Mendocino County Today: Thursday, May 5, 2022

Rain Chance | Poppies | Covid Returns | John Hill | Farm Supply | Heroes/Patriots | Fire Extinguishers | Skunk Disappointed | Calfire Jobs | Ominous Forecast | UUSD Info | Vote Glentzer | Village Events | Pepper Martin | Birth Day | Ed Notes | Yip Lee | Albion Bridge | Noyo Mill | Proposed Tower | Hastings Bill | Yesterday's Catch | Conserve Fuel | Manchester Wedding | AG Candidate | Women Strike | Human Embryo | Yacht Blockade | Worried | Forced Treatment | Albion Wharf | Dry Montana | Tuna Waffles | Film Festival | 1970 Boy | Autism Seminar | Little Hope | Navarro Engine | Solstice Dinner | Willits Wrecker | Disinformation Board | Fort Braggers

RAIN AND COOLER TEMPERATURES will return today and persist through Saturday morning, with the heaviest rain across Del Norte county. More rain and mountain snow is expected on Sunday. Drier weather is expected by early next week. (NWS)

MENDOCINO COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER DR. ANDY COREN WARNS THE PUBLIC OF A RECENT UPTICK IN COVID CASES.

In the past two weeks, Mendocino County COVID cases have more than doubled. This count is based on positive cases identified by highly sensitive PCR tests and rapid Antigen tests. Schools, which are returning from proms and sports competitions, are reporting increased positivity. These results mean that the county is now a HIGH CDC TRANSMISSION RISK area. 

ORDERS and RECOMMENDATIONS have changed substantially due to the rapid decline of cases in March. Rollbacks of orders relaxing some masking, distancing, and proof of testing and vaccinations has led to understandable confusion about what is current. 

We can all limit contagion with a few simple steps: 

• Continue MASKING INDOORS in public places. Masks are still required for EVERYONE in some settings, including public transit and long-term care facilities. 

• Keep GATHERINGS small (less than 25), outdoors if possible, especially if food is served. 

• TEST using PCR or Rapid Antigen Test before travel, gatherings or visits. Tests are available over the counter, through your provider, or at County test sites. 

• STAY HOME if you test is positive, or if have symptoms. If you might have COVID, call your medical provider quickly for a very effective antiviral PRESCRIPTION. 

• Follow the Guidance regarding isolation to prevent further infection. 

We are now at the beginning of a new wave of COVID. While it is difficult to predict if our hospitals will be overwhelmed, severe infections are still possible, especially for the elderly, those with immune compromise or chronic disease, and those who are not vaccinated. The new wave of variants (BA 2.12.1) is almost twice as contagious as the original COVID infection, and new variants from overseas may cause more severe disease. 

Recently completed vaccine research shows efficacy is waning but is still most effective in preventing severe disease. Those who have had COVID have some immunity, but not as strong or long lasting as immunity from vaccines, and should get vaccinated. Boosters are still strongly recommended for those who have been vaccinated. 

To review current California requirements for masking, please visit the California Department of Public Health website. For local questions about where to find a vaccine or testing, please call Mendocino County Public Health at 707-472-2759 or visit the Public Health website at: www.mendocinocounty.org/covid19 

JOHN HILL

Our community sadly lost a pillar on Friday, April 22, 2022, when John F. M. Hill, favorably known as Big John, passed away two days before his 85th birthday.

John was born On April 24, 1937, in Kosciusko, Mississippi where he spent his early years. John and his family relocated to Ukiah in 1952 in search of opportunities not available to them in the South. Ukiah was home to John for over 70 years. After finishing high school, he joined and served in the Army for several years. Upon returning home, John worked at the Drive-in Theater as a Manager. He then went on to be the manager of the movie theater for several years. In the early eighties, John decided to pursue a degree in Administration of Justice from Mendocino Junior College. Upon receiving his associate degree, he began a new career as a Correctional Officer for the Mendocino County Sheriff Department where he worked until his retirement.

John is survived by his wife of over 51 years Mrs. Reta M. Hill, favorably known as the Jamaican Lady, as well as their five children, Jennifer, Donna, Rose, Anthony, and Rodney Hill, nine grandchildren, Bobby, Courtney, Marques, Nia, Shannel, Malcolm, Jordon, Langston; Nine Greatgrands Quentin, Asha, Ariza, Jayden, Crew, Gia, Carter, Angel, and Kameron; several nieces and nephews along with a host of cousins and friends near and far.

John was preceded in death by his parents, brother Marvin Hill of Sacramento; sister Doris Johnson of Santa Rosa, and grandson DeVaughn K. Carter of Los Angeles

Funeral services will be officiated by Pastor Mike Fenton at Eversole Mortuary, 141 Low Gap Road, Ukiah, on May 14, 2022, at 1:00 PM. Repast immediately following the service at Trinity Baptist Church, 900 S. Dora Street, Ukiah, CA 95482.

Burial services will be private for immediate family in Chico on May 15, 2022, at 12 noon.

ANDERSON VALLEY FARM SUPPLY

We are expanding our nursery! Join us May 14th & 15th for discounts!

• 20% off ALL Foxfarm products
• 20% off ALL Plants
• 20% off ALL Pottery

New veggie starts from Strong Roots in Potter Valley and new landscape trees and flowers from Matsuda’s Nursery! And of course our usual veggies and flowers from Gaddis and Emerisa.

"HEROES AND PATRIOTS" returns to KMUD on Thursday, May 5, at 9-10 AM, Pacific Time, with leading progressive journalist, media personality, and activist, Katrina vanden Heuvel. 

This is our membership drive show. Our cohosts are John Sakowicz and Mary Massey. 

Our Guest 

Katrina vanden Heuvel is the publisher, part-owner, and former editor of the progressive magazine The Nation. She was the magazine's editor from 1995 to 2019 and is frequent commentator on political television programs. Vanden Heuvel is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a recipient of the Norman Mailer Prize. 

