Letters To The Editor

839 MILES OF WICK

May 19, 2013

To: Jane M. Hicks, Chief, Regulatory Division, San Francisco District, US Army Corps of Engineers, 1455 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1398

Re: Request for Reevaluation of the 404 Permit No. 1991-194740N regarding the Caltrans Willits

Bypass project

Dear Ms. Hicks,

Request: Keep the Code, a California non-profit public benefit corporation, requests a reevaluation of the 404 Permit No. 1991-194740N regarding the Caltrans Willits Bypass project because it appears that information provided by Caltrans to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) was incomplete and/or inaccurate; and significant new information has surfaced which the USACE did not consider in reaching the public interest decision. Furthermore, Keep the Code requests a determination by the USACE to suspend the Permit pursuant to 33 C.F.R. Section 325.7.

Problem: Caltrans is planning to begin the installation this week of approximately 55,000 holes to be punctured into the wetlands under the proposed northern end of the Phase 1 Caltrans Willits Bypass to insert plastic wick drains about 80 feet deep in spacing on a grid three to five feet apart. These wick drains will drain water from the soil, but without drainage settlement ponds, the turbid water can be expected to drain into the adjacent Outlet Creek. Also, the wick drains would be expected to dewater two adjacent Mitigation Actions areas, that are contiguous to the southwestern corner of the Northern Interchange: a Group 1 Wetland Establishment area and a Type 4 Wetland Rehabilitation area. Apparently, there was no environmental evaluation conducted on the adverse impact of this dewatering and the sediment draining into the adjacent wetlands and anadromous fish stream, and since the wick drains are permanently placed, this adverse impact can be expected to occur over many decades, which is not a temporary impact, and that has no mitigation provided for these significant adverse impacts to waters of the United States and to the three Federally listed fish species: Chinook, Coho and Steelhead. For example, the minimalist mention of wick drains is the following from the Draft Environmental Impact Report, May 2002, 5.5.6 Impact Analysis:

“The only activity that would penetrate into the groundwater table anticipated as part of any build alternative would be the placement of support piles and footings for bridges and structures; the relocation of groundwater wells; the placement of wick drains and any associated de-watering activities. These minor and isolated intrusions are not expected to impact the quality of groundwater.”

Clearly, this seems to be a casual dismissal of wick drains potential impact to the environment and is wholly inadequate. The 404 Permit requires a thorough evaluation of wick drain impacts on the adjacent watercourses and mitigation lands. Furthermore, on page 5 of the 404 Permit, condition 18 does not authorize Caltrans to take any threatened or endangered species, in particular the threatened Steelhead, Coho salmon or Chinook salmon, or adversely modify their designated critical habitat. The authorization under the 404 Permit is conditional upon compliance with all of the mandatory terms and conditions associated with incidental take of the Biological Opinions. And on page 81 of the National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Opinion, January 19, 2012, condition 17:

“Working waters from the project area shall not be discharged to the live stream, unless Caltrans can demonstrate that no impact to stream water temperature or other water quality parameters will occur as a result of the discharge.”

Caltrans Willits Bypass Documents

The Caltrans Willits Bypass Bid Package item 192 requires 1,350,000 meters of DRAINAGE WICK. (A table in the construction plans from the engineering drainage plans for location and length, totals 1,344,142.8 meters (about 4,430,000 feet or 839 miles of drainage wick).

* * *

The District Geotechnical Design Report for the Willits Bypass (Phase 1) prepared by Caltrans Division of Engineering Services Geotechnical Services Geotechnical Design – North, dated December 30, 2009 was addressed to Dave Kelley, Caltrans, states in part:

“…. Wick drains should be installed within the limits of the proposed embankment footprint, in a triangular pattern at the desired spacing to a depth of 24.4 meters (80 feet). It is anticipated that the near surface soils are of adequate strength to support the wick driving equipment. Once the wicks are installed, a drainage layer should be installed. Options for the drainage layer are:

1. Gravel blanket — consists of a filter fabric placed on existing ground, followed by a 305 mm (12 inch) layer of Class 1 permeable material, followed by a geosynthetic reinforcing fabric. The filter fabric will keep fines from penetrating the gravel layer. The reinforcing fabric will lessen the chance of circular slip failures and hold the fill together as the foundation consolidates, reducing cracking at the surface. The gravel blanket should cover the entire wick drain area.

