MCT: Friday, July 5, 2019

• Inland Heat
• Young American
• SoCal Earthquake
• Fireworks Demo
• Hendrix Anthem
• Adventist Proposal
• Fourth Checklist
• MCCAAC Back
• Authoritarian Librarians
• Outage Preparations
• Wheelchair Safety
• AVVFFA Report
• Food News
• Dance Party
• Marcy Mayhem
• Wretched Refuse
• KZYX Cleanup
• Birth Control
• Ed Notes
• Aluminum Softop
• FB Rental
• Yesterday's Catch
• Eureka 2011
• Surf's Up
• Polluted Water
• Suicide Prevention
• 50s/60s
• Speedway Weekend
• Telegraph House

HOT TEMPERATURES will continue inland today and Saturday, while overnight and morning coastal clouds with a northwest breeze keep coastal areas seasonably cooler. A reinforcing trough will bring somewhat cooler temperatures to inland areas Sunday through the middle of the upcoming week. (National Weather Service)

EARTHQUAKE IN SOCAL — A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Southern California amid Fourth of July celebrations. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake was reported near Searles Valley, a sparsely populated portion of the Mojave Desert outside of Bakersfield. The USGS said the quake started 11 miles from Ridgecrest, California, around 10.33am. People from Las Vegas to the Pacific Coast reported feeling a rolling motion that shook shower doors and made hanging dining room lights sway. At least four large aftershocks have been recorded, measuring 4.7, 3.5, 3.8 and 4.2 magnitude, officials said. Fire crews are responding to at least 24 medical and fire incidents in Ridgecrest. A video from the area showed a large fire in the backyard of a home. Firefighters were seen battling the blaze.

HAPPY 4TH!

washingtonpost.com/video/national/the-government-again-demonstrates-how-not-to-use-fireworks/2019/07/03/6b89f425-548e-4203-bd7f-d7d6f6b4e071_video.html

ADVENTISTS COME CALLING

by Malcolm Macdonald

On Friday, June 28, Adventist Health (AH) submitted its formal proposal to affiliate with Mendocino Coast District Hospital. Oddly, the final proposal proved to be remarkably similar in length and verbiage to one acquired about nine to ten days ago.

Adventist's intentions include this summary language:

“Mendocino County has three hospitals… The opportunity exists to create deep collaboration and coordination of care for the county for all patients who need acute care services involving emergency care and hospitalizations. By sharing the scarce resources of specialized physicians and providers, our communities will be able to receive more specialized care in our own communities, as opposed to the need to travel outside the county to seek higher level health care services.

“Partnership HealthPlan has contracted with Adventist Health to manage the inpatient care of 31,000 Mendocino County residents. By strategically collaborating between the three hospitals in the county, and through coordination of care with additional providers at the FQHCs [Federally Qualified Health Centers] and additional primary care clinics in our communities, we can improve the health of our residents through proactive care management. This coordinated effort, across the care continuum, will improve the delivery of health care services and ultimately the quality of life of our county residents.”

Throughout the west coast and Hawaii, Adventist Health runs 21 hospitals (with almost 3,000 beds total), 280 clinics and outpatient clinics, as well as 60 rural health clinics. The organizational headquarters are located in Roseville, California. In the past five years they have acquired four hospitals in Tehachapi, Lodi, Tulare, and Marysville, with a fifth pending affiliation for a facility in Delano.

Affiliation and acquisition are the themes for Adventist. The Adventist Health proposal for MCDH would involve forming a separate 501(c)(3) corporation which would lease the assets of the coast healthcare district for what is described as fair market value. The local district would still be responsible for regulatory compliance with seismic retrofit codes, which could involve raising tens of millions of dollars to meet standards that must be in place by 2030.

Adventist Health, through its subsidiary Stone Point Health, proposes leasing the existing facility from the District. Those lease payments would be paid in the form of capital improvements to MCDH's facilities. The lease would run FOR 30 years, with an option for Adventist Health to terminate the lease every five years in the event the Coast district cannot obtain funding to achieve seismic compliance.

However, if MCDH chooses to construct an entirely new facility, Adventist, through Stone Point Health, would offer up 25% of that cost in the form of prepaid rent. MCDH would need to find the other 75%. Adventist Health believes that a public bond would be the necessary means to raise that money.

In a previous AVA piece discussion was raised about the MCDH Board of Directors offering to rescind the Measure C parcel tax in exchange for a favorable public vote on affiliation. The rescinding of the parcel tax might be used alternatively by the MCDH Board as an inducement for a vote for a bond measure to foot the bill for a seismic retrofit. (Readers should put California Senate Bill [SB] 758 in their search engine. This potential legislation could dramatically change the requirements for hospitals and the rules relating to seismic retrofitting.)

Regarding local governance, should this deal come to fruition, see if you can disentangle Adventist's somewhat confusing intentions. Adventist Health claims that each of its hospitals operates independently, with its own local governing board. Adventist Health has its own board for the entire system. The wording of the proposal says this overall board delegates significant powers to the local governing boards, however it does not specify what the limits on those powers are beyond overseeing “quality, medical staff, community mission, clinical delivery, operations, and strategy.”

If this deal with Adventist is approved first by MCDH's Board of Directors and second by the voters of the Coast healthcare district, local administrators would oversee day to day operations of the hospital. Adventist promises the following to MCDH staff: “As of the closing date, all active MCDH employees in good standing will be retained at their existing compensation at substantially similar positions within the organization, and all current MCDH employment agreements will be honored. MCDH employees will retain their current years of service and vesting in MCDH’s or any successor benefit programs. Except for cause, employees will not be laid off or terminated for a period of ninety (90) days post-closing.”

