Look for us at the Oregon State Fair

Look for members of the Capital Press staff Saturday, Aug. 30, at the Oregon State Fair.

We'll be hard to miss.

Just look for the neon-lime green T-shirts celebrating Ag Day.

I wouldn't advise actually looking directly at the shirts unless you are wearing suitable eye protections. Sun glasses may help, but welder's goggles would be better. The shirts are bright.

It ought to tell people how committed the Capital Press staff is to celebrating agriculture in Oregon and the West though. If our staffers will go out in public wearing those shirts, they are indeed committed to the cause.

I'll be working the Ag Day booth between the hours of 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. Unless I'm rushed to the hospital with retinal damage. That would not be a great way to spend Labor Day weekend.

Click here to see what other fun stuff will be happening on Ag Day.

Breakfast in Fresno without Raisins

Fresno, California is with without question the raisin capital of the world. But you cannot get California raisins for your oatmeal.

Hard to believe, but it's the perfect example of how corporate structures fail. Corporate franchises cannot accommodate local needs or improvise for their local communities.

In the case of Denny's Restaurant on Olive Way in Fresno, (and probably among others from my experience) you cannot get raisins for your oatmeal. None. I couldn't believe it. It's like peanut butter without the jelly. A cookie without the milk.

Don't get me wrong the oatmeal was fine. But there is only one way to ruin it: Provide no raisins.

Sun-Maid, ...if you're listening...somebody in Fresno needs a talkin' to.

Tomorrow you'll get my oatmeal report from the House of Pancakes™. I

I'm hoping to get my raisins.

Thank you for being a fan

Earlier this month I posted a blatant solicitation for fans of our Capital Press Facebook page, and some of you have answered the call! We have 6 fans so far (including me, former Blogriculture author Elaine Shein and California editor Hank Shaw). Thanks fans and friends!

We've also set up a Blogriculture blog network on Facebook if anyone is interested in joining that.

Shaw returns

Hank Shaw has been discovered. For those of you who don't know Hank, he's our California editor. Hank does, obviously, have a bit of a following in California political circles, where he covered the Capitol for the Stockton Record prior to joining the Capital Press.

It looks like a couple of the political blogs may be glad to see him back. His piece in the Aug. 22 edition of Capital Press on the status of California's beleaguered water bond proposal garnered links from Fox & Hounds Daily and FlashReport.

By the way, is it just me, or does Hank look a little like Matthew Broderick from the movie "Glory" with that mustache and goatee?

Let's see, what was the name of Broderick's character? Oh, yes, Col. Robert Gould SHAW!

Coincidence?

Capital Press in the blogosphere for Aug. 18

A Capital Press article on camelina garners a mention today on Biofuels Digest. The post provides a link to the original Capital Press article by freelancer Terence Day.

The Capital Press also gets a mention (but no link) in the Storm Exchange's Stormwire blog. The post is about wheat harvest running behind schedule in Idaho due to weather earlier in the season (see staffer Patricia McCoy's story here).

A nice little raspberry on top

An article by Cookson Beecher about raspberries got a mention this week in the Biz Blog by Dave Gallagher, business editor, of the Bellingham Herald.

Normally, when someone blows you a raspberry, it's not a good thing. But such is not the case here, or for raspberry growers who are enjoying some better prices this year, if not stellar yields.

The pesky liberal farm media

KarenO made a post over at BlogTalkRadio. Karen reposted a letter to the editor that appeared in the Capital Press on July 25, 2008.

The post makes it a little tough to tell where the letter, by Jim Ludwick of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, starts and ends. So, if you want to see the original letter, see the link. And you can find the original story Ludwick was commenting on here.

I got a kick out KarenO's conclusion she tacked on to the letter, which says "You have to love our liberal press -- always looking out for Oregonians!"

Feel free to check out our editorials and judge how liberal the Capital Press is for yourself.

Fans wanted

Are there any Capital Press fans on Facebook? Check us out on Facebook.