The article inside on Steve Pearce being appointed by Trump to head the Bureau of Land Management was written by Jim Pattiz, who is a filmmaker and founder of More Than Just Parks. He has given his permission to the Citizen to reprint his article.
It's been almost a dozen years since a Democrat became a Sierra County Commissioner. Hopefully a plurality of views will now be entertained at the county level as a result.
Copper Flat Mine's efforts to reopen over the last 15 years have been supported via resolutions passed by Truth or Consequences city commissions in the past and by the current mayor's passivity and "trust."
Is it just coincidence that Day's resignation and federal job start coincides with the likely end of the government shutdown?
The city, under City Manager Gary Whitehead's leadership, is issuing timely press releases when a problem occurs instead of leaving the people to wonder and speculate.
Copper Flat Mine will use tons of water, loads of electricity, will dump tons of damp tailings with lead, mercury, sulfates, nitrates and other contaminants as well as creating dust and air pollution with these same contaminants. A boom/bust operation lasting maybe 20 but probably 12 years.
Rumors are said to be like mills. They go around and around and grind the natural grains of wheat into powdery flour so that humans can digest them. Here is an example of a rumor mill: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/23/venezuela-tren-de-aragua-gang-police.
Whitehead's oversight and procurement savvy probably saved the city $800,000 on this project.
Is the city's "cash cow" going to become a "cash hog" out of neglect? That question and others need to be asked and answered by city staff and engineers who authored a 72-page study.
Sierra County, being at the bottom of the producer-consumer feeding chain, is more dependent on the world than most other parts of America. Yet, locally, we think we are an independent world to ourselves. We are not. Let me introduce you to how Australian policy thinkers view American news.
Without democratic processes, a government can easily become a criminal enterprise that milks the people of their money while taking away their rights. Just like the police-building purchase, the public had no say and is told after the fact that it gave the city its approval.
Xeriscape, public baths, if it's yellow let it mellow, eat off paper plates?