We as residents of Chelan County need to work with the Chelan PUD, or if necessary, work independently of the Chelan PUD to promote solar energy. We also need to form a political alliance within Chelan County to change the State enabling laws allowing the Chelan PUD to provide greater benefits in all parts of the county and not just within the areas covered by the licensing of the dams.  These benefits could include trails and recreation as well as alternate energy incentives.  

If properly managed, our Chelan PUD may never need to add generation to cover local needs as long as we concentrate on the electrical requirements of Chelan County, maintain sufficient surplus capacity to sell electrical energy on the “green market” and don’t get caught up in projects that add debt without generating needed net revenue.  

Alternate energy may never provide any significant amount of our electrical power, but the Chelan PUD should be more involved in solar if for no other reason than it is a part of future energy in our world. The Chelan PUD, being blessed with much potential revenue, needs to be creative in providing inspiration to our youth and in promoting the economic development of Chelan County through home and commercial solar projects and plug-in hybrid automobiles. An increasing number of customer owners are interested in investing their own money in solar. The least the PUD could do would be to be more supportive of solar installations through incentives such as providing the inverter-meter, which would reduce the installation cost for the customer owner. 

I’m beginning to think that the reluctance of the Chelan PUD management and commission to work enthusiastically with home owners to install solar may be politically motivated. I hope this is not the case.  Energy and climate change solutions should not wear a label of Republican or Democrat.

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(For Monday through Sunday, December 1-7)

The holidays sparkle with spectacle — lights, music and, yes, choo-choos —  and this week much of it is free. Towns, churches, businesses and many, many folks who aren’t embarrassed to sing in public are giving you marvelous gifts, so please take advantage of their generosity. The admission price is your attendance and appreciation.

By the way, a longer list of holiday happenings can be found in the Wenatchee World’s Go! Magazine, but here are a few choice events (yeah, there are more than five):

√ Roll ‘Em: Locally-made Movies — Handcrafted video presentations during the holidays give a whole new meaning to the term “Tinsel Town.” At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, Homegrown Ski Areas of NCW, an oral history of the region’s early ski industry, plays at the Waterville Public Library … on Thursday, Dec. 4, Broken Limbs, a documentary on the Wenatchee Valley apple industry, will be screened at 7 p.m. at downtown Wenatchee’s Caffé Mela, 17 N. Wenatchee Ave.

√ Light ‘Em: Local Christmas Lighting Ceremonies —  In Waterville, the Chamber of Commerce will flip the switch at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, in the parking lot of NCNB, a downtown bank … in East Wenatchee, the lights festooning City Hall pop on at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4 … in downtown Wenatchee, Santa will use a magic wand to light the community tree at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, at the Performing Arts Center … and in Leavenworth, the big boys of lighting ceremonies illuminate the whole town with a zillion bulbs. It begins with a community songfest at dusk Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 6-7, and the lights flash to life shortly after.

√ Hear ‘Em: Not Your Traditional Holiday Music  — At 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, 300 students in the Wenatchee School District’s mariachi program take the stage to sing and strum traditional mariachi and Christmas tunes. It’s in the Wenatchee High School Auditorium … ragtime meets symphonic when nationally-acclaimed pianist Lynn Wright and violinist Adam DeGraff join for a performance called Pianafiddle. It starts at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, and it’s also in the Wenatchee High School Auditiorium.

√ Read ‘Em: Authors Unwrap New Titles (Wednesday, Dec. 3) — Leavenworth’s wonderful little bookstore, A Book for All Seasons, throws a Christmas Party for its customers beginning at 7 p.m. Greeting fans will be eastern Oregon author Jane Kirkpatrick, Native American author Lawney Reyes and eastern Washington author (and chef) Lora Lea Misterly.

√ Ride ‘Em: Last Chance to Hop Aboard in ‘08 (Saturday, Dec. 6) —  The Wenatchee Riverfront Railway, the miniature train in Riverfront Park,  wraps up its 2008 season with a visit from Santa, snacks and hot beverages. Whoo-whoo! Free rides are offered from 12 noon to 4 p.m.

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The day did not appear promising. It was completely overcast and the forecast was for showers or rain. Still somewhat draggy from the exertions of Thanksgiving day, I managed to get into the car for the ride to Chelan.

