Mendocino County Today: Thursday 4/4/24

Showers | Noyo River | GRTA Plan | Trail Assault | Field Trip | BBQ Improvements | KZYX Benefit | Dam Debate | Bower Park | Art Walk | New Deputies | LWV Meeting | FB Foodbank | Firewood Permits | Percussion Concert | Beer Fest | Mendo Mill | Nearly 82 | Clare's Cafe | Justice Court | Yesterday's Catch | Casino County | Lizard | Mayor Fieri | Carlotta | Tenderloin PR | Repetition | Willows | Prison Cheer | Intellectual Cowardice | Grand Slam | Big Quakes | Young Beatles | Custer's Jockstrap | Bootleggers | Saddest Task | Making Out | Montmarte Hill | Alcohol Consumption | Dow Ale

UNSEASONABLY COLD STORM will bring minor snow impacts above 2500 to 3000 feet today through Friday morning. A few thunderstorms may also produce small hail. Strong and gusty northerly winds will develop along the north coast this afternoon. Chance for more light precipitation is expected this weekend, followed by a warming and drying trend early to mid next week. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): Light rain, 45F & .06" of new rainfall this Thursday morning on the coast. Cold, rain & maybe some thunder today, really cold & windy Friday then slowly warming back up during the weekend. Next week is looking dry so far.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ESSENTIAL TO HISTORIC MULTI-USE TRAIL DEVELOPMENT

Ukiah, CA (April 3, 2024) — Today, the Great Redwood Trail Agency (GRTA) released the draft Master Plan for the northern stretch of the 307-mile rail-to-trail project connecting San Francisco and Humboldt Bays. The draft Master Plan is informed by broad tribal and community outreach efforts and stakeholder engagement led by Alta Planning + Design, with support from North Coast Opportunities, Redwood Community Action Agency, and Jen Rice, with funding from the State Coastal Conservancy. The draft Master Plan can be found at GreatRedwoodTrailPlan.org. …

"It has been a long journey, preparing for the launch of this draft Master Plan,” said Sen. McGuire. “The Great Redwood Trail Agency has hosted numerous community and kitchen table meetings seeking feedback from thousands of neighbors who live near and around this remarkable trail. We are grateful to all of those who provided comments and participated in the meetings."

"As the new Executive Director of GRTA, I’m excited to work in partnership with communities along the trail to develop the Great Redwood Trail Agency into a solid and sustainable agency that leverages resources to create opportunities for improved health, recreation, and economic growth while honoring and supporting the many communities and cultures along the corridor,” said Elaine Hogan, Executive Director of GRTA. “I believe this draft Master Plan is an excellent first step in laying out our vision for the Great Redwood Trail, and I welcome input from communities to help design a trail that best serves them.”

Frazier Haney, Executive Director of the Wildlands Conservancy, added, “the Great Redwood Trail will be a pilgrimage for those who need the solace nature brings— for grieving a loss, seeking new meaning in life, or discerning their own purpose— and our organization is proud to help anchor it with facilities and staff in the Eel River Canyon to the sea.”

GREAT REDWOOD TRAIL STAFF

GREAT REDWOOD TRAIL BOARD

https://thegreatredwoodtrail.org/staff/

(Excerpts from the April 3, 2024 GRT presser)

GREAT REDWOOD ASSAULT

On Sunday, March 31, 2024, Ukiah Police Department (UPD) Officers were dispatched to the 100 block of East Gobbi Street in Ukiah for a report of an assault that had just occurred. UPD Dispatch informed the UPD Officers that a suspect, described as a black male adult wearing sweatpants and no shirt had just attacked a male, and fled on foot towards Safeway. 

A UPD Officer arrived at the intersection of East Gobbi Street and the Great Redwood Trail and was flagged down by multiple concerned citizens who were tending to an injured elderly male. The UPD Officer immediately determined that the victim had sustained traumatic injuries to his face and head, and was in need of medical treatment. Medical personnel were requested to the scene and the extent of the victim’s injuries were relayed to the other UPD Officers that were arriving in the area. Multiple eyewitnesses informed the UPD Officer on scene that the victim, a Ukiah resident had been casually walking down the street, had been punched multiple times, thrown to the ground, and kicked in the head. 

The UPD Officers began canvasing the area for the suspect, and located 33-Year-Old, Curtis Bettencourt on the west side of Safeway. 

Bettencourt matched the description of the suspect as Bettencourt was shirtless and wearing sweatpants. Bettencourt was known to UPD Officers to have a history of drug use and violent behavior. Bettencourt was immediately noncompliant, refused to submit to detention, and took a fighting stance. Bettencourt balled up his fists and began making punching motions, leading the UPD Officer to believe that Bettencourt was preparing for a physical altercation. 

The UPD Officer deployed his conducted energy device (TASER) at Bettencourt, which achieved neuromuscular incapacitation so Bettencourt was able to be restrained in handcuffs without any injury to the UPD Officer or Bettencourt. 

The victim was transported to Adventist Health Ukiah Valley (AHUV) Emergency Room where treatment was initiated for multiple head wounds. Bettencourt was also transported to the AHUV Emergency Room for precautionary measures, before being taken to the Mendocino County Jail and booked on charges of assault resulting in great bodily injury [243(d) PC], resisting arrest [148(a)(1) PC], and possession of drug paraphernalia [11364(a) H&S.] 

UPD would like to thank MedStar medical personnel who arrived on scene to treat the injured victim and AHUV medical staff for their assistance. 

As always, UPD’s mission is to make Ukiah as safe a place as possible. If you would like to know more about crime in your neighborhood, you can sign up for telephone, cellphone, and email notifications by clicking the Nixle button on our website; http://www.ukiahpolice.com.

* * *

A READER COMMENTS: Unfortunately, the street life he revolves in has created many jobs. Without users like him, a lot of people would end up in the unemployment line, or have to move out of the area. Cops, the legal community, courthouse, the dealers, the homeless and drug managers, motel owners, the business people bringing the drugs to Ukiah… The place might be a ghost town without this wild, frontier-type vibe going on. Then there’s the crowd who kind of likes the gritty, edgy inner-city to follow them, no matter how far they move away from an urban center. Probably not saying anything you don’t already know, but maybe somebody else doesn’t know? Lots of good reasons to keep this strategy up, depending which desk someone mans.

AV STUDENTS GO TO PUERTO RICO

Students in Ms. Cook's Spanish 3/4 class are experiencing the wonders of Puerto Rico this week with a variety of experiences including exploring the rain forest, visiting an FFA school chapter, a coffee plantation and more!

The trip was underwritten by various donors including the Anderson Valley Education Foundation. Last year, following the trip, 13 of the 14 students that took the Advanced Placement Exam passed above the state average! Kudos to Ms. Cook for her planning of this meticulous learning adventure!

