Mendocino County Today: Wednesday 5/1/24

Sunny Breezy | Ducks | Burn Permits | 2024 Graduates | Jena Conner | Jenny's Back | Newman v Ukiah | New Principal | Ed Notes | Philo Saw Works | KZYX News | Rose | Women Strong | Bake Sale | Art Walk | Mural Dedication | Redwood | MCOG Workshops | Chainsaw Technique | Folk Festival | Yesterday's Catch | Visiting McCloskey | State-Run Utility | Superbowl Rigged | Trans Athletes | Morning After | Protest Suppression | Take Chances | Not Antisemitic | Greek Statues | Killer Heat | Boarding House | Wild Iris | Native Americans

SUNNY SKIES and gusty northerly breezes are expected today, especially for coastal areas of Mendocino and southwest Humboldt. A front will generate light rain for Del Norte and northern Humboldt Counties late tonight and Thursday. A much wetter and colder system will bring a chance for heavy rain and high mountain snow Friday night into Saturday. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): If you liked yesterday, you'll love today. A breezy 48F under clear skies this Wednesday morning on the coast. Windy again today, then less wind tomorrow, then calmer conditions on Friday. And then rain for Saturday, maybe up to an inch?

BURN PERMITS REQUIRED

Mendocino County - The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Mendocino Unit has announced effective Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at 12:01 AM, all hazard reduction burning in the SRA (State Responsibility Area) will require a permit in Mendocino County.

Burn permits must now be obtained online at https://burnpermit.fire.ca.gov/. Applicants can access the website to obtain a burn permit which involves watching a short educational video and submitting an application. The process provides the necessary information needed to conduct the burn safely, while minimizing the chance for fire escape. Permits must be in possession either by printed copy or digitally. Permits are valid beginning May 1st of each year and require annual renewal. Permits are issued free of charge.

Property owners conducting hazard reduction burning are responsible for checking the burn day status.

Burn day status is regulated by Mendocino County Air Quality Management District Burn Day Information Line: (707)-463-4391

Mendocino County Air Quality Management District: (707) 463-4354

Hazard Reduction Guidelines are listed on the permit and must be followed at all times.

As a reminder, always have a minimum 10-foot clearance down to bare mineral soil around all burn piles, have a shovel and a water source available, and an adult present during burning. Failure to follow these simple precautions may result in a citation and fines. For further information regarding residential burning or other fire safety tips visit your local CAL FIRE Station or go to www.readyforwildfire.org.

WHAT HAPPENED TO JENA CONNER? A couple of retired Child and Family Services staffers called us Tuesday to see if we know anything about the recent death of Jena Conner, who, until recently, was Mendo’s Deputy Director of Family & Children Services. According to the callers Ms. Conner, believed to be in her late 40s, was found dead a week or so ago at home in Willits after her coworkers requested a Sheriff’s welfare check when she didn’t show up for work. Considered to be an experienced and competent Social Services manager, her loss has been a tragic blow to the Social Services Department coming on the heels of the retirement of Social Services Director Bekkie Emery. So far there has been no interim appointment to run Family and Children’s Services. The already seriously understaffed department (Sonoma County has recently snagged a number of Mendo’s experienced Social Service employees) has apparently become another office being temporarily managed out of the stretched-thin CEO’s office. 

(Mark Scaramella)

WE ARE BACK IN ACTION HERE AT JENNY'S! Fort Bragg! Open 10:30-9 today and every day!

KATHLEEN MCKENNA: More volunteers are needed to register brewers on Friday afternoon. Donations will benefit the Community Park. Work a 3 hour shift and get a wrist band to attend Beer Fest on Saturday. Shifts are 9:45 -12:45, 12:30 - 3:30, and 3:30-6:30. Contact Donna for scheduling: dpp1130@gmail.com

‘IN AWE OF THE MOMENT’: CARDINAL NEWMAN, UKIAH GET MAJOR LEAGUE TREATMENT IN ORACLE PARK SHOWCASE

by Kienan O’Doherty

When it was all said and done Monday night, the Ukiah and Cardinal Newman baseball teams gathered for a group photo right behind the pitcher’s mound.

