MCT: Saturday, April 20, 2019

• Hospital Shopping
• Jennifer Wolfman
• Easter Rabbit
• Purity Chemical
• Gang Forum
• Purdy Hall
• SMART Spiral
• Evidence Obtained
• Pill Disposal
• Homeless Compassion
• Yesterday's Catch
• Empire BS
• Notre Dame
• Bingo Night
• Failed Wars
• Contemptible Behavior
• Truth Fairy
• Retail Apocalypse
• Community Forums
• FB Survey
• Scops Owl
• Plant Sale
• Video Encouragement
• Cafe Grotesque
• PA Agenda
• Teaching Conditions
• Golden Mole
• Navy Meeting
• TSA Scorecard
• Old Acquaintance
• Grand Jury
• Marco Radio

WANNA BUY A HOSPITAL?

by Malcolm Macdonald

On April 11th, new and returning interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Mendocino Coast District Hospital (MCDH), Wayne Allen, emailed a Request For Proposal (RFP) to five hospital groups in northern California. The proposal amounts to an invitation to another hospital entity to lease or buy MCDH. That institution has been in financial difficulties dating back to, and preceding, one of Allen's earlier tenures as an interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and CEO (2011-2014).

At the MCDH Planning Committee meeting of April 14, Hospital Board chair Jessica Grinberg had scarcely uttered the words that opened the floor to public comment when several members of the audience took the opportunity to excoriate Grinberg and fellow MCDH Board member Amy McColley for not informing the public about the RFP before sending it out. Perhaps most notable was Jade Tippett, former candidate for the board seats won by Grinberg, McColley, and John Redding last November. After McColley, who was Skyped into the meeting from a San Francisco locale, mentioned some technical difficulties had temporarily impaired her hearing, Tippett shouted his comments. He did not stop shouting when he returned to the podium later in the meeting. If this was an attempt at humor it seemed lost on the assembled room.

Despite Tippett's misplaced tone, he and others were right to question the lack of transparency in the roll out of the RFP. The only problem is that their complaints and hostility were addressed at the two board members present and not at the culprit himself, Wayne Allen.

According to all reliable accounts, Allen authored a draft of the RFP, similar to what was sent out, on April 7. He sent a copy of that RFP draft to each MCDH Board member, asking for suggestions or edits to the RFP. There were murmurs in the Planning Committee audience about this RFP roll out including a Brown Act violation, meaning more than two MCDH Board members colluding on a hospital matter behind closed doors.

CEO Allen's letter appears to nullify such thoughts because the RFP draft was sent to the members all at the same time on purpose, to avoid serial communications. It also appears that there was little individual feedback from the board to Allen between the afternoon of April 7 when Allen first sent the draft and the morning of April 11 when Allen sent the RFP to five hospital groups (see last week's AVA article for descriptions of these).

Allen authored the RFP, gave the MCDH Board members roughly two and a half days (this was a holiday week for some individuals) to comment, then sent it out. Allen's name is the only one on the document. Four-fifths of the hospital board started on the job in January, 2019. Even holdover board member Steve Lund has done no prior work on an RFP of this sort. Allen specializes in getting paid to be an interim CEO or CFO at potentially failing hospitals. He has years and years and years of experience at just this sort of thing. He has also attended at least one MCDH Board meeting in 2019 and witnessed large turnouts as well as the keen sense of public input from community members. He had to know that the members of the public who attend hospital meetings would not sit or stand for this RFP being rolled out without their input.

At the April 15 Planning Committee meeting Allen sat silent until near the end of the affair. He made little or no attempt to deflect criticism away from the board members after the opening public comment session. Discussion of the RFP was on the agenda at the meeting, but conveniently near the end when much of the fury had subsided. (MCDH CEOs usually have a say in how the planning agenda is made).

Regardless of Allen's role in failing to notify the public in a timely manner, the RFP is out there. It asks prospective buyers or lessees to:

“Describe your commitment to assume all pre-transaction and post-transaction liabilities of MCDH and provide indemnification of MCDH against such liabilities, along with evidence of appropriate financial resources to support such indemnification.

“Describe the specific amount, terms, timing, and form of capital commitments you are prepared to make in a relationship with MCDH.

“Describe the proposed governance structure and the ongoing role of MCDH’s current Board.

“Describe your commitment to operate MCDH as a full service acute care hospital for the foreseeable future. Describe the proposed management organization structure for MCDH following the closing of a transaction

“Describe your commitment to provide MCDH, or a surviving organization, with rights of reversion of the operations and assets of MCDH in the event you fail to meet your commitments or if there is a bond default or sale, insolvency, or bankruptcy of your organization.

The RFP also inquires about the “Retention of current MCDH staff, who are currently under the employment of the current lessee of the Hospital.” Yes, there are two too many forms of current in that sentence. Perhaps lending further credence to the idea about how little this document was read, let alone proofread, before sending it out.

The RFP goes on, “Describe your commitment to retain MCDH employees following the closing of a transaction. Describe any anticipated employee benefit changes. Demonstrate any staffing or other plans to achieve economies of scale.

“Describe your commitment to take steps to ensure that, subject to patient choice, all medical services for which there exists financial capability at MCDH will be performed locally rather than at outlying, tertiary care facilities, whether or not owned or controlled by your organization.

“Describe your commitment to maintaining existing clinical services at MCDH and indicate the minimum timing that you are prepared to make for maintaining such services.

“Describe any new services you anticipate implementing during the next five years.

“Describe commitment to expend significant financial resources to recruit new physicians to the community and grow MCDH’s current complement of clinical services, and specify what level of capital commitment you are making to do so.

“Describe which, if any, clinical services may not be maintained at MCDH.

“Describe your commitment to develop and implement a proven plan for improvement of the medical staff, nursing staff and non-physician practitioners with corresponding education and training programs, including development and implementation of centers for excellence in specific clinical areas.

“Describe your commitment to needed capital improvements, including funding of growth initiatives intended to maintain facilities, equipment, and other capital items at a state-of-the-art level for comparable community hospitals.

“Describe your commitment (a) not to own or operate any other entity which competes with MCDH in its service area and (b) to afford MCDH or a surviving organization with the right of first refusal in the event you should seek to sell the assets or operations of MCDH following the closing.

