Mendocino County Today: Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023

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RAIN will spread across areas of Humboldt and Del Norte counties late this morning and then continue to weaken and move south this afternoon and evening. Most areas will see a break in the rain for at least a portion of Sunday. Heavier rain, wind and a slight chance for thunderstorms return Sunday night and Monday. Additional light rain is expected Tuesday. Dry weather is likely Wednesday, followed by another wet system late next week. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): A cloudy & warm 57F this Saturday morning on the coast. The NWS is now saying we will get some rain starting later today lasting into midday Monday. Most of the rain will stay to the north. Tuesday & Wednesday are looking dry then more rain later next week. So they say anyhow....

AV PANTHER SOCCER SEMI-FINAL PLAYOFF GAME will be at Saturday at 2pm against SF Waldorf at Tom Smith Field. I will have everything ready by 1pm. Volunteers: I will need you there by 12:45! (Geraldo Torales, Soccer Coach)

AV UNIFIED NEWS

Dear Anderson Valley Community,

I hope you had a great week. Please note the soccer game against Waldorf on Saturday has had a time change to start at 2:00 p.m. Often, these changes occur due to referee availability. 

As you know, this game schedule and pricing is completely controlled by CIF. I apologize that the playoff game tickets are very expensive and we are required to collect gate fees and enforce the policy. If you need a ticket link, here is the URL–Soccer Tickets

Please be mindful this is not a school policy, and please do not take out your displeasure on the employees that are helping for the game. This is the CIF league policy. There will be a petition on site for you to sign that these fees are disproportionate and discriminate against low income communities. This is one of those things in life that is just not right and will not change unless we make it change. I am grateful that CIF responded to our initial complaint by giving every student in the game two tickets for their family to attend. You hear all of those CIF commercials about how important it is for students to play sports, which is true, but it is also important for their community to be able to watch them without losing an hour of wages.

The elementary school had a wonderful Halloween parade and Student of the Month Assembly! What fun! The ELD class under the direction of Ms. Honegger created some festive sugar skulls on display in the high school hallway. It was lovely to hear from community members that our young trick or treaters were very polite.

We invite you to mark your calendars for a yummy Posole dinner at the Junior/Senior High School on Tuesday, November 28 at 5 in the cafeteria, as the kick off for our student exhibition and the Redwood Classic. This is a free event, but reservations are required. Please contact the school office at 895-3496. We welcome community members as well, just please make a reservation!

Basketball practice has begun. If you are interested in signing up, 6th grade-12th grade, please go to your school office. There is a mandatory parent meeting on Monday, November 6. Junior High is from 5:00-6:00 p.m. and High School is from 6:00-7:00. We are asking all families to complete an ASP enrollment for this activity. 

If you have a student in TK-6th grade who would be interested in our additional school activity days during the Winter Break, please contact the elementary office for a reservation at 895-3010. Please remember, if you make a reservation please plan to attend.

Reminder the quarter and semester close on Friday, December 15 for the junior/senior high school. No work can be accepted after that date.

I hope you have a happy and healthy weekend! Set your clocks back one hour on Saturday night!

Louise Simson, Superintendent

AV Unified School District

PANTHER SPORTS

ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

The root of the problem is standard time. Like all things regulated and standardized, it’s a system meant to serve all and in the end serving all poorly. Prior to the railroads and the telegraph, local time prevailed.

Wherever you were, when the sun reached its zenith, that was noon.

For the railroads, this presented an insurmountable data handling problem. Not just train arrivals and departures had to be constantly adjusted, but the schedules for throwing switches along the lines had to be meticulously maintained lest Casey Jones find himself barreling towards another train, “on the wrong track and headed for you.” The Brits solved the problem by putting their entire country on GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). The U.S. followed in 1881, establishing the four standard time zones we use today.

Since the standard time zones correspond (with variations for, uh, political reasons) to longitude, each time zone begins on an even multiple of 15 degrees West of Greenwich. If you happen to live on the Eastern edge of a given time zone, the sun rises a full hour earlier for you than for someone living on the same zone’s Western edge.

Along came the human tragedy we called The Great War. The need for shifting resource usage from civilian to military in order to feed the great slaughter led first Germany, and then the other combatants to adopt an idea that had been bouncing around but failing to gain traction: DST (Daylight Savings Time). The underlying theory of DST is that by making a seasonal adjustment to the time, the amount of fuel used by an urban population of factory workers is reduced.

Eliminating DST is a start to addressing “Sunshine and happiness”. Of course how much or little that helps depends on where you happen to live inside your time zone. Given the amount of data handling technology available today, a better idea might be to return to local time.

BIG RIVER OUTREACH

Editor;

The Institute for Conservation, Advocacy, Research, and Education would like to express its sincere thanks to Terra Fuller of California State Parks, Anna Halligan of Trout Unlimited, and local geologist Elias Steinbuck for sharing not only their day off, but their collective expertise and experience at the Big River Outreach Event and Restoration Field Tour held on October 28th. Those who had preregistered for the event seemed genuinely grateful and enthusiatic prior to it and were even more so following: always a good sign. We continue to receive accolades on Terra, Anna, and Elias’ behalf.

We’d also like to extend gratitude to the Mendocino Land Trust for the use of their 2015 video, “Nelson Gulch Fish Passage Project”, the Mendocino Presbyterian Church for their cooperation in housing the morning program, and the Advocate/Beacon, KZYX, and AVA for publicizing and covering the event.

With more restoration projects planned for the Big River watershed to further its recovery, health, and protection, we’ll know we’ve been successful when Big River and its sensitive gulches, streams, and tributaries are one day removed from the Clean Water Act’s Section 303(d) listing of impaired waters for exceeded levels of sedimentation/siltation, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and bacteria, and migrating salmon and steelhead have returned in large numbers again. This is a worthwhile and noble goal not only for a river system believed to have held more logging dams than on any other stream on California’s extraordinary Redwood Coast, but one which many and various state agencies agree, due to the potential for land development and increases in demand for water from its basin, whose longterm viability remains an issue of concern today.

Christina Aranguren, President, ICARE

Mendocino

UKIAH CAN NOT TOLERATE THIS BEHAVIOR 

To the Editor:

Recently, on a crisp Saturday, in the early afternoon, I stopped with my kids at a local restaurant in Ukiah on State St. to buy some soup to take home. Within five steps of my car, a disheveled man in his 20s or maybe early 30s came towards me. His pants zipper was down, with his hand in his pants. His other hand was holding a bottle of liquor. I immediately got back in my car with my kids, locked the door, as he asked for money.

He lingered right outside my car for a bit until I dialed up the local police and then he walked away.

When I felt safe, I went into the restaurant and let them know what happened and the lady said they have been dealing with people bothering customers outside.