Newman had just beat Ukiah 2-0 to clinch the North Bay League Oak division title for a second consecutive season.

But it was no ordinary postgame photo — both teams had just finished competing against the backdrop of Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.

With the Cardinals in their home cream-colored uniforms with red lettering and gold trim, and the Wildcats in their all-black uniforms that read “U-Town” across the chest, the event had all the makings of a high-stakes ballgame.

The famous “Splash Hit” sign over Levi’s Landing in right field was lit up, kids were chasing foul balls that landed in the seats and the fans in attendance were happily partaking in the ballpark’s famed garlic fries. Even Ukiah players were signing autographs from the visitors’ dugout. It was almost as if it was a regular Giants game.

But no — it was just two teams from the North Bay League playing at Oracle Park, with a league title on the line.

Originally scheduled for April 13, a Saturday, the game was moved to Monday afternoon due to rainy weather. Despite the change, 486 tickets were sold and fans filled up the lower portions of the park’s field-level seats around the backstop and the baselines.

It was the second of two Bay Area high school games held at the stadium Monday, with Freedom defeating Clayton Valley in the first contest. A portion of ticket sales went to each team’s baseball programs.

With the big league club traveling back East for a road trip, the Cardinals were using the Giants’ home dugout while the Wildcats took the visitors’ bench. The players got the full major league experience, such as pitchers warming up in the bullpens out beyond center field. When Ukiah’s Nate Hoben entered the game to take the mound, for example, he made the long trot across the outfield just like the pros do.

Just taking their seats in the dugouts felt magical.

“You know, I got emotional when I got up here — first thing I wanted to do was give coach (Aaron) Ford a hug at home plate,” Newman head coach Derek DeBenedetti said of his Ukiah counterpart. “The opportunity that was provided to us, and then both communities taking the opportunity to see Ukiah and Cardinal Newman at Oracle Park and running with it was an amazing experience. And seeing these guys in awe of the moment early but still staying focused was an amazing experience for me.”

“To see our guys anxious to be there set the energy already,” Ukiah’s Ford added. “When they hit that floor and jogged out onto the field, their energy was there ... to be able to get his opportunity says a lot about our kids. Unfortunately, it was on a Monday at 4 p.m., but we sold 486 tickets. Our community supports our program, and I’m just grateful for the opportunity.”

Once they took the field, the Cardinals and Wildcats sure looked as comfortable as the big leaguers. It was a pitchers’ duel early on, with Newman’s Jack Pezzolo and Ukiah’s Kessler Koch seemingly unfazed by the situation.

“Jack was outstanding today and super-efficient,” DeBenedetti said of his pitcher afterward. “Ukiah battled and got some runners on early in the game, but he worked through a couple of multi-runner innings and settled. He was efficient with his pitch count and was calm and confident. He pitched outstanding today.”

Ukiah stranded runners in the top of the first and again in the second, but Newman scored the game’s first run in the bottom of the second frame.

After Jacob Moreda and Sam Valenti both reached base via singles, Konnor Rodnick then grounded into a fielder’s choice. Seeing Ukiah try to pull off the double play, DeBenedetti sent Moreda, and the senior rounded third and slid headfirst into home, beating the throw from first base and giving the Cardinals their first lead.

Moreda would also account for Newman’s other run, in the bottom of the fourth. On third base after a Valenti single, Moreda would scored on a wild pitch two batters later.

Ukiah had runners in scoring position in multiple innings but couldn’t get the hits that counted. The most drama came in the top of the seventh inning with Ukiah up to bat.

After Newman turned to fireballer and Oregon commit Tanner Bradley to close it out on the mound, he got the first two outs with relative ease.

But Ukiah’s Keny Lopez singled, Takoda Newman was hit by a pitch and Trenton Ford walked. All of a sudden, the two-out, none-on situation had completely disappeared and the bases were loaded.