With her husband, Columbia professor Stephen F. Cohen (deceased), Katrina vanden Heuvel edited Voices of Glasnost: Interviews with Gorbachev's Reformers (Norton, 1989). She also edited the compilation volume, The Nation: 1865–1990 (Pluto Press, 1987). 

In 1990, vanden Heuvel co-founded Vy i My (You and We), a quarterly feminist journal linking American and Russian women, and elsewhere described as a Russian-language feminist newsletter. 

She was editor for the collection, A Just Response: The Nation on Terrorism, Democracy and September 11, 2001 (New York: Thunder's Mouth Press/Nation Books, 2002) and co-edited Taking Back America – And Taking Down the Radical Right (Nation Books, 2004), and more recently edited The Dictionary of Republicanisms (Nation Books, 2005). 

As of April 2021, she continues to write an op-ed column for The Washington Post. 

What We'll Talk About 

The Russian invasion of Ukraine with its horrific atrocities and massive refugee crisis has turned the world upside down. The war will destabilize global energy markets and will imperil food security.  

We'll talk about what Biden calls Putin’s “indefensible invasion" but why NATO is really at the root of Ukraine crisis. 

We'll also talk about the need for diplomacy in a nuclearized world. 

Finally, we'll talk about the state of the free press, the need for an independent media, and fighting Big Tech's "censorship by proxy".  Alphabet (which owns Google and YouTube), Meta/Facebook (which also owns Instagram), Twitter, Apple, and Microsoft all function as the arbiters of public issues and legitimate discourse, despite assertions by their leaders that they are not publishers or media companies. 

KMUD 

KMUD simulcasts its programming on two full power FM stations: KMUE 88.1 in Eureka and KLAI 90.3 in Laytonville. It also maintains a translator at 99.5 FM in Shelter Cove, California. 

We also stream live from the web to a national audience at https://kmud.org.

Speak with our guests live and on-the-air at: KMUD Studio (707) 923-3911 

Wherever you live, KMUD is your community radio station. We are a true community of kind, loving, informed, progressive people. Please join us by becoming a member or underwriter. 

SKUNK DISAPPOINTED

Editor,

Judge Clayton L. Brennan, of the Mendocino County Superior Court, announced on Thursday that he would allow the City of Fort Bragg to proceed with its lawsuit to end Mendocino Railway’s status as a public utility regulated primarily by federal and state law (rather than local law). The City hopes by its baseless lawsuit to wrest control over Mendocino Railway away from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) and to obtain that control for itself. Mendocino Railway has argued that the Superior Court has no jurisdiction to hear challenges against CPUC-regulation of public utilities.

“We are obviously disappointed by the Court’s ruling and have pursued an emergency request to the Court of Appeal to review Judge Brennan’s ruling,” said Robert Pinoli, president of Mendocino Railway. “Sadly, the City Council is determined to waste hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to pursue its relentless quest to destroy the railway and the visitor spending it generates for small businesses and workers in our community. We firmly believe that our community benefits when our City Council works together with local businesses to create jobs rather than engaging in senseless political battles that appear only to benefit our councilmembers’ private business interests.”

The City’s lawsuit is but one of a series of unjustly hostile actions carried out by Fort Bragg’s City Council. The City Council’s vindictive actions also include trying to sabotage Mendocino Railway’s efforts to obtain a $21 million Railway Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Express (RIFF) loan intended to replace ties and rail and refurbish Tunnel #1, repairs that are essential to restoring the historical connection and the movement of freight and passengers between Fort Bragg and Willits. The City Council’s effort to sabotage this loan amounts to pure vindictiveness as the loan has no connection to any prospective mixed-use development project on the former millsite. In addition, the Fort Bragg City Council has also repeatedly defamed Mendocino Railway in an effort to reduce the number of visitors to the Skunk Train, one of the region’s top tourist attractions, which reduces visitor spending at local stores, restaurants and hotels, and other businesses even more so than it does at the Skunk Train.

“If Fort Bragg’s City Council manages to derail Mendocino Railway’s federal loan application, not only will Fort Bragg’s historic railroad connection to Willits remain closed, more than $20 million in materials and labor will not be invested into the local economy,” said Mr. Pinoli. “It’s hard to understand why any city council, anywhere, would do their best to deny their community a fully-functioning transportation network and local investment that would increase the movement of freight and passengers, and benefit so many residents dependent on tourism and visitor spending for jobs. When the City Council’s bizarre actions do not serve the public’s interest, one must question whether their actions benefit their personal business interests.”

(Mendocino Railways Presser)

Do you live in or near Mendocino County and want to work for CAL FIRE? Apply now for one of our multiple vacancies such as Cook Specialist I/II, Forester I, Office Technician, Water and Sewage Plant Operator and more! CAL FIRE’s mission is to help serve and safeguard the people and protect the property and resources of California. Apply today and submit your application through CalCareers as soon as possible. Click the links below to learn more!

https://jobs.ca.gov/

HERE IT COMES AGAIN: LONG-TERM FORECAST Includes Potential For Dry Lightning, Continued Drought Next Fall

by Mary Callahan

With more than 1.1 million acres across the drought-afflicted West already charred, 2022 is shaping up to be another year of extremely intense fire activity.

But with the release Wednesday of its official 2022 Wildfire Season Forecast, AccuWeather forecasting company has added a couple of gut punches to this year’s outlook for flame-battered Northern California and the North Bay region.

Chief among them is the prospect of dry lightning associated with tropical storms off the coast of Mexico in mid- to late-summer and continued dry La Niña conditions heading into fall and early winter — and perhaps beyond.

That could mean a potential fourth year of abnormally low rainfall and the threat of lightning-sparked wildfires like those in August 2020 that ravaged the region and much of California.

Things could change, but at this point in early May, the signs are ominous.

“I wish I had better news,” Chief AccuWeather Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said Wednesday in an interview with The Press Democrat.

Anyone awake already knows that the entire Western U.S. is under threat of severe wildfires on the heels of a record-breaking year that blackened at least 7.1 million acres in 2021.

