Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

Anthony Bourdain stirred up a debate when he said this about the tea party on CNN on Friday:
“You know, I was just reading “Hellhound on His Trail,” a book about the — about the assassination of Dr. King and about — particularly about the Wallace-for-president campaign in California back then. And you’re looking at, I think, at basically the same demographic: a lot of marginal, very angry white people.”

Here’s a flyer comparing from George Wallace’s campaign comparing Wallace to Humphrey and Nixon, labeled “compare, then decide.” (click for larger image):

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Editor’s note: We’re going to a reception for Feats of Clay in Lincoln tonight. It’s a very cool event. An article from SierraCulture.com is here:

THE 24TH FEATS OF CLAY ART SHOW RUNS April 30-May 29 at Gladding-McBean, a 136-year-old maker of clay products. Its grounds include large, beehive-shaped kilns that house the artwork.

Feats of Clay has become one of the nation’s most competitive ceramic art shows, and it attracts thousands of visitors annually. The exhibit includes some 80 sculptures chosen from more than 1,500 entries from artists in North America.

“Reserve a tour, hop aboard an antique fire truck waiting at the plant gate and begin a journey back in time,” says Lincoln Arts & Cultural Foundation, a 25-year-old non-profit that supports the show. “The thrilling sounds and massive scale are awesome.”

The softly-lit contemporary art is exhibited inside a 35-foot diameter “beehive” kiln, one of 22 in the building. Besides viewing the winning sculptures, visitors will see an exhibit of molds and examples of architectural work done at the plant.

Though a major supplier of clay pipes, Gladding-McBean also helps restore damaged terra cotta artifacts. The distinguished-looking red roof tiles at Stanford University were a Gladding-McBean product, along with buildings and theaters all over the world.

The guided Feats of Clay tour requires reservations, which are made by calling Lincoln Arts at 916-645-9713. Admission is $12. Tours start every 30 minutes from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

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On May 1, the Firehouse # 1 — a symbol of Nevada City and probably the most photographed building in town — will reopen for the spring and summer.

It houses a Nisenan Indian exhibit, as well as some Donner Party relics and a Chinese display. The Niesnan tribe continues to be active in the community as they have for the past 200 years. They are well represented at the museum.

“We will be celebrating at the FDNC1 Museum and concurrently at the Oustomah Hall (Oddfellows Hall) on Spring St. from 1- 4 p.m.,” said Judith Lowry, who went before the City Council on Wednesday to make the accouncement.

“At Oustomah Hall we will present a panel of speakers and educational displays. Refreshments will be offered.

“The Nisenan Peoples of Nevada City invite the community to come and learn about the tribe and its history.

Some background is here.

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I’m an early riser, but I was swamped yesterday, so I still missed watching the Royal Wedding “live.” I’m catching up on the internet. Here’s an official wedding photograph.

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“Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels’ (R) ‘truce’ on social issues is now facing its first real test,” according to TPMuckraker.com.

“Indiana is set to become the first state to cut off federal funding for Planned Parenthood, unless Daniels vetoes the bill sent to him Thursday by the Indiana State Legislature.

“Daniels, who is firmly anti-abortion, has a week to act on the bill.

“Planned Parenthood Of Indiana has said the bill could cost the state $4 million in Medicaid federal family funds. The bill would run afoul of federal law, which prohibits states from picking which providers may offer family planning services to Medicaid patients. According to Planned Parenthood, by violating that law, Indiana may risk losing all federal funds for family planning providers.

“The bill would also ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

“It’s a tough line to walk for Daniels, who, as a potential candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, needs to prove his conservative chops. He’s faced heated criticism on the right for calling for a ‘truce’ on social issues and suggesting lawmakers focus on fiscal matters instead.”

The rest of the article is here.

For background “Christie’s conservatism not just all about the $$$” is here. Like Daniels, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also is considered a possible candidate for President.

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“Nearly two years after the U.S. economy began climbing out of the worst recession since the 1930s, advertising sales at newspapers have yet to hit bottom,” according to the journalism website Newsosaur, written by Alan Mutter, a former colleague of mine at The Chronicle.

“Now, the question haunting every newspaper executive is: How low will they go? And the daunting question for them is: What can turn things around?

“Clearly new ideas are in order, because economic recovery has not done the trick. And the accumulating evidence suggests that it is not going to do so.

“Although television, online, radio and even magazine ad revenues all moved into positive territory by the end of 2010, newspaper sales dropped 6.3%. At the end of last year, annual print and digital newspaper ad sales, which have skidded lower in every quarter since April, 2006, were 47% below the all-time high of $49.4 billion achieved as recently as 2005.

