in the pages: APRIL 8, 2011

The Case for Fresno’s Resiliency

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BULLETIN: 59 DAYS OF CODE 2011 THE NEW JIM BEAN

The tech competition is Another lawsuit for Fresnoʼs top
returning with a new spin to its cop has some people
major 2010 success. PG. 4 wondering: is this the end of
THE DUES Jerry? PG. 8

NETWORK REHABILITATING THE CALIF GOP COVER: THE 2011 FRESNO GRIZZLIES
With its worst defeat in its The season is now in full swing
history, the California and Fresnoʼs Grizzlies are back
Gameday to work after Opening Day. PG. 9
gameday.dailydues.com Republican Party needs to
rebuild and retool. PG. 5
The Record
record.dailydues.com
FOTOGRAPH: #38
THE CASE FOR FRESNO’S RESILIENCY Just before the Grizzlies took on
The Ticket 2012 Menʼs Health adds Fresno to yet
the FPU Sunbirds, a snapshot of
politics.dailydues.com another embarrassing and off-
pitcher Shane Loux. PG. 15
base list. This time, they attack
The Dues Review Fresnoʼs vibrant social
review.dailydues.com networking scene PG. 17
FOTOGRAPHY
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DAILY DUES
THE
 BULLETIN 4

59 Days of Code: A Renewed Spirit

PROMO VIDEO

Along with the tech conference CLICK HERE TO WATCH

aspect to the event, 59 Days of Code
will be selling T-Shirts with the logo
above.

After the major success of 59 Days of Code, the
Central Valley Business Incubator team is back at
organizing their second event. Rather than having
it at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District, they've
upgraded to Chukchansi Resort and Casino in
Coarsegold.
Oh, and it's not just a contest, it's a conference.
59 Days of working on developing a product and
then the public gets to take a look while also
speaking geek at the Chuk casino.
Along with the new upgrade, 59 Days of Code
also released its new promo video made by Red
Raptor Productions:
For those interested in competing in the contest,
the start date to begin working is April 24 and the
event is on June 21 and 22.
Head over to 59 Days of Code's website here for
more information.
 W I T H
C I A L
T S O UE S
GE I LY D
E D A
T H
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 THE RECORD
The Road Ahead for the Calif. Republican Party
The California Republican Party (CRP) held its
Spring Convention in Sacramento three weeks
ago. With hopes that the event would resolve the
problems of a 2010 sweep of statewide offices,
Chairman Ron Nehring wrote that the event
would be an introduction into Presidential politics.
That old game has been playing since November
2010.
The convention was also an event used for
political cover among Republicans willing to jump
ship on Jerry Brownʼs tax extension plan.
Whether it will actually work out: not likely.
Republican voters in the various legislative
districts have great memories, especially with the
help of the California Republican Assembly and
PACs that are staking out ʻweakʼ Republicans for
2012.
The CRP has been headed on a collision course
with irrelevance in the state. With voter
registration for Republicans at 33% in 2008,
compared to 41% for Democrats and 20%
registered Decline-to-State, there are plenty of
5
The Losers of 2010
The California
Republican Party
sustained two very
tough losses in the
2010 elections. With
both Meg Whitman (L)
and Carly Fiorina (R)
losing their races, the
CRP is in shambles.
PHOTO: POLITICO
problems connecting with the electorate
statewide.
What will it take for the California Republican
Party to regain relevance, offices and voters?
A game change.
WINNING A MAJORITY
There are plenty of fights that California
Republicans can play. While they hold no majority
in any deliberative body (not even in the
California Congressional delegation), the 2011
redistricting results hold good things for
Republican areas (Central Valley and Southern
California) that have major gains in the Census.
Winning over a majority in a body of the State
legislature isnʼt likely with Jerry Brown in as
Governor. The main reason: Brown is cutting as
much as Republicans would; Even if Republicans
took over in the Assembly or Senate, they would
go after public employee unions, citing the need
to cut down on expenses to the state.
MORE ON PAGE XX.
 The calendar says 2011...
The political parties say 2012.