We stopped in Wenatchee to pick up friends visiting there from Livermore CA wine country. Last spring they took us on a tour of wineries there, and we were impressed. When we lived in San Jose many years ago, Livermore was just a tiny town in the Livermore Valley, and although wine had been produced there since the 1850’s, we didn’t know much about it. Concannon, Wente Bros., Petite Syrah and Zinfandel were about the only names we associated with the area. Last spring we found many excellent wines and dozens of wineries while having a great time, so we wanted to reciprocate.

First stop on the edge of Chelan was Tsillan Cellars. The 2007 estate-grown Malbec which winemaker Shane Collins served us from the barrel was outstanding. They were long sold out of any in the bottle, and this wouldn’t be bottled until the summer of 2009. I think it will be worth the wait. We were able to take advantage of the two-for-one sale of their notable 2005 Riesling. The new ristorante, Sorrento’s, will be open Saturdays and Sundays, noon till 3.  Unfortunately, it was Friday, so we went on.

Next stop was a favorite lunch place, Vin du Lac. Not only is the food good, but the wines are always excellent. We had a brief chat with winemaker/owner Larry Lehmbecker, who is off to France this weekend, and then had a delicious lunch accompanied by tastes of their various wines. While I am not usually a great fan of Rose’, I may have to make an exception here. The medal-winning non-vintage blend of Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese was crisp and dry, with overtones of strawberry, and a good accompaniment for one of their crepes on the lunch menu: a delicious smoked salmon, brie and spinach with a hint of heat. At only, $14.99, the Rose’ is a good buy. All the wines were very good and the service was attentive

After lunch, the very articulate assistant winemaker, Mike Baldwin, took us to the barrel room where we had two new experiences. First was the tasting of a 2008 Merlot still in steel, with no malolactic fermentation yet. It was fresh Merlot grape juice with alcohol, and utterly delicious. Then we tasted the 2007 Stillwater Creek Merlot in the barrel. It was equally great, but showing that it was slowly maturing into what will undoubtedly be a superior wine in a couple of years. Last was a fizzy, bubbly brand new Viognier in steel, just now fermenting from natural wild yeasts. In the glass it was cloudy and creamy with a frothy head. Weird! But astonishingly delicious. It was hard to leave that Merlot, but my party dragged me out and back into the car.

Lake Chelan Winery was crowded, as usual, with regular tasters. We ran into winemaker Ray Sandidge and several wine society friends. Most of the tasting was of the regular wines. I had forgotten how good the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon is, but I quickly refreshed my memory. Steve Kludt was handling the barrel tasting of what will be a fine Merlot in a couple of years. Neither Steve nor Ray believes in releasing a wine too soon, which may account for why the reds are so good. They like that nice long rest in the bottle.

Around the corner and up and over the hills, we came to Benson, where the filled parking lot told us that there would be a crowd inside. Thanksgiving weekend is totally a family time, with Kathy pouring whites, vineyard manager Jeff and winemaker Scott pouring reds, and Paul manning the barrels of 2007 Sangiovese and 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon. I tasted the new (to me) Rhythm, a very drinkable red blend of Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, Malbec, and Sangiovese. It is so new it isn’t on the website yet. Then I went to the back of the winery  to talk with Paul Benson and to sample the barrel wines. As expected, the Sangiovese was very good, but the Cab just about knocked me over. What a wine! Scott said it was a special lot and was being given special treatment. I hope I can taste it again in the spring, and again when it is released. It’s a sure winner. Also in spring a Nebbiolo will be available.

Before we left we tried the Viognier ice wine. Apricot, peach, lychee, and a hint of candied pineapple make this a wine that will lend a  fine finishing touch to any meal.

Katy and Milum Perry at Tildio never disappoint. The 2006 Robusto, a blend of Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot make it a perfect companion to my present favorite snack, the surprising biscuit from Home Fires Bakery next to Prey’s Fruit Barn in Leavenworth,  and Spanish Manchego cheese. The new white Idea’le blend of Chardonnay and Viognier is delicious, also. And while you are there, mention “Tecalote”, also known as El Buho.

Last stop was Hard Row to Hoe, formerly Balsam Root. It’s the same welcoming, pleasant owners, Don and Judy Phelps, but a new name. The informative tasting room manager told us that the 2007 Cabernet Franc and 2007 Syrah were in the barrel, but would not be tasted until Saturday and Sunday, He offered instead a Zinfandel and their new Barbera, and mentioned they will be making Primitivo and Roussanne.  We all enjoyed the 2007 floral and fruity Viogner, and our guests left with a bottle. By then it was time for the long drive home and a dinner of leftovers; that’s the best part of Thanksgiving.

