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NICE PEOPLE – Auburn’s Bud Anderson, a P-51 Mustang pilot who shot down at least 16 German aircraft during World War II, just got word that he’ll be inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton OH next July. In addition to his WWII heroics, Bud, a retired Air Force colonel, was also a crackerjack USAF test pilot, a fighter wing commander during the Vietnam War, and a test flight operations specialist for McDonnell Douglas Corporation. He’s logged at least 7,500 flight hours in more than 130 types of aircraft. Take a big bow, Bud Anderson!...Thank you Chris Christman, the very able county law librarian, for forwarding a news story about our own Superior Court Judge Gene Gini from the Daily Recorder legal newspaper in Sacramento. Quotes include raves for Gini from Kevin Burdick, Lowry Sinclair and senior probation officer Molly Ronco...And tardy hoorays for Ruth Alves, Supervisor Jim Holmes’s AA, and Senior County Planner E.J. Ivaldi for acting quickly several weeks ago to provide CPR to a county official who passed out and whose heart stopped ticking. Alves, a certified EMT, provided directions to Ivaldi while Jim Holmes saw to it that 911 was called. The official was revived and advised by his doctors to slow down. Slow down? Heck, he’s going to retire!...Auburn Councilman Bob Snyder was still Mayor Bob Snyder a few weeks ago when he and wife visited New Zealand and the Cook Islands. All things considered, Snyder did a good job as mayor and no one can ever say he didn’t run council meetings fairly, even when they were drawn-out sessions like the ones on the redevelopment agency’s eminent domain power, which was deep-sixed.
* * * THE LESLIE LADS – The Tim and Scott Leslie father and son team made a
bit of news in recent weeks. Tim, the retired GOP state legislator
better known to the registrar of voters as Robert Tim Leslie, fired off
a letter to the new U.S. Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, urging him
to “either indict (Congressman) John Doolittle or leave him and our
community alone.” The Leslie letter, as reported by the Bee’s David
Whitney, was not solicited by the Doolittle camp, and R. Tim made it
clear he has no intention of running for the Doolittle seat. Whitney
quoted Leslie as telling the AG in his letter: “I do not think you
understand how much turmoil has been created — not just for our
congressman and his wife, but for nearly a half-million people (in the
district) who have been thrown into limbo...” Oddly enough, I feel much
the same way: book JTD or get off his back! This probe of John and
Julie and their dealings with imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff has
been going on for almost three years and nothing has come of it — yet.
I’d like to advise the feds to put up or shut up but I can’t because
they refuse to comment on the matter. Meantime, JTD keeps insisting
that he’ll run for a 10th term in 2008 despite all the injurious
publicity he’s been splattered with. I have a hunch that the Doolittle
campaign people are hoping for a bevy of June primary election
opponents — not just Auburn’s Mike Holmes, but self-styled intelligence
expert Eric Egland, ingrate Assemblyman Ted Gaines and even Theodore
“Ted” Terbolizard, the internet designer and star slow-pitch softball
pitcher who operates out of P.O. Box 1361 in Cedar Ridge, Nevada County
95924. The more the merrier as far as JTD is concerned because he
believes that he’s still got enough hardcore Republican support in the
district to retain the nomination and face Charlie Brown, the
Democratic challenger, in the November showdown....But back to the
Leslie Lads. R. Tim’s son, Scott “Mini-Me” Leslie, is the new president
of the Sierra College District Board of Trustees. He was elected on a
4-3 vote with help from Nancy Palmer, Jerry Simmons and Aaron Klein,
the new poppa. Barbara Vineyard got support from Bill Martin and Dave
Ferrari, the king of Kings Beach. Look for Klein and Leslie, who ran in
tandem in 2004, to do it again when they seek second terms next
November. Simmons won’t try to run again and his Lincoln area seat will
be up for grabs. * * * POLITICAL PALAVER – I did a double-take the other day when looking at
the list of clients represented by Platinum Advisors, one of the
top-tier lobbying firms recently rehired by the Placer County Board of
Supervisors. Among the listed clients is Royal Gorge. If this is the
same Royal Gorge outfit that wants to develop a humongous project near
Donner Summit, well, the county’s planners had better keep their dukes
up...The Rudy Giuliani for President movement has announced the
appointment of Adam Willoughby as its campaign chairman in the 4th
Congressional District (the same one represented by the aforementioned
J.T. Doolittle, who is definitely not a Giuliani fan!). So who’s Adam
Willoughby? If memory serves, he’s a field representative for the
above-referenced Assemblyman Ted Gaines, who’s already the Placer
County chairman of the Giuliani campaign, which emphasizes family
values (chuckle, chuckle). As reported an opus or two ago, Brian
Jensen, a former Doolittle staffer, is Mitt Romney’s chairman in the
same congressional district. And I hasten to add that Adam Willoughby
is no kin to my friend Jack Willoughby, the retired judge...Kim
Haswell, Rob Haswell’s better half, reports that Democratic calendars
for 2008 are now available and can be secured by phoning her at (530)
889-2278. Cost is $16 and ALL the proceeds will go to the Child Abuse
Prevention Council of Placer County. The calendar features dozens of
snapshots of Placer County Democratic happenings during the past year.
The Haswells, former Mayor and Mrs. George Beland, Scott Johnson, Jack
Sanchez, Rex Bloomfield, Dr. Jeanene O’Brien and her neighbor Leslie
Rand, Dorcas and Cal Kokila, and, of course, Charlie Brown plus a host
of others are in the photos...Placer isn’t the only county in our neck
of the woods to be mulling the possibility of wage hikes for its
supervisors. Here in Placer, the county’s charter review committee on
January 8 will recommend that the supervisors put a measure on a 2008
ballot (probably June) to increase the board members’ annual
compensation from a measly $30,000 to something in the neighborhood of
$90,000, which is a rather nice neighborhood. Meantime, the Nevada
County Board of Supervisors is asking the county grand jury to look at
its salary structure and make some recommendations. Nevada County
supervisors are paid $39,447, with the chairman getting five percent
more. Board member Hank Weston, a former Auburnite as well as the
retired chief of the CDF’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit, had this to say:
“Whatever we do, we’ll get shot at...but this is a full-time job.”
Voter permission for supervisorial salary raises is not needed in
Nevada County...Never let it be said that Placer supervisors are
chintzy with their handouts. A little-noticed item on last week’s board
consent agenda included a $250 appropriation, courtesy of Jim Holmes,
to the Auburn Chamber of Commerce to help defray the cost of its
upcoming installation and awards dinner....Finally, Betty Jensen, wife
of talented local artist Everett Jensen and a big fan of co-housing,
reported to the Auburn City Council last week that the Sierra Nevada
Conservancy will announce at its June meeting its decision on where to
establish its permanent headquarters. The SNC has been operating out of
leased space in Auburn’s Creekside neighborhood for well over a year
and is still considering sites, at least two of which are in Auburn and
Nevada City. Whatever its site decision is, the SNC apparently will put
up a “green” building, which I guess would involve energy-efficient
construction, natural lighting and ventilation and the use of renewable
or recycled materials. I’m not on the SNC’s press release mailing list,
so I’m really pretty vague about its activities...Do have a happy and
even holy holiday season and for Pete’s sake stay sober if you plan to
drive.
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