Ernie Ghesetti having fun in sun in Deer Valley. Economy hitting Phoenix? Spring Training update and Eating on the road!

Robin and I ordered tickets ahead of time for the first time we have went to Spring Training in Phoenix. Robin had reserved a room for us at the Ramada Plaza at the price of $63 a night, but when we checked in, they had no record of our reservation and we could not find the confirmation number. It was late Sunday and we just wanted to get checked in. After a frantic search we found the number and it was verified by their people. Why our names did not show up as reserved was disturbing, but we got in. The motel cost us $118 a night last year, and it has went down hill fast. Used to have full breakfast, now in Continental. The bar is closed and the pool is not heated. The motel was nearly empty. The good side was that Robin and I had the pool area to ourselves!

Our first day, we saw the A's at the Mariners facility in Peoria. Nice park and the A's played well and won. Ichiro for the Mariners looked good. A crowd of around 7,000 left many holes in the crowd. The second day we were at Camelback Ranch and Robin was proud of her ticket score. Unfortunately, her husband asked for directions to the seat and misunderstood the host explanation. We ended up in the middle of the scouts seating and we were the only ones without a score sheet, radar stuff and notes. We were in the middle of the scouting section behind home plate! It was neat hearing their banter with one another, but after looking into what section we were supposed to be in, we were actually only 4 rows from the front, so we moved. Matt Cain was phenomenal and the Giants did not give up an earned run and Pablo Sandavol and Bengie Molina had 2 doubles each. There were only about 4,000 so we were witnessing a huge drop in attendance from the last year we were here and sat in record crowds. We watched the Red and Giants at Goodyear Wednesday and there was barely 4,000 people at this brand new facility. The Reds beat the Giants late, but not until Jonathan Sanchez went nearly 7 innings.

Today, Thursday, Robin and I walked for hours and many miles through the Phoenix Zoo. Around 80 degrees and many families and school tours. The Phoenix Zoo is privately owned non-profit that charges $16 per person and they have many huge corporate sponsors. They have a walk through monkey house (Think bird aviary) that you are actually encountering monkeys that have actually stolen cell phones from people. We were in the middle of the monkeys having a scuffle and it was crazy with monkeys flying around us! We later that night went to the A's against Giants at Scottsdale. This time it was packed house! Great crowd, and who did I run into? Deer Valley winter resident Ernie Ghesetti and retired Pulp Mill employee. He said this winter has been cold there compared to years past. (He is still golfing away in the Sonora Valley.)

Places ate at on the road and ratings out of 5:

1. Bob's Big Boy at Cabazon- 3.5 Had a great burger and onion rings. Salad was just blah.

2. Del Taco at Indian Wells- 2.5 But there was plenty of it!

3. Popeye's in Blythe- 1.5 Robin will not let me go here again. She had Cole slaw that was warm. I had popcorn shrimp.

4. Mimi's Cafe in Phoenix- 2.5 What is with the spice type muffins for breakfast? Just all right. Barely.

5. Lone Star in Glendale- 3.0 I love some of the meat BBQ stuff, but the salad was brutal and the bread loaf sucked.

6. IHOP in Peoria- 4.0 They have a smothered potatoes breakfast menu that is not to be noted by my doctor. Very eatable.

7. Stacker's near the Metro Center- 4.5 Local bar that is across the street from hotel. Everything is good. As near a 5 as a place can get.

8. Sweet Tomato- 4.0 Very good salad, soup and dessert bar. All fresh. And a Dryers Dark Chocolate yogurt bar?

Reality sinks in tomorrow. We head back over the desert valley toward home. Hopefully we are home by Sunday night.

Tennis BNP Paribas Open Championships. Ljubicic wins Men's Title, Jankovic Women's. Richard Marks tale of tennis woe.

Robin and I went to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden today to watch the Open Championships. There is two weeks of competition, with amateurs also going at it from all over the US playing doubles. We took in some great amateur matches that were quite spirited. 22 Courts and thousands of fans. We were able to watch Andy Roddick warm up before the match. It made me say to Robin, "What a narcissistic sport this is!" It is all about the person as an individual in the singles realm. I have always been pretty good at tennis without really working on it. I don't know why.

When I was at Eureka High I had a teacher in Civics that always wore a tennis tie clip and I gave him a hard time about it. Somehow a challenge ensued and he invited the student body to witness. The match was to be at the Eureka Indoor/Outdoor tennis club. Which he owned. I was a cocky 17 year old that thought I would just over power him and was confident I would give him all he could handle. I was soooooo wrong. Ellis Williamson just destroyed me to the point of embarrassment and I kept my mouth shut for the rest of the year. (Ellis at the time was one of the top ranked 50 year old players in the world. My bad!)