But for Sonoma County and its neighbors, 2021 was largely a chance to breathe after six years of seasonal catastrophes that included the 2015 Valley fire in Lake County and the 2017 North Bay Firestorm.

The Western half of the country is in the midst of a megadrought that has made the past 22 years the driest stretch of time in at least 1,200 years, with climate change and rising temperatures contributing to severe water shortages and aridification of the landscape.

Three years of lower-than-average rainfall in Sonoma County and neighboring counties has left reservoirs wanting, withdrawals from the Russian River watershed curtailed, consumers forced to conserve and vegetation increasingly parched.

And even some recent late-season rain that dampened the region last month mostly just encouraged grasses and brush to bloom, creating more wildfire fuel, Porter said.

“That vegetation that can bloom up then starts drying out, and the problem is that’s more fuel for later in the season,” he said.

Local fire officials say existing conditions make it all the more critical for residents to exercise extreme caution with anything that has the potential to cast a spark or release flame.

But in the case of lightning, there’s little to do, as those who lived through August 2020 know.

That year, hundreds of lightning-sparked wildfires spread across California, merging into wildfire “complexes” like the LNU Lightning Complex, which included the Walbridge, Meyers and Hennessey fires and burned 363,220 acres in Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Lake and Colusa counties. It remains the sixth-largest fire in state history.

The August Complex of 2020 is the largest in California, burning more than a million acres over nearly three months in Mendocino, Humboldt, Lake, Trinity, Glenn, Colusa and Tehama counties.

The SCU Lightning Complex in the Santa Clara County area and the North Complex in Butte and Plumas counties, as well as the CZU Complex in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, all erupted the same weekend in August 2020.

“This year we’re concerned it could be a few more of those episodes than last year, and once again it looks like another hot summer that is going to again result in the drought conditions continuing to intensify into the summer,” Porter said.

He characterized the chances of summer dry lightning and extended drought toward the end of the year as “moderate to likely risks, based on what we’re seeing.”

However, Daniel Swain, a climate scientist and highly consulted weather blogger with UCLA, cast doubt on such long-term predictions, saying via email there was “little to no predictability of dry lightning events in California out beyond a week or so.”

Though, if thunderstorms do occur the stakes would be extremely high “given the exceptionally dry state of the forests due to long-term drought, so it’s a considerable concern,” he continued.

He also noted that there are no signs that the La Niña oceanic conditions are trending toward a wetter El Niño, and thus that it’s likely to persist “through summer at least, and perhaps into autumn.” But it’s “still too early to make any kind of confident prediction about next winter,” he wrote.

The National Weather Service already has predicted a 50% to 55% chance of existing dry La Niña conditions persisting into the fall, but AccuWeather said it anticipates it extending beyond fall, with the jet stream looping north of California and sending moisture northward, closer to the Pacific Northwest.

“If that persists, then it can be a problem again heading into the wildfire season next year,” he said.

(Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

VOTING FOR GLENTZER

To The Editor: 

As a school board member at Ukiah Unified School District, I have had the pleasure of working directly with Nicole Glentzer. Nicole is honest and works well with groups and their very diverse opinions! Nicole’s leadership of the district’s negotiation teams is second to none. She is so respected by her colleagues that she has been endorsed by the California School Employees Association, one of the very groups that sit across the negotiating table from her. Nicole’s priorities for Mendocino County schools are excellent, and I am proud to vote Nicole Glentzer for Superintendent of Schools.

Tyler Nelson, UUSD Board Trustee

Ukiah

AV VILLAGE: Join us tomorrow and Sunday

Coffee with the Coordinator (the last one) Thursday, May 5th, 10-11am, The Mosswood Market. Come down for an informal chat with Anica (the AV Village coordinator) and other AV Village members, volunteers and supporters. Ask questions, share concerns, share ideas for improving our Village/ community, visit with your neighbors, etc.

And

AV Village Monthly Gathering: Volunteer Reception and "€œBring a Friend", this Sunday, May 8th, 4-5:30pm, Anderson Valley Senior Center. Join us for a celebration of the dedicated volunteers that selflessly support our members, allowing them to age in place with dignity and respect. Our wonderful volunteers continue to donate countless hours to our members by giving them rides to doctor's appointments, daily check-in calls, helping around the house, friendly visits and more. Come celebrate our amazing community and we invite you to bring a friend who would like to learn more about volunteering with the AV Village. Interested in learning more about the AV Village? Come on down! It takes a Village! Please RSVP with the coordinator,€“ thank you!

Anica Williams, Cell: 707-684-9829, Email: andersonvalleyvillage@gmail.com

DEBORAH WHITE: Fifty (!) years ago today, I woke up early in our place out Little Lake Road and felt weird. I leafed through my pregnancy pamphlet and decided I must be in labor. Richard drove us to Ukiah, where after being examined I was told we should get a room to save money because the baby wouldn't be born till the next day. We rented a room at the Palace Hotel ($10) and started driving toward Lake Pillsbury to pass the time. We were very low on gas. My labor kicked into high gear. We turned around and returned to the hospital, where Sigrid made her debut, at 10:07 pm, commemorating Star Wars Day five years before it happened. Happy birthday to an absolutely marvelous daughter, sister, mother and person!

ED NOTES

AS RUSSIA continues its destruction and depopulation of Ukraine, Russia's leaders reveal themselves as… Well, as not only barbarously ruthless but as major crackpots, meaning they are totally, unpredictably irrational and, as they've threatened, fully capable of deploying their nuclear arsenal. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s batshit claim that Adolf Hitler “had Jewish blood” and that the Jewish people themselves were to blame for the Holocaust is simply more evidence that madmen are taking Russia and the rest of us to the brink.

CHARLIE ACKER, the sage of Elk, is touting a woman called Reinette Senum for governor. Senum is an anti-vaxxer and anti-masker with pronounced tin foil hat tendencies. A mega-megalomaniac, who describes herself as a “fierce planetary advocate” and often cites crackpot theories re electro-magnetic hazards to people out of tin foil.

