Mendocino County Today: Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Cold Nights | Mendocino 58 | Zelenskyy Tour | Ukraine Fighter | Response Funding | Empty Container | Museum Bus | Gas Price | Bosco Idea | Pomo Land | THP Tour | What Year? | Thistle Pull | Dave Goes | Ed Notes | Tech Number | Yesterday's Catch | Ripped Van Winkle | Refugees | Mothers Meet | Bird Habitat | Wilson Alexander | Pop Lectures | Homecoming | Romantic Comedy | Zelenskyy/Putin | Closet Note | Psychpop Creep | Celebrate Women | Prisoner Broken | Reasoning Animal | Easy Exercises | Shell Game | New Shoes | Entire Focus | Oak Grove | Weekend Events | Andrew Problem | School News

OVERNIGHT LOWS begin another cooling trend the next couple of nights, bottoming out Wednesday night. Dry weather persists through the work week, with the next chance for precip possibly occurring next weekend. (NWS)

CLOSER AND CLOSER: Ukraine’s president on Monday emerged from his bunker in Kyiv and returned to the presidential palace, declaring: “I am here, I am not hiding, and I am not afraid of anyone.” Volodymyr Zelensky, 44, gave his Facebook audience a tour of the palace, joking: “We used to say Monday, Monday is a hard day. But it is war in our country, so every day is a hard day.” He told the embattled country, on day 12 of the Russian invasion: “We are all in our places working, where we should be. My team is in Kyiv with me. … We are all fighting, we are all contributing to our victory which will surely happen.” Zelensky, in an interview with ABC News, then warned the West that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was a “beast” who would not stop at devouring only Ukraine. Describing Ukraine as a “zone of freedom,” the former actor said: “And when the limits of rights and freedoms are being violated and stepped on, then you have to protect us. We will come first. You will come second. Because the more this beast will eat, he wants more, more, and more.” The Ukrainian president, who spoke to Joe Biden for 40 minutes on Saturday night, once again urged the U.S. to agree to enforce a no-fly zone above his country. Such a move would see fighter jets from the United States and its NATO allies patrolling the air space above Ukraine, and shooting down any Russian jets that enter — effectively putting the West at war with Russia, in World War Three. (Daily Mail)

FORT BRAGG’S NEW DUAL RESPONSE PROGRAM

by John Naulty, Fort Bragg Chief of Police, March 7, 2022

The Fort Bragg Police Department for several years has received emergency calls involving individuals living with mental illnesses, an estimated 60% increase. These types of calls are time consuming, with a department who has been working with limited personnel, this draws from pro-active enforcement. 

In October of 2021, Captain O’Neal drafted a plan for the Fort Bragg Police Department to deploy social workers to address service calls that require assistance from professionals educated in mental health illnesses. In the plan, the social workers would also act as caseworkers to assist with court appearances and navigate the social services programs available. The purpose of the plan is to provide additional support to our Police Department, assistance would also assist with the Emergency Winter Shelter in which the police department is currently handling as well as the future Respite Center. As with development of any program funding is always a setback. 

In December of 2021, the police department learned of a funding grant for this type of program we were seeking. With assistance from city of Fort Bragg Grant Coordinator, Nancy Bond, she began the task to apply for this funding through the California Department of Health Care Services’ Behavioral Health Justice Intervention Services (BHJIS) program. The BHJIS program offers public and private agencies funding to prevent individuals living with mental health illnesses from entering and remaining in the criminal justice system. 

In February 2022 the Fort Bragg Police Department was notified by the BHJIS program that the requested funding was awarded to the department to establish this program. The funding received is allotted to cover the salaries of two social workers and the purchase of a response vehicle. 

The department is currently identifying internal staff members to assist Captain O’Neal with developing and implementing the hiring process for two social workers, who will work from the police department as well as respond to calls for service with officers. 

The Police Department would like to thank Mayor Bernie Norvell, Councilperson Lindy Peters, and a special thanks to Nancy Bond who spent numerous hours with research and drafted a grant in which we have been awarded. This Grant award was a team effort by all. We look forward to implementing this program so that proper professional aid can be provided to those in need. 

Questions regarding this program may be directed to Captain O’Neal at toneal@fortbragg.com. 

BETH SWEHLA: Did you purchase one of these Bloom containers at Costco?

If your tulips are finished and you do not want the container, I would be happy to have it for a classroom project. Thanks!

BUS TRIP TO SF EXHIBIT: SIGN UP BY MARCH 15

On Saturday, April 2, the Grace Hudson Museum offers a day-long outing from Ukiah to San Francisco’s de Young Museum to visit the important and locally relevant exhibit, “Jules Tavernier and the Elem Pomo.” 

