News

Check out the profile on one-time Eureka High football star Rey Maualuga.

Poor docs, starting tomorrow they will no longer be showered in free, logo-bescribbled office tools and medical devices. According to a story in the New York Times , the pharmaceutical industry has gallantly decided to stop said showering:

Starting Jan. 1, the pharmaceutical industry has agreed to a voluntary moratorium on the kind of branded goodies — Viagra pens, Zoloft soap dispensers, Lipitor mugs — that were meant to foster good will and, some would say, encourage doctors to prescribe more of the drugs.

You may recall our story on this a while back, which focused more on the free food that drug companies lavish on doctors and their staff, and a bit on free drug samples.

The NYT story notes that while the drug industry's new guidelines yank the pens and mugs and such, they "still permit drug makers to underwrite free lunches for doctors and their staffs or to sponsor dinners for doctors at restaurants, as long as the meals are accompanied by educational presentations."

Whew, that's a relief. It's hungry out there.

I think you hit record insteada play...

This just in from the folks at Lost Coast Communications:

New York Times Columnist, Frank Rich with John Matthews on KSLG 94.1 FM

On Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 9:15 AM, KSLG morning host, John Matthews will speak with New York Times columnist Frank Rich about Barack Obama's decision to have Reverend Rick Warren perform the invocation at his inauguration. Reverend Warren is a California-based megachurch preacher who has likened committed gay relationships to incest, polygamy and "an older guy marrying a child."

In addition to Mr Rich's work at The New York Times, he has written about politics and culture for many other publications. His latest book, The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth From 9/11 to Katrina, was published by Penguin Press in 2006.

Listeners can tune in on the dial at 94.1 KSLG FM or on the web stream at kslg.com

The long wait is over. The Mateel is finally getting the settlement payment they've been waiting for -- following  a long delay blamed on the current state of the lending market. Here's the announcement from the Ranch:

The Dimmick Ranch announces payment of the Mateel Settlement

The Dimmick Ranch announced today that Tom Dimmick has secured the necessary funding and will be making a payment of $256,400 that includes principal, interest and legal fees to the Mateel Community Center.  The payment will be presented to the MCC attorney, William Bragg.   "I am very pleased that I was able to make this payment today.  I just regret the time it has taken, but our national credit crisis and reluctance on the part of lenders to extend themselves at this time has severely impacted the finance plans" said Dimmick.  "I am pleased that this chapter is now behind us and that the Mateel Community Center and its members have their payment before Christmas."

"Today’s payment is the first of 3, spelled out by the Settlement.  The next payment of $200,000 will be due on February 1st and now that my finance package is in place, I expect that payment will be made on or before its due date.  The last being very small by comparison is due by September 30, 2009.  I was pleased that we were able to settle our differences with the MCC and I am very pleased that I will be able to meet the terms of that settlement and pay the $500,000.   I want to thank the MCC board and members for their patience through this difficult time."

Tom Dimmick is the permit holder for Reggae Rising ’09 and is the owner of Dimmick Ranch, LLC.  Reggae Rising ’09, is slated to be held at the historic Dimmick Ranch and French’s Camp Site on the banks of the Eel River July 31 – Aug 2.

The Dimmick Ranch wants to take this opportunity to wish the entire community a very happy holiday season, and best wishes for a healthy and safe New Year for all."

Tom Dimmick

v.

You may have noticed that plenty of folks have not yet taken down their "Yes on 8" or "No on 8" yard signs or peeled off their "8 is Hate" bumper stickers.  That's cuz this thing ain't over.  This slide show was the Courage Campaign's reaction to Ken Starr's from-the-top-rope flying leap into the fight. The former Lewinsky crusader recently became lead counsel in the effort to invalidate the marriages of the more than 18,000 same-sex couples who got legally hitched before Nov. 4.

And in the other corner... California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who made a surprising side-switch last week after examining state precedent and concluding that, "the amendment process cannot be used to extinguish fundamental constitutional rights without compelling justification." He's now asking the state Supreme Court to invalidate the measure.

It's the measure vs. the marriages in an all-out battle for validity. Think they'll put it on pay-per-view?

You too, can throw a shoe.

from the Washington Post :

"This is a farewell kiss!" the man, identified as Muntadar al-Zaidi, a reporter with the Cairo-based network Al Baghdadia Television, yelled as he threw the shoes... Zaidi started to yell "Dog, dog!" as he was surrounded by security agents, who tackled him to the floor and began to beat him... Zaidi, colleagues said, was kidnapped by Shiite militiamen last year and was later released. Throwing a shoe at someone is considered the worst possible insult in Iraq , and is meant to show extreme disrespect and hatred towards someone."

While walking my dog Chuck in the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary yesterday afternoon around 4, we nearly walked smack into this juvenile red tail hawk, which appeared to have a broken wing. It was perched on a fallen branch, staring at first me, then Chuck but not moving an inch. I sat cross-legged not four feet from the beautiful creature and stared right back.

I spent the next hour trying to reach someone via cellphone who could come to the poor raptor's aid, to no avail. Two messages left at the Humboldt Wildlife Care Center were not returned. A friendly woman working dispatch for the APD tried to find someone at HSU who could assist, but no one had shown by 5, at which point it was starting to get dark.

Eventually, the bird got tired of staring at me and Chuck and the assortment of astonished passers-by who had gathered, and he (I think it was a he) started hopping down the trail. By jumping awkwardly from branch to branch, he made his way up into a tree, then flew/fell into the underbrush. Dusk had settled, and I could no longer see him.

I'm not sure why it was so difficult to get help for injured wildlife while sitting in a wildlife sanctuary in one of the country's most eco-friendly communities. I'd been warned against handling it myself, though he sure would have been easy to catch.

When I got back to the office, I searched for the Humboldt Wildlife Care Center Web site and came across this , which appears to be a Japanese site advertising dental implants. According to Babel Fish, it offers "in plant remedy the artificial dental root of titanium ... on that of the pad in the bone of the jaw which is inside the gum."

Doesn't help the hawk much. I'm not sure what will become of him, though imminent death is probably a good bet. For my part, it was an amazing hour. Birds, unlike mammals, don't seem to communicate much with their eyes -- to me, at any rate. The hawk didn't appear to be attempting to communicate with me telepathically, and I don't think we connected on a soul level or anything like that. But the fact that he sat so close to me for so long -- that's clearly not normal behavior for a hawk, and I couldn't help interpreting that as a call for help.

Joining the cacophony of wants bouncing at Prez-Elect Obama's ear is a request from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy to consider the pedestrian, and the cyclist, when he puts together that economic recovery package during his first days in office.

The package, says the RTC, is expected to devote vast funds to car-centric road projects. Well, howzabout throwing some of that scootie the wheeled/tennied folks' way? Eh?

RTC is circulating a petition , which says:

I support explicit funding for trails, walking and biking in the upcoming economic recovery package. Funding active transportation is a cost-effective investment that creates jobs and leads to healthier people, stronger communities, decreased oil dependency, and reduced climate change emissions.

Thanks Tim Daniels with the Bigfoot Bicycle Club.

... to a "substantial risk of default," says Moody's Investors Services. The company has a debt of close to $1 billion.

But the Times-Standard's parent corporation bristles at Editor & Publisher's musings to the effect that the massive American newspaper super-chain could be headed toward bankruptcy, following the Tribune Co.'s trailblazing path down that road earlier in the week.

On the plus side, MediaNews honcho Big Dean Singleton has apparently backed away from the idea of outsourcing some editorial operations to India.