Notebook: It happens in SBC
Pass the spinach.
Rep. Sam Farr (D-Monterey) tried to stage a public
spinach-eating news conference to demonstrate that the leafy greens
are safe following a nationwide E. coli outbreak. But he scrapped
his plan after he could not find any in local grocery stores.
Notebook: It happens in SBC
Pass the spinach.
Rep. Sam Farr (D-Monterey) tried to stage a public spinach-eating news conference to demonstrate that the leafy greens are safe following a nationwide E. coli outbreak. But he scrapped his plan after he could not find any in local grocery stores.
Farr had wanted to try to persuade consumers it is safe again to eat spinach from the Salinas Valley, which was one of the likely sources of contaminated spinach that sickened 187 people in 26 states.
“The good news is that spinach is able to be sold in the markets,”‘ Farr said. “The bad news is if the markets aren’t selling it. One of the efforts that we talked about is how do we regain consumer confidence.”
For the record, the USDA cleared fresh spinach for human consumption last Friday. Now just try to find it.
A statesman speaks
John Garamendi (yes, THAT John Garamendi) dropped by the offices of The Pinnacle not long ago, and brought with him a deep breath of fresh air.
Currently serving as the California state insurance commissioner, Garamendi is a career politician who speaks with refreshing candor and offers up good ideas like after-dinner mints.
His career has led him to a run this November for California lieutenant governor, the second highest elected office in the state behind the governor. His opponent is state Sen. Tom McClintock, a 19-year veteran of the Legislature who has earned a well-deserved reputation as a tax slasher.
We don’t get too many upper echelon politicos dropping by for bad coffee and a visit, and it was a treat to get reacquainted with Garamendi. He was in the neighborhood because he had just finished presiding over the opening of an office in Salinas, part of a program he assembled to offer affordable auto insurance for low-income drivers. Eventually, the program will be offered here as well.
It’s just one accomplishment in a successful reign as insurance czar. On his watch, workers’ comp claims are down 55.5 percent, saving California businesses $10 billion a year. While McClintock’s been tarred as a dedicated partisan, Garamendi’s worked effectively with governors from both major parties.
Should Garamendi land in the lieutenant governor’s office, he looks like the fair-haired boy for a Democratic Party run at the governor’s office down the road. You read it here first.
I thunk it was OK
File this one under the category of even if you don’t like Mexicans or Mexican-Americans, or women for that matter, your last functioning brain cell should be shouting at you to keep your yap shut.
If allegations made by the federal government against Morgan Hill business owner Chuck Trimble are true, his “don’t say it” button must be malfunctioning.
Trimble allegedly made frequent, if not daily, comments to his female employees on the size of their breasts. If Trimble’s mammary critiques weren’t bad enough, they were often followed up with female employees being referred to as “bitches,” according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Making matters worse, Chuck is no hourly stiff at Sharp Precision Manufacturing. He’s the president and chief executive officer. A CEO who apparently believes those of Mexican ancestry are good enough to make him a profit but beneath the level of deserving respect.
How else would you interpret his alleged reference to Hispanic employees as “beaners” and “wetbacks”?
The business is Sharp Manufacturing, spelled S-H-A-R-P, apparently unlike its CEO.
Sometimes things go right
Take a drive through downtown Gilroy – if you dare. An attempt to revitalize the nearby city’s downtown is closing full blocks at a time.
Back home in Hollister, which already got gussied up with some designer sidewalks, fresh streetside greenery and benches that invite lingering, work’s been going on along Fifth and East streets. The reason for the work is to provide updated electrical service to the old Elks Lodge at Fifth and San Benito.
The building, owned by Vault Restaurant owner and political candidate Ignacio Velazquez, sat vacant, windows papered over for a long time. But like the ugly duckling, it’s emerging from its long sleep and has become a downtown darling.
Upstairs areas are renovated and in use as offices, while work on the ground floor continues. But the best part of the renovation is the way it’s being handled. As the utilities are updated, crews have been careful to minimize chaos at neighboring businesses. Nice work, guys.
