Mendocino County Today: Sunday 3/24/24

Showers | Leek Flowers | MS Notes | Neil Family Benefit | AVUSD Update | Pumpkin Patch | Strong Comm Scam | Weekly Extravaganza | Bunyan 68 | Unity Club | Beer Fest | Restore Ukiah | Call Numbers | Security Team | Improve P&B | Pinches Observations | Current BOS | Hendy Fungi | Bunyan 51 | Ed Notes | Yesterday's Catch | Marco Radio | Winterland Marquee | Safeway Cart | Lifelong Republicans | Tadich Grill | Political Curry | Zap | Prop 1 | Unknown Hopper | Lost Coast | Me Worry? | Peer Review | Early Wheel | 31 Books | Soda Fountain | Farmers' Wives | My Chauvinism

RAINFALL (past 24 hours): Leggett 2.44" - Willits 1.62" - Laytonville 1.50" - Covelo 1.14" - Boonville 0.77" - Yorkville 0.72" - Hopland 0.60" - Ukiah 0.57"

SHOWERS will continue to cross the area through this morning. Calm though cool weather will build in early week before another series of weather systems brings gusty wind and rain Wednesday through Friday. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): 48F with showers this Sunday morning on the coast. I have another 1.04" of new rainfall. Showers this morning then clearing later today. Dry skies are forecast Monday & Tuesday then more rain for later in the week.

NICE TO SEE FORMER ANDERSON VALLEY RESIDENT DEPUTY CRAIG WALKER visiting the Valley this weekend. Walker said his time as resident deputy in the Valley was “the best eleven years of my career.” Although major crimes are infrequent in Anderson Valley, we could sure use a deputy like Walker again, even if it meant he/she would be out of the Valley on inland assignment a lot of the time like Walker was. Walker learned the geography and personalities of the Valley and its defendant community very quickly and his preventative approach to crime along with his experience, keen intuition and perceptiveness has had lasting effects despite his absence. Walker is now the only detective in the small Moraga Police Department in the East Bay and said he plans to visit again soon. We are not surprised that he’s moved from patrol to detective based on his demonstrated investigative prowess while a deputy in Mendocino County. Anderson Valley was lucky to have Craig Walker for the time we did.

* * *

WHATEVER ELSE this season may hold for the SF Giants with their new lineup including several players who need their own private translators, it’s fun to see Pablo the Panda Sandoval back on the hot corner for the Giants. Sandoval had a great throwing arm, even taking a few turns as a relief pitcher in late innings for the occasional one-sided game during his previous Giants stint. Years ago during the 2010-2014 three-series championships days, one of the Giants commentators casually mentioned that he once watched Pablo during batting practice warmups at Oracle Park take a running start from home plate and heave baseballs into McCovey Cove — with either hand! Has anyone else heard of this? It’s hard to believe, but given Sandoval’s cannon arms and his switch-hitting ability, it could be true.

* * *

LOOKING BACK on the surprisingly lop-sided election results in the First District, several readers have wondered how the heretofore unheard of but heavily-wine-industry funded Madeline Cline got such a high percentage of the Redwood Valley/Potter Valley/Hopland vote up against two serious challengers and one non-serious challenger who had the unanimous endorsement of all five sitting supervisors. The most obvious answer is the amount of on-line ads Cline had her well-paid professional campaign consultants buy. Ads featuring her obviously air-brushed blonde visage were everywhere: The Ukiah Daily Journal, facebook, MendoFever, and most other area sites. (Funny, her campaign consultants didn’t approach the AVA for ads even though we would have been happy to run them.)

Do such on-line ads really have that much impact these days? Are Mendolanders that easy to sway? Or do they actually think a kid like Cline could be even marginally effective as a Supervisor? Or are they just not paying attention? There were also Cline’s district-wide mailed flyers. At present Cline has just over 57% of the District 1 votes. The candidate the Supervisors unanimously endorsed, the equally inexperienced Trevor Mockel, only got 9.5% of the vote. The most experienced and serious candidate, Adam Gaska, only got about 25% of the District 1 vote. And close supes watcher Carrie Shattuck got only 8.5% of the vote. 

Gaska was endorsed by the Mendocino County Farm Bureau. But so was Cline. We don’t know how that split endorsement was engineered, but we suspect that the Farm Bureau board probably preferred the more experienced (and real farmer) Gaska, but they couldn’t resist the endorsement pressure from long-time Farm Bureau stalwarts and former First District supervisors Michael Delbar and Carre Brown who both endorsed Cline without offering any substantive reason. We never heard from or saw 26-year old Madeline Cline at any Supervisors meetings or commenting on any issues before the Board except for the one time she opined about the irrelevant subject (Board-wise) of the free-range perv chasing teenage girls in Ukiah last January. Among other things, Cline naively promised to “fight” against PG&E to get some kind of favorable water outcome for inland grape growers but she has never made any public statement about what that fight would involve. Next year we will see how that obviously empty promise plays out since whatever is going to happen on that subject is already underway and no amount of “fighting” as a Mendocino County supervisor starting in 2025 is going to have any impact on PG&E who is on record as not caring a whit about what Mendo thinks. 

* * *

LOOKS LIKE CHRIS ROGERS will be the next Assemblyman for District 1. As a Democrat running against a token Republican in the sprawling Northcoast District, Rogers is a virtual shoo-in now that carpetbagger Democrat Rusty Hicks has officially been declared to have fewer votes than the Republican and thus will not go into the November runoff. Rogers, a Santa Rosa City Councilman, is likely to have as much impact on Mendocino County affairs as his predecessor, Healdsburg dentist Jim Wood. 

STATE SENATOR MIKE MCGUIRE, former Healdsburg councilman/mayor and former Sonoma County supervisor, will term out of his state senate position in 2026, and another claque of Sonoma County Democrats will jockey to replace him starting next year.

TRIVIA QUESTION: Who was McGuire’s predecessor as State Senator for this senate district? Multiple choice: a. Mike Thompson, b. Noreen Evans, c. Pat Higgins, d. Wes Chesbro, e. Frank McMichael, f. None of the above.

TRIVIA QUESTION #2: What year was the last year that State Senate District 2 was represented by a Republican? a. 1928, b. 1958. c. 1966. d. 1978, e. 1986.

(Mark Scaramella)

AVUSD WEEKLY UPDATE

Dear Anderson Valley Community,


Well, I will start out with something unexpected!  I have a note of caution for you about turkey vultures. I had a former Superintendent colleague who used to tell me an unbelievable tale of a turkey vulture that smashed into a bus window and landed on a little girl in the front seat. I always thought that was CRAZY, but I found out first-hand this week that this sort of thing does happen not to an AVUSD school bus, but to the front of my car. Thankfully, it was just car damage and no injury, but a note of caution to all of my fellow road warriors out there. Be careful!  A huge shout out to two Redwood Valley Fire Department crew who came to my aide.  Much appreciated!