C KE T
E TI I CA L N E W S

TH POLIT

POLITICS.DAILYDUES.COM
THE NEW
JIM BEAN
WEB ORGANIZER
TO MODEL CITIZEN
facebook.com/JimBeanFresno

First, Reggie DeLeon Started as an

online organizer on Facebook for
Fresnoʼs bid to win Walmartʼs Fighting
Hunger competition. Now, DeLeon is
running for Fresno City College Student
President and even managed to find a
stolen car in his spare time.

Reggie DeLeon, known on Facebook as Jim
Bean, became known to many Fresnans as “the
man with many causes.” First, DeLeon helped
Fresno bolster its numbers against Salt Lake City
in Walmartʼs Fighting Hunger contest. Thousands
of posts and just over 2,000 friends later, DeLeon
has helped aid numerous causes and
organizations needing an online presence via
social networking.
Yesterday, DeLeon went from online community
organizer to a concerned citizen looking out for
one of Clovisʼ own. Friday, ABC 30 reported a
story about a 1960s Ford Mustang Fastback that
was stolen from Buchanan High School. One day
later, Facebookʼs Jim Bean would be the person
responsible for its return after spotting it after
watching the news reel on Facebook.
DeLeon was one of two people who saw the car
before it was returned to Buchanan High student
Chad Winters.
Along with helping aide community events and
rallies, DeLeon is a declared candidate for
President of the Associated Student Government
at Fresno City College.
If President, DeLeon said he would stress
connectivity with students as crucial to actually
representing them.
“Iʼve met so many people who have no idea who
our current President is or where to find him,” he
said.
It seems that Jim Bean has plenty of work cut out
for him as he helps his school and the community
in nearly any capacity.

12
The New and Old Faces

20 11
of the Grizzlies’ 14th
outing

4
 New team, New expectations
The Stadium

The Grizzlies will kick off

their 2011 season at
Chukchansi Park (right)
against the Las Vegas 51s.

Photo: Alex Tavlian

Baseball season is in the air.

Can you smell it?

Despite harrowing storms

across the country and the
return of spring-like heat, itʼs
only time that we start
thinking of all things spring:
baseball, baseball and, oh wait, baseball. The Tank Engine

Last week, the Giants had a torturous start to their
title defense, finishing their first series of the
season in last place in the NL West.
This week, the Grizzlies return to Chukchansi
Park after having two of their top prospects
helping the mother ship win the Fall Classic. With
new, and old, faces, the Grizzlies are ready for
action in downtown Fresno.
The Grizzliesʼ top Spring Training prospect
Brandon Belt was picked up by the Giants
outright, debuting on Opening Day in Los
Angeles.
But that doesnʼt mean that the Grizzlies donʼt
have good prospects for 2011. During the
Grizzlies Media Day 2011, I had the opportunity to
meet with some Grizzlies
Spotted around the clubhouse with an iPad in
hand and Beats by Dre covering his ears, Thomas
“T-Daddy” Neal, also known as Thomas the Tank
Engine, is quite a techie. Heʼs got his Twitter
account (@TDaddyNeal) and heʼs working on a
mo-hawk (the Minor League version of the
beard?).
Neal was excited to jump up to Triple-A and get
working towards the Major League. As the
youngest guy on the team, Neal was able to learn
quite a bit from the multi-year veterans at the
Grizzlies.
After saying that, veteran relief pitcher Alex
Hinshaw pantsed him. He the stated that being
the youngest does make him vulnerable to
pranks.
Overall, Neal is a player to keep your eyes on

9
 The Expectations

Without major prospects like Buster

Posey (right) and Madison
Bumgarner, expectations for the
Grizzlies might not be as well as
many have thought.

Photo by Brice Austin

OPENING DAY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E

LAS VEGAS 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 7 2

FRESNO 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 9 0 11 9 1

during the new season. first place spot in the PCL. Toward the end of the
season, without some star players, the Grizzlies
Bond, Brock Bond fell to second.

