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About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in add...  (More)

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What were some voters thinking or were they?

Uploaded: Mar 19, 2015
Barring a major surprise in the 13,300 ballots still to be counted, Orinda Mayor Steve Glazer will face off with Concord Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla in the May 19th runoff between Democrats for the 7th Senate district seat.
Glazer, who courted Republicans since he announced his campaign at the last minute before filing closed, easily topped the field of five official candidates with 32.8 percent of the vote. Bonilla, backed by the unions and many of the elected Democrat officials, finished second at 24.9, while former Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan was third with 22.6 percent.
What's stunning is that Republican Michaela Hertle, who withdrew from the campaign shortly after filing closed and backed Glazer, drew 17 percent of the vote. Glazer's campaign spent plenty of money sending targeted mailers to Republicans with the message from Hertle that she had withdrawn and was supporting Glazer and there was plenty of news coverage about that fact.
In a conversation late last year with Joan Buchanan, she said that she expected this special election to be all about reaching people who always voted—the five of five elections folks. The preliminary turnout, with plenty of absentees ballots still to be counted, was about 20 percent and likely will climb to about 23 percent. That's more than double the special election earlier this year in Southern California, but the number of presumably Republican voters that ignored the flood of mail to vote for a candidate who withdrew is stunning.
Joan was elected to the San Ramon Valley school board six times, but that is non-partisan. She told me that is was notable how many voters who supported her for the school board could not back her when a (D) was behind her name.
With the May 19 opponents now decided, consider that the deluge of mail in the primary was a mere sampling. There will be no holds barred for the unions as they strive to defeat Glazer just as there will be plenty of money from unaffiliated groups backing Glazer.
It will be a real bare knuckles fight.

Switching gears entirely, when we were snow skiing a lot, Sierra at Tahoe was our favorite place—even back to when it was family owned as Sierra Ski Ranch. Although we owned a timeshare within an easy walk of Heavenly Valley, we would jump in the car and drive back over Echo Summit to Sierra for a day of skiing.
John Rice, the long-time general manager of Sierra, announced last weekend that the resort would be closing on March 16—stunningly early, but an accurate reflection of the snow level. The official snow reading that is taken monthly is in the meadow just north of the entrance road to Sierra. The resort has received about one-third of its normal snowfall.
Sierra was the first major resort to close, although it will be joined by Sugar Bowl near Donner Summit after this weekend. Sugar Bowl traditionally receives one of the deepest snow packs in the Tahoe area.
Incidentally, John earned a special spot on my list of managers who care. I met him one Christmas season when there was minimal grooming because of a low snow pack and that was opposite the normal Sierra experience. I went to the office to ask about it and he walked me down to the mountain manager's office to share my views.
A year later, when my nephew had failed to show up on the bus back from Sierra, I dialed the resort and left a voice mail for John late in the afternoon. To my pleasant surprise, he returned the call, listened to my concerns, and checked out the situation. Fortunately, my missing nephew showed up and all was well—with a major note about a senior manager who paid attention and took action.
Sadly, that's what he did when he closed—hopefully to re-open if a major storm that is not on the horizon returns.
The global warming devotees will celebrate this—I would suggest checking out the record snowfall in Boston where my oldest cousin lives and has been digging out all winter.
Local Journalism.
What is it worth to you?

Comments

Posted by Harris K. Telemacher, a resident of another community,
on Mar 19, 2015 at 11:02 am

Pssst -- Tim! It's not the snow there, or the drought here, that May relate to global warming -- it's the elevated frequency of extreme weather patterns. Both your phenomena fit That model, as do various others, like Sandy and those south Pacific superstorms -- too much energy in the system.

Sooner or later it's not a coincidence, and nobody is 'celebrating.'


Posted by b, a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood,
on Mar 20, 2015 at 9:00 pm

All that useless junk went straight to the recycling pile. Doesn't seem to be a way to opt out of the endless robocalls and hate mail.


Posted by for b, a resident of Downtown,
on Mar 22, 2015 at 9:30 am

I hate robocalls almost as much as the practically free mail fees to send that useless crap. Cannot stop the junk mail but you can stop the robocalls!

www.nomorobo.com. That site works only for landlines but trust me it does work! I signed up months ago and the robocalls are cut off before the second ring. If you get robocalls from a doctor to confirm an appointment those will get through. The reason is the vast database of blacklisted numbers, which does not include your doc.

Try it and then tell your congressman to pass legislation forcing cell providers to do the same thing. It's free and it works. Guaranteed.


Posted by Michael Austin, a resident of Pleasanton Meadows,
on Mar 22, 2015 at 4:43 pm

Michael Austin is a registered user.

@for b:

I looked into the www.nomorobo.com.
That sit does not support AT&T land lines.
I believe AT&T is the dominant land line around here!


Posted by for b, a resident of Downtown,
on Mar 22, 2015 at 5:44 pm

It most certainly DOES work with ATT, that is my carrier.


