Mendocino County Today: Sunday, April 10, 2022

Wet Ahead | Rain Song | Wander Dog | Turkey Vulture | Courthouse Plans | Pet Proximo | Ukraine | French Election | Cop Pay | Easter Meal | Measure M | Middle Child | Humane Society | Slot Machine | Candidates Needed | Tennessee Converts | Coast Housing | Paul Robeson | Ed Notes | Yesterday's Catch | Plastic Pollution | Deadeye John | Boudin Challenge | TranSporting | Conversation | NATO Vote | Chomsky Interview | Fillmore West | Airbnb Letter | Skyhawk Recovery | Savages | Marco Radio | Li Foo | Kali Yuga | Zen Rifleman

BREEZY CONDITIONS along the coast and ridges will gradually diminish today. Clouds will increase through the day with rain and mountain snow spreading southeast into the area this afternoon and tonight as a front approaches. Northwest winds will increase again behind the front on Monday. Much cooler and showery weather will then continue through the end of the work week. (NWS)

APRIL RAIN SONG

Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter
The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain. 

— Langston Hughes

A READER WRITES: There is a very muddy, lost looking German shepherd wandering Philo Greenwood Road just above Elk if anybody’s missing one.

MENDOCINO COUNTY COURTHOUSE PLANS REVIVED

by Mike Geniella

A revived $118 million state plan to construct a sleek new Mendocino County Courthouse away from Ukiah’s downtown core is being cast by the state as the highest priority among its planned court construction projects in California.

The California Judicial Council envisions final design work getting under way in July, with construction scheduled for completion by 2026. The plan calls for an 82,000-square-foot, multi-story structure.

“The project is in the immediate need priority group and consequently is one of the highest priority trial court capital-outlay projects for the judicial branch,” according to a Judicial Council assessment.

The new courthouse will be the costliest civic construction project in Mendocino County’s history. 

The county will decide the fate of the old courthouse, as owner of the property. Deputy City Manager Shannon Riley said Saturday city representatives are keenly interested in working with county officials on how the 72-year-old building might be used and maintained. 

“We were actively engaged in cleaning up the site for the new courthouse, and we are planning significant improvements over the next few years to the Perkins Street corridor,” said Riley.

Riley said it is going to take cooperation among public agencies, including the North Coast Railroad Authority which still owns property surrounding the new courthouse site, to make things work.

“We all need to be at the table as this unfolds,” said Riley.

The courthouse project was put on hold in 2016 because of state funding issues, but it is now being given the ‘green light’ in a move that is reviving tensions about the fate of Ukiah’s core downtown area.

Since the 1860s a courthouse has dominated the town’s historic shopping and restaurant district. 

The core area recently underwent a $7 million facelift with water, sewer and paving improvements, tree plantings, and new street lighting.

Two issues are key to the emerging debate: how will relocation of the courthouse away from the core area affect surrounding businesses and restaurants, and how will the appearance of a high-tech state building fit with the small-town, rural nature of the Ukiah Valley.

Some local business owners fear the courthouse relocation will result in a serious loss of “foot traffic” in a downtown already struggling to survive in face of competition from a Costco-led shopping hub on the western edge of town. For them, the state plan presents economic challenges that may undermine efforts to bounce back from public restrictions imposed during a two-year pandemic.

“What are local plans to fill the void when a new courthouse opens, and the daily foot traffic disappears?,” worries Zach Schat, owner of the landmark Schat’s bakery and restaurant operation and a major downtown employer.

As it is, a global architectural firm with offices in San Francisco has been hired by the state to produce design criteria for the new Mendocino County Courthouse. It is to be constructed on an already owned 4.1-acre site fronting Perkins Street near the historic Ukiah train depot, located three long blocks from the downtown area.

Tentative plans for a seven-courtroom facility with a planned 160-vehicle parking area currently offers no spaces for local prosecutors, public defenders, and lawyers engaged in civil cases. An assumption in the local legal, civic, and business communities is that the private sector will step in and build buildings that can be leased for offices critical to court operations.

Still, the courthouse’s relocation and the expected exodus of court-related businesses from the downtown core is raising new concerns. The worry is the lack of concrete plans by city and county officials for what will become of the current courthouse, a site that has been the center of local government for more than a century.

Until the 1980s, almost all county offices were in the downtown courthouse before administrative functions were moved to a campus complex on Low Gap Road. When the state assumed control of Superior Courts statewide, courthouses were transferred to state responsibility. The current building, which has an estimated $9 million in deferred maintenance, will revert to Mendocino County ownership when the state moves out.

An expanded local court system quickly filled the current courthouse, which was built in 1950. Its a squat, fortress-like architecturally modern style has long been referred to locally as Stalinesque.

On the west side of the courthouse facing School Street is an iconic 1920s era attached structure that is clad in limestone and features stately columns engraved in the stone and large arching windows. The space, which once housed the county Board of Supervisors, the county administrator, and County Clerk, is now used for jury rooms, and other court related functions. 

State court officials say the current courthouse is rated a high risk, seismically deficient building by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It also is out of compliance with current state seismic safety, safety, and space standards.

A host of improvements are needed, including secured in custody holding areas, adequate visitor security screening areas, and separate safe and secure zones for the public, court staff, and in custody defendants, according to the state.

While the state offers a lengthy list of justifications for the new courthouse, local business and civic leaders are expressing concern about the effects of relocating the downtown’s longstanding anchor.

“I understand we are past arguing about the state’s needs,” said Zach Schat, owner of a landmark bakery and restaurant operation directly across from the current courthouse.

Schat said he feels the challenge facing the local community is “What happens to the old building?”

“What fills the vacuum? Where is the foot traffic that downtown businesses depend on going to come from?” asked Schat.

Schat cited the prolonged uncertainty over the nearby Palace Hotel, shuttered and decaying for years. The old Post Office sits unused and boarded up.

“I keep asking city and county officials what the plans are but so far no firm answers,” said Schat.

