Mendocino County Today: Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021

Rainstorms | 21 New Cases | Death 87 | FFA Awards | Vector Depot | Moonshot | Ed Notes | Lambert Bridge | Ukiah Greyhound | Panthers Win | 1870 Fire | School News | Retain Winslow | Elk Stars | Party Pooped | Wellness Resources | Hawk | Housing Survey | Pears | Towers McGuire | Yesterday's Catch | Oyster Night | Climate Action | Propaganda | Gunner Interview | Booster Authorization | Neefus Culvert | Lady Liberty | John Brown | 19 Kids | Sick | First Martini | Texas Track | Flu Vaccine | Hear Muffs | Autumn Leaves | Beach Prints | Corporate Executioners

A SERIES OF STORMS will bring rain and periods of gusty winds through the weekend. The heaviest rain periods will occur tonight and Sunday. Wet and unsettled weather will continue on Monday and Tuesday of next week. (NWS)

21 NEW COVID CASES reported in Mendocino County yesterday afternoon.

FATALITY 87

A Mendocino County resident has passed away from COVID-19. Our thoughts are with all of their family and friends.

Death #87: 80 year-old woman from Gualala area; fully vaccinated but with multiple comorbidities.

Public Health asks all Mendocino County residents to think about the ways they are protecting themselves and their families from COVID-19. When in doubt, consult with and follow all CDC and CDPH guidance. Vaccination, masking, and social distancing remain the best tools for combating COVID-19.

Fully vaccinated people (with Pfizer) over age 65 (or over age 50 with certain health conditions) should strongly consider getting a COVID-19 vaccine booster to improve immunity. Boosters should be given at least 6 months after completion of the initial Pfizer series. If you have questions about boosters, speak with your doctor, or call Public Health at 707-472-2759. To find the nearest vaccine clinic in your area, please visit the Public Health website at:www.mendocinocounty.org/covid19

FFA AWARDS

Today was a great day for the Anderson Valley FFA (Future Farmers of America). Eighteen awesome members represented at the Mendo-Lake Section Opening Closing Ceremonies Contest. Members memorized the FFA Opening Closing Ceremonies and completed against other chapters. This was our first in person competition in two years. It was the first time middle school members competed. Our chapter officers placed 2nd in their division contest. Willow Douglass placed 4th in the Cooperative Marketing Test. Emilia Bennett placed 2nd in the Best Informed Greenhand contest. It was a great day!

VECTOR DEPOT

The Mendocino County COVID-19 Department Operations Center has confirmed a positive COVID-19 case at the following location: The Home Depot, 350 N Orchard Ave, Ukiah

Members of the public who visited this facility between the dates of Thursday, October 14th and Saturday, October 16th 2021 may have been exposed to COVID-19, and are advised to seek COVID-19 testing if unvaccinated, or seek testing if exhibiting symptoms while vaccinated. Covid-19 Testing

The Facilities management is responding quickly to the positive case. We appreciate the cooperation to find those who could be exposed, and Public Health only publishes the business names and location because it is impossible to specifically identify everyone in the public who could have been exposed.

Public Health is prepared for the possibility of outbreaks due to the transmissibility of the Delta variant and the reopening of some segments of society over the last few months. Public Health still urges members of the public to exercise their best judgment when making decisions that might affect their own health and the health of the community.

Public Health Officer Dr. Andy Coren would like to emphasize the importance of staying home from work when exhibiting any symptoms of COVID-19. Common symptoms are fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Other symptoms may include chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, fatigue, congestion, runny nose, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or new loss of taste or smell.

We ask that the community stay vigilant and follow the guidance outlined by the California Department of Public Health and Mendocino County Public Health. For more information about COVID-19 vaccines, testing, and masking, contact the Mendocino County Public Health COVID19 Call Center at (707) 472-2759 or visit our website at:www.mendocinocounty.org/covid19

ALMOST A FULL MOON as viewed Tuesday night by Larry Sheehy

ED NOTES

REGARDING YESTERDAY'S ITEM ABOUT ANDERSON VALLEY TOWING SERVICES: 

AS THE PILLARS of a community disappear, we tend not to notice they're gone until we need them. Bob Maki and WT Johnson of Starr Automotive, now Smith Automotive, are two such pillars. Fortunately, they still live in the Anderson Valley where I try not to disturb their hard-earned retirement. The new owners of Starr are named Smith, and the business is now called Smith Automotive. I met a young Smith up on the Peachland Road as he hauled wreckage up the side of a gulch. Pleasant, accommodating dude. I've been trying to reach him to ask if Smith Automotive will continue to offer Triple A emergency service because an alarmed local called to say he had to wait four hours for help when his vehicle broke down and that help came from All-In-One Towing in Ukiah. What to say? We've been spoiled for years by Bob and WT who've seemed to sleep with one eye open for years waiting for a call for help, faithfully rolling out of bed at the late hours to provide it. Smith is new to the Anderson Valley. They may be in the process of acquiring the AAA franchise, we hope, because otherwise…

BUT THE SMITHS are suddenly unavailable. Valley Triple A customers are presently without emergency road services. Well, not totally without — Triple A is responding to the Anderson Valley out of Elk and Ukiah. When I finally got to a live person in the Lakeport Triple A office, a friendly, helpful guy named Niels Larsen, Mendo born and bred, said he knew Starr Automotive had been sold and referred me to WT, who was also mystified as to what happened to the Smiths. WT said he expects he may be resuming his unfailingly reliable presence in The Valley with Triple A any time now, which would be welcome news for all of us Triple A people. (I'm going on fifty years myself.)

