Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

(Photo: Sarah Miller, Grist)

“You may have read about some hardworking, smart, and civic-minded students who, back in 2011 and 2012, fought to keep their local river park open. Fought and won, actually. Well, students from that same school, Grass Valley Charter in Grass Valley, Calif., are now on to another battle — with the help of students from other area schools, they want to push Nevada County to put a ban on single-use plastic bags and start charging for paper bags. These kids are unstoppable,” as Grist is reporting.

“They are starting their campaign in the county seat, Nevada City, and made their desires known at a Nevada City Council meeting on May 8 when several of them presented some rather sobering research they have done on the subject of single-use plastic bags. One kid talked about the Pacific gyres, massive globs of plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean, and the effect this was having on the health of the oceans in general and most acutely, on sea life. Another pointed out that Californians use 400 plastic bags every second. Another read a list of the 75 California communities that have already made similar proposed laws around single-use plastic bags and urged Nevada County to join them. Another posed the question, ‘Do you really want me to grow up in a world without sea turtles?” Who could say yes to that?’

The rest of the article is here.

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Editor’s note: Gov. Brown just slapped proponents of AB32 (the “global warming solutions” act) in the face, and at the same time, provided supporters of Prop. 23 (the failed effort to suspend AB 32) with fodder for an “I told you so” rant.

“Gov. Jerry Brown sparked controversy Tuesday when he proposed to shift $500 million out of the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and loan it to the state general fund as part of the effort to balance the budget,” the L.A. Times is reporting.

“The money would come from a program to limit carbon emissions by factories and other big polluters. The program allows firms to buy credits to produce more than their share of carbon emissions. The credits can be purchased from the state and other businesses that don’t use their full share.

“Lending that money would be ‘extraordinarily disappointing,’ said Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California. “The governor will be delaying opportunities to use those funds to actually get critical reductions in global warming pollution,” she said.

“If the state delays using the funds for reforestation and energy efficiency projects, that will delay the positive environmental effects of those efforts, she added.

“Brown’s Department of Finance said in a letter to lawmakers that proceeds from the cap-and-trade system were originally proposed for programs to reduce greenhouse gas that could be funded by the general fund.

‘“The loan is appropriate because the agencies need further time to design and develop their programs to ensure that when the programs receive funds they will further the purposes of AB 32 and maximize long- term greenhouse gas reductions,’ the Brown administration wrote.

The rest of the article is here.

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I got the scoop on Hotmail back in 1998. Hotmail is an old saw; gmail is “hot.”

Around here, I still see a lot of people with Hotmail accounts, however. As a result, I hope people know that Microsoft is migrating active Hotmail users to Outlook.

The details are here.

BTW, Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer is the same guy who wants to snap up the Kings and move them to Seattle.

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The 56th Annual Penn Valley Rodeo will be held on May 17, 18, 19, behind the Fire Station on Spenceville Road at Penn Valley Drive.

Admission: Adult Tickets at the Gate $15– $5 Children 6 to 12-years-old/free under 6-years-old
$10 Advance Adult Tickets online at http://www.pvrodeo.com Penn Valley Chamber of Commerce 530 432-1802.

The 56th Annual Penn Valley Rodeo comes rip roarin’ into town for a weekend of exciting pro rodeo and family fun. Friday and Saturday rodeos feature hard-bucking horses and ornery bulls of the Four Star Rodeo Company, hardy cowboys and cowgirls of the California Cowboys Professional Rodeo Association, and professional rodeo announcer Don Jesser.

Gates open 5:00 p.m. on Friday, in time to enjoy tasty BBQ with hearty cowhand fixins’ and cold beverages before Grand Entry at 7:00 p.m. Expect plenty of clowning high-jinx along with bulls, broncs, steer wrestlers, ropers and barrel racers. Penn Valley’s own Gold Express Equestrian Drill Team performs precision horseback maneuvers, and the James Slack Band rocks the rodeo with country/western tunes for listening and dancing.

Saturday’s Rodeo Parade rolls onto Penn Valley Drive at 3:00 p.m. An array of horses, horse-drawn wagons, floats, marching groups, bands, and antique tractors travel the route from Western Gateway Park to the Rodeo Grounds. All are welcome to enter the parade; there’s no entry fee just contact the Chamber of Commerce, 530 432-1802, or show up at 2:00 p.m. in the staging area of the park. Join the fun, represent yourself or bring a chair and watch the parade under shady heritage oaks.

