Mendocino County Today: Wednesday 3/27/24

Rain | Little Lake | Irv Sutley | Tsunami Test | Calypso Orchid | Body Found | Sheep Pens | Students Fighting | Indian Warrior | County Notes | Damn Leftist | Findings Dismissed | Newman Chat | Whiskey Train | Freedom Summer | Cancer Dance | Get Well | Mental Illness | Old Courthouse | Remembering Alphonso | Yesterday's Catch | Inner Elder | Blue Front | Teetotaling Millennials | Outdoor Bath | Northwest Climate | Jail Deaths | First Date | Thaïs Takeout | Brian Sicknick | Death Culture | Garden Pots

RAIN will gradually build across the area from north to south later this morning, preceded by gusty south wind along exposed terrain. Showers will then gradually wain through Thursday though a second wave is expected for the southern half of the area Friday. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): On the coast this Wednesday morning I have a cloudy 49F. Rain should be starting around 8am & continuing thru Friday. The weekend is now looking dry & lovely!

IRV SUTLEY

We have been informed that Irv Sutley, a prominent northcoast atheist who was briefly notable back in the 1990s when he convinced the late Judi Bari to pose with an Uzi for a famous photo, has died of diabetic kidney failure at the age of 79 in San Rafael. A long-time resident of Glen Ellen, Sutley was a Disabled Vietnam vet who was once mentioned as a possible suspect in the May 1990 delayed action carbombing of Judi Bari in Oakland, was never pursued as a suspect and no evidence linking him to that bombing was ever found. Sutley’s remains will be cremated in Santa Rosa and buried in Phillipsburg, Kansas. We were not aware of Sutley’s next of kin and do not know if there will be an obituary.

TSUNAMI WARNING COMMUNICATIONS TEST

WHEN: Wednesday, March 27, 2024, between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 Noon

WHERE: Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino counties.

HOW: Interruptions of TV* and Radio Stations, reverse calling notifications, and activation of NOAA Weather Radios and Outdoor Sirens. *Not all Cable and Satellite TV Stations may be able to participate

WHY: To test the Tsunami Warning System to ensure it works properly during a real tsunami emergency.

HOW THIS TEST WILL AFFECT YOU: If you are watching television between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 Noon on Wednesday morning, expect to see a crawler at the bottom of the screen indicating that a tsunami warning has been issued and hear a voice indicating that it is only a test. If you don’t hear the TV audio, please remember that this is only a test. If you are listening to the radio, you will hear alerting tones followed by a voice announcing that the test is occurring. If you have a NOAA weather radio with the Public Alert feature, the radio will automatically turn on and you will hear the same message as broadcast on radios. In some areas, you may also hear the sounding of a tsunami siren, an airplane testing its public address system (possibly as late as 1 pm), or receive other communication tests in some local jurisdictions. The Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system will NOT be activated for this test.

Please help us by providing any feedback for this test by emailing: ryan.aylward@noaa.gov

When you hear or see the warning test on March 27 between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 Noon:

• You do NOT need to take any action
• Do NOT call 911 or local authorities
• Do NOT evacuate your home or business.

THIS IS ONLY A TEST!!

Additional Tsunami Safety Information

1. Official Warnings. The annual Tsunami Warning Test is focused on a tsunami coming from far away.
   If you hear that an official tsunami warning has been issued, move away from the beach and out of
   harbor areas and seek more information without using the phone. Tune into local radio or television
   stations for more information. Follow the directions of emergency personnel who may ask you to
   evacuate low lying coastal areas.
2. Natural Warnings. If a very long earthquake occurs close to our coast (30 seconds or longer), there
   will be no time for an official warning to be issued. You must rely on recognizing the natural warning
   signs of a tsunami. An earthquake is the most likely natural warning sign that a tsunami is coming.
   Other natural warning signs include the ocean water moving far out exposing the sea floor, or hearing an unusually load roar from the coast. If you are in a tsunami evacuation zone and observe any of these
   natural warnings, move to higher ground or inland as soon as it is safe to do so. There may be as little
   as 10 minutes between the earthquake and tsunami.
3. Don’t Wait. Respond to whichever type of warning – natural or official - you get first. Don’t wait for
   an official warning if you feel a large earthquake!
4. Know Your Zone. Know if you are in the tsunami zone where you live, work, play, and travel. Use
   tsunami hazard zone signs and tsunami evacuation maps to recognize safe and potentially hazardous
   areas. If there are no maps or signs in your area, plan to go to an area 100 feet above sea level or 2 miles inland (note that the 100 feet is extreme overkill).
5. Go on Foot. If you evacuate, go by foot if possible. An earthquake may damage roads and bridges and
   heavy traffic may cause gridlock and limit your access to a safe area.
6. When in Doubt; Drill it out. If you observe any of the natural warnings, but especially a long
   earthquake, and you are not sure if there is a threat of a tsunami, go ahead and evacuate to high ground. If it turns out that there is not a tsunami then you can just think of your evacuation as a very realistic drill.

UNIDENTIFIABLE WOMAN’S BODY FOUND IN RUSSIAN RIVER

On Sunday, March 24, 2024 at about 04:30 PM, a kayaker on the Russian River called the Ukiah Police Department (UPD) to report they had possibly observed a human body in the river. UPD notified the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office of the incident as the location was in the County jurisdiction. Sheriff's Office personnel along with numerous fire agencies responded to the area of Morrison Creek and Old River Road and began searching the area for the possible body.

Fire personnel utilized an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to search the river area. At about 5:35 PM, Fire personnel located a deceased subject in the river. Fire personnel trained in swift water rescue entered the fast-moving water and were able to safely remove the decedent from the waterway.

Sheriff's Office Deputies were on scene and began a Coroner's Investigation. The female adult decedent was in a state of advanced decomposition which made it impossible to identify the subject. It appeared the decedent had been in the water for some time, and no obvious signs of external trauma were observed.

The case is currently under investigation and anyone with information related to this investigation is requested to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office at 707-463-4086. Information can also be provided anonymously by calling the Sheriff's Office non-emergency tip line at 707-234-2100.

Additional information regarding this investigation and the identification of the decedent will be released when it becomes available.