Louise Simson, Superintendent, Anderson Valley Unified School District

CITY OF UKIAH BEGINS MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS TO TODD GROVE PARK BARBEQUE AREA

The large barbeque area at Todd Grove Park is getting a major facelift, just in time for summer use.

Beginning on Monday, April 8, MARZ Engineering will be onsite and beginning removal of the existing facilities. The improved area will include:

* 18 new picnic tables;

* new 30' x 30' shade structure;

* five new barbeques; and

* two prep tables.

The entire project is expected to take 3-4 weeks.

The large barbeque area may be reserved by calling the Ukiah Valley Conference Center at (707) 463-6706.

DIVIDED WATERS: Debate Over Scott Dam’s Fate Boils Over in Eel Russian Project Authority Meeting

by Monica Huettl

The Eel Russian Project Authority convened its second Board meeting on March 19, 2024, addressing the debate surrounding the fate of Scott Dam and the future of water diversion along the Russian River. Held at the Board of Supervisors Chambers in Ukiah on March 19, the meeting saw arguments from residents and stakeholders, highlighting deep divisions over whether to preserve the dam or pursue alternative solutions. Amidst calls for preserving water storage and concerns over the impact on fisheries, the Board ultimately voted to advance alternative E-2, the Pumping Station, signaling a pivotal moment in the ongoing saga of water management in the region.…

mendofever.com/2024/04/03/divided-waters-debate-over-scott-dams-fate-boils-over-in-eel-russian-project-authority-meeting/

ART WALK: emphasis on ART and WALK. Ukiah is a very walkable town.

Join artists and their hosts for an evening of art, music and refreshments as you stroll from one venue to the next; each showcasing local art and artistry. Held in Historic Downtown Ukiah on the first Friday of each month, the First Friday Art Walk is the perfect way to relax your body, mind and soul. This enjoyable evening begins at 5:00 p.m. and promises to delight your senses; all while enjoying the company of others. April 5th, 2024 5-8pm (some locations may host different hours, make sure you check with specific locations)…more info

TWO NEW CORRECTIONS DEPUTIES joined the local law enforcement community today in Ukiah. Mendocino County locals, Corrections Deputy Yulisa Angulo and Corrections Deputy Austin Walrath took the Peace Officer’s Oath of Office today at the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office. Both deputies start their orientation and training this week. Please join us in congratulating Yulisa and Austin as they begin their law enforcement careers.

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS APRIL MEETING

The League of Women Voters of Mendocino County will hold its April meeting on Tuesday, 4/16, from 6-7:30 pm. The meeting will be held on Zoom.

The program will explore some current developments in sustainable gardening on the coast, of interest to anyone with a garden, or with a desire to support healthier food production. League member Sydney Grange has assembled an interesting panel of local leaders. Julia Dakin of Xa Kako Dile, (the indigenous women-led and -directed non-profit located on a working farm in Caspar) will explain their new project, Nourishing Seeds. Oona Heacock from Conservation Works will cover efforts of this regionally based environmental education organization in the area. Also presenting will be Teresa Raffo from the Noyo Food Forest; their 15th Annual Earth Day Festival will be held on Saturday, April 20 at Fort Bragg High School.

A question and answer period for the audience, moderated by League member Kathy Wylie, will follow.

The link for the Zoom meeting can be found on the League's website (look under the calendar tab).

For more information, call 707-937-4952.

FORT BRAGG FOOD BANK

Welcome Back!! Fort Bragg Food Bank wants to invite you back over to our main warehouse for the ultimate Choice Pantry Experience. This Friday come see our new set up between 10-4!! We are so excited to have you back and we hope you enjoy it too! And please let us know if you feel like the roots remain when you get inside and see how we created the new with a touch of the past

NATIONAL FOREST FIREWOOD PERMITS ON SALE THIS FRIDAY

When you purchase a permit, you will receive a detailed map with cutting areas and instructions as part of the permit packet. 

Supervisor’s Office 825 N. Humboldt Ave Willows, CA 95988 (530) 934-3316 

Stonyford Work Center 5171 Stonyford-Elk Creek Road Stonyford, California 95979 (530) 963-3128 

Covelo Ranger District 78150 Covelo Road Covelo, California 95428 (707) 983-6118 

Upper Lake Ranger District 10025 Elk Mountain Rd Upper Lake, CA 95485 (707) 275-2361

Personal-use firewood permits on sale April 5. 2024.

Personal-use firewood permits will be on sale for wood collection from the Mendocino National Forest beginning Friday, April 5. The permit and tags cost $2 per cord with a minimum purchase required of $20 for 10 cords. The maximum number of cords that can be purchased is 12 cords per household. Permits are valid through December 31, 2024. 

Visitors can purchase a permit in person at the offices listed below. Visitors should call ahead when planning a trip to the office, as hours and availability may change. It is suggested to bring a completed permit request form to ease the purchase. Permits are also available by mail, and you can print and download a firewood permit request form at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/mendocino/firewood. 

Please allow three weeks to receive the permit, tags and a map of cutting areas on the forest. A third-party authorization form to allow another person to cut wood for the permit holder is also available upon request. It is illegal to remove firewood from the forest without a valid permit. All firewood removed from the forest must be dead and already on the ground. The maximum length for a piece of wood to be removed is 6 feet. A cord of wood is a well-stacked pile measuring 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet. A chart with truck bed sizes and approximate cord capacity is available online at https://go.usa.gov/xH38E. 

Firewood collected within Lake and Mendocino counties is subject to state and federal quarantines to limit the spread of the sudden oak death pathogen. Firewood taken from these counties can only be transported into other sudden oak death quarantined counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Marin, Monterrey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma and Trinity.

LAST BOONVILLE CONCERT OF THE SEASON! 

Percussionist Chris Froh blew everyone away at the Grange last December with his solo concert on all manner of marimba, vibes, drums, and electronics. This time he is back with several of his students, the UC Davis Percussion Ensemble! They will be carting in all manner of instruments like you've never seen before, and treating us to an amazing evening of virtuoso and vibrant music from all around the world. Proceeds benefit our music teaching program in local schools of Boonville. Please join us! 

Saturday, April 13th at 6:30pm

Doors open at 6pm

$10-$20 sliding scale for over 18, under 18 free.

Anderson Valley Grange

BOONVILLE BEER FEST EARLY BIRD PRICING ENDS SOON

Special $50 ticket pricing ends April 6. Get yours today!

Don’t miss out on early bird pricing!

Haven’t bought your tickets to the Legendary Boonville Beer Festival yet? We find your lack of faith disturbing.

Early bird pricing ends April 6; get your tickets now at the discounted rate of $50 per person! With 80+ breweries, music all day, vendors, and more, this intergalactic beer event is for everyone, whether they’re with the Rebel Alliance, Galactic Empire, the Nightsisters of Dathomir, Clan Wren, or just some scruffy-looking nerf herder we met in a cantina.

