Dixie Fix

Check Out Walgreens!

....And you will notice a change to that ugly eyesore in the Brunswick Basin! What is it, you ask? They took their name (Walgreens) off the building!!

Here's what happened. I guess Steve Enos -- who is responsible for the building looking at least halfway decent -- sent the parent company pictures of what a blight their project has become in one of the busiest intersections in the county. Their response? To remove their name from the mess! Check it out!

That's interesting behavior from one of the largest drug store chains in the country -- a Fortune 500 company. I suppose we could all decide to boycott (if it ever opens) but isn't that what everyone decided when they leveled the ground for the Pineless, Creekless Center? Short memories!!

Anyway, this project has become an embarrassment! And, no one can open in that building until the intersection is improved, so look for road work before you look for something opening there.

Will it still be Walgreens? Of course.

I also am curious to check out and count the parking spaces. It looks woefully inadequate to me!!

I remember when the Holiday Inn Express was proposed....it was called the Gold Miners Inn. Do you see that name on the building? No!! It looks like every other Holiday Inn Express.

And, don't even get me started on the Del Oro mural!

Shhhhh...Do You Hear the County Quietly Laying Off People?

Several people got the old heave-ho yesterday afternoon as county officials try desperately to balance a budget in these tough economic times. For instance, the Grass Valley Librarian -- who recently started working Saturdays to take one for the team -- lost her job. (You knew this was coming after the library outsourcing was shut down!) The Public Defender's Office lost a high-ranking deputy; the CEO's office wasn't immune either. I hear the layoffs take place April 1 (ironic), just 2 weeks to get your life together. Some people are being retrained and moved to other departments to soften the blow, but that didn't work in every case.

I completely empathize with those who lost their jobs, because that was me almost exactly a year ago. It is shocking if you are blindsided, as I hear many county employees were.

As corny and trite as this sounds, every time a door shuts, another opens. It is like being handed a shiny new gift of something that has been in short supply for working folks -- time! It can be a blessing if you reframe your thoughts and realize the universe will guide you through these uncharted waters. It's not like no one in America has lost a job.

 Is this the "new normal?"

No Opposition in Nevada City's Council Election? And Senior Discounts!

We were at Sally Harris' lovely campaign kick-off, St. Patrick's Day party last night and she announced that it *appeared* she and Duane Strawser were running unopposed. I don't know that for a fact, but she reported that the third candidate hadn't turned in papers by close to 5 p.m. I'm happy for the candidates (they can relax in a tough time for fundraising) but it always saddens me when there isn't an actual race. It shows a lack of interest in the political process -- never a good thing in a Democracy. I loved that the food was Irish-themed, and Kathy Hillis kept serving like mad all evening. There were meatballs cooked in Guinness beer, tiny baked potatoes, irish Soda bread. Fun food, great company, and a chance to catch up with people I hadn't seen. The Google 95959 rally was a hot topic of conversation, and a Nevada City business owner doing an Irish jig was fabulous!

My husband went skiing at Sugar Bowl yesterday (great conditions early but mushy in the afternoon) and he and his friend only paid $5 because they were 70-plus. Isn't that cool? But I also heard Royal Gorge upped the senior discount to age 75 for cross-country skiing. That hardly seems fair. I know for skiing it was 60, then 65, and now 70. That's our reward for taking better care of ourselves and being able to ski as senior citizens for God's sake?!

What other senior discounts do you know about? When I worked at the newspaper I always thought that would be a great article! Sierra Cinemas' discount is $6.50. McDonald's used to sell cheap coffee to seniors -- don't know if they still do that. Ross gives 10% on Tuesdays and generously gives that senior discount at age 55. See, there are benefits to getting older!

Great Local Entertainment, for Free!

Last week I attended the Board of Supervisor's meeting because the agenda included an item about Sammies Friends running our local animal shelter. There were about 60 people in the audience; most were there for a particular item that interested them -- kind of why I was there. As I sat in the audience looking around, I wondered, "Where are all the gadflys"?

BTW, a gadfly is someone who regularly attends government meetings. Some are quiet; others quite vocal; but all gadflys know they're going to see a fun show and they get hooked.

Steve Enos would be an example of a gadfly when it comes to the Grass Valley City Council. And while I'm sure he's a thorn in their sides, he often brings up good, well-researched points about items on -- and off -- the City Council agenda.

Because the Board of Supervisors wield such enormous power, it would be helpful for citizens to attend their meetings. The only media there day in and day out would be Pascale of YubaNet. She also faithfully attends both city council meetings, in Grass Valley and Nevada City.

