Thirteen are dead and others injured. The shooter is dead. Reports are still sketchy but an eye witness account is chilling:

One student, Kortney Moore, 18, told News Review-Today that she was in her writing class in Snyder Hall when a single shot came through a window.

Moore said she saw her teacher get shot in the head, apparently after the gunman came into the classroom. At that point, Moore told the newspaper, the shooter ordered everyone to get on the ground. The shooter then asked people to stand up and state their religion and then started firing, Moore said.

I just listened to the President speak to the families and friends. His words were exactly what you would expect from any president.

Then he started lecturing the people of the United States about adding more gun control laws. He was very smug. He used examples and statistics that were not accurate. Bringing this up before, as Lars Larsen just said, “the blood is dry” is tacky and cruel. I think he’s stepped in it again!

Stay tuned.

A fair question now before the taxpayers of Florida is, how did a Hispanic immigrant that can’t speak English wind up in a Florida jail after he ripped out his girlfriend’s intestines with his bare hands, causing her death? How does that just happen here? Who is responsible for him being here? I didn’t invite him – did you? So, who do we have to thank for his presence in our country?

He’s only 24, so if he gets life in prison for his monstrous crime the taxpayers will be supporting him for the next 60-70 years, unless he is executed quickly…not likely.

“Fidel Lopez, age 24, said he returned to 31-year-old Maria Nemeth, who was lying unconscious on the floor, and proceeded to sexually mutilate her — first with various objects, then by inserting his arm into her, up to his elbow. Once inside he said he proceeded to rip out part of her intestines.” A real nice guy, eh?

So, once again I am left to wonder, how did this screwball qualify for immigration anyway? But, the bigger question is, how is it that we are so lucky to get tens of thousands of killers, rapists, drug lords, bums, crazies, etc., coming in from other countries almost every month?

How is it that these sort of monstrous subhuman crimes committed by immigrants (legal or otherwise) seem to happen almost daily in America and why do we seem not to mind letting them in? Are we getting acclimated to the violence that is so prevalent in their home countries?

We have a known profile of those persons that pose a statistical high risk, but we can’t use it. Soon we will be importing about 80,000 so-called refugees from Syria, but many won’t be from Syria, and a majority of them will be young Muslim men travelling alone that will fit the terrorist profile, but we can’t recognize that. Profiling may not be used in law enforcement or immigration because profiling is…. bad. Oh, sure other countries strongly rely on time tested profiling to stop terrorists, but not us, not here.

By this point, you may be wondering, why do we volunteer to put ourselves at such risk? I have no answer, perhaps you might want to ask a democrat? Oh, and I sure hope the girl that Fidel murdered wasn’t related to you…if so, my condolences.

I made the baby-boomer cut by a year or two and don’t know what to think about social media.  Five years ago, when my kids began junior high school, I reluctantly set up a Facebook account to keep track of what they were doing.  I also wanted to know who they ran around with and what influenced them.  Before I started the Etc. Guy blog, I viewed social media as a waste of time.  At the time, a chimpanzee probably had a better understanding of social media than I did.  And I’m being generous.  Make that a sloth.

Now with blogging, social media is critical to develop my writing career.  Good articles are either circulated or shared.  Great stories go viral.  I now view social media, like Twitter or Linked In, as business tools.  They are platforms, or soapboxes, in an otherwise busy and noisy world.

I’m just a gnat in the internet universe but last spring I was contacted by a Michigan blog editor, through Twitter, who writes about family stuff in his blog, Dads of Divas.  The editor, Christopher Lewis, is also the father of two daughters.  He started Dads of Divas as “One Dad’s Quest to Regain His Kingdom One Day at a Time!”  Lewis examines both the personal and thought provoking aspects of fatherhood and married life.  Lewis serves on the management team of Western Michigan University’s Cooley Law School, near Lansing.  I’ve never been to Michigan but Lansing is in the “mitten” part of Michigan, inside the palm of the hand.

Anyway, I was sent a questionnaire, we exchanged emails, and I was subsequently interviewed for his series entitled, “Dads in the Limelight.”  The interview, though submitted in the queue last spring, was published last week.  If you read the interview note that Kate has seen moved away to college and that we’ve lost several more pets.  Oh yeah, and I had a birthday.  But pretty much everything else is accurate.  I’m not one to espouse virtues or proselytize moral values.  I have enough serious problems of my own.  Like folding towels or loading the dishwasher.  It’s strange getting interviewed…but cool for my work to be noticed.   I’ll still plug away at developing this writing gig.  Writing has become a passion.  It’s more fun than a zillion other things that compete for my brain’s space.  And I guess I’ll continue to figure out this social media stuff…because that’s the way it is.  Hope you enjoy the read.

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When it rained, I could still see the edge of the ocean on the horizon.  I can understand why early sailors thought that the world is flat and were afraid they would said off the edge of the world.  I think that there are still “flat landers” – people who believe that the earth isn’t round!

Rushing out the door to a class I teach 20 miles away I thought I’d first quickly pay a bill online.

It’s so convenient, you don’t have to bother going to the bank. Just do it online.

I get it done and rush to my class. Halfway though the class I think to myself, “Hey… didn’t I already pay that bill?”

After my class I rush back home and try to sign on to my email account but for some reason my usual email account is not working so I use Firefox to get to my bank’s Bill Payer and, yes, I did already pay that bill…I try to cancel it and up comes, “Bill is processing, cannot cancel this bill.”

I call the business I wrote the check to and get an answering machine. I leave a message asking them to call me back.

I call the bank and go through the obligatory 10 minute phone tree to get a live person. She asks my name. I give her my name. She asks my account number. I give it to her. She asks my birth day. I give it to her and she says, “I’m sorry sir, that’s not the date we have for you on file.”
“What? I think I know my own birthday.”
“Sorry sir, but you’ll have to come into the bank and change what we have on file.”
“I just drove the 20 miles back home from town.”
“Sorry, sir, if you can’t come in, you’ll have to call this 800 number.”
I call the 800 number and I have to go through another phone tree and I get, “All systems are busy. Please wait,” and I get to listen to commercials while I’m put on hold.

I wait several more minutes and Caller ID tells me the business I wrote the check to is calling back. I switch calls and try to explain to the business that I’ve already paid the bill.

What? You paid the same bill twice?”
“Ahhh…Well…yeah…I guess… I….did… pay the same bill twice.”
“Why’d you do that?”
“Well, I paid it over a month ago and I thought it was new bill that I owe you but I found out too late that I already paid this bill.”
“Okay, we’ll just keep the money for next time.”
“What?”
“We’ll keep it safe for you here for your next bill.”
“You’re kidding.”
Click.
I switch back to the bank and I’m still on hold.

Meanwhile, due to all the confusion, I typed the wrong password into my email account and am now locked out of that too.

10 minutes later the bank says, “Sorry for the wait, sir.”
“No problem. I want to cancel a bill I paid 3 hours ago but I can’t seem to sign onto my account.”
“What’s your name?” I give it to her. “What’s your account number?” I give it to her.
What’s your birth day?”
I swallow hard and hope I haven’t forgotten my birth day.
I give her my birth day and expect the whole “Groundhog Day” process to start all over again but this lady says, “Thank you sir. Now you’ll have to logon and change your password.