Join us May 4, 2024 at Anderson Valley Brewing Company in Boonville! Oh, and by the way, if you already got your tickets, thank you, and see you soon. Buy Tickets

Lodging: Whether you want to cozy up in nature at one of our local camping grounds or are looking for a hotel to book, here’s a list of lodging options for all those traveling from far, far away. Lodging Options

CELEBRATING 80 INCREDIBLE YEARS of growth and community, Mendo Mill & Lumber Company proudly commemorates its journey that began in the Ukiah Valley in 1944 as a humble sawmill. From our early days as a local lumber supplier to our evolution into a go-to home improvement destination, our commitment to serving and uplifting the communities we're part of has remained unwavering.

Every 80 days we are going to have an event to celebrate! We would like to invite you to our first event this Saturday March 23rd. We will have the grills fired up, raffle prizes and outdoor power equipment to demo. Make sure to come by and help us celebrate! Mendo Mill & Lumber Company.

SENIOR SOLIDARITY

Today I received a second copy of the March 20 issue instead of the March 27 which I especially want as it is the last print issue from what I have read. [The last print issue will be May 1. A replacement for the March 27 issue has been sent. — Ed] I knew this would happen given the age of Mr. Anderson and others there, but I am sorry to see it. I know too the paper may cease. I have certainly enjoyed it for decades. I hope Mr. Anderson recovers. My wife died of melanoma cancer last year. I am nearly 82 and badly crippled by adult onset scoliosis and other health problems. I would have had to quit putting out the AVA years ago, so my kudos to Mr. Anderson and the other “seniors” there who have kept it going. 

Lloyd Dennis

Lodi

ANOTHER OLDER LOCAL ITEM FROM EBAY: A Clare's Cafe matchbook (via Marshall Newman)

JUSTICE COURT ADVENTURES 

by Bruce Anderson 

Not long before the Anderson Valley Justice Court was folded into the County Courthouse, Ukiah, a young man charged with driving on a suspended license asked to have his case postponed until the courtroom had cleared. The accused said his complicated tale of vehicular woe was “embarrassing.” The presiding judge, Jonathan Lehan, replied, “You won’t embarrass yourself any more than I usually do.”

Judge Lehan's casual informality was typical of justice court proceedings, not that those proceedings were any less efficient, or any less fair, than the much more formal, rule-bound proceedings over the hill in Ukiah.

Justice courts processed low-intensity criminal matters, mostly traffic-related, and sorted out minor civil disputes. In the Anderson Valley that meant merchants in pursuit of unpaid bills, landlord-tenant disputes and arguments among homeowner groups about payments for road maintenance. These locally-based courts were the only low-cost legal venue ordinary people had short of high-powered rifles with night scopes.

Anderson Valley's justice court had moved often over the years. Back when everything from murder to mopery was heard in Boonville, and Anderson Valley's judge was elected from a slate of locals not trained in the law but trusted by their neighbors to be fair, the valley's disputes were sorted out on the top floor of the old Farrer Building, above where the excellent Mosswood Market bakery is now. Everyone from miles around would crowd upstairs to take in the occasional legal show, perhaps lingering into the night for a dance in a space that also served as the Anderson Valley community's multi-purpose room.

A spectacular fratricide was once tried in Boonville's upstairs people's court. A Signal Ridge man had shot his brother and fed the evidence to their hogs. The hogs had failed to consume the dead man's identifying garments, as well as certain telltale body parts clothed in them. A jury of his Anderson Valley peers sent the Signal Ridge Cain off to San Quentin.

In the late 1960's, court was convened in the eponymous Mannix Building. The civically ubiquitous Homer Mannix also ran the volunteer fire department, oversaw the ambulance service — an old hollowed-out station wagon — functioned as president of the school board, and published this newspaper. And the versatile Mannix presided over the Anderson Valley Justice Court in a welcoming room in his labyrinthian, multi-story Mannix Building.

Then, suddenly it seemed, the lawyers dominant in the state legislature made their move, arguing that “lay judges” like Mannix weren't up to the justice task because they weren't trained in the law. The lay judges had to make way for the professionals which, in Mendocino County at the time, meant young men with law degrees who'd wandered north as flower children to settle in the hills for a few years of drugs and sex before reclaiming the built-in privileges of their diplomas. Shedding the hepatitis lifestyle for lifelong superior court sinecures at quadruple the pay, the new judges, who used to meet once a week as justice court solons, soon devised a Mendocino County judicial system that had the people coming to them in Ukiah rather than them coming to the people. No more would Boonville's vivid chapters of pride and passion, folly and foible; drunks and dopes, the doped and the duped, the maulers and the mauled, and the mutely uncomprehending be sorted out in the community where the dramas played out. 

Before our justice court was packed off over the hill to Ukiah in the late 2000s, it convened the last Friday of every month to hear small claims and “criminal” traffic matters, it was located north of the Boonville Fairgrounds in the sagging, battered south end of the Veteran's Hall, most of which was and still is occupied by the Anderson Valley Senior Center. 

On a warm May afternoon, in one of the Boonville justice court's last sessions, I stood before Judge Jonathan Lehan sitting in that day for Anderson Valley's Judge Eric Labowitz. I swore to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth about how public money in the form of legal ads was being wielded as personal revenge by a Boonville attorney named Geraldine Rose and by Mendocino County's tax-funded recycler, Mike Sweeney, the latter fresh off attempting to recycle his ex-wife via a car bomb.

Out of hostility toward this fine publication, several of the county's public bureaucrats and as many lawyers had been placing legal ads that rightly belonged in the Boonville weekly with the corporate-owned newspaper in Ukiah, a much more expensive placement for taxpayers than a locally-based weekly like mine. Private individuals can place their ads wherever they like. What they do with their money is their business. A public bureaucrat, however, or an attorney responsible for placing a Boonville probate notice for instance, should not be permitted to use tax money to punish their personal enemies.

Which is why I became something of a regular litigant in the Anderson Valley Justice Court, suing Caltrans, the Post Office, Keep Mendocino Beautiful, Mendocino County Social Services, and Ms. Geraldine Rose and Mr. Sweeney. I'd also been sued in justice court for libel. I won those cases on appeal. Additionally, I had been unsuccessfully sued in justice court by a mercenary former colleague and, farther back, in the Arena Justice Court presided over by the berserk Vincent Lechowick, I'd fended off a young prosecutor named Eyster whose boss wanted to put me in the county jail for a year for a harmless scuffle at a school board meeting.

* * *

A pale, tense little guy with cold, blank blue eyes, Mike Sweeney, presently a resident of New Zealand, was a bundle of felonious middleage secrets. One look at Sweeney's pulsating neck veins and his throbbing cheek muscles, and one was instantly aware that the spirit of McVeigh-Kaczynski-Lecter was in the room.