Posted by Rhel, a resident of Pleasanton Meadows,
on Mar 23, 2015 at 3:41 pm

Rhel is a registered user.

for b,
It does not, at this time, support "traditional AT&T landline" services. It might support U-verse, but I don't have U-verse.


Posted by sickened, a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood,
on Mar 23, 2015 at 4:00 pm

Tim,

Anyone who has any sense does not have to call your cousin in Boston to understand that the United States has had extreme weather on each coast this year. Do you not understand what climate change is at all? It is how small and incremental changes in GLOBAL temperature can have big shifts in climate and weather. It has little to do with what is happening in Tahoe nor in Boston....that is what is called anecdotal evidence. Whether what has happened in the USA this year is related to climate change or not is still to be determined. The science points that it may be a pattern, but it is far too early to make a call. I find it absolutely sickening that you imply that people might be "celebrating" this. In fact, as a scientist, I find climate change evidence absolutely terrifying, especially for the future of my children, grandchildren, and their generations. Maybe you don't think about them at all.


Posted by Michael Austin, a resident of Pleasanton Meadows,
on Mar 23, 2015 at 5:31 pm

Michael Austin is a registered user.

@sickened:

If you are a scientist, identify yourself and present your credentials. Any thing short of that, you are just another TROLL.


Posted by Formerly Dan from BC, a resident of Bridle Creek,
on Mar 23, 2015 at 8:28 pm

Formerly Dan from BC is a registered user.

Michael,

From Wikipedia: "In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people,[1] by posting inflammatory,[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[3] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[4]

This sense of the word troll and its associated verb trolling are associated with Internet discourse, but have been used more widely. Media attention in recent years has equated trolling with online harassment. For example, mass media has used troll to describe "a person who defaces Internet tribute sites with the aim of causing grief to families."[5][6]"

Here's the link: Web Link

You have continued to mix a persons desire to remain anonymous with being a troll, but they're clearly not the same.



Posted by Michael Austin, a resident of Pleasanton Meadows,
on Mar 24, 2015 at 7:19 am

Michael Austin is a registered user.

formerly Dan from BC:

You did not scroll far enough on your Wikipedia link. Scroll down to Psychological Characteristics, it describes you as having dark personality traits, signs of sadism, anti social behavior, psychopathy and Machiavellianism. Studies suggest "similarities between anti social and flame trolling activities.

I recommend that you read Tom Cushing's Blog "Me and Ashley, sittin in a tweet...".

Anyone posting anonymously is a TROLL, there is no other way to slice it.


Posted by sickened, a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood,
on Mar 24, 2015 at 12:05 pm

Michael, Some of us are not blessed with such nondescript and anonymous names such as "Michael Austin". I would be stupid to put my full name onto some blog so that anyone who googles me for the next 50 years will see it. Why would I take such a risk? I am more than happy to have a discussion in person or in private. We teach our children that what we put on the internet will follow us forever and it needs to be done with extreme care. I choose to practice what I preach. I have many jobs ahead of me. I have no idea what sort of political views an employer may have. It is well known that communication online is a poor substitute for communication in person. I believe in what I am saying, however I would like to have the opportunity to have a REAL discussion and not have my name associated one or two comments online. I do commend you for using your real name, however I'm not sure how smart that is, especially for future employment or even if neighbors/acquaintences/children/in-laws/grandchildren choose to google you, it will likely give them a very unfavorable impression. I'm sure you tell yourself that you don't care what they think but maybe you should. Go ahead and dismiss everything you read anonymously that you do not agree with as "troll". I'm sure it works out very conveniently for you though most others would disagree.


Posted by San Ramon Observer, a resident of San Ramon,
on Mar 24, 2015 at 1:06 pm

San Ramon Observer is a registered user.

b, Michael, & Rhel,

I have Uverse and I just signed up for Nomorobo. It does accept traditional AT&T landlines and Uverse. There's a drop down list to select your carrier.

However, it doesn't stop the calls. It just cuts off the automatic message. The messages don't bother me as much as the phone calls.

I'm not on the No Call List, but I should be. That's how to keep junk calls from filling up your phone mail in the first place. Does anyone here have instructions to get on the No Call List?

Roz


Posted by Tom Cushing, a resident of Alamo,
on Mar 24, 2015 at 1:15 pm

My ears were ringing.

Just for the record, Michael, I do not equate all anonymous postings with trollery. There are many reasons to remain anonymous, as noted above. I do not think that sickened's comments here qualify as trollery. That said, thanks for the plug!

I also prefer the verb form, which denotes activity, rather than the blanket noun label. Troll behavior is too easy to accomplish, such that those who are tempted to partake in it can readily create difficulties for everyone else, and then revel in the attention. Fortunately, although trollers may squawk, they also give up pretty easily, most of the time -- it's a big web, and opportunities elsewhere abound.

We've all become too tolerant of trollery, as if it is just the price we must pay for an interactive web. We needn't.


