Days after being temporarily suspended by station management,
99.9 KTYD FM Early Show host Matt McAllister made an
appearance – along with co-hosts Julie Ramos and Hayseed – on The
Late Show with David Letterman last Thursday night. McAllister and
crew went big-time after word spread of their record-breaking
T-shirt-wearing feat last month at Earl Warren Showgrounds. During
the course of the late-night broadcast, McAllister essentially
transformed himself into the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man by putting
on 121 T-shirts.
Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) received a Ms. Foundation for
Women grant that will allow them to help their clients expand their
“pre-bankable micro-enterprises.” WEV was started in 1991 by former
Shelter Services for Women staff and other feminists who sought to
help women become financially independent by starting small
businesses. It now seeks to increase the size and longevity of
startups by providing more sustained technical support. The Ms.
Foundation grant coincided with the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded
to Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank he founded, for their work
in micro-loans and women’s economic development worldwide.
In order to ensure continued functioning of local government in
case county supervisors are killed, injured, or missing during an
avian flu pandemic, county staff presented a chart showing a backup
chain of command. For example, if Chair Joni Gray were out of
commission, the district attorney would vote in her place; if the
DA were unavailable, the agricultural commissioner would fill in;
as a last resort, the social services director would be called
upon. Each supervisor has a different set of replacements. In
addition, the Public Health Department is now seeking medical
reserves volunteers, according to a progress report on the county’s
pandemic strategy.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a 3.5 percent pay
raise for themselves (effective December 22), bringing their
salaries to a little over $84,000 per year. Several supervisors
characterized the vote as “difficult,” but necessary to forestall
more sudden and dramatic pay increases further on. Earlier in the
day, the salary for several county jobs jumped as much as 32
percent after remaining stagnant for years.