Heck of a week, Patchers, with some unfortunate and big doings in Washington, D.C. You were all over us, as usual, dropping in comment bombs in threads across the site.
And all while a goodly portion of you are mobile and on vacation. You lucky people.
Thanks for writing, we enjoy hearing from all of you.
Coming out of the gate with colors unfurled and flying proudly Lamorinda Patch did a little story on planned this year. Some initial budget issues appear to have been overcome and our two cities and a town are getting ready to celebrate the day in style. We heard from a local who wanted to get the word out about some particularly effusive celebrants and they sound like they're bound and determined to have a little fun so:
"Don't forget: The Fabulous Lafayette Based New Orleans Brass Band will also be in the Parade this year, Saint Gabriel's Celestial Brass Band led by Tom Wiggins long time resident of Orinda and Lafayette. An Authentic New Orleans Jazz funeral and Mardi Gras Marching Band will perform for the third year. Come on out and Second Line with this high energy Band." -- and that one came from, wait for it, Thomas Wiggins!
On a short yarn we did about rats and mold chasing firefighters out of a (no joking matter, we know) we got this from readers after a "Gross!" response from Patch fave ElectraDaddy:
"According to the 2008 LAFCO report, Station 16 in Lafayette which is closing responds to about 250 calls per year while the adjacent Station 43 in Orinda responds to 225. Sounds like the Station 43 crew is going to be spending a lot of time in Lafayette. However, MOFD is planning on spending $3 million to replace the Station 43 building in the same place it is now. Sounds like it might be smarter for MOFD and ConFire to build a joint station near the border, splitting the construction and staffing costs." -- Steve Cohn
And this:
"Exactly. I'll admit to an involuntary laugh when I read this in the article: "...Station 43 in Orinda is not far from Station 16, thus delayed response time is not expected to be much of a problem, according to Guelden."
The natural implications of this admission are obvious to anyone who cares about efficiency, but alas are lost on our dedicated civil servants.
We taxpayers are hungry, so forgive us from innocently assuming that rats eating half the government's grain might cause a problem for them and, therefore, us. It is with mixed emotions than we learn that nearby redundant silos are full and that all bellies will remain full." -- Chris Nicholson
And this:
"MOFD's finances, while better than most due to generous funding, are not such that we can subsidize Confire." -- Diana Stephens
For our "Suprisingly Resonating with Readers" story of the week we submit a short on a with a fun marketing scheme: they're telling people who they are in their storefront game of "Wheel of Fortune" -- one letter at a time. The locals were all over this one:
"Wilkes Bashf-BenHurs?" -- Zoe Claire
"Probably Venture, a great men's store." -- Spencer
"All I want is a Fentons. Is that asking too much?" -- an ice cream-deprived Lori Atmaine
On our story about the great we received this from a local pundit and a fan of chickens:
"It's a clucking miracle!" -- Moribund Dave
"Bravo! Not sure who ever complained about the chickens but clearly someone with too much time on their hands and no appreciation of great tasting, and good for you eggs!" -- Hop2
Lamorinda Patch dispatched ace reporter to last Wednesday night's meeting of the and Sean came away with a great look at the public debate over the future use of and the at-times bitter acrimony accompanying the issue at times:
"Nice job on the summary, Sean and Patch. Last night's TC meeting was certainly contentious. I arrived at the meeting, hoping that the restrictions on sports use, and the new spatial separation plan proposed by town staff might lay the groundwork for further constructive discussions about how best to share the park's resources. However, as Sean notes, the tone of the dialog rapidly devolved into accusations and harangues. I guess we'll soon see if the "media outlet" comment process suggested by Jill Keimach can bring out a more constructive set of suggestions from our Town's citizenry." -- Jon Chambers
"Is "going off leash" the new "going postal?" -- Nicholas (our vote for comment of the week).
"Between Sean of Patch and Hannah, this site is unstoppable. What a great resource for timely local news." -- Andrew L.
"This was really a nice piece of reporting. Thank you, Patch." -- Jon Onoda
And then, in the "talker" of the week, we put up a story on what the President, those after his job... and you, all thought about the on health care. As expected, you had a lot to say on the topic:
"Victory is sweet,vindication is even sweeter!!!" -- Summer Hemphill
"This marks what perhaps is biggest advance in social progress (defined as the greater good) since the enactment of Social Security. FDR is cheering from his grave at Hyde Park. No question, a huge victory for the well-being -- literally -- of the American people. Come November, I hope registered voters bear in mind who is on their side. Unless you are a One-Percenter or Corporate America, it definitely isn't the Republican Party ... or the Koch brothers." -- Thomas Black
"Do you mind it when the uninsured end up in the ER, and your hard-earned tax dollars and higher premiums pay for it?" -- Kevin Grabbenstatter
"I thought I knew everything I needed to know about this legislation. I am finding out now, just like Sargeant Schulze in Hogan's Heroes,....."I know nothing" -- Dennis Wanken
"So I guess we are hoping that the long term benefits of access to preventative care will net out to less than the emergency care type overages of the currently uninsured?-- It will be interesting to see the math play out here. Lots of incentives and disincentives by individuals, medical providers and insurance companies that I am not clear on yet." -- Linda Rosenthal
"I wish someone had the guts to address the reason that healthcare costs so much in America." -- Amanda
"Because those who demand care are not the ones who pay. It is incentive misalignment. No one is doing the risk/reward calculation to ration care, so the demand for care will be infinite. We occassionally can blame evil insurance companies for refusing to pay $100K for a questionable procedure, but when these decisions become POLITICAL issues, prepare for a combination of more spending and more waiting....." -- Chris Nicholson
"I keep wondering who is this "we" that you insist are paying for uninsured patients in ERs. The government and your taxes are not reimbursing ERs for required care, the hospitals swallow it. Yes, hospitals charge more to paying customers for balancing out these losses, but if you do not go to that hospital, you are not paying for it under the current system." -- Jason Schmidt
"My husband had his own business and we have always paid for our own health insurance. We are both in good health but our monthly premiums have been rising astronomically for years. We also have a high deductible. If some consider the mandate to be a tax..so be it.
I look forward to the day when my country joins other developed nations in providing affordable,quality healthcare to all its citizens.
Today was a good day." -- Valerie Sloven
