MCT: Wednesday, March 18, 2020

• Pesky Showers
• Cash Now
• County Distancing
• Shelter-In-Place
• Coronavirus
• Ed Notes
• Stay Home
• Panic Buying
• Virus Story
• POTUS Distancing
• FB Emergency
• Home Schooling
• Gatherings Prohibited
• Beerfest Cancelled
• Yorkville Market
• USA Warning
• Wet Markets
• PA Closures
• Yesterday's Catch
• Albion Bridge
• Without Sports
• Valuables
• With Borges
• Empty Shelves
• Plague History
• Hazmobile Suspended
• Invasives Canceled
• Bars Open
• MCDH Updates
• Political Discussion
• Word Scare
• Planning Canceled
• Cuban Drug
• Found Object

PESKY AREAS OF LIGHT RAIN or mountain snow along with cloudy skies and cool temperatures will linger across northwest California today. High pressure will build in for Thursday through Saturday with milder high temperatures but frosty nights for inland areas. The next shot of widespread precipitation will arrive toward the end of the weekend or early next week. (NWS)

TRUMP SAID TUESDAY he wants to send cash to Americans suffering from the coronavirus crisis. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin added that "The payroll tax holiday would get money to people over the next six to eight months. We're looking to send checks to Americans immediately. Americans needs cash now and the president wants to give cash now. And I mean now — in the next two weeks."

MNUCHIN said he was previewing the plan with the Republican leadership [sic] and would reveal more details later, but he suggested the amount could be more than $1,000, but only indicated a one-time payment followed by maybe another later, not a monthly amount. There would also be some income cut-offs. "You don't need to send people who make a million dollars a year checks," he said in a most un-Republican aside.

TRUMP RE-APPEARED on-screen to promise, "We're going big." Of all the big winds blowing west out of the White House it better be more like five grand a month per adult American to keep unregulated capitalism limping along.

PRESS RELEASE FATIGUE: How many pressers from how many doctors does it take to tell us to wash our hands a lot and stay home and away from crowds?

SUPERVISOR JOHN HASCHAK has scheduled a special “virtual” Supervisors meeting for Friday, March 20, 2020 at 9am. They plan to discuss an update on the virus situation.

The announcement came at the beginning of a County Press Conference Tuesday morning concerning the latest on the County’s response to the virus pandemic MC’d by CEO Carmel Angelo. Several local medical professionals stood around — conspicuously at several feet distance from one another, taking pains to pat themselves on the back for the wonderful example they were setting for us rubes who wait nervously as these authority figures drop the next shoe. As each medical professional came to the speaker’s podium, they adjusted the mic and made their various mostly redundant statements.

But, as one of about 480 watchers noted in the little chat-line box accompanying the video of the meeting, “Those people should stop touching the goddamn mic!”

On hand were at least seven local doctors all of whom said pretty much the same thing, including Boonville grown Ukiah ER doc Dr. Drew Colfax who noted that he was a Harvard grad and also had a law degree.

County Health Officer Dr. Noemi Doohan said that “non-essential” gatherings over 50 people are now banned. And meetings of 10-49 must use social distancing. Violations are misdemeanors and can lead to imprisonment or fines, she said, adding, that most enforcement would be of an educational nature. “People will be instructed to move along,” she said

There are still zero confirmed cases in Mendo. But only 52 tests have been done here. Dr. Doohan said that her shelter in place advisory will be upgraded to an “order” after she hears of the first confirmed case, which, she predicted, will probably be in a few days.

The Shelter in Place order to come will say you may leave or go outside for essential reasons like work, shopping, or health appointments, and, oddly, veterinarian emergencies. She wanted everybody to stop going out now as much as possible anyway.

Currently Mendo’s tests are done in Santa Rosa and it takes 24-48 hours to get results. And they still have a shortage of test kits so they are only ordering tests for now based on a patient’s risk of being ill and/or transmitting.

Dr. Doohan said there are no travel restrictions under consideration, but people should avoid travel to the Bay Area; it’s very risky, she said, adding that young people are coming to back to Mendo after school or college closures in the Bay Area and could be bringing the virus to Mendo so they will be watching for that.

Sheriff Matt Kendall said that his deputies and as well as city cops will implement a sort of soft enforcement approach to the health officer’s new rules to limit gatherings to not more than 50 people and keep at least six feet apart using primarily education, warnings and requests to disperse. Arrests are unlikely.

(Mark Scaramella)

COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER WILL ISSUE SHELTER-IN-PLACE ORDER ON MARCH 18

Mendocino County Public Health has been actively responding to the threat of COVID-19 since early January 2020. On March 4, 2020, Mendocino County declared a local health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Within Mendocino County, there has been minimal COVID-19 testing performed due to crisis level nationwide shortage of testing materials. At this time, there are zero confirmed cases and no evidence of community spread in Mendocino County.

Given that nearby San Francisco Bay Area is experiencing outbreaks of COVID-19 with extensive community spread, we recognize the imminent threat presented to the public’s health. 

Mendocino County has been closely monitoring the recent Shelter-In-Place Orders issued yesterday in a coordinated effort by the big 6 Bay Area counties (San Francisco, Marin, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Contra Costa and Alameda). Tonight with the addition of Sonoma County’s Shelter-In-Place Order, County Health Officer Dr. Noemi Doohan has decided to issue a local order in alignment with our region. The Bay Area joint order, which can be viewed at https://bit.ly/2IOHTtR, restricts non-essential activities outside the home. The Mendocino County Shelter-In-Place Order will reflect the rural nature of our County. The Mendocino County Health Officer will issue this Health Order, tomorrow, Wednesday, March 18 at 5:00 p.m. to go into effect at 10:00 p.m. This upcoming order will be issued in response to the 297 confirmed cases and 5 deaths in the seven Bay Area jurisdictions along with community spread in neighboring counties. The Health Officer recommends that Mendocino County residents who have upcoming non-essential travel planned to any of the Bay Area counties cancel their plans. 