ON THE SUBJECT of No Shows, Renee Lee, director of the Anderson Valley Senior Center, writes: “Sincere apologies to those that waited for their flu shots today. Unfortunately, RiteAid confirmed our date, time and sent us consent forms. They just didn’t show up. Shame on them for letting our seniors down and making them wait out in the cold for nothing!”

ANOTHER NO SHOW was the County’s Hazmobile which was supposed to show up at the Fairgrounds parking lot last Saturday morning. But without notice there was no Hazmobile. Several locals with hazardous waste said after waiting for an hour or more they were forced to either take it to Ukiah, dump it in the trash or take it home and try again next time. The County later mumbled something about staffing and budgets, but they should have at least put a sign up and put out a notice on facebook or something.

IF IT WEREN'T for KZYX and NPR, I wouldn't know that Snoop Dog is fifty today. As I slip into my rain coat to await a deluge of racism accusations, I'll wonder if any of these rap “artists” ever contemplate how many young black kids are murdered every day by other young black kids inspired by the musical thug-life recommendations they get from people like Snoop Dog. Rap is also wonderfully encouraging to young women who are routinely referred to as “bitches” and “whores” (ho's). I'm sure NPR is looking into it.

THIS ON-LINE COMMENT also applies to the Anderson Valley: “Between Albion and Inglenook there are over 40 hotel/motels, two dozen Bed & Breakfast Inns and over 300 AirBnB locations, 106 of those are 1, 2, or 3 bedroom stand alone, single family homes with full kitchens. Many allow pets. In the same area, there are currently three residential rentals listed on craigslist. Where have all the rentals gone? To AirBnB, nearly every one.”

BOONVILLE’S OLD LAMBERT LANE BRIDGE has been falling apart for years. In 2014 heavy rains took out another chunk of the embankment next to the bridge. County road crews quickly put a temporary cover over the slide. Locals didn’t care much at the time because they’d become used to the slow erosion. 

In 2015 another big chunk was washed away despite the rip rap the County crews had installed but the bridge was at least still open, albeit much narrower and one-way only, as bridge crossers calmly waited for any opposing traffic to go by before crossing. In 2017 the slippage was declared a safety risk and a meeting was held at the Grange to discuss options and take public input on the situation. 

The original bridge was installed in 1954, and its concrete abutments have been battered almost every wet winter since. 

While County transportation staff and a consultant were working on a new bridge design and funding, the Transportation crews installed a Korean War era surplus sectional “Bailey Bridge” in 2019 which has held up well since then.

The Bridge Replacement Project is now underway and approved. Design is done. Funding (about $7 million, mostly federal plus some money from state bridge tolls) has been lined up. On Tuesday the Supervisors routinely rubberstamped the plans and construction is set to begin sometime in the summer of 2022 and take around four months. We have not yet heard the particulars of the project so we’re not sure about how traffic will be managed during construction, but it will be addressed. Previously, the planners had said they’d create some kind of temporary detour, perhaps through the Fairgrounds, perhaps with a temporary summer-only small bridge down in the streambed, or perhaps they’ll build and install half of the new, wider bridge, alongside the old one for one way traffic, then reverse sides and replace the old one as the other half of the new bridge is completed. A few years ago there was also some talk about trying to recontour Robinson Creek under or near the bridge to reduce the creek’s S-curve which contributed to the undermining of the old bridge supports and banks. But if we ever get rains like we used to get we’ll probably discover that the Creek will go where the Creek wants to go. The new bridge will be about 25 feet wide to accommodate two lanes of traffic and emergency vehicles.

(Mark Scaramella)

UKIAH GREYHOUND BUS DEPOT

PANTHERS ON A ROLL

Boys soccer defeated Tech on their turf 4-1. They beat us at our home earlier this season, so it was a great win for the Panthers. Goals were scored by senior Miguel Padilla, junior Stephen Torales, sophomore Jareth Guzman, and freshman Diego Torales. We will travel to play Credo on Friday.

Varsity volleyball swept Potter Valley yesterday in our last home game of the season.

Friday, October 29 is our Homecoming football game against Potter Valley. It will start at 6:00. We haven’t had a football homecoming since 2017.

(Arthur Folz reporting)

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT SCHOOL?

