MCT: Wednesday, September 11, 2019

• Fair Weather
• Abreu Opinion
• CoCo Resignation
• Supes Notes
• Solar Apprentice
• Medical Baseline
• Sailing Yarns
• Two-Basin Solution
• Ed Notes
• Yesterday's Catch
• Great Strike
• Customers Only
• Poor Parenting
• Tabloid Respect
• Climate Strike
• Union Officers
• Abandoned Wells
• Mo Memo
• Lightning Rainbow
• Eternal Rambler
• Mudslide Tussle
• Flow-Kana Investigation
• Immigration Proposal
• Posey
• Found Object

HOT FAIR WEATHER coming up. Below average temps will continue on Wednesday, but typical summer weather will return on Thursday with inland highs reaching the mid-90s, followed by high 90s for the first day of the Boonville fair on Friday and more 90s Saturday. On Sunday, below normal temps in the 80s will return and continue into next week. Light winds.

GOOD NEWS FOR TAI ABREU. In a ten-page opinion, Judge Ann Moorman has ruled that the legislature’s revision of the California Murder Rule is Constitutional. The judge's exhaustive opinion basically says that SB 1437 is lawful. Passed into law in January by the California State Legislature, the new legislation permits persons convicted of murder, if they were not the actual killer, to have their convictions vacated and re-sentenced. In Abreu's case, DA Eyster has made it clear that he will argue for continuing Abreu's murder sentence of life without the possibility of parole, apparently in the belief that he can prove Abreu not only knew the victim would be killed but participated in his murder. Based on the known facts of the case, the DA's conclusion is fanciful, to say the least, not to even mention that Abreu, 19 at the time, received the least competent defense perhaps in the history of the state, a farce of a one-day trial during which his court-appointed attorney said her doomed "client" was guilty as charged and called no witnesses on his behalf. Abreu, who has been a model prisoner during his nearly 20 years of incarceration, will be back on court at 9am, Friday, September 27th.

Background:

Here is the link for the whole story: www.theava.com/05/1221-perezcase.html

A shorter version: counterpunch.org/2004/05/29/is-l-wop-truly-forever-the-awful-injustice-to-tai-abreu/

Another shorter version (scroll down for the items on Tai Abreu): www.theava.com/04/0526-otr-tai-abreu.html

JUDGE MOORMAN'S opinion seems careful unto excruciating. I doubt DA Eyster and the Orange County savants he admires who came up with the bogus constitutional arguments will be eager to try to refute the judge's research and citations, which seem, at least to this reader, so well done they just might be the defining argument that finally wins in the higher courts.

SUPES MAKE IT OFFICIAL

The following fact-free tribute/send-off presser was distributed on Tuesday:

Katharine L. Elliott to Resign as Mendocino County Counsel for New Position in Nevada County

The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors announced Tuesday that Katharine L. Elliott will be resigning as Mendocino County Counsel as of October 18, 2019 to take a new position as County Counsel for Nevada County beginning on November 1, 2019.

Ms. Elliott was hired as a Deputy County Counsel on April 26, 2015 after leaving private practice for the public sector. She then served as Acting County Counsel from October 25, 2015, until she was selected as the permanent County Counsel on March 15, 2016. While in Mendocino County, Ms. Elliott oversaw the adoption and implementation of the County’s cannabis ordinances including cultivation, dispensaries and taxes. In addition, she advised the County on the creation of protocols and resolutions in response to several wildfire events, and advised County departments, special districts and commissions on legal matters.

Ms. Elliott commented to the Board on her resignation, “I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the Board of Supervisors for putting their trust in me over these years. I have enjoyed serving Mendocino County and have appreciated the opportunity to work with each of you. Your dedication to this community has been inspiring. After living in this community for twenty-one years, it is difficult to leave, but I believe that I am leaving you in good hands and will do everything I can to assist in the transition.”

First District Supervisor Carre Brown remarked, “Ms. Elliott has been a committed leader during her tenure as County Counsel for the County of Mendocino. Her knowledge, experience and focus has been invaluable to the County, and I know that she will serve Nevada County with the same dedication she has shown to our Board these last four years.”

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

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Assistant County Counsel Christian Curtis has been named Acting County Counsel for the time being effective in October.

SUPES NOTES

(by Mark Scaramella)

AS EXPECTED The Supervisors approved the fishy buyback of the Redwood Quality Management Service Orchard Ave property on the Consent Calendar Tuesday morning without comment or question. So we will begin preparing a public records act request for related and prior documents.

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THE “FACT SHEET” from the County’s shared private attorney rep at the CPUC hearings was briefly discussed Tuesday, despite its contents being at odds with the PG&E and Public Utilities Commission reps previous presentations. Supervisor John McCowen bemoaned the fact that the “requirements” being imposed on PG&E for Public Safety Power Shutoffs in “Phase 2” should have been imposed in Phase 1. But otherwise nobody seemed to be bothered by the “fact” that none of the points in the “fact sheet” were mentioned by the PUC and PG&E reps at their prior appearances when the Board grilled them.

