REDEVELOPMENT SECRETS
To the Editor:
October 12, 2012 — This just in: Bad news for the City of Ukiah.
Specifically, bad news regarding the dissolution of city's former Redevelopment Authority (RDA). The Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule (ROPS) which the city submitted for the third time to the California State Department of Finance (DOF) on behalf of the Successor Agency for Ukiah's RDA was just denied, in part, by the DOF. This particular ROPS is colloquially known as “ROPS III.” The money involved? Millions!
Right off the bat, the DOF denied $69,000 in “general administrative expenses” that the city was trying to charge off to the Successor Agency. Could that be read as big, fat city salaries? Hmm. Then, the DOF denied $6.2 million in unenforceable “agreements, contracts, and arrangements” between the city and the Successor Agency. Hmm. Could that be read as cooking the books? Finally, the DOF denied $2.5 million in “infrastructure improvement projects” that were not substantiated. Hmm. Could that be read as sloppy accounting?
Most importantly, could it be the Oversight Board for the Successor Agency to the Ukiah RDA was not given good information about the ROPS III, which the Oversight Board needed to approve before it was submitted to the DOF? Indeed, why this bad news now from the DOF?
I'll answer my own question: It is my personal belief that it's in the “best” interests of the City of Ukiah not to keep the Oversight Board fully informed. Again, that's a personal opinion.
Keeping the Oversight Board in the dark is easier to accomplish than one might think. Why? Because the Oversight Board is largely comprised of appointees who do not work for the City of Ukiah. They are not city staff. The appointees largely represent the tax entities that AB 126 intended to be the beneficiaries of the dissolution of the RDAs.
School districts and the college district should the biggest beneficiaries of the RDA's dissolution — as intended by AB 126, the bill that set in motion the dissolution of Redevelopment Authorities across the state — but other beneficiaries could also include the cemetery districts, the water and sewer districts, fire districts, etc. And none of these guys work for the City of Ukiah. Hence, they're easily kept in the dark. I've actually had one board member tell me off-the-record that, “We are like mushrooms. Kept in the dark. And fed manure.”
So, let's review how the dissolution of Ukiah's RDA really works.
It's the job of these appointees from the districts on the Oversight Board to maximize the money the districts will get from the dissolution process. Meanwhile, this sort of sets up an obvious conflict with the city. Why? Because it's the city's job to maximize the money for their employer — Ukiah. That's why the Oversight Board is represented by their own legal counsel. Too many conflicts of interest. Too much to keep track of, as DOF hands down policies and procedures regarding ROPS and other RDA dissolution business. The California Supreme Court decision that upheld AB 126 never spelled out how AB 126 would be enforced. The Court left that up to the DOF and the State Controller's Office. It's all fraught with complexities. So, the Oversight Board hired their own lawyer to figure it all out. And the Oversight Board has no salaried staff of its own, the Board relies on city staff for financial and other administrative work. The Mendocino County Auditor is supposed to oversee the city's work. But does she?
Calling County Auditor Meredith Ford. Earth to Meredith Ford. How do you read? Over.
To complete the cast of characters, City Manager Jane Chambers and Assistant City Manager, Sage Sangiacomo, along with City Counsel David Rapport, and City Finance Director Gordon Elton, do the heavy lifting for the City of Ukiah on all ROPS and other Successor Agency work.
Not bad people. Just folks earning a paycheck.
So, back to today's correspondence from the DOF. There's a news story in here somewhere in today's new development. And we need a good investigative reporter to look into it. Think about it. The DOF denied $69,000 in expenses. And $6.2 million in unenforceable contracts. And $2.5 million in unsubstantiated infrastructure improvements. All that begs a lot of questions. What did the Oversight Board know before ROPS III was submitted? And what didn't they know? Did the City of Ukiah disclose everything to the Oversight Board that it needed to know? The Board does, in fact, act as sworn fiduciaries. Or was the city trying to pull a fast one?
