Virginia Bass-Jackson new Eureka Mayor?

I see Virginia has thrown her hat into the ring for Eureka Mayor. Virginia is a great host at OH's Townhouse, home of Humboldt's finest Prime rib. My wife and I have enjoyed many dinners there. Virginia is also a regular at Cal Courts and I have seen her playing very competitive Racquetball. Peter LaValle is the current mayor and signed up recently for a Democrats for Republicans Committee. I guess Peter lived in Trinity County at one time. I did not know that. I had a Weaverville town leader corner me during a tournament I was hosting and he had nothing positive to say about Eureka's Mayor. Maybe I should start a Real Democrats for Virginia Committee. I will have to see how she stacks up concerning local issues though. I want to make an educated informed decision on a candidate and not just let Local Solutions tell me how to think. I am too PROGRESSIVE for that.

We were on Fire!

Almost literally. The Mountain bash Tournament was real close to a fire that had Weaverville evacuating their hospital, people advantaging their homes, and the landmark Diggin's saloon burning down. There must have been hundreds of firefighters in really trying circumstances. Hot smokey winds of nearly 50 miles an hour swept through the surrounding mountains leaving the sun as only an orange silhouette. (Lots of the same area that burned a few years ago! What is nature trying to tell us?) Ash was falling on us near camp James Hill Trucking at Lowden park. It made for a weird scenario, do we quit playing and evacuate (which we could not since 299 was closed both ways), or just ignore or forget the danger and play. Tournament director Jessie Para was worried but made the decision to play on as most players of the ten team tournament were stuck there anyways. Good call to keep playing Jessie, great ball. The gutsy James Hill Trucking Softball Club from Eureka beat the Matrix of Redding 18-17 in 8 innings as Joey Couch scored on a single from Ted Canfield with one out to come away with their first Mountain Bash Championship. Ted (45) and I were the oldest players (I am pretty sure) on the field (Well, except for Perry Price our player/coach) Ted and I ended up on base a combined 28-36 or 14 for 18 a piece. Ted was selected a well deserved MVP for the tournament for garnering 2 game ending winning RBI's in the tournament. Our infield position players were very young. Joey Couch 3B(19) Cameron Reed 2B (19) Justin Moore ss (24) and Todd Canfield (21) But they played great! And all for a shirt? Yee! Jason Mullaney pitched very well for JHT. The JHT team also played a very volatile Horse Shoe tournament. The outcome is still in dispute. Timo and I were 3-1 against runner up 2-1 Hana Borden and Toye Johnson. I actually competed with the late 1960's early 1970's World Horse Shoe Champion Walter Ray Williams Jr. in Eureka while a teenager. Walter later became a Professional Bowlers Tour Champion. Walter at one time when he was not even 10 was able to to ring over 80% and was on the Johnny Carson show. I think in competition I was recorded for 33% ringers in the Times Standard in 1969. I thought that was good! Not compared to Walter Ray!

Mountain Bash.

This weekend is the Mountain Bash held by the Kingmen from Redding. Last year we were runner up. It was way hot and we played lots of games. Hopefully the James Hill Trucking Softball club can come away with a championship trophy! GMAC! (Grown Men Acting Childlike)

Hot in the Valley!

My wife and I took off early this week to vacation in San Diego. My wife has been sick lately, but was feeling up to try to travel. When we hit Delano it was 114. We stopped in Bakersfield and it was 111. My wife started to feel really ill. So the next morning we headed back up the valley toward Sacramento to find better health care. We ended up at UC Davis Medical on Thursday and waited over 6 hours with no hope for a doctor for no telling how much longer. My wife just kept feeling worse and worse. I wanted to yell if there was a doctor in the house, but there were so many people in the emergency room it was just crazy. I felt so helpless. We could have driven all the way home in 6 hours. In the end we ended up leaving so she could cool off at the motel. We have been together for 33 years and she has never had health issues so this has been weird. She has had to deal with my issues and is used to being the healer not the sick. We will go home to our local doctors.

Supervisor or bust!

