Mendocino County Today: Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Sunny Breezy | Chief Leave | Dick Bozarth | PA Housing | Diane Hering | ALRFD BBQ | Craft Fair | Students Arrested | Eel Tunnel | Ed Notes | Vichy Ladies | Public Info | Watertower | Headlands History | Rail Cars | Kruk & Kuip | Mill Workers | Grey Whales | Phil Brock | Toxic Algae | Derail Debris | Bear Spray | Yesterday's Catch | Ukraine | Sea Tempest | Gas Tax | Crude Price | Rail Service | Progressive DA | Albion Wharf | Dumb Idea | Medical Transitioning | Mrs Rogers | Communist Manifesto | Thank God | Dever Sibs | Socialism Debate | Dial Cell | Troubled Empire | Skunk 85 | Saudi Controversy | Dark Secret | Moving Finger

TEMPERATURES AWAY FROM THE COAST will be slightly warmer than yesterday. Closer to the coast tempertures be cooler and clouds may linger through the day. A cold front will bring a return of cooler temperatures and rain chances late in the week and into Saturday. Dry and warmer weather is expected to return Sunday and into next week. (NWS)

POLICE CHIEF WAIDELICH PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE PENDING INVESTIGATION

Ukiah, CA. June 14, 2022. – Police Chief Noble Waidelich was placed on administrative leave as of June 14, 2022, pending an ongoing criminal investigation led by Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. The City is cooperating with investigating authorities while completing the appropriate personnel investigation.

Because this is both a pending personnel and criminal matter, no further information may be disclosed by the City of Ukiah at this time. However, the City is working to provide continuity of services and is committed to sharing additional information when we are able to.

DICK BOZARTH

July 22, 1935 — June 3, 2022

Dick passed peacefully to by the side of his wife of 67 years, Betty. The love of his life. With a smile on his face, he left us with grace, forgiveness and love.

He is survived by his children, Gary, Cierra , Carrie and son in law Thomas S. Brigham, Grandsons Clayton, Everett, Jaymin Carlson and their mother Blair, youngest sister Vicky Hopper and many nieces and nephews, sister in law Johnnie Gardner and her son Ron. Dick is preceded in his death by his wife Betty Kathleen, mother Hermina Mary Rose, father, Gothal Lang, two brothers Brian and Jerry and a sister Judy.

Dick was born into a logging family in 1935 in Woodland, Washington, very near Castle Rock where he grew up, where his father was a high climber and rigging man and side rod working for Weyerhaeuser company. It was only natural before Dick to inherit the skills of would be his life forever, logging. Even through his high school years Dick worked week ends splicing and rigging, still becoming an outstanding football player scoring 26 touchdowns in a season during his senior year.

Dick and Betty started Bozarth Logging Inc. in 1972. Throughout the years Bozarth logged over 300 million board feet of old growth. The loggers and families that worked for Dick recall that it was the happiest times of their lives, due in large part to Dick favoring setting up logging camps in the woods during the logging season. After Dick retired from logging, he was far from leaving the business world. He served for 10 years as President of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Willits, and continued to be an advocate for professionalism in the logging industry. He purchased some timber properties, harvesting the timber and then later sold the properties.

After putting their hearts and souls into work for so many years, Dick and Betty traveled the world. Dick and friend George Lojos enjoyed many, many trips on their Harley Davidson motorcycles.

Dick was loved so deeply by family and friends and will be missed greatly. Services will be held at Eversole Mortuary Friday, June 17th at 11:00 am following with a graveside burial

POINT ARENA TACKLING HOUSING CRISIS

The City of Point Arena will hold a Community Workshop on Tuesday, June 21st at 6:00 PM via Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2623145208. The workshop will kick off the City's effort to update its Local Coastal Program to make it easier to develop housing in Point Arena. Come meet the City's housing team, hear about possible changes, get familiar with the process timeline, and make your comments, suggestions and ideas heard! For more information, please contact Linda Ruffing at North Coast Community Planning: linda@nccplanning.com.

DIANE HERING

Daughter of Bruce and Vonnie Hering, Diane was born on March 9, 1958, in South Bend, Indiana. She was a caring older sister to Ellen and Alicia, and the leader of many childhood adventures.

Diane especially loved going on family vacations to Bass Lake in Honor, Michigan; swimming and fishing were two of her favorite pastimes. She was the last one out of the water and the first one in the rowboat.

Diane was an excellent student, and interested in the world around her, participating in the Black History club and working for the Nixon for President Campaign, among other interests. Her lifelong love of music began early; she played string bass in her elementary and high school orchestras.

After graduating from LaSalle High School in South Bend, Diane went on to Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. Her college career was a brief one; she left Indiana before finishing her freshman year to explore the country, accompanied by her cat Gandalf.

After a stop in New Mexico, Diane moved with her high school boyfriend and soon-to-be husband, Joe Petelle, to visit her Uncle Ron Schryer in Anderson Valley, California, which became her lifelong home. She and Joe raised two children, Hans and Claire, in the Valley.

In the ensuing years, Diane was joined in Boonville by her father Bruce and sister Ellen. Together they founded the legendary Bruce Bread Bakery, providing whole grain and specialty breads to Mendocino County California for over 12 years.

Diane was tireless in support of her community. She was an early volunteer, programmer, and employee of KZYX public radio in Philo, California, hosting the popular and long running “Lunch on the Back Porch” bluegrass music show.

Her love of bluegrass and traditional music led her to found the Wild Iris Folk Festival. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and Wild Iris quickly became an incredible annual community event, showcasing top bands and musicians. Diane loved to play and sing, playing for many years with close friends and fellow musicians in The Wild Oats Bluegrass Band.

For the last eight years, Diane fought bravely and tirelessly against the devastating effects of a brain tumor. She passed peacefully in Ukiah, California, surrounded by her friends and loved ones.

— Ellen Springwater (Hering)

SPACE AVAILABLE: CRAFT FAIR

We have space for one more indoor and a few more outdoor craft booths for our annual July 2-3 craft fair at Town Hall. For applications and more information please go to www.si-noyosunrise.org and click on "Craft Fair July", or email: sinoyosunrise@soroptimist.net. Spaces are available on a first-come first served basis.

