The Other Side of Auburn

Gary Moffat

Gary Moffat is a writer, former publishing executive and 2000 transplant from Chicago whose family launched one of Old Town Auburn’s favorite entertainment venues, Carpe Vino, in 2002. Moffat, who now has a print outlet for his opinions in a regular Sentinel column, has written for the Chicago Tribune, national shelter magazines, telecom industry publications and two self-published Internet newsletters. And, oh yeah, he wrote more than 100 columns on wine for the Auburn Journal. Carpe Vino, his latest venture, is a local magnet for lovers of fine wine, fine dining and fine art.

Read his other work at www.onlyinauburn.com and www.carpevinoauburn.com

Flyboy Jerry Martin’s Ouster Evokes “Wag the Dog” Plot

Written by Gary Moffat

Tuesday, 18 March 2008

Conspiracy theories appear to be alive and well inside Auburn’s city government as another key employee falls victim to abrupt removal, evoking flashbacks to the morning nearly two years ago when former Information Technology guru Ernest Shih was hauled away from 1225 Lincoln Way by the Placer County Sheriff, hooked up with chrome bracelets.Jerry Martin, now former Auburn Airport Manager, dodged that bullet, but still saw his picture splashed on the front page of the Auburn Journal’s Sunday edition after he received an unannounced visit from one of Auburn’s finest—Lt. Scott Burns—who instructed him to leave the premises toute suite and relieved him of keys and I.D. It all happened so quickly, Martin wasn’t even able to pack up his jogging shoes.

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Ye Who Oppose Development Abandon All Hope in Auburn

Wednesday, 12 March 2008

Recently, I received a telephone message at home from a reader who was calling about a column I penned last month titled “City and County Must Keep the Plates Spinning.” The notion behind the piece is the City of Auburn and Placer County are both struggling to sustain the massive bureaucracies that have evolved over the past decade of real-estate driven prosperity. One of my conclusions was that in order for these publicly financed organizations to survive intact, continued growth is essential—growth that will generate more building permits, fees, new taxable properties and hopefully, more sales tax revenue. In that spirit I noted:

“So for you naive Auburnites who plan on protesting the development scheme for Baltimore Ravine, ‘fogetaboutit.’ Hearings will be held ... to be sure ... the Planning Commission will invite public comment, as will the City Council. But this project is a slam dunk because, quite simply, it feeds the municipal machine; it keeps the plates spinning in air.”

Here is the voicemail I received from a reader who lives in South Auburn, adjacent to the proposed Baltimore Ravine development that is expected to comprise commercial space, new residential neighborhoods and a senior complex: “Hello. . .I read your column in the Sentinel about the Baltimore Ravine being a ‘slam dunk’ project. I live right off Herdal Drive—a stone’s throw—and I’m fighting it every way I can, and so is our homeowner’s association, because there are already three shopping centers on the corner of Auburn-Folsom Rd. and Herdal.

“I was wondering why you call it a ‘slam dunk’? That means that all of our input, all of our letters, everything we have done—which is quite a lot—is meaningless ... and the Environmental Impact Report can ignore all of the pertinent and intelligent facts that we have presented to the City Council and everyone we know.

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This No-Bid Contract Fails the Sniff Test

Written by Gary Moffat

Wednesday, 05 March 2008

When Placer County set out to add to its fleet of rolling stock, it assembled a comprehensive bid package for 14 classes of vehicles—from police cruisers to pick-up trucks to hybrids. The program was announced on the County’s web site and bids were solicited from 38 auto and truck dealers.Ultimately, just nine vendors submitted bids and four were selected ... all based on being the low-cost supplier. Despite the abundance of new auto dealers in Placer County, just one firm got a taste of the nearly $1.1 million approved by our Supervisors at their February 26th regular board meeting: the cash register of Future Ford in Roseville rang happily to the tune of nearly $700,000.

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Don’t Drive to Roseville; 'Think Auburn First'

Written by Gary Moffat

Tuesday, 19 February 2008

Last week I drove a friend to Sacramento International Airport and, as a consequence, was compelled to skirt the edge of North Natomas and its environs, a sprawling mass of new construction that has consumed every bit of barren ground bounded by the I-5 / I-80 intersection and soon, extending to the airport itself. The totality of this assault of tract homes built on zero lot lines, combined with sequential box store islands without end, is absolutely stunning to me.

Eight years ago when I moved to the foothills, about the only evidence of mankind’s presence in this part of the valley was the Arco Arena, starkly and stubbornly piercing the horizon. Today the home of the Kings is barely visible when hurtling by at highway speeds because it is sucked into a black hole of development—a treeless, featureless, homogenized landscape devoid of anything remarkable, unique or noteworthy.

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Need Cash Fast? Just Call Dr. Burton

Written by Gary Moffat

Tuesday, 12 February 2008

With tough times looming for many folks—especially in our real estate-dependent market of greater Placer County—many families here are girding themselves for a recession that the national media has convinced us is coming. For even the most optimistic among us, however, with the cold reality of rampant home foreclosures coupled with shrinking incomes and staggering fuel costs, it’s clearly time to hunker down financially.

Already we’re seeing consumer discretionary spending on many levels dramatically curtailed. The past Christmas season was a disappointment for many local retailers, and sales in January were generally very soft. Ask any restaurant owner in Auburn, and just about everyone will tell you that business is off—in some cases way off—especially during weekdays.

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