Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

No word in the local press (The Union was blogging “live”), but Nevada City Police Chief Lou Trovato is retiring at year-end, Council Member Sally Harris said at tonight’s Council meeting.

The city is going to look for another part-time chief.

“He’ll stay around — if needed,” Council member Robert Bergman added, when I emailed him about this announcement — which came along the lines of “please pass the peanut butter” during the proceedings.

In 1996 Lou Trovato accepted the position of Nevada City chief of police. He arrived in Nevada City after 29 years with the Los Angeles Police Dept.

Most of us have said for a long time that “change is needed,” so it’s the right thing to do. (Change takes a long time in small towns.)

Having said that, Lou is a good person. We just need some change.

The announcement came on the same night that the city was considering an effort to repeal an anti-loitering ordinance.

Instead of putting the ordinance on the ballot, the Council decided that a revised ordinance would be prepared for consideration. (Former longtime resident and Mayor Steve Cottrell nailed this decision).

When do I get to vote on an issue in my hometown?

In other matters:

On Monday, Nov. 14, NCTV is putting on a Town-Hall Meeting — “Homelessness & Those Without Shelter In Nevada County.” The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Nevada City Hall.

This is a county-wide effort, one not limited to Nevada City.

“I hope to get GV’s council, a judge or two, the Supes, board members from the ERC (the topic does bear on the area’s economy), and others to come, too,” Bergman said.

I’ll be there!

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With more and more of The Union’s sister community newspapers erecting “pay walls” for readers, can The Union itself be far behind?

Here’s the stark contrast between The Union and its competition such as Yubanet.com.

On the one hand, The Union’s editor/publisher shows up at a tea party “meetup” and gets a pass from our extreme right bloggers. Their “report,” complete with the usual personal attacks, is here.

“If The Union went away the lefty bloggers would not have anything to write about, (Jeff Ackerman) said.”

Huh? The competition scoops The Union regularly and its readership is growing. And some of their family members are registered Republicans!

Yubanet, meanwhile, is out writing about and photographing a more peaceful get-together in Nevada City. The photo is here:

This “tale of two cities” is going to define the future of journalism in our small towns. Which would you choose?

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(credit: Lisa Pembleton)

Social media is changing communications, as we’ve discussed before. According to AddThis, here’s the most shared content of 2011 on Facebook — this photo.

“Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson lay in a coffin, draped in an American flag, in front of a tearful audience mourning his death in Afghanistan. Soon an old friend appeared, and like a fellow soldier on a battlefield, his loyal dog refused to leave him behind,” according to MSNBC.com.

“Tumilson’s Labrador retriever, Hawkeye, was photographed lying by Tumilson’s casket in a heart-wrenching image taken at the funeral service in Tumilson’s hometown of Rockford, Iowa, earlier this week. Hawkeye walked up to the casket at the beginning of the service and then dropped down with a heaving sigh as about 1,500 mourners witnessed a dog accompanying his master until the end, reported CBS.

“The photo was snapped by Tumilson’s cousin, Lisa Pembleton, and posted on her Facebook page in memory of the San Diego resident. Tumilson, 35, was one of 30 American troops, including 22 Navy SEALs, who were killed when a Taliban insurgent shot down a Chinook helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade on Aug. 6.”

The rest of the article is here.

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With The Union Publisher joining the tea party gathering; Russ Steele proclaiming that the “tea party has political legs;” and the tea party board meeting at Robinson Enterprises (where CABPRO’s offices are located) — all in the same week, no less — it should be a time to reflect on one of my favorite songs:

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I received this press release:

Assemblyman Dan Logue Formally
Announces Re-Election Campaign

North State Assemblyman and Chief Minority Whip Dan Logue today formally announced that he would be seeking a third term to the California State Assembly running in the new 1st Assembly District seat which includes approximately 50 percent of his existing district. A small business owner and staunch opponent of government waste and over-regulation, Dan Logue has served two terms in the Assembly where he has taken the lead in restoring California’s beleaguered economy.

About Logue, Congressman Tom McClintock stated, “Dan Logue is of the great forces in the Assembly, Californians could not possibly have a more fearless or energetic defender against over-reaching bureaucracy than Dan Logue.”

“Dan Logue has fought tirelessly for the working families of California,” stated north state Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, who currently represents a large portion of the new district.

“For the past three years it has been my distinct honor to serve the voters of the north state In the Assembly,” stated Logue. “I know that California’s economy and California families are struggling, businesses are leaving and taking jobs with them.”

As the Chairman of the Caucus Task Force on Jobs and Economic Recovery Logue has defined the greatest challenge confronting California. “The challenge of our time is to build bipartisan consensus that leads to real reforms. Reforms, which reduce regulatory and tax burdens, encourages business and job growth and restores our economy. I have a record of doing just that and we have had some noteworthy successes.”

