Mendocino County Today: Monday, Sept. 6, 2021

Warm | Water Plan | Shasta Unclad | Tahoe Reduced | Hyperbole Corrections | FB Hospital | Sister Marguerite | Caldor Report | Above Hendy | Coronavirus Boom | Vax Mandate | Remedy Store | Crow Coal | Jesus Soon | Ed Notes | Threatening Clouds | Laytonville Bear | Portable Prison | Ukiah Howlers | Possum Man | Journalism Matters | Yesterday's Catch | London Squared | Dial 988 | Becoming Parents | Pay Labor | Disco Attack | Willits Bust | Bipartisan Deception | Maacama Fault | Fat Man | Marco Radio | Corporate Grip | Clean Energy | Texas Hanger | Yaz Gig

ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES are expected across the interior through mid week. A low moving north of the area Tuesday will bring a chance of showers and coastal drizzle. Smoke will be guided more north and northeasterly by Tuesday night. (NWS)

YESTERDAY'S HIGHS: Ukiah 100°, Yorkville 98°, Boonville 97°, Fort Bragg 67°

UKIAH TO TAKE RUSSIAN RIVER WATER for Fort Bragg

by Justine Frederiksen

To carry out a plan to provide water to the Mendocino Coast, city of Ukiah staff announced this week that they will likely pull water from the Russian River once a week.

“I’m going to work with my staff and Josh Metz with the county of Mendocino on the amount of daily gallons that will involve, and the best way for us to produce that water,” Sean White, director of water and sewer resources for the city of Ukiah, told the Ukiah City Council during its meeting Wednesday, referring to a plan to make water available to coastal communities such as the Village of Mendocino, where many residents’ wells have run dry.

In late August, a Mutual Aid Agreement was approved by the Fort Bragg City Council, the Ukiah City Council and the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors that will have the city making water available for haulers to drive to Fort Bragg. Ukiah City Manager Sage Sangiacomo said Wednesday the agreement “is currently being processed, but will be in full effect.”

Perhaps the most controversial part of the plan is that the city said it intends to violate curtailment orders imposed by the California State Water Resources Control Board by diverting water from the Russian River, and that it may incur fines for doing so. However, White said earlier this week that the city was willing to take that risk because the “water is sorely needed and someone needs to provide it.”

So far, White told the City Council that his staff will be using its existing equipment to pull water from the river “16 hours a day, one day a week, then putting that water into storage and drawing off of that for seven days.”

As for providing water to the city’s customers, White said his staff has been depending entirely on its wells for some time, and “we have not diverted from the river except for a brief moment to fight the fire adjacent to our facilities,” referring to an arson fire that started near the city’s Water Treatment Plant near River Street earlier this summer.

“This week we produced a total of 33 million gallons of water, 22 million from ground water and 10.6 from recycled water,” White said. “All of our wells are still stable, with the draw down ranging from two feet to eight feet. And for a year like this, that is remarkable.”

When asked for more details on the “draw down” by the wells, White said “Well 4, which is producing most of our water right now, is now (down) five feet more than it was at the beginning of the season, Well 7 is just a little more than five feet, Well 8 has only drawn down two feet, and Well 9 has drawn down the most at eight feet. And all those are well within the range we see in a typical year.”

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Mark Scaramella Notes: If Ukiah is going to provide untreated river water to Fort Bragg via their treatment plant, why does the County require haulers to be licensed and qualified to haul potable water? They might have a better chance of getting haulers lined up if they removed that requirement.

MOUNT SHASTA from Highway 97

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SOUTH LAKE TAHOE evacuation orders were reduced to warnings Sunday night as Caldor fire threat was lowered.

INACCURATE HYPERBOLE

Dear Editor,

Joan Burroughs’ article in last week’s paper was so filled with hysteria and inaccuracies, that I thought I should respond just in case any of your readers actually read through that thicket of hyperbole.

The State does NOT require that water and wastewater systems be installed simultaneously.

The “parcels on the engineers' map” will NOT be “locked in place forever.” The system will be built to accommodate the existing usage plus some additional growth. (The figure of 10% is a guideline, not a hard restriction.) A larger amount of growth would simply require expansion of the system.

Water samples were NOT gathered by CSD directors. All the collection and analysis was done by Alpha Labs in Ukiah. The samples were from two densely populated areas of Boonville.

In November, 2018, there was a meeting for the Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This process does request comments from the public regarding support or non-support, but there was NOT any vote to be tabulated or reported. Any comments will be part of the CEQA document.

The costs to tie into the systems are NOT “infinite.” In fact they are minimal. The State is paying for all laterals for wastewater and all non-commercial laterals for water. Existing septic tanks will be decommissioned, not removed. Leach lines will remain. Existing wells are NOT “capped off and filled in.” Yes, some landscaping will be disturbed.

New property owners within the service district, after the municipal systems are in place, will have to pay a hookup fee. Maybe the fee will be as much as the stated in caps “TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS,” but that fee will be paid to the local District, NOT to the State. The property owner could avoid the charge by drilling a new well.

The proposed new services would NOT be administered by a separate board. AVCSD would gain authority from LAFCo to add these services. The utilities would be run as another department of the CSD.

There is NO ”term limit edict” for AVCSD directors.

The dilapidated building in Boonville is an eyesore, but not “dangerous” or a “real threat to the town,” according to the Fire Chief and the County. As Colin Wilson said: “There is no law against ugly buildings.” The CSD has gotten involved in this situation in the past, but they are NOT obligated to do so. Boonville is an unincorporated area, and so subject to County purview in regard to planning and building.

Not sure about the water table in Boonville being “precarious and highly fragile,” but the total draw after installing a water system should not be much more than it is now.

The danger of flooding or earthquakes will NOT change with the installation of these systems, but the danger of fire WILL definitely decrease with the addition of hydrants and sprinklers. That is where there will be potential insurance savings.

The 1974 survey done by Mendocino County Public Health that was mentioned looked at three criteria: ground contamination, high water table problems and wells located within 50 feet of septic systems. The study found that 65% of 145 residences surveyed had these problems and concluded by saying “correction can only be made by installation of public sewers.” 

Our thought was that if it was this bad in 1974, it can't have gotten better by now. The survey was 30 years after the conditions described when Boonville had 40 operating saw mills. 

There is NO questionnaire sent to “Boonville property owners regarding income levels.” Eligibility for full funding of our grants is determined by the median household income of the area, but this information comes from the American Community Survey, a branch of the US Census.

Kathleen McKenna, Boonville

OUR CONDOLENCES, JOHN.