Dear Anderson Valley Community,

Many wonderful things are happening, and I thank the staff and parent/guardian community for working together to provide a nurturing learning environment. We are so HAPPY to welcome back parents and guardians to in-person conferences and restore field trips! Take a look at some of the photos from the week. A shout out to Sean Crotty for bringing the gardens back to life with the care of the students. Together, we are creating a vibrant new “normal” and the kids relish their time in the garden. The Wellness Committee continues to meet, and the fresh food offerings are AMAZING. I’m just saying though, NOTHING beats Posole day! Terri and staff are working so hard with the supply chain issues to ensure that we are getting quality food to the kids. And finally, a thank you to our Psychologist, Jasmine Zartman, for her beautiful explanation of students with different abilities focusing on all a student CAN do, instead of what they can’t! As a mom of a special needs child, who cried myself at those IEP tables, I relish the celebration of all that is right. Good, good stuff! 

The holidays are almost upon us. I know we are RELISHING seeing families. Please do not travel outside of the break time. The last student day is December 17. The day students are required to return is January 10. So many students are so far behind because of Covid-19 learning loss. Give them every chance, and EVERY DAY, to be in person for school to make them as successful as possible.

Upcoming this week: 

Flu Shots The Anderson Valley Health Center will be providing free flu shots to the community for ages 4 and over. This will be a drive-through clinic at Anderson Valley High School, from 3:00pm to 5:30pm on Wednesday, October 20th. Many thanks to the Health Center staff for their amazing work! 

HOME Sports for the next 10-days

Wednesday, October 20 SOCCER 4:30 P.M.

Friday, October 22 FOOTBALL 6:00 P.M

Friday, October 29 FOOTBALL 6:00 P.M.

Additional News

Covid-Boosters

More information to follow! We are awaiting details from the Health Center Staff!

Bond Committee

We are spending some funds out of our existing Bond funds for allowable expenses. If anyone is interested in participating in a quarterly meeting (you can not be an employee of the district), we would love to invite you. The first meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 30 at 4:30 at the high school library. 

Employment Opportunities!

We need a few good people! Can you help? I started my career in education as an instructional aide, as I wanted to be on my son’s schedule. Are you looking for an amazing career? Many of our positions include generous family insurance benefits. PLUS, you are on the same schedule as your child. Open positions include: 

AVHS SPED Instructional assistant 7 hours a day, $15.30 hour, WITH FAMILY INSURANCE BENEFITS 11-months

AVHS SPED Instructional assistant 6.5 hours a day, $15.30 hour WITH FAMILY INSURANCE BENEFITS 11-months

AVHS School Activity/ASP Coordinator 4 hours a day, $19.57 hours/11 months

AVHS Instructional Assistant 4 hours a day, $15.00 hr./11 months

AVUSD Confidential Administrative Assistant, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week $48,283/yr. 12 month WITH FAMILY INSURANCE BENEFITS

Coaching positions: Cheerleading, JH Girls Basketball, JH Boys Basketball

Please email vbarragan@avpanthres.org or call (707) 895-3774 ext. 607 for more information or to apply.

We are entering the season of Thanksgiving and celebration of family. I thank you for welcoming me into your family. We may not always agree as we face challenging circumstances, but I appreciate the honesty, collaboration, and respect for all opinions as we face the challenges ahead. 

Be well, be happy, and thank you for the opportunity.

Sincerely yours,

Louise Simson

Superintendent

ELK GARNERS A MICHELIN

For elite chefs and the people who patronize their restaurants, the Michelin awards are perhaps the most sought-after status symbol in the world. Despite their modest origin as the road guide for a tire company, earning — or, tragically, losing — a Michelin star is a career-defining event. And for the tiny but powerful subset of food-lovers who take Michelin awards as gospel, these stars influence not only day-to-day dining choices, but also travel decisions. So when the 2021 Michelin awards dropped late last month, it was big news in the California food scene. Among the 90 starred restaurants in the state, 27 were new or upgraded this year. And of those to newly attain two stars, the coveted “Excellent cooking, worth a detour!” designation, only one was outside the Bay Area: The Harbor House Inn in the tiny hamlet of Elk, California, three-and-a-half hours north of San Francisco, where rising star chef Matthew Kammerer is cooking food that’s “highly original, driven by impeccable technique and devotion to sustainability,” according to the Michelin gods. 

The Harbor House isn’t the only hotel restaurant to earn a Michelin star or two — Healdsburg’s Singlethread has three. But for a community as small, remote and tourism-dependent as the Mendocino Coast, the rise of this three-year-old inn as a major culinary destination is no small deal. 

(Freda Moon reporting for SF Gate)

THE WELLNESS INITIATIVE: What are some local resources for your physical and mental health that you are grateful for here in Anderson Valley (Boonville, Philo, Navarro, Yorkville)?

We are working on a local community wellness initiative and would love to know of all the places and people and programs that support our local community in their overall wellness and to share as many of these resources available to encourage those looking for support. Please add to the list by commenting below.