JIM DONNELLY, former Assistant Ag Commissioner now Acting Ag Commissioner in the wake of the unexplained departure of yet another Ag Commissioner, Harinder Grewal, appeared before the Supes to discuss the possible allowance of non-psychoactive hemp to be grown in Mendo. After the usual aimless discussion the Board fobbed the question off to the existing “cannabis economic development” ad hoc committee of Supervisors Ted Williams and Dan Gjerde with support from staff. The idea, as far as we could tell, is that some “farmers” want to grow industrial hemp but the County has to “protect” the psychoative pot growers from the harmful (i.e., neutralizing) effects of wind-blown male pollen from the hemp plants. It’s a confusing subject that we’re sure the Board and staff will handle in their usual muddled way which will wind up costing more money to “protect” than it’s worth.

A REAL OPPORTUNITY HERE

Solar apprentice sought

Looking for energetic aspiring solar energy persons to learn by doing in residential construction projects. Must have keen interest in solar system design, panel installation, Lion battery pack construction, and related aspects of solar electricity generation. Call Chuck Henderson, 707-884-1769 or chuck@fishrock.com

A READER WRITES:

I have sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine when I sleep. My sleep doctor informed me of a program at PG&E that raises the the baseline allowance if one uses a qualified medical device. It's pretty easy to apply, there is a two page form at PG&E's website. The doctor fills out one page and you fill out the other, then send both to PG&E. I was approved in less than two weeks. It's always nice to save a couple of bucks. This program is not something that PG&E advertises and you might have readers that can use the info.

Here's the link - https://www.pge.com/en_US/residential/save-energy-money/help-paying-your-bill/longer-term-assistance/medical-condition-related/medical-baseline-allowance/medical-baseline-allowance.page

SUNDAY WITH NORMAN

Sunday Afternoon at the Kelley House Museum With Norman de Vall.

Hear about Norman’s 6-month long transatlantic voyage in 1969 as master of the Sailing Vessel ‘Fri,’ The Last Sailing Cargo Ship from North Europe to San Francisco.”

Sunday, September 15th at 4:30pm

Kelley House Museum - 45007 Albion Street, Mendocino

Members $5.00 / Non members $7.00 / New memberships welcome

Kelley House Museum

PO Box 922

45007 Albion Street

Mendocino, CA 95460

707-937-5791

WHAT IS THE 'TWO-BASIN SOLUTION' and why is it important?

by Friends of the Eel River

FOER and many other stakeholders in the Eel and Russian River watersheds are working together on a 'two-basin solution'.

We had a fantastic summer filled with guided hikes, progress on important work protecting the Eel River, and of course visiting communities throughout the watershed and chatting about our shared love for this incredible ecosystem. FOER is currently working for the river on the following fronts:

We continue to work toward a 'two-basin solution' that necessitates volitional fish passage past Scott dam. Several years of expert analysis is currently being culminated into a final report thanks to the work of Congressman Huffman's Ad Hoc stakeholders group. You can find their meeting notes and details about fish passage scenarios HERE.

The California legislature is moving swiftly to untangle the financial mess of the North Coast Railroad Authority as they work toward shutting down the entity and transitioning the focus to the Great Redwood Trail.

We are working toward settling our case with Humboldt County over their cannabis regulations and hope to create opportunities for more restoration work in the Eel River.

Other important work continues to advance: state and federal agencies are moving forward with status reviews of Northern California summer steelhead, and after several years of waiting the Department of Water Resources has decided to not approve Humboldt County's "alternative" to a groundwater sustainability plan.

This work is all made possible with your support and the efforts of several excellent volunteers. If you're interested in joining our team of volunteers, please click Here to sign up for a shift in our booth at the North Country Fair.

What Is The 'Two-Basin Solution'?

In 2017 when PG&E began relicensing the Potter Valley Project, Congressman Huffman convened a stakeholder group that agreed to work toward a 'two-basin solution' based on two 'co-equal goals'. These goals broadly reflect desires to improve fish passage and habitat in the Eel River while avoiding adverse impacts to water supply reliability in the Russian River.

Fish Passage

Improve fish passage and habitat on the Eel River sufficient to support recovery of naturally reproducing, self-sustaining and harvestable native anadromous fish populations including migratory access upstream and downstream at current project dam locations.

Water Supply

Minimize or avoid adverse impacts to water supply reliability, fisheries, water quality and recreation in the Russian River and Eel River basins.

How has FOER shifted our position?

FOER used to take the position that the out-of-basin diversion needs to end. Since joining the stakeholder group two years ago we have changed our position to align with the goals of Congressman Huffman's group. We have been working in good faith toward a 'two-basin solution' that meets both fisheries recovery and water supply goals.

How have water supply entities shifted position?

Some haven't. Some entities participating in Congressman Huffman's stakeholder group continue to demand that Scott Dam remain in place. This is despite the years-long work of the fish passage technical working group, a committee from Huffman's stakeholder group, which has compiled expert analysis of fish passage scenarios that show dam removal as the most feasible path to volitional fish passage.

What you can do?

If you live in Mendocino, Lake, or Sonoma counties please reach out to your elected representatives. Let them know that you support a two-basin solution that provides volitional fish passage in the Eel River and continued water diversions to the Russian River. Tell them that you support their efforts to reach a deal, and that you don't want your dry-year water supply to be threatened by bad faith negotiations.