“We played tough, 2-0, I mean we were right there,” Ford said. “There were three innings where we were one hit away. Kessler pitched well, and the guys that backed him did well, and you couldn’t ask for a better opportunity ... I’m so grateful for the opportunity that Derek, the Giants and Clayton Valley gave to us and our community.”

Bradley then settled down, striking out Kamble Koch on four pitches to make Newman champions of the NBL-Oak once again.

Valenti led Newman at the plate with two hits, while Moreda had a hit and two runs. Ford, Lopez, Canyon Loflin and Brayden Beebe all had a hit for Ukiah.

Pezzolo, a UC Davis commit, got the win — allowing only four hits and zero runs while walking two and striking out five in five innings of work. Kessler Koch took the loss, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out three over 4⅓ innings.

After the game, Pezzolo said he made sure he took time to appreciate the major league surroundings.

“Every time I would go up on the mound to warm up, I would take a look at everything around me and soak it all in,” he said.

(pressdemocrat.com)

AV UNIFIED NEWS

The Anderson Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees is delighted to announce the appointment of Jeff McFarland as Principal of the Anderson Valley Elementary School for the 2024/25 school year commencing on July 1, 2024. 

Mr. McFarland brings deep rural school district experience to his new assignment including having served as a Superintendent/Principal and Teacher of Horicon Elementary School for the past 11 years.

Prior to that assignment, he served as the Lead Teacher at Kashia Elementary School, a unique K-8 inclusive one room schoolhouse.

Mr. McFarland holds a Multiple Subject teaching credential, a Single Subject Social Science Credential, and an Administrative Credential. Superintendent Louise Simson noted that Mr. McFarlands’ excellent references related that he brings great enthusiasm towards fostering a positive environment for all students and staff and intends to maintain a setting devoted to each student’s learning and well-being.

Mr. McFarland related, “I have an abiding belief that all students can excel and achieve and a personal motto to cherish those who hold you up and pay forward the lessons you have learned.” He has expressed his earnest commitment to continue to build the team and collaborate going forward.

Superintendent Louise Simson noted, “We are delighted to welcome Jeff to the AVUSD team and I know that current Principal Cymbre Thomas-Swett will coordinate discussions with Mr. McFarland to ensure a smooth transition of the site leadership.”

Louise Simson, Superintendent

AV Unified School District

ED NOTES

AN ANNOTATED READER WRITES, and excuse me if you find my medical travails tiresome but some people may find the information herein helpful. I have — had, I hope — thyroid cancer. To get it out the surgeons built me a new throat via what is called a double tracheostomy, preceded by a single trach creating a hole in my throat through which I now breathe. Dr. Ryan, and you'll be fortunate indeed to have this guy work on you, was confident I was strong enough to undergo the operations despite my age because I had no other medical conditions. My new throat is a plastic tube about an inch and a half long attached to my new orifice which, incidentally, resembles close up, the entrance to a foreboding cave or some extra-terrestrial black hole. (Irrelevant note: I may be mis-remembering but I thought I saw a guy at a carnival years ago who was blowing smoke rings through his trach. If I smoked, I might have passed amusing recuperative hours learning that very impressive trick.) My cancer was lodged against my thyroid, and I'll always wonder how long I walked around with it as it grew into a pale white slug-like thing of several inches lodged in my jaw. The chief surgeon, the aforementioned wizard Dr. Ryan — there was a team of them over nearly 7 hours — said he got all but a few nodules which are going to be eliminated, I'm assured, by a single shot of iodine radiation the middle of May. Surgeries one and two cost me all my strength but no bed time. I was from the first able to shuffle room-to-room before working up to resuming outdoor rambles. I walk at least a couple of miles a day and am about to resume restorative upper body push-ups. A lot of people undergo a lot tougher ordeals. I'd prefer mine over, say, open heart surgery. The worst part of my experience was all the hospital time immobilized, infantilized and wholly dependent on shifts of saintly nurses.

READER: You sure have been through a lot and I'm sure the pain has been awful. The throat is such a tender area. At least the great ordeal didn't do a drive-by on your brain.