Here are a few I can think of:

HEALTHY FOOD

• All local restaurants
• BoontBerry - local and organic veggies
• AV Market
• Lemons Market
• Yorkville Market
• Food Bank
• AV Community Garden
• AV Foodshed
• MendoLake Food Hub (delivers farm boxes to AV)
• AV Farmer’s Market

FARM STANDS

• Blue Meadow Farm - at the base of Holmes Ranch Road
• Brock Farms - on Goodacre off the base of Peachland 
• Velma's (Filigreen Farm) - on AV Way 
• Gowan's Oak Tree - on Hwy 128 between Philo and Navarro 
• Pennyroyal Creamery - on Hwy 128 in Boonville 
• Petit Teton - on Hwy 128 between Boonville and Yorkville 
• The Apple Farm - on Philo/Greenwood Road just before the bridge

AV PRODUCTS

• 4 Bar K Ranch (beef)
• Bramble Family Farm (olive oil)
• Boonville Barn Collective (Piment d'Ville, chili powders, olive oil, strawberries)
• McEwen Family Farm (variety of products)
• Mendocino Sea Vegetable Company (seaweed) 
• Natural Products of Boonville (mushrooms & more)
• Petit Teton (canned goods, pork, beef, squab & veggies) 
• Pomo Tierra Orchard (apple products) 
• The Forest People - Radically Sustainable Mushroom Cultivation 
• Yorkville Olive Ranch (olive oil)

WELLNESS/MEDICINE

• AV Health Center - physical & mental health services
• Jessica - counseling (@AVHC)
• Caretakers Garden
• AVA Staff Available Office Hours For Life Counseling

OTHER WELLNESS RESOURCES

• AVUSD Wellness Committee - July 4th Fundraiser helps support bringing healthy foods to schools
• AVHC Wellness Coalition - working to support wellness in AV community
• The Anderson Valley Village
• AV Senior Center
• Hedgehog Books
• Mendo Library Bookmobile
• AV Lending Library

BODYWORK & OTHER

• Abra Kadebra
• Aurelia Sunrising - Biofield Tuning (Sound coherence therapy using Tuning forks), NLP, Hypnotherapy, somatic based coaching and teaching, breathwork coaching.
• Abeja Hummel
• Melanie Fuller - acupuncturist, body work (@AVHC)
• Burton Segall - acupuncturist

PERSONAL CARE & BEAUTY

• Aurelia Sunrising - Hair services, eyebrow design. (chemical free)
• Jolie Terre - beauty+wellness+ecology

FITNESS CLASSES/TRAINING/CLUBS

• The Studio Sobo 
• Mary Paffard (yoga)
• Jeanne Eliades (yoga)
• Kristen Walker (yoga)
• Kathy MacDonald (chair yoga)
• Eden Kellner (yoga)
• Kendra McEwen (Pilates)
• Elizabeth Jensen (Pilates)
• Kathy Cox (walking group)
• ZUMBA (?)
• Karate (?)
• Horseback riding (?)
• Rinat Klein - swim lessons
• Bike Club (AVES/AVHS) (?)
• Aurelia & Isaac - Free form Dance and Sound Healing circles
• The Land - workshops (?)

PLACES TO BE ACTIVE/OUTSIDE

• AVUSD High School Campus: par course, field/track/loop, tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball, soccer fields 
• AV Community Park (by Health Center/Airport)
• Hendy Woods
• Faulkner County Park
• Indian Creek County Park
• Paul Dimmick State Park
• Navarro River Redwoods State Park

WALKING/RUNNING/BIKING ROUTES

• Peachland road
• Anderson Valley Way
• Airport Road + High School loop
• Lambert Lane
• Hendy Woods 
• Masonite Road / Rancho Navarro 
• Fish Rock Road
• Elkhorn Road
• Mountain House Road

SWIMMING HOLES

• Navarro River - Greenwood Bridge
• Hendy Woods
• Indian Creek
• Masonite Road
• Paul Dimmick State Park
• Navarro River Redwood State Park

...others I don’t know or may have missed?

(Anica Williams, Anderson Valley Village)

HOUSING IMPACT SURVEY

HAT is asking our North Coast neighbors to complete a super-short (5 minutes or less) housing-impact survey. The Housing Action Team, North Coast of Mendocino County (HAT) knows we have a housing crisis. What we don’t know, but intend to find out, is how housing affects local businesses, public agencies and working people. 

You can take the survey on HAT’s website: www.HATMendoCoast.org. There are two versions, ‘Employer’ for businesses and public agencies, and ‘Employee’ for the rest of us. Both are in English and Spanish. Participation ends Oct. 31st, but we hope you’ll take it sooner. 

“The results will give us valuable information that’s not available elsewhere,” explained HAT’s coordinator Elizabeth Swenson. She added, “We ask employers if lack of housing makes it hard to hire or keep employees, what housing issues their candidates or employees encounter, if housing is hurting their bottom-line, and if they have suggestions to share.” 

Johanna Jensen, a HAT volunteer, offered, “The responses we get from individuals, working renters and homeowners, will help us understand the housing-barriers they experience. One answer we’re especially interested in is how many households are being displaced by vacation rentals.” 

What we learn from the surveys will help HAT focus on our most significant problems. If we get a meaningful number of responses, we’ll share our findings with people and groups who’re also working for more affordable housing. 