ED NOTES

A LITTLE LIE causes a huge hullabaloo. Officer Jacob Jones told his boss he'd taken photos of a dead dog. He hadn't, but cops are sworn to tell the truth in matters large and small, and this seemingly small matter blew up into not only Officer Jones’s dismissal from the Eureka PD, a number of cases involving him have had to be dismissed by the HumCo DA. Under the Brady Law once an officer is impeached as untruthful, for court purposes he's untruthful forever. The Jones matter has also blown up in Willits where Jones, fired by Eureka, was soon hired by Willits PD Chief Scott Warnock with Warnock's apparent foreknowledge of Jones's difficulties in Eureka, which could result in Jones's and Warnock's dismissals. The text below Jones's photo is from a story in the Northcoast Journal by the excellent Thadeus Greenson:

Eureka Police Officer Jacob Jones had been on the force about a year and a half when, shortly before 6 p.m. on May 25, 2018, he was dispatched to a report of a potential weapons violation. About 40 minutes earlier, a 46-year-old man had opened the back door of his Eureka residence to call in his dogs. When one dog — described in police reports as a small-breed female with brown, curly hair — didn't come, he worried she'd escaped, as she sometimes did, and stepped out into his fenced backyard to look for her. Along the north fence line, he found her lying dead, a bloody wound visible on the left side of her chest.

According to dispatch records, Jones arrived on scene at 6:58 p.m. and didn't stay long. The dog's owner would later tell Jones's supervisors that the officer "was very unsympathetic." Three minutes after arriving at the home, Jones radioed dispatch to say no further resources were necessary. Within six and a half minutes of arriving at the house, Jones was en route back to EPD, having radioed dispatch to say he was closing the call without a report or assigning a case number.

Jones was back in the classroom at EPD headquarters when his supervisor, Sgt. Edward Wilson, followed up with him. Wilson would later tell an internal affairs investigator that he'd seen the call pop up on a dispatch computer screen when it came in but his attention was quickly diverted to another incident — a report of someone brandishing a gun — in another part of town. Wilson said he just wanted to follow up with Jones and asked him about the call. Jones reportedly told his commanding officer that there'd been a dead dog at the residence with a deep circular wound that looked like it had been stabbed or shot with a BB gun. Wilson then asked if Jones had taken photos documenting the wound and where the dog had been found.

"He said, 'Yeah, I took photos'," Wilson later told investigators.

An internal affairs investigation completed seven months later would conclude that Jones lied about the photos that day, repeated those lies when pressed and that he subsequently took steps to conceal his dishonesty from his superiors. He was suspended without pay for a month, about the most severe discipline a patrol officer can receive short of being fired. But the reverberations of Jones' actions didn't end there.

The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office is in the midst of a months-long effort to re-evaluate all prosecutions involving the officer, with at least three cases resulting in dismissals or pleas to lesser charges and another 19 still needing to be reviewed.

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TOO EXTREME FOR THE EXTREMISTS? John Bolton’s firing as Trump’s National Security Advisor is rare good news out of the White House, but don't expect a Ghandian to replace him. We'll get someone with the same ferocity but more restrained in his blood lust. (Beginning with Trump himself, on through his family and into his government, Bolton is strictly long-distance ferocious, managing to avoid military service himself.)

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NOTED this line in the daily deluge from cyber-space: "Those generations that grew up without values, or discipline, would learn both at the end of a boot. Ask any former 'youth at risk' what he learned in Marine Corps boot camp."

THE REFERENCE seems to be to the old practice of the 1950s and early 60s to court-order delinquents into the military, especially the toughest branch. I went through Marine Corp boot camp in 1957 as a 17-year-old. What did I learn? Lots of stuff, everything from how to field strip an M-I to how to take a punch, and we all got lots of those, plus some specialized tortures like having one's collar twisted until one passes out, standing at attention until one swoons at the feet of the grinning perp, which was done to me twice. 15 weeks of criminal assault plus lots of creative insults — "syphilitic mis-fucks" was particularly memorable. Recruit "maltreatment" was outlawed by the Marines in the late '50s.

MOST PEOPLE seem to have the idea that the movie, Full Metal Jacket, realistically portrays the Marine boot camp experience, which I guess it does, but Full Metal Jacket was, compared to the fifties, a day at the beach. Not saying we were tougher, just saying boot camp was a lot tougher.

THINKING back on it, and I liked the Marines after boot camp and thought about staying in, I always think about a guy I recall as Billy Saunders, a trained fighter, who did the neatest of a one-punch knockout of a guy I've ever seen, a feat observed by one of our drill instructors, who was positively gleeful at the sight, so gleeful that Saunders, at night, was forced to fight tough guys from other platoons bare knucks as the DI's placed bets and the rest of us cheered the poor guy on. Saunders always won, and he always managed to get through the day even with cracked ribs, but that's the way it was. I was stunned when, as the Marines got chewed up in Vietnam, that young guys got drafted into the Marines, then and now definitely a volunteers-only organization.

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ODD to agree with The National Rifle Association on about anything, but Frisco took virtue signaling a little too far when its city council passed a resolution declaring the wacky gun club as a "terrorist organization." The NRA sued the City of San Francisco on Monday, alleging the City is violating the NRA’s First Amendment rights and has effectively moved to “blacklist anyone linked to the N.R.A.” The lawsuit comes less than a week after San Francisco’s board of supervisors declared the group a terrorist organization and limited relationships with companies that do business with the NRA in the City.

CATCH OF THE DAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

THOMAS COOK, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

TERRY ELLISON II, Covelo. Taking vehicle without owner’s consent, stolen property, suspended license (for DUI).

