MCT: Wednesday, September 25, 2019

• Sonoma/Napa Shutoffs
• Cooling Soon
• AutoZone FB
• Commercial Buildings
• Head Injury
• Hendy Hermit
• River Pollution
• Dr Zuess
• Stonewalling Rex
• Albion Lions
• Billionaire Plan
• Weed Forums
• Officer Jones
• Ed Notes
• Yesterday's Catch
• Modern Warfare
• Progress
• Mortal Blackouts
• Climate Day
• Discount Membership
• James Joyce
• Mo Ukiah
• Dehydrated Water
• KZYX Anniversary
• Comfort Rail
• Senior Activities
• Chosen
• Flow-Kana Masquerade
• Found Object

SECOND POWER SHUTOFF REACHES SONOMA & NAPA COUNTIES

Wednesday Early-Morning Public Safety Power Shutoff Announced

At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, September 24, PG&E announced that it will initiate a second Public Safety Power Shutoff early Wednesday morning, September 25, for 48,200 customers in the North Bay and Sierra Foothill regions.

For this second PSPS event, based on elevated weather conditions, including potential fire risk, PG&E will be turning off the power for safety at approximately 2:30 a.m. in the Sierra foothillls, and in the North Bay at approximately 4:30 a.m., on Wednesday morning. Windy weather conditions are expected to last until 12 p.m. on Wednesday, September 25.

Public Safety Power Shutoffs are conducted to keep our customers, their families, their homes and businesses safe.

Wednesday's PSPS event will include customers in portions of seven counties: Butte, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sonoma and Yuba.

pge.com/en_US/safety/emergency-preparedness/natural-disaster/wildfires/public-safety-event.page

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PG&E TO SHUT OFF POWER To About 48,000 Customers, Including 700 In Sonoma County

After indicating it could shut off power to as many as 34,000 Sonoma County residents to reduce wildfire risk, PG&E decided Tuesday evening to turn off power to just over 700 customers northeast of Santa Rosa beginning at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday.

pressdemocrat.com/news/10090867-181/pge-to-decide-on-north

WARM AND BREEZY weather will last through Wednesday, but temperatures will begin to cool down starting Thursday. Marine clouds may return to the coast by Friday. Much cooler weather and a few showers will spread south into portions of northwest California later in the weekend into early next week. (National Weather Service)

AUTOZONE IN FORT BRAGG

from Annemarie Weibel:

The AutoZone project will be discussed during Fort Bragg's planning commission meeting this Wednesday 9-25 at 6pm at Town Hall in Fort Bragg.

Study the information and attend the meeting. See story poles on the south west side of Noyo Bridge.

If you can not attend, write to <cdd@fortbragg.com> (planning commissioners), McCormick, Sarah <smccormick@fortbragg.com> (planner), Gonzalez, Joanna <jgonzalez@fortbragg.com> (administrative assistant), Miller, Tabatha <TMiller@FortBragg.com> (city manager), and Lemos, June <Jlemos@fortbragg.com> (city clerk).

The planning commission will consider adopting a Mitigated Negative Declaration for the AutoZone project; as well as a Coastal Development Permit, Subdivision, and Design Review to create 2 parcels in Highway Visitor Commercial Zoning District in the Coastal Zone and construct a 7,500 sq. ft. auto parts retail store with a 26-space parking lot (in front of the ocean) and improvements at 1151 South Main Street. The southernmost parcel would remain undeveloped, but a future commercial development is anticipated. Will it be a 2nd Dollar Store as initially planned?

How would Napa Rhoads Auto Parts and O'Reilly Auto Parts be affected? Napa Rhoads Auto Parts has been an independently owned business for more than 40 years. Bruce and Stephanie Graves have owned it for over 28 years. O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. is one of the largest specialty retailers of automotive parts in the United States. They operate 5,344 stores in 47 states.

There are over 6,000 company owned and operated AutoZone stores in all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Brazil. They are a Fortune 500 company and are based in Tennessee. How many of the 12 jobs would be minimum wage jobs, how many full time staff jobs? How is their benefit package? How would they benefit our local economy?

Do you believe that the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) will not have any long term significant adverse effects on the environment or is an Environmental Impact Report needed? The traffic study was not done on a weekend or a busy holiday. 6 mature trees would have to be removed and new ones planted. What is the success rate of planting trees in this environment? Do you like the 34 in. channel letter signage in bright red? This business would eliminate ocean view for this stretch.

When will Fort Bragg adopt a moratorium on formula/franchise businesses like the Mendocino County has? We already have at least 13 formula/franchise businesses. Having a moratorium does not mean no formula/franchise businesses, but it requires public input.

More information at Fort Bragg library and City Hall

• https://city.fortbragg.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09252019-787
• https://city.fortbragg.com/687/Auto-Zone-Application
• https://cityoffortbraggca.nextrequest.com/requests/19-70
• https://cityfortbragg.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=7530533&GUID=1203955C-3EE8-4051-8660-FEF732322473

RANCHO NIRVANA

by Ron Morita

I first met the mostly young, long-haired new growers at a meeting of the Rancho Navarro Association (RNA) Board of Directors two years ago, where their small children wandered about the glass-doored Clubhouse. Most long-time residents in our 135-lot subdivision are retirees, and a number were rumored to have cultivated cannabis to supplement the meager-income jobs within commuting distance of our rural enclave three miles northwest of the General Store. A member of the Board, who supervises maintenance of the Association’s paved roads, had written a letter to the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors complaining that cannabis growers were a menace to our community. Generator noise and traffic were long-standing complaints, but opposition crystalized when open cultivation by permitted growers blossomed in 2016. With a few moderate exceptions the thirty-plus participants declared that they were willing to make concessions in order to live among us or that the newcomers should leave because our bylaws prohibited commercial businesses.

