next few hours, caused by 8.9 earthquake in Japan.”

•A tsunami warning has been issued for the central and northern California coast and Oregon, the National Weather Service announced early Friday. In the Bay Area, an emergency warning system announcement for a tsunami warning was braodcast just after 1 a.m. Waves could begin arriving in Crescent City at 7:23 a.m. and the Bay Area shortly after 8 a.m.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that a new warning could be issued as more information becomes available.

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