This is NOT ok. Saturday, midday, with my kids, trying to buy a meal. Ukiah can not tolerate this behavior. Indecent exposure, public drinking, loitering outside a business, and harassing a family.

Casey Johnston

Ukiah

TWO LANDMARK UKIAH BUSINESSES CLOSING...

&

UKIAH CONSTRUCTION UPDATES FOR THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 6TH:

On the south side (Mill to Gobbi), crews are installing new sewer lines; work will progress from south (Gobbi) to the north (near Mill). Due to work in the intersection of Mill/State, Mill Street will be closed from School to Main Streets for most of the week. At times, East Gobbi between Main and State Streets will also be closed.

Looking ahead a little further, we’ll start to see the project extend south toward Cherry Street. Beginning mid-November, work will begin to replace the sewer lines in that area, which are located roughly in the center of State Street. Both directions of travel will remain open, and driveways are not expected to be impacted.

On the north side (Norton to Henry), lots of work is happening on the sidewalks on both sides of the street. Most of both sides have been demolished, and new curbs and gutters are being framed. Along with the curbs and gutters, electric lines for the streetlights and irrigation lines are being installed. Concrete work cannot be done when it’s too cold and wet, so some parts of this work may be delayed, depending on how much rain we get.

Don’t forget to “fall backward” Saturday night!

Have a great weekend—

LITTLE BITS OF JOY FOR THE HOLIDAYS 

Thursday, December 7th @ 5:30 we're hosting our annual tree lighting party to raise funds for the Anderson Valley Food Bank's Holiday Season.

Gather around the fire with cups of soup, cheese biscuits, and cookies while The Real Sarah's sing their sweet holiday carols.

And a bit more good cheer ~ Boonville Hotel gift certificates are available online . we are sweetening the gift giving by adding 10% more value to each certificate purchased between Thanksgiving day and the first day of 2024. Certificates can be used for future room stays, the restaurant, offspring, Paysanne, gifts, wine retail — anything the boonville hotel has to offer.

We've been here 35 years, and are planning for another 35 ~ thank you for being part of it all. Hope to see you soon!

The Boonville Hotel and Restaurant: “It's about people, food, drink, and a well made bed” 

RANDY BURKE of Gualala writes: Say, I finally got around to reading ‘Walking Tractor’ by B. Patterson. I recall in days gone by that he was headed to Oregon/Washington. I don't do Facebook or Instagram, but thought I would check in with you and the Maj on how the old boy is doing.

ED NOTE: Last we heard, Patterson was living in Prineville, Eastern Oregon.

‘OUR CONCERN IS PUBLIC SAFETY’

by Justine Frederiksen

The Ukiah City Council voted unanimously Wednesday afternoon to approve a resolution ordering the owner of the Palace Hotel to take significant action within the next 30 days to either stabilize the building to mitigate its risks to public safety, or obtain a permit to demolish the crumbling structure.

“We still hope preservation is an option, but first and foremost, our concern is public health and safety,” said City Manager Sage Sangiacomo. “We have a moral and ethical responsibility to protect our community with the demolition or stabilization of an unstable building.

The City Council held the special meeting on Nov. 1 after an inspection by the city’s Chief Building Official Matt Keizer in late September revealed that the historic building has “deteriorated dramatically” in recent years, particularly after last winter’s rains.

“The building at 217 N. State St.

is structurally unsound, deteriorated, and constitutes a menace to public safety,” Keizer wrote in a letter to the property owner, listed as Twin Investments, LLC, with attention to Jitu Ishwar, LLC member. “You must take all necessary steps to ensure the safe and timely demolition or stabilization of this building.”

Steven Johnson, who said he was an attorney representing the property owner, addressed the council Wednesday, declaring the 30-day timeline as “unreasonable” and urging the council to continue the negotiations that city officials have been conducting with his client and a potential buyer for the hotel.

“We hope to close the sale with the buyer and have them address the issues,” Johnson said. “I don’t see how we can give you a plan in 30 days.”

“We are at a point where immediate action needs to be taken,” said Sangiacomo, and most of the residents who spoke during public comment agreed, as did Council member Susan Sher.

“This is a very sad day, and I don’t think any of us get any pleasure at the thought of demolishing the Palace Hotel, (but) something needs to be done,” said Sher, adding that she thought the 30-day timeline was “more than reasonable, and asking for more time is almost laughable, if it weren’t so tragic.”

The council then voted unanimously to approve the resolution giving the owner of the Palace Hotel 30 days to present a plan to either stabilize or demolish the building.

(Ukiah Daily Journal)

SUPES BREAK OPEN THE MEASURE B PIGGYBANK

by Mark Scaramella

Much of Tuesday morning’s board discussion concerned the creation of a theoretical countywide “water resources team” based on a proposal by another consultant which involved a preposterous organizational chart which Supervisor Haschak cautiously described as “nice but not realistic.” 

The Board, dazzled by the consultants fancy charts and diagrams, liked the idea, but balked at funding it because:

Supervisor Ted Williams: “We are teetering on the brink of insolvency.”

Supervisor John Haschak: “We don’t have any money and the future doesn’t look very good either.”

Supervisor Glenn McGourty: “Good plan, bad timing.”

CEO Darcy Antle: “I do not believe your financial situation will improve in two years. …I am extremely worried about the financial viability of the County.”

Supervsors Dan Gjerde and Maureen Mulheren agreed that there was no money for a water resources team, but declined to add to the gloomy remarks.

Despite all the alleged financial gloom, as usual, nobody asked what was being done to collect taxes due, be they unassessed parcels/properties, underassessed property improvements, or outright tax delinquency. 

Meeting after meeting this fundamental function goes unaddressed as the collection backlog increases and the possibility of collecting on the older receivables declines. 

Eventually, the Board tabled the consultant’s unworkable fantasy, claiming again they didn’t have any money for it. Too bad nobody brought that up sooner. Oh well.

* * *

County Assessor-Recorder-Clerk Katrina Bartolomie gave a brief oral presentation describing her office’s recent assessment activity, saying that tens of millions worth of supplemental assessments have been processed. But, she cautioned, much of it has not been “pro-rated” so that only a portion of the first year of a new owner’s assessment might produce revenue for the County. In addition, there’s a long lag between a new assessment and actual revenue coming in. Not to mention that the County only gets 30% of property taxes in the first place, after schools and special districts get their cuts. The Assessor also did not mention anything about how she’s doing on the Board’s directive (“goal”) of getting maybe 30% of untaxed structures onto the tax rolls in less than two years. 