I try to logon by using Firefox and not using my usual email account. Naturally everything is different and it’s hard to find where anything is. The lady talks me though it and I finally logon and suddenly it hits me, I was using my bank password for my email account and my email account password for my bank.
I have to change both passwords and hope that next time I log on, I remember which is which.

They say you shouldn’t use the same password for all the hundreds of accounts you have online but how many passwords can you remember and where are all the little pieces of paper you’ve written them all down on?

And now you hear there are thousands of viruses that you have to guard yourself against and that some viruses can see every key-stroke you make. They can go onto your online bank and drain your bank account.

How’s that for convenience?

Just breathing the ionized Pacific Ocean air is a major treat, so we always have chosen a motel overlooking the pounding waves.  This time it was the Surf ‘n Sand Lodge north of Fort Bragg.  It’s very calming for me to know that no matter what else is going on in the world. the tide continues to come in and go out.

Things grow. Plants grow a lot. In a few years this front yard will look lush and wonderful, while using very little water. Photo courtesy Jim Matthews

Last week the latest El Niño story breezed across my news stream. The writer was Paul Rogers, who is way up there on my list of favorite water writers.

According to Paul’s sources, there is a fairly good chance that we’ll have great weather this winter. By great, I mean miserably wet.

I want to be hopeful. I want to take the five-gallon bucket out of my shower. I want to flush my toilet just for the fun of it.

The news story compared the possible 2015-2016 winter to the wet and worrisome 1997-1998. As I recall, 1997 was the year Highway 32 flooded and I stayed the night at the Amber Light Motel in Orland.

My 1984 Audi broke down during a rainstorm. We reached Chico only after catching a ride with a trucker, working our way up to Red Bluff and back down the valley. Highway 99 had opened after a work crew cleared debris from the swollen Sacramento River. We watched the news as Marysville and Yuba City flooded.

Will we have a 1997-1998-style El Niño this winter? Maybe.

However, last year there were news stories that the drought would soon be over. The rains never came but people stopped conserving water.

For right now, we have no rain and we have a long summer to endure.

Come drought or high water, my friend Jim Matthews is happy with his front yard makeover.

I’ve known Jim a long time and for those 20-plus years his front yard has looked basically the same. A normal-sized, rectangular patch of green is parked in front of his front window.

He has a tree.

Along the walkway he likes to plant seasonal flowers in pots, usually dianthus.

It’s a pleasant front yard. Children are not afraid to knock on the door at Halloween.

However, the lawn was tired. To keep it green, Jim said he needed to water it every day in the summer. For how lackluster it looked, the lawn was a lot of work.

When he looked at his water bill more closely, he was shocked. During the winter months he used 1 or 2 CCFs (hundred cubic-feet) of water a month. Last June, July and August he used 19, 29 and 18 CCFs, which meant all that extra water went to the boring, old lawn.

What a waste, Jim thought.

Why did he have a lawn all those years? The house had a lawn when he moved in, and lawns were in fashion at the time.

Jim signed up for California Water Service turf replacement rebate. The rebate pays for up to 1,000 square-feet, at a rate of $1 a square-foot.

He was happy with the estimate from Yard Smart Landscape and Design, with a cost of $1.33 a square-foot.

One of his extra expenses was the weed-guard, which was $300.

In the end, he had more square-footage than the CalWater program would pay and Jim considers the rebate similar to using a coupon.

Adam Wrangham is Yard Smart’s owner, and said he’s having fun creating landscape conversions.

Adam said there is so much work being done that nursery suppliers are running short on some plant supplies.

Popular plants, such as agapanthus and daylilies, are more difficult to find, he said.

However, Jim can always add more plants later.

The project included five yards of bark and 15 yards of rock.

It’s new so Jim checks out the front yard more often.

“It looks so clean now.”

He could have reseeded the old lawn and gone to a tremendous effort to fertilize and water like crazy, but why?

He’ll be able to watch his new, drought-tolerant plants grow over time.

If there had been drought-tolerant plants in the front yard when he moved in, Jim said, he probably would have mature drought-tolerant plants in the front yard right now.

By Heather Hacking, Chico Enterprise-Record

Mom’s yard isn’t exactly lush and beautiful right now, but who cares? Her front yard has long been an area she simply walks through to head indoors. The back yard is where she takes the time to actually enjoy plants.Photo by Susan Hacking, Heather’s mom

No parental units were nagged, nudged or coerced for the purposes of this column.

When I think of visits to my mom’s house, her beautiful garden is central in my mental image.

A comfortable sitting area is surrounded by potted plants. She started with bare, rotten Redding dirt – so hard she hired someone with a jack hammer to dig holes for trees. For years she brought in truckloads of mulch and good topsoil. Over time, things grew more beautiful.

The fact that she hasn’t formed a habit of composting is strange to me. However, my Mother is perfect in most other ways.

Her front yard, by contrast, is a pass-through area. My sister and I dump our bags on the front porch while we wait for Mom to answer the pounding on the door.

When Mom mentioned she was tearing out her front lawn, I had to strain to remember she had grass at all.

I did, however, recall her high praise for the nice boy next door who did her yard maintenance.

The boy’s father taught him to write up an invoice and to send my mother a bill. This kept the accounting straight.

When the boy went to summer sports camp, his father taught him to find a replacement for my mother’s weekly mow, which often meant the younger brother.

My mother’s lawn provided an educational experience for the boys next door, but other than that the turf served little use at all.

The boys went away to college and drought hit California.

Mom decided to be done with the front lawn once and for all.

I was shocked to hear she formerly had 24-by-34-feet of lawn. I wish I had at least kicked off my shoes and frolicked at least once in the past 18 years.

There is no lawn replacement incentive program in Redding. (For information on the program in Chico, https://calwater-turf.droplet.us).

Her project cost $1,500, start-to-finish.

Workers tore out all of the lawn, moving the material to her back yard to create a berm. It’s been a while, but in years when a very hard rain occurs, Mom has some flooding issues in the “back 40.”

The crape myrtle is the main feature in the front yard, and has done really well over the years. Bonus that these trees are drought and heat tolerant.

Mom planted an additional crape myrtle tree, plus two miniature crape myrtles. She also chose some new lavender and rosemary plants.

“I’m still looking for some white no-water grasses,” Mom said. She knows she saw some in a magazine article, but will need to track them down.

Also, she left some shrubbery at the perimeter of her yard. This will be watered with a new drip irrigation system. If the existing plants don’t like the new watering schedule, she’ll let them die with absolutely no remorse.

The sprinklers have been capped off and smooth river and bark mulch now replace the lawn area.

She said she already saw a water saving from her first bill, and will check once she goes a full month without the front turf.

Another neighbor has taken out half of his front lawn, Mom noted. Another woman on her street came by to chat about the rocks and bark.

Drought gardens are not particularly beautiful when they are brand new. However, the previous few weeks this column featured water-saving gardens with more time to mature. Mom’s choice to leave some of her plants in place, for now, may help during the transition.

