Letters (May 23, 2018)

• Save The Overlook
• Skyhawk Soars!
• My Life At KZYX
• Positivity
• Knock On Wood. Hard!
• Dirty Politics
• Eating Our Own?
• The AVA, White Or Wong
• Listen Up, Fat Man!
• Space X My Patootie!

SAVE THE OVERLOOK

Friends,

The Headlands overlook has gone corporate and maintenance ignored for 20 years.

Recently the Trail was opened up, cleared of brush — overkill. So the clean-up is immense and needs a lot of help!

Are there any next generation people who agree that this property wants to be used by many for all to enjoy forever?

The house is also For Sale. But the eight acres (1240 feet square) on the Coast at Big River are the issue now. The house that Coke built in 2018 needs an update. However, that will come soon enough.

Could you please help make it known that the property needs support from the folks in town, not from corporate interests like the Mendocino Land Trust?

Thank you in advance.

I am humbly yours, 

Allen Morgan

Mendocino

SKYHAWK SOARS!

Editor,

I’ve known Chris Skyhawk since he worked on Dan (Hamburg)’s 2010 campaign for 5th District Supervisor. When Chris learned of Dan’s retirement and announced fairly early, I immediately expressed support. 

Why? Chris is progressive AND practical. He is empathetic and professional. He is smart and innovative, but he also honors previous work and progress. (I’ve never once heard him say “I alone can fix it!” lol) He understands the powers and constraints on our county’s governing body and doesn’t over-promise. Chris appreciates the hard work of current county employees, and doesn't tear down the whole lot with claims of incompetence and greed. 

Chris has experience in social services and understands how the strength of our safety net actually benefits us all, not just direct recipients. He is dedicated to solving the housing crisis, an area where the BOS can make a difference through zoning regulations. Chris is committed to keeping our beautiful environment healthy and to safeguarding sustainable natural resource activities (fishing, timber). I’m aligned with Chris in protecting our small agricultural operations, whether produce, cannabis or livestock. 

In addition to our wealth of independent small businesses, organized labor is an important part of the economic fabric. Chris has been endorsed by SEIU Local 1021, Operating Engineers Local 3, North Bay Labor Council, plus the Inland Mendocino Democratic Club and Congressman Jared Huffman! 

Chris has worked with families and youth from every ethnic group, and understands how supporting all parts of our community makes the whole cloth stronger. His working class upbringing and his parents’ fight for equal opportunity for their own disabled son gave Chris deep knowledge of what it’s like to face challenges. If elected, Chris will bring experience and compassion, as well as professionalism, respect for others, and a strong work ethic to the job.  

Lauren Sinnott

Point Arena former mayor

Point Arena

MY LIFE AT KZYX

Editor,

I stood up publicly and privately and loudly for over a decade about how poor the management was at KZYX and several recorded board meetings also show where I stood up and pointed out Illegal board and management behavior and I still kept my two radio shows, but I was the only one.

Everyone else who dared speak out was banned from KZYX, but I had the goods on them and they knew it, so they never acted and I was able to hang on to my shows despite multiple threats and harassment over the years.

During my time there I know of at least seven programmers who were kicked off the air due to personal conflicts with management, it had nothing to do with the persons show, it was made personal by the KZYX management, absolute B.S. moves by them.

Nothing changed in management because of my pointed comments though, because the cabal running KZYX consolidated too much power and supporters flocked to the meetings to YELL over those who were speaking during public comments in an attempt to let the public know the station management and board were acting illegally.

This was accepted behavior by the board, they never once made any attempt to stop the people out of order who were often KZYX programmers attempting to stifle any criticisms, even during the public comments, it was shocking. (Go to Mendocino TV and look at the recorded board meetings from 2+ years ago, see for yourself,)

Also, many of my pointed and accurate criticisms were posted to the private KZYX programmers listserv which management monitored, so the public never saw nor heard about them, as I attempted to initiate positive change behind the scenes, unfortunately to no avail.

All I ever got were rude insults from other co-opted programmers and threats of losing my radio shows, from Mary A. and the impotent manager, John Coate.

Unfortunately, a year and a half ago I had to leave KZYX of my own accord due to a serious health issue.

It was corrupt as hell there and a sham of a community radio station.

Ha, ha, ha, and they couldn't even find two specialty programmers to replace me, it's all canned programming during my two old show times as far as I know.

Derek Hoyle

Former programmer on KZYX for 13 years.

Former programmer on KMFB for 12 years.

Former programmer on KSAY for 5 years.

Former programmer on KFJC for 7 years.

