MCT: Friday, January 24, 2020

• Rainy-ish
• Radio Drama
• Rainville Relief
• Art Money
• ID Sought
• Ambulance Crisis
• Joy Call
• Cannabis Manager
• Mr Smith
• Ed Notes
• Haul Road
• Tractor Driver
• Thrice Guilty
• Kingtide Event
• Yesterday's Catch
• Glaser Retrospective
• Marihuana
• Executive Privilege
• RCS Data
• Greenwald Charged
• Unborn Protector
• CAMP Year
• Feeling Safe
• Honoring MLK
• Political Education
• Found Object

RAIN WILL DIMINISH Friday afternoon, but more rain is expected between late tonight and Sunday afternoon. A brief break is expected late Sunday before more rain arrives Monday and Tuesday for some locations, especially Del Norte and northern Humboldt counties. Additional light rain will be possible through the end of the week, although a drying trend is expected for Mendocino county. (NWS)

LIVE RADIO DRAMA TONIGHT, DOWNTOWN FORT BRAGG

The Thief Lord is a magical detective love story of danger, Italian orphans, daring, intrigue and betrayal -- and stealing things, such as the gryphon-wing-shaped crucial part of a weird merry-go-round that makes the old young and the young old. It's just like they used to say: If you're gonna make an antique time machine, use the best merry-go-round animal.

Kylie Felicich and Co.'s Community Center of Mendocino full production of The Thief Lord, cast of two dozen local actors and actresses between about three feet high and like five feet high, opens next month on the big stage, but 9PM THIS FRIDAY they'll be reading it for KNYO-LP Fort Bragg (107.7fm) and KMEC-LP Ukiah (105.1fm) in KNYO's storefront performance space, at 325 N. Franklin, next door to the Tip Top bar, as a live radio drama for the whole first hour-and-a-third of Memo of the Air.

I'll be there early messing with the clockwork radio machinery, so I get my regular chair. There's room, and one couch, but there aren't a whole lot of chairs. Maybe bring a folding chair. Really, if you're in town or near town anyway, stop by and enjoy in person real local community radio fun. Nobody told me about it costing anything to get in, so I guess it's free. And I know for sure it's free to press your nose against the window and watch from there. I'd arrive on time, though, if I were you, and squeeze in to the limit of the entirely sensible fire rules.

I'm so excited about this. And there'll be more such live radio drama coming soon to KNYO and KMEC to be excited about. Watch this space.

Marco McClean
memo@mcn.org
https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com

RAINVILLE RELIEF

by Bruce McEwen

Joan Rainville was in court Thursday for an expungement hearing, having completed her five years of probation imposed for a 2014 conviction of two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, a car, her mother’s car, which Ms. Rainville drove through a fence in Ukiah and into the neighbor’s backyard, disrupting a Labor Day barbecue and crashing into a house where a baby was sleeping. One member of the party at the barbecue had to jump out of the way, resulting in count one; and the sleeping baby, which wasn’t even awakened, resulted in count two. Then there was count three, driving under the influence.

Locals will remember Rainville as the popular Mendocino Books staffer who was always helpful and courteous to customers and visitors.

Ms. Rainville’s lawyer back then, Andrew Higgins, has since moved away, replaced by another lawyer from the Office of the Public Defender, Daniel Moss. Mr. Moss was seeking relief (“expungement”) under penal code section 1203.4, which was granted by Judge Ann Moorman. Mr. Moss was also seeking to have the two felony convictions, the two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, reduced to misdemeanors under the provisions of Penal Code Section 17b., but the Special Prosecutor, Paul Sequiera, currently of Solano County, said the law, an obscure law, as Ms. Rainville’s lawyer described it, forbade it, and Judge Moorman agreed, saying she was familiar with the law.

Rainville said Mr. Moss told her most judges have never heard of it, but apparently he was mistaken. Rainville will have to live with the felonies as a consequence.

Rainville gave the AVA a few comments on how it has affected her life – “no one before or since has ever had a DUI charged as assault with a deadly weapon,” Rainville said. She felt Mr. Sequiera was gloating in his distinction of being the only prosecutor to ever make such a charge stick, or words to that effect.

Rainville added that even with the relief via PC 1203.4 she still can’t qualify for disabled housing or many other benefits she ordinarily would be entitled to.

