MCT: Monday, September 21, 2020

• Autumn Weather
• Evacuations Lifted
• Largest Wildfire
• 851 Cases
• MRC Sins
• Rawles Service
• Dem Van
• Pipe Work
• SF Burning
• Pot Program
• Southern Pacific
• Moonstone Beach
• Family Wagon
• Ed Notes
• Healthcare Stocks
• Fox Dream
• Home Invasion
• Desired Object
• Trashy People
• Old Ukiah
• Lord Cat
• Yesterday's Catch
• Gay Obsession
• Six Guns
• Livery Stable
• Trump Logic
• Creamery Coaster
• Good Writing
• Found Object

WARM AND DRY conditions will persist across the interior for the next few days as coastal locations remain seasonably cool and cloudy. Rain chances are increasing Wednesday night into Thursday across Del Norte and northern Humboldt County. Another stretch of hotter weather is possible next weekend. (NWS)

EVACUATION ORDERS LIFTED IN NORTH EAST MENDO

August Complex - South Zone: Evacuation Orders Have Been Reduced To An Evacuation Warning, East Of Covelo, CA

Effective Immediately

Affected areas:

Zone A: West of the Mendocino County line, south of Anthony Peak and north of Hull Mountain, east of a north / south line between Nebo Rock and McCoy Ridge.

Zone C: North of the M1 (Indian Dick Road), east of the National Forest boundary, south of Forest Highway 7 (Mendocino Pass Road), west of a north / south line between Nebo Rock and McCoy Ridge.

Zone E has been sub-divided into two new zones identified as Zone E and Zone E.1.

Zone E.1: South of Bar Creek, east of the Middle Fork of the Eel River, north of Forest Highway 7 (Mendocino Pass Road), west of a north / south line between Nebo Rock and McCoy Ridge (western boundary line of Zone A).

Zone E: South of the Mendocino County Line, east of the of the National Forest boundary, north of Bar Creek, west of USFS Road M2 remains in mandatory evacuation order.

Road Closures

Hearst Willits Road at the Eel River Bridge

FH7 (Mendocino Pass Road) at M1 (Indian Dick Road) - Eel River

Notes:

Please note there is a hard road closure on M1 (Indian Dick Road) north of Bar Creek. M1 between FH7 and Bar Creek is open to residents only who have proof of residency to present at the road closure. FH7 (Mendocino Pass Road) east of M1 is restricted to residents only who have proof of residency to present at the road closure.

The public is reminded to stay vigilant on current fire conditions. Please continue to adhere to road closures and any Evacuation Warnings and Evacuation Orders. Please remember to drive slowly and yield to emergency personnel in the area. There may still be smoke in the respective areas as firefighters continue their suppression operations.

View the most current evacuation map at: https://tinyurl.com/mendoevac

For more information about wildfire preparedness visit: www.readyforwildfire.org

(Joint Press Release between the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office and the Federal Great Basin Incident Management Team #2)

THE AUGUST COMPLEX has grown to 836,871 acres and is 34 percent contained. It is listed as the largest wildfire in California history.

South Zone Update - Mendocino National Forest:  Steady progress continues on the South Zone of the August Complex. The east side of the Complex is now contained, and resources are being shifted to other areas of the fire. The containment of the entire Complex is now 34 percent.

On Saturday, crews continued to improve lines near Pillsbury Ranch and conducted additional burning when weather and other conditions were favorable. The strategically applied burning will increase the protection of structures in Lake Pillsbury by removing vegetation between control lines and the main fire perimeter.

Two hundred thirty-three soldiers from the 14th Brigade Engineer Battalion from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington are deployed and continue to support the August Complex. These firefighting soldiers have been engaged in fireline construction, mop up, patrol, and many are now assisting with structure protection and holding lines as firing operations continue in the Lake Pillsbury area.

North Zone Update - Shasta-Trinity, Mendocino and Six Rivers National Forests:  (Redding, CA) – An additional four Type 2 Initial Attack Hand Crews have been routed to the North Zone August Complex for four days to assist in building dozer line ahead of the fire, south of Highway 36. The crews Lassen, Trinity, Iron Mountain and Lone Star State will work with fire managers and other resources on the ground to construct indirect line to reduce the fuels and slow the progression of the fire.  Dozers and other heavy equipment are working to prep and strengthen the area south of the highway and existing fire breaks surrounding the community of Post Mountain/Trinity Pines. Engine crews will assess homes and prepare for the potential of the fire crossing Highway 36. The additional resources arrived at a critical point to improve and hold fire lines as the fire progress north towards Highway 36 and Post Mountain/Trinity Pines. 

In Ruth a hand crew was added to last night’s shift to assist fire resources with firing operations which brought controlled fire down the western slope of South Fork Mountain to Highway 26 to reinforce containment lines. The structure protection groups are continuing to assess and provide structure protection within Ruth Valley, Hettenshaw Valley, Kettenpom and Forest Glen as well.

Established containment lines on the eastern portion east of East Low Gap are being actively monitored. Crews are mopping up along Forest Road 35 from East Low Gap to Stuart Gap.