Posted by Formerly Dan from BC, a resident of Bridle Creek,
on Mar 24, 2015 at 1:19 pm

Formerly Dan from BC is a registered user.

Psssst Michael?

So I should read Tom' blog to understand that your post above is the very definition of what a troll does? Lol!

Look at the definition a again, I'll even paste it again for you to save a little time for you Mike: "...who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments...or off-topic messages..."

Tim' blog was not about trolls yet you deliberately started an argument about trolls.

You sir, are the very definition of Troll whether you choose to believe so or not.

Nowhere in the Wikipedia definition does remaining anonymous equate to the psychological descriptions you pasted, so again, fail.

And really dude, your fall back is a blog from Tom? Lol! Tom is an admitted sock-puppet under the name of The Dogfather. He posted for weeks before finally admitting it. I was the only one who called him on it BEFORE HE CAME OUT. Using him as your expert is not only ironic, but shows a serious lack of awareness on this topic.

Flame away, troll. -snicker-


Posted by Rhel, a resident of Pleasanton Meadows,
on Mar 24, 2015 at 1:32 pm

Rhel is a registered user.

Roz,
When I checked for "landline/VoiP" and "AT&T (Traditional Landline)" and enter my email, I get this message:

"Sorry! None of your carriers currently support Nomorobo.

Unfortunately, AT&T (Traditional Landline) does not support Nomorobo yet.

Please call the customer service numbers below and ask that they add Nomorobo to their service. The more people that call them, the better.
AT&T (Traditional Landline) Customer Service - 1-800-288-2020

You'll also receive an email when it becomes available."

That tells me that it's not available on ATT unless you have U-Verse. Which is what I said.

As for the "Do Not Call" registry, you can find more about it here: Web Link


Posted by dogfather, a resident of Alamo,
on Mar 24, 2015 at 2:08 pm

Ugh. I'm reminded of why 'Dan' got canned from the RC.

It is no revelation that Cushing has used the dogfather moniker -- perhaps others have, too. Around here, a post from him gets associated with his blog, which might not serve its purpose -- especially if the comment concerns an unrelated, e.g., humane matter (usually when my screen name appears). Regardless, it's his choice under the Terms, just as we don't really know that 'Dan' and 'Michael' are using their own given names. The point is, it needn't matter -- what matters is the content of the message, or the lack thereof.

Thus, it was no 'admission,' and not much of an 'outing' as outing's go -- just a trollish entertainment.


Posted by Formerly Dan from BC, a resident of Bridle Creek,
on Mar 24, 2015 at 2:22 pm

Formerly Dan from BC is a registered user.

I got canned because I accused liberals of being cowards with regards to torture, and Toms inability to respond to the charge. I stand by that accusation and adhere to being censored (not banned) by Tom.

Of course, just a few day/weeks ago Tom called someone cowardly, but it's his blog and his hypocracy to live by, natch.

Question for you smart-guy, why not register and give Gina/PW your full information, like I did?

But I digress, I only brought up Toms credibility in reference to Michaels post about trolls.

Do keep up DF. Buhbye.


Posted by Formerly Dan from BC, a resident of Bridle Creek,
on Mar 24, 2015 at 3:23 pm

Formerly Dan from BC is a registered user.

Lol...don't know how I could have missed it, but even Tom doesn't agree with Michael.

H3ll hath frozen over!

Can we now move on?


Posted by Door Mouse, a resident of Castlewood,
on Mar 24, 2015 at 3:42 pm

Good call, cushing.


Posted by Michael Austin, a resident of Pleasanton Meadows,
on Mar 24, 2015 at 3:56 pm

Michael Austin is a registered user.

I accept full responsibility for everything I write and post on line.
My photo is also published, on line, recently in the Pleasanton Weekly 01/30/2015, quest opinion.

I blog on several publications in the Bay Area and else where.

All those people that post and write anonymously lack the courage and do not accept responsibility for what it is they write and post online. if you do not have the courage and will not take responsibility for what you write and post on line, you are a TROLL, there is no other way to slice it.


Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore,
on Mar 24, 2015 at 6:58 pm

Hi Dan BC...Thank you for addressing the distorted vision of the real TROLL!

I'll go to sleep tonight laughing...very very funny!

Signed,

Cholo Pololo Mololo


Posted by Formerly Dan from BC, a resident of Bridle Creek,
on Mar 24, 2015 at 9:13 pm

Formerly Dan from BC is a registered user.

"I accept full responsibility for everything I write and post on line.
My photo is also published, on line, recently in the Pleasanton Weekly 01/30/2015, quest opinion.

I blog on several publications in the Bay Area and else where."

So what??

"All those people that post and write anonymously lack the courage and do not accept responsibility for what it is they write and post online. if you do not have the courage and will not take responsibility for what you write and post on line, you are a TROLL, there is no other way to slice it."

So sayeth King Michael of Trollsville!

Just give it up King. You're only tilting at windmills.


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