Mr. Moss asked the court to set aside some of the fines and fees attending the case, and the judge did drop a $90 collection fee and two special fees of $22.31 (one for each assault count), leaving Rainville with close to $5,000 in supervision fees, and $500 for the Public Defender’s services – of which, as Rainville pointed out, Mr. Higgins only spoke with her once during the entire process and neglected to do a lot of things on her behalf before and during the trial, giving her the impression that Higgins was working for the prosecution, rather than the defense.

The restitution to the victims, the damaged fence and wall repairs, has long since been paid. Rainville is prohibited from driving for life.

Judge Moorman granted the two 1203.4 motions for the two counts, and graciously waived the fees of $150 each for filing the motions. Moorman also set aside any more drug and alcohol testing fees, as Rainville has been paying for very expensive rehab services over the past five years, including a costly course for assault felons run by the for-profit people who contract prison services. (I forget the name she mentioned).

“Thank you, your honor, Rainville said.

“You earned it,” the judge replied.

IDENTIFICATION HELP SOUGHT

The Mendocino County Sheriff-Coroner's Office is seeking help from the public. On Sunday, January 19, 2020 around 10:49 PM a pedestrian was struck and killed by a motor vehicle on Highway 101 between ReTech and Ukiah, in Mendocino County. The decedent is believed to be an Hispanic male, between 18 and 25 years, approximately 5'02" to 5'05" inches tall, weighing approximately 140 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. The decedent was wearing black Nike low top tennis shoes, black jogger style pants, a two toned gray Reebok hooded sweatshirt, and a light gray short sleeved shirt with a pink flamingo print. The decedent had no identification on his person. Anyone who might recognize the description or who might have information is asked to please contact the Mendocino County Sheriff's Dispatch at 707-463-4086 (tel:7074634086) or the Mendocino County Coroner's Office at 707-463-4421 (tel:7074634421) . The Sheriff's Office would like to be able to contact and notify the decedent's next of kin and return his remains to his family.

The attached photographs depict the decedent's clothing.

COLLAPSING AMBULANCE SERVICES: SUPES FAIL TO CATCH A CLUE

by Mark Scaramella

In October of 2017 after the Board of Supervisors decided to retain CalFire as the operator of the County’s fire and emergency services dispatch center, they voted 3-2 for the following agenda item:

“Formation of an ad hoc committee to work with the City of Ukiah and possibly the City of Willits to form a unified approach regarding contracting for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Fire Dispatch Services; and to negotiate with CalFire for enhanced dispatch services that will optimize an Exclusive Operating Area ambulance contract."

Supervisors Carre Brown and Dan Hamburg petulantly refused to volunteer to even be considered for the ad hoc committee on combining dispatch services to save some money for the agencies involved. Readers may recall that the Sonoma County-based Coastal Valley EMS, the agency that the County blindly turned emergency services administration over to lock-stock-and-barrel, had tried to push through a dispatch RFP and a privatization schedule until Supervisor Gjerde got back from vacation and convinced Supervisor Georgeanne Croskey that putting Calfire’s local dispatch operation out to bid was a bad idea. So Croskey changed her earlier vote for the RFP and joined Gjerde and McCowen in postponing the Dispatch privatization indefinitely.

But Hamburg and Brown, citing a version of staff-(i.e., Coastal Valley EMS) right-or-wrong, steadfastly refused to reconsider — even when faced with a phalanx of local firefighters and cops who explained in detail why privatizing Dispatch was a very bad idea.

In explaining at that time why she had no interest in saving the County and the City of Ukiah some dispatch money by consolidation, Brown specifically referred to the prior week’s 3-2 vote to hold off on the Dispatch RFP, adding that she was sure Supervisor Hamburg felt the same way. “Thank you, Supervisor Brown,” replied Hamburg, indicating his solidarity with Brown’s nonsensical refusal.

In the end Supervisors McCowen and Croskey were appointed to the dispatch consolidation ad hoc committee, but not until Brown and Hamburg had again reminded the other three Supes that they had no intention of participating in the “cooperative” manner they always talk about.

Fast forward to January of 2019, right after Supervisor Ted Williams was seated to replace Hamburg as Fifth District Supervisor when the following item was quietly approved on the Consent Calendar:

“Approval of Formation of an Ad Hoc Committee Regarding Contracting for Dispatch Services for Fire and Emergency Medical Services and Appointment of Supervisors Williams and McCowen.”

