Dixie Fix

How Are You Staying Cool? Neighbors, Etc.

A week of 100 degree temps have wilted much resolve -- especially in the afternoon. For fear I would turn into a raisin after so much kayaking and pool dunking, I drove "down the hill" Tuesday to so some air-conditioned shopping. (Mostly browsing.) Which always cracks men up! Did I need anything? No. Then why was I going? Just to "shop." Men shop when they need something; buy it and leave. Few men seem to understand the relaxing "zone" that can be achieved while shopping. It's kind of one of those peak athletic moments runners and swimmers get. When I used to do long-distance swimming, I would get into a zone where I barely knew where I was...a Zen state, if you will. Funny, but shopping can produce a similar zone experience. I tune out everything around me and just check out the store...I'm in a different mindset all together.

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Neighbors can be the best or worst thing that can happen to you. A good neighbor, a special friend. An inconsiderate neighbor? A pain in the *^^$)*&. How do you feel about storing things on the street? Cars that don't run, boats that don't go in the water, pallets of construction supplies...We have one of those neighbor situations. First, they were asked by a neighbor if they would move the offending thing. Nope, sorry! Then the Homeowners Assn. asked. Nope, sorry! Sent a certified letter -- wasn't picked up. Now the Association has involved the county. The county sent someone. No answer at the door. How would you feel if your neighbor used the public street for storage --- not to mention an eyesore? Doug Farrell at the county told our association president that something would be done. But, the eyesore continues. What would you do???? And is it really OK to use the street for public storage? ) Gee, I've got some boxes in the garage I could haul out there and cover with a tarp!)

Random Stuff Around Town...

Have you noticed work has ground to a halt on the GV Mural? Well, it's the heat. Too hot to work on it. Seems to be in a minor cooling trend now, so maybe by the end of the week work will commence again. Is it just me, or is this mural the looongest project ever? Seems like fundraising took a gazilion years and now the actual thing is taking, well, awhile.

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Avoid East Main Street near Maria's. Her expansion project has got the road to 1 lane and delays are inevitable along that stretch. As if it wasn't hard enough to get into the GV Post Office when traffic is normal!

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Speaking of ugly traffic, how about getting into the Kmart parking lot on a weekend? That is stupid! Can't there be stop signs or something there? Over the last decade the traffic has increased to the point that it can take several minutes to turn left into the parking lot. Someone help, please!

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And speaking of Kmart, they are in the midst of a fabulous sale! Just about every single article of mens, womens, kids clothes are 50% off, and the stuff already on the clearance racks is 40% off the clearance price! There are all sorts of shorts, capri's, pants, tank tops, polo shirts, t-shirts, dresses, etc. for sale. All casual cotton, although my husband got a linen/rayon shirt for $7. I thought maybe I had been retired too long and was losing perspective, but today I wore my green shorts and green striped polo, and the first person I saw that I knew said "cute outfit!" When I told her it was my $7 outfit ($3.50 for shorts and $3.50 for polo, she was shocked.) I took my neighbors Monday and they both stocked up! Also, all bathing suits and coverups are 50% off, too.

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Weight Watchers is the greatest! Can I tell you we went to friends" houses for dinner or events featuring dinner on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Monday and I lost another 2 pounds and my husband lost 1.8.? It's just about making better food choices and paying attention to portions. You can drink wine and beer, or whatever, and you just add the points, so you really don't feel deprived. Also, you get 35 "extra" points every week for indulgences. Last night my neighbor served tri-tip, homemade hot-cross buns, salad, asparagus with a sauce, twice baked potatoes and chocolate banana cake and we had everything and still lost weight. Can't beat that! It's not a diet, it's just a different way to eat.

Our Cute Little Town; Target?

That's what Sparky (aka Dave Parker) calls Nevada City, and I think it fits perfectly! I just love walking around and meeting up with friends and neighbors -- have you EVER been to SPD when you didn't run into at least 1 person you know? And it's usually a few.

One thing I try to do when I park in town is "feed" the meter if I see one that is expired. It's one of those random acts of kindness that you can secretly slip into your day. Another thing is to buy something -- however small -- from our local merchants. I am a regular at JJ Jackson's and the Gray Goose and even in my unemployment I try to spend some money in at least those 2 places. I like Country Collectibles too. And when your summer company starts, take them shopping! It's the only way we're going to keep our quaint towns like Nevada City and Grass Valley.

I heard a rumor that Grass Valley might be courting Target to open here. Before you scream "No Big Box stores" wouldn't it be nice to have some alternative to Kmart in town? Also, with the layoffs in Grass Valley and the sales tax that left from the auto dealers, a store like Target would really beef up the city coffers with sales tax. (Plus they put 5% back into the community). I don't think a Target would hurt our shops; they don't really carry the unique items that JJ's and Yuba Blue do. But what do you think? Is that a bad idea or a good one?

This is Out of Whack!

When our county supervisors make about $40,000 a year and the city of Grass Valley pays its Parks & Rec manager $86,000 (population 12,000) something is wrong. No wonder the cities have no money!

The days of city fire and police departments being a separate entity should be over. Really. Hugh cost savings, and the same people will be wearing a different uniform. Better than cutting service in either of those areas. I know it's sweet to have your own police and fire, but it's costly.

Sell the property on Boulder Street that is the Nevada City Yard. That's creekfront property, worth a fortune. Store the tractors on less pricy land. Or don't sell it -- make it a park. Maybe a dog park?