SAMANTHA MENDEZ, Ukiah. Resisting, probation revocation.

SAN FRANCISCO, JULY 1934:

by Eva Chrysanthe

“Like a man shooting birds,” was the description of one eyewitness to the police detective who, after disembarking his unmarked car at Steuart and Mission Streets, fired calmly into the crowd of striking longshoremen. The detective’s shots randomly entered the bodies of three strikers, ending the lives of two: WWI veteran Howard Sperry, and marine cook Nick Bordoise.

Another observer described the violent clashes between police and strikers as intense but uncannily quiet, with lunch breaks observed in clockwork precision. A businessman heard no such quiet, describing the sickening sound of police clubs cracking bones and skulls, which permanently disfigured the strikers’ faces.

To demonstrate his wares to the anti-labor Industrial Association of San Francisco, a salesman for a tear gas manufacturer helped lob glass vials of the noxious compound into the crowds of strikers. In turn, the strikers used the brush end of brooms like soft baseball bats to swat the vials back toward the police. Mounted police were ambushed by strikers who scattered glass marbles on the pavement, while bricks laid neatly in piles for the construction of Rincon Annex were employed by strikers as defensive weapons.

The scene is surreal not for its violence, which was far more punishing against the strikers than I have described here, but for the passionate commitment of the strikers. The hunger and the rage were palpable, but so was the self-discipline. (The closest conflict that comes to mind in my lifetime is the Battle of Seattle, which my colleagues and I watched nervously on our computer screens in the New York offices of Lazard Freres. “What were they doing out there?” my boss asked derisively. Indeed, I thought, and what were we all up to in here?)

But the strike wasn’t begun capriciously, regardless of what San Francisco’s entrenched money interests claimed. The legendary Harry Bridges, who was largely responsible for the successful strike strategy, undertook the effort with grave caution: “The strike weapon should never be used except as a last desperate resort, when there’s no way out. It simply means a form of revolution, because you take over an industry or a plant owned by the capitalists and temporarily, you seize it. Temporarily you take it away.”

Thus, with forceful and considered action, did the longshoremen win. Against every imaginable challenge, they cobbled together a shrewd strategy, excellent tactics, and a radical racial unity to win a historic victory against the most powerful business and media interests on the West Coast. And they didn’t just win it for themselves. They won it for all of us. The union that formed around Harry Bridges’ leadership went on to support the fight against Franco in Spain, it nurtured unions throughout the country, and it blocked ships from South Africa during the Apartheid era. Throughout it all, they survived vilification by business interests and political punishment from politicians for standing up for common people and ordinary needs.

What’s a victory worth if it isn’t shared? Or even talked about? I didn’t learn about the 1934 Great Strike in high school, or in college. For that matter, the parallel struggle inland - the simultaneous labor unrest in the Central Valley - was barely mentioned in classes. And Steinbeck’s radical and bitter masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath was only “recommended” summer reading, it wasn’t actually on the syllabus.

I found out about the Great Strike by accident in 1999, while I was trying to encourage my great-aunts in San Francisco to learn how to use the Internet. When we stumbled onto reference to the strike, they mentioned that during the ’34 strike, there were no streetcars, and they had to ride their tin roller-skates from the family’s diner next to the Cliff House, to downtown.

I had always known my great-aunts to be cautious women, so I asked: “Why would you ride your roller-skates seven miles to go to a part of town where there had just been fatal shootings by police and tear gas and tanks and automatic rifles?”

My great-aunt Helen, her blue eyes widening, could barely comprehend anyone asking such a question. It was as if I had asked her, why would you put on clothing before you walked out the door? Why? You do it because it’s proper! You do it because you don’t want to be naked before God! To be asked about her participation along with so many tens of thousands of other working San Franciscans in the Great Strike was strange and incomprehensible to her.

Finally, she stammered, “Everybody supported the workers!” Of course.

And so should we continue. But how can we, if we don’t even know it happened, or any of the funny, tragic and heroic particulars?

This past summer, a few weeks before Labor Day, I resolved to take the matter into my own hands. I would read as much as I could about the Great Strike, talk to as many historians as would answer my phone calls, and start a walking tour of Great Strike sights. Laborfest runs a gamut of brilliant walking tours during July, and one of them is a tour of the Waterfront Strike. Alas, I had missed all of it. But why should labor history be only one month out of the year? Like Black history, it should be every day of the year because we have a lot of catching up to do.

I started with archival materials at the San Francisco History Center. And, through an article in J. Magazine, I was able to locate labor historian Harvey Schwartz. He provided book recommendations which turned out to be thrilling reads, from Dave Selvin’s A Terrible Anger: The 1934 Waterfront and General Strikes in San Francisco to Bruce Nelson’s Workers on the Waterfront to his own Solidarity Stories. Schwartz’ loving enthusiasm for the topic, as well as his mastery of it, was inspiring, and he generously counseled me on everything from possible tour routes to all aspects of the conflict.

So on a Saturday morning before Labor Day, I began the first of nine free Labor Day weekend Great Strike tours, standing a bit awkwardly with a sandwich board outside the Ferry Building and passing out flyers announcing the start times. The tours that assembled were tiny but eager, and in between even people who couldn’t go on the tours came up and shared their own families’ labor histories, from one Brit’s story of how his grandfather participated in the General March in Northern England, to how joining the Teamsters in the Rust Belt helped a single mother survive, to a couple from Hawaii, who told me Harry Bridges is revered there for building a strong middle class through union labor.

