Talk about embers that won’t burn out: Blogger Richard Colman at Halfway to Concord nominates Contra Costa fire chief Daryl Louder (pictured) for one of his tongue-in-cheek Emperor Nero Awards. Louder, you may recall, billed the county $11,200 for tuition to a three-week program at Harvard’s Kennedy School and was away when his firefighters faced a contract vote to cut their salaries.Add: It’s been a disastrous public relations run for fire chiefs generally in Contra Costa. Other Holman nominees: the folks who okayed a $284,000 pension for former San Ramon chief Craig Bowen in 2009, when he was 51; ditto for those who made it possible for Moraga-Orinda Fire District chief David Nowicki to retire at age 50 with a $241,000 a year pension.