With the rate of lawn conversions, I could probably write about them for the rest of the summer. If you have a great yard to share, drop me a line at hhacking@chicoer.com. Other contacts, @HeatherHacking on Twitter and Facebook.

One of the perks for these conferences was the number of excellent plays we saw from the Asolo Theatre and Florida Studio Theatre’s Cabaret and Improv as original oplays by children in the lower six grades which were very insightful and the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre which is the longest running equity dinner theatre in the U.S.

The “icing on the cake” was sharing all of this with my college toommate (Miami U., Oxford, OH 1950) and celebrating our 80th birthdays together.

Will Rogers

William Penn Adair “Will” Rogers (1879 -1935) was a Cherokee cowboy, vaudeville performer, humorist, newspaper columnist, social commentator, and stage and motion picture actor. He earned fame as an American media star during the 1920s and 1930s.  Will Rogers tragically died in a plane crash in Point Barrow, Alaska in 1935.  A funny guy, Roger’s wit followed him to his gravestone.  He quipped during one interview, “When I die, my epitaph, or whatever you call those signs on gravestones, is going to read: I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn’t like. I am so proud of that, I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved.”  And so it was.

I wonder how Rogers would spin our present day political debacle.  Would Rogers like the Donald, Hilary, Jeb, or the rest of the cast?  I’m already tired of the 2016 Presidential race and we’ve hardly begun.  Already its Trump versus CNN, Trump versus Fox, Trump versus Bush, Republicans versus Trump, Trump versus Trump, Republicans versus Democrats, Reps versus Reps, Dems versus Dems, Liberals versus Conservatives…its maddening.  As for Trump’s circus act, at least he develops interest so I suppose that’s a plus.

I’m registered as “decline to state” but have voted across the aisle for both Democrats and Republicans.  I’ll give any man or woman a shot at office if I believe they’re genuine and can do the job.  And if I like them I’ll vote for them again…but not for  more than two terms (unless the competition is weak or wacko).  Two terms in politics are plenty.  I disavow long-term politicos who succumb to group think and/or dogma.  Hire new blood.  A guy racing yaks has more appeal to me than a career politician.  At least the yak racer is moving.

Our local library sells used books as part of its fundraising campaign and I found these two titles interesting: “The Pictorial History of the Republican Party,” and “Dreams from My Father,” by Barack Obama.  The selling price was half a buck each.  They remained on the rack for several weeks before finally vanishing.  Or maybe the library just gave them away.

I don’t care who people vote for and I’m reluctant to endorse candidates.  Vote for who you want.  All I ask is that you just keep wanting to vote.

Regarding politics, I borrow a quote from one of America’s most sensible men, Forrest Gump: “That’s all I have to say about that.”

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” The World’s Largest Miniature Circus”, an authentic replica of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, when the tented circus was in its prime ( circa 1919 – 1938) was created by Howard Tibbals.  Comprised of 8 main tents, 152 wagons, 1,300 circus performers and workers, more than 800 animals and a 57 car train.  The model is a 33/4 inch to the foot scale replica and is housed in the Tibbal’s Learning Center.

By Heather Hacking, Chico Enterprise-Record

By Heather Hacking, Chico Enterprise-Record

Each fuzzy little nub on the cactus may or may not develop into one of these delicious blooms.Heather Hacking — Enterprise-Record

Summer is similar to a lot of things that sneak up on you slowly — crow’s feet, spare tires, weeds, credit card debt …

Each day it gets just a little bit hotter. Then one day you wake up and spring is gone.

Some of us spend most of our time in isolated air-conditioned units — home, car, work, car, grocery store, car, home, a friend’s pool. If we park carefully we need only experience the summer sauna in three-minute bursts.

When the weekend rolls around you realize half the potted plants are dead.

A while back we bought a shade sail to protect tender plants. I was reminded the hard way that the sun shifts just a few degrees each day. By the time I noticed the shift in sunlight, those plants were ready for the compost pile.

This 100-degree weather comes right on schedule for our new household water budgets. The past year of spritz-suds-and-rinse showers was apparently just training for the summer of 2015.

During a recent pizza night with friends, we shared our water gripes or gloats.

Its hard for people with kids, because children really do like to run around on the lawn. In my childhood we literally ran around in the middle of the street, and I understand why that’s no longer wise parenting.

Then there are folks with many fruit trees. I love living next door to these people, especially when they share their bounty.

If they want to meet their water budget, something else may need to go.

Other friends have resigned themselves to higher water bills. That’s a bummer. I don’t know about you, but I like to spend some summer coins on air conditioned movie theaters, ice cream at Shuberts and a trip to the Mendocino Coast in mid-July.

One way to save an enormous amount of water is to stop cleaning your house. Rinsing away Ajax uses a lot of water.

The bathroom, for example, isn’t really worth the cost of Mr. Clean. If you’ve been doing this drought thing right, you seldom flush and the room will always smell like water conservation.

PAPER WATER

I’ve been really curious to see how CalWater would calculate my water budget.

I moved last year to my tiny house, which means I don’t have a water history from 2013.

Cal Water apparently determined my new water budget based on a typical residence of a similar type, i.e. a normal-sized single-family home with a normal-sized family.

They weren’t counting on a dirty, small house with potted plants and a dead lawn.

My water use for April was 3 CCF, and 2 for May.

Yet, my water budget is about a million.

I’m only joking about hooking up a nozzle to a water truck and selling water to people who need it more — herb gardeners in the foothills who have fat wallets.

Nope. I’ll still flush my toilet with shower water.

If I don’t do my part, I can’t expect those people in Santa Fe Irrigation District to stop watering their 40,000 square-feet of lawns.

REMEMBRANCES

A few dear friends have died over the past few months.

These were folks who had once been a daily part of my life. Yet, life shifts and we started running in different circles.

In some ways you would think the distance would make the loss less, but it merely makes the loss different. One regret is that we did not have that (one last) lunch like we had planned.

Over the past several weeks, we’ve had fragrant night blooms from the cactus that was a gift from Suzi Draper. The flowers smell unbelievably beautiful and last for only one day.

Suzi died last summer and I met her in 2013 when she could not contain her enthusiasm for night-blooming cacti.

(See fabulous pictures here: http://goo.gl/aMWxf).

While I did not know here well, it was easy to know Suzi was a sweet, much-loved person. Each time the cactus blooms, I think of her.

For some reason, I decided to post a cactus bloom photo on Suzi’s still-active Facebook page. When I scrolled down I saw a link to her obituary.

How strange to read that she died of aggressive uterine cancer, the same cancer which I was recently blessed to detect early.

All these things are now mixed together in my mind — loss of friends, my gift of life and the fleeting beauty of night-blooming cactus.

Of note: if there’s a friend who you keep intending to call for lunch, just call them today.

For more inane prattle, check out my blog at www.norcalblogs.com/sowthere. Other contacts, @HeatherHacking on Twitter and Facebook.

Jerry Bonds handles some corn from the secret stash Saturday at the farmers market in Chico. Heather Hacking — Enterprise-Record

Organic corn is also sold at the Saturday farmers market, while in season. People often tear through the husks to see how the corn looks. The task is not needed and will actually decrease the freshness. Chances are, if its organic, you will find a worm. Heather Hacking — Enterprise-Record

Something about corn screams summer. Of course, there are other noteworthy seasonal fruits and vegetables — watermelon, pumpkins, cranberries and peaches. Each deserves their own festival weekend and a crowned princess.