PARENT MESSAGE ABOUT FIGHTING

Dear Anderson Valley Junior Senior High families,

I hope this message finds you well.  I am writing tonight to let you know we have had an uptick of inappropriate fighting behavior at the Junior Senior High School over the past two weeks.  This is VERY unusual for us and will not be tolerated.

If your student is involved in a fight, the consequences could range from suspension, to law enforcement charges, or expulsion from school depending on the situation.  Please talk with your students and remind them even verbally being involved in an altercation that escalates is still being involved and has consequences.  

The staff works hard to be available and approachable. If your student is having difficulties with another student, please remind your student to seek help before a situation escalates.   Please talk with your student.  Ninety eight percent of our students are doing the right thing and are safe and responsible.  We need to make sure everyone understands the boundaries.

Sincerely yours,

Louise Simson

Superintendent

COUNTY NOTES

THE SUPERVISORS spent almost three hours Tuesday afternoon talking about problems with the County’s permit process. The wonks defended the system as is, the rules are complicated, the state is inflexible, etc., And some members of the public pointed out various anecdotes and problems with seemingly simple fixes. In the end they took some notes and turned the situation over to the General Government Committee (Supervisors Haschak and Mulheren at the moment) to see what can be worked on or improved.

EARLIER TUESDAY the Board considered the appeal of a permit denial for a large gas station in Redwood Valley off Highway 101. The meeting got off to an odd start when the applicant supplied new traffic data showing, presumably, much less traffic than had previously been estimated which could reduce some of the project’s impacts and mitigations. After some discussion, the Board reluctantly agreed to go ahead and listen to the applicant, his lawyers and the public concerning the proposal. The Planning Commission denied the permit based on it being “detrimental to the general welfare” of Redwood Valley. The applicant didn’t think that was a particularly good reason for denial, especially in light of the new traffic data. Most Redwood Valley residents are opposed to the project. Supervisor Ted Williams quickly moved to deny the permit, despite the new, lower traffic data. Supervisor Glenn McGourty quickly agreed. But Supervisors John Haschak, Dan Gjerde and Maureen Mulheren thought that state should at least review the data. In the end the Board voted to table the motion to deny the project while Williams and McGourty write up some denial language and at the same time the staff will look at the applicant’s new traffic data to see if affects their recommendation or if it should be reconsiered in April.

JOHN REDDING:

Today, the BOS conducted a workshop on how to improve the County's permitting process. It was organized by Supervisor Ted Williams as a first step on the road to making Mendocino County more business friendly. For which he gets my thanks. He understands the doom loop in which we find ourselves. Not sure the other Supervisors do. 

After presentations by the staff on how they were making the process more efficient, something not yet reflected in results btw, I was the second to speak. I commented that the staff was tasked with making the system more efficient but that was like tinkering with the old clunker in the driveway. When they were done it would still be a clunker. I urged them to reform the process instead. 

After me a woman spoke about her travails with the Historical Review Commission which answers to the BOS. She ended by asking everyone to work together to make the community better and more prosperous. There were, as I was about to find out, exceptions.

I was impressed with her comments, so I asked for a word in the corridor. I knew something was wrong when that was met with a frown. I introduced myself and suggested we work together to promote pro-business polices. With a smirk and an expression that she was talking to an inferior human being, she said — no. Apparently my politics did not align with hers so cooperation was not possible. I was thunderstruck.

What the hell is wrong with people that they won't work with on issues of common benefit because I or you are not ideologically pure? I then realized the Leftists like her cannot put ideology aside even as the County, State and Country sink into the abyss. 

I don't see any way to stop the cataclysm that is approaching.

MARK SCARAMELLA NOTES:

There are no “leftists” in Mendocino County. There are liberals, there are Democrats, there are progressives, etc. in various combinations. And there’s CoastLib, a special subspecies of the above, which we assume the woman Mr. Redding is complaining about is. But there are no Leftists. As Bruce Anderson has noted in the past, the late Phil Baldwin, former Ukiah City Councilman, was the only elected official in Mendo history who even came close. And we’re quite sure that he’d have been quite happy to work with anyone for a common local objective.

GUIDIVILLE CONSULTANTS’ FINDINGS DISMISSED BY STATE REGULATORS

by Mike Geniella

A state oversight agency dismissed the newly released consultants’ findings from prospective Palace Hotel buyers that possible ground contamination warrants demolition of the downtown landmark. 

An agency representative said Tuesday that the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board would not even “open a case” based on the information provided by the Guidiville Rancheria in its attempts to secure $6.6 million in special state clean-up funds to tear down Ukiah’s most significant historic structure to make way for a privately owned commercial development. 

The consulting reports were finally made public by the Guidiville Rancheria and a local investment group after months of being kept under wraps. They were widely touted to justify claims that the Palace was “in imminent danger of collapse” and needs to be demolished so ground contamination studies can be done and the site cleaned up. No independent structural analysis has ever been produced to support the claims, which also have been made by Ukiah city officials. 

Tribal representatives and the public spokesman for a group of local investment partners have been touting the findings of two newly disclosed consulting reports on the possible location of underground storage tanks and the levels of petroleum-based chemicals found at sites around the Palace property. According to the Guidiville reports, the tanks are under public sidewalks and streets adjacent to the Palace.

However, senior state engineer Heidi Bauer said Tuesday, after reviewing the Guidiville reports, the oversight agency is not altering its stance. 

“I can confirm that the Geocon and Alpha reports do not change our professional opinion that any environmental work associated with (underground storage tanks) at or adjacent to the Palace Hotel will not require the demolition of the building,” said Bauer.

Guidiville representatives on Tuesday did not respond to written requests for comment on the state agency’s conclusions. 

They have promoted the just-released consulting reports in a new push to get the state Department of Toxic Substance Control to award state funding under a special environmental program to assist California tribes, nonprofits, and poor municipalities in cleaning up contaminated sites and preparing them for development. Guidiville was awarded a grant this year, but after questions were raised, the state board said the amount for environmental studies is “to be determined.” According to a state spokesman, a final decision is expected in April.

In the meantime, Guidiville and a group of local investors led by downtown restaurant owner Matt Talbert are mounting a renewed public relations blitz to convince community leaders and decision-makers that their proposal to secure state financing for demolition, ground cleanup, and site preparation is still viable.