On the subject of clinical services, Adventist says they are committed to existing services “as long as they are safe for patients, match the community’s chosen location for the service, and do not compromise the overall financial viability of the hospital.”

Speaking of MCDH Board members voting on affiliation, On July 2, the hospital, through its interim CEO, Wayne Allen, released the following: “Regarding potential affiliation conflicts of interest, the Fair Political Practices Commission’s (FPPC) ruled on June 26, 2019 that MCDH Directors Karen Arnold and Jessica Grinberg be prohibited from taking part in the affiliation process. Wayne Allen, interim CEO, stated that 'Directors Arnold and Grinberg voluntarily submitted their employment facts to the FPPC about two months ago and asked the FPPC for its decision. Directors Arnold and Grinberg adamantly did not want any affiliation decision to be jeopardized by a conflict of interest controversy. Director Grinberg’s ruling will be appealed as there are several issues of fact that may have been misinterpreted. The MCDH Board of Directors is small with only five members and losing two members‘ participation in the affiliation effort places an extraordinary heavy load on the remaining three members. Furthermore, the affiliation process will be a monumental and high priority healthcare issue for the next several months.’

“Allen further stated that ‘Directors Amy McColley, Steve Lund and John Redding will handle the affiliation process well and in the best interests of the health and well-being of our community. Directors Arnold and Grinberg will continue to participate in non-affiliation issues’.”

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Meanwhile, the corporately owned coast paper continues to get things wrong. The misguided publication claims the MCDH Board passed a $60 million annual budget at its June 27 meeting.

What was passed was a three month “budget assumption.” Pro-rated out to a full year. That budget assumption showed total operating revenues of just over $56 million and total operating expenses at $60.56 million with a grand total net loss of more than $1.5 million. This presumed budget, which appeared to be the work of interim Chief Executive Officer Wayne Allen, depicted the hospital starting the fiscal year, July 1, 2019, with $225,000 in cash on hand and finishing at June 30, 2020 with the same amount. The caveat to that unlikely real life scenario is that this balancing out, albeit at a dangerously low amount of cash on hand, would be accomplished by plundering MCDH's only savings account (known as the Local Agency Investment Fund or LAIF) to the tune of $2.9 million, about three-fourths of the total amount in LAIF.

Essentially, this “Assumed Budget” is a scare tactic on Allen's part, designed to wake those who haven't fully realized that the good ship MCDH isn't in sight of the iceberg, it has already hit it.

The coast paper even misrepresented the board's vote on this matter. They reported it as 4-0. The actual vote was three in favor, one abstention from board member Amy McColley, and a No vote from board vice-president Jessica Grinberg. That No vote was based on questions from her clarifying that such a significant use of the LAIF money would push MCDH into a financial position that is out of compliance on its bond covenant, which requires the hospital to keep “Days Cash on Hand” above a 30-day total. In that case, MCDH would be out of compliance in all three of its bond covenants. Cal Mortgage, the hospital's chief creditor, would be thoroughly justified in closing the hospital's doors if all three bond covenants are out of compliance. On top of that, the LAIF money is the last resource to pay for deferred maintenance, which the hospital has need of to the tune of $10 million or so in the next year or two.

Though this three month “Assumed Budget” is more theoretical than practical, it was wise of Grinberg to raise cautionary questions.

In another piece in the same issue of the coastal publication, the paper's editor implies the MCDH Board's June 27 day long retreat “addressed procedural issues, after having to admit a Brown Act violation in how it issued a request for proposals for affiliation.”

Clearly that editor didn't bother to read the agenda for the June 29 retreat, which on its top line laid out the main thrust of the eight hour get-together: “Team building: Relationship-building and effective intra-team information.” As a witness to the entire event, I can attest that the aforementioned Brown Act violation played little to no role in the day. Both the publisher and editor of the coast publication were on hand for the board meeting on June 27. The coast paper couldn't be bothered to send a single representative to witness the June 29 retreat.

(More about MCDH matters in the AVA online archive and at malcolmmacdonaldoutlawford.com.)

THE CAAC IS BACK

DEADBEATS SETTLE FOR $7500. FOR NOW.

Agenda Item 6b) Discussion and Possible Action Including Adoption of Resolution Creating the Mendocino County Climate Action Advisory Committee

(Sponsors: Climate Action Committee Ad Hoc (Supervisors McCowen and Williams) and County Counsel)

Resolution Of The Mendocino County Board Of Supervisors Creating The Mendocino County Climate Action Advisory Committee

Whereas, on March 19, 2019, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors heard a proposal entitled “Mendocino County’s Commitment and Mission to Fight Climate Change” which called for the creation of a Mendocino County Climate Action Advisory Committee (MCCAAC) to make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors to implement a Mendocino County Sustainability and Climate Action Program, with a focus on developing action and policy proposals towards meeting the goals contained in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report entitled “Global Warming of 1.5 Degrees Celsius” for greenhouse gas reduction, carbon sequestration and storage, and community climate change preparedness; and

Whereas, the Board of Supervisors endorsed in principle the proposal presented and directed staff to schedule a workshop/presentation on the formation and structure of the MCCAAC; and

Whereas, said workshop was held on April 16, 2019, where the Board of Supervisors heard a proposal for the MCCAAC which recommended a citizen-driven structure which would recruit and populate topical focus groups to research and develop proposals to the committee; and

Whereas, the proposal contemplated that the committee would include a broad range of stakeholders representing diverse interests across Mendocino County’s five supervisorial districts; and

Whereas, the proposal contemplated that the committee would work with local, regional, and national partners including tribal nations, fire safe councils, water and fire districts, local community groups and organizations, and others; and

Whereas, the Board of Supervisors supports the proposal and desires to create such an advisory committee;

Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved that the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors hereby creates the Mendocino County Climate Action Advisory Committee (“MCCAAC”) to make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors on implementation of a Mendocino County Sustainability and Climate Action Program aligned with the document entitled “Proposal for a Citizen-Driven Structure for the Mendocino County Climate Action Advisory Committee” attached hereto as exhibit A.