CLOVERDALE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS ACCUSED OF FELONY ASSAULT IN LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FIGHT

Four students at a Cloverdale middle school were arrested — three on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon and a fourth on a misdemeanor — in connection with a fight on the last day of school that sent an eighth-grade girl to the hospital.…

pressdemocrat.com/article/news/cloverdale-middle-school-students-accused-of-felony-assault-in-last-day-of/

ED NOTES

A BARCELONA MUGGER snatched a $45,000 designer watch off an American father's wrist in front of his family near their five-star hotel: Victim “told cops it was an $800,000 Hublot.” Either price, the correct American was robbed.

THE COUNTY GRAND JURY is audio-advertising on KZYX for recruits, the first time in years that I can remember the GJ beating the bushes for jurors. Serving as a grand juror, in this county, has got to be a frustrating experience because there is never, or seldom, any follow-up to carefully and conscientiously rendered GJ reports, as their reports on this or that malfunction of county government are invariably met with an insulting, pro forma shrug by the errant department, and that's the end of it. Here's a few matters assembled by my colleague, Major Scaramella, that wouldn't withstand close scrutiny, but in Mendo sail right on by:

Supervisor Glenn McGourty’s obvious conflict of interest participating in Russian River water management decisions while operating a for-profit vineyard which uses Russian River water and accepting major campaign donations from other Russian River water users/grape growers.

Failure to deal with non-reimbursable mental health and drug-addled residents as Measure B called for, choosing instead to overpay for the Whitmore Lane demolition and rebuild for more much than a new facility would cost.

Picking a pointless and costly fight with the Sheriff over computer independence and liability for ordinary budget overruns.

Failure to enforce Measure V to reduce standing dead tree fire hazards/”nuisance,” even with a County Counsel’s formal opinion two years ago that Mendocino Redwoods was clearly not exempt from nuisance laws.

Failure to revise the pot ordinance with a two-acre limit after their latest use-permit proposal was withdrawn in the face of a pending local initiative, leaving the County and well-meaning applicants in permanent limbo.

Failure to plan or budget for their ill-considered consolidated Chief Financial Officer office despite voting it into existence with no plan or analysis.

Failure to convene their Public Safety Advisory Board despite its incorporation in County Code more than a year ago.

Failure to follow advisory Measure AG which was supposed to allocate the majority of pot tax revenues to Mental Health, Roads, Emergency Services and enforcement. In fact, nobody has even asked for a tally of those revenues for purposes of proper allocation.

Failure to set up permanent emergency operations center so that disasters can be responded to quickly.

Failure to develop a single project to submit for grant funding to mitigate drought.

Failure to provide promised paramedic subsidy to local ambulance services.

Wasting over $100k on a “strategic plan” that a large percentage of their own employees described as “a waste of time” while saying they are operating on an “austerity budget.”

Failure to set up a re-established water agency in a timely manner despite drought emergency — $330k consultant will only deliver a “work plan” by August after which no one has any idea what will happen or when or how much more it will cost or what authority it will have. (Update: They recently discovered after spending the consultant money that they can't afford to staff a water agency.)

Failure to impose water restrictions or gaging requirements on local water agencies.

Failure to set up a budget line item for Sheriff’s overtime so that overtime can be managed and planned for as incidents occur, instead threatening the Sheriff with personal liability for overtime.

Failure to provide monthly departmental budget and status reports to the Board and public.

Wasting $4 million on a Crisis Residential Treatment Center, spending $5 million to build the equivalent of a $1 million four-bedroom house.

Failure to staff positions which the Board itself says are revenue generating positions both general fund-funded and grant funded.

Failure to codify a Mendo version of Sonoma County’s vacation rental restrictions to ease housing shortage for locals.

Failure to require permit status reporting to see if permits are taking unreasonably long to process.

Failure to consolidate Mendo’s five dispatch operations into two — Police and Fire/Ambulance — while keeping nine redundant dispatch positions on the night shift when fewer calls come in.

Wasting almost $400k on an unnecessary Board chamber “remodel.”

Failure to plan for the significant impact of the new courthouse on affected county offices: District Attorney, Public Defender, Probation, Sheriff.

Failure to set up wildlife exclusion contract after terminating wildlife trapper services.

Continuing failure to adequately fund unincorporated area ambulance service providers.

AND this Umbrella Failure: Failure of all five Supervisors to bring up any of these failures for an agendized discussion in an attempt to redress them.

FOLLOW THE LAW, MR. DA: Public information II

To: David Eyster <eysterd@co.mendocino.ca.us>

The District Attorney's public information posts must be available to all, whether it be on the official county website or on Facebook, the site of choice. Your call. But you cannot block access to the site at your discretion.

https://knightcolumbia.org/blog/social-media-for-public-officials-101

"If a public official uses their account to carry out their role as an elected official, then their page or account is subject to the First Amendment. That means they cannot engage in most forms of censorship such as blocking someone or deleting someone’s comments just because of their subject or opinion. It is also generally unacceptable for the official to ask the platform to delete comments for them."

This is my final request for corrective action without outside intervention.

— Mike Geniella, mgeniella@gmail.com, Ukiah

HEADLANDS HISTORY

Wendy wrote: Actually, the reason “the people who live here” don’t have houses and condos blocking the view is because the State acquired the Headlands as a State Park. One condition of that purchase was that the Town would become a National Historic District. Mendocino was the first entity to do so as a whole Town. The Chinese Temple and businesses on Main Street are mentioned in the application to the National Trust for Historic Preservation Years ago, I acquired a copy and gave it to Kelley House. The map in the original application established the middle of Little Lake Street as the northern boundary. This excluded St. Anthony’s and Banker’s Row. The first Mendocino Town Plan and formation of the Historic Review Board followed. The current map of the District includes more of the Town.

These actions were taken to protect the Town's historic structures and the spectacular setting for the benefit of ALL—not just current residents. So the short answer is that the State bureaucracy runs the park and one of the rules prohibits its use at night. When I think about people stumbling off the cliffs in the night or camping in the parking lots, that seems a reasonable price to pay for being surrounded by such unspoiled, publicly funded beauty.

* * *

Alan Haack: Dear Wendy, Many people, including myself, know nothing about the agreement with the State. Would you consider posting it to the larger list to inform the community? I think it might be helpful.

CATCH ‘EM WHILE YOU CAN

by Lindy Peters

There are some things we’ll never be able to enjoy again and the list just seems to be getting longer every day. 