“Describe the strategic vision you have for your presence and role in Mendocino County. How does MCDH fit into and allow you to achieve that vision? Describe the strategies that are currently beyond the reach of MCDH and that are possible with your involvement to deal with evolving payment systems, including a well-designed strategy for Accountable Care and population health management readiness.”

After Mr. Allen outlined the key elements in the RFP he responded to a query about potential community input if and/or when affiliation becomes a reality. Allen's reply, indicating that a community advisory board would be a requirement, seemed to mollify those in the audience who had been so vociferous at the outset of the meeting. One could almost see Mr. Tippett, the defeated board candidate, licking his lips at the possibilities inherent while sitting on such a committee.

The deadline for outside hospital groups to formally respond to the RFP is May 10, 2019. At the planning meeting Mr. Allen stated that he'd already received a couple of informal questions about the RFP from potential interested parties. Other sourcing indicates Allen had talks with at least one of the other hospital groups, beside Adventist Health, prior to sending out the RFP.

The Planning Committee get together of April 15 also saw committee member John Allison double down on his financial analysis that, continuing at the present rate, and without outside assistance, MCDH would be devoid of cash by the end of 2020. See the March 27, 2019, AVA for more detailed analysis of MCDH's financial situation.

Any scenario along the lines of the one Mr. Allison described does help back up Mr. Allen's desire to get going on potential affiliation. It also explains the May 10 deadline the interim CEO imposed on the outside hospital groups. If MCDH continues losing money at current rates those hospital groups may lose interest in a big hurry. The five things MCDH has going for it in the RFP process: It is still operating, no small matter in a time when smaller, rural hospitals are going under at an alarming rate; Cal-Mortgage, which owns much of MCDH's debt, appears to take a favorable view of affiliation; and location, location, location. This means the Mendocino Coast where there is no competition for hospital services beyond much smaller scale clinics. It does not mean the literal location, which makes MCDH subject to a seismic retrofit that may very well cost $50 million or more.

(*Th-th-that's all folks! Find more at: malcolmmacdonaldoutlawford.com)

REMEMBERING JENNIFER WOLFMAN

TOM QUINN WRITES: Thanks to Bruce and Marco Maclean for their kinds words about Jennifer Wolfman. I was meaning to contact the AVA about her passing and so am glad you picked up this news, sad though it is. Yes, her bookstore was wonderful and she was one of the most literate and erudite people I ever met, but completely lacking in any pretension or snobbery.

I met Jennifer in 1996 when I was in law school in San Francisco and came up to deal with my long lost half-brother who had gotten into some trouble with the law on the Mendocino Coast. Prior to that time I worked in the commercial fisheries in Alaska since the early 80s. After graduating I moved to Ukiah where I got a job with the public defender, but moved in with Jennifer in Fort Bragg after she and her husband split up, with a crash pad over the hill where I stayed during the work week. Since 2003 I have been working in Lake County in a similar position.

Before this tragedy occured I read an article somewhere that stated that 40% of the deaths of people under medical care have as a material cause medical error, a factoid I dismissed as exaggerated. Sadly, however, Jennifer’s death was principally caused by that. She was a healthy, strong and vigorous woman- a cross country skier and regular yoga practitioner-who went in for what was billed as a routine operation and had a stroke the day after she got out and died two weeks later. Why? because she had atrial fibrillation (“Afib”), an irregular heartbeat that causes blood clotting. But nonetheless, her local treating physician insisted she submit to surgery to remove an early stage tumor from her colon even though he knew full well that she had Afib for which he had prescribed her blood thinners which had to be discontinued for this surgery which-like any surgery-increases the clotting behavior of blood. But at no time was there any due diligence regarding her risks of undergoing this procedure and what her prognosis would have been had she not undergone or postponed the surgery. Consequently, complaints have been filed with the Medical Board of California against this doctor and the surgeon who runs a surgical mill in the city, the narrative portion of which as regards the latter (slightly redacted for legal reasons) is enclosed [for the print edition] which sums up what happened. Please feel free to publish it as a cautionary tale if you wish.

A couple days ago I received a call someone at the California Pacific Medical Center that sums up the bumbling incompetence that contributed to Jennifer’s death when I was asked how she was doing recovering from her surgery! I regret that I lost my composure and rudely hung up on this person.

Thanks so much,

Tom Quinn

PURITY NO MORE

by Bob Dempel

I was transferred back to the North Coast in 1965 by Ortho Chemical Company who I had worked for five years. I started with Ortho on the day my first of three daughters were born, June 1, 1960. My first job was in Ukiah running an agricultural chemical warehouse. I quickly was promoted to outside sales. Ortho treated me well during those first three years from the warehouse position to sales then transferring me to the great Salinas Valley to run an agricultural chemical manufacturing and distribution plant and then to the heart of California Agriculture Fresno. I had a great title, Staff assistant to the regional operations manager. The Fresno paperwork job and I did not get along at all so when a sales position opened up based in Santa Rosa, I couldn’t apply fast enough. The job was more like a lateral transfer but for me it was a god given gift. I moved my family that now contains two daughters and a gracious wife that I had moved around four times in five years beside birthing two children.

In the North Coast from Marin County to the Oregon the main customer of Ortho was Purity Chemical Products Company based in Santa Rosa. On the first day of my new god given job my boss and I called upon Purity. Purity was managed by a well put together man named Charley Sloat. When I previously worked in Ukiah, Ortho was a direct competitor of Purity. Somewhere while I was in Salinas Ortho stopped direct sales of chemicals and dealt only with dealers like Purity Chemical Products Company. I introduced myself to Charley with as much charm as I could muster since I had competed directly with the Purity sales force just five years ago. I waded right into a conversation and asked Charley just what could I do to earn more of his business for Ortho. Ortho was wholly owned by Standard Oil Company of California. Purity Chemical was a local company that was started in 1924 selling chicken medical supplies. Over the years they expanded to selling agriculture chemicals and fertilizers. Since they were the first brick in the block, they enjoyed a classification of Co-manufacture or distributor of Agricultural chemicals. They in turn would sell to the local dealers who were spread around the north coast including Lake County with its vast acreage of pears. Pears require many chemical sprays per year and copious amounts of supplemental manufactured fertilizers.

