Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

My son joined me for a big local Christmas shop on Thursday. We always shop local for Christmas, because a small-town lifestyle was one reason for coming here in the first place. We had a blast, eating lunch and shopping together. He brought his wallet too (packed with too many nickles).

We hit both downtown Grass Valley and Nevada City. I did some shopping in Truckee earlier in the week. As always, the two of us did some “gumshoe” reporting, and the merchants we spoke to — from book stores to clothing stores to chocolate shops to jewelers —reported robust Christmas sales. Stores were downright crowded.

A big boost came from Cornish and Victorian Christmas, where shoppers spent money instead of just “window shopping.” One benefit, as I reported earlier, was that you could see the shops more clearly, because the streets weren’t so jammed with vendor booths that blocked your view. More details are here.

I also think the beautiful weather has helped get people out and about.

In addition, the economic shakeout has led to a revitalization of the downtowns with some new shops and choices. To be sure, I also think merchants have adjusted their expectations because of the prolonged economic downturn. There was a “smile meter,” not a “pout meter” on their faces.

The Grass Valley Downtown Association offered free Christmas wrapping at its “Santa’s Workshop” on Mill Street. Its most successful wrapping day was Thursday, with more than 40 presents wrapped. Some of them were ours. (Our magazine was a proud sponsor of “Santa’s Workshop,” which included a visit with Santa).

I found the customer service excellent this holiday season, including free gift wrapping — not so common at a “big box” stores. There were some creative selections too. This year’s Christmas Coffee from Carolines Coffee, for example, featured “faces of our community,” which included photos of the owners, workers and regular customers on the 12 ounce bag.

I also liked the new shop in Grass Valley called “True Grit,” “a nostalgic photo parlour” where you can get your family picture taken in Western-style garb.

In Nevada City, both Clavey and Szabo have cool, new wine tasting rooms. There’s lots of new energy around.

The last Cornish Christmas in Grass Valley is tonight.

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“Next year will be the year that the big technology companies go after local publishing and broadcasting businesses more fiercely than ever before. Most local media companies have no idea what’s about to hit them – much less a plan to respond,” according to the Newsosaur media blog.

“Google already has feet on the street from Portland to New York City to sell search advertising and directory listings to small and medium business (SMBs). It is only a matter of time until the company targets ever-smaller markets like Cincinnati. Oops, it looks like it already has. Sales to local SMBs are absolutely the last stronghold for newspapers and Yellow Pages. If Google (and others) move in effectively with low-cost, high-touch services, then local publishers – who long have enjoyed the mastery of their domains and the pricing power it afforded – will be in a world of hurt.”

Meanwhile, Newsosaur reports: “Nowhere has the toll been higher than in newsrooms, where staffing has slipped each year since 2005 to successively new modern-day lows.”

The rest of the article is here.

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“For a full year, House Republicans have replaced governing with confrontations that they allow to reach the brink of crisis, only then making extreme demands in exchange for a resolution,” as the New York Times wrote in an editorial. “On Thursday, that strategy crumbled. Battered by public opinion and undermined by more reasonable Senate Republicans, the House’s leaders backed down and signed off on a deal to continue the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance for two months.”

“The House Republicans’ stubborn opposition to the extension “may not have been politically the smartest thing in the world,” Speaker John Boehner said, in the understatement of the week. He still called it “a good fight.

“The struggle to reach an agreement, which was a clear victory for President Obama, exposed voters in the starkest way to the real temperament of the House that Americans elected a year ago. If the president wants it, they’re against it. If it might assist the middle class, as opposed to the rich, they will concoct an economic argument to oppose it. (“The payroll tax cut isn’t really that effective.”) And if it absolutely has to pass, they will throw in stray ideas — an oil pipeline, air pollution regulations — to win some part of their agenda, or kill the bill trying.

The rest of the editorial is here.

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“Despite dreaded high pressure deflecting snowstorms, a Herculean snowmaking effort is opening vast swaths of Tahoe ski terrain,” according to Moonshine Ink newspaper.

“Northstar, Boreal, Sugar Bowl, and Diamond Peak are open top to bottom. And Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley, and Mt. Rose are all spinning lifts despite an uncooperative Mother Nature.

“Cold temperatures have made for prime snowmaking conditions, and each week, ski terrain in Tahoe is expanding. In some cases, resorts have already broken snowmaking records.

“Boreal has pumped over 32 million gallons of water for snowmaking. Northstar, which has the most ski terrain currently snow-covered, is running 11 lifts and 19 trails, and is expecting to open more trails soon.

Terrain features have also opened up across the North Shore despite a dry December. Northstar’s Pinball Park, Boreal’s stunt- and jump-covered mountain, and Alpine Meadows’ park features are all open for skiers and riders.

The open terrain is a payoff for Tahoe ski resorts that have invested heavily in snowmaking equipment. Boreal spent $2.5 million over the last three years on energy efficient snow fans and guns. Diamond Peak, the first ski resort in the West to have snowmaking, has increased its snowmaking capacity by 40 percent over the last two years, while also reducing energy and fuel costs. Northstar boasts the largest snowmaking system on the North Shore.

The rest of the article is here.

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