The Local Yodel: Pink Slip Blues; Quakey Wake ‘Ups; Flip Floppin’ Fans

With all that’s happening on and off-planet in recent days we were tempted to release our inner Screamin’ Demons and address the hypocrisy and addled nonsense and off-world exploration riffling across the country – but we’re holding back in favor of letting you all weigh in on that if you wish.

Instead, we’ll drill down into that hyper-local root canal you seem to care most about: widespread layoffs, Mad Max driving on our highways and byways, the price of whiskey, steaks and ammo and, lastly, about the pursuit of truth in a local bubble that often couldn’t care less.

Our editors used to warn us that the public’s attention span is short and readers are fickle and we’ve operated under that maxim for decades, taking accolades when we get them but braced for the far more regular public rage-storm.

This inbound zinger was penned by a reader unhappy with something we’d done. There was no appended connotation to clue us in but after curious looks around the News Bunker we had to think we’d erred in running photos of a – we have to be careful here – protest of a certain type featuring people opposed to the current administration.

As a small but feisty news outlet serving the area, we could no sooner ignore a local protest attended by thousands than cut off an appendage. But, that kind of thinking is what gets you in trouble these days:

Screenshot

Anyway, she’ll be back. Maybe. Maybe not. We can’t help but note some of our harshest critics are still hanging around, taking potshots when they can.

We’re thinking much of this recent angst is derived from the many thousands of layoff notices locals have received in recent days, futures and families suddenly in doubt and some distress.

“Today is your last working day…” Oracle’s one-way layoff notices began, the unfortunate employee finding their system access also coldly cut off. Yikes. Whatever happened to the last lunch and walk out the door by a phalanx of teary former colleagues?

We also heard from workers:

“I’m in my 40s, we have two kids, my wife needs a surgical procedure. This feels like someone kicked the chair out from under me…”

We hear you. We’d say we “feel” your pain and all but that’s just so trite and unsatisfactory given what people are going through. In the end, all we can do is look down and hope something comes along for them – an occurrence getting harder and harder to find these days, we know.

Amidst the recent doom and gloom we wondered what else could lay in store for us, finding out at Zero Early Thirty Thursday when a 4.9 Magnitude shaker born in the Santa Cruz Mountains made its way up along the 680 Corridor – reminding us that even with all our earthly tribulations Ma Nature was still in charge and capable of bad things.

Let’s hope for all our sakes she restrains herself. We need a break.