Page 2: Dave to ski Dave’s to celabrate 100
When I went over to visit with Dave McCoy this week, I asked him how he planned to celebrate his 100th birthday this year.
“Well … I think I’m going to go skiing on my birthday.”
“Your birthday is in August.”
“Yes.”
“So where are you going to ski? Chile? New Zealand?”
“Of course not. I’m going to ski my run.”
I looked at him quizzically. My run?
“Dave’s Run,” he added, giving me an impatient look.
“But Dave. There’s hardly any snow now. There certainly won’t be any snow up there in August.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Umm …”
“A skier, properly trained, can navigate any terrain … You know, we’ve got to stop giving people excuses. They whine about the weather. They whine about the conditions. They whine about Rusty charging $37 for an undercooked hamburger … point is, we’ve got to remind people to stop worrying about everything and have some fun. And if they don’t like paying $37 for a hamburger, they can pack a few bologna sandwiches and a can of Squirt in their backpacks.”
“Who’s going with you on this?”
“Brandon, of course. Someone’s gotta take the camera.” I looked at Brandon, Dave’s assistant. He shrugged his shoulders. He was used to this.
“Dave, no offense, but … “ How could I delicately put this? “You realize you’re not as young as you used to be.”
Dave motioned for me to sit down. He then stuck his elbow on the table and put his arm up.
“Are you serious?” He was serious.
Three minutes later, he had my arm slammed down on the table. X-rays taken later that afternoon were negative.
“Okay, I said, you’ve proven you’re stronger than me, but I’m a writer. That’s not really saying much. How are your legs?”
“Not as good, but Kathy said I could borrow one of those adaptive skis if I need it.”
As I got up, I looked at him. He was in complete earnest. 100 years old. Dave’s Run in the middle of summer. It was impossible, right?
“If you give a man a pair of skis, he’ll stand them in the corner and pretend he uses them,” said Dave as he nodded goodbye. “Teach a man to ski Dave’s Run in the middle of August, and he’ll ski for life.”
And from Charles James …
At Tuesday’s Inyo County Board of Supervisors meeting, the new Renewable Energy General Plan Amendment (REGPA) was finally approved after five years of work by the County’s Planning Department and numerous public meetings and workshops. The amendment prohibits wind energy development, sets limits on industrial-sized solar projects, removed or reduced the footprint of several Solar Energy Development Areas (SEDAs), and removed the 20 Megawatt cap on solar plants.
The greatest concern of most opponents of the original REGPA revolved around the worry that there would be a proliferation of large-scale industrial solar power plants and there would be negative impacts on biological and cultural sites. An added, although no less important concern was the negative impact on the viewshed. It was largely the City of Los Angeles’ proposed Southern Owens Valley Solar Project that brought together much of the opposition to large-scale renewable energy projects that would have been possible had the original REGPA not been greatly revised.
The argument for not having a 20 Megawatt cap on solar plants, according to several speakers, was concern that the cap would drive projects onto lands controlled by the City of Los Angeles and the Bureau of Land Management, and out of the reach and control of the county.
The Supervisors ultimately voted to approve the recommendations of the Planning Commission with instructions to the Planning Department to revise the REGPA to allow only photovoltaic solar development. There is to be no wind power development. They removed the 20 megawatt cap on renewable energy development and kept the overall caps recommended by the Planning Department for each SEDA (Solar Energy Development Area). Chicago Valley was removed completely from the SEDAs’ list and development in Charleston View is being limited to apply only to private property. The SEDAs in Pearsonville, Rose Valley, Owens Lake, Trona, and Laws were to be updated and reduced in size.
The Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce announced this week that the highly anticipated I-Main Street project is now up and running. I-Main is the system that provides free Wi-Fi access to people passing along Main Street and visiting the Bishop City Park.
The I-Main Street concept was first discussed at a Chamber Strategic Planning Meeting in August of 2012. At that time, Angie Aukee and Julie Faber led the discussion and all Chamber Board Members thought it sounded like a great idea. “We began investigating logistics, budget and possible funding sources,” explains Tawni Thomson.
When Inyo County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Terry McAteer learned of the I-Main idea, he expressed interest in collaborating with the Bishop Chamber. “The I-Main Street project fits perfectly with ICOE’s desire to improve technology and internet access for local students and families,” notes Julie Faber, current Chamber President.
I-Main now provides free Wi-Fi in public spaces along Main Street from Lagoon Street to MacIver Street and into the Bishop City Park. I-Main is not intended to replace a business’ regular internet service; the system is simply not designed for one user to have all day, every day access to large amounts of broadband. I-Main is for the benefit of students that need to access the internet for homework & school projects, as well as visitors that may need to check social media, get directions or answer emails.
I-Main users will be greeted with a “splash page” hosted at www.bishop.community. The splash page has basic information about the program and links to lodging, restaurants and activities on the Chamber’s main website. Soon, the Chamber plans to offer advertising for sale on the splash page. Advertising revenues will offset the Chamber’s ongoing purchase and distribution of the broadband.
Finally, just in case … the Dave story is made up. It’s April Fools Day this week, so, you know …