County Health Officer Dr. Doohan will be issuing the Health Order and a press release tomorrow, March 18, at 5:00 p.m. Dr. Doohan will be available for media inquiries by phone from 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Media inquiries can be submitted to Sarah Dukett at duketts@mendocinocounty.org by 4:00 p.m. on March 18.

ED NOTES

THE UKIAH SAFEWAY Tuesday morning was busy but the panic buying seemed to have preceded my visit. There were no oranges or grapefruit, no bananas, and even the crackers were down to a few boxes. I expected to see all the paper towels, toilet paper and Kleenex gone and they were. Paper towels? Why? What's wrong with rags? And the preoccupation with toilet paper indicates that traumatic toilet training is more widespread than anybody thought. Note to the anally preoccupied: your shower can serve as a bidet. Think of your tp savings!

SUPERVISOR HASCHAK announced Tuesday that the Supervisors will convene a "virtual meeting" Friday morning at 9am. Excuse me, Supervisors, but with an average of 10 people attending, live and on youtube, all your meetings are virtual.

BUT WHY NOT save us the suspense and simply post on your also unvisited website a blow-up of a glaring CEO Angelo brandishing a rolling pin as she says, "Every goddam thing is cancelled. Go in your house, sit down and shut up. Don't come out until I tell you to. Or else."

NOT FUNNY, but I laughed at the tv news clips of people, mostly men of course, lined up for blocks at LA gun stores as every psycho in the country arms up. Mass gun sales are a solid indication that a whole lotta people have zero faith in government to maintain order in a crisis, and this baby is shaping up as a whopper.

AS A SENIOR CITIZEN, I am sensitive to the complaints of my fellow wheezes. So there's this old lady in front of a super market that has just announced that they will open early for "Seniors Only" because, as the elderly woman explained, "Younger people are grabbing items right outta my hand and pushing me aside." But as the camera lingered on the old girl I couldn't help noting that she was not only built like a linebacker but there was nothing frail about her. Good policy, though, because in some of these toilet paper stampedes the elderly have no chance at the Charmin.

EVERY TIME I hear someone begin, "As a…", I remember a locally (Boonville) famous deadbeat who was forever getting up at public meetings to say, "As a mother of two, I…" Didn't matter what the meeting was about she always introduced herself as if motherhood somehow doubly qualified her to say whatever she had to say. Which invariably concluded with a pitch for the rest of us to fork over cash to her "because I'm doing good work." There are a lot of AZA people around these days.

SONOMA COUNTY RESIDENTS ORDERED TO SHELTER IN PLACE FOR 3 WEEKS TO COMBAT CORONAVIRUS SPREAD

Sonoma County’s public health officer has ordered residents to stay home for three weeks — apart from crucial errands — and limited all but essential business and government operations, a mandatory and unprecedented directive that went into effect Wednesday and is aimed squarely at the growing threat of the coronavirus to the community.

pressdemocrat.com/news/10830402-181/officials-shelter-in-place-to-combat-coronavirus

SONOMA COUNTY GROCERS OPEN BUT SHORTENING HOURS AS CONSUMER DEMAND SPIKES

The shelves were bare Tuesday — the result of a week of shoppers panic-buying amid the coronavirus pandemic.

pressdemocrat.com/news/10829275-181/sonoma-county-grocers-open-but

MY PERSONAL CORONA VIRUS SCARE

by Cat Spydell

I may have had it. Maybe not.

You decide.

I returned from a super fun three-day adventure with five other women near the Monterey/Santa Cruz county line. We stayed in a lovely beach house in Pajaro Dunes; mornings we sipped coffee together overlooking the sea, and later watched the sunset settle on the horizon over wine, bundled up in jackets to take in the sweeping views with sand under our feet. We were celebrating the birthday of our dear mutual friend Melinda, and it was a beautiful, cerebral, and spiritual occasion.

As a part-time traveling nomad I believe “the journey is the destination” and did not rush home. Since I live in pitch dark woods past a gate on dirt roads, I slept overnight in a Walmart parking lot in my RV van instead of taking the winding 128 highway at night back to Philo. I got up early the next morning and finished my drive, with my trusty travel companion cat Athena on board. I then spent the day at home unwinding and unpacking.

The next day an old friend from out of state came by for a quick visit. I had no symptoms, but I did have a warning: a stabbing pain in my ‘indicator scar,’ a ‘living’ keloid scar on my back that stings right before I get sick. It is like my ‘spidey sensor.’ I was feeling a bit loopy too, but decided it was from traveling and coming home to hit the ground running. I said goodbye to my friend at dusk, and soon after went to bed.

When I woke up the following morning, on Thursday, it began. I needed to get up, but bed just was too alluring. I decided I must be tired from my adventuring and gave myself permission to sleep in. Around 1 pm I felt bone-chillingly cold. “I’m a wuss,” I told myself; my trip must have thawed me out, as the weather was temperate during our visit to Pajaro Dunes. I dressed in a heavy winter coat, had a blanket on me, and wore my thick mukluk socks, and that’s how my daughter found me when she came by: I was shivering under a ton of layers.

“You look hot and flushed,” she said, feeling my forehead. “You are burning up!”

“I feel weird,” I told her. Whatever was happening was unprecedented. I felt feverish for sure, but it didn’t feel ‘organic,’ if that makes sense. It was a different kind of fever than any I have experienced.

I ordered myself to bed after eating half a sandwich with my daughter and sipping some soda to soothe my stomach. Of course the first thing that came to mind was, is this coronavirus? I doubted it. My fever dropped when I took what meds I had in the house; low dose Bayer. I took two, then one more later when my fever wasn’t dropping low enough. At night I took Advil PM, what also happened to be in the house. Later I went online and started Googling. I found a respectable WHO (World Health Organization) chart showing the difference between the flu and COVID-19. From their chart at the time, it looked like I may have the flu.

By evening, I had a crushing headache, almost like a migraine. I have TMJ (misaligned jaw) so my face and jaws hurt too. True agony. I used Arnica topically on my forehead and jaw bones, kept flooded with Bayer (my go-to is herbal remedies, so it was desperate for me to take aspirin). It kept the fever lower and the headache a couple degrees less than excruciating. I could do nothing but lie down and rest. I slept on and off the next three days.

