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Our parents influence us in ways that are sometimes mysterious. My late father, Bill Forsberg, was a Renaissance man of sorts, with talents for writing, art, poetry, music and more. He certainly influenced my own love of writing and music, but until recently I didn’t realize how much he influenced the writing of my sister, [...]
Despite the warnings that had been issued in prior audit reports for the El Dorado County Fire Protection District (EDCFPD) and complaints raised by former board member Mike Dennis, it apparently wasn’t until late 2011 that Fire Chief Bruce Lacher and the fire board understood that there was a serious problem with the district’s finances.
Lucas Shepard, who was president of the firefighters union at the time, said Chief Lacher informed them that because of a budget shortfall of $500,000, they needed concessions from the union. Shepard said they returned with a package that included a pay cut along with members paying a part of their retirement and health benefits.
He said Lacher later asked for additional concessions because the deficit was worse than first thought. It was then that Shepard and other union members began looking into the budget in more detail and learned the extent of the district’s fiscal deficit. He said what angered them most was finding out that while …
Sixty is a big birthday. Even we baby boomers, so fond of redefining age groups (50 is the new 30, and so on), find 60 problematic. It’s hard to claim you’re still middle-aged when you’ve reached this milestone. Sixty is seniorhood, or at least the gateway to it. All those discounts and whatnot. I turned [...]
Union Mine High School Principal Tony Deville invited west El Dorado County families to the annual back-to-school night on Jan. 24, playing master of ceremonies for a special presentation beforehand that extolled the virtues of the district’s newest and smallest school to incoming freshmen and their parents and hoping to convince them to take advantage [...]
Moon of Distraction Sometimes it’s hard to put our chins up and march on — not because we’re sad, but because there is so much distraction in this parade of a life. It’s why horses need blinders. We may have to create our own version of “blinkers” in order to get anything accomplished under the [...]
By Dave Barry
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
It was a cruel, cruel year — a year that kept raising our hopes, only to squash them flatter than a dead possum on the interstate.
Example: This year the “reality” show “Jersey Shore,” which for six hideous seasons has been a compelling argument in favor of a major earth-asteroid collision, finally got canceled, and we dared to wonder if maybe, just maybe, we, as a society, were becoming slightly less stupid.
But then, WHAP, we were slapped in our national face by the cold hard frozen mackerel of reality in the form of the hugely popular new “reality” show…
Some plants, even though not on official do-not-plant or noxious weed lists should be put into a landscape using a bit of caution. The reason for this is that they tend to take over garden areas rapidly, reseed profusely in unwanted areas and generally outgrow their usefulness. The ones listed below are still attractive plants [...]
EDITOR: Andrea B. Hay’s story about Cal Fire is in line with what happened to us. The difference is that we changed our mailing address from a Shingle Springs rural route to a Rescue PO Box. We have lived at our current location for over 50 years. Our first Cal Fire bill was for our [...]
Have you “decoded” your dog? I thought I knew as much as I needed to know about my own dog. Then I saw, just recently, the 2010 NOVA program “Dogs Decoded.” It presents the fascinating science behind the bond that has evolved over thousands of years between humans and dogs. It explains many things that [...]
The Taurus sun, the moon and Jupiter encourage a supersized celebration of the planet to remind its inhabitants to try to leave it in better shape than it was in when we got here. In the spirit of Taurus, the sign of baby steps, this is the kind of tall order that can be carried [...]
“I am not a glutton — I am an explorer of food.” — Erma Bombeck Papa Murphy’s Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza OK, before you ask me if I am making this up, the answer is, “No.” Papa Murphy’s just introduced this new style of pizza last week. A couple of people who had tried it told [...]
SACRAMENTO – In his 2012 State of the State speech, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. said California is “on the mend” and laid out an ambitious agenda for economic growth in the year ahead. The full text of the speech is below: (Remarks as prepared) As required by the state constitution, I am reporting to [...]
SACRAMENTO — La Raza Galería Posada inaugurates the new year with two exhibitions that offer the region a juxtaposition of conceptual art and Neo-Expressionism — striking exhibitions by emerging artist Nicolás Colón and Sacramento-based Mexican artist Leonardo Ceballos. The show opens Saturday, Jan. 14, and the artists’ reception is Thursday, Feb. 16. The gallery is located [...]
By Dave Barry McClatchy Newspapers It was the kind of year that made a person look back fondly on the Gulf oil spill. Granted, the oil spill was bad. But it did not result in a high-decibel, weeks-long national conversation about a bulge in a congressman’s underpants. Which is exactly what we had in the [...]
Winner of more than 15 gold medals and three prizes from the Paris Academy of Dance, the Moscow Classical Ballet has toured “The Nutcracker” in the U.S. every year for the past 19 years — and is now coming to Folsom. Performing in more than 30 countries around the world, Moscow Classical Ballet makes its [...]
The line up for the Hangtown Halloween Ball offers an impressive array of music. The festival is three nights and two days of music and more at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds, 100 Placerville Drive in Placerville, from Friday, Oct. 28, at 8 p.m. to Saturday, Oct. 29, at noon and Sunday, Oct. 30, ending at 10:45 [...]
“You can tell how long a couple has been married by whether they are on their first, second or third bottle of Tabasco.” — Bruce Bye Carniceria y Taqueria Soto Located across from Raley’s in the Western Plaza shopping center, Carniceria y Taqueria Soto is another of the least known, and probably the smallest, restaurants [...]
EDITOR: “Every news organization has only its credibility and reputation to rely on,” said Tony Burman, former-editor-in-chief of CBC News. While various existing codes of journalism have some differences, most share common elements including the principles of — accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness and public accountability — as these apply to the acquisition of newsworthy information [...]
A late amendment to the Aug. 23 Placerville City Council agenda calling for the removal of Mayor Dave Machado and to request that Machado take a leave of absence from his position on the City Council brought the concerned, the curious and four camera crews to City Council Chambers on Tuesday. Machado, 53, was arrested [...]
Last week my column focused on walk-away buyers. A new survey by the National Association of Realtors discovered a surprising number of buyers were failing to close their escrows. Some deals fell through because of low ball appraisals, some because qualifying for a mortgage is increasingly difficult ,but many Realtors reported buyers are simply having [...]