City officials this past weekend publicly justified holding off on any enforcement action of a public safety order against current owner Jitu Ishwar because they said the Palace’s proposed sale to the Guidiville group is still pending.

“Prospective buyers have a plan and are actively working through it,” said Deputy City Manager Shannon Riley in a statement issued to local news media. 

Riley acknowledged that the city has yet to initiate enforcement action months after it served formal notice on Ishwar to either stabilize the Palace or submit demolition plans after the City Council declared the historic building a public hazard in danger of collapse.

A Sept. 29 city inspection by building and fire department officials led to the city’s emergency declaration, a move criticized by historic preservation advocates for lacking any structural analysis of the three-story, 50,000-square-foot brick building. 

Riley, in her public statement, described city findings as “alarming” and “well-documented” evidence, referring to a series of widely publicized photographs showing the palace's deteriorated interior. The Guidiville group seized upon the city's declaration and has been promoting the notion to the public and the state that the Palace was in danger of collapsing and needed to be torn down at public expense so it could get on with private development.

Riley did not address the issue of the city's “emergency,” effectively blocking a review by the state Office of Historic Preservation and sidestepping a CEQA investigation into the consequences of demolition. The Palace, dating back to the 19th century, is designated a state historical resource listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The proposed sale between Ishwar, the Guidiville Rancheria, and an unidentified local group of investors has dragged on for months. The historic landmark endures further damage from wet winter rains while the city delays imposing fines or taking allowable criminal action to ensure public safety in the core of downtown. Ishwar has owned the building since 2019 but has done nothing to stem the historic structure’s decline.

The Guidiville group cited the city’s “emergency” action in its application for millions of dollars in state funding to tear down Ukiah’s most significant historical landmark. It contended that the Palace is in “imminent danger of collapse” and needs to be demolished before ground contamination studies can be conducted.

In her statement, Riley said a city inspection by building and fire department officials led to the disputed emergency declaration. 

Riley described the team’s findings as “alarming” and “well-documented” evidence, including widely publicized photographs showing the palace's deteriorated interior. 

However, it is not the first time the city has declared the Palace a public safety hazard.

In 2011, the city made the same declaration but as in the current case, chose not to impose possible fines or take possible criminal action against then-owner Eladia Gaines of Marin County. 

Despite the city’s current pronouncements about the structure's safety, no action has been taken against Ishwar other than to serve notice and demand pedestrian safety scaffolding be erected around portions of the building facing public streets. 

Preservation advocates believe the Palace, despite its current decrepit condition, can still be cleaned up, reinforced, and transformed into a boutique hotel, event center, restaurant/bar, and retail complex as originally envisioned in 2022 by Ukiah investor Minal Shankar and an architectural team from Page & Turnbull. This noted San Francisco firm has done extensive historic preservation projects statewide.

Owner Ishwar rejected a bid by Shankar to close escrow on the Palace in favor of entering into a new sales agreement with the Guidiville group, who promised to make him “whole” for his 2019 investment in a building that has been in decline for 30 years or more. City officials at the time declared Ishwar had done nothing to stem the Palace’s decline under his ownership.

Tom Carter, a Northern California contractor who has done restoration projects across the region in the Bay Area, including the Tallman House and Blue Wing Saloon in neighboring Lake Count, agrees. Carter said he revisited the Palace recently and believes the structure can be recycled into productive uses despite its deteriorating condition.

“It’s not unrealistic to believe the Palace can be stabilized and transformed into a viable downtown showcase,” said Carter.

VALLEY CHAT WITH AARON AND MARSHALL NEWMAN

The Anderson Valley Historical Society presents another fun and informative Valley Chat featuring Aaron & Marshall Newman. They will be speaking on Sunday, April 14 at 2pm. Their Chat will feature Stories of "El Rancho Navarro", living near Philo in the early 1960's. Aaron & Marshall's folks were the owners of the El Rancho Navarro youth camp during those years and they resided on the property. The property was on the west side of the Navarro River with the only access being a walking swinging bridge. Come enjoy the stories of their adventures.

Join us in the Anderson Valley Museum Rose Room - Refreshments to follow and Admission is Free!

WHISKEY TRAIN: A SPIRITED JOURNEY OF TASTEFUL DELIGHTS AND SCENIC SIGHTS 

Willits, California - March 25, 2024 - Get ready to raise your glasses and embark on an adventure like no other with the first ever Skunk Train’s Whiskey Train on April 6th and May 25th – an evening filled with laughter, fine whiskey, and jaw-dropping views along the enchanting Willits line. 

As the train chugs away from Willits, get ready to be whisked over the highest point of the line, a whopping 1,740 feet above sea level! Brace yourselves as you journey through Tunnel #2 and descend into the picturesque Noyo River Canyon on this approximately 2-hour round trip of sheer delight. 

But hold onto your hats, because the real star of the show isn't just the scenery—it's the whiskey! Join our charming "whiskey sommelier" on board, who'll be regaling you with tales of each whiskey's journey, its unique flavors, and the secret behind its distillation process. 

Indulge in four tantalizing tastings of Charbay Distillery's finest boutique Premium Whiskeys, proudly crafted right here in the heart of Mendocino County. And guess what? You'll get to take home your very own custom Whiskey Train tasting glass as a keepsake of this unforgettable ride. Oh, and did we mention there's a delightful charcuterie plate waiting to keep your taste buds dancing along the way. 

Join us on April 6th and May 25th for a unique journey aboard the Whiskey Train departing from Willits. Tickets are priced at $119 and include four whiskey tastings, a delightful charcuterie tray, and a souvenir tasting glass. Take advantage of special pricing for locals by simply entering your zip code in the booking engine. Don't miss out on this opportunity to indulge in fine whiskeys while soaking in the scenic views! 

Get ready to toast to good times, great whiskey, and the joy of riding the rails through Mendocino's stunning landscapes. Don't miss out on this chance to blend laughter, libations, and locomotives in a way you've never experienced before! 

To book your tickets for the Whiskey Train, visit https://www.skunktrain.com/whiskey-train/

For more information about Mendocino Railway - The Skunk Train and its unforgettable rail adventures, visit www.skunktrain.com, or call (707) 964-6371. 

