With all the rain and localized flooding in Redding this week, it’s difficult to focus on forest fires, but we all know the danger will arise again when summer turns our green hills into golden hazards.
On Thursday, Frank Stewart, a member of the board of the California Fire Safe Council, will conduct a free public meeting on county-wide fire plans. The 7 p.m. forum will be at the Turtle Bay Visitor Center Theater.
This weekend, Shasta College offers instruction for people who’ll work as contract employees on wildfires. The Basic Wildland Fire Orientation course is offered from 9 a.m. until 5:50 p.m. Saturday and again on Sunday. Students who complete the one-day course get an interagency emergency equipment operator card. For registration information, call the admissions office at 242-7650.
- Speaking of natural disasters, did you see the new CBS News poll that asked about the popularity of talk-radio blowhard Rush Limbaugh? Limbaugh has been portrayed lately by some (including the White House) as the voice of the Republican Party, but the poll shows the GOP would be smart to find another spokesman ASAP. Limbaugh’s favorability rating stood at 19 percent while he was rated unfavorably by 40 percent. By comparison, President Obama’s favorability rating in the same poll was 62 percent.
- What I’m Reading: “The Shanghai Moon” by S.J. Rozan, the latest in her award-winning series featuring private eyes Lydia Chin and Bill Smith. Did you know that many European Jews fleeing the Nazi scourge went to Shanghai? Neither did I. The author combines that history with a modern-day hunt for an art object that recalls “The Maltese Falcon.” Good stuff.
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