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Posts published in May 2015

Valley People (May 27, 2015)

AN ANXIOUS BBC PROGRAMMER called early Monday morning looking for Steve Sparks who has become something of an international sports celebrity as he visits his ancestral home in Birmingham, England.

Terror In the Vineyard

The Piffero Vineyard was the scene of a benign birthday party that ended unbenignly with the police shooting of Timothy Abshire. On the afternoon of Last November 15th last year, Abshire walked out of his…

Turning Water Into Wine

The unregulated expansion of California’s wine industry into the state’s coastal regions is depleting groundwater supplies and devastating rivers and fisheries. Along the border of Sonoma and Napa counties, roughly seven miles northeast of Santa…

Bird’s Eye View (May 27, 2015)

You may recall that, about six months ago, a Fox News “terrorist expert” claimed that Britain’s second biggest city, Birmingham, was “a totally Muslim city and a no-go area for non-Muslims.” American author Steve Emerson eventually apologized for his stupid remarks but not before they had sparked a national outrage across the UK and Prime Minister David Cameron had called Emerson “a complete idiot.”

Off the Record (May 27, 2015)

SOPORIFIC HEADLINE from Monday's Press Democrat: "Leon Panetta speaks at Rep. Mike Thompson celebration." Leon Panetta. Mike Thompson. The appearance of Panetta's name alone is like someone's just slammed a chloroformed sock down over my…

What Do Mendo Businesses Want?

In April, the Employers Council of Mendocino County published their Fourth Annual Business Conditions Survey inviting "the business community" — 142 businesses to be precise — "to answer ten pre-prepared questions about business performance, hiring,…

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