SPREADING THE BLAME … according to the author of one recent letter to the editor, everyone in town should be punished for the sins of the few …

“Have you driven up Pole Line and then turned left at Covell?” the author asks … “The number of plastic bags caught in the brush and fence by the field on that corner is remarkable for a town that prides itself on being environmentally aware.” … is she talking about Woodland? … given that the bags are caught on the north side of the fence, and there’s nothing but a clear shot of farmland from there to the most southerly Woodland housing development, I don’t think a plastic bag ban in Davis will solve the problem she cites …

But wait, there’s more … “While Bob Dunning has been casually tossing off the idea of plastic bags being any kind of a problem in Davis, others obviously have been tossing off the bags. It is a problem.” … thanks for spelling my name right, but what is being suggested here is punishing all of us for the thoughtless actions of the few …

I went out to that same stretch of road the other day and found four Butterfinger wrappers, three Snickers, two half-eaten bags of Nacho Doritos and five empty plastic bottles that used to hold orange, apple or cranberry juice … by the author’s logic, we should ban the sale of those items, too … or, we can continue to use and then recycle our plastic bags at the literally dozens of locations around town where recycling is provided …

HOLY GUACAMOLE … as we wandered around the Yolo County fairgrounds on an uncrowded Thursday evening, I noticed food vendor after food vendor without a single customer in line … but after we exited the midway area and headed westward across the grass we were confronted by lines 30 deep, all waiting to plunk down two bucks for the right to devour the “Holy Rosary Famous Tacos.” … only no one can eat just one …

Put together by an all-volunteer army as a church fund-raiser, the Holy Rosary Famous Tacos have become a Yolo County Fair staple, easily selling in the thousands each night of the fair …

HERE COMES THE JUDGE … Superior Court Judge Dave Rosenberg, sans black robe, was also a County Fair participant, serving once again as MC for the hugely popular Yolo Idol competition and keeping the crowd in stitches with his stories and humor … Rosenberg is a very funny man when he wishes to be … despite his status as a judge, Rosenberg was not a judge of the contest, leaving that job to others who were clearly up to the task …

FINGERNAILS ACROSS A BLACKBOARD … college football season has arrived and already several large publications that should know better have referred to “freshmen receivers,” “freshmen quarterbacks” and “freshmen recruits.” … one even used the term “freshmen team” in reference to a high school squad …

Fortunately, this newspaper has been absolutely pristine in its coverage of “freshmen” and the various “freshman” hopefuls who have shown up for fall camp …

NOTE TO SPORTSCASTERS AND NEWS ANCHORS EVERYWHERE … please, the victim is lying on the ground … the football is lying on the turf … why this rule is universally violated is unclear, but it’s now wildly out of control … then again, I spent half an hour with a former Davis mayor one day who insisted that “people lie,” but “objects lay.” …

In her world, Dad is lying on the couch with a copy of Sports Illustrated laying across his chest … she said she had learned that sacred rule as a schoolgirl in West Virginia … I will not, however, take a gratuitous shot at the schoolteachers of the Mountain State, who most certainly know what “lies” and what doesn’t … the only exception to this rule are chickens, which can be both lying and laying, sometimes at the same time …

— Entries to the Contest to Replace the Above-Pictured Columnist are due in The Enterprise office by Friday, August 25. Entries may be about any subject and should be between 400 and 800 words in length. Email entries to [email protected] and include the author’s daytime and evening telephone numbers and a brief biography.

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