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The Showbox Sodo is one of, if not the largest, club type venues in the Seattle area for live bands having a crowd capacity of 1500. It hosts all types of musical shows from rock to country to of course, punk.

The picture at left is taken from the stage area and looking back towards the entry and to the “secondary” bar. The”box” in the center is where the sound guy sits. To the right of the room is the lounge and another small stage area with a capacity of 300. A unique feature, the windows to the right are actually like garage doors that are opened up once the show starts so if you get there early enough you can snag a table in the lounge area to sit, snack and drink while watching the show. If the show is a 21+ show then the floor is wide opened as pictured. If it’s an all ages show then the back half from the “box” to the back wall is fenced off so those who want a drink can, however they do have to stay in this area to do so just like a beer garden.

The second picture here to the left is looking at the stage area from where the sound guy sits. It is a large stage with a great light systems. Over all the sound system is okay however with the high ceiling, concrete floor and brick walls the acoustics are not the greatest. The stage should also be taller. If you’re under 6′ tall you’ll have a hard time seeing from anywhere on the floor.

The third picture here is taken from the stage area in the lounge looking to the back towards the restrooms (the only ones). You’ll notice to the right is the bank of “garage” doors that are opened up for the show. If you do arrive early before the main doors are opened and you don’t feel like standing outside in line and if you’re over 21 you can hang out here in the lounge and when the main doors are to open to the “in line” people, they allow the lounge people to enter first.

I’ve been to two shows here with mixed feelings about both shows. The first was a sold out Flogging Molly show that was all ages meaning the bar was separated from the main floor. This I preferred. Though there were still you’re usual drunkenness  it seemed to be more contained to the bar area. The other show I attended was an almost sold out show of The Reverend Horton Heat and it was a 21+ show meaning the whole main floor was a bar with 16 ouncers of Pabst Blue Ribbon being thrown every where. I got nailed four times with flying beer.

Overall, it’s not a favorite place. I will go again providing that the band playing is one  that I really want to see but regardless of the band, if it’s a 21+ show I will not attend. Also another reminder, if your short say under 6′ you’ll have a hard time seeing unless perhaps you hang out in the lounge area, which sits above the main floor (see  photo) but then you are towards the back of the room and you got the drunks to contend with.

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Seventeen months ago my diabetic father had a heart attack. Naturally, this was a very scary time for my family, but after clearing several blockages and implanting a medical device to record his heart rhythms, I’m proud to say he has used this opportunity to overhaul his life. As a pack-a-day smoker for 45 years who never exercised or watched what he ate, he looked at this occurrence as a wake up call and made significant lifestyle changes. He now watches what he eats, quit smoking and exercises. If you would have told any of us kids that this would be our dad 18 months ago, we wouldn’t have believed it.

 Here’s the most amazing part: this Thanksgiving my family descended upon Wenatchee. My sister, father and I all entered the first-annual Thanks and Giving run. It was my father’s first organized sporting event and the first event for my sister in a very long time. We entered the 5K walk together and as we walked along, we chatted, dad worked up a sweat, and my sister and I traded sisterly barbs. It took us just over an hour, but we all finished. It was a great way to start the holiday.

We left shortly after crossing the finish line because we had to get the turkey in the over, and dad needed a nap. But, later that day, we got word that dad won his division! In his first organized sporting event, he took home the gold. He’s very proud, equally sore, and we’re all thrilled for him. But now he has a title to defend! Look out because Carl has a new focus!

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 I was so excited for the Wenatchee Wild game tonight. After a long road trip the Wild were returning to home turf to play the last team from whom they took 2 out of 3 games deep in enemy territory, Wasilla, AK (enter political commentary here). The boys had undoubtedly made new “friends” in the last few games and were now going to treat their new “buddies” to a little home cookin’ for the holidays.

 This was the perfect night to introduce the entire Tarr family to Wenatchee Wild hockey. My oldest daughter, my sister, her fiance, and my brother were all here from out of town for the holiday and so we rounded up a hodge podge of tickets in 4 different spots across the arena. We weren’t going to be able to sit together but were going to enjoy the game regardless. I fugured we’d probably text each other a few comments here and there throughout the game and then debrief at dinner after the game.