Ms. Rose, another seething bundle of hostilities, may have looked like a Beanie Baby, and may have presented herself as Grandma Moses, but she ran a close second to Sweeney in the hostility sweepstakes.

Boonville people who were dying or thinking about dying, went to Ms. Rose to wrap up their affairs. As the only practicing lawyer in Boonville, she also got the local probate business that arrives every fall with the first rains as respiratory complaints besieged Anderson Valley's Vulnerable Elderly. At their first vague, winterly complaint, the heavily insured Vulnerable Elderly were packed off to Ukiah by ambulance, typically returning a week later in an expensive velvet-lined box from Eversole Mortuary, the Adventist-owned hospital having plundered the V-E's insurance carriers one last time.

If the Vulnerable Elderly hadn't expected to depart, and had left no will, the public must be notified that they are no longer with us. If there are people out there with a claim to the deceased's estate, these claimants must be informed. Ordinarily, those surviving claimants live in the same community as the departed. The notification and disposition process is called probate, and the lawyer in charge of the estate almost always places the probate notice in the newspaper of the community once home to the departed. Logical, right? 

Ms. Rose, however, chose to place Anderson Valley probate ads in the Ukiah paper (and charge the ad to the estate she was handling). She'd done it many times and, several times, with the estates of friends of mine simply to avoid having to do business with me, using other people's money to get her revenge — petty revenge, at that. Worse, by placing the probate notice in the Ukiah paper, which maintained only a token circulation in Anderson Valley so it could charge all its advertisers more money by claiming a circulation area much greater than is supported by its actual circulation, the purpose of probate — public notice that a person has died without leaving a will — is defeated because the people the deceased had lived among are not likely to know that the deceased had died “intestate,” lawyer talk for dying without a will. 

* * *

I spent that May afternoon arguing against the retaliatory placement of legal ads by Geraldine Rose and Mike Sweeney.

Sweeney, neck and cheek in full throb, was first up.

Judge Lehan asked me, “I understand your claim with Mr. Sweeney's board of directors was denied.”

“That’s right,” Sweeney promptly replied, answering the question the judge had asked me, leaning into the table like a human saw blade.

“Yes,” I said, “My claim for an ad arbitrarily denied me by Mr. Sweeney was rejected by the Mendocino Solid Waste Authority's board of directors. But Mr. Sweeney has, as of April of this year, been directed by his board to advertise in the AVA, meaning his board agreed with me that Mr. Sweeney had discriminated against me.”

“The claim was denied,” Sweeney insisted.

 “Right,” I said. “My claim was denied, but as I just explained Mr. Sweeney has been ordered not to divert advertising from my paper for his personal reasons.”

“The Board voted to deny the claim,” Sweeney repeated, as if nothing else had happened.

“Mr. Anderson,” Judge Lehan asked, “you’re saying that the board’s decision was a tacit admission that ads should be placed in the AVA?

“Yes, clearly,” I said. “I wasn't retroactively awarded the money for the one ad I sued them for, but the MSWMA board has directed Mr. Sweeney to be a grown up about ad placement in the future.”

Sweeney, seriously agitated, leaned over the table to demand, “What statute requires us to advertise in a particular place? What statute limits my discretion?”

“The statute placed on you by your own board of directors not to use public money to get personal revenge on Boonville's beloved weekly,” I said.

“Is there a MSWMA board policy now or for the future about ad placement?” the judge asked.

Sweeney, lying in a context that makes no sense to lie in, pretended he hadn't just been ordered by MSWMA's board to advertise with me, answered, “They gave me the discretionary authority to advertise on the basis of cost-effectiveness. We put signs at the Boonville Fairgrounds, at the Boonville transfer station, we distribute handbills, we give notices to school children, we advertise on KZYX that we are coming to Boonville. We don’t discriminate against anyone. We have never advertised in the Press Democrat. We have advertised in the Ukiah shopper, Farm Bureau News, The Mendonesian, Round Valley News, Pennysaver, the MEC Newsletter, Parents Magazine, and other publications. There is no policy on advertising or on newspaper advertising. There is no basis for this claim, no basis for the costs alleged. There is no statute that requires us to advertise.”

“The AVA,” the judge asked, “is a newspaper of general circulation, right?”

“Yes,” I said. “The AVA is a certified newspaper of general circulation, a fact of local life many people find distressing, but a fact of life nonetheless. The publications cited by Mr. Sweeney weren't publications of general circulation. In fact, several of them no longer exist. And it is untrue that the appearances of MSWMA Hazmobile are regularly announced in Anderson Valley anywhere but on KZYX. I’d never seen leaflets at the dump and I go there almost every weekend. I’d never seen the signs of forthcoming Hazmobile visits at the Boonville Fairgrounds except for a placard placed in the Fairgrounds parking lot the actual day of the visit, which isn't to say that they haven't been posted somewhere in the valley. But this isn't the point: I'm saying that Mr. Sweeney uses public money to reward his friends and penalize his critics. The MSWMA board obviously agrees with me since they've directed Mr. Sweeney to advertise in the AVA from now on. Their directive is tacit agreement that Mr. Sweeney has indeed used public money to discriminate against people he doesn’t like and to reward people he does like.

“For instance, Sweeney rewarded his crackpot allies at KZYX with public recycling money for faithfully propagating his version of the murderous event related to his ex-wife in a pending federal matter. Additionally, as I've often pointed out in my paper, his garbage agency is the second of two in the county; it's redundant. Mr. Sweeney is advancing a personal agenda with public money and he has no ethical or legal right to do that. These are public monies he's spending.”

“There is no law requiring us to advertise anywhere,” Sweeney insisted. “The board directed non-payment of the claim.”

“We're going in circles here,” I said. “Mr. Sweeney's board has ordered him to advertise with me from now on. That fact is not in dispute, but Mr. Sweeney pretends it doesn't exist. And claiming that there’s no law telling him to advertise or not advertise in a specific newspaper is silly. There's no law telling me not to blindfold myself and run across highway 128's weekend traffic either.”

“The claim,” Sweeney declared, neck veins throbbing and now wholly into Captain Queeg's psychic territory, “that he runs a newspaper of general circulation is not relevant. There is no basis for the claim.”

Claim? Like the existence of my paper is as dubious as UFO's?

“There’s obviously a clear basis for my claim,” I answered, “and that basis is the decision of Mr. Sweeney's employers to instruct him to place ads with me from now on.”

From next door at the Senior Center, someone was playing “My Happiness” on the piano. Sweeney's nervous twitches seemed to dance to the music.

I handed the judge a copy of a letter I'd written to Sweeney's board of directors at MSWMA.

Judge Lehan took time out to read it, smiling at the paragraph that said Sweeney uses public money to divert attention from himself in the pending federal matter having to do with the car bomb he placed in his former wife's Subaru.

