MCT: Sunday, October 27, 2019 (Early post, outages pending)

ED NOTE: With the upcoming power shut off we cannot say what the website situation will be for the next few days. We will continue to post to the extent possible depending on whatever arrangements can be made at whatever alternate access points we can find. We will try to keep up with events as circumstances permit. Stay tuned.

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KINCADE FIRE EXPANDS; new evacuations ordered for Healdsburg and Windsor.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/10223201-181/kincade-fire-grows-to-more

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ANDERSON VALLEY'S LEGENDARY AND FORMER DEPUTY, Keith Squires, lives in Windsor. We can imagine him saying, "I'm not going anywhere," and meaning it.

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SUPERVISOR WILLIAMS 9AM SATURDAY: 

I anticipate most of Mendocino County being subject to loss of electricity between Saturday evening and late Monday as part of a planned shut down and wind storm damage. Add a couple of days for PG&E to restore in phases and we’re probably looking at back to normal on Wednesday. Plan for the worst — stock up on supplies and be alert. (Incidentally, I responded to a report of flames on a 60kv line in Little River last night. Report any sighting via 911 even if intermittent. Treat all down wires as energized and keep a safe distance.)

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CONFUSION IN PHILO: Several Philo residents have told us they can't tell if they're going to be powered-down. Some addresses are said to be off the shutdown list, some are on it. The PG&E outage map seems to encircle Philo, but not all of it...

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FORT BRAGG OUTAGE NOTICE

Fort Bragg City staff has received confirmation of a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event that will impact the city of Fort Bragg. The PSPS will take place on 10/26/19. The City and most of Mendocino County will be impacted. Our updated information is that de-energization will be starting at approximately 5pm. Although PG&E may try to begin the restoration process on Sunday afternoon, you should prepare to be out of power for at least two days.

All residents are encouraged to have supplies on hand as well as lighting sources at their disposal. Essential functions such as water and public safety communications will be operating under back-up power sources.

For more information and to check if your particular address will be impacted, go to: www.pge.com/eventmaps and type in your specific address.

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SATURDAY AFTERNOON EVACUATION ORDERS

The entire Town of Windsor and City of Healdsburg (Mandatory) with numerous unincorporated areas under evacuation warning

Evacuation Centers at Healdsburg preparing to move

Evacuation Centers planned at Santa Rosa Vets Center, Finley Center, Petaluma Vets Center, and more being planned

Large animals may be evacuated to the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds

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Kinkade Fire Update – 10/26

10% contained as of 7:30am

25,455 acres burned 

Wind/De-energization Event – 10/26

The weather has changed and the event of the forecast is not expected to last as long; the back end of the event may be ending sooner. The start time of the wind event has been moved up to 4:00pm and the backend has been moved up to 8:00 am

Forecasted to be the strongest wind event of the season, this is a 1 in a 15 year event, with fuels extremely dry creating an elevated, critical extreme fire weather

In addition to three 3 Community Resource Centers set up by PG&E located in Santa Rosa, the Hannah Boys Center in Sonoma and at the Cloverdale Citrus Fair; the locations in Sonoma County will be open today at 8:00am though 8pm through the duration of the event

PG&E still working on an additional Community Resource Center, tentatively for Guerneville

Upcoming Wind Events

Prepare for another Winter Storm wind event October 29 through the 30th.

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THIS IS WHAT a "Public Safety Power Shutoff" looks like in Northern California. Orange (the new black) are areas slated for no power for at least 48 hours.

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BOONVILLE SCHOOLS OUT MONDAY:

Due to the planned power shut-off, beginning today, school will be cancelled on Monday. Please DO NOT send your students to school on Monday. If power is restored at both the High School and the Elementary School sites by Tuesday, we will have school on Tuesday. 

Communication will be a challenge during the outage; communication systems will be limited. We will attempt to communicate as much as possible via our website and Facebook pages.

