Monthly Archives: December 2008

Why no water rationing?

By Site Admin | Published: December 31, 2008 | Comments closed
So La Nina has returned. Meaning winter storms may soon dry up. I’ve camped at Point Reyes in February during La Nina years and, during a month that normally would see the coast lashed with winds and rain, sat in the sun and watched whales. California may be looking at a 3rd drought year. And, of course, [...]
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Delta Queen supporters still slugging

By Site Admin | Published: December 30, 2008 | Comments closed
This morning brings news about the Stockton-built Delta Queen riverboat, which had to stop carrying passengers down the Mississippi and tie up at New Orleans because of a safety regulation: CINCINNATI – The Delta Queen has been nominated for inclusion on the National Trust for Preservation’s 2009 list of America’s Most Endangered Historic Places. The nomination [...]
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WaPo’s different perspective on Ground Zero

By Site Admin | Published: December 29, 2008 | Comments closed
The Washington Post actually manages a fresh take on Stockton’s forclosure crisis: during the boom, it allowed unprecedented numbers of African-Americans to buy homes. While the story shows the bad luck of Oakland and Richmond residents who escaped to Weston Ranch, it’s the same at the core as other Ground Zero stories: predatory lenders and financial [...]
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Stockton family skeletons

By Site Admin | Published: December 29, 2008 | Comments closed
Oh, dear. The grandfather of the Stockton for whom this city is named was a jerk.
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R.I.P. Ellie Nesler 1952-2008

By Site Admin | Published: December 29, 2008 | Comments closed
Ellie Nesler, the Sonora loose cannon who gunned down her son’s alleged molester in a Jamestown courtroom, has died of cancer. She was 56. For pumping five bullets into a handcuffed Daniel Driver, Nesler gained national attention, became a hero to many idiots and raked in $110,000 by selling her rights to Hollywood. I well remember. The phone lines [...]
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Stockton, Dec. 22, 2008, 12:43 p.m.

By Site Admin | Published: December 23, 2008 | Comments closed
A baker at Boudin bakery shows his Christmas spirit.
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Is Fritchen for real?

By Site Admin | Published: December 19, 2008 | Comments closed
Former Councilman Mark Stebbins doubts Councilman-elect Dale Fritchen’s claim in today’s column that he’s going to be more moderate on growth than his support form the building industry implies.   “Regardless of what he might say to you, if you look at his contribution list … it would be less than likely to see him vote either aginst [...]
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Memo to SoCal: It’s always a drought in a desert

By Site Admin | Published: December 19, 2008 | Comments closed
Aquafornia reports the rain is easing Southern California’s drought. Take San Diego: Most of the county has received more than twice the rainfall it normally would receive by this point in the season. San Diego has recorded more than 2.5 inches this week alone. The total for the season, which begins July 1, is 5.37 inches. [...]
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The liars hurt the honest

By Site Admin | Published: December 19, 2008 | Comments closed
All those homebuyers who lied about their incomes, all those financially illiterate buyers who thought the housing boom would never end, all the deceptive lenders, and all the fast-and-loose financiers with their shaky bundled instruments created this foreclosure mess. Meaning about 50 percent of the problem was lying.  Of course, at the root of the lying was greed; [...]
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An ex-cop opines on the Arquinez tragedy

By Site Admin | Published: December 18, 2008 | Comments closed
Reader Richard Bodendorfer writes to comment on the police shooting of a bystander:   I was involved in a very similar situation 20 years ago when I was still a cop in the Bay Area.   After a short chase of an occupied 10851, stolen auto, the perp took to leg bail. I, we, chased said ”Pukus Americanus  Anus Maximus” into a homeowners backyard at approx. 0400 [...]
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