Mendocino County Today: Friday, Oct. 27, 2023

Cold Clear | Reflection | Backwards Approach | Panther Football | Beach Cleared | Pot Roast | Coast Scene | Masking Order | Fishrock Blight | AVCSD Hiring | No Education | Britton Acquitted | Restoration Tour | Hedgehog Closing | Harvest Popup | Sonoma Water | Skeleton | DUI Events | Owl Plaza | Preserv Listserv | Poison Oak | Brennan People | Owl Neon | PG&E Invitation | Plumbing Tip | Yesterday's Catch | Ballistically Baffled | La Catrina | Bury Lines | Birdfood | Hilarious Amy | Better Haircut | Gaza | Watch Repair | Mossad Missed | War Maid | Less Safe | War Crime | Hanging Chairs | Ceasefire Needed | Teamsters | Ukraine | Big Bopper | Royal Bin | Rich Media | Down & Out | Chet Baker | Lodi | Thanks Tesla | Bad Grammar | Full Moon

FROST ADVISORY in effect until 10 am this morning…

COOL AND CLEAR conditions will continue today. Warming and drying will occur this weekend with much warmer conditions likely even along the coast. Gusty east winds will build in Saturday and Sunday especially along the rim of the Sacramento Valley. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): On the coast this Friday morning a cold 38F with clear skies. Cool & breezy this weekend then dry thru Wednesday next week. Rain is forecast for the end of the week.

IN A PERFECT EXAMPLE of the Board’s, and Supervisor McGourty’s backwards approach to major decisions, Board Chair Glenn McGourty has proposed Agenda Item 4e) for Next Tuesday’s Board Agenda: “Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Auditor-Controller Treasurer Tax Collector’s Suspension: Board of Supervisors will Provide Opportunity for Auditor-Controller Treasurer Tax Collector to Present Any Information in Response to Suspension Pursuant to Government Code Section 27120, also decide whether to take action in response to the presentation, and if decide to take action [sic], then take the action.”

GET IT? First they suspend Cubbison on the flimsiest of pretenses in an orchestrated pre-planned Get Cubbison project that has been underway for months, then she's conveniently charged with felonious conduct by DA Eyster who was present for the suspension, the whole of it brought off in a legally flawed way, then the supervisors appoint their hand-picked replacement, and then finally, two weeks later, they offer Ms. Cubbison an opportunity to respond to her own lynching.

WILL (FORMER?) Auditor-Controller / Treasurer-Tax Collector Cubbison take them up on this preposterous “opportunity”? Or will she ignore them and let the legal process play out? Is McGourty worried about how the suspension is playing out with the public? (Not well, Glenn) Is he responding to public pressure to at least appear to be fair, albeit belatedly and ex post facto? Is McGourty worried about legal liability for not offering Cubbison the opportunity to respond before the suspension? Is this the result of some recently discovered procedural error by the County’s in-over-their-heads attorneys? Is there any chance the Board, which unanimously voted to suspend Ms. Cubbison, would reinstate her after her possible presentation? Is Ms. Cubbison likely to appear before the people who have not only (and illegally) removed her from her elected position? All we know so far is that, in the embarrassingly clumsy wording of the item, the Board will take action “if decide to take action.”

(Mark Scaramella)

BACTERIAL WARNING AT CASPAR BEACH LIFTED

by Frank Hartzell

CASPAR, 10/25/23 — Caspar Beach is now clear for swimmers, if anyone wishes to venture into thunderous surf that might kill a person long before bacteria tickled his tummy. Warning signs about dirty water will be removed after they went up October 19 following a positive test for a higher level of enterococcus bacteria than is considered safe.

This reporter saw a dead sea lion with its guts floating in Caspar Creek a few days before the positive test. It was the only positive test so far this year for three kinds of bacteria that Mendocino County Environmental Health tests for on five county beaches. The tests are done from April through October, meaning the tests that will take place on Halloween will be the last until April 2024.

Could the sea lion have caused the positive test?…

mendovoice.com/2023/10/bacterial-warnings-removed-at-caspar-beach/

POT ROAST, Friday October 27th at the Redwood Bistro

What sounds good on a chilly fall day? Gathering with friends in a cozy warm place while enjoying some delicious beef pot roast with potatoes, steamed veggies, dinner salad or cottage and fruit. A beverage and dessert is always included. Serving starts at 11:30AM.

Redwood Coast Seniors, 490 N Harold Street, Fort Bragg

HEALTH CARE WORKERS MASKING ORDER 

The Health Officer of Mendocino County has released a new order mandating personnel with patient contact working in health care delivery facilities to be masked and employers and operators of health care delivery facilities to develop and implement policies strongly recommending seasonal Influenza and Covid-19 vaccinations to their employees. 

Vaccinations are the safest and most effective way to prevent severe infection, hospitalization, and death from these viruses. These are strongly recommended for everyone from 6 months and older. High quality and well-fitting masks for employees helps prevent staff from spreading Covid, Influenza, RSV and many other infections to each other and to their patients. This will help preserve the capacity of our health care delivery facilities during the “flu season”. 

This order will become effective on November 24 and extend to April 30 of this year and in future years will extend from October 1 through April 30 and continue until rescinded. 

The order is posted on the Public Health website: mendocinocounty.org/departments/public-health

---

On Line Comments:

(1) Little River Improvement Club wrote: The Health Officer of Mendocino County has released a new order mandating personnel with patient contact working in health care delivery facilities to be masked and employers and operators of health care delivery facilities to develop and implement policies strongly recommending seasonal Influenza and Covid-19 vaccinations to their employees. Seems there has been a significant rise in Covid 19 cases.

(2) All well and good, but there still is no C19 vaccine being made available except to the drug companies own stores - CVS, Rite Aid, and Safeway., and they have ridiculous policies for getting an appointment. It's a joke.

(3) I went on line to CVS for a covid appointment, which was at 2:30 this afternoon. I stood at the counter under the Vaccination sign for 45 minutes before the guy in the white coat stopped filling prescriptions for nobody who was waiting for them and asked me what I was there for. Sat where he indicated I should, and another 15 minutes passed before he informed me my appointment was at the CVS in Ukiah. The good doctor then made some phone calls, and after another 20 minutes I finally got my covid shot.

A READER WRITES: This past weekend we went looking for mushrooms, what we found was a huge pile of trash on the way to the Fishrock dump site. Whoever’s doing it: you think you could take it all the way and pay the fee next time instead of blighting our beautiful coast!

AV CSD NEEDS AN ADMIN ASSISTANT - 20 Hours/Week

The Anderson Valley Community Services District (AVCSD) is a small government entity located in Boonville. We serve the small towns of Yorkville, Boonville, Philo and Navarro. We are made up of a Fire Department, Airport, Street Lighting, and Recreation Department and are also potentially adding water and wastewater services in the next few years. We are seeking a part-time detail-oriented candidate to fill the position of Administrative Assistant. Qualified applicants will possess a knowledge of Microsoft programs, good communication skills, and be comfortable interacting with the public. Bilingual applicants encouraged to apply. For a full job description go to https://bit.ly/AVCSD

Please email resume and cover letter to districtmgr.avcsd@gmail.com

JEFF GOLL NOTES: Celebrating Delusion: A 1999 AV United School Board Meeting. Accreditation reports function in other realms but most school boards are "only in draft form." Dave of the Bookmobile said he's quite busy with folks getting books for homeschooling. Anderson Valley is fortunate to have Louise Simpson as Superintendent and not the Oregon school officials who have decided that proficiency in reading, writing and math are no longer necessary in order to graduate. They say inequity and having standards to graduate "disproportionately harmed students of color" according to the Daily Mail. Easier to control the dumb.