Membership

The MCCAAC shall consist of fifteen (15) members appointed by the Board of Supervisors. All members of the MCCAAC shall be Mendocino County residents, and no more than three (3) MCCAAC members shall be residents of any one supervisorial district at the time of their initial appointment. MCCAAC members shall serve a term of three (3) calendar years, except that in the first year of appointment, one MCCAAC member from each supervisorial district shall be appointed for a term ending December 31, 2020, one MCCAAC member from each supervisorial district shall be appointed for a term ending December 31, 2021, and one MCCAAC member from each supervisorial district shall be appointed for a term ending December 31, 2022.

Chair Pro-Tempore

The Board of Supervisors shall designate a chair pro-tempore, who shall call the first meeting of the MCCAAC. The first agenda shall include the election of officers and any other provisions required to govern the MCCAAC’s activities.

Bylaws

All meetings of the MCCAAC shall comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act and any other requirement of California law. Once the MCCAAC drafts written bylaws and procedures to address quorum, the election of officers, the schedule of meetings, the creation of focus groups, and such other topics as may be appropriate, the written bylaws and procedures shall be submitted to the Board of Supervisors for approval and adoption.

Vacancy

The Clerk of the Board of Supervisors shall be responsible for noticing vacancy of the available seats compromising the MCCAAC. The Clerk of the Board of shall be responsible for receiving and processing nominations to the Board of Supervisors and shall track the expiration of terms and notify appointees thereof of term expiration.

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From the accompanying letter from Ellen Drell:

“…The Willits Environmental Center is aware of the importance of a staff person for the Committee. However, we think that the Committee formation should go forward even though the questions of who will be hired, by what entity, at what cost, and for what specific job description remain unanswered. We feel that the answers to these questions will become clearer once the Committee is appointed, writes its bylaws and begins to delve into its work. Since the work of the Committee will be in essence to develop climate change mitigation proposals through research, outreach and collaboration with the public and other entities, the Committee will be in a better position to assist in the hiring of its staff support once it has convened. For this reason and others, we feel strongly that the Committee should be established and empowered to begin its work as soon as possible and not be delayed due to unanswered questions regarding its staff. We agree with the majority of the Board of Supervisors’ vote to allocate $7500 in the current budget as adequate to support the formation of the Committee at this time. These funds could be used for improving remote conferencing equipment to facilitate members’ meeting from far corners of the County when necessary, for example.”

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY — CONSOLING MR. WASHBURNE: My local librarians are down with the creeping (well no, galloping) authoritarianism. I can remember when the librarians took a stand against the violations of privacy and rights in the Patriotic Act, but things have changed a lot since then. They have professionally printed signs around the libraries, telling us where we can and cannot sit, and of course the required cameras. I read someplace where someone was asked how the Stasi enticed East Germans to inform on their neighbors, and the answer was they didn’t, the people just did it voluntarily. Everyone covets their own little bit of unearned authority. Everybody wants to be The Narc.

COUNTY CEO CARMEL ANGELO provided this “overview” of what the County is doing to prepare for PG&E planned wide-scape power shutdowns for next Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting:

Public Safety Power Shutoff (Psps) – Overview Of County Preparedness Activities

Mendocino County staff, under the direction of the Executive Office, has been working diligently on assisting the County’s preparedness for Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) since the new expanded PSPS program has been announced. Additionally, they have worked both externally with state and local partners as well as internally with county departments to help ensure a more coordinated preparedness and response effort. The County’s goal is to remain open and provide as many County services as possible to our community without interruption.

The County began preparation for continuity of business services upon being notified of PG&E’s potential Public Safety Power Shut off program in early 2019. Below is an outline of the County’s topical areas related to the PSPS program preparation to date.

Internal Continuity of County Business Services:

Departmental operations continuity of business services and preparedness

PSPS Preparedness Teams (Internal and External focus)

• Ongoing weekly meetings addressing preparedness

Technology Infrastructure

Facilities preparedness (facilities prioritization, Emergency Operation Center (EOC), Generators serving County facilities)

• Mobilization and placement of small generators in critical County operational areas

Fueling of County fleet, including emergency response/Sheriff’s Patrol Vehicles

Disaster preparedness and response plans (review/refresh)

Communications systems stability

External County Operations:

PSPS Preparedness Teams (Internal and External focus)

• Ongoing weekly meetings addressing preparedness

Public Service Announcements

Communications with the public

Community Preparedness Meetings

PSPS Resource Centers

Business communication

Fire District/Schools and Special District Outreach

Traffic flow

Environmental Health outreach

PG&E Medical baseline customers

Social Services outreach

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THIS IS ALL WELL & GOOD. But it’s missing two important components: One: What is PG&E expected to do for Mendo before, during and after the power goes out? And how is PG&E participating in the planning? Why does PG&E get a pass in all this? Doesn’t anybody expect anything of PG&E which is the cause of all this disruption?

AND TWO: Which county operations/offices will continue to operate and to what degree, and which will be closed due to power outages?