Try making a collect phone call, or finding a gas station with service bays, or taking a “quick” trip to the doctor’s office or eating a two-dollar cheeseburger or even try finding some good old rock and roll these days. Things we all once took for granted. So before you get set to enjoy the next San Francisco Giants game consider this: Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper won’t be there forever. And these guys are a whole lot better than a two-dollar cheeseburger. Catch ‘em while you can. Because if ever two guys in a broadcast booth came to epitomize the very team, they were assigned to cover it is these two. Kruk and Kuip. 

Putting former baseball players in the broadcast booth is as old as Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese. Could there ever be two better first names to pair-up behind the microphone for the nationally broadcast “Game of the Week”? Sure, they were kind of corny, but they did have a certain chemistry that clicked with a national audience, and they ushered in the golden era of baseball on television. They were not known as individual announcers. They came as a package. One part as good as the other. They were a team.

And so we evolved to Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow, who as players on the Giants used to entertain themselves during a live major league game by sitting on the bench next to each other and pretending to do the play-by-play. Unfiltered. A ball player’s perspective. How they saw it all while in uniform. And trying to crack each other up all the while. Unknowingly they were developing a style that would eventually come to define what it meant to be a true Giant fan. 

As the amazing 2010 baseball season unfolded, the SF Giants began to keep winning exciting games and even casual fans in the greater Bay Area began to take notice. And once they tuned in to hear Kruk and Kuip call a game they were often hooked for good. Reeled-in like a 20-pound salmon. They heard a broadcast team who had inside knowledge, who were refreshingly witty, who were baseball-smart and best of all who were great storytellers, often regaling their audience with hilarious tales during slower portions of the game. The off-field camera would capture both humorous and heartfelt candid moments with the people watching the game in the stands at the ballpark. K&K would extemporaneously comment on those scenes, like acrobatic foul ball catches by fans, hungry people gobbling down ballpark food, wide-dyed adorable children, “Gamer babes” from wherever their handmade sign said they were from and of course the infamous ball dudes, of which Mendocino attorney Tony Graham was once one. In short, watching at home on TV became like actually being there at the game in person. Maybe even better. Cheaper for sure. And it was like you were sitting there watching the game next to a couple of observational comedians.

A loss was often times as entertaining as a win with these two pros calling the game. Every announcer tries to be funny. These two actually are. They rarely, if ever, step on each other and instead blend together in perfect harmony. Following the team that magical 2010 year made you feel as though you too were actually part of the magic. They preached and the congregation not only listened to the sermon but by God joined the congregation. Let’s Go Gi-ants!! Clap clap clap-clap-clap!!

And to culminate that incredible season the 2010 San Francisco Giants clinched the pennant on the final day, fought as underrated underdogs throughout the playoffs and then finally won a World Series. It almost seemed as though K&K we’re-rooting-for-the-home team vibe they exuded on the airwaves every game had something to do with it all. And then they went on to win two more trophies to boot in 2012 and 2014. But once Madbum was traded and Bruce Bochy stepped down and Buster Posey retired, the last vestige of those glory San Francisco Giant years are the guys up in the booth. And though rarely together except for the home games, Kruk and Kuip are still in the Giants line-up.

So enjoy them. Krukow announced back in 2014 that he suffered from inclusion body myositis, a debilitating disease that affects your balance and ability to walk among other things. Slowly he has had to pull back from the rigors of a 162 MLB game broadcast schedule. Long road trips with the team had become unmanageable. Flying became too cumbersome. The pandemic helped in 2020 and parts of 2021 because the announcers stayed in SF and “called” the Giants game live off a studio monitor. But now that MLB is back to fans in the stands and team air travel to visiting cities, Mike pretty much just announces Giant home games. 

And Duane Kuiper has suffered too. He endured a battle with cancer last season that caused him to miss a lot of games behind the mic in 2021. Then this year he lost his loving wife Michelle unexpectedly not long before the season started. Even so, he courageously has also returned to the booth. And if you were wondering if he may have lost some of the emotion and excitement he brings to Giants broadcasts, simply listen to him call the thrilling walk-off win the Giants had on opening day this year. “ Ruf is on the move!” became an instant classic.

Though they do not team-up as often anymore and there is certainly nothing to complain about with Jon Miller and David Fleming in the broadcast mix as well, the halcyon days of Kruk and Kuip are upon us. Savor these games that they are teamed together. Laugh out loud during a boring game when the camera picks up a guy in the stands with a gaping 5 second wide-mouth yawn and Krukow bursts into a spot-on Tarzan call, jump out of your seat when Kuiper calls a game-winning home run with his crescendoing patented “ Line drive….hit well!!!….it is OUTTA’ here…and we’re going home!!”

These two are truly a local San Francisco treasure that may soon disappear with the likes of Candlestick Park, bridge toll collectors and Herb Caen’s daily column. So grab some pine meat. Sit down and savor the next time the Giants telecast has a home game with K& K working together in the booth. I personally think these two should be inducted together into the Broadcast wing of Baseball’s Hall of Fame. Yes, together. Side by side. As a unit. As a team. They both have earned it and they both deserve it. 

But let’s not go there now. There’s still some tread on these tires. Like the beloved 14 year old family pet, we’re not ready to say goodbye just yet. So turn on the game and turn ‘em loose. 

These dogs can still hunt. Just be sure to catch ‘em while you still can.

(Courtesy, Mendocino News Plus)

GREY WHALES AND THE DONOR CLASS

Robert Spies wrote: Today, Tuesday the 14th of June at 7 PM on KZYX we will be talking about Grey Whales.

* * *

Marco McClean: I don't mean to be picky, but they're gray whales, with an A. And they're actually mottled with gray patches; it's not someone's name, so they don't need to be capitalized except maybe in a title.

Also, congratulations on nine years of your valuable show. Consider asking to be paid, not retroactively, of course, that would make everyone look silly, but starting now. The handful of people in the office who pretend to run KZYX have been paying themselves /hundreds of thousands of dollars/ every year, and paying you and like eighty of your fellow local airpeople nothing but the opportunity to work to generate the money to pay themselves with. /All/ the yearly membership money, contrary to pledge drive pitches, goes directly to just the manager's and program director's personal bank accounts. None of it goes to pay expenses to keep the station on the air. KZYX survives on government grants and donor-class largesse, which buys controlling interest in what's allowed on the air. So it's not really public radio, is it.