Most exciting were the twenty-somethings, who knew nothing about the Great Strike until they saw my sign, but who were curious enough about their city or about labor struggles to join in. At the point in the tour where I explained that Harry Bridges had later helped overturn anti-miscegenation laws in Nevada through his marriage to Japanese-American activist Nikki Sawada, several looked puzzled. I had to stop and explain that mixed-race marriages had once been illegal in the United States. “I had heard of these laws,” a young woman from Britain explained, “but I still have trouble imagining that it ever happened.” Charming generation, this! Another young woman even volunteered to help lead upcoming tours.

History is an inheritance, and the history of “common people” is an inheritance of which so many have been robbed. Still, I sense that this younger generation might reclaim it in the face of opponents far greater than anything Bridges faced. They’ll forge their own path to victory. But in the meantime, I’ll be happily walking as many as possible through the steps that Harry and his friends took along this waterfront in hopes that the inheritance is shared.

LOVE ME I'M A LIBERAL

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

My personal time in the educational system included years of Catholic school as well as four years in public school and were topped off with my time at the Academy. All of those experiences were in places where we did what we were told and order was always maintained because Mom and Dad would not tolerate any other way to behave and yes, a majority of the students were Caucasian. Divorce had not yet become the norm, at least where I was, and parents all seemed to be instructed in the same schools of active parenting.

As a parent myself I was able to be blessed parenting two sets of families, years apart, and being very active in the systems during the course of these periods, I have had much time to observe the vast differences that time has brought.

At first it was easy to blame the teachers and the administrators with their fancy salaries and benefits and of course the megalomaniacal “national system” that commands them all (No Child Left Behind, Head Start, el al). However, anyone with any ability to even slightly critically observe can come to the conclusion that the main reason for the total failure of the educational systems of today is shitty parents. Distracted, uninvolved, self-centered, you can have it all parents are clearly the crumbled foundation that the system is built upon. They are everywhere and in every layer of social strata. Period, end of story and unless they can somehow, miraculously turn it all around and start raising their children well once again, it will only continue to degrade.

HOMAGE TO TABLOIDS

The convergence of two major issues of our day — marijuana and NFL football — in one story reminded me of the old joke about the ultimate newspaper-selling headline: "Queen's Dog Cured of Polio in Church." At Walgreen's that evening I couldn't help admiring the Globe's headline.

I thought William Barr might have allowed Epstein's exit because ongoing publicity would reveal that Donald Barr, the AG's father, set Epstein on the road to riches by hiring him to teach math at the elite Dalton School in the 1970s. (Donald Barr was the principal at Dalton.)

Around 1995 the missus and I were driving on Highway 1 in Lantana, Florida, when I noticed a sign on a building in the distance identifying it as the home of The National Enquirer. I took the next exit and we made a cold call. I told the receptionist that I was a journalist from California there to pay my respects to "the leading newspaper in America." She suspected that I was putting her on. I said I meant it. "Aren't they all adopting your approach, little by little?" She recognized my sincerity and gave us a tour of the modern, tastefully appointed offices. We were told a surprising fact: four of the five best-selling tabloids were headquartered in Lantana at that time! As we were leaving, so was a tall, sleek man in a finely tailored suit who wore wraparound shades and carried an attache case. He looked more like a banker than an editor.

(Fred Gardner)

GUALALA'S WORLD CLIMATE STRIKE DAY EVENT

Come to hear these Speakers At World Climate Strike Day at Gualala Community Center, Friday, September 20th, 12 to 4:30 pm:

Richard Charter: Ocean Hero And Senior Fellow

Richard is a specialist in advocacy on ocean protection issues, including marine spatial planning, media techniques to secure conservation outcomes, and preventing and mitigating industrial impacts on ocean ecosystems. As Co-Chair of the National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Coalition, Richard was involved in initiating and maintaining the twenty-seven-year congressional moratorium on offshore oil and gas leasing which prevented new drilling along the U.S. West Coast, the Atlantic Coast, and Florida?s Gulf Coast, as well as in Alaska?s Bristol Bay. Richard also coordinated the local government support that helped to bring about the creation of the Gulf of the Farallones, Cordell Bank, Channel Islands, and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries.

Rietta Hohman: Greater Farallones Association

Rietta is on the education team for the Greater Farallones Association, where she develops marine science curriculum and coordinates the At Your School Marine Science Outreach Program and the Marine Explorers Summer Camp. Rietta has a B.S. in Biology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and is currently earning her M.S. in Environmental Management from the University of San Francisco. She is a SCUBA instructor and scientific diver, working with various institutions such as Bodega Marine Lab, the Tahoe Environmental Research Center, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Reef Check, and the Southwest Fisheries Science in Santa Cruz.

