Calhouns Can(n)ons

Bees, Bees, Beautiful Bees

Last summer I wrote a column wondering where all the bees had gone. There it was, high summer, with a garden filled with nasturtiums and lavender and other assorted flowers, and almost no bees.

A few days ago I noticed, here in the dead of winter, there were bees sipping from the hummingbird feeder, something I can’t remember seeing before. At first I thought, Woa, poor things must be starving with no flowers in sight. Then I went out to hang some clothes up and in the early morning quiet heard humming. A lot of humming. Looking waaaayyy overhead into the huge eucalyptus trees I spied bees. Lots of bees. Busy bees. All humming loudly amidst the fuzzy white eucalypt flowers.

Hooray. Now let’s hope they’ll stick around until summer.

Bye, Bye John Schempf.

Los Osos’ generan manager, John Schempf, is heading out of town as quick as he feet can take him, heading for South Berwick, Maine to a new job. Is that cry I hear as he heads out the door something like, “Sweeeeetttt Jeeeeesusssss, lemmme outta heeeeeerrree!”

The Tribune reports that the LOCSD board is now looking for another general manager, a job that will pay $115,000. Spoke with someone yesterday who expressed concern that nobody would want the job, considering all the problems besetting poor Los Osos, but I had to remind the speaker that we’re in the middle of a Quasi-Great-Depression, which means there’ll likely be about 50,000 highly experienced recently downsized general managers from both government and private industry lined up outside the door in no time.

Hooray. Now let’s hope they’ll stick around until summer.

(later note: Got an email from CSD Board Member, Joe Sparks noting that the GM job "will not necessarily pay $115,000 ." and that "Mr. Schempf was receiving $122,000 plus all the benies at the time he resigned." Well, we'll see who shows up to apply and what the final salary will be, plus bennies, and still hope that whoever shows up will stick around until summer.)