Organized by the de Young along with New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the show includes roughly a dozen items from the Grace Hudson Museum’s collections of Pomo basketry and material culture. 

The outing runs from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The bus departs from and returns to the Civic Center in Ukiah. Tickets are $100 per person and include: 1) round-trip bus transportation; 2) admission to the de Young Museum; 3) a complimentary copy of the 48-page color illustrated exhibition book. 

The deadline for registration is March 15. 

Pre-registration is essential, as the event could cancel if enrollment is too low. 

To purchase tickets, click here, go to the Museum website at www.gracehudsonmuseum.org and scroll down to the Bus Trip announcement, or call the Museum during open hours at (707) 467-2836.

Proof of vaccination and mask will be required before boarding the bus in Ukiah.

A READER WRITES: Bosco’s got a new idea....

…and it’s not a bad one!

Since the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) was shut down about four years ago there have been a number of proposals for what should happen with the property. What started out as an idea to house the homeless mushroomed into the current proposal to build a hotel and 900-1000 homes on the property. Some homes would be low income, of course! 

sonomanews.com/article/news/permit-sonoma-releases-new-proposal-for-sdc/

A project of this scope has been rejected by the surrounding residents, though that doesn’t mean the project is dead in the water. The main issue for rejecting the plan is the fact that the entire area is serviced by two lane roads. Not only would the 3000 +/- new residents put a strain on the existing roads, in the event of an emergency the roads would be virtually impassable. During the fire storms, starting with the 2017 Tubbs fire and resulting Complex fires and again a couple of years later, Oakmont residents were issued a mandatory evacuation order. Oakmont is home to over 4,000 residents and the evacuation did not go well because Highway 12 is the only exit from the enormous subdivision. 

Another large housing development nine miles from Oakmont would absolutely cripple Highway 12 in the event of an emergency. 

Bosco’s idea is to create a climate change research facility at the old SDC site. It would employ around 1000 people. If everyone did not work the same shift the impact to the roads would be far less in an emergency. Doing something, any thing, to promote bettering the climate is a positive idea. I don’t doubt that Bosco will find some way “better” himself, too, but his idea seems like the lesser of the evils that have been proposed so far. 

JDSF WALK AND TALK in Caspar 500 THP with Special Guests

Mendocino County, CA – The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) invites the community to join JDSF staff members and Special Guests from CALFIRE Forest Practice Program, a representative from State Water Resources Control Board, and guests from the Mendocino Coast Cyclists.

This tour will take place on Saturday, March 12, 2022 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the area of the Caspar 500 Timber Harvest Plan (THP). The intent of the event is to dialogue with the community about Caspar 500 THP, provide information about the THP process, and to hear ideas from the community about the Caspar 500 THP.

Please join us at the starting location of the ‘Caspar Scales’ Parking lot (see map and driving directions below). The tour will consist of driving and walking to different locations within the plan area for discussion. Attendees are responsible for their own transportation, lunch, and water. Participants should wear sturdy footwear, as the walk will be held on the Forest in uneven terrain, and dress in layers, being prepared for all weather. The tour will happen rain or shine, and ending time is approximate based upon questions, conditions, number of participants, etc. The last tour, in this series of four, is planned for the afternoon of March 29, 2022; further details, including maps, are available on the JDSF website listed at the bottom of this page.

Covid: This meeting will be held in accordance with the latest Order from the Mendocino County Health Officer. https://www.mendocinocounty.org/community/novel-coronavirus/health-order.

NAVARRO POINT STEWARDING THIS THURSDAY

Hello Navarro Point Preserve volunteers. The Mendocino Land Trust and I invite you to join us as we remove the ever-dwindling population of bull thistles at Navarro Point this Thursday, March 10th, from 10am til noon. The Preserve is located about 2 miles south of Albion on the ocean side of Hwy 1. Sunny weather is predicted and the ocean views are jaw-dropping. We hope to see you there!

Navarro Point Preserve is owned and managed by Mendocino Land Trust, which relies on volunteer stewardship workdays to maintain our network of public access trails. Volunteers spend two hours a month pulling invasive plant species, picking up garbage, maintaining the trails and taking in the beautiful scenery. Stewardship workdays are scheduled for the 2nd Thursday of each month, 10am to 12 noon, and are open to all ages and experience levels.