Scott Mercer: Mendonoma Whale And Seal Study

Scott began researching marine mammals in 1974 with a 2-year study of the feeding ecology of the California sea otter. Scott studied Invertebrate Marine Zoology in order to be able to identify what the sea otters were bringing to the surface to consume. In the late 1970s, Scott moved back to his native northern New England and in 1978 founded New England Whale Watch, the only whale watch north of Boston and the only biologist-owned company. Scott was also a Major Contributor to the Catalogues of Identified Individuals for humpback, finback, and North Atlantic right whales. He flew aerial surveys for the New England Aquarium for right whales of the S.E. Coast of the US. He coauthored The Great Whale Book in 1982 with two colleagues at the University of New Hampshire and taught a marine mammal class there for 14 years. He cofounded the Brier Island Ocean Study Research Station on Brier Island Nova Scotia, Canada. He led winter expeditions in the British Virgin Islands for hump! back whales and coral reef study.

Ted Williams: Mendocino County Supervisor 5th District

Ted grew up in Mendocino and Comptche. Growing up using a primitive computer powered by solar panels led to a career as a software programmer. His career has largely focused on embedded systems and challenges inherent in smart devices. In 2011, he became fire Chief of Albion-Little River Fire Department. In 2015, he worked with concerned citizens to author the text of Measure V, a county wide ordinance requiring timely cleanup of intentionally killed and left standing trees. In 2016, he was elected Supervisor of Mendocino's 5th District.

And More…

Here are a list of the tables to visit at the event:

• The Ocean Foundation, Richard Charter
• Mendonoma Whale and Seal Study
• Friends of Gualala River
• Zero Waste Mendocino
• Surfrider Foundation
• Sierra Club
• Oz Farm
• Agency for Earth
• ACORN Partners in Education
• Friends of Point Arena-Stornetta Lands
• Redwood Coast Medical Services
• Gualala River Park Campaign
• Redwood Coast Land Conservancy
• Anchor Bay Amateur Radio Club
• - B Corporations and Conscious Capitalism
• Keepers of The Coast
• Energy Table
• Climate Science Education Table

LITERALLY MILLIONS OF FAILING, ABANDONED OIL & GAS WELLS IN CALIFORNIA

In California’s Central Valley and along the South Coast, there are many communities littered with abandoned oil and gas wells, buried underground.

fractracker.org/2019/03/failing-abandoned-wells/

MEMO FROM MO

Happy Monday!

While I try to be positive and optimistic sometimes the decisions before the City Council are complicated and frankly unfair. At the meeting on September 4th the Council did vote to temporarily suspend the Ukiah Buy Back Center Operations. The largest bottle and can recycler "RePlanet" closed their buy back centers across the state. Buy Back centers are privately operated businesses and these closures had a large impact on our haulers ability to provide services to buy back recycling in our community. The cost to create a safe space to operate the buyback operations would be roughly $100,000 with an additional $100,000 per year to operate it. Given the very minimal redemption value currently of the recyclables this cost would have created a rate increase at the curbside disproportionately affecting City residents. I spoke with Taylor Morrison at Senator McGuire's office and she assured me that the State is working with CalRecycle (https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/) to figure out next steps regarding the CRV dollars collected and what happens next with recycling in our community. As a reminder you should continue to clean your plastic, glass and cans and recycle them. In case you have not seen the news articles there are bails of recycling sitting while the State figures out what to do next. This recycling issue is ongoing and challenging please try to stay informed. Since before I was on the Council I was an advocate for Mixed Waste Organics recycling. Composting helps the planet and you can too by putting your food waste in your green bin you help reduce the load to landfills and create a usable product. Please continue to talk to your friends and family about putting food waste and pizza boxes in the green bins. If you are not sure which can an item belongs in you can go to https://ukiahrecycles.com/ they have a platform where you enter the item and it will tell you where it goes. I think this is particularly helpful especially as the market changes.

On Friday night I had the honor of judging the Boys and Girls Club Chili Cook Off put on by Granite Construction. Our Police Chief Justin Wyatt was also as judge as well as Deputy City Manager Shannon Riley. They had 33 local businesses set up booths to show off their culinary skills and raise money for the Boys and Girls Club. Keeping our youth in a safe place where they can have access to educational and recreational activities is a priority for our community and that is what the Boys and Girls Club does so I'm happy to support it. Thankfully we did not have to taste all 33 chili's they have a very sophisticated blind tasting procedure. If you were there and ate all of them I would love to hear how your tummy felt the next day. :P I love spicy food so I had a great time and want to thank all of the businesses and especially Granite for helping facilitate the event.

Saturday morning my youngest daughter Andie and I met local residents on the Ukiah Rail Trail for our monthly community walk. I mentioned in previous weeks reports that Phase Two and Three are both under way which will extend the trail through (most of 1.8 miles) of the City limits. The URT is primarily meant for a transportation corridor. The project provides safe access to travel North and South instead of using State Street or Orchard Ave. This is a major part of the Walk & Bike Master Plan which was a previous study that I have been advocating we take off the shelf and use at every opportunity. This project is funded through State grants and you can find that information under the City Finance tab on www.cityofukiah.com. I know that I personally use the trail recreationally for physical activity (running with my dog) at various hours of the day and see many others using it for fitness. The benefits of the trail for walking and jogging of course are that it provides a safe flat space for physical activity. In case you were wondering the solar lights were specifically set at a level that provides a lit path for the user near dusk and early night time and then gets dimmer as the evening goes on as to not intrude in the night sky views of the City. I see many families from the neighborhood along the trail in the evening as well as people walking to work or school in the morning. The next community walk is planned for the Fourth Annual Witches and Wheels on October 26th where many people dress up in their Halloween best and celebrate in a festive way on the trail. You can see photos here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ukiahgreenways/ I hope that you will come out for this walk and if you have never been on the trail as always I am happy to meet with you and take a walk to discuss issues with the City and hear your thoughts about the community.