County Supervisor Maureen Mulheren, who represents the city of Ukiah on the board, suggests in a weekly written update to constituents that there are city and county discussions ongoing.

But Mulheren offered no specifics.

“I was invited to a courthouse meeting about the new courthouse. It’s exciting to hear that this project is moving forward,” wrote Mulheren.

Mulheren said, “There will be more to come about the design of the courthouse and community meetings as well as what to do with the ‘current’ courthouse.”

Some public officials have questioned the state courthouse plans, which have been on and off for a decade. District Attorney David Eyster suggests the current building could be gutted and upgraded to meet court needs without being relocated out of the downtown area. The DA’s office is located on the ground floor below courtrooms and is linked to day-to-day operations.

Some people are encouraged that new uses for the courthouse site, and the rumored sale of the historic Palace Hotel building, could lead to the downtown revival on its own.

Tom Liden, a recognized commercial photographer who is engaged in the local arts and museum communities, suggests the old courthouse could be demolished to make way for the relocation of the Mendocino County Museum from Willits to the preserved courthouse building fronting School Street.

“Ukiah could transition into a community arts center featuring the county museum, the nearby Grace Hudson Museum, and the Held-Pogue research library operated by the Mendocino County Historical Society,” said Liden.

Liden said the possible sale of the Palace Hotel to a local investor could also help stabilize the downtown area. 

The possible sale of the hotel is in escrow, Deputy City Manager Riley confirmed on Friday. “We may be able to publicly discuss what we know if escrow closes,” said Riley.

Liden said a Palace development could be a force for change.

“We need to be progressive in our thinking,” said Liden.

Until new courthouse design plans are known, it is impossible to envision what a new courthouse will look like standing separate from the downtown area and facing the main Perkins Street east-west artery to the town’s historic core.

CannonDesign, a global architectural firm with offices in San Francisco, is developing “design criteria” for the new Mendocino County Courthouse, according to an associate.

Blanca Bais said there are no specifics to publicly discuss at this point.

“We are only developing criteria information for future design-build selection,” Bais said.

CannonDesign’s architectural designs have been used for public courthouses across the nation, including the newly constructed Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse in downtown Denver. 

CannonDesign touts the Denver courthouse as one of the most “architecturally significant new justice buildings of the 21st century.”

The Denver courthouse is almost four times the proposed size of the new Mendocino County Courthouse that CannonDesign is developing for the Ukiah project.

The Mendocino project is currently in the “performance criteria” phase, according to state court officials. 

A “Design-Build” phase including construction is estimated to formally begin in July of this year, state documents show. “Design-Build” is a construction technique where a team works under a single contract to provide design and construction services.

“One entity, one contract, one unified flow of work from initial concept through completion,” according to a state Judicial County description of its process.

UKIAH SHELTER PET OF THE WEEK

When Proximo is out of his kennel and in our Meet and Greet Room, he is one happy and playful dog. He zooms around with a joyful energy and plays with any and every toy available! Proximo likes to sit next to you on the couch and is very affectionate. All of this happens when he feels safe and secure. We think Proximo lacked socialization with people and new environments in his early puppy months. He will need an adults-only home with an experienced dog owner. Once settled in and comfortable, Proximo will be a loyal and fun companion. Proximo is neutered, 1.5 years old and 76 pounds. 

We have more information and photos of Proximo at: mendoanimalshelter.com

If you can’t adopt, think about fostering. Our website has information about our FOSTER PROGRAM. And don’t forget our on-going SPRING CANINE ADOPTION EVENT—half off adoption fees for all spayed/neutered dogs 6 months and older at the Ukiah and Ft. Bragg Shelters! While you’re on our website, check out all of our canine and feline guests, our services, programs, events, and updates. Visit us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/mendoanimalshelter/ For information about adoptions, please call 707-467-6453.

WHAT WE KNOW ON DAY 46 OF THE INVASION

Volodymyr Zelenskiy calls for oil embargo on Russia as Boris Johnson pledges more military aid during Kyiv visit

by Samantha Lock

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has warned his country “does not have time to wait” while pushing for an oil embargo on Russia in his latest national address. He also said he is committed to pressing for peace despite Russian attacks on civilians that have stunned the world, and renewed his plea for countries to send more weapons ahead of an expected surge in fighting in the country’s east.

Zelenskiy said his country is ready for a tough battle with Russian forces amassing in the east of the country. “This will be a hard battle; we believe in this fight and our victory. We are ready to simultaneously fight and look for diplomatic ways to put an end to this war.”

The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, pledged a major new infusion of British arms and financial aid during a surprise trip to Kyiv on Saturday. Johnson said the UK and its partners and allies will provide support so that “Ukraine will never be invaded again”. The UK confirmed it will send 120 armoured vehicles and new anti-ship missile systems.

Johnson praised Zelenskiy’s “resolute leadership and the invincible heroism”. “Putin’s monstrous aims are being thwarted,” Johnson said. The reputations of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and his government have been “permanently polluted” by war crimes against civilians in Ukraine, he added.

Russia’s withdrawal from northern Ukraine has left evidence of “disproportionate targeting” of civilians, mass graves, the use of hostages as human shields, according to the latest British intelligence report. The report also claimed Russian forces continue to use improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to inflict casualties, lower Ukrainian morale and restrict freedom of movement.

Five people have been killed in east Ukraine shelling, according to the Donetsk governor. Four were reported killed in the city of Vugledar, and one in the town of Novomikhaylovka.

In the town of Borodianka, north-west of Kyiv, rescue teams sorted through the rubble of houses destroyed in Russian bombardments, looking for those missing. Heavy Russian bombardment has razed residential buildings and Ukrainian authorities are attempting search, clear-up and, hopefully, some rescue activities.

Ukraine carried out a prisoner exchange with Russia on Saturday, the third such swap since the start of the war, with 12 soldiers confirmed to be coming home, the Ukrainian deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, wrote online.