Both surveys are anonymous. Knowing that people are (rightly) concerned about privacy, data cannot be associated with the person or organization submitting the response. The data will be compiled when all surveys are in, then analyzed collectively to create a picture of our housing needs. 

We appreciate and thank you for helping us collect this valuable information. If you’d like to do more, please you’ll tell your friends and share the survey link with as many people and businesses as possible.

The Housing Action Team North Coast Mendocino County (HAT) started five years ago to research, advocate and take action for housing solutions that work in our community. HAT is comprised of dedicated resident volunteers invested in tackling the North Coast’s housing crisis. Contacts: HATMendoCoast@gmail.com, Facebook:@HATMendoCoast, 707.969.7730

SUPERVISOR HASCHAK:

Senator McGuire leads successful effort to get two new cell towers installed for Round Valley area residents

North Coast, CA – In the past, when residents of Round Valley had an emergency, it was hit or miss if they could get ahold of emergency dispatchers because cell service in this region of Mendocino County was so inconsistent. This reality has put lives in danger and caused public safety nightmares.

For over a year, Senator McGuire has been working with Round Valley Indian Tribal Leadership, Officials from the County of Mendocino, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department, and UScellular to construct two additional cell towers and add new equipment to greatly enhance cell service in the region.

This month, these two new cell towers in Round Valley went live, which has greatly upgraded the network to better connect local residents and improve the public’s safety. The Round Valley Indian Tribe, who were the lead entity on the tower buildouts, constructed the tower structures, while UScellular added the necessary equipment to better connect their network.

“Round Valley has experienced some of the greatest impacts of wildfires over the last few years. And, at the same time, inconsistent and at time’s inoperable cell phone service has hampered emergency response and put lives at risk. When we first heard of this issue, we immediately moved on a fix,” Senator Mike McGuire said. “We’re grateful to the Round Valley Indian Tribes, the County of Mendocino, State OES and UScellular for the partnership. All sides worked together to get these two new towers built and to ensure residents have the service they need to stay connected on a daily basis, but especially during times of emergency.”

The two 150-foot towers that were constructed by the Tribe are strategically located and will improve and expand cellular network capabilities in and around the Valley. 

“For too long, the hard working members of the Round Valley Indian Tribes along with Valley residents have struggled with inconsistent cell phone coverage. These two new towers that have been constructed by the tribe and our consultant Spy Ego Media are game changers and we couldn’t have been more grateful to have partnered with Senator McGuire, the County of Mendocino and UScellular to get this job done. We know enhanced cell coverage will help make residents safer, especially in times of emergency,” said Round Valley Indian Tribes President James Russ.

“Ensuring resiliency of our county’s 911 system is the utmost priority. Over the last couple of years during wildfire events, Round Valley’s cell systems became overloaded, which meant residents were unable to call out to 911 or receive inbound calls. This is totally unacceptable. I am grateful to have partnered with Senator McGuire on this critical project that will provide Round Valley residents the coverage they need to keep their families safe,” Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall said. 

“Getting these cell towers constructed has been one of my top priorities. The residents of Round Valley desperately need enhanced cell coverage, especially now with the consistent threat of catastrophic wildfires. This project been a total team effort with Senator McGuire, The Round Valley Indian Tribes, State OES, the County of Mendocino and UScellular. With this project now complete, neighbors will be able to stay connected during a disaster and have clear access to 911,” Supervisor John Haschak said.

“By working together with members of our community to provide a great network experience for our customers, we can make sure that local families and businesses have access to the technology they need,” said Anthony Carlson, interim area vice president and general manager for UScellular in the northwest region. “We want to thank everyone involved for their dedication to finding a solution to enhance wireless service in the area, especially our network team who worked tirelessly with local leaders to ensure increased connectivity for this growing area.”

CATCH OF THE DAY

KENNETH DEWITT JR., Oroville/Ukiah. Parole violation.

ELIZABETH DOCKINS, Ukiah. Grand theft, failure to appear, probation revocation.

LATEEFAH GLOVER, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

EVERETT LASTER, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

MARIA LITZIN, Covelo. Failure to appear.

LEE LONG, Ukiah. County parole violation.

TAKE IT TO GLASGOW, GAV

Editor,

In about two weeks, world leaders will meet in Glasgow, Scotland for the U.N.’s COP26. Their focus has been to secure every country's plans for net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 (to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius). Yet this summer we learned 2050 is too late.

California is a leader on climate change issues, yet even our current targets are insufficient, according to the best climate science today. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will attend COP26, has the opportunity to set a bold new goal more consistent with current science: net negative emissions by 2030.

The Climate Center, a local organization with a statewide reach, has communicated an ambitious but achievable plan for reaching this goal to the governor. It includes 100% carbon-free electricity by 2030; zero-emission transportation by 2030; a 70% reduction in building emissions by 2030; ending new fossil fuel permits immediately and phasing out production and refining by 2035; and sequestering 100 million metric tons of carbon dioxide on California lands by 2030.

It is clear not every country can do this now, but California can. Please join me in urging Newsom to take this important stand for us all in Glasgow.