Food adoration is a popular trend.

If you’re into peaches you just missed the Marysville peach festival. However, you can still make it to the Kelseyville Pear Festival, Sept. 26.

There really aren’t that many pear groves remaining in Lake County. However, that doesn’t stop anyone from dressing up in pear costumes.

Paradise, for example, is down to just one remaining apple orchard, Noble Orchards, and that doesn’t keep anyone from celebrating Johnny Appleseed Days, Oct. 3 and 4 this year.

California doesn’t have many corn festivals.

I looked it up.

Even an event long-held in Brentwood has been renamed the “Harvest Time Festival.”

Locally, we have the California Nut Festival in April.

I’m surprised we don’t have a local rice festival. I’m thinking Lundberg Family Farms could pull off an event. They could hire me to book entertainment. I might also invent new ways to throw rice ritualistically, rather than as punishment to young lovers.

Bryce Lundberg could have a special booth to promote fava bean jewelry and there could be festive games like rice cake disc golf and mallard duck egg hunts.

Food-specific festivals are fairly common and proof that if you get a lot of people thinking about the same idea, the idea gets kind of wacky.

Vermontville, Michigan, has a Maple Syrup Festival that includes the town’s trademark maple syrup cotton candy.

This weekend is the Gilroy Garlic Festival, where this year Tom and Stacy Davenport will renew their wedding vows. The couple are the winners of the Garlic Dream Wedding, which will include garlic bouquets and boutonnieres.

A lot more could be said about food festivals, however, I have some important and useful information to share about corn.

Last weekend I had the distinct pleasure of chatting with Jerry Bonds, who will turn 85 this August and has been selling at the Chico Farmers Market for almost as long as the market has been in town. The occasion was the 35-year birthday for the Saturday market.

Jerry wasn’t selling corn last weekend, but he keeps a stash of the golden ears tucked among his other veggies.

I felt like a pampered princess when he picked out a few cylindrically shaped vegetable units and placed them in my market shopping bag.

Jerry recalled a Sow There! column from “just a few years ago,” where I talked about people who jab their fingers into corn kernels to make sure they’re fresh.

I looked it up. That column was in 2005.

The poke and squirt mode is a lot of fun, however Jerry explained that pulling back the silk will degrade the freshness of the ear of corn in no time.

Organic corn will almost always have a corn earworm near the tip of the ear. Jerry said this is normal, and the caterpillars can easy be cut off with a knife. I love a great ear of fresh corn, however, I hate boiling water in the middle of summer. Usually if I go to the trouble of making corn, I’ll make eight ears at a time. We’ll gorge that night and add fresh corn to salad and salsa for the rest of the week.

Jerry’s grandson, Jason Shirley, said the easiest way to make corn, without causing your cooling bill to spike, is to cook corn in the microwave.

Without unwrapping the husk or silk inside, wrap the corn in a dampened paper towel. Microwave for three minutes. The silk and husk will easily pull away.

Jason also grills corn outdoors, silk and all. You know when the corn is done when the outside husk is crispy. Before eating, you’ll need to let the ear cool a bit, so you can cut away the inevitable worm.

Those nice folks at the Glenn County Master Gardener program are at it again. This time it’s a workshop all about drought — how to mulch, finding an irrigation balance, taking out your lawn and choosing drought tolerant plants.

The free workshop is 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Willows Public Library, 210 N. Lassen St.

No registration needed. Just show up and be prepared to take notes.

Online trivia is probably the biggest reason why I’ll go back to Buffalo Wild Wings, which appears to be available at the Chico location.

Buffalo Wild Wings completed its expansion to Chico this week. Judging by photos of early lines and posts in my Facebook feed, it seems a lot of people are happy about the development. Although I love saying “The game is on!”, thanks to the eatery’s unceasingly repetitive TV commercials, I don’t know if I would go back after a visit to the Natomas location in May 2014.

Why I may go back – While I was generally impressed by the huge bar area with a standing wall of giant TVs and the beer selection (although I think Sierra Nevada was largely missing), the food is pretty standard for this type of quick-service restaurant and the prices are higher than I think they should be (the Chico menu lists a wing combo at $16.79, otherwise fries and slaw cost extra). Ultimately, there was only one compelling reason why I could become a repeat customer and that’s online pub trivia.

When I dropped by the first time, I was pleasantly surprised to see the old familiar blue consoles of Buzztime trivia. I first played Buzztime when I was living in the Midwest from 2001-05, but no Chico tavern has offered it for more than a decade … until now.

With the blue console, a bar patron plays quick, 20-minute trivia matches with clues broadcast on one or two TVs scattered across the bar. The questions are nearly always multiple choice and the difficulty level is closer to the earlier rounds of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” than “Jeopardy!” After every question, you can see how you’re faring against other barflies. When the round ends, the scores are calculated across North America and you can see your nationwide rank.

There are multiple types of games in the primary trivia channel, but there are other channels including virtual poker. During football season, many sites offer QB1, which allows contestants to win points if they correctly guess the offense’s play.

During my visit, I was the only one really playing trivia (everyone else seemed to be focused on an MMA match featuring a fighter from Sacramento). Still, it was fun to play while I ate and had some soda.

I can get my fix through a number of online and smartphone apps that are available, such as QuizUp, but Buzztime can be a little more sociable as the pacing of the games aren’t rigorous. While you want to ring in promptly when there are questions, there are frequent breaks to continue conversations with your friends (if you have any) and to order more food and drink (which is what I’m sure B-Dubs and other bars want you to do).

Several of my friends and I have gone to live trivia at some Chico restaurants, which is generally fun, but can be quirky. Online trivia like Buzztime is generally available anytime, so it may be easier to get a bunch of friends and just go.

Here’s why I may never go back to Buffalo Wild Wings — the restaurant making Bud Light as its “Beer of the Month” in May 2014.

Why I may never go back – While I was generally uncomfortable with the prices, there was one incredulous discovery that baffled me. As I was leaving, I saw that the restaurant’s “Beer of the Month” for May 2014 was Bud Light.

I’m not a fan of Bud Light (although it’s not unpalatable), but that’s not the primary reason why I was turned off to the point where I may never go back. Bud Light is _the_ most popular beer in America by far. Although sales have reportedly dipped recently, a Vox chart shows it outsold its nearest rival (Coors Light) nearly 3:1 in 2013.

Given such market dominance, Bud Light doesn’t seem to really need to be highlighted as a “Beer of the Month.” It’s a default, go-to beer for a lot of people — you would expect nearly every bar in the country to offer this product. It’s like naming Christmas the Holiday of the Month for December, salt as the Seasoning of the Month or if Little Cesar’s named its ever-available pepperoni pizza as the Pizza of the Month.

One possible factor is that Budweiser’s owner Anheuser-Busch InBev advertises the brand quite heavily. Maybe there was an advertising consideration when Buffalo Wild Wings made such a banal selection for its beer of the month?