BRITTON ACQUITTED

A Mendocino County Superior Court jury returned from its deliberations Wednesday afternoon to announce it had found the trial defendant not guilty of two alcohol-related driving charges.

William James Britton, age 42, of Foster, Rhode Island, had been charged with two misdemeanors - driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and driving a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol .08 or greater.

It was alleged that these crimes occurred in the Talmage area in March 2022.

The law enforcement agencies that originally investigated the case back in 2022 were the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol, and the California Department of Justice crime laboratory.

The prosecutor who presented the People’s evidence to the jury was Deputy District Attorney Nathan Mamo.

Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Carly Dolan presided over the three-day trial that was held in the Ukiah courthouse.

BIG RIVER OUTREACH

If you’ve been curious about the work that’s been going on along Big River, a talk and field tour examining its ecological importance and recent stream restoration efforts is scheduled for Saturday, October 28th beginning at 10:00 a.m. at Preston Hall in Mendocino. 

The event is being hosted by The Institute for Conservation, Advocacy, Research, and Education in collaboration with California State Parks and Trout Unlimited. Terra Fuller, Senior Environmental Scientist for California State Parks, Anna Halligan, North Coast Coho Project Coordinator for Trout Unlimited, and Engineering Geologist Elias Steinbuck will speak about restoration projects to benefit fish, wildlife, and water quality including the newly-completed fish passage project located at Dry Dock Gulch. The public is invited to attend. 

A field tour will follow at 1 p.m., but is limited to 4 cars and 16 attendees willing to carpool; advance reservations are required. For more information or to make reservations, contact Christina Aranguren at cmbaiocchi@gmail.com to reserve your space in this rare and special event. 

Presentations: 

Saturday, October 28, at 10:00 

Preston Hall in Mendocino 

Field Tour: 

Saturday, October 28, 16 1:00 (Arrive by 12:45) and MUST Register 

Big River Beach Gate 

HEDGEHOG CLOSING SALE

Dear Friends of Hedgehog Books.

As you likely know by now, Hedgehog Books will not re-open, primarily due to a projected long recovery after my surgery 6 months ago.  I wanted to let you know that we are having the first of a couple of sales this Friday - Sunday, roughly 11am to 3pm, or as long as the sign is out and the weather holds.

The books are stellar, and the bargains are fantastic!  Books outside on the deck are 50 cents each or $5 per bag.  Inside books are 1/2 price - most used books will be $1.50, and new books will be 50% off the cover price.  If you still have shop credit, even better!  Come on in and use it up!  Or come on by to say farewell to the hedgehogs.  I have loved every moment of the past 5 years of Hedgehog Books, and I'm so sad to say goodbye.

I will keep my hand in the book business by continuing to procure books for folks, so if you have any special orders, feel free to drop me an email, and I will be happy to find what you're looking for.

Wishing you all the best.  With gratitude for your support and book-ish enthusiasm,

Dawn Emery Ballantine, Hedgehog Books, 707-621-3227

VELMA’S FARM STAND is open Friday from 2-5pm and Saturday 11am-4pm. Join us on Saturday for a delicious fall pop-up featuring mostly all Filigreen produce (chestnuts too!) by Rodney and Alexa. Pop up begins at 11am-until sold out. 

For fresh produce we will have: apples, pears, last of the tomatoes, winter squash (delicata, acorn, kabocha), sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, potatoes, chard, kale, chicories, lettuce, arugula, spinach, carrots, beets, onions, garlic, and herbs. We will also have dried fruit, tea blends, olive oil, fresh and dried flower bouquets, and everlasting wreaths available. Plus some delicious flavors of Wilder Kombucha!

All produce is certified biodynamic and organic. Follow us on Instagram for updates @filigreenfarm or email annie@filigreenfarm.com with any questions. We accept cash, credit card, check, and EBT/SNAP (with Market Match)!

NOTICE OF TEMPORARY URGENCY CHANGE PETITION FOR PERMITS 12947A, 12949, 12950, AND 16596 (APPLICATIONS 12919A, 15736, 15737, AND 19351) OF SONOMA COUNTY WATER AGENCY

On October 13, 2023, Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) filed temporary urgency change petitions with the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board), Division of Water Rights (Division) requesting approval of temporary changes to water right Permits 12947A, 12949, 12950, and 16596 (Applications 12919A, 15736, 15737, and 19351) pursuant to California Water Code section 1435. The petitions seek authorization to implement a hydrologic index based on Lake Mendocino storage values, rather than the current index based on cumulative inflow into Lake Pillsbury, starting January 1, 2024. 

This temporary change is requested to ensure that the water supply condition for the Russian River is determined by an index that is reflective of watershed conditions. Sonoma Water states there is an urgent need to implement the proposed changes due to the significant reduction of potential Eel River water imports through Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) Potter Valley Hydrologic Project (PVP). The influence of Eel River imports on downstream hydrologic conditions in the Russian River will be greatly diminished, and thus use of the Eel River hydrologic index is not a reliable metric for Russian River water supply conditions.

In the absence of the proposed changes, the applicable minimum instream flow requirements may require releases of water from Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma at levels that would risk significant depletions of storage levels that could cause impacts to human health and welfare and reduce water supplies needed for protection of listed salmon species in the Russian River. Therefore, Sonoma Water proposes that the monthly storage values listed below be used, in lieu of cumulative Lake Pillsbury inflow, to define the water supply conditions that determine which minimum instream flow requirements in Term 20 of Permit 12947A, Term 17 of Permits 12949 and 12950, and Term 13 of Permit 16596 will apply to the Russian River:

 a.Dry water supply conditions will exist when storage in Lake Mendocino is less than: 

b.Critical water supply conditions exist when storage in Lake Mendocino is less than: 

Normal water supply conditions exist in the absence of defined Dry or Critical water supply conditions. 

Pursuant to Water Code section 1438, subdivision (d), any interested person may file an objection to the temporary change. Objections filed in response to this notice should be submitted to the persons listed below by 4:30 p.m. on November 27, 2023. Please be advised the State Water Board may issue an order approving or denying the TUCPs before the end of the noticing period. All objections received will be considered promptly, and an amended order may be issued if necessary to address objections.

State Water Resources Control Board

Division of Water Rights

Attn: Ken Emanuel

P.O. Box 2000

Sacramento, CA 95812-2000

Kenneth.Emanuel@waterboards.ca.gov

Sonoma County Water Agency

Attn: Grant Davis, General Manager

404 Aviation BoulevardSanta Rosa, CA 95403-9019

Grant.Davis@scwa.ca.gov

For more information regarding this matter please contact Ken Emanuel at Kenneth.Emanuel@waterboards.ca.gov. 