I'm saying this warmly. Really, congrats to you. And get paid, for the benefit of all the radio people in the world who /aren't/ independently wealthy and who need to be paid. You can tear up the check if you don't want it. Or buy the studio a soda fountain, or whatever. Or put it toward the new KZYX palace in Ukiah.

* * *

Robert Spies: Marco,

Glad you think the Ecology Hour worthwhile; it is alot of fun to produce. Tim and I enjoy it immensely. As to the proper spelling of Grey Whales, both spellings are used. Since there is a small population in Western Pacific and I having spent a few years in Australia I used that spelling. I used to spell it Gray Whales, but I had an encounter with one in the Santa Barbara Channel and I swear it had an English accent, so as to not hurt their feelings I use the anglicised spelling.

As to the capitalization of Grey Whales, the reference I use tells me that proper names of animals are to be capitalized: https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/capitalization/capitalization-of-animal-names.html If you told me you saw a grey coloured whale but was unsure of the species then we could agree to call it a grey whale or even a gray whale..

As to the KZYX rant; I have read your opinions on the list serve for years. And you entitled to them. My experience with non-profits tells me you need talented leaders for success and they do not work for free. So we might have to agree to disagree. Aside from your rants I like your oblique and humorous excursions on the list serve and am glad you are part of the community.

WHY TOXIC ALGAE BLOOMS ARE ON THE RISE ACROSS CALIFORNIA — And Expected To Get Worse

by Yoohyun Jung

Rising temperatures and stagnant water generally signal trouble for human life, but they make for a great environment for the bright, blue-green scum often found in lakes, rivers and reservoirs that flourishes and blooms in hot weather.

These scum blooms, known as harmful algal blooms, are natural parts of the ecosystem, but can also release toxins that sicken or even kill people and animals. They’re becoming more common as temperatures rise and water systems are starved and disrupted, threatening not only public and wildlife health, but the state’s water supply, as well as beloved recreation areas like Lake Merritt in Oakland.

“With climate change, it’s clear that this issue will get more severe,” said Marisa Van Dyke, a senior environmental scientist with the State Water Resources Control Board working on harmful algal bloom issues. Besides hot weather, a primary cause of the toxic blooms  is excess nutrients in bodies of water, which, in California, often come from agricultural runoff.

Nearly 70 California lakes, rivers and reservoirs, including several in the Bay Area, have issued “caution,” “warning” and “danger” advisories so far this year. Eight of those belong in the “danger” category, including Lake Del Valle, a drinking water reservoir and popular recreation site in Alameda County. Officials have suspended swimming at Lake Del Valle’s popular beaches.

The “danger” level, according to state guidelines, indicates that no person — or animal — should swim in the water, nor drink or cook with it. Fish from rivers or lakes with this advisory should not be eaten, even after cleaning.

Since the state began maintaining a repository of voluntary reports of harmful algal blooms in 2016, reports in California have increased severalfold, from fewer than 100 in 2016 to more than 600 in 2021. Part of this increase is explained simply by the fact that more people and agencies have become aware of the problem and therefore made more reports.

At least three different sections of Clear Lake in Lake County have also reported dangerous levels of harmful algal blooms in 2022. The lake, which used to be a vibrant getaway, is one of the places where the toxic blooms’ impacts have been far-reaching, says Carly Nilson, another state water board scientist focusing on the issue.

“The recurring noxious blooms every single year are getting so bad now,” she said. “Economically, they’re facing quite a bit of constraint there, because they’re just not getting the recreation anymore and the influx of tourists,” she said. “And the community that lives around the lake is not accessing the water they paid money to live near,” she added.

“Not to mention, also these blooms create a pretty abrasive odor,” Nilson said. “In a lot of cases, they can’t even open their windows in  the summer because it gives them headaches and other kinds of respiratory issues.”

The writing is on the wall, many experts agree. Harmful algal blooms appear to be increasing not only in frequency, but also in duration and toxicity, here in California and globally.

“It will get a lot worse if we let it get out of control,” said Kate Poole, a California-based senior director of the water division at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group.

To the untrained eye, toxic blooms, which vary in size, appearance and color, can be difficult to distinguish from non-toxic algae growth. Cyanobacteria, a common form of harmful algal bloom, have a bright blue-green tint and are also called blue-green algae, according to the state water board’s guide on how to distinguish them from nontoxic algae. Blooms can also appear as mats of algae in shallow water.

“Not all algae are harmful, but these particular outbreaks are, and you don’t want to drink it,” Poole said.

Beyond staying away and informing others to do the same, experts say there aren’t many realistic options when it comes to dealing with harmful algal blooms that are established in a body of water.

In some cases, chemicals can be used to break up the blooms, Van Dyke said. But that’s not really an effective nor a long-term solution, partly because the impact of the chemicals is short-lived.

In terms of ensuring drinking-water safety, reservoirs like Lake Del Valle are well equipped with various water quality monitoring devices, as well as filtration systems that treat the water before it reaches customers.

But treating water also comes at a price — one that will continue to escalate if the blooms get worse. “The more that these outbreaks occur in the source of our drinking water, the higher the treatment costs to make sure that water is safe,” Poole of the Natural Resources Defense Council explained.

In most cases, there’s nothing to do except wait for the blooms to go away on their own. The best thing is to prevent the blooms from growing in the first place, experts say.

A big part of preventing these toxic blooms at a larger scale is to reduce excess nutrients in the water that promote algal growth, Poole said. That would mean reducing agricultural runoff, which is a major contributor.…

sfchronicle.com/climate/article/Reports-of-harmful-algal-blooms-are-rising-17233948.php

DIDN'T WE JUST SPRAY LAST WEEK?

Cynthia Gair wrote (re: Mendocino louts): Members of the right wing Proud Boys group disturbed an event at an East Bay library, yelling homophobic and transphobic slurs.

Autumn Faber: This is why I carry Bear Spray.

Marco McClean: I think that's fair, Autumn, because you're not at all like the people you fantasize about being in the right place and time to blind with bear spray. They're angry hot-heads and bullies rudely and inappropriately raising their voices in passionate ignorance. /You're/ an angel of reason by comparison. You're the adult in the conversation, but somebody has to teach them to see things your way on your terms or how will they learn? I get it.

