Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

The Hospitality House is looking for a new permanent home because neighbors rejected a plan to locate it in a light industrial neighborhood in Grass Valley, as I first reported here.

At church on Easter Sunday, the pastor mentioned that our church was serving the next dinner for Hospitality House on Sunday at St. Patrick’s church in Grass Valley. In addition, we are feeding the homeless in Nevada City at our church on May 3.

It’s pathetic that segments of our community have largely left churches with the burden of feeding the homeless, rather than working together more collectively.

There is a $1 million government grant to build a permanent Hospitality House in our community, and it would be a shame to let it expire. It is selfish behavior.

Many people who support the Hospitality House are not “bleeding heart liberals,” but people who feel a need to help the less fortunate in our community for pragmatic reasons. The stereotyping of homeless people only contributes to the problem.

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County Counsel is requesting a closed session Tuesday for the Board of Supervisors to confer with legal counsel regarding the ongoing AtPac vs. Nevada County lawsuit.

Now that the case has gone on for a while, I wonder if it’s about time to consider whether Cypress LLP, who is representing the county in the intellectual-property dispute, is the right law firm for this particular case, which now is becoming highly politicized by the hard right (well before it’s conclusion).

Los Angeles-based Cypress has done an admirable and professional job. I’d like to see an aggressive law firm representing our county (and me as a taxpayer) as this case approaches trial. Substance and style count in the legal profession.

•You could consider countersuing AtPac.
•You also could subpoena some residents to find out who leaked unredacted court documents to hard-right political blogger Russ Steele with private information that both sides had argued should be kept private. I think this crossed a line.
•I’d also work harder to explain the county’s side of the case to the public. The opposition is benefiting, because the county can’t discuss pending litigation. But you could be more aggressive in pointing out the sheer speculation in the opposition’s arguments.

In short, I’d turn up the heat. I have yet to hear how AtPac’s “trade secrets” have been shared with any competitors (the crux of the case) — just a lot of rampant speculation and “spin,” some of it highly defamatory toward the county and clerk-recorder’s office, I would argue. This case has sure been a boon for the legal profession, however!

In the meantime, I wouldn’t be surprised if the vocal, local tea party contingent showed up to complain about the suit — part of the ongoing politicization of the case by the hard right.

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“With a little luck and some mechanical help, a gold rush will explode next month in the Sierra Nevada foothills,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

“Actually, it’ll be a minirush – specifically for the 180-acre plot of land where the biggest Sierra gold nugget in existence was recently dug up.

“Geologists are heading there on May 16 with ground-penetrating radar to assess how much more gold is lying around. By month’s end, they expect to advise the owner to put the land up for sale for as much as $1.5 million. Maybe more.

“‘We’ll just have to see what we can see,’ said geologist Fred Holabird, who helped auction the big nugget last month in Sacramento for $460,000.”

The rest of the article is here.

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