Cover Artist Patris
Inside Land Park/Grid July 2023
Patris is an artist and teacher who enjoys painting many subjects, especially landscapes en plein air.
Tiny Timid
Darrell Steinberg is a timid politician, and timid people should never be mayor. Timidity was the hallmark of his political career. It sustained him for three decades before it finally, inevitably ruined him.
The pattern began in 1992. He entered politics as a City Council candidate to replace Kim Mueller when she moved to the federal judiciary. Steinberg won easily. He secured valuable support months before Election Day. He campaigned against a weak field populated by unknowns and has-beens. The race was over before it started.
Cover Artist Jo Anne Marquart
Inside Arden June 2023
“I have been making art all my life. Nature is my inspiration as I continue to explore and interpret the world through my art.”
Offensive Fences
Temporary chain-link fences showed up overnight. Stretched across the Sacramento River levee, blocking the gravel path, disheveled and lurching like drunks after a party. One fence ran into the water, breaking federal and state laws.
Somehow, the fences were approved by state officials from the Central Valley Flood Protection Board.
In May, a staff member at Central Valley Flood issued temporary permits for two private, cross-levee fences and gates in Pocket. The new barricades went up fast.
They were erected by property owners near the river, the small, loud group that spent years fighting to keep the public away from the levee.
Be Afraid
Artificial Intelligence is going to affect us all, sooner than we think, and not for the best. The World Economic Forum predicts 20% of all jobs will be negatively impacted in the next five years.
Many companies welcome AI. They want to employ fewer people. If AI programs handle the work, organizations don’t have to pay salaries or benefits, just maintenance costs. Robots won’t file workplace lawsuits.