Just sent in my final finance report form 460 to the FPPC. I ran for the 4th district Humboldt County Supervisor position earlier this year. A 20 year incumbent Republican was running against a 12 year former Mayor Republican of Eureka. I am a pro growth working class union Democrat, so I figured I had a chance as a wild card. I came up a few hundred votes short of being in the run off. Oh well. I met many great people along the way whom had concerns of where our local economy was heading. I had a chance to stump on a soap box over many issues so it was overall a positive experience. Our campaign committee helped in collecting $13,079.48 without accepting contributions from any corporate donors. (Shane Brinton raised thousands with creative fund raising events.) I wanted to have the position with a clean slate and to not be owing favors. So I walk away with a clear conscience and many new friends. Not too shabby. My opponents will be reporting soon. I am guessing they spent over $150,000 between them. No telling what they will be raising and spending for the general election. They will have to abide by a new ordinance in the form of Measure T (which I was a supporter of) , so I am sure we will witness some very interesting ways the two camps will try to circumvent the law. I will be keeping a close watch!

Eureka vs Arcata softball fields

Arcata wins this contest easily for their Arcata Sports Complex. The outfield grass is green and well cared for and the infields in Arcata are definitely better with break away bags and great lighting. Of course the fields are newer, but they do lack bathrooms. Eureka has 4 pretty good field that are just not well cared for. It is frustrating to play on dirt/dust/clay that has not been allowed to settle in the infield, and the grass is always a mess. Maybe they should call Arcata to see what they do with their grass. They do have bathrooms and scorers booths at the Hartman/Kennedy fields. Coopers Gulch has bathrooms but also has a nasty mosquito problem.

Dog Days of Summer Softball.

No this is not me, but I am sure comparisons will come up. Have a laugh! www.joesportsfan.com/SoftballGuy.html

Times Standard starts swinging from the left!

The TS has now brought on new weekly contributor David (No not Ty) Cobb. http://www.times-standard.com/opinion/ci_4073677 This will be a good counter balance of the ER conservative slanted opinions. I sure hope David brings controversy with his candor and enlightens both fields of issues and not just rhetoric. We need hard hitting facts not just Democrat/Republican slanted "lob balled" canned/copied/plagerized/borrowed party line agendas. I hope he is going to bring his "A" game to the park each week and go for the fences. I look forward to his fielding hot topic Humboldt County issues.

Tournaments in the near future.

The Mountain Bash softball tournament in Weaverville will begin July 28th and end on the 30th. Jessie Para of the Kingman from Redding is the contact person. If you want his number send me an e-mail. Chuck K is hosting a wood bat tournament in Willow Creek in August and one in September. Call him at 822-1968 for more information.

6 months to go!

On Jan. 1st 2007 I will be eligible for seniors league softball. I am ready to be the young one instead of the old guy! But I hope they reconsider the use of the Miken Ultra II bats. Senior league should be restricted to wood bats. Just my opinion.

WSA State Championships!

Redding: I was a participant in the WSA all star game. I have played for over 30 years and had a chance to play with some of the best on the west coast. I was the oldest by nearly a decade but was picked for my John Damon look. (Long Hair and Sox hat) I did have one hit in our 20-16 victory and got an all star shirt. Had a chance to play in front of hundreds of people. Kinda cool. Our Murphy's Market team was undefeated after the first day of play and only had to win sunday morning to advance to the finals. We had beaten a team from Portland and Hillsborough Oregon. Sunday we fell apart. No West Coast Championship rings for this old man. Close though. Frustrating, but maybe next year!

In the Valley for State Championship.

The Murphy's Market softball team from Arcata is in Redding this weekend to compete in the World Wide Slow Pitch Softball Association http://www.playwsa.com/ state championships. We will be playing at the Redding Big League Dreams Park http://www.bigleaguedreams.com/. Now here is a project for Eureka! They say this park brings in millions to the Redding area. Revenues from just our team I figure will be around $4,000 for the weekend. Times that by 40 teams just for this weekend. Plus the ballpark has the bar and grill and roller hockey, basketball, childrens park, video arcade, volley ball, batting cage, soccer and the list goes on......Let's upgrade Coopers Gulch!

HCDCC and Coopers Gulch.

