....this from the Sun Star today:
Big-box, big oops
Councilman and supervisor candidate Jim Sanders supports the Wal-Mart distribution center!
Or maybe not.
Or ... it's just too soon to say.
Merced's other newspaper ran a profile about Sanders last week that said he's an advocate of bringing big-box stores and the proposed distribution center to Merced. (Remember his campaign is about jobs, and your Cracker Jack decoder ring will tell you what that means.)
The city would have little to gain by turning a frowny face to the smiling retailer, Sanders told the paper.
He set the record straight in the latest edition by explaining that the center is something he could support but doesn't want his comments to cloud his judgment on the project because all is not known about it.
After all, that nagging little environment impact report -- which will either spell out Merced's ecological ruin or merely note that a few more residents might develop a cough -- hasn't yet come out.
Once it's released and hits the best-seller list, the project will go before the Merced City Council for a vote. It's a meeting that could challenge the Riverside Motorsports Park vote for the controversy record. Remember that "project"?
Anti-Wal-Mart activists seized on Sanders' endorsement, sending a mass e-mail about the story. "It doesn't matter what Merced residents say, or how badly we'll be impacted by Wal-Mart's high-polluting distribution center -- his door is closed, his mind is made up," it reads.
The e-mail goes on to note his opponent, Hub Walsh, has plans to improve air quality.
Though supervisors won't vote on the distribution center, he has stayed out of the fray, saying it's too early to support or oppose the project. It's at least tacit support of Walsh for supervisor.
But let's pull out our political whiteboard. Sanders sounds as if he's bought into the project, and he's trying to move from the City Council to the Board of Supervisors.
So ... you'd think the Stop Wal-Mart team would support his campaign and lobby for Walsh to fill his spot on the council.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Jim Sanders and WalMart
This from our friends at WMAT regarding Jim Sanders and the article in the Sun Star regarding his support for the WalMart Distribution Center:
"Setting it straight"
Dear Editor,
I was very pleased with your article on my campaign, and how you wove the family's history and my own into the story of my race for County Supervisor, District 2. Thank you.
As a sitting City Council member, who has not yet seen the complete plan nor the EIR for the Wal-Mart distribution center project, I have been trying to toe the legal line by not publicly endorsing or opposing the project without certain qualification.
Your article was correct in quoting my support for the Distribution Center because of the county's needs for better paying jobs for our workforce. However, I have a legal duty to the Office of Council Member and to the public whose business the council takes up, to be certain my public comments and public positions in this supervisor campaign, do not cloud the process.
I should have said it to you thus:
"While it will not solve the entire unemployment situation in the city or the county, the Wal-Mart distribution center and the jobs it can provide us makes it something, at this point, I could support. Unless something becomes apparent to me in the E.I.R. process and the Public Review prior to the council making its decision, it seems like we would be doing more damage to both our environment and our economic situation in the county if they located elsewhere."
Jim Sanders
"Setting it straight"
Dear Editor,
I was very pleased with your article on my campaign, and how you wove the family's history and my own into the story of my race for County Supervisor, District 2. Thank you.
As a sitting City Council member, who has not yet seen the complete plan nor the EIR for the Wal-Mart distribution center project, I have been trying to toe the legal line by not publicly endorsing or opposing the project without certain qualification.
Your article was correct in quoting my support for the Distribution Center because of the county's needs for better paying jobs for our workforce. However, I have a legal duty to the Office of Council Member and to the public whose business the council takes up, to be certain my public comments and public positions in this supervisor campaign, do not cloud the process.
I should have said it to you thus:
"While it will not solve the entire unemployment situation in the city or the county, the Wal-Mart distribution center and the jobs it can provide us makes it something, at this point, I could support. Unless something becomes apparent to me in the E.I.R. process and the Public Review prior to the council making its decision, it seems like we would be doing more damage to both our environment and our economic situation in the county if they located elsewhere."
Jim Sanders
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
A Message from the GVNA
The Central California Valley Band Review (CCBR) will once again be held in our neighborhood on: Saturday, November 8, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.! Volunteers from our Neighborhood Association will be needed to help assure this years event will once again be safe and successful! Here's how you can assist: Thursday, November 6th at: 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. - Volunteers are needed to help Post "No Parking" signs on the Parade Route. We will assemble at the Golden Valley High School Band Room at 3:45 p.m. then, proceed to the route from there. Saturday, November 8th at: 6:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Volunteers will be needed to "Monitor Traffic at Neighborhood Intersections". We will be assembling at the Golden Valley High School Volunteer area for our assignments at 6:00 a.m. This is your opportunity to get involved! Please drop me an e-mail and let me know you will be able to participate. You may e-mail or call me at: (209) 761-0635 with any questions. Thanks In Advance! Joel
Election is just days away....
Just a friendly reminder to get out and vote! There are crucial issues out there that will affect us all so now is your chance to make a difference!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Merced's New City Manager
taken from the Merced Sun-Star
Merced Council to vote on new city manager
John Bramble comes from Brighton, Colorado
By Scott Jason
sjason@mercedsun-star.com
John Bramble
Bramble's resume
Merced's City Council will vote Monday on hiring John Bramble as its next city manager.
Bramble serves as city manager in Brighton, Col. and would replace Jim Marshall, who announced his retirement in January. Bramble will not be at the meeting. The city is offering Bramble a five-year contract with a $171,653 salary and four weeks vacation. It also includes a nine-month severance package.
Merced Council to vote on new city manager
John Bramble comes from Brighton, Colorado
By Scott Jason
sjason@mercedsun-star.com
John Bramble
Bramble's resume
Merced's City Council will vote Monday on hiring John Bramble as its next city manager.
Bramble serves as city manager in Brighton, Col. and would replace Jim Marshall, who announced his retirement in January. Bramble will not be at the meeting. The city is offering Bramble a five-year contract with a $171,653 salary and four weeks vacation. It also includes a nine-month severance package.
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