A total of 4,553 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors on Saturday, fewer than the 6,665 who escaped on Friday, Vereshchuk said. Ten humanitarian corridors to evacuate people from embattled areas across the country had been agreed on Saturday.

The European Commission is pledging €1bn to support Ukraine and countries receiving refugees fleeing the war following Russia’s invasion, said the commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen.

The Czech Republic has delivered tanks, multiple-rocket launchers, howitzers and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine among military shipments that have reached hundreds of millions of dollars and will continue, two Czech defence sources told Reuters.

The Austrian chancellor, Karl Nehammer, met Zelenskiy earlier on Saturday, following a visit to the city of Bucha to the north-west of Kyiv, where mass civilian graves and street killings by Russian forces were discovered last week.

Russia has reorganised the command of its battle operations in Ukraine, installing a new general with extensive experience in Russian operations in Syria, according to a western official. The commander of Russia’s southern military district, Gen Alexander Dvornikov, now leads the invasion, the source told the BBC, adding: “We would expect the overall command and control to improve.”

ON TUESDAY, the Supervisors grudgingly agreed to give Sheriff Kendall authority to provide hiring bonuses to both experienced cop transfers as well as new cops who paid for their law enforcement training out of pocket. Transfers would get a one-time bonus of $20k (in recognition that the County doesn’t have to pay for their training), and new hires would get $7k to cover their out-of-pocket training cost. 

According to the agenda item: “Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Sheriff’s Deputy Hiring Incentive of $7,000 for Police Academy Graduates Who Self-Financed Their Attendance and $20,000 for Lateral Transfers from Another Law Enforcement Agency”

Discussion:

“The Board of Supervisors has consistently voiced support for fully staffing the Sheriff's Office Field Services Division, but this has proven challenging for multiple reasons. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the temporary shutdown of the Police Academy, which reduced the hiring pool. At the same time, due to shifts in public perception towards law enforcement as a profession, there has been an increase in early retirements and a nationwide decline in the number of individuals seeking law enforcement jobs. Locally, other agencies now pay considerably more for new entry-level and lateral transfer hires. Offering one-time hiring incentives of $7,000 for applicants who self-financed their police academy attendance and $20,000 for lateral transfers from other law enforcement agencies may help attract qualified applicants and allow the Sheriff's Office to begin staffing up. With the exception of the proposed one-time hiring incentives, new hires will receive the same pay and benefits as current employees. These one-time incentives will not increase the ongoing payroll expense nor raise Sheriff's Deputy compensation in advance of employee compensation negotiations. Your continued support for fully staffing the Sheriff's Office is respectfully requested. The County has notified the affected bargaining unit of this proposed incentive program.”

The agenda item avoids the subject of how much this would cost by noting: “Annual recurring cost: Varies.” And “Budget clarification: N/A”

Kendall said law enforcement recruiting has become tougher across the state and the nation in recent years and that to have any decent chance at filling some of his vacancies he needs to provide bonuses comparable to what cops are getting elsewhere now, although the problem has been building for a couple of years now.

Kendall told the Board that he has 15 corrections officer vacancies at the jail plus three out on injury causing about 13 hours of overtime a week for current jail staff. He also has 10 vacant patrol slots with six out on long-term injury causing about 10-12 hours of overtime per week per patrol deputy. 

Despite the County’s own lack of budget impact info, Supervisor Ted Williams questioned Kendall’s request saying that the County is facing what he considers to be an “austerity” budget and making his usual claim that giving any additional money to the Sheriff will translates to a one-for-one cut somewhere else — never mind that he and his fellow board members hand out raises to senior staff and their beloved mental health services contractor on via no-bid, sole source consent calendar contracts, or that they handed out more than $80k for a useless “strategic plan,” with no budget impact questions, plus the Board is overrunning its own budget and both the CEO’s office and the County Counsel’s office are way over budget with no questions asked about what cuts that will engender.

Nevertheless Kendall’s request was approved unanimously as a “pilot program” to be reviewed in six months and again in a year. (That would be a first; nothing else is ever “reviewed” as called for in the enabling approval; take for example the Board’s stated plan to review the Mobile Crisis Response unit status on year after it was funded by Measure B. That never happened.) 

Meanwhile some union contract formalities will have to be ironed out before the program actually hands out any money. 

As usual, nobody asked the Sheriff about his budget or overtime status (another subject that was supposed to be monitored “monthly” when it was last discussed) or how much overtime savings might result from any new hires, even though the Sheriff teased the Board and the public with his estimates of how much his chronic staffing shortages are costing in overtime and implying that more staffing will mean less overtime.

YES ON MEASURE M!

The endorsement list for Anderson Valley School District's YES ON Measure M continues to grow with retired and current teachers and staff uniting with endorsements and phone banking, as they recognize the safety and health issues related to the deteriorating 60-year old properties including a failing septic system, lack of fire protection, and some classrooms without working plumbing. The Mendocino Democratic Committee has also endorsed the measure along with AVTA and CSEA. 

However, the good work of the staff and the amazing resiliency of the kids, in these less than optimal learning conditions, carries on. Take a look:

The MEASURE M local endorsement list is long including:

• Donna Pierson Pugh, Retired School Principal
• Richard “Dick” Browning, Retired School Administrator and Board Member
• Philip Thomas, Retired Teacher and Senior Center Treasurer
• Michael “Flick” MacDonald, Retired Teacher and Coach
• Jim Boudoures, Philo Saw Works
• Pilar Echeverria, Business Owner
• Robert Pinoli, AVHS Retired Teacher/Athletic Director
• Melinda Ellis, Business Owner
• Ric Bonner, Anderson Valley Health Center Board President
• JR Collins, Retired Superintendent 
• Dr. Leah Collins, Anderson Valley Health Center
• Star White, Parent
• Kathy Cox, Retired Teacher
• Deborah Cahn Bennett and Ted Bennett, Navarro Vineyards/Pennyroyal Farms
• Sarah Bennett, Navarro Vineyards/Pennyroyal Farms
• Aaron Bennett, Parent Co-Owner Navarro Vineyards/Pennyroyal Farms
• Kathleen Bennett, Human Resources Navarro Vineyards/Pennyroyal FaRms 
• Aaron Wellington, Parent
• Erika Damian, Parent
• Veronica Barragan, Public Employee
• Linnea Totten, Retired Teacher
• Robert Day Retired Contractor
• Emilia Theobald, Teacher
• Doug Leach
• Bruce and Ling Anderson
• Mario Espinoza
• Gabriela Henderson
• Chrissy deVall
• Deanna Branesky
• Michael Mannix
• Rob Risucci
• Mark Reffle
• Teresa Markofer
• Ana Ramirez
• Maria Ramierez
• Joshua Treespirit
• May Ann Grzenda
• Jill Derwinsk
• Charlotte Triplett
• Guadalupe Espinoza
• Ricardo and Francisca Suarez
• David Ballantine
• Noor Dawood
• Ali Cook
• Julie Honegger
• Keevan Labowitz
• Martin Quezada 
• Leigh Kreienhop
• Nat Corey-Moran
• Eden Kellner
• Chloe Guazzone
• Maria Villamor
• Ginny Roemer
• Ana Maria Guerrero
• Erika Echeverria
• Moises Perez
• Greg Potter
• Dawn Emery Ballantine
• Sophie Otis
• Helen Papke
• Wendy Kein
• Linda Mendoza
• Dan Reed
• Evan Marie Petit
• Maricela Balandran
• Nicholas Benett
• Elizabeth Wyant
• Elizabeth and Wallen Summers
• Cymbre Thomas-Swett
• A. Balandran
• Anna Farquar
• Mary Pat Palmer
• Lauren Goldsmith
• Marta McKenzie
• Clem Donahue
• Efrain Garcia
• Gabriela Lena Frank
• Kelly Griere
• Daniel P. Horton
• Cloey Bloyd
• Scott Zarness
• Kevin Jones
• Gerald Karp
• Captain Rainbow
• Torey Douglas
• William Ross 
• Stephanie Tebbutt
• Jan Pallazola
• Star White
• Casey Farber
• Rob Goodell
• Mary Paffard
• Stephanie Gold
• Mrs. Nieves
• Dawn Trygstad
• Jessica Trombley
• Jeffrey Pugh
• Preston Metter
• Caroline Blair
• Dennis Johnson
• Claire Walker English
• Evette La Paille-Thomas
• Gwyn Leeman Smith
• Ann Gibson
• Ann Christen
• Mark Scaramella
• Esther Anderson
• Francois Christen
• Gail Gester
• Ron Gester
• Sharon Korn

Join us for a tour: High School: May 12 at 4:30 / Elementary School: May 19 at 4:30.

YES ON MEASURE M!

Measure M Bond Committee

WHY DID THE HUMANE SOCIETY WITHDRAW?

Editor,

It’s time for each one of us to come to the aid of our humane society! There's a rumor floating around town that the Coast Humane Society (MCHS) had seriously considered making use of the recently vacated veterinary facility, Detricks Veterinary on Franklin Street. But, it didn't work out. Does anyone know why? Perhaps if we were made aware of the obstacle(s), the Coastal Community could help make it happen. people!! our pets need rescuing! Our pets need quality veterinary care! None of us want to see our pets continue to suffer because of the limitations of vet care on the Coast. 

What were the obstacles to seeing MCHS accomplish this? As a community what do they need from us to accomplish this? What should our elected leaders on the Fort Bragg City Council do to accomplish this? The City Council just hired a hi-powered grant writer from Washington DC. Councilmembers! Let's start by writing grants to get the MCHS to grow in its ability to be more effective and save our pets needless suffering and death. Come on people...dont just sit there and let this happen! Again, I ask, What issue(s) caused the MCHS to withdraw its effort to utilize a perfectly suitable facility for lifesaving work? Anybody know? 

This community needs to step up!

Rosemary Mangino

Fort Bragg

BILL KIMBERLIN: Three oranges is a ten coin jackpot. In 1958 that would have bought you breakfast, lunch, and a tank of gas. Today's value would be about $25 dollars. I found this at an Estate Sale.

CANDIDATES WANTED

Editor,

Other than the two incumbents who filed, no one filed to run for Fort Bragg City Council in 2020. Rather than spend the thousands of dollars it takes for an election, three City Council members appointed the two incumbents. Within months one of them resigned — a seat again appointed. When no one runs for office, “We the People” do not decide who makes the laws that govern us.

Perhaps today’s politics and a killer pandemic have frayed the fabric of our social souls. Yet, regardless of how worn down, we are, if no one steps up to run for City Council, democracy may as well be dead in the City of Fort Bragg.

Fort Bragg needs elected public servants. If you have any hope to maintain what is, in your opinion, good, to change what in your opinion needs to be changed, or to create a sharable vision for the future of your community, commit to the promise inherent in your ideas; step up and run for City Council.

And although a “politician” might perform public services through the lens of party politics, winning favor from specific supporters, or retaining power for personal aggrandizement, you do not have to take this questionable road to be a good public servant.

Think about it! We need authentic public servants to run for City Council on November 8, 2022. Check out the City’s video at www.city.fortbragg.com/departments/city-clerk/city elections. The filing period for nomination papers and candidate statements is between July 18 and August 12.

Linda Rosengarten

Fort Bragg

CAN’T EVEN GET A PEEK AT A HOUSE

Editor,

On the MCN Announce List, I recently read about a fellow who works at Adventist Health, our Fort Bragg hospital, and commutes to Fort Bragg from Manchester because he can’t find housing closer to the hospital. It turns out that fellow is Jonathan, an x-ray technician at the hospital. He explained to me this morning that when a listing becomes available, there are so many people competing for housing now on the coast that it’s difficult for him as a full-time worker to make weekday appointments to view rental units right away.