Chris Thomas

Santa Rosa

IRV SUTLEY WRITES:

Just saw a video made by Raymond McFalone and his wife Sally. They interviewed John Day who had been a B-17 ball turret gunner late in the war who flew 25 missions over Germany.

John Day gave the most interesting air crew explanation I've ever seen on USAF heavy bomber raids - including the fact that the upper and lower ball turrets were computer controlled and were made by Sperry-Rand.

It's worth 30 minutes out of your lives to take a look at “BANDIT at SIX O'Clock”: youtube.com/watch?v=9gH9R5YEgrM

F.D.A. AUTHORIZES MODERNA AND J.&J. BOOSTERS AND MIX-AND-MATCH STRATEGY

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized booster shots for tens of millions of recipients of Moderna’s two-dose coronavirus vaccine and the roughly 15 million who got Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose shot, significantly expanding the nation’s campaign to bolster protection for vulnerable people.

The agency also updated its authorizations for all three vaccines — Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer-BioNTech — to allow medical providers to boost people with a different Covid-19 vaccine than the one they initially received, a strategy known as “mix and match.”

That update may dampen interest in Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, which studies have found provides less protection than the other two. Providers will have the option of offering a Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech booster, which could trigger a more substantial jump in protective antibodies.

The regulators, who already authorized boosters for high-risk Pfizer-BioNTech recipients last month, did not recommend any one vaccine over another as a booster. They also remained silent on whether it would be preferable to stick with the same vaccine when possible.

The latest authorizations arrived in the middle of a busy stretch of regulatory decisions on vaccines. The F.D.A. is expected in the coming weeks to decide on whether Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine should be authorized for children ages 5 to 11. The agency’s independent vaccine committee is set to vote Tuesday to consider the matter and make a recommendation.

Regulators may also decide as early as November whether to authorize boosters for younger Americans who are not at high risk. While many vaccine experts have questioned whether younger, healthy people need booster shots, some advisory committee members last week urged the agency to move to expand eligibility.

The F.D.A.’s move to make a much larger swath of Americans eligible for additional shots on Wednesday followed unanimous votes last week from a key advisory committee to recommend the authorizations. A separate committee advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to vote Thursday on its own recommendations for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson boosters.

The C.D.C. director typically endorses that panel’s recommendations as a final step before vaccines are put into use. If the agency agrees with the F.D.A.’s decision, booster shots could be offered as soon as this weekend.

Eligible Moderna recipients could get a half-dose booster of that vaccine at least six months after their second dose. Like Pfizer recipients, the eligible would include people 65 and older, and younger adults at high risk of severe Covid-19 because of medical conditions or where they work. Johnson & Johnson recipients — all of whom are 18 and older — will be eligible for a second shot at least two months after the first.

— Noah Weiland and Sharon LaFraniere (New York Times)

CULVERT INSTALLATION AT NEEFUS GULCH, Rancho Navarro (photos by Mike Kalantarian)

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Neefus Gulch Fish Passage Improvement: bondaccountability.resources.ca.gov/Project.aspx?ProjectPK=16787&PropositionPK=48

WE DIDN’T KNOW until recently that the Statue of Liberty was inspired by the end of the Civil War and emancipation of America’s slaves, not immigration. The connection to immigration came later. Lady Liberty was originally intended to celebrate the end of slavery. Ellis Island, the inspection station through which millions of immigrants passed, didn’t open until six years after the statue was unveiled in 1886. The plaque with the famous Emma Lazarus poem — “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” — wasn’t added until 1903. Recently released research by history professor Edward Berenson documents the original idea by a Frenchman named Édouard de Laboulaye, an expert on the US Constitution and, at the close of the Civil War, was the president of a committee that raised and disbursed funds to newly freed slaves. Laboulaye partnered with sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, who spent years on the design which included the important detail of her left hand holding broken shackles in the original design, an homage to the end of slavery. American financiers were embarassed by that so Bartholdi reluctantly replaced them with a tablet, but left the chains at Lady Liberty’s feet. The project took decades to design, develop and, even more importantly, fund-raise and construct (in phases) both in France and in the United States which had to come up with funding (largely organized William Randolph Hearst) for the huge pedestal (technically a “plinth”) which took decades. In later years the statue became more associated with immigation largely due to its location in New York harbor. 

(Mark Scaramella)

ON OCTOBER 16, 1859, abolitionist radical John Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. After attending a meeting promoting the abolition of slavery in Cleveland, Ohio, the failed businessman John Brown was visibly moved and inspired. The destruction of slavery became his lifelong mission. Throughout the 1850s, John Brown fought pro-slavery forces during Bleeding Kansas, infamously butchering five men at Potawatomie Creek, Kansas. In 1857, Brown left Kansas and returned to the east, where he began planning to incite a mass slave uprising. 

His plan would be to seize the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia and distribute the extensive array of the weapons there to slaves, beginning a revolt. For the assault, Brown assembled a small “army” of twenty-two men, which included five black men and three of his sons. On the night of the 16th, Brown and his followers put the plan into action, seizing the arsenal. Quickly, word of the raid spread throughout the Virginia countryside, and militia poured into the area, surrounding Brown and his men. 

