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January 16, 2009

Jury, it's not just a duty.

They floated me a few days, but finally called me to serve. I sat with the hundred or so of our fellow jurors in Shasta County waiting to do our duty. There was fellow Chamber Member, Kurt Mitchell of Edward Jones. Also seen there were was fellow agent and friend Lara Wells Osborn of Coldwell Banker. All taking a day (or more) off to do our civic duty. Good to see our citizens exercising their rights and duties under our judicial system.

We watched the video from the judge, and listened as staffers talked us through the process. Did you know it’s against the law to take pictures in the Jury Assembly area? I didn’t. You learn several new things at every chance to serve.

Courthouse

As it turned out I was juror 11. The plaintiff acted as her own attorney, in pro per, as I understand it. (Note to self – NEVER DO THAT!) We sat through her day in court, but she seemed to have no case. The opposing attorney absolutely SHREDDED her, although very kindly and professional, all the while. The judge, Cara Beatty was exceptionally patient and understanding, and made an excellent impression. That’s how all judges should treat people. It was dismissed mid-afternoon on a motion, mercifully. You should have heard people’s comments as we walked out the Courthouse. Wow, they were very patient in the jury box, but the conversation at deliberations would have been flaming, I’m sure. Glad we didn’t get there.

As I arrived in the assembly area, my shoe disintegrated. These were Clarks, supposedly a good British shoe. I wonder if this was a knock off? Naturally, I sat in the front row of the jury box, so all assembled in the room could clearly see my toes. Nice. If ever there was a good indicator that I need your business, this was it. I need new SHOES!
Clarks shoes

January 15, 2009

League of Women Voters Soup Supper at Lema Ranch w/pics

I’ve been called to jury duty today. If you need Real Estate help, Erin’s got it covered.

We attended the League of Women Voters Annual Soup Supper at Lema Ranch last evening. Lot’s of great people and atmosphere.

Plus excellent food was in abundance. Everybody brought an interesting soup.

Erin received an award for her work with the League, seen above with Susan Wilson.

Our speaker for the evening was Mike Chuchel, the Unit Chief/County Fire Warden of CalFire in Shasta County. He spoke about fire safety and about last season’s horrific lightning sparked fire event. People, you need to pay careful attention to the 100 feet of defensible space rule! Mike says they are going to start citing offenders this year, instead of simply warning.
Soup Supper at Lema Ranch

There were hundreds of fires last summer. Thousands of acres burned, but few homes were lost, due to the hard work of our many firefighters from all over the state. Mike had lots of interesting anecdotes and statistics about the season. As he pointed out, you may not think it was such a big deal, but how many other events here can you think of where the President of the United States showed up to look? Plus our Governator came here 4 times in one month. It was a very big deal. I hope we never see its like again, but the warm January evening does not bode well for the dry winter we’ve had so far.
Soup Supper at Lema Ranch
Lema Ranch is as stunning at night is as it is by day. What a lovely resource. It was a terrific evening!

January 14, 2009

Rare historical Drag Racing video from Redding CA 1962 or 63

I posted a very rare short video of a day at the races in either 1962 or ’63 at the Redding Dragstrip in Redding. It’s fascinating to see what it looked like back then. The video appears to a be a dub of an 8mm film titled “Drag Day”, and made by the Sparman family. Shot in “Sparmascope” no less. Really fun to watch:

Our great thanks to the Sparmans for preserving this bit of our history about 45 years ago. I am tracking down another one like this that is also very interesting, and hope to post it soon. If you have any old movies or videos of the Redding Dragstrip, I’d appreciate hearing from you. As of now, it looks like our dragstrip is the oldest continuously operating drag racing facility in California. Redding has always been a big car town, and these images reveal a glimpse of our past.

As an aside, I run the website for the Redding Dragstrip, since a neighbor found out I had the ability, and their previous web person bowed out. It’s been a lot of fun, and I’ve met lots of nice folks. You can view that website HERE.

January 12, 2009March 22, 2012

100 years of flight in Redding

I snapped this photo of an Ultralight flying past my house yesterday. I was reminded of an old photo I saw of the first airplane that landed in Redding, almost exactly 100 years earlier in 1909.

An interesting resemblance between the two aircraft, and the spirit of their pilots. Photo courtesy of Shasta Historical Society. Consider joining us.

January 10, 2009March 22, 2012

Redding restaurant economic stimulus plan

I was fairly gushing a couple days ago about the Redding restaurant, Rivers, which is a favorite. I need to include another favorite, CR Gibbs. They have produced a new menu that is wildly creative and fun.

Click on the image to get the biggie size image of the new menu. This menu is really fun, and the food is a terrific deal. See you there!

January 9, 2009March 22, 2012

Coyote or Dog?