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NOTES FROM A BLACKOUT

Early this morning, San Anselmo's 76 station was out of fuel. The adjacent Safeway was down to its last battery pack and out of ice and many other products presumed to be useful in an emergency. The rest of Saturday was spent waiting for power to go out.

MSP RECEIVED A MESSAGE from a viewer at 12:12 pm saying, “Traveling southbound 101 in Windsor right now. Traffic at about 10 miles per hour. Heavier than normal traffic heading towards Mendo County but moving at the limit.” She then added, “Made it to Windsor. Traffic is crawling southbound 101. Can see the roads from town leading to 101 and they are packed. Northbound 101 is still moving freely. That would be my choice of evacuation route at this point.”

SOME AV RESIDENTS were assembling at the County Fairgrounds in Boonville in apparent anticipation of the upcoming outage.

AT THE BOONVILLE FIREHOUSE, Ambulance Manager Clay Eubanks was conducting EMT update training.

A MATTER OF FACT, “whatever”/“guess we’re going to sleep early tonight”  attitude in anticipation of the Saturday outage along with the possible Halloween outage has replaced the low-grade dread that some Boonville residents were experiencing. “Time to get a generator, I suppose,” added one, “this is really the new normal.”

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SHERIFF ALLMAN released the video of the Officer-Involved shooting on Uva Drive in Redwood Valley on Oct. 10, 2019. The 15-minute video is posted on the Sheriff’s Facebook page. The video includes an intro by the Sheriff followed by the initial 911 call recording. The incident starts out calmly enough, then explodes in gunfire when the suspect, who casually mentioned that he’s from East LA, reached for a gun. Mr. Corral, who was obviously drunk, apparently survived the incident. It didn’t look like any deputies were injured or shot.

Mr. Corral was subsequently booked into the Mendocino County Jail on attempted murder charges.

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SHERIFF’S PRESS RELEASE

Location: 7000 block of Uva Drive in Redwood Valley, CA 

Date of Incident: 10-10-2019 

Time: 12:54 PM

Victim(s):  N/A (at this time)

Suspect(s): Joseph Anthony Corral (26 year-old male from Los Angeles, CA)

Written By:  Captain Gregory L. Van Patten  #1184 

Synopsis: 

On 10-10-2019 at 12:54 PM Deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a reported drunk pedestrian in the 6000 block of Central Avenue in Redwood Valley, California.

While searching for this reported pedestrian, Deputies subsequently contacted an adult male in the general vicinity (7000 block of Uva Drive).

During that contact an Officer Involve Shooting occurred.

On 10-25-2019 Sheriff Thomas Allman released the patrol vehicle dash-camera video of the incident in compliance with California Senate Bill 748.

The video can be viewed at the following links:

youtube https://youtu.be/5iszbmRLZgE

twitter https://twitter.com/MendoSheriff/status/1187921839667978241 (first minute only)

facebook https://www.facebook.com/MendocinoSheriff/videos/555756905233902/ front page of website has link to YouTube

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NEWSOM APPOINTS AHEAD OF ELECTION — PEKIN WILL FACE INCUMBENT

New Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Appointed By Governor.

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Friday his appointment of attorney Victoria Shanahan, of Windsor, to serve as a judge on the Mendocino County Superior Court bench. She fills a judicial vacancy created by the retirement of Superior Court Judge David Riemenscheider.

A criminal defense attorney living and primarily working in Sonoma County, Mrs. Shanahan is also a former prosecutor, having worked in the past for both the Mendocino County District Attorney and the Sonoma County District Attorney. She ran unsuccessfully in 2014 to unseat the incumbent Sonoma County DA, Jill Ravitch.