The Women's Championship pitted 19 year old Caroline Wozniacki against Jelena Jankovic. Jelena was dominate for this match and was very gracious in victory and Caroline has now moved to 2nd in the world even though she lost. Fun to watch.

We were hoping that Andy Roddick could outplay Ivan Ljubicic to give a US player a victory, but Ivan won hearts with his hard play (And 20 aces) it was a great match to watch. There is not a bad seat at Indian Wells, and what a great organized event!

Cabazon Outlet adventures. How many are just ripped off?

Robin and I are on the way to our yearly Spring training destination of Phoenix and stopped at the Cabazon Outlets near Palm Springs. (First we ate at Bob's Big Boy.) There was a huge crowd there. No sign of a recession at this place. I picked up some softball equipment I can not purchase locally at one of the outlets and waited in a long line for help. The cashier totaled my purchase and said "4 hundred and ..." I said "Whoa, no, no!" She looked at me disgustedly and retotaled slowly the purchases and said $189. I said, "That is a lot better than over $400!" She looked at me puzzled and said, "That is not what I said!" I didn't want to argue, but I then wondered how many people shopping at these outlets are over charged. This outlet is a melting pot of cultures. Many Asians, Latinos, Europeans and of course, Americans from all corners of the US. They actually do announcements in various languages to help direct shoppers.

We are staying in Indian Wells tonight and will drive the desert tomorrow. (I was able to barter a price of $99 at a motel going for $209 a night. Great Suite with kitchenette and Couch. Sweet! It will be harder in Phoenix, but Robin has some ideas. She bought tickets for games.)

Softball News. Blue Lake League.

The City of Blue Lake is hosting a Sunday only league starting May 2nd and running into June. They will not play Memorial Weekend. Each Sunday each team will play a doubleheader. League costs are $420 per team. First come first served registration starts on Monday the 24th at 9am at Blue Lake City Hall.

I am hoping that Mad River Softball Association will either host either a Saturday or Sunday League starting April 24. Any potential takers?

Robin Marks vs. Richard Marks.

No, we are not going through a divorce. We are running against/or with each other for one of the four available Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee (HCDCC) seats in the 4th Supervisor District. I am currently seated as are Bob and Pam Service and Charlene Cutler-Ploss. Robin has been an Associate Member and my Proxy in the past and really would like to be a voting member and was coaxed by another member (not me) to run. So here we go, 4 people running for 5 positions. One of the Marks couple might not make it. If that happens, I won't mind being an Associate and being Robin's Proxy. There might also be an election in the 3rd District for HCDCC if all the people who pulled out paperwork do run.

Clash of the cultures and races.

I had one of those moments the other day that I just did not know how to resolve and the issue of true real life circumstance came forward. I had taken my sister Mary grocery shopping and was heading to Eureka Natural Foods when my cell phone rang while turning on Central between Safeway and CVS toward Henderson. I pulled over heading north to answer the call. While I was talking to the person calling me, a white small station wagon edged through the stop sign and clipped a black small car turning onto Central with a small child in the back. The white car drove past the car and I thought they would just keep going, but they stopped at the Donut King and the little black car pulled over near the same. While I was on the cell phone, I saw they were arguing with each other. So I ended the call and went across the street to talk to both. The black car that was hit had a young Latino woman who had her daughter in the back seat and had taken the brunt of the damage. Her rear back panel was pushed in and the white car had little damage as she hit the black car with her bumper. When I walked up to the Latino women, she was distraught and asked me, ¿Usted habla español? (Do you speak Spanish?) I told her "Poco" (A little) and she explained in Spanish ¡Daba vuelta a la izquierda en la calle y ella me golpeó mientras que intentaba dar vuelta! (She was hit while trying to turn onto Central.) I explained her argument with the lady in the white station wagon that hit her and the lady told me that the Latino lady had hit her! I told her that there is no way that she could have hit her with her rear quarter panel, but she said I did not know what I saw and challenged how I or my sister could have witnessed this. We explained I was pulled over and sitting there in perfect position to see. She became uncoopertive and standoffish toward us and was yelling at the young Latino whether she wanted to have each insuranse take care of the this. I told the Latino lady, ¡Usted necesita compartir la información con ella!(You need to share information with her!) The Latino lady was in tears over the damage on her vehicle and the other lady had little damage to her vehicle, and she could see this lady was overbearing on what happened, so she got into her car and drove off. And then so did the other person that hit her. What a sad sight. Just a small snapshot of our cultural differences.

