GETTING AROUND THE BAG BAN … the city of Davis’ conservation coordinator, in an “environmental update” in this very newspaper, is recommending that it’s “time to start stockpiling those single-use plastic bags!” … holy guacamole, I thought we were trying to get rid of plastic bags … she wrote this under the heading of “Speaking of saving limited resources.” … so now, apparently, a plastic bag is a “limited resource” in need of “saving” …

The message is clear … if you want to have enough plastic bags to last through the summer, better start stockpiling now before they’re banned for good … limited resource indeed …

SIX STATES IN ONE … my friend Ron, commenting on the proposal to split California into six states, says I “missed the fun part,” given that there would now be six times as many legislatures and six times as many legislators, not to mention all those new Capitol buildings … indeed, I would be in hog heaven just anticipating the possibilities … might even have to take the column to seven days a week … better yet, Ron notes, “we could send both Joe and Dan to Sacramento.” … or at least to a capital city somewhere … heck, there might even be room for Charlie Schaupp in such an arrangement …

BERZERKELEY OUTPACES THE OLD HOMETOWN … my friend Alan notes that he was “in Berkeley and read in the Berkeley Voice that the City Council there is contemplating whether Berkeley should be a drone-free zone. Davis must be behind the times.” … actually, Alan, that’s already been considered here, but council members feared it would mean they couldn’t drone on and on about the wonders of acquiring PG&E at 3 in the morning …

YUBA PRIDE … after watching “Secretariat” on TV last Friday night to get everyone in the mood, we packed the kids in the van and headed up to Yuba City on a scorching Saturday afternoon to watch the Belmont Stakes in the hometown of one of California Chrome’s owners … Yuba City, the home of the Honkers, blocked off a long stretch of Plumas Street downtown and set up giant TV screens on either end of this makeshift pedestrian mall so everyone had a good view of the race …

Vendors were barbecuing just about anything that moves in Sutter County, but cold beverages, frozen yogurt and shaved ice were easily the biggest sellers … heck, there was even a hastily constructed beer garden to drown your sorrows after the Horse of the Century failed to produce … one young entrepreneur was selling “I’m a Chromie” T-shirts for a flat 20 bucks, but there appeared to be few takers … if anything, people were removing clothing in the heat, not putting more on …

The mayor was there, the bands played on and everything was perfect, save for the fact the horse didn’t rout the competition as promised … Yuba City isn’t exactly a horse racing town, so afterward most people just shrugged, walked back to their cars and headed home, happy for the experience that brought national attention to their proud town, but saddened by the final outcome …

It’s funny how a horse can steal your heart and make you a fan of a sport you’ve never paid much attention to before, but that’s what happened for a lot of us … let’s just say the ride home was considerably longer than the ride that got us there …

— Reach Bob Dunning at [email protected]

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