California Western Railroad / Skunk Train located in the redwood forests of Northern California’s Mendocino County, is a heritage railroad that has been operating both freight and passenger service since 1885. Initially used to move redwood logs to the Mendocino Coast sawmills from the rugged back country, the Skunk Train has become a beloved institution touted as one of the “10 Best Rail Tours in the Country” (USA Today), and a “Top 10 Family Activity in California” (National Geographic Traveler). The Skunk Train journey covers 40 miles of scenic delights and 30 bridges, all while retaining its original charm—minus the historic pungent aroma that once preceded its arrival. Operating year-round, this multi-generational experience welcomes passengers to bring along their families and even their dog, ensuring a memorable and inclusive adventure. 

MISSISSIPPI 1964

Editor,

I hope you are recovering well from your recent cancer treatment. Mission Bay is indeed superlative, having had some cancer treatments there. Of course, as a white, male, physician it’s easy for me to get great care. If only it was available to everyone.

Thanks for the shout out for Mississippi 1964. I was one of several hundred college students who participated in Freedom Summer, spending the Summer and Fall in Panola County, Mississippi. This is the 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer, so I think about it a bit. Perhaps you want to do a story about us locals some 60 years later?

All the best, Bruce.

Buz Graham

DON’T TAKE IT PERSONAL

Editor,

I was beyond bummed to read of your cancer diagnosis, not to mention an end to the print edition of AVA, though I'd trade that for your health in a blink. I'm not the guy to tell you to kick ass on cancer. My wife developed breast cancer at 32 and again at 49, though a different tumor type. She was one of the “founding mothers” of the Humboldt County Breast Health group, that now includes ob/gyn cancers as well. She worked with the group counseling women navigating breast cancer for almost 15 years, and the approach they found most helpful was to learn to dance with it. After almost 30 years of ostensible remission her first tumor, a few cells of which had apparently gotten loose in her lymph system and was held in check by her immune system, returned — but as we age the machine breaks down, and by the time she realized her cancer had recurred, it was systemic. She was diagnosed on Halloween of 2016 and died on December 6, 36 days later. I have no wisdom to offer on dealing with cancer, from kicking its ass to dancing it's ass into the ground. But I will say, after an old timber feller I gambled with for years named Pissfir Willie:

“Don't matter shit

where, when, or how

you die. 

Important this is

don't take it personal.”

Jim Dodge

Manila

RANDY BURKE:

Our rooster, or lack thereof.

Want some homegrown eggs to heal the savage soul while you recoop? It’s worth a drive over just to see you (hopefully), and I would endeavor to wish you all well. We are in this wonderful life together.

All the best from the top to bottom of me heart to someone, and their publication has brought me to reality for a glorious return. Dang it Bruce, Get well.

DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

by Mazie Malone

It has been one year since Riley Hsieh went missing on 3/27/2023. He has not been heard from or seen since. Which sadly is not entirely true because according to a reputable source who unabashedly told me that he was spotted by multiple witness’s who watched him flee from the searchers. If in fact that is true, that would mean the searchers saw him but failed to engage and assist him! Quite disturbing in my mind because we are left with no intervention at all or a very bad attempt at one! Bottom line is education and appropriate response is a necessity. 

I would like to address the issue of disparity in Mendocino County’s response to families experiencing a serious mental illness crisis. 

First by stating that when an individual is experiencing such an episode, it is not a singular experience, it is a traumatizing, de moralizing family one! Secondly it is a community crisis that requires appropriate & quick action! Thirdly education and response should be cohesive and compassionate.

I have had the unfortunate experience of having to ask for help and intervention on many occasions through RCS crisis line & UPD, at that time there was not a working understanding of who was responsible for field crisis calls. RCS refused, UPD claimed they are not mental health workers and we did not have a mobile crisis unit. 

You soon learn that nobody wants to take on the responsibility of mitigating a mental illness crisis. That does not fly with SMI! Serious Mental Illness is a very cruel disease that is downplayed & seen as an individuals responsibility. Every day families are discriminated against as they try to navigate the system and get help as their loved one deteriorates into their illness! It is simply unacceptable. 

As I witnessed the response by MCSO & Search and rescue to locate and aid Riley Hsieh as he had walked away from home while having a Serious Mental Illness Crisis, I am terribly sad and disturbed. So sad for Riley and his family because I understand this on a deep personal level, it is painful and scary. I pray he is found safe and given the appropriate care and help. 

That is where the disparity comes in, unfair treatment in a time of a Serious Illness Crisis. The response and aid to Mr. Hsieh is not the norm in a Mental Illness Crisis in Mendocino County. The answer I received to aid my son during many crisis was none, until he committed a crime. 

If I were standing on the corner having a heart attack people would rush to my aid ASAP and call 911 a medical intervention no questions asked! If it is a person experiencing severe psychosis and paranoia which is a medical crisis we ignore it as if it is not our problem. The call for aid does not come if you are the mother, discrimination? The very ill street people we allow to remain sick without intervention and treatment is a disgusting lack of care for our community as a whole. Laws aside intervention is necessary Change is inevitable and unification of protocol is what we must strive for! 

It’s really shameful to see how quickly help arrives no questions asked if you have some sort of clout. But for families like mine we mostly get discarded like trash, like we’re the problem, being poor is the problem, we somehow don’t deserve an equitable response. 

Let’s delve into compassionate unified educated response. Our community would thrive in so many meaningful ways if we cared enough to appropriately address the needs of those battling Serious Mental Illness. 

Of note there are multiple people who went missing since Riley, some have been found others have not. Many of these people are in their early 20s and male which is when Serious Mental Illness most often occurs. Illness’s that are largely misunderstood with symptoms of delusions, paranoia and fright that make a person flee, they are scared and their rational and cognitive abilities malfunctioning!

Angel Murguia has been missing a little over a month also 24 years old, leaving a suicide note! We are losing our families and our future to Mental Illness and there is no support or intervention! 

Sincerely, 

Mazie Malone 

April 18, 2023

Updated March 26, 2024

MIKE GENIELLA:

A favorite look at the old Mendocino County Courthouse before the current ‘Stalinesque’ one arose at the downtown site. There is always a local connection. My great-grandfather John Burns' half-sister Olive Jane Burris married brick mason John Remstedt, who oversaw the construction of the first courthouse in Ukiah in the 1860s. Sheriff Matt Kendall's mother is descended from the Remstedts. Oh what we wouldn't give to have this beauty back as the centerpiece for downtown Ukiah, Mendocino County. Thanks for sharing Melissa Morris.

