Mendocino County Today: Monday, Dec. 6, 2021

Light Rain | Eel Search | Book Angels | Parks & Rec | Barn Sale | Braggset | 2021 Harvest | Bosco Debt | Fireversary | Hold PG&E | Old Boonville | Southern Hospitality | Boyles Camp | Property Crime | Engine #1 | Lost Musicians | Safety Test | Ed Notes | Bob Dole | Police Reports | Yesterday's Catch | IncarcerNation | Crab Price | Phone Prophet | Winter Tires | James Garfield | Relentless Messagers | Alcatraz Swim | Unnecessary Risk | Pink Slime | Schooldays | Delta Management | Facequest | Zero Covid | Gift Idea

LIGHT RAIN across the northwest California today. A series of shortwaves will bring another round of light rain on Wednesday and Thursday. Freezing temperatures are then anticipated Friday and Saturday morning, followed by a potential winter storm entering the region on Sunday. (NWS)

YOUTUBE SHOW HIGHLIGHTS THE CASE OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY HUNTER WHO WENT MISSING THIS OCTOBER IN NORTHERN MENDOCINO

kymkemp.com/2021/12/04/youtube-show-highlights-the-case-of-eureka-hunter-who-went-missing-this-october-in-northern-mendocino/

The Sheriff’s Office conducted another aerial search on 11-23-21 with mutual aid assistance from a CHP helicopter from Redding, California. The aerial search mainly focused on the Eel River from the reported campsite to approximately 15-20 miles downstream.

It is believed John Davis went missing in the swift water of the Eel River caused by the heavy storm as no signs of him were located in the extensive terrain/land search that lasted for several days after his initial disappearance.

The Sheriff’s Office began planning for another ground search based upon a clothing item and possible raft material that was noted during the 11-23-21 aerial search. Neither of these items had been specifically connected to John Davis as of 11-23-21 but the existence of the material gave the Sheriff’s Office interest in searching the areas of the Eel River by land where they were located.

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On 12-03-21 the Mendocino County Search & Rescue Team were able to deploy five Type 1 searchers that searched 8 miles of Eel River riverbed in the area of the items noted during the aerial search. Several items of debris were located which were not associated with John Davis. The items believed to have been raft material were actually remnants of orange trash bags commonly used by Caltrans for roadside trash removal. Searchers noted no signs of human foot/shoe prints in the sand near the waterline in the search area. This search area was downstream from the 8 Mile bridge on Highway 162.

The public should keep in mind that private property owners have rights that prevents people from unlawfully accessing their land. This also applies to Law Enforcement and mainly prevents us from accessing someone’s land without first getting owner consent, a search warrant or under exigent circumstances (emergency).

Search efforts will be continued as in-county resources are available and especially when signs of John Davis’ possible whereabouts exist.

JUST 10 DAYS LEFT TO BE A BOOK ANGEL. This is a great opportunity to get a book for a child that might not otherwise get a book for Christmas and as far as good deeds and spreading cheer for the holiday go, this is the best. Click here: gallerybookshop.com/book-angels to participate online or drop by the shop and check our display. And have a very happy Holiday.

AV PARKS & RECREATION NEEDS YOU!

Whether you may realize it or not, you and your family most likely benefit from the efforts of our AV Parks & Recreation Department. Was your child shooting goals this fall with AV Soccer? Have you tried the local Zumba classes or Karate with Brenda or Ballet at Studio SoBo yet? Or maybe you simply just love hanging out at our local Community Park (aka Airport Park or Health Center Park)? If so, YOU have enjoyed a service of our AV Parks & Rec. 

Under the broader umbrella of the AV Community Services District (which provides for our local Fire, Airport, etc.), the AV Parks & Recreation Department supports the recreational programs in our community, providing liability insurance as well as acting as a resource for establishing relationships between service providers and facility owners within Anderson Valley. AV Parks & Recreation is also establishing an official lease agreement with AVUSD to more formally take over responsibility for our local Community Park and we are working to secure a grant to begin improvements to the park including off street parking, new play structures and more.

We meet on the 3rd TUESDAYS of each month from 1-2pm and commitment can be as simple as attending those meetings in person or via Zoom. For those with a little more time and energy, you may also dedicate a few more hours a month towards developing plans for park improvements, coordinating programs for recreation, or other efforts to improve our community.

We'd love to have fresh energy and new ideas as we look to broaden the park and recreational services available here in Anderson Valley.

If you have ANY interest in joining us, please don't hesitate to reach out to me or simply come to our next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, December 14 @1pm at the AV Fire Department building in Boonville.

Thank you!

THE BOONVILLE BARN SALE, conducted by Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, will be open this coming weekend featuring Christmas items - ornaments, trees, lights and other types of holiday decorations - as well as all the usual assortment of items. Saturday 10 to 3 pm and Sunday, NOON to 3 pm. 12761 Anderson Valley Way. Look for signs and banners along 128. This will be the last sale until spring.

BOONVILLE BARN COLLECTIVE:

The 2021 harvest is complete - everything is in from the field, and we’ve got the final round of peppers hitting the dehydrator next week. As we start selling the 2021 harvest and start to dream about the New Year, it’s important for me to take a second and put the numbers down on a page to really grasp what we accomplished since harvest started in mid-August.

We harvested 23 tons of chile peppers (46,000 pounds of fresh chiles!) of 13 different varieties. Some will be for chile powders and some are saved for whole dried chiles headed your way in January.

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We grew 5 different kinds of dry beans and threshed all 1,351 pounds with our bike-powered bean thresher.

Despite the geese eating the plants over the summer, we brought in 335 pounds of popcorn.

As the chile harvest ramped up, we closed out a dismal strawberry season and sent the majority of our 132 flats of berries to The Apple Farm for their jam. Though a small harvest, the berries still tasted great.

A few weeks ago we harvested 1.7 tons of olives from our grove! We’ll have olive oil ready to go in February.

And we mowed down our chile plants, took out the weed cloth, planted cover crop, and fully put the fields to bed this week.

Honestly, no wonder we’re all so tired! Oof!

— Boonville Barn Collective

STATE SENATOR MIKE McGUIRE proudly announced last week that after months of work he has finally managed to make sure that former Northcoast Congressman Doug Bosco will be repaid for all the bogus “loans” Bosco made to himself via his defunct “railroad”/money laundering operation, the North Coast Railroad Authority. 

McGuire: “The Budget Act that was passed this year included two significant groundbreaking items related to the Great Redwood Trail. No. 1, it appropriated the last bit of funding needed to pay off the remaining debt from the North Coast Railroad Authority and it also added $10.5 million to pay for stepping up the master planning process of the Great Redwood Trail. The second piece that this budget paid for was it allocated $500 million for projects that will help us fight our climate crisis and advance non-motorized trails of statewide significance. This is a game-changer.”