* * *

Newly appointed Acting Auditor-Controller / Treasurer-Tax Collector Sara Pierce appeared during public expression (while the person she abruptly repaced, Chamise Cubbison, was in court facing dubious felony misappropriation charges). Pierce told the Board that she had come across some unreported accounts that, she said, seem legitimate, but that had not been previously reported to the outside auditor. Pierce said she was still trying to figure out what they were for. This premature implication that Ms. Cubbison was somehow responsible for allegedly unreported accounts seemed to be the main purpose of her presentation, even though Pierce acknowledged that there didn’t seem to be a problem and that she was still working on it. Later in the meeting, suspended Auditor Controller Treasurer Tax Collector Chamise Cubbison’s attorney, Chris Andrian of Sonoma County, told the Board that these were ordinary accounts that the entire office knew about and Pierce’s implication that there was something fishy about them was false.

* * *

After an exhaustive background presentation from Sheriff Kendall and his senior jail staff about the need to finance the ever-ballooning cost of the jail expansion project, recently renamed the “behavioral health wing,” with a strong boost from former Sheriff Tom Allman about how the jail is still the first place mental patients go, the Board decided to “borrow” about $7 million to cover the rest of the unfunded current estimated overrun — the jail expansion is now estimated to cost at least $44 million with $25 million from the state and $19 million (or more) from the County. The Board had previously approved borrowing $10 million (with interest, of course) to cover the earlier overrun estimate. The Board directed the CEO to come up with a plan to repay the Measure B funds with interest — someday.

In an accompanying memo the Sheriff’s staff reported that “The County received one bid on September 14, 2023, for the SB 844 Jail Expansion Project. The bid was received from Broward Builders, Inc. of Woodland. The amount of this bid was $35,859,000.” This is in addition to the millions already spent on designs and specifications with former CEO Carmel Angelo’s top-dollar preferred Sacramento-based architectural and design consulting firm Nacht & Lewis.

In the end, the Board voted 4-1 to approve the “borrowing” from Measure B and to deny the requrest from Ukiah’s Ford Street Project for an additional $4 million for substance abuse treatment facilities with Supervisor Maureen Mulheren dissenting, saying that she thought there was enough Measure B money for the jail wing and Ford Street. The other four supervisors disagreed saying inflation and other unanticipated increases would probably end up requiring more money from Measure B, so no money for Ford Street.

Now that the Measure B loan office door is open and the jail expansion costs continue to escalate over time (no one has mentioned how staffing the new wing will be funded), along with the County’s self-inflicted fiscal crisis, the likelihood that the Measure B funds will ever be repaid, much less “with interest” is very low. And without that repayment there will not be enough to cover the over-designed Psychiatric Health Facility currently estimated at well over $20 million (and counting at an estimated $1 million increase per year), nor will there be any money for treatment services as required by the text of Measure B. 

But maybe that’s just the best that Mendo can do. It was unlikely that they could staff both the new jail wing and the PHF while turning over more almost $30 million a year to Camille Schraeder’s staff-intensive local monopoly, plus whatever leftovers the Ford Street rehab center may get.

* * *

SOME INTERESTING COMMENTS from the memo accompanying the Sheriff’s request for $7 million in additional funding for the jail expansion project:

“On September 14, the County received a single bid for construction of the new jail facility's behavioral health wing. This bid was submitted from Broward Builders (of Woodland), in the amount of $35,859,000. To proceed with this critical project, an additional $6,786,062 in General Fund will need to be committed by the Board, bringing the total County share for this critical project to $18,999,800 while the State's contribution commitment remains static at $25,000,000 for a total of $44 million.

Subsequent to the State's 2017 commitment of $25 million in funding toward a new jail facility in Mendocino County, construction costs continued to escalate for a number of reasons that could not have been foreseen. Specific factors include: 

• Shortages of construction materials, parts and equipment. 

• Increased cost of steel and other construction materials due to tariffs. 

• Manufacturers unable to keep up due to supply chain disruptions.

• Shortage of craft workers and subcontractors from pent up demand for 

construction work. 

• Lack of competition. 

“While it is tempting to assume that the lack of competition had a major impact on the final cost of the bids, evidence suggests that there was real competition at the subcontractor level and Broward had no incentive to "pad" their bid with the likely rejection of bids if costs exceed our ability to fund the project. It is just as likely that GC competition would have validated or only marginally reduced the project bid.”

“There is a clear and continuing need for the behavioral health services that will be provided in this new jail building.”

* * *

Office of State Fire Marshall Delay. This project's delay was further exacerbated by the State Fire Marshal's Office's review and approval of the construction documents. Construction documents were first submitted in December of 2021 , 8 months after approval of the Preliminary Plans, with an anticipated approval in June of 2022. Approval was finally granted in November o f 2022 after several rounds o f review that delayed the County ' s approval by 5 months. Roughly 60% of the reviewer's comments were disputed because the reviewer misinterpreted building code requirements for the building type. Of note, the legitimate comments were cleared with the first resubmittal. However, unnecessary additional rounds of review included the disputed items that were eventually cleared, as well as new comments that were not significant. The project could have been cleared with an over-the-counter meeting and minor edits after the first round. Ultimately, the disputed comments were cleared, and all remaining comments were addressed satisfactorily without changing the project's design or modifying any fire and life safety features or systems. With the understanding of this outcome, it appears that the delay was caused by unnecessary review.”

MENDOCINO COUNTY TO HOLD COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS for the development of the inland short-term rental ordinance 

MENDOCINO COUNTY TO HOLD COASTAL COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDER MEETING 

The Mendocino County Division of Environmental Health and Planning and Building Services are excited to invite all stakeholders to meet on November 13, 2023. We value your input and collaboration, and this meeting will focus on discussing and improving the permitting process in our departments. 

Agenda Highlights: 

• Overview of the current permitting process 
• Discussion of recent updates and proposed changes 
• Opportunities for community feedback and suggestions 
• Collaborative brainstorming for a more efficient and accessible process 

The public may also participate digitally in the November 13th, 2023, meeting by sending comments to pbs@mendocinocounty.gov in lieu of personal attendance. County staff from each department will be available to answer questions. Your insights and feedback are crucial in helping us streamline and enhance the permitting process to better serve the needs of our community. We look forward to a productive and engaging discussion that will benefit us all. 

Follow the link to join the webinar: https://mendocinocounty.zoom.us/w/83308710258 

Or one tap mobile: + 16694449171, 83308710258# or +16699009128, 83308710258# 

Webinar ID: 833 0871 0258 

You can also contact the Mendocino County Department of Planning and Building Services via telephone at 707-234-6650 For more information. 

ANNE FASHAUER is my go-to person on housing policy, so I went to her for her perspective on whatever short-term rental ordinance may be forthcoming from the Supervisors:

I actually don't have a huge problem with short term rentals. For a property owner it is a great way to pay off any loan because long term rentals just don't bring in as much income. Tenants for short term also do less damage typically to the property than long term ones do. I do think that the way the town of Mendocino has set it up is good because they kept the town from becoming only short term rentals and really less of a town than a resort. 