Brock Bond is a returner to the Fresno Grizzlies.
After the Grizzlies didnʼt make the playoffs, taking
second in the PCL, Bond took a month off from
baseball and headed back to Mizzou (University
of Missouri) to finish up his undergraduate
degree. Now a Tiger alum, Bond holds a
Bachelorʼs Degree in Sports Therapy.
On the field, of course, Bond is prepared for
nearly anything. Having played second and third
base along with left field, Bond said heʼs ready to
play nearly any position, except pitcher.
“Last season I was third in line to play catcher,”
Bond said, “If the back-up guy was injured, Iʼd be
in to catch.”
On Deck
Not a player, but eyes are on Coach Steve
Decker. In his second season, Decker has some
expectations to live up to after leading the
Grizzlies through a great season. Most of the
2010 season, the Grizzlies were able to hold the
10
For Decker, however, this season isnʼt last
season. Thereʼs no Madison Bumgarner or Buster
Posey on the lineup.
While many people inside the organization know
that 2011 isnʼt 2010, fans might not. They might
expect the spectacular start to the season that the
Grizzlies had last year.
The Grizzlies, however, could surprise Fresno
and bring out great returns on the season.
GAME NOTES:
Tonight and Saturday, the Grizzlies continue their
Las Vegas series at Chukchansi Park. First pitch
is at 7:05 p.m.
GAMEDAY is the Daily Duesʼ coverage of the
Fresno Grizzlies. Head to
gameday.dailydues.com to see coverage of the
Fresno Grizzlies, including inning-by-inning
updates for certain games.
The Latest
from the
Interwebs.

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BRIEFING ROOM
 THE RECORD
Retooling the Calif. GOP
Continued from page 5
A majority: out of the realm of possibility for the
next four to eight years (probably more).
TAKING BACK A SENATE SEAT
This is more likely, and a good target for
California Republicans looking to win. However,
they missed a great opportunity in 2010 against
Barbara Boxer.
With a generally lower approval rating, and many
less achievements in the Senate, Republicans
should have been able to respond with a
candidate with the muscle (and stomach) to take
on a weaker opponent.
Carly Fiorina almost did that, or so the pre-
election polls thought she would.
Where did Carly fail? She didnʼt get enough
NRSC support for her general election campaign.
California should be a high priority for the Senate,
and the NRSC has usually fundraised in
California and dropped it in races in South
Carolina.
The Carly-Barbara fight should have been the
Scott Brown election of the West, a strong
Republican insurgency in California. But it didnʼt
happen because of major lack of funds and
support.
In 2012, two questions arise: Who will run against
Dianne Feinstein (given that she does not retire)
and Will they win?
5
Both are tough questions to answer. The first is
considerably easier: Donʼt consider House
members. House GOP Whip Kevin McCarthy is
getting used to the high life and doesnʼt have the
time nor the name identification to get into the
race. Darrell Issa is a major fundraiser and too
polarizing for a bid for the Senate seat.
However, Steve Poiznerʼs return to California
politics could be for the Senate seat; something
he could win if he ran as a conservative in the
primary and a moderate in the general.
Winning against Feinstein; thatʼs a tough break
that pollsters will have to figure out.
BUILDING UP THE PARTY
The CRP fails as a party organization.
From its lack of slate mailers for candidates to its
lack of strategy in the 2010 fights for Sacramento
and Washington, the Republican Party caused
some very preventable losses.
Consider Steve Cooley, Los Angeles
County District Attorney, known by many
Californians as Attorney General Kamala Harrisʼs
opponent in November. Cooley could have been
the single Republican statewide officer elected in
2010 had the CRP sent out slate mailers to voters
and put more focus on the race and its impact on
Prop. 8 and other legal issues the state
would face.
Instead, California Republicans are stuck with an
Attorney General who wonʼt defend the law
 THE RECORD 5

Preparing for 2012

Mississipi Gov. Haley Barbour (L) spoke

at the 2011 California Republican
Convention. Barbour is considered one
of a number of Presidential hopefuls in
the 2012 election. He, along with
prospective candidate, Ambassador
John Bolton, spoke in Sacramento.