What's with the people writing checks?

How many times have you waited in line at a cash register, only to have the person in front of you rip out a check book? Number one. Why are you still using checks? Why not use a debit card or cash so you don't hold up the rest of us? And if you are going to use a check, please fill out the pertinent information while waiting in line with the rest of us! And then don't balance your check book while we are suffering through your ancient time transaction. Thank you. Now have a nice day.

Humboldt Domestic Violence Services (HDVS) hosts fundraiser next to Eureka Natural Food! This weekend from 10am to 4pm!

I realize the silence when I write about Humboldt Domestic Violence. It is a uncomfortable subject, yet nearly everyone has some sort of this violence in their family. Anyways, the HDVS is hosting a fund raising event at the old Dollar Tree next to Eureka Natural Food on Broadway. Items that were left behind by the past Dollar Tree owner will go at way low prices. My sister Mary and I stocked the hardware, gardening, BBQ, ceramic, baby, shoe sundries, eye glass, home repair and improvement, automotive, toy, young girl and education department and this is a great chance for you and your family to take advantage and help stop domestic violence. The doors will be open from 10am to 4pm both Saturday Feb. 27th and Sunday Feb. 28th.

There are many holiday theme items that can be had at next to nothing prices. Please come out and help for this worthy cause.

Arcata and McKinleyville win Niclai Tournament.

The Arcata High Boys and the McKinleyville High Girls both won their respective tournament titles for the second straight year. One observation about the Panther girls team win over Eureka High. Senior Sage Romberg is the best girl basketball player I have ever seen in Humboldt County. She has weirdly keen court sense. She sees the the whole court, and is able lead players to open spots. You just can't teach what she does. And you Trina McCartney fans please refer to each players whole game. Sage can pass, rebound, shoot....she has no weakness in her game. And the other Panthers? They will win it again next year. Their bench just played solid. Lots of upside for the next few years.

On to the boys game. Ferndale was playing in their first Niclai final and seemed to have the jitters playing before a huge crowd against a huge team. They only scored 2 points in the 1st quarter. But they came back from an over 20 point deficit to challenge Arcata in the 4th quarter. Tiger player Jordan Semple is my choice for MVP this year. He makes all of his teammates better. If some D1 school passes up on this 6'6" "2" guard, shame on them. But if he does play JC ball, please let it be CR and maybe a reunion with Tim Couch and Ryan Dehart and then move on to HSU. (This is the selfish fan in me.)

The Niclai Invitational. Dick, you would be proud of the event. Great competition, great crowds and good times. See ya next year.

Home Run basher George McGraw passes.

George V McGraw "Uncle" George was born March 27th 1952 in Lemon Grove, San Diego and died suddenly at his home with his wife by his side February 7th 2010. Uncle is survived by his wife Monica and his two best friends and co-conspirators Martha and Margaret. Uncle was everything to George & Francine, Matthew and Lauren. Not a Christmas passed without his stocking hand outs and absurd gift giving. George had three families, the Barattis, Sears and the Babe's softball team, or as I called it, the cult. George moved to Humboldt County from San Diego in 1973 to work with the Humboldt State Baseball program. George started working at Sears where he met many customers and co-workers. So many have called to express their sadness at his passing. George touched so many lives in such a positive way. In 1982 George married Monica Baratti in their backyward. They were married July 16th 1983 because that was the only weekend that didn't have a softball tournament. They were married by the Haps Dogs manager, Lou. George's other family was his softball team's New York life, Loleta meat market, Mad Max, Hapsdogs and "Babes". George was so happy playing ball especially those tournaments in Chico and Redding. George leaves behind a broken hearted wife and a large extended family; Martha & Dave, Margaret & Bill, George, Franny, Matt, Lauren, John & Bonnie, Erin, Caroline, Stephanie, Hillary, Joe, Johnny, Father in law John Baratti and last but not least his best friend of 40 years Dave Frazer whom he considered his brother. In lieu of flowers please make a contribution to your local Little League Team.

Sundberg official in 5th. 4 running for Humboldt County Assessor's seat? More Humboldt County political bits.

Robin and I went to Ryan Sundberg's kick off at Mckinleyville's Azalea Hall on Saturday. When I heard he was holding this event at this time and venue I was curious on what turnout he would get. He had it family themed with bounce rooms, face painting and animal balloons for the kids and basic hot dog BBQ feed. It was brilliant. A few hundred people showed and many kids who had a blast. Ryan has two formidable opponents in Radio businessman Pat Cleary and 5th District Harbor Commissioner Pat Higgins.