Early yesterday in the misty morning, I spotted this fella trotting through the neighborhood. At first, I thought sure it was a coyote, but as it approached, I couldn’t be sure. It does resemble some sort of German Sheppard mix, but seems to have no collar, and made no eye contact. Perhaps the coyote winter coat is what’s throwing me off here, but still I wonder. It was just a ghost in the mist, like any coyote. You can register your opinion, if you’d like, at the poll to the left. (Updated later, somebody from the neighborhood assures me it’s a dog, and we know exactly who’s dog it is. Unfortunate to see it running around so far from home. Dog’s not to blame, but we can blame the owner.)

January 8, 2009March 22, 2012

Greeters at Rivers

Wow, there are not many places I’d rather hold a Chamber of Commerce Greeters Meeting than Rivers Restaurant in Redding. That’s where we were this morning.

There were about 150 people there, despite the dreary weather. That has to rank as one of the largest meetings we’ve held. Little wonder. The food was excellent, and the views, though muted by the weather, are unmatched in Redding.

Chef Cal DeMercurio described the astonishing lengths to which they go to deliver the best food and drink experience in town. They offer a compelling culinary experience, and it has been rewarded with heavy business since the restaurant’s inception a few months back. This is the place to be, and to be seen. As he put it, “there’s no need to ask for a window seat. They’re all window seats. True enough. The design takes total advantage of the blufftop site. Many years ago, Redding turned it’s back on the river that coursed through our town. This restaurant is evidence that those days are gone.

It replaced a restaurant that was burned while remodeling. The total re-build is a smashing success and ranks as one of Redding’s finest amenities.

January 6, 2009March 22, 2012

Redding rockers InnerWorkings

HERE is a link to this Redding rock band’s MySpace page. These are some straight ahead rockers, and they have some music samples uploaded for you. It looks as though they’d like their music to go in a more progressive direction, and are looking for a keyboard player, if you know anyone. “Hardest working band in the dirty 530.” Interesting motto. Fun to read through their blog posts too. Best wishes, you guys. Keeping a band together is difficult.

January 5, 2009March 22, 2012

Redding’s first Flash Mob?

A weekend RS article about the Redding Electric Utility and their policy to evict residents who cannot pay for electricity drew hundreds of comments on Redding.com, making it easily among the most popular articles ever written there. A thread quickly developed that suggested a candlelight protest at a Council meeting. A quick read through reveals the usual level of these mostly anonymous “conversations” with interesting references to the Ruggles brothers lynching, and more negative commentary, mixed in with some possibly interesting ideas. It will be instructive to watch this unfold, if it does. Will this be Redding’s first Flash Mob?

The issue is complex. There are no simple answers. Nobody wants families thrown on the street. Many of those commenting seem to have only a vague notion of what it really means to live without power. Several comments spoke about kerosene heating, solar power, candles, batteries, etc. allowing one to live indoors without power.
The reality is far different.

As a listing agent for bank foreclosures, I saw the remaining evidence of families living in darkness. I saw the candles melted into puddles, and the resulting fire damage, large and small. I saw that the lack of a vacuum cleaner and hot temperatures result in carpets of flea swarms, and imagined children covered in bites. I saw children’s toys scattered amongst rat feces in the cold darkness. I saw food stored in unsafe temperatures and conditions. And back when there were dozens of families living in an abandoned and powerless work camp off Shasta Dam Boulevard, my wife, who is a schoolteacher, saw kids in her class with diseases nobody around here had seen since the nineteenth century. That’s the reality of living without electricity. No candlelight vigil will change that.

Maybe.

Like, I said, it will be interesting to see how it unfolds. The subtext of the comments was predictably blaming REU as heartless, serving as the straw man for trolling. The folks of REU are your friends and neighbors. They don’t want to kick families into the street either, but living without power causes big problems. What’s the answer? I don’t know. It will be interesting to see if the flash mob/protesters have anything positive to offer besides the usual anonymous comments.

Meanwhile about a dozen homeless folks hold a City Hall vigil of their own, out of the rain, in the bleachers just west of the Civic Center. Photo taken a few minutes ago. They are not watching a game, and they are likely not online posting anonymous comments either.

January 4, 2009March 22, 2012

Low gas prices continue to amaze

Auto Fuel went up a bit this week, but is still astonishingly low. While it’s lovely to fill up for $25, and definitely bringing out the fuel guzzler classics and monster trucks around town again, it is also somewhat disconcerting. Fuel prices dropped far and fast. There was no abrupt increase in supply. Either the price variation reflects huge loss of demand, or deliberate manipulation of prices. Neither prospect is comforting to consider. There is talk of raising a gas tax. I will be surprised if anyone has the guts to do that, but then it’s been a surprising year.

You can’t get much more ostentatious than this Chrome Mercedes McLaren SLR. At least not yet. Surely the opposite of “green” is chrome.