•”Employers in ever-greater numbers are abandoning newspapers in favor of soliciting applications on their own websites, posting ads on sites aimed at particular professions like nurses or engineers, paying for ads on cheaper job boards like Monster or putting up free ads at places like Craig’s List. High-priced newspaper ads are not needed to connect employers and job candidates.

•”People buying and selling homes, to the degree there are any, increasingly are turning to highly optimized sites like Realtors.Com, Zillow and Trulia, which contain all the listings in a market and have maps, comparable home sales, school performance statistics, financing options and other tools that most newspaper websites can only dream about.

•”With everything from groceries to shoes available on easy-to-use web and mobile sites, consumers increasingly are letting their fingers do the shopping.

The rest of the article is here.

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The Sierra County Land Trust has teamed up with the San Francisco-based Trust for Public Land to buy 835 acres for $4 million in the Sierra Buttes/Lakes Basin, preserving one of the Sierra’s most compelling visual features, I have learned.

An official announcement by the Trust for Public Land is expected soon.

The deal, closed Wednesday after years of quiet negotiations, brings the total number of acres preserved in the Sierra Lakes/Butte Basin to 1,500 acres during the past 4 1/2 years. Much of the land has been purchased in the past three months.

The new purchase includes the face of the Sierra Buttes, as well as Volcano Lake, an archetypal alpine lake with a deep blue color.

“It’s all ours and nobody can take it,” said Laurie Oberholtzer, director of the Sierra County Land Trust, confirming the deal for me.

The group had received a $5.6 million state grant in 2007 from the State of California Resources Agency’s Sierra Nevada Cascade Conservation grant program, funded by the voters of California via Prop. 50.

The family who sold the land have retained some acreage for themselves.

“I’m excited about this purchase, and we’re very grateful to the voters of California and the Resources Agency for funding it,” Oberholtzer said.

The group still has its sights on other property in the Sierra Buttes/Lakes Basin.

The craggy, snow-covered Buttes form a dramatic alpine backdrop to the basin’s high-elevation lakes.

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No sooner had Nevada City’s new city manager been announced than our local “wingnut” brigade was out in force bashing him — without meeting him or phoning him — much less shaking his hand.

“A global warmer is Nevada City’s new City Manager,” declared hard right blogger Russ Steele. Russ was concerned that David Brennan had been program manager for — OMG! — the Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority. (His longest tenure was city manager of Sebastopol).

“David should fit in quite well with the ‘progressive’ Nevada City, and all the other warmers on the City Council,” Russ wrote, going so far as to ask: “Will we see a Nevada City initiative to create a Nevada County Regional Climate Protection Authority, under the authority of the Nevada City Transportation Commission. Why?”

No, Russ, the man was hired to manage the nuts and bolts operations at Nevada City Hall. He also once worked here. (I happened to be in City Hall yesterday and spoke with the current City Manager Gene Albaugh, as well as the staffers there. It was for another matter, but we spoke about the new hire.)

Barry Pruett (of the Republican Central Committee) wrote, “This is perfect. I think that Brennan will be the ‘icing’ on the Nevada City cake.” Pity if this poor man’s spouse is a registered Republican!

To cap off the discussion, an unidentified man named “John Galt” weighed in with his pearls of wisdom.

The responses on Russ’ blog are not atypical of what you find from some of the entrenched ideologues when a new professional is hired to come to our county to help shape policy: Not exactly your Moms’ Welcome Wagon.

Most everybody — ranging from an “elected” to a private sector professional — has a similar Welcome Wagon story. There should probably be a support group like AA.

Welcome Dave Brennan. This is not coastal California, but the majority of people — including the long-timers —will shake your hand, wish you luck and go about their business. And many of them actually embrace change — they just speak about it in hushed voices.

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There’s an old saying “my brother’s in the band.” It can help you get into nightclubs. It’s literally true when it comes to Hospitality House Executive Director Cindy Maple and her brother, Josh Paul, a lead guitarist in the popular American band Daughtry.

In support of “Utah’s Place” Daughtry has donated an autographed guitar to “Build a Shelter Day’s Silent Auction.” The benefit is May 14 from noon to 8 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites/Gold Miners Inn.

Daughtry (pictured on the front of Billboard magazine) was found and formed by a former American Idol season finalist Chris Daughtry.

The first single from the album, “It’s Not Over”, was the eighth most played song across all formats on U.S. radio in 2007, and their second single from the album, “Home”, was the tenth most played song in the U.S. of 2007, according to Wikipedia.

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