“This is more interesting than I thought,” the judge chuckled, prompting Sweeney's entire head and shoulders to vibrate in a sort of epileptic shudder. “Mr. Sweeney’s discretion is not limited here. I can’t rule on personal reasons. Or the fact that his board has directed Mr. Sweeney to advertise in the AVA cannot be considered evidence of a wrongful denial of the claim. Are there any requirements for advertising which are part of grants or mandates?

“No,” Sweeney said. “Not of any kind.”

“I'm not aware of any,” I said.

Judge Lehan wrapped things up. “I can’t rule on personal circumstances. I will make this addendum Mr. Anderson has written part of the court file. I see nothing in the law that Mr. Sweeney has anything but individual discretion in placing ads. I find for the defendant.”

Sweeney won. Kinda. But he half-won, really, because his bosses told him to advertise with me from now on.

Sweeney bolted for the door and was gone. 

* * *

Judge Lehan called out case number 1717 as Ms. Rose, more than twice the size of Sweeney, replaced him beside me at the table in front of the judge. Lehan offered to disqualify himself because he had often worked with Ms. Rose. I magnanimously allowed the judge to stay on, seeing as how my chances in the matter ranged from zero to zilch, whoever the judge was.

“The facts are not contested,” the judge said. “It's a second claim by Mr. Anderson of misplaced ads. Placed in other papers, the Ukiah Daily Journal in this case. What does the law require? Government Code section 6041 says legal advertising should be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation of the County. 6042 says if none exists in the city where the death took place, then a publication in the nearest city in the county should be used.” 

Exactly. But one exists that Ms. Rose deliberately pretends does not exist. 

Ms. Rose, in the pious voice of a third grade milk monitor, and referring to the judge as either “Sir” or “Your honor” throughout, reached for the in-county collegiality Mendocino's legal apparatus uses to wall itself off from responsibility for its ongoing war against the rest of us.

“Probate code section 8121 says the city must be in the area where the person lived. I don’t understand Mr. Anderson's claim of money for services he didn’t provide. His letter describing his case is largely irrelevant. I am not required to publish in his newspaper. The advertising for probate is not just for the heirs and general public but for creditors. Mr. Morgan spent his last weeks at UVMC on emergency stuff. There’s probably lots of credit he received from doctors and health care providers.”

“It seems that distant creditors come before Ms. Rose's clients,” I said. “Who's she representing in these things, her customers or her customers’ creditors? And by her logic The Wall Street Journal could be considered a newspaper of general circulation both in Anderson Valley and in the county generally.”

Basically, I argued, this case was about a vindictive outback lawyer using the small change of dead people to get at me. Screwing me is one thing, but Geraldine Rose shouldn't be allowed to screw me by putting at risk the interests of the family of the deceased. Why was there an argument about something this clear?

“What would prevent her from advertising in Willits or in the Beacon, Mr. Anderson? I’m not aware of any legal requirement that ads be put in more than one paper. Are you?”

“No,” I said, “I’m not aware of any law, but I think small independent papers should get the public ads. It's logically and implicitly promised in its status of legal adjudication as the community newspaper for a designated area. Besides which, probate ads for a person who lived in Boonville belong in Boonville, not Willits, because the people the deceased lived with are here, not there. Ukiah newspapers rightly get the legal ads that arise out of that community, I should get the ones that come out of here. Also, in a time of media consolidation into mammoth information conglomerates if a free press is going to survive in the United States, fair distribution of legal ads should be a priority of the court. The point here is that Ms. Rose routinely announces probate of local estates — including the estates of friends of mine — in the Ukiah paper to avoid my paper, her odd disclaimer that she does it to protect the deceased's last creditors notwithstanding. I can’t blame her for her hostility to me, but…”

Ms. Rose, in full lawyer mode, declared, “Objection. Relevance.”

“Legal advertising should not be dispensed to pursue personal vendettas,” I continued. “I’m tired of her doing it, and I'm revolted by her nicklenosing pettiness in doing it the way she does it, which she does without admitting her motives. If she does it again we’ll both be back here soon.”

“All irrelevant, your honor,” Ms. Rose said. “Nothing other than legal issues here. Probate code 8122 has a fail-safe provision. Mr. Anderson’s statements are irrelevant.”

Judge Lehan pulled out a big law book, mumbling that he was looking up the probate laws.

Ms. Rose suddenly claimed, “There’s also the 15 day notice requirement which can make no time available for probate notice to appear in a weekly paper in a timely manner.”

Judge Lehan shot that one down, noting that the county's “other weeklies don’t have a problem with timing probate ads.... The Beacon and Advocate, for example.”

“The AVA never sleeps,” I said. “I live on the premises and offer my advertisers 24-hour service.”

Ignoring me and, looking up from holy writ, Judge Lehan dispatched Anderson v. Rose with, “This is a simple matter on the face of it. Well, maybe not that simple. I can’t decide on issues of personal animosity or perceived animosity. I don’t know how I would do that. It’s not the court’s job. The law gives her complete discretion. I find for the defendant. I appreciate the way you both have presented your cases.”

Afterwards, the bailiff, my neighbor Paul Titus, told me, “I think you won both of 'em, Anderson, but that's the way it goes.” 

CATCH OF THE DAY, Wednesday, April 3, 2024

LINDA ALMOND, Ukiah. Trespassing-refusing to leave, resisting.

DEBRA BARLING, Ukiah. False ID, failure to appear.

JAMIE COLLINS, Lakeport/Ukiah. Trespassing-refusing to leave, disorderly conduct-alcohol&drugs, parole violation.

GEORGE FRED, Lakeport/Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol&drugs.

TEYES HERNANDEZ, Willits. Taking vehicle without owner’s consent, stolen property.

MICHAEL LUCAS, Ukiah. County parole violation.

SHYANN MACLEAN, Willits. Sale of organic drug.

RAUL MEDINA, Ukiah. DUI, suspended license for DUI.

JEFFREY MYERS, Lakeport/Ukiah. Disobeying court order, probation revocation.

HAILEY RILEY, Ukiah. Battery with serious injury, burglary, stolen vehicle, resisting.

PALOMO VALDEZ-CEJA, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

KRISTOPHER WHITE, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-under influence.

JOSHUA WINN, Redwood Valley. Under influence, controlled substance, paraphernalia.

NICHOLAS YOUNG, Anderson/Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

WEST VEGAS

Editor: 

Is Sonoma County becoming the Las Vegas of California? Looks like it to me.

The proposed Koi Nation Shiloh Resort & Casino in Windsor would be the state’s largest, followed by Graton after its $1 billion expansion. Geyserville’s River Rock is expanding. Thankfully, the Petaluma casino proposal is on hold — for now.

