As I write this letter, I must presume Gavin Newsom is an avid reader of The Signal. Why wouldn’t he be? Gavin, I am sorry for calling you Alfred E. Newsom. I was wrong. In reality, you can earn the moniker Gavin the Great by giving your nod to my two suggestions.
No. 1, set aside a paltry $7.5 million from California’s $321 billion budget to buy Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace in Bakersfield. It is a national treasure, on par with the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Over the past three decades, Buck Owens, Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam, Clint Black, Brad Paisley, John Anderson and George Jones have performed there. For God’s sake, Garth Brooks proposed to Tricia Yearwood there.
Rescuing the Crystal Palace from closure would broaden your base to include roughnecks, red necks, line dancers and good ol’ boys from all over the country. The iconic Bakersfield sign is included in the $7.5 million purchase price — for you, just another night with your friends at the French Laundry…