Notice that McGuire mentions the specific amount of money being wasted on “master planning” and bogus “projects that will help us fight our climate crisis and advance non-motorized trails of statewide significance,” but fails to mention how much money Bosco is getting from the NCRA in “remaining debt.”

(Mark Scaramella)

MICHAEL WILSON reminds us that it was two years ago this week that Pic 'N Pay burned…

HOLD PG&E ACCOUNTABLE!

Tell PG&E to STOP Ravaging our Trees and FIX their Infrastructure Instead!

The Redwood Chapter of Sierra Club is leading a campaign to demand that PG&E stops ravaging our trees and instead invests in modern infrastructure that will greatly reduce wildfire risk. State leaders must hold PG&E accountable for its negligence.

addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/hold-pge-accountable-for-infrastructure-failure-in-wildfires

Why This Matters

PG&E’s antiquated infrastructure is vulnerable to high winds and its outdated lines create sparks that can turn into massive fire events. These fires have destroyed thousands of homes and other structures, killed people, forced hundreds of thousands of evacuations, and upended Californians’ lives. Modern technology can eliminate these risks even if a tree falls into a power line.

Yet, instead of upgrading to this modern infrastructure, PG&E has blamed the fires on trees! The utility has begun an assault on forested land by wholesale slaughter of trees near power lines, few of which actually pose a hazard. Trees sequester enormous amounts of carbon and are a vital line of defense against climate change. They should never be destroyed unnecessarily. This destruction also harms ecosystems and does NOT reduce fire hazard.

In addition, PG&E is not providing private landowners with notice, nor getting their permission, when encroaching onto their land to remove trees. Landowners have a right to refuse tree removal, even within PG&E’s right of way.

Not only has PG&E worked to divert attention from its own negligence, it has embarked on a propaganda campaign to blame the trees and gain public support for “enhanced vegetation management.” This tactic puts the cost on us, the ratepayers, whereas, if PG&E were to instead upgrade its infrastructure, the utility would have to pay for the improvements itself—a blow to shareholders. Ironically, it costs less to modernize the infrastructure than to do “enhanced vegetation management.”

Please join us in demanding that PG&E stop ravaging our trees and instead invest in modern infrastructure that will greatly reduce wildfire risk. We are asking state leaders to hold PG&E accountable for its negligence and misguided priorities.

Please add your name to show your support for this effort and to let your state regulatory and elected leaders know that PG&E must change its course of action.

Sign the Petition: tinyurl.com/signPGEpetition

(Liz@mcn.org)

ANOTHER OLD POSTCARD from Ebay, Boonville, California

FOLKS ARE FRIENDLY, BUT I’M FROM UKIAH

by Tommy Wayne Kramer

Many things were veiled in mystery while we first contemplated moving from Northern California to North Carolina, and a big one for wife Trophy was food.

“Chitlins?” she said one day. “Jowls? Are jowls from hogs, like the chinny-chin-chin part? Collard greens? Hush puppies?” Her voice would trail off and dissolve into whispers and groans. Trying to be helpful, I changed the subject. 

“Don’t forget,” I said cheerfully, “the South is where NASCAR got its start, and the Dale Earnhardt Museum is just up the road. There are racetracks all over the place, so it’ll be like Friday nights at the Ukiah Fairgrounds except louder. Beer’ll probably be cheaper too.” 

Faint comfort. I tried pointing out the swell climate and big gardens of the mid-south, the beautiful mansions, and that we could look forward to a slower, quieter pace of life.

“Slower than Ukiah?!?” she said. “Where are we going—-an old folks home? There aren’t any places slower than Ukiah,” she wailed. “Are there?” 

Someone told her about the chiggers, fire ants, snakes and reptiles. I saved the news about cockroaches to surprise her when we arrived, and she sure was. And together we learned local cockroaches are very large, and excellent fliers. 

We were also fascinated at how long it takes to get a large flying cockroach out of your hair, especially if you keep shrieking and jumping and running away from people who are trying to help.

Next it was southern weather, and I reminded her that worries about tornadoes, hurricanes and crocodiles were imaginary fears, at least compared to California droughts, wildfires, hippies and Democrats. 

It went on. Once you begin to contemplate moving, doubts and questions bubble up. No matter if it’s LA (“Seriously: Traffic jams at 3 a.m.?”) or Las Vegas (“Are you sure you can make a living betting on sports down there?”) or East Coma, Iowa (“It seems even slower than Ukiah. Is it an old folks home?”) nerves get rattled and the second-guessing begins. 

Best advice: Mull things over, talk to some friends, consult retirement magazines and throw a dart at a map. Our dart hit North Carolina. 

Your dart might miss the map altogether and stick in the sheetrock, or hit Fresno. Do-overs are permitted. 

Eventually, armed with our suspicions, ignorance, half-truths and three suitcases, we moved into our new house on a new street in a new town. New things bewildered us at times, but always in good ways.

Yes, prices are lower no matter when you reach for you wallet, although Bidenomics could end that by the time you finish this column. Kidding, ha ha, mostly.

So yeah, gas and food and real estate are trending at fractions (big fractions in some categories, modest fractions in others) compared to California. So far weather has been milder than Ukiah’s but could reverse itself quicker than climate change predictions in a roomful of meteorologists.

But something else in the South is fundamentally different and won’t change any time soon, unless a lot more Californians invade. People here are nicer. They are friendlier. They are more open and cheerful and helpful.

Last Sunday was the annual holiday parade that mingles Thanksgiving with Christmas and simultaneously mingles numerous townships, high schools, churches, civic clubs, and vehicles. A week prior, a woman who lives alone on the corner came to our house and asked if we’d please come to her holiday parade celebration next Sunday. Why of course!

We were flattered. Maybe 50 people arrived at Ann’s old brick home to sit on folding chairs, porch steps or the curb, and watch marching bands, horse-drawn buggies, fire engines, pretty girls waving from convertibles, uniformed Veterans marching in formation with rifles slung, high school football teams and cheerleaders, little kids on flatbed trucks throwing candy at scampering dogs, and tractors pulling bales of hay piled high with bigger kids on top throwing more candy. It lasted over an an hour.

Trophy agreed the potluck at Ann’s was A-1 and as varied as any we’ve had in California, and that the chatter was easier, more fluid. No one talked politics. She cornered an Australian construction guy (with a Southern accent) who remodels old houses; a gay couple invited us to drop by their house and see examples of his work. 

I spent a long time prying information from someone who (reluctantly) acknowledged being involved in surreptitious overnight auto racing from Florida through Georgia and into the Carolinas; prize money goes to families of slain police officers. It makes me want to ask Tom Liberatore to build me a souped-up T-Bird in his Talmage garage.

So yeah, on the one hand people are friendlier and nicer, but on the other hand so what? I’m not, and moving to the south won’t change me, much. My personality is a social deterrent, and walking six blocks to inspect a neighbor’s kitchen remodel ain’t likely. 