Since then, one grower was denied permission to use the Clubhouse pool and had the tires of his pickup stashed by an old-timer. Code Enforcement, which has an intimidating police presence, was called to the Ranch for offenses like leaving lights on at night. A Ranch-initiated proposal before the County Board of Supervisors to prohibit cannabis in our subdivision was defeated when growers presented a petition opposing it. The following July, anti-cannabis candidates swept onto the RNA Board. Meeting in private, they consulted attorneys in an attempt to amend our bylaws to allow stiff fines for tree cutting or cultivating plots larger than a specified area. The legal bill was $16,065. Their proposal was vetoed by residents who feared abuse of power by the volunteer RNA Board.

Letters to the Editor appeared in Anderson Valley Advertiser:

“Dear Sheriff Allman… This is a RESIDENTIAL neighborhood. The situation seems to be out of control. We don’t need drunk transients and commercial drug farms destroying our neighborhood and scaring the crap out of us. I’ve got two young kids and want them to feel safe here. Please help.”

Clandestine cultivation remained widespread, but in the face of falling cannabis prices half of the permit-pending growers put their properties up for sale. Fearing a costly legal battle, I ran for the RNA Board this summer. With the aid of a denunciation of cannabis mailed with the ballots, Board-backed candidates topped the voting and I won the only open seat. At my first Board meeting I was appointed chairman of the Land Use Committee, which grants approval for tree-cutting and structures.

A rumor spread that B., a grower, planned to clearcut a swath of redwoods in order to place four pre-fabricate sheds in woods in the front of his property. For a few weeks of the year he would dry cannabis there. I convinced B. to place the sheds in an open area and promised to fight for their approval as precedent for future accommodations with growers. Three of the five committee members voted to deny permission because the project constituted expansion of a commercial business.

Since the vote split, the issue went before the Board. I made my presentation to it on August 24: “A sign in front of a Ranch residence reads in English, Spanish, and Arabic: No matter where you are from, we’re glad you are our neighbor. This philosophy of tolerance is common in rural communities like ours, where we depend on each other. O. owns a towing service, L. makes furniture, and G.’s wife runs a commercial kitchen. For many years vacation rentals brought traffic onto the Ranch, Z. ran a backhoe excavation service, M. operated an auto repair shop, and U. did tree milling with heavy equipment and noise. Chiropractors see patients on Bald Hills Road, L. sells figs from his farm, and there’s a cattle ranch on Appian Way. None of these commercial businesses has been challenged, because they are our neighbors.

“Due to the expense of complying with 26 government agencies, B. and the other six permitted or pending-permit growers tend to cultivate near the small user limit of 10,000 square feet. But they aren’t the only ones. There are 31 greenhouses and roughly 50 cannabis grows in Rancho Navarro. Our little development is renowned among stoners as Rancho Nirvana, producer of high quality cannabis and the jewel of the Emerald Triangle. To circumvent aerial surveillance, un-permitted growers erect greenhouses and claim to be cultivating flowers. Their outdoor plots are less extensive, but current Google maps reveal illegal farms similar in size and number to the permit ones on the Ranch. Google Earth shows about the same number of greenhouse-based farms ten years ago as there are permit farms now. While satellite imagery indicates large grows were uncommon in the early days of the Ranch, anecdotes from long term residents suggest that cannabis cultivation, some by vocal critics of the new growers, has been prevalent for decades. Our tightly knit community allowed it in the spirit of live-and-let-live.

“So why bother? Why spend eleven secret sessions of the RNA Board of Directors and $16,000 in legal fees to expel B. and the other permit growers from the Ranch? Is it the threat of a lawsuit over failure to enforce our rules? Respected land use attorney N. argued, “a restrictive covenant may be unenforceable as a result of repeated, unopposed violations where there has been acquiescence in an activity that could otherwise be construed as being restricted … ubiquitous cultivation activities both historically and as existing at present … would support a finding of changed circumstances, rendering a sudden reversal of policy as inequitable and unenforceable.

“Is it the water? Western Groundwater Surveyors certified that B.’s well is not connected to the Rancho Navarro aquifer. The county requires permitted growers to meter their wells and restricts water use under specific circumstances. Illegal growers, who far outnumber permit ones, operate under no restrictions. As a first step toward regulation, I propose that all cannabis growers with more than twenty-five plants be asked to submit quarterly water meter readings to the RNA Land Use Committee.

“Is it because if we don’t stop it now, agri-business will engulf the Ranch? Our hilly terrain is unsuited to large scale agriculture. With competition from places like the Central Valley, cannabis prices are expected to decline by fifteen percent a year over the coming years. All of our permit growers including B. report operating at a loss. Since the dawn of language, demagogues have used the Big Scare to turn one group against another. Seventy-seven years ago my grandfather was expelled from the farm he spent his lifetime building because small-minded people said little yellow men were about to overrun California.

“We can’t touch illegal growers who hide behind tall fences, the lumber company that cuts down redwoods and poisons tan oaks on our borders, or the commercial tree farm a hundred yards to the south with three times the cultivated area of all of our permit cannabis farms put together. So we act like schoolyard bullies, picking on an East Target, an E.T who is different and can’t fight back. We ought to stop building walls against our neighbors and instead meet together to resolve our common problems. Personable and willing to compromise his dream house in order to get along with us, B. is an asset to our community. We need not treat him as an alien and should welcome him instead.”

The Board remanded the project to the Land Use Committee for a decision based on the merits of the project rather than the commercial business aspect. One committee member resigned in protest, and another petitioned the Board for my removal as chairman. Two others expressed opinions in favor of the project. The Board called a special meeting to decide my tenure and approval of B.’s proposal. On the former issue I made the following statement: “When Willian Lloyd Garrison denounced slavery in 1831, he was in the minority. When Elizabeth Cady Stanton advocated women’s right to vote in 1848, she was in the minority. When Thurgood Marshall called for the racial integration of public schools in 1935, he was in the minority. All of these opinions—which were contrary to the law at that time—became the majority because the First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech. What you are deciding is not a question of conforming to RNA ByLaws. They are open to different interpretations, as past precedents have shown. You are deciding whether expressing opinions contrary to the prevailing mindset of the Association is allowed. The question is whether, in suppressing the minority, the RNA Board of Directors will violate the principles of the Constitution of the United States.”