Thank you to all the families that participated at the Family Art night on Thursday. We appreciate your coming out and thank Cathleen Micheaels for her amazing skill in creating this event for our families. A good time was had by all and a yummy dinner by Libby!


Thank you to Miss Triplett and the team for the on-going wonderful Saturday School experiences!  That takes so much effort and coordination and we appreciate it.  We hope your students enjoy these enrichment/academic opportunities.


On the construction front, good news was received this week.   The elementary kitchen plans came out the first round review with reasonable comments and we will be addressing those in the scope and resubmit for final permitting. If DSA can move reasonably fast, my hope is we can still make that December construction time frame. It’s out of our hands and just depends on their response time. We also received a positive Phase 1 Concurrence for seismic program eligibility for the gym at the high school. This process is like running the medieval gauntlet through this maze of bureaucracy to get approval for a  building that obviously needs to be remodeled or replaced. The State would participate in the funding of these projects, if we can get through the next series of reports.   We are awaiting comment review on the domes for eligibility.  We are very grateful to the structural and architectural teams for their efforts on this.


On another note, I want to take a moment to talk about the budget.  School districts are facing tough times across the State.  State school  financing is so frustrating sometimes. I wish they would just hand me the money and say, “Do the best you can to educate kids and make them into the best people they can be”, and I know our staff would do a wonderful job. Instead, they give us these bizarre restricted funding streams that can only be used for this or only be used for that. That doesn’t help maintain our core  programs. The best analogy I can give you is that these extra funding streams are like chocolate sauce,  but don’t help us get the core Vanilla ice cream to make the complete Sundae. This is not a district-created problem, it is a State, and to some extent a Federal problem, magnified  in rural school systems that are striving so hard just to maintain core programs within the face of declining enrollment which further decreases our funding. Throw in that poor daily attendance and we have a compounded problem with the loss of average daily attendance funding. The staff is working very hard and there are questions out there about “Why can’t we do this?” or “Why can’t we do that?”  and the restricted nature of so many of our funding streams doesn’t allow us the flexibility to put resources, where we  as a district, would prioritize as the highest need.  I continue to advocate at the State level for rural school funding and flexibility.  


If you get a chance, come out when the sunshine returns and enjoy a tennis match, soccer game, a track meet, or a baseball game. The kids sure appreciate your support.


Quarter grades were mailed for the Junior/Senior High.  Congratulations to the 102 Honor Roll students and the 14 students with straight As. Please remember this semester grade is the determination about whether a student receives the five credits or not in a class. Five credits are lost for every F grade at the semester period. Summer school and credit recovery letters were mailed on Tuesday. Sign your kids up now. I don’t want to have a conversation that your student won’t be able to graduate because they didn’t go to summer school or are not eligible for a four year college because they didn’t correct a grade that was a C- or below.  Let’s partner together to make sure we make it happen for them.


Have a great weekend!


Louise Simson
Superintendent

THE STRONG COMMUNITIES SCAM

To the Editor: 

Can anyone in Ukiah or this area tell me why I should pay to vote for our town being the strongest? 

The company running the contest says it’s an advocate and online stories bases its model on Urban3 which is an actual consulting company. No real service or goods, is given in return, which is a charity. A visit by two reps and the award. But a charity usually does something for a group. Like Animal Shelters or Fire victims or Homeless in area. 

So if not enough people donate and vote the town will not receive PR or other prestigious PR media by this company, about being the Strongest Town? 

Local Media urging others to become members needs to be very clear about the disadvantages, of losing the title. Nothing for our area, for all those, that did donate. Seems more like a contest to see how much the town citizens are wanting an award, through paying for one, going against other towns. But this is just my opinion. 

Catherine Lair, Ukiah 

THE WEEKLY EXTRAVANZA GOES DIGITAL

Editor,

I hope your surgical procedure went well. Naturally, I am disappointed to hear that you are suspending the print edition of the AVA, but I understand why you have to do it. I am just glad it lasted as long as it did. Every week I look forward to its arrival. You and the Major are doing an excellent job of putting out a weekly extravaganza of articles that I like to read. My first stop is Off The Record for rants, recommendations and information. Thanks to you and your writers for a marvelous reading experience.

Jim Rhoads

San Francisco

UNITY CLUB NEWS

by Miriam Martinez

Are you prepared for a disaster?

Join us on Thursday, April 4th at 1:30, in the Dining Room at the Fairgrounds for Fire Chief Andres Avila's presentation “Disaster Resilience.” The public is welcome to join us for Chief Avila's talk, on behalf of AV Ambulance and AV Volunteer Fire Dept. Whether it's Earthquake, Fire or Flood, we want to be prepared. Our hostess team will be Liz Dusenberry, maybe Janet Lombard, and other generous volunteer helpers. Thank you for stepping up. They will provide snacks and beverages.

Our combined Budget will be up for discussion one more time, followed by the vote to adopt the new, improved budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

The Wildflower Show is coming to June Hall on April 27th and 28th. Admission is FREE. Come to see all the beauty Anderson Valley has to share, all in one place. You might want to take some of the lovingly propagated pollinators home with you to brighten up your yard. Who doesn't like butterflies, hummingbirds and bumblebees? Attract them to your gardens with Native Plants available at our plant sales area. We'll even cart them to your car. 

Our Silent Auction will be held both Saturday and Sunday; winning buds will be selected before 4pm each day. Our local merchants have been generous again this year. There will be baskets and gift certificates galore. The students of our AV High School will have their art competition entries on display. There will be informational displays on Lyme Disease and the California Native Plants Society, maybe some mosquito management suggestions as well. 

Our Tea Room will be open with snacks and beverages for all. And the Stars of the Show will be the main feature; the Redwood Coastal Wildflowers of Anderson Valley will be on display throughout June Hall. Bring in your specimens to be identified by our team of Plant Experts. Who knows, you may have something we thought was lost. 

Come to the Unity Club's Annual Wildflower Show April 27th and 28th in June Hall, Fairgrounds. The AV Community Lending Library will be open extended hours on Saturday the 27th.

In the Library, our Plant ID classes continue every Tuesday from 2 to 4 until the 23rd, when we will go out to collect specimens for the Wildflower Show. The Library is open from 1 to 4pm Tuesdays and 12:30 to 2:30 Saturdays. 

Hope you can come to the April 4th Unity Clubs meeting at 1:30 in the Fairgrounds Dining Room for Chief Avila's presentation “Disaster Resilience.” Our fabulous Wildflower Show will be held on April 27th and 28th from 10 to 4. Admission is FREE. Elementary School students will tour the Wildflowers on Monday the 29th.