If you do choose to sample the exotic and unknown Bud Light, Buffalo Wild Wings offers these tasting notes for the American-style light lager — “Subtle fruity and citrus taste notes with a fast, clean finish.”

The price of this special brew was $4.25 in 2014, which wasn’t too bad, although one may find better deals on far more superior beers elsewhere in Chico.

Postscript - After writing all this, I checked the restaurant’s beer menu and found the _two_ beers of the month:

*sigh* Here are Buffalo Wild Wings’ beers of the month, as seen on Aug. 10, 2015.

It’s disappointing to see Bud Light nab this spotlight again. Buffalo Wild Wings also has an odd definition of “Import,” as Goose Island is a Chicago brewery. It’s worth noting who Goose Island’s owners are — Anheuser-Busch InBev. AB InBev _is_ based in Belgium, so maybe that was a criteria in defining “Import.”

On a slightly positive note, Sam Adams remains its own independent company. At least there’s that, although Sam Adams seems to have similar issues to Bud Light.

I literally spent a day at the circus when we toured the Ringling estate which is the legacy of circus entrepreneur, collector of art and financier John Ringling.  First, we toured “Ca D’Zan” (house of John), a large Venetian-Gothic mansion which strongly reminded me of Hearst Castle with its lavishly decorated rooms and gardens situated right on Sarasota Bay.  This is where Mabel and John (in 1925 one of the 12 richest men in U.S.) entertained friends and dignitaries such as Will Rogers and Flo Ziegfield.

The couple also traveled extensively in Europe and amassed a world class art collection of masterpieces including Rubens, Titian, Velasquez, El Greco and other painters which makes Sarasota a cultural destination.

By Heather Hacking, Chico Enterprise-Record

The home of Bob and Connie Prevot is one of the stops on the Paradise Garden Club tour this weekend. Each of the homeowners on the list has taken steps to save water. Bill Husa — Enterprise-Record

We’re on the verge of another long, hot summer and people seem to be taking water conservation up a notch.

Granted, this is also the first week when we’ll pay penalties if we exceed our new water budgets.

(To check out your personal water budget online, go to: https://usage.calwater.com and punch in your account number).

I know people have been converting their lawns over the past year, but its just now that I’m noticing them left, right and right in front of me.

Several weeks ago we had a follow up visit at UC Davis in Sacramento. With 35 minutes to kill, we decided to take a leisurely stroll and check out some horticultural handiwork.

The folks who live near UC Davis really had their conservation mojo going on. Similar to Chico, towering trees have spent the last 100 years fighting each other for the right to cast shade.

The houses are built close together, with small front yards that end abruptly.

On several blocks we wondered if homeowners had fed on each others’ enthusiasm. Or perhaps there was some neighborly conservation competition.

One small yard was almost completely covered in plants with silver foliage. I looked this up recently and plants with silver and/or fuzzy foliage are often drought tolerant — think lavender, sage, dusty miller.

In the little yard next door, the residents had gone hog-wild with geranium. You guessed it, geranium will do a mighty rebound after being nearly killed by lack of water.

A few more yards down the way and we spotted a yard in that unfortunate stage of drought conversion. I’m less than thrilled by yards covered in a thick layer of bark and just a few baby drought-tolerant plants.

Much better was the nearby bark-covered yard with interesting large ceramic containers overflowing with ornamental grasses.

On our way back to the hospital we saw a yard with a fabulously lush lawn.

The green space was so green I stopped to make fun of it, and to take pictures.

We’re in a drought, right? Nobody has lawn like this anymore, except maybe at Disneyland.

When we got close, we learned this was high-quality “AstroTurf,” lawn carpet, plastic greenery. When we lingered longer, we saw that the same synthetic grass was placed in the strip between the sidewalk and the street. One more fantastically fake touch was plastic no-mow along the driveway near the house. Instead of driveway strips of grass, these clever folks had placed greener-than-life carpet strips.

 

CASH FOR GRASS

CalWater has announced a $1 a square-foot lawn replacement program (see important details online:https://calwater-turf.droplet.us). I’m excited to see what people come up with for their yards in Chico.

Maybe we’ll see more yards like that one on Citrus with the bowling balls.

I’m wondering if those cacti qualify as “climate appropriate plants.

If you’re interested in seeing more drought tolerant yards closer to home, the Paradise Garden Club is holding their annual yard tour Saturday and Sunday. Read more details: http://goo.gl/C9iMzq

Even my father has gotten into the drought act.

He moved into a fantastic new house a while ago. Being the gracious adult child that I am, I have been giving him a hard time about his lush new yard.

The former homeowner obviously loved the place. In her cleverness, each season produces a new batch of flowers along walkways and terraces.

I was mostly kidding with Dad, but it seemed like he had more plants than your average home. Down the street the (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation flood control) lake was several feet lower each time I visited.

I understand Dad’s rationale. The landscaping is beautiful and the yard is part of the reason he loves his new house. Should he sacrifice this fine feature the very first year he moves in?

That’s a tough choice.

This most recent visit I was pleased to see Dad bragging bout the mound of mulch he had spread throughout his beautiful terraces.

I’ll try to restrain myself and not ask him whether he is living within his new state-mandated water budget.

Contact reporter Heather Hacking at 896-7758.

By Heather Hacking, Chico Enterprise-Record

This bed liner was laying around pretty much serving no purpose.Contributed photo

I don’t know about you, but I’m not particularly fond of living within a budget.

My boyfriend will confirm that I also do not particularly enjoy being told what to do.

Beginning with our next water bills, all households in California will have a new “water budget.”

None of this should be a big surprise, because the entire state has been talking about water, and the lack thereof, for several years.

What’s new is that we will have an actual number; we can officially see the expectation the leaders of California have for our particular family.

I think I’m not boasting by saying I’m doing my part. I write all these drought tips, and it would feel hypocritical not to live (mostly) by the words I write.

If Gov. Brown was going door-to-door handing out gold stars, I think we’d get a shiny sticker at our house.

If Gov. Brown asked to use our bathroom we would also politely ask him to take it outside.

There he would find that half our lawn is the tawny color of the summer hills of Zamora, and the remainder of the lawn is watered once a week.

Change in plans

My beau and I talked about not having a garden this year. That’s how I remember the conversation.

We already have too many plants.

If we grew tomatoes, for example, we would only grow a few bowls from a few plants.

We like going to the farmers market. We can buy vegetables at the market.

Let’s leave it to the pros.

However, one day we were innocently visiting Costco for free snacks on a Friday and three one-gallon tomato plants fell into the cart.

What would fresh, home-grown tomatoes be without some fresh basil? The best way to have fresh basil is to grow it right outside the front door.

One jalapeño in a pot would really make the ensemble. Its just one more plant, which can be watered when we are hitting the tomato plants with the water saved from rinsing vegetables in the sink.

Right?

One day I spent the day away from the house and returned to find a garden bed filled with soil.

The “bed’ is actually the black plastic bed liner of an old diesel truck.

For a variety of reasons, we had one of these black plastic containers sitting on the tawny, dry portion of the lawn.

