The Bee reports that a bill that would permanently allow volunteers to work on public projects -- building park benches and playgrounds, cleaning up creeks, etc. -- died on a party-line vote in the state Senate's labor committee. The Republicans...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger must really like to get out of Sacramento. He's probably visited Redding more times than the previous three governors combined, which I'd always attributed to cultivation of the GOP-voting base. But he favors left-leaning Humboldt County with...

I save bags. Brown paper bags, plastic grocery bags, I save 'em and then when they are on the verge of taking over my kitchen, I take them to the Salvation Army thrift store, where they reuse them to wrap purchases.The time had come. I bagged the plastic bags and I bagged the brown bags and put them in my pickup

Join C.C. Miller, Skin Care Therapist Extraordinaire, for an OPEN HOUSE at her new location withinBellissima Salon and SpaDate: Thursday, April 10th, 2008 Time: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

White men can jump — Nils Lofgren and Bruce Springsteen on Friday in Sacramento (photo courtesy Backstreets.com). (Jim #15) — He could be a new energy source. The technology exists. We can harness the electricity pouring off Bruce Springsteen in concert and power a small city, say Modesto, for a day or two. The

After today's congressional testimony of General David Pwtraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Rep. Wally Herger made some comments about the progress in Iraq. A sampling: “I’m encouraged by the transformation we’ve seen in Iraq over the past several months. General...

Sorry guys, I’m on the move again. Some folks were (reasonably) uncomfortable with the name “Hitler’s Titties.” I tried to change the URL and couldn’t. Besides, I wanted a different layout for better cartoon reproduction. So, you’ll now find me primarily at… PHILBERTOSOPHY

In a cost-cutting move, the copy desk was laid off. No kidding. Not even outsourced to India. Laid. Off....

A New Yorker cartoonist's take on the state of real estate: From the April 7 issue....

Currently North Star is brewing a fresh batch of porter. It is mid afternoon on Wednesday, April 9, 2008 and the smell of mashed malts permeates the atmosphere at the North Star Craft Brewery, and no doubt throughout the Shasta Gateway Industrial Park. What a wonderful smell the conversion of complex carbs to simple s

Someone forwarded me this e-mail from Mayor Mary Stegall: From: Mary Stegall To: To: Undisclosed-Recipient Sent: Monday, April 07, 2008 9:30 AM Subject: Democratic Caucus in Chico Dear friends, I have entered my name as a delegate for Hillary Clinton...

Spring comes of our own bit of architectural history -- dogwood in bloom beside the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Pilgrim Congregational Church on Foothill in west Redding....

In case you missed it (a "brief") on today's redding.com (as I did): Judge orders Redding to release affairs probe A Shasta County Superior Court judge on Tuesday ordered Redding officials to release documents and e-mails stemming from their investigation...

——————- ‘The Awww factor’ was a popular post, so I want to bring you up to date on the serious business of raising six bantam chicks (nothing but serious fun). They are now taking up residence in a 55 gallon fish tank on the kitchen floor. A perfect setup, actually. They can interact

—————- I’ve been wonderfully busy with my garden these last few day. The rock borders have to be pulled out and reset, thanks to the phalanx of gophers and moles that invade my borders. This year I sprinkled ‘Mole-Max’ underneath the rocks as placed them, and poison bait at in

A Sacramento man who rolled his all-terrain vehicle this morning southwest of Ono is in fair condition at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, a nursing supervisor said.

A Redding father who was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of cruelty to his 4-week-old daughter has had his bail revoked, Redding Police investigator Kristen Fredrick said today.

A spectator at Saturday's "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" fundraiser supplies this photo of supervisor candidate Bruce Waggoner's treacherous pumps, snapped before one of the heels snapped in an unfortunate footwear malfunction. It's a funny way to fracture your...

As Shasta County has just approved the use of state-managed credit cards for its employees and Tehama County already uses them, this comes in from the AP: WASHINGTON - Federal employees charged millions of dollars for Internet dating, tailor-made suits,...

An update on the canceled Redding show for you Ani DiFranco fans — all 305 of you. I wrote a blurb last week that DiFranco’s April 13 concert at the Cascade Theatre was called off. Cascade officials told me DiFranco pulled the plug for medical reasons. Unfortunately, I was unable to reach DiFranco’s

An update on the canceled Redding show for you Ani DiFranco fans — all 305 of you. I wrote a blurb last week that DiFranco’s April 13 concert at the Cascade Theatre was called off. Cascade officials told me DiFranco pulled the plug for medical reasons. Unfortunately, I was unable to reach DiFranco’s

Red Bluff’s Emily McEnaney was 3-for-4 with a double, triple, two RBI and three runs scored.

Brian and Cheri Skudlarek of Cottonwood know what it means to be a family. The couple has been married 17 years and they have two sons, Andrew and Adam.