Saturday gates open at 3:00 p.m. with a petting zoo and bounce house among kid’s attractions. Free rodeo tickets were distributed May 1st to children in Nevada County elementary and middle schools. The Snack Shack offers soft drinks and treats and the Cook House opens at 4:00 p.m. for BBQ dinner. Grand Entry is at 5:00 p.m. A rider-less horse will represent this year’s Grand Marshall, Dale Baptie, a Board Member who passed away last summer and is being honored.

On Sunday at 10:00 a.m. the 1st Annual Community Rodeo Playday begins. Admission is free. This is a day of fun rodeo and gymkhana events for all ages. Arrive early to enter your favorite events at 8:30 a.m. or enter online at http://www.pvrodeo.com. At 9:00 a.m. Cowboy Church on the Wells Fargo stage features old-time worship with Kip Holbrook and the Hale Family & Friends. Breakfast is available at the Old Firehouse from 7:30 to 11:00 a.m.

Adult tickets for Friday and Saturday night are $15.00 at the gate. Children 6 to 12-years-old $5.00/ under 5-years are free. $10.00 Advance Adult tickets are available at: Pearson Feed, The Tack Room, Caleb’s Creamery, Plaza Tire, Crazy 4 Yogurt, Wildwood Barbers, and The Farm Store, in Penn Valley. Ridge Feed and Salon 174, and Grass Valley Feed in Grass Valley. 49er Feed and Hay Barn in Lake of the Pines. The Boot Barn in Yuba City, and Cotton’s Cowboy Corral in Marysville, Tri-Counties Bank branches and Chambers of Commerce in Penn Valley, Grass Valley and Nevada City. PayPal tickets online at: http://www.pvrodeo.com. The Penn Valley Rodeo is sponsored by Bud Light, RAM Rodeo and Wells Fargo.

—Territorial Dispatch

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Editor’s note: I’ve been wondering if The Union was ever going to address this issue, in the aftermath of complaints from users on the Nevada County Peeps Facebook page earlier this month. NC Peeps is now a “closed group.”

Some seasoned journalists are exploring the issue. Vince Duffy, chairman of the Radio Television Digital News Association, discussed this with some journalist friends:



One woman said (and yes, she was warned I would quote her) – “In my view, quoting a published comment (from Facebook) is no different than quoting an author or writer of prose, poetry and the like. We do THAT all the time, and rarely ask the author for their permission!”



Another reporter disagreed – “With very few exceptions, I do not believe Facebook pages should be used for quotes without confirming the source of the comment and the context. It’s so easy to hack, impersonate or assume someone’s identity on Facebook that I just wouldn’t trust an unverified quote. To me this would be similar to quoting the bumper stickers on someone’s car – yes, it is public, but how do you know who put it there or why?”



One of the reporters who had his Facebook post published summed up the discussion well when he said, “It raises questions of privacy and courtesy, but the main problem is that it’s lazy.”


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Editor’s note: This looked interesting. Loomis, for its part, is on a roll too. Here’s an article that we wrote in our magazine about Loomis that was republished in the Sacramento Bee.

Blue Goose, 3550 Taylor Road, Loomis CA
8:30 am to 4:00 pm

The Summit provides an opportunity to advocate your own initiatives, for local businesses and organizations to identify high priority existing and new strategies and objectives that may be formally incorporated into local and statewide economic development planning efforts, to find partners and expand the resources needed to take action through networking, to share information, and develop on-going working relationships that will continue after the Summit. The geographical scope of the Summit is Placer, El Dorado, and Nevada Counties; however, all interested participants are welcome.

The Agenda is an opening plenary panel discussion, two breakout sessions on the above topics (one in the morning and a second afternoon session), a keynote luncheon speaker, breakout reports, and a Closing Plenary Open Discussion. Kish Rajan, the Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, is the Keynote Luncheon Speaker.

The Summit is organized into four breakout Topics: Sustainable Business Planning and Practices; Alternative Energy and Conservation; Strengthening the Local Economy; and Accessing Community Capital. Pre-Summit working groups for each of these breakout topics are being formed to help participants get the most out of the Summit sessions.

The initial event organizing group includes the County of Placer, The Sierra Business Council, the Sierra Economic Development Corporation, the Town of Loomis, the Roseville Utility Exploration Center, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, the Nevada County Economic Resources Council, the El Dorado County Community and Economic Development Advisory Committee, and PlacerSustain.

Guests can access all PlacerSustain site materials, but you must create a free user account to post content. All content is moderated, so there may be a short delay before your posted materials are published. We encourage all interested persons to use the discussion forums created for the event to express your views, upload materials, etc.

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