Tom Wodetzki <tw@mcn.org>

Albion

ED NOTES

IN A LOT OF WAYS, Mendocino County is like Catherine the Great’s Potemkin Villages, pristine fake-front villages erected on her majesty’s path whenever she went on the road, the idea being to assure Her Greatness that everything was swell in her empire. Mendocino County has a board of supervisors who don’t supervise; a lake owned by Sonoma County; general plans with no plan; a grand jury that ignores inconvenient referrals; 31 agencies to help the helpless except the ones who aren’t reimbursable; Christian churches where Trump is worshipped instead of JC; free speech radio terrified of free speech....

THE GRAND JURY has been purely Potemkin for the fifty years I’ve called this oddly fascinating place my home. Never once, in all those years, has an indictment come out of the Jury, and all those years whomever the complicit presiding judge in this fraudulent process has been, his or her honor has impaneled the Jury, patted them on their earnest gray heads for all their work managing not to disturb Mendocino County’s historically floundering government, and it’s on to the next year’s crop of honestly duped senior citizens. The judges, dim as some of them have been, with the late Ron Brown being the dimmest and the most ethically challenged of all, knew the GJ was purely pro forma, the DA’s, with the exception of Eyster, haven’t moved on anybody guilty of civil crime, and yet the farce continues, year after year. (Eyster told a chiseling supervisor to cough up reimbursements for the petty cash she ripped off or she was looking at some jail time, and tried to get another crooked supervisor who, as a long-time grifter, had been slick enough not to keep viable records of his thefts of petty cash. But the GJ in that case had at least done the spade work.)

WAY BACK, when I was still naive enough to think the Grand Jury was interested in local corruption, I trundled over the hill to present my irrefutable case against the Mendocino County Office of Education, in those days a criminal enterprise. One elderly lady was totally zoned out, issuing what sounded like bird whistles. Another geezer demanded, “You say the Boonville school board is a bunch of goddam crooks? Why some of the finest people I know live in Boonville.” I should have known nothing would come of these denture creamed civic watchdogs, but eventually a couple of the most egregious criminals at MCOE did some jail time when their thefts became so obvious even DA Massini couldn’t ignore them.

YOU PROBABLY won’t find this as amusing as I did at the time, but one day when it appeared my complaints weren’t going anywhere, I called MCOE. “Good morning. My name is Bruce Anderson. I’d like to speak with Superintendent [Jack] Ward.” There was a long pause before the phone lady returned. “I’m sorry, Mr. Anderson but he’s in a meeting. Would you like to leave a message?” ”Yes, please tell him I’m on my way from Boonville to place him under citizen’s arrest.” Within minutes, a Sheriff’s deputy was on the phone. “Bruce, we want you to re-think this, and anyway Ward has left the office for the day.”

I WENT ON-LINE to buy a Ukranian flag to wave my virtuous support for that beleaguered country, only to be told orders are backed up two weeks, by which time… Well, I doubt we want to contemplate where it’s all headed.

AS A FAITHFUL READER of the Independent Coast Observer out of Gualala — ”Community Committed Since April 1969” — I wondered, briefly, if Boonville’s weekly newspaper meets the community commitment standard. I hope not, but let’s not quibble. Anyhoo, as one of my crazy aunts used to say as she rambled on about nothing in particular, this ICO page 7 headline caught my eye: “Newsom for prez? Dems might have no one else.” The column was by a usually tame old hack named Thomas D. Elias, syndicated free to what’s left of outback newspapers throughout California. But Elias, whose stuff I usually scan for occasional nuggets of unintentional humor, in this blast at the lameness of Democrats, went on, for him, a kind of prose rampage, rightly denouncing the Democrats as a bunch woke clowns who don’t have a single viable candidate for president. “Look what Democrats have available. There’s a seriously aging Biden, who says he will run two years from now, but appears — with his mincing walk — like he might not be physically able…”

MIGHT NOT? Biden’s handlers are hoping he lasts another week. But Elias isn’t finished stomping the Democrats: “…Harris was so bad a presidential primary candidate in 2020 that she had to drop out before even one primary or caucus ballot was cast.”

ELIAS is correct, for the first time in many years. The Democrats don’t have anybody but Newsom who, all things considered, isn’t all that bad. He’s smart and he can talk. (It’s a low bar in politics these days.) Of course he has “baggage,” as they say, but nothing on the order of the Orange Man’s baggage, not so much as a tote bag of which bothers his deluded voters. Newsom and Trump’s baggages would cancel each other out, and Newsom, conceivably, could beat Trump. Newsom’s political record is pretty good considering that he’s attached to the most rancid crew of Democrats since Andrew Johnson. 

UPDATED INFO for Coast tech guru Alberto Aldaco: Mr. Aldaco is based in Fort Bragg and can be reached at 707/357-3337

CATCH OF THE DAY, March 7, 2022

JAMES ANDEREGG, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, failure to appear.

