Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service.

In Nevada County, the following events will take place on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27:

9:00 a.m. – Memorial Day Ceremony at Pioneer Park hosted by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

9:30 a.m. – Bicycle Tour of Local Heroes’ Memorial Bridge Plaques leaving from Pioneer Park following the 9:00 a.m. ceremony. This ride will be led by the owners of Tour of Nevada City Bicycle Shop.

11:00 a.m. – Memorial Day Ceremony at Memorial Park hosted by the American Legion.

12:00 p.m. Hot dog lunch will be served by the Boy Scouts following the 11:00 ceremony.

1:00 p.m. – Local Heroes’ Memorial Bridge Tour and Walk will start at Memorial Park.

1:00 p.m. – Gold Country Telecare Bus Tour of Local Heroes’ Memorial Bridge Plaques will pick up the first group of passengers at Memorial Park. Telecare will provide transportation for seniors and persons with disabilities.

3:00 p.m. – Welcome Home Vets Open House at 248 Mill Street in Grass Valley. There will also be a book signing by author Kurt Chismark. “An Honorable Illusion: A Memoir” is Chismark’s account of his own military service in Vietnam. Chismark will talk about his experience at 3:00 and 6:00 p.m.

But I spoke to some people who attended the focus group sessions this week.

One highlight: In one question, about half the people surveyed said they would like to see a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, while the other half would like to see a discount retailer.

The “split decision” shines a light on our area: We have some affluent retired people, but also a large number of people who struggle to make ends meet each month. There’s a big economic divide.

We face other challenges just attracting “big-box” retailers: We are too small to support a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. At the same time, North Auburn — not far from here — is being built up with a slew of discount retailers.

The gatherings also had other sobering findings when it comes to diversifying our economy: participants reiterated that local companies such as Telestream are expanding their facilities out-of-town — in Emeryville, for example. One reason: Some recruits are not happy about our local “drug culture.”

Editor’s note: We saw this new post on the CATS website — an audition notice for Miss Saigon, one of the most stunning theatrical spectacles of all time and a “mega musical”:

Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra’s 20th Anniversary Production

From the creators of Les Misérables, comes a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini’s classic opera, Madame Butterfly. In the turmoil of the Vietnam War in the 1970’s, an American soldier and a Vietnamese girl fall in love, only to be separated during the fall of Saigon. Their struggles to find each other over the ensuing years end in tragedy for her and a fighting chance for the child he never knew he had.

AUDITIONS: Nevada Theatre, 401 Broad Street, Nevada City

Saturday, July 20, 10 am to 2 pm
Monday, July 22, 6 pm to 9 pm (Choose ONE date)
CALLBACKS: Saturday, July 27, from 10 am to 3 pm

Direction by Susan Mason. Musical Direction by Susan Mason and Jeffrey Mason

Tentative Rehearsal and Production Schedule:

Music rehearsals for full cast January and February 2014 – two or three times a week. Full rehearsals start in March – Sunday late afternoon or evening and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. All dates: TBA
Performance dates (TBD) will be 5 weeks in April and May at the Nevada Theatre.

(More information for people who want to audition can be found on CATS website)

“About 50 California cities saw populations declines last year, even as most California cities grew slowly, new census figures show,” the Sacramento Bee is reporting.

“Most cities losing residents are rural and located in northern California or the Central Valley.

“Declining birth rates and aging populations explain much of the trend. Most of the cities have a small employment base that was hurt by the economic downturn, causing some residents to try their luck elsewhere.

“The most tangible sign of the population declines can be seen in these cities’ schools, some of which shuttered as enrollment fell.

“Among towns losing population last year were the nearby communities of Truckee, Nevada City, Jackson and Sutter Creek. This map shows all Northern California cities losing residents.”

Grass Valley is also on the map.

The rest of the article is here.

“Koire further told the crowd to become proactive, attend government meetings and speak out against Agenda 21-related matters during the open-topic comment portions of such public gatherings.

“Dominate your government meetings,” Koire said at the three-hour lecture put on by the California Association of Business, Property and Resource Owners, or CABPRO.

“You are going to go and talk to your elected officials and if they blow you off, you are going to target them for removal,” Koire told the crowd about voting uncooperative representatives out of office.

“If a nonprofit supports the kind of sustainability development or receives funding from Agenda 21-related organizations, cease supporting them, she said. Koire implicated the Sierra Business Council and Nevada City’s Sustainability Team as such organizations.

“She also requested that those who attended Tuesday’s meeting copy fliers she supplied and leave them on doorsteps.

“’Have compassion,’ Koire said. ‘People don’t get it right away … Have patience.’

“However, that statement was followed with the advice — ‘Don’t be so nice,” she said. “This is war.’

The rest of the article is here.

The back building is being sold to an auto body repair shop that is relocating from within the area, sources said. Escrow is expected to close this summer on both sites once certain contingencies are met.

The status of the sale at 400 Idaho-Maryland Road — in a highly visible location off of Highway 49 — had been closely held, but word is starting to leak out.

The vacated building with browned shrubbery — once a brand new auto showroom (and needed source of sales tax receipts) — has come to symbolize the area’s deep economic slump, so closing the deals will be a step forward.

The 30,000-foot site was divided into two separate parcels to hasten a sale: the larger service building in back and the showroom in front.

It comes as focus groups are meeting to discuss a recent real estate survey in Grass Valley — a process that is expected to lead to big-box retail on the south border of Grass Valley.

So far, downtown merchants have not spoken out against the big-box development. This has been an issue with previous projects, such as the original version of the Loma Rica housing project, which had a small retail element.

A recent hike in the Grass Valley sales tax receipts should be a boon to the city’s coffers, but that is contingent on increased sales. It is by no means an automatic panacea — a reminder of the long “row to hoe” when it comes to economic development in our area, long dependent on the boom-and-bust cycles of real estate and construction.

My longtime thoughts: We need to tout our unique attributes, such as our cute historic downtowns and marvelous outdoor activities; we need much more economic diversity, and we need to become much less insular politically. Will it happen? I’m not very optimistic, but I’ll keep an open mind.

“The 49ers presented to the owners meeting in Boston the positives for a Super Bowl in the Bay Area, emphasizing the region’s leadership in high technology. The owners were given i-pad minis to view a presentation that highlighted the new Santa Clara stadium’s solar power and wired capabilities.”

The rest of the article is here.

Thought you might want to know about the class action which we assisted the NorCal Tea Party in filing against the IRS today in Federal Court in Ohio. More parties will be joining shortly.

If you’d like to talk with me, I am currently in-flight to DC for a press conference tomorrow, you can email me here, reach my office, or leave a message on my cell phone.

As Thomas Jefferson said, “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.” We intend to put a healthy fear of the the people back into those who serve in our government. The American people will no longer play defense against the ever-expanding intrusions of the federal government on their liberties. Today, we go on offense.

Mark