Within hours of Google’s announcement of their Fiber for Communities initiative, Nevada City, California City Manager, Gene Albaugh was on board to make a pitch for gigabit to the home services in this rural town located in the Sierra Nevada foothills between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. 

Spearheaded by Spiral Internet, a local Internet Service Provider (ISP), the 95959google initiative will also encompass neighboring Grass Valley. The cities and Nevada County government agencies are collaborating to submit the Request for Information application supplied by Google. Suzanne Warren of Silver Avenue Pictures is heading up the video effort. 

“Nevada City is perfect for Google Fiber, since we’re a town of technological firsts.” cited City Manager Gene Albaugh. “The first long-distance commercial telephone call in the country was made here during the Gold Rush, and the first telephone network -- consisting of five phones -- operated here as well. In the 1960’s, Nevada City’s Grass Valley Group created the technology to display the first graphical special effects on broadcast television. Inventors, entrepreneurs, videographers, artists, and the HD broadcast video industry make their homes here.” 

“We’re also going to let Google know what we can do for them. Our educated and creative residents are ready to test-drive any application that will run on, what we’re calling, a Googlebit. Western Nevada County is the ideal rural beta site. We would be a great companion to an urban deployment of Google Fiber,” stated Chip Carman of Spiral Internet. 

A public Rally, March and Party is scheduled for Sunday, March 14 starting at 1pm at Robinson Plaza in the historic downtown of Nevada City. It will be followed by a March up Broad Street, and end with a Party at the Miners Foundry cultural center with dancing and a community potluck. The Nevada City Chamber of Commerce, Miners Foundry, and many volunteers who imagine life beyond dial-up, have jumped in to show Google that Nevada City is the place for fiber optics. 

The community is invited to bring musical instruments or noisemakers, positively creative signs to carry, and dress in the Google primary colors of blue, red, yellow, or green. Drop-off a finger-food potluck dish at the Miners Foundry anytime after 10am, then come down to the Rally, March up Broad Street, and enjoy the food, drink, music and fellowship at the Miners Foundry. 

WHAT             Rally March Party for Googlebits

WHEN             Sunday March 14, 1pm - 4pm

WHERE          Nevada City, California
                        RALLY at Robinson Plaza . 1pm
                        with Earth Rhythms, Barry Friedman of the Raspyni Brothers, Kelly Fleming, and Grass Valley Taiko

                        MARCH up Broad Street . 1:30pm

                        PARTY at Miners Foundry . 2-4pm
                                   with music by Grease, Grit & Grime (“dirty blues”)  and The Power of Twelve (R&B)