UC HASTING COLLEGE OF LAW, an on-line comment: “What was done to the California Indians was appalling by any standards. Even at the time it was controversial. Hastings was guilty of genocide. However, given my generally low opinion of lawyers, somehow it seems appropriate that a law school would be named for an appalling person. Actually, didn’t Hastings name it after himself?”

HASTINGS bequeathed a million dollars to the University of California, a lot of money in 1900 when Hastings died. In gratitude, UC named its school of law after him. As the mighty AVA has pointed out for many years, and may, ahem, have actually ignited the movement to get Hastings' name off the law school because Hastings, via his ranch foreman, not only murdered the native inhabitants of Eden Valley (southeast of Willits not far from Covelo) to establish a horse farm, he got state funding to hire white killers to finish off all the Indians in eastern Mendocino County. 

THE GREAT MAN HIMSELF lived mostly in Benecia while he functioned as Chief Justice of California's Supreme Court, delegating management of his horse operation to a 6'7" psychopath called Texan Boy Hall.

THE STORY GOES that Indians killed Hastings’ prize breeder stallion in retaliation for Hastings cheating them out of compensation for carrying his household furnishings from the Mendocino Coast over ancient trails roughly following what is now the Branscomb Road and down through Long Valley (Laytonville) on to Eden Valley. 

HASTINGS subsequently used his legal influence to get the California legislature to fund Jarboe's Rangers who were paid to murder, wholesale, all the Native Americans in the Eel River watershed. Jarboe, after a year of state-sponsored murder, became Ukiah's first lawman. All of this happened prior to Mendocino County becoming a legally sanctioned jurisdiction and was administered, more or less, out of Sonoma County.

SAVE THE HISTORIC ALBION RIVER BRIDGE

Dear Friends and Forest Lovers,

The Albion Bridge Stewards needs people power to support their epic battle to save the Albion Bridge and stop the scalping of California's treasured coastal headlands. Another behemoth CA state agency, this time CALTRANS, aims to destroy our historical Albion River Bridge and our iconic, curvy, coastal Highway 1. Marine and terrestrial wildlife who have no means of resistance will suffer, some will die. What we know as our HOME today, will drastically change if CALTRANS isn't stopped. You all participated in the good battle to save Enchanted Meadow. Our combined efforts helped save a portion of Redwood forest growing on steep and unstable slopes above the Albert Cattalini Conservancy, located next to the Wild and Scenic Albion River. Now is time to address our concerns down river to the Albion harbor and headlands. Please read Annemarie's email below to understand the details and scope of CALTRANS intended project and how you can help the Albion Bridge Stewards. With much appreciation and gratitude for your support-

Always,

- z, ziacattalini@aol.com 

PARTICIPATE IN THE VIRTUAL SCOPING MEETING With Caltrans this Thursday May 5 from 6-7:30pm

A Caltrans and the US Federal Highway Administration virtual “scoping meeting” to identify issues to be addressed in a federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) -- but not in a required California Environmental Impact Report (EIR) - on their proposal to:

• Remove the US- and State-designated historic and iconic, well-built, and resilient Albion River Bridge, the last timber bridge on California Highway 1 and our coast
• For $100 million or more, construct a wider, longer, out-of-place concrete bridge, with hideously large concrete block foundations, for faster traffic over the wild and scenic Albion River and the highly scenic inner Albion Cove, Albion Cove beach, the Albion River bluffs, and historic site that is now the Albion Flat campground, marina, and beach & ocean access
• Excavate South Albion Head and North Albion coastal bluff to widen, relocate, and speed-up Highway 1 between Ledford House, south of the intersection with Spring Grove Road, through the Albion Ridge Road intersection, within feet of the Albion River Inn, and ultimately as a speedway from the Navarro Point Preserve to and beyond Dark Gulch
• Fill the natural swale - with wetlands and unstable ground - to build a whole new road berm between scalped North Albion coastal bluff and the Albion River Inn, while extending North Side Albion River Road on the existing road into a new Albion Little River Road intersection with Highway 1
• Turn our quiet, rural, environmentally sensitive coast into a noisy, polluted, out-of-place, and dangerous speedway

WHEN: The virtual scoping meeting is currently scheduled for between 6 pm and 7:30 pm on Thursday, May 5, 2022.

The Albion Bridge Stewards have requested Caltrans and the US Federal Highway Administration to extend the meeting time to allow for a full airing of the direct, indirect, and cumulative significant environmental impacts of this project, and of the much less costly, required, and environmentally preferred Albion River Bridge preservation (maintenance, repair, seismic and pedestrian upgrade) alternative.

Web Address: bit.ly/Albion_Public_Meeting 

Password: albionriver1

Join by Phone: +1-408-418-9388 

Access code: 2484 877 6866

Written comments on the Caltrans and the US Federal Highway Administration scoping of the EIS (and on the required, but not announced, EIR) can be sent by email, no later than 5 pm on May 20, 2022, to albionbridge@dot.ca.gov or by US Mail to Liza Walker, Caltrans District 1, 1656 Union Street, Eureka 95501.

https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-1/d1-projects/d1-albion-river-bridge

Sign up on the web page for updates by e-mail, facebook, or instagram about the Albion River Bridge project.

— Annemarie Weibel

67-FOOTER FOR CASPAR?

Thursday AT&T's plans for a wireless communication facility in Caspar discussed by Mendo County Planning Commission, write, speak, and listen.

This meeting with the Mendocino County Planning Commission is happening Thursday May 5 starting at 9am. See agenda: mendocinocounty.org/home/showpublisheddocument/50730

The public may participate digitally in meetings by sending comments to <pbscommissions@mendocinocounty.org> or via telecomment. The telecomment form can be found at: mendocinocounty.org/government/planning-building-services/meeting-agendas.

This form needs to be filled out before 7am on May 5.

The meeting is available for viewing on the Mendocino County YouTube page, at youtube.com/MendocinoCountyVideo

Comment ASAP by sending written information to <pbscommissions@mendocinocounty.org>  and participate in the virtual meeting via zoom or telephone.