John McCowen: For those who knew my sister Marguerite I'm sad to say that she has passed away. As you may know she had some serious medical challenges the past few years. But maybe you didn't know because she never complained but always projected her usual funny, wise, sometimes sarcastic but always optimistic outlook on life. Following a recent brief hospitalization, Marguerite entered hospice care at home and passed away peacefully surrounded by family. Services will be in Sacramento on Thursday Sept. 9 and graveside in Ukiah at 11:00am Friday the 10th.

COMPTCHE ENGINE 8271 and her crew are part of CalFire strike team 9113 Charley and are committed to the Caldor fire. We will provide regular updates on their commitment. 

After a 24-hour rest period, CAL FIRE Strike Team 9113 Charley is back at work today on the Caldor Fire. Here's a report on their activities during their last shift from Aisea:

"Last shift was 100% mop up in the same area we worked yesterday. There was a hose lay already in place and we had to mop up 100 to 200ft inside the black from perimeter. Terrain was a challenge...hiking downhill for approx a mile and then hiking back up to our trucks. We monitored for potential spotting across the line and any fires close to the line. Night saw us being pulled back to our trucks due to many snags in the area. At day break, we walked line again to ensure it held and look out for spots. Seems like line held well and thanks to decreased winds, area appears to have stopped fire spread. Grateful - Couldn't have asked for a better crew!"

This morning, CAL FIRE's Caldor Fire web page indicates the fire is now 43% contained, which is major progress toward gaining control over this high-priority fire.

ARE THINGS COOLING OFF?

by Anne Fashauer

For the first time in 14 months I have found myself with time on my hands. My phone is quieter, my email inbox not overflowing. It’s lovely. I have time to think and plan instead of react and it’s really nice.

On top of the quiet, I’m noticing that a few properties on the two MLS’s (multiple listing services) that I belong to have dropped their prices. Not all nor any huge number, but it’s been months since I saw anything but properties going into escrow or even price increases. I’ve seen a few fall out of escrow as well.

All of this makes me wonder if we are seeing the end of the coronavirus boom. It hasn’t been this quiet since before the pandemic. This is what normal feels like to me - a few calls, a few appointments and a couple of escrows in the works - not seven at one time, plus multiple showings per week and endless phone calls and text messages.

I can’t say too much about what is happening on the coast - the coastal MLS contains a variety of properties for sale, from the mid-$400,000’s on up. The MLS that covers Anderson Valley has not one residential property for sale (not in escrow) under $1,000,000. This too is what is causing our cool down; buyers for properties over $1,000,000 are fewer in number, plus buyers in that range who want to be in Anderson Valley is an even smaller pool. Without more properties in the lower price ranges sales in Anderson Valley are going to slow down.

Until this too changes I’m going to enjoy a little quiet and peace. I can drink my coffee and watch the birds in the birdbath, take the time to cook and enjoy and do my crossword puzzles guilt-free. I hope you all are able to relax a little, especially in this heat and with this smoke. Stay safe and well.

VAX MANDATE (from John McCowen)

The mask mandate is already in place. What Coren proposes to do is slap a vax mandate on restaurants and bars. More restrictive than any I have seen, it would require employers to require vax proof of every employee unless they have a verifiable medical reason not to, in which case proof of recent testing would be required. Other vax orders have allowed proof of testing for anyone who didn't want to be vaxed. 

A READER WRITES RE COAL TRAIN: “I looked up the story you ran yesterday and found that the Lost Coast Outpost had done a big story on it. There are links within the story that do suggest that something is up with reviving the old rail line. The North Coast Railroad Company LLC does exist as a Wyoming corporation. There is not a clue who owns or is behind it. Maybe more filing papers will reveal that in time. I'm not going to pretend that I read the whole thing and understood it. It was early in the morning when I looked it up and I didn't want to ruin so many brain cells that early in the day! Apparently, it involves the Native American Crow tribe and coal stores in Montana. The Crow tribe has always been about the coal according to the article. I get the feeling that McGuire is acting pissed that someone is trying to screw with his grand plan of a Great Redwood Trail which is to be developed on the unused railroad right of way. So, someone had the great idea to seemingly throw a monkey wrench into McGuire's plans by invoking the dreaded coal. It could be a bait and switch concocted by friends of McGuire to ensure the Great Redwood Trail gets done. Don't quote me on that because I'm just spouting off!” 

ED REPLY: I think you're correct about McGuire's interest in perpetuating his Trail scam, but both are pie in the sky because the 60-mile length of the track in the Eel River Canyon has either slid into the Eel or is now covered in enormous slides. The last time I was in the Canyon probably 20 years ago it was almost impossible to get over the numerous slides without scrambling. It would cost billions to get a train through there again, and for what? A comparatively paltry return on transporting coal to Eureka's deep water port? Won't happen. The Crow coal barons could, though, bring coal by train to Novato and truck it north from there, and then McGuire could take credit for a great compromise. The Northcoast Democrats own the track, and how that original scam was pulled off would require team-research for the next fifty years. However and whatever, we have been encouraged by comment from people who know that we're on the right track (sic) about all this.

lostcoastoutpost.com/2021/sep/2/aiming-ship-coal-out-humboldt-bay-shadowy-corporat/

BOONVILLE FAIR SUNDAY COMMUNITY CHURCH SERVICE, September 19th 2021, 8:30 AM, Apple Hall Auditorium. 

ED NOTES

PUNCTUALITY being my sole remaining virtue, I seemed to be the first customer in line this morning (Sunday) at Scott Baird's pop-up breakfasts and lunches when it opened promptly at 8am, Sunday, at Mosswood Market. And I am a most satisfied first customer, downing a delicious posole at Mr. Baird's Sunday debut. Morgan Baynham and Bill Holcomb were right behind me, and after them a seeming deluge of customers. Monday morning, Pilar Echeverria, presumably rested after her first day off in 11 years, resumes direction of Mosswood.

SHALL the circle be unbroken! It wasn't an hour later, post posole, that Bill Holcomb's grandson, John Toohey, AVHS football coach, appeared with Trenton Rossi, one of his star players on this year's revived football team. They moved some heavy pieces of furniture for me. Which they accomplished in about a half hour. I promised not to tell anybody about Coach and Player Movers, Inc. lest every geezer in the area beat down their doors looking for them to shift their Lay-Z-Boys around for better tv angles.

MY WIFE would never leave me in charge for even a minute at one of her innumerable yard sales back in the day, let alone trust me to run one of my own. But she was at home in San Anselmo and I was in Boonville Saturday with a trailer full of stuff that had to go.

IRRELEVANT ASIDE: The front area of the ava property is blacktop left over from when this place functioned as a drive-thru coffee kiosk. The black top is cracking. I turned to Anna Beck at the wonderfully diverse Whispering Winds Nursery, Ukiah, my go-to person for plants and plant instruction, for advice on how to further my plan to seed the cracks to someday bury the macadam in vegetation. Ms. Beck was totally for my plan, but at a loss as to which seed might eat the blacktop, referring me on-line to Prairie Moon Seeds where I've found a couple of likely prospects. End of irrelevant aside, but plenty of irrelevance to come.