I studied the WHO chart again the next day. I do have a slight environmental dry cough occasionally. So okay, yes, the dry cough symptom was there. High fever. But also a headache. The WHO chart stated that headaches were only a symptom ‘sometimes.’ I was not sure what I had, but the fever and headache sure had my attention.

On Friday morning I came across an article online about a woman’s first-hand C-19 account stating that she and her friends had been at a dinner party and several had become ill and tested positive for coronavirus. Her account said that all who had tested positive had fevers and… headaches! Now I was concerned; could I have been infected with COVID-19? I started tracking my symptoms; 5 out of 7 were possible for C19, 3 out of 8 for the flu, according to the WHO chart.

I called the hospital in Ukiah. I explained I had some symptoms of coronavirus, and that I had already self-isolated. I told the ER nurse I was just being cautious, that I did not want to come in because if I did have it, I did not want to infect others. (Also, I couldn’t imagine making that three-hour round-trip journey in my current state). The ER nurse took some info and referred me to the health department. I spoke to their office, and they took my info and told me to contact my personal doctor. I called the Anderson Valley Health Center and spoke with the nurse. I had met him before, and he remembered me. I explained the situation.

All parties, myself included, agreed I should: Stay home, self-isolate, not come in for testing, and only come in if my symptoms worsened.

So that’s what I did. I felt like I was being a responsible citizen by NOT testing. I mean, I am sick anyway. Self-isolating and treating the illness as if it IS COVID-19 is more responsible than hauling my carcass to the ER to possibly infect people, and for what, to ‘prove’ I have it? Infect others? Become a statistic? Get on some numbers chart? Better to stay put.

Meanwhile, anyone online I mentioned I was sick to bombarded me with info. All contradictory. I found the toilet paper memes amusing; however, I am astounded by the reactional stupidity of this outbreak and what it has done to our communities. Communities that don’t even have any cases yet. It saddens me that forever in the future, when the coronavirus outbreak of 2020 is mentioned, Sicilians will be remembered as brave citizens who sang from the balconies to their neighbors during quarantine, while we Americans will be remembered as “The Toilet Paper Hoarders.” What a damn disgrace.

Later that evening on social media I discovered one of the weekend beach house guests was self-isolating. Turns out some people she had seen before arriving for our weekend soiree had been exposed. She was also a great cook and I had eaten a lot of the things she had shared, and I have since read food and drink sharing is the easiest way to spread the disease. So there it was, my ‘ground zero’ connection, someone I had met 5 days previous, which is the incubation period for C-19. You can spread it without ever having symptoms. However, maybe it wasn’t her. She never got sick. I also ventured to a Monterey County roadside veggie stand, traveled through several counties, went to a couple of restaurants, and a liquor store, some gas stations. Who knows?

Do I think I had COVID-19? I’m leaning more toward yes than a no, since I never had any of the usual further flu symptoms develop. I heal unusually fast from illness and injury (I’ve had a few doctors comment on it before), so it makes sense to me I would have some head-bending weird illness for just five days and then begin to recover, though recovery is slow as I regain my strength.

You will know someone who has had coronavirus within the year most likely. Mendocino is still in good standing at zero counts of C-19 because there are no cases reported yet that have tested positive, at the time of this writing. I just know of a potential unconfirmed case: Me. My case is moot because I was not tested. But whatever I had, if you get something similar, here are some tips:

You won’t want to eat. Or drink. You have to make yourself do it. I survived four days sipping soy milk, lots and lots of water, and even sips of Coca-cola (it sounds silly but Coke perks you back up when you start forgetting to drink). I made myself eat the other half of my (small) sandwich on Day 2, a bowl of oatmeal on Day 3, a half-cup of rice with sauce on Day 4, and tomato soup and a small sandwich on Day 5 (my daughter came and cooked the soup for me, my property managers gave me the rice; luckily people took good care of me, from a distance!) I teared up with gratitude when I was brought food, it really is nice to know there are people out there who care.

If you have a headache or body aches, keep up on it. Take fever and pain reducing meds before you hit the high pain threshold. Warm compresses would be great but you won’t feel like getting up to make one.

Keep everything you need within arm’s reach: Meds, hand wipes, gel topical pain treatments, a water bottle, lotions, phone, pen and paper, etc. You don’t feel like standing up to get stuff.

Stay connected to loved ones by text, calls, online. Watch funny shows. Breathe. Keep your spirits up. Don’t succumb to fear.

I am much better now, though I was waiting for flu symptoms to show up. They never did. It was a dark five days of queer fever and crazy body and head pain and now, nothing. Like it never happened.

Whatever the mysterious illness is that caught up with me, I feel grateful that it seems to have passed quickly. I’m not a doctor and don’t claim to be, but here is a reminder of what helped me:

DRINK liquids often. Hot liquids, ie, tea or soup, are especially good. If you don’t feel like eating, drink your nutrients.

REST as much as needed. I was probably only awake about 4 hours per day during the worst two days. Sleep heals.

MAINTAIN MEDS as needed to stay AHEAD of pain and fever. Consult your doctor if you don’t know what to take. Some people are sensitive to some fever-reducing meds. I just took what I had here already.

GET HELP through family and friends to ‘become you’ while you are on quarantine! Have them feed animals and/or kids, run errands, bring food as needed, etc.

CONTACT your physician or the health department to alert them. They took my info so my guess is, someone out there is tracking this info.

SELF-ISOLATE. Just hole up for a few days alone. It is not the worst thing! The more you are up and touching surfaces, the more likely your household will get sick too. Stay in your room!

We are done with this illness here, and while I am staying low a few more days and will be busy sanitizing our community household areas and my personal spaces next, if no one from this property gets sick in the next couple of days, I think my self-isolating saved anyone from going through what I did. I really hope no one does.

It’s a jungle out there right now, so everyone should stay calm, and use common sense. Because guess what? Toilet paper was the LAST thing to concern me during my personal coronavirus scare.