What I would really like to know is how many there are out there and how much they are actually impacting the housing shortage. I think there are more vacant homes (I can think of at least four on Anderson Valley Way) that the owners are not using and not renting at all to anyone and I think that is likely more of a problem. 

Do we need more regulation re short term rentals? Probably. But do I think you should have to get a major use permit to do one? No, that is onerous. If the taxes are enforced, these should be bringing in more money to the County (which should be a good thing, if only the money wasn't so poorly managed, but that's a different issue).

My solution for the housing shortage is to allow for more than two homes on any parcel, so long as there is sufficient water and septic for more homes. The caveat would be that the third home (assuming allowing more than three is probably a non-starter) has to be rented for 30 or more days. That way you could do a short term rental if you wanted and make some good income and also provide housing.

Unless someone has the data that shows the short term rentals are in fact causing the housing shortage, I don't think it should be limited. 

Another concern I have is that if buyers couldn't use their property as a short term rental they will look elsewhere to buy, impacting an already tough market for folks trying to sell, likely devaluing properties as well. I think housing is more of an issue, but I also think anything that impacts property owner's ability to sell should be considered. 

Finally, I think that while there are some folks who don't live here that do short term rentals, I also know people who live here who do them to supplement their income. We need to be wary of how this regulation could impact what are in fact good neighbors who are vital to our County.

CITY OF UKIAH LAUNCHES EARLY WILDFIRE DETECTION SYSTEM Using Artificial Intelligence

by Sarah Stierch

The City of Ukiah is following the State of California’s lead by attacking wildfires from the start – with artificial intelligence. 

The State of California is investing millions of dollars in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and wildfire cameras. The pilot program has cameras monitoring fire-prone areas throughout the state, providing 24/7 monitoring through AlertCalifornia, a camera system operated by the University of California, San Diego. As a result, Cal Fire and other first responders can mount a quick response from ground and air to attack wildfires. 

The state’s over 1,000 cameras in the pilot program have detected 77 wildfires in the past four months before the fires were called in via 911. It was also recently named one of the best inventions of 2023 by TIME magazine. However there is one caveat: it isn’t monitoring the Ukiah Valley and surrounding areas, which over 104,000 Mendocino County residents call home.…

mendovoice.com/2023/11/city-of-ukiah-launches-early-wildfire-detection-system-using-artificial-intelligence/

OBOYOBOYO DO WE HAVE PLANS!

Agenda & Staff Report for November 16, 2023 Planning Commission Meeting

The Staff Report(s) and Agenda for the November 16, 2023,, Planning Commission meeting is now available on the department website at:

https://www.mendocinocounty.org/government/planning-building-services/meeting-agendas/planning-commission

Please contact staff if there are any questions,

Thank you

A READER WRITES:

The Mendo County DA calls himself the “chief law enforcement officer” (CLEO) and your paper keeps repeating that line. But is that correct? I always thought the CLEO was the Sheriff. Law enforcement is in the executive branch of government. Surely District Attorney is the judicial branch, no?

I haven’t found a definitive answer to this, as it relates to California, in an online search. However Sheriff Brigades of Pennsylvania has posted an article that is very clear: sheriffbrigadesofpenn.com/resources/the-sheriff-is-the-chief-law-enforcement-officer/

Perhaps you can write something about this?

I admit I’d love to see the blowhard DA “taken down a peg.”

And thanks for your great work keeping after the Supervisors. What would we-the-people do without you?

From Brigades’ article:

“The District Attorney (DA) is the chief prosecutor in the County. Though elected, the DA: must be an attorney; holds the “Office of attorney at law” (Title 42, Section 2521); is an officer of the courts and reports to the State Supreme Court. (Article V, Section 10 ( c ) of the “1968 Pennsylvania Constitution’); cannot arrest anyone; etc. The District Attorney is clearly a member of the Judicial Branch of government. If there is any “separation of powers” today, the DA could not possibly be part of the Executive Branch of a constitutional republic.

“The Sheriff is the lawful Chief Executive Officer and highest Peace Officer of the entire County in which he or she was elected. Unlike the State Police and Municipal Police, the Sheriff reports directly to the Citizens of the County. in today’s terms, the Sheriff is the “Chief Law Enforcement Officer’ (CLEO) of the County.”

MEMO OF THE WEEK

DRAINAGE

Randy Burke, Gualala:

Drainage easement.

Hello Ted [Supervisor Williams], you have been very helpful in the past on environmental issues in the past so here goes. I own a property through which an easement drainage exists. When the county does not maintain it, it floods out my house, and everything around it. I have maintained this position for 22 years to keep the Gualala court flowing. But upstream maintenance is totally lacking. Getting very tired of upstream lack of maintenance and control which should be the county's responsibility. When this thing floods, it theatens my chickens, my garden, and my vehicles, to say the least. Is there a person I could contact to resolve such a planning malfuncrion?

* * *

Ted Williams:

Directors Krog and Dashiell, what’s the split of public and private responsibility in this circumstance?

* * *

Howard Dashiell

Hi Ted:

The 8-foot-wide drainage easement Mr. Burke references was offered for public use in 1954 when Gualala Heights Subdivision No 1 was approved. In general, “offered for public use” means that any adjoining property owner has a right to occupy and use that easement for its stated purpose (drainage)… that includes the County as we have an interest in the County Road drainage.

I am reading in the road file… I see that the county crew worked on the upstream pipe between the two properties upstream of Mr. Burke (Espinosa/Lopez or prior owners)… apparently, the original 1954 concrete pipe was so badly plugged and broken by redwood tree roots that it was replaced with plastic which roots would not re-penetrate…

At the corner of “Gualala Court” we get a ponding from vehicles parking over the drain inlet and plugging… the crew does what they can but the parking activities re-plug the inlet often… I attached a photo I think this might be what Mr. Burke is referencing?

Perhaps Mr. Burke’s email sheds some light in that it sounds like the “neighbors” have sort of accommodated the situation for some time… Aounds like Mr. Burke has a drainage problem coming down from above that he has worked on himself over the years… Assume that could be the past root obstruction… However, he apparently has done a lot of work himself.