ANYWAY, Friday night I hauled accumulated detritus out of the trailer and carelessly arrayed it on the pavement, and in no time at all potential customers were wandering through piles of old scanners, intercoms, ancient floor lamps and unopened fishpond filters, most with barely suppressed sneers. “These people have a lotta nerve asking money for this stuff” looks on their faces. But darned if a guy didn't buy an ancient shoe shine box and another guy a poster of B. Traven. “Isn't he the guy who wrote The Treasure of the Sierra Madre? Disappeared in Mexico?” Yes, that's the guy, but he died peacefully at home in Mexico. Ambrose Bierce disappeared into Mexico where, I read somewhere, he was shot by Pancho Villa's forces on the suspicion he was a Yankee spy. A very bad and totally false movie called The Old Gringo was coughed up out of Hollywood on a twisted version of the Bierce saga. (Ask an old man a question and get a filibuster.) A lively woman named Yolanda bought a table and eight chairs, and a young man carried off a hamper basket. “My wife will like it,” he said. An ancient hippie rolled up in an antique VW van, and was instantly delighted with a few issues of 1920-era Life magazines, and Katy Tahja drove off smiling with a county topographical map. By the end of the day about half the goods were in happy new homes. The next morning, hoping to off-load the rest of the stuff, I placed a free sign on a lawn chair beside the highway. The chair was gone in an hour, free sign and all. Low theft or misunderstanding in a world of them, large and small?

PLEASED to see Craig Bell's name in a recent ICO story by Bryan Cebulski about the resuscitation of the Garcia River whose revived health Craig was of course involved in…"the Garcia River is now the southernmost small coastal river to have a run of wild Chinook salmon.” Bell's a modest, self-effacing guy who always deflects credit from himself to supporting groups, but make no mistake he's almost always the prime mover, and mos def a local hero for his work saving what's left of the natural world.

WHILE WE'RE out on the MendoNoma coast, we also think the ideas of the Aranas, father and son, re the Arena Cove parking lot, propose the most sensible way to proceed, not that the proponents of the grant-driven scheme are likely to back off on expansion of the parking lot. More beach, less parking lot!

A STRETCH of the Merced River has been closed where a couple, their 1-year-old and their dog were found dead in August. Water samples from the river turned up extremely high levels of toxic algae. The bodies of John Gerrish, Ellen Chung, their daughter and family dog were found August 17th on a hiking trail in the Sierra National Forest along the river. “These algal blooms can produce toxins that can make people and pets extremely sick,” Elizabeth Meyer-Shields, a Bureau of Land Management spokesperson said in a statement. The cause of death for the family has not been determined but foul play has been ruled out.

UH not so fast. It seems most peculiar that a young couple with an infant no less would go hiking on a hundred-degree afternoon. I believe the toxicology report is still pending, but it seems highly unlikely that anybody would enter an algae-infested stream, let alone drink the water. Check that: about a week ago I saw a young family with small children merrily splashing in the algae-ridden, stagnant Navarro beneath the Greenwood Bridge. Still and all, I think the Merced episode is highly suspicious. 

BIG CAT WARNING: “Rancho Navarro - the mountain lions are getting hungry. Our neighbor's cat’s remains were found this morning clearly remnants from a mountain lion attack. The Big Cat has been around Bald Hills Road for a few nights this week. Please keep your pets close and be extra aware of your surroundings."

MY LIFE IN LAYTONVILLE

by Joseph 'The Bear' Guadagnoli

As a fugitive from justice with regards to a 600 pound bust in Baltimore, I managed to purchase 160 acres of prime Woodman Creek property in the name of “Ryan Lee.” It was a sweet spot with plenty of fresh spring water, berries, apples and sunshine. It was the closest thing to heaven I could imagine.

I had done some indoor growing, but mostly facilitated the duffel shuffle between Mendocino and cities like Boston and Baltimore having met all kinds of good folks on Dead Lot. Unfortunately, the duffel bag became an 18 wheeler and things got complicated.

And that's how I met Lt. Bruce Smith from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Department. I cannot confirm or verify anything I recently read in the August 18 issue of the AVA, but I would like to share my experience with him and the system that I fell into when the fat lady finally sang on September 27, 2012.

There I was, 4:30 in the morning, just waking up trying to get a jump on the day. My thoughts were on pumping water and wondering how many pretty trimmers I needed in the upcoming weeks and months. My wife, “Jellybean,” was fast asleep when all of a sudden the dog went crazy and I thought I heard voices in the yard. The sound of an approaching diesel engine had me thinking that the neighbors were maybe paying a visit at 4:30. Hmm, that’s weird. Then the house filled with light and the crackle of a loudspeaker system announce that my visitors needed me to come out with my hands in the air.

I had just put on my cargo shorts which happened to be held up by a belt which just so happened to also hold a holstered Ruger. I know what you're thinking. East Coast scum got what he had coming. But in my defense the gun was bought after my worker Henry was viciously attacked and wounded severely by a “tater tot.” The idiot dog that my idiot neighbors refused to control. That and wild pigs and bears. (I would never kill a bear unless I absolutely had to to protect myself.)

I digress. So I dropped the shorts and made my way outside in boxers and muck boots to a “badger.” A sort of six wheeled military whip vehicle.

I was cuffed and questioned about the occupants of the house. As this was happening I noticed an officer loading shotgun shells into a robotic search machine of some sort. Lights, tank treads, cameras. They brought all of their toys and were eager to play.

Jellybean finally came out as the robot was going in, the poor girl thought it was best to eat our last 10 hits of LSD -- maybe not the best choice.

By this time I had been placed on my knees on the gravel driveway and our hero Bruce Smith was screaming in my face: “Where's the bleeping money?” over and over, not too subtle. I guess he was absent on the day they taught the good cop/bad cop routine. When I didn't respond he told me to get on my belly whie I was cuffed behind my back on a gravel driveway. This idiot wanted me to flop face first into the stones. I'm not resisting, not fighting, nothing. I'm not even saying anything. So he “helped me” with his knee. I suppose that's the “serve” aspect to “protect and serve.”

This is when the US marshals decided to enter stage right. They actually restrained and admonished the good lieutenant. Maybe that was the good cop/bad cop ploy I had heard about. At any rate, the fun was short-lived because the technical guy in charge of Mr. Robot exclaimed “METH LAB!” All eyes went to the video feed that was displayed on his handheld remote control video screen. That boy was so proud of himself. He had discovered and identified the largest meth lab Mendocino County had ever seen. This was sophisticated stuff. No backyard boogie here. No shake and bake. This was the real deal. Sinaloa style stuff for sure. I almost felt bad breaking up the high fives and circlejerks when I let him know he was looking at a 12 five-gallon glass carboys filled with varying stages of hard cider. Of course I am not to be believed. So a special task force was called in pronto.