What’s really going on here? While the Koi stake their claim to Sonoma County, they continue with legal battles over land use in Lake County, where they vehemently defend their cultural resources, villages and burial grounds. The Oklahoma Chickasaw Nation’s Global Gaming Solutions Group, not the Koi, would actually build and operate the $600 million resort and casino in Windsor.

Shiloh would use about 400,000 gallons of water daily, which doesn’t make our community more sustainable. Sonoma County taxpayers, not those in Oklahoma, would foot the bill for road and other required improvements; in a county already plagued by wildfire risks, a stressed infrastructure and unchecked growth.

I urge readers to write or email the Bureau of Indian Affairs with comments before the April 8 deadline. Make your voices heard. Another casino is wrong for Sonoma County.

Anne Gray

Santa Rosa

GUY FIERI TO TAKE REINS OF FERNDALE

by Sage Alexander

Guy Fieri, the celebrity television presenter and local legend who hailed from Ferndale, will serve as the honorary mayor of the town, a yearly distinction that will take place April 5.

The real-life mayor of Ferndale cited his contributions to the town and his “special place in our hearts,” in the proclamation. 

In a video shared on the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce website where Fieri’s mayorship was announced, Mayor Randall Cady spoke of the celebrity chef and restauranteur’s time as a young chap running his very own pretzel stand. 

“Quite a young ambitious individual. I vaguely remember him selling me a stale pretzel telling me it was still good,” said Cady. 

All kidding aside, he said speaking for the Ferndale community, he wanted to say how much his contributions are appreciated. The proclamation thanked Fieri for his positive impact on the city. 

Contributions to the community noted in the proclamation include serving meals to hospital workers and firefighters along with creating the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Guy Fieri Foundation regularly pops up to support causes in Ferndale; Guy Fieri covered travel costs for the Ferndale football team when they made a championship game in Southern California, who went on to win the state title. He raised $16,000 for Fortuna High’s culinary arts program and their boy’s basketball team last year. In 2021, he bought the building that houses the Ferndale Meat Company where he had his first job. When he heard the building was going up for sale in January, he bought it. 

The Chamber of Commerce blog post said received the key to the city in 2012. 

While Fieri was not able to speak with the Times-Standard on Friday as he was reportedly traveling abroad, Fieri is set to appear on the “Drew Barrymore Show” on April 5. 

(Eureka Times Standard via Ukiah Daily Journal)

LAKSA, LUCRE, AND THE ’LOIN!

Editor,

A recent online article talked to Tenderloin business people about a City PR Campaign designed to bring customers back to the beleaguered nabe. While I agree with them that crime, squalor, and lack of law enforcement are the over-riding concerns, the eatery that offered all-tasting menu Malaysian food at $100 per person might have misread their intended market. 

David Svehla

San Francisco

THERE'S A POINT IN LIFE, if you live long enough, when everything that happens is just repetition. You have done this before in precisely the same way. You have met this person already. You already own one of these contraptions. You've seen it, you've heard it. It's the nightmare of the eternal return — nothing is new. You are not hungry. You don't want any more of anything. You see in life's repetition that your life is over — nothing to look forward to. You are able to anticipate what the man or woman will say, and you want to yawn or scream, because you know how everything ends.

— Paul Theroux, ‘Hotel Honolulu’

A READER WRITES: This is a 1910 (so im told) photo of the Courthouse in Willows, Ca, my hometown. The Courthouse has been featured in several Eras in postcards. Its one of the architectural marvels around town like the Post Office, Memorial Hall and the First Baptist Church, all still there and of course the Museum you never tire of seeing. Someone once said in a Glenn County Directory "To Many, Willows does not need to have her face lifted. We love her just as she is-Court House dome and all." Enjoy!

PITY? WHY?

Editor,

Regarding the recent Chronicle article entitled “As San Quentin’s Death Row empties, condemned inmates get a glimpse of hope”…

The Chronicle’s coverage of moving San Quentin’s death row inmates to other prisons to cheer them up falls on deaf ears.

I have numerous items on my care and concerns list, but death row inmate David Carpenter and his cohabitants are somewhere around 6,000 on it. Each of Carpenter’s numerous victims died thrashing in terror and agony and each of their wide circle of family and friends was forever destroyed and their lives shattered.

Against the will of the voters, Carpenter, Cary Stayner, Richard Allen Davis and friends are alive to play on their free computers and tablets but need more “ability to socialize.” Each of their heinous crime victims would have begged for just a few more minutes of life. 

Governor Gavin Newsom’s grandstanding San Quentin reform should be replaced by advocacy for victims and their families.

Carol Lankford-Gross

Muir Beach

IN THIS COUNTRY, intellectual cowardice is the worst enemy a writer or journalist has to face. Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban. At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question.

— George Orwell, 1945

A 7.4 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE IN SAN FRANCISCO COULD BE FELT EVEN MORE INTENSELY THAN IN TAIWAN

by Megan Fan Munce

The 7.4 magnitude earthquake is the country’s strongest in 25 years, the Associated Press reported. It injured more than 1,000 people, with at least nine dead, and caused some buildings to tilt ominously. Experts say an earthquake of equal magnitude could feel much different in the Bay Area — and, potentially, even stronger.

At a 7.4, the earthquake in Taiwan falls squarely between the Bay Area’s two most famous earthquakes — the 1906 earthquake, an estimated 7.9, and the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, a magnitude 6.9. 

Because the scale is logarithmic, even a 0.5 magnitude difference means the earthquake in Taiwan was a much more powerful quake than Loma Prieta, according to Angie Lux, a project scientist with the Earthquake Early Warning system at UC Berkeley’s Seismology Lab.

Beyond the magnitude, both location and depth can affect how strong a quake feels and how much damage it causes, according to Susan Hough, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. So can the type of fault.

In Taiwan, the earthquake occurred on an offshore fault where one plate moves below another, and the quake began deep in the earth. But the major faults in the Bay Area — the San Andreas and Hayward — are made up of tectonic plates moving next to each other. As a result, earthquakes in the Bay Area happen much closer to the surface and can feel more intense.

Location relative to major population centers also matters. The Taiwan earthquake’s epicenter was just over 11 miles from Hualien City, whose population tops 350,000, according to the USGS. Loma Prieta’s epicenter, meanwhile, was located in the Santa Cruz Mountains, about 60 miles south of San Francisco.

“The (Loma Prieta) earthquake was not directly under the Bay Area, and that kept the damage from being worse. Magnitude matters, but how close an earthquake is to where people are living matters just as much,” Hough said.

But a future earthquake could cause major damage if it happens directly under a large city, Lux said. The Hayward Fault, for example, has the potential to produce a quake with an epicenter directly under UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium. (The Chronicle has previously reported that the Hayward Fault is capable of producing no more than a 7.0 or 7.2 magnitude earthquake, in contrast to the San Andreas Fault, which can produce stronger ones, of up to 8.3 magnitude.) 