See AT&T application for a wireless communication facility consisting of a sixty-seven (67) foot tall monopine tower with various appurtenant equipment and ground equipment including a thirty (30) kw generator, 190 gallon fuel storage tank, and equipment cabinet. The proposed monopine will be located within a 1,800 square foot fenced compound. tower on on the south side of Holquist Lane (CR 402), 0.09± miles east of its intersection with Gibney Lane (CR 412E), addressed at 32601 Holquist Lane, Fort Bragg (APN: 017-261-04).

The wireless communication facility is actually planned in the Caspar area.

mendocinocounty.org/home/showpublisheddocument/50218/637844291245400000

For more info see mendocinocounty.org/government/planning-building-services/meeting-agendas/planning-commission

CALIFORNIA LAW SCHOOL Named After Suspected Bank Roller of Yuki Indian Massacres Will Be Renamed If Assembly Bill Passes

The fight to scrub the legacy of Serranus Hastings from the San Francisco law school named after him has gone to the California State Assembly in the form of AB 1936. The bill has passed the initial vote and moved on to the appropriations committee. 

mendofever.com/2022/05/04/california-law-school-named-after-suspected-bank-roller-of-yuki-indian-massacres-will-be-renamed-if-assembly-bill-passes/

CATCH OF THE DAY, May 4, 2022

SONO CARRIGG, Ukiah. Parole violation. (Frequent Flyer)

JUAN CRUZ, Laytonville. DUI.

ANTOINETTE FLOREZ, Fresno/Ukiah. Getting credit using someone else’s ID.

GILBERTO GARCIA-LEON, Ukiah. DUI, evasion, probation revocation.

LUCAS MESAMARRO, Willits. DUI, no license.

BRENDA POINDEXTER, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

LORENA RENTERIA, Fort Bragg. Domestic battery.

ISAIAH WILLIAMS, Portland, Oregon/Fort Bragg. Concealed firearm in vehicle with priors, alteration of teargas cannister ID.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Editor: 

We are sickened by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but apart from hanging flags, what can we do?

Kate Aronoff wrote in a New York Times op-ed, “Among the quickest, easiest things the United States can do to furnish additional supplies to Europe is to reduce demand for fossil fuels domestically, freeing up more existing gas to go abroad while driving down domestic emissions.”

Let’s support Ukraine by reducing our fossil fuel consumption. Consolidate errands. Send the kids to school on their bikes. Stop idling our engines. You know what to do.

The disruption to our lives would be so minimal compared to what Ukrainians suffer daily. And we’d send a message to our bloated petroleum industry folks who are rolling in windfall profits. Why give one dime more than we must to those who knowingly destroy our planet?

Mary Davies

Petaluma

THE CANDIDATE WHO WON'T ADMIT SHE'S A REPUBLICAN

Anne Marie Schubert is running without a party affiliation for California attorney general, but has strong words for Democratic lawmakers and district attorneys. In a 75-minute interview with CalMatters, she vowed to take over for L.A. and S.F. prosecutors if necessary.

calmatters.org/politics/2022/05/anne-marie-schubert-attorney-general/

JURGEN STOLL: REGARDING THE LEAKED DRAFT, I sincerely hope that women forego marches on Washington and call for a week long general strike. No buying anything, don't show up for work, and don't do a fucking thing for a rethuglican man. When I was in the union and management did something egregiously stupid we all got together and talked about it and if it merited it we held a wildcat strike. It only happened a couple of times, usually the threat was enough to bring on negotiations, but when that didn't happen, at a specified time we all went back to the yard and parked our trucks and went home. By the end of the day the issue was resolved. It works and now is the time to do it.

SIX-WEEK HUMAN EMBRYO, about to have more legal rights than American women in half the nation, and then likely more. 

(Steve Heilig)

THOSE OLIGARCH YACHTS

Dear Editor,

Russian president V. Putin and his cohort Lavrov have repeatedly threatened using nuclear weapons if NATO and the US should enforce a “no fly zone” over Ukraine and also even if the West continues arming the Ukrainian military fighting for the sovereignity of Ukraine and European freedom and democracy. This is mere saber-rattling as they know our response would obliterate Moscow and every other Russian city.

Biden’s policy regarding Russia’s invasion-all along-has been slow.

We need to gain an advantage in this desperate and vicious war as the people of Ukrainian cities and towns are shelled daily. Supplying Ukraine with howitzers, better radar, and heavy artillery is presumably happening.

Something else occurred to my wife recently. What about those Russian oligarchs’ yachts taken? Why not arm them, sail them into the Black Sea and line them up close to Ukrainian shores around ports like Odessa. At least if they are sunk by the Russian ships, they would be a further deterrence to landings by Russian forces.

Kathleen & Frank Baumgardner

Santa Rosa

AS EXPECTED: CARE COURT OPPOSITION MOUNTS

by Marisa Kendall 

Gov. Gavin Newsom is backing a sweeping proposal to overhaul California’s mental health care system and end homelessness for the sickest people living on our streets. But his plan to make treatment mandatory is facing pushback from opponents who argue it’s an inhumane and ineffective solution that will do little to solve the state’s homelessness crisis.

Senate Bill 1338, dubbed Community Assistance, Recovery & Empowerment (CARE) Court, would allow California courts to order people with severe, untreated schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders to submit to a care plan. The goal is to help people who can’t help themselves — people who are wandering in traffic, shouting at no one, and bouncing between hospitals, jail and the streets.

The proposal comes at a time when Californians increasingly are fed up with the state’s wide-spread homelessness, and Newsom has prioritized eliminating encampments. But in a system where nearly all available mental health services are voluntary, CARE Court raises a controversial ethical question: should society force treatment on people who are too sick to realize they need help?

Opponents say coerced treatment is unjust and less effective than building trust with someone and convincing them to get help. Court should be a last resort, said Kim Pederson, a senior attorney with Disability Rights California, one of dozens of agencies opposing the idea.