Laurie York

Fort Bragg

BORN APRIL 9, 1898 PAUL ROBESON was a lawyer, athlete, social activist, actor, and singer known for his rich bass. baritone voice. He's shown here in 1942 leading workers at an Oakland California shipyard in singing "The Star-Spangled Banner." 

— Submitted by Roger Keehner 

ED NOTES: 

CONSENT CALENDAR Item 3m approved without discussion or comment along with the rest of the consent calendar on Tuesday, April 5, 2022:

KEY PROVISION:

“Clerk of the Board has established an overflow/viewing room in Conference Room B, which will have two sets of open double doors leading to the Administration Building quad, in order to provide air flow for attendees. For the safety of others, we request that attendees watch the meeting from the more ventilated overflow room, and enter Chambers when it is time for Public Comment on their item(s) of interest. Once they’ve provided their comments, we request that they return to the overflow room for continued viewing of the meeting.” 

THE FIRST of many fiscal time bombs gifted to Mendocino County by departed CEO Angelo: When in-person meetings of the Supervisors resume, members of the public will cool their heels in a little side room, watching the meeting on tv while they wait for their name to be called to directly address their majesties. Speakers must then retreat to the isolation chamber from whence they are presumably free to leave, their matter certain to have been ignored. The new CEO, Ms. Antle, is the clerk of the board referred to.

THE 'MARMON ROOM,' as we've dubbed the new iso cell after James Marmon, against whom the former CEO enacted a frivolous restraining order against the old biker.

THIS FARCICAL innovation is not only a total waste of public money but more evidence that none of these supervisors should be returned for another term. Unfortunately, only Third District Supervisor John Haschack and 5th District Supervisor Williams appear on the June ballot. 

AND NEEDLESS TO SAY, both Haschak and Williams are supported for re-election by the obliviously feckless Mendo Democrats, but we hope Third District voters go for Clay Romero despite his obvious political shortcomings.

REDDING OVER WILLIAMS in the 5th? Why not? The combative and dependably volatile Redding would of course be cordoned off by the CEO and her four automatons, but Redding would at least bring some life to this particular political House of the Dead.

IN THE THIRD DISTRICT IN THE 4TH DISTRICT we have incumbent John Haschak vs. Clay Romero, a Trump conservative who, like John Redding, would certainly enliven Supes proceedings if he got elected. But also like Redding vs. Williams, Romero has zero chance against Haschak because Willits, and much of the Third, except for pockets of monkey-wrenching bush hippies who would vote for Romero simply for the theater of his election, exists in an oppressive, impenetrable miasmic stew of conservative liberalism. Haschak, like his four colleagues, has unfailingly signed off on whatever irresponsible spending scheme the boss ladies put in front of him.

NICOLE GLENTZER is running against incumbent County Schools Superintendent, Michele Hutchins. The following is from Ms. Glentzer's website:

”If you're paying close attention to this race, you've probably felt a shift in momentum these last few weeks. It is clear that Mendocino County is ready for Nicole's positivity and integrity at the Superintendent's Office. With just 60 days(!) until election day, it's all hands on deck to make sure county schools get the leadership we deserve.”

THERE are zero issues in this race, hence Ms. G's confused statement about “positivity,” probably loaned to the candidate by the noted philologist and former superintendent, Paul Tichinin.

STOP the next ten Mendo people on the street and ask them what the County Office of Education does. Most would answer, “We have a county office of education.?” We do, and a lotta money flows into out and out of it to the individual school districts of Mendocino County.

WHICH is exactly the vague beef here. The Ukiah edu-octopus feels it isn't properly deferred to as the county's largest school complex so, having run one of their vapid male administrators against Ms. Hutchins four years ago who Hutchins handily defeated they've come up with one of their own.

THE UKIAH edu-brain trust, supported by Tichinin and another dull-normal called Damon Dickinson, came up with the cynical idea of running a woman against the female incumbent, and here comes Ms. Glentzer with her basket of “positivity” in which she also carries an a non-positive allegation of lack of “integrity,” by which she means, what?

WHO KNOWS? Back when words still had meaning, an “educator” wouldn't be so careless, but here we are in a situation where incumbent Hutchins has scrupulously ensured that the county's far-flung school districts get their fair share of funding and educational attention, it would be sad to see the County Office revert to the cronyism and grasping idiocy of the Tichinin years.

CATCH OF THE DAY, April 9, 2022

CURTIS BETTEGA, Covelo. Failure to appear.

CORISSA BOWLIN, Kelseyville/Fort Bragg. Domestic abuse, child endangerment.

MEGAN BRAZIL, Fortuna/Ukiah. DUI controlled substance, paraphernalia. 

GABRIEL DIXON, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

JOSEPH DRAKE, West Richmond, Washington/Ukiah. DUI.

EMMY FINE, Fort Bragg. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

MARVIN GIBSON, Willits. Controlled substance, probation revocation.

JUAN GONZALEZ, Cloverdale/Ukiah. Concealed weapon in vehicle, loaded firearm in public, alteration of firearm ID.

ALEXANDER JACKSON, Ukiah. Ammunition, controlled substance while armed with loaded firearm, felon-addict with firearm, ghost gun, loaded handgun not registered owner, bringing controlled substances into jail.

JARED KIDD, Ukiah. Parole violation, probation revocation.

JANET KNIGHT, Redwood Valley. Probation revocation.

NOAH LURANHATT, Ukiah. Parole violation.

CARLOS MAGANA, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

CHRISTOPHER POWELL, Ukiah. DUI, suspended license.

STEVEN RICH SR., Ukiah. Controlled substance, parole violation.