POSITIVITY

Editor,

Why I support Chris Skyhawk for 5^th District supervisor

I applaud all 5 candidates running for 5^th District supervisor. Running for public office takes a bit of courage. I know this from personal experience. They are all good men and for that we can all be grateful. I know only 2 of them personally: Chris Skyhawk and Ted Williams. 

I was the Campaign Manager for Measure V and worked with Williams for about 18 months. My husband Allen Cooperrider was the Treasurer/Recorder for Measure V. 

I have known Chris Skyhawk for almost 25 years, having worked with him on environmental issues facing Mendocino County throughout that time. 

Both are good men, and both will get the job done, if elected. That said, we are supporting Chris Skyhawk for supervisor. We have seen him interact with both advocates and adversaries in the struggle to preserve our fragile environment. Chris has a very long and solid track record that we can count on. He treats everyone with dignity and respect, even when he disagrees with them. This is a trait that has become rare in present day politics. It is also a trait I very much appreciate. This is how politics can be. Chris will never condone anyone on his team tearing down an opponent’s character. It’s not who he is. 

Chris is running one of those positive campaigns on the issues that matter to us here in Mendocino County. We know he will carry on this positive approach into his term as supervisor.

Having Chris Skyhawk win in the 5^th will be very good for all of us, friends and foes alike. Join me in supporting Chris. www. Skyhawk5.com

Els Cooperrider

Turtle Creek

KNOCK ON WOOD. HARD!

Letter to the Editor,

To me, single-payer health insurance is the moral issue of our time: do we as a society want to collectively invest billions of our healthcare dollars into making a few insurance company magnates filthy rich, or do we want to invest in providing quality healthcare-for-all that enriches the lives’ of everyone? 

Our California Assemblyman, Jim Wood, boasts in his campaign literature that as Chair of the Assembly Health Committee he is working on “expanding the Affordable Care Act [ACA]”, (aka ObamaCare). What he doesn’t tell us is that the ACA leaves health insurance in the hands of greedy for profit insurance corporations, and also leaves millions of people either under-insured or uninsured. 

Wood offers up lots of lame excuses for why he doesn’t support single-payer health insurance that would cover all Californians, but the bottom line is that he has taken tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the insurance and pharmaceutical industries to make sure that our collective healthcare dollars keep flowing into corporate coffers. 

Therefore, I would argue that Jim Wood lacks the moral fiber necessary to represent the people of our Assembly District, and I would urge all caring Democrats to send him a message of disapproval in the upcoming June 5th primary by denying him your vote. 

Sincerely,

Jon Spitz

Laytonville

DIRTY POLITICS

Dear Editor;

Superintendent of Schools Race Is Dirty Politics

The race for County Superintendent of Schools has gotten dirty with candidate Bryan Barrett’s campaign throwing the mud, using lies and distorted truths. Unable to stand on his merits, Barrett supporters are relying on character assassination of opposing candidate Michelle Hutchins. Hutchins has vowed to not resort to these tactics. She has not said nor done anything to discredit Barrett, while he has included negative material about her with his campaign literature at public forums and placed that literature on cars in the parking lot. Now Barrett’s campaign has turned to pressuring Hutchins endorsers to withdraw their public support. One email from a Hutchins endorser said she was “bullied” because of her public support and requested her name be removed from the endorsement list. Another AV public official who sited a good professional relationship with Hutchins endorsed her, then was forced to withdraw that endorsement due to the pressure he received, which caused him concern about the impact on his agency. Other teachers and school staff are keeping their support for Hutchins underground to avoid negative consequences of public support.

I have friends working in the Ukiah School District who have called Barrett a bully, driving one to tears. Other teachers and school staff, retired and current, report the same thing, and his campaign seems to be supporting the use of this tactic. Is this the person we want running the Mendocino County School system?

Michelle Hutchins continues to put forth her qualifications, which are much more extensive than her opponent, and her vision for improving student education and services throughout the county. It’s a shame her opponent's campaign can’t do the same.

Lynda McClure

Boonville

EATING OUR OWN?

Editor,

Somehow, the un-hinged have labeled me a “Conservative Republican”, “anti-choice” and “anti-women”. Being that I am the father of three progressive young women and married for 28 years, I’m not sure how this has been determined: is there some type of test that I am unaware of taking? Yes, apparently it seems I am currently registered as Republican, in that prior to that, as a decline to state voter, I was not getting a full slate in the presidential elections. I never bothered to change it and don’t really care. Generally, I feel that both of the major parties are toxic, and only bring out the worst in people. The coast Democrats eat their own, as demonstrated in the current endorsement controversy involving Chris Skyhawk and Jared Huffman, for which I feel bad for Chris.

