Mendocino County Today: Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Warming | Murray Sentenced | JDSF Arrests | Boonville Quiz | Bunyan Days | Tests Deadline | Willits Blues | Unlawful Fees | Lumber Yard | Blue Zones | Covelo Astronaut | Dams Letter | Yorkville Social | Poetry Readings | Cactus Flower | No SB-846 | Albion Mill | New Principal | Police Reports | Yesterday's Catch | Laundromat Meeting | Define Beatnik | Why Trump | Princess | Witnesses Return | Almost 60 | Marijuana Subsumed | Good One | Dover Chokepoint | Armor Shaping | Ukraine | Tuetoburg Forest | Mikhail Gorbachev | Eureka Magazine

SEASONABLE OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES will occur through the workweek, followed by warming across interior portions of Northwest California during the weekend into early next week. In addition, conditions are forecast to be dry across much of the region during the next seven days. (NWS)

ED NOTES

MENDO THE MERCIFUL. Former Ukiah Police sergeant, Kevin Murray, 38, was sentenced late Tuesday afternoon to two years probation and jail time. Judge Moorman admonished the hulking, buzz cut defendant that if he violates any of a series of strict probation requirements, including therapy for his alleged bi-polar disorder and the post traumatic stress he says he suffered as a military policeman in Iraq, she will pack him off to state prison. 

MURRAY'S invocation of mental illness seems suspiciously opportunistic given that he has functioned normally (more or less) for nearly 15 total years as a police officer.

THE DEFENDANT looked on impassively as the judge spoke. He did not deliver even a pro forma apology for his behavior. The light sentence means he does not sacrifice his license to again work as a police officer.

A LARGE TURNOUT of armed law enforcement personnel inside and outside the packed courtroom was apparently staged in anticipation of possible disorder but was not required to quell any disturbance. The crowd was quiet, although a number of persons shook their heads in disbelief at the rendered sweetheart sentence as they filed out of the room. (I thought the large police presence meant that Murray was going to be taken into custody, which seemed at least possible prior to Judge Moorman's lengthy recitation of the charges and her reasons for downsizing them, all strictly legal of course, concluding, “This is not to be interpreted as a slap on the wrist.”)

MURRAY was accompanied by two women I assumed for no other reason than wild surmise, to be his wife and mother-in-law, or sister and mother perhaps. 

THE DEFENDANT replied terse yeses to questions from the judge that he understood the numerous stipulations that came with his miraculously generous sentence. 

JUDGE MOORMAN delivered a twenty-minute explication of the charges and her findings. 

MURRAY was attended by Stephen Gallenson the well known Santa Rosa defense attorney, while The People were represented by Assistant DA Heidi Larson, who was mute except for an occasional affirmative in response to the judge. Murray's expensive defense certainly paid off for him, but it remains unclear who paid for it. I'm told the paymasters are the Ukiah Police Department out of their defense fund.

DA David Eyster was not present. 

SONOMA COUNTY PROBATION'S evaluation of the rogue cop concluded that he should do some jail time, less than a year but a serious period of incarceration. That recommendation was ignored.

AN UNIDENTIFIED rape victim, identified in court document only as “S.Y.,” was scheduled to testify by Zoom about the harm she suffered from Murray, but a convenient technical-computer failure canceled her testimony, which would have been ignored anyway given that the proceedings were obviously pre-determined. None of the other victims were present nor were their written statements read, assuming they had been submitted to the court.

GIVEN THE RANGE and variety of the original felony charges against Murray, the magic downsizing of them to misdemeanors was not challenged by Ms. Larson, The People's prosecutor. The People stuck to their decision to basically let this guy slide on charges that would put most men in prison for a long, long time. Those charges included possession of methamphetamine, rapes of two women, one of them at gun point, and burglary, to name the most serious. 

MURRAY is a resident of Lake County, and on his third marriage. He still faces a civil suit filed by a former female colleague at the Ukiah PD who says she was forced to lock herself in a hotel bathroom to elude the nude Murray brandishing his erect penis.

THE BADGED marauder has cost the City of Ukiah's taxpayers a large amount of money. Chris Rasku won a million in federal court when he was seriously injured in an assault by Murray, and one of his female victims was paid $250,000 by the City before today's charges were adjudicated.

MIKE GENIELLA: Probation only. Three known sexual assault victims. In addition, this guy beat a Ukiah resident so badly that the victim's received a $1 million settlement from the city of Ukiah. He walked out of court today with his high-powered defense team from Santa Rosa. Who is paying that bill?

PD COVERAGE: pressdemocrat.com/article/news/prosecutors-suggest-tougher-sentence-for-former-ukiah-sergeant/

RE MURRAY, an on-line comment:

As to the judge, I am not sure how much discretion she had in sentencing and whether or not she could actually give him jail time. I believe she might’ve been limited since he took a plea bargain for far less egregious criminal acts than the actual crimes he committed. So her hands might’ve been tied. If you want to go after anybody go after the prosecutors who would not prosecute on the actual crimes he committed. They should explain further why they thought they couldn’t make the crimes stick. I’m assuming there were rape gets. Right? Then again maybe not. 

This though was very unsettling: “Based on a letter Murray wrote the judge earlier this month, Moorman said she has no doubt he is remorseful.”

Oh for heaven sake’s, the man is remorseful for having gotten caught. A serial rapist rarely if ever stops. At least I don’t know of any case where they have reformed. I could be wrong. So remorse doesn’t even come into their lexicon. My other criticism about the statement was that we have no way of knowing if the judge was being literal or satirical. I’m assuming she was literal since it was a legal document, if so, this is disturbing. Why would she think that? Either she is completely ignorant, or biased, which would constitute what you suggested, a recall. 