REMEMBERING ALPHONSO’S

LEE EDMUNDSON:

Not to contradict Marco McClean, but Alfonso’s shop was downstairs on the first floor of his shop on Main street in Mendocino. It was wall-to-wall covered in LP albums.

His father was an immigrant from the Azores. So he told me. His father was a sculptor. In wood. There was a 3/4 size redwood sculpture of a figure in the upstairs window of his building visible from the street his father had rendered.

Alphonso also sold cigarettes. He turned me on in the early 1980’s to a brand named Gatlinbuliers (sp), also known as Smokies. He recommended them because the tobacco was organic. The package had a saying printed on it’s side, “If you can quit, Quit. Until then, smoke Smokies.

Smokies were absorbed by one of the big tobacco combines in the late 80’s, early 90’s. Eventually replaced by American Spirit, which has also been absorbed by a big tobacco combine.

To take another point: David Colfax should be remembered as a tireless advocate for the people of Mendocino. I remember sitting with him (he was the only member of the board of Supervisors to show up for this) at a presentation by the folks who proposed taking Albion River water to bag and ship south to Los Angeles for sale. David spoke eloquently against this proposed water grab (a did I, I recall). The project was defeated. Albion River was later deemed a protected wild river, thanks to Colfax’s tireless efforts on its behalf. lest we forget.

* * *

DAVID GURNEY:

Alphonso’s shop was downstairs, ground floor, not upstairs. And his name was Alphonso, not “Alfonso.”

He also sold American Spirit cigarettes individually for a dime at “Alphonso’s Mercantile”, thus helping nicotine addicts moderate their jones with one or two smokes. That is, until California passed a law against it. He was a very nice guy.

kellyhousemuseum.org/alphonso-riede/

* * *

DAVID SEVERN:

What took me regularly into Alfonso’s shop when I was on the Coast was that besides just being an interesting dude he sold cigarettes out of the pack by the each like they did in Mexico – a boon to those of us trying to curtail the damned habit.

* * *

MARCO MCCLEAN:

I’m sure I bought books upstairs, though. Maybe there were shops in both places then, and my memory mixed them together.

* * *

SARA KENNEDY OWEN:

I also remember Alfonso’s being downstairs. We bought a few great classical records there, and he helped guide us to ones we might like.

We were not even aware of the tobacco because we don’t smoke, but that is a great story about the “Smokies”. Some people say it’s not the tobacco that gives you cancer, it’s all the chemicals used in growing and processing cigarettes.

Also, David Colfax and his family were inspirational to many families who saw homeschooling as a way to give kids a better education than the one offered through the County of Mendocino. It’s not just our county, of course, public education has never been “equal” for all segments of the population. Way back in the early 1800’s Mary Lyon, herself a gifted girl from a poor (if not destitute) family became a schoolteacher while a teenager, and went on to start a “female seminary” (Mount Holyoke in Springfield, Massachusetts) essentially college for girls and women who would not ordinarily be able to afford higher education. It was the first of its kind, so before that girls from the less privileged classes were denied higher education altogether.

CATCH OF THE DAY, Tuesday, March 26, 2024

JUSTICE FORD, Clearlake/Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

VIKTORIA LADD, Clearlake/Ukiah. Battery with serious injury, county parole violation.

ADAM LAFLIN, Laytonville. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

RYAN OKERSTROM, Ukiah. Robbery.

WILLIAM OWENS, Ukiah. Parole violation. (Frequent flyer.)

WAYNE PIKE JR., Manchester. Smoking/injecting device, controlled substance, county parole violation.

LEE RUPERT, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

SAMUEL SANCHEZ, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol&drugs. (Frequent flyer.)

JOSE SANTIAGO, Covelo. Domestic battery. Probation revocation.

MICHAEL SHEPHARD, Eureka/Ukiah. Failure to appear.

JACQUELINE SHEPHERD, Redwood Valley. Vandalism, resisting.

RONDY SMITH, Willits. Failure to appear.

RON SNEED, Willits. Indecent exposure.

MICHAEL TENCA, Fort Bragg. Disobeying court order, failure to appear, probation revocation.

BEING 90: WHATS NEXT? OR WHAT'S EASY, EASY OR NOT?

by Gregory Sims

Last week in my The old folks of the village say good bye to Anica Williams article I sandwiched some thoughts amidst a partial sentence and a long paragraph that deserve a closer look at what might be described as challenges of being 90+ swimming about within the ending state of my [our] human living. These two sentences are related.

1. No matter how much help we receive, [or offer] the elder consciousness is often bypassed. For me, a deeper coherence of awareness seems to be emerging as I write. But basically within the last couple of years as I speak more slowly and sometimes haltingly and wobble a bit; individuals kindly help me out. In the process of doing so the surface of what I want to say, or do becomes encapsulated within the perspective of the helper and sometimes speeded up so the depth of the perspective I may be living lives gradually fades, seems farther afield and needs to be recovered.

It is not that I’m incapable of learning to avoid that problem by managing it. Rather it seems that older folks without active surface level engagement become less trustworthy not only in managing their walking, talking and surface level thinking. But within the context of aging people being together in a meta-societal coherence. What is called for is sufficient wakefulness so that others and the older person do not begin to forget about his/her inner depth levels. The inner depth of consciousness is no longer sensed by others and the communication of the depth state becomes less important even to the elder her or himself. However, when there is someone who self-other assists and is open to in some perhaps interesting behavior, many people may see a wisdom that comes with age. It may emerge slowly or haltingly at times. But the individual, family and community benefits from living through the availability of their depth of perspective that underlies coherence. 

2. It is my hope…we might find paths to facilitate the depth of awakened aging to such an extent…younger people at the beginnings of the climb to ‘advanced aging’ will begin to see themselves as continuing…to have sensitivities and intuitive abilities through which to provide ongoing leadership throughout their advancing age based upon adaptive depth vision and family/community use of the coherence of elder depth vision. This gives rise to the question: “Is there an ideal or a path to personal, social community survival piloted by individuals who are not overly spent:” Who have clear inner vision? This vision can manifest outwardly in mutually with wider multi-aged groups so that we uncover the presence of elder depth in the face of the reeling-spinning energy of cause and effect, action reaction events happening without a deeper understanding of unfolding meaning and purpose. Perhaps to begin we look to self-sufficient octogenarians.