I am not sure I concede Mr. Burke’s position that the responsibility to correct all this problem is completely that of the County; the trees and other backyard plants might contribute; but… back to your question… County could share in the common goal of reestablishing an original subdivision ditch and/or culvert which was part of the original subdivision drainage system… If people did not park on Gualala Court over the pipe inlet it might stay clear longer… Not sure the County is responsible to repair/replace or install an all new storm drain… Appears to me that if the property owners wanted to occupy the easement area with “back yard residential uses” that those owners should be responsible for that portion of the project…

If in fact the upstream problem Mr. Burke references is the “ponding” on the upstream Gualala Court – the County’s only “interest and responsibility” — then we would simply dig back the side ditch in on Gualala Court and remove some parking, open up the inlet and remove the grate… or leave it like it is and just keep cleaning off the grate inlet.

Kent Standely, Deputy Director Road Services is off recovering from minor surgery until after Thanksgiving… If Mr. Burke wants to talk with someone then I am sure Kent can talk to him and discuss this matter after he recovers a little more… He is more familiar with the past work… I have only read the file… looked at pictures…

Cordially,

Howard N. Dashiell, Director

Mendocino County Department of Transportation

340 Lake Mendocino Drive

Ukiah, CA 95482

(707)463-4363 front desk

(707)463-5474 FAX

County Engineer – County Surveyor – Road Commissioner

* * *

Burke:

Well, it’s that time of the year again, and the drainage easement needs to be addressed again. I know this may be a constant monitoring issue, but last year, Scott Liston doing the obvious unplugged the drain...I was in the yard cutting fallen limbs, and all of a sudden I “heard a freight train coming down the rails”...knocked down my fence and after wading through spent beans and carnitas waste, I hired a friend to resurrect the fence because they have miniscule dogs (chijihuahua, whatever). Over the years (check county environmental records) the first recipients have channeled the water down at the base of the fence, as well as septic pumped waste, thus compromising my 7 foot high good neighbor fence, installed in 1989 . So, as I see it, my property in this great county is unsolvable, unsustainable, and hard to protect, should the total runoff from a county road such as Full surface of Gualala Court. Last time this system failed aside from the fence, it took out my garden, put the kayaks down on Old Stage road, and partially removed a wood pile. Instead of acting like John Bower in all affairs, I would like to meet.

If you believe no county responsible easement exists, then move the drainage surface somewhere else.

If you believe it is legal to “dump” water onto someone else's property, perhaps we can consult Curtis or Eyster.

* * *

Howard Dashiell:

Mr. Burke:

It is your prerogative to contact any public official… Curtis or Eyster.

This drainage easement and drainage course were identified in 1950s.…That established drainage course is not “dumping water”… the water is where it was designed to be by the developer of the subdivision.

Howard N. Dashiell

Director of Transportation

340 Lake Mendocino Drive

Ukiah, CA 95482

* * *

Burke:

Oh bullshit. Your response tells me:

1. you are too busy to care;

2. you have not experienced such a problem on your own property;

3. We here in Gualala are at the southwest part of the county, and “we don't have the funding.”

So, let it be, but it would be nice to know that my property of which I have paid taxes for 22 years is not threatened from county rain runoff.

Check Public Resource Codes in the state of California

Not legal to allow water to transfer from one property to another. I may be mistaken about the code,, but the Mendo website offers no relief.

If you have ever had to pick up your stuff from a flood on Old Stage road in Gualala after a big rain event without traffic control, then you might know what I mean. The county runoff situation IS NOT MY PRROBLEM to experience or ameliorate.

You know what? As it seems you cannot offer to provide a solution, maybe I can have the neighborhood form a group meeting to block the drainage inlet through which the Gualala Court Drains, and then instead of one recipient of runoff, you will have the whole Gualala Court at your door. I do not know what is meant by “developer,” but regardless, it is water that comes off of county streets.

* * *

Dashiell:

Mr. Burke:

Your Public Resource Code reference about water transfer is beyond my education knowledge base. 

As I pointed out last year in the email “chain” you were using today (below) – the original owner of your land before subdivision offered the subject drainage easement over your land for public use in 1954 when Gualala Heights Subdivision No 1 was approved. Thus, the water is not transferred... it always ran down that hill before new parcels were formed.

Stormwater is not “County runoff” it is everybody’s runoff and each owner has to accommodate that drainage while it crosses their property… for the county that is when it flows under the county road… the rest of the owners have to accommodate that runoff while that water crosses their property … in this case that watercourse is designated by the long standing subject drainage easement… but, in addition, any normal sheet flow rainwater over your property is an expected natural condition… the County is not responsible to move or otherwise mitigate any stormwater… we all just have deal with storm water as it flows off and through our induvial properties...

Howard N. Dashiell

Director of Transportation

340 Lake Mendocino Drive

Ukiah, CA 95482

* * *

Burke:

Thank you for the explanation. Our property has a storm drainage pipe system that works fine during normal rain events. However, the water that passes through it can be very damaging when the county grated inlet on Gualala Court is blocked with sand, hamburger wrappers, redwood duff,, and general neighborhood refuse. When a condition of blockage occurs and is unblocked by human intervention (as the condition creates a 2-foot-deep pond on Gualala Court) the amount of water released instantaneously is an amount greater than the downstream properties can manage. County crews or contractors have “vacced” the drainage inlet at least once over the past few years as the drainage inlet became clogged with sand, duff, and neighborhood refuse. You see the drainage inlet referenced is the only storm structure on the full length of Gualala Court and exists in the lowest elevation on the Court. Maybe it’s flawed design, maybe its preventative maintenance, but we have been dealing with it for 22 years on our own. With last January's storm when Scott released the trapped water at this location the result was a damaged fence, articles strewn over our entire property, some of which ended up on Old Stage road. Continual flow is not the problem, but non maintained storm structures are.

Randy Burke, MPH, REHS

ED NOTES

MARSHALL NEWMAN WRITES: Regarding the Ed Note, Israel. When Hamas invaded Israel, killed its citizens, committed atrocities and took Israelis hostage on October 7, it lost all rights to dictate the terms of the consequent battle.

Indeed, civilian casualties in Gaza were an element in the calculus Hamas considered before launching its invasion of Israel. Hamas knew Israel would immediately respond, and it counted on death and destruction in Gaza to rally world support. It probably did not expect the level of death, destruction and suffering Gaza is now experiencing, but the blame is theirs to own.

Yes, Gazans deserve a better fate. But having given Hamas free rein to govern since 2006, they bear significant responsibility for their situation. Israel can be a partner in peace, as seen in the negotiated agreements between it and Egypt and between it and Jordan. But Israel is an implacable foe in war. Hamas knew this and chose war.

I AGREE PARTLY, MARSHALL, but as it's turned out, and continues to turn out, Israel, in return for the savage attack on its civilian population, is bombing, round-the-clock, 2.3 million Palestinians trapped in an area roughly the size of the Anderson Valley. It isn't right, and it's wildly disproportionate to Hamas's atrocities of October 7th. Frantz Fanon said it all. “The colonized person is a persecuted person who constantly dreams of becoming the persecutor. Good is what hurts the enemy the most.” That's where we are vis a vis Israel and the Palestinians. I don't get the impression that many Americans appreciate how this widening war imperils the rest of the world, but there's no sign that a cease fire, or even a brief pause in the fighting to establish humanitarian supply lines to the Palestinians, as Hezbollah, a much more formidable army than anything Hamas can muster, begins its assaults on Israel from the north.