YOVANI CHAVEZ-CHAVEZ, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

ALAN CROW, Clearlake Oaks/Ukiah. Taking vehicle without owner’s consent, stolen property (Frequent flyer.)

KIRK FREITAS, Willits. Domestic battery, damage to power lines.

RAMON MACIEL, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, resisting. (Frequent flyer.)

JORDAN MAGDALENO, Ukiah. DUI-alcohol&drugs, no license, controlled substance, disobeying court order.

GERALD SIMPSON, Willits. Probation violation. (Frequent flyer.)

RIPPED VAN WINKLE

Ripped Van Winkle strolling through the hills 

Known for herb the local pub distills

Decided he would just step in and hoist a glass 

With some conscious members of the peasant class

.

The barkeep was Peter Van Dam

Recently returned from Vietnam

With seven special seeds in his garrison cap

From plants growin on a ridge that was not on any map

.

The conversation turned to war and peace

“Who made us the world’s police?”

That was the two of them’s one-and-only line

And then they exchanged that old two-fingered sign

.

And by the time he made it out the door

The stars were overhead he wasn’t sure

Where the trail would lead down to that scolding wife 

Whom he’d see no more of in this life

.

Ripped Van Winkle lay down for a rest

In his Hudson’s Bay down-filled vest

Pine needles soft underneath his bones 

Grolsch-Book-of-World-Records-level stoned

.

This happened the last night of sixty nine

He was reported missing at the time

The wife died, the kids grew up and had

kids of their own who’d never known old granddad

.

Ripped Van Winkle felt the morning sun

Got up, stretched and thought of what he’d done 

The night before or was it just a dream 

Involving some Catskills bowling team?

.

The cleared trail was nowhere to be found

He pegged it on that potion he had downed 

Cannabis some alchemist most gifted had boiled 

a super concentrate as thick as oil

.

The underbrush was wet and twice he slipped 

And though he didn’t feel all that ripped

Van Winkle thought, man, something was amiss

My beard was never long as this

.

Down he hiked, feeling kind of stiff 

A man who did not fear the fiscal cliff 

A man whose very concept of today 

Was four point two decades away

.

The woods let him out on Stillman Lane

The scent of ozone hit him then the rain

A vehicle came round the bend and stopped

A man with short hair said where you headin’ pop?

.

The vehicle looked science-fiction new 

(A Ford Bronco built in eighty-two) 

Oldies station playin’ Jackson Brown 

Ripped said north of Tarrytown

.

The man said something ‘bout the Knicks 

Ripped was too awed to try and mix

He soon tumbled out with a grateful nod 

To see what had been wrought By God

.

That war in Vietnam created fog

And Ripped might just be a shaggy dog

But I’m gonna go straight now, right to the point 

While you, my friend, fire up another joint

.

Ripped Van Winkle is my self-mistake

Who tried to give reality a break

And stuck in the ‘60s just like they say

keeps seein’ everything from waaay far away

.

When anti-war soldiers gave them doubt

When money wasn’t all it’s all about

When retrograde messages almost prevailed 

Before they had two point two million of us jailed

.

And divided in a thousand separate groups 

Jumping through a thousand separate hoops 

Funded by enlightened billionaires 

Executive-directed by five-cornered squares

.

No, you don’t have to be Ripped to see

no threat to inequality

We can go ahead and legalize the herb

if the rich/poor system we do not disturb

.

No, you don’t have to be ripped to see 

the sacred as commodity.

—Fred Gardner

“I am sure that if the mothers of various nations could meet, there would be no more wars.”

-E. M. Forster

THINK ABOUT THE BIRDS

Editor: 

When planning a landscape for a yard, one might consider mulch instead of rocks. Birds can forage for food in mulch, but not in rocks. In my yard, I used mulch without sheets of plastic and planted drought-tolerant plants and ground cover. I enjoy seeing birds in my yard and am pleased knowing that I am supplying them with food. As for weeds, if they are picked before they flower and go to seed, there will be less of them each year. There is a trend to cover entire landscapes with pavers, fake grass, and/or rocks over plastic. This will result in repelling birds and creating soil that is not alive.

Lynn Hoyle

Santa Rosa

WILSON ‘DUCKTAIL’ ALEXANDER, Sr. 

Wilson Alexander, Sr. was the third of seven children born on in 1919 to Charles and Pearl Alexander of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.