In the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness along Wrights Ridge, the August Complex North and South Zones have burned together.

West Zone Update – CAL FIRE - Mendocino, Humboldt-Del Norte, and Trinity Units:  CAL FIRE’S unified team and the U.S. Forest Service are engaged in a coordinated response to take suppressive action on the August Complex, which has been split into three zones to effectively provide a response for the communities at risk. CAL FIRE’s Incident Management Team ordered the National Guard to assist with fire suppression efforts due to resource draw down throughout the state. The current acreage of the August Complex West Zone is 91,430 acres and is 15% contained. Resources from across the state of California as well as Montana, Idaho, Texas, and New Jersey have been assigned to assist on the August Complex-West Zone. Some evacuation orders and warnings have been reduced. Overnight weather conditions have resulted in the fire backing down toward containment lines in some areas. The fire continues to make short runs within isolated interior pockets and burning operations near Lake Pillsbury are causing smoke to be highly visible. The August Complex West-Zone total fire line spans approximately 195 miles. 

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CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES (since modern records began in 1932)

JUST TWO MORE COVID CASES reported in Mendocino County on Sunday, total now at 851. No new deaths, a few less active cases.

NOT ANY MORE

Dear Editor,

In response to Catherine Lair's letter in the AVA Sept. 16 —

Perhaps Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC) used to go above and beyond, but not anymore. They are not safe - witness the recent fire at the pellet plant caused by their own equipment. 

They barely follow the law - building a polluting plant in a residential neighborhood with two schools, a health clinic and a hundred homes and apartments, without an environmental review (thanks to Supervisor John McCowan and his disdain for the environment as well as human health). This does not count as going above and beyond. And they are not limiting pollution. MRC flunked air pollution tests repeatedly in the three years they've been operating.

We are not talking about cigarettes, gambling or other personal habits that destroy one's own health. MRC is harming other people's health for their own financial gain. Thankfully this is exactly why we have laws about smoking in public places or putting other people's health at risk.

Nor are environmentalists targeting MRC while ignoring other threats to the health of our planet. Years ago the Willits Environmental Center was the first local entity to identify, prosecute and clean up pot grows that poisoned our forests and depleted our waterways. When overlogging threatened to overwhelm our forests and 90% of our redwoods were gone, activists developed sustainable forestry guidelines to protect and regenerate the woods. MRC followed those guidelines for years, for which they were lauded and applauded, but the times have changed. They now use tons of glyphosate and other known carcinogens annually to kill tens of thousands of oak trees with no regard for the fire danger posed by thousands of acres of dead standing trees. MRC deserves to be called out on their actions.

Have you seen MRC's log decks piled two stories high? Just look across the road from Thurston Auto. Those trees are too small for lumber — they should be left for carbon sequestration if we are to survive climate change. Some people will continue to use wood stoves and pellet stoves, but more and more we will have to learn to heat our homes with south facing windows, super insulation, cogeneration and more efficient building designs.

Biomass was approved for electricity at a time when burning garbage and agricultural waste was thought to be sustainable. Turns out it's not. Corn stalks and other agricultural residues should be turned back into the soil. Redwoods and fir trees, that replenish the oxygen we breathe, should not be ground up into “waste” sawdust to be burned as glued and pressed pellets, releasing even more toxins into the air.

You think MRC is “open and legally responsible”? Maybe when you worked there, but for three years now MRC has run a toxic plant with no environmental oversight and still refuses to release records of their air quality tests and violations to the public.

We need to work together to steward our resources responsibly and create a sustainable future… Starting now.

Sincerely,

Robin Leler

Willits

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ms notes: What are the odds that the Mendocino County Climate Action Advisory Committee — which recently praised itself for getting the Board of Supervisors to declare a “climate emergency” (after a year of meetings and preparation) — or any other self-alleged enviromental group in the area, will address any of this?

JESS RAWLES REDWOOD TREE, UKIAH

THE DEM VAN IS COMING

The Inland Mendocino Democratic Mobile Headquarters Comes To You! 

The Inland Mendocino Democratic Club’s (IMDC) Mobile Headquarters will be visiting Anderson Valley, specifically downtown Boonville near the Boonville Hotel, on Wednesday, September 23 beginning at 2 pm. Biden/Harris campaign material, handouts about ballot propositions and local races will be available. Not registered to vote yet? Mobile HQ volunteers will happily sign you up. They'll have Census information on hand as well. 

This year, due to Covid, the IMDC revised their normal practice of opening a Ukiah campaign headquarters. Instead, the organization is sending its “Mobile HQ,” an appropriately emblazoned van, around Inland Mendocino County, following an ambitious itinerary that includes several dozen stops at a wide range of locales. The journey began on Labor Day and will continue until Election Day. 

Additional upcoming scheduled stops include Ukiah on Saturday, September 26 (the Farmer’s Market at 9 am and State & Perkins at 2 pm) and Redwood Valley on Sunday, September 27 (RV Farmer’s Market at 9 am and Lions Park at 2 pm). There is a return Boonville visit currently scheduled for Sunday, October 18.