A PROPER WHEELCHAIR, PLEASE

Letter to the Editor,

On 14 June I went to the hospital in Fort Bragg for an x-ray of my ankle, which it turned out was fractured. Afterwards I was expected to walk to my car, which I had parked far away at the front entrance—so I requested a wheelchair. A wheelchair was brought, but it did not have footrests which was awkward and seemed odd. I googled “wheelchair safety,” and found this:

Wheelchair Safety

“We are preparing to file a lawsuit against an assisted living facility in Michigan which caused a severe injury to a resident when an aide attempted to push her in her wheelchair without the footrest intact. Our client sustained a severe fracture of her left ankle requiring surgery and an extended hospitalization. In a case we recently resolved, Greenway v. Petoskey Geriatric Village, Margaret Greenway died as a result of injuries sustained by her when she was catapulted from her wheelchair as she was being pushed by an aide down the hall without the footrest in place. Footrests are a commonsense safety device for use with wheelchairs to prevent serious lower extremity injuries. Wheelchairs are intended to assist patients in a medical setting who cannot walk on their own. Wheelchair safety must be practiced by healthcare providers who should never assume that it is acceptable to push somebody in a wheelchair without footrests.”

I sent this information to the hospital but have yet to hear from anyone there, and when I returned to the hospital’s radiology department on July 1 for another x-ray, I noticed three wheelchairs in a row in the waiting room there: one had footrests, but two lacked footrests.

Beware… If you notice crippled wheelchairs anywhere—don’t ride in them—complain. Perhaps together we can prevent needless harm to patients at our hospital and elsewhere.

Bettylou Whaley

Fort Bragg

MARK SCARAMELLA NOTES: I couldn’t agree more. When my brother was dying of cancer and had to be moved in a wheelchair to a variety of doctor visits and appointments over a period of months he had increasing difficulty controlling his legs. While guiding his chair down a ramp in Ukiah one day, one of his feet somehow came off the footrest and hit the rough surface of the ramp. He was unable to lift his foot back on to the footrest and we came close to either breaking or straining his foot or tipping over forward due to his foot catching on the ramp. Footrests (most of which fold up if not desired) are absolutely essential to the safe movement of people in wheelchairs.

SUPPORT OUR LOCAL VOLUNTEERS

Editor,

Operating since 1984 the Anderson Valley Volunteer Firefighter’s Association (AVVFFA) is a group of dedicated community members with the task of raising funds to provide for the wellbeing of our local volunteers who make up the Anderson Valley Fire Department (AVFD). The majority of the money we can work with comes from YOU, the community members. As a result of your generosity the Association was able to contribute to the purchase of the new Wildland Engine 7471 and support the crew in their training. The AVFD’s focus is to provide the best response possible to the needs in the Valley, be it medical, traffic collisions, or fire. Your generous giving is a reflection of the trust you have placed in our personnel.

The annual report of the AVVFFA is now available for viewing at the Boonville fire station. The report contains a list of contributors as well as our annual budget from 2018. While you are there, take a moment to tour the engine bay and see our recent additions, 7471 and water tender 7491.

With much gratitude,

Kyle Clarke, representing the Board of Directors

Philo

NEED HELP WITH MARKET APPLE PRESS

Apple season is fast approaching and the Foodshed apple press needs people to help transport it to market and oversee its use on Friday evenings at the Boonville Farmers’ Market. If you can help in this capacity one or more times this season, please call Cindy at 895-2949 or email wildeacre@gmail.com.

GOOD FARM FUND MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S FEAST

Tuesday July 23, 2019 at Yokayo Ranch, Ukiah

A Midsummer Night’s Feast is a fabulous showcase of our region’s best food & culinary talent, featuring the people who feed our community, from shovel to fork. Local food doesn’t get better than this. In one summer evening we bring together 20 of the area’s “local-food-forward” chefs and pair them up with our best local farms and ranches to collaborate on one of a kind seasonal plates. Libations will include local beer, wines, designer mocktails, and the crowd-favorite craft cocktails made with locally distilled spirits from American Craft Whiskey Distillery. Hosted outdoors at the beautiful & historic Yokayo Ranch in Ukiah, this evening also includes live music plus a silent auction.

LONG ARM OF LAW CATCHES UP WITH WASHINGTON WOMAN — LED POLICE ON COASTAL CHASE, STOLE CAR, OUT ON BAIL AGAIN

The seemingly never-ending saga of a woman visiting the coast from Bellingham, Washington added another chapter as we noted her booking photo at the Mendocino County Jail website on Wednesday.

So far, Marcy Cohen has racked up four felonies & two misdemeanors in four days. Her first jail stay after a chase down Highway 1 (Friday, June 28th) was for 12 hours (one felony & one misdemeanor); the second arrest (by Ukiah CHP Tuesday @ 4:27 pm) a mere nine hours later (three felonies, one misdemeanor).

The latest charges include:

Felony: Possession Of Stolen Vehicle; Grand Theft Auto & Embezzlement. Misdemeanor - Stolen Vehicle

The bail was set at only $15,000 — and it appears she was released for $0.00 Wednesday @ 1:22 am.

Here is MSP’s prior coverage of Ms. Marcy Cohen:

MSP'S 'And How Did Your Mendo Coast Vacation Go?' Department

The 53-year-old Washington State woman who was the object of a "felony stop" Friday by coast law enforcement spent 12 hours in custody before being released "without bond."

Of course, anyone who appears in the Mendocino County jail booking site should be presumed innocent unless/until proven guilty in a court of law.

The incident started out with the 7:25 am report of a woman headed southbound in a burgundy Subaru hatchback on the Highway 1 at the Lt Charles L Larson Memorial bridge in Fort Bragg "at one mile-per-hour with a dog on her lap."

That resulted — somehow — in the vehicle being attempted to be pulled over by CHP on Highway 20, but it continued on to Highway 1 and headed south until finally being stopped near the Jack Peters bridge on Hwy 1 near Lansing Street, Mendocino.

