Strongman Deis departs — now what?

<p>Bob Deis certainly is no Sara Lee. Plenty of people didn’t like the former Sonoma County administrator, who met Tuesday with his bosses — a rejiggered Board of Supervisors — and the next day left the job.</p><p>Deis was a tough-love sort of administrator who gathered power and used it to bring about cuts and changes that union members and retirees, some supervisors and others in county government understandably resented.</p><p>The people who cheer his exodus deserve a moment to celebrate their victory. But it’s way too early to say if the dethroning of Deis will be a good thing for a county that faces more tough decisions and needs leaders willing to make them.</p><p>Any potential candidate for Deis’ job will be fully aware of the veteran administrator’s abrupt departure, and will know that the job description includes trying to divine the politics and expectations of a still-jelling Board of Supervisors.</p><p>Friends and foes of Bob Deis agree that he consolidated what power he could and that his bedside manner was lacking. With him sent packing, does the board now mount a search for a laid-back Mr. Personality?</p><p>Given the times, this may not be a contest that, for the good of Sonoma County, a nice guy should win.</p><p>BEER LADY’S 15 MINUTES: Kayte Taylor’s had a great ride — literally — since we told the story of her chucking a 12-pack of beer onto the guy who tried to flee after grabbing her wallet in a Santa Rosa Avenue store.</p><p>The tale of the shot-putted beer was spreading around the world when Fox News sent a limo to whisk Kayte and friend Bonnie Davis to its studios in San Francisco. A makeup artist gave the pals the star treatment, then they went on camera and told the story live to a national audience on Fox & Friends.</p><p>Kayte, 28, admits that she’s savoring her moment of fame. “I can Google myself now,” she said. (Keywords “kayte-taylor-beer,” 5,860 references.)</p><p>She’d love to hear from Letterman, and as she waits, she’s expecting a promised shipment of beer from the ad execs for MillerCoors.</p><p>THE WALL STREET JOURNAL on Tuesday ran a Page One story featuring Rohnert Park artistic genius Scott Weaver, creator of the now-famous toothpick sculpture of scenes of San Francisco.</p><p>The story recounts how the people who are running and expanding the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museums are lusting to acquire Scott’s toothpick masterpiece for their Fisherman’s Wharf museum.</p><p>(The Journal story’s second, unspoken Sonoma County connection is that Robert Ripley was born in Santa Rosa and is buried here.)</p><p>The toothpick sculpture was the top people-pleaser at the Sonoma County Fair last summer, and in August Scott will truck it — carefully! — to the California State Fair.</p><p>He said the Journal story told it like it is: As honored as he is that the Ripley’s people want his toothpick San Francisco and consider it a “holy grail” of an oddity — on par with the gumball portrait of Barack Obama — he’s just not yet ready to part with it.</p><p>WOUNDED SOLDIER and expectant father Dan Lichau had hoped to be in Santa Rosa for Saturday’s benefit motorcycle ride and barbecue/music fest, but he can’t,</p><p>So the event at Larkfield’s Final Edition bar and grill will go on without him. The barbecue starts at 3 p.m. and music by Barrelhouse kicks off at 4.</p><p>Proceeds will go to a fund for Dan, the Rancho Cotate grad who became an Army Ranger and was wounded in combat in Afghanistan, and then more seriously in Iraq.</p>