In my last article I referenced the “psychedelic relics” and the “new age baby boomers” that came to live (and still do) in The Valley. I view this population as somewhat different than my age mates. And since I’ve been doing some writing which takes me to the Bay Area I’ve started attending the church I left in 1964. The priest there is an Asian woman, caring and well organized and in the congregation there is a sea of white haired elders who after services spoke earnestly regarding matters at a surface level who were seemingly locked into surface understanding but underneath there may be a depth of understanding coming from an awakening wholeness of a well-integrated bodymind.

I have (as expressed above) similar hopes that as octogenarians and beyond we can awaken ourselves from being well deserved retirees and share what wholeness the divine human spirit offers. I use the word divine which is not directly and only religious, but pulling from sensibilities which are not confined to religious expression, neither denigrating it.

MILLENNIALS AGAINST WINE

by Jess Lander

Wine's millennial problem might be worse than initially believed.

In response to reports of a global decline in wine consumption, sommelier and social media influencer Warner Boin posted a video to her TikTok page asking her followers, consisting largely of millennials and Generation Z, to explain why they aren't drinking wine. The response -- 1.6 million views and nearly 35,000 comments -- reveals a growing view among younger people that alcohol is "poison." 

"I was curious to hear from the source," said Boin, a millennial living in Sonoma who has amassed nearly 120,000 TikTok followers under the username @confidenceuncorked. "The thing that came up more than anything was people saying they're just not drinking anymore. That was resounding. It made it feel very serious to me." 

Boin partnered with a data analyst to dig deeper into the feedback. She found that health concerns accounted for 20% of responses -- many of which referred to alcohol as "toxic," "poison" or the "2024 cigarette." 

"There's just a growing knowledge and cultural consensus in younger gens about the negative effects of alcohol," read one comment, which received 400 likes. "It's less weird to not drink now." 

There were several other recurring themes: Thirty percent of responses pointed to negative effects of drinking wine, like hangovers or headaches, while 8% were related to cost. ("We can't even buy groceries," wrote one person.) Thirty-one percent of sentiments expressed confusion around wine, dislike for the taste, or a preference for marijuana and mocktails. Some motifs were especially revelatory, Boin said, such as experiences with alcohol abuse in one's family. Another was the inability to drink due to the use of medications for anxiety, weight loss and depression. 

Boin found the results discouraging, signaling a major cultural shift away from alcohol altogether -- not just a fleeting trend. "It's very different from how I grew up," said Boin, "where it was the absolute norm to drink, and you drew attention to yourself if you weren't holding something in a social setting." 

The video's response reflects new research debunking the long-held belief that moderate consumption of alcohol, and wine specifically, offers health benefits. A slew of recent studies have warned that even one drink per day can increase the risk of developing heart issues, high blood pressure and other serious health conditions like cancer. Last year, the World Health Organization made the strongest statement yet: No level of alcohol consumption is safe. 

This messaging seems to be sinking in. According to 2023 Nielsen data, 45% of Gen Z consumers (21 and up) say they've never consumed alcohol. A Gallup poll revealed that as of 2023, 52% of people between the ages of 21 and 34 believed moderate drinking is bad for your health -- up from 34% in 2013. Meanwhile, the nonalcoholic beverage category is booming: Nielsen revealed that sales jumped 35% between 2022 and 2023, topping $565 million. Cannabis use is on the rise, too; Pew Research data shows that 74% of Americans live in a state where cannabis is legal for medical or recreational use. 

The wine industry has been hoping that younger generations, like the generations before them, will grow into wine over time, moving from White Claw to Cabernet as their tastes and finances evolve. But Boin believes the response to her video proves this might not be the case. She suggests the industry look deeper into producing nonalcoholic wines and offering alternative beverages at wine tastings. 

"If people are not drinking at all, we cannot assume they're going to change," she said. "We can't just keep doubling down on what worked for our parents and our grandparents." 

(SF Chronicle)

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS IN THE NORTHWEST

Key points: 

• Climate change affects the region in different ways due to the large geographic area that spans different climates. 
• Temperatures have warmed by 2-3° F since 1900 throughout the region. 
• More precipitation is now falling as rain instead of snow, which is reducing snowpack in much of the region.
• Extreme events like droughts, floods, wildfires, and heat waves are occurring more often. 
• Glaciers are melting, permafrost thaw is increasing, and breakup of river and sea ice is occurring earlier in the year.

Scaling down the global process of climate change to specific locations can be challenging. Because the Northwest Climate Hub region is so diverse and expansive, containing everything from the highest peak in the United States (Denali) to dry sagebrush steppe, climate change impacts are different throughout Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

Globally, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have risen 50% since 1850 causing changes in temperature and an increase in extreme climatic events like floods and drought throughout the Northwest. The natural resources of the Northwest are likely to be increasingly threatened in the future, as unprecedented warming, varying precipitation trends, and extreme events intensify. This article outlines climate change impacts that have already occurred, changes that are expected to occur in the future, and resources for climate mitigation and adaptation.…

climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/northwest/topic/climate-change-impacts-northwest

WHO CAN FIX CALIFORNIA'S TROUBLED JAILS? THIS BOARD IS GAINING NEW POWER TO REVIEW DEATHS

California's county-run jails have a crisis on their hands with overdoses and suicides claiming dozens of lives every year. 

This year, for the first time, a state agency that oversees conditions in the locally run lockups is gaining authority through a new state law to demand information from sheriffs and review those deaths. 

California created the Board of State and Community Corrections in 2011 when it reduced its severely overcrowded state prison population in part by directing more inmates to the locally run jails. The board was supposed to collect data, recommend policies and distribute grants. 

Now, advocates for jail inmates want the board to take a more active role in addressing conditions inside the lockups. 

The board is composed primarily of people with backgrounds in law enforcement. In July, the board will gain two additional members with expertise in health care and mental health. 