I’m fine living a semi-reclusive Ukiah-type existence, peeking between curtains at sidewalk passersby, avoiding much beyond “How ya doin’” when it comes to conversation, and happily paring back my Christmas card obligations a little more every season.

(And in 40-plus Ukiah years Tom Hine got to know neighbors mostly at a distance, seldom knew names of people living two or three houses away and rarely (never) entered their homes. No complainin’ just sayin’ things are different and mostly it’s TWK’s fault.)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE ‘REFORM’ VS PUBLIC SAFETY

by Jim Shields

Growing numbers of people are exasperated over the rise of property crimes across the state of California, and they attribute a lot of their frustration to so-called criminal justice reforms spurred by Assembly Bill 109, and Propositions 47 and 57.

In 2011 Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB 109 after the State of California was court-ordered to reduce its prison population. The new law aimed to keep low-level offenders in county jails instead of having them transferred to state prisons. Voters approved Props 47 and 57 in 2014 and 2016 respectively, which lowered some felonies to misdemeanors and expedited the parole process.

It doesn’t take a criminal justice expert to explain what’s happening on the crime front, including all these recent smash and grabs at brick-and-mortar stores like Nordstrom’s, Louis Vuitton’s, or Home Depot.

It starts and ends with:

• No-cash-bail judicial rulings;

• Catch-and-release arrest policies;

• Hands-off approaches by DA’s in some counties like San Francisco and Los Angeles to prosecute certain crimes or seek prior felony conviction enhancements — including for gun possession, gang membership and violating the “three strikes” law — that lengthen sentences when suspects are convicted; and

• Proposition 47, which among other things, established that crooks caught with someone else’s property with a value of less than $950 is charged with a misdemeanor rather than a felony.

As pointed out in a recent column by S.F. Examiner columnist C.W. Nevius, “But the way the proposition (Prop 47) is written, each offense has been treated separately. ‘So,’ a former high-ranking police officer said this week, ‘you could literally get caught stealing $949 worth of stuff a day and it never becomes a felony’. ”

Here in Mendoland we’re better off than most counties when it comes to basic and essential enforcement of the law, but statewide the mainstream media and a majority of politicians have been oblivious until now of all the chaos common folks have been forced to endure with some of the bone-headed “reforms” of the criminal justice system.

So what’s the answer?

Well, the litmus test is you know you’re on the wrong track if public safety and the order of society is threatened or actually worsened because of so-called criminal justice “reforms.”

We have more than enough problems in these times we live, so why create any more for ourselves.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about.

The Marina Times, a newspaper that does the best investigative reporting in San Francisco, just reported, In late October, Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Rafael Mandelman announced they were working with the sheriff and the Adult Probation Department to make changes to the city’s electronic monitoring program.

The use of electronic monitoring to reduce incarceration has expanded dramatically in the past four years. “The percentage of individuals out of custody and on alternative forms of incarceration like electronic monitoring increased from 37 percent in 2016 to 63 percent in 2020,” according to the mayor’s office.

However, the intended deterrent effect of the electronic monitoring has fallen short. “One out of every three people on pretrial electronic monitoring in San Francisco removes their ankle monitor or commits other crimes,” said Mandelman. “If one out of every three cells in our jail had broken locks we would do something about it.” He said the city needed to continue investing in alternatives to incarceration and ensure the effectiveness of those alternatives.

In response to a letter from Mandelman, the sheriff’s office released information showing a serious deficiency in the program. During the past year, 381 persons on electronic monitoring failed to comply with the terms of their release; 160 failed two times, 66 failed three times, 27 failed four times, four failed five times, three failed six times, two failed seven times, and one person failed nine times. In addition, many released on electronic monitoring were charged with such violent crimes as assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, child molestation, attempted murder, rape, robbery, and carrying a loaded gun.

There’s something else you should know.

Long before our time, people figured out that amongst us are others who, for whatever reason, are going to live outside the bounds of society, its order, and its laws.

That’s a decision that they make. But we also make a decision that that there are consequences for people who violate society’s laws.

As Nevius says in his piece, reform “is a noble thought. But when you have an offender getting arrested and convicted over and over, but serving almost no jail time, you’ve got a recipe for social disorder.”

The bottom line is that maintaining public safety and reasonable criminal justice reforms can be done at the same time, they aren’t mutually exclusive — and they keep our world in balance.

(Jim Shields is the Mendocino County Observer’s editor and publisher, observer@pacific.net, the long-time district manager of the Laytonville County Water District, and is also chairman of the Laytonville Area Municipal Advisory Council. Listen to his radio program “This and That” every Saturday at noon on KPFN 105.1 FM, also streamed live: http://www.kpfn.org.)

THE FABULOUS DYKETONES

Editor,

Tommy Wayne Kramer's diatribe about Ukiah's streets rang true. It reminded me of a night at the Caspar Inn. A band from Portland, The Fabulous Dyketones (pre-wokeness I guess) was playing. Because of the local lesbian community, I booked acts like this, but they always made me a little nervous since some, both entertainers and customers, could be a trifle “testy,” or, as a friend used to say “spring loaded in the pissed-off position.” I couldn't resist booking them: one of the photos in the promo kit showed them “butched out” with their instruments, in another they were all dressed “up” in puffy, frilly prom dresses with bows. 

When they showed up in the afternoon, one woman strode forward, shoved out her hand and said, “Hi, I'm Char, the head dyke.” I thought this could well be a truly fun night. It was.

The point being that later I asked her why it was that so many good bands came from Portland; Robert Cray, Curtis Salgado, Paul Delay, Lloyd Jones to name a few. She answered that all the streets ran parallel, 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc. and the cross streets were A, B, C etc; it was hard to get lost, so the musicians could find their gigs. 

Peter Lit

Elk

ED NOTES

I CHECKED with the only teenager I know, asking her if she suspected any of her classmates were possible school shooters. “Not in my school, but there have been like four lockdowns at my friend's school because of shooting threats. My school is very small and everyone there is smart.”

WHICH got a laugh out of me since a lot of the school shooters seem drawn from the high achiever end of the young psycho demographic.

GET ASKED THIS ONE often enough to foist its answer off on you, dear reader: "What’s publishing a newspaper like?"