Meanwhile old Jellybean was getting squirrelly and not digging our new friends and all the excitement. There are no similarities between a Phish show and a drug bust. I have this info straight from the source. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

The only thing I can say I actually saw Bruce Smith put into his pocket that day that did not end up in the evidence pile was my bench made “Infidel” switchblade knife. That's not to say other stuff didn't disappear. The AR-15 I had was worth about $3200 with all of the optics and lasers and doodads attached to the rail. Of course when we went to court months later it was stripped down to its bare essentials. I am a rock hound and had close to $30,000 in gems and minerals that vanished. A lockbox with $2500 worth of testosterone and related gear (legally bought) was never inventoried. The iPad was gone.

The whole operation was overseen by the feds so I'm sure the pickings were slim and the trip wasn't really even worth it for the locals. Funny thing is, he (Smith) kept giving me the stink-eye calling me a “crook.” That was his weird way of talking -- “Where is the money, you crook?” “What are you doing in Mendocino, you crook?” He really had Jellybean laughing. By then -- well she wasn't to be stopped. I had to convince her it was real and not some elaborate hoax or episode of “Punked.”

Long story short, we ended up at Low Gap Road. Judge Moorman was in attendance. We actually had a bit of hope when, from the back of the transport van, we saw the good judge exit a car with the Grateful Dead sticker. About a year earlier we had met Sheriff Tom Allman at Wavy Gravy's birthday party in Richmond. (Longshoremen's maybe). Anyway we were beyond help, the feds wanted us and that was that.

Judge Moorman was fair and the situation played out the only way it really could have. I got a four year sentence from the state and rode out to San Quentin because I refused to proffer with the feds. Jellybean got to play the role as star witness against me and my friends so she got an immediate ride out east.

Before I was sentenced I read a letter in court to the judge and really to the community of Mendocino where I let it be known that I absolutely harbored no ill feelings. In fact my life in Laytonville was the closest thing to perfect that I had ever lived. We had a farm with chickens and other animals. We did stuff at the Grange like scion and seed exchanges. We had some good neighbors. We were part of a community where cannabis growing and use didn't make you an outcast. It felt good to be myself and not hide who I was. (Unless you count the fake name and running from the law.)

Sure, we definitely met some Mendo scumbags and I know that the good people of Mendo meet some out of town scumbags. But everyone had to take be taken at face value for who they were and how they presented themselves. One of the best neighbors I had was a guy named Craig. He had us over for a beer and showed us around his property. He gave us a dozen seedlings of his own stock was very friendly. On our way out he pulled me aside away from Jellybean and let me know that if I ever needed anything he would do his best to be there for me. He also told me that if he caught me spilling diesel or otherwise screwing up the land or the water he would burn me out of house and property.

I respect that. It wasn't a threat, it was an indication of his love for the land. He is really my type of guy. No BS. Just a firm handshake and a code to live by. I didn't see him much. We didn't hang out. But I knew he was there. That's the best sort of neighbor. RIP, Eddy Lepp!

Joseph Guadagnoli 57064037

Federal Correctional Institution, Box 52020

Bennetsville, SC 29512

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LAYTONVILLE BUST NABS PAIR WANTED IN MARYLAND

by Linda Williams

October 5, 2012 — Federal marshals aided by Mendocino County sheriff”s deputies raided a Laytonville residence and arrested two fugitives who had skipped bail in 2011 to avoid prosecution in Maryland.

During the arrest, deputies also found a marijuana grow involving 300 mature plants and a hash lab.

Megan Bailey Veitch, 30, and Joseph Jesus Guadagnoli, 41, of Baltimore, Maryland; were arrested on suspicion of being fugitives from justice, manufacture of a controlled substance by chemical extraction, being armed with a firearm in the commission of a felony, and possession and cultivation of marijuana for sale.

Guadagnoli had the added charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Dominic Augustine Gonzales, 34, of Baldwin Park, also was arrested at the scene on suspicion of possession and cultivation of marijuana for sale and being armed with a firearm.

The trio is scheduled to appear in Mendocino County Superior Court on October 10 to enter pleas.

Veitch and Guadagnoli also are facing charges in Maryland for a 2010 indoor marijuana grow located in a Baltimore warehouse. The October 2010 arrest was touted by police as being the largest marijuana grow in Baltimore's history.

In the Baltimore warehouse police found 478 marijuana plants, 640 pounds of processed bud and $12,000 in cash.

Guadagnoli was released on $75,000 bail while awaiting trial and failed to appear at a court hearing in March 2011. Veitch’s bail was $25,000. The pair's bail was forfeited and a fugitive warrant was issued for their arrest.

When Baltimore police suspected the defendants had left the state, the U.S. Marshals Service was asked to help recover them.

Veitch and Guadagnoli could face up to a 10 year prison sentence on the pending Maryland charges, which include possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

According to Baltimore County police, Guadagnoli had a marijuana possession and distribution record dating back to 1992 in Iowa. He was found guilty of assault and marijuana charges in 1998, marijuana distribution charges in 2005, and two convictions for marijuana distribution charges in 2007.

(Courtesy, the Willits News)

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From thebaynet.com (U.S. Justice Department)

U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Joseph Jesus Guadagnoli, age 33, of Baltimore, Maryland, on December 5, 2014, to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute between 1,000 and 4,000 kilograms of marijuana, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Judge Titus ordered Guadagnoli to forfeit $6,000 in postal money orders and four guns and ammunition seized from his home, and ordered him to pay a money judgment in the amount of $2,370,000, the value of the property derived from or otherwise involved in the marijuana conspiracy.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Karl C. Colder of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; U.S. Marshal Johnny Hughes; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, from at least 2008, until September 27, 2012, Guadagnoli conspired with Andrew Sharpeta, and others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana. Initially, Guadagnoli participated in the conspiracy by unloading shipments of marijuana at various warehouses throughout Baltimore, leasing a warehouse for this purpose, and distributing the bulk marijuana. Guadagnoli also transported marijuana to various locations in the eastern United States.