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE EDUCATION EVENTS AND GRANT AWARD

Earlier this year the Fort Bragg Police Department received a grant from the California Highway Patrol to gather data related to driving under the influence enforcement. The grant funds come from the voter approved Proposition 64, which required a portion of the Cannabis Tax be set aside for law enforcement grants. Fort Bragg was awarded approximately $47,000. The research project proposed by FBPD involves a multi-prong approach: 

1. Our Department will host multiple education events in the downtown areas during peak driving under the influence hours. These educational events will involve members of our Department hosting a table where bar patrons can utilize a breathalyzer to determine their blood alcohol content (BAC) percentage. Patrons who can guess their BAC within 0.02% will receive a prize. Bartenders will also be invited to guess the BAC of their patrons for the chance to receive a prize. The goal of this educational event is to allow individuals to better understand the unpredictability of consuming alcohol and operating a motor vehicle. A secondary goal is to provide bartenders an opportunity to gauge their ability to ensure they are not overserving patrons. This part of the project will NOT be used for enforcement in any way. It is education only. 

2. The second part of this research project is to gather data related to whether publicized DUI saturation events reduce incidents of drunk driving. This data will be collected by holding several DUI saturation events where multiple officers will be assigned to patrol for suspected impaired drivers. The officers involved in these events have received specialized training to better recognize suspected impaired drivers. Half of the DUI saturation events will be highly publicized with press releases, message boards along the entrances and exits to the city, and social media posts. The other half of the DUI saturation events will be unannounced. All DUI saturation events will occur under similar conditions to look for differences in data. 

3. The funds awarded under this grant will allow our Department to send approximately 25% of our staff to advanced specialized training to better recognize, investigate, and prosecute drivers who are operating their vehicles while under the influence of drugs. 

All staff time related to these events is paid for out of the grant. The grant additionally allowed for the purchase of two changeable message signboards to be used in conjunction with the DUI saturation events. All data captured during this project will be provided to the State and other agencies to better combat incidents of driving under the influence. 

Our education table events for this quarter will be held near the intersection of E. Redwood Avenue and N. Franklin Street and are scheduled for the following dates and times: 

Friday, November 3rd, 2023 from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. 

Friday, December 8th, 2023 from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. 

Our DUI saturation events for this quarter are scheduled as follows: 

1. Friday, November 24th from 11:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

2. Unannounced Date and Time 

3. Friday, December 15th from 11:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

4. Unannounced Date and Time 

For questions regarding this grant or project, please contact Captain Thomas O'Neal at 707-961-2800 ext. 203 or toneal@fortbragg.com. 

SAVE THE COAST CHATLINE

Dear Editor:

This is my letter asking Mendo schools to keep a very important local resource alive. If you agree, please send your own to the following addresses:

michaels@mcn.org, mark@mcn.org, ljames@mendocinousd.org, waum@mendocinousd.org, egriffin@mendocinousd.org, jmorse@mcn.org

Dear MCN and good people of the Mendocino schools,

The Mendocino School Board should continue to take leadership in local communication by preserving our List Serve resource. Please don’t discontinue it or transfer it to some dreadful company. This is one of the only social media sources that is local. Unlike Facebook, Next Door, Xchitter and all the rest. it does not prey on our privacy in exchange for giving us a communication format. Very little is in local control today.

Billionaires and chans have taken over every place I grew up (long story about why I grew up in so many places). But we still have a chance here to be the Mendocino we all imagine, a place where local people can talk to each other without creeps listening in. Does the listserve have its own local creeps? Yes it does. Does that mean we cannot have a format that promotes free speech and local autonomy. No it does not. The solution is simple. Block them. I do and it works. I never see those childish spats between the tiny handful of unreformed 3rd grade bullies who are ruining things for all the rest of us. These trolls are aptly named. Trolls were criminals who hid under bridges and snuck up on travelers. Did civilized people stop building highways because of the trolls. No. And you don’t need to kill off the Listserve because of a group of jerks who would fit in a minivan. MCN Announce is truly a valuable resource in a darkening age.

Local autonomy made our country great in the days when others fell into the trap of globalist control and our small town strength will someday come back but not if we can’t communicate. The district was a pioneer with MCN, opening up the world wide web when it was new. My late parents became computer buffs thanks to MCN. Rennie (sp?) and Frank and others patiently walked dad, an engineer who learned on the slide rule and written numerical tables, how to use the new to the world dial up, which was then a bit tricky, but thrilling for all of us. So you guys are stuck being leaders and pioneers in communication. Embrace it! Send us some lawyer approved stuff as a condition of joining the listserve but don’t become censors and don’t give up. The photos show an average hour on the Listserve, talking about the crazy array of stuff we love in Mendo land! Thanks for all you have done for our community!

Frank Hartzell

Cleone

MENDOLIB MOBILIZES FOR JUDGE BRENNAN and Messages Eyster: Don't Run, DA Dave, We Will Crush You! 

Judge Clay Brennan Announces Re-Election Campaign

[Fort Bragg, CA] - Judge Clay Brennan has officially announced his candidacy for re-election as Superior Court Judge. First elected by the people of Mendocino County in 2006, Judge Brennan has heard thousands of cases from the bench in Fort Bragg, earning the trust and respect of the coastal Mendocino County community he serves. 

"Today, I am announcing my candidacy for re-election as Superior Court Judge," Judge Brennan stated. "Over the past 17 years, it has been my privilege to serve the people of Mendocino County by ensuring that our legal system remains fair and just for all. I am committed to continuing this mission, promoting transparency, and upholding equal justice for every member of our community."

Judge Brennan’s intent to run for countywide re-election has already drawn considerable support from his fellow Superior Court Judges. A website published yesterday (www.ReElectJudgeBrennan.com) lists support from current Mendocino County Superior Court Presiding Judge Jeanine Nadel, Ann Morrman, Cindee Mayfield, Patrick Pekin, Victoria Shanahan, and Carly Dolan, as well as retired Judges Eric Labowitz, Jon Lehan, James Luther, David Nelson, and David Reimenschnieder. 

“We’re fortunate to have such a compassionate and fair-minded judge serving our county,“ says former Mendocino County Supervisor Carre Brown, who also endorses Brennan. “Judge Brennan’s commitment to equality and his tireless service are remarkable. He has always been a tremendous fit for Mendocino County.”

Since 2011, Judge Brennan has presided over the Ten Mile Courthouse in Fort Bragg, providing coastal residents with the ability to resolve disputes within the community. His calm and respectful temperament on the Fort Bragg bench has earned the support of community members on the coast and throughout Mendocino County. 

“We support Judge Clay Brennan for re-election as a Judge of the Mendocino County Superior Court,” said Jim and Diane Larson.“Judge Brennan is fair and just to all who appear before him, and he runs his courtroom with palpable respect, both for the community and the rule of law.”

According to Brennan’s campaign, the list of more than 200 endorsers featured on the website is only the first step in what promises to be a robust re-election effort. 