One more thing that the National Museum of Math reminded me @momath1 Happy #PalindromeWeekhttps://twitter.com/hashtag/PalindromeWeek?src=hashtag_click from MoMath! Since it's the 19th year of the century and the 9th month of the year, you can read the dates, numerically, the same backwards or forwards starting 9-10-19 through 9-19-19. Try it yourself!

AN INCREDIBLE SHOT by firefighter Hillary Williams from the Jacks Fire north of Jacks Valley Road in Carson City, Nevada.

Update: Jacks Fire was contained and controlled on Thursday, Sept. 5.

DID I GET IT RIGHT?

Identifying with the Eternal Witness

In an exchange with Earth First!er (and one of the first climate justice activists) Andy Caffrey, I pointed out that it may well come to pass that in spite of all of our best efforts, there may be ecological chaos ahead. Insofar as any responsive eco-revolutionary activity, I pointed out that aside from possible small cells, there is no revolutionary group functioning in the United States. This whole idea of eco-revolution is a fantasy, even though there could very well be a whole list of disastrous problems in the near future, such as the use of nuclear weapons, financial collapse, commonplace malnutrition with millions permanently homeless, and even madness. The point that I made is that it is most important to identify with the Eternal Witness, and ride the mental waves and take care of the body. The mind and body are instruments for a Higher Purpose. This is the very best response to everything. There aren't any satisfactory political solutions, and there never will be. There is no utopia anywhere. There is only rotting in the quagmire of samsara, and freeing oneself from it and identifying with the Eternal Witness. Of course I value the many years spent being active with Earth First!, 23 years of service with Catholic Worker, 15 times being in Washington, D,.C. on the front lines of peace & justice, being part of both NYC and D.C. Occupy, and a list too numerous to detail fully of direct action groups, articles written, vigils kept, spiritual groups joined, and anything else that was sincerely lived over the past 70 years. On September 28th this body-mind complex will be 70 years young. I need to be out of my pal Robert Eggplant's place in Pinole, CA on Saturday, and I have no idea whatsoever where I am going to go, or what I am specifically going to do in the future. But you know what? Rather than fend off a mental panic and start cursing postmodernism in America, I am going to identify with the Eternal Witness. Now you tell me: Did I get it right?

Craig Louis Stehr

Email: craiglouisstehr@gmail.com

PS. I am presently strategizing in order to stay alive. My host in Pinole said that she didn't understand that I'd be here longer than one week (her brother did not apparently make this sufficiently clear to his sister who also lives at the house, when he invited me for a guest visit), and that she is concerned about her stress level due to the house being full. I have promised to leave by Saturday. I have nowhere to go at the moment, but do have a thousand dollars in my checking account plus Humboldt county food stamps. I've contacted the two places where I was on the north coast to see if I might return there. Also have sent out messages to Berkeley-Oakland looking for a temporary place to go to in order to survive. I've asked Berkeley Catholic Worker (whom I volunteered with for 23 years) to assist me in getting an emergency senior shelter situation. I am advising everyone of this in order to get help to remain indoors and safe. This is the current priority. Thank you for understanding this. Otherwise, I am as spiritually and socially committed as ever, interested in acting in a manner which is pleasing to God.

MEANWHILE, FRIENDS OF ENCHANTED MEADOW (ALBION) VS. THE MENDOCINO REDWOOD COMPANY

UPDATE on MRC mud avalanche on EMWS

We've avoided a road being plowed through one sanctuary to "save" another. MRC hasn't got back to FOEM regarding less invasive clean up options as discussed this recent August 12th. The Half Moon Trestle wetlands are still covered in mud and dead trees and MRC continues to degrade the Enchanted Meadow environs with a new THP bordering the Enchanted Meadow Wetlands Sanctuary.

Aching for more details? Read on…

APRIL 2018- MRC Deadman's Haul Road over 600' above the Albion River collapses spewing an 1100' mud torrent down slope plastering Half Moon Trestle, a northern enclave of EMWS; fallen trees and mud debris ultimately emptied into the Albion River.

MAY-JUNE 2018- MRC resisted responsibility until Water Quality's on site viewing determined a clean up was in order. The road collapse was not solely caused by an act of nature, it had a history of slides MRC ignored and failed to maintain, acerbating the collapse.

MID NOV 2018- MRC's slide remediation plan is ready, missing the summertime cleanup as discussed in June. The plan would impact another FOEM sanctuary, the Albert Cattalini Conservancy, negatively; proposing essentially new road construction through a bear haven where natural overgrowth is intended and also called for a 5 year road agreement allowing MRC access into the area.

DEC 2018- FOEM declined the road construction aspect of the plan which was considerably more invasive and permanent than discussed in June.

SPRING 2019- MRC and FOEM were at an impasse with the cleanup, MRC wanted to use big equipment, build roads. FOEM wants the cleanup to happen in the least invasive way as possible.

APRIL 2019- Mature trees, partially up rooted by the mud torrent are beginning to fall down slope onto the wetlands mess.

JUNE 2019- A botanist reviews the site and determines the plant growth on the proposed road construction site is a wetland area.

JULY 2019- FOEM contacts MRC to request a cleanup the second half of Sept. and to arrange a meeting to proceed with alternative clean up.

