FROM THIS CORNER by Robert Speer roberts@newsreview.com
Our man in The City There’s a photo of Bob Linscheid on his Facebook page that says something about his life these days. He’s on the balcony of his new digs in San Francisco, enjoying a view of the bay, the Ferry Building and the Bay Bridge, and he’s wearing a Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. T-shirt. Linscheid is on a roll. Early last year he and Jon Gregory launched their new marketing and business networking enterprise, Innovate North State. Then, in June, Linscheid became chairman of the CSU Board of Trustees. In December he married his dear heart, Pam Montana, and last month he moved to San Francisco to take a job as president and CEO of its Chamber of Commerce. I’ve known Linscheid since 1975, when he was student body president at Chico State and I was editor of the campus newspaper, the Wildcat. That was the year of the famous gun strike, when more than 200 students protesting the arming of campus police occupied the administration building, Kendall Hall, and refused to leave. Linscheid was one of the three students who traveled to Long Beach to try to convince the CSU Board of Trustees to rescind the order. Who could have known then that one day he would chair that board? In Chico, he pretty much invented local economic development as a business. After seven years (1986-93) as president and CEO of the Chico Chamber of Commerce, he founded the Chico Economic Planning Corp., or CEPCO, which he led for nearly 20 years. Simultaneously for nine years (1999-2008) he was CEO of the Butte County Economic Development Corp. On the side, he ran his own marketing and consulting business, The Linscheid Company. It’s fair to say he has more connections in the North State business community than anyone else. He also played key roles in professional baseball in Chico, as general manager of the Chico Heat (1996-99), president of the Western Baseball League (1999-2002) and president of the Chico Outlaws (2004-08). In April 2011 he joined forces with Jon Gregory, CEO of Golden Capital Network, to form Grow California, an innovation resource with a focus on venture capital, and a year later they started Innovate North State. Now he’s in San Francisco, overseeing 22-27 employees and a multifaceted operation that includes a China-S.F. program, a leadership program, an economic-development center and a foundation, among other functions. Interviewed by phone, Linscheid said he had a “voluminous amount of learning” to do, but it’s “a heck of an opportunity.” It’s hard to move away from so many friends and associates after 27 years in Chico, he said, but his son and daughter still live here, so he’ll be visiting often. “Bob is Bob—he’s irreplaceable,” Jon Gregory said. Fortunately, he added, Linscheid’s new role is potentially advantageous to North State businesses, offering “any number of synergies that wouldn’t have been available otherwise,” particularly when it comes to marketing in Asia. There’s a caption near that photo of Linscheid standing on his balcony. It reads: “You can take the guy out of Chico, but you can’t take the Chico out of the guy.” That’s a good thing.
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Fears and facts Re “Alternative to the tunnels” (Editorial, Feb. 7): Operations of the twin tunnels with a capacity of 9,000 cfs will be based on the available supply of water, according to the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. When water supply is low in the Sacramento River, the amount of water flowing through the tunnels will be reduced. When the supply is high, the tunnel flows will increase. Fears of draining the Sacramento River are simply not based on facts. The actual purpose of the twin tunnels is to move water that is already permitted under rights granted by the state of California to public water agencies. Those agencies serve many farms, homes and businesses that are a vital part of California’s economy. No new project, according to California law, may negatively impact an existing water right, which appropriately safeguards the rights of those in the Sacramento Valley and the Delta. The 3,000 cfs tunnel, which is actually a National Resources Defense Council proposal, provides no relief for farmers in the San Joaquin Valley. A recent study indicated that 750,000 acres of productive farmland could be fallowed because the NRDC proposal ignores the water-supply needs of thousands of farmers who provide locally grown food for our grocery stores. MIKE WADE California Farm Water Coalition Sacramento
Another tunnel alternative If there’s not enough water to fill two tunnels, maybe they could run the bullet train through the empty one. FLOYD STEARNS Magalia
Got stale beer? Re “Ditchin’ the commercial shampoo” (Uncommon Sense, Jan. 31): Hey, baking soda really does work for shampoo, and stale beer is good cream rinse, but I tend not to let beer get stale. The real utter scam industry, though, is shaving cream with the nasty chemicals and unsustainable containers. People have used soap for millennia, but what I find works better is lotion, which also functions as aftershave. Gets your face smoother than a baby’s butt! JIM DWYER Chico
Lend the cops a hand Re “Two nights of terror” (Newlines, by Ken Smith, Feb. 6): This recent stabbing frenzy seems to be quickly turning into an epidemic. The current total is now 11 stabbing incidents within five days. Eleven! With this epidemic showing no signs of abatement, and with the chronic understaffing of the Chico Police Department, I urge concerned Chico citizens to consider getting personally involved with the
Wine Tasting Last Thursday of the Month
Thursday, February 28 | 5–7pm The Crystal Room 968 East Ave (next to Quackers) $5 per person Wine supplied by Grocery Outlet – Chico Sausal Zinfandel 2009, Alexander Valley CA. Sausal Sangiovese 2009, Alexander Valley CA. Rigal Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Rigal France Brumaio Sangiovese 2010, Marche Italy EOS Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Paso Robles CA. Feeding Frenzy Merlot 2011, California A fundraiser for:
TM
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