Not In My Backyard!

ExxonMobil touts its success in extracting natural gas by fracking – hydraulic fracturing. They also want us to know how safe and inconsequential to the surroundings  it is. But just in case, ExxonMobil’s CEO Rex Tillerson is suing to prevent fracking near his property in Texas. It would impinge on his “rural lifestyle.”

Homecoming

maya-diradoOlympic swimmer and Santa Rosa native Maya DiRado brought her four medals – two gold, a silver, a bronze – on a visit to her alma mater, Maria Carillo High School, where she was a member of the swim club.

If medals were awarded for smiles, she would have another gold.

A Day at the Beach

beachcarOregon Governor Oswald West in 1913 signed legislation designating its ocean beaches as public highways. “The shore of the Pacific Ocean from the Columbia River on the north to the Oregon and California State line on the south, is hereby declared a public highway and shall forever remain open as such to the public.” Driving on the beach used to be common, as did the sight of a motorist frantically trying to get free from soft sand before an incoming tide claimed the vehicle. The law was revised in 1947, changing “public highway” to “recreation area.” In California, beaches are also, by law, public. The wealthy and the famous find that outrageously unfair to them.

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Spending Too Much Time on YouTube

The problem with YouTube is that once you start – doing serious research, of course – you get distracted by the endless panoply of videos. Before you know it, hours have passed.

On the Johnny Carson show, big-name guests, instead of moving down the couch when their time was up, would have to leave for some presumably important commitment. Here’s Steve Martin:

Sign of an Improving Economy

The economy in California has been getting better. Californians are increasing their production of trash: 33.2 million tons in 2015, compared to 31.2 million tons the previous year. That’s 4.7 pounds per person per day, up from 4.5 pounds in 2014. Here in Sonoma County, we did much better, swelling our output to 4.3 pounds per person per day, 19.4% more than 2014’s 3.6 pounds, but still less than the state as a whole. California overall had a meager increase of less than half a percent.