The six other Board members voted to remove me as Land Use Committee chairman.

After a strenuous debate, the Board unanimously approved B.’s project, which I hope will serve as a model for future compromises on cannabis.

FEMALE 'HEAD INJURY' AT BOONVILLE ELEMENTARY

MSP's scanner said (11:05 am) the Anderson Valley Fire Department, ground ambulance, as well as air ambulance CalStar 4, were dispatched to the Anderson Valley Elementary School for the report of a "29-year-old female, head injury." The patient is located in the school library.

CalStar 4 accepted the assignment and said @ 11:10 am they could be on the scene in 12 minutes.

At 11:19 am, the patient was being transported to the Boonville Airport landing zone to await the air ambulance.

The ambulance said they should be at the airport @ 11:31 am.

(via MendocinoSportsPlus)

READER DAN FIELD of Covelo called the other day to say that he remembers the Hendy Woods Hermit when he was growing up in Anderson Valley, spending his summers as a ranchhand at the Tumbling McD Ranch outside of Philo. Mr. Field said he and his ranchhand coworkers had heard rumors about the Hendy Woods Hermit over the early years but they never believed it, it sounded crazy. Occasionaly his coworkers would come back from a trail ride and say they thought they saw somebody out there in the Woods or around Edmeades old vineyard, but still nobody believed it. “One day one of my coworkers came back and he was white as a sheet; he said he'd seen the guy. We still didn't believe it. The description was unbelievable.” The Hermit didn’t want to be seen and was very reclusive. He was almost like the Sasquatch legend.

“I was going through there one day and the trail had changed due to vegetation and weather and overgrowth and I went a different path. I saw some smoke coming out of a tall tree stump. I thought it was some kids playing with matches or something. When I came back later that day there was still this wisp of smoke coming out of the tree stump. Turned out it was his hut! I didn’t know what to think. Something was wrong. I rode up a little closer and the hair stood up on the back of my neck. There he was! It's true! He was dressed all in burlap. His clothes were burlap patches sewn together. His feet were wrapped in burlap too. I stopped short because I was so shocked. As I sat there on my horse, he came up and started speaking in a language I couldn't understand. He was holding my bridal and bit and looking at it like he was amazed at the fine leather work. I thought he asked where I was from and I told him I was from Tumbling McD Ranch. I asked where he was from. He went back and forth not understanding each other a few times. Finally he announced loudly, ‘I come from America!’ There he was. I came back and told everybody I'd seen him. My uncle was one of the ranch foremen. Later, we started bringing him food and basic supplies. He made a point of asking for cigarettes. But we couldn't understand him much at all. We would see him maybe twice a month after that. One time I was taking a string of kids on a horseback ride out in the area and they got to see it him and it was quite a thrill for them. Generally speaking, we tried to avoid him. We wanted to leave him alone and not invade his privacy. This went on for several years into the early 80s.”

“This photograph was taken in 1981. On the back of the photo somebody wrote:

‘Petro — Russian emigrant

15 years lived in Hendy Woods State Park.

He died a month after this was taken.

Fall '81’

“I believe he did die about a month later. He didn't seem very well-nourished. Over the years, he started being a little bolder and wearing regular pants and shoes. One time we came to see him and he was very excited to see us. So we got down off our horses and tried to talk for awhile. Apparently, over the winter a nearby fir tree fell down near his hut in a big storm and a big branch from that tree hit his hut. He’d been in there during a terrible big storm with lightning and thunder nearby. After we moved away, we heard that a Hendy Woods ranger was looking after him sort of, bringing him food and stuff. That Ranger was also the guy who brought him to the Ukiah Hospital after he got real sick where he eventually died. The entire experience made quite an impression on me. I'll never forget him or his hut. Technically his hut was not in the Park, but right near the Park border on Masonite land. So the State Parks people couldn't really claim he was their problem. They didn't know what to do. One time we heard he somehow started a fire in the area but they put it out. I'm not sure how that ended up. They might have brought him in for questioning and then decided to drop it and leave him be.”

A READER RESPONDS to a recent story in the Press Democrat about the fouling of the Russian River:

"It was only last century when we stopped using our waterways as dumps, for every form of human waste including our sewage. Most of the rest of world still does this as has been done from the beginning of times. The article made no mention of the Regional Water Quality Board, who is the responsible government agency to deal with water pollution. They have a long history of being regulatory, and politically driven, not problem driven. They know there is a problem in the Russian with E. coli, but have chosen to go after septic tank owners, and not where the real problem exists. They have not even tried to track down the cause of the problem. Looks like the County of Sonoma has. A hundred years ago we did much better. NCWQCB only goes after people they can regulate. And boy do they like to regulate, whether they are addressing a problem or not. I have mentioned this to them on many occasions. Dealing with real problems is not in their practiced mission statement. Look at what they are doing in the pot permit process. So it's not end of times, just another example of a failure in our government by an another staff driven agency that is insulated from the legislature. They do what they want, which means staring at a computer all day, and are overseen by a board that allows them to do this."

STONEWALLING REX

by Rex Gressett

I have been very proud that you read my articles. You. It has been for a few years now. Of course, I don’t actually know YOU, but I do know you are a reader and a thinker and, because you labor through my rather cumbersome prose and follow my struggling unhappy analysis, I know that you are someone who is aware of the community not only as a kind of Mr. Rodgers neighborhood but as a kind of dangerous experiment.