The schedule is subject to change, as weather and air-quality conditions dictate. For information and/or date confirmation, please visit the Inland Mendocino Democratic Club website, at https://mendodems.org/WP/, or call (707) 367-0910.

Jerry Karp

Boonville

ON THE PIPE

On September 19, 2020 at approximately 10:11 PM, Officers were on-duty in the 900 block of S. State St., when they heard yelling coming from the area near ABC Supply Company. Officers observed a female, who was later identified as Melissa Miller, 40, of Bakersfield, holding a metal pipe across the throat of an adult male. 

Miller was using the pipe to push the victim away from the lit area of the parking lot and into a darker portion of the lot. Officers responded to the location and upon arrival saw Miller had the victim pined against a large metal dumpster and was depressing the metal pipe across the victim’s throat. Officers ordered Miller to drop the pipe, but she refused to do so. Officers again ordered her to drop the pipe, at which time she threw the pipe down. Officers attempted to take custody of Miller, but she physically resisted. After a brief struggle; she was taken into custody.

Officers contacted the victim and learned he and Miller were acquaintances and that she asked him to walk with her over to the area of ABC Supply Company. Once there, Miller put the pipe against his throat and pushed him toward the dark area of the lot. He stated he believed he had no choice, but to allow her to push him into the dark area, due to the fact that she was armed with the pipe. The victim advised Miller stated she was going to kill him and he was indeed in fear for his life, once she pinned him against the dumpster with the pipe. The victim denied medical treatment and was released from the scene.

Miller provided statements regarding the incident and admitted she was going to kill the victim and pushed him into the dark portion of the lot so that her activity was hidden from detection.

Miller was found to be on summary probation, from this county, for a prior violation of Resisting arrest with violence. One of the terms of her probation was “obey all laws”.

Miller was subsequently transported and lodged at the MCSO Jail for the aforementioned violations.

SF BURNING, 1906 QUAKE

MENDO’S POT PERMIT PROGRAM, an exchange.

YESTERDAY, we posted the text of the pot permit program agenda item on next Tuesday’s board agenda, noting that Supervisor Ted Williams had commented, “Realistic next steps to cannabis permitting will be on the 9/22 agenda.”

WE COMMENTED, “…although how anyone could call this [the agenda item] ‘realistic’ is beyond us.”

SUPERVISOR TED WILLIAMS: Based on some thousand pending applications for commercial development (per state wide voter enacted classification), another 3+ days of staff time per application is realistic. The fee schedule appears to have assumed 6 hours of staff time. Not possible. Not even close. Before my time. Changing the existing fee schedule is arguably not possible for pending applications. Ramping up adequate staffing to meet the state deadline is likely not realistic. Whether the county wishes to retain the ordinance is a policy matter. The program will generate approximately $5M of revenue this year. If that revenue is directed at a planning contractor, the permitting/licensing could be completed. Otherwise, without a state extension to provisional licenses, the ongoing tax revenue will cease after Jan 1, 2022 and all cultivation will be illicit market again.

MS: I believe that the $5 million (estimated) is already obligated for other general fund budget items. If used for pot permits, it would just create a hole elsewhere.

WILLIAMS Absolutely, but without it or another approach to reach state annual licenses, that $5M loss will be annual.

Another approach could be rescinding the ordinance, not banning cultivation, letting licensing fall back on the state while continuing to collect tax revenue. Far less costly. Some won’t like the perceived loss of local environmental oversight.

Humboldt has adequate planners for cannabis. Let’s not have 3 and pretend we can move applicants through a more convoluted ordinance. Either staff up, outsource or call it. I’ve been on this ad hoc about one month and I’m antsy for results.

MS: Yes, I understand that. Results would be nice. Useful results have been hard to get for almost four years now. To convince the three supervisors who seem to favor trying to fix the current ordinance you’ll have to deal with the existing/pending applications. Is there a way to do that without lots of staff time and money? What does the ad hoc committee propose for them? (PS. I’ll be happy to wait until after Tuesday’s meeting for the answer if necessary. But a heads up would be nice. PS. It’s interesting/disappointing that there’s still not a single public comment posted on line for this agenda item as of Sunday 5pm. Either nobody’s paying attention, or nobody cares and growers have given up, or the Board’s not doing a very good job of publicizing this rather important issue.

WILLIAMS “Is there a way to do that without lots of staff time and money?” … Doubtful. What’s the status of the 882 pending applications? Nobody knows. The estimate is five hours of staff time per file just to determine status. Each application has different requirements resulting from site specific “development”. It’s therefore not as simple as a check sheet comparison. Applicants might have submitted responses to Ag employees no longer with the county. Can we retrieve or do we ask again? Many applicants have changed development since filing the initial application. The back and forth will be time consuming. This basic organizational task alone is not within current staffing capability.

MS: Right. You pointed that out very effectively at the last meeting. As I’m sure you recall the response you got from your fellow ad-hoc committee member, Chair Haschak, was, essentially, “I agree,” adding that the Board has an obligation to “help” those applicants. But it appears that neither he nor your ad hoc committee have proposed anything to specifically address those applicants. As a supporter of the current (failed) program, you’d think that he’d have some practical ideas in that regard, not just vague references to allegedly cooperative state agencies. I guess we’ll just have to wait until Tuesday to see if he does.