(Ed note: Ms. Shanahan was born and raised in Willits.)

http://vshanahanlaw.com/santa-rosa-defense-attorney.html

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PSPS UKIAH SHELTER PET OF THE WEEK

My, what big ears you have, Bruno! This very handsome dog was surrendered to the shelter when his family could not afford his medical care. Bruno has a skin issue, but with treatment, it has already improved. Bruno lived with children and was housetrained in his last home. During a Fido Field Trip with Bruno, he completely won over the hearts of the couple who took him out. Bruno got to go on a drive to Lake Mendocino and did very well in the car. Bruno is a 3 year old, neutered male, mixed breed dog (we think there's Doberman in there!) who currently weighs 72 pounds. For more about Bruno, visit his webpage at http://www.mendoanimalshelter.com/dogblog/bruno

The Ukiah Animal Shelter is located at 298 Plant Road in Ukiah. Our dog and cat kennel hours have changed.

Please visit our website for the new hours, and information about our guests, services, programs and events: http://www.mendoanimalshelter.com 

For more information about adoptions please call 707-467-6453. DURING A PG&E POWER SHUTDOWN, the only service the shelter will offer will be the return to owners of lost and impounded, owned animals. Animal Care Services will be able to conduct cash transactions ONLY. Please be sure to bring cash if you are reclaiming a lost animal. Visitors will not be permitted at the Animal Shelter during a power shutdown situation. Stray or owned animals that come into the Animal Shelter by Animal Control, Law Enforcement and over the counter via citizens, will be impounded as usual. The Animal Shelter will not have access to a back up generator and will be without power during a power shutdown situation. Animal Care Services will not take in owned animals for care during a power shutdown situation. Animal owners will be responsible for the care of their owned animals during a red flag warning/power shutdown situation.  

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ELE MARSHALL WRITES (on the Coast Listserve):

I am writing this little blurb not to take sides regarding PG&E and the fires but to offer maybe more information for those who might be interested to look at the situation we Californians find ourselves in now with all of these fires from various perspectives.  There is quite a bit of blame to go around.  Many of my family members (including myself) have also worked at PG&E in many different positions; so, I am also not saying PG&E isn't wholly without blame, however, there is just more to the story as there usually is; and, Governor Newsom should be more responsible by educating himself more on ALL aspects of this situation.  That is, if he/we TRULY want to improve this situation.

From my son who worked at PG&E in Mendocino County for quite a few years as a lineman and left CA (got fed up) and now works in a "state of the art" electric cooperative in North Dakota.  He can't believe how far advanced the area he works in is compared to CA.  Anyway, his comments that I thought were interesting in response to another person's comments on Facebook:

"I can personally say that when the boots hit the ground It is only getting worse. So many in California want power without an environmental impact. Facts are that to have a reliable and safe supply of power trees will be cut down, land will be cleared and it will look ugly. California won't accept that. They want all the benefits and none of the responsibility.

I was working on building a secondary 60kv circuit and the coastal commission approved of all the work. We did a temporary shut down and moved load from one circuit to another . We tore down the old line and then the coastal commission changed their mind and told us we couldn't put a new line up. Everything north of Eureka would be out of power. That is the mindset of the politicians. They have no understanding of what actually happens on the ground and just have an idea in their head.

Facts are, for a comfortable life with electricity they have to accept an environmental impact.

In North Dakota we have lines that can handle hurricanes. We build strong and plan for problems. California still blocks PG&E from putting poles in the ground so they have to run wires from tree to tree at times. Even India is more advanced than that.

It isn't a money problem. It is a problem of people wanting this nice electricity without all the consequences of having it.

It isn't a conspiracy or a plot to make more money. It is a problem."

 I might also mention that my husband who worked at Berkeley Tuolumne Camp near Yosemite for quite a while and lived there longer used to complain all of the time how the surrounding trees, brush, etc. were not regularly being cleaned out.  He complained because there had/have been so many fires in that part of the state he was afraid it was possibly just a matter of time before the Camp would be affected.  No one listened.  Well, sure enough, that Camp that had been there for many generations of families burned to the ground during the Rim Fire of 2013.  Just saying...