The upside is that the Bay Area — and Taiwan — are well aware of the risks.

The limited — albeit preliminary — death toll in Taiwan is a stark difference from the 3,000 dead in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake or the more than 300,000 estimated deaths due to the 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010.

The differentiator is preparedness, according to Hough. California and Taiwan — unlike early 20th century San Francisco — have developed strict building codes for seismic safety and preparedness plans in response to frequent earthquakes. 

In the Bay Area, increased preparedness would likely make a future quake less deadly than 1906, Hough said. She points to efforts to retrofit bridges and the Transbay Tube.

“The Bay Area was relatively well prepared in 1989, and it’s continued to improve since,” Hough said. “Earthquake engineering has gotten quite good in terms of making structures and infrastructure resilient.”

Scientists have also gotten better at developing early warning systems to give people a heads-up before a major earthquake does hit. At stations across the state, Berkeley scientists can use sensors to detect the first wave of an earthquake and estimate its size and epicenter, according to Lux. 

Still, early warning systems aren’t always perfectly reliable. They operate on just a few initial seconds of data, which means they may underestimate a quake that’s still in the process of growing, according to Lux. It’s also possible for warning systems to overstate magnitude.

The USGS estimates that the likelihood of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake hitting the Bay Area within the next three decades is about 1 in 5. The likelihood of a magnitude 7.0 is an estimated 51%.

At that likelihood, an earthquake as strong as the one in Taiwan is by no means imminent, according to Hough. But it is enough to get people thinking about creating a preparedness plan, she said. 

“If they said there’s a 1 in 5 chance of rain, maybe you would bring your umbrella,” Hough said. “We can’t say for sure it’s going to happen within 30 years, but it wouldn’t surprise anybody.”

CUSTER’S JOCKSTRAP

by James Welch

Interpretive lectures are conducted every half hour or so by park rangers on the veranda of the visitors center. Often these rangers will dress up in the long-johns and blue wool pants that the troopers wore on that hot, one-hundred-degree day called The Battle of Little Bighorn. Often they will display one of the .45 caliber Springfield single-shot carbines that the troopers used — very ineffectually — in the close combat. They will point out the markers where Custer and his troops fell on Last Stand Hill. They will talk about Calhoun Ridge, where the soldiers panicked (although they will not use the word “panic.”); Medicine Trail Coulee, where Custer did or did not try to ford the river to get at the village; Weir's Point, four or five miles to the southeast, where Benteen and other officers looked this way and saw what they thought was a cloud of dust, but weren't sure; the Reno/Benteen Hill beyond Weir Point, where the defeated Reno and the fresh but tardy Benteen managed to outlast the Indian sharpshooters who were picking them off one by one. And finally they will point down to the cottonwood-lined Little Bighorn, where the village was said to have stretched for three miles.

Unfortunately, from the visitor's center's vantage point, it is difficult to imagine the village or the people in it.

Tourists will interrupt occasionally to ask questions that they hope are intelligent. “Was Sitting Bull really a chief, or just a medicine man?” “Is that really Custer's jockstrap in there?” “Was he wearing it that day?” “Was Reno really a coward? Didn't he get court-martialed for window-peeping?” Yes, he did. And the canned rap goes on until finally the tourists are left to go into the visitors center, into the bookshop where Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is not sold.

They can buy approved “as told to” accounts by Indians who were there. And they can find any number of books on Custer, on military strategy, on the Indian “problem.” They can buy posters, reproductions of the famous Anheuser-Busch painting of “the Last Stand,” maps. They can go downstairs and watch a twenty-minute movie which essentially reiterates what the park ranger told them on the veranda. And finally they can wander into the museum wing, where they will see buckskin outfits worn by Plains Indians (as well as a white buckskin suit similar to one worn by General Custer), military uniforms, weapons from both sides, old photographs of the period, some of the battlefield, and finally, Custer's jockstrap.

(From Killing Custer: the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Fate of the Plains Indian by James Welch, the Blackfoot novelist and historian.)

THE SADDEST TASK for the ironist is having to tell the listener that it’s a joke, because of course it is never really a joke.

— Paul Theroux, Hotel Honolulu

SEX, 1955

All social events revolved around the car. Every high school boy either has a car or has the use of the family car for dates. In those days, the “dating scenario” was well established. It consisted of taking the girl to a movie, to the school dance, or to a roadhouse which had a band and a dance floor. Afterwards, there would be a stop for food, then the all-important period of “parking and necking.” This was an accepted part of the ritual, and the guy was given about fifteen minutes in which to “make out.” 

There were several degrees of “making out.” The first was “tongue. “Did you get tongue?” was a question frequently heard after a first date with an extremely nice, honor-student-type girl. Next was “knocker.” “Did you get knocker?” they would ask. There was a big difference, of course, between “getting knocker” and “getting bare knocker.” Getting “bare knocker” implied “getting nip” as well, but there was also the distinction of “kissing nip,” which was considered to be quite a score — especially on the first date. Next in order of significant intimacy was “getting silk,” which meant touching panty-crotch, and then for the more successful, “getting pube.” The ultimate achievement — aside, of course, from puss itself — was to “get wet-finger,” also referred to (by the more knowledgeable) as “getting clit.” It was almost axiomatic that, under “normal” circumstances, to “get wet-finger” meant that the girl's defenses would crumble as she was swept away on a tide of sheer physical excitement — and vaginal penetration would be unresisted and imminent. 

But this was the era, alas, of the damnable “panty girdle,” especially for semi-formal occasions, where stockings were worn. It was well nigh impossible to achieve “full-vage-pen” by breeching aside the crotch panel of this snug-fitting garment. There was, however, a “technique” — one would take a pair of kindergarten paper-scissors, the harmless kind with rounded ends. These scissors are ordinarily so dull they will cut only the softest of paper, but they may be given an edge — and a keen one! — so that during the height of the necking session, the precious girl, feeling quite secure in her sturdy garment, might permit certain fondling liberties such as “vage under silk” — except this time the caressing hand would also carry the keen-edged paper scissors … and snip, the outrageous barrier was undone!

This was also the era of “forcible seduction,” which is perhaps only different from actual rape in that the girl, despite a frenzied resistance, would invariably end up “oohing” and “aahing” ecstatically, and in the immortal words of the Bard, “begging for more.”

Since all is fair in love and/or forcible seduction, another keystone element in the dating scenario was to try to “get her drunk.” The potion of choice in this regard was vodka and grapefruit juice — presumably because the darling girl would not be able to taste the copious amount of vod in the astringent mixture — and so, in the (false) security of her panty girdle, and slightly whacko on vod, she might just relax her defenses long enough for the absorbent pantypanel (by now, of course, sopping with the nectar of her passion!) to know the keenness of your scisseaux d’enfant!

— Terry Southern

WHY ARE OLDER AMERICANS DRINKING SO MUCH?

