Category: News

San Diego “your classmates are dead” hoax

California is a very large state. I’m not an expert but I think it’s like, one of the biggest states. 🙂 You would think the smart folks at Boing Boing and the London Telegraph would know that. Instead, Boing Boing, referencing a hoax by law enforcement at “El Camino High School in California,” linked to this story from the Telegraph. This made me waste a whole 4 minutes of my lunch hour tracking down the original story, which comes out of Oceanside, CA and not San Juan Unified.

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Because the art books kept going missing

The Sac library system wants to put butts in the seats by allowing butts on their computer screens:

Sacramento, Apr 29, 2008 / 09:23 pm (CNA).- The Sacramento Library Authority Board voted last Thursday to retain its policy of minimal interference with patrons who access pornography on library computers, News10 Sacramento reports. Board members also voted to spend $21,000 for more computer monitors with recessed screens to allow more private viewing.

Recessed screens? How about just set up a whole private booth complete with neon lights?

Board member Robbie Waters explained his support for $21,000 for more private computer screens, saying he wanted people to be able to exercise their right to be able to view whatever they would like. “It allows the screen to come right up at you and nobody can look over your shoulders,” Waters said.

This might be one of the most ridiculous decisions made by a public library that I’ve ever seen. Is perversion not pervasive enough, that now parents can’t take their kids to Sacramento’s libraries unsupervised?

And, just one request to you commenters. Please refrain from commenting on the “exercise their right” or “allows the scene to come right up at you”. It’s a little too obvious, even for the Sac Rag.

KJ’s comments hurt his defense

The fact that it is not easy for KJ to put this issue to bed is not entirely the fault of the sloppy Sac Bee who published documents dropped off by a political opponent. It is impossible sometimes to discern what KJ is trying to say, to put it mildly. When asked if he paid a settlement to the Phoenix teenager who brought accusations against him in 1996 he said

“I think the important thing, and I’ve always said this all along, is you have to protect the rights of individuals,” Johnson said. “And privacy rights are at first and foremost of what I have to do on a regular basis in this community.”

The Bee correctly points out he doesn’t mention whose privacy. It must not be his own, since a flat “No” answer would be very helpful in clearing this up. I suppose though, since it is not totally established that a settlement request was made, saying No would confirm that there was a request to turn down. I don’t know. It’s true that he has never been charged with anything in these cases, but one wishes that for clarity’s sake, just for once a man accused in a case like this would have more to say than “no charges have been ever assessed toward me.” Something like “I have never acted in an improper manner toward any teenage girl.”

Maybe this will attract Brangelina

A bevy of local organizations is convening a “Sanframento” conference to discuss issues that concern the blurry econotransport* line between our conveniently located and charming town with the bay area.

No joke.

Along with UC Davis, this Thursday’s event will is being spearheaded by regional planning agencies and transportation authorities.

Note to sac-eats: Be sure to clear your schedule so you can weigh in with your SMEP! scheme. (As a former employee of a regional planning agency, I can say with great authority that yours would not be the most out-there idea presented in such a forum.)

*my own hybrid word of “economy” and “transportation”

Doo-wop on KVMR

Brian LeeAll that talk about local radio made me remember one of my favorite local shows that I’ve always meant to highlight: “Color Radio” on KVMR. Host Brian Lee spins doo-wop, R&B, and rock ‘n’ roll (see the double ‘ RG?) from 4-6 pm Saturday evening on KVMR Nevada City, 89.5 on your FM dial. Lee has a great gravelly radio voice and is somewhat of a savant about the classic wax he spins. Don’t expect to hear the Beach Boys or the boys from Liverpool: you’ll hear a couple of recognizable tunes but mostly you’ll hear a solid 2 hours of great old music. A recent playlist includes the Velveteens, Big Maybelle, the Drifters, and Mickey & Sylvia.

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Maybe the SacBee should “Lighten Up”

There has been quite a bit of attention from the Sacramento Bee about the John McCrea story, and I’ve got a few things to say about it. I appreciate the attention to the SacRag, positive, negative or neutral, but I feel the need to correct a few details that I feel the Bee got wrong.

I think Rachel Leibrock missed on a few points. Call it poetic license, call it journalistic opinion, but I call foul. You may have noticed that there are many things in her 21Q blog entry in quotation marks, which I said, and other things that are not, but are attributed to me as they are accompanied by the words “so says”.

Her headline was “Lighten Up Sac – or so says Sacrag writer”. Well, that sentence implies that I said those words. I did not. I never said that Sacramento should lighten up, mellow out, take a chill pill, calm down, cool it now, or float on (oops, that last one shows my age). In fact, I acknowledged to her that I knew that I was running the risk of offending people with this story.

Another quote from her story is the implication that I said, “Ya’ll should step off, too.” Again, I never said anything to this effect. In fact, I don’t think I have ever used the words “step off” in my life, and I would expect my friends to punch me square in the face if they ever heard me utter this phrase.

Most offending to me is her claim that I feel that “SacRag readers don’t have a very good sense of humor”. Whoa. Damn. I have all sorts of problems with this statement.

First and most important, I never said that, nor did I say anything that implies it. In fact, the readers of the SacRag crack me up. Some comments to stories bug me, but I am still amused by the interaction that occurs on this site.

Second, please look at the comments that were made by readers. A total of six readers made negative comments about the story. Six. According to StatCounter, we had 1,053 unique visitors and 551 click-throughs to the entire story. I know that we have this level of daily traffic (although this was a bit more than usual), so I would never judge the readers of the Rag based upon negative comments from only six readers.

Third, I am not arrogant enough to think that if I write something humorous that others do not find funny, that this means that the dissenting readers are somehow deficient. Different strokes for different folks.

To conclude, I don’t want anyone to think that this article is “sour grapes”. We at the Rag provide media commentary and criticism, just as Rachel does when she writes her 21Q blog. Blogging is not necessarily journalism, as a blog provides opinions, interpretations and spin with more individual freedom than a piece of journalism that is subject to editorial control and a more stringent demand for neutrality and a consideration for a well-rounded presentation of opinions. We at the Rag have already acknowledged our mistake; I hope that our counterparts at the SacBee are big enough to do the same.

Product Placement

Today’s Bee reports that Haagen Dazs is donating $100,000 to UC Davis to help find out why honey bees are disappearing at alarming rates. (OK, so I grew up watching Leonard Nimoy’s In Search Of and being frightened about the impending killer bees, and now the nice bees are vanishing? What gives? I want to keep bees.)

What products or companies would you suggest as possible sponsors or tie-ins to other issues plaguing our region, and why can’t I think of how to work Mayor McCheese into any of this?