TRAIN OUTSIDE WILLITS, 1949

Note: the truck in this photo seems to be of later vintage than the 1940s — more like a Dodge from the sixties? — perhaps a reader with truck knowledge can enlighten us.

NIGHT LIGHT OF THE NORTH COAST: Ray of Beauty at Moonstone Beach

by David Wilson

An odd thing happened while out sifting through the coastal night light for a compelling image. The waxing crescent moon had already set, and the night was dark. My brother Seth and I walked without lights through the night along the beach, each step something of a leap of faith as only faint differences in the darkness revealed the sandy contours before us. 

Presently a lighter object emerged from the shadows on the ground ahead, its dim form sliding slowly toward us as we walked. It was probably trash, I thought, remnants of a sunny day’s activities thoughtlessly left behind. I nearly kicked at it to ascertain its composition, but was spared that folly as my brother flicked his light on to reveal the lifeless form of some kind of ray.

White and pasty, it lay on the sand with its tail still in the waters of Little River, apparently left high and dry by the receding tide. Its smell told us it wasn’t freshly deceased. Hideous, was a word that came to mind, but these bat-like sea creatures had always fascinated me. Could I get a photo of this, I wondered? But the smell rose again and we moved on.

But later, after shooting the scene I’d come out to photograph, we walked back past the dead creature. I should commemorate it, I thought, honor its life. It was the day we’d lost a Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and here was this lifeless form washed up on the beach. I felt I should stop; perhaps there was a way to find the beauty in the end of its life, and pay the old critter its due respects.

What is in a perception? What at first I had thought was litter, upon closer examination became the smelly lifeless body of a dead sea creature. And after reflection, it transformed again to something I wanted to honor and memorialize, though I didn’t yet see in my mind’s eye how to make an interesting photograph of it. So we stopped on our way past it again to try. And something beautiful rose out of an object I had thought was only trash.

The lifeless ray lay on the shore with lay its tail still in the water. Above, the Milky Way, with Jupiter and Saturn, marked its passage in their night-long vigil.

(To read previous entries of “Night Light of the North Coast,” click on my name above the article. To keep abreast of my most current photography or purchase a print, visit and contact me at my website mindscapefx.com or follow me on Instagram at @david_wilson_mfx.)

RUPE FAMILY, WILLITS

ED NOTES

ANOTHER sign of the apocalypse: NPR anchor Robert Siegel earns at least $358,653 annually, while weekend nuzzlebum supreme, Scott Simon, rakes in a minmum $364,465, according to a copy of an NPR's 990 form in circulation, which isn't recent, meaning the NPR audio branch of Chuckle Buddies is probably up around half a mil annually. (Is it just old man cynicism or is NPR even sillier, more frivolous lately than it usually is?)

FRANTIC pleas everywhere to stop the orange beast from hustling in a Supreme Court Justice appointment before the election, which he seems to be on the way to doing, but only the Democrats could put a candidate who could possibly lose to him and may just manage it anyway. The forces of evil, with or without Ginsberg, are in the majority on the court.

THE MIGHTY AVA recommends a Green Party vote for president as a protest against California's one-party state. The fainthearted must know that Biden is a cinch here in the Sunshine State, as a celery stalk would be if it ran as a Democrat, so a protest vote isn't a vote for the beast as it might be in a swing state among the loosely principled.

MAGICAL THINKING, always strong on the Northcoast as hippie legacy, seems to be that with Trump gone we're soon back to soma and serenity. Isn't it obvious that the number and magnitude of the rolling catastrophes, social and environmental, will not only roll on but intensify?

(NOTE: Early morning Boonville consists of four persons — Ricky Adams waiting for a cup of coffee at the Redwood Drive-in; Pilar Echeverria and her genius baker Noella Sanchez at Mosswood; and me. As a former logger, Ricky's up early every morning. Pilar serves the lucky early morning through traffic with Noella's unmatched baked goods and coffee to go. Me, a lifelong early riser no matter how late the previous night's merriment is up with the chickens, too.)

ASKED how cyber-learning was going in Boonville, high school principal Jim Snyder responded: “It's going quite well, actually. There are of course glitches and hiccups, mostly in terms of internet connectivity, but the vast majority of students are able to connect and participate in school virtually. The district has given out about 250 internet hotspots to students to assist with internet connections. For those who do not have adequate internet access, we are able to deliver instruction and assignments to them in paper form, or through digital files delivered via USB drives.”

THE LAST post I saw from Paul McCarthy on his essential MendocinoSportsPlus website was this one from last week: "Dump Truck rollover into Hwy 128 ditch. The Anderson Valley Fire Department & ground ambulance have been dispatched. They're having a hard time trying to locate this incident. At 1:30 pm, the response was canceled - unable to locate. UPDATE Now (1:30 pm) they are saying the incident was located “just west of the Navarro Store. First responders were re-committed to the incident — now located near mile marker 13.88. It was reported to be a three-axle dump truck and will need a heavy-duty tow truck to respond.” Maybe ten minutes later we heard the medi-chopper overhead, always a dread sound meaning serious injury.