POLLY GIRVIN AND NAOMI WAGNER AMONG THOSE ARRESTED TODAY in Sacramento protesting the resumption of logging at Jackson State Forest:

BOONVILLE QUIZ NIGHT, THURSDAY NIGHT

This coming Thursday is September 1st and therefore it’s Quiz Night (1st and 3rd Thursdays) at Lauren’s at The Buckhorn.

We start at 7pm and your brain exercises will last about two hours during which dinner will be served, along with beer wine, and finally - cocktails and liquor too!

To celebrate the return of such civilized drinks to the Valley we are serving Margarita’s for $6.50 and highball drinks (liquor and non-alcohol mixer) for $5 during the Quiz.

That will loosen the brain cells and no doubt help in your efforts to come up with answers, correct or otherwise…

Hope to see you there. It’s always fun.

Cheers,

Steve - The Quizmaster

FORT BRAGG’S PAUL BUNYAN DAYS 2022 is Friday, Sept 2– Monday, Sept 5!

https://paulbunyandays.com

FREE TESTS DEADLINE

Public Notice: Free COVID tests are still available to order by mail from the federal government until Friday, September 2nd. Funding is not available past this date.

All households in the U.S. have been eligible to receive three (3) orders of free at-home COVID tests. If your family has only ordered one or two batches of tests this year, Public Health is encouraging you to get your second or third batch before funding runs out on September 2nd. Each test order comes with eight (8) at-home tests.

These tests…
• Are rapid antigen at-home tests, not PCR
• Can be taken anywhere
• Give results within 30 minutes (no lab drop-off required)
• Work whether or not you have COVID-⁠19 symptoms
• Work whether or not you are up to date on your COVID-⁠19 vaccines
• Are also referred to as self-tests or over-the-counter (OTC) tests

The test kits are free and can be ordered at: https://www.covid.gov/tests

— Dr. Andrew Coren, County Health Officer, Mendocino County Public Health Department

MENDO’S ‘UNLAWFUL’ RECORDS RESTRICTIONS

TO: Christian M. Curtis 

Mendocino County Counsel 

501 Low Gap Road, Room 1030 

Ukiah, CA 95482 

Email: curtisc@mendocinocounty.org 

Re: Resolution No. 22-181 

Dear Mr. Curtis: 

The First Amendment Coalition (“FAC”) is a nonprofit public interest organization dedicated to advancing free speech, more open and accountable government, and public participation in civic affairs. I am writing on behalf of FAC to discuss Resolution No. 22-181, in which the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors directed “the creation of a local media organization public records grant program and fund” to cover fees for public record requests imposed by Mendocino County Ordinance No. 4507 (“Ordinance”). Joining in this letter are the California News Publishers Association and the Society of Professional Journalists Northern California Chapter’s Freedom of Information Committee. 

As an initial matter, our position is that the Ordinance is unlawful because the California Public Records Act (“CPRA”) does not authorize fees for locating, reviewing, and redacting records and no statute authorizes a county to impose fees not otherwise allowed by the CPRA. To charge up to $150 per hour for responding to record requests creates a financial barrier that deprives many people of transparency rights guaranteed by the CPRA and California Constitution. The grant program cannot cure the defects of an ordinance unlawful on its face. 

Reserving the right to address those issues separately and without conceding the Ordinance is lawful, we submit this letter to explain that any definition of “media organization” the County might adopt must comport with strict First Amendment standards. 

As you correctly noted at the August 16, 2022, Board of Supervisors meeting, the First Amendment prohibits the government from discriminating based on the content or viewpoint of speech. Reed v. Town of Gilbert, 576 U.S. 155, 163 (2015). But the First Amendment’s protections are not so limited, especially as to the press. The First Amendment prohibits “abridging the freedom of … the press.” U.S. Const. amend. I, cl. 4. To “preserve an untrammeled press as a vital source of public information,” Grosjean v. Am. Press Co., 297 U.S. 233, 250 (1936), the Free Press Clause protects the media as “the only organized private business that is given explicit constitutional protection.” Scheetz v. Morning Call, Inc., 747 F. Supp. 1515, 1528 (E.D. Pa. 1990) (quoting Potter Stewart, Or of the Press, 26 Hastings L.J. 631, 633 (1975)), aff’d, 946 F.2d 202 (3d Cir. 1991). 

In particular, the Free Press Clause prohibits the imposition of disparate financial burdens on the press or any portion thereof. Minneapolis Star & Tribune Co. v. Minn. Comm’r of Revenue, 460 U.S. 575, 591 (1983) (“Minnesota’s ink and paper tax violates the First Amendment not only because it singles out the press, but also because it targets a small group of newspapers.”). For example, a tax may not be imposed only on publications of a certain size or circulation, regardless of any benign motive. Id. at 592 (“Illicit legislative intent is not the sine qua non of a violation of the First Amendment.”). 

That principle is not limited to taxation. If the County were to subsidize the public record requests of some but not all media, the financial burden on those ineligible for the subsidy would be tantamount to disparate taxation of disfavored portions of the press. Selective taxation and selective subsidy are two sides of the same coin. See Regan v. Taxation with Representation of Wash., 461 U.S. 540, 544 (1983) (“A tax exemption has much the same effect as a cash grant.”); Grosjean, 297 U.S. at 244 (tax on “gross receipts derived from advertisements” in newspapers “curtail[s] the amount of revenue realized from advertising”). 