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FIRES AND BLACKOUTS MADE IN SACRAMENTO

Newsom tries to deflect blame, but PG&E is the agent of his policies.

(Wall Street Journal Editorial)

 The California Public Utilities Commission is in charge of enforcing state safety laws and regulations, which can carry penalties of up to $50,000 per violation per day. Yet PG&E received no safety fines related to its power-grid management over the last several years. The commission has instead focused on enforcing the Legislature’s climate mandates.

State law mandates that utilities obtain 33% of electric generation from renewables such as wind and solar by 2020 and 60% by 2030. Utilities must spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year to reduce the cost of green energy for low-income households. PG&E has prioritized political obeisance over safety.

 In 2018 PG&E spent $509 million on electric discounts for low-income customers in addition to $125 million for no-cost weatherization and efficiency upgrades for disadvantaged communities. Utilities also receive allowances from the state’s cap-and-trade program—$7.5 billion since 2012—to pay for other “ratepayer benefits” that reduce emissions.

For instance, the Legislature in 2015 mandated that utilities spend $100 million annually on solar systems in low-income communities. This is on top of the $2.2 billion in customer rebates for rooftop solar installations, which utilities charged to ratepayers between 2007 and 2016. Under the state’s net-metering program, solar customers also get a break on their bills.

Last year PG&E invested more than $150 million in battery storage and “sustainable” technologies, which was paid for by a special charge on ratepayers. PG&E is also spending $130 million over three years to install 7,500 electric-car charging stations and offers drivers a $800 “clean fuel” rebate.

All of this has been part of a Democratic political strategy to use PG&E to advance their climate agenda without raising taxes. But Californians have instead paid through higher electric rates—PG&E rates are twice as high as in Oregon and Washington—while utilities have had to redirect capital and ratepayer revenue away from fortifying the grid and tree-trimming.

Is it any wonder that electric equipment is malfunctioning? PG&E filed for bankruptcy in January amid tens of billions in liabilities for dozens of wildfires linked to its equipment. The utility says it doesn’t know if the failed jumper cable caused the Sonoma fire and that it had done repairs and inspections on the site.

But PG&E customers are rightly furious. They’ve suffered inconvenience and financial losses due to power outages that start with little warning and may go on for days. Who can run a business or household this way? Sorry, kids, you’re going to have to do your homework by candlelight.

Gov. Newsom is demanding that PG&E pay rebates to customers affected by the blackouts. The utility has declined, citing its bankruptcy debts, though it may have to follow the Governor’s orders if investors want to avoid getting wiped out. San Francisco has proposed buying some utility assets, and San Jose wants to turn it into a customer-owned cooperative.

Democrats are accusing PG&E of putting profits over safety, but the utilities commission approves its return on equity based on what’s needed to attract private investment. Utility shareholders are typically older folks who rely on dividends for a reliable stream of income—not billionaire hedge funds.

PG&E has prioritized serving its political overlords above all else. California’s return to the dark ages is a direct result of the Democratic political monopoly in Sacramento.

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FROM MARILYN DAVIN

PG&E has not owned any of the generating units at the Geysers since before the millennium. By 1999 Calpine had purchased nearly all of its 20 generating units. Calpine itself was purchased a couple years back by a Houston-based private equity firm. PG&E may be guilty of other sins but this is not one of them, at least if, as reported so far, this fire originated at the Geysers geothermal facility.

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100 REASONS to come celebrate Halloween at La Cantina!! I know... there's that other cool party too [at the AV Grange]. We'll be open late if you want to come after that one.

Do you want a $100 gift certificate good at Lizbby's and La Cantina? Then enter our Halloween costume contest! We'll be celebrating Halloween at La Cantina with Happy Hour all night, $2 spooky goblets of Dan's Haunted Hooch, and $1 off all other drinks for anyone in costume!!! FREE posole and bar snacks after 9 p.m.! Costume contest winner declared at the stroke of midnight!