AV FIRE CHIEF Andres Avila, who is still on strike team assignment on the fire line in Northeast Mendo, later added, “I was told that the dispatch was at the intersection of Hwy 128 and philo-Greenwood Rd. Units could not locate it at the given location and started up Greenwood Rd and both directions on the Highway. After stopping an eastbound vehicle units found that the accident was west of Navarro. They found a dump truck overturned with asphalt spilled all over the highway. The patient (driver) was transported by AV Ambulance to the Boonville airport to be transferred to the trauma center in Santa Rosa. Caltrans and CHP remained on scene for traffic control.”

McCARTHY somehow managed to be on top of things from one end of the county to the other, Gualala to Covelo. The guy is irreplaceable. From MSP you got a real sense of what this place is like, and few people loved it like he did, posting everything from links to obscure public meetings to the handwritten lunch menu on the door of the Elk Store. And he covered, from the Mendocino High School home base, high school sports. Old timers will remember when the Press Democrat not only posted two full-time reporters to Mendocino County, one in Ukiah, one on the Mendocino Coast, but employed the great Herb Dower as full-time high school sports reporter. Mendo print media has deteriorated considerably since and is now on life support, just barely registering a pulse. But McCarthy knew instinctively how central to the life of this place high school sports are, and he faithfully made that grueling late night trip from Elk to Covelo to bring the ball game home to Coast fans, of whom there aren't a lot but they make up in enthusiasm what they lack in numbers. I noticed on a Covelo facebook page tributes to McCarthy, some others from Point Arena, at least one from Laytonville, and lots from the Coast. All this and he was boldly outspoken, too, criticizing Coast political figures, especially the whinging liberal ones unaccustomed, in their self-regarding echo chamber, to a bracing boot in the arse.

MENTION OF HERB DOWER reminds me that Coast am radio, KMFB, featured a heavily audited morning talk show hosted by Ed Kowas and Lindy Peters. Nothing like it now, and when Ed turned out to be a Wisconsin judge who'd gone on the lam to hide out (where else?) in Mendocino County, the long arm of the feds reached out one day and snatched him into the federal pen for a couple of years. All of these people and institutions put real community into the county, which is what McCarthy also did. His sudden passing has shocked and saddened this vast place like no other has in some time.

THE HYSTERICS on the political right post versions of this every day now: “BLM co-founder Alicia Garza, 39, is the principal of Black Futures Lab, an advocacy group for black people. The group is financially supported by the Chinese Progressive Association, it has been revealed. Its donate button links directly to the CPA site. The CPA was founded in San Francisco in 1972 and has held events with and in support of the Chinese Communist government. Garza has previously been described as a ‘trained Marxist’.” 

“A TRAINED MARXIST”? Eek, a mouse! I've read Marx and, before he put me to sleep, I remember something about his theory of surplus value. I wonder when the Trumpians get out the pliers and start pulling off my toenails off, demanding I cough up everything I know about Marxism, if they'll believe me when I say, “Well, boys, I could probably pass an elementary test on the old boy's ideas but, like most Americans, I don't have much of a head for abstractions of the philosophical type. Now, if you'll please let me go I'm late for the ball game.”

FIRST I've heard of the “Chinese Progressive Association.” I wonder If the scholars at Breitbart have it confused with the old and long extinct Progressive Labor Party, a Maoist association with my old friend John Ross as its Frisco rep? Hate to break the bad news to Trump's paranoids, but if there is any ethnic group in San Francisco, or any other place in America, more committed to free enterprise and capitalism than Chinese, name it. Hell, even the China Chinese communists are capitalists.

TYPICAL that the rightwing needs secret societies like the non-existent CPA and Ms. Garza behind the BLM protests, that there couldn't possibly be legit grievances held by millions of black people that they're not treated fairly in this country. No, no, must be these hidden forces stirring things up.

HEALTH CARE STOCKS are feeling some pressure from health insurance companies amid speculation that the Affordable Care Act could be ruled unconstitutional when the Supreme Court hears a renewed challenge to the act after the election. The thinking is that the death of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg will give the Court a 6-3 conservative advantage that would strike it down if she is replaced by a Trump nominee this year. (Briefing.com)

PAINTING by Austrailian Artist Shaun Tan

LAYTONVILLE HOME INVASION (IT'S POT SEASON)

On Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020 at approximately 4:00 P.M., deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to an armed robbery that occurred at the Black Oak Ranch in the 49000 block of North Highway 101 near Laytonville.

Law enforcement personnel from the Sheriff's Office Investigations Bureau, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Mendocino County Inter-Agency SWAT team also responded to assist with this incident.

After law enforcement personnel arrived at the scene and met with the numerous victims, an investigation ensued where the following information was learned. On Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, Tyler Bagliere, 28, of San Jose, and his father, Louis Bagliere, 73, of San Jose, went to the rural property near Laytonville with two black male adults, later identified as Lathiaro White, 26, of Oakland, and Anthony Watson, 30, of San Jose. These subjects were armed with firearms and held a number of victims who were at the property at gunpoint while demanding money. A firearm was discharged at or near the victims during this incident. The suspects later left the property after stealing approximately 20 pounds of marijuana, and stated they would return in two days.

On Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, Tyler Bagliere returned to the above property with three black male adults who were later identified as Christopher Stewert, 30, of San Jose, Deangelo Villalona, 25, of San Jose, and another unidentified adult male. Stewert and Villalona were armed with a firearm on this date and the unidentified suspect discharged a firearm at or near the victims while demanding payment from them. The victims at the scene were identified as 3 adult males, an adult female, and a juvenile female who were held at gunpoint for several hours.

During the continuing investigation, law enforcement personnel stopped a van that was attempting to leave the area. Louis Bagliere, Lathiaro White, and Anthony Watson were located in the van along with multiple assault rifles equipped with large-capacity magazines and a loaded handgun.

The victims were interviewed during this investigation and it was determined they were not injured during the robbery on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020 or Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020.

Evidence was located at the scene of the robberies that corroborated the victim's statements regarding the incidents.

The following suspects were arrested for the listed charges in relation to this investigation:

Tyler Bagliere: Armed robbery in concert, assault with a deadly weapon, felony child endangerment, and criminal threats.

Lathiaro White: Armed robbery in concert, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, discharge of a firearm at an inhabited dwelling, and being armed with a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Anthony Watson: Armed robbery in concert, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, discharge of a firearm at an inhabited dwelling, and being armed with a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Christopher Stewert: Armed robbery in concert, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, discharge of a firearm at an inhabited dwelling, and being armed with a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Deangelo Villalona: Armed robbery in concert, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, discharge of a firearm at an inhabited dwelling, and being armed with a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Louis Bagliere: Armed robbery in concert and criminal threats.

Louis Bagliere was cited and released during this investigation due to pre-existing medical conditions. Investigators with the Sheriff's Office requested a bail enhancement on the other arrested suspects, which was granted for a no-bail status. Tyler Bagliere, White, Watson, Stewert, and Villalona were transported to the Mendocino County Jail where they were ultimately held on a no-bail status.

There was another unidentified adult male suspect who was not apprehended during this investigation. The outstanding suspect is described as a black male adult, approximately 20-30 years old, short, thin build, and possibly armed with a firearm. The suspect fled the area of the scene on foot and has not been located at this time. Please do not attempt to contact or detain this suspect as he is considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information relating to this case or the outstanding suspect is requested to call the Sheriff's Office Communications Center at 707-463-4086.

OBJECT OF DESIRE

CLEANUPS THROUGH SEPTEMBER

To the Editor:

I’m pleased to see that Coastal Cleanup Day has expanded to a month of Saturdays in September, and that we are encouraged to pick up trash in our neighborhoods. I propose residents take five minutes each week, all year round to walk our property that abuts roads and dispose of the accumulated trash. That way it doesn’t build up and get so gross!

I regularly ride my bike around the valley and am amazed, appalled and disheartened by the amount of debris scattered on the sides of our community roads. Most prominent in the litter are (recyclable) 16oz. plastic water bottles. I pick up about 4 each week. Other common litter items are beer, soda and “energy drink” cans and bottles, fast food cups, utensils and wrappings, plastic and cardboard case containers, cardboard boxes, items of clothing (from underwear to sweatshirts), plastic packing material, lighters, candy wrappers, cigarette packs and empty plastic ice bags. I’ve also found three dead animals (2 dogs and a cat) wrapped in plastic bags. And there’s currently a hot water heater littering Eastside Road if anyone cares to pick it up.

Since Covid, there are now masks and latex gloves, more plastic bags and take-out containers, and hard alcohol bottles tossed on the side of the road.

Why do we do this to our community? Out of sight out of mind? Some of this garbage winds up in the creeks, rivers and ocean where it kills birds, fish and sea mammals. It accumulates in the “Great Pacific garbage patch,” roughly 600,000 square miles of non-biodegradable micro plastics that enter our bloodstream when we eat seafood.

I’d like to thank all the considerate drivers who share the road so generously with bicyclists. Now, can we just stop littering?

Robin Goldner

Willits

SEMINARY AVE., UKIAH

UKIAH FIRE DEPT, 1949

ASSIGNMENT: UKIAH - LORD CAT, EXALTED SUPREME COMMANDER

by Tommy Wayne Kramer

Lord Cat awakens. He hurries not and shows no emotion. Nothing is revealed.

He betrays neither anxiety nor even acknowledgment that his powers shall be called upon and tested once again this morning, as they are called upon and tested each morning. For now he stretches languidly, silently, effortlessly, eyes closed, indifferent and without pleasure. A pause to lick paws.

Lord Cat blinks and slowly, always slowly, he begins.

Carp or Trout Diem!

His once-lean feline body retains a majestic though ponderous grace as he mounts the near-vertical slope of a back cushion on the living room sofa. He gazes out the window, stares fixedly to the east, and now, now! doth Lord Cat unleash his awesomeness.