(CalMatters)

THAIS TAKEOUT: THE TASTE OF THINGS

by David Yearsley

The first page of Henry Fothergill Chorley’s three-volume set of Music and Manners in France and Germany: A Series of Travelling Sketches of Art and Society published in London in 1841 finds the famed critic in a culinary mode, recommending that culture-seekers should “suit the preparations of dinner to the pleasures of the evening: an old fashioned beef-steak and a pint [!] of port should prelude one of Shakespeare’s plays; the risotto and the macaroni of a genuine Italian tratteria [sic] introduce the languid voluptuous cavatinas of the Donnizettis [sic] and the Bellinis; a modicum of champagne tune the spirits to the gay pitch of the Opéra Comique, and an exquisite French dinner (why not at Vefour’s?), unspoiled by barbarian English notions, be performed as a reasonable prologue to a first night at L’Académie Royale”— the last venue being the home of the immense spectacle that was French Grand Opera.

With this passage ringing in my ears and rumbling in my stomach, I went last night to Trần Anh Hùng’s The Taste of Things, France’s entry in the Best Foreign Feature Film category at the recent Oscars.

The English-language title is a stinker, not so much in the nose, that organ so crucial to taste, as on it. The French original, La Passion de Dodin Bouffant, is, naturally, more sophisticated, since the title character (played by Benoît Magimel) is a wealthy gourmet living in a handsome chateau in the country shares his life of gastronomic exploration and ecstasy with his beautiful live-in cook Eugénie (Juliette Binoche). Food is the default passion of these French folk, though it activates kindred desires. One passion feeds another. Though the film is set in the late nineteenth century, Dodin is a sensitive modern man, not a pre-MeToo predator who gropes the help. Dodin admires and respects Eugénie, relies on her and loves her. He keeps making gently ardent marriage proposals in spite of her countless rejections.

Of an evening, after the digestif and tisane have been drunk, Dodin ascends the darkened stairs to his cook’s room. If the door is unlocked he enters; if it is locked he turns away. Twice we see Eugénie’s naked backside, framed by Hùng as if a nude painted by Degas. Dodin admires her first, then touches her gently. But before things heat up, Hùng cuts abruptly to the next morning and right back where the real action is: the kitchen.

This laboratory of taste and smell is spacious, light, rationally laid out, and equipped with a killer arsenal of cooper pots and ceramic casseroles, sieves, ladles, and sharp knives with handles worn by experience and affection. In this domain—as, we must suppose, in the boudoir—the touch is tender, expert. With loving finesse, slices of truffle are inserted into the cavity of a plucked fowl, peas from the nearby garden are shelled, the dark skin of a skate-wing is teased from its flaky white flesh. Fabulously rich and subtle broths are poured through cheesecloth or skimmed from pots over joints of meat from nearby pastures, over fish of the sea, over birds no longer of the air. There are no disclaimers in the closing credits: animals were definitely harmed—and then eaten—in the production of this movie.

The American distributors that retitled the movie The Taste of Things must have figured that audiences in this country needed clearer content alerts on the cinematic menu, rather like those abbreviations found in modern restaurants: VE (Vegetarian), VG (Vegan), GF (Gluten-Free). None apply to this fare, which practically hardens the arteries just to look at it. But the film’s English-language title is the equivalent of slapping a GP on the movie poster: GP for Gastro-Porn, or, for those boasting more elevated palates, GE for Gastro-Erotica.

Yet if one expects, as I did, a sensualist experience that, as Chorley might have recommended had he lived in the age of motion pictures, mingles lush music with radiant images of gorgeous dishes being prepared, plated, consumed, then your ears will go hungry. You won’t even be treated to the slightest garnish of a Saint-Saëns sonata or a Fauré chanson. The Taste of Things should come with that rarest of cinematic labels: MF — Music Free.

Aural recompense abounds. The chateau is deep in the countryside and it is a pleasure to be welcomed into its sound world. As the year is 1889, the railway has come but not yet here. A rooster crows outside the kitchen. Unseen thrushes sing to the accompaniment of rustling artichoke leaves in the garden. Mortal enemies of the avian ranks, cats meow in the barnyard. In the nearby woodland bright with flowers echo the resonant hammerings of a woodpecker.

The kitchen is without electricity or even running water. Here all sounds are human generated. A hefty knob of celeriac gasps when sliced by a knife blade. A metal whisk drums against a copper bowl. Chopped vegetables drop into a pot and begin to sizzle and sing, conducted by the dull scrape of a wooden spoon. Ice cream breathily assents to be scooped into the inside of a baked Alaska (we learn from the film that the French designation scrolls round the poplar north to omelette norvégienne), which, when the time is just right, sighs into flame.

Sound becomes a sensual surrogate for taste and smell.

Though the film is without a soundtrack score, Dodin refers twice to music in two of his many philosophical discourses on food and life. A teenage girl, the niece of the scullery maid, shows herself to have a preternatural palate: she can identify almost all of the many ingredients of a complex consommé prepared by Eugénie to Dodin’s specification. Later he remarks to his beloved chef that musical prodigies can demonstrate perfect pitch by the age of three and read a complicated score by five, but no one can become a gourmet before the age of forty. Later when elucidating the hierarchy of tastes, he compares a soup to a sonata, the first theme taking prominence, while the subsidiary motives should lend their voices to the whole but do not steal attention. These ponderous pronouncements fittingly reflect Dodin’s gastro-centric views of art, though his over-egged musical analogies make us thankful that no postprandial chanson is allowed to grace the chateau and spark another synesthetic sermon.

Surprisingly, Dodin’s house appears to be without a piano, even if music was long a crucial element of dining. Indeed, the French invented a term for it— musique de table. The Taste of Things is most compelling in the virtuosic culinary performance, like a kind of chamber music in a period kitchen, that captures the joys of practice, preparation, work, attentiveness, the sharpening and indulgence of the senses, concentration, consummation, and the paradoxical timelessness and ephemerality of art and love. Perhaps Dodin believes actual music would be a distraction, and perhaps he’s right.