THE GARRULOUS old coot replied, “Short answer? It's not coal mining circa 1920 but it does require some discipline. The job has been routinized, me with it, for many years. The daily schedule is reveille between 4 and 5, check the on-line daily edition for the more egregious errors, especially mine, gulping coffee as I go. Then I hit the road for 2-3-miles quick time, greeting the same two ladies every morning, Jan Wasson-Smith and Alicia Perez, who start an hour or so before me on AV Way. They walk out in the dark. Intrepid, they walk together. Sid Frazer drives past on his way to work at the Elementary School precisely at 6:50. (All us compulsives are alike.) Back in the bunker, shower and into my uniform, white or blue shirt, tie, brown trousers, the vague notion being the more or less formal garb seems to reassure visitors that the ava is indeed a business. Of sorts. Breakfast is granola mixed with an apple, a banana, non-nuked almonds, raisins, yogurt. It lasts me until noon or so. My colleague stumbles out into the work space about 9am, feeds his cat, talks to his cat, strokes his cat, gazes fondly at his cat then watches KRON news where the same woman screeches the overnight catastrophes at him. Most of the day is spent at the computer with the occasional phone call. (Nice thing about the internet is that most people now write rather than call. Can't think of anything else nice about the 'net. I've never liked talking on the phone, and answering it can mean too many minutes with a crazy person or a chronophage. (Chrono-time, phage-eat). Noon lunch is whatever my wife has packed for me. I'm strictly a food-as-fuel guy. Back to the computer. 15-20 minute nap after lunch. Back to the computer, maybe an hour of book reading if it's a slow day. Late afternoon, 300 push-ups in five sets of sixty each. (Got to stay fit enough to fight off unhappy readers.) Takes me about 20 to 30 minutes, depending. Not bragging here. Been doing push-ups for years, and that's not a big number given the years of doing them. If there's money on it I can do 80. Everything you need to do in the way of exercise can be done free. I don't understand gyms. The night shift consists of The Major and his cat. He puts together the cyber-paper between 10pm and midnight, and the paper-paper on Mondays before our self-imposed deadline of noon. Mike Kalantarian is early morning editor. He and I cyber-consult between 5 and 6am. There are only a few early morning hours every day of the week that the mighty ava is off duty. I turn in at 8pm, read until I'm carried off to sleep the sleep of the righteous, the just. Three of us push the daily rock up the hill. The Major and Mike do most of the real work and then some. The next day I repeat the previous day's schedule right down to the granola.

BOB DOLE

Bob Dole died today
Old Republican good guy
Dry as Kansas dust

— Jim Luther

BO GOT HIM IN ROUND TWO

On Sunday, November 28, 2021 at approximately 10:55 PM Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies were dispatched to a domestic disturbance in the 24000 block of East Lane in Covelo.

Deputies arrived at the location and contacted Jesse Wayne Davidson, 48, of Covelo, in front of the residence and an adult female inside the residence.

Deputies learned the adult female and Davidson were married and had a child in common but lived in separate locations in Covelo.

Earlier that day the adult female came home to find Davidson inside her residence and an argument ensued. Davidson refused to leave the residence and became more angry and began throwing balls from a pool table at her. Davidson then picked up a pool cue and broke it telling the adult female he was going to kill her.

They both began pushing each other and the adult female was able to get Davidson outside and she retreated back into the residence locking the door.

Deputies observed evidence of an altercation at the location to include pool balls thrown around and chairs along with other items tipped over.

Deputies determined Davidson had two active Mendocino County warrants for his arrest.

Deputies advised Davidson he was under arrest and he attempted to turn and run, while saying he was not going back to jail. Deputies grabbed a hold of Davidson's arm but he was able to pull away and run towards his truck.

Due to Davidson's behavior and other significant factors, Sheriff's K9 “Bo” was deployed to assist in the apprehension of Davidson.

Davidson ran passed his truck and jumped a fence into a horse pasture. K9 "Bo" was able to catch Davidson causing him to fall to the ground. Davidson was able to grab K9 Bo's collar and began choking the animal causing K9 "Bo" to loose consciousness momentarily.

Deputies approached and began trying to get Davidson to release his grip on K9 "Bo", while attempting to take him into custody.

Davidson's grip on K9 "Bo" was released and Davidson continued to physically resist the Deputies. Deputies continually gave verbal deescalation statements to Davidson requesting his compliance.

During this resistance, Davidson attempted to hit Deputies with his fists and elbows. Davidson bit one Deputy Sheriff on the left triceps, and the other Deputy Sheriff on the right hand causing visible injuries.

While continuing to physically control Davidson, K9 "Bo" recovered and reengaged Davidson who again tried to strangle the animal by using his legs this time.

The Deputies were eventually able to place Davidson in handcuffs and medical personnel were summoned to evaluate him. Davidson was subsequently transported to a local hospital for further evaluation/treatment.

Davidson was arrested for Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Criminal Threats, Willful Harm to a Police Animal, Resisting Law Enforcement with violence, Domestic Violence Battery, Violation of Probation and on the two arrest warrants.

Davidson was booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held in lieu of $150,000 bail.

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ON THE 16TH CALL… 

On Saturday, November 27, 2021 at approximately 8:30 P.M. Mendocino County Deputy Sheriff's were dispatched to a domestic dispute at an apartment complex in the 300 block of Brush Street in Ukiah.

Deputies were advised a male and female could be heard yelling and items were being thrown inside of the apartment.

Deputies have responded to this apartment no less than 15 times in the past several months for similar reports.

Upon arrival, Deputies could hear yelling coming from within the apartment.

Through the blinds, Deputies were able to see an adult male subject pointing and yelling at an adult female, and there were items strewn about the apartment.

The female adult, identified as Lateefah Glover, 40, of Ukiah, came to the window to speak with Deputies.

Deputies instructed Glover to open the front door in order to perform their investigation (suspected Domestic Violence incident) and she refused. Glover then closed the blinds and continued to refuse to open the front door.

Glover attempted to close the window, however the Deputy was able to hold the window open.

Glover then grabbed a rock that had been sitting on the window sill and raised it in her right hand as if she was going to strike or throw the rock at the Deputy. The rock was approximately the size of a softball.

The Deputy leaned forward to grab her arm holding the rock, and Glover dropped the rock and retreated further into the apartment.

The adult male Glover had been arguing with then emerged from a rear bedroom. Deputies observed the adult male had a scratch and fresh blood on his face. Deputies were able to convince the adult male to open the front door.

As the Deputies entered the apartment, Glover fell to the floor and curled up in the fetal position while tucking her hands under her body. Glover was advised she was under arrest, however she refused to follow any verbal commands.

The Deputies were eventually able to place Glover into handcuffs and under arrest.

The male subject denied any type of physical altercation between himself and Glover.

Glover was ultimately placed under arrest for Resisting or Threatening a Peace Officer and Brandishing a deadly weapon.

Glover was subsequently booked into the Mendocino County Jail where she was to be be held in lieu of $15,000 bail.

CATCH OF THE DAY, December 5, 2021

JOSHUA CHAMPION, Willits. Domestic battery.

WYATT HURT, Covelo. Felon-addict with firearm, ammo possession.

COLE ICKES, Fort Bragg. Trespassing-refusing to leave, probation revocation.

ERIC KOOYERS, Willits. Controlled substance, paraphernalia.

ELIA LEAU, Ukiah. DUI, no license. 