The old cold sun, dark and dormant these many hours, moans and creeps and comes gradually to life o’er the distant eastern hills, its first thin splays and rays lie cool on nearby tabletop surfaces. It gains light, heat and speed as Lord Cat, patient and with slit eyes monitoring his willed work, commands the soft early light, up, up from the low horizon, up yet further until it crests the faraway hills and bathes the living room in luxuriant light and heat.

Many minutes of focused toil complete, he rests. His thick cat-sleep purrs along gently for 10, 12 or 18 hours, chin tucked into elbow, tail encircling all within a fat puddle of sunny heat. Later, he will become aroused at dreams of tuna-scented extruded meat product.

His ancient and mysterious cat-consciousness manifests moist yet crunchy bite-size bits into his personal bowl. Following a restorative nap of some duration, he marches slowly, pompously and with great dignity through the dining room and into the kitchen to see that his will has been realized, his idle whims satisfied, his bowl filled.

Later, if it shall amuse him, Lord Cat will cast a spell over the Rubik’s Cube in the parlor, then retire to a very private place to yield himself, lose himself, in the warm, heady, ambrosia-like company of his yellow catnip-stuffed ducky toy.

Exhausted, his day complete, Lord Cat rests until his powers are restored and he once again is called upon to exert himself against the cold dawn hours. Drowsing and fading, softly blinking his way to sleepyland, he wonders if tomorrow, yes tomorrow, might be a day to venture outdoors and frighten a robin.

At the moment he is pleased merely to doze and dream of mice, the young, fat three-legged kind.

Thanks, Joe

With my birthday just days away I was thrilled to get a card from Joe Biden. I opened it up and it said “Merry Christmas!”

Calling Measure B

I rolled into the Safeway lot mid-morning and parked in my usual precinct at the southwest corner. I grabbed a mask, locked the door and began the 200-foot trek.

To my left, on the sidewalk along South State Street, a woman was hunched over a collection of things, presumably hers, and was having a loud tough time of it. Perhaps her things are ornery ones and she was needing to establish discipline. I could hear only her side of the conversation and she was taking no guff. At one point I was about 75 feet from her and her things. She wasn’t old, wasn’t dressed shabbily, and she had nice blonde hair that was orange. The argument with her things seemed to escalate.

And I thought: She’s somebody’s sister. That woman, alone and troubled on a street she probably couldn’t name in a town she might not be able to find on a map, is some dad’s daughter.

And just look: Trapped in such profound despair that she can’t even reason with her t-shirts and the apple she’s been saving since yesterday. She’s somebody’s little girl, somebody’s sister. And here she is in Ukiah yelling at a zipper.

My best-kept secret is that I am prone to tears, at times triggered by things others never notice. So as I turned to take a glance back my eyes were misting and I was biting my lip.

Before I approached the checkstand I’d agreed with myself I’d give whatever change the cashier gave me to the woman and her things; it came to a little over 40 bucks. Walking back it seemed she’d settled the score with her belongings and was now arguing with a cell phone.

I got in my car, swung over to the empty aisle she was nearest, and with the window down and some bills folded over I came close and said “Uhh, excuse me?”

Without looking up she snarled either at me or her phone, yelled “F-you! F-you!” a lot, and began jabbing a middle finger in my direction, all with her head down.

Yes indeed, I thought. I brought my hand back in and rolled the window back up.

Well, there’s good news in this I sighed as I slowly drove away. At least she’s not my sister or daughter.

(Tom Hine lives in Ukiah and sometimes writes under the TWK byline.)

CATCH OF THE DAY, September 20, 2020

LESLIE ADELMAN, Ukiah. Camping in Ukiah, probation revocation.

JAMES ANDEREGG, Fort Bragg. Failure to appear.

JOSEPH ANDERSON, Ukiah. Controlled substance, paraphernalia, county parole violation.

DAVID BOLLINGER, Redwood Valley. Controlled substance, paraphernalia, switchblade in vehicle, disobeying court order, resisting.

LANE DREDGE, Arcata/Ukiah. DUI.

TERESA GARNER, Ukiah. Camping in Ukiah. 

TAMRA LARSON-FURLANI, Kelseyville/Fort Bragg. Domestic battery.

MELISSA MILLER, Bakersfield/Ukiah. Attempted murder, kidnapping, resisting, probation revocation.

CASSANDRA RODRIGUEZ, Willits. Failure to appear.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

How many guns do you need? I’ve answered this question more times than I can recall. I have a rote answer by now.

The answer is: for a single user, six, at the minimum. But that is barely adequate and leaves no room for backups.

1) personal carry handgun (semi auto mid caliber pistol, I prefer a Glock 19, 9mm) but wait, I need a backup. Which would be better if it was smaller for added concealability and/or possible ankle carry. I think I need a Glock 43 as well …

2) shotgun for home defense (I prefer Remington 870 12 GA pump action), can also be used for larger nuisance animals and duck hunting. But wait, I need a 20 GA for the kiddos and the smaller/elderly members of the family…

3) small caliber rifle for small game/nuisance animals (I prefer Ruger 10/22 .22 LR) but maybe I want it in a Takedown model. But I don’t really need to take it down for use on the ranch. But I need to take it down for use in my go bag, but, but, but …. dammit, I NEED two Ruger 10/22s.