(Cat Spydell lives off the grid outside Philo.)

FORT BRAGG CITY MANAGER DECLARES LOCAL EMERGENCY

In response to the continued spread of COVID-19 in California and counties surrounding Mendocino County, City Manager, Tabatha Miller, declared a local emergency (attached) late this morning. The City has been operating under Mendocino County’s, the State of California’s and the Federal Government’s emergency declarations. The City Manager made the decision to declare the local emergency in response to the Mendocino County Health Official’s Order of March 16, 2020. That Order imposed a countywide moratorium on gatherings of 50 or more persons, a conditional moratorium on gatherings between 10-50 people and recommended countywide to sheltering in place. While there are currently ZERO confirmed COVID-19 cases in Mendocino County, the County Health Official has stated that with expanded testing and spread of the virus that is very likely to change in the next few days.

These actions are taken to mitigate or slow the spread of COVID-19 in order to protect the health of our citizens, particularly those over 65 years of age or with compromised health conditions. The City’s Declaration provides the City of Fort Bragg additional powers and duties during the emergency. Most significant, the Declaration makes Public Health Experts’ recommendations mandatory within the boundaries of the City of Fort Bragg and allows City officials to enforce the County Health Official’s orders. Key points from the Mendocino County Health Official’s March 16, 2020 Order include:

Nonessential public or private gatherings of 50 or more people are prohibited.

Nonessential public or private gatherings of between 10 and 50 persons are prohibited unless all COVID-19 risk mitigation measures are implemented.

A nonessential gathering is any event or convening that brings together ten (10) or more persons in a single room or single space at the same time, such as an auditorium, stadium, arena, conference room, meeting hall, cafeteria, theater, restaurant, bar, or any other confined indoor or confined outdoor space. Please note that this includes restaurants, which are now limited to delivery and take-out service ONLY. Nonessential gatherings do not include office environments, classrooms, medical offices, hospitals, clinics; or retail, pharmacy, or grocery stores.

Shelter in Place. It is recommended that all individuals living in Mendocino County shelter in place in their place of residence. This means only leaving your residence for Essential Activities, Essential Governmental Functions or to operate Essential Businesses. Anytime you leave your residence, maintain social distancing of at least six feet distance from any other person. Note: while this is currently a recommendation and not a mandate, the Mendocino County Health Official has stated that if a case of COVID-19 is confirmed in Mendocino County this will likely be made mandatory.

Essential Activities are activities or performing tasks essential to health and safety, or to the health and safety of family or household members. Examples include obtaining medical supplies, medication or visiting a health care professional; obtain necessary supplies or services including food (human and pet) and other necessary household supplies; and to engage in outdoor activities such as walking, hiking or running (while maintaining social distancing requirements); and to care for family member or pet.

Essential Business include: healthcare operations and essential infrastructure; stores selling food and household consumer products; food cultivation businesses; businesses providing food and shelter for economically disadvantaged; newspapers, television, radio and other media services; gas stations, auto supply and repair facilities; banks and financial institutions; hardware stores; plumbers, electricians, exterminators and other essential sanitation service providers; mailing and shipping services; education institutions; laundromats; drycleaners and laundry services; restaurants serving only delivery or carryout; businesses that provide services for people to work from home; businesses that deliver these products; taxis and other transportation; home-based care for seniors, adults and children; and childcare facilities for essential employees.

Please be aware that violations or a failure to comply with the County’s Order is a misdemeanor punishable by fine, imprisonment or both. This press release serves as a summary of the County’s Order only. Please refer to the Mendocino Health Official’s March 16, 2020 Order for detailed definitions and more information.

Questions regarding this information should be directed to Tabatha Miller, City Manager, at tmiller@fortbragg.com or (707) 961-2823.

HOME SCHOOLING

SPREAD OUT, MENDO

On 03-16-2020, the Health Officer of the County of Mendocino issued an order regarding public gatherings in response to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Health Officer has imposed a countywide prohibition for non-essential public or private gatherings of 50 people or more until 04-07-2020. The order also references gatherings between 10 to 50 people, which are also prohibited countywide unless the hosts or sponsors implement necessary COVID-19 risk mitigation measures.

The Health Officer's order also strongly urges hosts and sponsors of gatherings in Mendocino County to cancel planned events during this time frame. Additional recommendations from the Health Officer were that all individuals living in Mendocino County should shelter at their place of residence and limit non-essential travel.

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office, chiefs of police, and law enforcement agency heads have been in discussion regarding the Health Officer's order. As is mentioned above, the current order is only a ban on large gatherings of 50 or more people until 04-07-2020.

The purpose of this email is to distribute information to the general public about how this order will be enforced and the efforts to educate the public on the Health Officer's order.

One of the most important aspects of law enforcement is education. Mendocino County has historically utilized the assistance of our communities to assist the families, neighbors, and residents of our county. Sheriff Matthew Kendall is again asking the residents of this county to assist the Sheriff's Office, law enforcement chiefs, and emergency medical services with supporting our Health Officer and the community.

If called to a large gathering during this period, Sheriff Kendall is instructing all Sheriff's Office personnel to educate the attendees and organizers while appropriately enforcing the Health Officer's order. Holding gatherings of 50 or more people can subject deputies, peace officers, emergency medical providers, and members of the public to unnecessary risks of exposure to COVID-19.

Sheriff Kendall is asking for the continuing assistance from the community to adhere to the orders issued by the Health Officer to help protect our entire county.

Additional information regarding the Health Officer's order issued on 03-16-2020 can be found at the following website: mendocinocounty.org/home/showdocument?id=33062

For additional information regarding the COVID-19 virus, please contact the call center at 707-234-6052 or visit the following websites:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/

• Mendocino County Department of Public Health: mendocinocounty.org/community/novel-coronavirus

Sheriff’s Captain Gregory L. Van Patten #1184

BEERFEST 2020 CANCELLED: The 24th Annual Legendary Boonville Beer Festival is officially cancelled. The 24th will be in 2021.