“At the end of the day, it’s been the honor of my life to serve Mendocino County and the Ten Mile Court with a commitment to equality and respect,” said Brennan. “I’m more than willing to outwork anybody to make sure I can continue that mission.”

To learn more about or get involved in Judge Clay Brennan's re-election campaign, please visit www.Re-ElectJudgeBrennan.com.

Community Leaders Endorsing Clay Brennan for Mendocino County Superior Court Judge:

Current and Former Mendocino County Superior Court Judges

Hon. Jeanine Nadel, Presiding Judge, Mendocino County Superior Court; Hon. Cindee Mayfield, Judge, Mendocino County Superior Court; Hon. Ann Moorman, Judge, Mendocino County Superior Court; Hon. Patrick Pekin, Judge, Mendocino County Superior Court; Hon. Victoria Shanahan, Judge, Mendocino County Superior Court; Hon. Carly Dolan, Judge, Mendocino County Superior Court; Hon. Eric Labowitz, retired Judge, Mendocino County Superior Court; Hon. Jonathan Lehan, retired Judge, Mendocino County Superior Court; Hon. James Luther, retired Judge, Mendocino County Superior Court; Hon. David Nelson, retired Judge, Mendocino County Superior Court; Hon. David Reimenschneider, retired Judge, Mendocino County Superior Court.

* * *

Current and Former Public Officials

Dan Gjerde, Mendocino County 4th District Supervisor; Mari Rodin, Mayor, City of Ukiah; Juan Orozco, Councilmember, City of Ukiah; Susan Sher, Councilmember, City of Ukiah; Carre Brown, former Mendocino County 1st District Supervisor; Norman DeVall, former Mendocino County 5th District Supervisor; Richard Shoemaker, former Mendocino County 2nd District Supervisor; Kendall Smith, Former Mendocino County 4th District Supervisor; Mary Anne Landis, Former Mayor, City of Ukiah; Dave Turner, Former Councilmember, Fort Bragg; Karen Oslund, Former Mayor, City of Willits; Holly Madrigal, Former Councilmember, City of Willits; Steve Scalmanini, Former Councilmember, City of Ukiah; Dave Turner, Former Councilmember, City of Fort Bragg; Chris Dewey, Former Police Chief, City of Ukiah.

* * *

Mendocino County Legal Professionals and Attorneys

Steve Antler; Ron Britt; Ashley Burrell; Ginevra Chandler; Mark Clausen; Kevin Davenport; Dan Haehl; Lisa Hillegas; James Jackson; Debbie Johnson; Tom Johnson; Bart Kronfeld; Jim Larson; Jone Lemos; Edie Lerman; Les Marston; Cristina Mathews; Brian Momsen; Tim Morrison; Colin Morrow; Cheryl Murphy; Hannah Nelson; Maggie O’Rourke; Tom Owen; Amanda Pekin; Ryan Perkins; Erik Petersen; Greg Petersen; Robert Petersen; Doug Rhoades; Alexander Rich; Norm Rosen; Pano Stephens; Brandt Stickel; Mary Anne Villwock; Phil Vanucci; Barry Vogel.

* * *

Mendocino County Community Leaders

Elizabeth Archer; Franz Arner; Paulette Arnold; John Azzaro; Carol Azzaro; Alexa Baldwin; Lucy Bayer; Myra H. Beals; Bruce Berry; Rachel Binah; Rob Borcich; Zida Borcich; Collin Brennan; Carole Brodsky; Sakina Bush; Mike Cannon; Karen Christopherson; David Coddington; Tracey Coddington; Andy Coren; Yvonne Coren; Catherine Cox; Dennis Crean; Lori Davey; Efron Davidson; Star Decker; Raven Deerwater; Heidi Dickerson; Kevin Dodd; Robert Dress; Vivian Duncan; Carrie Durkee; Lee Edmundson; Rochelle Elkan; SA Ephraim; Jonelle Farr; Katherine Fengler; Julie Finnegan; Matthew Finnegan; Cynthia Frank; Lisa Fredrickson; Marlene Freedman; Linda Friedman; Rella Gadulka; Pam Gaffney; Peter Good ; Dr. Buzz Graham; Mary Gustafson; Katherine Haley; Cathy Harpe; Dale Harrison; Howie Hawkes; Kate Hemlock; Ron Hock; Harvey Hoechstetter; Susan Hofberg; J. Holden; Pam Huntley; Jim Hurst; Kenny Jowers; Carla Jupiter; Linda Jupiter; Susan Kanaan; James Katzel; Pinky Kushner; Rachel K. Lahn; Dianne Larson; Annie Lee; Jacqueline Lee; Karen Lee; Tom Liden; Peter Lit; Janice Lombardi; Marilyn Magoffin; Darcy Mahoney; Irene Malone; Jim Mayo; Thais Mazure; Mitch Mcfarland; Peter McNamee; Donna Medley; Cathie Mellon; Adina Merelender; Sharon Meyer; Nancy Milano; Garth Miller; Richard Miller; Mary Misseldine; Eileen Mitro; Roslyn Moore; Geri Morisky; Louisa Morrison; Jeremiah Murphy; Karen Nobler; Sara O’Donnell; Karen Oslund; Jenny Otter; Carol Park; Gene Parsons; Susanna Pepperwood; Jane Person; Suzanne Pletcher; Michael Potts; Sienna Potts; Jeannette Rasker; Carole Raye; Kris Reiber; George Reinhardt; Lee Rider; Mitzi Rider; Burt Rodin; Teresa Rodriguez; Ruth Rosenblum; Linda Rosengarten; Robert Ross; Devora Rossman; Ian Roth; Linda Ruffing; Steve Rugg; Larry Sawyer; James Schoonover; Robin Serrahn; Steve Setera; Lari Shea; Zoe Sheppard; Jeff Simpson; Marilyn Simpson; Lauren Sinnot; Helen Sizemore; Michael St. John; Doug Solis; Judy Steele; Linda Jo Stern; Sharon Stewart; Sabine Swallow; Jim Tarbell; Judy Tarbell; Alison Thorton; Bonnie Tillotson; Jade Tippett; Paul Trouette; Dave Turner; Dibbie Tyler; Jeff Tyrrell; Lin Varnum; Paolo Vescia; Renee Vinyard; Lindsay Wansbury; Maggie Watson.

PG&E INVITES NORTH COAST REGION CUSTOMERS TO A TOWN HALL for Regional Updates and Tips on Energy Savings

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) invites North Coast Region customers to a virtual town hall to learn more about work in their region and discuss tips for safety and energy savings.

On Wednesday, November 1 from 5:30 to 7 p.m., PG&E experts, including Regional Vice President for PG&E's North Coast, Dave Canny, will provide a brief presentation during which participants will have the opportunity to ask questions.

The event can be accessed through PG&E's website: http://www.pge.com/firesafetywebinars

ON CALL

Editor,

It’s 2023 and 2024 is on its way. North Highway 1 Roadwork for bike riders and still no phone or internet service. 

Plumbing Tip: Fill you kitchen sink full on of hot, soapy water and flush your drain every two months.

Sincerely,

Phil Santos, the Full Service Plumber you can reach. 

408-499-1152, 1999 at $95 a month. 