Miriam Martinez

RESTORE THE PALACE; RESTORE UKIAH

Editor,

If the Post Office, the CourtHouse and the Palace would happen to be restored and made a centerpiece of the community then Ukiah might have a chance at being something other than a strip mall. The other thing that Ukiah might want to consider is paving streets other than the one that leads to Costco. The sprawling struggling strip mall City Of Ukiah should not be allowed to allow the destruction of an Historical landmark. The Palace should be restored, re-built, and renewed. Talbot should be recognized as the proprietor of a small place on a side street and given little attention. If it is restored drug addicts will not stay there – they will not be able to afford it. I would think that folks riding or walking on the Redwood Trail will be staying there. They would be eating in Ukiah’s fine restaurants, spending money on their bikes, buying wine and more.

Tom McFadden 

Philo

A READER COMMENTS: 

Thank you. You make a good point. These buildings have been the cornerstone of our city. As a fifth generation Ukiahan, I have many good memories at the Palace. My grandparents owned the Hub cigar store on Standley Street across from the courthouse. A lady named Cookie would make sandwiches for the Hub every day and she lived on the second floor of the Palace. I used to get my haircut by Izzy there. It used to be a grand building. The city of Ukiah has allowed the owners to neglect the building. A historic landmark! Now they have managed to circumvent the State, and I guess the taxpayers get to pay for its destruction? Let the rich owner pay. He doesn’t want it restored, he’s proven that. Let’s just erase all our history, tear it all down. Next will be the courthouse. It’s all about money.

ANOTHER READER COMMENTS: 

Three of the most dreadfully tragic events in terms of historical buildings being deliberately destroyed in Ukiah in my memory were when the Cecil Hotel was torn down on the southeast corner of Perkins and State streets only to be replaced by the eyesore Rexall Drug store.

And even more horrific was when the Ukiah Fire Department burnt down for practice what was arguably the most beautiful Historic Victorian Home in town the old Redemeyer House down on South Dora. And also the main building where I attended High School. Ukiah has never put very much importance on its historic buildings. It seems that the focus was always about the more modern look and keeping the local contractors fat.

ANOTHER READER COMMENTS: 

Here are some facts that might serve to inform any speculation about next steps pertaining to the Palace Hotel. Much of this has been reported on in other articles.

Two separate local buyers with experience in historic architecture and funding have offered to buy the Palace Hotel and redevelop it together with proven professionals. Their plans include structurally stabilizing the building based on engineering studies and bringing it up to modern building standards. One of those buyers and her plans were reported on extensively in 2023. The other potential buyer previously redeveloped the historic Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake. They both remain interested.

However, the current owner, Jitu Ishwar, previously rejected purchase offers from these buyers. Instead, he has agreed to sell to other buyers that include the Guidiville Rancheria as majority owner. Closing the deal depends on the outcome of an attempt by that tribe to obtain state grant money from the ECRG program, which is available only to municipalities, nonprofits, and tribes for “cleanup and beneficial reuse of contaminated brownfields in California’s historically vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.” But the state oversight agency for any cleanup (North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board) only learned late in the process about the tribe’s intention to use most of the requested $6.6 million in taxpayer funds to demolish the entire hotel based on the contention that this would be necessary to investigate for contamination (but not actually clean it up if it’s even there). In late February, the water board informed the tribe and the City of Ukiah that they would not approve the use of funding for demolition. Instead, the standard investigation process requires drilling test holes around the perimeter of the building at a fraction of the cost. And so the tribe (and presumably the Palace’s owner) is now waiting to learn what lesser amount they will be awarded and under what terms.

As for the City’s current position, they have stated publicly that they are also waiting for a final determination on the grant application and are therefore refraining from taking any of the enforcement actions against Mr. Ishwar described in their “Notice of Violation” served to him back on November 2. Due to the possibility of future legal action, the City Council and city staff continue to discuss more details in closed sessions not open to the public.

WHO TO CALL WHEN

by Supervisor Maureen Mulheren

Not sure who to call about local problems? Here is a handy guide. (Because more information is necessary this is a guide and you may need to visit additional websites for more information or if you have questions please reach out to me at 707-391-3664. This is an inland Ukiah Valley guide, Coast services may be a little different.) 

If you are having an emergency call 911

Where can homeless folks get service? 

Adults should go to Building Bridges and get added to the Homeless Management Information Services - https://www.redwoodcommunityservices.org/homelessservices

Families should go to Social Services - https://frontdoormendocino.org/

If you are looking for food, clothing, showers etc. all of that information can be found on the Continuum of Care website, this guide can be printed and you can give it to individuals that you may run across on the streets to direct them to resources where they can get help - https://mendocinococ.org/community-resources

If you see a homeless encampment on your property or in a public space how can you report it? You should use the law enforcement non-emergency line or website for your area. 

https://www.ukiahpolice.com/

https://mendocinosheriff.org/

Once they receive a report they will work with the Heads Up Project on next steps. https://headsupmendocino.org/

If you are having an emergency please call 911

If you are within the City limits and want to report an issue with a street, here is the link https://cityofukiah.com/streets-traffic/

If you have an issue with a County Road here is the link: https://www.mendocinocounty.org/.../report-a-problem-on-a...

To report a need on a State Highway you can reach out to Caltrans - https://csr.dot.ca.gov/

Behavioral Health and Recovery Services has several important numbers for you: https://www.mendocinocounty.org/.../behavioral-health-and...

24/7 Toll Free Crisis Line - Linea de Crisis Llamada Gratis

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis (a danger to oneself or others) and need help right away, call: Si usted esta experimentando una crisis de salud mental (Un peligro para uno mismo u otros) y necesita ayuda inmediata, llame: 1-855-838-0404

Non-Crisis Emotional Support Line

If you are feeling stressed, isolated, overwhelmed, or need support, call the Warm Line: 1-707-472-2311 or Toll Free at 1-833-955-2510

Substance Use Disorder Treatment:

Beacon Call Center - For access to SUDT services within Mendocino County Phone: 1-855-765-9703 | TTY: 1-800-735-2929 or 711

Ukiah 1120 South Dora Street Phone: 707-472-2637

Mobile Outreach and Prevention Services - Inland Mendocino County Redwood Valley, Hopland, Potter Valley 707-472-7750

The Mendo Recycle Website is currently in transition; if you see illegal dumping please email info@mendorecycle.org 

If you find syringes Mendocino County Aids and Viral Hepatitis Network will come to your location and safely pick them up 707-462-1932

Mattresses are free to dump at the Ukiah Valley Transfer Station on Taylor Drive; for Hazmat info visit the Transfer Station 

If you still have questions visit 211Mendocino.org 

Am I missing something? Just let me know!

