NICE PEOPLE — Sacramento magazine’s January 2008 issue spotlights a bunch of stars on that city’s business scene and among them is our town’s own Dylan Wiseman, who at 38 is a partner in the prestigious Littler Mendelson law firm and one of the top intellectual property law specialists on the West Coast. Lately, Dylan, a 1987 Placer High grad and the son of Julie and Saul Wiseman, has taken to hunting down people who’ve illegally taken information from one company to another, as in the case a few years ago when a Thunder Valley employee helped herself to secret casino records and peddled them to a Nevada gambling operation. Lawyer Wiseman made his bones on that one. Take a bow, Dylan, we remember when you were a wee lad chasing soccer balls!...Bill Wilson, the best journeyman news reporter in these parts for decades, will be the speaker at the Thursday, January 3 noon luncheon meeting of AARP’s Auburn chapter in the Multipurpose Senior Center at DeWitt Center. Bill’s also a published author and recognized historian. Bingo starts at 10 a.m., potluck’s set for noon and Wilson will start at 12:45 p.m....Also on Thursday the 3rd: Judy Bacon, our village’s No. 1 thrush, will be Loyce Smallwood’s guest on KAHI “Connections” from 9 to 9:30 a.m. LaBelle Bacon can sing to me anytime...Wow! Whatta game ex-Colfax High sharpshooter Devin Ginty had for tiny University of San Diego on the road against the mighty Kentucky Wildcats last Saturday. Young Devin, a freshman walk-on, hit four treys, a two-point bucket and four charity tosses in USD’s 81-72 upset win. I’m sure a USD scholarship is in the offing for the kid.
* * * A PRIMARY ELECTION IN FEBRUARY? — Several people I know are still
befuddled over the first-ever California presidential primary election
that’s set for February 5. (There’ll also be a regular June primary
and, of course, the general presidential election in November.) The
idea for the early primary was hatched in the Democratic-controlled
Legislature and sweetened with the claim that it would force
presidential candidates to spend tons of money campaigning in
California, which would be a huge determinant in the selection of the
nominees. Well, the big spending remains to be seen, but what can be
seen on the sample ballots you’re receiving is Proposition 93, which
would alter the term limitation law that’s been on the books since the
state’s voters passed it 16 years ago. Capitol insiders say the
Legislature set the presidential primary for February so it could get
Proposition 93 on the same ballot. In short, 93, if it receives
statewide approval, would reduce from 14 to 12 the total years that a
state lawmaker can serve, but would allow all to be served in the
Assembly, State Senate or a mix of both. This would be terrific for
current legislators — senators would get an extra four-year term and
Assembly members could get as many as three two-year terms. It would be
especially pleasing to Don Perata, the Senate’s president pro tem who
was a carjack victim in Oakland last week, and Fabian Nunez, the
Assembly speaker, both of whom are scheduled to be termed out at the
end of next November. If 93 is passed February 5, Nunez and Perata and
30 other lawmakers due to be termed out can immediately file for
re-election (filing starts February 11). I’ve never been a fan of term
limits, but I’m sure as blazes giving this gimmicky Proposition 93 a
lot of thought before casting my vote. And I must admit that I laughed
at loud when I read that 93’s supporters claim the measure will enable
the legislators to gain more experience in lawmaking, which is what
they’re elected to do. I spent many years working in the Legislature
and I’m quite comfortable in saying that it’s the staffers — not the
lawmakers — who do 90 percent of the heavy lifting. We’ll take a look
next week at other measures, including some fairly local ones, that
will be on the February 5 ballot. * * * TOP 2007 STORY? — I’ll take the Kovacich murder case over all the
others. The case has intrigued me for as long as Janet Kovacich has
been missing — a quarter century — because I’ve known her alleged
killer — her husband Paul Kovacich — since he transferred from the
Tracy PD to the Placer County Sheriff’s Department in the early ’70s.
I’ve always thought that while he wasn’t the warmest fellow I ever met,
he nevertheless was affable and polite. Because of the ridiculous gag
order a judge placed on the case following Paul’s arrest on a grand
jury indictment in September of 2006, I have no idea what the
prosecutors have in the way of hard evidence, but I’ll bet they don’t
have much — certainly not the gun they claim Paul used to kill Janet.
What they do have is a piece of bone that they say DNA testing proves
came from Janet’s skull. It washed ashore at Rollins Lake near Colfax
in 1995 and sat in an evidence jar in the sheriff/coroner’s storeroom
for a decade before some genius decided to run it down to the State
DOJ’s lab in Richmond for analysis. Investigators have fingered Paul
Kovacich as a murder suspect since he exercised his right not to take a
lie detector test a week or two after Janet’s disappearance in
September of 1982. Paul’s trial is set for March but probably will be
delayed after he requests a change of venue for it. There’s no way in
the world he can get a fair trial in Placer County...Another news story
of major interest of 2007 (and continuing into this year) was the board
of supervisors’ dumping of Michelle Ollar-Burris from the county
planning commission and the subsequent civil lawsuit accusing her of
violating the state’s subdivision map act. I cannot remember when any
board of supervisors publicly removed someone from a key county
commission. She was Supervisor Bruce Kranz’s appointee and it was he
who made the motion to declare her commission seat vacant. Will this
matter come back to haunt Bruce’s re-election bid this year? I have a
hunch it will...One last 2007 story of interest was the political
resurrection of my friend Kirk Uhler. Once Ted Gaines got elected to
the Assembly, the District 4 seat on the board of supervisors became
vacant and it was up to the four remaining board members to fill it.
And fill it they did with an old pro — Mr. Uhler, who had served a
hitch on the board in the early ’90s after getting himself elected as
the youngest county supervisor in the state! Kirk’s 40 now (how can
this be?), larger in girth and a heckuva lot wiser....As for the
Doolittle saga, let’s give it a rest this week.
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