According to Planet Redding, there's going to be a total eclipse in Redding this Friday and Saturday nigh

I was checking out the VideoBar on Kiss and Tell, and found this YouTube video called "I ain't sayin' she a gold digger" by Kanye West. It also includes

I would love my friend, Joanne, even if she suddenly withdrew my standing invitation to enter her Redding yard any old time my fruit-pickin’ heart desired to pluck lemons and grapefruits from her trees. All I want. No limit. Likewise, I would still think the world of Joanne even if she hadn’t kneeled

Today, while walking through the grocery store, I thought it would be clever of me to take on some of the items on the shelves to a duel of sorts. My challenge for this round is store-bought instant pudding. I think pudding is something that is so simple to make, and yet because of the marketing genius of big com

The historic town of Gas Point burned to the ground late Monday night on Lower Gas Point Road in north-west Cottonwood. During its prime in the mid-1800s, Gas Point was a booming, bustling place. Gold mining was big business.  By Tuesday morning all that remained of Gas Point were ashes, 

"It was one of our last historic gems," Shasta County historian Dottie Smith said. "When you drove up, you felt like you were in the Old West." The town's five remaining dilapidated buildings were fully engulfed in flames by the time California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and Shasta

UCLA freshman and Foothill High School graduate Samantha Camuso was named Pac-10 Player of the Week on Tuesday as the Bruins racked up wins over three ranked clubs.

It's always nice to be told to eat more of a delicious, fatty food, as in the case of salmon.

• Free shred day at Anderson bank • Coast Guard hosts basic boat rules class • Training offered for clinical supervisors

Against a backdrop of what one lumber trade group is calling one of “the worst declines in housing construction in modern times,” building activity in Redding in 2008 is on track to be the worst year for dollar valuation since 1983.

Ryan Wilson loves to barbecue. Wilson, 34 of Redding is so passionate about barbecuing that he has created a line of rubs he sells at retail outlets around the north state.

ANDERSON – Joshua Munns is finally back home.

Susan Weale and Randy Hauser stood on the gravel end of Victoria Drive on Tuesday afternoon ready to explain their lawsuit aimed at reversing a federal land swap.

ANDERSON -- The Sikh community will celebrate the first anniversary of the Sikh Centre in Anderson and the Sikh New Year with a Vaisakhi Festival on Saturday.

WHISKEYTOWN NATIONAL RECREATION AREA -- Search-and-rescue crews hunted Tuesday for a missing, and possibly suicidal, Sebastopol woman whose pickup was found seemingly abandoned Monday night at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.

Shasta County's need to meet a jail funding application deadline took precedence Tuesday over residents' requests to know more about a possible Radio Lane site for parolees.

Redding can’t knock much off the price tag for a new police headquarters by refurbishing an old warehouse or leasing an office building, a pair of architects told a citizens committee on Tuesday.

• Judge orders Redding to release affairs probe • Lesson ends in crash at Redding Municipal Airport

A Redding father was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of cruelty to his 4-week-old daughter, who is recovering from bleeding in the brain, the Redding Police Department reported.

One of six people injured in a head-on collision Monday on Highway 44 was doing better Tuesday.

Jim Nielsen lives in the Sacramento suburb of Woodland. For years he wrote a column for the newspaper in Woodland. His children attend school in Woodland. He owns a house in Woodland.

Joe Bahlke ("50-Word Dash," Tuesday) apparently believes that all "occupations" are the same and should be ended. He wonders what we are doing in Iraq.

I admit it. I must be the ignorant one. I was one of the sprinkled few Americans who questioned the obscene profits posted each quarter by oil companies. The highest recorded profits ever. I've had my head in the sand over the years.

Random thoughts on the passing scene:

PREP BASEBALL -- Princeton at Champion Christian 3:30 p.m.

Clutter Support Group -- 6 to 8 p.m., Redding Library, 1100 Parkview Ave., learn decluttering tools, free, 355-9879.

Yahoo! She won!! Finally! Jackie Speier is going to Washington! According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "Speier plans t

Many American farmers are paid by the Agriculture Department to let valuable resource land lie fallow on behalf of fish, birds and wildlife. But with grain prices surging, farmers are bringing back the plow. From The NY Times: Thousands of...

Sad, angry, sad. Really, really angry. Simple and powerful emotions associated with this latest news of a young man allegedly shaking a baby until her brain bled. Jimmy Lee Shasteen, 22, joins an ugly cadre of a

Sad, angry, sad. Really, really angry. Simple and powerful emotions associated with this latest news of a young man allegedly shaking a baby until her brain bled. Jimmy Lee Shasteen, 22, joins an ugly cadre of a

You know, I was going to play nice. Howeve