Be careful, though; think it through first. Any weapon you don't know how to use belongs to the enemy. When I was five years old I found a can of green spray-paint in my grandparents' garage; I tried it out on the alley curb wall (it was already green) but miscalculated and instead shot it in my own face. Mortifying but personal. With toxic pain weapons, even if you spray it in the right direction the whole office or car parts store or pizza place can be made unusable for days while it's cleaned out, and that's way more expensive than handing the jerks an unsold pizza or provocative picture-book to just go away. There are far worse consequences for torturing someone with chemicals than for a clever shrill retort or swear. And while you're pregnant with heroic urge a real live child might find the spray and do himself or another child or pet an injury. Or, in a tense situation, a cop might find your spray, panic and kill you with his service revolver /then/ bellow, "Stop resisting! Stop resisting! Show me your hands!" for the benefit of anyone else around, to mitigate /his/ consequences. It's common anymore. It happens every day. Maybe not so often to white women, no matter how pissed off they are, nor how far back in their history (both the woman's and the cop's) the initial chthonic insult lies, but it happens and it doesn't have to.

CATCH OF THE DAY, June 14, 2022

WILLIAM CROSBY, Mountain View/Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

ALEX EICH, Willits. DUI.

JAVIER GARCIA JR., Ukiah. DUI w/prior, county parole violation.

MATEO GARCIA-MONTALVO, Ukiah. Domestic battery.

SANTOS GONZALEZ, Boonville. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, unauthorized entry into dwelling without owner’s consent.

JOSEPH HOAGLIN, Ukiah. Taking vehicle without owner’s consent, petty theft.

CARLOS OGAWA, Fort Bragg. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

BIANCA SCHOFIELD, Gualala. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, battery on peace officer.

DARIN SCOTT, Willits. Controlled substance, mandatory supervision sentencing.

MICHOLE SOTILLE-KONEVITCH, Laytonville. Failure to appear.

ZIPPORAH SUTTON, Manchester. Parole violation.

TIFFANY WASHBURN, Ukiah. Stolen vehicle, stolen property (vehicle), controlled substance, paraphernalia.

UKRAINE, TUESDAY, JUNE 14

As Tuesday draws to a close in Kyiv and in Moscow, here are the key developments of the day, Tuesday, 14 June.

Russian forces control as much as 80% of Sievierodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, said the governor of the Luhansk region, which includes the city. Ukraine struggled to evacuate civilians after Russia destroyed the last bridge to the besieged city. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the fate of the whole eastern region is being decided in Sievierodonetsk, which Russians have pounded with heavy artillery for weeks. Russia said Ukrainian troops holed up in the city's Azot chemical plant must lay down their weapons and surrender by Wednesday morning. Ukraine says hundreds of civilians are sheltering inside the plant.

Russia has barred dozens of British journalists, security officials and analysts from entry.The country's foreign ministry accused them of spreading false information about Russia and also said it was acting in response to U.K. sanctions. The blacklist includes 29 people from British media organizations including the BBC, Sky News and the Guardian, plus 20 others linked to the defense industry.

A Russian court extended the pretrial detention of WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner by another 18 days, according to Russian state news agency Tass. Russian authorities have held the U.S. athlete on drug charges since February, when vape cartridges with cannabis oil were allegedly found in her luggage at a Moscow airport. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The State Department views Griner as wrongfully detained, and on Monday, briefed her U.S. basketball team on efforts to gain her freedom.

The U.S. Tennis Association has decided to allow Russian players to compete — under a neutral flag — in this year's U.S. Open, which takes place in New York in August. U.S. Tennis Association CEO and Executive Director Lew Sherr told The Associated Press that the decision resulted from "concern about holding the individual athletes accountable for the actions and decisions of their governments." He said his group condemns "what is an unprovoked and unjust invasion of Ukraine by Russia." Wimbledon, which gets underway later this month, has banned Russian tennis players.

— NPR

OUR STATE GAS TAX, THE POOR

Dear Editor,

With inflation above 8% and with every possibility of it going higher, one thing Governor Newsom might do to help might be to simply stop charging the high state per gallon gas tax. I realize he’s reluctant to do this for a number of reasons-like the massive Caltrans budget, for example.

It is our poorest fellow Californians who are being hurt the worst by the inflation bind the whole world is in. Today's price of crude is about $120 per barrel. Isn’t this about the highest in world history? Obviously Governor Newsom can’t do much about that, but the gas tax could be dropped. At least in the short term-until the end of 2022, for example.

Frank Baumgardner

Santa Rosa

PRICE OF CRUDE OIL

BRING IT BACK

Editor: 

With diesel well over $7 per gallon, maybe heading to $10-plus, the high number of transit truck accidents on Highway 101 and the damage caused to the highway by heavy truck traffic, it’s time to reconsider the value modern rail service to Humboldt Bay would provide.

Train service is much more environmentally friendly than the thousands of truck trips it could replace. Additionally, passenger service would have a big impact on the tourism industry. Compare that to the 300-plus-mile-long transient camp the proposed trail would create. Millions of pounds trash discarded along the Eel River. Thousands of pounds of human waste deposited in and along the river. Hundreds of “warming fires” turned into wildland fires in areas difficult to access.

Rail service — good for the environment, good for the economy. It’s a good time to get started on it.

Frank Sanderson

Willits

FRED GARDNER: This from the disjointed memoir I wrote for the Chronicle about my stint as Hallinan's press secretary:

Hallinan's defining act as a progressive DA was his endorsement of Proposition 215, the ballot initiative by which California voters legalized marijuana for medical use in 1996. California's other 57 DAs opposed Prop 215, as did every police chief and sheriff in the state, the attorney general, Senators Feinstein and Boxer, President Clinton, former President Jimmy Carter, even the beloved ex-Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, MD. In 2000 Terence was the only DA to endorse Proposition 36, the treatment-not-incarceration initiative.

The sad truth is that the "progressive" changes Hallinan introduced at the Hall of Justice — diversity in hiring, drug court, mentor court, the first-offender prostitution program, creation of an elder-abuse unit, zealous prosecution of domestic violence cases, to name a half dozen— could not begin to reverse the escalating social breakdown on the streets of San Francisco. His job was to enforce the law as written. All a "progressive" DA could do, really, was try to give a break to as many offenders who deserved a break as possible. 