The Board Clerk conveniently noted: “Previous Board/Board Committee Actions: On October 3, 2017 the Board appointed Supervisors Croskey and McCowen to an ad hoc committee regarding contracting for dispatch services; on December 18, 2018 the ad hoc was disbanded due to Supervisor Croskey’s impending departure from the Board.”

Supervisors McCowen and Croskey’s committee had produced nothing in 14 months before their ad hoc was unceremoniously disbanded when Supervisor Croskey up and moved to Ohio with her cop-husband without having done a single thing in her short tenure after having been appointed to finish out Supervisor Tom Woodhouse’s similarly accomplishment-free term when he resigned after going nuts while Supervisor.

So the Dispatch consolidation committee re-established itself with newly seated Supervisor Ted Williams replacing Croskey along with McCowen.

A year later and that committee has again produced nothing. We have no idea if they even met because ad hoc committees are not subject to Brown Act meeting requirements.

Introducing himself as “Tom Allman, private citizen,” former Sheriff Allman raised the subject again last Tuesday during the Board’s discussion of the shortage of ambulance services on the Highway 101 corridor. However, Allman didn’t bring up the sorry history of the subject.

“Tom Allman, private citizen. My family and I live up north. Ambulance services are critical. I'm not trying to muddy the waters. But I want to remind you that we have five 911 centers in this county. We have the Willits Police Department, the Ukiah Police Department, we have the Sheriff's office, we have Highway Patrol and we have Calfire. In the middle of January we have nine people working in the middle of the night when no calls are coming in. We're talking about how much our ambulance service will cost. We could easily save some money working with our other entities and have two 911 centers in this county — one for fire and medical, and one for law enforcement. We could save a lot of money. I have stood at the podium many times on this. If you are going to have a conversation about ambulances whether you're talking about the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) or whatever, please have a conversation about consolidation of our communication systems to save money and make it more efficient for everyone. MedStar (the long-running private ambulance service in Ukiah) also has their own dispatcher. I'm sure if we said we would dispatch for MedStar, Leonard Winter (Medstar owner/manager) would stand up here and say, Let's make it work. We can do this. We are in the right situation. Ukiah city manager Sage Sangiacomo said that we should not piecemeal this. I'm telling you this would be a good chance to consolidate this conversation with medical services and 911 centers. As a citizen of Willits and a friend of the Hosfords (who recently lost an elderly family member possibly because of an ambulance shortage), I don't know if she would have lived or died if another ambulance would have been there. But her odds would have been much more in her favor.”

Third District Supervisor/Board Chair John Haschak replied as he and his colleagues always do to “private citizens”: “Thank you.”

Then they proceeded to ignore Allman’s suggestion, as the earlier summary of the history of the subject clearly demonstrates.

Then, having ignored Allman and others who wanted something done sooner rather than later, with Haschak at the helm, the Board rambled on aimlessly and at length about committees and meetings, and groups and ad hoc this and that.

The ambulance people in the room all agreed that the biggest problem facing the ambulance service in the Highway 101 corridor is Covelo. They haven’t had an ambulance there for a year now since the big Danish conglomerate Falck up and left with no notice (after soaking up $60k for partial service for a year), apparently belatedly realizing that there wasn't any money to be made in stationing an ambulance in Covelo.

Leonard Winter’s Ukiah-based Medstar company has been responding to Covelo calls since then and every time his staff responds it takes an ambulance out of the already under-equipped and under-staffed ambulance 101 corridor for up to four hours at a time. And, as Winter noted, about a third of the time they return with no patients on board for one reason or another.

Supervisor Ted Williams has been trying to focus the Board’s attention on the problem for the last few months, but he seems to think that the only way to solve it is to throw money at it.

Supervisor Williams: “It's been nine years since the Fitch study. It's been nine years of Let's have meetings, let's get fire people in the room, let's get ambulance providers in the room, send it out to this committee or that and we haven't gotten anywhere. This situation is worse today than it was nine years ago. It may be that we have to get a group together, but I only want to do that if funding is a possibility. We need to get a group together to address creative solutions to the outlying areas. But if it's not backed by public money I don't see how we are going to make progress. We have gone through that exercise n-times. Why has been no estimate of the cost, why are we still talking about this a decade later? Where is the breakdown?”