It really is a miracle.

The pleasant little streets and the lovely shops where, for the most part, we don’t shop and the big boxes where we get the things we need. It works incredibly well.

It's amazing that we have a ridiculously small (8-person or whatever it is) police force that really does show respect to all of us and really does keep the peace.

It's doubly and triply astonishing that we still have the great benefit of the crumbling dangerous hospital where we actually can go if we actually have to. It might kill you, of course, but any port in a storm. Looks like competent management from over the hill might improve that deadly embarrassment. But be glad it is there in a pinch.

Most of all, what Fort Bragg has going for it is that it is definitively not everywhere else. It’s a sanctuary, but like a speeding car as the landscape goes flying by - the fatal metal rending collision, the sudden silence of blood and broken bone - is always very close.

You read about it in my articles and I am very grateful. The City Council hates it.

When the Council met Monday night there was very little on the agenda. Once upon a time, at the people's insistence, it was suggested that our city government use local banks for their business instead of a corrupt megabank. Just an idea. It was put forward in a kind of spontaneous uprising of common sense at a long-ago Council meeting.

Monday night, the Finance Director quietly announced the idea to have died a long and lingering (if somewhat predictable) death sitting month-after-month on one desk or another until they were sure that it was safely forgotten. They were going back to doing business with the megabanks. No one on the Council said a word.

In other business, they nixed the Glass Beach staircase. And Jessica Morsell-Hayes, in brave somewhat faltering hesitation, distinguished herself by addressing the people’s business briefly on some small matter of fees.

But the real story was that for hours the syrup of personal grandstanding, sugary sweet oceans of half-truth, and self-promotion ran in rivers through the game show of what is supposed to be a public meeting.

The Lindy Peters style, perfected by Mayor Will Lee, has turned “remarks by the council” into some kind of idiot show-and-tell. Monday night was a festival of feel-good personal self-promotion, with oceans of optimism and relentless glib grandstanding by what are in effect not council people but happy-faced deceivers. It's gross.

Councilor Bernie Norvell sits through it all in silence like it was bad sitcom and talks only when it is unavoidable and relevant while the harlequins do their dance. He is a great councilman, Jessica Morell-Hayes has obviously forged a major alliance with him. She also is looking like she may be an effective and principled councilperson. So far she “respects Will Lee immensely.” That will change or she will.

The other three are simply clowns. Unworthy of the city, unworthy of the office. Glib empty-headed chattering Charletons. You can't "clap" at a city council meeting, but Mayor Will Lee can pour on the unctuous nauseating TV game show glitz and bury the people’s business in glitter.

No one can name a single policy proposal or idea that has come from Will Lee.

Oh yeah, no clapping. Will Lee owns that one. Under his bubbly game show administration, there is no meaningful discussion between the council. The City Council observes no rules of order, at least none definable.

The city council is not a governing body exactly. It certainly does not represent the people. It's a happy fraud, an empty posturing of idiot liars. A dangerous experiment.

Outside on the streets of Fort Bragg. SQL corporation, who you have never heard of or heard discussed at a Council meeting, is spray painting X’s on the streets of Fort Bragg where the new 5-G cell towners will be going.

Regulations by the council are pending, as they have been pending and will be pending. Once the antennas start going in no regulation is possible.

Maybe there is a big orange X in front of your home? Maybe if they put in a mini-microwave a few feet from your front door your kid won't get cancer. Maybe.

No comments from the Mayor, no comments from Lindy Peters — can't even ask.

Across town, clown councilperson Tess Albin Smith is conducting public information seminars to tell you how they intend to comply with the CVRA, effectively ending elections in Fort Bragg and replacing them with neighborhood popularity contests that will ensure the permanence of the incumbency and make impossible the control of the city council by citywide referendum.

The council clowns all threw up their hands in mock dismay when the CVRA was first proposed and since then have done everything in the power behind the scenes to facilitate Tess Albin-Smith's pet project for the termination of effective democracy in Fort Bragg.

There is a bill pending in Sacramento that would exempt our city and all cities under 100,000, but the Council pretends not to notice it. The Clown council wants to end effective elections. They will be secure.

It’s a dangerous experiment. I guess you would have to say that they have won. At least as far as I am concerned.

The Fourth District Supervisor Dan Gjerde refuses to speak with me. He won't answer questions, he won't do an interview. Former Mayor and present councilor Lindy Peters, who is running against him, declines all comment: "Bye-bye,” he said to me with admirably terse precision in his last email. Peters will not comment to me on the election, or 5–G, or any other issue. Will Lee, the current mayor, refuses an interview, refuses comment, won't meet, won't answer questions.

City Manager Tabatha Miller and Town Clerk June Lemos of the city administration have flatly denied the existence of a letter written to (then) Mayor Lindy Peters from Georgia Pacific. A letter read and discussed and passed around the table in the ex-mayor's Monday morning meeting. A letter that would, if released, bear heavily on the election of Lindy Peters — a letter that is by California Law an ex parte communication. The legal property and right of the people of the city to see and read.

According to the city administration, it does not exist. I do not allege a conspiracy. But there is a palpable consensus. No comments. No information, there is no crack in the wall. Not for me.

I don’t know how to bust this blockade. And it came down just in time for the elections and another dangerous experiment.

WEDNESDAY ALBION MOUNTAIN LION SIGHTING

Neighbor at the 4.68 mile marker on Navarro Ridge Road (near Albion) reports a mama cougar and 2 teen cubs walking through their front yard. Likely on the run from the active THP next door, lots of machines, noise, falling trees. Wednesday morning June 12, 10 am.

(via MendocinoSportsPlus)

THIRD DISTRICT SUPERVISOR REPORT, September 2019

by John Haschak

One key point in the Mendocino County Grand Jury report issued last May is the lack of a vision statement for our County’s future or a strategic plan on how to achieve it, which leaves our County Supervisors focusing on the crisis of the moment rather than seeing the bigger picture.

