BIPPITY BOPPITY BOO
One wonders if the clock has struck midnight for Mono County Library Director Joe Bopp.
After the publication of last week’s front page story, I was forwarded a story which appeared in the July 8 issue of the Central Oregon Daily News.
It had announced that Joe Bopp (pictured inset) was one of two finalists to become Director of the Deschutes Public Library system, and that Bopp and the other finalist Julie Sowles of Rancho Cucamonga had been present for a public forum on July 7 in Bend, Ore. At that forum, each candidate made a presentation and answered questions from the library board and general public.
The next day, the Deschutes library board, via Facebook, announced it was extending its search, so clearly, neither candidate sealed the deal.
Looks like Joe Bopp will be here awhile longer.
The following letter came in this week from Gary Nelson of Mono City:
A newly elected leader brings in a tech savvy boss. He starts getting rid of long time employees who basically ran things for decades, as well as serving as approachable liaisons to citizens. Sound familiar?
Well I guess DOGE must be contagious because the Mono County Office of Education (MCOE) seems to have a bad case of it. It is absolutely disgraceful the way some of the county’s finest citizens including a former Mayor, College Instructor, State Park Ranger, scientist, and National Park Superintendent have been treated by the current Mono County Libraries Director. Is he afraid of supervising people more knowledgeable than himself? Is this a “get away with it while you can” budget slash? Or does his tech background ominously herald the onset of AI controlled Librarobots?
Why Mono is the only County in the State where the Office of Education runs the Library system remains a question forever seeking a logical answer. The Libraries are overseen by the Library Authority Board i.e. the MCOE Board, and the Mono County Schools Superintendent which is an elected position. Thus, the MCOE Board cannot suspend, fire or remove her. Like many of her predecessors, the current Superintendent ran unopposed. This executive job security gives her broad powers, including hiring department heads with tyrannical supervisorial skills. Sound familiar?
I feel that the citizens of Mono County deserve a Libraries Director who can communicate rather than intimidate.
In other news … Matthew Lehman’s August 1 real estate market report for Mammoth Lakes showed that the median price for condos has gone negative for the year (median sales price is down 1.5% year over year).
The median price for a single family home had been 80% higher at the beginning of the year. That has now fallen to a still impressive 39%.
In the aftermath of the Bluesapalooza weekend that wasn’t, Michael Raimondo of Old New York Deli called to ask what the economic impact was to town in not having the festival.
He said he was down 14% year-over-year for the four days. So I made a few calls.
Stacy Schaubmayer at the Alpenhof texted, “It’s the first weekend of this summer that we weren’t even close to booked out.”
Tom Cage at KIttredge Sports said he was down a modest 5-7% – likely due to not selling the last minute lawnchairs, water bottles, sunscreen, et al.
Sure seemed like a trend, and if I’d stopped there, it would’ve told a story.
But maybe not the right story.
Occupancy rates, according to Mammoth Lakes Tourism CEO Brian Wright, were about the same as last year.
And some businesses, like Burgers Restaurant, were way up. “We shoulda canceled Bluesapalooza a long time ago,” joked owner Ed Hurley.
The theory is that 5,000 patrons who’d normally be a captive audience at the Woodsite were now free for lunch and dinner.
Whereas there was no longer the same pressure to get in and out of the Deli and then to the Woodsite to secure a spot for your chair/blanket.
Finally … At 10:36 a.m. on Saturday, Bishop Police Department investigated a bomb threat at 137 S Main Street, the Salvation Army. Bishop Police Chief Nate Derr later determined that there was no active threat to the public. A 23-year-old Bishop resident, Jonathan Kelley, was taken into custody and is facing pending charges related to the incident.