But wait, I also need a bolt action .22LR to train the kiddos. (I prefer the trusty Remington 514) Plus bolt action .22 really helps improve marksmanship and conserves ammo, so now I need three .22 LR rifles…

4) hunting rifle (I prefer Remington 700, bolt action, .308). Can double up in the (hopefully never) need as a sniper rifle. Tho this is not at all optimal if I need to reach out past (god forbid) 500 yards. But wait, I also need a real sniper rifle…

5) battle rifle. God forbid I’m ever facing a well armed opponent trying to kill my family and steal my “Arsenal”. I prefer a Smith & Wesson M&P-15 .223/5.56 AR-15 style semi auto rifle). But wait, that doesn’t hit nearly as hard as the trusty AK-47. But AK rounds are so damn heavy, I can carry twice as many .223s in the same load out. But wait… AR, AK, AR, AK. Dammit, I NEED two battle rifles.

6) .22LR semi-auto pistol. Everyone needs a .22 pistol. (I prefer a Walther P22). Good to practice pistol marksmanship at 5 cents a round instead of 50 cents a round. But wait, revolvers are simple to use and basically never fail. I need a revolver…

So, I need six guns. Or maybe I need 12. Oh, my wife needs a gun to guard my six (o’clock). So do my sons, daughters, mom and dad. Actually, I need multiple types of guns for each of them.

Plus, when the WRoL (without rule of law) situation occurs, I need a gun for your dumb ass, because even tho you are a dumb ass who refuses to prepare, you’re still a good neighbor and part of my community. A valued part. So I guess I need a simple gun so I can train you to use it in a single day, so yeah, I NEED revolvers and bolt/lever actions, because I sure as hell ain’t gonna put an AK-47 into the hands of an ignorant SOB such as yourself…

Any more questions?

FASHION LIVERY STABLE, UKIAH, 1920

TRUMP LOGIC

The question was posed, “Why do people continue supporting Trump no matter what he does?” A lady named Bev answered it this way:

You all don’t get it. I live in Trump country, in the Ozarks in southern Missouri, one of the last places where the KKK still has a relatively strong established presence. They don’t give a shit what he does. He’s just something to rally around and hate liberals, that’s it, period.

He absolutely realizes that and plays it up. They love it. He knows they love it.

The fact that people act like it’s anything other than that proves to them that liberals are idiots, all the more reason for high fives all around.

If you keep getting caught up in “why do they not realize this problem” and “how can they still back Trump after this scandal,” then you do not understand what the underlying motivating factor of his support is. It’s fuck liberals, that’s pretty much it.

Have you noticed he can do pretty much anything imaginable, and they’ll explain some way that rationalizes it that makes zero logical sense?

Because they’re not even keeping track of any coherent narrative, it’s irrelevant. Fuck liberals is the only relevant thing.

Trust me; I know firsthand what I’m talking about.

That’s why they just laugh at it all because you all don’t even realize they truly don’t give a fuck about whatever the conversation is about.

It’s just a side mission story that doesn’t matter anyway.

That’s all just trivial details – the economy, health care, whatever.

Fuck liberals.

Look at the issue with not wearing the masks.

I can tell you what that’s about. It’s about exposing fear. They’re playing chicken with nature, and whoever flinches just moved down their internal pecking order, one step closer to being a liberal.

You’ve got to understand the one core value that they hold above all others is hatred for what they consider weakness because that’s what they believe strength is, hatred of weakness.

And I mean passionate, sadistic hatred.

And I’m not exaggerating. Believe me.

Sadistic, passionate hatred, and that’s what proves they’re strong, their passionate hatred for weakness.

Sometimes they will lump vulnerability in with weakness.

They do that because people tend to start humbling themselves when they’re in some compromising or overwhelming circumstance, and to them, that’s an obvious sign of weakness.

Kindness = weakness. Honesty = weakness. Compromise = weakness.

They consider their very existence to be superior in every way to anyone who doesn’t hate weakness as much as they do.

They consider liberals to be weak people that are inferior, almost a different species, and the fact that liberals are so weak is why they have to unite in large numbers, which they find disgusting, but it’s that disgust that is a true expression of their natural superiority.

Go ahead and try to have a logical, rational conversation with them. Just keep in mind what I said here and be forewarned.

UKIAH VALLEY CREAMERY COASTER

STILL ENJOYING SPORTS

To the Editor:

While perusing the the sports section of the UDJ the other day, it occurred to me there are a number of quality offerings to be found there. David Taxis provides good reporting in the areas one would expect to see, and does a great job presenting lesser known stories, and historical perspectives. Don Moir has been a great catch, faithfully reporting on the local fishing conditions. Our neighbor in Lake County, Terry Knight, has a long history of providing useful and interesting information on hunting, fishing and other outdoor topics. Finally, Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News is one of the best next-generation sports writers around, and does a great job of covering the San Francisco Giants. So, during a time when there is so much to complain about, I thought I would throw some light on some good writing, which I have been thoroughly enjoying.

Norm Thurston

Ukiah

FOUND OBJECT