To avoid First Amendment problems, any definition of “media” must include not only “the institutionalized print or broadcast media” but also any person “gathering news for dissemination to the public,” regardless of circulation, audience size, longevity, business model, corporate status, or employment status. Shoen v. Shoen, 5 F.3d 1289, 1293 (9th Cir. 1993). The definition must include individuals such as freelance reporters or “investigative book authors” as well as “more traditional print and broadcast journalists.” Id. One’s “prior experience as a professional journalist” cannot be “the sine qua non” of “present intent to gather for the purpose of dissemination,” which can be shared “by one who is a novice in the field.” von Bulow by Auersperg v. von Bulow, 811 F.2d 136, 144 (2d Cir. 1987). 

As settled by the Supreme Court long ago, “The liberty of the press is not confined to newspapers and periodicals. It necessarily embraces pamphlets and leaflets…. The press in its historic connotation comprehends every sort of publication which affords a vehicle of information and opinion.” Lovell v. City of Griffin, 303 U.S. 444, 452 (1938). Therefore, “it makes no difference whether the intended manner of dissemination [was] by newspaper, magazine, book, public or private broadcast medium, [or] handbill.” Shoen, 5 F.3d at 1293 (quotation marks omitted). The same is true for any form of digital publication. See O’Grady v. Superior Court, 139 Cal. App. 4th 1423, 1467-68 (2006). 

The First Amendment also prohibits any discrimination against non-“local” media in eligibility for the “public records grant program and fund” contemplated by Resolution No. 22-181. Regardless of any benign motive to support local media, the First Amendment does not permit the government to favor one segment of the press over another, whether based on geography, circulation, medium of publication, or any other characteristic.

For all these reasons, the only appropriate definition of “media” is a person who is gathering information for the purpose of dissemination to the public. See, e.g., 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(ii) (federal Freedom of Information Act definition of “representative of the news media” as “any person or entity that gathers information of potential interest to a segment of the public, uses its editorial skills to turn the raw materials into a distinct work, and distributes that work to an audience,” including but not limited to “television or radio stations … publishers of periodicals … alternative media … [and] freelance journalist[s]”). To look beyond that definition to other factors such as location, circulation, longevity, business model, corporate status, employment status, medium of publication, or the like would amount to impermissible discrimination between segments of the press. 

Moreover, the only purpose into which the government may inquire for purposes of establishing “media” status is the requester’s general purpose – whether they are gathering information for the purpose of dissemination to the public. The government may not inquire into the specific purpose for which the requester intends to use the records, including the potential focus of a journalist’s coverage, their reporting strategy, or their intended use of specific records. Cf. Govt. Code § 6257.5 (prohibiting “limitations on access to a public record based upon the purpose for which the record is being requested, if the record is otherwise subject to disclosure”). 

Thank you for your attention to these matters. 

Sincerely, 

David Loy

Legal Director 

First Amendment Coalition (Oakland)

Also on behalf of:

California News Publishers Association; 

Society of Professional Journalists Northern

California Chapter’s Freedom of Information Committee 

cc: Board of Supervisors (bos@mendocinocounty.org) 

DON CRUSER:

Andrew Lutsky and I are not reading the same Blue Zone books. In my reading I have not recognized the promotion of any religion at any place in the books. A little background will validate this perception. They are called Blue Zones because someone involved drew a blue circle on a map around one of the towns. It was Dan Buetner, a world traveler, who encountered several of these locations and observed that the citizens not only were living longer, but were much more active and healthier in there old age. Dan took his discoveries to National Geographic and convinced them to do more research on people who were benefiting from this lifestyle. They hired a team of researchers to look for more long living groups of people and study their lifestyle. They found five communities around the world, called them the Blue Zones, and did cross-cultural comparisons. The team of scientists isolated nine different components that these communities shared in common and therefore were factors in the people living longer, healthier, and more active lives. Dan Buetner has written several books detailing the different lifestyles and cultures in the Blue Zones. (This is the information that Lutsky wants to deny to public school students.) Please note that none of this was directed by the Seventh Day Adventist Church. They only came into the picture because the Blu Zone in this country happened to be in Loma Linda, California where the Adventist church is centered. In recent years Buetner has put together a package he sells that provides guidelines for how communities can implement the nine components into there communities. I think Ukiah has wisely bought into this package. It in no way promotes one religion over another. The people I know who are working in this program have no connection to this Adventist church.

I could argue with Lutsky on nearly every point he makes but I will focus on some of the more flagrant falsehoods. He cites a physician named Hall who says “It is false to assume that diet is a factor in making us live longer”. Give me a break! The statistical facts on the Blue Zones is that they live about 12 years longer then other Americans. However, they die differently: Instead of a slow long decline into decrepitude they stay fully active into old age and then die quickly. They are getting about 25 more years of quality life. Hall needs to run down to the shopping mall, have a seat, and watch the people walk (I should say waddle) by. A few minutes observation will confirm that over 40% of them are obese and becoming diabetic. According to Hall diet has nothing to do with this.

Lutsky’s expert Hall also says that the Blue Zoners could be living longer just because they are wealthier and that there has been little research on this factor. Wrong! Hall,s head is in the sand. Loma Linda is the only well off Blue Zone. The other four communities live an old fashioned subsistence lifestyle where they herd goats and grow a lot of their own food. One of the nine components is that exercise is built into the lifestyle. This is why I have my wife carry in the firewood. I cut and stacked it. Hall is also unaware of the largest nutritional study ever conducted on thousands of Chinese people. It is detailed in a book called “The China Study” by an American professor named T. Collin Campbell. With help from the Chinese government Campbell analyzed the diets of peasants living on the land eating rice and beans and compared their health to the newly wealthy Chinese who were eating high on the hog. Campbell refers to the big killers of obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease as”diseases of affluence”.