JUAN MARTINEZ-MATEO, Ukiah. DUI.

MICHAEL MURILLO, Post Falls, Idaho/Ukiah. DUI.

JEREMIAH RAY, Covelo. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, contempt of court.

DANIELLE ROMERO, Willits. Domestic battery.

DARIN SCOTT, Willits. Controlled substance, probation revocation.

LIAM SMITH, Willits. Failure to appear. 

LEONARD WILLIAMS, Covelo. Suspended license, failure to appear.

DUNGENESS CRAB PRICES TRIPLE 2020 LEVELS

by Isabella Vanderheiden

For the first time in years, Humboldt County fishermen began the North Coast commercial Dungeness crab fishing season on schedule on Dec. 1. After a devastating commercial season last year, local fishermen are finally catching a break and prices are up.

“Last year, we caught very little crab and we basically sold all of our crab off the dock to the public just to get a better price to make ends meet,” said Patrick Burns, owner of Comet Fisheries. “This season, the price is about three times as much for crab in comparison to last year, one of the highest prices that we’ve gotten in an opener which makes a huge difference.”

However, Burns said he has already seen a decrease in numbers.

“It’s been mediocre for us this year so far. It’s not great, but it’s definitely a lot better than it was last year,” he said. “My prediction is the price will continue to go up, so even catching less crab we will still be able to make money. That really makes a difference because of the tremendous inflation we are seeing for fuel and parts. Everything is not only expensive but also scarce. There was a shortage of buoys this year and a lot of things were difficult to get ahold of.”

The 2021 Dungeness crab fishing season follows several years of delays to the season opener, generally associated with high levels of domoic acid in crab meat in addition to the presence of southbound migrating whales.

High levels of domoic acid found in Dungeness crabs during the 2015-16 season caused a six-month season delay on the North Coast and triggered the federal government to declare a fisheries disaster.

“Crab quality and domoic acid presence have been an issue in years past,” said California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Jordan Traverso. “In the northern regions, north of the Sonoma/Mendocino county line, the season can be delayed for marine life presence (only the past couple years — monitored by aerial surveys), crab quality and/or domoic acid presence.”

Additionally, the season was delayed due to pricing, which “we had nothing to do with that,” Traverso noted. “There was one point where we had recommended opening seven days earlier than it did, but the fleet and working group asked us to stay closed,” she said.

In the last three years, Susan Rotwein, owner of Cap’n Zach’s Crab House in McKinleyville, said litigation and new regulations from the Department of Fish and Wildlife involving migrating whales severely impacted the industry.

“The regulation surrounding migrating whales has really been devastating and unbalanced in terms of the fishery,” she said. “…The first year that we were shut down (in 2019), we only had an eight-week season because of litigation. The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the result was that the Attorney General and the California Fish and Wildlife did not protect the Dungeness crab fishery and the fishing fleet. They basically threw us under the bus.”

That’s when the fleet ended up with an eight-week season as opposed to a nine-month season, Rotwein said.

“It was very sudden. Just imagine, someone says, ‘Hey, in 30 days, actually three weeks, you can no longer work or make a living. I know you had plans to until the middle of next summer but sorry, you can’t.’ That’s when the story began with the impacts, the litigation and regulation on the fishery,” she said. “Things are moving along on time for us right now but we have to put it in the big picture perspective.”

That being said, Rotwein said starting the season off with a fair price and high demand will only help the fleet.

“It’s a good start and I look forward to a long season,” she said. “…We’re really fortunate here on the North Coast to have such wonderful resources with the Dungeness crab fishery and other fisheries. We are really blessed that we’re able to harvest and provide to our local communities.”

Larry Oetker, executive director of the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District wished the fleet a successful and safe season.

“It is great to see all the crab boats go out at the start of the season, on time, with fair weather, and plenty of crab to catch. We encourage people to come to Woodley Island Marina and buy fresh local crab off the boat,” he said.

If the commercial season goes as planned, it will continue through the summer and wrap up on July 15 north of the Mendocino County line.

More information on the Dungeness crab fishing season can be found at wildlife.ca.gov.

(Eureka Times-Standard)

I REFUSE TO PUT ON WINTER TIRES because:

It’s my car, my choice, my freedom.

The effectiveness of winter tires is not proven, except by studies carried out by the manufacturers (you amaze me).

My neighbor Robert had an accident after putting on his winter tires.

Some are already on their third set of tires, which proves their ineffectiveness.

We do not know what they are made of.

The tire giants scare us with winter just to enrich themselves.

In fact, the tire giants invented snow and spread it at night when you sleep.

If I have tires, the government can track me in the snow.

Educate yourself, open your eyes, stop being sheep!

This year, winter tires, I say no!

— Lila Vaccher

FROM JAMES A. GARFIELD'S DIARY, DECEMBER 2, 1859: 

“A dark day for our country. John Brown is to be hung at Charleston, Va. I have no language to express the conflict of emotion in my heart. I do not justify his acts. By no means. But I do accord to him, and I think every man must, honesty of purpose and sincerity of heart.

When I reflect upon his devoted Christian character, his love of freedom drawn from God's Word, and from his Puritan ancestors, his sufferings in Kansas, his bold and daring courage, mixed with mercy, the humane purpose of his heart in going to Virginia, his gallant treatment of those he had in his power, his neglect of his own safety, his frankness on the trial, his coolness and undisturbed serenity when the terrible sentence was pronounced… himself, a gray-haired veteran standing on the fatal scaffold surrounded as he is at this moment by 2,000 American soldiers, and to ensure his death no friends to stand by him, who is about to die because his heart beat was oppressed--when I remember all this, it seems as though God's warning angel would sound through that infatuated assembly the words of a patriot of other and better days, the words ‘I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and his Justice will not always slumber.’

Brave man, Old Hero, Farewell. Your death shall be the dawn of a better day. Servitium esto damnatum [slavery be damned].”

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(ms NOTES: James A. Garfield, “the last of the log cabin Presidents,” was 28 years old in 1859 and, having graduated from Williams College in Massachussett three years earlier in 1856, had just been elected to the Ohio State Senate where he served one term. In 1862 he became an Army General but President Lincoln soon persuaded him to resign his commission and he was soon elected to Congress where he was re-elected time and again serving for 18 years and becoming Republican Leader in the House before being nominated and elected President in 1880. On July 1881 in a Washington DC railway station “an embittered attorney who had sought a consular post shot the President, but he died from a subsequent infection and internal bleeding on September 19, 1881.)

According to a review of “Dark Horse” by Capitol Hill veteran Kenneth Ackerman, the book covers “James Garfield's 1880 dark horse campaign after the longest-ever Republican nominating convention, his victory in the closest-ever popular vote for president, his struggle against bitterly feuding factions once elected, and the public's response to his assassination. It is the most dramatic presidential odyssey of the Gilded Age - and among the most momentous in our nation's history. This journey through political backrooms, dazzling convention floors, and intrigue-filled congressional and White House chambers, reveals the era's decency and humanity as well as the sharp partisanship that exploded in the pistol shots of assassin Charles Guiteau, the disgruntled patronage-seeker eager to replace the elected Commander-in-Chief with one of his own choosing.”