YORKVILLE MARKET ADJUSTS

This last few days has brought new attention to the COVID-19 pandemic and how we should be addressing this situation as a community. First, for the time being, the Market will remain open for our normal business hours. However, in order to help keep the Yorkville community healthy, we will be cancelling our happy hour gatherings for the next several weeks. For our health and yours we are wiping surfaces after contact and will maintain our high level of sanitation in the kitchen and greater store area. We are focusing our attention on take-out items and I will be sending out a regular menu of what we have available. Today we made a batch of delicious Shepherd’s Pies that we will be serving tomorrow, along with corn beef and cabbage in celebration of St. Patricks Day. These will be ready to eat or pickup in the early afternoon - don’t forget to grab your Guinness to wash them down. Also, in order to help everyone avoid going out more and farther than needed, the Market is offering more fresh groceries and dairy. We are now carrying extra milk, organic cottage cheese, individual and 1/2 gallons of orange juice, whipping cream, blocks of Clover Jack Cheese along with organic spring mix, asparagus, baby carrots, broccoli, cucumbers and tomatoes. Instead of going into town, think about picking up your necessities right here in Yorkville. The goal in the next week is to set up a sort of CSA box system, where each of you can place an order for the specific groceries you are interested in for the week, that you can then pick up at the Market. This could include items like Costeaux bread, local honey, and of course our take and bake menu, along with the dairy and fresh produce mentioned above. I am working on creating an order sheet and will get this out in the coming days. Please let me know if you are interested in this or if there are specific items you would like to pick up from the Market. Thank you for your support during the stressful and difficult time. We will continue do our best to serve the community for as long as we can. In the mean time, please send me an email and let me your ideas, thoughts or suggestions, or just say hello and let me know you are doing well. Sending you all healthy wishes and a big email hug.

Lisa Walsh, Yorkville Market

THE UNSPEAKABLE TRUTH ABOUT THE CORONA VIRUS

by Phil Murphy

You are probably sick of hearing Corona virus-related news and trivia by now, but in all the coverage of the pandemic there has been almost no mention at all in the mainstream news media about the two core problems that brought the world this crisis-the cultural practices of Asian cultures and the corruption of their governments, in this case the Chinese government in particular. The crisis began in a Chinese “wet” market, where wildlife (not farm-raised animals) are brought from around the world alive, to be slaughtered and butchered on the premises and sold to the public.

At this particular market where the Corona virus first infected humans, over 100 species of animals were being offered, many of which would have never been in contact with one another in nature, and while they are waiting to be slaughtered they are held in almost unbelievably filthy conditions where disease and infections can quickly be transmitted and spread. The majority of these animals are being consumed not for their basic nutritional value, but instead are sought out for their alleged health benefits, which in almost every case are either completely imaginary or are unproven. The blatant cruelty these animals endure is heartbreaking, and hygiene is almost non-existent.

Asian superstitions are responsible for the decimation of animal species in the far-off jungles of Africa and South America, even the oceans around the world are not safe from the demand for “magic” animal food items, like the huge trade in shark fins used exclusively for shark fin soup. The common practice of “finning” sharks has caused the collapse of shark populations around the world, and “finning” is one of the most wasteful and cruel methods of obtaining the fins as usually the shark has it’s dorsal and pectoral fins cut-off while it is still alive and the animal is then dumped back into the sea where it slowly bleeds to death.

There are a wide range of animals that have been driven to the brink of extinction by the same mentality, for example the endangered rhinos are being killed simply to obtain their horn, which is ground into a powder that supposedly cures sexual dysfunctions. From sea horses to tigers the Asian cultures drive the demand for exotic animal parts that has devastated their populations, and the demand is created solely by superstition and a complete lack of concern for the treatment of the animals they purchase.

Much of this trade has been on the black market, which the governments of countries like China, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Cambodia and Laos have all turned a blind eye to in varying degrees at various times. The Chinese government had closed all the wet markets after the devastating SARS virus began in one, but after intense lobbying (translation: bribery), the government back-tracked and reopened them while allowing the black markets to continue to operate. Even after the Corona virus had taken hold all over Asia “wet” markets full of exotic non-native animals could be easily be found in places like Taiwan’s capital city, a clear sign that even with a global pandemic paralyzing the entire world the message was not getting through.

The Asians are reportedly the smartest humans on the planet and they have a long and impressive list of scientific breakthroughs and inventions that go back thousands of years, today the Chinese are poised to be the world’s leading nation in terms of economics, technology and population, it is imperative that they assume that role as world leader without the baggage that comes from deeply ingrained mythology that not only destroys our natural world while subjecting animals to horrific cruelty, but also endangers billions of human beings in far-off lands as well.

Now is the time for every nation to re-evaluate it’s impact on both nature and their fellow human beings, from the international sales of weapons to the impact of farming and the extraction industries-we all have work to do and plenty of room for improvement. But the trade in exotic animals for absurd reasons and their disgraceful treatment must end, or we can expect yet another pandemic like SARS and Corona virus to come from an Asian market and kill thousands or millions of our citizens.

POINT ARENA SHUTDOWNS

The City of Point Arena has closed the City Hall lobby at 451 School Street effective Tuesday, March 17, 2020 until further notice to protect the community and City staff from COVID-19 and to comply with prevention efforts.

Essential personnel will remain on duty at City Hall, and the City will continue to provide services to the public. If you need to make an appointment to meet with a member of staff, please call the main phone number, (707) 882-2122, or email admin@pointarena.ca.gov. For water or sewer emergencies, call (707) 882-2700.

Effective tomorrow (Wednesday) all City operated Public Restrooms at the City Park and the Pier will be closed to protect City employees and the public. The City advises all residents and visitors to not utilize the playground at the city park at this time.

A separate press release will be issued later this week about the March 24th City Council Meeting.

CATCH OF THE DAY, March 17, 2020

PHILLIP CRUZ, Ukiah. Parole violation.

DAVID GIUSTI, Ukiah. Attempted murder, assault with deadly weapon not a gun, battery with serious injury, mayhem. (Frequent flyer.)

CHERYL MATTSON, Ukiah. Domestic abuse, protective order violation, probation revocation.