DISTINGUISHED POL OF THE WEEK: He called out one of the GOP’s dumbest ideas on guns

by Jennifer Rubin

If only Republicans could summon the same anger they displayed over the utterly unacceptable attempt to kill Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh for the deaths of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Tex. Or the 10 killed in Buffalo. Or the victims of the more than 200 mass killings committed just this year.…

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/12/miguel-cardona-calls-out-republican-dumb-ideas-guns-arming-teachers/

MATT WALSH: "Newgent described to me how the entire process of medical transitioning sucks people in a long downward spiral in search of happiness they were promised and how it has also come to impact our children. 'We're taking our most vulnerable kids in the entire world, and we're telling them that there's a fix for it… Because here's what happens with medical transitioning,' Newgent told me. 'You start with the idea that 'I was born in the wrong body. Thank God, life is going to get better now. Right?' So we start hormones, and then six months later after hormones, we go, 'Well that didn't help anything.'' But these people have already gone so far. They can't turn back now. The only option they feel they have is to continue. Everyone in authority is telling them if they aren't happy yet, it's because they haven't been affirmed enough. Newgent's story arc is matched by the data , as nearly 100 percent of children who begin puberty blockers will proceed to cross-sex hormones and surgeries."

FRED & JOANNE ROGERS were married on June 9, 1952. 

Joanne Byrd became Joanne Rogers. As her husband's television career bloomed, she helped when she could find time between raising their two sons, James & John, and keeping up her own career as a pianist. She provided voices for some of the inanimate objects in the attic on 'The Children's Corner,' Fred's first television show, helped answer fan mail, was a frequent guest, & was the inspiration for Queen Sara, wife of King Friday XIII on 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.'

A READER WRITES: I know you admire China Mielvlle’s writing. I thought this was an interesting article: "Communism, the Manifesto, and Hate".

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

On this perfect day the last of the cotton wood fluff blowing in the breeze, birds atwitter, river high, my taters comin up better than anything else I planted, poppies about to burst, cheque’s in the mail but the mail ain’t what it used to be, but let’s not worry bout that for now.

Let’s thank God for this glorious world, ask Him for mercy on our wounded, sick and dying. For those in war zones of the earth & of the mind. For preparation and sustenance in the famine. Food, water, shelter, clothing. Mercy for our greed and gluttony, pride and perversions.

Lord of the harvest, forgive and sustain us, bring us to your kingdom, if it is your will.

BERNIE SANDERS SKEWERS LINDSEY GRAHAM in 'Full-On Socialism' Debate

by Adam Gabbatt

Is guaranteeing healthcare to all people socialistic?’ senator asks Lindsey Graham in stellar defense of political philosophy

Fox News is, to put it mildly, not known for indulging progressive politics — but the rightwing news channel gave it a go on Monday, when Bernie Sanders appeared in a debate on the network’s sister channel, Fox Nation.

Sanders, the Vermont senator, democratic socialist and two-time presidential candidate, took on Lindsey Graham, his Republican Senate colleague from South Carolina.

Sanders gave an unfettered breakdown of Medicare for all, or a national public healthcare system, a living wage, and increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

For Fox viewers it was a rare opportunity to hear a different perspective on policies which are regularly demonized by rightwingers Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, Fox News’ two most watched hosts.

For Sanders, it was a chance to reach a new audience, and he wasted no time before diving into a signature issue — universal healthcare.

“In the United States, Lindsey, we spend twice as much per capita on healthcare compared to the people of any other country, while major countries like Canada, the UK, Germany manage to supply healthcare to all their people,” Sanders said.

“Why is that?” he continued. “Because they’re not having insurance companies ripping off the system.”

Several polls have shown that a majority of Americans support Medicare for all, despite the Republican refrain that much of the US public is thrilled with their private health insurance.

“The real question is what the American people want. And you know what the American people do want? They do want Medicare for all,” Sanders said.

Medicare is the US government’s national healthcare system for seniors, and progressives want to expand its coverage to all and abolish private health insurance.

“You talk about the joys and beauties of private insurance. Talk to the millions of workers who lost their private insurance during Covid,” Sanders said to Graham.

Graham ran for the Republican nomination for president against Donald Trump in 2016 and was a sharp critic of Trump’s — then became one of his most ardent defenders, although the relationship between the pair has since soured.

He accused Sanders of being out of touch.

“America deserves better than this. We can do better than this but the path charted by Senator Sanders is full-on socialism,” Graham said, after a conversation about gas prices and rising inflation.

“And it’s not going to fix America. We are not a socialist nation. There is a better way, I promise you this.”

Graham did not give specifics on his better way.

“If I’m chairman of any committee, hopefully the budget committee, I’ll sit down with Democrats and Republicansand find a way to fix our national debt,” he said.

After being criticized by Graham for being a “socialist”, Sanders leaned into the political philosophy and offered an ardent defense.

“Do you think raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour is socialistic? Do you think doing what every major country does — guaranteeing healthcare to all people — is socialistic? Do you think expanding Medicare to cover dental care is socialistic?” Sanders said.

Sanders had previously appeared on Fox News for a “town hall” style event during his 2020 presidential campaign. That time, to the surprise of many, he was applauded by the Fox News live audience several times as he explained some of his progressive policy ideas.

Monday’s debate came after a bipartisan group of senators announced they had come to a tentative agreement over minor potential gun control measures.

A plan announced by Chris Murphy, a Democrat, and John Cornyn, a Republican, and supported by at least 10 Republican senators, would increase funding for school safety and mental health programs, and expand background checks for gun buyers under 21.

The bill would not, however, ban assault-style weapons or even raise the age limit to buy them — something advocates for greater gun control insist is necessary.

During the debate Sanders gave his tentative support to the legislation, but said it did not go far enough. It was time, Sanders said, for Congress to “stand up to the power of the NRA and pass real gun reform legislation”.

“I come from a rural state. And you know, most people do not use AR-15s to hunt deer. These are weapons, military-type weapons, designed to kill people as quickly as possible,” Sanders said.

“And as a nation we have to decide whether it is appropriate to do what virtually no other major country does: allow somebody to walk into a gun store and buy one of these weapons.”

Graham said he had taken a different lesson.

“You know, after New York, after Buffalo and after the shooting in Texas there’s a common thing: very disturbed people getting guns and doing terrible things with them,” Graham said.

Graham said he owns an AR-15, adding: “If you ever have to defend yourself, maybe a double barrel shotgun at your house if everything breaks down and the mob’s coming, [is] not enough. We’re not going to ban assault weapons.”