For the record, I sit on the Oversight Board for the Successor Agency for the Mendocino County RDA, and we have no such problems with either the DOF or the State Controller's Office. Admittedly, the County RDA is a lot smaller that the Ukiah RDA by several orders of magnitude. Yet, the issues are pretty much the same for all former RDAs — big or small.
Kyle Knopp, Chief Deputy CEO, and Tammi Weselsky, senior analyst — both of the Mendocino County CEO's Office — do the heavy lifting for County's Successor Agency. They keep the dissolution process humming along, with no negative surprises.
John Sakowicz
Ukiah
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MOTHER’S RIGHTS
To the People of America,
You can’t say you’re for smaller government yet wanna put a cop in every GYN department!
You can’t say you’re a Christian yet every day bear false witness!
Women, you really gotta know what the (Rs) are after; They wanna give personhood rights to a fertilized egg! That means the woman is forced to give of her own flesh and blood to grow an egg. Whether she wants to or not! This gives more rights to the egg than to the woman carrying the egg. This makes no sense at all!
Sure, a fertilized egg is a potential human being. But, unless a woman chooses to build this egg into a child, you would be forcing the woman to give of her own flesh and blood against her will! Not good.
There is more to a child than just flesh and blood!
Until the egg can survive outside the body and no longer is dependent on the mother’s flesh and blood, the decision must be with the mother! The welfare of an egg should not overshadow the rights of the mother! Please think!
Thank you,
Karen Linde
Willits
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AH-E-AH-E-AH-E-AH-E-YAH!
Editor,
Commemorating the Spirit of Tarzan
October 2012 marks the centennial of the first publication of Tarzan of the Apes by Edger Rice Burroughs in the All-Story Magazine.
If 100 years of Tarzan and Jane in the jungle has inspired, empowered or engaged you, or you have ever uttered a Tarzan yell as you jumped into the river, you know the feeling we celebrate this month.
But did you know that there was more to Tarzan than just swinging thru the trees?
Tarzan also had an estate in Africa — spoke French before English — is a master linguist — discovered lost cities in Africa — is an English lord — has acute senses of smell and hearing — has a birth son — is a grandfather — fought in both World War I and World War II — was given youth serum by an African witch doctor — traveled to Pellucidar in the earth’s core — has his own stamp — was featured in over 40 movies and was portrayed by 20+ actors including Edger Rice Burroughs own son in law?
Here are 30 suggestions from our personal celebration to-do list that you might also enjoy as we each reawaken the spirit of Tarzan.
1. Read Tarzan of the Apes by Edger Rice Burroughs. (ERB)
2. Swing from a rope tied to a tree.
3. Give out a Tarzan call.
4. Watch Tarzan the Apeman (1932) starring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan.
5. Go for a walk or jog thru a lush, forested area.
6. Pee outside.
7. Use new Edger Rice Burroughs forever stamps.
8. Climb a tree.
9. Read The Return of Tarzan by ERB sequel to #1.
10. Pick and eat fruit.
11. Watch Tarzan and His Mate (1934) starring Weissmuller and O’Sullivan.
12. Rescue or protect an animal or human.
13. Go barefoot outside.
14. Go swimming in a natural setting.
15. Read any book by Jane Goodal.
16. Play in a tree house.
17. Admire the Tarzan illustrations of Hal Foster, Burne Hogarth, Russ Manning and Frank Frazetta.
18. Sleep outside.
19. Read Tarzan comics.
20. Read Jungle Tales of Tarzan by ERB, stories of Tarzan’s youth.
21. Eat a grub.
22. Hang from a tree limb.
23. Protect primates.
24. Honor the elephant.
25. Plant a tree.
26. Read Tarzan Alive (1972) by Philip Jose Farmer.
27. Wear a loincloth.
28. Shave with a hunting knife.
29. Honor nature in word and deed.
30. Have a Dum-Dum celebration with drums, yells and frenzied dancing.
Inspired by Tarzan and Jane, we continue to swing thru the forests of Mendocino County on the lianas of love. Listen for our mating call echoing thru the trees and we will listen for yours.