CATCH OF THE DAY, Friday, November 3, 2023

ALFREDO CASTELLANO, Fort Bragg. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

JOSE CORNEJO, Ukiah. Paraphernalia, county parole violation, probation violation.

MICHAEL HOGG, Fort Bragg. Probation revocation.

MALIA LINDE, Willits. Stolen property, controlled substance, failure to appear. 

PATRICK MARIANI, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol&drugs, false ID, failure to appear.

ALBERT O’NEIL, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-alcohol&drugs.

JAMES PELLEGRINE, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

GLORIZ RAMIREZ, Point Arena. Suspended license, probation revocation.

JULIAN SALAZAR IV, Willits. Controlled substance for sale,, marijuana for sale, suspended license.

SOCRATES WALLACE, Willits. Criminal threats, prior strike.

VINNIE was the first name of a postal distribution specialist in the East Bay who was trying to figure out why there are some unexplained delays in the delivery of AVAs addressed to that area a few years ago. He had called to get the details about how the papers were dispatched out of Boonville. Vinnie asked for the correct spelling of my name for future follow-up. “Scaramella…” Vinnie paused, thinking out loud to himself. “Scaramella?… Didn’t Molieré base the character Valére in his play ‘Tartuffe the Imposter’ on a 17th century Italian named Scaramella?” 

“I don’t know,” I replied, utterly mystified. (How the hell would I know?) “Sounds like a research project,” I replied. 

“Oh, well,” continued Vinnie. “Just something I seem to remember. I’m getting old.” 

The AVA’s resident literary historian, The Editor, correctly identified Moliere as the writer of Tartuffe but immediately declared, with unnecessary haughtiness it seemed to me, that “Scaramouche was as close as the Scaramellas had gotten to world lit so far as I know.” 

A quick internet search indicates that Molieré did indeed adapt Italian plays for the French theater when he first started writing plays in French. But how would you go about researching Vinnie’s casual mention any further? Any ideas out there? Vinnie just may be the most literate postal employee in the country and by gum he deserves some research help here! Or does the whole thing have something to do with the “imposter” part of the title of the play? Could the delivery delays have something to do with Vinnie’s extensive reading? Hmmm…?

(Mark Scaramella)

MEMO OF THE AIR: Live on KNYO from Franklin St. all night tonight! Right after the movie.

Marco here. Deadline to email your writing for tonight's (Friday night's) MOTA show is like 5:30 or so. Or send it whenever it's done and I'll read it on the radio next week.

I'm in town for this show. I'll be in the cluttered but well-lighted back room of KNYO's 325 N. Franklin studio. The movie-night movie screen is in the way now, so you can't see my light from the street and vice versa, so if you want to come in and perform in person, boldly navigate. To call and read your work in your own voice on the show, the number is 707-962-3022.

Speaking of Movie Screen, the movie at KNYO tonight, First Friday, Nov. 3, starts at 6pm, runs 98 minutes, and it's free, as in free popcorn, which is also free. Bring anything else you'd like to eat; you can even use the microwave to heat it up. What is the movie? I'm not allowed to advertise it in social media, but it's pretty good. I'll give you a hint: Lips. New speakers, too. Solid bass for the Time Warp clomping.

Memo of the Air: Good Night Radio is every Friday, 9pm to 5am on 107.7fm KNYO-LP Fort Bragg as well as anywhere else via KNYO.org. Also the schedule is there for KNYO's many other terrific shows.

As always, at https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com you'll find a candy store full of educational bon-bons to smear on your mental teeth between the movie and showtime, or any time, such as:

The story of warfarin (say WAH-fern). In just the right amount it can save an old person from having a stroke. A single dot more and you bleed to death out of your eyes and every other orifice in your body. This also works on rats, and on all the owls and pets and wildlife in the neighborhood who eat the rats you've poisoned. Not flies, though. Flies are fine with it. https://misscellania.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-story-of-warfarin.html

The clone-a-cappellic molecular shape of you. Have your notebook and pencil ready. Up-down, up-down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8FAJXPBdOg

And declassified British experiments with captured V-2 rockets in 1948. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_fPdXLx48c

Marco McClean, memo@mcn.org https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com

ISHMAEL REED: It had been a while since I visited San Francisco, but I had seen depictions of the city by the Eastern media, including CNN and MSNBC. I didn’t know what to expect. Would I encounter scenes of “madness and chaos” like scenes from the movies “Purge 1” and “Purge 2”? So when I went to see “Soul Train,” a musical based on the life of Don Cornelius, the host and owner of “Soul Train,” I didn’t know what to expect.

From when the Lyft driver exited Van Ness to our return home, I witnessed thousands of people downtown at work, shopping, and attending museums. There were hundreds wearing convention badges and entering and exiting hotels. A sold-out audience, 90% of whom were elderly and white, was treated to a show that exhibited a survey of popular music from Rock and Roll to Hip Hop and beyond. Joe and his co-hosts believe that Rock and Roll begins with the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. Zora Neale Hurston mentions Rock and Roll in her autobiography, “Dust Tracks On The Road,” which was published in 1942.

It was a great show of song and dance held at the American Conservatory Theater. Some of those in their 70s and 80s were dancing in the aisles. I returned to San Francisco for the American Book Awards, which honored the 2023 winners. Among them is Maxine Hong Kingston. After the ceremony, I stood on the steps of the San Francisco Public Library in Civic Center, awaiting a Lyft that would return us to Oakland. Across from me was City Hall, where, in the following week, the late Diane Feinstein would lie in state. I remember the horrible day when Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were slain. The late Warren Hinckle reported that some police gathered in a bar cheered when hearing the news that the two had been gunned down by supervisor Dan White. One said, “Way to go, Dan.” I remember my partner Carla returning from Mills College and hearing the news, standing stunned on the threshold of the apartment we’d rented. Moscone’s daughter Jenifer had been one of her students at Convent of the Sacred Heart. Civic Center was peaceful today. Hundreds of people were milling about. None of Joe’s madness or chaos was present. I returned on the night of October 29 to see Filipino American Jessica Hagedorn, novelist, and playwright, who was one of those who sparked a Renaissance in the 1970s. Hundreds turned out for the event in connection with a Pacita Abad exhibit, which was held at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. And once again, no chaos and madness.