LESS PLANNING, MORE APPROVING

Editor,

Here is how to improve Planning and Building. 1.) Planning and Building (PBS) staff should approach application review with the mindset “How can we get this application approved” instead of “What can I find wrong with this application.” 2.) Applications should be triaged by their complexity. Assign a minimum review time for applications based on the complexity of the project. 3.) PBS staff need to be actively managed. Supervisors should review staff workload and the assigned applications that are under review. Supervisors should engage staff to be assured that the review deadlines established in number 2 above can be met. If not, offer assistance or transfer the work load to another staff member that is not so busy. 4.) Assign work for individual staff members that takes advantage of their strengths. Praise staff for doing a good job. Counsel staff that are merely warming a desk chair and not working at their full potential. 5.) The recent fee increases of 100% to 500% increases are a deterrent to development. The county is millions in debt. The best way to get out of debt is to facilitate development. Reasonable fees, timely review of applications, a collaborate approach where the regulators (PBS) and the applicants are on the same team. Development increases revenue by having folks employed, in turn they pay rent, car payments. involve their kids in sports and other beneficial programs. The contractors buy building materials, hire architects and engineers, and build homes, commercial buildings and infrastructure that generate property tax. 6.) Create a comprehensive Policy and Procedure Manual that is available to staff AND the public. 7.) Reinstate the “One Stop Shop” where one day per week an Admin staff member, a planner, a building plans examiner and a representative from Environmental Health can collectively review and approve in one day: simple applications for photovoltaic systems, Ag Exempt structures, decks, garages, carports, and simple single family dwelling additions and Class K projects. If these basic management and customer service suggestions were implemented, it would go a long way to improving Planning and Building customer service and operational efficiency.

Scott Ward

Redwood Valley

A READER WRITES: I always liked John Pinches’ no-nonsense observations about things. And it was hard not to notice how inordinately inflamed they made our county’s pseudo-intelligentsia. It was almost a trial run for Trump Derangement Syndrome that currently rules the land, but with even less justification. Look where local government is now. Top heavy and fumbling over everything. We could use him again, and four more like him.

HENDY WOODS STATE PARK - ‘MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE’ - A WALK AMONG THE FUNGUS OF MENDOCINO COUNTY

by Justine Frederiksen

How is a mushroom like an apple? Both can be considered the “fruit” of a tree, but while all the branches of an apple tree are visible, nearly all parts of the tree that mushrooms grow on are hidden underground.

“There is much more to this organism than meets the eye,” said Anica Williams, a California State Parks employee who gave a talk on fungus while walking through Hendy Woods State Park in Anderson Valley earlier this month. 

Williams, who described herself as “not an expert but an enthusiast” when it comes to fungus, said she wanted to talk about the “fascinating” world of fungi — organisms that are neither plants nor animals and actually have their own kingdom — while under some of the world’s tallest trees because of “all the incredible things that fungus does for the incredible redwoods.” 

And why did she choose to walk in Hendy Woods? Because Williams was “born and raised in Mendocino County, and it is fun sharing my home with people from other places.” 

What was also fun, she said, was sharing all she has learned about “the very, very interesting world of fungi — the more I learn about fungus, the more intrigued I am by it,” Williams said while beginning her recent walk, which had previously been scheduled for January, but was delayed due to the powerful storms Mendocino County experienced this winter. 

And while there would have been more mushrooms to find at the beginning of the year, Williams did find one or two hiding at the foot of the towering redwood trees, which she said provide the “perfect mushroom habitat — wet and shady.” 

In return for the optimal shelter, fungus provides optimal food for the redwoods and many other plants with their roots in the nearby soil. 

“(Fungus) will break down anything on the forest floor — all the leaves, branches and cones, decomposing them and turning them back into healthy, rich soil, which is a very important job,” she said, describing fungus as actually “more closely related to animals than to plants, (because while) plants can make their own food, fungus cannot — they have to feed off other organisms.” 

Unlike animals, though, fungi digest their food outside their bodies by releasing “enzymes that break down nutrients so they can then absorb them back into their cells, which is pretty incredible,” said Williams, describing the “mycelium tree” created by a fungus as being “almost like roots, which are absorbing minerals, but the mycelium roots are breaking the nutrients down.” 

Before breaking down any food, though, Williams said most fungus are “very picky” about what they eat, such as a group of Turkey Tails she found on a stump. 

“Turkey Tails only like to live on (and eat) hardwood like oaks,” she said, noting that Turkey Tails also “last longer than most” other types of fungi. 

Another fungus she found was “Dyer’s polypore,” which she described as “latching onto the roots of Douglas Fir trees, usually one that is already dying,” noting that the end of a tree’s life benefits the lives of many others in the forest because “a dying tree becomes like a hotel for all sorts of other species such as insects and animals. And when it does finally fall, it opens up more space for other plants to grow.” 

And if those plants live near a fungus, Williams said, its “mycelium roots can connect to the roots of a plant and allow it to absorb more water and more nutrients,” while the fungus absorbs more sugar in return. 

But perhaps the most direct way that fungus, mushrooms in particular, benefit a redwood forest is as a meal for one of its most popular residents: Banana Slugs. 

“Banana slugs love mushrooms!” Williams said, adding that while many humans love mushrooms as well, many mushrooms should NOT be eaten by humans. 

“Please be super careful when collecting wild mushrooms, because some are edible, but some will make you sick, and some can REALLY make you sick,” she said. “NEVER eat anything you cannot identify — promise me!” 

Another way to explain the danger, Williams said, is this apt saying: “There are old mushroom hunters and bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters!”

* * *

(Ms. Frederiksen’s interesting Hendy Woods story including mention of the mushrooms to be found there reminded us (seems like old news farts like us are reminded of past stories by almost everything these days) of our 1996 story about the two Philo mushroom “poachers” caught by an overenthusiastic Park Ranger when they inadvertently failed to hide their fungal booty when the Ranger’s truck drove by.)

MUSHROOM POACHERS SENTENCED

by Mark Scaramella

Jill Myers of Philo was in AV Justice Court one day in the 1990s before the outlying justice courts were closed by Mendo’s self-serving judicial cadre with her Cheesecake friend, Sophie Otis. An unlikier pair had seldom been seen in the Boonville dock. Myers and Otis, nicely outfitted in L.L. Bean outdoor attire, faced charges of mushroom poaching stemming from having been caught red-handed with what they called “a beautiful white chanterelle mushroom.” The chastened gleaners carried their purloined fungus (singular) in a see-through plastic bag. They had just plucked the irresistible chanterelle at Hendy Woods near where Mrs. Myers lives. 

Myers and Otis were walking back home with their prize when a stern-looking Hendy Woods Park Ranger by the name of Kathy Kinsey drove by and saw the contraband mushroom. Ranger Kinsey asked the pair if they knew it was illegal to take mushrooms from a park. The two shrugged, conceded they were ignorant of this particular law of the several million now deployed against an increasingly lawless citizenry and without demur accepted $108 citations. 