Charley Sloat was a man’s man. He had a good handshake. A veteran of WW2 in the Air Corps. He flew B-17’s. When he returned home, he looked up an old friend, Don Martin, who owned Purity Chemical Company. Martin needed a manger. Charlie belonged to a hunting club, drank good liquor and smoked heavily. I could relate to all of these things except the smoking. Charley soon managed Purity for the founding owners Don Martin et al. Charley married well as his wife was a Comstock. He soon partnered up with Ed Keegan, a very recognizable and respected name in Sonoma County. There were two other salesmen calling on farmers and ranchers all over the north coast counties. A small store sold to home owners and especially swimming pool supplies.

The first thing I asked Charley was just what could I do to earn more business from Purity. At that time Purity had distributorships with many other major agriculture chemical companies. Ortho was equal with these other basic manufacturing companies. Our product line would fit into Purity’s needs but some other company was going to see smaller sales. I was young and energetic. I wanted more of their business and I was willing to get into the trench and fight for it. Charley had one of the salesmen working 3 days a week in Lake County. By coincidence that man had also worked for Ortho in past years. Earl was an easy-going man of middle age just like Charley and Ed. The other outside salesman Frank was a different story. We had competed face to face against each other in the early 1960’s. That wound never healed. I was probably was just as much at fault as he was.

With me working calling on growers it was like an unpaid employee for Purity. I would spend three days a week up in Lake County, one day on paper work, Standard Oil really liked lots of reports. And I took Charlie out to lunch one day a week generally on Fridays. This arrangement worked well. I increased the sales to Purity and won Salesman of the year 3 years in a row. This award level has never been equaled in the past 48 years. Charlie liked to go the Hof Brow which was then located on Cleveland Ave. The building now houses a second-hand store. Back in the late 60’s it WAS the place to have lunch and network. Charlie and I were most often joined by Judge Jim Jones. Lunch always started off with a couple of martini’s all around followed by some local gossip. After the gossip and drinks the Judge would excuse himself and head back to court. Time for the judge to nap from the bench. Charlie and I would stay longer and have some traditional lunch.

My boss bought into the direction I would take. It was a definite shift from how the previous Ortho man had operated (or not operated). I enjoyed being on the front lines. Charlie and I became close friends, more like a big brother relationship. He had three daughters and I now had daughter number three on the way.

I increased sales for Purity and enjoyed being thought of as being an additional Purity employee. Somewhere in the late 1960’s Purity’s sales topped one million. Charley threw a dinner at Los Robles Lodge and my wife Shirley and I were included right down to the last part time employee. Charley treated everyone equally. My sales to Purity increased. I had mammoth sales increases in the late 1960’s. I received “Salesman of the Year” three years in a row.

In addition, Charlie took inventory once a year. So, my BIG sales month was November which recorded the sales of all of the Ortho Products Purity had made all year along. One year Ortho had this great promotional program, increase your sales over the previous year and pick out gifts from a book that looked like the Sears catalogue. Well, I told Charlie about it and he delayed his inventory that year out from November to December so all of the sales were posted in January. The effect was a lower current year and a mammoth following year. In the following year Charlie went back to November inventory. In essence, I posted two years of sales in one year. I was awarded almost everything in the book. A new coat with a FUR collar for Shirley. A new TV for the house, mixers, blenders, everything we could not have afforded.

I now had worked for Ortho Division for ten years, had rapidly moved up the ranks. Ortho’s offer to me for hard work was to offer me a transfer to Buttonwillow. Buttonwillow, California. If you turn down a couple of transfers with big companies your days were numbered. They did not like a high paid employee serving a relatively small area. I then received offers from two other agricultural chemical companies selling in the North coast.

Charley heard about the offers and asked Shirley and I to stop at his house on a Sunday afternoon. If I was to jump ship from Ortho, he wanted me to jump into his ship. I knew that would probable be my last change so I wanted it to be a good one. I wanted part of the ownership. Charley made a competitive salary offer and that I could purchase 10 shares of Purity per year. At that time Charley and Ed had a majority of the shares, but they needed to buy out Don Martin, et al and one of the dealers, Healdsburg Packing Company owned by three older men who also wanted to sell. Before I terminated with Ortho I engineered a sale of the Purity Santa Rosa Store, warehouse, and office to Standard Oil. This generated enough cash for Charlie and Ed to buy out Don Martin, and dealer Healdsburg Packing Company. My Ortho boss was very happy, he was promoted to the Branch Manager in Fresno. His family roots were in Madera, I continued work now for Purity and purchasing 10 shares of stock each year. Somewhere Purity changed corporations and they direct to stockholders issued the dividends. The shares cost me $500 per share. This is in 1970 money. I bought shares until 1974 when I left Purity to farm. At this time, I had 40 shares paying $495 per share each year. That is $20,000 per year on top of my salary.

In 1977 I was not working for Purity still owned stock and receiving the dividends. I received a call from Charley. Come by and have lunch. Charley had lung cancer. He and Ed wanted to sell their shares to the current employees. I had made a verbal agreement with Charley that if I was not working for Purity, I would sell my shares back to them. They in turn would sell them to the employees.

Shortly after selling my Purity shares back Charley Sloat died. This is the man who brought me along in my profession. I miss him everyday.

Management of Purity then went to Frank. Kind of the Senior employee. Sales began to fall. The Santa Rosa store closed. Two new agricultural chemical companies opened up. Just recently I learned Purity Chemical Company completely closed up. There was not a sale to another company. The business was worth nothing. A current local chemical company offered to buy their inventory. Some of the employees were offered jobs. Nothing for the business.

Purity was gone, the stockholders did have the Healdsburg warehouse to sell and divide up the proceeds. A small reward for the giant of a company now gone. I hope Frank is resting in peace.

FORT BRAGG GANG AWARENESS FORUM/Meeting - April 25th

Gang Awareness Forum/Meeting Thursday, April

25th, 5:30 PM, at the Fort Bragg Town Hall, 363 N. Main St.

If you care about Fort Bragg and your fellow Citizens, this may possibly be one of the most important meetings for you to attend this year.

Gangs are here on the coast, and actively recruiting new members in our communities.

This forum will feature:

• Speakers from a variety of law enforcement experts on Gang activity.
• Updates on current Gang activity.
• What parents can look for in their children that indicates Gang association or membership.
• What members of the public can safely do to help.

There will be plenty of time for audience questions and comments.

Pizza will be served starting at 5:00 PM, the Forum will start at 5:30 PM.

Everyone is welcome.

Please tell your neighbors about this very important meeting.