BILL GRIMES WRITES: 

Plastic Pollution: The Environmental Danger

Friday evening April 8 KQED aired a story about the negative impact to the environment of discarded plastic bottles, containers and grocery bags.

m.facebook.com/kqedscience/videos/californias-plastic-problem-kqed-newsroom/635263857625432/

Despite being dead before our tiny planet could be dangerously impacted by discarded plastics now polluting our streams, rivers and oceans -- and assuming no technology silver bullet to correct nor significant change in human behavior and stricter government policies the reality (see below) bothered me to the point that I expressed in writing my concern to my Congressman. 

I forward my note to you, my friends, in the hope it might stimulate some thought to the problem and join me in trying my best to avoid buying, as difficult as that is, things with plastic.

Letter to my Congressman in December of 2020. 

Dear Mr. Huffman,

With growing media reports on the damage done to our environment by discarded plastic, I can see no reason for the Federal law that forbids pharmacies to refill a prescribed medicine (pills) in the same plastic vial or container the customer brings to the pharmacy. To permit the pharmacy to refill a customer’s medicine in the same vial it was previously used for the same medicine seems unnecessary and contributes to the mostly unseen detriment to our environment.

Upon learning of this law from my Walgreen pharmacist I asked what they do with the used vials like the one I brought from home that day to have it filled. His answer: We throw them in the garbage. No recycling? I asked. His answer with a helpless and disinterested shrug: No.

Seems a minor component of the large worldwide plastic problem. But think of all these plastic vials tossed in our garbage at home and in the pharmacy. Uneconomical to recycle and melt down the plastic for future use, I have read. So into the landfills, rivers, and oceans they go. 

Fish are now being found with bits of plastic in their stomachs. That plastic takes a century or more to bi-degrade exacerbates the plastic pollution as is pointed out by many different sources below.

Assume 100 million Americans use prescribed medicines that come in these plastic vials. Think an average of two prescriptions per person per month and do the math. Lots of plastic doing harm in our rivers and oceans.

Let's repeal this federal law. Let us reuse the plastic vial to refill the same medicine that we used previously. 

Seems this would have broad bi-partisan support. 

Only the makers of these plastic containers for their pharmaceutical customers would be lobbying against it, I would think.

Sincerely, your constituent, 

J. William Grimes

Ross

Huffman’s reply a month later was basically, Thank you but we have other priorities. 

* * *

List of media accounts on the damage being done. 

When The Mermaids Cry: The Great Plastic Tide, A Sea Of Troubles :The Economist June 2020

Covid-19 has led to a pandemic of plastic pollution

As the world produces more protective equipment—and gorges on takeaways—pity the oceans. 

Vast amounts of untreated plastic waste are buried in landfills or dumped in rivers. The United Nations has identified single-use plastics as one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges.

Marine plastics

Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year for use in a wide variety of applications.

At least 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year, and make up 80% of all marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediments.

Marine species ingest or are entangled by plastic debris, which causes severe injuries and deaths.

Plastic pollution threatens food safety and quality, human health, coastal tourism, and contributes to climate change.

There is an urgent need to explore the use of existing legally binding international agreements to address marine plastic pollution.

Recycling and reuse of plastic products, and support for research and innovation to develop new products to replace single-use plastics are also necessary to prevent and reduce plastic pollution……International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

* * *

June 11, 2020 NY Times: Johnathon Schwartz 

Plastic pollution isn’t just fouling the world’s oceans it is also in the air we breathe, traveling on the wind and drifting down from the skies, according to a new study. More than 1,000 tons of tiny fragments rain down each year on national parks and wilderness areas in the American West alone, equivalent to between 123 million and 300 million plastic bottles worth.

* * *

Financial Times January 23, 2018

The Problem With Plastic

From the stomachs of baby seabirds to the depths of the oceans—plastic pollution is everywhere. Much of the planet is swimming in discarded plastic, which is harming animal and possibly human health. Can it be cleaned up?

* * *

National Geographic, June 7, 2019

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues , as rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products overwhelms the world’s ability to deal with them. 

* * *

NYT 10-30-20 : Americans May Add Five Times More Plastic to the Oceans Than Thought 

The United States is using more plastic than ever, and waste exported for recycling is often mishandled, according to a new study….plastic waste entering oceans expected to triple in 20 years…..

Plastic waste entering oceans expected to triple in 20 years…..Current and planned waste-cutting efforts will reduce volume only by about 7%, say researchers

* * *

Wikipedia: How does plastic cause pollution?

When plastic is produced, it's made from toxic materials such as benzene and vinyl hydrochloride. It is destined to be toxic from birth to forever. These chemicals are known to cause cancer, and the manufacturing byproducts contaminate our air and soil. The type of plastic that is the major source of dioxin is PVC.

J. EDGAR HOOVER, AMERICA'S CRAZIEST LAWMAN EVER

SF DA CHESA BOUDIN FIGHTING THE BATTLE OF HIS LIFE

by Jonah Raskin

In France, and all around the globe, eyes are focused on the French presidential election, though not many citizens seem to be hot and bothered about the candidates and the race. In San Francisco, where the citizens tend to be concerned with themselves and all things local, eyes are focused on the rapidly approaching recall election. Chesa Boudin, SF's righteous, embattled D.A., is fighting what will surely be the political and personal battle of his lifetime. His own fight is also, pundits say, a test case in the ongoing ideological war between “the left” and the “right.” Republican billionaire, William Oberndorf, has donated $900,000 to the cause to remove Boudin from office. Oberndorf’s “people,” if he can be said to have any, claim that crime has skyrocketed in the city, though the facts don’t support that contention. As is so often the case, it’s the perception that counts.

Over the past two-years, Boudin has shaken up the D.A.’s office and done plenty to rile the right, though it sometimes seems that he’s reviled because of his lefty, biological parents, Kathy Boudin and Dave Gilbert, as well as Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers who raised him from infancy. The “sins” of the mothers and father are visited on the son. An old American story. Republicans figure that if they can remove Boudin from office in liberal SF they can remove anyone from office anywhere in the US that they don’t like. Boudin’s supporters are digging in for a siege.