On March 18, 2009, DEA agents executed a search warrant at 3522 Hickory Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland, which was owned, leased, and utilized by members of the conspiracy, and which served as one center of operations for the narcotics trafficking organization. The items seized from the residence included more than 100 pounds of marijuana, $20,000 in cash, 31 cellular telephones, documents regarding the purchase of a Lancair IV-P aircraft for $450,000 by D’amico, four money counters, tally sheets with balances over $1.5 million, and false identification documents. On the day the search warrant was executed, a member of the conspiracy came to the home of Guadagnoli and his then-girlfriend (now wife) Megan Veitch and asked them to go to the Hickory Avenue address to retrieve an airplane seat which had been removed from a plane that was being used to transport money and marijuana. Guadagnoli and Veitch went to the Hickory Avenue address and removed the airplane seat as well as some of the furniture.

On October 4, 2010, members of the Baltimore County Police Department executed a search warrant at a warehouse which had been leased by Guadagnoli. Guadagnoli and Veitch were arrested leaving the warehouse. Inside the warehouse, officers recovered approximately 600 pounds of marijuana in shipping containers which had been sent by a co-conspirator. Officers also discovered a sophisticated marijuana grow operation that involved over 400 marijuana plants.

After making bond, Guadagnoli and Veitch fled to California, where a co-conspirator assisted them in obtaining California driver’s licenses in false names to conceal their identities. Guadagnoli purchased a rural house in Mendocino, California, where he oversaw the cultivation of marijuana on the surrounding property. On September 27, 2012, Veitch and Guadagnoli were arrested on the Mendocino property. A search warrant was executed, and members of law enforcement recovered hundreds of marijuana plants and paraphernalia associated with the cultivation and harvesting of marijuana. In addition, from Guadagnoli’s home officers seized postal money orders totaling $6,000.00, a 9mm Ruger pistol, a Smith & Wesson A&P 15 semi-automatic .223 caliber rifle, a Marlin .22 caliber rifle, a Remington Arms Co. 12 gauge shotgun, a box of 9mm ammunition, a box of .22 caliber ammunition, marijuana, jars with concentrated cannabis, digital scales, five cellular telephones, a money counting machine and other drug paraphernalia.

Megan Veitch, age 32, of Baltimore and Andrew Sharpeta, age 39, of Avondale, Pennsylvania, previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 34 months and 63 months in prison, respectively.

AND STILL THEY HOWL

by Tommy Wayne Kramer

There was a time, and some of us remember it, when nightly howls echoed about the neighborhoods of Ukiah, howls intended as loud shouts of support for front line workers in the pandemic of 2020.

If it was ever a fad it no longer is, and anything trendy about it was over and done by July. Of 2020. Now we’re deep into 2021, the pandemic refuses to let go its grip, and the merriment of standing in the yard and baying at the skies to show solidarity for cops and nurses has cooled. Fun while it lasted but no one barks at the moon anymore. No one’s around to jump on a bandwagon that left the station a long time ago.

Almost no one.

Because somewhere out in the deepest darkest jungles of west Ukiah, the howls persist. Not only do the whooping cries erupt nightly, it’s as if the howlers punch time cards. Eight p.m. arrives and (Bing!) the howls ring out. You can set your watch by them. Compared with the punctuality of Ukiah’s nightly howlers, German train schedules are flexible and erratic, and Greenwich Mean Time is just a good estimate.

An initial “Oooowwooo!” kicks things off at 8 o’clock sharp, and following the initial call-out there often comes a chorus of accompanying responses that are either A) numerous and raucous, lasting perhaps 60 seconds, or B) puny or nonexistent. A lone howl might be repeated, again and maybe again, at which point the audio show is over for this evening.

Until tomorrow. And tomorrow and tomorrow. They never stop. Tomorrow’s nightly coyote calls are as sure to come as the sunset. If there’s been a missed performance in the past 16 months I didn’t hear it, which is a variation on the tree falling in the forest, except inside-out.

A few weeks back I went patrolling those darkened, overgrown neighborhood pockets in search of the mysterious team who devote their evenings, or at least a few minutes of each evening, to voice support, albeit brief, for those who continue to labor through the slog of months that today define an era.

They weren’t hard to find because they weren’t trying to hide. Those performing the nightly ritual remain a bit mysterious, but of course admirable. They come out nightly to stand up for the heroes who do the heavy lifting and dirty work associated with this ongoing COVID 19 daily, deadly aggravation.

The two nightly howlers salute the heroes among the cops and firefighters, doctors, nurses, motel maids, teachers. Me, I’d add supermarket clerks, cashiers, restaurant cooks and waiters, front-liners who receive neither the pay, the training nor equipment cops, docs and nurses get. Yet they stand all day in close, and at times unpleasant and dangerous, contact with whoever walks in the door, masked or not. Some for minimum wages.

The front-liners also work in in nursing homes, churches and retail shops. I’m here to dispute none of their hard work and to admire them all.

But I am here to also tip my cap and bow in the general direction of that specific west side home from which the nightly outbursts erupt nightly and promptly at 8. I find their dedication refreshing and their resilience well beyond the expected.

As mentioned, I met and contacted the pair, suggested an interview and maybe a photo or two. They demurred. I let it go, but a week or two later I saw them again and reiterated the idea that a nice feature story would be a fitting tribute.

This meant I’d made two offers to write a story, twice as many as usual, but they hemmed, after which they hawed and said they’d think about it. They probably have thought about it, but my phone hasn’t rung.

Maybe they’re shy, maybe they feel no need for public acclaim, maybe they have outstanding warrants or are in a witness protection program. It matters nothing to me.

Congrats to my yelping duo nonetheless. I salute your dedication and look forward to hearing from you tonight.

SERVING THE PUBLIC: Among the many places that are too expensive for you to visit, let alone spend several days eating and sleeping and loafing around is the Little River Inn over on the coast.

Luckily you can do the next best thing, and foot the bill for some of the wealthiest people in the county and state to visit there to eat, sleep and go to seminars and conferences. And that’s just what the Mendocino County Office of Education recently did, and then bragged about in a press release the Daily Journal ran a week or so back.

These administrative parasites that have burrowed into the public education system get phenomenal salaries, retirement packages that would bring many tears to your eyes, and then flaunt their expense accounts on what Michelle Hutchins, Superintendent of Mendocino Schools, called a “high quality experience with comfortable accommodations and excellent service.”

Why can’t desk bound administrators Zoom a conferenc, like they made our kids take classes all year?

(Special thanks to my pal Al, who alerted me to the school district’s expensive, selfish shenanigans. Tommy Wayne Kramer is the fictional sidekick of longtime local writer Tom Hine.)

ONE THUMB UP, BUT…

Editor,

Hine gets a thumbs up and a thumbs down.

Tom Hine’s August 29 column (about helping local papers survive) gets one thumb up and one thumb down from me. I read the column online with my subscription to the Ukiah Daily Journal, and absolutely agree that more people should invest in one themselves. Electronic news never gets eaten by your neighbor’s dog, and you do learn a lot about what’s going on here in town. But asking writers to provide reporting services for free is a hard no. The net effect is it devalues a service that is already underpaid, which makes journalism even harder to pursue as a career. I say this as someone who wrote a column for the paper for a year, on the theory that it would be “good exposure.” It was!