If you need more info, contact CGAP (Coalition for Gang Awareness and Prevention) at cgapfb@gmail.com .

Thank you,

Derek Hoyle - For the Fort Bragg Neighborhood Watch group.

CARL PURDY NEEDS AN AUDIO UPGRADE

To the Editor:

We have all been to events at Carl Purdy Hall. Indeed, it is the largest community hall that we have in Ukiah, and we are lucky to have it as a venue. Many of the charity events that take place year after year happen here.

Here is my observation and opinion. Please consider investing in your infrastructure just a bit more. Buy a decent P.A. system for Purdy Hall renters. The poor sound quality, in my personal opinion, is the biggest negative and detractor for any renters. You should know this.

Investing in a good P.A. sound system is a strong investment in both the concerns of the Hall, as well as the entities that rent it. My wife and I have been to many events here in Ukiah at several different locations including Purdy Hall. Purdy Hall is used for events that benefit the community. We can all agree on this. Purdy Hall is used for many charity events to drum up funds to help them throughout the year.

We can all agree on this as well. Well, Purdy Hall to me seems inefficient. Simply put, if you could hear Sheriff Tom Allman better at an auction, I promise you that the auction would take in more money,….for charity. Money is left on the table because of poor communication because of a poor P.A. system (Public Address)

If you can’t hear, or it sounds bad, everything suffers. I promise you that if a band sounds better and people are dancing, then they will stay longer and spend more money. This benefits the people and organizations that are renting this facility. If people can hear in the back of the room what a bid is on an auctioned item, then they might bid. If they can’t hear, then they become disengaged. People start getting louder in the back of the room to talk versus hearing what the events are about. If people can hear better, then they are more engaged, and if they are more engaged, then they have more fun at an event, and they can focus more on the cause or reason for the event. If I owned Purdy hall, I would take the steps to make it the best in Ukiah,….not just the biggest in Ukiah.

Please entertain the idea of providing a sound system worthy of a hall this size. This is just my humble opinion. I know sound, and I am quite sure that I am right. It’s a “sound” investment.

Angus Young
Ukiah

SMART TRAIN BEGINNING ITS DEATH SPIRAL?

“The SMART Board of Directors voted unanimously Wednesday to have its staff begin the process of renewing the district’s quarter-cent sales tax on the March 2020 ballot… The district has relied on the quarter-cent sales tax, passed via Measure Q in 2008, to build out and run its rail system, which now spans downtown San Rafael and the Sonoma County Airport. Measure Q expires in 2029, but staffers say it is imperative the tax be renewed well before then. While sales tax revenues have increased through the years, so has SMART’s operational costs and debt payments…”

This is the crisis that SMART's critics predicted years ago. The sales tax—which requires a 2/3 vote—was barely passed by Marin and Sonoma County voters in 2008. What will SMART do if voters reject it in 2020?

“If SMART chooses to wait until closer to 2029 and the sales tax is not approved, McGrath said, ‘We’ll have to contract very quickly.’ David Rabbitt, a SMART board member and a Sonoma County supervisor, said there is ‘no alternative’ because the tax is the agency’s primary funding source. He added it would also make no sense to include a sunset date for the tax this time. ‘What are you going to do, mothball the fleet? Unacceptable,’ Rabbitt said.”

This is the good-money-must-be-thrown-after-bad justification for dumb, costly projects. Robert Caro quotes Robert Moses: “Once you sink that first stake,” he would often say, “they'll never make you pull it up.”

The SMART train may be the exception to the Moses adage, since there's no likely source that would/could fill this funding gap:

“Measure Q has generated $289 million in revenue since taking effect in 2009, far short of the growth needed to meet the $890 million the tax was initially expected to generate in its 20-year life. The entire rail build-out was also expected to cost $541 million, but SMART has now spent more than $550 million on a yet-to-be-completed track… Sales tax is expected to account for half of the revenue collected by SMART this fiscal year. By comparison, the revenue derived from charges for services, which include fares and parking fees, was about $4 million, or about 5 percent.”

Fares cover less than 5 percent? That's clearly unsustainable, with or without the sales tax money. And when you raise fares, you lose riders.

Even San Francisco's Muni system recovers 18% of its costs from fares (see page 19 here. To compare that with other systems in the US, see Farebox recovery ratio.)

More bad news:

“…But while the tax revenue growth has been healthy, as McGrath described it Wednesday, costs are also rising and the district has had to dip into its reserves. For example, the district anticipates spending another $10 million in the next three years to replace brakes, engines and other equipment on its rail cars. Staffing levels have risen from 25 to 121 full-time employees between 2013 and the current fiscal year, with about 20 employees added in the last year alone. SMART is also paying employees more to compete with other transit lines such as BART and Caltrain, McGrath said.”

The operation and maintenance costs of the SMART system have never been realistically faced:

“SMART had already taken out $5 million of its reserves to balance the budget this fiscal year, which is something that SMART General Manager Farhad Mansourian said could not be sustained should a sales tax renewal be struck down by voters. Positions and services would immediately be frozen and cut, he predicted, in order to balance the budget.”

One of the many commenters to this story suggested that the SMART system could reduce Highway 101 traffic in the area by 4%. That the system would reduce 101 traffic congestion was one of the major arguments in support of the original ballot measure.

In response, commenter/blogger Richard Hall crunched the numbers.

“You're giving SMART way too much credit saying they remove 4% of traffic on 101. They can only relieve about 0.6% of the traffic on 101. You're off by 500%.

SMART has 2,200 riders per day (round-trips), currently declining according to officially reported stats, just a few peak trains are full but the ~82% single track line prevents them increasing frequency due to limited passing spots.

Meanwhile Highway 101 carries 222,000 cars per day peak at San Pedro Road in San Rafael, multiply that by the US DOT average occupancy 1.67 and you'll see 101 carries 370,740 people per day.

SMART carries 2,200 people per day.

2,200/370,740 = 0.6%.

That makes SMART a rounding error. 101 traffic increases by that much in less than a year.”

(Marin Independent Journal/District5Diary)

ON APRIL 19, 2019 at approximately 8:01a.m., Officers of the Fort Bragg Police Department and a Deputy from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at a residence located in the 100 block of S. Sanderson Way. The three residents who were contacted at the location were detained and provided notice of the search warrant. Officers conducted the search, collected digital evidence and evidence related to a recent felonious assault that occurred on March 31, 2019.