During the moments preceding their appearance before Boonville Judge Eric Labowitz, Myers, Otis and yours truly were discussing their legal strategy — apparently they had considered some kind of Not Guilty plea having to do with misplaced signage or the apparent unfairness of the enforcement, as compared to possibly pleading guilty if they could choose their own community service as punishment. 

Judge Labowitz was in his adjoining “chambers” (a bathroom sized room next to the meeting room) with the door open. Upon overhearing the tactical menu he emerged to tell us that we shouldn’t be discussing legal strategies within earshot of the judge. Labowitz returned to his chambers only to immediately re-enter the courtroom to begin the trial. 

The two poachers decided to plead guilty after Labowitz told them, “I could give you each 15 hours of community service. How does that sound?”

“Fine,” replied Myers and Otis.

By this time Ranger Kinsey had rushed in looking very official and stern, just in case the miscreant pair had been thinking about getting off due to non-appearance of law enforcement. (Experienced miscreants always go to court and wait to see if law enforcement is going to appear. If the arresting office fails to appear for a minor offense, judges typically dismiss the case.) Kinsey, like her officious colleagues, is obviously a stickler for the rules. 

When asked which of them actually picked the mushroom, the poaching pair raised their hands simultaneously, in obvious solidarity. 

Labowitz then asked, “Where do you want to perform your community service?”

Myers replied, “How about Hendy Woods?”

Labowitz replied, “What do you want to do there, clean up the mushrooms?”

Ranger Kinsey strained to maintain a straight face at the prospect of community service in her own balliwick. Spectators, getting into the spirit of the proceedings, also stifled their laughter.

Labowitz told the two mushroom poachers they would get community service cards that had to be signed by Ranger Kinsey’s boss, Karl Poppelreiter, upon completion of the Community Service.

On the way out, Ranger Kinsey said that “no consumptive uses” were allowed in state parks, causing me to wonder if there was also some obscure prohibition against TB patients enjoying state parks.

“The only thing that bothers me about this,” said Myers after the trial, “is that the Ranger got to keep our mushroom. I hope she enjoyed it.” 

According to a couple of my friends, Hendy Woods chanterelles are delicious sautéed with garlic and butter. 

ED NOTES

A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, my brother-in-law and I were hiking along Jimmy Creek (I think) up on Rancho Grande, the former home of Mysteries By Mail six miles out of Boonville up the Ukiah Road. As we trudged along enjoying the quiet splendor of Anderson Creek's remote headwaters, we heard a terrific, watery thrashing a few yards in front of us. Warily drawing closer, darned if it wasn't a splendid steelhead trapped in a rivulet of the creek's diminished but still vigorous flow. I'd guess the fish weighed somewhere between six and eight pounds. Beautiful thing. More surprising, considering that the fish had somehow fought its way all the way up the Navarro from the Pacific and far into the hills above Boonville, the sea-going spawner wasn't at all battered. The whole length of creek teemed with baby steelhead. The stream's fertility reminded both of us that just how little effort we'd have to make to bring The Valley's fish back. Some of them, at least. Salmon are probably gone forever. As for the sole steelhead we saw, I regretted leaving it there for the raccoons or foxes that would be sure to get it, but we were unprepared to protect it or carry it out to return it to the sea. It must have got upstream with the last rains, failing to lay its eggs in time to depart while the water was still up and the flow navigable.

* * *

LOCAL JUDGES promised to keep cases in their home communities when the county's justice courts were “re-organized” into superior court berths nearly 40 years ago. But re-organization of the county's courts hasn't worked out as promised. The controversial, dangerous, painful cases still all go to Ukiah where justice may or may not be done.

AND IN UKIAH, if none of our nine judges prefer want to hear a case they call the judicial bullpen for a visiting judge, Our judges routinely claim conflicts of interest where none exist, or exist only in terms of their possible re-election interests. Who's going to call them on it? They're the law, and they long ago convinced the Grand Jury it had no power whatsoever to actually investigate county operations, let alone subpoena people and indict the eminently indictable. The first priority of Mendocino County's over-large judicial cadre is its own comfort and welfare. Look at upcoming new courthouse for a prime example. Nobody but them wants it, nobody but them defend it… (I know, I know. This is your basic sweeping generalization, but you can confirm it for yourself by putting a couple of drinks in any local attorney who will hoist a couple with you and ask him or her for the verification.) 

THE COUNTY'S JUDGES SOLD re-organization and elimination of local courts to us as a way of making the courts more accessible to us. The judges said if there were more of them, they could more easily come to us by being dispatched from Ukiah. After all, it's a lot easier for one of them and a court reporter to travel to Fort Bragg or Point Arena or Boonville or Covelo than it is for cops, victims, their families, witnesses, and the interested public to travel from any of the outback places to Ukiah.

BUT RE-ORGANIZATION of the court system to enhance our access to them hasn't worked out as the judges promised. They got their big promotions from justice court status to the nice money and comfort of superior court berths, and we haven't seen them since. 

THE TRUE REASON the county's judges prefer Ukiah and their new courthouse is that they don't care to face the home town folks when inflammatory local matters are being tried. Moving cases far from their origins is a way for the judges to avoid the political and personal consequences of bad judicial performance. 

THIS ALL HAPPENS in a press vacuum. Nobody covers the local courts anymore since the AVA’s Bruce McEwen got married and moved to the Bay Area. Hence, all we get are the occasional self-serving abbreviated press release from the DA’s office and nothing, ever, from the defense side.

CATCH OF THE DAY, Saturday, March 23, 2024

MARCO ALARCON, Nice/Ukiah. DUI with priors, suspended license for DUI.

CURTIS BETTENCOURT, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-alcohol&drugs. (Frequent flyer.)

LORENZO CRUZ, Ukiah. Burglary, trespassing, stolen vehicle, vandalism.

MATTHEW PATEREAU, Willits. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, probation revocation.

JOSE RODRIGUEZ, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

MICHALS SCARBERRY, Willits. Under influence, controlled substance, paraphernalia. 

MEMO OF THE AIR: Wapenstilstandsonderhandelingen.

”If you want a happy ending, that merely depends on where you stop the story.”

 -Orson Welles

Here's the recording of last night's (Friday 2024-03-22) 8-hour Memo of the Air: Good Night Radio show on 107.7fm KNYO-LP Fort Bragg (CA) and KNYO.org (and, for the first hour, also 89.3fm KAKX Mendocino): https://tinyurl.com/KNYO-MOTA-0585

Coming shows can feature your story or dream or poem or kvetch or whatever. Just email it to me. Or include it in a reply to this post. Or send me a link to your writing project and I'll take it from there and read it on the air.