My guy is right, of course. If we’re planting tomatoes, jalapeños and basil in pots, we might as well have some squash and eggplant in another (large) container.

We also hope the bed liner will solve the problem of the overabundance of moles, gophers and voles in the yard. Unless the feline unit picks up these critters and gingerly sets them inside the new garden bed, the underground intruders should stay away from the new raised soil.

To help with drainage, my guy placed the bed liner at a slight angle, elevated on an old railroad tie (see pictures).

We’ll see how it all goes. So far, there are no drainage holes in the bottom and we’ve been watering just enough that no water runs down the empty side of the bed liner.

After looking at the photos, I realize we also need to cover the soil with a thick layer of mulch.

Right now, the bed liner is only half-way full. We’ll see if we have enough self control to leave it that way.

For more inane prattle, check out my blog at www.norcalblogs.com/sowthere. Other contacts, @HeatherHacking on Twitter and Facebook.

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 Queen played on the airwaves as I drove my nervous 9th grader, Maggie, to her first symphonic band concert. She’s a rookie bassoonist.

QUEEN: “Is this the real life, is this just fantasy….”
ME: Have you heard this song?
MAGGIE: Bohemian Ras-pody?
ME: Bohemian Rhapsody. It’s a classic.
MAGGIE: Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fangango?
ME: Thunderbolt and lightening, very, very frightening, me!
MAGGIE: Galileo, (Galileo), Galileo, (Galileo)
ME: [Directing orchestra, playing air guitar]
MAGGIE: [Giggling]
ME: You and your oboe will be fine.

MAGGIE: I play the bassoon!

ME: Oh yeah…

Maggie played great at her debut.  Afterwards, a smile stretched from ear to ear.  For future performances listening to Queen may become our routine.
###

Maggie, Kate and I piled into the car for a drive to the Sunday matinee.  Eric Clapton’s “Layla” blared over the speakers.

KIDS: Wow, that’s good, excellent chord progression.
ME: You like that?
KIDS: Turn it up, the piano is awesome.  Who is that?
ME: It’s Eric Clapton, a British guy.
KIDS: Is he new?
ME: If you’re 80 he is.
KIDS: ??
ME: He’s nearly as old as Grandpa.
KIDS: That old?
ME: Clapton released Layla in 1972, I think.
KIDS: You sure had good music back then.

My kids are in a stage where hanging out with their dad is no longer cool, other than occasionally going to a movie. Other dads cautioned me this would happen.  But, they tell me, the phase will eventually end. At least they recognize classic artists when they hear them.
Should Eric Clapton or Queen ever read this post I just want to say THANKS.  You helped me break out of the “un-cool-dad-box” for at least a few minutes.  Parents, can you relate?

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Readers, feel free to visit my main Etc.Guy site too.

Our group piled into a gondola for a breathtaking roundtrip ride on the aerial tramway to the summit of Mt. Komagatake for a panoramic view of the surroundingmountains including Mt. Fuji before we had a cruise on Lake Ashi.

The grand finale was riding on a Shinkansen (famous “bullet” train with speeds up to 270 mph) back to Tokyo in 30 minutes.

I would like to return to the “Land of the Rising Sun” for a longer visit.

By Heather Hacking, Chico Enterprise-Record

What’s not to love about a love patchwork fence? The artwork is easy to spot right outside Bitz Haley’s kitchen window.Heather Hacking—Enterprise-Record

I’m learning a thing or two about yard transformations. Just like changing the color of our hair or buying a red, racetrack-ready convertible, changes to our exterior living spaces can be an astounding expression of (new) self.

When I was hoping to buy a house last year I read that the majority of changes to a home take place within the first year of ownership.

The remaining changes take place in a scramble, one month before the home is about to be sold again.

That’s a shame because change is good to mix things up.

Bitz Haley invited me to her cool new/old house where she has worked and worked and worked over the past two years.

I frequently spot yards being converted to drought gardens. Some of these are just plain ugly.

I know, I know … the one-gallon lavender and six packs of Dusty Miller will one day be large and wondrous, billowing in the summer breeze. Yet, it’s hard to visualize the future when that pile of wood chips is blocking my mental view.

Bitz’s yard has had time to fill in, with flowers, long stalks of grass and silvery leaves, many of them billowing in the breeze.

About two years ago she decided to take on the project. When she spotted plants she liked while driving around, she’d stop the car and snap a photo. Then she asked nice folks at nurseries to help her find those plants.

As she had hoped, these plants are doing well including rose of Sharon, cypress, bottle brush, tall billowy grasses and flowers for which she has mostly forgotten the names.

She’s able to water them all by hand.

The garden areas are mulched with wood chips. For the paths, she picked smaller, smooth stones suitable for bare feet. The stones are kept in place with four-inch wood rounds cut in half. She had a lot of help from her friend Tom, who literally helped move the rocks, and also allowed her to gather rocks from his property in the foothills.

At the back of the yard, closest to the house, is a round labyrinth. The foundation is red lava rock with alternating round and elongated stones creating the walkways. The last brick of the maze was installed 11-12-2013, which is also the same day her grandson was born.

Bitz has crafted intriguing attractions here and there, including a wooden bench almost hidden in a corner. A small tree threatens to someday shade the resting spot.

The back yard is green and lush, although even this is mostly an illusion.

Pavers were professionally installed and she invested in shade structures for an outdoor dining area. Numerous garden beds are covered with mulch. After two years, her bushes are reaching maturity.

In several other planting areas she has lush, green, no-mow faux lawn.

The good stuff isn’t cheap, but Bitz found a landscape store selling some scraps. She as able to piece together the shapes she needed.

She said the fake grass is very much like carpet, and she sweeps away the leaves in the fall.

In one corner, she has a child’s swing hanging from a tree, and an adult’s hammock in the shade of the same branches.

Along the once-dowdy fence outside Bitz’s kitchen window is a crazy-colored “patchwork fence.”

When she turned 50, friends came over to paint the fence. Each friend or family member had their own fence slat, or two if they really had something important to draw or say.

Mostly people used the space to tell Bitz they loved her.

Windows over the kitchen sink are often aimed at the most beautiful part of the yard. For Bitz, her love mural is indeed the most beautiful.

For more inane prattle, check out my blog at www.norcalblogs.com/sowthere. Other contacts, @HeatherHacking on Twitter and Facebook.

Our bus stopped at the 1st station to get a sunny view of Mt. Fujiyama where we learned that this active volcano with a large crater is 12,365 feet high and the last eruption was 300 years ago.  At the 5th station, Hiro told us about some of the people who climb to the top of Fuji:  Shinto pilgrims; many other visitors from 9 years olf to one man who was 103; and even famous dignitaries including Jimmy Carter.

Last summer I planted a six-pack of Vinca rosea in a big, thin metal bucket near the front door.

Vinca rosea is one of my go-to summer flowers and thrives despite the heat.

By now, I know this plant pretty well. When the cold nips at the doorstep, these summer stand-outs turns black and die.

Yet, these particular plants did not die. There were times I could have tossed the plants on the compost pile, but they seemed just barely alive.

In early spring I watched them struggle back to life, and now they have a prominent spot on the picnic table.