Lots of people saw it and let me know they enjoyed my writing. But then people asked me to get their news and events into the paper as well, with no intent to pay me. OK cool, but I don’t want to hear your low opinion of the unhoused if you’re not helping me to pay rent with my labor. If the paper is a business, it needs to be able to pay its workers. I support pursuing grants for journalism, and believe our government should invest more into media and critical thinking education. If the paper wanted to have a subscription drive in the mold of public radio, I would personally slap on a mask and shake down farmers market patrons to help meet that goal. Let’s work to attract more readers so we can pay writers what they’re worth. And definitely do subscribe! Journalism matters.

Heather Seggel, Ukiah

CATCH OF THE DAY, September 5, 2021

JAVIER ALVAREZ, Windsor/Ukiah. DUI.

ILEANA AMRULL, Santa Rosa/Ukiah. Failure to appear.

REGINALD AZBILL, Assault with firearm, burglary, domestic battery, brandishing, criminal threats, controlled substance while armed, ammo possession by prohibited person, felon-addict with firearm, county parole violation.

JOSHUA HESS, Ukiah. Domestic battery.

GREGORY UNGARETTI JR., Sebastopol/Ukiah. Taking vehicle without owner’s consent, controlled substance for sale, felon-addict with firearm, conspiracy, resisting.

RICKY WATSON, Red Bluff/Fort Bragg. Protective order violation, resisting.

PHOTO BY JACK LONDON (in London)

CALL 988: HOW WILL STATE FUND CRISIS HOTLINE - Advocates scrambling to find $50 million for the new crisis help line

by Jocelyn Wiener

Soon, Californians will be able to dial a new three-digit number when seeking help for a mental health crisis.

While 9-8-8 will debut nationwide by next July, the funding California needs to make the help line work successfully remains uncertain.

As the legislative session winds down, mental health advocates are struggling to find the $50 million they estimate is needed to support the call centers and related crisis response services. A bill that would impose a fee on phone lines in California — both cell phones and landlines — stalled earlier in the summer, and legislators are scrambling to find alternatives.

Without that money, they say, the state’s 13 existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline call centers — where 9-8-8 will direct callers — may not be equipped to handle the tripling of volume they’re anticipating.

In the worst case scenario, they say, people who are suicidal could find themselves waiting on hold, or even having their calls dropped.

“I’m incredibly concerned,” said Le Ondra Clark Harvey, CEO of the California Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies, which includes the state’s 13 call centers. “I think it’s pretty dire.”

Clark Harvey said that call centers have already seen a 67% increase in volume in recent years, and the pandemic has only intensified the pressure.

In October 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law a bipartisan bill to make 9-8-8 the national number to call for people in crisis; providing an alternative to 9-1-1.

The federal law gives states the ability to raise money to fund the call centers, as well as related mental health crisis services, by attaching new fees to phone lines.

Phone fees challenged

Bill supporters are pushing for a fee that would be capped at 80 cents per line per month. It would be used to support a range of services, including adding staffing and infrastructure to the existing 13 call centers. The money would also be used to connect the 9-8-8 and 9-1-1 systems and build out mobile crisis response services to allow trained professionals to intervene in person, when needed.

Supporters of California’s bill to pass those fees, AB 988, are reluctantly acknowledging that they may not succeed this session. The bill faces opposition from the telecommunications industry, which wants to narrow the scope of what services fees can cover.

At the same time, Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has been vocal about his desire to improve the state’s struggling mental health system, is in the final weeks of fending off a recall effort. Some legislators have expressed concerns about sending a new fee to his desk right now, said Tara Gamboa-Eastman, a legislative advocate at the Steinberg Institute, which is co-sponsoring the bill. The bill has a provision to exempt low-income people from paying the fee.

Despite a long list of supporters in the Legislature — sponsors say almost a third of its members have signed onto the bill — AB 988 has not been heard in key policy committees.

In a last ditch effort to find a way to fund call centers and crisis services for the next year, a coalition of supporters has put together a request for $50 million, which they hope will be included in a budget trailer bill before the session ends Sept. 10. But it is still unclear whether that will get the green light.

“There’s no disagreement on the policy and the needs here,” Gamboa-Eastman said. “Everyone’s just trying to figure out what’s feasible at this point to make sure we’re getting ready for next year.”

Carolyn McIntyre, president of the California Cable & Telecommunications Association, said her organization has opposed the California bill because it would require consumers to pay not just for the call centers, but also for other types of crisis services needed to respond to those calls. While advocates are pushing a per-line fee capped at 80 cents, the telecommunications association says it would like to see a 10-cent cap, with a limited scope of what it can cover.”We are not opposed to the program, not by any means,” McIntyre said. While her organization would be willing to compromise and say it’s ok to fund “the communications aspect” of 9-8-8 with a small fee, she believes other services should be funded through the general fund or some other source. As it is, a quarter of the cost of consumers’ phone bills is made up of fees to support a variety of services, including 9-1-1, she said. She doesn’t want that list to keep growing.

In July 2021, three U.S. senators, Democrats Ron Wyden and Jeffrey Merkley of Oregon and Christopher Murphy of Connecticut, sent a letter to the president of CTIA, the trade association representing the wireless communications industry, raising concerns that opposition to state bills like AB 988 could threaten implementation of the new federal crisis line.

“Every American should be doing everything they can to get those in crisis help when and where they need it, and not working on tying the hands of those who can provide it,” the letter said.

Families mourn deadly police encounters

Families backing the bill know too well the impacts of a tragedy that scrolls, on repeat, across the news cycle. Someone is in a mental health crisis. A loved one dials 9-1-1 in search of help. Police arrive. Things escalate. The grieving are left to ponder an impossible question: What if I hadn’t called?

Bella Collins started asking that question after her older brother, Angelo Quinto, died last year following an encounter with Antioch police. Quinto, a 30-year-old Navy veteran, had suffered from depression, anxiety and paranoia in recent months. On Dec. 23, 2020, Quinto had an episode of paranoia; his sister called 9-1-1, concerned he was becoming aggressive and threatening, according to a federal lawsuit his family filed in August against the city of Antioch, police chief and officers.

By the time police arrived, his family told CalMatters, Quinto had calmed down and was compliant. He begged officers not to kill him. Despite this, they said, police officers handcuffed him and knelt on his neck — an account Antioch police disputed in a news conference covered by various outlets this spring. Quinto died in the hospital three days after the incident.

“If I had another number to call I would have called it,” Bella said. Police officers at the scene later told her she’d done the right thing by calling them, she said.