Sanders and Graham unsurprisingly found little common ground, although they agreed change was required.

“You’ve got to get new people in Washington,” said Graham, who has been in Congress for more than 26 years.

Sanders offered a bigger vision.

“I think most people, frankly, will tell you what they tell me: that the Congress is way, way out of touch with the needs of the American people,” Sanders said, adding: “We have a corrupt political system dominated by wealthy campaign contributors.”

(Guardian/UK)

THE DEMONS OF WAR HUNKER DOWN IN UKRAINE

by Ron Jacobs

As the war between Russia and Ukraine heads into its second hundred days, the information we are getting regarding it is less clear and less likely to be the truth. This seems especially true in the US media, which contradicts itself in this regard with greater and greater frequency. As for what the Russian media is reporting, that is becoming almost impossible to discover given the expanding censorship of news source that Washington or London considers linked to Moscow. Of course, this censorship is structured different than the censorship in Ukraine and Russia, where much of it is government-imposed. Here in the land of the free, censorship takes the shape of corporate deplatforming of various podcasts, websites and video programming. In addition, corporate payment apps (Pay Pal, etc.) cancel the censored entities accounts, thereby defunding them.

Given the growing amount of disinformation, misinformation and censorship, those leading the charge from Washington, London, Brussels and Kyiv can pretty much write and say whatever they want and no one can prove otherwise. Those who challenge their narrative are often characterized as a Russian asset. This typecasting has expanded so deep and wide that even long-time pacifist groups decrying the war (like they have every other war) are being painted as Russian sympathizers. Indeed, certain segments of the US Left that support Kyiv have come perilously close to identifying pacifists and others opposed to this war in this manner.

One of the newer chapters in this relatively brief conflict concerns a “growing” partisan resistance movement. Some of the same leftists mentioned above have been talking up this resistance for a while, now. Recently, the New York Times published a fairly long article on it. (6/10/2022) The article read much like a press release from the CIA and was dutifully vague in its description of this resistance. For various reasons, there were no numbers discussed. However, neither were the politics of the members discussed; something that raised a few flags in this observer’s mind. It’s legitimate to wonder if these resistance cells are actually made up of ultra-right Ukrainians associated with various neo-nazi organizations or perhaps they are sponsored by the Ukrainian Catholic Church or some other conservative faction identified with the uglier side of Ukrainian nationalism. I’m fairly certain that those on the Left urging others to support them believe these partisans are mostly communist and socialist, while the New York Times prefers to believe they are all pro-capitalist liberals. Given the fact that, according to the Times article, most if not all of these groups are in fairly constant contact with the CIA-organized Ukrainian Center of National Resistance which was formalized last July 2021, it seems pretty reasonable that the bulk of this resistance is made up of far-right and pro-Zelenskyy Ukrainians. Assuming these groups do exist, whether or not they will make any real difference in the war remains to be seen.

Besides Ukraine’s internal situation there is also what Washington and Moscow want this conflict to mean for the future of the world. It seems fairly clear that Moscow’s primary hope is that it can halt the bulldozer that is Washington and NATO. Stating this fact is not an endorsement of Moscow or its aggression. Once again, we have no real idea about Moscow’s intentions because most of what gets to the United States in that regard has been filtered through the consent manufacturing department of the US media or is just plain fiction. On the other hand, Washington has no bones about making its desires clear. For example, on June 10, 2022 President Zelenskyy told a group of pro-US rulers meeting in Asia: “It is on the battlefield in Ukraine that the future rules of this world are being decided,” he said. “So let us save the whole world from coming back to the times when everything was decided by the so-called right of might.” The fact that this was said without any irony dismisses the history of the US/NATO war machine of the last several decades. After all, if NATO had not spent the last twenty-five or so years assimilating nations of eastern Europe like the Borg in Star Trek and had instead decided on a different cooperative security mechanism that included Moscow after the end of the USSR, Ukraine would probably not be in the straits it is in. Washington rejected the overtures made by Moscow regarding a cooperative security arrangement and intentionally chose a path that emphasized its military might to further its hegemonic agenda. This “right of might” Mr. Zelenskyy refers to remains Washington’s standard operating procedure and is a major reason why it dominates so much of the world.

At long last, calls for a negotiated peace are beginning to be heard from sections of the ruling elites in the US and the west. At the same time, Kyiv is awaiting $45 billion dollars of US military aid while aggressively demanding that other nations replenish its supplies of military hardware. Not all of those nations are responding positively. Germany and Bulgaria have both shown some reluctance to continue a war they seem to understand needs to end before it takes down the US-dominated sectors of the world economy they are tied to and creates a situation that could make the recent pandemic seem like a lark.

Indeed, it is the economic factor which may very well determine the course of the Russia-Ukraine war. Washington’s rush to impose sanctions and its cessation of trade with Moscow exacerbated an economic situation that was tenuous at best for the majority of US residents, not to mention even more dire situations elsewhere. As Beijing, Moscow and some of the non-aligned nations (Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, for example) continue to broaden their economic cooperation, the possibility that an alternative global trading project could evolve increases. This would force Washington and its clients and allies into actually competing on equal ground with its capitalist rivals. Of course, this scenario is as potentially dangerous as it is positive. Troubled empires have been known to escalate such rivalries into world wars. In June 2022, Washington certainly qualifies as a troubled empire. If history is a guide, this means that in order for a greater war to be avoided, the power of the non-US-based trading system would have to project enough threat to require diplomacy and detente over war and apocalypse; a balance of terror, so to speak.

(Ron Jacobs is the author of Daydream Sunset: Sixties Counterculture in the Seventies published by CounterPunch Books. His latest offering is a pamphlet titled Capitalism: Is the Problem. He lives in Vermont. He can be reached at: ronj1955@gmail.com. Courtesy, CounterPunch.org.)

MBS SULLIES SAUDI ARABIA’S GOOD NAME WITH PLANS TO MEET US PRESIDENT

by Caitlin Johnstone

The White House has officially confirmed reports that President Biden will indeed be visiting Saudi Arabia in contradiction of his campaign vows to make the nation a "pariah" for its human rights violations, and everyone's acting like visiting a murderous tyrant is somehow beneath the dignity of a US president.