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NIGHT LIGHT OF THE NORTH COAST: Lost in Space (Big Dipper over Trinidad)

by David Wilson

The planet hung silently in space. A tiny jewel in the blackness, it was a half-lit marble of greens and browns and blues and whites. But it was more than a planet, it was a life-bearing droplet, a little oasis of life journeying in infinite patience in its timeless passage around the sun. Soft moonlight from its single silvery satellite played upon the planet’s face, its light crept across continents and oceans as the world revolved in its glow.

From the moment of its birth the planet was in constant motion. It orbited its sun in a never-ending ellipse, and it spun on its axis unceasingly. Beneath its surface tectonic forces pushed and pulled, shaping the planet’s larger features. Forces on the surface and above it carved and polished the land. Rivers wore the terrain down and carried it in their flows to the oceans, and the oceans themselves sloshed to the rhythm of the moon, their waves and tides nibbling at the edges of the land. The atmosphere roiled continuously overhead and further smoothed the planet’s features in its persistent caress.

Continents drifted, mountains rose and fell, glaciers came and went, each process shaping the land dramatically. But life on the planet was oblivious. Life is short, and the pace of change was long, and life lived on unaware and unconcerned, shaped through the eons by the very forces it could not see.

My brother Seth and I stood in the moonlight on the continent’s edge, two small ephemeral life forms contemplating the planet we called home. The Moon’s silvery orb hung in the sky, bathing the western edge of the North American continent in moonlight where it met the great Pacific Ocean. Rocks mingled with the waves, vainly resisting the erosive forces tearing them down. Yet they seemed permanent fixtures.

We could not see the shape of the coastline changing, but we knew it was. The waves crashed against rock and beach unceasingly, one after another, and still we saw no changes. A lifetime of observation would mostly note only minor changes to the shoreline or landscape. But a lifetime is merely a spark next to the long life of the Earth; what chance have I to glimpse any of these great processes except as a single snapshot?

Up the coast from us, across the ocean waves smoothed by the long exposure of the camera’s patient eye, sparkled the little town of Trinidad. For as long as I can remember it has been there, and it will no doubt be there long after I’m gone. Yet it, too, will be gone in the blink of Earth’s eye. Or do we believe our civilization will last until the end? No, we are too fragile and tiny to be thinking in those terms. Humanity will die off before Earth does; Earth has billions of years left in her. So let’s tread lightly and prolong our stay; maybe we can last longer than we would have.

At the western edge of the North American continent, on the rough shores of the great Pacific Ocean, Trinidad, Humboldt County, California sparkles in the moonlight under a starry sky. The Big Dipper and Polaris, the North Star, have been enhanced for recognizability.

To keep abreast of David Wilson’s most current photography or peer into its past, visit or contact him at his website mindscapefx.com or follow him on Instagram at @david_wilson_mfx .

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CITY COUNCIL MEETING 10-28-19 item 8B, Fort Bragg's Guidelines & Standards for Telecommunication Facilities

Monday 10-28-19 sometime after 6pm the Fort Bragg city council will consider adopting Guidelines & Standards for WIRELESS Telecommunication Facilities. If you are concerned about the damaging effects of 5G on people, plants & animals please attend (speak for 3 minutes), write an e-mail (your own) or use sample below. Send copy to city clerk June Lemos <Jlemos@fortbragg.com> city manager Miller, Tabatha <TMiller@FortBragg.com> planning commission <cdd@fortbragg.com> and city council members: Will Lee <Wlee@fortbragg.com>, Norvell, Bernie <Bnorvell2@fortbragg.com>, Jessica Morsell-Haye <jmorsellhaye@fortbragg.com>, Peters, Lindy <LPeters2@fortbragg.com> and Tess Albin-Smith <Talbinsmith@fortbragg.com>

Subject title for e-mail “city council meeting 10-28-19 item 8B, Fort Bragg's Guidelines & Standards for Telecommunication Facilities"

Meeting is at Fort Bragg Town Hall 363 N. Main Street.

https://cityfortbragg.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=718438&GUID=1D5AC13D-E442-449E-B243-42B903750EDB

Below is the link to the petition created by <stop5gmendocino@mcn.org>.

