The basil factory is on high alert

First this:

DIXON (CBS13) ― Some serious foul play is going on at a Dixon chicken farm where thieves are stealing or killing hundreds of chickens and its costing the farmer thousands of dollars.

The Eatwell Farm in Dixon has been hit about 5 times since October costing the owner around $20,000.

And then, this:

STOCKTON (CBS13) ― Crates of tomato sauce in Stockton continued to smolder this morning, more than 12 hours after they began burning.

Five hundred plastic 300-gallon crates full of tomato product began burning yesterday afternoon at the Unilever Factory on Waterloo Road.

Coincidence? I think not.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

In the Sacramento area, people who hate Christmas hit ones of Nativity displays every year. What are they after? Baby Jesus, of course:

Baby Jesus was stolen from the nativity scene of an Orangevale family’s front yard.

The family did not notice that Jesus was missing right away because the thieves left everything else, the manger, Joseph and Mary.

The family was not just robbed of a figurine, they were robbed of a tradition.

The ChlubDon’t be another “The family”. Introducing the CHRIST CHLUB! Lock down your Baby Jesus in this festively decorated kevlar-coated security lock, now available in Rudolf Red! Guaranteed indestructible and tamper proof. This tasteful anti-theft device has been designed with your Nativity scene’s – and your family’s – security in mind.

Don’t let those Grinches steal your Christmas! Secure your Baby Jesus with the CHRIST CHLUB, and save Christmas. Yes, little Timmy, it is Christmas time in Sacramento again.

Here’s an oldie but a goodie…

What do you get when you take a car, an house, a Sacramento driver, and put them all together?

If you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time, you already know the deal. You get this:

CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif. — A woman crashed a sport utility vehicle into a Citrus Heights apartment complex at least twice on Tuesday, knocking out electricity and causing other damage, police said.

That’s right, a two-fer. How do you hit the same building twice? Perhaps by being drunk at 6:30 AM.

Only in Sacramento, dear friends.

If you build it, who will come?

If you live in Elk Grove, you’ve very recently probably received a little mailer from the developers of the “Elk Grove Promenade” – the envisioned shopping mall off Highway 99 between Elk Grove Boulevard and Grant Line Road that has been rumored and innuendoed and planned and then gone back to the drawing board for the last couple of years. The developers are looking for some community support for the project, especially considering resistance from nearby Galt and others within Elk Grove who don’t believe a mall would be the best thing for the community.

Continue reading “If you build it, who will come?”

Spell it on

It’s go time for Josephine Kao, our favorite spelling bee champ!

The 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee is on as we speak. A look at the list of contestants will take you not just around the United States but also around the world.

With something to prove this year, Josephine, contestant #19, has made it into round 3 . More updates as they become available!

UPDATE 2: As mentioned in the comments, Josephine dropped out in round 6 on the word “tournure“. The contest went on another seven rounds, but the title was still brought back to NorCal when Evan O’Dorney from Walnut Creek knocked “serrefine” out of the park. Great job in representing NorCal, Josephine and Evan!

UPDATE: My sources tell me that Josephine is still standing after Round 4. Only 72 entrants out of 286 are still standing, putting her in the top 24.8 percent. Call in s-i-c-k tomorrow and catch the bee live on ESPN from 7 to 10 AM.

Elk Grove essence

The City of Elk Grove is requesting feedback from the general public on a variety of new logos and taglines to go with. I’d put up a sample of what they are considering, but apparently I’d have to get permission first and hell if I do that. You can check out all the different logos and taglines here.

Personally, I think that a picture of an elk standing in front of a grove of big box stores would be the best logo, but hey, that’s just me.

(Note to City of Elk Grove: if you don’t want people to steal your pictures, don’t put them on the internet.)

Speaking of NorCal sports…

Northern California’s only NHL hockey team, the San Jose Sharks, have reached round two of the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs, and are currently leading the Detroit Red Wings in that best-of-seven series 1-0 in games. The next game is tomorrow night.

The Sharks have had a strong season. After eliminating the Nashville Predators in the first round, San Jose and Detroit are renewing old playoff hostilities:

The teams also have some playoff history dating back to the Sharks’ post-season debut in 1994. San Jose shocked the top-seeded Wings, ousting their highly favoured foes in a seven-game classic.

However, the Wings returned the favour the following season, sweeping the Sharks in the second round.

If the Anaheim Ducks (who play in the same arena that is the rumored future home of the Sacramenno Kings) dispatch with the Vancouver Canucks in round two and the Sharks get by Detroit, it’s quite conceivable that round three of the NHL playoffs will feature an all-California Western Conference Final, with the NorCal Sharks playing the SoCal Ducks. Those would be some bragging rights. The winner of that series would then go on to play in round four – more relevantly known as the Stanley Cup Final – against the best team in the east.

Democrazy in action

The old saying about democracy is “one man, one vote”. In Roseville, they almost take that literally:

A $115 million bond measure for a new high school in Roseville was passed Tuesday in an election involving only 12 voters.

Eleven of the 12 voters cast ballots in favor of the new high school. Only a dozen voters were eligible because they are the only ones who live in the westside neighborhood where the school will be built.

That’s a 100% turn out, with 91.6% of all votes cast supporting the bond measure, and 8.4% of all votes cast (the one guy/gal) against the bond measure. That’s a pretty strong decision. Majority rules.

Continue reading “Democrazy in action”