"The President will then travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which is the current chair of the GCC and the venue for this gathering of nine leaders from across the region, at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud," the White House statement reads. "The President appreciates King Salman’s leadership and his invitation. He looks forward to this important visit to Saudi Arabia, which has been a strategic partner of the United States for nearly eight decades."

The president will meet with the nation's de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, to discuss what the White House calls "means for expanding regional economic and security cooperation, including new and promising infrastructure and climate initiatives, as well as deterring threats from Iran, advancing human rights, and ensuring global energy and food security."

But what they will primarily be discussing is oil, as the US flounders in its economic war against Russia.

This visit has ignited a lot of controversy, even in mainstream punditry where criticism of the US empire is only thinly tolerated.

"I wonder who will die because Biden decided to show the world that MBS can kill with impunity," tweeted Project on Government Oversight's Walter Shaub in reference to the Saudi leader's assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

"I don't understand why it's necessary to go see MBS," former presidential advisor David Gergen said on CNN. "Do you want one more big controversy? This one the left will come after him, because they think, the human rights crowd believes very strongly, and with justification, that the murder of Khashoggi rests heavily on MBS and the team around him."

"His blood stain has not been cleansed," Senator Tim Kaine told CNN. "And I get it that circumstances change. But what's the fundamental issue in the world right now? It's the authoritarians. You know, insistence ‘we'll do it our way’ versus democratic ideals.”

"I have real worries about patching up relationships with the crown prince absent some real commitments for justice for political dissenters in Saudi Arabia and families that have already been the targets of a dizzying campaign of repression,” Senator Chris Murphy told CNN.

All this hand wringing about a US president visiting a Saudi leader overlooks the fact that the Biden administration openly acknowledges the presence of thousands of US troops in Saudi Arabia, and that the US already actively collaborates with Saudi royalty in myriad ways with immensely far-reaching consequences.

More to the point, though, the controversy over Biden's meeting with MBS ignores the fact that the US is quantifiably a far more murderous and tyrannical regime than Saudi Arabia.

The United States is currently circling the planet with hundreds of military bases and waging wars which have killed millions and displaced tens of millions just since the turn of this century. Its sanctions and blockades have been starving people to death en masse every single day. It works to destroy any nation which disobeys its dictates by toppling their governments via CIA coups, proxy wars, partial and full-scale invasions, and the most egregious number of election interferences in the entire world.

Saudi Arabia cannot compete with those numbers. Riyadh exerts totalitarian control over its own populace and commits war crimes and funds violent extremists in its immediate surroundings. Washington does all of these things throughout the entire world. It is true that the US exports most of its tyranny and murderousness to other nations (though it certainly exerts plenty of it at home as well), but that only makes it less tyrannical and murderous if you believe non-American lives are worth less than American lives.

Saudi Arabia is not working to dominate the entire planet with an iron fist. Saudi Arabia is not threatening the life of everyone on earth by ramping up nuclear brinkmanship with both Russia and China. Mohammed Bin Salman had someone dismembered with a bone saw. Joe Biden manages a globe-spanning empire that is fueled by human blood.

It's just so funny how everyone's arguing about whether the single most murderous and oppressive regime on this planet should be sullying its good name by associating with a far lesser evil than itself. If anything, MBS should be embarrassed to be meeting with a US president.

In truth the US is friends with Saudi Arabia not in spite of the Saudi regime's murderousness and depravity but exactly because of it. The US doesn't oppose tyrannical dictatorships; it loves them. A totalitarian monarchy which operates in an immensely geostrategically crucial region with complete control and zero transparency is the most perfect friend a globe-dominating empire could possibly ask for.

If you believe a meeting between Biden and MBS is any kind of transgression of the US government's values, it's only because you haven't looked closely enough and thought hard enough about what those values really are.

(caitlinjohnstone.com)

THE MOVING FINGER

by Herb Caen

As you get older in this racket, you find yourself spending more and more time writing of the deaths of those who made the city an exciting place to be alive in — among them Beniamino Bufano and Lefty O'Doul, Jake Louis, the Great Gossage, Gaetano Merola and Pierre Monteux, Amelio, Joe Vanessi now — Johnny.

I first met Johnny Kan in 1938 or 1939 when he was working as the "host" in a long gone and quite beautiful tea room called the Blue Willow. A handsome young man, he cut a striking figure in long silken robes topped by a ceremonial headdress. In educated and urbane English he would welcome Caucasians with a deep bow, pouring out Confucianisms. And as they passed, starry eyed, into the pretty tea room, he would chuckle to a friend, "White devils velly supplised hear young Chinese boy speak so good English, eh what?"

Chinatown at that time was still a mysterious world to most Caucasians. The restaurants were small, generally, with bare marble-topped tables and waiters who looked more hostile than they really were. The whites ordered chop suey and if they were daring chow mein. The wondrous subtleties and intricacies of true Oriental cuisine were beyond them, and there was no one in Chinatown prepared to offer an education. Except Johnny Kan.

Around 1940 he founded the Cathay House, a good-looking restaurant with a splendid location at the corner of Grand and California, and began wooing the tourists — not by "selling out," but by going to the trouble to introduce them to great Cantonese dishes. Chinatown elders muttered about Johnny Kan "catering to the white man, forgetting the tradition," but he and Cathay House were an instant success. A generation learned from him about Peking duck, winter melon soup, fried squid, sea bass, gold coin chicken — and the proper use of chopsticks.

And to tourists (and natives) who would innocently order chop suey, Johnny would purr, "I'm sorry, we serve only Chinese food here."

After the war, he opened a restaurant at Grant and Sacramento that was to become quite literally world-famous. (A lot of San Francisco eating places advertise themselves as "world famous" but few are.) With the help of his master chef Ming, he created dishes that captured the essence of the Cantonese art and yet appealed to wide audiences. Politicians and princes, Cary Grant and Danny Kaye and Benny Goodman, Gianni Agnelli, Merle Oberon, Joe Doakes from Topeka and Whitney Warren from Telegraph Hill — these were part of the legions who trooped through Kan's.

After Johnny, Chinatown cooking was never the same. Chop suey has all but disappeared and you seldom hear anyone calling for Beetle juice. In his wake came restauranteurs who tried to emulate him, and patrons who knew the infinite variety that stretches beyond chow mein. Not long ago, at 66, he died, a man who worked too long and too hard for the perfection he often achieved. In Canton and Peking, they should be aware that there lived in San Francisco a man who raised their cuisine to the highest level.