Alexander grew up in a a tight-knit community of sugar plantation sharecroppers in southern Louisiana. On July 24, 1942, he was drafted and assigned to the United States Marine Corps. Only one month earlier (June 1942) the Corps enlisted its first African American. After serving in standard roles as a Marine enlistee, Alexander was sent to the secretive Hanford Nuclear Reservation in eastern Washington in winter 1944.

Built almost overnight, the Hanford facility immediately attracted 51,000 private and public contractors who worked and lived on the remote desert military base or in nearby Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco, Washington (the Tri-Cities) including an estimated 6,000 African Americans. Most residents were unaware of their important mission, the development of the atomic bomb.

To keep idle soldiers from self-destructive behavior, camp commanders formed a Sunday baseball league. Alexander had briefly played professional baseball with Chicago Brown Giants beginning in 1939 but his career was cut short by US entry into World War II. In 1944 he became the 24-year old player/manager of the Hanford Eagles, the lone African American team in the eight-team Hanford Baseball League.

Alexander soon became the clubhouse leader known for skilled batting and sportsmanship. In the mold of great slugging catchers such as Josh Gibson, he was second overall in the HBL with a .397 batting average (28 for 71), and one of only three players to hit a homer over the 420-foot centerfield fence at Hanford Field.

After a slow 5-5 start to the first half of their season, Alexander found an ace pitcher with Elmer “Fireman” Hester. They immediately improved. The Hanford Eagles carried away second half honors with a perfect 7-0 record.

The HBL Championship was decided by a best of three series between the first half pennant winners, Crane & Rigging contractors, and the second-half champions, the Hanford Eagles. Nearly 5,000 fans packed the park for the Sunday doubleheader. In Game One, the Eagles defeated C&R, 6-4. In Game Two, C&R cruised to an easy 10-5 victory.

The split necessitated a decisive Game Three, an eagerly anticipated match that took place on October 8, 1944 before 3,000 fans who witnessed a 7-1 Eagles victory. Ironically all of the players and the fans continued their “day jobs” helping to develop the atomic bomb. Because of government restrictions we don’t know Wilson’s day job at Hanford, but for twenty games in one season the Hanford Eagles, led by Wilson “Ducktail” Anderson, proved to be the best team in the Hanford Baseball League.

By the next spring Victory in Europe was achieved and on August 14th the Japanese surrendered after two atomic bombs partly produced at Hanford fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Soon after Alexander was discharged from the Marines. After his military service he briefly returned to St. Mary Parish (1946-50) but did not seek a further career on a professional baseball diamond. He and his wife moved to Port Arthur, Texas in 1950 where he worked for Gulfport Shipyard for the next 28 years. Married during World War II probably at Hanford, they had two children, Gary and Wilson, Jr., and enjoyed 62 years together. Wilson Alexander Sr. died on July 5, 2004, believed to be at the age of 85, in Port Arthur, Texas.

HOMECOMING (1998)

by Doug Holland

To my mother I said, “I asked you, told you more than twice, please Mom, no ‘welcome home’ party, please,” but she stared at me and smiled and said, “This isn’t a party. It’s a barbecue.” Then she stepped away, to tell someone else what had happened at the library.

And so it came to pass that thirty people, some I love and some I like and some I don’t and some complete strangers, spent hours eating hamburgers and hot dogs in my brother Clay’s back yard and living room and cul-de-sac.

The food was fine (and I’ll admit, I had some bratwurst cuz it smelled soo good) but the conversation was almost inescapable and always about nothing, and how many times could I explain my odd employment to how many people?

Zero. I lied, and told everyone I was still working at Macy’s, keying price changes in an eighth floor office I haven’t set foot in for months.

Hazel talked, but nobody could quite make out what she was saying, Katrina and Dave talked about Kimberly, Kimberly and Sheila whispered sweet somethings in each other’s ears, George and Ralph talked about AA, Dick talked about his new girlfriend who’s surprisingly young, Clay talked about the church, Karen talked about Sunday School, Ralph talked about prison, Mom talked about Dad’s cancer and death and funeral, mystery guests talked about whatever they talked about, and I briefly hid in a walk-in closet.

George, Dick, and I had a bizarre, unpleasant conversation about my sex life that doesn’t exist, and they (jokingly?) theorized that since I live in San Francisco I must be gay. It’s required by city law, don’t you know. It’s not the first time it’s been whispered in the family, but the barbecue was the first time I’d heard the theory spoken aloud in ‘polite’ conversation. 

Mom was eavesdropping nearby, and I suspected she’d asked George and Dick to ask about it, and decided to have some fun. “Enough already,” I said, “I can’t keep up this pretense any longer.” Mom’s eyeballs got bigger, and I got hammier. “You’re my family, you have a right to know,” and I paused, trying to make it a soap opera scene. Half the barbecue crowd seemed to be watching, and the room was so quiet you could hear a cliché drop.