No arrests were made in connection with the service of the search warrant and all parties were released without incident at the conclusion of the search warrant service.

Questions regarding this press release may be forwarded to Sergeant Rafanan at (707) 961-2800 ext. 140 or to wrafanan@fortbragg.com.

(Fort Bragg PD presser)

ON SATURDAY, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Fort Bragg Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public its 17th opportunity in nine years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your pills for disposal to the Fort Bragg Police Department at 250 Cypress Street. Our location only, will also be accepting sharps at this event. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last fall Americans turned in nearly 460 tons (more than 900,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,800 sites operated by the DEA and almost 4,800 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 16 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in almost 11 million pounds—nearly 5,500 tons—of pills.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the April 27th Take Back Day event, go to www.DEATakeBack.com or contact the Fort Bragg Police Department at 707-961-2800.

(Fort Bragg PD presser)

AN OPEN LETTER TO DR. ROBERT MARBUT

Dear Dr. Marbut:

I'm writing about your 2018 Homeless Needs Assessment Report for Mendocino County. Part of the report's intent was to categorize homeless types, in order to prioritize allocation of limited resources to serve the needs of the homeless more effectively. I appreciate that intent. Unfortunately, it seems your report has also contributed to polarizing and inflaming public sentiment against the homeless in general.

Our local newspaper has twice recently reported a 25% spike in police calls regarding the homeless since last year. This, however, indicates an increase not so much in homeless numbers or behaviors but in the public's readiness to call the police about them. The reality is that criminal cases are significantly down since long before the recent spike in calls, for police cases of robbery (down 62% since 2016), assaults (down 21%), and property crimes (down 28%) - this should be treated as the real news!

Some calls for police help are of course essential (and in my experience generally very well handled by police), but unnecessary calls just increase police workload. This increase in calling seems to indicate an atmosphere of fear and hostility toward "outsiders" that mirrors (and feeds) a similar recent nationwide trend.

The same newspaper printed a front-page article quoting draft language from the County that included the term "criminal behavior" in attempting to delineate the "traveler" division of homeless-an inaccurate, heartless, and unhelpful base assumption. However you feel about the media (and although that wording has since been deleted), this kind of coverage strongly influences public attitudes; and Marbut-report interpretations are still contributing to those attitudes even now.

This letter is an appeal to human decency and compassion. When history turns toward hate, it results in ugly consequences for all involved. But we don't have to choose that path!

Plowshares' mission statement tells us to treat every person with respect and dignity. Our Community Dining Room offers a free hot meal and other assistance to all who are hungry or in need, homeless or not. The Plowshares staff recognizes most of the homeless here as longtime local residents-almost all are part of this community, not just traveling strangers. Some have mental health and other challenges that government services may never be able to fully address; some may never be able to benefit from a "hand up." But these people need extra attention and support, not blame and scorn. Even if the homeless include some "travelers," not all of those are in the category of "trimmigrants" (who have jobs and don't need services). In cultures throughout the world, hospitality is considered a sacred duty to strangers even if-especially if-they're in distress.

Whatever causes a person's homelessness, we all need good food and safe shelter. Plowshares' work to feed the hungry may be "only a bandaid" but (in the words of late homeless advocate Judy Judd) bandaids are good! We don't throw them out just because we have emergency rooms.

Dr. Marbut, I hope that you will consider writing an addendum to your report, or perhaps just a letter to the editor, reminding all of us about sensitivity and caution in judgment - even compassion and generosity of spirit - toward our fellow humans, homeless and otherwise. I am hoping that community attitudes can begin to shift away from fear and hostility and toward helping Plowshares help those most in need of our empathy and assistance.

Thank you.

Mary Buckley

Interim Executive Director

Plowshares Peace and Justice Center

CATCH OF THE DAY, April 19, 2019

DEANDRE BRAZIEL, Ukiah. Controlled substance, paraphernalia, saps/similar weapons, offenses while on bail.

DORIAN COON, Lakeport/Ukiah. Kidnapping for robbery/rape, second degree robbery, false imprisonment, contributing to delinquency of minor.

AMANDA JEWELL, Willits. Controlled substance, probation revocation.

AARON KOSKI SR., Fort Bragg. Public nuisance. (Frequent Flyer)

JAMES LOWE, Ukiah. Theft from elder (over $400), obtaining personal ID of another without authorization.

INGID MARTIN, Ukiah. DUI, suspended license (for DUI), probation revocation.

KYLE MCCARTNEY, Willits. DUI, suspended license (for DUI).

RAYMOND PADILLA, San Jose/Ukiah. Probation revocation.

TONY PAUL, Ukiah. Domestic battery, probation revocation.

CHERRI ROBERTS, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol. (Frequent Flyer)

THOMAS SANDERS, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, resisting. (Frequent Flyer)

SHERRY VEALS, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

JOSE VILLELA, Kelseyville/Ukiah. Controlled substance, paraphernalia.

RUDOLPH WALTON, Fort Bragg. Assault with deadly weapon with great bodily injury.

JASON WOLFE, Ukiah. Suspended license (for DUI), false proof of insurance, no registration, failure to appear.

AN EMPIRE OF BULLSHIT

by James Kunstler

After two years of gaslighting the public while it blew smoke up America’s ass, the Jacobin news media enjoyed its final feeding frenzy with the release of the 400-page Mueller report. They expected 1000 pounds of raw filet mignon, but it turned out to be tofu fried in olestra. The ensuing fugue of hyperventilating hysteria was also duly expected and William Barr stoically endured their hebephrenic peevings at the release ceremony — a press conference which itself offended the media.

The threats and raving continued all the livelong day and far into the peeper-filled night with CNN’s Chris Cuomo blustering “It’s time to rumble,” and the lugubrious hack David Gergen muttering soulfully, “This was not fake news,” and The Times’ Maggie Haberman fuming that the White House had played the “Nazi anthem” Edelweiss — very fake news, it turned out, since the tune was written for Rodgers’ and Hammerstein’s 1959 Broadway show, The Sound of Music (and sung by the anti-Nazi hero Baron von Trapp). Meanwhile Rachel Maddow had the balls to confab in prime time with disgraced former FBI mandarin Andy McCabe, officially identified as a liar by his own colleagues at the agency. What a circus of perfidious freakery!