Indicate your name on the petition, leave a brief personal comment and forward to city clerk June Lemos <Jlemos@fortbragg.com> and

<stop5gmendocino@mcn.org>

Please also forward to your friends and encourage them to sign.

We have not set up fundraising for this petition. The "Promote Petition" option Change.org asks of you will not go towards this cause.

https://www.change.org/p/fort-bragg-city-council-and-city-manager-no-wireless-facilities-next-to-homes-schools-and-parks-in-fort-bragg-ca

Sample letter see below.

Member Stop 5G Mendocino

Annemarie Weibel

Fort Bragg

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SUPERVISOR DISTRICTS, MENDOCINO COUNTY

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FDR REFUSED

AVA,

Cheers to Eva Chrysanthe for writing about the 1934 SF General Strike and Harry Bridges. We add the fact that fellow worker Bridges was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) during the 1920s. This attempt at industrial unionism and working class solidarrity preceeded the CIO of the 30s. Bridges and many of the waterfront militants brought that spritit to the 1934 strikes.

The ILWU was a factor in the demonstrations for peace, racial justice and against the House Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC) in the late 50s and 60s. Harry Bridges fell in and out of love with the communist party — however my old Wobbly mentor thought.. “He remained a union man.”

Another note: During the strike the California governor asked Roosevelt for federal troops to break the strike. He refused! The bosses never forgave him.

Alan ‘Captain Fathom’ Graham

Albion

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WHO REPRESENTS US?

Editor,

PG&E is in a tough spot. In retrospect, it could and should have spent more attention and money on repair and modernization of its equipment. It’s similar to our state and national governments ignoring our infrastructure. It’s just not sexy.

PG&E is owned by shareholders and hedge funds. When PG&E’s top managers and board sit down to allocate money for infrastructure upgrades, they also have to consider the share price and the amount of money to give their stakeholders.

It is a legal precedent that shareholders shall be given preference over the greater good (Reference Ford vs. Dodge Brothers.)

PG&E is a monopoly and should be owned by all the people (like Cal Fire or Caltrans or water districts). Someone needs to represent the greater good.

Steve Carter

Santa Rosa

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WHEN IN DOUBT, WORK OUT

Dear Editor:

I share your addiction. I do two sets of a hundred. I also like bench presses, pull-ups, arm curls, quad sets and ab crunches in my garage gym. My daily motto is "When in doubt, work out". If I need impetus to maintain this compulsion I go to Wal-Mart and observe people 20 years younger than me (I"m 77) in wheelchairs on oxygen. If more people would take your advice to heart there'd be no pharm commercials on television and health care would not be a national emergency and a political firestorm. Not long ago I bought a preacher curl bench from Amazon. I received an email from Amazon this morning requesting an answer to a question a "fellow customer" had about the product. "Is it black or dark grey?", he asked. It seems mental health's a bitch too.

Best Regards,

Denis Rouse.

Sequim, Washington

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ON THE ROAD, with Katy Tahja: 

What do you do when you're an author with a new book? Drive 25 miles at 9 a.m. to be interviewed by a newspaper about the book. Drive over the mountains 40 miles in Willits to sell 10 copies of the book to the Book Juggler and leave a review copy with the county museum. Then drive 30 miles in Ukiah, sell copies to Held Poage/Mendocino County Historical Society & Mendocino Book Company. Leave review copy for the Grace Carpenter Hudson Musuem. Go to Ukiah Daily Journal to arrange a phone interview. Then drive 30 miles back home over those mountains again. Successful Day.

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DON VAN VLIET: “Don’t Ruin Step on Thing” (Gouache on paper)

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BILL GRAHAM says Hello