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Friday, Nov. 14, 2008

Loose Lips: Don't send out the next act yet

Andy Warhol missed the mark.

Some may be famous for 15 minutes. For others, the clock runs longer.

In Merced, for example, it's "60 Minutes."

The TV newsmagazine is trying to line up an interview with Mayor Ellie Wooten for a story about You Know What. Reporters with The Wall Street Journal were also blowing up her cell phone for a story.

Wooten's been e-mailing two reps with the show, even e-mailing the map of Merced that shows the 1,000 houses that are empty because of You Know What.

Once the stopwatch stops ticking in Merced, we're not sure where else the city can go. It's been highlighted (or lowlighted) in about every other major news outlet.

New York Times? Done.

Financial Times? Check.

Dire times? Stay tuned.

You've got mail

Guess what top government leader doesn't know much about the Internet, has served in the United States military and who hopped aboard the Straight Talk Express.

No, not Sen. John McCain, R-History.

It's county head honcho, Dee Tatum, who stopped by the Sun-Star earlier this week. It had something to do with a raise and his wife. Pork-barrel spending, one might say.

Anyway, Lips learned that Tatum doesn't know his work e-mail address off the top of his head. Nor did he bring any business cards. How long has he been with the county?

The Upper Lip, who has his own technical difficulties, coined a term for this in the mid-'90s -- trogluddite.

Most of the time Tatum seems to use mhendrickson@co.merced.ca.us as the main way to communicate. (That's Mark Hendrickson, the main county spokesman.)

But, after some sleuthing, Lips also learned you can reach him by sending e-mails to power.broker@third.floor.tatum and dee@boss.gov.

Turning a blind eye

Readers, Lips has no choice but to resume Benchwatch 2008 ... soon to be 2009.

That's right. We're shining Loose Lips' 18,000-megawatt light on this problem.

Merced County is owed one judge and should have two more on the way. Of course, the state's $11 billion deficit could get them tossed out of court.

Some say justice is blind. It's actually Gov. Ahnold Schwarz-a-deficit. Last week, he announced 23 -- 23! -- judicial appointments. But no black robes were sent here.

The last judge, whippersnapper Marc Garcia, got the nod in October 2007. It's been a closed case ever since.

Apparently, he doesn't see Presiding Judge John Kirihara buried beneath the district attorney's weekly deluge of criminal complaints. Or Hugh Flanagan plodding through daily calendars that have more hearings than Wall Street fatcats.

Lips checked in with courthouse boss Kathleen Goetsch, who said she's optimistic that there'll be a justice for Merced County soon -- maybe before the ball drops in Times Square.

Until then, we'll keep calling for order in the court.

Loose Lips love tips! E-mail editor@mercedsun-star.com.