Well, election day is upon us again. Seems like only yesterday when in reality it was 7 long months ago that we last did this. So this is your open thread for election day: post your funny overheard comments, any frustrations & confusions, police-state shenanigans, etc.
Any wacky activity at your polling place?
Nearly two-thirds of that cash came from Pacific Gas & Electric, which has poured $46 million into the campaign for Proposition 16, a constitutional amendment that would require two-thirds voter approval on proposals for a public utility to expand services to new customers or new territories using public funds or bonds.
“PG&E’s spending to support Prop. 16 has eclipsed all other proposition spending this election season,” the foundation’s president, Kim Alexander, said in a statement.
Of course, I scan over to the right side of the page and what did I see being advertised? Fitting, I guess.
Sure seems like this kind of money could be put to better use, huh? Perhaps PG&E could save a library or two and use that exposure to promote their measure? Seems crazy, but these are crazy times, right?
A little Ford’s Real Hamburgers shout out on Friday (actually, she credits roadfood.com, which is a great site, btw…Hello, Marie’s Do-Nut Shop!) on Fox 40 Morning News when Paul Robins interviewed Amy from “On the go with Amy,” a mother of two who blogs about vacationing on $150 – $200 a day. She offers up some great ideas on making it work including finding activities that are free or inexpensive (walking across the Sundial Bridge in Redding, visiting the Oregon Vortex where balls roll uphill, and strolling through the zoo in Portland). This trip takes them from San Francisco to Seattle.
I discovered a little travel trick of my own recently. When renting a car, try agencies located outside of the airport. If you’re traveling light enough, the cab or shuttle fare is well worth the hassle. I was able to cut $150 off the same reservation at an agency 5 miles from the airport (the same agency, mind you). Fewer taxes, too.
Watch the clip after the jump… Continue reading “Vacationing on the cheap”
When the bell rings shortly at John Paul II School in Tahoe Park, it will be Alice Cooper’s dream come true: Schooool’s out. For. Evah. The Catholic Diocese is closing the school and allowing its students to transfer to the new Saint Patrick SUCCEED Academy on the former campus of St. Patrick Elementary School in South Sac.
According to what I have been told, the Diocese currently has no plans to lease out this great old brick school facility. There are still people involved with the All Hallows Parish who might be able to use the facility in the future for educational programs. Me, I’d love to see a public charter school open up there.
John Paul II School opened in 2005 as a merger between All Hallows and St. Peter’s Parish Schools. All Hallows Parish School opened on the site in 1948.
The Sac Bee has a nice photo gallery of the last day of school at Sacred Heart (my alma mater), which opens a new campus across the street this fall. But no mention of JPII.
All day today, Rubicon will be donating a portion of their profits to the California Small Brewers Association. If you are a craft beer lover, you should stop by for a pint and a bite. You have probably never heard of the CSBA, but they are fighting to promote California’s great beers and to help make California a friendly business environment for brewers to take roost. CSBA Executive Director Tom McCormick will be in attendance to answer any questions you have about the beer industry.
Weekend outdoorsy fun was had by the whole family yesterday as we finally checked out the Cosumnes River Preserve down in the Galt/Walnut Grove area. The preserve is a 46,000-acre wildlife refuge along the Cosumnes River (the last undammed river in the Central Valley), winding from Sacramento County all the way down to the delta. With a paved wetlands pathway and a rougher river walk trail, there are a few miles of walking to do, as well as boating, cycling and hunting. The weather was perfect yesterday, so we enjoyed a beautiful walk along the sunny wetlands pathway and a shorter jaunt on the river walk. The wide trails make it easy for walking with kids (since there is doubtless plenty of poison oak along the way).
We followed this up with a drive over to Walnut Grove and back home along the 160, stopping for cool treats in downtown Clarksburg. I don’t know what it is but I love the Delta area! A couple of photos after the jump…
This year’s Jubilee was a rousing success. Great weather, huge crowds, and incredible music.
Every year there seems to be some old song that everybody plays; this year it was “I Would Do Anything For You.” Also each year there’s a band that knocks me on my ass; this year it was the New Orleans Ale Stars who knew how to milk an old Dixieland standard for all it was worth. And every year there are myriad “Jubilee moments” that make the whole thing worthwhile; this year my favorite such moment was Ralph Reynolds of the Reynolds Brothers getting a young boy so excited about playing the washboard that the poor tyke got a nosebleed. Don’t let anyone tell you that jazz isn’t dangerous.
Drop by any STJS run venue from 5-7 and get all drinks $2 off. I’m at the whistle stop seeing the inimitable Reynolds Brothers. Drop on by.
Great to see on a warm May day. Lines out the door at almost every venue. STJS might just turn a profit this year.
It’s 5 o’clock right now. Jubilee happy hour. All drinks $2 off. There’s nothing better with a cold discount pint of Mirror Pond pale ale than a few smoked shrimp from Laszlo’s Gourmet Smoked Fish on Front Street. Smoked yumminess.
The Sac Rag 