According to the records at the Mendocino Jail, the 55-year-old Bellingham, Washington woman was arrested by the CHP Friday @ 8:34 am, booked on one felony (Resisting/delaying an officer) and one misdemeanor (Evading a peace officer) charges @ 11:42 am, had her booking photo taken @ 8:30 pm and was released (no bond) @ 8:47 pm.

In Addition:

We also believe after she was released, she was the person involved in this incident in Fort Bragg Friday night:

9:55 PM - Suspicious Person, 191 South St (Seabird Lodge), Rp Reporting Female At Location Causing A Disturbance & Refusing To Leave / Subject Contacted & Agreed To Stay In Her Room The Rest Of The Night.

It sounded like she was to be evaluated for 5150 (Danger to self or others). One person near the scene said it sounded like the woman was visiting the area after a friend committed suicide a few days ago.”

MSP Saturday, June 29

The Continuing Saga Of The Washington Woman ?

We're not positive, but scanner traffic is indicating the saga of the Washington woman involved in a Highway 1 "felony stop" is far from over.

MSP got a message from a viewer @ 3:30 pm saying, "Sounds like the woman is in trouble again. They are looking for someone involved in a pursuit yesterday and is on the way to the animal shelter in Ukiah. Unless I'm hearing cross traffic it sounded like maybe she stole a car."

Sure enough, MSP heard a dispatch to law enforcement to "Be On the Lookout" for a 2014 silver Dodge Dart stolen from Fort Bragg Sport Chrysler Jeep Dodge. We believe they said the plate number was CA 6WSE690. It was believed to be headed east on Highway 20 to Ukiah.

And so it goes…we are awaiting word via the scanner of ANOTHER pursuit on either Highway 20 or US-101…

More Info:

Although we can't divulge our sources, it is believed the woman took the car from the Fort Bragg dealership around 12:30 pm and picked up her dog at 1:30 from the Fort Bragg animal shelter. That means she was driving a LOT faster than 5 mph today.

And the question is: is she headed home to Bellingham, Washington now that her Mendocino coast vacation has come to a conclusion?

Bellingham is a 13 hour, 49 minutes (827.4 miles) drive from Ukiah.

Who Is This Woman?

MSP received this comment in one of our posts on Ms. Cohen:

“(I’m) here to tell you that yes, in fact this was her second career and she is suffering from a severe psychotic breakdown in the last two months. How do I know? She's been one of my best friends for almost 19 years and she moved from Washington, staying with me temporarily in Fort Bragg, possibly to relocate to Santa Rosa. I tried to help her get some mental health care and she refused. Never in my wildest imagination could I ever think this was a situation she'd ever be involved! I pray that this rock bottom finds a way for her to get the help she needs, without harm to herself or anyone else.”

(MendocinoSportsPlus)

VOLUNTEER WEED WHACKING/TREE LIMBING PARTY for fire safety at the KZYX studios in Philo this week

Here’s a last-minute announcement from the Anderson Valley Firesafe Council and KZYX. Thanks in large part to the wonderful folks at the Land Wellness and Retreat Center in Philo, we will have a weed whacking & tree limbing party at the Philo studios of KZYX on both Thursday and Friday mornings, July 11 & 12, from 7 to 11 am. We’d love to have as many participants as we can, so come on out!

At the most recent meeting of the AV Firesafe Council meeting, Angela DeWitt, Battalion Chief of the AV Volunteer Fire Department made a point of commenting about the importance of KZYX as a county-wide source of information in times of emergency. Angela also noted that the grounds around the studios were badly in need of weed whacking and limbing to ensure the station’s safety.

“Perhaps this group could take that on,” she concluded.

The Land’s representatives put their hands up immediately, and after consultation with KZYX staff, the plans are set. This all came together quickly. Hence the late notice. But if you have the time and inclination Thursday or Friday morning, please come out and join us. There is a lot of work to be done, and the station is an important resource to protect.

If you can come, bring your weed whacker and your lopper if you can, but you don’t need equipment to help. Please note that station management has requested that we not use chain saws due to liability issues.

In addition, the crew is going to need a way to haul the brush/limbs off of the KZYX grounds, so if you've got a way to help with that (and/or if you have a chipper!) please let us know.

You don’t have to come for both days, and you don’t have to stay for the entire four hours each day, either. Whatever time and effort you can chip in will be great!

Questions? Please contact Renee of the KZYX staff via email at membership@kzyx.org.

ED NOTES

THINKING BACK to the 4th's of my youth, they were much wilder events than now, now that lawyers and accountants decide what we can and cannot do at public celebrations. The 4th in Boonville, for instance, is designed for children — bouncy houses but no beer, no fireworks, home by 5pm. In 1948, the 4th's in Larkspur were highlighted by a water fight between the Larkspur and Corte Madera volunteer fire departments, and by water fight I don't mean they lobbed water balloons at each other. The opposing trucks staged at opposite ends of a long street. At "GO!" they roared to hydrants. The first truck to hook their hose to a hydrant washed the other department down the street, full blast. Nobody got hurt — everyone was drunk — but it was positively thrilling for us little kids to see our authority figures hurling good natured insults at each other as they were washed down the street. I particularly remember one water fight because my neighbor, Mario Schenone, couldn't find the Corte Madera's hydrant wrench, and CM, tumbling down the street at the wrong end of Larkspur's fire hose, was still loudly denouncing Shenone that afternoon at the barbecue.

A WOMAN WHO'D been plowing through our website was concerned: "I am considering moving up there for a job opportunity and am a bit concerned I might wind up in a backwards, Deliverance, kinda place. The way I figured I'd learn more was to read local opinions about divisive issues. I saw this blurb and wondered whether the writer understood that some girls are born with penises and some boys with vaginas, or whether the writer mistakenly believed transgender kids need conversion therapy. I figured it out, though. I read through too fast earlier. Is there a complete lack of understanding up there when it comes to transgender kids or is that just one writer's opinion?"