 I arrived earlier than the rest of the crew and walked down to my regular seats, right at the intersection of the glass and visitor penalty box; the center-most seats on the glass in the arena. When I got there, or at least near there I knew there was a problem. There were people sitting in my seats! I politely told the couple sitting in there that there must be a mistake and that they were in my seats, the seats I paid a lot of money to procure the right to sit in. We all pulled out our tickets in something akin to a wild west shoot out and to my surprise and embarrassment, they were in the right seats. Due to a few growing pains in the new arena, my new season ticket book had my seat numbers wrong. I knew in principle that the folks were sitting in MY seats, however the numbers don’t lie.

 I must admit, I was the very first person in line to buy season tickets to the new arena, before ground had been broken and when the Wild were nothing but a twinkle in the eyes of Rocky Flynn. I sheepishly left the seats to find a representative of the arena to help me sort this out. After a quick ping pong of radio calls, it was decided that our entire row of seats were off by 2 leaving the 2 seats at the end of the row, MY seats open for sale. They had been quickly swiped up by a nice couple included in the nearly 3000 folks that made it to the game last night.

 To my utter amazement and joy, the solution to this clerical faux paux was to put my entire family and I in a luxury box for the night; those well furnished and appointed cubbies usually occupied by the “upper crust”.  Yup, we were going big time! What an incredible way to experience the game. I’d stopped by a few boxes in the past to say hi, but I’d never experienced it as anything but an interloper. This time the luxury was all ours. We may have looked like the Clampetts on their first trek to Cal-E-forn-I-A, but we were loving it! How lucky, on the night my entire family was in attendance, scattered throughout the arena, in a great gesture of customer service by the folks at Town Toyota Center, we were all able to sit together for an exciting Wild win. The cherry on top of this incredible sundae of serendipity was certainly the goal by our own #4 Kyle Brodie!

 Thank you Ron, thank you Amy, and thank you Linda for taking such great care of us. So as Ferris Bueller said about a certain Ferrari, I will say of the luxury suites at the Toybox: “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.”.

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Since I’m still recovering from yesterday morning’s Turkey Bowl football contest (always remember to stretch AFTER exercising in 30 degree weather, kids) and eating roughly four pounds of food at dinner (the second reason I’ve been walking like an old man all day), I thought I’d give you a little taste of classic, old time Americana music.

When I think of real Americana artists, I think of storytelling songwriters. And when it comes to storytelling songwriters, it gets no better than John Prine. The weathered country western singer has a real knack for writing songs not just with strong messages, but also with a sense of irony and humor (just listen to “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore” or “Some Humans Ain’t Human”). Sadly, throat cancer ravaged his voice a few years ago, but he’s found new life with a raspier, more baritone style.

Another of the great American songwriters, J.J. Cale has made a living writing country songs that later became hits for more straight-ahead rockers. “After Midnight” and “Cocaine” went to Clapton, while “They Call Me the Breeze” was Skynydized. Nowadays, you don’t see many talented guitar-based bands pluck quality country songs and make them into rock hits — probably because today’s country musicians would rather just cover lackluster top 40 hits with no noticeable difference other than an obvious put-on southern accent than write something original.

If there is a country songwriter who would be perfect for rock covers, though, it would be Steve Earle, one of Nashville’s most important contemporary voices. Earle is a throwback to the outlaw country singers like Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings, singing about the world in a way only he can. He’s had his ups and downs through the years, but he’s stayed relevant, even getting some radio play for the 2007 single “City of Immigrants.”

There’s plenty more artists that have kept the Americana genre alive, from Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams, to Willie Nelson and (at times) Neil Young. Heck, even Led Zep’s Robert Plant got into the game with last year’s duet album Raising Sand with Alison Krauss.

Come back late tomorrow for a look at the artists that are flying the Americana flag into the next decade.

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Guest blogger Abby Holmes is an entertainment reporter at The World.

I’m sure you’ve heard of chocolate chip cookies before, but unless you’re a close personal friend of mine, you’ve never heard of cookles.