Westport

CATCH OF THE DAY, Thursday, October 26, 2023

LAZARO CHAVEZ-CARMEN, Ukiah. DUI.

OSVALDO GARNICA, Ukiah. Robbery, burglary, elder abuse, failure to appear.

TEVIN MARIZETTE, Ukiah. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

OLGA MOROPOLA, Covelo. Domestic battery.

MICHALE OLVERA-CAMPOS, Ukiah. Controlled substance, disorderly conduct-under influence, paraphernalia.

NICHOLAS SCARBERRY, Willits. Controlled substance, failure to appear.

THE GRASSY KNOLL IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE

Editor,

I must say that I'm baffled by the resistance of the AVA to acknowledge the obvious fact of JFK's assassination by other than Lee Harvey Oswald. Especially after reading that book by Franklin about it. To me the clearest piece of evidence was the one video that they were unable to round up and disappear at the time, the Zapruder film, which despite a mountain of disingenuity trying to explain how what you see in front of your face isn't really what happened.

It is self-evident that the bullet is coming from in front of the car, thus blowing a chunk of JFK's skull out onto the back trunk lid, where his wife struggled to retrieve it. As far as I understand the logistics there, clearly the shot was fired from the railway bridge up ahead and not from the same direction as the camera is coming from. How can you guys be wedded to such delusion?

John Arteaga

Ukiah

MEET "LA CATRINA" by artist Jose Luis Martinez Pasillas

This short-term public art is hosted by the City of Raleigh Museum in celebration of the Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos).

La Catrina is considered an iconic figure in Mexican culture representing death and the way people face it head on.

On display until November 4th at One Exchange Plaza, Fayetteville Street

BURY POWER LINES

Editor: 

We at PG&E are deeply committed to doing everything possible to stop wildfires in Sonoma County.

Burying power lines reduces the risk of ignitions in areas at the highest risk of wildfire by nearly 98%. Undergrounding also makes power more reliable by reducing outages caused by winter storms and in some cases eliminates the need for safety shutoffs. Finally, placing overhead power lines underground reduces recurring maintenance and vegetation management costs, resulting in long-term savings for customers.

That is why we have proposed moving 2,100 miles of overhead electric power lines underground through 2026, including 7 miles in Sonoma County. But the California Public Utilities Commission wants to gut this critical safety program, reducing proposed undergrounding to as little as 200 miles systemwide.

We’ve experienced the devastating toll wildfires have taken on North Coast communities. Our customers and local officials have told us time and again that they want us to underground power lines. That’s because undergrounding is the most effective tool we have to prevent ignitions in high fire-risk areas.

We urge the CPUC to accept PG&E’s proposal to underground 2,100 miles through 2026. If you agree, please let the commission know by visiting cpuc.ca.gov/publiccomment.

Dave Canny

North Coast Region vice president, PG&E

AMY KLOBUCHAR, YOU SUCK

The Minnesota Senator demands Amazon censor substack and Rumble

by Matt Taibbi

Minnesota Senator and Hindenburg presidential candidacy Amy Klobuchar sent a letter (h/t ReclaimTheNet.org) demanding that he enjoin Alexa from citing “unvetted sources,” specifically Substack and Rumble. No hell is hot enough for this person.

Referring to a Washington Post story complaining that Alexa cited Substack, she wrote: “When asked about the 2020 presidential election, it appears that some answers were provided by contributors instead of verified news sources.” 

Amy Klobuchar is the absolute fave of the national media consensus. They love her so much, they speak in italics. “Oh, my God. She’s great. And funny, too!” gushed a cameraman to me in Winterset, Iowa, birthplace of John Wayne, four years ago. He was standing astride an AMY AMY AMY banner in a diner packed with press admirers, who are legion, everywhere. The “funny” legend came courtesy mostly of one joke she repeated everywhere she went, over and over, clinging to the one time Donald Trump bothered to mention her, tweeting about her looking like a “Snow woman.” Funny Amy’s retort? 

“I wonder how your hair would fare in a blizzard,” she’d say, in a nasal voice, laugh-snorting at her own joke. In my time following her I heard the joke about five times. By the last I was ready to drive a railroad spike through my foot.

National press tried endlessly to sell the public on “funny” Amy, always emphasizing her geographic origin, as if she were the media’s running mate. The New York Times, in an interview over “dumplings” in which Klobuchar talked about how she thinks about “her own humor and power,” described her act as a “clean, ‘aw, shucks’ approach that conveys her own background as a Midwesterner.” The paper noted: Klobuchar could remember many times when people laughed at her jokes! “She laughs easily… and can recall dozens of her successful zingers.”

NPR did a segment on how “Amy Klobuchar Turns To Humor To Distinguish Herself Among Candidates,” with Mary Louise Kelly abasing herself with the intro, “In the 24-person Democratic presidential field, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota has distinguished herself as a comedian.” U.S. News and World Report went with, “How Amy Klobuchar’s Humor Sets Her Apart,” and claimed her ability to “savagely deploy a zinger” would be a “critical element in taking on Donald Trump” (!). Barack Obama gushed that Al Franken was now Minnesota’s “second-funniest Senator,” while the hometown Minnesota Post went with “Amy Klobuchar is Hilarious,” adding — this is real — the following deck:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amy Klobuchar can legislate, but can she tell a joke? The answer is a resounding “yes” — as in bring-down-the-house, my-stomach-hurts-from-laughing, “yes.”

Yes, they went with hilarious, for starters. It wasn’t just that campaign journalism requires every angle be done to death, killed over and over like Jason Vorhees, but that the press really thought Amy was the best choice, a truth that emerged in the New York Times all-time cop-out co-endorsement of her and Elizabeth Warren. Saying “May the best woman win,” the paper wrote that Klobuchar would be able to “connect” to voters’ “lived experiences,” especially “in the middle of the country,” as:

The senator talks, often with self-deprecating humor, about growing up the daughter of two union workers, her Uncle Dick’s deer stand, her father’s struggles with alcoholism…

In case it’s been forgotten, here’s how voters — Democratic Party voters — responded to a candidacy with such enthusiastic backing of media establishment. Amy Klobuchar got 12.2% in Iowa and 19.7% in New Hampshire (where her third-place finish, five points behind winner Bernie Sanders, was hailed by the New York Times as the “big surprise”). Then came Nevada, where she had a volleyball-style setup for victory in the form of a shameful last-minute dirty trick. “Intelligence community” leaks led to the Times headline, “Russia Is Said to Be Interfering to Aid Sanders in Democratic Primaries.” Even with her lead opponent official denounced as Putin’s favorite, she got 7.3%, a distant fifth behind Warren (11.5%) Pete Buttigieg (17.3%), Joe Biden (18.9%), and Sanders (40.5%). 

Some primary numbers that followed: 3.1, 31., 2.2, 1.4, 1.2, 5.6 (her home state!), 2.3, 2.2, 2.1, 3.4, 1.3, 0.6, 0.2, 0.7, 0.2, 0.4, etc. “At Least Amy Klobuchar Has Retired Her Twilight Jokes,” quipped New York. “Despite a strong third-place finish in New Hampshire,” lamented the New York Times when she dropped out, adding that Klobuchar “ultimately could not compete with better-funded rivals.” The paper moved on to the burning question of what she would do with all seven of her delegates. 