While I generally agree with this criticism by the Grand Jury, since their report was issued, a major economic vision for the future of the cannabis industry in Mendocino County has been proposed by some of my colleagues on the Board. Their strategic plan to achieve this vision involves the creation of several “Enterprise Zones (EZ)” throughout the County with 10 acre maximum grow sites as well as industrial scale processing facilities. One idea is that entities would pay around $100,000 just to complete the Environmental Impact Report for these EZs. This would allow large corporations to control cannabis production in our County. .

As Supervisor for the Third District, I have major problems with this EZ proposal. First, there is no specificity as to where these mega production sites will be located in the County. But wherever they want to put them, I believe they would impose an unreasonable nuisance on the entire neighborhood.

But my greatest concern with EZs is how they would shape the future of the cannabis industry in our County. Do we really want large corporate interests to come in and mine our County’s rich tradition of cannabis farming, and in the process dispossess the very farmers who established the Mendocino County brand in the first place? Is this the vision for the future of the cannabis industry that we share for our County? I don’t think so.

In talking with my constituents, I’ve heard lots of concern about this corporatization of the industry and I’ve also heard and support ideas about promoting cooperative models which would help small cannabis farmers survive in this new economy. Making our cannabis economy work for the people of Mendocino County rather than a few wealthy corporate players is the vision I have for the future of the cannabis industry, and drawing up County regulations that encourage small farmers to join together in cannabis cooperatives is the strategic plan for how we get there. I am currently in the process of developing a co-op friendly counter proposal to the corporate model. I welcome constituent feedback on this fundamental issue facing our County. (707-972-4214, haschakforsupervisor.org).

The Board of Supervisors has decided to move forward and hold a series of meetings. The two supervisors on the cannabis economic development ad hoc committee are having an open meeting on Oct. 5 in the Ukiah Valley Conference Room from 4:00-7:00 and then one in each supervisorial district, to receive public comment on this Enterprise Zone proposal. Dates for the supervisorial meetings have yet to be determined. If we are to prevent a corporate takeover of the cannabis industry in our County, it is imperative that people show up to voice their opinion and vision for our county. I’ll keep you posted.

Third District Supervisor Town Halls are set for Oct. 16 in Willits at 5:30 at City Hall and Oct. 18 in Laytonville at 6:00 in the Book Room. I greatly appreciate the people helping to set those up and I hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

John Haschak

Third District Supervisor

Mendocino County

TWO ON-LINE COMMENTS ON THE JAKE JONES CASE from Redheaded Blackbelt site:

(1) The two incidents were 1) that he failed to create required paperwork on a case where dog was discovered dead, dog was discovered allegedly stabbed or shot. Jones either shined it on, probably not taking it as important enough to record. Then he lied to his boss as a CYA and number 2) we don’t know because it was considered a personell matter. Basically it would seem that Jones was temperamentally unsuited to police work or getting along with his boss.

Then Warnock hired him anyway, claiming to have reviewed the prior complaints and found them either minimal, explained away or part of the past. But then DA Eyster told Warnock that it was poor judgment because such disciplinary incidents are require to be public records, can thus be used by defendants’ attorneys to cast doubt on the involved policeman’s testimony. Mind you, the DA can still pursue the case but he would have to work to overcome the questions about police testimony. The Humboldt DA’s choice was to not risk it and thus either dismiss or bargain away any case where Jones was involved. That does not mean that a jury could not be convinced that the police testimony was reliable but simply the DA wouldn’t risk it.

What this shows is that maybe the whole court system is so burdened by unrealistic rules that are misused by attorneys that it fails to provide either protection or justice.

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(2) I know Jake personally. I don’t know anything about the situation other than what has been presented in the media – because up until a few months ago he was under the equivalent of a gag order and was under threat of discipline if he talked about it. Having said that, Jake has always been a stand up guy and I believe this situation and the reaction to it are absolutely ridiculous. Here’s a guy a who has literally devoted his life to public service: He was a firefighter for several years and served with distinction. When he felt he could do more for society in the capacity of a police officer, he put himself through the academy at great personal cost (time, family relationships, money, moving) and then took a job in a place that basically just chews up and spits out lesser cops (Eureka). During his time at Eureka, by all accounts, he did a good and reputable job.

It was only when Eureka bosses learned that he was in application at Willits, where he was living, that they began to dig into his work product in what I believe was an attempt to keep him from leaving – not an uncommon concern among EPD officers as that sort of behavior from admin has been demonstrated before. Case in point, Jake was written up a few weeks before this incident because he was one minute – ONE MINUTE – late to work. He drives from Willits to Eureka, folks, one minute could probably be credited to him since he’s driving 4 hours up the death corridor to come to work. I expect he probably stayed over a few extra minutes so it’s not like he stole a minute worth of pay from the city or anything.

Now Jake has resigned from EPD (had he stayed on, even as a ‘Brady officer’ he couldn’t have been fired, just reassigned), gone to Willits, now been fired from Willits (because there, as a new hire, he was still on probation), and he will never be a cop again because of this publicity. He’s essentially lost the career he worked long and hard for – as Julia Fox was quoted as saying in NCJ – why the hell would he toss a career over something so “chickenshit”? Answer: he wouldn’t. But other people might have no problem tossing his career in an attempt to influence behavior and send a message.

I’m not rendering this comment to change anyone’s mind, because god knows cop haters will always jump on this sort of thing to further their agenda that all cops are thuggish liars, but I read over the other 30 comments and didn’t see one in support of this guy, and that’s BS. He did a lot of good and could still do a lot of good were it not for the crap slung at him by administrative types. I respect WPD’s decision to hire him because there stands an example of a boss who can probably see through BS and make his own decisions. I’m saddened that now he and all the rest of WPD are under some sort of Mendo DA microscope when all he was doing was hiring a good candidate.

