Off Beat: Dan Logue: Warm and fuzzy

When you opened your Appeal-Democrat last Sunday, you were probably very surprised.

There, on page A2, was news from Grass Valley.

"Logue vows to aid homeless shelter," said the headline.

Was this a misprint?

No, it was actually happening, up there in the rarefied air that is Nevada County, where they care about the homeless.

They actually have a homeless shelter up there. It's called, fittingly, Hospitality House.

City officials are looking for money to allow the facility to move into larger digs.

And your assemblyman, Dan Logue, seems to be in the forefront of helping the homeless.

"It's all about caring and reaching out to help them," Logue told the Grass Valley newspaper.

Is this the same Dan Logue who everyone assumed would be down in San Diego most of the time protecting the border from illegals?

What happened?

"We're all passionate about helping people, and that's part of what government is supposed to do," sayeth the Logue.

Has he become a closet Democrat?

No, chances are he was just playing to his audience in Nevada County, where the elected officials seem to care about these kind of issues. Or at least they think about them for more than 20 seconds.

Down in Yuba County, where Logue made his mark politically, things remain the same.

Homeless? Too bad. Want the politicians to help you? Forget it.

It's time to go. Move along. We've got ordinances. Haven't you read them?

So maybe the local contingent of homeless should call their assemblyman, that Dan Logue guy, and ask him for some help. They get nowhere with everybody else.

Where are they now?

In this column's continuing effort to keep you apprised of people you've forgotten, it's time for a Willie Wong update.

Willie Wong? Remember him? Superintendent. Yuba City Unified.

Wong was only around Yuba City for a few years, arriving in March 1998 and departing in June 2001 for the Pittsburg Unified School District and a salary that was about $27,000 higher.

As things turned out for Wong, Pittsburg wasn't a good fit. He lasted one year. He and the school board had a difference or two.

But as the Contra Costa Times reported recently, Wong is back with PUSD.

No, he's not the superintendent. He's on the school board.

So instead of taking orders, he'll be giving them.

Wong was appointed to the board at the end of August to fill a vacancy.

The Times said Wong, now 61, stayed in Pittsburg because the loved the community and its diversity.

"He should be able to hit the ground running. Given where we are as a district, I think he's a really good fit," Board President Vince Ferrante told the Times.