You might want to go to the Board of Sups meeting on Tuesday. There will be an agenda item that asks for "requests for proposals" (RFP in government speak) for the county Animal Shelter to be privatized! That could be a whole new era for the shelter and it doesn't make sense to have law enforcement running it. Think about what someone like Cheryl Wicks can do for the shelter!

What's Up With Walgreens???

Walgreens agreed to build 2 small retail  buildings on their property where Jim Keil used to be. That was a "condition" of approval for the drug store. Then, Walgreens approached Grass Valley and tried to get out of the 2 building thing. Bad economy, couldn't find any tenants in this economy, etc. GV held tough, and Walgreens seemed to accept that. But, have you seen the eyesore that is the Walgreens-under-construction? They've stopped working on the building. And this is the GOOD weather. So, what's going on? Come in please, Dan Holler! Is Walgreens playing hardball? Forcing Grass Valley to be stuck with an unfinished slab in the middle of Brunswick Basin? (Not exactly a beautiful place, anyway.) Weird. Does anyone know what's going on?

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And my 2 cents on balancing Nevada City's budget. One of the "city yards" is on Boulder Street, facing Deer Creek! Hello! Prime real estate!! Not the best location for a city yard filled with unsightly equipment.

Nevada County Community Leadership Institute

This year-long program is a must for anyone who enjoys networking and wants to gain some deeper knowledge about our county and how things work. The commitment is 1 Friday a month for a year and the cost is $700. It is a great way to drill a little deeper into Nevada County, and has sessions on government, land use, the arts, law enforcement, etc. Every session is just a delight! Where else would I have met the public defender, Don Lown, who could have a second career as a stand up comedian?! (He's a classmate) If you are interested, contact Mary Ann Mueller at the Grass Valley Chamber of Commerce (273-4667) and she can send you an application.

Did You Know.....

That a new medical clinic is opening at the corner of Joerschke and Dorsey Drive? There will be 3 local doctors and eventually 11 more. Opens next week; it's where the old Chapa De Indian Health Clinic was.

Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital has a robot that allows a Sacramento neurosurgeon to communicate and evaluate stroke patients.

That there is a room in the hospital with a life size transgender dummy that "breathes" and a 6 month old baby, same thing? They are used for teaching; they can be intubated, given an IV, etc. The adult had on a wig and glasses...you can even feel its pulse.

A 99 year old man with dementia escaped an assisted living facility here by getting a chair and scaling a 6-foot fence. Ninety nine!!

Have You Wondered?

Yesterday  I was in the health food store by Ben Franklin's and it occurred to me that the customers all looked kind of unhealthy. I've noticed that before. Are they unhealthy and trying to get healthy by shopping there? Or is shopping there not working?

Why do hot dogs (which I refuse to eat) come in packages of 10, but hot dog buns come in packages of 8?

Why do the tiny cans of cat food cost 79 cents, when the tuna size cans are 29 cents? What do they put in those little cans that make cats go crazy? Is there a dog food equivalent?

Why do drug stores like Longs sell more food items that drugs? Grocery stores always claim there's not a very big markup on food, so what does Longs gain by selling it?

This year the Chinese New Year is the Year of the Ox. Barack Obama is an ox. So is Bruce Springsteen.

NPR's web site (www.npr.org) has some great new music on it. Check out M Ward's new CD, "Hold Time." You can play the whole CD on the computer. I also like Bon Iver.

Rick Haffey & Dan Holler

Rick is the County Executive Officer -- which means he runs Nevada County, basically -- and Dan is the City Administrator for the city of Grass Valley. Rick was the teacher at the Nevada County Community Leadership Institute class yesterday and Dan was on a panel. Both are pretty serious guys at work. But I got to see the fun side of each.

Rick put together a complicated role playing exercise that involved a joint school board/city council meeting where the 2 boards were trying to get consensus. There were several audience members and a developer in attendance, and reporters, all part of the class. In addition to the background on the issue and the agenda, Rick gave each person a little secret background on their character for insight on how to act. For instance, one of the audience members was a staunch environmentalist and one of the school board members was so wishy-washy that she agreed with every speaker, even if they had different viewpoints. Anyway, this ended up being like a Saturday Night Live parody! It was perfect. We all were in hysterics and everyone got into their role 100%. The final motion was amended so any times that no one could follow it and one of the reporters throught it passed when it failed. I think you had to have been there, but it was hysterical and showed that the man who runs the county is funny! He totally gets all the different personalities!!

Here was Dan Holler's funny moment. He was on a panel with the city manager of Truckee, I think his name is Tony Lashbrook. Anyway, Tony brought this sophisticated power point presentation about the city of Truckee with beautiful photos, detailed budget information and tons of graphics, etc. Looked professionally done. Then the lights came on and it was Dan Holler's turn. Dan said he didn't have time for a power point (he had just returned from the League of Cities) but that he did have a "People Point," which was a sign with an up arrow, a down arrow and a straight line. So as Dan went through Grass Valley's issues, he'd hold up the sign. The city budget? Down arrow. Redevelopment? Up arrow. It was really all you needed to know and was clever and funny! Maybe Dan's People Point will catch on. Easy, low tech and effective.

Purebred Pug for Free, the Next Biz to Fold...

Pamela Gorman has a purebred Pug that had to be surrendered in a divorce. His name is Max, he's 4, a fawn with a black mask and is a nice boy. Call Pam if you're interested...272-8323. People say having a Pug is like eating potato chips..you can't stop at one.

So..Arnie Goldberg is closing Accent Lighting in the Home Center. We've bought some beautiful things there and I'm sorry to see this longtime business close. His letter says the sale for customers who bring their letter starts today but I suspect anyone could go. He has some very creative and unique things in there. This is getting scary.