ISHMAEL NASH, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

GREGORIO NUNEZ, Willits. DUI.

BARAQUEL RUIZ, Ukiah. Community supervision violation, failure to appear.

ALBION BRIDGE COMPLETION IN 1944

by Katy Tahja

Tom Wodetzki of the Albion Bridge Stewards recently gave the Kelley House Museum an interesting document. Its title is “Final Construction Report for the Construction of a Timber, Steel and Concrete Bridge Across the Albion River,” dated August 29, 1944.

Believe me, readers, this is mostly dry, statistical reading for 97 pages, ending with five pages of cool old photos, but it does have great tidbits of information in it.

The Stewards want to see the Albion Bridge survive. The State (Caltrans) wants to tear it down and replace it. Love it or hate it, for 75 years it’s been part of our landscape and travel routes, and in the 1940s folks eagerly awaited its completion.

In this document you’ll find a description of the project, inspections, what was accomplished, reports of construction performance, statistics, expenditures, and a report on where the steel for construction came from in the middle of World War II.

There was no Highway 1 back then, the coast had secondary route 56. In four miles it joined secondary route 58 and went east to what was called State Route 1, or U.S. Highway 101. The main users of the coast road were lumber trucks, local trucks and passenger auto traffic, and seasonal tourists and sportsman automobile traffic.

The new bridge was needed because of the unsafe conditions of the 16.4-foot wide water level bridge built over the Albion River in 1929. There was a mile of narrow road with “up and down” grades and numerous short curves to get down the north bank and back up the south bank. Towns were listed as North Albion and South Albion. Sheep grazing was the main use of the land where the bridge would be built.

The bridge was designed to use a minimal amount of critical materials needed for the war effort. Upon completion it was to be 969’ long and 26’ wide with no sidewalks. There would be one steel truss 130’ long across the river channel and eleven 38’ timber trusses, with more details provided almost down to every nut and bolt used – it’s all listed.

First, work began on removing and salvaging an existing narrow-gauge railroad bridge across the south fork of the Feather River near Oroville. It had been built in 1929 by the Swayne Lumber Company and was on an abandoned rail line. Next, hand labor began clearing brush and eucalyptus on each side of the Albion River. A beautiful old church was in the right-of-way on the north bank and “other forces” accomplished its removal.

Tower footings began being built 13’ under water with cofferdams holding back water and work being done at low tide. Excavation found sunken logs and an “old timber boat” near the north footing tower. Bulldozers, cranes, and pick and shovel labor excavated footings and a “glory hole” (what’s a glory hole?) in shale rock. Pressure treated Douglas Fir from Wauna Lumber Company in Oregon was used, as redwood construction timbers in the right size were unavailable.

Stairways were built up and down the construction site to give workers access. Sand and gravel were shipped by train from Healdsburg to Fort Bragg, and then trucked to Albion. Water from a spring two and a half miles northeast of the bridge was piped to two 2,000-gallon storage tanks in North Albion. Pilings were cut five miles southeast of the bridge site and trucked in.

All structural steel was salvaged from other places (like that railroad bridge) and used to make the 130’-steel truss span. A State stockpile of iron in Rio Dell was also used. Everything was sent to Schroeder Iron Works in San Francisco for fabrication into what was needed. Work crews were described as adequate with the general superintendent earning $125 a week, laborers got $1.00 an hour and skilled workers got more. Carpenters earned $1.54 and welders $1.75 hourly, while gas for vehicles cost 17 cents a gallon. It was noted that everywhere there was a shortage of skilled laborers. All able-bodied young men were off fighting the war.

Planning began in August 1942 and even with a three-month shutdown from the War Board, that argued this was not a necessary war effort, the job was done by August 1944. If readers are curious to know more, they can come to the Kelley House Museum and read more and thumb through the Albion Bridge subject files. This new document is also available in digital PDF format.

(The Kelley House Research Office and Museum are open Fridays through Mondays, 11AM to 3PM. Contact us at 707/937-5791 or curator@kelleyhousemuseum.org.)

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MARK SCARAMELLA ADDS:

Not many people know that Caltrans’ basic bridge design has its origins with American Founding Father Tom Paine.

(From http://www.republicansocialists.org.uk/tom-paine.php)

Tom Paine's bridge design, which he evolved during the 1780s, was to adopt the new material, iron, but to go back to the arch based on a stable circular form, and at the same time somehow give it the flexibility to be made bigger or smaller, wider or narrower, higher or lower, as required by the geography of the location, without the height being predetermined, as it would be with a semicircle.

The solution was, he claimed, based on his observation of a spider's web, a form derived directly from nature. He was keen on the fundamental structures of nature being the basis for our own human efforts at construction.

Taking one section of a spider's web was like taking a small section across a circle, called in geometry a cord. The bridge could be based on that cord. The starting point is to draw a large imaginary circle, then draw a cord across a section of the circle that matches the width of the river or gap one wishes to bridge. In the drawing above the cord is marked A-B. The arc of the circle above the cord becomes the arch of the bridge, and the roadway, marked C-D in the drawing, can be placed on top. Any supporting struts can be placed as radiuses, pointing towards the centre of the original circle, making the structure very stable.

Tom Paine was so keen on his idea that in 1788 he took out a patent on it, which was granted on 26th August 1788 as patent No. 1667. …

Here is a later nineteenth-century photograph of the Wearmouth Bridge, capturing what is possibly the clearest photographic expression ever recorded of Tom Paine's idea. Tom did not see the bridge being built and did not get any credit for it, all of which went to local British worthies, the iron manufacturer Thomas Walker and Rowland Burdon, the local MP.

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DEB SILVA ADDS:

I have a couple old pictures of Albion. I'm not sure when they were taken but after reading Kathy Tahja’s article, I can safely say that the pictures were taken before the current bridge was completed in 1944.

A LIFE WITHOUT SPORTS

by Dave Zirin

In the world of sports, we are in a time without precedent and without a compass. We are lost in the woods, with no idea how to find our way out.