Logue has clearly established himself as California’s leading voice to revitalize the economy and keep jobs and businesses in California. The National Federation of Independent Business has awarded Logue a perfect score based on his voting record and support of small business. His widespread efforts have also drawn the attention of media outlets across the nation, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, FOX News, CNBC and the Los Angeles Times.

Logue organized and led bipartisan legislative hearings up and down the state to listen to the concerns of business owners.
In 2008 He held the first out-of-state hearing when he took fellow legislators to Reno, Nevada, to hear firsthand from businesses their reasons for leaving California.
More recently, he led a bipartisan delegation of policy makers including Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom to Texas to meet with economists, Texas legislators and with businesses who had left California in order to better understand why Texas was adding 165,000 jobs while California was losing 1.2 million jobs during the same time period.

Logue has also demonstrated his effectiveness in getting his legislative package and priorities successfully through the process with six of his bill passed and signed into law this past year, placing him in the top tier of successful lawmakers in his Caucus. Those bills passed represent important progress in several areas including; encouraging job creation, public safety, saving taxpayer dollars, and supporting law enforcement. Several of which are critical to the rural areas of the north state and most will have a significant statewide impact. Some of those bills include:

AB 415 The Telehealth Advancement Act of 2011
AB 44 Notification of Inmate Release
AB 434 DNA Forensic Testing

Prior to serving in the California State Assembly, Logue served on the Yuba County Board of Supervisors. While serving as a Member of the Board of Supervisors, Logue worked to bring new businesses and manufacturers to the North State, growing the economy and creating jobs. Logue also worked to change the culture of local government to make it more responsive and business friendly. As a result of his efforts, Dan was voted the best political leader in the region by readers of the Appeal Democrat.

“As a small business owner for 30 years, I understand the challenges that working families are facing in California and I think about them every day,” stated Logue. “I am committed to doing everything I can to fight to restore opportunity, hope and economic prosperity to California.”

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The Nevada County Consolidated Fire District is expected to ask voters to approve a property owners’ assessment — $52 annually for a single dwelling — because of an $870,000 deficit for the 2011-12 fiscal year.

It will pit the district against the “no tax,” “anti-government,” “get off my land” mindset that still is prevalent here.

Trouble is, we are highly susceptible to wildfires. When people move to unincorporated rural areas, they have to expect to pay for services — just like the sewage treatment problems our county’s residents don’t seem to want to face.

The cost increases that the district faces — worker’s compensation, insurance, public retirement and the like — is a state (not district) problem.

Let’s hope that calmer heads prevail. The board will vote on Nov. 17 whether to put the tax on the ballot.

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I received this email from Nevada County Free Range Beef that sheds a light on an ongoing economic development challenge — a meat processing facility for local ranchers in the foothills, from Grass Valley to Auburn to Newcastle and Penryn:

“Please show your support for local ranching and processing.

The Wolf Pack Meats processing facility is a vital partner in the production of Nevada County Free Range Beef. The Wolf Pack facility and the University of Nevada-Reno agricultural education acreage are threatened by a proposal by the University to sell off the land to commercial developers.

Sign the petition in support of Wolf Pack Meats and the UNR agricultural acreage. Your signature is needed by November 16.

Here is the link to the petition just copy and paste to pass it along: http://www.change.org/petitions/save-a-university-farm-from-development

Nevada County Free Range Beef has been participating in meetings with the University and the Reno planning commission, along with independent ranchers from northern Nevada and California, agriculture agency representatives and local and regional food groups, restaurants and businesses who depend on the services of Wolf Pack Meats.

Our efforts so far have not been enough to change the direction of the proposed plans for the sale.

Without the availability of the Wolf Pack facility for USDA certified beef processing and packaging, Nevada County Free Range Beef and other ranchers would be hard pressed to find comparable services and quality work. Existing facilities are few and far between, with full-over-capacity work schedules.

Transportation costs, waiting lists and changes in quality and services will affect every rancher and will inevitably affect the cost and reliability of product for all of our customers.

We need your show of support.

This petition will be delivered to the Governor of Nevada, the University regents, the Reno city council and planning commission.

Please sign, and share the petition with anyone you know who will do the same. We can let them know that agricultural education, small ranching, quality processing and local food production are important and need to be protected.

Thank You !

Jim Gates
Nevada County Free Range Beef”

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Here’s a letter to the Nevada City Council supporting the repeal of an anti-loitering ordinance. The Council will discuss the issue tonight, as previously reported. The Council is expected to put the referendum on the June 5 ballot, at no extra cost to taxpayers. I would welcome a citywide vote on this issue. Whatever the outcome, we’ll have a chance to see where people stand rather than make inferences. It’s spelled “d-e-m-o-c-r-a-c-y” and small towns need more of it.

The letter is here: NCCC Letter re repeal-1

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