Some years ago I went to Kenya. In my three weeks while traveling from Nairobi to Mombassa to Malindi, I encountered 3 people who were over weight. As a tall slim person it was nice to be among people of my body type who were nimble on their feet. It could have been a factor in crossing streets in the traffic. The everyday staple in these Kenyans is a whiter corn polenta served with steamed collard greens. This is the food that fuels the world’s greatest distance runners. They even insist on eating it in the olympic village. It is also worth noting that Cubans on the island have an unusually long life expectancy. So much for the rich living longer and Lutsky’s science.

There also seems to be a concern about the Adventist work in healing the sick being part of their religious mission. I guess Lutsky has never heard of Mother Teresa. I think it is a noble purpose and I am not bothered by it at all. Moreover, I prefer it to the motives of those whe go into medicine to get rich. This is the mode of operation for many of the players in our profit driven healthcare system. We all know about the outrages of the drug companies where Americans are paying 4-500% more for drugs than Canadians. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 75% of medicare funds are spent on people in the last month of their lives. A lot of our hospitals are gouging medicare (US). Considering all this I find it refreshing to hope that our hospitals and staff are providing medical care on the basis of a sense of moral purpose in the service of our residents. I also like the Adventists because of their dedication to preventive healthcare. Teaching people how to maintain their health makes the hospital less money. This is more evidence of their dedication to their ethical purpose. Please note that you don’t have to be an Adventist to get this service.

I am a retired teacher, have read about education in other countries, have lived and went to school in Sweden, and am married to a German immigrant. Fundamental to a good educational system is that it allows for a free exchange of ideas and information. This is also fundamental to a functioning democracy. The real issue here is not one of religious indoctrination but rather, is it a good idea to teach young people how to live a healthier, improved quality of life. One of the nine components is to incorporate into your life a mechanism for dealing with stress. I have been reading a lot about the uncertainties and concerns young people are dealing with coming out of this pandemic. Teaching them some methods for dealing with stress should take precedence over unfounded claims that the Adventists are trying to recruit lost souls.

As for this censorship that Lutsky is engaging in. Perhaps he should join forces with those who fear Critical Race Theory and have a book burning. i will stick to the principle of allowing a free exchange of ideas. Thanks to the AVA for this opportunity to do that.

NICOLE MANN, ASTRONAUT, FROM COVELO, WILL BE THE FIRST NATIVE AMERICAN WOMAN IN SPACE

UNCLOG THEM

DEAR AVA:

Sorry to be so long getting around to it, but I have been meaning to write for a while to see if you could pass on a congratulatory message from me to the author of a particularly cogent LTE concerning the possible destruction of the Van Arsdale and that other dam that creates Lake Pillsbury, which makes possible the Eel River diversion into the end of Potter Valley, which of course allows the Russian River to have water in it all year.

I wanted to thank the guy (I think his last name was Nicoll) for beating me to this urgent statement of obvious facts, his piece being very close to the column that I have been writing in my head for months.

I am mystified by the virtually nonexistent response to this insane proposal to take out those dams and do away with the Eel River diversion altogether. I mean, what are there, maybe a million people in the Russian River watershed? Perhaps $1 trillion worth of high-end wineries, etc.? Not to mention the significant (six or 7 MW) hydroelectric power produced by this colossal piece of human endeavor created with the almost superhuman labor of Chinese coolies in the 1800s.

The idea of abandoning all this, as we know we are in a super drought, even after we have gone to the significant expense of creating fish ladders around the dams (the complaint is that, “they get clogged up”) well sheesh, UNCLOG THEM!

Anyway, all this and more was expressed quite eloquently by Mr. Nicoll in his letter of couple of months ago. If you could pass this email to him along with my contact info, perhaps I could collaborate with him to bring more attention to this severely under-covered but crucial news item.

Keep up the excellent work guys.

Best wishes, 

John Arteaga, Ukiah

POETRY READINGS

Book Launch & Poetry Reading, Friday, Sept. 2 

Littoral Press/Belinda Point Series announces the publication of two new books of poetry:

• Sappho’s Island, by Joe Smith
• Dawn Out of Order, by Larry Felson

Join us Friday, September 2, 5-7 pm, for an informal reading by the poets at The Bookstore, 137 East Laurel Street, Fort Bragg 707-964-6559

Wendi Felson <wfelson@gmail.com>

URGENT ALERT FOR VOTERS IN MENDOCINO COUNTY!

On Wednesday, August 31, 2022, state lawmakers will vote on a proposal – SB 846 – to keep PG&E’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant open for another ten years. To pay for it, ratepayers will be charged a new fee based on “gross” energy consumption. This includes the solar energy that powers your home during the day or charges your battery. (Section 9(l) of the bill)

Taxing the sun makes no sense.

This is not about the merits of nuclear power or keeping Diablo Canyon open. This is about the idiocy of taxing people when they don’t buy energy from the utility, when they in fact are reducing their burden on the grid and helping to make the grid more reliable. If Diablo Canyon is to be eventually replaced, we need to encourage more clean energy and energy storage, not discourage it.

The bill would tax all solar users, current and future, when their solar panels (or batteries) power things like:

A fridge, air conditioner, wheelchair, or dialysis machine in a home

An irrigation pump on a farm

A science lab in a school

A heart monitor in a hospital

To be clear, solar users with a battery will not be spared, not even during Public Safety Power Shutoffs.

This is the same Solar Tax also proposed by the CPUC, and could balloon to $600 per year or more if we don’t stop it now

This sneaky Solar Tax in the California State Legislature is different from, but related to, the still-pending Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) rooftop solar proposal. If the legislature gives the green light to this Diablo Canyon Solar Tax, nothing will stop the CPUC from levying the 11 other types of Solar Taxes suggested by the CPUC in May that will add up to $300 to $600 per year for the average solar user. You will recall that thousands of people to took to the streets this summer in Los Angeles, San Francisco and seven other cities to protest this Solar Tax.