The NBA was the first domino, canceling its season, followed by the NHL, the NCAA’s men’s and women’s March Madness tournaments, Major League Baseball spring training, scouting trips by the NFL, NASCAR, and everybody else. Across the world, India is shutting down cricket while UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) has postponed the 2020 European Football Championship until 2021 and England’s Premier League is close.

Now we prepare for a life without sports, a stunning development. Sports kept going during two world wars and the 1918 influenza pandemic. Sports have always helped keep up morale and some modicum of normalcy during times of crisis.

During the first World War, Woodrow Wilson said, “I hope that sports will be continued as a real contribution to the national defense.” Franklin Roosevelt spoke similarly during World War II.

The influenza pandemic of 1918 infected 500 million people, one-third of the world’s population at the time, and killed an estimated 50 million including 675,000 in the United States. Unlike the coronavirus, high mortality rates occurred in the twenty-to-forty-years-old age range, and officials became wildly concerned, with public gatherings strongly discouraged.

While MLB’s season ended right before the pandemic erupted, the 1918 World Series saw the banning of the “spitball” due to health concerns. And yet, it wasn’t cancelled—despite multiple players dying after contracting the flu, and the famed Babe Ruth contracting it twice.

Even 9/11 only delayed NFL games by one week.

This is different because, instead of sports becoming a distraction from national calamity, sports teams could have become a traveling road show of disease clusters, a band of Patient Zeros, traveling from city to city, infecting fans along the way.

This is why it took Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert testing positive for COVID-19, and spreading the disease to his All-Star teammate Donovan Mitchell, to wake the sports world up to the reality that it was not immune. In one day, the NBA went from merely saying that players should fist bump instead of high-fiving fans, to shutting the whole multibillion-dollar operation down.

This was the correct decision when it comes to public safety, but it comes with its own set of costs, like the low-wage stadium and arena workers who now have no income at all.

Several players have stepped up—including Zion Williamson, the nineteen-year-old rookie for the New Orleans Pelicans—and pledged to pay the stadium workers out of their own pockets. But it really should be the billionaire owners who step up and offer paid leave to all employees, as a smattering of franchise owners have done.

Most of these teams play in publicly funded sports cathedrals that were built with promises of job creation. It was always a specious argument, since the sports world offers mostly seasonal work. But now is the time for sports-team owners to make good on their assurances that stadiums would help working people, not leave them destitute.

Tony Ressler, the majority owner of the Atlanta Hawks, announced in mid-March that he would guarantee the wages of arena staff. “We have a pretty clear set of priorities in this kind of remarkable time that we’re living through,” Ressler said. “Protecting our fans, protecting our employees, and protecting the reputation of our league, all of which is important. But let there be no confusion: that means taking care of all of our employees, our full-time, our part-time.”

What is truly remarkable and utterly unacceptable is that all franchise owners across sports have not followed suit. These billionaires need to show some sense of responsibility. They should not have to be shamed into doing so.

For now, we do not know how long we will be a world without sports. The best we can do is stay healthy, follow the advice we are getting from trusted sources—that is, not from the President—and wait for the time when we can join together once again in collective joy.

That’s more than sports. That’s just being human. But to experience that once again, we first need to survive.

ONCE, when I was visiting [Jorge Luis Borges], the postman brought a large parcel containing a deluxe edition of his story, "The Congress," published in Italy by Franco Maria Ricci. It was a huge book, bound and cased in black silk, with gold-leaf lettering and printed on hand-made blue Fabiano paper, each illustration (the story had been illustrated with Tantric paintings) hand-tipped, and each copy numbered. Borges asked me to describe it. He listened carefully and then exclaimed, "But that's not a book, that's a box of chocolates!" and proceeded to make a gift of it to the embarrassed postman.

— Alberto Manguel, 2006; from "With Borges"

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

This morning I went to my local Wal-Mart here in central Illinois. I think I saw a people in transition; not yet hysterical but aware something very bad was happening. Food riots soon would not surprise me.

Days earlier there had been some bare shelf space here and there. Now the toilet paper, paper towels, kleenex were all gone. Milk 80% gone, mostly skim and 1% left. The only eggs left were a few cartons of small brown free range chicken eggs selling at 4 times the price of normal eggs. Cold medicines 90% gone. Bottled water all gone, some soda left. Meats and canned goods were about half gone. Noticeable empty space in the freezers. Only fresh produce mostly in good supply.

I heard people complaining about not finding baby formula or diapers anywhere in town. (My mother in 1955 washed diapers by hand. This no doubt motivated her to implement an early and strict Germanic regimen of toilet training which has left me psychologically scarred to this day. But I digress.)

Welcome to dystopia world. Come for the epidemic; stay for the financial breakdown. When the banks can no longer finance trade, and the trucks stop rolling, and no one restocks the shelves, will we disappear like Ozymandias with the sands of time – unwiped and unmourned?

THE BUBONIC PLAGUE, also known as the Black Death, was the most lethal of all diseases, killing roughly 200 million people in the 14th century. Smallpox, the second deadliest pandemic in history, claimed the lives of 56 million people over more than 400 years before it was finally eradicated in 1980. By comparison, COVID-19 has so far killed 7,000 people and infected more than 180,000 since December. But it is still in its early stages. Scientists say the 'scale' and 'lethality' of the virus is on the scale of the H1N1 influenza strain that sparked the Spanish flu pandemic over 100 years ago. The 1918 outbreak killed off almost 50 million people in just one year after racing around the globe and infecting a quarter of the world's population.

HAZMOBILE COLLECTIONS SUSPENDED FOR 30 DAYS

[This applies to the recently announced hazmobile visit to the County Fairgrounds on Saturday, March 28 which is, obviously, cancelled.]

In light of recent news regarding local transmission (community spread) of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Northern California, MendoRecycle will be cancelling all mobile collections and instead hold Hazardous Waste collections only at our Ukiah facility for the next thirty days until 4/16/20. The Ukiah collections will be held every Wednesday and Saturday during the mobile collection suspension.