Steve Grimes & Bess Bair
Dos Rios
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STATE FEES STOMP IN
Editor,
With the uproar over the recently imposed SRA Fire Prevention Fee imposed by the State Legislature and the Governor, there has been some confusion relating to the Anderson Valley Fire Departments Benefit Assessment. We thought it might be a good idea to provide a few facts about our assessment and how it differs from the SRA Fee.
Our Benefit Assessment was approved by the voters and implemented in 1995. The funds raised are solely for the benefit of the Fire Department and cannot legally be used for any other purpose. The Assessment for commercial parcels is based on square footage and varies with size. Any parcel with a residential use or zoning is assessed $36 and an additional $36 for each “residence” on it so a parcel with a single residence pays $72 annually. The Assessment is collected along with the property taxes by the County who charges us for this service. We provide 24 hour a day, seven day a week, 365 day a year response to all types of emergencies. Additionally we provide extensive fire prevention programs including work with the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council to bring grant monies to the Valley for various prevention projects like the widely used “Chipping Program” where free chipping services are provided to residents doing defensible space clearing around their homes.
Our Benefit Assessment was enacted and passed by the voters because we were in desperate need of additional funding at the time. The Assessment now brings in about $144,000 annually and is the principle reason (along with your generous donations) that we have been able to make very significant improvements in the intervening years. We have built new stations in Boonville, Philo and Navarro. We are now in construction on a new station on the Holmes Ranch between Philo and Navarro. These stations, funded by the Benefit Assessment, property taxes and donations, were built primarily with volunteer labor which saved many tens of thousands of dollars.
In addition to these improvements in facilities, we have also been able to replace many of our aging fire engines (with both used and new equipment). Again, donations also played a major part in this upgrade.
We have periodically reviewed the assessments on each parcel and annually review building permits to insure newly built structures are paying their fair share. Some of you have received notices from us that your assessment was either being increased or decreased as a result of these reviews.
We do not receive any portion of the funding from the SRA Fee and, in fact, acted with many other volunteer fire departments to protest it. We are immensely grateful to our community both for voting to approve our Benefit Assessment and for your annual generous donations to us. We will continue to use these funds prudently to provide you with the best possible service.
Colin H. Wilson
Chief, Anderson Valley Volunteer Fire Department
Boonville
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MITT ROMNEY? REALLY?
Editor,
How is it possible for Willard Mitt Romney to have even the slightest chance of becoming the next president?
I mean, in any kind of rationally governed society this guy would be stripped of his ill-gotten gain by lawsuits from the many whose lives were destroyed by his financial machinations, or better yet, would never have had the opportunity to engage in the kind of reckless fiscal engineering that he and his ilk have pursued over the last decade or so; using the stock market not for its original purpose, i.e. making capital available to those with good ideas for products that people will want to buy, that is, a Wall Street sector that exists to serve the economy, but rather, exploiting a Wall Street and financial sector that seems to have disconnected itself completely from the real economy of actual goods and services, one that is inverted to where the whole economy exists to serve the greed of the most ruthless on Wall Street instead.
I wish that everyone considering voting for this world-class con artist could read Matt Taibbi's excellent article in Rolling Stone about Romney's Bain Capital; Bain’s modus operandi is basically indistinguishable from a common mafia scam where a company is intentionally run into bankruptcy, with massive purchases made on its accounts just before it goes under. Free stuff that never has to be paid for! Bain took this practice to its logical absurdity; seizing control of what were often financially solid, taxpaying, high wage paying, productive and profitable enterprises, often wresting a controlling interest with a tiny investment, borrowing the rest of the cash needed to gain corporate control from like-minded greedheads in financial circles (apparently a large chunk of Bain's original capital came from the estates of Latin American death squads leaders!) According to Taibbi's article, for all the trauma wrought by Bain; the devastated communities, the thousands of suddenly unemployed, the ruined families, the fact is that for the average Bain investor, they could have made just as much money investing in a plain-vanilla stock index fund! Of course, Romney and the other capos at the top of the pyramid raked in unconscionable “management fees” for their brilliant management expertise (which mainly consisted of pulling out all of the capital possible, including the workers retirement savings, projected years into the future, and replacing it with debt). I doubt that such financial shakedowns are legal in any other first world democracy, yet here in land of the free, Wall Street’s influence has so neutered government regulation, that even the most egregious abuses are not even investigated. And then these guys have the nerve to whine on endlessly about bothersome government regulation!