Understand that the Mueller Report itself was the mendacious conclusion to a deceitful investigation, the purpose of which was to conceal the criminal conduct of US government officials meddling in the 2016 election, in collusion with the Hillary Clinton campaign, to derail Mr. Trump’s campaign, and then disable him when he managed to win the election. Mr. Mueller was theoretically trying to save the FBI’s reputation, but he may have only succeeded in injuring it more gravely.

The whole wicked business began as a (failed) entrapment scheme using shadowy US Intel “assests” Stefan Halper and Joseph Mifsud to con small fish Papadopoulos and Carter Page into incriminating themselves (they declined to be conned) and moved on to ploys like the much-touted Trump Tower meeting to ensnare Trump Junior and then to several efforts (also failed) to flip Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen — the final product of which was an epic failure to find one instance of real chargeable criminal collusion between anyone connected to Mr. Trump and Russia.

By the way, the Mueller Report failed to mention that the two Russians present in that August 2016 Trump Tower meeting, lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin, were on the payroll of Hillary Clinton’s oppo research contractor Fusion GPS, and met with that company’s principal, Glenn Simpson, both before and after the meeting — just one example among many of the Mueller Team’s shifty tactics, but a move that speaks volumes about Mr. Mueller’s actual intent, which was to keep his prosecutorial circus going as long as possible to interfere with Mr. Trump carrying out his own duties.

The Special Prosecutor’s main bit of mischief, of course, was his refusal to reach a conclusion on the obstruction of justice charge. What the media refuses to accept and make clear is that a prosecutor’s failure to reach a conclusion is exactly the same thing as an inability to make a case, and it was a breach of Mr. Mueller’s duty to dishonestly present that failure as anything but that in his report — and possibly an act of criminal prosecutorial misconduct.

Like any tantrum, the media’s frenzy will run out of steam (and credibility) and now they will be whipped like dogs for betraying their public trust. There is a counter-narrative to the “Resistance” narrative, and it is a true crime story. That suppressed story is finally going to roll out in the implacable workings of actual (not fake) justice and it is going to crush a lot of people who concocted this epic political hoax, including some members of the press who knowingly and dishonestly abetted it.

Many criminal referrals have already been made on the likes of James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and Bruce Ohr, and a big net has been cast to pull in the figures who have been hiding in the thickets lo these two-and-a-half-years of smoke and gaslight: Loretta Lynch, Sally Yates, William Brennan, James Clapper, Nellie Ohr, Samantha Power, Bill Priestap, Jim Rybicki, James Baker, Mike Kortan, John Carlin, Mary McCord, Josh Campbell and more. Some of these are going to jail and some have already flipped. The fetchings should reach the Obama White House. Mr. Mueller himself, even in his majestic granitic silence, will be liable for failing to inform his boss, the Attorney General, that the predicate document for his witch hunt was known to be a fraud back in 2016, and was used anyway to spy on a presidential candidate.

Let congress put on a carnival of its own now. It will be greeted like a TV commercial for a hemorrhoid remedy while the real national psychodrama plays out in grand juries and courtrooms, demonstrating what a grievous injury was done to this republic by its own vested authorities.

(Support Kunstler’s writing by visiting his Patreon Page.)

THE CHURCH of Notre-Dame de Paris is still no doubt, a majestic and sublime edifice. But, beautiful as it has been preserved in growing old, it is difficult not to sigh, not to wax indignant, before the numberless degradations and mutilations which time and men have both caused the venerable monument to suffer, without respect for Charlemagne, who laid its first stone, or for Philip Augustus, who laid the last. On the face of this aged queen of our cathedrals, by the side of a wrinkle, one always finds a scar. Tempus edax, homo edacior; which I should be glad to translate thus: time is blind, man is stupid.

— Victor Hugo (Notre-Dame de Paris, 1831)

BINGO NIGHT! This Saturday! In Mendocino!

The Mendocino Choir Boosters is holding a Bingo Night as a benefit supporting the Mendocino Schools Choir Programs! 7 - 9 pm, Saturday, April 20, 2019 At the Community Center of Mendocino, 998 School Street **Only 60 spots available and we are almost all sold out! Tickets cost $20. Available at the Gallery Bookshop in Mendocino. There will be Beer, Wine, Appetizers and Special Prizes.

No one under the age of 21 years.

Mendocino Choir Boosters is a 501(c)3 organization.

Marie-Claire Dizin mcdizin@gmail.com

"THE NATURE OF OUR POLITICAL DISCOURSE is that nobody ever needs to admit error because it is easy to confine oneself to strictly partisan precincts where people are far more interested in hearing what advances their agenda or affirms their beliefs than they are hearing the truth. For that reason, I doubt that anyone who spent the last three years pushing utterly concocted conspiracy theories will own up to it, let alone confront any accountability or consequences for it.

But certain facts will never go away no matter how much denial they embrace. The sweeping Mueller investigation ended with zero indictments of zero Americans for conspiring with Russia over the 2016 election… And this massive investigation simply did not establish any of the conspiracy theories that huge parts of the Democratic Party, the intelligence community and the U.S. media spent years encouraging the public to believe.

Those responsible for this can refuse to acknowledge wrongdoing. They can even claim vindication if they want and will likely be cheered for doing so.

But the contempt in which the media and political class is held by so much of the U.S. population – undoubtedly a leading factor that led to Trump’s election in the first place – will only continue to grow as a result, and deservedly so. People know they were scammed, that their politics was drowned for years by a hoax. And none of that will go away no matter how insulated media and political elites in Washington, northern Virginia, Brooklyn, and large West Coast cities keep themselves, and thus hear only in-group affirmation while blocking out all of that well-earned scorn."

— Glenn Greenwald

COR-PIRATE MYTHOLOGY

Aloha, AVA Crew! Many thanks to each and all for your continued service and bulldog attention to obscured details. I enclose a 'toon I cannot recall if I've already sent; too many folks to fire 'em off at… This effort at capturing His Tangerine Witlessness I'll file under "Truth Fairy; Takes Teeth, Picks Pockets."

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

Just a thought.

I have read a lot about the retail apocalypse on the blog. Amazon and Walmart happen to be the bad guys. The big chains seem to be dropping like flies.

Two personal observations

One, whoever is doing the buying for the big chains has their heads up their butts. Selection is terrible and very limited. It is like they have no clue what people want.

