New business committee may add sparks to council contests

July 17, 2006

This year's Redding City Council election promises to be a lively affair.

Some in the local business community have made no secret that they'd like to see changes on the council. John Mathena and Mary Stegall are in their sights.

Now, a new business-oriented "political expenditure committee" has been created -- the Shasta Alliance, headed by Lance Frederiksen, who headed the former Shasta Business Council in the 1990s.

The group's mission statement lists "issues of concern to the business community," including "fiscal responsibility, traffic infrastructure, economic vitality and affordable housing."

Frederiksen has convinced the Shasta Builders' Exchange to join the nascent group. Said Kent Dagg: "I don't want to spend my career on campaigns -- I have an organization to run ... a thousand bucks (the membership fee for the Shasta Alliance) is worth it to me. "

Dagg said the exchange joined because the Shasta Alliance will be "looking at issues like the Shasta Ranch gravel plant in Cottonwood," which Dagg thinks is vital to the area's construction industry.

Bottom line: It will take more money than ever to wage a viable campaign for the council. We're not sure that's necessarily a good thing, but it is what it is.

Good read

We're not sure how much clout the Shasta County grand jury's annual report has. Mayor Ken Murray's dismissive response last week to the panel's criticism of the city -- "If members of the grand jury don't like our priorities, then they ought to run for office" -- shows that at least he isn't losing sleep over it.

Nonetheless, the report is required reading for any informed citizen. OK, it's not page-turning stuff in the vein of Tom Clancy. Some of it's pretty dry, cribbed from legal statutes or written in bureaucrat-speak. But there are occasional bursts of eloquence, clarity and wit.

Here's one example, from the section on the Redding Redevelopment Agency and the use of eminent domain, which the grand jury specifically opposed in the case of Park Marina and the Parkview Market near City Hall.

"The vague legal definition of economic blight can even be applied to Redding's recently completed City Hall -- if replaced by a shopping mall, the property and sales tax generated could be of greater economic benefit to the city than the current, nontaxable building."

Hey, maybe there'd be room on the ground floor for a Trader Joe's.

Shifting south

Need more proof that the area's center of commercial activity is shifting south?

Anderson -- still basking in last month's opening of the Wal-Mart Supercenter -- is making room for a restaurant and two bank branches.

And in Cottonwood, pharmacist Chris Christopher plans to build a 72-room Holiday Inn Express on the northwest side of the intersection of Fourth and Main streets.

The restaurant in Anderson -- we hear it will be called Bibb's -- will be near the corner of Riverside Drive and North Street, for years home to Amigo's Mexican restaurant.

The former Amigo's building has been demolished to make room for Bibb's, a two-story restaurant and bar that will overlook the Sacramento River.

PremierWest Bank is building a branch at the corner of North Street and Interstate 5, across the street from Burger King, that will replace its Balls Ferry Road location, space it's been leasing since November. The new 4,500-square-foot branch could open by December.

Butte Community Bank plans to build its first Anderson branch in the Anderson Marketplace shopping center, home to the Wal-Mart Supercenter.

"Redding just continues to expand, and people are moving to bedroom communities. We want to be in Anderson," PremierWest CEO John Anhorn told us last week.

A Starbucks on every corner

We're not there yet. Nonetheless, the world's largest coffee chain continues its bullish run in Redding with plans to open another store.

Westsiders soon will be able to get their latte fix at the Placer Heights center on the corner of Placer Street and Buenaventura Boulevard, where Starbucks will open another store in Redding. Construction is under way.

Starbucks also plans to open a store in the 33,000-square-foot Civic Center Plaza, about two blocks from Starbucks' Safeway store location on the corner of Cypress Avenue and Pine Street in downtown Redding.

Got a "Buzz"-worthy item? Contact reporter David Benda at 225-8219 or dbenda@redding.com or reporter Marc Beauchamp at 225-8221 or mbeauchamp@redding.com.