Category Archives: California

News

Welcome to California Wine Month!

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

September ushers in California Wine Month with special wine-focused events, tastings and festivals at vineyards and wineries across the Golden State.  Get out and celebrate one of California’s signature industries this month, and get to know our vintners and growers, and learn more about the wine culture and lifestyle.

Check out the Visit California website HERE to learn more.

Visit Discover California Wines HERE to find out more about California Wine Month

Here’s the Press Release:

CALIFORNIA WINE MONTH: 

A GREAT REASON TO VISIT WINE COUNTRY THIS SEPTEMBER

 

Wine Lovers are Popping Corks at Festivals, Special Tastings, Wine Immersion Experiences and Tours During Month-Long Celebration Across the State

National Forests, National Parks, News

Environmentalism, Budget Cuts to blame for Rim Fire

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

As the Rim fire continues to burn closer and into Yosemite, nobody seems to want to point out why this fire is burning so well, or so fast.

The answer is environmentalism, and budget cuts that have prohibited proper forest conservation.

Environmentalism is the idiotic belief that man knows what’s best for the forest, and can bend mother nature to his will.  In this particular arm-wrestling match, nature will always win.  It was here before man, it will be here after man.  The current wave of environmentalism culminated in huge budget cuts, which has allowed undergrowth to grow unchecked.   Controlled burns were cut out of budgets, as was undergrowth removal.

Supposedly, this stupidity was to allow the forest to ‘return to the wild.’  Yet, in the wild, fires started by nature – by lightning strikes, for instance – occur regularly.  Man, compounding the errors of environmentalism, promptly stopped any wildfires. Not a bad plan, but one that runs contrary to the whole ‘return to the wild’ idea.  Environmentalists seem to think that they can have it both ways; control mother nature, and let mother nature run wild.

It doesn’t work that way.

Continue reading →

National Forests, News

Rim Fire destroys Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

From Sierra News Online:

TUOLUMNE COUNTY – Families who have been camping at the Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp for years gathered yesterday to mourn the loss of the camp, which was consumed by the Rim Fire on Sunday.

The fire has now grown to 179,481 acres with 20% containment, and U.S. Forest Service officials confirmed yesterday that most structures at the camp have been destroyed.

The Rim Fire has also forced the cancellation of the 2013 Film Fest Twain Harte and the Strawberry Music Festival, an annual bluegrass celebration at Camp Mather that attracts thousands of music lovers to the Sierra each Labor Day Weekend.

The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors voted last week to close down the event because of the fire.

You can read the entire article HERE.

National Forests, News

Rim Fire Images from the Atlantic

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

For almost two weeks the Rim Fire has continued to burn and expand in northern California.  By the time it is contained and put out it will, undoubtedly, be one of the larger – if not the largest – fire in California’s history.  There are many reasons for the fire, and the finger-pointing will begin before the ashes are cool, but in the meantime there are amy photographers on the scene recording incredible, heroic, frightening, and even horrific images.

The Atlantic has compiled some of the better images on their website HERE.

Later, we can review the tapes and see which politicians were fiddling while California burned.