Other plants have died just as mysteriously as the Vinca rosea have lived.

THE YEAR IN POTS

Most of my plants are in pots this year and I’m trying to grab some knowledge quickly so I don’t kill them.

Drought-tolerant plants tend to have certain features, including fuzzy leaves, silver foliage, succulents, waxy leaves and long taproots, a website called Enjoy Container Gardening explains, http://goo.gl/9yZxdT

Dusty miller, for example, has silvery, fuzzy leaves. Now I know why it has survived in my garden.

Other fuzzy plants include lamb’s ear and that wild plant in Paradise with hot pink flowers that looks a lot like lamb’s ear.

It makes sense that silvery plants are drought-tolerant, as this category includes sage, salvia, lavender.

Some other specifics in the article are sunflowers, sedum, zinnia and geraniums.

Note, most of the plants in my pots do not have these drought-tolerant attributes.

What goes in the pot

I’m no expert on planting in pots. However, I have read numerous times not to use dirt from the yard.

You would think that buying potting soil would do the trick. However, the texture just seems wrong to me.

During my time off from work I chatted with Bob Scoville, one of the valiant crew with the Glenn County Master Gardener Program (865-1110).

He said he has heard to add perlite to pots as a soil amendment, to help with water retention.

Perlite is white and is actually a volcanic glass. It holds water and water-soluble nutrients. Bob said it is known to improve the “tilth” of soil.

Tilth? What the heck does that mean?

Bob chuckled.

Tilth is a word that appears on the first page of Bob’s Master Gardener’ handbook.

He said its hard to define, but easier to see and feel.

“Good tilth – you’re able to grasp it in your hand,” and it will be firm, but not soggy, workable but not solid.

“When you have really good soil you know what it feels like in your hand,” Bob said with a flair for soil romanticism.

“Tilth is the word that describes that feeling you have as you feel it in your hand,” he said, confusing me all the more.

However, I knew I wanted tilth. I wanted tilth badly.

He started to describe the 12 major USDA soil classifications. I noted I had surgery recently and did not have the mental stamina for an extended soil lecture.

Instead, we focused on the merits of coffee grounds as a soil amendment.

Bob read an article recently in Sunset Magazine (http://goo.gl/rEJHBS) that raved about coffee grounds.

The Sunset folks say coffee grounds contain phosphorous, potassium, magnesium and copper.

In addition to improving tilth, coffee grounds provide a small amount of slow-release nitrogen, Bob continued, which is good for his citrus plants.

It would seem natural that if coffee grounds are good, ground coffee would be event better. Bob fielded this questions from a gardener, and explained to her it doesn’t work that way. Running water through the grounds leaches out salts that are bad for plants.

One can only imagine how those salts react in our human bodies.

Bob said when he makes a pot of coffee at home, he scoops out the grounds and adds the dark stuff just a few inches under the soil near his plants.

I’m doing the same with my potted plants. We’ll see how much tilth happiness this brings.

For more inane prattle, check out my blog at www.norcalblogs.com/sowthere. Other contacts, @HeatherHacking on Twitter and Facebook.

Before we climbed the steps to the Asakusa Kannon Temple, the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo, we saw little girls celebrating their 5th birthday dressed up in kimonos and little boys in Shogun outfits celebrating their 7th.  Shoguns were military rulers appointed by the Emperor.

Our day ended with a Sukiyaki dinner followed by a performance of an all male cast in brightly colored make-up, wigs and gorgeous costumes portraying a classic Japanese tale accompanied by traditional musical instruments in the Kabuki Theater.

Teddy Roosevelt, 1858 to 1919 (26th President of the United States, 1901 to 1909)

1. Cam-buckles and tie straps. These range in length from 12 inches to 24 feet.  They’re handy to secure loads for camping or landfill trips.  Cam buckles eliminate the need for dads to tie sophisticated knots which just frustrate us.  Color coded straps are best.  We’d rather spend time strapping things than untangling straps.  Find ’em at Northwest River Supplies.

2. 2. Any Husqvarna (Husky) product…weed-eaters, lawnmowers, chainsaws…doesn’t matter. Dads like making noise.  Noise empowers.  Noise means we’re productive.  Husky products help dads tame artificial and natural environments.    Lawns.  Gardens.  Forests.  My Husky two-wheel-drive mower can pull a water skier. My Husky chainsaw cuts through engine blocks.  My Husky weed-eater has more power than a Toyota Prius.  Husky products are made in Sweden, a country the size of California, with the top half stuck above the Arctic Circle.  If Sweden was closer to the USA we’d be driving Husqvarna cars.   Shop Husqvarna without buying a ticket to Lapland.
3. A Porsche. Any size, color, model, doesn’t matter.  ‘Nuff said. Buy dad a Porsche on-line.

4. A Volkswagen Bus Tent. Great for camping or set up as patio man-caves.  Comes with guy ropes.  If you don’t know what guy ropes are for that’s okay.  Guys will figure it out. Search Skymall Magazine for that perfect VW tent or other weird stuff.

5. 5. Stanley Thermos. No matter how destructive your dad is, these steel gauge military grade thermoses are bomb-proof and idiot-proof.  Great for storing coffee, soup, or use as a temporary wheel chock.  The only drawback—they don’t float.  I’ve had the same Stanley Thermos over 20 years (and cleaned it twice).
7. Time with their kid. Really kids, dads don’t need anything but time with you.  Forget ties or soap-on-a-rope.  Let’s just hang out at a ballgame.  But if you want to get us a Porsche that’s entirely fine.

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If your dad reads, consider getting a copy of “Let Me Tell You a Story,” written by a married dad with teenage daughters.  He’s trapped in a house full of estrogen but lives to tell the story.  The book is written in short, choppy English sentences chock-full of one syllable words.    Whether your dad is from Japan, Germany, or Georgia, he’ll be entertained.  Available at the Etc. Guy store.   Be sure to join the Etc. Guy Facebook page too and LIKE it.

Tokyo started as a fortress on the water for the Edo dynasty and has grown to be the largest city in the world with 12 million people.  The Tokyo Tower is a prominent landmark and is 12 meters taller than its Eiffel Tower counterpart in Paris.

Author’s Note 11 June 2015, Noon

Dear Readers,

I just got into town. Out at camp, reviewing this blog, I found, as usual typos and incomplete thoughts. I’m going through it now to fix the boo-boos and by using “[ ]” am entering a sort of running commentary on my own work, something I’ve not tried before. Minimizing the editorial additions, longer commentary will be included in a companion blog essay to be published next week, “Tommy Diestel: Writer for ‘Synethisis’, Chico Native Son and Great Friend”.

As I’ve written, blogdom is a totally new experience for me. I appreciate your patience and  feedback.

Peace,

Don

I had been admitted to the the Bum Suite of Enloe Hospital which is located on the roof next to the heliport. It’s a bit noisy at times, but, hey, bum beggars can’t be choosers. I like the mural wallpaper depicting woods, streams, blue skies, mountains and meadows.

My symptoms were severe nausea and dizziness, sweats, headaches, high fever and uncontrollable trembling.

The examining physician stood before me looking grim with several interns surrounding my bed. “I’m afraid, Don,” he began, “We have good news and bad news.”