I also went to Mike Downey's event at the Warfinger on Friday night. It was a good crowd and had many politico's from the area. Outgoing Sheriff Gary Philp is emphatically endorsing Mike. Many law enforcement officials were there supporting Mike also. District Attorney hopeful Paul Hagen was there and has support of many "progressives" in the 3rd District. That has to be an eye opener to Paul Gallego's campaign. A lefty-lefty split could open the way for Kathleen Bryson and maybe Allison Jackson?

Ok. Help me with this one. 4 people are running for Humboldt County Assessor. I don't ever recall this office being hotly contested. Has current Assessor Linda Hill been doing that bad of job? Here is a basic outline of the job description of assessor: "Appraises all unsecured property annually; appraises secured property at time of transfer, plus all new construction; prepares tax roll and delivers it to the County Auditor yearly; keeps records of taxable property." Why is there a crowded field? Will Assistant Assessor Mari Wilson be able to solve the issues in the department, or is she considered part of the problem? And what is the perceived problems? It all just leaves me wondering. Others who will most likely be in the race are Mari, Johanna Rodoni, (Johanna was at Mike Downey and Ryan Sundberg events and talking to many people.) John Brook and Keith Nord. Anyone else?

Tom Wood retires, Steve Kinder era begins?

HSU coach Tom Wood looks to be on his way to retirement. Assistant coach Steve Kinder should be next in line, after serving 19 years as Tom's sidekick. I am not a big fan of the current 5 man rotation that HSU uses, but Kinder seems to be able to recruit some great ball players. Steve is one of those adult league basketball players you want to go against, as he will do whatever he can get away with to win. But I am hopeful and anticipating a new exciting era for HSU basketball if he takes over.

Just life tidbits.

I have been hassled for not updating my blog postings, but life has been getting in my way. Sorry for that. Here is some blurbs:

CR Basketball: I went and watched this years College of the Redwoods Basketball team against Shasta. going 1-9 from the free throw line in the last few minutes was a death curse. CR's 6-foot-9 center Matt Lipske looks to have all the physical tools to be a Division 1 player. He just needs to be more assertive in the paint. Dave Norton need to drive and shoot more. This team needs a point guard badly! They have good shooting guards, but nobody to set them up! This could be one of the best teams CR has had in years.

Arcata High Basketball: I have seen these kids play the last few years and was very interested to see if they fulfilled their potential to be the best team ever from Humboldt County. When I left the CR game I saw Ryan DeHart and Jordan Semple in the foyer and told them, "Let that be an example on the importance of free throws" I hope they were listening, because that is the only thing that will end up killing Arcata in the NCS Championships. They also need a fiery leader like they had in Tim Couch last year.

Earthquake damage: Robin and I had a rental in Eureka "Red Tagged" from Earthquake damage. We had no earthquake insurance. We have to have a brick chimney demolished and a new fireplace extension in place. Our renters were freaked out by the notice, but the Eureka planning department was very informative on the procedure needed to bring back into compliance. We are remedying the problem for a few thousand dollars we didn't quite have budgeted. Damn Earthquake! (But wasn't it a great scene to see neighborhood communities unite!)

Pulp Mill: Looks like Freshwater Pulp is getting closer to starting up! Water and regulatory agencies have made this project more viable daily. The Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers local 49 are more than eager for the company to meet with our Standing Committee to lay the ground work for a labor agreement to put workers back on the payroll!

That Harbor Commissioner Stuff: Hey. Give me a learning curve. There is much to be learned and I am doing the best I can. Dennis had 20 years experience. I have big shoes to fill. In the short term, the Marine Life Protection Act and the creation of Marine Protected Areas (MPA's) is need of immediate attention.

Local Political Crazyness!: I don't remember a time where so many County Political Candidates have announced their intentions to run for political office so early. Did Jeff Leonard start a trend back in May 2009? In the 4th District Supervisorial race, we know that incumbent Bonnie Neely is being challenged by Eureka Mayor Virginia Bass and Eureka City Councilman Jeff Leonard. Also rumored to run is Humboldt Bay Muncipal Water District President Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap. (Disclaimer-Robin and I are helping Virginia's Campaign.)