The next day, a company of Marines arrived at Harpers Ferry, led by Colonel Robert E. Lee and Lieutenant J. E. B. Stuart. These men, two days later, finally ended the standoff, overrunning Brown and his men, of whom ten were killed, including two of Brown’s sons. John Brown would later be hung for the attack on Harpers Ferry. In all, the raid achieved very little, with no slaves revolting. All that was actually achieved by the raid was to exasperate sectional differences and drive the country closer to Civil War. 

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

Well, my Father came from a family of 19 kids. How’s that for overpopulation? My poor grandmother went through 19 births. I would imagine at the end the kids were falling out while she was doing the dishes. Anyway, if this paternity leave program was available 80 years ago, my Grandfather would have been entitled to almost 5 years paid leave from work. 19×3 months = 57 months off. Who wants to hang around the house with all those rugrats around?

THE MARTINI, 1954

by Don Samson

It was always a grand moment when father swung open the doors of the liquor cabinet and said, “What would you like?”

Whatever it was, whatever you wanted, father had it there. Or, he could make it and had the proper glass to serve it in. Scotch, rye, bourbon, vodka, gin; he had them all. You wanted a Rob Roy, he could make it. A white Russian, a separator, a grasshopper, a Singapore Sling … coming right up.

He even stocked wine and beer, which he considered pretend drinks for people who didn’t really like to drink.

But for father there was only one drink. The martini. The gin martini, I should say, for there were those who asserted the existence of other kinds of martinis, the vodka martini among them. To father, though, there was only one real martini, the one he drank: four parts Bombay Gin, one part Italian dry vermouth. Stirred, not shaken and served in a pre-frosted, high-stemmed, martini glass of classic design … the glass with the stem you never touched. Never. Only ladies and cross-over wine drinkers touched the stem. 

When father picked up a martini, he picked it up the right way – the way god wanted it picked up: by the conical top of the glass. 

I knew this long before my first martini. Not that I’d been instructed in these matters. No instruction was needed. I knew it the way a child knows a foreign language his parents speak with each other, but never with him. 

So, when my time finally arrived, I was ready.

I was sixteen. Mother was away that night. Father was standing in the middle of the living room talking to himself, as was his wont. I had just entered the room on some errand when I heard father say, in a tone he used with mother and their friends, but never with me:

“Would you like a drink?” 

It took me a moment to realize he was talking to me. It had to be me. I looked around: it was just the two of us in the room. And there he was, looking right at me, asking me if I wanted a drink.

I didn’t know what to say … yet I knew exactly what to say.

“I’d love one,” I said in a voice I’d never heard before.

Without further ado, father swung open the doors or the liquor cabinet and stepped to the side, a fluid dance step I’d seen him perform hundreds of times before others … Now, suddenly, he was performing it before me.

“What would you like?” 

I looked in at the bottles standing shoulder to shoulder on a series of rising steps … 

What would I like?

With my friends I drank beer. Or, maybe rum or hard liquor mixed with fruit juice or Coca Cola … usually drunk warm, at night, in paper cups, in a car parked someplace where the police wouldn’t find us. 

But I wasn’t with my friends now. I was with father.

What would I like?

Was the choice really mine to make?

“I’ll have a martini,” I said.

Father removed a bottle of Bombay gin and a bottle of Italian vermouth from their honored places in the front row of the liquor cabinet and placed them on the bar. Then he opened the glass doors on the top of the cabinet, took out the silver martini shaker and the thin silver stirrer and placed them on the bar beside the bottles.

In the rising excitement of the moment, he paused to take out a cigarette. A Camel, of course. He smoked nothing else. He lit it and took a deep drag. Then, cigarette in the corner of his mouth, head tilted slightly to one side so the rising smoke wouldn’t get into his eyes, he resumed the task at hand.

“You should watch how this is done,” he said, “in case you have to do it someday.”

As if I didn’t know already how to make a Bombay martini.

But I watched. 

The ice came next. A whole tray of cubes cracked from the ice tray, smashed in a towel and dumped into the martini shaker. Then four carefully measured double shots of Bombay Gin followed by a double shot of Italian vermouth … all poured gently down over the ice, followed by a slow, rhythmic stirring. 

Too fast and it will bruise the gin. 

Rivulets of cold condensation streamed down the side of the shaker. 

Foreplay, that’s what it was. You know it when you see it. No need to rush. It was all simply too wonderful. The more you rush, the sooner it will be over. And you certainly didn’t want to risk bruising the gin. So father took his time … around and around until, at some magic moment known only to him, the martinis were ready.

`Time for the glasses.

The top of the liquor cabinet was stocked with the proper glasses to accommodate every possible drink that could be made from liquors in the cabinet. The right glasses for whiskey on the rocks, for red wine, for white wine, for high balls, for old fashioneds, for gins and tonic … for whatever you wanted.