CANCELED: Invasive Plant Removal at Hendy Woods SP – Cancelled

Needless to say the invasive plant removal is cancelled for now - I'll let you know if something changes for the April Date

Anica Williams williams.anica@gmail.com

UKIAH BARS STILL OPEN

It was mostly business as usual at the Forest Club in downtown Ukiah

ukiahdailyjournal.com/2020/03/16/many-bars-still-open-monday-in-ukiah/

COAST HOSPITAL Update on COVID-19 Preparedness

From Dr. William Miller, Chief of Staff, Mendocino Coast District Hospital

My fellow residents here on beautiful Mendocino Coast, I am writing to update you on the work that we are doing at the hospital to respond to the national COVID-19 crisis.

First, let me assure you that as of this writing, on March 16th, there have been no cases of COVID-19 identified here in Mendocino County. Having said that, we do expect that we are likely to have confirmed cases in our community within the next few weeks as the virus spreads. Our attention is to being prepared for when that happens. We have access to the test and all of the suspected cases so far have turned out to be negative. There are some people in our community who are on home quarantine, however, that is a precaution and does not mean that they are known to be infected. The COVID-19 test is a send out that takes between 3-7 days to return an answer. We expect to be able to run the test in our own lab in about 6-8 weeks from now. Resources needed to perform the test are in limited supply, thus we are testing only those people who have symptoms and are more likely to have the infection. Testing of people who are well and without any known contact is not advised at this time.

We have activated our disaster plan, just like we did during the last electrical outage. We have implemented steps to minimize potential exposure of our patients and staff. We have implemented screening processes to quickly identify and isolate any persons who may be infected. One important step is to screen people who think they may be infected in their cars without coming into the facility. You can help us in this by calling ahead to your doctor or to the hospital if you think you might be infected. The most important symptoms to look for are fever, cough and shortness of breath. If you simply have a runny nose or sore throat or just feel achy, then that is unlikely to be COVID-19 and you should not be tested.

Protecting our nurses, doctors and other health care workers from exposure is crucial as they will be needed if this becomes more serious and widespread. One way to do this is to limit the traffic of visitors in and out of hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities. For that reason, Gavin Newsom, California Governor, declared that all visitors to hospitals will be restricted. Thank you for understanding this unfortunate need.

Both the CDC and the American College of Surgeons have published guidelines recommending that all non-essential surgeries and procedures, including screening colonoscopies, be postponed. The reason is that these use up surgical masks, gloves and other equipment that may become needed if the outbreak progresses.

A situation of this magnitude is affecting hospitals not only directly in terms of sick patients, but also in nationwide shortages of certain medical supplies and medications. This problem quickly starts to affect all hospitals, even if they don’t have any COVID-19 patients. One of the challenges that hospitals are facing nationally is a shortage of personal protection equipment such as masks, and gowns. At this time, we have an adequate supply, however, that supply may become exhausted if there is a large surge of patients. Thus, we are taking steps to carefully use what we have so as not to waste this important resource.

One question that seems to be on a lot of people’s minds is whether or not we have enough ventilators if there is a major outbreak here. I would answer that this is not what will be the limiting issue. It will be whether or not we have enough health care staff. We do have extra ventilators, but like most medical supplies there are national shortages as all hospitals across the nation ramp up.

Information and guidelines on COVID-19 are rapidly changing, sometimes within the span of a single day. We are maintaining direct contact with county and state health officials to ensure that we are following the most current recommendations and that we are doing everything we can to prepare.

We are also sharing information and coordinating efforts with the City of Ft. Bragg, the emergency medical services on the Coast, Sherwood Oaks Nursing Home and the Mendocino Coast Clinic. We are also in frequent contact with our partner hospitals here in Mendocino County; Howard Hospital in Willits and Ukiah Valley Medical Center.

We desire to keep our community as informed as possible as to what is going on and the steps we are taking in responding to this issue. To be honest, however, with things changing as quickly as they have and given the potential challenge that this epidemic may present, we have had to focus all of our efforts up until now on keeping pace with these changes and getting ready. Thus, we have not had time to put out more detailed information to you. We apologize for that, but please remember that the absence of such announcements does not mean that we are doing nothing or are unprepared.

Lastly, keep in mind that we do not know how this will affect our community. Corona viruses are a large family of viruses that we experience each year as seasonal colds. These viruses tend to follow the pattern of influenza. They start to move through our community each Fall and by April the number of cases start to decline and by June the flu season is over. It is possible that this corona virus, COVID-19, will behave similarly. If that is the case, then we may experience only a few cases here. We simply don’t know yet. So, what we need to do is hope for the best, while preparing for the worst. I think it is time for us all to take a slow deep breath and stay focused on that reality while we make preparations for what to do if this does become a serious problem for us here on beautiful Mendocino Coast.

POLITICIANS DISCUSS GLOBAL WARMING. Sculpture by Issac Cordal.

MICHAEL MOORE:

"That’s ok. However they get there. It was probably just the word that scared them. Maybe we just should’ve called it Kindness. Or Sharing. Or Democracy. A democratic economy where everyone has a say, everybody has a seat at the table, and everybody gets a fair slice of the pie. Thank you Joe Biden for announcing in the past 48 hours that you agree with Bernie and Elizabeth that college should be free, your bankruptcy bill was wrong, and that fracking should cease (and that these positions are now part of your campaign).

We’ll all get there someday soon! Assuming the current president doesn’t get us all killed first."

THURSDAY MENDO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING CANCELED

CUBA! Among the 30 medicines the Chinese National Health Commission selected to fight the coronavirus was a Cuban anti-viral drug Interferon Alpha 2b. This drug has been produced in China since 2003, by the enterprise ChangHeber, a Cuban-Chinese joint venture.

Cuban Interferon Alpha 2b has proven effective for viruses with characteristics similar to those of COVID-19. Cuban biotech specialist, Dr Luis Herrera Martinez explained that ‘its use prevents aggravation and complications in patients, reaching that stage that ultimately can result in death.’ Cuba first developed and used interferons to arrest a deadly outbreak of the dengue virus in 1981, and the experience catalyzed the development of the island’s now world-leading biotech industry.

FOUND OBJECT