Foregone conclusion in Mountain House

If Mountain House Community Services District director Jim Lamb has any hope that the California Energy Commission might not give final approval to a 200-megawatt power plant on Mountain House's western doorstep, this might squelch it:

"(The CEC) ... held a Committee Conference at the Mountain House Community Services District on May 5, 2011. The Full Commission adopted the PMPD and Errata as submitted at the May 18, 2011, business meeting."

See? According to the California Energy Commission's siting committee, which ensures proposed locations for power plants are acceptable, the plant has already been approved. Nevermind that the final approval date is at least four weeks away.

Funny thing, those foregone conclusions.

Lawsuit story addendum

A quick update to this story, which documents several lawsuits employees have filed against the city of Tracy for alleged unfair employment practices: Police Chief Janet Thiessen, whom is named in the latest suit brought by Capt. John Espinoza, was out of town last week and didn't receive my message seeking comment until after the story was published. So apologies to the chief. Still, my bet is there wouldn't have been much comment. My experience is that government agencies tend to keep a pretty tight lip when it comes to lawsuits and how they're handled and challenged.

Letter of the week

They say brevity is the soul of wit, and the key to clear communication. In that case, this letter to the editor reprinted here in its entirety... "Dear Editor, Please help our state once again put our kids first!" ... is brilliant. Or some of the most cryptic writing the Voice section has received in many moons.