No one knew. But the Supervisor’s own Board colleagues and staff might be one possibility.

This was followed by more talk about plans and committees and meetings and funding. But it was so unfocused that AVA reporter Malcolm Macdonald was moved to try to light a fire under the Board.

Malcolm Macdonald: “I live on a ranch where one side of my family has lived since the 1800s. If you break a leg or an ankle there you crawl up the hill to the nearest relative or friend or neighbor, you get in a car and drive to Willits and hope that Dr. Bolan or one of his proteges is on call that day. That's the reality in this county. If you are on the coast in the past you might see Dr. Logomarsino. That's the reality of being in a rural area. I am hearing a lot of obfuscation here. You have an opportunity to do something. But you would rather form a committee to start a study to form an ad hoc to get some "stakeholders" which may be real stakeholders maybe not. It ends up just being a runaround and runaround and the runaround and we are still here. I was glad Supervisor Gjerde actually asked for a date in his question to the Ukiah city manager. You have people here interested in your legacies. Just like I told the hospital board in Fort Bragg, you have a fiduciary responsibility to vote no on negative money coming in month after month. With this runaround you are going to abrogate your responsibility to public safety right now. It's already happened. You can't change the past. But if you are going to go down this ‘form a committee to form a something to form a something else’ — that's ridiculous! As I used his say to my students: catch a clue. They are flying by all the time. Maybe you have to do some piecemeal things. Maybe you need a countywide plan. But that may not be possible unless you want to wait for six or eight or ten years and we are talking about supervisor Williams’s legacy. Catch a freakin’ clue! This has to happen in the here and now. You better get some dates and hear from people with experience in ambulances. Make them come up here and talk to you.”

A few of them did, again noting that for the short term at least the main problem is Covelo and the time and frequency of responses there.

Dr. Mills Matheson, medical director of the Bechtel Creek medical clinic, said he’s heard lots of complaints about the inland ambulance service, and that there is no longer a reliable ambulance service. “Something must be done as soon as possible to improve the ambulance service otherwise there will be more harm to our patients,” said Matheson. “The proposal to add an ambulance to the 101 corridor is a reasonable patch while a long-term solution is worked out.” After describing some personal medical anecdotes, Matheson concluded, “We need a reliable ambulance system right now.”

“Private citizen” Tom Allman returned to the podium to agree: “This is a critical time. We are coming up on these summer months. Whatever you decide, I certainly suggest that you do a six-month quick fix while we talk about what kind of solution there is going to be. Whether it's MedStar or the Fort Bragg ambulance, let's get somebody who is going to commit to being up in the north quarter of the county as soon as possible. Then we can have a conversation about how we are going to solve the problem.”

Dr. Matheson agreed: “We need a quick fix, a band-Aid on the situation while we think about the long-term solutions.”

Both “private citizen” Allman and Dr. Matheson’s quick-fix/bandaid suggestions were ignored and the Board voted unanimously to ask Coastal Valley EMS Mendocino coordinator Jen Banks to come up with a financial summary of the situation for further discussion at an upcoming meeting. No Board members mentioned addressing the very specific and undisputed problem in Covelo which is obviously where attention must be paid.

Nor did anyone follow up on Allman’s long-simmering dispatch consolidation proposal where large amounts of money could be saved and re-allocated to ambulance services. (Not to mention the millions wasted annually on tourism promotion and a juvenile hall for a dozen or so teenage gang-delinquents — neither of which will be mentioned by Ms. Banks.)

Meanwhile, the County’s newly formed emergency medical services committee is meeting this week, although, as Fort Bragg ambulance manager David Beak noted, they are a newly constituted group and cannot be expected to come up with anything substantive soon.

---

Since Tuesday’s meeting, Supervisor Ted Williams posted this comment on the Fifth District facebook page:

“I ask you to watch the ambulance discussion from our Tuesday BoS meeting. It's long. What I submitted as a fifteen minute item consumed two hours. It began somewhat contentious, but in the end I was proud of the full board for engagement, asking critical questions and hearing varied messages from the field. More questions than answers, but with the board better aligned on the problems, I left confident that we're on the initial phase of identifying solutions. Years in to an ambulance crisis, we don't have the core causes documented. That's about to change.”

Given the sad 21st century history of County’s and Board’s abject inattention — if not outright bungling like the years long Exclusive Operating Area disaster — to the worsening inland ambulance situation and some rather obvious fixes, we doubt that anything will change. We hope we’re wrong.