Went to the Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee meeting tonight. It was a packed house. Was hoping to hear discussion on the Balloon Tract (Track). After almost two hours of waiting, they were just starting to discussing a resolution they were proposing for the Eureka City Council. My wife and I had to leave because I had a softball game with Arcata Countertops at 9:00pm at Coopers Gulch or "mosquito alley". We won 24-14. Our team is getting older but wiser. We have 4 players in their 40's in the infield, but we do what we can. Guess I will have to read about the rest of the meeting tomorrow in the TS.

What is going on with the local Pelicans?

I am seeing abnormal behavior with the local pelicans. They seem to be more active in flight over the Samoa bridge and along the Samoa oceanside. This has escalated in the last few weeks. How does this tie in with softball? It does not, just curious.

Is it the bat or is it me?

Recently I watched a senior league softball game at Arcata Park. There were guys in their 50 and 60's who were hitting the ball 300 ft. How is that happening? The Miken Ultra 2 bat. This bat adds at least 50 feet to a hit from what I saw. I will be playing the in the senior league this next year and I am curious how far I will be able to hit the ball. I just hope that guys aren't using them to hit singles up the middle. Then it becomes a safety issue. I prefer wood bat leagues where everyone is equal.

Softball in Willow Creek July 15th & 16th

This next weekend there will be a Wood Bat Tournament held in Willow Creek. These tournaments are very evenly matched games with a great group of guys. Chuck K. will be the host and if you are interested in playing or putting a team in, call 822-1968. FYI there are 27 wood bat teams playing in Arcata and only 5 metal bat teams. Quite a switch in the numbers the last few years.

Mckinleyville Tournament

The Parks and Recreation of Mckeinleyville hosted a groundbreaking men's softball tournament today. The new Hiller complex is nice, but still has much work ahead. The dugouts are very nice with lots of space, and the outfield grass is in decent shape. There needs to be permenant outfield fencing. Hopefully that is going to happen in the near future.

The tournament was a single elimination gig with a 0-2 count going into the at bat. Who ever thought this up has not played or held many tournaments. We (James Hill Trucking softball club) had information that only wood bats were allowed. Well what a surprise when we showed up and found out metal bats were allowed and we did not have very many metal bats. That puts you at a huge disadvantage right away. We ended up in 3rd place in the 8 team field. Farfrumpuken beat Red and White 18-3 for the championship. Everyone seemed to have fun and that is good.

I hosted the James Hill Trucking Weaverville Invitational last weekend. Eleven teams from all over Northern Califonia participated. Team Gold of Sacramento won the tournament for the 6 time in the last 8 years. Ray Wolfe Construction of Arcata placed second with The Drink of Garberville taking third and AOG from Ukiah fourth. It was hot and great ball was played. If you are wondering why I was holding the tournament, I was contacted years back by the Weaverville Parks and Recreation department and asked if I could take over the event. I have held probably over 100 softball tournaments and so I told them I would as a fund raiser helper for their fireworks display. It is alot of work, but the softball players seem to appreciate the tournament. We have teams that will play in front of thousands right before the fireworks. It is probably the biggest crowds for any softball event in the west. The teams are very high caliber and so a good show is on for the locals and visitors.

So far the teams that have I played for are 26-12 winning 2 tournaments and placing third in one. Not too bad. Next year I am elgible for senior league!

What is going on with Humboldt land use issues?

Why does it seem that any time Humboldt County Community Development Services Director Kirk Girard name comes up, there seems to be a misinformation or misunderstanding about the process. The Eureka Reporter - Article This seemed to be the case in the Humboldt County Redevelopment fiasco. Maybe it is just me. Too cynical at my age.

Softball Tonight

I have two ball games tonight. One in Eureka and one in Arcata. I play for Arcata Countertops. We seem to have trouble getting 10 guys on the field. Always short. I tell the players to call me if they can not make it so I can get others to cover. Then they call me the day of the game and leave a message or tell one of the others on the team so I find out as I show up to the game. It is supposed to be adult softball. You sure would'nt know it sometimes. I also play for Eureka Glass in Arcata. There is a softball Tournament in Mckinleyville this weekend. It will be a single elimination format. Never have played in one like that and I have played in hundreds.

Batter Up!

Just thought I would create a blog about Northcoast Sports and other happenings and see where it leads. Hopefully it can be used as an informational tool for both youth and adult sports to get the word out in Humboldt County of what is available.