Born in 1980 and now on the cusp of 42— also a Yale graduate who worked in Venezuela in Hugo Chavez's government—Boudin is fighting to keep his job and continue the mission he began 27 months ago. That has been to overhaul the broken criminal justice system in a city that likes to think it walks the equality walk and talks the equality talk.

The evidence shows something very different. With a population that's three per cent Black and that adds up to 50% of the incarcerated, something isn't right on the scales of justice.

There are less than two months to go before citizens cast their ballots for or against Boudin. The police union is against him, Black mayor, London Breed, is against him, conservatives are against him, and big outside money from billionaires like Oberndorf is also squarely against him. Boudin’s supporters include the city's cast of usual suspects who include progressives, liberal lawyers like Stuart Hanlon and members of the Hallinan clan, plus social activists and even some cops who know from experience how corrupt cops can be.

Recently, when I arrived at a spirited fundraiser at a spiffy SF law office in the financial district, I saw Boudin across the crowded room, made a beeline for him and shook his hand. "You're obviously a long distance runner," I said. He looked at me, smiled and said, "How did you know that?" I replied, "Because you've been running an intense, spirited campaign ever since you were first elected DA and then began to serve in January 2020." He smiled again and said, "That's true. I'm also a real long distance runner, though I don't run for as long or as far as I used to run." "So, you're both a literal and a figurative long distance runner," I quipped. Boudin looks and sounds physically fit. He speaks without notes and without prepared remarks. That was not the case with James Bell, a lawyer and the only apparent Black person in the crowd, who has worked in South Africa with the African National Congress and with both Palestinians and Israelis to find alternatives to incarceration for juveniles.

Wearing a baseball cap that read "1619," Bell shuffled a sheaf of papers, looked up at the crowd and down at his notes. Appropriately enough, it was the same day that the U.S. Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court—making her the first Black woman to serve as one of the Supremes. ''Since the founding of this country, the justice industry has reinforced racial inequality," Bell said. "Chesa is scaring people. We need to peacefully disrupt the institutions of social control." He added, "This fight is about democracy."

In a suit and tie, Boudin came up next and listed the achievements of his office: closed an unsafe city jail; reduced the number of children behind bars; advocated for basic income; provided housing for survivors of domestic violence; expanded the victim assistance program; appointed the first Chinese speaker to his office; covered funeral expenses for impoverished mothers who had lost their sons; and held people accountable for the crimes they committed.                           

What he still hoped and wanted to do, he explained, was to go after the companies that manufacture illegal guns, aka "ghost guns," that find their way to the bloody streets of San Francisco. On the same day as his fundraiser, Boudin filed charges against teen robbery suspects arrested with ghost guns. Perhaps after all was said and done, he was tough on crime.

Sandra Lee Fewer, a Chinese woman married to a retired ex-cop— and also a former member of the city’s board of supervisors—called upon the audience to give money and enable Boudin to carry on his campaign for justice. "We're on the right side of history," Fewer said. "This is the fight of our time. D.A.s are getting beat up from Philly to L.A and San Francisco. Let's fuckin' show the rest of the country what this crazy city can do." 

By the end of the afternoon, it seemed that, as James Bell said, "This election is about who will be the kept and who will be the keeper."

Boudin's achievements are impressive, though in public institutions like the city’s libraries and on the gritty streets of the Mission District and elsewhere, it can be challenging to see signs of the reforms he has instituted. Men and women who seem to be mentally challenged act out before curious spectators, and even in front of the police who appear to be reluctant to make arrests.

Also, passengers who are likely homeless, sleep on street cars from one end of the line to another, while some women who walk alone on side walks even in the daytime, tell me that they’re called names. SF civility is fragile. In wealthy neighborhoods atop places like Nob Hill, there are no visible homeless people. The streets are clean and quiet. The homeless are clustered in certain areas, including right around city hall. At night, parts of SF can seem like places of despair. That’s what Lyft, Uber and Yellow Cab drivers who cruise the city after midnight tell me.

Recalling Boudin won't solve the social problems that are deeply rooted in class and racial injustices and economic disparities. Kicking him out of office which now seems likely—68% of the citizens favor recall—might make some well-off white people feel safer than they now feel. Recall will also likely give the green lights to cops to beat more people over their heads, drag them to jail and lock them up—the same old same old that landed the city in the mess that Boudin inherited when he first became D.A.

The fundraiser I attended brought much needed cash to his campaign and his able staff members. It was also a shot in the arm that will keep him running for another six or seven weeks. Still, win or lose, he will have reminded the city's citizens that it has a long way to go to reach even a modest plateau of social justice for one and all.

(Jonah Raskin lives in San Francisco at Ocean Beach.)

CONVERSATION IS BUT CARVING!

Give no more to every guest
Than he is able to digest.
Give him always of the prime,
And but little at a time.
Carve to all but just enough,
Let them neither starve nor stuff.
And that you may have your due,
Let your neighbor carve for you.

—Jonathan Swift, 1738; from ‘Polite Conversation’

CHOMSKY: US POLICY TOWARD RUSSIA IS BLOCKING PATHS TO DE-ESCALATION IN UKRAINE

Russia’s war in Ukraine is producing an earthquake in international affairs. The war has raised new questions about national security across Europe and is shaking up energy geopolitics. In addition, the war seems to be creating new divisions between the Global North and the Global South while Russia and China strengthen their strategic relationship.

In the interview that follows, world-renowned scholar and leading dissident Noam Chomsky addresses some of the new developments taking place in the world system on account of Russia’s assault on Ukraine. Chomsky also ponders the question of whether Vladimir Putin can be prosecuted for war crimes in light of the mounting evidence that brings to mind the atrocities committed by the Nazis during World War II. Recent evidence also indicates that Ukrainian forces have also engaged in war crimes by killing captured Russian soldiers.…

truthout.org/articles/chomsky-us-policy-toward-putin-assures-no-path-to-de-escalation-in-ukraine/

LAURIE YORK: An open letter to Airbnb — extremely important info

Greetings local residents,

I encourage you to read this letter or better yet, listen to the writer reading the letter himself. What is happening here on the Mendocino Coast, throughout California, across the US and internationally is changing living conditions for millions of people, eliminating affordable housing and causing the rental and real estate markets to skyrocket. Time for some soul-searching and regulations. Canada just banned international buyers from its housing market to try to cool the market down — see article below.

