Nothing ordinary: Not that we ever doubted it, but Roseville Councilwoman Carol Garcia is now officially an extraordinary woman. Nabisco held a contest for 100 Extraordinary Women, and Garcia was a winner for her work on a South Placer effort to fund breast cancer research. She and her nominator (and project colleague) Deputy City Manager Julia Burrows won a trip to L.A., where they saw a movie sneak preview and met the other 99 extraordinaries. "I was so impressed," Garcia said. "My story compared to theirs was just so minimal." Still, her group has more good works in the works to raise $1.5 million by 2010. One event, coming Oct. 11, is the HOT Pink Run. HOT is Historic Old Town, where it will happen. Pink is for breast cancer. Run is a 5K fun run. Sounds great. … A hot pink run in the laundry sounds not so good. …
Float hopes: While in Southern California, Burrows and Garcia stopped in at Phoenix Decorating, the city's float builder. They picked up design sketches of the city's 2009 Rose Parade float entry. The most prominent feature is probably a 17-foot-tall train. (Didn't we predict a train back in March?) Other potential features: salmon, oak trees and City Council members sitting in the train. No sketches of 100 Extraordinary Columnists, but there's time to do fine-tuning. …
Mini-Street Whys: Still looking for Ryan Taylor, the namesake of local Ryan Taylor streets. One source said to check Beazer Homes, having heard that Ryan Taylor was the daughter (yes, a female Ryan Taylor) of a land acquisitions manager. Christine Hamilton at Beazer could not confirm that. She hasn't been around that long. More digging is in order. …
95746: Wikipedia is often knocked for its accuracy, so we were curious when we found its recently edited entry on Granite Bay. Some of the items – 91.4 percent white, $103,151 median family income – sound about right. However, a few of the names that appear under "Famous Residents" sound like they belong under "Famous Former Residents." Eddie Murphy? Summer Sanders? Peja Stojakovic? Tyra Banks? And then there's the one that has been the source of rumors ever since "Phenomenon" was filmed in Auburn: John Travolta. If there's evidence to support him being a Graniteer, we haven't seen it. Meanwhile, here's more in Wikipedia: "Both high schools (Granite Bay and Del Oro) consistently rank among the top high schools in the state." And it does get the country (U.S.), state (California) and county (Placer) right.…
Fourth of July: Here's a short poem (recycled from an old column) that just seems right for Independence Day in this big election year.
Conservative or liberal,
Far right wing or radical,
Be you moderate extremist
Or straddle-fence fanatical,
It matters not your politics,
What color state you choose,
The flag for Independence Day
Has room for reds and blues.
One side would like us to recall
That Founding Dads rebelled;
They rose against their government.
Seditious views they held.
That's just the kind of thinking
That makes some others boil.
They think that Independence Day's
The time to show you're loyal.
Once more, I say, there's room for all
To savor Freedom's payoff:
Though I hate you, and you hate me,
We both still get the day off.
Call The Bee's Carlos Alcalá at (916) 773-6847. Back columns, www.sacbee.com/alcala.