Two, Amazon is a shipping company. I use it because I got sick of looking for things all over town and not finding it. Amazon seems to have a pulse on things. The most striking thing I have noticed is that Amazon uses small shops to supply the wide range of products it offers. Could it be that Amazon is really helping out MainStreet and small businessmen?

MENDOCINO COUNTY'S FIRST 'STEPPING UP INITIATIVE' Community Forum, presented by National Alliance on Mental Illness

Post Date: 04/19/2019 11:51 AM

Approximately 2 million individuals who suffer from serious mental illness are incarcerated each year across the United States. Mendocino County, not being immune to this problem, aims to reduce the number of people with mental illness in local jails. With the support and guidance of the Mendocino County National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Mendocino County is hosting its first Community Forum to discuss our local efforts. The Community Forum will be held in two locations:

Ukiah:

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Ukiah Veterans Hall, 293 Seminary Avenue

Fort Bragg:

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Fort Bragg Veterans Hall, 360 Harrison Avenue

Each day and location will host both an Educational Session from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., and a Public Forum from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

If you would like to learn more about this issue, and what is being done locally, please join us at one of the events above. To RSVP, please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MendocinoSteppingUp. For more information on the National Stepping Up Initiative, please visit https://stepuptogether.org.

For more information, please contact the Mendocino County Executive Office at (707) 463-4441.

FORT BRAGG GOAL SETTING SURVEY

What do you believe are the most important priorities for the City of Fort Bragg in the next few years?

The City Council spent most of the day on March 27, 2019 in a Goal Setting Meeting. Councilmembers developed four priority areas. Within those priority areas, the Council developed a list of goals which they ranked in importance to inform the City Manager's action plan.

The Fort Bragg City Council would like your feedback on the City’s goals and priorities. Please take 3-5 minutes to respond to a survey by following the link below:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/THT5VVV

SPRING PLANT SALE!

Make your spring garden the most glorious yet! It is time to stock up on plants, gardening tools and books, and much more at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens' annual Spring Plant Sale. The sale runs this Saturday, April 20 through Sunday, April 28 during the Gardens' normal operating hours, 9:00am to 5:00pm (no admission fee to shop; no admission fee to dine at Rhody’s Cafe which is now open daily). Gardens' Members receive 20% off; non-members receive 10% off all plants and select store items.

Preview Party at 5:30PM - TONIGHT members of the Gardens enjoy first choice of plants in the Nursery and a great selection of Store sale items, plus complimentary hors d'oeuvres and wine. Join us from 5:30 to 7:30 for the Members-Only Preview Party. Not a member of the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens? This is just one great reason to join today:

https://www.gardenbythesea.org/about/membership/

CRAIG'S AT ANDY'S

Message fr. Garberville, CA

Am at Earth First!er Andy Caffrey's in Garberville, CA being supportive of his video production effort. He needs to create a video themed on "global climate destabilization". He wishes to go to Washington, D.C. and interact with New Green Deal Democrats, and others. Feel free to telephone him at (707) 923-2114 and offer encouragement.

Craig Louis Stehr

POINT ARENA CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA

April 23, 2019

Regular Session ~ 6:00 p.m.

City Hall ~ 451 School Street

https://mailchi.mp/42c27f479ba7/city-council-meeting-april-23-2019?e=d0e3cdc057

EDUCATION TODAY

The teacher is seen grabbing a 14-year old student, pushing the student against a wall, then onto the ground. Others rush in to surround the two.

The teacher sent the following statement to Fox 13 News: "I am absolutely mortified by this experience and truly sorry for my actions. I am so sorry to the young man and his family and feel just gutted from this experience. I allowed an incident of disrespect, bullying, teasing and insubordination from a student to escalate. As an educator I have been bullied, I have been threaten with physical harm, told to F off on a daily basis, teased that I am powerless, told that I am worthless, had balls and weights thrown at me. Students have touched my legs and pulled the hair out of my calves and filmed me while I taught and mocked me. Again this in no way excuses my behavior, and I truly am sorry for my actions, but I don't think people realize the conditions that we have to teach in. I am completely heart broken because have loved my opportunity to teach."

truecrimedaily.com/2019/04/19/fired-utah-teacher-absolutely-mortified-over-assault-caught-on-camera/

CONSIDER THE GOLDEN MOLE

by Katherine Rundell

The word iridescent comes from the Greek for ‘rainbow’, iris, and the Latin suffix, escent, ‘having a tendency towards’. Iridescence turns up in many insects, some birds, the odd squid: but in only one mammal, the golden mole. Some species are black, some metallic silver or tawny yellow, but under different lights and from different angles, their fur shifts through turquoise, navy, purple, gold. Moles, then, with a tendency towards sky colours.

The golden mole is not, in fact, a mole. It’s more closely related to the elephant, and though most are small enough to fit in a child’s hand, their bodies are miniature powerhouses: their kidneys are so efficient that many species can go their entire lives without drinking a drop of water. The bone in the mole’s middle ear is so large and hypertrophied that it is immensely sensitive to underground vibrations; waiting under the soil or sand, the golden mole can hear the footsteps up above of birds and lizards; it can distinguish between the footfall of ants and termites. With their powerful forelegs and webbed back feet, they are described by scientists as ‘spectacularly autapomorphic’. They have been like nothing but themselves for far longer than us: there are fossil specimens dating back to the Miocene period, which extends from about five million years ago to about 23 million years ago. They have been shining for a very long time.

There are 21 species, all from Sub-Saharan Africa; as is the way of these things, many of them are named after men. There’s Grant’s golden mole (just 8 cm long, found only in the Namibian desert, known as the ‘dune shark’) and Marley’s golden mole (reddish-brown, found only on two small patches of land on the eastern slopes of the Lebombo Mountains), the robust golden mole (not robust at all: it’s dying out due to sweeping habitat loss in South Africa) and the largest species, the giant golden mole. At 23 cm in length, it could take all the others in a fight, but is no match for our destructive impulses, our forest clearances and mining, and is the most endangered of the golden moles. Of the 21 species, more than half are currently threatened with extinction due to pollution and loss of habitat: if we lose them, we will have lost the world’s only rainbow mammal, a stupidity so grotesque we could not expect to be forgiven.

THE NAVY IS COMING TO FORT BRAGG MAY 3, 2019

Dear Ocean Lovers,

The Navy is coming to Dana Gray School in Fort Bragg to promote their desire for more intensive war training exercises off the Northwest Coast of the U.S. on May 3, 2019 from 6-8:30 p.m. This increased training will include the use of Low Frequency Sonar which is very harmful to marine mammals.