“I can tell you that these folks that the state wants to serve via the CARE Court process have a lot of trauma around courts,” she said, “and do not see courts as a place where they can get help.”

But supporters argue some people will never accept desperately needed assistance without a court’s intervention.

“The alternative is to say, ‘you know what, I’m going to let you live under a bridge because I want to respect your autonomy,’” said the bill’s co-author, Sen. Thomas Umberg, D-Santa Ana. “I’m going to let you languish under a bridge in your own feces and I hope you make the right decisions.”

The bill, which cleared its first two legislative committee hearings last week, raises a number of other questions that have yet to be answered. Where would homeless CARE Court participants live, particularly in places like the Bay Area that are grappling with an extreme shortage of affordable housing?

If someone already is refusing help, would a court order really be enough to get them to take their medication and follow a treatment plan? Do counties have the funding, staff and housing to make this sweeping change a success?

“People are fed up and they want something done,” said Mike Herald, director of policy advocacy for the Western Center on Law & Poverty, which opposes the bill.

“It’s just that what we’re proposing to do is highly unlikely to work.”

If SB 1338 is approved, people with severe mental illness could be referred to CARE Court by family members, first responders, county mental health officials, hospitals or clinicians. The court would then order a clinical evaluation of the patient. If a judge decides they are eligible for the program, the patient would be ordered to work with a trained “supporter” to develop a care plan. Participants, who would be represented by a public defender, would be required to follow a plan for their mental health and substance abuse treatment, medication and housing.

To make this work, the state would have to come up with new funding for the courts, public defenders and “supporters.”

Care plans would last one year, and could be extended for an additional year. If a participant does not comply, they could be placed in a more restrictive conservatorship in a locked facility, or jail if they have a pending criminal case. But participants cannot be forcibly medicated or jailed solely for noncompliance.

It’s estimated between 7,000 and 12,000 Californians would be eligible.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness, the California Medical Association and California’s Big City Mayors — led by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf — all support CARE Court. But the ACLU and other opponents argue it won’t give people what they need most — housing.

Though the bill says participants should be offered a housing plan, it doesn’t hold anyone accountable for actually providing that housing.

“Housing is an area that has to be addressed,” Sen. Umberg acknowledged. That might mean giving CARE Court participants priority for a region’s limited units. He’s open to an amendment that would require counties to provide housing. The bill already proposes to fine counties up to $1,000 a day if they fail to provide mental health services to participants.

Graham Knaus, executive director for the California State Association of Counties, thinks cities and the state should be held accountable too — not just counties.

“Sanctions make absolutely no sense on counties when we have limited authority, we don’t control or zone for housing in the areas where it’s needed, and there’s no new or ongoing funding for this program,” Knaus said.

The state has made $10 billion a year available for mental health and addiction treatment, Newsom allocated $12 billion for homelessness services last year, and he wants to spend another $1.5 billion to house people with mental health needs. But that doesn’t erase decades of underfunding, Knaus said. He’s heard from some counties — particularly in rural areas — that say they don’t have the workers or infrastructure to implement CARE Court.

Scott Gilman, director of San Mateo County’s Behavioral Health & Recovery Services, is enthusiastic about the legislation. The county, which plans to end homelessness this year, has the resources to comply, he said.

But he’s anxious about how the bill might change.

“I’m worried that the bill as it goes through the process is going to be watered down,” Gilman said, “and will become so full of red tape that we will have responsibility without the ability to really do much differently.”

Patricia Fontana, a Berkeley resident and member of Families Advocating for the Seriously Mentally Ill, also supports CARE Court, but worries it doesn’t have enough teeth. She wonders how it would help people who refuse medication.

Even so, if it passes, Fontana wants to enroll her 38-year-old son, who is diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. The existing mental health system has failed him, leaving him caught in a vicious cycle of brief hospitalizations that don’t lead to lasting improvements. He recently went missing after refusing to continue his medication.

“I would try to get him in,” Fontana said, “if I could find him.”

(Bay Area News Group)

WE ARE TOAST: MONTANA’S EXTREME DROUGHT

by George Ochenski

One of Governor Ted Schwinden’s favorite excuses for his failure to prepare Montana for the state’s disastrous droughts in the 80s was: “Montana is a ‘next year’ state.” It means that even though our rivers dried up, fish died, crops withered, and as he infamously put it, “the whole damn state’s on fire,” we should all hope “next year” will be better. Well, it’s ‘next year’ following last year’s severe drought and guess what, it’s not better, it’s much, much worse — and Republican Governor Gianforte is no more prepared for it than was his Democrat predecessor 37 years ago.

Having chaired the Governor’s Drought Task Force back in the 80s and early 90s, it’s grim business to hear the damage reports come in. River and reservoir levels dropping, wells going dry, crops desiccated, wildlife driven onto the last remaining green fields, and destruction of dewatered aquatic ecosystems.

Extreme drought’s effects are widespread, as are the economic and environmental damages. When there’s minimal snowpack and little precipitation the entire cycle of use and recharge is disrupted. The “use” goes on— irrigators continue to dewater rivers, even going so far as to bulldoze stream beds into their own diversion dams to funnel what’s left of our world-famous trout streams into inefficient, unlined ditches. The fish, of course, follow the water; they have no choice. And when the rivers are finally so low there’s no more water for diversion, those fish die in the ditches.

The ugly result is society and the state wind up pitting one economic sector against another as the competition for scarce water grows more dire day by day. For those who make their living on the river, it’s the same old story — sorry, but our rivers are over-appropriated and by law the irrigators have legal rights to their diversions. When it comes to trout versus alfalfa, the alfalfa always wins — even if there’s not enough water to bring in more than one cutting.

Right now one small example from that tale of woe is playing out on the Smith River that saw its “float season” shut down in early June last year and will likely see this season go by without enough water to float. Despite being the state’s only “permit required” river — and thousands of people across the state and nation pay to apply for permits to fish and float annually — we’re looking at another “no float” year.