Besides all that, at https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com you'll find a fresh batch of dozens of links to not-necessarily-radio-useful but worthwhile items I set aside for you while gathering the show together, such as:

Tribal people react to hearing Led Zeppelin for the first time. “Sir, I think he is referring to Hell by that jungle. There will be cries all over the place, and good people will be those who follow the piper’s tune.” Well, exactly. The man in the giant flowing toroidal hat gives me an idea of where Sam Elliot’s ancestors might have come from. I can easily see him kicking the shit out of rude crime boys who tore the picture of his dead wife, pushing them out of the way, getting in his car, saying, “Oh, for Pete’s sake,” and quietly departing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRzh0SAJmig

Down the rabbit hole of Bottomless Popcorn. https://misscellania.blogspot.com/2024/03/bottomless-popcorn.html

And a neat plastic repair technique. I’ve used something like this, but with baking soda instead of cigaret ash, and that works too. I learned about the baking-soda-and-superglue trick in the 1980s from a guitar repair guy. You can fix a nut or bridge that you’ve cracked or notched too deeply. Most recently it was worn-down internal trackball parts. And a torn guitar-pick fingernail. And the sliding switch on the perforated-hose hairdryer I use to heat up under the blankets while I’m brushing my teeth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlXPOMGFrWI

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

HELL IN A HANDBASKET

To the Editor: 

The other day I noticed one of Safeway’s handbaskets north of the Willits city limits. To me it’s strange that something that is a businesses property gets taken, then discarded. I picked it up and after I get my best quality time reading the newspaper I will bring it in for a washing - all wet and mud ridden. 

Just another day where things end up where they shouldn’t be.

Sincerely yours,

Greg Crawford

Fort Bragg 

JEFFREY ST. CLAIR: I’m long past caring who people vote for, since it makes not even a fractional difference in our elections, not to mention people's lives. BB King and James Brown were lifelong Republicans, yet were two key architects of the only real revolution America's ever seen. So was Chaka Khan whose birthday was Saturday.

STEPH CURRY, FUTURE POLITICIAN?

by Danny Emerman

When his playing days are over one day, Steph Curry could join a long line of former athletes turned politicians.

Curry, who’s trying to will the Warriors to the playoffs in his 10th All-Star season, didn’t rule out a future run for political office in a sit-down interview with CBS last week. 

“I have an interest in leveraging every part of my influence for good in the way that I can, so if that’s the way to do it…” Curry said when asked if he’s interested in politics. 

That doesn’t necessarily mean a run for president, he said. And given the 36-year-old is still among the best players in the NBA, any future career in politics isn’t imminent. 

But even the prospect of a future Curry campaign is nonetheless noteworthy. As a high-profile athlete, Curry’s political aspirations are far from unprecedented: Former Dodger Steve Garvey, the latest former sports star to run for office, is currently campaigning for one of California’s U.S. Senate seats. 

Three political experts interviewed for this story had similar takeaways to Curry’s interest in politics: He’d have a great foundation to build from if he decided to run, there are blueprints for him to follow, and it would be foolish to discount him at his word. 

“I wouldn’t underestimate him,” said Dan Schnur, a political science professor at USC and UC Berkeley. “Don’t underestimate the importance of what he and his wife have already done. That’s the difference between a basketball player who thinks it might be fun to be a politician and someone who happens to play basketball and has a sincere commitment to the community.” 

Voters may not cast a ballot for him just because he’s Steph Curry; many would want to know he’s serious about serving his constituency. Curry’s history of civic engagement is a factor, Schnur said. He and his wife, Ayesha, started the Eat.Learn.Play. Foundation, devoted to ending childhood hunger, increasing access to quality education and encouraging children to stay active in Oakland. As of 2022, Curry is a registered Democrat. 

Schnur worked on four Republican presidential and three gubernatorial campaigns, earning a reputation as one of California’s leading political strategists. The biggest strength Curry would have working for him is his name recognition, Schnur said.

(BayArea News Group/Ukiah Daily Journal)

CALIFORNIA'S PROP. 1 NARROWLY PASSED -- NOW THE REAL WORK ON MENTAL HEALTH BEGINS

After more than two weeks of suspense, Proposition 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom's marquee ballot measure to overhaul California's behavioral health system, appears to have barely passed muster with voters. But it was hardly the overwhelming bipartisan victory the governor had been hoping for.

The message to elected officials, and Newsom in particular, is clear: Voters are increasingly skeptical about pouring billions of dollars into homelessness and behavioral health programs that don't seem to measurably improve street conditions. 

Prop. 1 is a crucial opportunity for the state to prove that it can deliver results. 

The measure is highly complex, and effectively implementing it will require the state, counties and cities to set aside their longstanding disagreements about who's more to blame for the crises on our streets and collaborate instead. 

More people with behavioral health issues than ever are eligible to be compelled into treatment -- either voluntarily, through Newsom's signature CARE Court program, or involuntarily, through expanded conservatorship laws -- meaning the state needs even more places to house them and workers to care for them. 

Prop. 1 aims to address these needs in two main ways. First, it requires counties to redirect a sizable portion of the $2 billion to $3.5 billion they typically receive annually from the Mental Health Services Act -- a voter-approved 1% tax on millionaires -- to house and provide intensive wraparound services for the highest-needs individuals. Prop. 1 also calls for the state to invest more in oversight and behavioral health workforce development. Second, Prop. 1 authorizes $6.4 billion in bonds to create an estimated 10,000 behavioral health treatment beds and supportive housing placements. 

But for these new initiatives to have the maximum positive effect, the governor and legislators must close glaring legal loopholes in California's behavioral health system. The state also needs to improve its process for transitioning people into facilities that can offer them the appropriate level of care -- particularly when they're coming from highly structured institutions such as jails, prisons or state mental hospitals. 

A bill from Assembly Member Matt Haney, D-San Francisco aims to do just that for a small but significant population: seriously mentally ill inmates convicted of certain violent felonies whom a judge has cleared for release from a state mental hospital. 

Under current law, the state must release these offenders back to their last county of legal residence within five working days -- a perilously short timeline that often leaves officials scrambling to develop reentry plans and line up appropriate housing and treatment. Haney's bill would increase that timeline to up to 30 working days and permit the court to require that agencies involved in the prisoner's release present a coordinated exit plan beforehand. 

Haney introduced the bill in response to a column by editorial board member Emily Hoeven, which revealed that Fook Poy Lai, the man accused of violently stabbing a San Francisco Chinatown bakery worker last May, had been released from a state mental hospital exactly one week before and initially placed in a single-room-occupancy hotel with no onsite services near an open-air drug market. 

“Anyone can look at the process as it is now and say, 'That's going to fail,' “ Haney told the editorial board. “Even when there's a bed available or a treatment plan available, this dangerously short transition time can make it near-impossible to identify it and transition appropriately.” 

Haney said he's also considering additional legislation to empower judges to consider the circumstances under which an inmate exiting from a state hospital is likely to succeed in the community and, if necessary, require the individual to be released to a clinically appropriate step-down facility and participate in treatment. 