Now this person, whose “humor” persona was surely cooked up in part to soften a rep for throwing things at aides, who scored roughly John Blutarsky’s grade-point average with the backing of the national media establishment, who managed less than 6% of Democratic voters in her own state, has the gall to push one of the world’s biggest media distributors to disallow voluntary access to “contributors instead of verified news sources.” Klobuchar wants Jeff Bezos to make sure Amazon’s home surveillance robots don’t spit out even occasional answers from a wider pool of real human beings, including thousands of independent contributors. The information landscape must be a pure monopoly of “verified news sources.”

This Senator-to-billionaire communiqué isn’t illegal because she didn’t phrase it as an order or voice the implied threat of regulation, among other things. If Bezos ends up complying, however, I’ve half a mind to sue. Patience is wearing thin with the relentless determination of government figures — whether U.S. Cyber Command or a Minnesota Senator — to weed out independent media from the digital landscape. It’s not enough to have 99% of the informational space? They need all of it? 

About those “verified news sources”: the list includes the Bezos-owned Washington Post, which gave Klobuchar the idea by producing the original news article complaining about “Substack, a subscription newsletter service.” They linked to another Post piece describing this site as a home to “conspiracy theorists” banned elsewhere, pointing a finger at Joseph Mercola and complaining about a contributor who claimed Trump won Pennsylvania in 2020. 

The Washington Post has serious boulders to whine about inaccuracy here. When via the Twitter Files I exposed the Hamilton 68 scam they fell for over and over, the Post with reluctance issued “minor” corrections to eight reports. Why “minor”? Because reviewing editors concluded the paper “appropriately reported on emerging research, including Hamilton 68.” Emerging research is code for “We didn’t know yet it was bullshit yet.” The Post repeatedly claimed to be describing social media activity of “online Russian bots” who were mostly ordinary users in the U.S. and other Western countries. That’s actual conspiracy theory that they wouldn’t have had to admit without Substack, and they have the cheek to seek a ban on us. 

These people are the worst. I would pay money to watch them all mauled by bears. Senator Klobuchar, Mr. Bezos, esteemed editors of the Washington Post, to hell with all of you. 

---

NOTE TO READERS: ON "PROJECT AMY"

Someone has to be made the face of the digital censorship movement. It might as well be Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar

by Matt Taibbi

If you read this morning’s Racket article about Senator Amy Klobuchar’s letter to Jeff Bezos asking for “proactive measures” to suppress sites like Substack or Rumble, you probably gathered I’m in a mood. I’ve had it.

Whether it’s NewsGuard slapping “anti-US” labels on Joe Lauria and Consortium News, or Drs. Jay Bhattacharya, Aaron Kheriaty, and Martin Kulldorff censored on multiple platforms for being right on Covid, or podcaster Alison Morrow fired from a state job for interviewing Kheriaty, or friend CJ Hopkins in Germany criminally convicted for a book cover, or the FBI asking Twitter to remove Aaron Mate for the Ukrainian Secret Police, or ballooning budget requests of “counter-disinformation” enforcement agencies, or the new jailing even of Owen Shroyer for having “helped create January 6th” with speech, or of course the forever-detention of Julian Assange, and above all the total indifference of legacy media to all of it, it’s over. I’ve lost patience. Time for a more focused approach. 

A problem when grappling with the censorship hydra is that it has no public face, no Tipper Gore or Jerry Falwell to personify the topic. Klobuchar, for reasons listed this morning and beyond, is right for this role. She needs to be Red Pencil Amy, Blacklist Amy, Amy “Thought Police” Klobuchar. And longshot or not, removal of her from office in next year’s election or even from Senate leadership positions is a worthwhile goal. The rest of Washington needs to read public sentiment about this issue through a colleague’s public relations dilemma. 

I’ve already got a lot on my plate, but I’ll make Klobuchar a personal branding project, even if it takes time. I’ll write up any move she makes in this direction, or not in this direction. Her lesser-known partner in the bid to make Amazon a “verified sources only” zone, congressman Joseph Morelle of the Rochester, New York area, can be thrown in. Think of Morelle as the VP half of the censorship movement’s ticket. It’s nothing personal. At earlier times this person could have been anyone from Rick Stengel to Adam Schiff (especially him) or Mark Warner. Klobuchar and Morelle just picked the wrong time in my personal downward spiral to pull this stunt. 

T-shirting, postering, meming ideas very welcome. 

Incidentally, I’m still planning town halls on the speech subject, and in fact have one confirmed at my old college in the third week of November. (Details to come). Willing to do more if anyone can help on the venue side. Although perhaps these events would be best held in Minnesota now. 

For readers who might be concerned I’m losing my mind, you’re not wrong. What can I say? Even my dog flashes worried looks at me these days. But I was pushed. Pushed I say! And so were many, many others. A la bataille!

(racket.news)

GAZA

The United States carried out airstrikes on facilities used by Iranian forces in eastern Syria early Friday, U.S. officials said, trying to ward off more attacks on American forces in a region bracing for further escalation in the Israel-Hamas war.

The Biden administration has sent more U.S. military resources to the Middle East in an effort to deter Iran — and its proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq — from engaging in a regional war after Hamas’s Oct. 7 surprise attack into southern Israel. The U.S. strikes were in retaliation for nearly daily attacks against American forces over the past 10 days and were an escalation from targeting the militias in Iraq and Syria that Tehran helps arm, train and equip.

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said that the airstrikes had been “narrowly tailored strikes in self-defense,” and “do not constitute a shift in our approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict.” Nineteen U.S. troops based in Iraq and Syria suffered traumatic brain injuries after rocket and drone attacks from Iran-backed militants last week, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

Here’s what else to know:

Israel’s military said early Friday that it had carried out another “targeted” raid into Gaza as the country’s political and military leaders remained divided about how, when and even whether to invade the coastal enclave. A day earlier, the military said it had briefly sent tanks into northern Gaza to “prepare the battlefield” for the next stage of fighting.


The United Nations General Assembly is set to vote Friday on a nonbinding resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire. The humanitarian crisis for Gaza’s population of two million is spiraling under Israeli bombardment, and supplies of fuel, food and water are nearing depletion. On Thursday, the United Nations said its aid agency operating in Gaza had “almost exhausted its fuel reserves and began to significantly reduce its operations.”


Humanitarian supplies were piling up in Egypt with only a trickle allowed through the border crossing into Gaza as Israel insists on thoroughly inspecting aid trucks. Ten more trucks entered Gaza on Friday morning, for a total of 84 over the past week — a fraction of the 100 trucks a day that the United Nations says are needed.


A drone fell on Friday morning near a hospital in Taba, a Red Sea resort town in Egypt on the border with Israel, the Egyptian military said in a statement carried in the state news media. An earlier state news media report said it had been a missile. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military’s chief spokesman, linked the explosion to an “aerial threat” in the Red Sea area on Friday morning.