It’s hard to keep it all straight, and that’s the utilities’ plan. The more confusing it is, the harder it is to defend. 

This proposal is just like taxing people who hang dry their clothing rather than running their electric clothes dryer.

It’s another profit grab by PG&E, cooked up behind closed doors, and implemented at the last minute.

While Governor Newsom has made his intention to keep Diablo Canyon open for quite some time, the actual bill language was only made public this past Sunday evening, with just three days for the public and lawmakers to respond. The legislative session ends tomorrow night at midnight, so we have less than 48 hours to stop this Solar Tax.

This is a classic move by PG&E and their allies, who are most effective in the shadows and backrooms of Sacramento. They know the Solar Tax is wildly unpopular with voters, so they need secrecy and the element of surprise to make the Solar Tax happen.

Please send a message to your state Assemblymember and Senator right away to stop PG&E’s Sneaky Solar Tax

Tell them to vote NO on SB 846!

Thank you for all you do!

ST. MARY’S SCHOOL HIRES NEW PRINCIPAL

UKIAH, CA (AUGUST 30, 2022) — As it starts a new academic year, St. Mary of the Angels Catholic School is pleased to welcome Andrew Soria as its new principal. He comes to St. Mary’s after serving as the Associate Head of School for Academics at Pacifica Christian High School in Santa Monica, a top-ten ranked Christian school in the state. Prior to that, Soria held teaching positions at the elementary, high school, college, and adult levels. 

“I am honored to join the St. Mary’s community,” says Soria. “I hope to honor the long-standing traditions of the school while also implementing some strategic initiatives to develop teachers and capitalize on the unique liberal arts angle of a St. Mary’s education to prepare students for the academic challenges of high school, college, and beyond. I’m especially thankful for the dedicated and missional faculty here who worked so hard over the last few years to keep our students engaged and learning. I really look forward to working together with them.” 

Some of Soria's goals include increasing enrollment through securing funding for a transitional kindergarten class and establishing a scholarship fund to expand access to financial aid. He is also committed to cultivating a school environment that both nurtures and challenges students to excel in academic excellence, critical thinking, and humble service. 

Originally a native of rural Northern California, Soria is excited to settle into Ukiah with his young family. Soria holds an M.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in English and Spanish from Azusa Pacific University, with additional credits from the University of Virginia and Christ Church, University of Oxford. 

If you are interested in learning more about Soria or St. Mary of the Angels Catholic School, please call 707-462-3888 or visit www.stmarysukiah.org. 

* * *

About the St. Mary of Angels Catholic School St. Mary of the Angels Catholic School has been the sole center of Catholic education in Mendocino County since 1953. We are committed to creating a school environment that both nurtures and challenges our students to become the purpose-driven servant leaders they are meant to be. Serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade, St. Mary of the Angels Catholic School is accredited by the Western Catholic Education Association and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. For more information, please visit www.stmarysukiah.org. 

OL’ TREV AGAIN

On Thursday, August 25, 2022 at 7:14 A.M. Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies received a report of three canines having been shot and killed at a residence located in the 15000 block of Poonkinney Road in Dos Rios.

The incident occurred while the residents were away and was discovered when they returned home from their trip.

The suspect responsible for shooting the canines was identified as Trevor Williams, 56, of Willits. 

Williams was identified as the suspect by home surveillance video footage taken of the incident which was obtained by the Deputies.

Upon arrival at the location of the incident, Deputies located the three deceased canines. The deceased canines had been shot while inside a kennel in the backyard.

The canines were dragged to other parts of the property in an attempt to hide them. Deputies found evidence that an attempt to clean up the scene had been made by Williams prior to his leaving the residence. The motive for the shooting is unknown.

Due to the video footage evidence that identified Williams as the shooter of the canines, a felony arrest warrant was issued for Williams for the charges of cruelty to animals, committing offenses while out on bail (refer to Sheriff's Office press release 2022-17279 issued on 07-28-2022), and violation of a restraining order.

On Monday, August 29, 2022 at 11:20 A.M. Williams was contacted in the Fort Bragg area and placed under arrest pursuant to the felony arrest warrant.

Williams was booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held in lieu of $220,000 bail.

PRIOR INCIDENT: https://theava.com/archives/194396#17

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HIGH NOON

On Monday, August 22, 2022 at about 12:00 PM Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies were dispatched to contact a witness to a armed robbery that occurred near a residence at the intersection of Hopper Lane and Ledger Lane in Covelo.

Deputies arrived in the area and contacted an eyewitness who reported Georgie Britton-Hoaglin, 22, of Covelo, had confronted a 30 year old adult male in front of their residence as he was driving away in his vehicle.

The adult male stopped the vehicle when Britton-Hoaglin approached brandishing a pistol. Britton-Hoaglin brandished the pistol and demanded the adult male provide him money.

The adult male said he did not have any money and Britton-Hoaglin pistol whipped the adult male in the head. Because of the pistol whipping, the adult male gave cigarettes and his cellular phone to Britton-Hoaglin.

Britton-Hoaglin told the adult male to exit the vehicle but instead he fled in the vehicle.

Deputies searched the area with the assistance of a Round Valley Tribal Police Officer and located Britton-Hoaglin walking in the roadway of Hopper Lane. When Britton-Hoaglin was located he quickly tossed a sweatshirt which contained a loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol onto the ground.

Britton-Hoaglin was taken into custody without further incident. Britton-Hoaglin was also in possession of the adult male's cellular phone which he had robbed from him earlier in the day.