The pandemic played a role in increased consumption, but alcohol use among people 65 and older was climbing even before 2020.

by Paula Span

The phone awakened Doug Nordman at 3 a.m. A surgeon was calling from a hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., where Mr. Nordman’s father had arrived at the emergency room, incoherent and in pain, and then lost consciousness.

At first, the staff had thought he was suffering a heart attack, but a CT scan found that part of his small intestine had been perforated. A surgical team repaired the hole, saving his life, but the surgeon had some questions.

“Was your father an alcoholic?” he asked. The doctors had found Dean Nordman malnourished, his peritoneal cavity “awash with alcohol.”

The younger Mr. Nordman, a military personal finance author living in Oahu, Hawaii, explained that his 77-year-old dad had long been a classic social drinker: a Scotch and water with his wife before dinner, which got topped off during dinner, then another after dinner, and perhaps a nightcap.

Having three to four drinks daily exceeds current dietary guidelines, which define moderate consumption as two drinks a day for men and one for women, or less. But “that was the normal drinking culture of the time,” said Doug Nordman, now 63.

At the time of his 2011 hospitalization, though, Dean Nordman, a retired electrical engineer, was widowed, living alone and developing symptoms of dementia. He got lost while driving, struggled with household chores and complained of a “slipping memory.”

He had waved off his two sons’ offers of help, saying he was fine. During that hospitalization, however, Doug Nordman found hardly any food in his father’s apartment. Worse, reviewing his father’s credit card statements, “I saw recurring charges from the Liquor Barn and realized he was drinking a pint of Scotch a day,” he said.

Public health officials are increasingly alarmed by older Americans’ drinking. The annual number of alcohol-related deaths from 2020 through 2021 exceeded 178,000, according to recently released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: more deaths than from all drug overdoses combined.

An analysis by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism shows that people over 65 accounted for 38 percent of that total. From 1999 to 2020, the 237 percent increase in alcohol-related deaths among those over age 55 was higher than for any age group except 25- to 34-year-olds.

Americans largely fail to recognize the hazards of alcohol, said George Koob, the director of the institute. “Alcohol is a social lubricant when used within the guidelines, but I don’t think they realize that as the dose increases it becomes a toxin,” he said. “And the older population is even less likely to recognize that.”

The growing number of older people accounts for much of the increase in deaths, Dr. Koob said. An aging population foreshadows a continuing surge that has health care providers and elder advocates worried, even if older people’s drinking behavior doesn’t change.

But it has been changing. The proportions of people over 65 who report using alcohol in the past year (about 56 percent) and the past month (about 43 percent) are lower than for all other groups of adults. But older drinkers are markedly more likely to do it frequently, on 20 or more days a month, than younger ones.

Moreover, a 2018 meta-analysis found that binge drinking (defined as four or more drinks on a single occasion for women, five or more for men) had climbed nearly 40 percent among older Americans over the past 10 to 15 years.

What’s going on here?

The pandemic has clearly played a role. The C.D.C. reported that deaths attributable directly to alcohol use, emergency room visits associated with alcohol, and alcohol sales per capita all rose from 2019 to 2020, as Covid arrived and restrictions took hold.

 “A lot of stressors impacted us: the isolation, the worries about getting sick,” Dr. Koob said. “They point to people drinking more to cope with that stress.”

Researchers also cite a cohort effect. Compared to those before and after them, “the boomers are a substance-using generation,” said Keith Humphreys, a psychologist and addiction researcher at Stanford. And they’re not abandoning their youthful behavior, he said.

Studies show a narrowing gender divide, too. “Women have been the drivers of change in this age group,” Dr. Humphreys said.

From 1997 to 2014, drinking rose an average of 0.7 percent a year for men over 60, while their binge drinking remained stable. Among older women, drinking climbed by 1.6 percent annually, with binge drinking up 3.7 percent.

“Contrary to stereotypes, upper-middle-class, educated people have higher rates of drinking,” Dr. Humphreys explained. In recent decades, as women grew more educated, they entered workplaces where drinking was normative; they also had more disposable income. “The women retiring now are more likely to drink than their mothers and grandmothers,” he said.

Yet alcohol use packs a greater wallop for older people, especially for women, who become intoxicated more quickly than men because they’re smaller and have fewer of the gut enzymes that metabolize alcohol.

Seniors may argue that they are merely drinking the way they always have, but “equivalent amounts of alcohol have much more disastrous consequences for older adults,” whose bodies cannot process it as quickly, said Dr. David Oslin, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia.

“It causes slower thinking, slower reaction time and less cognitive capacity when you’re older,” he said, ticking off the risks.

Long associated with liver diseases, alcohol also “exacerbates cardiovascular disease, renal disease and, if you’ve been drinking for many years, there’s an increase in certain kinds of cancers,” he said. Drinking contributes to falls, a major cause of injury as people age, and disrupts sleep.

Older adults also take a lot of prescription drugs, and alcohol interacts with a long list of them. These interactions can be particularly common with pain medications and sleep aids like benzodiazepines, sometimes causing over-sedation. In other cases, alcohol can reduce a drug’s effectiveness.

Dr. Oslin cautions that, while many prescription bottles carry labels that warn against using those drugs with alcohol, patients may shrug that off, explaining that they take their pills in the morning and don’t drink until evening.

“Those medications are in your system all day long, so when you drink, there’s still that interaction,” he tells them.

One proposal for combating alcohol misuse among older people is to raise the federal tax on alcohol, for the first time in decades. “Alcohol consumption is price-sensitive, and it’s pretty cheap right now relative to income,” Dr. Humphreys said.

Resisting industry lobbying and making alcohol more expensive, the way higher taxes have made cigarettes more expensive, could reduce use.

So could eliminating barriers to treatment. Treatments for excessive alcohol use, including psychotherapy and medications, are no less effective for older patients, Dr. Oslin said. In fact, “age is actually the best predictor of a positive response,” he said, adding that “treatment doesn’t necessarily mean you have to become abstinent. We work with people to moderate their drinking.”

But the 2008 federal law requiring health insurers to provide parity — meaning the same coverage for mental health, including substance use disorders, as for other medical conditions — doesn’t apply to Medicare. Several policy and advocacy groups are working to eliminate such disparities.

Dean Nordman never sought treatment for his drinking, but after his emergency surgery, his sons moved him into a nursing home, where antidepressants and a lack of access to alcohol improved his mood and his sociability. He died in the facility’s memory care unit in 2017.

Doug, whom his father had introduced to beer at 13, had been a heavy drinker himself, he said, “to the point of blackout” as a college student, and a social drinker thereafter.

But as he watched his father decline, “I realized this was ridiculous,” he recalled. Alcohol can exacerbate the progression of cognitive decline, and he had a family history.

He has remained sober since that pre-dawn phone call 13 years ago.

(NY Times)