Head shots

Concussions continue to be a hot topic at home and away (see “Head games” by Hugh Biggar, Feature Story, September 15).

SN&R learned that Kennedy High School tight end Reginald Wilson suffered a head injury in a September 9, game against Capital Christian High School. Wilson apparently went up for a pass, was hit in the back and then hit his head on the ground. Paramedics took him to the hospital, and he stayed through the weekend.

“He was going up for a pass and was hit, lost feeling in his legs and had memory loss,” Kennedy coach Chris Palumbo said. “I am happy to say that he … is making a remarkable recovery. He should be returning to school soon.”

Meanwhile in Sutter County, a high-school player reportedly suffered a concussion and other injuries after his coach had 11 teammates tackle him, a disciplinary move that suggests the coach took too many hits to the head himself.

More positively, in Loomis, Del Oro High School is partnering with the California Interscholastic Federation to conduct before and after cognitive tests in case of head injuries.

Compiled from Cull-de-Sac.

Who are you calling small?

The GOP is right about one thing, and one thing only: Small business is job creation, and small business is hurting right now. The problem is that it’s hard to spot the real small businesses. That’s because, thanks to eight years of Bushonomics (and a lack of will on the part of the so-called “opposition party” to actually oppose our corporate overlords), nobody remembers what a small business is anymore.

The U.S. Small Business Association defines a small business as having fewer than 500 employees and $21.5 million in receipts, depending on the industry.

That’s not exactly a Mom-and-Pop-shop. They are not talking about:

• The guy who owns his own auto repair shop and hires a couple of part-timers to pick up the extra work;

• All the people running day-care centers out of their own homes;

• The family that runs the bakery where I buy my bread every other day.

In fact, these corporatist shills are not even talking about my own employers, the principals in Chico Community Publishing, which operates three small weeklies and doesn’t gross nearly as much as the cannabis ads might lead you to believe.

No, they mean something entirely different when they say “small business” and “job creator.” They mean family-owned businesses like the one the Koch Brothers have, or the one the Waltons own.

Compiled from Kel’s Hot Flash.