BIDEN’S TROUBLES AREN’T BERNIE’S FAULT OR A MEDIA MIRAGE

Another week, another round of editorials trying to explain away reality.

by Matt Taibbi

A recent column by Colbert King in the Washington Postread as follows:

“A president and Congress seen united and fighting for people will be a team that gets rewarded at the polls. Accomplishing that calls for less selfish and self-serving political behavior — from Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — and more care toward making life better for Americans.”

Entitled, “Where Will Democratic Infighting Lead? History’s Answer is Clear,” King’s piece essentially blames Bernie Sanders for the recent Supreme Court thinking on abortion. Intramural debate, which he calls “infighting,” lead in his mind to poor electoral results for mainstream Democrats, who for all their other faults are consistent on the abortion issue and therefore deserve the frictionless political existence Sanders denied them. 

King’s piece is penned as a warning, that not only Republican opposition “inspired by Trump” but “left-wing complaints of ‘corporate Democrats’ beholden to corrupt businesses, Big Pharma and the ultra-wealthy” have left Joe Biden with “slumping poll numbers.” As a result, he says, “Joe Biden is on the path to a one-term presidency.”

On the same day, in the same paper, Dana Milbank wrote an editorial, apparently not intended as satire, entitled, “The media treats Biden as badly as — or worse than — Trump. Here’s proof.” After listing headlines like “Does the WH owe Larry Summers an apology?” and “No BIF bump for Biden” as anecdotal evidence of this savagery, Milbank turned to the hard “proof”: data from a company called “FiscalNote.” The firm did a “sentiment analysis” of 200,000 articles and apparently found that “Biden’s press for the past four months has been as bad as — and for a time worse than — the coverage Trump received for the same four months of 2020.”

I struggle to conceive of the brain that would believe such a thing to be true, but that’s a separate matter. Milbank believed it, and concluded, “My colleagues in the media are serving as accessories to the murder of democracy.” 

From there, I scrolled in search of the inevitable, “Freedom of the press is good, but” passage. It was three paragraphs down:

“We need a skeptical, independent press. But how about being partisans for democracy? The country is in an existential struggle between self-governance and an authoritarian alternative…”

Five years ago this month, media figures were struggling to process the evidence of limitations on their authority suggested by Donald Trump’s election. Instead of coming to terms with the fact that political moods rise from the ground up, and aren’t dictated by people writing and speaking from places like New York and Washington, colleagues convinced themselves that 2016 was their fault, for not “calling Trump out” enough. The people needed more of their wisdom, not less.

So they doubled and tripled down, soon congratulating themselves for substituting terms like “lie” for “untruth” and “white supremacist” for “racist” or “race-baiting,” and so on. The industry across the next four years then produced a spiraling, awesome mass of the most negative political writing ever penned in English, the op-ed equivalent of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It had almost no effect on Trump’s fortunes. If anything, the evidence pointed the other way: if four years of relentless messaging about Trump’s racism had an effect, his gains among every ethnicity except white males in 2020 didn’t seem to show it. 

Still, people like Milbank think headlines like “Dems start to face the hard questions” murder democracy, and the Colbert Kings of the world believe reports of Bernie Sanders asking for child care and lower prescription drug prices will Jimmy-Carterize Biden.

The president’s poll numbers are slumping, and the near-universal reaction in Washington has been to assume a disconnect somewhere. Polls also show a 12-point jump in the number of people who feel pessimistic about the economy. How could that be, it is wondered, since the number of jobless claims recently dropped to the lowest levels in 52 years? Answer, according to Milbank: even those numbers were presented to the public in some press reports with BUT BUT BUT qualifiers, telling readers not to expect that they’ll change people’s opinions. 

Conventional wisdom says such poll numbers should go up once a major legislative initiative like the infrastructure bill passes. When the numbers didn’t go up enough, the immediate assumption was that the public didn’t hear about the infrastructure bill, or what they heard was insufficiently laudatory. No other explanation was considered. 

You know when people feel have negative perceptions of the economy? Usually, when they don’t have enough money. Maybe the jobless claim figures don’t matter as much because the jobs gained aren’t good ones. Or maybe people read the aforementioned Larry Summers saying “a jolt is what is required” to restore “credibility” at the Fed, which would confirm every suspicion ordinary people will have gained from experience in recent decades, i.e. that whenever the economy is allowed to run hot for a while, belt-tightening is eventually called for by “responsible people” to pay for the gains above. It could be they’re guessing what’s coming, and not without reason. 

Maybe news doesn’t travel from Washington outward. Maybe it goes the other way, from the real world in, which would make something like listening a better approach than telling. Or is five straight years of getting things wrong not enough?

GIVE 'EM THE BOUNCE

Editor: 

Several articles have reported that some military personnel refuse to be vaccinated for COVID-19. Military personnel who refuse to be vaccinated should be discharged; they demonstrate an unwillingness to watch each other’s back. Where is the cohesiveness in that? 

I grew up benefiting from vaccinations that protected me, my family and friends from avoidable disease. A crucial factor was that we saw ourselves as part of a community. We were the children of Americans in U.S. government service overseas. We understood that we did not have the right to inflict disease on each other. 

More broadly, to the people who insist on not being vaccinated, I say, fine, don’t get vaccinated, but keep your distance. I’ll wear my mask to protect you. Nonetheless, I don’t want the stress of breathing your exhaled air in the workplace. I don’t want to second-guess whether by doing my job I am unreasonably risking the health of my family. 

Not getting one’s shots is the equivalent of smoking in the vicinity of explosives. Someone might get away with it repeatedly. However, insisting on incurring an unnecessary risk doesn’t confer a right to take the lives of others. 

John Kozlowski

Santa Rosa

JAMIE OLIVER WINS AGAINST McDONALD'S

McDonald's loses the legal battle with chef Jamie Oliver, who proved that the food they sell is not fit to be ingested because it is highly toxic.

According to Oliver, the fat parts of meat are "washed" with ammoniac hydrogen and then used in the packaging of the meat "cake" to fill the burger. Before this process, according to the presenter, already this meat was not suitable for human consumption. 

Oliver, a radical activist chef, who has waged a war against the food industry, says: We’re talking about meat that would be sold as dog food and after this process it’s served to humans. In addition to the quality of meat, ammonium acid is harmful to health. Oliver says this: "The process of the pink shit". 

What sane human being would put a piece of meat soaked in ammonium hydrogen in the mouth of a child? 