Britton-Hoaglin was arrested for Robbery, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Felon in Possession of Ammunition, and Felony Bench Warrant - Violation of PRCS the listed charges. BrittonHoaglin was booked into the Mendocino County Jail and was to be held without bail due to a felony no bail arrest warrant for violation of his Post Release Community Supervision probation (PRCS).

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FORT BRAGG MURDER WHILE ARRESTEE OUT ON BAIL FOR FORT BRAGG MURDER

On Friday, August 12, 2022, Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies responded to Adventist Health Mendocino Coast (Fort Bragg) for a report of an adult male deceased with an apparent gunshot wound. 

Through their investigation, Deputies identified the shooting location as being in the 31000 block of Highway 20 in Fort Bragg. Sheriff's Detectives were contacted to respond to the scene and hospital to continue the investigation.

The deceased adult male was identified as being Daniel Shealor, 52, of Fort Bragg, and following an autopsy on Wednesday, August 17, 2022 his death was determined to be a homicide. 

Through follow-up investigations, multiple witnesses were identified. Over the course of the following two weeks, numerous interviews were conducted with Sheriff's Detectives traveling throughout the Northern California coast attempting to locate these witnesses. 

The investigation revealed probable cause to establish Shayne Wrede, 37, of Fort Bragg and Sacramento as the suspect in the shooting. 

Sheriff's Detectives were aware Wrede, who was currently out on bail, failed to appear at the Mendocino County Superior Court on Tuesday, August 16, 2022 for a scheduled court appearance (jury trial setting) related to a prior Mendocino County Sheriff's Office case from December 14, 2020. 

For further information refer to the following link: facebook.com/MendocinoSheriff/posts/for-immediate-releaseincident-number-2020-31240crimeincident187-pc-murder3455-pc/10157959417542967/

Wrede’s failure to appear on Tuesday, August 16, 2022 resulted in a felony arrest warrant being issued for his arrest. 

On Thursday, August 25, 2022, with the assistance of the US Marshal Service Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force of the Northern and Eastern Districts of CA, Wrede was observed in the 3800 block of Roseville Road in Sacramento at about 2:15 PM. 

When US Marshal’s attempted to take Wrede into custody for his outstanding warrant and the pending homicide case, he fled from law enforcement personnel.

Based on circumstances of the active case with a weapon remaining outstanding coupled with his previous criminal history, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office SWAT team was activated and responded to the location. 

With the assistance of the Sacramento Police Department, Sacramento County Probation, Placer County Sheriff's Office Air Operations and the US Marshal’s Task force, Wrede was eventually located in the general area where he fled at about 6:30 PM and was taken into custody without incident. 

Wrede was transported back to Mendocino County and booked into the Mendocino County Jail for the listed charges, where he was to be held in lieu of $575,000 bail. 

Sheriff's Detectives are continuing to follow-up on leads related to this investigation and ask for the public’s assistance with regard to surveillance footage in the immediate area of the 31000 block of Highway 20 in Fort Bragg. 

Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact Mendocino County Sheriff's Detectives by calling 707-463-4086 or the MCSO Tip-Line at 707-234-2100. 

In addition to the above-mentioned law enforcement agencies, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office would also like to thank the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office, Del Norte County District Attorney’s Office, Crescent City Police Department and the CDCR Pelican Bay Special Response Team for their assistance in this investigation.

CATCH OF THE DAY, August 30, 2022

KYLE BOUGHTON, Ukiah. Protective order violation.

KENNETH ELLER, Ukiah. Failure to appear.

MATHEW LEWIS, Ukiah. DUI-alcohol&drugs.

ANTHONY LOPES SR., Willits. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

RICHARD MARTIN-TUSO, Redwood Valley. Failure to appear.

CHERYL MATTSON, Ukiah. Assault with deadly weapon not a gun, elder abuse resulting in great bodily harm or death, contempt of court, resisting.

HI, TOM, NICE TO MEET YOU

The Brahmic Vrittis Take Over

O Jivan Muktas, Awoke early and following morning ablutions at Building Bridges homeless shelter in Ukiah, California, proceeded to bottom line the voluntary trash & recycling chore, finishing at 9AM. Went to the laundry in the shopping complex at S. State Street and Talmage Road. Thomas Cook, out on an amble, dropped in with big stories about past adventures in Mendocino County. 

Returned to the shelter and put the clothes away. Headed out with a trash bag to pick up litter, and did so all the way to Plowshares, where an impressive free Irish style lunch was served. Walked back on the other side of the street picking up litter (while dental flossing the corned beef from between the teeth). Took a cold shower upon returning, and then headed out to the Ukiah Co-op for an adaptogenic mushroom drink, and then, floated north on Main Street to the Ukiah Public Library. Am right this minute on a public computer at 4:08PM Pacific Daylight Time. The brahmakara vrittis have taken over! Please contact me if you wish to do anything crucial on the planet earth. And check this out: http://www.arunachala-live.com/wordpress/?p=2525

Craig Louis Stehr, Email: craiglouisstehr@gmail.com

NEITHER NOR

Editor: 

As a moderate Republican who wrote in this space in 2016 that neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump deserved to be president, I was faced with a choice. I voted for Trump, Clinton being an example of what is wrong with D.C.

Many Trump haters still don’t understand why he was elected. Remember, many Republicans hated the fact that he was our candidate. They hate him because he exposed the seedy underbelly of our politics, both Republicans and Democrats.

Clinton, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy, Lindsey Graham and, most of all, Mitch McConnell are all corrupted lifetime politicians. Most people are tired of political correctness and now woke-mania coming out of talking heads and extreme candidates on both sides of the aisle.

We the voters are in charge of change. Whether you’re left or right on important issues, vote for the candidate you feel will help solve our issues. Don’t vote party lines, vote for the best candidate.

Locally, it’s great to see so many new candidates running for office. We need to support new blood on all levels of our government. Vote sensibly for the future.

