Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

“At the local level, Scott Walker’s victory in Wisconsin has shined a bright light on the role public employees – and benefits and pensions – play in state budget deficits,” according to

“The number of public employees has dropped in Wisconsin after Walker’s reforms. And it’s dropped in other states too.

“But – and here’s the rub for President Obama – those same drops in public sector employment are contributing to the tepid job creation that’s standing in the way of his reelection.

“It was actually the public, not the private, sector that shed thousands of jobs in May. While private businesses hired 82,000 people last month, federal, state and local governments wiped 13,000 employees from the payroll, according to Labor Department data.

“’The government is actually contributing to the slow recovery,’ said Scott Brown, the chief economist at the Florida-based financial firm Raymond James & Associates.

“Brown said that if it were not for the “drag” of this public sector job loss, the economy would likely be growing a full percentage point faster, with GDP growing at 3 percent rather than at 2 percent.”

“That would help mop up the jobs lost during the downturn,” he said. “Factor in the drag from government and we are growing at a pace that’s roughly enough to absorb the growth in population but not fast enough to make up much of the ground lost.”

The rest of the article is here.

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“I’ll Have Another, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner who was aiming to become the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown, was scratched Friday from Saturday’s Belmont Stakes because of a leg injury,” according to the New York Times.

“The promising 3-year-old colt, who had been a long-shot winner of the Derby and an impressive winner three weeks ago in the Preakness, might have tendinitis in his left front leg, his trainer, Doug O’Neill, said.

“O’Neill and the horse’s owner, J. Paul Reddam, scheduled a news conference at Belmont Racetrack for 1 p.m. Friday.

“A crowd of more than 100,000 people was expected to watch I’ll Have Another try to end the 34-year Triple Crown drought. Affirmed, in 1978, was the last to accomplish the feat. Nineteen horses have won the first two legs and lost the mile-and-a-half Belmont Stakes.”

The rest of the article is here.

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From Gov. Brown’s office:

Sanford Ballou, 46, of Grass Valley, has been appointed to the 17th District Agricultural Association, Nevada County Fair Board, where he has served since 2008. Ballou has been owner of Sierra Saddlery and Mercantile since 2004 and owner of Emigrant Springs Ranch since 1997. He was manager of Big River Packing from 1993 to 1997 and produce broker, shipper and packer at Oregon Onions from 1990 to 1993. Ballou has been a member of the Nevada County Farm Bureau since 2004 and was president from 2011 to 2012. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Ballou is a Republican.

Thomas Browning, 55, of North San Juan, has been appointed to the 17th District Agricultural Association, Nevada County Fair Board, where he has served since 2006. Browning was the battalion chief for the Grass Valley Fire Department from 1998 to 2011. He was deputy fire marshal of Nevada County Consolidated Fire from 1993 to 1998. Browning was a correctional officer for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Department from 1991 to 1993. He has been a member of the Nevada County Farm Bureau since 1998 and was president from 2006 to 2008. Browning is a member of Nevada County Livestock Producers Association and the Native Sons of the Golden West. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Browning is a Republican.

Ann “Shanti” Emerson, 69, of Auburn, has been appointed to the 17th District Agricultural Association, Nevada County Fair Board. Emerson was an instructor at the Academy of Art University from 1996 to 2001 and a teacher at the Paramount Unified School District from 1989 to 1994. She was a teacher at Baldwin Park High School from 1984 to 1989, Holy Family High School from 1981 to 1984 and Bishop Conaty High School from 1980 to 1981. Emerson is a member of the Business and Professional Women of Nevada County and the South Nevada County Chamber of Commerce. She earned a Master of Education degree in English from United States International University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Emerson is a Democrat.

Karen Henderson, 58, of Grass Valley, has been appointed to the 17th District Agricultural Association, Nevada County Fair Board. Henderson has been a teacher at Nevada Union High School since 1992. She was a teacher at Emporia State University from 1988 to 1992 and co-owner of Shady Oaks Ranch from 1977 to 1988. Henderson is a member of the California Wool Growers Association. She earned a Master of Science degree in biology from Emporia State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Henderson is registered decline-to-state.

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The observation that we are a politically purple community — a mix of “red” and “blue” — is not being well accepted by some folks. “Heads Up Purple Man — Centrist are Losers!” one local wrote. Here’s a way to deal with that purple aggression — plus, you can raise money for charity at the same time.

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