2. Geocomposite blanket – consists of a polymeric sheet (drainage core) encapsulated by a highly permeable geotextile wrap. The geotextile retains soil, allowing water to pass into the drainage core. The sheets will be placed on existing ground and below the fill embankment. The geocomposite blanket should cover the entire wick drain area.

3. Horizontal strip drains – consists of polymeric strips (drainage core) encapsulated by a highly permeable geotextile wrap. The geotextile retains soil, allowing water to pass into the drainage core. The strips should be placed on existing ground and below the fill embankment. The horizontal strip drains may be spaced such that each strip drain ties into one or two rows of wicks.”

Questions:

1. Has the USACE evaluated the significant adverse impacts of the permanently placed wick drains and the above options for drainage layers, to wetlands and waters of the United States?

2. Will turbid water drain into the adjacent Outlet Creek, Upp Creek, or other wetlands and waters of the United States?

3. Will water contaminated with naturally occurring high levels of boron and arsenic drain into the adjacent Outlet Creek, Upp Creek, or other wetlands and waters of the United States?

4. Will the wick drains dewater either of the two adjacent Mitigation Actions areas that are contiguous to the southwestern corner of the Northern Interchange: a Group 1 Wetland Establishment area and a Type 4 Wetland Rehabilitation area?

5. Was adequate environmental evaluation conducted on the adverse impact of this dewatering or mitigation wetlands, and sediment draining into the adjacent wetlands and anadromous fish streams?

6. Were these potential significant adverse impacts mitigated to provide for protection to wetlands and waters of the United States?

7. Were these potential significant adverse impacts mitigated to provided for protection to the three Federally listed fish species: Chinook, Coho and Steelhead?

8. Are settlement ponds required to trap the sediment?

9. Does there need to be monitoring of the wick drain water effluent, such as water quantity, water quality, and effect on streams, wetlands, wetland establishment areas and wetland rehabilitation areas?

Again, Keep the Code requests a reevaluation of the 404 Permit regarding the Caltrans Willits Bypass project because it appears that information provided by Caltrans to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) was incomplete and/or inaccurate; and significant new information has surfaced which the USACE did not consider in reaching the public interest decision. Furthermore, Keep the Code requests a determination by the USACE to suspend the Permit pursuant to 33 C.F.R. Section 325.7. Thank you for your consideration.

Bob Whitney, Keep The Code

Willits

_________________________________________

25 TO LIFE MEANS 25

Editor:

What a waste of tax money.

Currently the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is lining up hundreds of people here in Solano State prison to be shipped out of state to other prisons. That's like taking a dump in the living room and covering it with a newspaper. It's still there, it still stinks, yet you don't see it. I'm sure the feds will force all these inmates back to California. I'm speculating they will ship thousands out, costing millions of dollars to try doctoring the books for this population for the feds. It's high time the lawmakers let people deal with their own issues and if they wish to save their jobs they can start getting rid of the common sense laws and start letting these lifers out of prison.

25 to life should mean after 25 years, if you're not trying to stab people or fighting you should go home. We all make mistakes. Just some are a little more serious than others. Besides, people change a lot after 20 or 30 years.

A lot of lifers never killed anyone, yet I get to go home in a few years.

For some reason California has more prisons than anywhere in the world yet it still houses thousands of prisoners out-of-state. That's proof enough that something is wrong. Soon my goofy buddy Shayne Muthaf-in Wrede will be joining them. Take the 'R' off of the CDCR because shipping people away from loved ones is not a part of rehab or recovery.

Mothaf-in Squirrely Goat

AKA Aaron Vargas AD 5532

CSP Solano 13-19-2 UP

PO Box 4000, Vacaville, CA 95696

Shayne Wrede AD 3900

CSP Solano 13-3-1 UP

PO Box 4000, Vacaville, CA 95696

PS. We all wish to salute your manbeaters of the week for putting your sissyfied men in check. If you ever wish for a real man drop us a line.

_________________________________________

SEVEN CARROTS OF LIGHT

(Corrected version)

Editor,

I have a recurring dream where I'm running for president again, and no, I have not gone off my meds.