“The right thing ,” she said. “would not have killed my brother.”

Taun Hall was left with the same question after Walnut Creek police shot and killed her 23-year-old son, Miles, on June 2, 2019. Miles, who had serious mental health issues, had used a long iron gardening tool to break his parents’ sliding glass door. He believed it was a staff gifted from God. His grandmother, mother and several neighbors dialed 9-1-1 in search of help. Officers found him in the neighborhood. He ran toward the police, according to witness accounts and officer body camera recordings; they shot him first with bean bags, then when he didn’t stop, with handguns.

If they had had a different number to call, Hall said, “Miles would be alive today. With everything I have in my whole body, I believe that. He wasn’t dangerous. He wasn’t a criminal. He was someone who had mental health challenges who needed help.”

In September 2020, the city of Walnut Creek announced a $4 million settlement in the case. According to the city’s website, since Hall’s death, the city and police department have undertaken “a comprehensive review” of policies and practices and expanded training in de-escalation and crisis intervention, as well as working to offer more mobile crisis response options.

Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, the principal author of AB 988 — also called The Miles Hall Lifeline Act — said she was inspired to take up the cause after a meeting with Hall.

“Here was this woman who had tried for years to get her son the care he needed,” Bauer-Kahan said. “She had done everything right and it ended in her worst possible nightmare.” A handful of states, including Washington, Colorado and Nevada, have successfully passed legislation similar to AB 988, said David Lloyd, national senior policy advisor of The Kennedy Forum, an organization that advocates for mental health that is co-sponsoring the bill. But, facing strong opposition from the telecommunications industry, other states have failed.

Rep. Tina Orwall, who authored a similar bill for Washington State, said she received a lot of pushback from the telecommunications industry. She met with them weekly to discuss how to move the bill forward. The bill eventually passed with a reduced per-line fee, which will start at 24 cents in October and increase to 40 cents in 2023.

“ We’re in a pandemic,” Orwall said. “There couldn’t be a more important time to implement this. People need it more than ever.”

Counties brace for surge in crisis calls

In California, cities, counties and call centers are proceeding with preparations for an influx of new callers — with or without funding in place.

The city of Los Angeles started a pilot program in February to divert 9-1-1 calls to Didi Hirsch’s Suicide Prevention Center. Now, the county says it’s hustling to find additional sources of funding, especially if the bill and budget request don’t pass.

“We’re all scrambling to make that a reality,” said John Franklin Sierra of the county’s Alternative Crisis Response system.

The launch of 9-8-8 reflects a growing momentum around the issue of mental health crisis response at the federal, state and local levels.

The current state budget includes a one-time allocation of $205 million for mobile crisis response — which could help with certain aspects of 9-8-8, but wouldn’t cover the cost of call center operations, Gamboa-Eastman said. The federal American Rescue Plan includes an 85% federal match for three years for Medicaid programs that provide mobile crisis intervention services.

Another bill, AB 118, seeks $10 million, to be administered through the state’s Department of Social Services, to fund up to a dozen mobile crisis response pilot programs around the state. The bill, introduced by former Democratic Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager, now a state senator, follows a similar bill, AB 2054, which the governor vetoed last year. The two bills are substantially similar, except for changing the office where the program would be housed.

Addie Kitchen, whose grandson, Steven Taylor, was killed in a San Leandro Walmart by police last year, has worked to rally support for Kamlager’s bill and increase awareness about the needs for alternatives to 9-1-1.

Taylor, 33, was homeless and living with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder when he was detained after trying to walk out of the store with a tent, Kitchen said. He was holding a bat when officers arrived at the store that day, she said. An Alameda County judge in June upheld a manslaughter charge against the officer who shot Taylor in the store and said he would face trial — but also said he doubted a jury would convict, according to the Bay Area News Group.

Kitchen said she believed law enforcement officers are not the right people to respond to someone in a mental health crisis: “If you let trained crisis people intervene, there’s a possibility that no one is going to get hurt,” she said.

(Calmatters.org)

LONG WAY TO GO

Editor,

Labor Day is supposed to recognize the contributions labor has made to America’s strength, prosperity and well-being. If you work an eight-hour day, 40-hour week, receive sick leave, workers’ compensation, overtime, paid vacation or Social Security, you can thank labor unions. And how do we thank American labor?

There are approximately 4.9 million low-wage workers in California. Our minimum wage is $13 per hour. Why should any full-time worker have to work at a job that pays a poverty wage? American workers deserve a living wage, a wage that provides a modest standard of living that allows workers to live out of poverty. When employers won’t pay a living wage, our government must provide economic assistance. Why should citizens subsidize companies that pay slave wages?

Too many Americans think of Labor Day as just another three-day weekend that celebrates the conclusion of a great summer with beer, barbecues and baseball. But shouldn’t Labor Day be a time to show deep respect to those who keep the economy humming? Let’s show our respect by demanding that employers who benefit from American workers’ labor pay them a fair living wage.

Gene A. Hottel

Santa Rosa

IT HAPPENED IN WILLITS

On August 9th, the listed agencies responded to the 500 block of Cropley Lane in Willits to serve a search warrant at a property regarding an unlawful marijuana/cannabis operation. On arrival, law enforcement encountered a large marijuana/cannabis processing operation which was contained within a large warehouse.

Law enforcement officials encountered and ultimately detained twenty-nine (29) individuals. Twenty seven (27) of the twenty-nine (29) individuals were determined to be from Southeast Asia and Laos.

At the time of the search warrant service law enforcement officials were uncertain if this particular marijuana/cannabis operation was engaging in human trafficking.

Due to a language barrier, a Deputy Sheriff from Butte County was transported by helicopter to the search warrant location for interpretation purposes. This interpretation process determined all detained persons on the property were at the location on their own free will and were employed laborers.

During the detainment of several of the individuals, large sums of U.S. Currency were found at the location. A total of $230,632.00 cash was seized pursuant to asset forfeiture laws and later turned over to the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office.

A total of 9,447.9 pounds of processed/packaged bud marijuana/cannabis for the purposes of sales was located at the location. All marijuana/cannabis other than what was retained as evidence per 11479 HS was destroyed at the scene.

At the completion of this investigation, a criminal case will be filed with the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office for potential criminal prosecution 

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

We used to live atop the Maacama fault in Talmage. I only discovered that because one day a group of geology students from Mendocino College were walking up our long, somewhat elevated driveway. The elevation, I was told by the professor was actually the uplift from the fault. He told me that this was one of the most active faults in the Bay Area. Ironically, we were once visited by the son of the people who built our old house. They were Italians who came to San Francisco around the turn of the century, only to flee the area following the 1906 earthquake. So they moved to Ukiah and built their home smack dab on top of an active earthquake fault! The floors in that house were wonky as heck. One small 4.0 quake there about 20 years ago threw us to the ground! Apparently we’re heading into a more active phase.

