Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

Yubanet posted this letter from retired judges urging citizens to reject the recall petition of Judge Julie McManus, an opinion that also was expressed here.

Here’s the letter:

By: Judge Carl F. Bryan II, Judge Albert P. Dover (retired)

March 8, 2012 – This week backers of a petition to recall Judge Julie A. McManus were on the streets asking people to sign up.

Reasonable people can certainly believe that if a judge is disabled and cannot serve, that they should be removed from office.

The recall petition is a bad idea because Judge McManus has already removed herself from the bench as a result of her disability. Her request for disability retirement has been pending for several months and will likely be instituted well before the 9,400 signatures required to recall can be gathered.

This recall would have no effect on the disability retirement sought by Judge McManus.

The recall petition is a bad idea because if the petitioners prevail, the special election they seek would cost Nevada County taxpayers about $200,000.

In the normal course of events, the Governor will simply appoint a new judge after her retirement process is completed. That new judge would have to run in elections thereafter.

Some people just want to hurt Judge McManus personally and the recall petition is their vehicle to do so.

Joining such a hurtful enterprise is also a bad reason upon which to sign the petition.

The rest of the letter is here.

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The special fire tax proposed by the Nevada County Fire District passed by 68.543 percent, the district told me.

This measure would only become law if 67 percent of the voters approved the measure.

The cost is $52 annually for the first dwelling unit and $39 for each additional dwelling.

The Fire District had said: “We fully expect that even with the requested revenue increase, the economy over the next few years will continue to challenge our management’s ability to maintain quality emergency services in Nevada County.

“But without this increase, there is no doubt that very significant cuts in personnel will have to be implemented immediately. Such cuts will significantly increase response time. In an “extremely high fire danger area” like Nevada County, minutes can make the difference between a minor house fire and a raging wildland fire.”

Good going! I’d been a supporter of this tax all along, fearing the extreme anti-tax sentiment would prevail over common sense. It almost did.

More details about the ballot measure are here.

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I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, but ever since our local hard-right political activists, such as Russ Steele, George Rebane and Todd Juvinall, expressed their disdain at a petition stating that Rush Limbaugh “needs to be removed from KNCO,” the number of signatures has exploded to more than 600 as of this morning.

“Support the women in both our community and globally. This is not about conservative radio. Mr Limbaugh crossed a line and his show needs to be removed from KNCO. If you agree, please sign this petition. Thank you.”

Russ belittled the signatures, but make no mistake about it: It is being signed by prominent citizens, ranging from well-known doctors, to nonprofit presidents, to business owners.

I listened to the KNCO forum yesterday and have been following the posts on KNCO’s Facebook page. It was interesting to note the large number of business owners who routinely told KNCO they did not want their ads to run during Rush’s programming. It was telling. Some spoke out in the forum.

“Many KNCO advertisers ask not to run during Rush’s three hours, so that would free up air time for the staff to sell prime time, which could actually increase revenue,” one person knowledgeable about KNCO wrote.

“I love our lefty wackos. I am taking note to the people who are opposed to free speech,” Steele snapped back on KNCO’s Facebook page in a bullying tone. “They are on my list.”

“BTW, RS, nobody cares about your list!” one wrote.

A link to KNCO’s Facebook page is here. You can read all 60 comments, and find a link to the petition, with more than 600 signatures, under the post “We hear you!”

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