We thought that CNN was after a balanced portrayal of the city when they sent a crew to the Black Repertory Theater in Berkeley to view a virtual reading of my play, “The Conductor,” and live Q&A with Alison Collins and Gabriela López, which was to be included in a special about San Francisco.

Shortly after CNN filmed the virtual reading and Q&A, we were told their recorded segment about my play would not be used. The rejection coincided with the announcement that a Trump supporter had bought “a piece of CNN” and vowed to move it to the right. So, in the documentary about San Francisco, which dropped the segment about my play, CNN’s negative view of San Francisco prevailed over a balanced point of view. The new investor, John Malone, who contributed to Trump’s inauguration, got the headline about the city that he desired. Sarah Sidner prompted a woman she interviewed to say that progressives are destroying San Francisco.

This lovely city includes stately mansions but mostly miles of middle-class homes. Writer Alejandro Murgia has written about the gentrification of the traditional Latino enclave, the Mission District. He cites Google, which has its buses that block traffic as they pick up employees along Market Street. Would the hi-tech industry invest in a city where, according to Joe Scarborough, madness and chaos reign?

East Coast writers book 5-star hotels to cover what Nancy Pelosi, appearing on CNN on September 17, called “a small section of the city.” They use the Tenderloin district to define the city. Then, they return to Manhattan, which is a paradise.

I don’t expect the criticism of San Francisco, which concentrates on a small section of the city, to cease. But one would hope that Joe Scarborough would show as much outrage about big crime perpetrated by criminal banks and the pharmaceutical industry as he does about smash-and-grab style operations or cite the Fossil Fuels CEOs who lied about climate change and hired hack politicians and public intellectuals to deny it exists. Granted that fentanyl is a problem, but San Francisco’s “permissive” Jenkins will see that the peddlers do time. The Sackler family, Joe, who put so much dope out there that white longevity has declined, will not be imprisoned. Jenkins blasts criminal courts for freeing Tenderloin fentanyl sellers, San Francisco drug arrests are the highest in decades, conviction rates are up, and she shrank the unit investigating police conduct. The Sackler family won’t spend a day in jail.

Governor Gavin Newsom, however, cited crime statistics which found higher crime rates in Red cities during his spin room commentary, which followed the second G.O.P. debate where Blacks were signified on, without challenge from questioners that didn’t include a Black journalist. Scarborough also mentioned crime in the Red States but emphasized crime in cities with large Black populations because coverage of crime committed by Blacks draws ratings.

But maybe Joe is soft on white-collar crime like that committed by the Sacklers. Is that why he devoted so many days of affectionate treatment to Donald Trump in 2016 that his show was nicknamed “Morning Trump”?

When Carlos Watson challenged his disproportionate coverage of Trump in 2016, he was bullied into oblivion. Maybe that’s why Scarborough’s Black don’t challenge him. They don’t want the same thing to happen to them.

Now he’s drawing ratings by being against Trump, the media’s all-purpose orange cash cow.

MAUREEN CALLAHAN: We have a new chapter in the Hunter chronicles, and it's a howler. Joe Biden's wayward son has, for some curious reason, written an op-ed about himself - not for The New York Times or the Atlantic or any other august liberal publication, but for USA Today. Yes, the flimsy newspaper most commonly found at budget hotels is home to Hunter's latest unforced error, as headlined: “I fought to get sober. Political weaponization of my addiction hurts more than me.” What a tautology this column is: Hunter weaponizing his own history of addiction while claiming that his addiction has been weaponized by his enemies. Hunter Biden, as usual, wants it all ways. The timing couldn't be more cynical. Here he is, re-entering the public square with his tale of addict's woe, just days after Matthew Perry died and one week after Britney Spears published her memoir.”

MY WIFE’S VISA CARD WAS STOLEN but I didn’t report it because the thief was spending less than my wife did. 

— Carl Spiva

THE JEWISH AMERICAN DILEMMA

by James Kunstler

“In a world that is not conforming to the narrative of continuous Progress, the response from self-declared progressives has been to try to rewrite our past into the multicultural utopia that they wish to see realised. This will not end well. The war on reality cannot be won.” — Luke Dodson

At this moment, when there is an awful struggle over the Hebrews’ place in the world — so dire that you’re waiting for World War Three to vaporize everything you’ve ever cared about — one observes the Jewish American scene with trepidation. Since I am a Jewish American, I’m just going to flop this one on the table like so much meat to see what kind of animals it brings out of the woodwork to fight over it.

The Hamas war has exposed a deep current of animosity against Israel and against Jews generally world-wide, even here. This, you understand, is happening at a time of what we might call epic global political mental illness. A mass formation psychosis appears to grip many population groups, each in its own way, but often expressing itself as a longing for death, ranging from the economic suicide of Western Europe to the rise of Jihad to the desolate nihilism of American nose-ring youth.

Jewish Americans have played a leading role in American intellectual and political life through the 20th century and into this one. We Jews increasingly dominated the arenas of literature, academia, medicine, law, news media, and show biz. Business and government, too. In America, we mostly overcame (or seemed to) the deep, old-world superstitions against us, thanks to successful near-total cultural assimilation. I, for example, came from a Jewish family far more interested in baseball than Talmud, who put up a Christmas tree in the living room, and ate sweet-and-sour pork frequently. Perhaps this made us “bad” Jews, but frankly, it was more important to be good Americans — that is, people who cared more about our country than our ancestral origins.

American Jews have also been major players in the political Left through the past hundred-odd years, and especially within the Democratic Party. Lately, it appears that the Democratic Party is bent on destroying the country, so one is naturally left to wonder how this happened and what is the role of American Jews in this. I will offer a hypothesis.

Old World Jews, scattered in diaspora among alien nations, were united for centuries by the longing to return to Jerusalem, the ancestral homeland. “Next year in Jerusalem!” is the toast that concludes each Passover seder. The modern activist manifestation of that, starting in 19th century Europe, was Zionism, the political movement to reinhabit the Bible land of the Middle East. The label Zionism has recently been confabulated with a notion that it stands for Jews wielding a disdainful sense of superiority against non-Jews.

This is, of course, a false understanding. Mostly, it is an envious projection because Jews succeeded so well in America, and they succeeded, as I averred above, largely because they assimilated so completely. How else can you explain a Jew such as Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz, later Samuel Goldfish) of Gloversville, New York, rising to run Hollywood’s MGM studio and turning out movies like Gone with the Wind that showed the rest of the nation what America was about? Or Irving Berlin who wrote God Bless America?

For the Jews who arrived here in the late 19th and early 20th century, America became even more of a promised land than that sliver of Biblical real estate on the Mediterranean. They succeeded here beyond their wildest dreams. Why dream idly about returning to the Middle East when the USA turned out to be the real Land of Milk and Honey? Hence, a revision in American Judaism became necessary. Next year in Jerusalem was replaced as a central animating principle by an alternate shibboleth: tikkun olam.