Jim Hickey

Santa Rosa

WITNESSES RETURN TO KNOCKING ON DOORS

Bay Area Jehovah’s Witnesses Return to Door-to-Door Ministry After 30-Month Pandemic Pause

Jehovah’s Witnesses will resume their trademark door-to-door ministry beginning September 1; the two-and-a-half-year suspension of the work will end just in time for the launch of a global campaign featuring an interactive program for Bible study. 

The decision to resume their door-to-door ministry marks the complete restoration of all pre-pandemic in-person activities for the nearly 1.3 million Jehovah’s Witnesses in the 12,000 congregations in the United States. Houses of worship (called Kingdom Halls) were reopened on April 1, witnessing in public places resumed on May 31, and in-person conventions are again being planned for 2023.

Ron and Ann McGriff are excited to reconnect with their community. “I can’t wait to get back and see how my neighbors are doing," said Ron, who spent his early years in the Bay Area. "My community is like my extended family. It’s been such a long time since I’ve gotten to go out and talk to them face to face."

The suspension of the public ministry was a proactive response by the organization to keep communities and congregants safe. The move was also unprecedented. Jehovah’s Witnesses had been preaching from house to house without interruption for more than 100 years through an economic depression, two world wars and global unrest, but COVID-19 demanded a different response.

“We believe that the early decision to shut down all in-person activities for more than two years has saved many lives,” said Robert Hendriks, U.S. spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “We’re now ready and eager to reconnect with our neighbors once again – person to person, face to face. It’s not the only way that we preach, but it has historically been the most effective way to deliver our message of comfort and hope.”

The return to an in-person ministry coincides with a global campaign to offer an interactive Bible study program, available in hundreds of languages and offered at no cost. The course comes in the form of a printed book, online publication or as an embedded feature within the organization’s free mobile application, JW Library. Released in late 2020, the interactive study platform combines text, video, illustrations and digital worksheets to help learners of all ages.

“This study program is designed to match the learning style of the 21st-century student,” said Hendriks. “We’re excited to begin sharing it with our neighbors as we return to making personal visits.”

The pandemic forced Jehovah’s Witnesses to quickly pivot to virtual meetings and conventions while conducting their ministry exclusively through letters, phone calls and virtual Bible studies. This has led to growth in meeting attendance and the number of congregants, with more than 400,000 newly baptized Witnesses joining the ranks of 120,000 congregations globally in just the first two years of the pandemic.

For more information about Jehovah’s Witnesses, their history, beliefs and activities, visit their official website, jw.org, with content available in more than 1,000 languages.

THE TRIUMPH OF POLYPHARMACY (From O’Shaughnessy’s News Service)

Tod Mikuriya, MD, was very brave and said what he meant without any sugar-coating. In 2006 O’Shaughnessy’s published his paper Cannabis as a First-line Treatment for Childhood Mental Disorders, about a teenager who had been prescribed pharmaceutical stimulants, antidepressants, analgesics and antipsychotics that exacerbated his problems (which stemmed from insomnia). Cannabis provided a relatively benign, effective alternative. If you have any interest in the history of the medical marijuana movement, Google “Mikuriya First-line” to read it. 

On August 28, 2022, a story hedded “10 Psychiatric Drugs While in High School. And She Was Far From Alone” ran across four columns of the front page of the New York Times, under a photo of a pretty teenager named Renae Smith. The piece by Matt Richtel jumped to fill a two-page spread. In fourth grade Renae was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and put on Focalin (methylphenidate, the same active ingredient as Ritalin and Concerta). In ninth grade she went to New Horizons Counseling Center where a psychiatrist prescribed Prozac. He soon added a prescription for Abilify (an anti-psychotic), then Effexor (an anti-depressant), then he doubled her dose, then he put her back on Prozac and doubled the dose. Then she was put on Trintilex (alprazolam, a Xanax-like downer). Next she got a stronger dose of Focalin, and Lamictal (intended for adults with bipolar or seizure disorders) and Olanzapine (an antipsychotic) and Rexulti (a strong anti-depressant that psychiatrists describe as “an add-on drug” – as if everything that followed her Focalin in fourth grade were not add-ons.)

Renae Smith had never been diagnosed with the conditions that most of the drugs she took had been approved by the FDA to treat; others had not been approved for use by teenagers. But doctors have the power to prescribe medications for “off-label” purposes.

In a sidebar that takes up two full columns Richtel lists other treatment options for troubled teenagers: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), parent management training (PMT), collaborative assessment and management of suicidality (CAMS), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). There is a photo of Michele Berk, a Stanford University psychiatrist who says that DBT “is probably the best tool we have.” In 2018 she published a paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluding that DBT led to fewer suicidal attempts and less self-harm than the alternatives. “The therapy is also identified as a key evidence-based treatment by the American Academy of Pediatrics,” according to Richtel. 

“Evidence-based” is a term to be wary of. The Medical Establishment decides what constitutes valid evidence. All the patients’ reports contained in the files of Mikuriya and his colleagues in the Society of Cannabis Clinicians counts for zilch. Only multi-million-dollar randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials (RCTs) are deemed to constitute valid evidence, although numerous FDA-approved drugs that made it through clinical trials got withdrawn from the market after evidence of their damaging – even deadly – side effects could no longer be concealed. Merck’s Vioxx killed 57,000 US Americans – 19 times more than died in the Twin Towers.

Nuggets from Richtel:

“These drugs, generally intended for short-term use, are sometimes prescribed for years, even though they can have severe side effects — including psychotic episodes, suicidal behavior, weight gain and interference with reproductive development, according to a recent study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry.

