scottjason's blog

The e-mail subject this morning read "Sad News." The words it contained were worse.

Wendy Masonek, a fellow high school student who inadvertently catapulted me into journalism, had died.

People my age, in their mid-20s, aren't supposed to die.

The obituary in my hometown newspaper didn't say what she died from, though I'm fairly sure it was related to a disease she had that kept her liver from working right, leaving her skin slightly jaundiced and her body weak. She was a cheerleader with my sister in a Pop Warner league, and went to the same high school as I did. She played drums, and one time we got together in her living room and rocked out.

Though Home Depot has been in the news for deciding not to build dozens of new stores, spokeswoman Kathryn Gallagher assured me that the store set for Atwater is still on the books.

It'll be built later this year and will open early 2009, she said. That's later than initially planned.

The store is the other main tenant of the Atwater Ranch shopping center that will be anchored by a SuperTarget, set to open July 31.

Every once in a while, there's a news story that's spectacular enough that it draws stations from across the state. It's only happened a few times since I've been at the Sun-Star.

Monday's courthouse shooting drew stations as far as Sacramento that went live with the breaking news. I was surprised how many TV reporters that I'd never seen suddenly appeared on Monday and stuck around for the past few days.

Simon Salinas, the Monterey County supervisor who wants Denham's seat if he's booted from office, launched his own Web site urging voters to vote yes on the recall and yes on his bid.

There are photos, his bio and a spot to send some money.

That makes four Web sites dedicated to this recall effort, which grows more heated by the day. The others include www.joinwithjeff.com, which just had a makeover, and www.wedeservebetter.info/, which is dedicated to convincing voters to oust Denham, R-Merced.

In trying to keep up on the recall effort against state Sen. Jeff Denham, I noticed the Republicans registered www.simonsalinas.com and put a bunch of links to editorials written against the recall, including the Sun-Star's. It's a Spartan Web site, and if anything, it keeps Salinas from having a Web site that's just his name.

In reading "All the Presidents Men," I learned about all the campaign sabotages that went on during the reelection of Richard Nixon. Now, it's clearly happening in the digital realm. Back then, one participant referred to it with a term out of USC fraternities—but one that can’t be repeated in a family blog.

I had the fortunate opportunity to be one cog in the great American justice system. Too bad I didn't get picked.

I'm in the minority of people eager to serve on a jury. I don't understand what causes most people who mull every way to wiggle out of being in the box. I was thrilled to get the notice in the mail a month ago. Scenes from "Twelve Angry Men" flashed in my head.

I headed down to Merced County Superior Court this morning and was sent away with the instructions to return at 1:30 p.m. to be in the next pool of 90 people.