“It’s true,” I announced. “I’m a— I’m— (pausing and making a pained face for effect) — I’m a lesbian. I have always been attracted to women.”

To this, a smattering of nervous giggles from the family, and I’m sure half the crowd still thinks I’m gay. Hell, I’m almost 37 years old, never married, no girlfriend, I don’t agree with the Christians that gays should be crucified, and clinching it, I moved to San Francisco, the international city of sin, so of course I’m gay. The fact of the matter is moot; the family has decided.

SO LIKE EVERYTHING IN LIFE... this is a complicated conversation and has nuance. One needs to look at a lot of moving parts and then deal with a complicated picture. If someone tells you Zelenskyy is the living breathing embodiment of Hitler, tell them to stop watching Russian Propaganda and get a life. If someone tells you that Zalinski is a Hyper-Liberal, Progressive, tell them they’re running low on Purina Nazi Chow, and their dogs Goebbels and Göring could use a little red meat... 

When Zelenskyy first ran for office, he was very much running as a young, progressive, modern candidate looking to bring Ukraine into the 21st century with all cylinders firing. He gave many speeches embracing social diversity including ethnic, sexual, and political diversity. With Russia pushing anti progressive tropes across its own country, and forcibly pushing those ideas globally, including it’s neighbor, there was a growing population of folks in Ukraine who were very much antagonistic to progressive politics with a special concern for LGBT members. 

Zelenskyy was forced to tone his message down and was presented with a number of setbacks from conservative groups pushing back on his proposals. With that, he’s tried to compromise which has been frustrating with the nation’s LGBT community. They feel let down and somewhat misled. There is another issue. Pressure from Russia, particularly with the annexation of Crimea and now parts of Donetsk and Luhansk, has caused a facist nationalist backlash of rabidly patriotic Ukrainians, out to push back all invaders. These folks are clearly right leaning to the point of pure fascism, but they are also vital fighters against Russia at a time where every warm blooded fighter is critically essential and their support is of existential significance. This has forced Zelenskyy to condone things he has no desire to support, and put up with things that go against his grain in the worst way. 

All of that said. Zelenskyy has fought hard to be a champion for all his people. Has a superb record on human rights. Has made it a public goal to embrace diversity and modernity for Ukraine, and is a wildly successful leader in a pure democracy. Putin on the other hand is an international crime boss, renowned murderer, Authoritarian thug, Totalitarian dictator, and all around human sewage dump. Being called a Nazi by Vlad, is being nominated for sainthood. If we had to pick the hitler in this picture it certainly wouldn’t be Zelenskyy. 

— Marie Tobias 

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

When I was a kid, we just got segregated by sex into a gym and shown bird & bees movies. It instructed us about what we could expect as puberty happened, and that was it. When did all the social and psychpop stuff creep in?

WOMEN’S HISTORY GALA

The 38th Annual Women’s History Gala Celebration will held on Sunday, March 20, 2022, 1:00 pm, at the Saturday Afternoon Clubhouse, 107 S. Oak Street, Ukiah. The doors open at 12 noon and the Program begins at 1 pm. Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” honors women who provide healing and promote hope for the betterment of all. The three Mendocino County 2022 Honorees selected to represent diverse paths as champions of healing and hope are: Cynthia Savage, Willits, Director of Daily Bread; Shirley Matilton, Willits, Entrepreneur and founder of Feathers Hair Artistry, and Camille Schraeder, Ukiah, Director of Redwood Community Services. Poetry provided by Georgina Marie Guardado and music by Elizabeth MacDougall, The Raging Grannies and Wendy DeWitt. Featured Speaker will be Malia Cohen, Chair of the Board of Equalization. Presented by the Mendocino Women’s Political Coalition and the Ukiah AAUW. Sponsored by the Cloud Forest Institute and the Ukiah Saturday Afternoon Clubhouse. 

‘20TH HIJACKER’ IS RETURNED TO SAUDI ARABIA FOR MENTAL HEALTH CARE

Mohammed al-Qahtani had spent 20 years at Guantánamo Bay, where he was tortured so badly that he was ineligible to be tried at the war crimes court.

nytimes.com/2022/03/07/us/politics/saudi-arabia-911-hijacker.html

MAN IS SAID to be a reasoning animal. I do not know why he has not been defined as an affective or feeling animal. Perhaps that which differentiates him from other animals is feeling rather than reason. More often I have seen a cat reason than laugh or weep. Perhaps it weeps or laughs inwardly — but then perhaps, also inwardly, the crab resolves equations of the second degree. 