Longtime readers of this paper may recall previous campaigns dating back to 1982. What they don't know is that my 1982 effort wasn't the first time I ran for president of the United States. No, that would be my 1972 run as a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War and student body president of Cañada Community College in Redwood City, California.

In that 1972 effort I simply borrowed Gary Snyder's “Chofu-Four Changes” as my platform. I ran again in 1976, and in 1980 I joined the Citizens Party and campaigned for Barry Commoner and LaDonna Harris. In 1990 I was back at it changing my 1982 seven-point program to the “seven points of light” ala George H.W. Bush.

I want to keep this short but I would be remiss if I didn't include the seven points for the edification of readers to whom this is all new, so here they are in their original form:

1. End all nuclear development and dismantle all existing weapons and plants. 2. Withdraw all support from military dictatorships. 3. Honor all treaties to which we are a party. 4. Provide jobs for all willing to work to solarize and re-green our land. 5. Cooperate in the decentralization of power and hold corporations responsible for their acts. 6. Turn the South Lawn of the White House into a community garden. 7. Ask God/ess for daily guidance.

When I say original form, I'm referring to what came out of my mouth in an interview with a reporter from the Willits News published in their July 28, 1982 edition under the heading “Willits' first presidential candidate.”

So here we are in 2013 where I'll turn 73 in November and I will be 76 by the time I take office in January 2017.

Dreaming? Of course. I told you that back in the first sentence.

I'm married now and I live on an acre north of Fort Bragg where with the help the couple of previously homeless friends I maintain two small vegetable gardens and a greenhouse which has been producing sugar snap peas and salad greens since March.

You want to do something revolutionary? Plant carrots and watch them grow.

I have absolutely no plans to leave his acre except to shop or keep appointments.

Peace,

Peter Sears

Fort Bragg

_________________________________________

ARMCHAIR QB BALDWIN

Editor,

I was dismayed to learn that “Red Phil” Baldwin has somehow convinced the Ukiah city council to weigh in on the US policy debate regarding Syria. Does Mr. Baldwin believe that he was elected to play “armchair quarterback” for the State Department? I suggest that both he and the city council refrain from the these purely symbolic gestures and instead focus on actions that will actually benefit their constituency. Drafting aggressive signage ordinance, perhaps.

More ominously, why is “Baathist” Baldwin seeking the preservation of the Assad regime, which has killed tens of thousands of its own citizens? I'm certain that the Syrian government will take comfort in counting the Ukiah city council among its friends, along side with Iran and Hezbollah. What's next, Phil, a sister-city relationship with Damascus?

David Lilker

Willits

_________________________________________

INTERVENTION IS OUR BUSINESS

Editor:

We know David Lilker as an avid student and teacher of history who has endorsed the Pax Americana and its New World Order. Here we see his sarcastic apology defending an American foreign policy devoid of a voice for the American people. Condescendingly, he tells us any challenge to the warmongers is a worthless “symbolic gesture.” David encourages us to keep our mouths shut because the brilliant oligarchs in charge have American interests in mind when they initiate every new war.

David calls on us to shut up about America's two to three trillion dollars spent during last decade in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya generating almost exclusively devastation, chaos, and sectarian violence. According to his logic, Mr. Lilker would have also encouraged us to keep our mouths shut about the following American invasions or bombardments (all illegal under international law): Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada, 1983), Operation Just Cause (Panama, 1989), Operation Desert Storm (Iraq, 1990), Operation Noble Anvil, (Serbia, 1999), Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan, 2001), Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq, 2003), Operation Odyssey Dawn (Libya, 2011). Never mind, he implies, the tens of thousands of innocents who have died as a result of these American “Operations.” And in Vietnam … we’ll avoid going there now.

David accuses me of supporting a head of state who “has killed tens of thousands of” his “own citizens.” Here, Lilker mouths what has been drilled at us for two years by the mainstream media. Mr. Lilker surely knows that the statistics on war deaths in Syria cannot be confirmed at this time and that we cannot determine what percentage of deaths there are those of foreign mercenaries, armed jihadists, (funded by our proxies Qatar and Saudi Arabia) and Syrian army casualties. David fails to admit (or grasp?) that any sitting government — good, bad, or mediocre — will use whatever force it takes to put down armed insurrection.