Citizen participation in government is a pet issue of mine. I think an informed citizenry makes for a better community. If you have some time, get out there and see how the process works. After all, it's your government!

The Calanan Park Problem

Has there ever been anything discussed in our community for as long as the problems at Calanan Park? Seriously, this has been going on forever!

The problem seems to be that the park is the Gateway, so to speak, of Nevada City. If the first thing you see is a place for people to smoke pot and hang with their pitbulls, that might not be an inviting picture for a visiting tourist. I'm just sayin'.

But let me play Devil's Advocate for a second. What are some things you LOVE about Nevada County? What makes this a different and enriching place to live? I think it's the fact that we all tolerate each other. The Goths, the lifelong hippies, the rednecks, the farmers -- we acknowledge each other's existence, but agree to disagree.

To me, part of the charm of our community is our differences. If everyone in Nevada County was a Birkenstock - wearing liberal with a Free Tibet sticker on their car, it would be a boring place to be. If we all listened to NPR and KVMR who would we disagree with? I celebrate those with different opinions because I'm never going to learn anything by only talking to people who agree with me.

Having said that, I still understand the desire to "clean up" that tiny Nevada City park. But how, without trampling on people's right to gather?

How Changing Business Models Change Our Everyday Life

There's probably no argument that the business model of a newspaper is outdated. Look around at the 20-somethings, 30-somethings and others who get their news on their mobile phones. They're not interested in reading today's news tomorrow; they're much more immediate than that.

Newspapers get most of their money from advertising. But advertisers are thinking of other, creative ways to get their message across -- leaving newspapers scrambling for dollars that used to just roll in by the truckful. Top of the food chain in ad rep land was the National Account. Those reps had their own fax machine and Macy's and Ford and all the big boys just faxed the ads from New York and the rep did the paperwork. No pounding the pavement for them.

But listen to what Kentucky Fried Chicken is doing to promote its new line of hot wings. Instead of taking out newspaper ads, they're going to City Councils across the country offering up their advertising budgets to paint the city's fire hydrants with their message. Fire, hot wings. get it? The city's hydrants get a fresh coat of paint (albiet with a "message") and the city -- drowning in debt and layoffs -- gets a chunk of money that was totally unexpected.

Think Qualcom Stadium, just taken to a smaller level. Totally doable, and probably fresh enough to create a buzz, which is really what advertising is all about. So that money, once in the newspaper's pocket, now belongs to a municipality, which actually might use it for something that benefits its residents instead of lining the pockets of print executives.

Newspapers large and small are scrambling and it is evident in Southern California that big changes are on the horizon. Take the venerable Los Angeles Times. Its "Idea du Jour" is to save money by allowing the Wall Street Journal to be printed on its presses in the late evening for a pretty penny. Great idea, right? Except that's when the Los Angeles Times usually prints its own paper, in time for delivery people to get it to us early in the morning.

The only solution was to print The Times earlier in the evening. Beginning sometime next month, all deadlines will change and The Times will "go to bed" at 6 p.m. A fourth-grader can see that is really stupid, since stories are reported in the day and edited in the night. Not to mention sports scores for night games. In a 24/7 news cycle, that sounds like information suicide.

The Bean Counters and executives know this, but it's not just about making/saving money. Now it's about Keeping the Doors Open. Are we doing something dumb? Yes, they answer. But we are keeping the paper open a few more months by doing it. Not only does the WSJ give the LAT money, the LAT can now layoff all those night editors, page designers and proofreaders because only the pressmen will work at night.

And what if a significant world event occurs at night? Well, they've come up with the LATE Wrap, a one page wrap-around that will carry the breaking news -- if it is deemed "significant enough."

So, if a paper like the LAT is that desperate, what will happen to the rest of the papers? And if newspapers go away, how will TV news survive? About 75% of television news is gleaned from morning papers...no time for "reporting," you know.

I just know the world is changing -- faster than I can keep up with!

Why is the Culture So Different at Monster & South Yuba Clubs?

Culture is an interesting thing. I'm sure you've been to a workplace with a great corporate culture -- maybe there is a lot of joking going on, or the people seem to genuinely like one another. And then, there's the oppressive culture at other workplaces or businesses -- kind of like the proverbial black cloud that seems to hang over the place. You can feel it. It's palpable. Where would you rather spend your time?

When Rich Sommerville was the editor of the local newspaper, he confessed that he hoped to change its culture. In fact, he was working on a doctoral thesis about changing newsroom culture so he viewed the local paper as a great testing ground. When the reporters didn't adapt the way he wanted them to, he set about turning over the jobs, hoping to "mold" the new people as he saw fit.