—Miguel de Unamuno, 1912; from ‘The Tragic Sense of Life’

JOHN SAKOWICZ WRITES:

I think I’m beginning to put the pieces together.

Kathy Wylie, perennial foreman of the Mendocino County Grand Jury, may be the realtor fronting for the Skunk’s Train’s acquisition of the 320+ acre Georgia Pacific mill site for only $1.5 million.

Here’s Ms. Wylie’s realtor license info:

Name: Katharine Dawn Wylie

License Number: 01058901

License Type: Real Estate Broker

License Status Licensed: Active

License Effective Date: 17 September 2016

Address: PO Box 441, Albion, California 95410-0441

___

Let’s break down the deal.

The Skunk Train, also known as California Western Railroad, is owned by a private group of investors that includes the chief stockholders of Georgia Pacific who the Koch brothers (or their trusts). 

That means the Kochs (or their trusts) essentially sold the ocean-front land to themselves for pennies on the dollar. 

It also means the Koch brothers (or their trusts) evaded compliance with Fort Bragg building codes, and Coastal Commission permits, which the Skunk claims Class III rail carriers are exempt from...the train itself is not a “carrier” at all; it is an excursion gimmick on rails that carries no freight and is blocked by a collapsed tunnel halfway to Willits. 

But get this. The corporate shell game continues.

California Western Railroad (CWR) is owned (on paper) by Mendocino Railway, which, in turn, is owned by the Sierra Railroad Company (SRC).

The transactions were all done out of Bankruptcy Court.

Quoting from the Bankruptcy Court proceedings: “Mendocino Railway (Mendocino), a noncarrier, has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31 to acquire, through California Western Railroad’s (CWR) trustee in bankruptcy and with the approval of the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, the rail assets of CWR. The assets consist of all rail lines owned by CWR between milepost 0 and milepost 40. Mendocino states that, on February 11, 2004, the sale of CWR’s assets was authorized by order of the Bankruptcy Court and that CWR’s trustee was authorized to sell the railroad assets of CWR to SRC.”

The paper trail gets even more confusing. 

Mendocino Railway is part of a portfolio that includes Sierra Northern Railroad, a line with both freight and excursion operations on the Central Valley. 

And the plot thickens.

A guy named Mike Hart is CEO of Sierra Railroad Company. Chris Hart, his brother, is Vice President of Sierra Railroad in charge of business development.

Mike Hart is also CEO of Sierra Energy a waste-to-energy company that has received grants from the Department of Defense and California Energy Commission, as well as millions in private investment funds, to develop its FastOx gasification technology. It currently operates a prototype gasification plant at Hunter-Liggett Army base in Monterey County.

The FastOx system uses heat, steam and oxygen to break down garbage at the molecular level.

Organic materials turn into an energy-dense syngas. Syngas can be used to power generator sets and gas turbines. Ammonia produced from syngas using the Haber-Bosch process can be used as the primary ingredient in chemical fertilizers.

Inorganics melt into a non-leaching stone and metals.

All the garbage undergoes complete conversion into high-value salable end products with no waste by-products created.

___

So, there you have it, folks.

FastOx gasification!

Is this the future for the G-P mill site?

Will Mendocino County be burning the Bay Area’s garbage right here on 320+ acres of Fort Bragg’s oceanfront property!

The Hart brothers say all the corporate entities are separate. But are they? Are the companies really separate?

And is gasification the real future for the mill site? Will the Koch brothers (or their trusts) be raking in more billions of dollars?

And what was Kathy Wylie’s role? As the perennial foreman of the grand jury, she had lots of inside information. And lots of influence with her good buddy County CEO Carmel Angelo.

___

Here’s the good news.

Even though the bankruptcy proceeding concluded in April-May 2004, and if the verified notice of the bankruptcy plan contained false or misleading information, or if there is any hint of fraud or deception in the transaction, the exemption granted to CWR as a Class III rail carrier may be void ab initio. 

Petitions to revoke the exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) may be filed at any time. Although the filing of a petition to revoke will not automatically stay the transaction, it may be enough to stall the mill site deal.

An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to STB Finance Docket No. 34465, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, one copy of each pleading must be served on Torgny Nilsson, General Counsel, 341 Industrial Way, Woodland, CA 95776.

___

How did this all happen? I don’t know. But think about it.

Mendocino County Grand Jury Foreman, Kathy Wylie.

Mendocino County County CEO, Carmel Angelo

Presiding Judge of the Mendocino County Superior Court, Jeanine Nadel,

Regularly, Judge Nadel appoints Kathy Wylie to the grand jury. But why? And Judge Nadel oversees the grand jury. She has the power to kill investigations.