5th District Supervisor Race: Ryan Sundberg and his uncle have played with me in night league basketball for awhile. This is a good parameter to judge ones character, and I believe Ryan represents an even keel for the 5th. His politics are moderate and thoughtful for creating working opportunities. I can't think of anyone who would judge him negatively. And he is a fellow Native American and I think it is about time for proper representation. Others in this race officially are Pat Higgins and Pat Cleary. A few others that might step up are Jeff "Henchman of Justice" Lytle, Dennis Mayo and Daniel Pierce.

Humboldt County DA race: Whew! This will be a barn burner! Paul or Paul? Gallegos or Hagan? Allison or Kathleen? Jackson or Bryson? Stayed tuned in the next few weeks as this race develops. Many variables to come soon.

Humboldt County Sheriff: I don't get this. I thought that Mike Downey would be a shoe in. He has the endorsement of the current Sheriff, and seems to have the overwhelming support of current staff and the community. I don't know his challenger Mike Hislop. Hislop is endorsed by current DA Paul Gallegos. Downey is going win in a landslide.

Humboldt Politics are ever moving!

Damn Earthquakes! Samoa style.

Everyone of our rooms in our house in Samoa suffered damage today. Even our wood pile by our house fell down. Glass everywhere. Robin had not only put baby latches on our cupboard but had used quick wax to hold things down. Robin was so bummed that other things just flew off our walls that left memories destroyed.

A guy at the tsunami evacuation area in Samoa was told by a person from a guy from NOAA that he does not have to worry about a tsunami unless the bridge is knocked down from the bridge.

Lori Dengler has said that an duration of such magnitude that you need to hold on to something or sit down to not fall down. Those two factors that would lead to tsunami. Those criteria were met. Are those to be ignored?

We need more standard operation procedures for earthqaukes obviously.

Pulp Mill Stuff.

Freshwater Tissue Co. said it has abandoned an offer to liquidate the Samoa pulp mill and is instead pursuing funding and permitting to reopen the closed plant by July 1.

Company President Bob Simpson informed the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District this week that it would accept a counteroffer by the district to supply water to the mill for 10 years, with a five-year fixed-price agreement. Simpson also said that he has reached option agreements to buy wood chips -- the raw material in making pulp --from suppliers.

”We're pursuing funding to operate the mill,” Simpson said.

I am sure hopeful Bob is sucessful and is able to put hundreds of people to work!

Who in Humboldt County can compare to Betty Chinn?

This morning I helped Betty Chinn's volunteers sort out used clothing for future distribution. There were at least 40 people working at Sacred Heart church. It just amazes me that our community is so blessed to have such a unassuming community organizer such as Betty. She absolutely dwarfs most everyone in giving of herself. If you get a chance help her out any way you can.

Please explain how Public Plan will help the middle class. I still think we need universal health coverage.

The Public Plan will eventually require nearly all Americans to get coverage, help many pay for it and restrict onerous insurance company practices such as denying coverage to people with pre-existing sickness. This sounds good in parts, but since when are we required to purchase something we may never use just to be a citizen in the United States? And the price tag being thrown around is 1.6 Trillion dollars?

Granted we are required to have car insurance, but that is basically to protect those around us. And we can make the decision not to drive. I will pontificate more later. And I thought I would just share this funny.

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone has safe and happy new year for 2010!

A call for help. Pulp Mill workers granddaughter has cancer.

Retired pulp mill worker Carlo Giovannetti's granddaughter, Courtney Williams, has lymphoma and is having trouble finding a match for a bone marrow transplant. The test for a potential match can be done by simple swab of the mouth. This can be done at the Northern California Community Blood Bank at 2524 Harrison Ave. in Eureka. If you have time, please stop by and help.

Virginia Bass running for 4th District Supervisor!

For Immediate Press Release:

Please join Eureka Mayor Virginia Bass for a press conference.

Virginia will be announcing her candidacy for Humboldt County 4th District Supervisor on the County Courthouse steps (5th and I Streets) this Thursday, December 17th at 12:00 noon.

Virginia was twice elected to Eureka City Council before she was elected as Eureka Mayor.

Her father OH Bass previously served as Humboldt County 4th District County Supervisor and Virginia would like to continue her family's legacy as a public servant to our community.

Virginia previously managed her family's business, OH's Townhouse, and has participated in many local charitable fundraising events such as the American Cancer Society's "Relay for Life" and is the past President of the Henderson Center Kiwanis Club.

For further information, please call Virginia Bass at 707-499-5000 or email at Bass4Supervisor@gmail.com

OK. Jeff Leonard and Virginia are pretty much official. What about Bonnie or Kaitlin? This is going to be huge race.