Sadly, Rich didn't achieve the results he hoped for with the newer employees. I think he forgot that a lot of strong egos lived in the journalism arena in those days and he also had to contend with the fact that the newsroom he managed was a small part of the paper as a whole and would never be able to undo the ingrained habits and culture that existed. After a couple years he moved on to another paper, and died of a heart attack before his work was completed.

All this is a roundabout way of getting to two of our local gyms, and the culture at each. First, South Yuba Club: a tad upscale for Nevada County. V'tae products used to compete for shelf space with sweats and T-shirts and, as the only gym at the time in Nevada City proper, it had a certain cache. It also has a pool, one of only 2 gym pools in the area. It's a bit more expensive.

Then we have Monster Gym, which used to be Courthouse Athletic Club until the Carvilles, owners of South Yuba, bought it, spiffed it up and changed the name. When we first moved here my husband joined Courthouse and I joined South Yuba. Since that time I have been able to add Monster to my membership for $5 more a month, doubling my offer of classes and equipment.

South Yuba has a quiet culture, respectful. People are there to work out, and the atmosphere is serious for the most part. Monster Gym is a whole other animal.

It seems as if everyone knows one another at Monster, and if they don't, you will soon get acquainted. The culture is extremely friendly, with everyone calling each other by name, smiling and chatting and joking going on as everyone works out. Mike, who is usually at the front desk, greets everyone by name and smiles, bantering some small talk about their family or their workout. Many people works in twos, spotting one another and visiting as they work out. Birthdays are celebrated regularly.

The class instructors all work out at the gym and can be seen outside of class, encouraging you to join in, whether it's spinning or Tai Chi. You feel welcomed, and included. At Monster, you are part of the collective -- at South Yuba, you work out alone.

There are people who probably appreciate the solitude of South Yuba, not wanting or caring to get to know anyone else working out. When I go there, no one asks where I've been or what I've been up to. But I sure feel welcomed at Monster, where, like Cheers, everybody knows your name.

Twenty Ten? Or Two Thousand Ten? You decide!

That was one of the debates last night at our New Year's Eve Party at Miners Foundry....what do we call this year? Since we just bid farewell to two-thousand nine, it makes sense that the next year is two thousand ten, right? Not so fast.

In this morning's SF Chronicle -- the antiquated paper/dead tree edition -- a local grammarian has decreed that this year shall be officially called "Twenty Ten". He says the last decade should have been "Twenty Ought," or "Twenty oh oh"  because twenty logically follows nineteen.

The grammarian points out that no one would ever say, "I was born in one-thousand, nine hundred and fifty three," one would say "nineteen fifty-three."

On the other hand, think of the Arthur C. Clark novel, "2001, A Space Odyssey." Would you pronounce it "Twenty Oh One: A Space Odyssey"?

Of course there are plenty of more pressing problems in the universe, like terrorism and global warming, but someone needs to settle what we call this year and subsequent years so we can get on with it!

One of the greatest things about our party last night (a 10-couple steering committee of Bridge Street residents and irregulars put this shindig on) was knowing most of the people in the room and getting warm hugs from friends, coupled with "I love you, man!"

All in all, a pretty positive way to begin a sparkling New Year. I wish everyone their best year yet. Let the adventures begin!

What Happened at the Newspaper Tuesday Afternoon?

My sources tell me it was a physical brawl between an executive of the paper and an irate father who objected to something local that ran on the Opinion Page....if you go back to that day I'll bet you can figure it out...the rumor is that a broken finger was the result of the fight. It has been all the buzz around town!

Why Do Bullies Act the Way They Do?

We've all known people who bully -- it's a definite type. They've been in the news a lot lately, especially Internet bullying. It's easy to put people down in an Internet format rather than face-to-face, although some bullies seem to relish face to face conflict.

The San Francisco Chronicle recently ran a great story titled "Why Bosses Might Bully." Here is the lede of the story: "Bosses who feel incompetent are more likely to bully subordinates, according to a study being published in the journal Psychology Science. It goes on to say that "leaders who are in over their heads tend to resort to browbeating to protect their egos."

I always suspected that feelings of inadequacy were behind bullying in general. When people are happy and their life is going well, they usually don't feel the need to criticize everyone and everything. I've noticed that unhappy people tend to spread that unhappiness through their negative personality. That's why I avoid people whom I consider "toxic." 

Have you been bullied? Do you have theories about bullying?