It is simply stupefying that Romney has now pulled dead even with Obama who, for all his shortcomings to those of us mistook him for a real progressive in ‘08, is inarguably one of the most brilliant presidents of my lifetime; a man who’s oratory is a pleasure to listen to (with the exception of his outlier performance in that debate with Romney); hearing him pause while his razor-sharp mind picks exactly the word or phrase that conveys exactly the meaning that he intends, is often quite moving. “No Drama Obama” is exactly the kind of thoughtful, steady hand one might most like to see on the tiller of the ship of state; highly deliberative, yet with nerves of steel when he decides to act, such as the potentially disastrous Bin Laden raid, which would have surely cost him his second term, had it not quite so well (even though I thought that they should have brought him to trial). Can you imagine how incoherent a Romney foreign policy would be? The guy is on just about every side of every issue, at the same time!
You've got to wonder if the main reason why the polls do not show an absolute Obama landslide is simply primitive, bigoted, racism. Could there be any other reason?
I know that Obama will win big in California, making this article kind of pointless, but I've just got to put these observations out there.
Sincerely,
John Arteaga
Ukiah
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WHEN I’M GONE…
Editor,
Proposed Living Will Template
I, _________________, being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means. Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of pinhead partisan politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it, or lawyers/doctors/hospitals interested in simply running up the bills.
If after a reasonable amount of time passes, and I fail to ask for (Check appropriate items): £a Martini, £a Margarita, £a Scotch and soda, £a Bloody Mary, £a beer, £a Gin and Tonic, £a Glass of Chardonnay, £a Coke, £Iced Tea, £ a Steak, £lobster or crab legs, £a Cheeseburger, £a bowl of ice cream, £piece of Chocolate Cake, £Chocolate, £TV remote control, £sports page…
…it should be presumed that I won't ever get any better. When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my appointed person and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes, and call it a day.
At this point, it is time to call the New Orleans Jazz Funeral Band to come and do their thing at my funeral, and ask all of my friends to raise their glasses to toast the good times we have had.
Signature:______________________ Date: __/__/__
Amendment #1:
Should I become incapacitated as described above, do not pull the plug, until after I have voted against Mitt Romney by absentee ballot in the November 2012 election, and let it be known to all, that once my vote is counted, I shall rest in peace. ____Initials
Miguel Lanigan
Clearlake Oaks
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WHEN BACHMANN MEETS RYAN
Editor —
Ryan is Ronny on crank. Check his shit-eating grin while he's telling us about Obama's lousy job creations!
Ryan got a job in Washington straight out of college and he's had his snout in the public trough ever since. And those penetrating eyes — Oooh, imagine he and Michele Bachmann meeting in a dark passage beneath Congress on a stormy night. It's downright frightening.
Him with all its muscles and her with all her lips! X-Rated. Be very afraid.
Old And In The Way,
Eureka
PS. Jack Welch is a pig.
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NOT WANDA
Editor and Fellow AVAers,
I'm Diana Pynchon Tinasky. I'm Diana Pynchon Tinasky Elliot. Pound me to the ground. I am Farina Pynchon Tinasky Bangladesh. Go on. Don't end a statement with a preposition. I have the big-frog-little-pond syndrome. Croak. Timber! Fort Bragg is a lumber town. Was.
Used to be Georgia-Pacific would give us a postcard each day. Now we have the Boatyard. Isn't shopping more fun than the weather? Yeah, when it's October and we haven't had rain.
Back to Wanda, looks like Frederick used me for the model for his drawing of Wanda on the cover of “The Letters of Wanda Tinasky.” That's my hat, my hair, and my copy of the AVA. Maybe I'm Wanda. Diana Pynchon Sternkopf.