But then, just as we leave the kitchen for the last time and a few seconds before the closing credits roll, otherworldly music intrudes. Hùng just couldn’t help himself from lifting the lid off of that last ornate tureen, untouched throughout, the one that contains (no surprise) the simmering seductions of the “Méditation” from Jules Massenet’s Thaïs. Ironically, this spaciously hedonistic piece is all about resisting the sensuality it shamelessly traffics in. In the opera, an ascetic monk has put his case for the renunciation of sin to the libertine title character and during this orchestral interlude she meditates on her decision, ultimately agreeing to reject her voluptuous ways and check in for a lifetime stay at a nearby convent. It goes without saying that the evangelizing monk later falls prey to his own repressed erotic desires, hastening at opera’s close from his monastery to Thaïs’s nunnery where she is (no spoiler alert necessary) on her deathbed.

Massenet’s orchestral original channels Thaïs’s wavering thoughts through a quavering violin accompanied by harp. A full battery of strings, along with clarinet and horns, abetted by throbbing timpani, stoke the urgent desire she contends with in a surging middle section, before a full chorus, lips sealed, hums her towards the Lord’s loving arms.

Hùng wisely resisted the violin and orchestra version, and instead opted for Andrew van Oeyen’s performance of a piano transcription which cannot indulge in vibrato or swooping portamento, since these strong seasonings are not available on the Steinway. Without these flavors, this Méditation is more restrained than the original recipe, but it is still maudlin, cloying, served up way to often as the epitome of lovelorn French longing.

Perhaps Hùng thought there would be comfort in the cliché, but after two hours of succulent sophistication, this final emulsion leaves a sickly-sweet aftertaste in the ears and on the tongue.

(David Yearsley is a long-time contributor to CounterPunch and the Anderson Valley Advertiser. His latest book is ‘Sex, Death and Minuets: Anna Magdalena Bach and Her Musical Notebooks.’ He can be reached at dgyearsley@gmail.com.)

CLOSE-UP OF DEATH CULTURE: 1,000 IN ENTERTAINMENT BIZ PROCLAIM SUPPORT FOR GAZA SLAUGHTER

by Norman Solomon

Last week, Variety reported that “more than 1,000 Jewish creatives, executives and Hollywood professionals have signed an open letter denouncing Jonathan Glazer’s ‘The Zone of Interest’ Oscar speech.” The angry letter is a tight script for a real-life drama of defending Israel as it continues to methodically kill civilians no less precious than the signers’ own loved ones.

A few ethical words from Glazer while accepting his award provoked outrage. He spoke of wanting to refute “Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation, which has led to conflict for so many innocent people,” and he followed with a vital question: “Whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?”

Those words were too much for the letter’s signers, who included many of Hollywood’s powerful producers, directors and agents. For starters, they accused Glazer (who is Jewish) of “drawing a moral equivalence between a Nazi regime that sought to exterminate a race of people, and an Israeli nation that seeks to avert its own extermination.”

Ironically, that accusation embodied what Glazer had confronted from the Academy Awards stage when he said that what’s crucial in the present is “not to say, ‘Look what they did then,’ rather, ‘Look what we do now.’”

But the letter refused to look at what Israel is doing now as it bombs, kills, maims and starves Palestinian civilians in Gaza, where there are now 32,000 known dead and 74,000 injured. The letter’s moral vision only looked back at what the Third Reich did. Its signers endorsed the usual Zionist polemics -- fitting neatly into Glazer’s description of “Jewishness and the Holocaust” being “hijacked by an occupation.”

The letter even denied that an occupation actually exists -- objecting to “the use of words like ‘occupation’ to describe an indigenous Jewish people defending a homeland that dates back thousands of years.” Somehow the Old Testament was presumed to be sufficient justification for the ongoing slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza, most of whose ancestors lived in what’s now Israel. The vast majority of 2.2 million people have been driven from their bombed-out homes in Gaza, with many now facing starvation due to blockage of food.

Israel’s extreme restrictions on food and other vital supplies are causing deaths from starvation and disease as well as enormous suffering. In early March, a panel of U.N. experts issued a statement that declared: “Israel has been intentionally starving the Palestinian people in Gaza since 8 October. Now it is targeting civilians seeking humanitarian aid and humanitarian convoys.” (So much for the anti-Glazer letter’s claim that “Israel is not targeting civilians.”)

Last weekend, on Egypt’s border at the crossing to Rafah, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: "Here from this crossing, we see the heartbreak and heartlessness of it all. A long line of blocked relief trucks on one side of the gates, the long shadow of starvation on the other. That is more than tragic. It is a moral outrage."

But there is not the slightest hint of any such moral outrage in the letter signed by the more than 1,000 “creatives, executives and Hollywood professionals.” Instead, all the ire is directed at Glazer for pointing out that moral choices on matters of life and death are not merely consigned to the past. The crimes against humanity committed by Nazi Germany against Jews are in no way exculpatory for the crimes against humanity now being committed by Israel.

What Glazer said in scarcely one minute retains profound moral power that no distortions can hide. Continuity exists between the setting of “The Zone of Interest” eight decades ago and today’s realities as the United States supports Israel’s genocidal actions: “Our film shows where dehumanization leads, at its worst. It shaped all of our past and present. Right now we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation, which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?”

Much of the movie’s focus is on the lives of a man and a woman preoccupied with career, status and material well-being. Such preoccupations are hardly unfamiliar in the movie industry, where silence or support for the Gaza war are common among professionals -- in contrast to Jonathan Glazer and others, Jewish or not, who have spoken out in his defense or for a ceasefire.

“What he was saying is so simple: that Jewishness, Jewish identity, Jewish history, the history of the Holocaust, the history of Jewish suffering, must not be used in the campaign as an excuse for a project of dehumanizing or slaughtering other people,” the playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner said in an interview with an Israeli newspaper days ago. He called Glazer’s statement from the Oscars stage “unimpeachable and irrefutable.”

Yet even without signing the open letter that denounced Glazer’s comments, some in the entertainment industry felt compelled to assert their backing for a country now engaged in a genocidal war. Notably, a spokesperson for the financier of Glazer’s film, Len Blavatnik, responded to the controversy by telling Variety that “his long-standing support of Israel is unwavering.”

How many more Palestinian civilians will Israel murder before such “support for Israel” begins to waver?

(Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. He is the author of many books including War Made Easy. His latest book, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine, was published in 2023 by The New Press.)