REMEMBERING JOY

Bruce McEwen Writes:

Joy Call was one of the first to teach me The Humboldt Way. She was cooking the community meal at the Mateel Center and I was a vagabond, a helper at the dish pan, running errands, anything for a scrap of meat or a bone, and Joy was so — well, she had only what I could describe as a sense of immediacy about her, like she was tripping on acid; like she was enjoying a perspective wider than usual, maybe It had a lot to do with daring — as in the German explorer Humboldt — as it did with a connotation stretch of the sense of the word, something unspoken that stressed "humility."

A stretch, sure.

But Joy had a rueful eye, a sharp tongue, and a final answer, to the eternal question, why did the hippies come to Humboldt?

"They heard there were no jobs there!"

I hitched into Redway and was washing dishes at the Mateel, and I asked Joy, the head cook most of the time — I asked her because she was so smart and careful that I knew I could count on whatever she answered — where I could find a job, and if she'd recommend me to any local restaurant that needed scullery help, and she gasped in her inimitably delicious way at my ignorance. (I'd just come from Wyoming.) She replied, "Goodness, Bruce, if you want to work, volunteer!"

She said it with such gusto, such verve, such, well, joy, that I got it. There was no need to work.

To read her beautifully delivered and widely commented upon obituary by Kym Kemp this morning on the Red Headed Black Belt website took me back to those halcyon days &c. when I learned, at her patient instruction, the grace and beauty, notwithstanding the joy, of the Humboldt Way, which Joy personified (and may well have coined the phrase or concept).

kymkemp.com/2020/01/21/joy-call-a-force-for-happiness/

NEXT!

Megan Dukett Named Cannabis Program Manager For The County Of Mendocino

(What Happened To Sean Connell? And isn’t Megan Dukett related to Deputy CEO Sarah Dukett?)

The Mendocino County Planning and Building Services Director is pleased to announce the hiring of Megan Dukett as the County's Acting Cannabis Program Manager. Ms. Dukett previously worked for the County's Cultural Services Agency as the Program Administrator for the County Parks and County Museum making many positive improvements in programing and staff development including successfully improving systems and policies to better serve the public. Prior to the coming to the County, Ms. Dukett worked for various historic sites, museums, and parks in program management and has a seasoned background in program development and management, staff and volunteer leadership, strategic planning, process development, and customer service. Ms. Dukett has a Bachelor of Arts degree and comes to our department highly recommended for her experience in project management.

As the Cannabis Program Manager, Ms. Dukett will coordinate implementation of County policies, working to effectively implement the Cannabis Program, develop streamlining process improvements that will benefit the Cannabis Program and assist the public in the application and permitting process.

Planning and Building Services Director Brent Schultz, commented on Ms. Dukett’s hiring, "I’m excited to welcome Megan to our team. She has a background in improving systems, running programs, while providing great customer service. Her enthusiasm and collaborative attitude will bring energy and stability to our program.”

Commenting on her new position, Ms. Dukett stated, “I am excited to join the Cannabis Program and contribute toward our department’s shared goals of structuring a more streamlined process for cultivation permit applicants to obtain and renew their permits. I look forward to working collaboratively with our staff in strengthening the Cannabis Program with professionalism and attention to customer service.”

For more information, please contact Brent Schultz, Mendocino County Planning and Building Services Director at (707) 234-6650.

ED NOTES

ABSOLUTELY MUST walk the Haul Road every few months. Mendocino County’s grandest amenity, second only to the multiple charms of Fort Bragg, which remains much as it has for many years. Where else can you walk for unimpeded miles along the Pacific in California? But today, have to say, I did suffer two encounters, the first mildly irritating when the male half of an older couple walking a raggedy, coyote-looking dog greeted me, “Good morning, O bearded one.” Impertinence everywhere! I shuffled past, mumbling, “Fuck all the way off” He couldn’t have heard me clearly, but he said truculent-like, “Excuse me?” Picking up my pace, I said over my shoulder, “I had a dog named Cough once.” 