The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza on Thursday released a list of 6,747 names of people it said had been killed in Israel’s relentless bombardment of the Palestinian territory. The move appeared to be a response to President Biden’s statement a day earlier that he had “no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using” for the death toll in the Israeli strikes, which are the highest in years. The Hamas-led raid into Israel killed more than than 1,400 people, mostly civilians.

(nytimes.com)

AN INTELLIGENCE FAILURE

Editor: 

The Mideast situation is fraught with so many unknown complexities, what-ifs and dangers. One aspect that’s been missed: Mossad’s -- Israel’s CIA -- contribution to this.

Mossad clearly blew it. Not knowing of Hamas’ months-long planning for a massive attack has to be one of the biggest intelligence failures ever. Had they known, Israel could have disrupted it beforehand or at least gotten their defense forces ready to repel it.

Had that happened, the depth of infiltration and number killed would have been minimal. And like all the previous border conflicts over the past 20 years, it would have been over in a few days. An Israeli proportionate response would have been a few surgical bombings in Gaza. And the world would have moved on -- as it always has.

Instead, with Israel seeking revenge against Hamas and its brutalities, and believing it can eliminate Hamas by bombing Gaza to smithereens, cutting off food and water and massing a large-scale invasion, things will only get worse.

No one will really win, but hard-luck Gaza residents will surely be the worst victims.

Rick Childs

Mendocino

MAKING THE WORLD LESS SAFE

Editor: 

As an American Jew, I’m profoundly concerned about the escalating atrocities committed against Palestinians in Gaza. I also grieve for the victims of terrorism in Israel. Many families are suffering because of lost children, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, friends. And it needs to stop.

Yes, there are many unanswered questions about how we got here, why the world was OK with 2 million Palestinians living stateless in an occupied Gaza and what to do about Hamas a terror group.

But Israel’s leadership — with its overwhelming military might and support from much of the West — does not properly represent the interests of Israelis nor Jews around the world. In fact, I can’t think of a better way to delegitimize Israel’s right to exist — and increase antisemitism worldwide — than to turn off water and power, force people from their homes and continuously bomb communities killing indiscriminately.

Lest we forget, Israel’s mandate is to be a haven for Jews who were stripped of their homes and humanity and forced into death camps during the Holocaust. Do we mean it when we say never again? Israel’s actions now are making the world less safe for both Palestinians and Jews -- today and tomorrow.

Joey Kahn

Napa

ISRAEL’S COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT

Dear Editor,

The Bay Area city of Richmond, California (pop. 115,000) nearly unanimously passed a resolution condemning the collective punishment of the entire Palestinian people of Gaza for the sins of their leaders, mentioning that this is considered a war crime under international law. (Mercury News, 10-26-23)

The resolution states, the people of Gaza “are currently facing a campaign of ethnic cleansing” and called for “an end to blockading of Palestinian land” so large scale aid can reach them.

The resolution hints at a truth that Americans need to recognize more openly. The war crime of collective punishment against Palestinians is not only anti-Palestinian but also anti-Semitic.

War crimes against any people in any religious culture incites the kind of hatred that always comes back against Jews too. Jews can protect themselves by protecting others.

Kimball Shinkoskey

Woods Cross, Utah

WHY WE NEED A CEASEFIRE NOW

by Dave Zirin

On October 20, at a bookstore in Takoma Park, MD, I watched Representative Jamie Raskin speak to the people of his district. During the Q&A, I asked why he had not signed the ceasefire resolution being passed around Congress calling for an immediate stoppage of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. He answered that, while he was focused on getting humanitarian aid to Gaza, he would not sign any ceasefire resolution unless it included a demand for Hamas to free all 200 Israeli hostages. Immediately after he finished his passionate response, there was a smattering of applause. An exception were two people that started chanting, “ceasefire now.”

After the event, Raskin stayed behind for 40 minutes to speak with eight people outside—myself included—holding candles and signs, ready to argue with him about why he should support the resolution. Raskin reasserted that he supported aid to Gaza but was against a ceasefire without the hostages first being set free. He also took the discussion in other directions, from the formation of Hamas to the wide range of views on Israel/Palestine among his constituents. But through it all, when we redirected the discussion back to the resolution, Raskin insisted that he would endorse no ceasefire agreement that did not call for the releasing of hostages as a precondition for stopping Israeli hostilities.

It was an intense conversation. Since then, I’ve seen multiple other officials repeat his insistence on these same conditions: No ceasefire without the release of hostages. After several days of thinking this through, I believe that this argument is not only incorrect, but that it acts as a cover to not sign a ceasefire resolution at all.

First and foremost, to wait for 200 hostages to be released as a precondition to stop the bombings only condemns more Gazan civilians to unimaginable human suffering. While we stand by for the hostages, the assaults will continue, the attacks on hospitals will continue, and the bombing of any possible safe crossing out of the south of Gaza will continue. Humanitarian aid entering the country, which Raskin says is his priority, also becomes far more difficult. We cannot hold off a moment more.

Second, a ceasefire will actually make the situation safer for the hostages. Israel has shown that they will bomb areas of Gaza regardless of “civilian-rich” targets. There were claims last week that 13 hostages died in one IDF attack. For Netanyahu, their safety seems secondary to destroying Hamas by pummeling Gaza. We need a ceasefire for their own protection.

Third, hostages are already being freed. Yes, it is happening more slowly than anyone would like, but high-level negotiations would be ongoing whether it were part of the ceasefire agreement or not. Let the hostage negotiators do their damn jobs—and under conditions of a ceasefire. It would be for everyone’s welfare

The last reason Rep. Raskin is incorrect is because he is letting Israel off the hook for its hypocrisy. Yes, 200 Israelis are currently hostages. But 4,000 Palestinian laborers from Gaza working in Israel have also been taken into military custody since October 7. Separately, the IDF has also arrested more than 1,000 others in overnight army raids in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. That means in just over two weeks the IDF has almost doubled the more than 5,000 Palestinians currently buried in their prison system without rights or due process. “Arrests are taking place 24 hours a day,” Sahar Francis, head of the Ramallah-based Addameer Prisoners Support and Human Rights Association, told Al Jazeera. The conditions are unspeakably brutal, with allegations of starvation and torture. How many are innocent? How many will receive any semblance of due process? We should say, “Free all the hostages. But don’t wait until a ceasefire.”

Raskin has of course become a national figure due to his work on the January 6 Committee. He has also shown that he has principles on a host of issues near and dear to progressive struggles. But his compass is off on this one. Waiting for hostages to be released before a ceasefire is signed only consigns more Palestinians to misery and death. We need a ceasefire now. 

I was one of hundreds of Jews arrested at the Capitol for making that demand because with the urgency of the moment weighing on us. Using the hostages to prevent the resolution from getting traction is simply wrong—and out of step with Raskin’s constituents, who want to see an end to the violence, and don’t want our leaders to be party to a prospective genocide. It would be a major step toward peace for someone of Raskin’s stature to sign the resolution. He would also be joining the ranks of the thousands of Jews currently saying “not in our name,” and who hope that he reconsiders—because time is growing very short.