Jake, if you are reading this, I believe you and I believe in you. You’re my friend. I wish you the best in getting past this and I am truly disheartened with EPD’s reaction to the original situation and the subsequent shitstorm it has started. If there’s any consolation, know that time will blow most of this over. It sucks right now, I’m sure, but it will get better. Go back into firefighting, or construction, and know that you are probably going to be a lot more stress-free and a happier guy for not being a cop anymore, anyway. Honestly, I wouldn’t wish being a cop in this day and age on my worst enemy.

ED NOTES

MENTIONED to a friend that I thought the multiple agencies issuing red fire alerts was confusing. He replied: "Weather is hard to predict precisely. I don't have any sympathy for them but PG&E is in a tough spot. I remember after the Santa Rosa fire, people complained that PG&E didn't power down the lines beforehand. But hindsight makes it an easy call. People are very dependent on their juice these days, and will howl if PG&E flips the switch on them, especially if it goes on for days. (I was struck by the fact that PG&E wants two days to inspect the lines, after the weather event is over. That makes for a long outage.) If PG&E was a true public utility, the lines would be buried."

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RUBES: Some of Ukiah's leading citizens were agog when Snoop Dog flew in to Ukiah's Rube International the other day apparently to visit FlowKana. Snoop Dog. Consider, if you dare, the implications.

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THE AVA’S BACK 40

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LOTS OF US have been staggered at the astonishing injustice visited upon two Wisconsin men for a murder they obviously did not commit. The truly excellent (and unrefuted) Netflix production called Making a Murderer, is a must-see. What I found must striking about the non-case the police investigators manufactured against Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey is that both are clearly and absolutely without the guile it would have taken to pull off what they've spent years in prison for pulling off. And for Avery it's the second long prison stretch he's done for a crime he didn't commit, the first one a brutal rape by a creep with rape priors the police managed to ignore in their zeal to nail the hapless Avery.

THERE'S AT LAST some real hope that Avery and his nephew, Dassey, might be freed. A Wisconsin inmate has reportedly confessed to the killing of Teresa Halbach that Avery and Dassey have been locked away for. Newsweek reports the inmate, who will remain unnamed until law-enforcement officials can review the confession, told the filmmakers of the upcoming documentary series Convicting a Murderer that he killed Halbach. “We haven’t confirmed the legitimacy of the confession, but seeing as it was given by a notable convicted murderer from Wisconsin, we feel responsible to deliver any and all possible evidence to law enforcement and legal teams,” director Shawn Rech told Newsweek. “Having been in production for 20 months, we’ve uncovered an unfathomable amount of information and evidence that is leading us to the truth. Our investigation does not end here.”

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IT WAS HEARTENING to read the enthusiastic reviews of the revived Caspar Inn, once Coast night life's beating heart under the great publican, Peter Lit. The new owners are off to a great start, and here's hoping they prosper in a tough business.

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STARTLED into laughter during Cal's football game against Mississippi last Saturday when the camera briefly focused on a bloated Ol' Miss fan holding up a quaint sign demanding victory over the "Berkeley Communists." The commies squeeked by the Rebs, 28-20.

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THE DEMOCRATS still can't believe they lost to Trump, although their candidate was the only Democrat candidate who could have lost to him. Today Nancy Pelosi, the embodiment of reverse political inspiration, boldly announced that she has begun an inquiry into impeaching Trump. An inquiry. Which will find, after a lot of pro forma, Democrat huffing and puffing that Orange Man can't be impeached because the Senate would have to vote him impeached, too, and the Republicans have the numbers in the Senate to prevent his removal. If Trump, live on national tv, suddenly lunged at Pelosi and began clawing at her clothing in a frontal sexual assault, Republicans would call it "Fake News."

THE DEMOCRATS, and their media stenographers, have been howling for Trump's gravity-defying comb-across ever since he became a candidate. So here they come, the whole tedious gang — Pelosi, Neener Neener Schiff, the candidates for president, and all the way down to career Northcoast officeholders like Mike Thompson, all of them, on-cue, with the same tired line: "Today we have the proverbial last straw."

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HOME INVASION SEASON is upon us. An implausible story from the Press Democrat described a pot robbery on the McNab Ranch where a half-dozen masked men allegedly got past a pair of "guards" and made off with a load of dope. Another similar event occurred recently out on deep, deep Low Gap Road. The McNab job, which sounds like some kind of inside treachery, remains "under investigation." The Low Gap perps, a trio of rich kids from Sonoma County, probably so psyched up on "gangsta" rap the coddled doofi actually believed they were "gangstas," got themselves busted virtually in the act — popped within an hour as they drove around nearby Ukiah in the middle of the night. Pot apparently is again worth the gro-effort, meaning thieves are thick on Mendo's back roads.

CATCH OF THE DAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

ELECTRA BEARD, Fort Bragg. Failure to appear.

ROBERT BERG, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-loitering on private property, paraphernalia, resisting.

JESSICA FABYUNKEY, Ukiah. Failure to appear.

STEVE MAROS, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

VANESSA MEZA, Ukiah. Domestic battery, suspended license.

GIOVANNI VILLA-VICENCIO, Willits. Suspended license (for reckless driving).

THE DEVASTATING ATTACK on Saudi oil facilities by drones and missiles not only transforms the balance of military power in the Middle East, but marks a change in the nature of warfare globally. On the morning of 14 September, 18 drones and seven cruise missiles – all cheap and unsophisticated compared to modern military aircraft – disabled half of Saudi Arabia’s crude oil production and raised the world price of oil by 20 per cent. This happened despite the Saudis spending $67.6 billion on their defense budget last year, much of it on vastly expensive aircraft and air defense systems, which notably failed to stop the attack. The US defense budget stands at $750 billion, and its intelligence budget at $85 billion, but the US forces in the Gulf did not know what was happening until it was all over.