And, needless to say, father had all the accoutrements, all the condiments, so that when the drink was complete, it not only had in it all of the proper ingredients in the proper proportion, but it looked like the picture of the drink in the Boston Bartender’s Bible, a copy of which reposed on one corner of the bar.

If you ordered a gin and tonic, you got it in the proper chimney glass with a stirrer and a twist of lime.

If you ordered Drambuie, you got it in a Drambuie glass.

If you ordered a Manhattan, you got it in a Manhattan glass.

If you ordered an Old Fashioned, you got it in an Old Fashioned glass. 

There was only one kind of glass not to be found in the top of the liquor cabinet. The martini glass. These were kept in the freezer. Because father put them in wet, they always came out covered with thick steaming frost. And he didn’t take them out until the very last moment, until the stirring ceremony was complete and the martinis were ready.

For us, that moment had arrived.

Father took two frosted martini glasses out of the freezer and set them, steaming, onto the bar. Then he began filling them slowly from the martini shaker. A little into this one, a little into that one. A little into this one, a little into that one. And all the while the ash on his Camel grew so long I could not for the life of me understand why it did not crumble.

Pausing near the top, he set the shaker down, turned to me and said, “Olive … or?”

I knew the “or” stood for the onion option – that if you put an onion into a martini, you ended up with something other than a real martini, something called a Gibson. Father had only scorn for the Gibson. If asked, he would make one. But I’d heard him say more than once, only women and queers drank Gibsons; and, I wasn’t either. 

“Olive.” I said. 

Father speared two olives with toothpicks and carefully lowered them into the martinis. Then, with the ash on his Camel growing ever longer, he continued his pour. A little more into this one, a little more into that one … until each glass was so full that surface tension alone prevented liquid, now higher than the edge of the glass, from flowing down the sides.

Only then did father set down his Camel, smashing the ash gravity had until then forsaken.

“Well … ?” he said. 

So this was it. 

Father picked up his glass and I picked up mine … by the conical top, of course. This was no time to touch the stem. As I lifted the glass, however, try as I might to hold it steady, the surface tension broke and a small wave of ice-cold martini streamed over the edge, down my hand, down my arm and dripped onto the floor …

It was okay, though. Father’s laugh, his martini laugh, told me it was okay. And so, knowing it was okay, I laughed, too. 

A little splash of martini on the floor. A beginner’s fumble. It didn’t matter. 

What mattered was that here I was, alone with father in the living room, at the bar, holding my martini at the ready … 

Only one ritual remained … brief, but important. Indeed, essential to the complete martini experience. The touching of the glasses. And this we did, smoothly, as if we had done it a thousand times before.

Clink.

Then we drank.

And so, on that night, when I was sixteen, I became a man in my father’s house.

I'VE GOTTEN THE FLU VACCINE from both the CVS and the Safeway pharmacies... The Safeway one has a nice little waiting room, and they'll give you a $25 Safeway gift certificate for getting vaccinated there. You should also get your flu vaccine at the same time and kill two birds with two shots ;-) It's going to be a bad flu year, and also probably colder and wetter than normal (El Niña), so get yourself sorted out now... And this is for everyone... even Alan... I know you don't trust vaccines, but the fact there was almost no flu season last year because of COVID countermeasures, means that it will be back this year with a vengeance, give yourself a fighting chance.

— Marie Tobias 

AUTUMN LEAVES

The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burned hands I used to hold

Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I'll hear old winter's song
But I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall

Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I'll hear old winter's song
But I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall

Written by: Jacques Prevert, Joseph Kosma — popularized by Nat King Cole

THE ANONYMOUS EXECUTIONERS OF THE CORPORATE STATE

Imprisoning the David to Chevron's Goliath is the latest outrage by a US judiciary now engineered to always favor the interests of capital.

by Chris Hedges

Judge Loretta Preska, an advisor to the conservative Federalist Society, to which Chevron is a major donor, sentenced human rights attorney and Chevron nemesis Steven Donziger to six months in prison Friday for misdemeanor contempt of court after he had already spent 787 days under house arrest in New York.

Preska’s caustic outbursts — she said at the sentencing, “It seems that only the proverbial two-by-four between the eyes will instill in him any respect for the law” — capped a judicial farce worthy of the antics of Vasiliy Vasilievich, the presiding judge at the major show trials of the Great Purges in the Soviet Union, and the Nazi judge Roland Freisler who once shouted at a defendant,”You really are a lousy piece of trash!”

Donziger, a graduate of Harvard Law School, has been fighting against polluting American oil companies for nearly three decades on behalf of indigenous communities and peasant farmers in Ecuador. His only “crime” was winning a $9.5 billion judgment in 2011 against Chevron for thousands of plaintiffs. The oil giant had bought Texaco oil company holdings in Ecuador, inheriting a lawsuit alleging it deliberately discharged 16 billion gallons of toxic waste from its oil sites into rivers, groundwater, and farmland. Since the verdict, Chevron has come after him, weaponizing litigation to destroy him economically, professionally, and personally....

scheerpost.com/2021/10/06/the-anonymous-executioners-of-the-corporate-state/