Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

I received this email with a link to “Before and after images of the devastation in Japan.”

The link is here. Hold your mouse key on the black line on your right, then drag it across the picture for a before and after shot.

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Editor’s note: After The Union, its cartoonist RL Crabb and the hard-right blogging contingent made fun of bigotry here, the discussion has shifted to Truckee, a point I made the other day. Here’s the latest, in reader commentary below a post titled “2010 census: Truckee’s Latino population increased by 70 percent over decade.” Who started it? None other than “Wise and Just.”

—WiseandJust
12:09 PM on 3/20/2011
Truckee will end up like Citrus Heights pretty soon. All the signs in CH are in English and Russian.

2 replies

—housewolf
5:13 PM on 3/20/2011
Amazing reply from a past County Supervisor.

—berner4u
11:20 PM on 3/20/2011
Pretty telling of his world….. 

I bet he’s crying that this place will lose its distinction as the 2nd most white county in California, behind our neighbor Sierra County!

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Here are some letters to the editor from the weekend from the Sacramento Bee:

“It is hard to imagine a bigger booster for the nuclear and oil industries than Rep. Tom McClintock. At a town hall meeting last month, he vigorously espoused the view that atomic reactors produce clean, cheap and abundant power.

That was a month before the start of the nightmarish nuclear disaster unfolding in Japan. Now will he reassess his unbridled enthusiasm for nuclear power, and not tolerate the risk of this state becoming known for another Fukushima?
– Kirk Callan Smith, Placerville”
This letter is here (scroll down to find it).

Down further, McClintock defends his stand on the Auburn Dam:

“Re “McClintock wrong on water” (Letters, March 4): A recent letter attacks my opposition to tearing down the Klamath dams.

The writer contends the dams are too expensive to operate, yet ignores the fact that the added expenses are solely the result of government fiat and that replacement power will be many times the actual cost of hydroelectricity.

In fact, PacifiCorp proposed operating the dams at a vastly lower cost but was blocked by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The rest of the letter is here (scroll to find it).
– Rep. Tom McClintock,
R-Elk Grove

As we consider expanding dams and nuclear plants, here’s an update on earthquake risks across the nation. Always worth pondering:

Read more:

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Grass Valley citizens surveyed expressed greater concern with domestic violence (an increase of 6.2% from 2010), alcohol abuse (an increase of 3.7% from 2010), youth crimes (an increase of 3.6% from 2010), burglary (an increase of 3.4% from 2010), gangs (an increase of 3.1% from 2010), drugs (an increase of 2.7% from 2010), and truancy (an increase of 2.4% from 2010), according to the 13th annual Police Department Citizen Attitude survey.

Tobacco use by minors and sexual assault also reflected slight increases in ratings of “serious problems” when compared to the 2010 survey.

Several categories showed a small decline in the “serious problem” category when compared to 2010 with noise showing a decline of 3.1%, vehicle violations 2.7%, bicycle 2%, vandalism 1.6%, and animals at large 1.4%.

Citizen Attitude Surveys were mailed to 600 residents and businesses located within the City of Grass Valley, with a better than average 20% response rate.

About 84.7% of the respondents indicated their approval of overall public services in the “excellent” or “good” rating. Crime Prevention showed a significant increase in the “excellent” level.

The complete survey is here.

The survey will be presented at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

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Our Sierra foothills hamlet escaped the clutches of the “privatization beast” for our libraries, thanks to grassroots support.

Now L.S.S.I. — the same outfit we considered for outsourcing — is targeting Santa Clarita, as cities across the nation struggle to cut costs. “The privatization beast roams the American landscape, stalking its prey,” according to a video from opponents. “Libraries, though tiny and defenseless, are plentiful.”

The citizens are fighting back with a campaign Privatization Beast, complete with an online petition. “Stop the beast! Send a message to the Santa Clarita City Council to reject the privatization of their libraries.”

We use the libraries regularly: This past weekend we played a “books on tape” of The Pearl, as well as read Henry Huggins to our son — a favorite from my childhood. We found the librarian very helpful.

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A super full moon was created this past weekend, when the moon was at its closest point to earth in almost 20 years — a distance of 221, 565 miles. It was 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than usual. We missed it because of the rain and snow (which will continue this week). Now we’ll have to wait another 18 years or so.

Here’s a photo of the super full moon this past weekend that was shot by an “expat” friend in Arroyo Seco, Jalisco, Mexico, on the coast, about three hours south of Puerto Vallarta.

(credit: Sylvia Fox)

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