“Express Scripts, a mail-order pharmacy, recently reported that prescriptions of antidepressants for teenagers rose 38 percent from 2015 to 2019, compared with 12 percent for adults...

“Public health officials first grew concerned about the problem of multiple medication use, or polypharmacy, a decade ago, when it emerged among young people in foster care and low-income settings. Legislative reforms were passed to curb the practice in those settings, but it has since widened to include affluent and middle-class families.

At this point I wish I could assert that Mikuriya’s sensible conclusion still applies:

“The Institute of Medicine Report of 2000 acknowledges the feasibility of cannabis being used to treat certain conditions when all pharmaceutical options have failed. The case of Alex P. suggests that employing pharmaceutical stimulants, antidepressants and anti-psychotics exposes children gratuitously to harmful side effects in violation of Hippocratic principles.

“The first-line treatment for any condition, efficacy being equal, would be the drug or procedure least likely to cause harm. Given the benign side-effect profile of cannabis, it should be the first-line of treatment in a wide range of childhood mental disorders, including persistent insomnia.

“Physicians and parents both face stigma and take risks in authorizing cannabis use by children, but the risks are legal and social rather than medical. The case of Alex P. exemplifies this reality.”

Unfortunately, as we predicted in O’Shaughnessy’s all those years ago, Whiteman was apt to exploit marijuana the way he had exploited coca and poppies and ephedra – by creating processed or synthesized versions of the active ingredients to produce effects 10 or 50 or 100 times stronger than people could achieve by smoking or chewing or making tea from the “crude” plants. 

Today doctors in the group Mikuriya founded, the Society of Cannabis Clinicians, are weighing how to respond to the new reality. The Industry has subsumed the medical marijuana movement and the serious specialists have no influence. Companies licit and illicit are making products with megadoses appropriate for patients coping with cancer pain and state medical boards have allowed the proliferation of quick-buck artists who are giving young people approval to obtain and ingest these products. 

To be continued…

CHOKEPOINT DOVER

by Patrick Cockburn

I was driving through the town of Faversham on the north Kent coast in July when I became aware that the pretty Georgian high street was clogged with traffic. It did not take long to figure out that this was a ripple effect from the giant traffic jam that had developed around Dover 25 miles away on the south coast of Kent. The chunk of England closest to France is becoming paralysed by the consequences of Brexit, with no end in sight.

And it is all going to get worse as EU border officials based in Dover introduce a new system of controls whereby they ensure that British citizens stay no more than the 90 out of 180 days allowed in the 26 countries in the Schengen Area. But the few minutes it takes for an official to examine a passport is enough to disrupt the whole business of crossing the Channel. Almost anything from a car crash on the access roads to Dover or too few border staff means that vehicles cannot get through the choke-point.

A sobering article called “Dover disruption – is this the new normal for Britain’s border?” by Professor Katy Hayward of the Centre for International Borders Research, Queen’s University Belfast, and Tony Smith, former director general of UK Border Force, makes clear that we are only getting a foretaste of the chaos to come. They point out that “while it takes two sides of a border to make a border easier to cross, it only takes those operating on one side of a border to make it hard”. Yet Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has made political friction with France – expressing distrust for President Macron – part of her Tory leadership campaign.

This point matters because although France and Britain both have elaborate plans to deal with Channel crossing, there is no coordination. Both countries plan to “involve biometric registration and recognition, to a greater or lesser extent. Passengers will need to have obtained a ‘digital permission’ to board trains and ferries in both directions, or face being denied boarding altogether”.

Few have taken on board the full bureaucratic horror racing towards them, but it is laid out in stark terms here.

Below the Radar

I was making the point in a column last week that what makes the Ukraine war so dangerous is simply that there is no sign of it ending. It is becoming similar to wars in Syria, Somalia, Yemen. Libya and many other places where military conflict has become the norm with few attempts to bring it to an end. The way is open for unforeseeable events – like the assassination of Daria Dugina or the fighting around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant this week – to shape and escalate the conflict. Few of the lack-lustre crop of world leaders show much sign of understanding the politics of war which is very different from the politics of peace.

(Patrick Cockburn is the author of War in the Age of Trump)

UKRAINE, TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Russian soldiers to flee for their lives after his forces launched an offensive to retake southern Ukraine, but Moscow said it had repulsed the attack and inflicted heavy losses on Kyiv’s troops.

Ukraine said on Monday its ground forces had gone on the offensive for the first time after a long period of aerial raids on Russian supply lines, especially ammunition dumps and bridges across the strategically important River Dnieper.

Ukraine wages counterattack to reclaim Russia-occupied Kherson

As war drags on, Ukraine’s postal service perseveres

New artillery attack as IAEA heads to Ukraine nuclear plant

“If they want to survive, it’s time for the Russian military to run away. Go home,” Zelenskyy said in a late-night address.

MIKHAIL S. GORBACHEV, REFORMIST SOVIET LEADER, IS DEAD AT 91

Adopting principles of glasnost and perestroika, he weighed the legacy of seven decades of Communist rule and set a new course, presiding over the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the U.S.S.R.

Mikhail S. Gorbachev, whose rise to power in the Soviet Union set in motion a series of revolutionary changes that transformed the map of Europe and ended the Cold War that had threatened the world with nuclear annihilation, has died in Moscow. He was 91. 

His death was announced on Tuesday by Russia’s state news agencies, citing the city’s central clinical hospital. The reports said he had died after an unspecified “long and grave illness.”

Few leaders in the 20th century, indeed in any century, have had such a profound effect on their time. In little more than six tumultuous years, Mr. Gorbachev lifted the Iron Curtain, decisively altering the political climate of the world.…

nytimes.com/2022/08/30/world/europe/mikhail-gorbachev-dead.html