An open letter to Airbnb: surviving-tomorrow.com/p/open-letter-to-airbnb

CHRIS SKYHAWK: Don’t be fooled by this boring piece of paper. It actually holds great significance for me, I have been working on getting my Driver's License back, post-stroke. I had 2 seizures last year which derailed my efforts, I was quite scared that seizures were going to be part of my life, it has been 6 months since my last seizure, so I am cleared to Get road tested this Thursday, at Smith O T Driving school in Petaluma, they will make a suggestion to the DMV if I need adaptive equipment, I have to accommodate my non-working left hand, So I will need something, BUT! Seizures are apparently not going to be a regular feature of my life, which is a huge, huge, huge relief….And getting my DL back will increase my independence and facilitate my relationship with my daughters because I will not be dependent on others for transportation, the school tested me with a computer program to see about my visual processing, and I was quite surprised to score in the 90th percentile!! so thank you for your continued love, support and prayers which has been such a reservoir of strength for me.

WONDERS OF THE POST-SATIRICAL WORLD.

"I axed mad Asians. I axed Chinese, too! Ain't nobody have turtles, Ace! They said come back in the summer!"

Here's the recording of last night's (2022-04-08) Memo of the Air: Good Night Radio show on KNYO-LP Fort Bragg (CA): https://tinyurl.com/KNYO-MOTA-0483

Thanks a lot to Hank Sims for all kinds of tech help over the years, as well as for his fine news site: https://LostCoastOutpost.com

Plus thanks to the Anderson Valley Advertiser, which provided about an hour of the above eight-hour show's most locally relevant material, as usual, without asking for anything in return. Though I do pay $25 annually for full access to all articles and features, and you can too. As well as go to KNYO.org, click on the big red heart and give what you can. Also email me your work on any subject and I will read it on the radio this coming Friday night.

You'll hear the difference in tone of this particular show. I did it from Juanita's place, after being away for many weeks (last five shows were from the studio in Fort Bragg (CA). Juanita was exhausted from her trip in a rental car the whole length of California to L.A. for Skipper's funeral, on like an hour of sleep in three days; she returned the car with two minutes to spare. You can hear her sleeping in the background nearly the whole show. I'm talking very quietly but with my mouth right on the mic so not to wake her up. I sound like a hostage with nothing to lose, or a golf announcer, or a miner in a jam, or an FM radio. Maybe you like it this way. Let me know. I can do it on purpose.

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

Mongolian wind burial. This is very like the hand-done animation Ray (of Ray and Miriam) Rice used to make in Mendocino in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

https://nagonthelake.blogspot.com/2022/04/mongolian-wind-burial.html

And –ermagerd!– someone put a few of Ray's dreamlike videos up on the web! Here:

https://rayandmiriamrice.com/ray-rice/films/

Distorted amplified acoustic guitar is pretty cool and it's strange that it's not more widespread in music. In the late '70s I used a pair of headphones as a microphone, clamped over the bell of my guitar, plugged into a tube amplifier I made out of a thrift-store tape recorder, and turned it up to eleven. Also there was a white reggae band that used to play at the Caspar Inn where the guitarist used a similarly distorted acoustic guitar. I don't remember his name; he looked just like the leader of the robber gang in /Point Break/ but with tangled ropes of blond hair down to the middle of his back. I half-remember that he might have been Lilia Albuquerque's boyfriend.

https://theawesomer.com/rammstein-fingerstyle/625757/

Wake up! Huh? Wha? AAAIIIEEE! (plop) Wake up! Wake up! Huh? Wha? AAIIIIIEEE! (plop). It used to be, when you'd see a person at a fair who didn't want to go on the rides, you'd wonder what was wrong with them. Then you get a little older and you see the wisdom. Also, whether you go on the rides or not, don't eat anything they sell there. And don't look anyone in the eye; they might be off their meds, or on self-meds, and focus on you. And the strobing Edison bulbs, and /noise and smells/ of all the diesel motors and calliopes and the cow shit from the auction stables and the go-kart races and ocean waves of screaming and teenagers throwing up their smuggled-in liquor and consequently fair-food vomit everywhere. Thanks for reminding me. You kids go have fun decapitating yourselves and getting pregnant by being stabbed by a broken Zipper-ride girder; I'll be doing literally anything else, anywhere else.

https://boingboing.net/2022/04/08/watch-this-insane-amusement-park-slingshot-ride-make-two-teenage-girls-pass-out.html

And half an hour of peaceful video of Studio Ghibli film backgrounds. The exact opposite of the hellscape of a county fair.

https://nagonthelake.blogspot.com/2022/04/peaceful-visuals-from-studio-ghibli.html

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

LATE FOR OL' KALI YUGA

Here Now~Centered~Spiritual Warriorship~Demonic Destruction~Back2Godhead

It is 11:57 on a sunny Saturday morning at the Building Bridges homeless shelter in Ukiah, California. Presently listening to Indian flute music on YouTube on the headphones. [Earlier, voluntarily emptied the trash and recycled, to contribute to the unique aesthetic here.] It is late in the Kali Yuga. The global environmental situation is beyond the point of no return, as climate destabilization and a few other problems slowly and irreversibly worsen. War, starvation, economic implosion, and the decline of mental health, dominate the news. And there will always be sports. And the weather.

I am continuously chanting the Mahamantram: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

I'm ready. How about you? Anybody up for going to critical places and spiritually intervening in history? What would you do in this world if you knew that you could not fail? Anybody else still following their bliss? ☺

Craig Louis Stehr