THE SECOND was simply embarrassing, and I’ve strode the very rim of this sea for years without meeting a soul I know. Here comes an elderly woman shuffling along from the opposite direction. “Bruce, is that you?” “Sometimes, depends,” I said, a little joke to put the old dear at ease. “You look exactly the same!,” she said. “Probably the uniform,” I replied, racking my brain for the name of the apparently pleased senior. “You don’t remember me, do you?” She said her name, which I still didn’t recognize. “Yes, of course,” I said. “Very nice to see you.” She said, “We’ll have to have coffee some time.” I said, “Count on it.”

CANDIDATE GJERDE seems to have more signs up around Fort Bragg than his challenger, Lindy Peters. Gjerde’s say, “Results For Us,” which is a stretch given his invisibility during his two supervisor’s tours. In Gjerde’s defense his colleagues have ranged from certifiable to inert, but still, given the probs the County faces, he might have occasionally seized the initiative. He’s a smart guy who understands how it all works, or doesn’t work. It wasn’t until Williams arrived and then Peters announced he’d challenge Gjerde that Gjerde came alive. For a guy who’s seeking his third term in a job that pays more than twice the Mendo average salary, plus perks most Americans can only dream of, Gjerde’s record is thin; make that emaciated.

BUT THEN Fort Bragg has suffered a series of wildly defective supervisors, probably because Fort Braggers don’t pay much attention to what happens over the hill. They’ve got city government. Of course metropolitan FB is the bulk of the 4th District vote, so…

FORMER 4th District supervisor, John Cimolino, was a smart, capable guy whose dislike — to put it mildly — for the counterculture was palpable, propelling the guy into occasional irrationality. He was all for “bulldozing” what he called “hippie shacks,” for instance and, presumably, hippies with them. When board meetings began with what was designated “From the public,” the late Richard Johnson, who appeared without fail at every meeting to take advantage of his three from-the-public minutes, would yammer away at whatever was on his fraught mind. But one morning, Cimolino blurted, “Do we really have to listen to these nuts?” Given the pertinence and quality of the from-the-public presentations, Cimolino’s annoyance was at least understandable.

KEEP THE HAUL ROAD WALKABLE AND BIKEABLE

"Join MendoParks in Preserving MacKerricher State Park’s Haul Road. From now through the end of April, 100% of your donation towards MendoParks 'Save the Haul Road' project will go towards repaving the most damaged areas of the trail from the Pudding Creek Trestle to Ward Avenue. MendoParks is matching all donations up to $15,000! Your contributions will help us launch this critical project in Spring 2020, but we only have until April 30 to reach our goal.

Three Ways To Donate

1. Online: https://www.mendoparks.org
2. By Mail: PO Box 1387, Mendocino, CA, 95460
3. In Person: Ford House Museum and Visitor Center (45035 Main St., Mendocino)

Thank you to our local community, the Seniors on Bikes, the Beachcomber Motel, and the Surf and Sand Lodge for their support of this vital project! MendoParks is the 501c3 nonprofit that supports State Parks in Mendocino County. For more information, please visit www.mendoparks.org or call 707 937 4700. In large and small ways, the efforts of the Mendocino Area Parks Association (MendoParks) enrich and expand the visitor experience at California State Parks in Mendocino County, and inspire the next generation of park stewards.

NAVARRO VINEYARDS IS HIRING!

Tractor Driver; Full time with benefits

COASTAL GANG DEFENDANT CONVICTED OF MULTIPLE FELONIES.

A coastal gang defendant threw in the towel Tuesday afternoon in the Mendocino County Superior Court by waiving his right to a trial on two separate felony cases that were ready to go before a jury, and waiving his right to a preliminary hearing on a third newly-filed felony case.

In case number 1, defendant Gabriel Diego Monday, age 26, of Fort Bragg, was convicted Tuesday by guilty plea of attempted witness intimidation, a felony.

Defendant Monday also admitted as true a special sentencing allegation that his attempt to intimidate a Good Samaritan witness in May 2018 was for the benefit of and in association with the Sureno criminal street gang in and about Fort Bragg.

In case number 2, the defendant was also convicted Tuesday by guilty plea of inflicting traumatic injury on the mother of his children, a felony.

Defendant Monday also admitted as true in this second case a special sentencing allegation that he committed the domestic violence felony while released from custody while the attempted witness intimidation case was pending.

In case number 3, the defendant was convicted by guilty plea of witness tampering, a felony. This conviction relates to the defendant's recorded telephone efforts from the jail to dissuade the domestic violence victim from cooperating with the DA in the defendant's prosecution for the domestic violence felony.