He simply forgets Anglo-America's crushing responses to these armed uprisings (not including native American): Daniel Shays 1786, Nat Turner 1831, John Brown 1859, the Confederate rebellion in which Union forces killed 94,000 of their “own citizens.” Lilker avoids more recent incineration of the Symbionese Liberation Army in L.A. (1974), deadly stand-off at Ruby Ridge (1992), Clinton’s violent take down of the Branch Davidians in which 87 died in Waco (1993), and last year's violent clearing out of Occupy Wall Street.

David does indeed know the plutocratic strategy spelled out for Republican and Democratic executives by the Project for a New American Century which champions “full spectrum” world dominance via regime change. He knows the plan followed in Libya, now underway in Syria follows this formula a) use the media to demonize the targeted head of state; (e.g. president is always replaced by despot, tyrant, dictator and government always becomes regime) b) encourage, advise, and fund peaceful protests via such dubious groups as USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy c) encourage, advise, fund, arm and transport agent provocateurs to the scene — even if they be terrorists such as Al-Qaida d) encourage violent attacks on national forces so as to provoke a reactionary crackdown in which innocents are harmed e) initiate Orwellian propaganda that the target is going to commit or has committed unspeakable crimes against his own people f) mention the existence of WMD and its likely use g) institute an air war (aka “no fly zone”) and bomb the crap out of the targeted nation all in the name of the “humanitarian right to protect.”

David knows this strategy but seems not to care about its morality or legality. We are not sure he knows of the 156 page plan titled “The Path to Persia” initiated and completed by the Brookings Institute’s Saban Center for Middle Eastern Studies based in Doha, Qatar. It spells out this regime change strategy in utmost detail. Among Brookings leading funders we find Carnegie, Fannie Mae, Embassy of Qatar, Rockefeller, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AT&T, Richard Blum and Diane Feinstein, State Farm, Exxon Mobil, Visa, Allstate, Chevron, Johnson & Johnson, J.P. Morgan Chase, Shell Oil, Wal-Mart, American Express, Alcoa, Bank of America, Boeing, BP., Coca Cola, Citigroup, GE, Ford, Eli Lilly, Haim Saban, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Pfizer, Raytheon, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Caterpillar, CIGNA, Conoco Phillips, Dow Chemical, Goldman-Sachs, Honda, Marathon Oil, Merrill Lynch, Mitsubishi.

If you agree with Camus that “a fight must be put up, in this way or that, and there must be no bowing down” to the corporate oligopoly noted above or if you just want to armchair quarterback about America’s endless wars please attend the Ukiah City Council June 5th at 6:15 where opposition to U.S. war on Syria is the first item of unfinished business. David, KC Meadows, and others who agree that war is none of Ukiah’s business should attend as well and let us have it.

Phil Baldwin

Ukiah

_________________________________________

FIRE DEPARTMENT BUDGET

Dear Emil Rossi,

It was nice to see you the other day when you stopped by to ask about our recently revised fee schedule. I was glad to see that you are apparently still in good health and have not lost your interest in matters impacting our community. In your letter to the AVA last week you requested that a response to your comments on the Fee Schedule be published in the Letters to the Editor section of the paper so I am obliging.

I share your often published concerns about ever increasing taxes and the way these increases are sometimes disguised. The recently enacted Cal Fire Prevention Fee is an excellent example of this.

I thought it might be helpful to provide a little background on our Fee Schedule and why we utilize it.

Most governmental agencies utilize a fee schedule to establish the charges for providing certain services. The County Building and Planning Department is a good example with fees for building permits, use permits, major and minor subdivisions etc., etc. Most Fire Departments likewise establish fee schedules to set the charges for many of the services they provide beyond the normal response to emergencies. Our first Fee Schedule was adopted by the CSD Board in March of 1994 and was revised in 1998 and 2007 (the fees had not been increased in any of these revisions). Among other things this allows us to charge people who receive services but neither reside in, nor own property within the District. The logic for this is that these people receive services but do not contribute through property taxes or special assessments to the financing of our agency.