Diana Wood Duck Vance
Deadtree, Mendocino
PS. Wouldn't you rather be spending than standing in rain?
PPS. “The landscape belongs to the person who looks at it.”
“We hold it a prime duty of the people to free our government from the control of money.”
“Afghan heroin factories have killed more Americans then the 9/11 attacks.”
“Brzezinski is ‘the Sorcerer's Apprentice’.”
What moment did the United States move away from goals of coexistence and containment to the goal of dismantlement of the Soviet Union? Brzezinski outflanked the more moderate Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. From 1978-1979 Soviets poured into the puppet regime they had installed in Kabul. The Soviets' undeniable aggression in this area helped “reheat the Cold War to a dangerous boil.” Vance wrote later that “we had no evidence of Soviet complicity in the coup.” The Afghan Communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan use of force combined with a disregard for societal and religious sensitivities “resulted in a massive backlash from the rural population.” And Moscow's military intervention in Kabul was a step in the Kremlin's intention to drive the US out of the Persian Gulf. The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan was “a potential threat to the Persian Gulf and its oil fields.” Carter responded with the Carter Doctrine which states that military force shall be utilized if necessary to repel “attempts by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region.” “We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.” Without a shoe slammed on the table. — Diana Vance of Deadtree, Mendocino, still without rain.
Ed note: Ms. Vance is the daughter of the late Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance
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STOP SUBSIDIZING THE BIG BOX
To the Editor
The City of Ukiah was told for the fourth or fifth time by the State Department of Finance that they cannot get away with subsidizing commercial enterprises such as CostCo. They had been planning on paying for CostCo's roads, highway access and assorted ingress and egress with our tax dollars while letting this Big Box reap all the profits. Governor Brown and the State Legislature said no to this rip-off in letters in April, May, July, August and October of this year and the legal challenge to the shutting down of the whole phony Redevelopment (RDA) Program was rejected in the Courts back last January.
Why was this RDA program a rip-off? Because it allowed the City to borrow money in expectation of future increases in taxation and then build new access roads that only benefit the commercial Big Box guys. If CostCo needs a fancy roundabout off Highway 101 for their new store, why can't they pay for it themselves? Not apparently when our City Manager's office can con us taxpayers into footing the bill. The RDA Program was originally intended to cure urban blight and provide low to moderate income housing. It has wandered far afield — in fact the City even paid $2.7 million to purchase the land for the Big Box. We have carried this on our books now for five years, paid interest on the loan that funded it and lost tax revenues while hoping to sell it to CostCo. We wonder whether CostCo will still want to snuggle into Ukiah when they have to buy their own $6.2 million road network.
Since the January Court decision we have paid the salaries of a bloated Town Hall while Sage Sangiacomo and Associates indulge in a badminton match with the State Department of Finance. The 2011 Grand Jury revealed that City Hall was paying $640,000 a year toward 18 staff salaries devoted to the RDA scam. Isn't it time we threw in the towel and cut our losses? Surely we don't need all these people engaged in this futile battle of wits with the State.
James Houle
Redwood Valley
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NOT-SO INSPIRATIONAL
Editor,
Plan to attend the F.O.W.L. Ball and Book Bonanza at the historic Purity Supermarket! Meet girls! See the nearby site where Bruce Anderson threw up when he first saw the Willits Justice Center! Books by Joyce, Lawrence, Norris, Miller! No host sandwiches! Revisit literary heroes! Wackford Squeers, Charlotte, Wilbur, Alfred E. Neuman. Buy one book — get one book by Orwell, DeVoto, Thoreau, Garcia Marquez — free! Inspirational talk by Anna Taylor. October 19-20-21.
Inasmuch as local public officials have refused to address extreme traffic congestion, it is suggested that you arrive and depart by helicopter.
In other news: Why the local newspaper industry is thriving!? The two local venues with the most local traffic — the Ukiah Wal-Mart and the Willits Safeway — the PD is not available for sale.
