Placerville is dreaming the impossible dream if it thinks it will get another auto dealer in town. All the major American manufacturers have been reducing the number of dealerships they have. It should be thankful for the dealers it has. The sudden attack on the free enterprise system by the City Council approving a 45-day [...]

Democrat automotive columnist Not all BMWs are expensive. Witness the new F800ST motorcycle witch stickers for $10,600 or about the price of many metric bikes of this displacement (798cc). But this is just not an ordinary strong middleweight entry; this F800ST is about flexibility, as it fits the bill of a sport tourer, a reasonable [...]

Democrat correspondent Need a set of brakes? How about a new transmission? Well, a Cameron Park auto repair company has just what you need no matter how old your car may be. Automotive Services Unlimited Inc., at 3065-B Alhambra Drive in Cameron Park, has repaired cars for 20 years and the technicians that work there [...]

Democrat columnist ÒThe fellow that agrees with everything you say is either a fool or he is getting ready to skin you.Ó Kin Hubbard Most people donÕt know this about Barack Obama, but he was the bantam-weight boxing champion of Hawaii. He was known as ÒHunga Magumba,Ó and his audience would often start punching each [...]

Democrat columnist The old saw says youÕll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. But who wants to catch flies? Go with the vinegar and avoid them, instead. Vinegar is the old/new wonder-substance with a zillion-and-one uses. It can be a cleaner, a rinse, a food preservative, an herbicide, a flavor enhancer, even a [...]

Democrat columnist In our fast-pace, hectic world, wouldnÕt it be great to be a clown every other Saturday? On clown day, you can squirt people with water, put a pie in their face, or sit on their lap. You even have permission to tease rigid, uptight personalities Ñ whether they like it or not. Behind [...]

Special to the Democrat While living in Orangevale I worked as a stringer for several local papers, but that didnÕt bring in much money, so I decided to become a school bus driver, first for the Orangevale district, later for the consolidated San Juan district. That worked out fine: When Gail was in school, I [...]