The Ocean Protection Coalition of Mendocino County (OPC) has asked permission to set up a table outside the school venue with information that disagrees with the Navy’s opinion that marine mammals are likely to be harmed. But OPC was refused permission by the Superintendent of Fort Bragg School unified School District, Rebecca Walker.

OPC will be on the sidewalk, which is public space, with signs urging people to comment on the Navy’s proposal for increased war training off the U.S. coast. OPEC.

Our next meeting is at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23 at 310 N. Harold in Fort Bragg. We invite people to come to our meeting and help us make signs.

Please join us if you can at Dana Gray School on May 3 at 6 p.m.

Information about how to comment and where is attached to this email.

We hope to see you see you soon

Ed Oberweiser

Chair, Ocean Protection Coalition - oceanprotection.org

A DECADE AND A KNOCK

The knock on my door tomorrow morning at nine AM will be my past -- all of it -- reminding me how blessed it is to be a teacher. How we know people from childhood all the way until inevitable death. Theirs or ours. They were kids when we first met them. Adults when we last see them. Mortgages. Repossessed houses. The suicides of their children. Their often-surprising choice of careers. All those paths not taken. Good choices and bad.

The best aspect of all is that all of this is joyous. It puts those of lucky enough to do it at the core of the parade right past the sidewalk were we watch. And we watch and we watch. And we watch some more. The Grateful Dead are great in our earplugs to hear between marching bands. Or maybe medieval drinking songs. Or native American flute. A Mahler symphony. A set kids from God that never wants to end but keeps going and soaring. Fred did this to me. The clock tick. Ticks. Tocks. Except for an occasional car, it is the only sound I hear at nine at night. Tock.

---

I HUGGED MY BOSS TODAY. I WILL NEVER FORGET IT.

My boss came for a visit today with her husband. He is the science teacher at Laytonville High and a trained mycologist. Old memories now. Reminiscing about good and poor students. The expelled and those who we got in to Stanford or Beloit. Paris burning. Many bugs on a clear morning in Eugene. They are driving their Volvo all the way to Willits.

Both of them say they are in perfect health and they look it. They will probably be at the party in late July. Their son lives in Corvallis. Neither thinks they made a mistaken decision when they decided to become teachers. Both are retiring within months. Favorite concert ever was the Grateful Dead. With Mom in New York.

They travel with their dog. Soaked up the morning sun saying Goodbyes. Hugs. Another memory, I will never forget. Inhaling deeply, I bow. As I am bowing, the church bells toll. At 12:28? What the hell? And then the silence, punctuated only by the swish of passing cars. And the silence. The silence.

(Bruce Brady)

COURT EXTENDS DEADLINE TO APPLY TO SERVE ON THE NEXT GRAND JURY

The Honorable Jeanine B. Nadel, Chair of the Grand Jury Recruitment/Selection Committee has extended the deadline to submit applications to serve on the 2019/2020 Grand Jury to May 24th, 2019. The 2019/2020 Grand Jury will be sworn in at the end of June, 2019 (date to be announced).

Service on the Civil Grand Jury is an excellent opportunity to learn about the inner workings of government, while providing a valuable service to the community. The 19 members of the Grand Jury serve for one year and are empowered to investigate the operations of county, city and district governments; provide civil oversight of local government departments and agencies; and respond to citizen complaints. The Grand Jury sets its own agenda and meeting schedule. Much of the work is performed in small committees allowing for considerable flexibility in the work schedule and meeting locations.

Grand Jurors are compensated $25 per full panel meeting, $10 per committee meeting and committee attendance at public meetings. Mileage is reimbursed at the current County of Mendocino rate. There is free onsite parking. Prior to being nominated, each qualifying applicant is interviewed by a Superior Court judge. Training for Grand Jurors will be provided.

To serve as a Grand Juror, the following requirements must be met:

• At least 18 years of age
• United States citizen
• Resident of Mendocino County for at least one year
• Sufficiently fluent in written and spoken English
• Not currently serving on any other governmental board or commission during the term
• Not presently holding a public office
• Not convicted of a felony
• Not personally active in any campaign of a candidate for elective office

Applications and related information are available on the Superior Court of California, County of Mendocino website. The application may also be obtained in person at the Superior Court, 100 North State Street, Rm. 303, Ukiah or by calling the Grand Jury at (707) 463-4320.

For more information contact:

Kim Weston, Administrative Assistant

Superior Court of California, County of Mendocino

100 N. State Street, Room 303

Ukiah, CA 954825

(707) 467-6437

MEMO OF THE AIR: GOOD NIGHT RADIO

Friday, April 19, from 9pm to 5am I'm reading Memo of the Air by live remote from Juanita's apartment, /not/ from the back room of the KNYO performance space at 325 N. Franklin, next door to the Tip Top bar, so alter your plans to instead show-and-tell at KNYO /next/ week, April 26, when I'll be there rather than here, and I'll be delighted to see you. It doesn't always show on my face, but trust me, you light up my life. Ahem.

Deadline to get your writing on the air tonight is around 7pm. If you're still working on it after that, just email it whenever you're done and I'll save it and read it on the show next time. Or save it yourself for next time and come in and read it in person, scientifically dissect a frog or a tuba, speak in tongues, whatever, see above.

The crux of this message: Memo of the Air: Good Night Radio: Every Friday, 9pm to 5am on 107.7fm KNYO-LP Fort Bragg, and 105.1fm KMEC-LP Ukiah. And also there and anywhere else via http://knyo.org and click on Listen.

And you can always go to https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com and hear last week's show, and shows before that. By Saturday night, tonight's MOTA will also be there, right on top.

Here are a few items to boggle your noodle while you wait for tonight:

Watch the universe, all that is and ever will be, wind down to literally nothing in an increasingly sped up narrated half an hour of perfect wonder and languorous despair. It's kind of a relief.

https://tinyurl.com/LiteralEndOfEverything

The insane scale of global wealth inequality. (9 min.)

http://misscellania.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-insane-scale-of-global-wealth.html

And the story of Warner's fashionable rust-proof corsets that are guaranteed not to back up your lunch through your tear ducts should you attempt to breathe.

http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/follies_of_the_madmen_422

Marco McClean, memo@mcn.org,

https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com