Reporter's Notebook published on Dec. 17, 2011

“Even if it’s as simple as sitting down to dinner with the governor and talking about the new AB 109 regulations ... He listens and we know he listens because when he makes a speech later that night he mentions Del Norte County, so we know it’s on his brain and we are going to keep it there,” Finigan said.

Finigan paraphrased his perception of the governor’s attitude over a shared meal: “He loves county people and doesn’t like city people. Of course, that was after a couple glasses of wine.”

Supervisor Mike Sullivan was also at the conference.

“To give you an idea, the rest of us were sitting at a table behind the governor and Dave was sitting at the table with the governor,” Sullivan said. 

— Emily Jo Cureton

Why Bruins are bald

At the Del Norte-Brookings boys varsity basketball game Thursday night during the 2011 Del Norte Warrior Classic, a number of Bruins players and coaches had shaved heads.

This was done in support of  No. 3, Tyler Wood, the senior starting shooting guard for Brookings.

Wood was recently diagnosed with cancer and had surgery to remove a tumor. He is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments but is still able to compete.

In a show of unity for Wood,  six of his fellow Bruins and two members of the coaching staff shaved their heads Monday night.

— Bill Choy

No rubber-stamping here

The first meeting of the new Del Norte Solid Waste Authority Board was contentious from the beginning, when even approving the minutes of a previous meeting proved difficult.

County supervisor and board member Gerry Hemmingsen abstained from the voting to approve the minutes, saying he wasn’t at the previous meeting. Board members Mike Sullivan and Charles Slert followed suit.

After supervisor and board member Martha McClure said being present at the meeting was not necessary to approve the minutes unless they were being contested, the three voted “yes.”

Later, there was contention over the fact that residents don’t have to pay for disposal of fluorescent bulbs, while businesses do.

Hemmingsen  drew a connection between the local fluorescent bulb disposal program and the phasing out of incandescent bulbs statewide.

“We’ve had this advocacy going for fluorescent because they’re energy saving, and yet it cost us” more to dispose, he said.

“That was not us,” said Kevin Hendrick, executive director of the authority. “We’re not advocating for fluorescents as an energy-saving method.”

“I’m just adding that these green policies that come out, end up costing us in the end,” Hemmingsen said.

Hendrick said the authority had opposed the phase-out.

“This is a good example. The state decides what’s right and we get stuck cleaning up the mess, and we’re just trying to do the best with a system that’s not perfect,” Hendrick said.

— Adam Spencer

Santa’s assorted deadlines

Santa’s reindeer have no trouble freighting holiday gifts worldwide on Christmas Eve, but bipeds will need to get an earlier start.

The U.S. Postal Service, FedEx and UPS have provided deadlines for successful delivery by Christmas, although experienced locals are likely to pad predictions by a day or two.

USPS first-class mail should be sent by Tuesday, priority mail by Wednesday and express mail by Thursday.

It’s too late for USPS parcel post — that deadline came and went last Thursday. The last day to ship to military service members by USPS is today. The final day for “most international shipping” is Monday, according to the USPS.

The deadline for FedEx ground delivery has passed, but FedEx home delivery can be sent as late as Monday. FedEx express saver mail should be sent by Tuesday.

FedEx “2Day” shipping should be sent by Wednesday, although it can be sent as late as Thursday with a surcharge for Christmas Eve delivery.

FedEx overnight (standard, priority and first) packages must be sent by Thursday, although priority and first overnight services can be used Friday with a surcharge for Christmas Eve delivery.

UPS “3-Day Select” items must be shipped by Wednesday, and UPS “Next Day Air” mail can be sent as late as Friday.

— Matthew C. Durkee

‘Health Happens Here’

The California Endowment has produced a video promoting the importance of neighborhood parks, grocery stores and access to clean water. It’s narrated by actress Jamie Lee Curtis.

Its mantra, “Health Happens Here,” stresses the role that the world arounds us plays in our health. Health problems can be prevented — a goal of the Building Healthy Communities initiative in Del Norte County.

“Did you know how long you live depends on where you live?” Curtis says in the video. “Children born in neighborhoods with safe parks, fresh produce and clean drinking water can live up to 20 years longer than those born in places without them. We can do better.”

See the video by searching for Health Happens Here on Facebook.

—Kelley Atherton