Several years ago we discovered that if we provide these services without at least attempting to recover the cost we would be in technical violation of the law in that we would be providing “an illegal gift of public funds” at the expense of our taxpayers and residents.

In our case we are also obligated to provide services to over 150 square miles of adjacent land that is not included in any fire district. Our Fee Schedule allows us to bill for these services that are again paid for by the residents and property owners within our District.

In your letter you also mentioned the Brown Act and requirements for public notice. It was unclear to me if you felt we had failed to provide this required notice but in any case, the Revised Fee Schedule appeared in the published agendas for; the CSD meeting on April 17th, the Budget Committee meeting on April 10th and the Fire Protection Committee meeting on April 3rd. In addition to this we ran a notice in the AVA (I assume this is where you saw it) for two weeks prior to enactment of the Fee Schedule.

I doubt this response will reduce your understandable objections to the general question of fees and taxes charged by governmental agencies but hopefully it will at least provide a little background and a brief explanation of why we have elected to utilize this method to recover the cost of providing some services.

When we spoke I did give you one piece of misinformation. I told you that you would not be charged for services provided to any of your properties within the District but that you would be charged for services provided to your property on Signal Ridge Road. In reviewing the document I found that it actually says that anyone who receives services out of the District but who also own property or resides within the District will not be charged.

I also needed to clarify that some fees would apply to District residents such as fees for plan checks, copies of reports or photographs. The Fee Schedule permits us to charge for these services but we usually don’t.

Additionally, the new Fee Schedule provides for charges to provide “Standby” personnel and or apparatus. We have occasionally received requests of this nature for people who wish to have an engine and personnel available for events like large weddings or other gatherings particularly when summer campfires were involved. We recently provided an engine and personnel to the movie company filming in the Valley that would fall into this category.

You also expressed concern regarding our level of debt. We currently owe a total of just over $40,000 on a loan we took out about nine years ago and which will be paid off next year. The loan was utilized to build our Boonville station and partly finance a new fire engine. Your comment caused us to realize that our taxpayers should be able to easily determine what we have in outstanding debt and so we will be including that informing in our proposed 2013/14 Fire Department Budget that is available for public review between now and the June CSD Board meeting.

Anyone wishing to provide input on this or any other matter that falls under the jurisdiction of the Community Services District should feel welcome to attend the CSD Board Meetings held regularly on the third Wednesday of each month starting at 5:30pm. The Board normally hears members of the public on any subject they wish to address as one of the first orders of business. Correspondence may be sent to the CSD Board of Directors at PO Box 398 Boonville, 95415. Emails may be sent to our General Manager, Joy Andrews at districtmgr.avcsd@gmail.com or me at firechief.avcsd@gmail.com . You can also call us at the Fire Department at 895-2020 or Joy at 895-2075.

Thanks for your interest in our agency and the opportunity to publicly respond.

Sincerely,

Colin H. Wilson, Fire Chief

Anderson Valley Fire Department, Boonville

_________________________________________

THE OPTUM PROPOSAL

Letter to the Editor

Privatizing Mental Health Services

The Mental Health Director has recreated the current dismal state of Mendocino County Mental Health services with all the same players plus his colleague Ortner, hung a new name on it, and called it an “enhanced delivery system.” Yes there are some welcome words in the contract about crisis care but an absence of people with experience in delivering it. I don’t see anything about recovery support services in all our communities.

This is why it had to be kept secret until now because others might notice and say so publicly. The plan seems to be to ram it through the supervisors on Tuesday. I wish the supervisors would look at the Optum Proposal. They have vast experience in 24 states and many counties. I believe they would bring in change for the better.

Sonya Nesch, author of

Advocating for Someone with a Mental Illness

Comptche

_________________________________________

UKIAH’S RIP-OFF AGENT

Dear Editor.

Gordon Elton, the City of Ukiah's finance director is retiring in August. Elton is so arrogant and so secretive it's hard to say whether he's incompetent or just a jerk.

“This will be my last budget session,” Elton said. “I've enjoyed working here very much, even though there's been more challenges than I needed.”

Challenges? You bet! Allow me to name a few.

Ukiah's RDA cash cow disappeared. The excessive number of executive positions, and their fat salaries, at the top of the city's management chart will have to be padded from some other source. If taxes can't be raised, maybe the city manager and her new finance director can raid the Sanitation District.