UKRAINE, THURSDAY, 26TH OCTOBER

Russian forces kept sustained pressure on Avdiivka in Ukraine’s east with the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces saying that Ukraine’s troops had repelled nearly 20 Russian attacks around the largely ruined town. Russian air attacks also hit nearby villages, it said.

Speaking in his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation in Avdiivka and the nearby town of Marinka was “particularly tough. Numerous Russian attacks. But our positions are being held”.

Russia’s defence ministry said it foiled several attempts by Ukrainian units to cross the Dnipro River in the southern Kherson region. The ministry said Ukrainian “sabotage and reconnaissance” teams were stopped while trying to cross the river near the villages of Pridniprovske, Tiahynka and Krynky.

Also in Kherson, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said several villages were struck by Russian shelling. Transport and food factories were also hit in Kherson City, he added.

Ukraine’s Air Force said air defence systems destroyed six Russia-launched attack drones and a cruise missile overnight.

Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-installed governor of the occupied areas of Ukraine’s Kherson region, said Russia brought down three Ukrainian missiles heading for targets in Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Politics and diplomacy

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is due in the Iranian capital Tehran on Monday where he is expected to hold talks with regional foreign ministers over issues including the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Russia turned to Iran for military and economic support since it began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering a raft of Western sanctions.

THE BIG BOPPER is best known for his monster hit song "Chantilly Lace, recorded in 1958. The song sat for a while before if finally took off, eventually spending 22 weeks on the charts. But before that, J.P. was a radio DJ in Beaumont. He was a big, quiet, introverted, kind, almost shy, until he got behind the microphone and went on the air, where his personality changed. He almost became a wild man; he had developed an on-air persona that was unlike any other DJ in the area. 

Over time he began using the alias “The Big Bopper”, and at times got loud and crazy. Doing commercials for Schlitz beer and Yazoo mowers, he would proclaim, “If you ain’t drinking Schlitz, you ain’t drinking beer!”, and “If you ain’t Yazooing, you ain’t mowin’”. Sadly, he was killed in the same plane crash that took the life of fellow Texan Buddy Holly, the great Ritchie Valens, and pilot Roger Peterson. 

Chantilly Lace was topping the charts when J.P. died but he had not yet seen any royalties. At the time of his death, he had $8 in a savings account, a Dodge sedan worth $400, and a $100 guitar. His wife had to pay $2642 for his funeral expenses. His contributions to rock and roll as a singer and songwriter would later bring his estate over $100,000 per year in royalties from Chantilly Lace alone.

KARA KENNEDY: It's happened faster than many of us perhaps thought. At the start of the year, Harry and Meghan were on everyone's lips. Thanks to the double-barrel onslaught of their Netflix documentary whine-a-thon and Harry's misery memoir Spare, people simply couldn't get enough. Love them or loathe them, they were the conversation. Yet in less than ten months, it seems their inevitable implosion in relevance, their downward spiral towards the cultural trash can, is all but complete. And how sad. A pair whose refreshing presence once said so much, who - as the 21st Century royal couple - offered a bright, modern future of influence (in the truest sense), reduced to the butt of a throwaway gag on a comedy cartoon series way past its prime. Gone are the days of full-episode South Park takedowns. On Sunday, Family Guy - limping on in its 22nd series - featured a twenty-second satire of the pair.

ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

I guess that the best city to be down and out in would vary over time. And season.

Where are people the kindest, the cops lenient.

Democratic cities? How about being down and out say in Berlin in the thirties? Or Moscow in February?

I was down and out in NYC back in the sixties and it wasn’t too bad, but maybe I’m romanticizing. You had the parks, subways, and the Port Authority bus terminal. One time I was short for a cup of coffee. Didn’t realize the price had increased, but I wasn’t clubbed or put in jail, thank God.

I wouldn’t choose London, maybe the Dickens’ influence. Scrooge wouldn’t give me a one pence.

Paris could be great. Hemingway said that ‘Paris was a moveable feast’, meaning that you could leave Paris, but Paris wouldn’t leave you.

Yes, the hardy, stout Lithuanians. But many peasants the world over probably cavort in a similar way. The simplicity and joy of the Earth connection, sweat into dirt, the sun making muscles look like chiseled marble.

I remember sleeping on a bench in Carl Schurz Park. Woke up, had a buck or two, got a container of coffee and a couple of chocolate coated cupcakes, went back and watched the sun rising over the East River. Sometimes down and out can be sweet.

LODI

Just about a year ago
I set out on the road
Seekin' my fame and fortune
Lookin' for a pot of gold
Things got bad and things got worse
I guess you will know the tune
Oh Lord, stuck in Lodi again

Rode in on the Greyhound
I'll be walkin' out if I go
I was just passin' through
Must be seven months or more
Ran out of time and money
Looks like they took my friends
Oh Lord, I'm stuck in Lodi again

The man from the magazine
Said I was on my way
Somewhere I lost connections
I ran out of songs to play
I came into town, a one night stand
Looks like my plans fell through
Oh Lord, stuck in Lodi again

If I only had a dollar
For ev'ry song I've sung
Ev'ry time I've had to play
While people sat there drunk
You know, I'd catch the next train
Back to where I live
Oh Lord, I'm stuck in Lodi again
Oh Lord, I'm stuck in Lodi again

— John Fogarty

BAD GRAMMAR IS SO MADDENING It Activates The ‘Fight Or Flight’ Response Within The Human Body, Study Finds

by Xantha Leatham

For many, bad grammar can be maddening. 

Now experts have discovered it really does cause a physical reaction – and even affects our heart rate.

Instances of bad grammar can include mixing up tenses within a sentence, confusing the singular and plural, using a double negative or misusing a comma.

Examples of the pet peeve include 'We don't need no education', 'I ate porridge for breakfast and drink milk' or 'Anna and Mike is going skiing'.

Researchers from the University of Birmingham recruited 41 British English-speaking adults who listened to 40 English speech samples, half of which contained grammatical errors.

They recorded the participants' heart rate variability (HRV) as they listened to the extracts.

HRV captures the time between successive heart beats. 

These intervals tend to be variable during a relaxed state but become more regular when a person is stressed.

Analysis revealed the more errors a person heard, the more regular their heartbeat became – a sign of stress.

The researchers said grammatical errors appear to activate a 'fight or flight' response within the human body.

They explained that knowledge about a first language is largely implicit, as most people did not need to sit and study to learn their mother tongue.

And this could mean that our body reacts to bad grammar even if we cannot pinpoint exactly what is wrong within a sentence.

Professor Dagmar Divjak, principal investigator of the study, said: 'Your knowledge about your first language is largely implicit, i.e., learning your mother tongue did not require you to sit and study, and using it does not require much, if any, thought.

'This also means that you will find it hard to pin down what exactly is right or wrong about a sentence and, even worse, explain why that is so, especially if you've not had formal language training.'

The findings, published in the Journal of Neurolinguistics, read: 'The model confirmed that there is a cardiovascular response to grammatical violations.

'We registered a statistically significant reduction in HRV…in response to stimuli that contain errors.

'The observation that linguistic knowledge can be detected using cardiovascular measures brings into focus a new dimension of the intricate relationship between physiology and cognition and opens up new pathways for exploring this link.

(Daily Mail)