Regards earlier editorial observations in this paper about a lack of real ideas being championed in the Fifth District race, I can say that any idea, slogan, proclamation or promise is both premature and ill-advised until one of us takes the seat in January 2019. There is a universe of difference between cheap, one-off remarks about fixing roads, pensions, homelessness, mental health, etc.. etc… etc… and reality. The real difference is what life and professional experience the individual candidate will bring to the job with them once they are successful with the voters. The candidate’s quality of decision-making is the key. This is what needs to be asked.

Campaigning is demeaning to both the voters and the candidates. It is intrusive, artificial and operates within a vacuum. Opinion is not actuality or proof of consciousness. The shrillest voices hurling denouncements tend towards pathology. Is there no better way? Electing a prom King or Queen feels more sophisticated and reasoned. This grinding atmosphere is what keeps most people from participating in our democratic process. “Progressives” and “Conservatives” are both guilty of poisoning the well of our collective society with neither side interested in resolution. The general public has tolerance for none of this.

David Roderick

Hopland

THE AVA, WHITE OR WONG

Editor —

My wife reads the letters you publish with great interest. She especially enjoys the missives of Jerry Philbrick and is relieved he lives in Comptche and not right next door. She hails from New York City and says the mighty AVA is the whitest newspaper she has ever seen. She tells me also the New York Times is the grayest, yellowish paper she has ever seen. Keep on fanning those flames!

Gary Durheim

Seaside, Oregon

LISTEN UP, FAT MAN!

Dear Editor,

Michael Moore is a piece of whale blubber with eyes and a mouth. He is talking about the NRA and calling them a terrorist organization. What a joke. What a fat, inhuman, rotten bastard he is. That's all he does; he goes around causing trouble like that. Just like George Soros, a billionaire, trying to buy off the voters of California. He buys everything he wants. He's a billionaire. And they don't do anything about it. It's sickening. That Moore guy is trying to find a way to get after Donald Trump because of the so-called Russian probe. What a joke! It's a witch hunt. Even grade school kids know all about it. But it goes on. The Liberal Democrats are digging in anything. They will dig in a pile of cow manure to try to find something against President Trump. Look what he's done. And look what he is going to do. It's just sad. Never in my life have I seen a group of people as rotten and stinking as the Liberal Democrats right now. And it's all because they lost an election and they lost fair and square and they're going to lose the next one because the whole country is thinking about what a stinking bunch of people they are. You'll see. Look at Jerry Brown. He just passed another law protecting the illegal aliens, the criminal ones who need to go to court. Sure, that Jerry Brown.

California is a beautiful state. It's got water, trees, sagebrush, canyons, everything! But it has the biggest, rottenest sons of bitches I ever saw running it. God only knows it has to change. I am so sick of it I could just scream.

God bless Donald Trump.

Jerry Philbrick

Comptche

PS. The citizens of Mendocino County owe Sheriff Tom Allman kudos for doing such a great job keeping everybody in the county safe with all the different kinds of people flooding in on the county after Governor Brown’s rulings and stuff. It’s just hair-raising to think what could happen. Sheriff Allman and his deputies have been doing a great job. A couple of them are my good friends and I know what they are going through. So we should show them some respect. 

SPACE X MY PATOOTIE!

Editor,

In a recent AVA Ted Williams made a statement about Space X that shows a very shallow if not downright star-struck understanding of the truth about the carpet bagger Elon Musk. 

And I quote, “There are circumstances where private industry can outperform public agencies. Space X is a great example.” And who do you suppose rendered all the public agencies inept and corrupt? 

Elon Musk is a charlatan and a public treasury thief. Tesla is a greenwash elitist cult of where the batteries come from deniers and they are narcissist hoodwinked fools. Elon’s in the same degenerate club as Trump! 

Calling Space X a private industry when it and Tesla wouldn’t even exist without massive subsidies from taxpayers, is misleading at best. And what’s so great about some meaningless space travel phantasy while the human race continues to show no respect for its own home? I hope Elon and a bunch of his billionaire asshole friends do blast off for Mars, and never return. 

If Musk is an innovator then I suppose that Chevy was “the heartbeat of America.” Someone had better call a priest. 

So Ted: Show me one area in modern history where the rabid disease of privatization has done anything but socialize all the cost and risk while privatizing all the profits — best of luck with that! 

Ross Dendy

Elk