Local first. We’ve been talking a little lately about growth and development issues in Grass Valley, which now includes the Glenbrook Basin. Especially interesting is the possible fate of the old Chevrolet dealership, now closed, where Walgreens is widely assumed to be the next tenant with part of the package being demolition and a new building. The publisher of the Grass Valley Union, Jeff Ackerman, wrote an opinion piece for Tuesday’s edition about this little real estate transaction, and it provides a fine opportunity to make some pertinent points about local government, economics and development.

Maybe the most amusing part of this story is the letter writing campaign being waged almost every day in The Union by people saying we don’t need Walgreens; we want Trader Joe’s, as though such business decisions are made by a vote of the people. They’re not, and Jeff makes that point, saying that Walgreens can risk its dough trying to sell you stuff on that corner if it wants to. Trader Joes may not be bidding for the job, but the people do get to vote, in a way. The people elect local officials to make decisions about planning and land use. The city can’t say whether the sign hanging on the building says Walgreens, Trader Joes or any other name, but the right and responsibility of local government to regulate practically everything else about the building is well established.

Jeff suggests that the only option for people who don’t want Walgreens is to buy the property from Walgreens and open whatever kind of business they want. The first snag in that plan is that Walgreens doesn’t own the real estate; a developer owns it and happens to be offering Walgreens the opportunity to do business there. Trying to nudge the developer in the direction the people want is exactly what the city is supposed to do. The people do not have to assume the developer’s role to have influence over land use decisions.

Jeff expresses a nostalgic feeling for Walgreens, pointing out that the milkshake was invented in 1922 at a Walgreens soda fountain. Sorry Jeff, but this aint no neighborhood soda fountain anymore. It’s just another giant, faceless, soulless corporation. We can’t afford to cut any slack for what it was 80-some years ago.

Finally, Jeff takes a shot at citizens who kibitz planning decisions as people who, "Wouldn’t know a business plan if it crawled out of their Birkenstocks." He says he wants ‘em to, "Just shut up about it." As always, Jeff turns a nice phrase, but he seriously underestimates the wit, wisdom and will of the people he’s trying to marginalize. There are some very attractive, innovative and lucrative business plans at work in this community, and quite a few Birks are hitting the floors of those businesses. Makes me wonder if Jeff values attire more than attitude.

Under the county’s stewardship, the Basin went from a bucolic rural playground to a big strip mall, indistinguishable from north Auburn. Grass Valley contributed to the deterioration by providing the sewer service. Now Grass Valley city officials are bragging that it’s a new planning era in that area with Gold Country architecture–whatever that means–coming in the future. The future is now at the old car lot. We’ll soon see if Grass Valley is serious about transforming the Basin. It takes more than architecture and landscaping to make a local business, but it’s a start.

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You probably heard our Congressman, John Doolittle answer a few question live at the KVMR booth during the county fair. I have to give him a little credit for walking cold into a situation where tough questions were asked. As you’d expect, he told us how surprised he was to learn that Jack Abramof was a bad guy, even though Abramof was giving money to Doolittle’s campaign fund, and Doolittle’s wife was keeping 15% of it as Abramof’s contract employee. Discerning that most of his constituents don’t really mind that he’s on the take, Doolittle readily admits that these campaign contributions were made to influence his opposition to reforming some labor laws in a place called the Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth south of Japan and west of the Phillipines. Sixty some odd years ago, the US grabbed these islands as a military base. The flights which dropped atom bombs on Japan took off from the Marianas. These days, the place is home to some manufacturers who don’t pay very well, but like to put a "made in USA" label on their products. Following the money, that would explain Doolittle’s interest in the labor laws of the Mariana Islands.

The congressman also said he favors building fences to prevent illegal immigration only in the urban areas along the Mexican border. Presumably, he figures if they’re going to come anyway, at least we can send ‘em for a walk in the desert instead of just letting them walk down the street.

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A little follow up on the "Lamont beats Lieberman" story: As soon as Ned Lamont became the Democratic nominee, the Republicans all the way up to Dick Cheney started calling him an al Qaida sympathizer who was encouraging terrorists. This is a political tactic that dates back at least to the early 1950s. Some of the slower Republicans still call ‘em commie sympathizers, but these days the word "commie" has been replaced by the word terrorist. It’s still the same; there’s one under every bed. And I’ve been reading commentary which refers to Lamont symbolizing a Democratic shift to the left, as though being opposed to invading Iraq to colonize the region and steal the oil had anything to do with being off the center of the political spectrum.