The convictions emanating from the three cases have been referred to the Adult Probation Department for a background study and sentencing recommendation. Defendant Monday was ordered back to court on February 19th at 9 o'clock in the morning for imposition of judgment and sentencing.

The law enforcement agencies that gathered the necessary evidence to sustain Tuesday's convictions were the Fort Bragg Police Department, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office, and the District Attorney's own Bureau of Investigations.

District Attorney David Eyster has been personally prosecuting all three of the defendant's cases.

Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Carly B. Dolan accepted the defendant's guilty pleas and admissions Tuesday afternoon and will be the sentencing judge in February.

(District Attorney Presser)

NAVARRO-BY-THE-SEA OPEN HOUSE

Navarro-by-the-Sea Center (NSCR) will be holding its Second Annual 'King Tide Open House' on Saturday, February 8th at the historic Captain Fletcher's Inn at Navarro River Redwood State Park from 9:00 am till noon.

The Open House is being held in conjunction with the King Tides Project of the California Coastal Commission to educate the public about sea-level rise and the effects of climate change on the coast.

A 'King Tide' is the highest predicted high tide of the year. The King Tides on February 8th and 9th are projected to crest at over 7 feet and could be higher if there is flooding or a storm surge that weekend. The king tides are now considered extreme high tides, but they will likely become the norm as the sea level continues to rise and pushes the high tide elevations higher and higher.

The historic Captain Fletcher's Inn will be open to the public during the Open House on Saturday the 8th from 9:00 am until noon. The event is FREE with lots of parking at Navarro Beach. Come and enjoy the King Tide from a safe distance at Navarro Beach, and stop by the Inn to warm up and enjoy a free tour. Coffee, tea and light refreshments will be available to visitors, along with a warm fire in the restored fireplace.

Visitors are encouraged to document and share pictures taken as part of the King Tide Project taken at Navarro Beach and other locations along the coast by uploading them to the Commission's website at https://www.coastal.ca.gov/kingtides/.

Please remember to be safe when on the shore, never turn your back to the ocean and supervise children at all times when on the beach.

CATCH OF THE DAY, January 23, 2020

ELIZABETH ACOSTA, Ukiah. DUI.

DANIEL BATTEN, Lawton, Oklahoma/Ukiah. Burglary, vandalism.

AUSTIN DALBALCON, Ukiah. DUI-alcohol&drugs, no license, probation revocation.

JONATHAN HOPPNER, Willits. Parole violation.

ADAM KESTER, Willits. Probation revocation.

ANTHONY LOPES, Willits. Probation revocation. (Frequent Flyer)

DARLENE MCGREGOR, Willits. Battery on peace officer.

ORLANDO MUNOZ, Ukiah. False ID, probation revocation.

JASON RAY, Fort Bragg. Assault with deadly weapon with great bodily injury, domestic assault, domestic battery, controlled substance, paraphernalia, protective order violation, failure to appear.

ANTONIO REYES-RAMOS, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

DANNY SANNICOLAS, Vacaville/Ukiah. Probation revocatioin.

ROBERT TAYLOR, Ukiah. Parole violation.

SHERRY GLASER, THIS WEEKEND ON THE MTC STAGE!

Award-winning writer, actress, political activist, and teacher Sherry Glaser returns to the Mendocino Theater Company with Sherry Glaser's Greatest Hits…The Mendo Years, 1993-2018, a jam-packed theatrical retrospective of her solo works, including: Family Secrets, Oh My Goddess, Taking The High Road And The Adventures Of Super Activist Mother. Glaser moved to Comptche in 1993 and all her greatest theater success began from there with her award winning Off-Broadway fun of Family Secrets. She will provide the local narrative that then inspired all her subsequent shows. Two performances only! Don't miss your chance to see one of the coast's most beloved performance artists in this funny, thought-provoking retrospective! One weekend only! Performances are January 25 at 7:30 pm and January 26 at 2:00 pm. Tickets can be purchased online at mendocinotheatre.org or, by calling the box office at 707-937-4477. There is a discount for youth 22 and under, and elders 60 and over.