“If the only question (before the judge) is whether they're safe at this moment” to be released, “that's not the right question. And you're never going to get the right answer,” Haney said. 

That's a sentiment shared by Dr. Robert Okin, former chief of psychiatry at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and a professor emeritus of psychiatry at UCSF School of Medicine, who recommended judges be given that discretion after being briefed on the Fook Poy Lai case. 

“The potential for violence can't be determined without consideration of the context into which the patient will be discharged,” Okin said. 

Okin floated other suggestions that state lawmakers should seriously consider, such as requiring that local case managers meet with inmates before they're released from state hospitals to build trust and familiarity, establishing clear post-discharge medication plans that have patient buy-in and scheduling initial treatment sessions in individuals' new housing placements so they don't have to worry about transportation or other complications. 

If signed into law, Haney's bill could impact hundreds of people each year. According to his office, 1,656 violent offenders were released from state mental hospitals from January 2018 through October 2023. 

Of course, the total number of people experiencing homelessness, mental illness and substance use disorder who repeatedly cycle through California's hospitals, emergency rooms, treatment facilities, jails and prisons is far greater. Haney's bill underscores the importance of going through programs and laws with a fine-toothed comb to discover concerning cracks and then working to close them. 

Prop. 1 alone can't and won't address the entirety of the state's behavioral health problem. Now that the measure has passed, the real work begins. 

(SF Chronicle editorial)

CALIFORNIA'S BEST COASTAL HIKE

by Lester Black

I was standing on the ledge of a 1,000-foot cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and couldn’t believe the scene before my eyes. Sure, the turquoise blue water and rugged California coastline that canvased the horizon were impressive. But I was stunned by something else. 

Where the hell was everyone?

It was Saturday at 4 p.m. and I was hiking the Lost Coast, one of California’s most famous trails. People travel from all around the world to backpack this stretch of the rugged, rural coast. The area is so popular, campers are required to get permits months in advance. With that in mind, this trail should be packed with people.

Yet this stunning view, and the trail that led up to it, were entirely empty of other people. I had been hiking with my wife for two days and we had yet to see a single other person.

The solitude was probably because we had accidentally discovered an overlooked section of this world-famous hike. Whereas thousands of people flock to the northern section of the Lost Coast, it turns out the southern half of the hike is far less trotted. Even though this overlooked section is absolutely stunning, taking travelers through remote beach lagoons, a withering ghost town once bustling with loggers and towering redwoods. And all along the way you’re treated to rugged cliffs that draw admirers from around the world to Northern California.

Unlike its more famous twin in the north, you don’t need to get permits months in advance to hike the southern section. Anyone can hike it anytime; just drive up to the trailhead and pay a $5 nightly fee at the trail kiosk. 

This is how we ended up enjoying one of the most stunning stretches of coastline in California, entirely by ourselves.

Welcomed by whales

We only ended up on this trail because I made a huge mistake. 

Originally, I planned to hike the popular northern section. Located 225 miles north of San Francisco, the Lost Coast follows a stretch of beaches between Shelter Cove and the small town of Mattole. Whereas Big Sur is a slice of the California coastline that the average hiker can tackle, the Lost Coast is an advanced and more demanding type of fun. I acquired the coveted permits a full year before my trip and was excited to spend four days on the trail.

A week before we were set to go forth, I realized I had made a critical error. The famous hike runs almost exclusively on or near beaches that become dangerously impassable during high tides. Many hikers have drowned on the hike. In my haste to apply for a permit, I had neglected to consult the area’s tidal charts and accidentally selected dates in the middle of October with some of the highest tides of the year. Making matters worse, a storm far off in the Pacific was delivering some of the biggest waves of the year to Northern California right when we were hiking.

It seemed doubly reckless to try the coast in these conditions. So, I sat dejected, reconciling with my own foolishness that had doomed my yearslong dream to hike the Lost Coast. But while I was moping, my wife did some more research and found the second, much less popular southern section of the Lost Coast. 

Instead of going north from Shelter Cove through the King Range National Conservation Area, the trail heads south through the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park.

Unlike the northern section, the southern route primarily traverses forests and headlands instead of beaches. This meant more elevation to climb, but also no risk of death during high tides (which sounded like a fair trade to me), and meant we could enjoy the coast despite my scheduling blunder.

A few days later, we drove nearly five hours from San Francisco to the Needle Rock Visitor Center, a shingled outpost on the Lost Coast sitting on a bluff overlooking the ocean. We parked our car in the afternoon sun and were greeted by whales breaching across the Pacific below us.

Over/under

We spent the first afternoon on the trail hiking from the visitor center to Bear Harbor, following along a series of bluffs that gave stunning views of the coast, including an incredible double rock arch hanging over the sea. 

By dusk, we had made it to the harbor and were greeted by the stares of a dozen seals. Their heads bobbed in the water like tourists in the Mediterranean.

We pitched our tent at one of the harbor’s campsites and in the morning continued southward on the trail, hiking up a steep, wooded ravine. The lack of foot traffic and maintenance by the state park left the trail woefully overgrown. At times, the path disappeared into mudslides and we had to dig our feet into loamy soil just to stay upright as we searched for the trail.

Downed trees blocked the trail every 50 feet. Some of these were inconsequential, just a log to step over, but others were massive trunks that presented almost insurmountable barriers. Thus began a game of “over/under,” which is not a reference to gambling, but rather the choice you were presented with as you came across an immovable log blocking the trail. 

Is it easier to slide across the muddy forest floor as you duck under the tree, or is it better to climb over the woody behemoth and hope you can climb down the other side? 

Mind you, we were playing this game with fully loaded backpacking packs. Occasionally, I would misjudge the amount of space under a tree trunk, trying to duckwalk through the mud only to feel the tree suddenly yank the top of my 30-pound backpack like a bully hidden in the forest.

The rewards for this challenging route were made evident around every corner. We saw Roosevelt elk munching on the forest’s underbrush as we made our way south. And after an hour of navigating fallen trees, we came across giant old-growth redwoods in the J. Smeaton Chase Grove. In the grove named after a 19th century journalist, the majestic giants stood more than 10 feet across, dwarfing the other trees all around them. 

That night, 7.6 miles from the Needle Rock Visitor Center, we came upon the remains of a ghost town that was once home to 30 families working for a lumber company that set up shop in the middle of the vast wilderness.

Wheeler Camp is a bygone logging town site for the Wolf Creek Timber Company. It was abandoned in the 1950s and the settlement once featured duplexes, houses, a general store, a single-room school and a cookhouse. Residents picked up their mail from the Rockport post office, about 17 miles south along the coast.

