Off Beat: Yuba City helps out pot biz

You've got to hand it to the Yuba City City Council. It managed to stimulate the economy without even knowing it was stimulating the economy.

When the council banned outdoor pot grows earlier this month, the news ricocheted around the Internet, even making its way to Los Angeles, where Phototron Holdings Inc. was ready to spring into action.

Where Yuba City struck another blow for law and order, Phototron saw an opportunity to cash in.

It issued a press release shortly after the council acted:

"Phototron Holdings, Inc., the Los Angeles hydroponic grow box company behind the 'grow your own' revolution, says that although Yuba City's swift move to ban outdoor growing this week is causing people stress and grief, many people are sure to discover growing indoors a safer, easier and more convenient option for growing medicinal cannabis."

Does the city's economic development coordinator know about this?

Phototron's release included an observation from the company's CEO. "As the various layers of government crack down on outdoor marijuana growing, even in states where medical cannabis is allowed by law, many are turning to indoor growing in order to get affordable access to the medicine they need," said Craig Ellins, Phototron's CEO. "The Phototron allows you to grow indoors easily and with very little investment, since it requires no additional lighting, plumbing or electrical upgrade. Everything you need is self-contained with the Phototron. You simply plug it in and grow."

Wow, just "plug it in and grow." That's probably not what Yuba City has in mind.

Nap time

If you were concerned that Sutter County supervisors are overworked, well, don't worry. They aren't.

The board this month decided it will only meet twice a month from now on, and it will start those meetings at 6 p.m., presumably so the supervisors can get home earlier and catch up on their sleep.

They had been meeting weekly at 7 p.m. for many, many years.

Apparently, the stress finally got to them.

However, they will schedule study sessions and some closed sessions on their off weeks. They also have committee meetings.

Wonder why they decided to make this change in an election year?

In a memo to supervisors, County Administrator Stephanie Larsen observed that in other counties, the "predominant" schedule is twice monthly. That's 15 counties.

But her memo also noted that supervisors in 12 counties meet weekly, 10 meet three times a month and seven meet the first four weeks of the month. The other 10 don't have any set pattern.

Read another way, in 29 counties, supervisors meet at least three times a month.