scottjason's blog

Sandy soil, rotted roots and burrowing animals were what caused a percolation pond's wall to give out in Livingston, releasing about 3 million gallons of treated sewage into the Merced River, according to a report by Condor Earth Technologies.

The report, attached for your own reading enjoyment, was given to me by City Manager Richard Warne a couple days back. It shows there wasn't any negligence on the city's part, though concedes that most of the evidence of what caused the collapse crumbled and washed away. It suggests the city regularly inspect for signs of erosion.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced judicial appointments today, though none of the 30 are for Merced County Superior Court.

The local system still has one opening, which was set to be filled this month, court CEO Kathie Goetsch told me. She's heard that a few candidates are going through the state's vetting process. She doesn't know who, and it's unclear when a decision will be made.

Michael Pollan gives away the point of his latest book, "In Defense of Food," on page one.

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants," he writes.

Sadly, that doesn't reflect most American diets, which is eat (processed) food. A lot. Mainly meat.

Don't get me wrong. I like a tri-tip as much as the next guy. The problem, though, is that some form of animal constitutes the main dish in far too many meals. Pollan says that people should think of meat as a side dish.

Though Aug. 8 -- the deadline to run for office -- seems eons away, the council races I cover are finally heating up.

It's just a notch above lukewarm now that I got a press release from Joe Rivero (not the one already on the council) announcing his candidacy.

This means that it will be a three-person contest for two seats. Lesa Rasmussen and Gary Frago are the incumbents and now Rivero has tossed his name in.

Starbucks released the full list of the 600 stores it's shutting down, and the one at Bellevue Road and Winton Way in Atwater is among the casualties.

It's the only one in Merced County, though there are a bunch others closing in the Valley. No date for when the barista will serve up the last iced Americano.

The full list can be viewed here.

I cruised around Castle Commerce Center Thursday before I met up with the military folks for the story I wrote about Operation Hydra.

First I stopped by the former American School of Aviation headquarters, which had a couple broken office chairs in the parking lot, some trash from Carls Jr. and a lock on the front door.

It'll remain a sad chapter in Castle's redevelopment history.

Then I checked out the much-hyped terminal, which will accommodate commercial travel in and out of the airport. It's an airport, right?