— Patrick Cockburn

NURSING HOMES FACING LIFE-OR-DEATH DECISIONS IN POWER BLACKOUTS

As the Pacific Gas & Electric Company in California tries to reduce wildfire risk by cutting power during times of high risk, care facilities like nursing homes are up against factors that could prove deadly to at-risk patients.

govtech.com/em/preparedness/Nursing-Homes-Facing-Life-or-Death-Decisions-in-Power-Blackouts.html

RECAP OF WORLD CLIMATE STRIKE DAY IN GUALALA

Thank you attendees, volunteers and participants in World Climate Strike Day in Gualala called "The First Gathering of Keepers of the Coast." One takeaway from this event -- a guide for global warming adaptation and taking action -- are these words by 20th century design scientist, inventor, and visionary Buckminster Fuller: To change an existing paradigm, do not struggle with the problematic model. Create a new model and make the old one obsolete. We are all keepers of the coast and must act to bring attention and awareness to friends, neighbors, and family about global warming in light of climate science. We all need to become an advocate for change. In order to adapt, we need to transform our lives, and by transforming our lives, we change the world.

Takeaways include:

• Reduce the meat you eat. Fifty-one percent of all yearly CO2 emissions worldwide are due to animal agriculture.
• Vote for people who defend nature and will address the urgency of climate action.
• Stop logging in flood plains; stop clear cutting. Demand that businesses and governments enforce sustainable timber harvesting practices.
• Advocate for change by way of your voice and actions.
• Aim for zero waste reduction and reuse.
• Strive to inflict the least possible harm around you.
• Nurture and support all things local?grow your own veggies…support local farms.
• Build community towards sharing, independence, and resilience.
• Think globally, act locally.
• Finally and above all, love each other.

We just created a Facebook group you can access for updates. Here is a link to it: https://m.facebook.com/groups/2347278918915565?_rdr

Sincerely,

Mendonoma Climate Action Group

Joel Chaban, Patrick Hentschel, Madison Madden, Jennifer Briere, Jim Koogle, Pam MacLean, Pat Chaban, Gail Taylor, et al?

PS. For those who signed up for updates, activities, the latest climate science, and Community Climate Change Dialogue, we will contact you around the end of October after we?ve taken a short respite.

Photos by Barry Weiss and Barbara Schultz

POOR PEOPLE'S PRICE?

KZYX Simple Living Membership?

From: Yasmin Solomon <sisteryasmin@hotmail.com>

To: diane Hering <membership@kzyx.org>

Subject: Simple Living Membership?

Hello KZYX,

I hope you have responded by now to my voicemail, as I do not live with a computer. I left you a message this morning.

Will a "Simple Living" (low income) membership be available ($25.00) for this upcoming Pledge Drive? I surely hope so.

It is very important to include everyone in supporting the station, I am sure you agree.

In the past, some people in charge were very cynical about this low income category, which enables ALL of us to pledge to our radio station. In fact, she said, "People will take advantage of it, and not pledge more than $25.00." This is patently ridiculous, and so very dismissive of our listeners and members. If one has the means, why would they not pledge as much as they possibly can? And for we elders, disabled, living on a fixed income, a Simple Living $25.00 Membership allows us to participate in supporting our Radio Station, that some of us (me) helped start, did original programs from the very first days on the airwaves (me), and can continue to support the station in any and all ways that we can.

I welcome your feedback. By phone is the best way to reach me, as no internet in my home.

Thank you very much for reading and considering this.

Peace, Love & Justice,

DJ Sister Yasmin

707-884-4703 let ring 5 times, please

MS. MULHEREN ON UKIAH:

Mo Memo, September 23, 2019, Update #9 Weekly summary from one Ukiah Council Member

This is it! Those coveted items you've been eyeing at the Corp Yard on Hastings can now be yours! Visit GovDeals.com and Search for Ukiah to capture a great bargain.

At our meeting on September 18, 2019 we approved a Professional Services contract for an ADA Right of Way Access Plan. There were many years when the City streets and sidewalks went unrepaired aka Deferred Maintenance, with the passage of Measure Y we now have $3 million dollars to repair streets per year. If you'd like to see what has been repaired so far please visit cityofukiah.com/streets. The City uses the PCI (Pavement Conditions Index) to determine which streets need what type of treatment (i.e. slurry seal, overlay, full reconstruction) but the amount of ADA ramps that have to be installed based on that treatment also has to be considered. In the last few years we have improved 60 ADA ramps throughout town, this is great news for our community. This report will help prioritize ramp updates. As our population ages this will be more and more important to make sure we have safe access for all generations.

At the same meeting during the annual review of the Landfill Closure Plan it was determined that we are on track and on budget with the 2016 plan for the closure of the Landfill and that no adjustments to the budget are necessary at this time.

There has been a new addition to Alex Thomas Plaza and during the Walk & Bike Mendocino "Big Bike Bash" they cut the ribbon of the new bike repair station. The Mendo Maidens are a group of women that rode their bikes to San Francisco and raised money for three bike repair stations which will be installed in Fort Bragg, Willits and Ukiah. You can read more about their journey at http://walkbikemendo.org/mendo-maidens-ride-to-the-bay

"It never gets easier, you just get faster" - Greg LeMond

KZYX, MENDOCINO COUNTY PUBLIC BROADCASTING, 30TH ANNIVERSARY PROGRAMMING AND EVENTS

Here is a rundown of the special programming and events surrounding the KZYX celebration of 30th years on the air.

Concerts! These 30th Anniversary KZYX benefit shows will take place at Eagles Hall in Fort Bragg.