As a Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman said last year: “Our normal recommendations for suitable river levels for floating are 350 cfs (cubic feet per second) for drift boats, 250 cfs for rafts, and 150 cfs for canoes and kayaks.” As per the USGS “current conditions” streamflow report, the river is running at 63 cfs at the top and 115 at the Eden Bridge take out, 59 miles downstream.

Unfortunately, this is not an anomaly — virtually all of Montana’s rivers are running from one-third to one-half long-term average flows — and it’s nearly two months until summer. Municipalities are already asking residents to cut back on water, even though non-ag water use accounts for less than 4% of Montana’s water consumption. As the Fairfield fire chief recently told reporters: “…if they want to be able to brush their teeth and flush the toilet, they better not be running it on their yards.”

Schwinden often complained that he “couldn’t make it rain.” Neither can Governor Gianforte. And given the lack of governmental preparation all these years later, it looks like Montanans are on their own again in extreme drought — as are our rivers, forests, fish, wildlife, and businesses.

George Ochenski is a columnist for the Missoulian, where this essay originally appeared.

MENDOCINO FILM FESTIVAL 2022 — Engaging, Captivating, and Quintessentially Mendocino

This year marks the 15th Anniversary of the Mendocino Film Festival, where originality and diversity are celebrated in cinema! This year's Festival offers up nearly 60 independent films across four venues along the captivating Mendocino Coast. Come enjoy the hospitality, meet the filmmakers and experience the power of storytelling with this exceptional line up of films.

Did someone say party?! The Mendocino Film Festival has developed a reputation for throwing fab soirees, and this year is no different! While most of the parties including the grand Opening Night Royal Garden Party & Chef Showcase are for members, sponsors and invited guests only, anyone can attend the Mendo After Dark gatherings at several local watering holes in Fort Bragg and Mendocino.

Come for a couple of films, stay for the entire festival! Mendocino County has plenty of places to get a good night's sleep; and if you're here for all of the Film Festival activities, a comfortable place to stay is of the utmost importance! Mendocino has lodging to fit any need and budget - hotels, inns, b&b's, glamping, camping, even airbnbs. Find your home away from home now.

Make sure you keep your energy up running from film to film by grabbing a bite to eat at any of the numerous restaurants, cafes, and markets. Whether you prefer an intimate meal, a night out with friends, fine dining or relaxing with take-out, there are plenty of food purveyors who are sponsoring the Film Festival and we encourage you to dine with them.

But wait - there's more! Cool aspects of the Mendocino Film Festival are the special events offered in conjunction with some of the films. Extras may include music either before or after a film that augments the experience. Other special events include Q & A discussions like the cannabis panel scheduled after the presentation of Lady Buds. Extras also include surprise screenings, book signings and more!

Crabs! Filmed in Fort Bragg, this is the latest cinematic endeavor along the coast! Full of scares, laughs and murderous crabs...Beware!

Catch the fun at the Festival Tent on Sunday, June 5th at 5 pm.

visitmendocino.com/mendocino-film-festival

LaFRANCE’S AUTISM SEMINAR

Redwood Coast Regional Center recently partnered with the Ukiah Police Department to facilitate the inaugural Lake and Mendocino County First Responder Autism Seminar. Key presenter for this Seminar was Eureka Police Department Sergeant L. La France who volunteered his time to prepare, instruct, and advise first responders on Autism recognition and how to respond during incidents. Sergeant La France made sure to remain on site and available to connect with attendees throughout the day(s) and answer questions. Sergeant La France’s dedication to provide current practices and resources in a relatable way helped these communities to ensure that we are doing everything we can to strengthen safety, community relationships, and resources for first responders and those with Autism. Sergeant La France is a valuable resource to Humboldt County and it was a pleasure having him share his knowledge and experience with your neighbors to the south.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

The smoking craters littering the landscape include my own city self labeled the finest city in the world part of which now look like skid row in Los Angeles or the war zone areas in Ukraine. Filthy trash everywhere, fecal matter all over the ground and sprayed on buildings and reeking of urine. Bidenvilles popping up on the bridges not under them now. I watched a middle aged lady yelling at a street post the other day. As I walked by I asked if she was winning the argument and I will be damned but she stopped looked at me confused and said ” I don’t know” and for just a moment I could see a hint of sanity. Then she turned around and double her effort to win against her personal windmill. I can’t just blame Democrats as Republicans have not done anything and there are just too many people now to go down and hand out water or sandwiches. In fact it has grown rather dangerous to wander around some of these shantyvilles. Several are now epicenters of theft, rape and even murder. For the first time in my life I have little hope about what is coming.

SUMMER SOLSTICE WINEMAKER DINNER at Goldeneye Winery

Indulge in some of Goldeneye's finest single-vineyard Pinot Noir at our annual Summer Solstice winemaker dinner. Expertly paired alongside a four-course meal overlooking our estate Confluence Vineyard, you'll enjoy the best of the 2019 vintage. Each course and wine will be presented by winemaker Kristen McMahan, giving you an inside look at the nuances of our single-vineyard wines.

• Calera Wine Club Members - $175/person + tax
• General Admission - $225/person + tax
• Wine country casual is recommended for this alfresco dinner.
• Guests must be 21 and over to attend. No pets are allowed at this event.
• All ticket sales are non-refundable
• Admission: $225 per person + tax (general admission); $175 per person + tax (Calera wine club members)

Goldeneye Tasting Room, Saturday, June 18, 6:30pm - 9:30pm

Event website: goldeneyewinery.com/events/calendar/summer-solstice-winemaker-dinner

WRECKER

In the wake of all the bad news these days, here's something fun. Your readers might be interested in the completion of Bryan Brooks' movie Wrecker, all of it having been filmed at Spine Chiller Studios in Santa Rosa and in and around Willits, California (Bryan lives in Willits). The April 16 premier filled all 228 seats of the Summerfield Theatre in Santa Rosa, and people loved it! Most of the cast and film crew are local. 