Judge Nadel should be up for re-election this spring but is not. By my count, her term should be over. Could someone please tell me how she was allowed to skip re-election.

PLEASE KNOW 

Keeping the Mind United with the Source

Warmest spiritual greetings, Please know that my entire focus right now is to perform spiritual practices for the purpose of keeping the mind united with the Source. The practices range from a repetition of Catholic prayers, to chants from the sacred places in India, includes OMing, and the use of will power. The sole object is to keep the mind united with its Source. That is the way of peace and freedom from the hell of the mind’s thought realms, which are miserable and full of suffering. Beyond this, my goal is to be a member of a spiritual group doing that which is pleasing to God. 

Craig Louis Stehr

Email: craiglouisstehr@gmail.com

Telephone Messages: Building Bridges: (707) 234-3270

PayPal.me/craiglouisstehr

AV VILLAGE WEEKEND EVENTS

AV Village Volunteer Training, Sunday, March 13th, 1:30 to 2:30 PM, Anderson Valley Senior Center

Join us for a short volunteer training and learn more about the Anderson Valley Village and how you can give back to the elders of our community. We require our volunteers to have the COVID vaccine, thank you (please bring your card). And if you would like to be a volunteer driver, please bring your Driver'€™s License and proof of insurance card. Thank you for the support!

And

Responding to Climate Change, Sunday, March 13th, 3 to 4:30 PM, Anderson Valley Senior Center, Refreshments served outside

For many people, those four words trigger a variety of negative emotions: sadness, despair, guilt, anger, fear, hopelessness, apathy, uncertainty, insecurity, confusion. However, there are numerous things we can do to respond to climate change and our fears about the future. First and foremost, we need to break the silence. If you are interested in such work, we hope you will join us. RSVP: 707-684-9829, andersonvalleyvillage@gmail.com

For more info see our Facebook page or website: www.andersonvalleyvillage.com

SCHOOL NEWS

Dear Anderson Valley Community,

I hope this message finds you well. It has been great to see girls’ softball and boys’ baseball out on the field. We could definitely use some help with the field preparation for games.  If anyone can volunteer a couple of hours, please text my cell number at 707-684-1017.  It's also wonderful to see family and parent support out there for the games. I feel like life is returning a little bit to normal! 

As you may have heard, the masking restrictions at school will be modified effective Monday, March 14. Masks are encouraged, but not required. Masking is a personal family decision, and we leave it to our parents and guardians to guide your mask choice. We also know that some staff members prefer to continue to mask, and we honor that choice as well. Free masks will be available upon request.

The pooled testing will remain as scheduled on Wednesday. Those results come in on Friday generally. If we have any uptick in infection rates, I will contact Public Health and determine next steps based on the data. If we feel we need to be more restrictive, we will do so.

Measure M will be appearing on the June ballot. There are petitions and ballot support cards throughout the community. If you support the measure for the 13 million dollar Improvement school improvement bond, we invite you to please sign your name. We will be holding tours of the schools in May to highlight the various projects that are needed on the 70-year old buildings. The dates for the walkthroughs are May 12 at 4:30 p.m. at the high school with our district architect and May 19 at 4:30  at the elementary school with me. This is a chance to walk the facilities, and we can share what was done  with the past Bond money and describe additional work that needs to occur.  Fact sheets will also be available.  The Citizen’s Bond Committee is seeking members to help and is meeting on Tuesday, March 22 at 4:30 p.m. at the high school.

We also have another community meeting on March 16th at the high school library at 3:30 p.m.  regarding our school LCAP plan.  The LCAP is an interesting process of setting goals for our district and allocating funding to achieve those goals. We invite our community members to attend and share your thoughts.

We look forward to having our families on site for conferences this week. It is so impressive how our families are committed to working with our staff members on their child's progress. At the elementary school, I want to give a big shout-out to our cadre of retired teachers that have stepped in to do some short-term intervention in reading for some of our students that have been identified as needing additional support. It takes a village, and Anderson Valley has a dedicated one!  News on summer school will also be forthcoming!  

I am looking forward to spending a few days at the high school this week. Lunch activities have been expanded to include ping pong, foosball, outdoor basketball, guitar, and  supervised field play. It is great to see students enjoying social opportunities and some engaging break activities. I enjoy being on site for the full days at both school sites to see the ebb and flow of the day, see our amazing staff interact and engage,  and get to know your students better.

I hope you have a wonderful week ahead.

Sincerely yours,

Louise Simson

Superintendent