As I've posted before, I've been working for the last year plus to lay the groundwork for a better contractor selection process for Phase 2 of the NCC Expansion Project.

Yesterday, The Union published a story implying that a contractor had already been selected for Phase 2, which was incorrect (an honest misunderstanding). Ironically, in the same newspaper, our ad appeared requesting submittals from local contractors seeking qualification to bid on the project.

The Union was kind enough to print an updated story this morning correcting the issue (rather than one of those 3-point-type Page 2 corrections that nobody reads).

“There wasn’t enough Nevada County involvement in phase one,” Klein said. “It’s the local community’s money and we want to keep it there,” he said, referring to the $47 million bond that county voters approved in 2004 for the project.

» Read the Article

As you know, Brian Jagger, Chief of Staff to Supervisor Kirk Uhler, wrote a play called The Interviews, which stars his boss, the Supervisor.

After selling out some six shows, they’ve added two more…get your tickets at www.PlacerTheater.com!

I installed Windows 7 about a week ago. It really does rock…I've been very impressed.

Now, it appears Microsoft has learned how to make an engaging ad. If they keep this up, and even learn how to move beyond "adorable" to "hip, funny and irreverent"…they may be back.

One example: the old Microsoft would have told her to say "I plug this USB cable into the correct port." The new Microsoft lets her say "I plug this thingie in here."

Congratulations to Sierra College Dean of Athletics John Volek on his election to the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics board!

John Volek, Sierra College’s dean of physical education and athletics, will be contributing his expertise on a national level.

Volek has been elected by his peers to serve on the executive committee of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics for the next four years. He’ll represent California and 11 other western states.

» Read the Article

A local investment advisor penned the following "note to clients", and I have to assume he limited the distribution list to the ones with a sense of humor.

As the invisible hand of our free market is replaced by the strong and inflexible arm of government, investment strategies must be reevaluated.

I have to apologize to my clients.  Though I have been vigilant in teaching sound principles of asset allocation and the importance of a well diversified portfolio, I completely failed to include in my portfolios the element of irresponsibility.  By not instructing you to buy a house you could not possibly afford I caused you to miss out on perhaps the most profitable investment of the last 6 years, a government bailout.  My sincerest apologies, I hope this oversight is not sufficient to lose your trust as I watch over your investments.  Please know that for the future I have adopted a policy of having at least a small portion of every portfolio I manage in the most irresponsible investment available; this hedge will ensure your position to take advantage of future government handouts and bailouts.

I did an interview with KNCO's Dixie Redfearn the other day…

Sierra College's $100 million budget is balanced and College Trustee Aaron Klein says that's because four years ago the 7-member Board of Trustees made a concerted effort to not overspend…Klein described the Board of Trustees and college president as "all rowing in the same direction." He says community colleges are even more vital in this economy because they can provide inexpensive retraining so people can get jobs.

To the dissenters, it should be noted that the complete quote was "all rowing in the same direction, for the most part." So don't worry, I didn't forget about you.

This is part two of a three part series that Dixie did. You can follow her on Twitter by clicking here.

» Read the Article

I wasn't there, but I'm told by numerous friends that California Insurance Commissioner and 2010 Gubernatorial Candidate Steve Poizner gave a rollicking speech tonight in Sacramento.

"The state budget today is more than 40 percent higher than it was just five years ago.  Over these same five years, the state has added more than 56,000 employees to the government payroll.  Yet even with the economy in trouble, some politicians seem more intent on protecting those government jobs rather than saving the private-sector jobs that just keep vanishing."

» Read the Entire Speech

For any of you who are as thrilled as I am with spending $2 trillion dollars of our kids' money to try and buy our way to prosperity…

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs this morning offered to buy him a cup of coffee and try to explain the President's plan…but he said he'd only buy decaf.

Well, the Republicans and Democrats in the California State Legislature have punted again. The day of reckoning for California’s unending hunger for more spending is pushed off to the future — which means, when it comes, it will be all the more painful when it arrives.

Let’s review…

• We passed $14 billion in new taxes that won’t actually generate $14 billion in revenue. Why? Just look back to the 1990s when this happened under Governor Wilson. They raised income taxes by $5 billion, and the amount of revenue that actually came in went down by $1 billion. A $6 billion hole!

  So I predict right now: we will be right back in this situation in 6 to 9 months, dealing with the possibility of huge spending cuts, or even more job-killing tax increases.

• Spending has grown by 40%+ in the last four years. Sit back for a second and think about that. Is that a sustainable practice?
• For all of the pain of these tax increases, which will hurt California families and drive jobs and growth out of our state, we still didn’t close the structural deficit. We borrow $11.4 billion dollars to fund overspending for the next 18 months.
• And the most ridiculous thing of all is that these tax increases will hurt the most vulnerable and needy in our state. This may be the most regressive tax increase in the history of California…one family I know calculates $3,000 in new taxes. My numbers show that I’ll pay $985 more, and $1,200 more once my daughter arrives. (That’s right — your federal taxes DROP when you have a kid, but this new tax increase HIKES your taxes the more kids you have.)

Now, I’ll try and put my optimistic hat on. If there are a few bright rays of sunshine in this budget deal, here they are:

• I applaud the Governor and legislative leaders for understanding that community colleges are one of the few areas of government spending that can actually have a positive impact on economic growth, by equipping people to create and fill new jobs, start businesses, and fuel an economic recovery. Other than the long-term effects of delaying the day of reckoning, this budget made community college education a priority.

• We may get a real spending cap that stops the out-of-control politicians from spending like drunken sailors in the good times, and raising our taxes and depressing economic growth in the bad times. If that actually passes (hard to say, and perhaps even a long shot), it may actually put California’s budget on a sustainable track for the first time in a very long time.

How specifically will this budget affect Sierra College, and what is our outlook for the next fiscal year? I’ll tackle that in another post in the next few days.

The Sacramento Bee has refused to endorse me in both of my races. I’ve won both times. In this last election, they used the editorial page to pointedly attack me and call for my ouster. Instead, I won by seven points district-wide, and in one of their highest readership areas (Sun City Roseville), I won by a whopping twenty points.

Let’s hope the same thing happens with this latest barrage from the Bee. Have you ever heard of a newspaper sending an “action alert” asking citizens to call a legislator and demand that he vote for higher taxes and a budget deficit? And only in the SacBee’s world can they justify this deficit-ridden deal as “heroic”!

Frankly, I’m thankful that my senator has the good sense to hold out for a better deal that can make California competitive again. Dave has always been a strong supporter of community colleges, and I trust him to do the right thing. The Sacramento Bee should go back to reporting the news.