AS THIS COMMUNITY'S Welcome Wagon, I took pains to allay the apprehensive dear's worst fears that she might be moving to… "This place is a gastro-manical paradise, plus tons of lib-labs of the NPR type and plenty of boys with and without penises."

ANOTHER NEWSPAPER gone, this one the venerable Youngstown Vindicator, the newspaper that brought down any number of crooked elected officials including the biggest crook of all, Trafficant, who's still whining that the paper maligned him. Established in 1869, the paper limped along in the counter-deluge of FaceTube but simply ran out of people who still read.

SUNNY'S DONUTS on deep South State Street was quiet this morning. "Where you have your party today," Maria, the always merry counter lady asks, and unlike most clerks she waits for an answer like she's interested, which she seems to be. I reply with the deflating minimum. "At my house." Then she says, "If I forget your name you get a free one, Mike. And you get a free one on your birthday, too." I ask her to guess my age. Maria takes a real look, ponders the wreckage she sees before her, and offers, "63?" "Close enough," I lie, but my name is Bruce. "It's free today, Bruce," she says, "because you remembered my name, but I forgot yours." I pay up. "You got my age right, though, so it's a tie."

FARTHER SOUTH, hundreds of cars and big, shiny, tank-size pick-up trucks lined 101 between Squaw Rock, aka Frog Woman Rock, and Cloverdale as shoals of picnickers make their way to the banks of the Russian River, by far the most glorious people's park in California.

AT SANTA ROSA, northbound traffic is bumper-to-bumper, and stays that way all the way to Novato just like a work day commute. Where could all these people be going on a holiday?

I'M LISTENING to Chernow's hagiographic biography of Ulysses Grant, but hagio and all, Grant's life begs the question: What happened? How did we go from Lincoln and Grant to this sorry collection of grifters and corporate bagmen in only a hundred and fifty years? But Grant's presidency was injured by the crooks around him, and Lincoln was succeeded by Andrew Johnson, a closet Confederate, and round and round we go.

AS A STUDENT of the grotesque, I was disappointed in Trump's gala on the Washington Mall. Only two tanks? A puny fly over? Meanwhile, over at Public Television, we got the Muppets and muzak. I expected back-to-back Super Bowl half-time shows, but these events didn't even register on the vulgar meter.

THE WAY WE LIVE NOW: For rent, located just 1/2 mile south and a little east of the Botanical Gardens, this rental is up a dirt road giving lots of privacy, just a few minutes from Fort Bragg and about a 12 minute drive to Mendocino. There's wood stove heat + efficient supplemental electric heaters, gas stove, beautiful garden as well as a small pond. It's partially furnished. Pets are negotiable. Stackable Washer/Dryer. Looking for long-term responsible and conscientious tenants with work & personal references/good credit. Rent = $2000/month + utilities Please CALL for more info. 510-323-5257 Will be interviewing prospective tenants July 6th & 7th.

CATCH OF THE DAY, JULY 4, 2019

BRITTON AZBILL JR., Covelo. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, county parole violation.

MICHAEL BEERS, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

CRYSTAL CRADDOCK, Ukiah. Paraphernalia, probation revocation.

JESTIN GOTT, Redwood Valley. Concealed dirk-dagger, controlled substance.

JACOB HEATH, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, resisting. (Frequent flyer.)

LLOYD HOAGLEN, Covelo. DUI, misdemeanor hit&run with property damage.

DAVID JOAQUIN, Covelo. Parole violation.

KIRK JOHNSON, Willits. Domestic abuse.

JUAN MAGALLON, Ukiah. Domestic abuse.

ELEVTERIO MONTALVO-PEREZ, Ukiah. Domestic battery, probation revocation.

TRISTA PHARES, Ukiah. Controlled substance, disobeying court order, failure to appear.

MIGUEL PINEDA, Ukiah. DUI, taking vehicle without owner’s consent, controlled substance, paraphernalia, probation revocation.

JASON RAICA, Westport. Disobeying court order, failure to appear..

DAVID SIMPSON, Ukiah. Battery with serious bodily injury, disobeying court order, failure to appear, probation revocation.

ROBERT STOVER, Fort Bragg. Robbery, probation revocation.

DANIEL YEOMANS, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, probation revocation. (Frequent Flyer)

EUREKA, 2011

by Crawdad Nelson

Eureka has a steamy, half starved look, especially late in the year from the second story as I turn to my right and stare out the window, stuck on a phrase or worse.

A generation or two earlier, the neighborhood was full of workers, fishermen, whores, gamblers, resident or gypsy loggers, and travelers meeting the ferry.

Tonight, with traffic rerouted and the workers gone, Old Town is not just the end of the world but somewhere beyond. I had walked my usual course to the ‘1091,’ the sad naval grey service vessel moored up the channel from Okd Town, then downstream along the water to the oyster factory before returning up Two Street. The usual derelicts and oddballs were on foot and a few well-fed touri.

I was alert for dangerous behavior but nothing came after me. I stopped to get coffee and lecherously admired the shapely barista. Drinking from the paper cup, I came up the alley, still a little euphoric because she had fingered my palm as I handed her the dollar bill, or at least it felt like she had.

If I stand still with the lights off in the room, the office remains half lit with leftover glare from a street lamp on the corner, and I am more subtly aware of minute showers of grainy mortar as the brick interior wall slowly self-pulverizes and covers every surface with fine grit, unveiling an obscure layer of paneling under lath and plaster. The sound of mortar falling, or finding a bit of it, like sand, on a poem I have abandoned and laws, fills me with an emotion similar to love.