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to call me or Bryan at 213-793-6115. We hope to be starting production of Wrecker II soon! Below is one of the articles about Wrecker that just hit the internet today – it includes the film trailer: https://asiannews.in/action-sci-fi-thriller-debut-wrecker-movie-sells-out-filling-summerfield-cinemas-228-seat-theater/ Check out the website at http://www.wreckerthemovie.com.

Karen Hansell, Paralegal/Personal Assistant to Bryan Brooks, (707) 843-2833

HOMELAND SECURITY'S "DISINFORMATION BOARD" Is Even More Pernicious Than It Seems

The power to decree what is "disinformation" now determines what can and cannot be discussed on the internet. It is now in the hands of trained disinformation agents of the U.S. Security State. 

by Glenn Greenwald

The most egregious and blatant official disinformation campaign in the U.S. took place three weeks before the 2020 presidential election. That was when dozens of former intelligence officials purported to believe that authentic emails regarding Joe Biden's activities in China and Ukraine, reported by The New York Post, were "Russian disinformation.” That quasi-official proclamation enabled liberal corporate media outlets to uncritically mock and then ignore those emails as “Russian disinformation,” and pressured Big Tech platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to censor the reporting at exactly the time Americans were preparing to decide who would be the next U.S. president.

The letter from these former intelligence officials was orchestrated by trained career liars — disinformation agents — such as former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Yet that letter was nonetheless crucial to discredit and ultimately suppress the New York Post's incriminating reporting on Biden. It provided a quasi-official imprimatur — something that could be depicted as an authoritative decree — that these authentic emails were, in fact, fraudulent. 

After all, if all of these noble and heroic intelligence operatives who spent their lives studying Russian disinformation were insisting that the Biden emails had all of the "hallmarks" of Kremlin treachery, who possessed the credibility to dispute their expert assessment? This clip from the media leader in spreading this CIA pre-election lie — CNN — features their national security analyst James Clapper, and it illustrates how vital this pretense of officialdom was in their deceitful disinformation campaign:

This same strategic motive — to vest accusations of “disinformation” with the veneer of expertise — is what has fostered a new, very well-financed industry heralding itself as composed of “anti-disinformation" scholars. Knowing that Americans are inculcated from childhood to believe that censorship is nefarious — that it is the hallmark of tyranny — those who wish to censor need to find some ennobling rationale to justify it and disguise what it is. 

They have thus created a litany of neutral-sounding groups with benign names — The Atlantic Council, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, various "fact-checking” outfits controlled by corporate media outlets — that claim to employ “anti-disinformation experts” to identify and combat fake news. Just as media corporations re-branded their partisan pundits as "fact-checkers" -- to masquerade their opinions as elevated, apolitical authoritative, decrees of expertise -- the term "disinformation expert" is designed to disguise ideological views on behalf of state and corporate power centers as Official Truth.

Yet when one subjects these groups to even minimal investigative scrutiny, one finds that they are anything but apolitical and neutral. They are often funded by the same small handful of liberal billionaires (such as George Soros and Pierre Omidyar), actual security state agencies of the U.S., the UK or the EU, and/or Big Tech monopolies such as Google and Facebook. 

Indeed, the concept of “anti-disinformation expert” is itself completely fraudulent. This is not a real expertise but rather a concocted title bestowed on propagandists to make them appear more scholarly and apolitical than they are. But the function of this well-funded industry is the same as the one served by the pre-election letter from “dozens of former intelligence officials": to discredit dissent and justify its censorship by infusing its condemnation with the pretense of institutional authority. The targeted views are not merely wrong; they have been adjudged by official, credentialed experts to constitute "disinformation.”

This scam is the critical context for understanding why the Biden Administration casually announced last week the creation of what it is calling a "Disinformation Board” inside the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). There is no conceivable circumstance in which a domestic law enforcement agency like DHS should be claiming the power to decree truth and falsity. Operatives in the U.S. Security State are not devoted to combatting disinformation. The opposite is true: they are trained, career liars tasked with concocting and spreading disinformation. As Politico's Jack Schafer wrote:

Who among us thinks the government should add to its work list the job of determining what is true and what is disinformation? And who thinks the government is capable of telling the truth? Our government produces lies and disinformation at industrial scale and always has. It overclassifies vital information to block its own citizens from becoming any the wiser. It pays thousands of press aides to play hide the salami with facts….Making the federal government the official custodian of truth would be like Brink’s giving a safe-cracker a job driving an armored car.

The purpose of Homeland Security agents is to propagandize and deceive, not enlighten and inform. The level of historical ignorance and stupidity required to believe that U.S. Security State operatives are earnestly devoted to exposing and decreeing truth — as CNN's Brian Stelter evidently believes, given that he praised this new government program as “common sense” — is off the charts. As Jameel Jaffer, formerly of the ACLU and now with the Columbia’s Knight First Amendment Institute put it, most troubling is “the fact that the board is housed at DHS, an especially opaque agency that has run roughshod over civil liberties in the past.”

Typically, any attempt to apply George Orwell's warning novel 1984 to U.S. politics is reflexively dismissed as hyperbolic: a free and democratic country like the United States could not possibly fall prey to the dystopian repression Orwell depicts. Yet it is quite difficult to distinguish this “Disinformation Board” from Ingsoc's Ministry of Truth. The protagonist of Orwell's novel, Winston Smith, worked in the Ministry of Truth and described at length how its primary function was to create official versions of truth and falsity, which always adhered to the government's needs of the moment and were subject to radical change as those interests evolved.

That the Board will be run by such a preposterous and laughable figure as Nina Jankowicz — a liberal cartoon, a caricature of a #Resistance Twitter fanatic who spent 2016 posting adolescent partisan tripe such as: “Maybe @HillaryClinton's most important point so far: ‘A @realDonaldTrump presidency would embolden ISIS.’ #ImWithHer” — has, in some sense, made this board seem more benign and harmless. After all,...

greenwald.substack.com/p/homeland-securitys-disinformation