In another of his initiatives Oliver has demonstrated how chicken nuggets are made: after selecting the "best parts", the rest: fat, skin, cartilage, visuals, bones, head, legs, are subjected to a mec split smoothie canica - it's the euphemism that engineers use in food, and then that blood pink paste is deodorant, bleached, re-refreshed and repainted, dipped in flour and fried melcocha, this is left in usually partially hydrogenated oils, that is, toxins. 

The food industry uses ammonium hydrogen as an anti-microbial agent, which allowed McDonald's to use meat in its burgers, which is not suitable for human consumption. 

But even more disturbing is the situation that these substances based on ammonium hydrogen are considered 'lawful components in the production process' in the food industry with the blessings of health authorities worldwide. So consumers will never be able to discover what substances they put in our food. 

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ED NOTE (via SNOPES): This report is true, but no longer current. Mr. Oliver’s (and others’) efforts got McDonald’s to stop the practice. Snopes: "These claims are partially true. However, what none of the recent articles (including the one above) makes clear is that Oliver’s media campaign against the use of ammoniated beef took place in 2011, and McDonald’s and other large restaurant chains (including Taco Bell and Burger King) stopped using the product later that same year."

AS DROUGHT CONTINUES, Department of Water Resources Announces Plan To Suspend Delta Water Quality Standards

by Dan Bacher

As the three latest fish surveys on the Delta reveal that the Delta smelt is virtually extinct in the wild, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) today announced an initial State Water Project (SWP) allocation of 0 percent for state water contractors in 2022, with the exception of certain health and safety needs. [image: California sacramento delta]

*Photo courtesy of Department of Water Resources*

DWR also announced several steps to “manage the state’s water supply” in anticipation of a third dry year with reservoirs at or near historic lows, including the submission by DWR and the Bureau of Reclamation of a new Temporary Urgency Change Petition (TUCP) to the State Water Resources Control Board that suspends Delta water quality standards and delaying the removal of the Emergency Drought Salinity Barrier in the Delta.

The announcement comes after record rainfall drenched areas of Northern California during a historic “bomb cyclone” on October 24-25,” followed by over a month of little or no rain, depending on the region.

The announcement also comes after Food & Water Watch and dozens of other environmental, public health and justice advocacy organizations sent a letter to Governor Newsom urging him to “end corporate abuse of water from industrial factory farms, fossil fuels and bottled water companies.”

“Given the unprecedented drought conditions, the SWP’s initial allocation for December 1 will focus on the health and safety needs for 2022 of the 29 water agencies that contract to receive SWP supplies,” according to DWR. “DWR has advised these water agencies to expect an initial allocation that prioritizes health and safety water needs and that the SWP will not be planning water deliveries through its typical allocation process until the state has a clearer picture of the hydrologic and reservoir conditions going into the spring.”

DWR said it focused on prioritizing water supply in four categories: “water for health and safety needs and Delta salinity control; water for endangered species; water to reserve in storage; and water for additional supply allocations if the hydrology allows.”

“Despite a wet start to the water year, conditions have dried out since that first storm and we are still planning for a below-average water year. That means we need to prepare now for a dry winter and severe drought conditions to continue through 2022,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “We will be working with our federal partners and SWP contractors to take a conservative planning approach to balance limited water supplies with the needs of residents, businesses, and the environment.”

“It is going to take a multi-pronged approach to successfully respond to these unprecedented drought conditions,” claimed Nemeth. *Food and Water Watch: Water Allocation System Must Be Revisited*

In response to the water allocation announcement, Food & Water Watch California Director Alexandra Nagy said, “The Newsom administration’s announcement serves as a potent reminder of how dire this drought is and the need for immediate action to preserve the water we have for the people who need it most.”

“Conservation measures are necessary, but so is a reevaluation of our water allocation system. Instead of mining our already scarce groundwater, we must accelerate groundwater sustainability plans and cut off water supplies to chronic corporate abusers like fossil fuel interests, industrial agriculture and bottled water companies. The freshwater used by the oil and gas industry alone could provide billions of gallons of water to homes in need. Water is a human right. It’s time California acted like it,” she said.

She noted that new research compiled by Food & Water Watch around the state’s biggest water abusers reveals the oil and gas industry used more than 3 billion gallons of freshwater between January 2018 and March 2021 that could otherwise have supplied domestic systems.

Likewise, she said 80 percent of the state’s water goes to agribusiness, including heavy water users like almonds. In 2019, more than 60 percent of almonds produced in California were exported, rerouting 910 billion gallons of water out of the state for corporate profit.

“Additionally, alfalfa uses a huge share of California’s agricultural water at 16 percent and occupies 1 million irrigated acres in the state. More than 1.5 trillion gallons of water are needed for alfalfa irrigation or more than enough water to provide the daily recommended water needs (55 gallons per person per day) for every Californian for over a year,” she said.

Groundwater accounts for 30 percent of water used by California agriculture in wet years, and in dry years groundwater accounts for “a staggering 80 percent,” according to the report. *Restore the Delta: DWR and Reclamation seek to do away with Delta water quality standards*

Barbara Barrigan-Parilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta, slammed DWR and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BuRec) for “seeking once again to do away with Delta water quality standards and planning to leave in place a major saltwater barrier that will hamper fish migration.”

She said DWR and BuRec have submitted a new Temporary Urgency Change Petition (TUCP) to the State Water Resources Control Board that suspends Delta water quality standards. DWR is also delaying the removal of the Emergency Drought Salinity Barrier in the Delta.

“The rock barrier across West False River was scheduled to be removed by November 30. However, DWR will now leave the barrier in place and create a notch in the barrier in January 2022 to allow for fish passage and boat traffic until April 2022,” said Barrigan-Parrilla.

“It is beginning to feel as if the Newsom Administration’s Department of Water Resources should mark out the Delta with a big red X and be done with it. Clearly, they have no interest in saving the estuary or protecting water quality conditions for the 4 million people who live in the region,” she stated.

“While Governor Newsom and DWR cannot make it rain, Californians still need real water solutions for a climate that has already changed,” said Barrigan-Parrilla. “Their solution so far? Persist with the Delta tunnel folly and cut deals with huge irrigation districts even though industrial ag contributes only 2-3% to the state’s gross domestic product. Meanwhile, this plan harms Delta communities, rivers, fisheries, tribes, and “second” cities like Stockton. Those backroom voluntary agreements are all about filling a Delta tunnel with plenty of water for big ag and speculative development. Meanwhile, Delta water quality protections are suspended.

“At a recent meeting at Metropolitan Water District, California Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot misrepresented the plight of farmworkers during the 2014-15 drought claiming 1.5 million layoffs. Documentation from Dr. Jeff Michael during that time shows that farm worker jobs actually increased, as did pay. Acreage and yields for almonds have also expanded every year, including last year.

But Crowfoot continues with the false narrative to justify water giveaways to big ag. Never mind the Delta ag economy and other economies tied to the Delta.

