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In a story about Nevada City harpist Joanna Newsom in the Village Voice last fall, I was struck by this description of our neck of the woods: “The drive up from San Francisco to Nevada City takes only three hours, but the manner in which urban melts into suburban melts into exurban melts into zilch is disarming. Eventually you pull into a town advertising a Craft Faire, where one fella running for city council is named Chauncey Poston.”
Come on, we’re not “Zilch-ville”: I, for one, always wanted to settle down in a place where a man named Chauncey was a city councilman. I feel safe knowing that somebody named Chauncey (short for “chancellor” or “office holder”) is in office — more so if the police chief plans to log more time at Chamber meetings as chairman.
Besides, I’ve met Chauncey — the guy wears hula shirts, not blue jackets with crests on them.
I also admire Chauncey, because he’s taking a leadership role in discussing a political hot potato: the ozone danger in our bucolic community, largely stemming from the pollution that blows against the foothills from Sacra-tomato.
“I’m sorry if there are some things in the resolution that sound harsh,” Poston said at this week’s Grass Valley City Council meeting, where a resolution was discussed. “I want to make a stand here and bring together virtually all of our county.”
OMG. I hardly ever hear an elected public official around here take a leadership stand like that on any issue — let alone sound passionate about it. We’ve written about the leadership vacuum before.
Better yet, Poston proposes to bring together our highly polarized community on a hot-button issue. He’s also willing to take a fearless stand on our ozone problem despite his day job — buying and selling real estate. In fact, Poston is president of the Nevada County Board of Realtors. Alas, I live in Nevada City, where the political mascot is Yosemite Sam. But as they’d say in Merry Old England, “Hear, hear
Chauncey.”
To be sure, the devil is in the details when it comes to ozone dangers.
No doubt ozone is a problem here, but the magnitude of the problem is a topic of much disagreement. From my own personal experience, it seems to be a problem that rears its ugliest head in the hottest summer months.
Like others, I’m skeptical of claims that were stated in the proposed resolution in Grass Valley: “Ozone pollution in Nevada County is significantly worse than in areas commonly associated with air pollution, including New York City; Chicago, Ill.; Washington, DC; Las Vegas, Nev.; and most other US cities.”
Or this: “The American Lung Association in its’ 2007 State of the Air Report concluded that Western Nevada County is the 13th most ozone polluted county in the United States.” I think some explanation is missing from both statements.
In addition, I don’t think we should lose sight of the reality that most of the problem stems from pollution that blows in from elsewhere. This begs the question: what can we really do, sue them? Oh, sue the same people who we’re courting for tourism? Tough call.
On the other hand, I see the danger. Based on our county’s close proximity to a large metropolis such as Sacramento, as well as being set against the foothills, I definitely can see where NC may be one of the more ozone polluted rural counties.
I also worry about the asthma rates cited for children in Nevada County, as well as the health effects that poor air quality has on developing respiratory systems of children, articulated at local meetings by Dr. Jeff Kane, founder of Nevada County Breathers.
I also admire the group STAinNC for raising the grassroots awareness of what all of us can do to improve air quality, including school carpooling. With school due to start in less than two weeks (darn), I hope more parents seriously consider carpooling.
But most of all, I admire Poston for trying to bring the community together on a hot topic. As you know, leaders and pioneers get some arrows in their backs along the way, and this is doubly true around here.
As predicted, this ozone debate already is pitting liberals against conservatives, “the lefties against the righties,” “the Commie pinkos against the right-wing nut jobs” in our county.
To some conservatives, the ozone issue is merely a ruse by the anti-growth faction to halt new development. As you know, the Yuba Highlands project recently received county commission approval but is going to be appealed. Expect a knock-down, drag-out fight on this one.
To some liberals, the ozone issue is being swept under the rug by conservative businesses, Realtors and other “pro-growth’ers.”
While the two sides duke it out, nothing happens, except more days pass by where ozone pollution blows in from Sacramento. The families we’re trying to attract — or just retain — to keep our pitifully slow-growing, public-sector dependent economy chugging along continue to wonder and worry. (Nevada County grew by 556 people from 2005 to 2006.)
I hope Poston and others can accomplish what happens too infrequently around here — two sides come together to craft a solution.
It’s heartening to hear the Grass Valley City Council wants to approve a written resolution about ozone dangers, as well as holding a summit on the topic. Too often the “little people” think the “powers that be” in our governments shut them out. If they could stop fighting like Yosemite Sam and Foghorn Leghorn on Broad Street, Nevada City could join the discussion as well.
I didn’t fall off the turnip truck. We’re obviously not going to lick ozone pollution with a city council resolution or a one-day regional summit. The problem is complex, requires more private sector intervention and might take an act of God to resolve (literally “moving mountains”).
Still, any issue that brings our polarized community closer together based on government leadership is something to celebrate. A little noise from “Zilch-ville” to the pollution meccas in Sacramento and the Bay Area wouldn’t hurt our position on this matter either.
ooo
Jeff Pelline is the editor of The Union. His column appears on Saturdays. Contact him at 477-4235, jeffp@theunion.com, or 464 Sutton Way, Grass Valley 95945.