The magazine is arrayed on slant boards, half done, with the blue hatching underlying pasted-in sections of type and art. Some parts of the story are complete and understood. I can supply the details and give directions. But there are empty rectangles, where the narrative is not only unknown but unsuspected. I can think of my own past only in halftones. The future is a gap.

Now, as I indulge in late-night strolls along the waterfront, where the wharf buildings are still standing, perched on rotted decks — remaining planks more treacherous than missing ones — I have to be on the lookout for my own eyes looking back from shadows. When wind peels the shadow off water there I am in the mud puddle or immaculate channel, looking into myself as though I know my own secrets, one of which is that I have become, miraculously perhaps, a psychopathic killer.

Twice a day, high water surges beneath those complex walls and passages, stretching hundreds of yards between collapsed docks, green water with gull feathers twirling against the light scum on ancient tar coating stuibbed off pilings. Instead of any number of useful, up-to-the-minute things I should be doing, I spend hours looking at the fragments of the old dock and warehouses, daydreaming, fatally, about what has happened already and leaving the future to others.

The classic mistake of the student is to presume there are beginnings and endings to stories. That was what I looked for by tearing into the framework of history. There is only a short breathless pause, at the maximum flood tide, when a photographer, but not a painter, might record an apparent culmination. But what rushes in to enlarge the day before noon will rush out later to drain it. Only the mud seems permanent, just kind of sitting out there.

The one time I slipped around the intimidating facade of crumbling walls, pasted with generations of trespass warnings, and truly explored the warrens of abandoned warehouses and nameless empty rooms, each with a heap of planks, lath and plaster in the center of the floor, fully equipped with lost pornography, black plastic bags of clothing, liquor bottles, and needles, I realized what is wrong with the world. It's all founded on treachery and murder.

There was a salty, sandy quality to the bedroll on the damp mattress, and a pile of black plastic bags stuffed with clothing which had been patiently gathered, probably during a long career of midnight raids over the fence behind St. Vincent de Paul. But it was far worse than just useless. The tangible evidence of dreadful musings: porn images cut in two or with neat punctures to heart and crotch. Boobs cut away; general, but clearly thoughtful, mayhem.

I stepped quickly back into daylight and skirted the dangerous scrap of dock.

My doppelganger made his desperado hideouts in such places, crashed on the damp mattress, and no doubt skulked, unsuspected, spying from blank windows and sunken passages upon the daylight world of Old Town, on the same innocents whose probabilities I assessed from the cafe table. And on me.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 1964

STATE WATER BOARD REPORT DOCUMENTS OIL INDUSTRY POLLUTANTS IN KERN COUNTY WATER SUPPLY

by Dan Bacher

California officials have allowed the oil and gas industry to pollute drinking water wells while expanding drilling in recent years, exposing the constant touting of the state as the nation’s “green leader” by state officials and many media outlets as an unsupportable false narrative.

A new report released by the State Water Resources Control Board, entitled “2018 Annual Performance Report: Model Criteria for Groundwater Monitoring in Areas of Oil and Gas Well Stimulation,” documents the presence of oil industry pollutants in water-supply wells in Kern County.

The chemicals detected at elevated levels include arsenic, barium and boron.

“Within the (oil) fields, multiple lines of geochemical evidence indicated overlying groundwater is mixing with oil field fluids,” according to the report. “This result may be expected considering the vertical (less than 140 m) and lateral proximity of sampled wells to oil-bearing formations and production activities.”

The report, released on April 5, 2019, covers the reporting period from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018.

A PDF of the report is available here: www.indybay.org/…

The report also documented a recent increase in hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) near protected groundwater in California.

“Here’s more proof that California’s dirty oil production is polluting our precious groundwater,” said Hollin Kretzmann, a senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. “You’d think the water boards would take immediate action to protect our water from further contamination, but when it comes to the oil industry, they routinely look the other way.”

The preliminary results were part of groundwater monitoring mandated by California Senate Bill 4, dubbed the “green light to fracking bill” by opponents, to determine the effects of fracking on groundwater.

The controversial bill, signed by Governor Jerry Brown in September 2013, was opposed by most conservation and environmental groups, although big environmental NGOs including the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the California League of Conservation Voters and the Environmental Defense Fund backed the bill until the very last minute when it was gutted under intense lobbying by the Western States Petroleum Association and Big Oil.

Though the report is unclear on whether the detected pollutants are from fracking operations, there were “multiple lines of geochemical evidence” showing oil-industry contaminants have co-mingled with nearby sources of protected groundwater, said Kretzman.

The water board stated that pollution is “expected” given how close water wells are to oil and gas activities. It also deemed it “likely” that unlined oil-industry wastewater pits caused some of the water pollution.

“California is the only state with significant oil production that allows wastewater to be dumped into unlined pits, and independent scientists have called for the state to phase out this practice. The regional water boards still allow toxic wastewater discharges to continue at hundreds of wastewater pits,” said Kretzman.

The report also revealed that fracking has increased in areas with protected groundwater.” In 2017 oil companies submitted 12 proposed groundwater monitoring plans that, if approved, would allow fracking near valuable groundwater resources. In 2018 that number doubled to 24,” he said.

“Fracking and oil-waste fluids can contain high levels of benzene and other cancer-causing chemicals,” according to Kreutzman. “A 2015 study from the California Council on Science and Technology concluded that fracking in California happens at unusually shallow depths, dangerously close to underground drinking water supplies, with unusually high concentrations of dangerous contaminants. The study also concluded that groundwater monitoring alone is inadequate to protect water and that shallow fracking should be prohibited unless it can be proven safe.”