Ukiah's ridiculous garbage no-bid contract with C&S Waste Solutions will mean increases in collection rates and tipping fees from now until the end of time.

Ukiah residents can also expect annual double-digit increases in water rates and sewer rates for the foreseeable future due to mismanagement and flawed financial planning.

Ukiah's old landfill on Vichy Springs Road — the one that should have been capped long, long ago — will have to be closed or face fines and penalties imposed by the State of California. Remember, the old landfill sits on top of a web of earthquake faults and in a watershed area.

All these add up to big bills for the city. Elton is getting out at a good time.

And, oh yeah, I almost forgot to add that the City of Ukiah already faces a budget deficit of $1 million next year.

John Sakowicz

Ukiah

PS. I just called the City of Ukiah's finance department to ask when the bond for the hydroelectric would be paid off. Gordon Elton said he thinks it is 2019. You are probably unaware that the City's electric rates are twice that of PG&E, because of the bond passed many years ago. Wow! And we thought ahead of the green movement! Before the City became a hydroelectric power utility, the City's electric rates were lower than the state average for PG&E, and the City used the surplus profits to buy one or two police cars, etc.

_________________________________________

TOKE TIME II

Editor:

I'm enjoying the discussion of the origin of 4:20. My first encounter with the term was shorthand for the time when some office workers would slip out to the back parking lot for a few tokes to make the rest of the bureaucratic day more palatable.

Anyone recognize this?

Rixanne Wehren

Albion

_________________________________________

PET PILL PEEVE

AVA,

Hi everyone! Kudos to the staff at the AVA....as always you produce thought provoking articles.

May I express a pet peeve in your illustrious journal?

One of the environmental issues we face as a species is from chemical pollution, though as most of industrial production has moved to China, it's more at the consumer end that we have problems these days. A major pollutant in the US is the flushing down the toilet of old pharmaceuticals — believe it or not your outdated Prozac and antibiotics can have a major effect on fish and other riparian species.

OK, so we take them back to the pharmacy, right? Nope — here in Humboldt, the only way to dump your old pills is a once a month pickup at the garbage transfer station, or to try to hunt down a clinic that may or may not take them.

I believe it should be a state law that EVERY pharmacy that dispenses these useful though toxic substances should be required to take them back. Same for old TV's, etc. Is it right that anyone can sell you some toxic junk, but YOU have to figure out how to get rid of it?

In San Francisco, for example, even the police department will take your old pills, 24/7, 7 days a week, as well as a long list of pharmacies. How cool is that? Here in bumf**k, the temptation is too great to simply throw your old junk off a cliff somewhere, and flush the old heart pills down the toilet. Do the fish a favor: if it's too much trouble to haul the pills to somewhere, at least put them in the garbage, not down the toilet.

Thank goodness the Bayshore Mall in Eureka is actually buying back old cell phones now — there's many places you can simply drop them off — just don't forget to wipe your call/message list and your contacts (might want to copy them to your old phone first — I always forget that....oooops).

Thank you for your time.

I remain as always...

A faithful pill swilling AVA reader

Humboldt County

_________________________________________

ENDLESS AUDITS

Editor,

As Dan Hamburg’s campaign treasurer during the 2010 election, I feel I should comment on the recently noted fine that was handed him by the Fair Political Practices Commission.

Blunders were made by him, such as giving the campaign $1,500 of his own money (reported by me) but failing to run it through the campaign’s bank account.

What stood out most glaringly, however, were entries made by myself on FPPC reporting forms which were clumsy at best. During the election it was revealed that others running against him were spending considerable amounts of money for Bay Area professional political services. Dan wanted this to be truly a local effort, thus relied on inexperienced people such as myself.

It should be noted that every nickel and dime, plus those $100 donations, plus his $1,500 were on the table. The audit went on forever.

Geoffrey Baugher

Point Arena

_________________________________________

WHY VILLA RAIDED US

Editor:

Pebbles Trippet's note on Pancho Villa is mostly accurate except that Villa was assassinated on orders by Alvaro Obregon or Plutarco Calles, not Pascual Orozco who was killed in Texas by a posse well before Villa was murdered.