passed by voters in 2008.
Even worse, more influential than the CRP is the
California Republican Assembly (the conservative
wing of California Republican organization).
It puts many members of the State Legislature in
a tough position with voting choices and targets
them during elections for failed votes.
However, the Tea Party movement has been a
thorn in the side of the California Republican
Party. From the heat-of-the-moment creation of
the Taxpayerʼs Caucus in the California
Legislature to the local organizations, each has
provided plenty of political fire to help and hinder
political issues necessary to big victories at the
polls.

While the CRA operates effectively as an interest
group organization, it kills the party organization
of the CRP. Given that the CRA isnʼt going to
change ways, the CRP needs to grow a
backbone and begin to work more efficiently in
advocating its positions and placing its interests
front and center to voters, candidates and elected
officials.
THE THORN IN THE ELEPHANTʼS SIDE
At the Spring Convention, top Tea Partiers began
to slap down the notion of the CRP endorsing
candidates during primaries.
This is just one of various problems that have and
will arise from the Tea Partyʼs small presence in
California. Much like the support for Sarah Palin
(hovering around 30% or lower),  the Tea Party
comprises somewhere near 30% of California
Republicans, making it small yet powerful.

Is the Tea Party. California is a state not
dominated by Tea Party activists. Due, in part, to
the lackluster that goes with Sarah Palinʼs band
of conservative ruffians, the Tea Party hasnʼt
caught on with many Republicans in the state.
While the conservative areas of California do
have Tea Parties, they hold little to no real power
in electing officials (See Rep. Jeff Denham as
textbook establishment Republican).
Given this, thereʼs a case to be made for the
direction of California Republican voters. Should
the party swing right with the 30% in the Tea
Party movement or stay more toward the center
and embrace independents seeking to flock from
Democratic mishaps in Federal and State
politics?
Over the next four to eight years, weʼll find out
what moves the party organization makes.
 FOTOGRAPH

#38: SHANE LOUX

Pitcher Shane Loux gets prepped before the Fresno Grizzlies take their
annual team photo.

Photo: The Daily Dues/photos.dailydues.com

FOTOGRAPH
13
 OPINION 5

The Case for Fresno’s Resiliency

Men’s Health Magazine’s attack on Fresno’s Twitterverse is off-base and offensive.

Iʼve had it.
Fresno may be drunkest, fourteenth most
sexually active, but we are not, ARE NOT the
95th least socially networked city in the US. I can
prove it.
Iʼve gotten extraordinarily sick of Menʼs Health
Magazineʼs lists of cities (like the perpetual bad
penny). Less of a science, more like a set of
David Letterman Top 10s, Menʼs Health has set
up Fresno for more and more ridicule.
And now, thereʼs something to be said for the
FeedFresno movement. A purely web-based
grassroots movement that had TV networks
providing Facebook instructions on valuable
airtime. That little diddy had Fresno on the web
talking about why $1 million was the best for our
hunger-ridden city. We united around Jim Bean
and were able to not only win $100,000 for
ourselves, but for Bakersfield, too.
In the words of Ice Cube, Menʼs Health: You
better check yo self before you wreck yo self.

So rather than responding to Menʼs Health with a

different magazine filled with random guys and
their tips for a better sex life (and those really
annoying Subscriber card-inserts), Iʼm going to
deal with the guys mag toe-to-toe.

Fresno is, contrary to Menʼs Healthʻs belief, one

of the most active cities on the web. With web
celebrities and a growing community started on
the web, Fresno is more on the social networking
track than other cities.

What Fresno isnʼt: A Friendster using population

of bulletin-board nerds. Speaking of which, why
would a reputable magazine like Menʼs Health
ever count the number of Friendster and
MySpace users per region? Those are so 1999
and 2004, respectively. Despite Menʼs Health, Fresno organizes
events around the web, such as The
Great Fresno Tweetup (above)
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