Music is also thriving! KZYX will not present “Sunday Baroque” from NPR but you can hear “Baroque By the Bay” Sunday mornings on KDFC 92.5 Willits and Ukiah. KDFC had a five-day fundraiser in June and took in almost $70,000.
A Reader
Willits
PS. “While there is a lower class, I am of it. While there is a criminal class I am of it. While there is a soul in prison I am not free.” — J. David Colfax
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SLOW, PEDESTRIAN X-ING
To the Editor:
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Life is not an emergency plan?” Or better, how about, “If you are running in circles, maybe you are cutting too many corners"? Or even better yet and more to my point, “Slow your roll!”
Is it not California law that pedestrians have the right-of-way, especially in a crosswalk? You're not supposed to roll until the person or persons have reached the other side and are on the sidewalk! Doesn't matter if you are coming or going! Stop and wait!
What is everyone's damn hurry? What if it were your family member in that crosswalk?
When my oldest son was nine he was hit in a crosswalk. He said all he remembers is getting one foot off the curb. The driver of that Suburban was in a hurry! My son flew 30 feet in the air and landed at the other end of that street! He is 30 now and fine — but God laid him down in that street that day with a huge bruise on his hip and three hairline fractures on his — thank God — hard head! Amen!
So how about if we all lead by example on this one? It's for our and everyone else's own good.
Slow your roll! Don't you think?
Thanks for your time,
Donna Vineyard
Ukiah
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GUANTANAMO TRIAL SNAFU
Dear Editor:
The trial of the five Guantanamo prisoners who have been charged with the September 11 attack is again facing another delay. The prisoners have been in Guantanamo since 2006 and there looks like there could be another delay up to a year. The special military commission appears to be inept and incapable of even getting the trials started, In other words using an old military term — SNAFU. The problem is the fault of Congress. They opposed the trials being held in federal courts in New York and instead they will be tried by a special military tribunal referred to as a military commission.
The latest problem is a proposed protective order designed to keep secret the details of the CIA's “enhanced interrogation techniques” (an ephemism for torture) and which countries assisted in their capture. The commission considers it classified information. Needless to say the defense attorneys are opposed as well as the ACLU and a coalition of media organizations. I'm not sure how much is really “classified.” Certainly anybody that reads the paper or watches TV knows the CIA rendered and tortured suspected terrorists. Another complication is that defense attorneys have filed hundreds of motions that have to be litigated. Also the defendants when in court act out and the military commission seems to be unable to control them. At the rate the trial is going the accused prisoners will probably die of old age.
In peace,
James g. Updegraff
Sacramento
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HEARTBROKEN MOM
Editor:
Do you wonder about the angry man in the mugshot, strapped in a straight jacket, featured in your paper last week?
Does he have a family, a history, a story to tell? This story is of a young man who long ago was diagnosed with a Bipolar disorder. He's living in a time when the Mental Health system is pretty much scrapped and services are far away and almost non-existent.
Benjamin Stein is not an
angry man; he is my son, who slipped through the cracks in the system that in a different time, had excellent diagnostic and professional capabilities.
Ten years ago without any ongoing medical treatment, Ben moved home with me. We struggled together to create a stable life path for him. Ben lived with me for two years. After this time Ben moved away to live independently without major problems for the last eight years.
The past three weeks have been a very enlightening and educational one for myself and my family. My son turned 30 on the 21st of September. He proceeded to go off to celebrate and indulged in some substance that he had until recently been fairly careful to avoid. He returned to me a very different person.
The past three weeks for Ben and our family have been a slow descent into Hell, driven by Ben's increasingly hostile delusions and aggressive actions. At this point it was abundantly clear that Ben needed professional help immediately. His stepdad, two of his sisters, friends and I tried to bring him out of his manic state.
In the end, after many attempts to rally help through the Mental Health Crisis Unit and repeated requests to the police to help, I was told by the police that nothing could be done for my son until he had harmed himself or someone else.
The events of the last few weeks have been a giant wake up call for me. I am saddened and heartbroken for the lady who had to end up dealing with my son.
Lorie Barton
Point Arena
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