The raid by Villa in 1916 on Columbus, New Mexico (the first attack on US soil since the war of 1812) needs some historical perspective. Villa felt betrayed by Wilson who embargoed weapons and munitions to Villa, and who later allowed Carranza's army to travel through US territory to attack Villa from the rear and inflict a crushing defeat on Villa at Agua Prieta.

Also to be remembered is that this happened within the context of WWI when Wilson was itching to take on Germany, but trying to avoid an all-out war with Mexico called for by many in the US congress. Germany at the same time was plotting for a US-Mexican war (see the Zimmerman Telegram) to keep the US out of the European conflict. (Villa was looking for an invasion by the US in order to topple the Carranza regime.)

While the attack on Columbus was disastrous for Villa in terms of stores, money and arms — in strategic terms Villa's raid would largely exceed his expectations and give his movement a new lease on life. This came about through the reaction against the US punitive invasion of Mexico under General Pershing which enabled Villa to rebuild his army to between 6,000 to 10,000 men from the 100-200 men he had left after the Columbus raid.

I urge those interested in this subject to read the works of Professor Friedrich Katz:

1. The Secret War in Mexico — Europe, the United States, and the Mexican Revolution. University of Chicago Press.

2. The Life and Times of Pancho Villa. University of California Press.

Marcello Francisco Curatolo

Walden Pond Books, Oakland

_________________________________________

COAST HOSPITAL: THRIVE!

Letter to the Editor,

Last week our Coast Hospital provided a beautiful luncheon for the entire staff. It was deliciously catered by D’Aurelio’s Restaurant on Franklin Street. The luncheon was the hospital’s way of showing appreciation to the staff and saying, “Thank you for the continued excellent care we give to our community.” I want to say thank you to the hospital and to D’Aurelio’s for such a festive and tasty event.

It’s true that our hospital has enormous financial hurdles to overcome but this challenge hasn’t diminished our ability to care for you safely and competently. We are a home-grown, home-owned hospital and I hope we can keep it that way.

You have all heard the phrase “use it or lose it.” It’s true when referring to local shopping, or to our body’s mobility and muscle tone. And it’s certainly true concerning our local community hospital. To paraphrase an oft-heard advertising slogan: Coast District Hospital: Thrive!

Louise Mariana, R.N., Station 2

Fort Bragg

_________________________________________

IRAQ, LIBYA… SYRIA?

Editor,

On May 20 the New York Times ran a big op-ed piece about marijuana  by Bill “I-was-wrong-about-Iraq-but-let's-do-Syria-anyway” Keller. On the Times website the piece is accompanied by a photo of Keller, above which is the twitter address of the editorial page editor, Andrew Rosenthal. Andrew's father, Abe Rosenthal, was the managing editor of the Times when California voters passed Prop 215 in November 1996, legalizing marijuana for medical use. Abe promptly weighed in with an op-ed entitled “While We Slept,“ bemoaning our victory. Rosenthal and the Drug Warriors Back East were kicking themselves for leaving the No-on-215 campaign to California Attorney General Dan Lungren. They held a series of high-level meetings in Washington and developed both short- and long-term strategies to curtail the medical marijuana movement. They realized they couldn't put the genie back in the bottle; their goal was and is to hold it down by the shoulders.

Fast forward >16 years and we have Abe Rosenthal's son running the ed page and his political offspring, Bill Keller, pontificating on “How to Legalize Marijuana.” Has the establishment come around to our way of thinking, or did our movement do x, y, and z to gain their acceptance?

East Bay Fred

Alameda

_________________________________________

PIXIE: WHITE COURTESY PHONE

Editor,

Jackie (Pixie) Audet is a wonderful young woman. I once had the pleasure of her being her friend and would love to hear from her again. So if you read this Jackie, please send me a message on Facebook, I hope all is well in your journey and I send you my love and prayers.

Jacob Oxley

Ukiah

_________________________________________

NO SYMPATHY, E.B.

Editor,

Re: Love In Tinytown.

Dear E.B., You didn’t tell us if you paid for dinner, too?

Just curious.

What does E.B. stand for? Egland’s Best? Energy Bunny?

No Sympathy from me.

A.G.

Boonville