AUGUST 2019- August 12th telephone meeting between MRC and FOEM, discussion of non invasive clean up options, MRC agrees to do follow up on options and get back to FOEM.

SEPTEMBER 2019- Sept. 10th no contact from Glenn Edwards of MRC regarding 8/12 telephone meeting and wetlands cleanup.

FLOW KANA QUESTIONS

Dear Friends,

I want you to know I'm very supportive of the Confidential Witnesses (CWs) who are coming forward to talk about what they know about possible fraud or unfair business practices at Flow Kana. I spoke with another CW at my home today. A real insider at Flow Kana. A very early employee. Totally credible.

I'm learning that the con game at FK is worse than I thought, and that's a damn shame because one of FK's early investors was Roger McNamee, and I know Roger. Very cool guy. Very decent guy.

I've known Roger since he was at Silver Lake Partners. He lives in Woodside, CA, and when I visit the Fleishhacker estate (Green Gables), we are literally next door neighbors.

I saw Roger in March this year at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York when he was promoting his book, "Zucked – Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe".

As a footnote, I'm referring each and every CW who comes forward to a law firm that specializes in whistleblower law.

It's too bad Flow Kana hasn't had its IPO yet, because they would have had SEC reporting requirements. I'll be all over the Form S-1 Registration Statement when they decide to file for their IPO.

Flow Kana won't have to come clean about everything, however.

There are implications of being an emerging growth company. As a company with less than $1 billion in revenue during the last fiscal year, Flow Kana could qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended, or the JOBS Act. An “emerging growth company” may take advantage of reduced reporting requirements that are otherwise applicable to public companies.

These provisions include, but are not limited to:

the option to present only two years of audited financial statements and only two years of related “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” in their IPO prospectus;

not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended;

not being required to comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (i.e., an auditor discussion and analysis).

Flow Kana may take advantage of these provisions until the last day of their fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of their IPO offering.

However, if any of the following events occur prior to the end of such five-year period, (i) their annual gross revenue exceeds $1billion, (ii) they issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt in any three-year period or (iii) they become a “large accelerated filer” (as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act), Flow Kana will cease to be an emerging growth company prior to the end of such five-year period.

Flow Kana will be deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” at such time that they (a) have an aggregate worldwide market value of common equity securities held by non-affiliates of $700.0 million or more as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, (b) have been required to file annual and quarterly reports under the Exchange Act, for a period of at least 12 months and (c) have filed at least one annual report pursuant to the Exchange Act.

Even after Flow Kana no longer qualifies as an emerging growth company, they may still qualify as a “smaller reporting company,” which would allow them to take advantage of many of the same exemptions from disclosure requirements including reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in their IPO prospectus and their periodic reports and proxy statements.

I've hired a forensic accountant, and I'm already trying to put together what pieces of the puzzle that are out there in the public domain. If I can get one disgruntal investor to flip, I'll have a lot more leverage.

To date, Flow Kana's investors include, Poseidon Asset Management, Roger McNamee, and Salveo Capital (all in at Series A), and Gotham Green Partners (in at Series A and Series B).

Wouldn't it be a trip if Gotham Green Partners turned against Michael Steinmetz and the Miskin family -- the real owners of Flow Kana equity -- once they realize there's no supply in the supply chain, and no value in the value chain.

Finally, I have reason to believe that John Striff, formerly senior vice president and chief operating officer at Sunkist Growers, who Flow Kana hired to be its COO, left Flow Kana back in January.

Did Mr. Striff take one look around and conclude Flow Kana was a house of cards? Did he take one look around and conclude that the collaborative culture that makes the Sunkist-affiliated cooperative Fruit Growers Supply Company so special was impossible at Flow Kana?

We need to ask John Striff. I found him earlier today on Market Street in San Francisco.

John Sakowicz

Ukiah

IMMIGRATION PROPOSAL

Editor,

Here are some potential solutions to Extremism, Immigration, and housing issues: First; all non violent extremists could be encouraged to live within alotted, isolated territories. These territories would be privately owned and operated without Federal money. Sole residents would pay territory taxes but not Federal taxes. They would be prohibited from selling property or doing business with people who do not share their same extremist views. They may come to realize the advantages of living in the outside, diverse, fully integrated society,or at least be content in their isolation.

Next; Native Mexicans could be allowed entry into U.S. territories that previously belonged to Mexico before the war that stole it from their ancestors.

Then; aside from existing sanctuary status qualifications; people not born in the U.S. or Native Mexican, could obtain citizenship based on merit for their worth to our society. This merit could be achieved in many societal benefiting ways,but the best of which could be to build a home. The homes would be built either in their country or in the U.S.

These homes would be built to house the shelterless population or for a house swap. Participating U.S. homeowners could trade residences with forieghn homeowners for pre determined amounts of time. Participating shelterless U.S. residents could be provided forieghn shelter and accomodations by citizenship applicants in exchange for U.S. citizenship for pre determined amounts of time.

Heather Meyer

Ukiah

POSEY

Yaw(ah)ghn McCowen & Sako Debate

A big empty hall,

A warm afternoon,

(. . .)

A blue-bottle fly

Buzzing in a bell jar,

(. . .)

Drone on ye blowflies,

Snores applaud bores…

(Bruce McEwen)

FOUND OBJECT