“The bad news is that we’ve determined the source of your illness, an acute case of S-F Syndrome and have sent your blood work to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta,” he continued.

“Oh, my goodness, Doctor, what is S-F syndrome?” I asked.

“We’re seeing a lot of it in Chico,” the Doc responded. “It’s caused from reading the Chico News and Review’s editor, Melissa Daugherty’s column, Fifth and Flume, hence, ‘Double F-Syndrome’.

“And the good news, Doc?” I asked, devastated.

“The cure is simple: plenty of fluids and stop reading the CN&R,” he said with a reassuring smile.

Just kidding.

Ba da bump.

[The above joke — and humor, particularly my humor often misfires — is in no way meant to be a slam against Enloe. In subsequent blogs, I will detail my experiences there as a patient and as a witness. Superb treatment.]

Melissa Daugherty represents a dearth of editorial sophistication and professional prowess grievously bereft of journalistic ethics. In her approximately two years as editor-in-chief of the Chico News and Review her style can be easily construed as censoring and racist.

Daugherty has her hand out begging us to support the CNR’s arm of the non-profit North Valley Community Foundation stating that her publication is “…a go-to source for investigative journalism…” and that it is a “community watchdog”. Chico begs to differ.

She is asking her readers to hire an ‘investigate journalist’ whom she will oversee.

Daugherty reminds us ad nauseum that she is a product of Chico State University as if that means she’s smart. Instead of learning the standard five Ws of journalism — who, what, where, why and when — Daugherty only seems to know I, I, I, I and I. She doesn’t show. She tells us what to think.

In any investigative process, one should be concerned with facts and patterns.

In her disappearance of Anthony Peyton Porter, the revered nearly nine year CNR ‘From the Edge’ columnist, she hasn’t had the decency to explain to her readers her decision to ban it without warning.

Anthony Peyton Porter, as photographed by Carolina Rios

According to Porter, he received an email from Daugherty, “Call me, and I’m sure you’re wise enough to know what this about.” His last three submissions to the CNR had been rejected, including one titled “Censorship”.

Similarly, Daugherty, in rejecting an essay I wrote on being a bum, sent emails stating that I am “too close to homelessness” and lecturing, “You were the editor of a newspaper.”

Porter is black. I am brown. Twice constitutes a pattern, a swatch of racism.

Of the last 10 covers of the CNR, whenever a photo illustration is of people, they are always white as are most of those in inside photos and ads. In the last 10 ‘Street Talk” columns, of the 47 individuals featured, only nine appear to be of color.

Race matters.

I was never the editor of a newspaper, as Daugherty who has a disregard for facts, states. I was publisher and majority shareholder of the ‘Tahoe Reader’ and what I learned was Freedom of the Press belongs to those who own one.

As a former newspaper publisher, the problem at the CNR could be that its publisher is largely absentee, rarely in Chico and unaware that Double-F syndrome is dumbing-down its victims.

Daugherty implies that there is something progressive about the CNR. Truly liberal publications do not depend largely on advertisers who hawk alcohol, fast food, firearms, gambling or unsafe sexual practices. Nor do they utilize thinly-veiled marketing ploys such as the CNR’s ‘Best of Chico’ (inferring the rest of us are less) or events such as ‘Keep Chico Weird’. Take a peek in your looking glass, Daugherty.

She holds her Chico State education like a defensive crucifix, telling us what ‘real’ and ‘legitimate’ publications are, forecasting the demise of the Enterprise-Record as she dons her dancing shoes. Is she the best CSU has to offer?

The same can be said for the CNR’s news editor, Tom Gascoyne who teaches journalism at Butte College. He had befriended me as his token bum friend, superficially interested in what I had to say.

But then he dumped me without explanation and, literally crosses the street when he sees me coming. What a schmuck. He is the best Butte College has to offer?

The CNR continues to stereotype homelessness, acting as a virtual public relations/fundraising arm for the status quo of homeless politics, seldom looking below the surface.

Daugherty overreaches in referring to herself as an ‘outlier’ in her support of a downtown casino admitting she’s never actually been in Chico’s Casino 99 [actually, she wrote that she had never played cards inside a casino, not specifically casino 99. Unlike Daugherty, I believe printing corrections are important, ethical]. Does downtown need more problems? Is she just grasping for ad revenue?

If Melissa Daugherty is an outlier, then I’m a crazy bum who lives in the woods. Oh. Wait.

She writes that no one at the CNR is ‘tap-dancing’ on the grave of ‘Synthesis’ (which was simply brilliant) while she does a two-step stomp on the recently folded publication. Why?

Could it be that its editor, Amy Sandoval wrote circles around her and rescued the CNR’s ­black-listed Porter?

Daugherty infers that Synthesis’ large list of contributors weren’t ‘real’ writers because they were often paid with Madison Bear Garden and Duffy Bucks. Will she be willing to provide full disclosure financial statements of her non-profit grasp for funding? Will she provide donation refunds if the endeavor fails?

Should Madison Bear Garden and Duffy’s reconsider their advertising placement?

The cover illustration of the last issue of ‘Synthesis’ was simply brilliant, worthy of a New Yorker magazine cover: carved out of stone a newspaper vending machine stands angled on a white field, its screen cracked with “1994 – 2015” underneath.

[In my next blog, I’ll go on a bit more about the connectedness ‘Synthesis’ had to Chico. I really miss it.]

In the publishing trades, publications like the CNR are thought of as a free weekly advertising rag with light filler. In a recent column Daugherty bragged that a particularly obnoxious column of hers regarding her son, Henry had won some sort of vanity award.

In the piece she relates coming across unnamed staff in an unnamed grocery store telling jokes Daugherty found offensive and, on the spot, in her high and mighty tone, berated them.

She doesn’t name them to silence their voice. In investigation journalism you do your best to represent all sides. Did she not name the grocery store to protect ad revenue?

She’s way into putting people down like former Mayor Mary Goloff who Daugherty, in her consistent exhibitions of a lack of social skills and grace, kept kicking in column after column even when it was announced that Goloff was seriously ill.

Where’s your sisterhood, Sistuh?

It’s ironic that in considering the Enterprise-Record’s offer to me to write for them, that one of my hesitations was that Daugherty once worked there and I feared her mean-spiritedness might be systemic. It’s not.

Melissa Daugherty writes blithely from her white ivory tower office that it is ‘chilly’. Has it ever occurred to her that the rejecting and censoring frost of her public personality is pushing back?

-30-

I’ll be writing more of the CNR and its travesty of reporting in future blogs. The misinformation it provides our community is unconscionable not just from a journalistic sense, but in a moral sense as well. I’ll also be publishing the complete email correspondence between Daugherty and me as well as the list of questions the Jesus Center and Torres Shelter did not answer.

In a separate forthcoming blog, I’ll also publish the essay the CNR REFUSED TO PUBLISH!

As for the writers besides Daugherty and Gascoyne at the CNR, you’re only as good as your editors. Look at where I landed.

NOTE: The “-30-” above is an arcane journalistic (I’m an old writer) feature to denote ‘The End’. I don’t know if it’s still in common use.

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