Daimh: The high-energy Gaelic supergroup from the West Highlands of Scotland on Friday, October 25th. (Produced by Oak and Thorn)

Nuala Kennedy & Eamon O’Leary: These longtime Celtic music collaborators, offering songs ranging from the ancient Irish tradition to reflections on the present day, perform on Friday, November 1. (Produced by Oak and Thorn)

The Dark Carnival Returns!

On Halloween Night, Thursday, October 31, at the Anderson Valley Grange we proudly present the return of the Dark Carnival Halloween costume party. We’ll scare ourselves dancing to popular electro swing and jazz band, High Step Society. The event’s producers tell us the theme will be “Monster Mash, Creature Feature, Live Popcorn Theater.” There will be on-stage theatrics and a no-host bar. Past Dark Carnivals have been a blast, and this event is well worth the journey to Anderson Valley. The Dark Carnival, a benefit for KZYX, will run from 6:00 to 11:00 pm. All ages invited.

The KZYX Fall Fundraising Drive

Our Fall Fundraising Drive will run from Friday, Oct 4th through Sunday, Oct 13th and will feature special 30th Anniversary programming throughout.

On October 5th at 1pm there will be a 30th Year Nostalgia Hour, with on-air guests sharing memories of KZYX over the past 30 years, featuring audio clips of past programming and much more.

On the same day, Oct 5th, at 2pm we will air a live game show spoof of "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me", which we are calling "Go Ahead and Tell Me."

On Oct 10th starting at 8pm and running all the way through the dead of night we’ll present the very first Dead Marathon, a nighttime marathon of Grateful Dead music brought to you by rotating hosts, with a special Grateful Dead poster available as a Thank You gift for donations.

The stars align for KZYX

At 9am on Tuesday, October 15, the actual KZYX Anniversary Day, astrologer Elaine Kalantarian will give an on-air reading of the past 30 years of KZYX and tell us what the stars reveal for the station’s future.

A musical journey through three decades of KZYX

Immediately following that entertaining astrology reading on October 15, We’ll present a special commemorative show, Music of the Last 30 Years.

For more information about the Fundraising Drive and other on-air programming, or about the Dark Carnival, please contact Renee Wilson at 707-895-2324 or via email at membership@kzyx.com

CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO RAILWAY – An illustration from the 1949 Chessie Calendar (Where there’s Chessie there’s comfort) – Artist: Charles E. Bracker

BALANCE/FALL PREVENTION ACTIVITIES

An upcoming program on the coast: "A Matter of Balance: managing concerns about falls". Call (707) 412-3176 x 102 to register. If you are going and want to set up a carpool - let me know I can help connect people. Note: we are looking at offering this program in the Valley but it will take some time and people to volunteer to be trained and lead it - please let me know if you are at all interested and Thank You! In the mean time there are some great balance and strengthening classes in the Valley already:

At the Anderson Valley Senior Center

• Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9am is Young at Heart exercise
• Wednesday and Friday 9am is Tai Chi with Karen DeFalco
• Thursday 11am to noon - Easy Stretch Chair Yoga, instructed by Kathy Macdonald, suggested donation $5.

And

The Studio SoBo - some suggested classes:

• Jeanne’s Monday morning (11 am to 12:15) yoga class
• Linda MacElwee does QiGong on Weds from 6-7:00 which is a great balance and stretching work out for seniors. She asks for an $8 donation.
• Kira’s Thursday afternoon (4 — 5:30) gentle yoga.

I hope this helps you reach your physical activity goals! All the best,

Anica Williams

Anderson Valley Village Coordinator

SNOOP DOG & FLOW KANA

Editor,

Snoop Dog visited Flow Kana (FK) yesterday. It's unfortunate Snoop Dog didn't do his homework on FK, but I'm guessing Snoop Dog is either a FK investor or he got a hefty appearance fee.

Since my piece, "FK's Deal with the Devil" went viral, FK has struck back in a very big way.

1. FK hired both an in-house PR director, and an outside PR firm.
2. FK CEO Michael Steinmetz's wife, Favia Cassini, is making a puff piece on FK , a self-styled documentary.
3. FK has invited members of the BOS, and BOS candidates, including Mo Mulheren, to the FK campus for a schmooze fest.

From Ms. Mulheren's FB page:

Yesterday I attended a really amazing Ted Talk Inspired day of learning at the Flow Cannabis Institute. Here is a list of some of the amazing speakers that discussed cultural inequity, climate change and how cannabis and the legalization of the industry in California plays a role. Every day I challenge myself to learn something more from our community and how I can help improve it. I feel inspired to even more to represent all of Mendocino County as we grow in to what changes and challenges lay ahead of us.

oh and as a child of the 90's seeing Snoop Dogg was pretty cool too

FK had a huge PR roll-out yesterday that included a TED Talk. In a very bogus way, FK is trying to link itself to "climate activism", the "human potential movement", and a host of other popular issues.

See: https://www.catalystforchange.co/speakers?fbclid=IwAR2lcYou-i0NXk0Z6h02ttKO0TOVBJxzI02bVO1mcAZO8Whg3-2sRhYeUYM

Keep in mind, FK is not incorporated as a 501-c-3.

Instead, FK is very much a for-profit company, backed by $175 million from Wall Street quant fund fat cat, Jason Adler.

There's probably not a more predatory guy on the planet than Jason Adler.

Like Jeff Bezos's business model, which FK is clearly imitating, FK doesn't care how much cash they're burning through, as they build capacity.

The strategy is to build capacity -- take advantage Mendocino County's desperate cannabis farmers who either can't get permits and/or are under-capitalized -- and then exit. FK will either cash out in an IPO or sell out in an acquisition by Big Pharma, Big Tobacco, or Big Booze.

FK could be a case study at the Harvard B School in classic vulture capitalism masquerading as feel-good hippie socialism.

It's such a cruel lie.

Best always,

John Sakowicz, Mendocino County 1st District candidate

FOUND OBJECT