We pitched our tent near one of the old cement foundations that dot the small valley. In the evening we walked down to the black sand beach, admiring hundreds of birds swirling around a lagoon tucked between two cliffs. We spent the next day exploring the nearby cliffs and embracing the solitude. 

Rain found us the following night. We woke up to torrential downpours that soaked our gear as we tried to pack up in a hurry. The logs blocking the trail were now even wetter and muddier as we over/undered our way back to the car miles away. 

Even at the trail’s most difficult movements, I wouldn’t have traded it for an easier path. It felt like a true adventure. 

Before reaching the visitor center, we ran into our first human in three days. He was a gray-haired guy hiking alone in a soaked-through blue rain jacket. He said he lived in Fort Bragg and this was his third time hiking the Lost Coast, and only the first time he had hiked the southern section. 

“Humans have ruined up there,” he told us, using his hiking pole to gesture toward the north where he said there are trash and loud people around every corner. The man told me that if he returns to hike the Lost Coast coast for his fourth time, he’ll skip the northern section entirely and just revisit the southern stretch. 

We bid our farewells and as my wife and I continued to our car, easing along a stretch of coastal California that’s void of people and their problems, I’d have to say I recommend that you do the same.

WHO READ IT?

by Paul Taylor

Altmetric.com is a website that tracks mentions of academic research on social media. Last week, a paper published in Radiology Case Reports leaped to near the top of the charts. The explosion of interest in “Successful management of an iatrogenic portal vein and hepatic artery injury in a four-month-old female patient” was due not to admiration but schadenfreude, as people shared their astonishment that the authors had managed to commit the following paragraph to print:

“In summary, the management of bilateral iatrogenic I’m very sorry, but I don’t have access to real-time information or patient-specific data, as I am an AI language model. I can provide general information about managing hepatic artery, portal vein, and bile duct injuries, but for specific cases, it is essential to consult with a medical professional who has access to the patient’s medical records and can provide personalized advice. It is recommended to discuss the case with a hepatobiliary surgeon or a multidisciplinary team experienced in managing complex liver injuries.”

Radiology Case Reports, like many other journals, allows authors to use generative AI to help with rewriting text to improve its readability. That doesn’t seem to be quite what happened here, and I suspect that if any of the authors’ students submitted work containing the phrase “I am an AI language model,” disciplinary action would follow. The most astonishing thing, though, is that phrase wasn’t spotted by the lead author, any of the co-authors, the peer reviewers or the journal’s editors.

In the old days, the number of journals was constrained by the budgets of university libraries, and the size of those journals was limited by the costs of paper and printing. Neither constraint now applies in a world dominated by open source, online only journals. 

Radiology Case Reports publishes 80 per cent of papers submitted to it. The costs of publication are met by the authors and published papers receive, on average, one citation. If the journal is typical, this will mean that very occasionally a paper receives a dozen or more citations while the great majority leave no trace whatsoever.

Peer review is hard work, unpaid and not particularly useful for career progression. Getting papers reviewed is a huge bottleneck for editors. Journals, especially those outside the top rank, can take months, even years, to process submissions. Radiology Case Reports boasts that it takes 19 days for papers to be accepted. So who can be reviewing them?

Last week I asked a class to appraise seven recent papers on AI in healthcare and was surprised when the students mentioned that some, but only some, had been peer reviewed, which they had been taught was a hallmark of good science. I hadn’t even noticed I was assigning papers that were still on pre-print servers. In a rapidly changing field, almost all the attention a paper receives will be as a pre-print. If the work attracts attention, its flaws and failings will be found, just not in the traditional way.

(London Review of Books)

LITERARY LIST

by Erik S. McMahon

For me, entering a bookstore is a perilous experience. First of all, it's a given I'll leave cash-light. Beyond that, will I exit carrying gems or dogs?

What about the great post-war fiction that’s left its mark?, I thought. Couldn’t I, as a voracious reader, provide a service by recommending a group of novels virtually guaranteed to satisfy like-minded bibliophiles?

A pompous and pretentious exercise, I recognize, but perhaps one not without value. Plus, didn’t some ivory-tower chin-tugger recently issue a list of 100 tomes any self-respecting individual had to have absorbed?

For what it's worth, I narrowed it down to 31. If an acquaintance asked me for assurance the next book he or she read would be excellent, my feeling is any one of these could meet the challenge.

Auster, Paul — The New York Trilogy (City of Glass, Ghosts, The Locked Room) 

Colwin, Laurie — Goodbye Without Leaving

Davies, Robertson — What's Bred in the Bone 

DeLillo, Don — Libra

Dexter, Pete — Paris Trout 

Dickey, James — To the White Sea 

Gaddis, William — JR 

Garcia Marquez, Gabriel — One Hundred Years of Solitude 

Gilchrist, Ellen — The Annunciation

Grass, Gunter — The Tin Drum 

Hart, Josephine — Damage

Haruf, Kent — Plainsong 

Heller, Joseph — Catch-22 

Ishiguro, Kazuo — The Remains of the Day 

Kelman, James — How Late It Was, How Late 

Kennedy, William — Albany Cycle (Legs, Billy Phelan's Greatest Game, Ironweed) 

Kundera, Milan — Immortality 

Matthiessen, Peter — Far Tortuga 

McCarthy, Cormac — All the Pretty Horses

McEwen, Ian — The Innocent 

Morrison, Toni — Song of Solomon 

O'Brien, Tim — In the Lake of the Woods

Puig, Manuel — Kiss of the Spider Woman 

Pynchon, Thomas — Gravity’s Rainbow 

Russo, Richard — The Risk Pool 

Saint, H.F. — Memoirs of an Invisible Man 

Stone, Robert — Outerbridge Reach 

Thompson, Hunter S. — Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 

Toole, John Kennedy — A Confederacy of Dunces 

Wolfe, Tom — The Bonfire of the Vanities 

Yglesias, Rafael — Dr. Neruda's Cure for Evil 

BUT THERE IS AN ETERNAL QUALITY in the life of farmers' wives which allows one to make a reliable guess at the way they lived; even now, there are wives in the remotest parts of Britain, for example the highlands and islands of Scotland, who do all the things the wives of in an English village in 1066 must have done, and do them in much the same way. They carded, spun and dyed and wove the wool and made the clothes, boiled meat and baked the bread, milked the sheep and goats, perhaps the cow, and made the butter and cheese, loved and scolded the children, fed the hens, worked in the fields at harvest, probably made the pots and brewed the beer, and made love or quarrelled with their husbands, or possibly both. And the children, not burdened by school, herded animals, geese or sheep or goats or pigs according to their size. Farmers' wives do not have much material reward, but it would have been a poor farmer in any age who went to town and came home without a fairing. Young men, one presumes, made the journey to buy the pairs of brooches which must have been the most personal possession a woman had and a lifelong symbol of an early love; for they were often buried with them.

— David Howarth, 1066: The Year of the Conquest