Come on, we’re not “Zilch-ville”: I, for one, always wanted to settle down in a place where a man named Chauncey was a city councilman. I feel safe knowing that somebody named Chauncey (short for “chancellor” or “office holder”) is in office — more so if the police chief plans to log more time at Chamber meetings as chairman.
Besides, I’ve met Chauncey — the guy wears hula shirts, not blue jackets with crests on them.
I also admire Chauncey, because he’s taking a leadership role in discussing a political hot potato: the ozone danger in our bucolic community, largely stemming from the pollution that blows against the foothills from Sacra-tomato.
“I’m sorry if there are some things in the resolution that sound harsh,” Poston said at this week’s Grass Valley City Council meeting, where a resolution was discussed. “I want to make a stand here and bring together virtually all of our county.”
OMG. I hardly ever hear an elected public official around here take a leadership stand like that on any issue — let alone sound passionate about it. We’ve written about the leadership vacuum before.
Better yet, Poston proposes to bring together our highly polarized community on a hot-button issue. He’s also willing to take a fearless stand on our ozone problem despite his day job — buying and selling real estate. In fact, Poston is president of the Nevada County Board of Realtors. Alas, I live in Nevada City, where the political mascot is Yosemite Sam. But as they’d say in Merry Old England, “Hear, hear
Chauncey.”
To be sure, the devil is in the details when it comes to ozone dangers.
No doubt ozone is a problem here, but the magnitude of the problem is a topic of much disagreement. From my own personal experience, it seems to be a problem that rears its ugliest head in the hottest summer months.
Like others, I’m skeptical of claims that were stated in the proposed resolution in Grass Valley: “Ozone pollution in Nevada County is significantly worse than in areas commonly associated with air pollution, including New York City; Chicago, Ill.; Washington, DC; Las Vegas, Nev.; and most other US cities.”
Or this: “The American Lung Association in its’ 2007 State of the Air Report concluded that Western Nevada County is the 13th most ozone polluted county in the United States.” I think some explanation is missing from both statements.
In addition, I don’t think we should lose sight of the reality that most of the problem stems from pollution that blows in from elsewhere. This begs the question: what can we really do, sue them? Oh, sue the same people who we’re courting for tourism? Tough call.
On the other hand, I see the danger. Based on our county’s close proximity to a large metropolis such as Sacramento, as well as being set against the foothills, I definitely can see where NC may be one of the more ozone polluted rural counties.
I also worry about the asthma rates cited for children in Nevada County, as well as the health effects that poor air quality has on developing respiratory systems of children, articulated at local meetings by Dr. Jeff Kane, founder of Nevada County Breathers.
I also admire the group STAinNC for raising the grassroots awareness of what all of us can do to improve air quality, including school carpooling. With school due to start in less than two weeks (darn), I hope more parents seriously consider carpooling.
But most of all, I admire Poston for trying to bring the community together on a hot topic. As you know, leaders and pioneers get some arrows in their backs along the way, and this is doubly true around here.
As predicted, this ozone debate already is pitting liberals against conservatives, “the lefties against the righties,” “the Commie pinkos against the right-wing nut jobs” in our county.
To some conservatives, the ozone issue is merely a ruse by the anti-growth faction to halt new development. As you know, the Yuba Highlands project recently received county commission approval but is going to be appealed. Expect a knock-down, drag-out fight on this one.
To some liberals, the ozone issue is being swept under the rug by conservative businesses, Realtors and other “pro-growth’ers.”
While the two sides duke it out, nothing happens, except more days pass by where ozone pollution blows in from Sacramento. The families we’re trying to attract — or just retain — to keep our pitifully slow-growing, public-sector dependent economy chugging along continue to wonder and worry. (Nevada County grew by 556 people from 2005 to 2006.)
I hope Poston and others can accomplish what happens too infrequently around here — two sides come together to craft a solution.
It’s heartening to hear the Grass Valley City Council wants to approve a written resolution about ozone dangers, as well as holding a summit on the topic. Too often the “little people” think the “powers that be” in our governments shut them out. If they could stop fighting like Yosemite Sam and Foghorn Leghorn on Broad Street, Nevada City could join the discussion as well.
I didn’t fall off the turnip truck. We’re obviously not going to lick ozone pollution with a city council resolution or a one-day regional summit. The problem is complex, requires more private sector intervention and might take an act of God to resolve (literally “moving mountains”).
Still, any issue that brings our polarized community closer together based on government leadership is something to celebrate. A little noise from “Zilch-ville” to the pollution meccas in Sacramento and the Bay Area wouldn’t hurt our position on this matter either.
ooo
Jeff Pelline is the editor of The Union. His column appears on Saturdays. Contact him at 477-4235, jeffp@theunion.com, or 464 Sutton Way, Grass Valley 95945.
On the Net
EPA Ozone:
www.epa.gov/epahome/ozone.htm
American Lung Association:
www.lungaction.org/reports/stateoftheair2007.html
Asthma:
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Asthma/Asthma_WhatIs.html
EPA Ozone:
www.epa.gov/epahome/ozone.htm
American Lung Association:
www.lungaction.org/reports/stateoftheair2007.html
Asthma:
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Asthma/Asthma_WhatIs.html