Cookles began as chocolate chip cookies, a recipe from my mom’s 30-year-old binder full of recipes she’s collected over the years. She used to make them rather frequently, and I enjoyed eating them — they were the best chocolate chip cookies I’d ever eaten. By the time I was in high school, I was spending slow, boring afternoons making batches to give out to my friends and family. They were kind of a big deal. I didn’t actually boast about how good they were until the onslaught of requests I got for more. That’s how they went from being just ordinary chocolate chip cookies to being “Cookles.”

One of my best friends, Jason Enyart, had a studio apartment in Wenatchee where I went almost every day. He is my biggest cookie fan, I think. Well, Jason and I kept a dictionary of words that were misspoken, mistyped, etc., during correspondence. While instant messaging with him late one night, I accidentally typed “cookles” instead of “cookies” when telling him that I had just made some, and he decided to add that to the dictionary — but only when referring to my chocolate chip cookies, so they would be distinguished from the rest (they’re so good, they deserve distinguishing, according to Jason’s logic). Another word from that dictionary, mook (that’s Jasonese for “milk,” I believe originating from the knowledge that milk comes from cows and cows go “moo”), made it into our regular speech. Whenever referring to Cookles, it’s just natural to include mook.

Besides, the name alone makes “mook and cookles” way more fun to eat than “milk and cookies.” One of the awesomest things about cookles is that you can alter the recipe to make them taste different each time, and find which way you like it best. Sometimes you might try melting the butter more before mixing, adding another tablespoon or two of vanilla extract, or changing other measurements (although I can tell you from experience that omitting the salt completely won’t lead to tasty results). Once I added 1/2 cup of walnuts for my friend Brandon who said he likes walnuts in his cookies, and they turned out great. Give it a try and see what you get and what works well for you. Oh, and let me know how it goes!

Cookles
1 cup (two sticks) butter
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Soften butter (about 20 seconds in the microwave). Cream butter and sugars in large mixing bowl. Mix in egg and vanilla. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix well. Add chocolate chips. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and arrange on a large non-greased baking sheet about 2 inches apart (should make 12 per batch). Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack. Yield: 36 cookles.

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“Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo”
Rivers Cuomo, $13.98

There are so many reasons to love Rivers Cuomo. The guy can’t wear a mustache without looking like a ’70s porn star, but he’s wonderfully strange, a nerd-girl’s fantasy, and has composed some of the greatest music of my era.

As Weezer’s frontman, he’s become established in the music industry, enough to garner some interest in his solo projects. Enter “Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo,” his 2007 album of demos he recorded at home over a 15-year period of time. You get some original versions of songs that eventually manifested as Weezer hits, and some other interesting tracks that would fare well with the full band treatment.

“Alone II,” released this week, isn’t superior in its entirety, but I’m taking a greater shine to it than I did the first. Maybe it’s because every track is one that I haven’t already heard done better by the whole band, but I have a feeling that there are a couple of songs on this one that surpass all the songs on the previous record.

Though the album gets sort of blah near the middle, it starts off strong and ends even stronger, with three really great tracks in a row. Simplistic as it is, Cuomo knows how to make a beautiful melody that’s easy to sing along to. On “I Want to Take You Home Tonight,” he grinds out a series of crunchy guitar chords with a basic drumbeat, but he pulls it off as a pretty fine song. He goes all Ben Folds on “My Day is Coming,” albeit a bit more somber, despite its life-affirming lyrics. With the same bouncing beat as “Keep Fishin’,” a single from Weezer’s 2002 record “Maladroit,” “I’ll Think About You” really showcases the style that made Cuomo’s band so famous.

Somewhere in the middle, Cuomo covers a Beach Boys tune (and one of my personal favorites!), “Don’t Worry Baby.” Now, I could never say it’s better than the original, but if there’s any band he can best emulate, it’s the Beach Boys. Cuomo is to surf-rock what Meg Ryan is to romantic comedies. He’s just got the voice for it.

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Staff photographer Mike Bonnicksen is getting down a new technique I hope you check out on our web site: click here

To use this, click on any of the small cameras in the arena and wait for the file to load on your computer. It is worth the wait as you can move your mouse around and view the Town Toyota Center from your virtual seat.

Be sure to use the Shift and Control keys to zoom in and out of the scene.

Mike has been working on the technique off and on for a couple weeks and found free software that stitches still images together and software that provides the rotation of the image.

He uses 18 images from a 21mm lens, shooting each image and moving the camera 60 degrees for the next one.

It’s a technique we hope to use again soon.

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