Tying up loose ends

The Yes on Measure A campaign and some of its backers continue to have problems that could get them in trouble with the state Fair Political Practices Commission (see Melissa Daugherty’s Newslines story on page 9), but Supervisor Larry Wahl recently made a good case that one charge—that the Measure A group has been distributing campaign materials out of his county office—was untrue.

When Daugherty went to Wahl’s office Tuesday (May 31) for a press conference called by an anti-A group, she found him there. He told her that reports in this newspaper and elsewhere that the pro-A people had been storing campaign materials in his office were incorrect. The materials were stored in another part of the building that was not part of his office, he said. Others from the pro-A campaign confirmed what Wahl said.

It should be noted that, when CN&R reporter Tom Gascoyne was working on last week’s cover story (“What’s at stake with Measure A”), he phoned Stephanie Taber, the head of the Measure A campaign, at Wahl’s office, where she works, to question her about the materials. She asked him to call her at home after 8 p.m., but when he did so nobody answered.

I also mentioned the charge in this column last week, which is why I am now providing Wahl’s explanation of the situation.

Golf for a good cause: The CN&R is doing something new (for us) in a couple of weeks: sponsoring a benefit golf tournament. It’s called Links for Literacy, will be held June 18 at Tuscan Ridge Golf Club, and will benefit the Butte County Library’s Summer Children’s Reading Program.

I used to play golf. It’s a cruel sport, but fascinating. Realizing a few years ago that I didn’t have time to become good enough at the game to relax into it, I gave my clubs to my nephew. I may try to borrow a set so I can join the fun June 18. I’ll be the one looking for my ball in the tall grass.

News from the U: Last Nov. 18 in this space I wrote about the Chico State team’s amazing victory over Stanford and 74 other teams in the Pacific Northwest regional “Battle of the Brains” computer-programming competition. With its victory, the Chico team won a trip to the world finals, an “Olympics for brainiacs,” as I called it then.

Last weekend in Orlando, Fla., the Chico team placed 61st out of 105 teams in international competition and fifth among the 18 American teams. The overall winner was a team from China; the University of Michigan placed second, the only U.S. team in the top 12. Congrats, ’Cats!

Another item: In my March 31 column, I wrote about Chico State’s effort to attract the CSU Summer Arts program to campus. Well, the site selection committee chose Cal State Monterey Bay. In a letter to colleagues, the dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, Joel Zimbelman, said he was disappointed that Chico hadn’t prevailed but glad the program had survived budget cuts and would continue to offer extraordinary opportunities to Chico State students.