“The Newsom Administration claims to care about drinking water community needs, yet the growers, who have pumped their groundwater supplies dry, who have polluted San Joaquin Valley drinking water wells, demand more and more water from the Delta for their almond trees. Figuring out how to manage our limited water supply for climate change should be one of the top priorities for this administration — before building a tunnel to serve big water interests.

“For 2022, they will gut water quality standards in the Delta to feed the beast, special interest control of California water and the political donor class. The Newsom Administration manages the system for venture capital almonds and the Metropolitan Water District — not the people, the Delta, or California’s public trust resources.” *Fishery Biologist: Delta Smelt are “likely virtually extinct in the wild” *

For the past three years, no Delta smelt, once the most abundant fish in the entire Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, have been found in California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Fall Midwater Trawl survey.

None have been found in the first two months of the four-month survey this year either: *Countdown to Extinction: ZERO delta smelt found in October Midwater Trawl Survey for fourth year.

On November 14, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) fishery biologist Tom Cannon in his California Fisheries Blog reported that two other surveys on the Delta have turned up similar results for the Delta smelt: 

www.calsport.org/

“The Enhanced Delta Smelt Monitoring (EDSM) caught only 1 Delta smelt in 2200 smelt-targeted net tows in 2021,” wrote Cannon. “This compares to 49 captured in 2020 and hundreds in prior years. None were captured in the Spring Kodiak Trawl 2021 survey (Figure 1). This year’s results indicate that Delta smelt are likely virtually extinct in the wild.”

The virtual extinction of Delta smelt in the wild is part of a greater ecosystem crash caused by massive water exports to corporate agribusiness interests in the San Joaquin Valley, combined with toxics, declining water quality and invasive species in the Delta, the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas.

The pro-agribusiness policies that have resulted in the demise of Delta smelt, winter-run Chinook salmon and other fish species are the result of deep regulatory capture of the Governor’s Office, California Legislature and regulatory agencies and commissions by San Joaquin Valley corporate agribusiness interests like the Resnicks, owners of the Wonderful Company, and the Westlands Water District.

For example, Stewart and Lynda Resnick, billionaire agribusiness tycoons and major promoters of the Delta Tunnel and increased water pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, have donated a total of $366,800 to Governor Gavin Newsom since 2018, including $250,000 to the campaign to fight the Governor’s recall.

These latest donations are not the only donations given to Newsom’s campaigns by the Resnicks since 2018. Newsom received a total of $755,198 in donations from agribusiness in the 2018 election cycle, based on the data from www.followthemoney.org. That figure includes a combined $116,800 from Stewart and Lynda Resnick and $58,400 from E.J. Gallo, combined with $579,998 in the agriculture donations category.

Between 1967 and 2020, the state’s Fall Midwater Trawl abundance indices for striped bass, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, American shad, splittail and threadfin shad have declined by 99.7, 100, 99.96, 67.9, 100, and 95 percent, respectively, according to Bill Jennings, Executive Director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA).

“Taken as five-year averages, the declines for striped bass, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, American shad, splittail and threadfin shad are 98.1, 99.8, 99.8, 26.2, 99.3 and 94.3 percent, respectively,” said Jennings.

The diversion and export of water for Central Valley agribusiness interests during a drought has also had a huge impact on imperiled Sacramento River salmon populations, just as it has had on driving the Delta smelt to become virtually extinct in the wild.

Not only did nearly all of the endangered winter run Chinook salmon juveniles perish due to warm water conditions in the Sacramento River this year, but the majority of adult spring-run Chinook salmon on Butte Creek perished before spawning this year, due to an outbreak of disease in low and warm water conditions: *Fishery biologist Tom Cannon: Delta smelt are “likely virtually extinct in the wild”

OMICRON — SPAWN FROM THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF DEATH

by Dr. Nayvin Gordon

Politicians from President Biden to California Governor Newsom boast that they are following the science regarding Covid-19, and have also said that a new variant, like Omicron, was predicted and inevitable. Why is it inevitable? Because politicians have failed to follow the science! Against all public health scientific advice, politicians have removed most public health mandates and allowed Covid to spread across the land. We have been told that we must live with the virus. The government has deliberately failed to protect us. We have been repeatedly told that it would be “too costly” to protect us utilizing the public health strategy of mass testing, isolation, quarantine, and paid support for workers while schools and businesses are closed to stop transmission. Democratic and Republican politicians have repeatedly stated that they will not do this; they will not stop the spread of the virus even as one million adults and almost 1,000 children have died from Covid-19 in the U.S. 

What is not being widely publicized is that Covid infections, no matter if asymptomatic or symptomatic, cause significant damage to the body of MOST people infected. The virus causes the body to create antibodies against its own organs and against the immune system, weakening the body, creating conditions for further illness, INFECTIONS, and disability. 

Long-Covid-19 is only one result of this damage to the body. Already more than 50 million people in the U.S. have been infected leading to a HIGH RISK FOR internal bodily damage. The longer transmission continues, millions more will suffer long-term effects. Covid-19 is in the same beta coronavirus group that caused prior coronavirus pandemics; MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Scientists have demonstrated long-term disabilities in lung, function, brain function, and fatigue for up to 15 YEARS after infection with MERS or SARS!

We have been told that vaccines alone are the magic bullet to get us out of the pandemic. Yes, existing vaccines protect against severe disease and death but do not prevent becoming infected and transmitting the virus. Increased transmission means more infections, more mutations, and a greater chance of variant vaccine escape like Omicron.

Given the failure to follow the science, the pandemic will continue and new variants will arise. Transmission of Covid-19 can only be stopped by implementing public health restrictions PLUS VACCINES. This strategy has been successful in Taiwan and China for over two years. China, with a population of 1.4 billion people, has eliminated outbreaks and had only 4,636 deaths. Taiwan with a population of 24 million has had only 848 deaths and has eliminated the virus. This is known as a policy of Zero-Covid. This strategy can be implemented around the world to ensure everyone is safe from the virus.

Protecting the population from a preventable disease is clearly not a priority for U.S. politicians who are directing a political economy of death and disease. They have allowed one million to die and over 50 million more to become infected with Covid-19. The brutal truth is that the people’s health is of little value, we are expendable. We have been repeatedly told, it is just too costly, “the cure can’t be worse than the disease”. Trillions of dollars have been freely spent on the military/war industry and propping up zombie corporations on Wall Street, but there is no money to stop a preventable infectious disease.

This profit-driven political economy, sacrificing millions to the demon of greed, must be abolished and replaced by an egalitarian society -- social, economic, and political equality for all. We desperately need a movement that demands above all else -- protecting the health and lives of the working class. Let’s get organized to fight for Zero-Covid. 

Dr. Nayvin Gordon can be reached at: gordonnayvin@bennetthomerepairyahoo-com