AS THE SHOW OPENS, a certain uncertainty is in the air. Will there be witnesses or will the Trumpists be able to keep the votes preventing any pretense that this thing will be anything more than an infomercial? I’m not one of those who believes the office of the president has any special sanctity or privilege. It certainly hasn’t had any since I started paying attention in the 1960s. So, when Donald Trump starts talking about executive privilege “for the sake of the office” I gotta’ laugh. I wonder if whichever of his advisors told him to say that did so with a straight face? If there’s one thing Donald Trump has done it would be diminishing that office. Even Richard Nixon treated it with respect. Trump treats nothing and nobody with respect. Never did and never will. He’s incapable of it. That’s one of the reasons he uses his money to get what he wants. Even those who claim to respect him really only respect his money. Those who wish they had the sums he claims to have will grovel for his approval. Those who already are his financial equal suck up to him in hopes they can get some of his. Capitalism is an ugly game of greed and selfishness. Trump may not play that game with refinement, but he plays it well. That’s because his entire persona embodies greed and selfishness. This impeachment trial will prove that in spades. It will probably also prove that the Trumpists don’t give a rat’s ass about that.

—Ron Jacobs

HAMMERED ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

To the Editor:

Let's face it: Redwood Community Services (RCS) has a monopoly on our county mental health services, and monopolies are bad business models in any marketplace.

But as a candidate for the Board of Supervisors, I'm getting hammered on the campaign trail for asking for a simple review of RCS and all of our county's other mental health service providers.

If elected to the Board of Supervisors, I'm specifically asking for an "Independent Financial Audit" of RQMC, RCS, RC3, and their subcontractors.

I want to know: Where does the money go? All those millions?

Also, I'm asking for a "Mental Health Outcomes Study" for RQMC, RCS, RC3, and their subcontractors.

Knowing our Mental Health Outcomes will allow Mendocino County to compare our outcomes and provider performance to those of similar providers in neighboring counties.

We need "Data We Can Use". I'll explain.

An independent third-party must conduct a thorough analysis of all data collected about all our county's mental health service providers, especially RQMC, RCS, and RC3, and present that data in streamlined, easy to understand reports to the Board of Supervisors that will provide them with actionable items to support their performance improvement efforts.

Is this too much to ask?

As a private citizen, I'll sue for this data, if I must. It's public information about public money.

John Sakowicz, Candidate, Mendocino County 1st District Supervisor

Ukiah

AMERICAN JOURNALIST GLENN GREENWALD CHARGED WITH CYBERCRIMES IN BRAZIL

American journalist Glenn Greenwald has been charged by Brazilian authorities with cybercrimes in what he calls government retribution for a series of scathing exposés.

nypost.com/2020/01/21/american-journalist-glenn-greenwald-charged-with-cybercrimes-in-brazil/

‘IN THE WEEDS’: THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LOOKS AT CAMP

In November, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who heads the Department of Justice, authorized a press release stating that CAMP had “eradicated 953,459 marijuana plants from 345 raided grow sites across the state.” The press release also stated that 148 individuals had been arrested and “168 weapons were seized throughout the raids.”

kymkemp.com/2020/01/23/in-the-weeds-the-california-department-of-justice-looks-at-camp/

IF DEMOCRATS WANT TO HONOR MARTIN LUTHER KING’S LEGACY, SAYS OCASIO-CORTEZ, "WE HAVE TO BE DANGEROUS TOO"

The Congresswoman from New York said Martin Luther King Jr. would disagree with establishment “true believer” Democrats who believe "we can capitalism our way out of poverty."

commondreams.org/news/2020/01/21/if-democrats-want-honor-legacy-dr-king-says-ocasio-cortez-we-have-be-dangerous-too?

ELECTIONS 2020: CREATING OUR FUTURE

Join the Grassroots Institute this election year to make sure that future public policies support long-term, sustainable solutions to our most pressing problems, rather than endangering the survivability of humans and the natural world. These Spring workshops will engage people to participate in local, state and national electoral campaigns. With your help and that of many others, we will educate ourselves on presidential primaries and caucuses; races for the US Senate and House of Representatives; the elections of state legislatures; and ballot initiatives in California and across the country. Participants will take actions already being organized by the Resistance Roundtable and other groups. We will be meeting every other Saturday, starting February 1, at the Mendocino Community Center from 10 AM to Noon. Please join us to make the 2020 elections a success for the future. We cannot do it without you. To register for the workshops, write Jim at rtp@mcn.org, or Carrie Durkee at cdurkee@mcn.org. Drop ins are also welcome.

FOUND OBJECT