The report was issued at a time when state regulators are approving big numbers of permits for new oil and gas wells in California. A review of state permitting records in the report “The Sky’s The Limit: California,” shows that more than 21,000 drilling permits for oil and gas wells were issued during the Brown administration. These wells include 238 new offshore wells approved between 2012 and 2016 alone, according to Department of Conservation data analyzed by the Fractracker Alliance: www.fractracker.org/…

What the State Water Resources Control Board report didn't reveal is WHY California regulators have allowed oil companies to pollute water supplies in Kern County for many years. This apparent violation of environmental laws protecting aquifers and the public from oil industry pollution is the direct result of deep regulatory capture in California, from top to bottom.

The most powerful corporate lobbying group in California, the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), has topped lobbying spending in California most years. In 2018 the group was the second-highest spender for the year, only trumped by the nearly $10 million spent by PG&E lobbying stateofficials.

WSPA spent $7,874, 807 to influence California government officials in 2018. The powerful association spent all of its money in the 2017-2018 session on general lobbying, with nothing spent on the CPUC. Of the four quarters, WSPA spent its most money lobbying, $2,649,018, in the eighth quarter, from October 1 to December 31, 2018.

The Western States Petroleum Association is led by President Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the former chair of the controversial Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force to create so-called “marine protected areas” in Southern California.

For the entire 2017-2018 Session, WSPA spent a total of $15,768,069.

WSPA represents a who’s who of oil companies, including oil giants BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon, Shell, Valero and many others. The companies that WSPA represents account for the bulk of petroleum exploration, production, refining, transportation and marketing in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, according to the WSPA website, www.wspa.org.

Chevron and its subsidiaries took third place in the “lobbying competition” in 2018, spending around $4 million on lobbying.

Over the past decade, WSPA and Big Oil have topped the list of spenders on lobbying the Legislature in California. During the 2015-2016 Legislative Session, the oil industry spent a historic $36.1 million to lobby lawmakers and officials in California.

WSPA was the top overall oil industry spender during the 2015-16 session, spending $18.7 million. Chevron, the second overall oil industry spender, spent $7 million in the 2015-16 session.

In 2017, Big Oil also dominated three out of the four top spots of expenditures by all lobbying organizations. Chevron placed first with $8.2 million and the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) placed second with $6.2 million. The Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company finished fourth with $3.2 million.

That’s a total of $17.6 million dumped into lobbying by the three top oil industry lobbying organizations alone. That figure exceeds the $14,577,314 expended by all 16 oil lobby organizations in 2016.

In the first six months of 2017, the oil industry spent more on lobbying in California, $16,360,618, than was spent by the industry in all of 2016, $16.0 million.

WSPA and Big Oil wield their power in 6 major ways: through (1) lobbying; (2) campaign spending; (3) serving on and putting shills on regulatory panels; (4) creating Astroturf groups: (5) working in collaboration with media; and (6) contributing to non profit organizations.

Because of this money and the power that Big Oil wields in California, the Jerry Brown administration, in stark contrast with its “green” facade, issued over 21,000 new oil and gas drilling permits in California. That include more than 200 permits for offshore wells in state waters -- wells within 3 miles of the California coast.

In addition, the state of California under Brown — and now under Gavin Newson - controls four times as many offshore oil wells in state waters as Trump’s federal government controls in California. You can view the map showing the location of wells here: http://brownvtrumpoilmap.org.

This money and power also allowed allowed the oil industry to write the cap-and-trade bill, AB 398, that Governor Brown signed in September 2017, as well as to twice defeat a bill to protect a South Coast marine protected area from offshore drilling.

Ironically, the same WSPA president that led the charge to defeat a bill to protect the Vandenberg State Marine Reserve from offshore oil drilling CHAIRED the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force to create “marine protected areas” on the South Coast.

DRAFT CALIFORNIA SUICIDE PREVENTION PLAN available for public comment

https://mhsoac.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2019-07/Suicide%20Prevention%20Plan_v8_062619%20MS.pdf

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FIREWORKS AND RACING ACTION INDEPENDENCE WEEKEND

Local residents can celebrate America’s Independence with an exciting night of racing and fireworks happening at Ukiah Speedway Independence Day weekend.

Thanks to the generous contributions from Lake County Tribal Health, Friedman’s Home Improvement and Community First Credit Union, with support from Furia Construction, Max 93.5 FM, 94.5 Kwine, and Bicoastal Media fireworks will be taking place at dusk at Ukiah Speedway on Saturday July 6th.

Engines will be revving Saturday in Ukiah where the racing continues featuring the BCRA Midgets, Vintage Midgets, Focus Midgets, Sprint Cars, Pro 4 Modifieds, Limited Modifieds, and Bombers. Gates will open at each track at 3:30PM and racing will begin at 6:00PM with the exciting ground show fireworks happening during the program on Saturday night.

Race Promoter, David Furia has been the mastermind behind bringing the fireworks to the speedway. It is thanks to his dedication to patriotism that Ukiah has had fireworks for the last 6 years. Furia is excited about this years show and says, “The show is an incredible in your face display of fireworks and pyrotechnics. The style of fireworks that will be presented will astound and amaze every person in the grandstands. This will be the fireworks show that will make people wish they had been there. The crew puts on a great show and we have never been disappointed.”

Tickets to either race are $15 for Adults, Seniors and Students $12, Children 6 to 11 $8 and Children 5 and under are admitted free. There will be a $5 fee for parking in the Ukiah fairgrounds parking lot. However, the parking stub is redeemable at the ticket gate for $5 off one gate entry for the race and fireworks show.

Support local economy and support the local businesses that have made this all possible. A win all the way around! Make plans now to attend racing and fireworks at Ukiah Speedway July 6th.

(Ukiah Speedway presser)

HOUSE ON TELEGRAPH HILL, San Francisco 4th of July, 2019

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