THE TARDIGRADE CONSPIRACY

“I've got my tinfoil hat on, my mind cannot be soiled, I've got my tinfoil hat on, and their evil plans are foiled.”

The recording of last night's (2021-09-03) Memo of the Air: Good Night Radio show on 107.7fm KNYO-LP Fort Bragg (CA) is right here: https://tinyurl.com/KNYO-MOTA-0452

This particular show is only six-and-a-half hours long. Your mother and I are doing the best we can, kids, I was exhausted from the events of the last couple of weeks; you can hear it in my voice, especially at the end. The show? Good, though.

BESIDES ALL THAT, at https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com you'll find a fresh batch of dozens of links to not necessarily radio-useful but nonetheless worthwhile items I set aside for you while gathering that show together. Such as, for instance:

Whales still have rudimentary hands from when their long-ago ancestors were land animals. You just can't see them normally because they're inside a fin. (Conversely, elephant ears are not rudimentary flippers from when their ancestors were sea animals; they're blood-cooling fins.) 

https://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2021/09/a-reminder-that-whales-have-rudimentary.html

Imagine the terrible threat that they're practicing to confuse by spinning around till they're dizzy taking turns shooting at it... /Don't make it all about the hat, Roy. It is just a hat, and you know I didn't do that on purpose. And maybe it's a good thing that happened. It's a notice of room for improvement. We just need to rehearse more, and shoot and dance and spin around even faster. Now let's go again, and try to keep your stupid head down this time, you're making a fool of us./ 

https://misscellania.blogspot.com/2021/09/tweet-of-day.html

And the picture at the top in this Guardian article is remarkably close to my mind's-eye image of a Bethe blaster, a future artillery energy weapon in stories by several unrelated science-fiction authors in the 1940s and '50s. From Wikipedia: “The powerful space weapon called the Bethe blaster operates by causing a fast atomic fusion explosion in all low-atomic-weight elements in its target, thus completely vaporizing it. It was named after physicist Hans Bethe.” (via DamnInteresting) 

https://tinyurl.com/SkiMountainsOnFire

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

LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL APPROVES TRANSITION TO CLEAN, CARBON-FREE ENERGY BY 2035

by Dan Bacher

In a unanimous vote, the Los Angeles City Council on September 1 approved a motion introduced by Councilmembers Paul Krekorian and Mitch O’Farrell requiring that 100 percent of the city’s electricity come from clean, zero carbon energy by 2035. 

“Through this motion, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power — the largest municipally-owned utility in the country — will lead the nation in this ambitious and game-changing commitment to sustainable energy,” according to a statement from Krekorian, O’Farrell and the LADP.

The official motion is available here: https://lacity.primegov.com/Portal/viewer?id=387001&type=2

The resolution would put the City of Los Angeles on a path to reach carbon-free energy 10 years faster than the process set up by the State of California.

The Council also approved a related motion from O’Farrell and Krekorian that will create a strategic plan for equitable workforce hiring, ensuring that thousands of high-paying green jobs are prioritized in the transition to clean energy.

Both motions came as the outgrowth of a planning process, LA1000, initiated by Krekorian five years ago, through a motion he co-introduced with his colleague Mike Bonin.

That process involved “unprecedented research and modeling” in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, according to Councilmember Krevorkian. The study proved that 100 percent clean energy is not only feasible, it is highly beneficial to the economy and jobs as well as the environment.

“As the recent ‘code red’ report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates, we are in the midst of an environmental crisis with no parallel in recorded history,” said Krekorian. “Governments and individuals around the world must act urgently to combat climate change. By its vote today, the Council has shown the world that Los Angeles is ready to lead this effort.”

“This is not a crisis for the next generation; this is a crisis happening at this very moment — and Los Angeles is firmly committed to leading the way,” said Councilmember O’Farrell, chair of the Council’s Energy, Climate Change, Environmental Justice, & Los Angeles River committee. “The terrifying, destructive scale of recent disasters — wildfires, drought, and hurricanes — accelerated by our climate crisis underscores the necessity of today’s actions.”

“This is truly a great day for Los Angeles that puts our city firmly in a leadership position among world cities working to decarbonize the planet,” said Martin Adams, Chief Engineer and General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. “Our City has set a goal of 100% carbon-free energy by 2035 and we’re here to tackle the challenge and say, LADWP is all in.”

“Getting to 100% clean energy as soon as possible is not a goal; it is an imperative,” said Councilmember Mike Bonin. “We need aggressive action today to force an urgent and just transition to a fossil-free tomorrow. It is how we safeguard our children’s future. It is how we preserve a livable Los Angeles. It is how we protect our neighborhoods and ensure equity.”

“Los Angeles is leading California on the road to renewable energy,” said Food & Water Watch Senior Organizer Jasmin Vargas. “The vote by the City Council requiring LADWP to create a plan to power L.A. with 100 percent clean energy by 2035 is nothing short of groundbreaking. The next step for our city is clear. LADWP must follow the demands of the community and abandon its reliance on fossil fuels and false solutions like methane gas from factory farms or hydrogen. As the largest public owned utility in the country, LADWP works for us and it’s about time they take our lead.”

“Today marks a landmark achievement for our fight for climate justice and a better Los Angeles,” said Francis Yang, Senior Organizer for Sierra Club’s My Generation Campaign. “Through years of advocacy and collaboration from communities to our city leaders, Los Angeles has officially kick-started our path to 100% clean energy. Although the ambitious goal of 2035 orearlier is now solidified, our path forward is only beginning. Angelenos must stay engaged to determine how we get to 100% through strategic and inclusive planning that prioritizes frontline communities and creates good, clean jobs.”

Krekorian noted that clean energy is not only about climate change.

“By committing to a clean energy future, the Council is also saving LA lives with improved air quality, protecting LA neighborhoods from power plants burning fossil fuel, and creating over ten thousand new, good-paying jobs in the sustainable economy of the 21st Century,” Krekorian concluded.

YASMIN STILL ON THE HUNT

Good Worker Needed Now!

Help Wanted on the South Coast between Pt. Arena and Anchor Bay. Moving already split firewood, splitting wood, hauling brush, gardening, and other land work that I am unable to do due to age and disabilities. Please help me out! I will pay what is fair for a Good, Hard, Reliable Worker. You must have transportation, be a nonsmoker, (hopefully, be vaccinated), and bring your chainsaw. Please be honest, reliable, and strong.

Thank you very much. Please PHONE ME on my Land Line at 707-884-4703, let it ring 5 times. I do not live with any screens, so do not email me, please.

Yasmin Solomon