Tikkun Olam means repair the world. This has been driving American Judaism since the early 20th century. Meanwhile, the genocide of the 1940s gave new impetus to next year in Jerusalem for what remained of the European Jews, and thus you get the establishment of Israel in 1948 — notwithstanding the geopolitical legerdemain that actually brought it about. American Jews, while sympathetic to a fault with the founding of Israel, and deeply vested emotionally in its success, had a different agenda in the USA after World War Two. They endeavored to repair America. Tikkun Olam!

Mostly this expressed itself in Jewish support and involvement in the Civil Rights movement, since the end of discrimination against anybody was considered a good thing for the Jews as well as humanity in general. The country needed a moral repair job, especially after defeating manifest evil in the big war. That effort climaxed in the mid 1960s with the federal legislation that ended Jim Crow policy in voting and public accommodations. Much of the actual on-the-ground work to make this happen was accomplished by Jewish lawyers. This is a fact, not an accusation.

But then something happened. Several things. One was that not all of black America necessarily regarded the Civil Rights movement as the great moral victory it was touted to be. A lot of black youth in the 1960s opted out early on and went their own way in black separatist movements of various kinds. As a practical matter, it also slowly became obvious that the new Civil Rights laws did not raise up the black underclass out of poverty and misery. Jewish liberal apostates would even argue that the vast federal social safety-net program largess that accompanied Civil Rights Inc. only made the condition of poor blacks worse.

This became a growing fiasco for American Jewish liberals, who, by the 1980s, then strove to impose another set of repairs (more tikkun olam) on American society: multiculturalism, meaning it was no longer necessary to promote a common culture that people would be encouraged to assimilate into, to join a consensus of values and behaviors. Instead, all cultures could behave according to their own rules. That hasn’t worked out so well either, and the world repairers have lately had to resort to coercion such as tyrannical diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and the shoving aside of equal opportunity for enforced equal outcomes (“equity”). That business has only produced additional unintended consequences, such as the new epidemic of institutional incompetence and the resentment of at least half the population against new forms of counter-discrimination (cultural Marxism, in short).

Another poorly understood byproduct of this failure to repair the world is the guilt and shame secretly experienced by the American liberal Left over the apparent failure of the Civil Rights movement they fought so hard for, and the subsequent failed efforts to tweak it and save it (still more tikkun olam). Thus, we see the absurd racist “anti-racism” of the universities, and so many other affronts to common sense and reality itself.

But the worst byproduct of all this tragically misguided tikkun olam is that the main political vehicle for it, the Democratic Party, has gone so insane that it now devotes itself fanatically to the utter destruction of what remains of our country. This is most particularly true in the law, which might be considered the backbone of America. Lawfare attorneys such as Marc Elias, work tirelessly to turn American election law upside down and inside out so it becomes increasing impossible to know who is voting and if the ballots are legitimate.

The Democratic Party has decided it’s okay to use the law in bad faith to persecute and jail its political opponents. The Democratic Party has destroyed American’s faith in the federal courts, the Department of Justice, and the FBI. The Democratic Party allows an invasion of millions of unvetted aliens across the border, quite a few of them possibly bent on making mayhem here as global tensions careen into hot war. The Democratic Party is still pushing Covid vaccinations that are well-understood at this point to be ineffective and unsafe. And the Democratic Party is doing everything possible (with help from RINO Republicans) to destroy our financial system. You could easily make the case that the Democratic Party is the anti-American Party.

If they really want to repair the world, it’s time for Jewish Americans to get out of the Democratic Party and re-assimilate into an American common culture — a consensus about reality — that is consistent with running a successful, orderly, and just society.

(kunstler.com)

ISRAEL VS. GAZA, Friday, November 3, 2023

Israel’s leader said any cease-fire was contingent on the release of hostages. Israel’s military confirmed a strike near Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza; the hospital’s head said it hit near an entrance, killing at least 13 people and injuring many more.

Blinken urged Israel’s leaders to protect Palestinian civilians and allow more aid into Gaza.

Many are killed near a Gaza hospital, its chief says, in a strike the Israelis say was aimed at Hamas.

In a high-stakes speech, Hezbollah’s leader stops short of calling to expand the Israel-Hamas war.

Thousands of Gazan workers stranded in Israel return to a changed home.

An American evacuates to Egypt: ‘Let’s just hope we can make it.’

The U.N. says it needs four times as much money for aid efforts for Palestinians.

Conditions worsen for civilians in Gaza.

UKRAINE, FRIDAY, 3RD NOVEMBER

Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine for weeks early this morning, hitting critical infrastructure in the west and south of Ukraine and destroying private houses and commercial buildings in Kharkiv.

The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 24 Shahed drones out of 40 launched by Russia, with Kharkiv, Odesa, Kherson, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv among the targets. Oleh Syniehubov, Kharkiv’s governor, said drones had hit civilian infrastructure and caused fires in and near the city of Kharkiv. He said eight people, including two children, required medical help due to acute stress.

In 2016, Newark-born novelist Philip Roth pledged to donate his personal book collection to the Newark Public Library on his death. In a press release, he likened the library to a second home:

“During that first year at Newark Rutgers, during the many hours each day when I didn’t have classes, the stacks and the reference room and the reading rooms of the main library were where I camped out when I wanted a quiet place to be alone to read or to study or to look something up. It was my other Newark home. My first other home.”

Along with the announcement came a list of books the inimitable author deemed most significant to his life and work. 

• “The Adventures of Augie March” by Saul Bellow 
• “The Fall” by Albert Camus
• “Cheri” by Colette 
• “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 
• “Citizen Tom Paine” by Howard Fast
• “The Sound and the Fury” by William Faulkner
• “Madame Bovary” by Gustave Flaubert 
• “A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway 
• “The Trial” by Franz Kafka
• “The Assistant” by Bernard Malamud
• “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger
• “Street of Crocodiles” by Bruno Schulz
• “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy 
• “Look Homeward, Angel” by Thomas Wolfe
• “Finnley Wren” by Philip Wylie

I'm not telling you to make the world better, because I don't think that progress is necessarily part of the package. I'm just telling you to live in it. Not just to endure it, not just to suffer it, not just to pass through it, but to live in it. To look at it. To try to get the picture. To live recklessly. To take chances. To make your own work and take pride in it. To seize the moment. And if you ask me why you should bother to do that, I could tell you that the grave's a fine and private place, but none I think do there embrace. Nor do they sing there, or write, or argue, or see the tidal bore on the Amazon, or touch their children. And that's what there is to do and get it while you can and good luck at it. 

— Joan Didion