PATIENT: There wasn't any pain to speak of, but there were, and are, many, many irritations and discomforts. I've also been voiceless since going under the knife, a silence seemingly welcomed by my sig others, but I will soon begin to learn how to talk again at a nearby speech clinic. The functioning of my brain has always been contested.

READER: Mark (the patient's colleague) said you lost a lot of weight. Do you eat by swallowing or do you have a feeding tube?

PATIENT: I lost about twenty pounds from 210 pounds of coiled steel pre-op to about 190 bone bag now. I eat through my new throat but through the same old mouth. At first I was only able to down soft stuff and Ensure; now I can eat whatever after thorough chewing. Swallowing is still pretty much a work in progress and my sense of taste is gone.

READER: Mark tells me that Ling (my wife) is your main caregiver. I hope she will consent to having some help come in to give her a break. Caregivers need a pause to recoup and refresh themselves.

PATIENT: There were emergency breathing probs in the middle of the night for a couple of weeks during which my dear, dear wife had to rescue me, and chose to (hah!), but during all of this my daughter has often filled in, as have visiting nurses funded through Medi-care, along with several back-up relatives. I am able to vacuum my throat and replace the breathing plugs that protect the hole in my neck, which is the extent of my in-home maintenance at this point. Ling is off the hook. I can't imagine a person undergoing all this alone and have always considered Ling a miracle gift I in no way deserve. She's active in a mahjong group and gets away often with my daughter and my sister.

READER: If and when your situation becomes tedious and unbearable, or if the cancer spreads somewhere else, or if there's any other ifs that crop up, there is a humane, easy way off this planet. It's called Aid In Dying, also known as the doctor's cocktail. It's all legal. I've known two women who used it and their departures were smooth, graceful and effortless for them and those at their bedsides.

PATIENT: As a guy already past his pull date, I nevertheless feel like I'm probably going to stumble on for a few more years, so I haven't thought about exit strategies beyond the vague desire to have my remains placed whole on a tall scaffold deep in the Boonville hills for natural recycling like certain Native American tribes used to do.

THE ONGOING EXPERIMENT OF KZYX

by Marty Durlin , General Manager

Every community radio station reflects its place of origin, and Mendocino County — vast and beautiful, geographically diverse and sparsely populated, simultaneously funky and grand — is the inspiration for KZYX. Born in the late 1980s, the station continues to evolve to meet the interests and passions of the people who live here. It echoes not only the sophistication and intellectual quotient of the community, but also the down-home sensibilities and can-do attitude.

Like the county, KZYX has a tumultuous history. When I was hired in May of 2019, I was the 23rd manager in 30 years. In the wake of interruptions in leadership and turmoil over the decades, ambitious plans had fallen by the wayside. The staff was overworked and underpaid, toiling away in the same rented farmhouse in Philo first occupied by the station in 1989. But outside of KZYX, everyone I spoke to expressed admiration and affection for the station. Despite the drama, people still valued the station and supported it.

This kind of trust and goodwill are fundamental to community radio. KZYX’s largest and most stable source of support is the membership base, made up of small gifts freely given. Underwriters support the station even though they can’t advertise. The Board of Directors work behind the scenes with no payment and no glory. For paid staff, it’s more of a mission than a job.

Generous KZYX hosts — more than 100 community volunteers — share their passions and expertise. Most were never on the radio until they got to KZYX. But within a short time, new program hosts learn the tech and are entrusted with the KZYX broadcast license, taking on all the responsibilities dictated by the Federal Communications Commission.

Community radio runs against the grain of our capitalist culture, living proof that not everything must produce a profit, that some things have value in and of themselves: the rhythm of a melody, a poem, a piece of information that changes your opinion or even your life, an unexpected offer on the Trading Time show, a humorous moment, a soothing voice, simply a feeling of connection and communion.

It’s a delicate dance to keep the station open, free-wheeling and experimental, as well as efficient, well-funded and moving forward. Current existential threats include an aging infrastructure, rapidly changing technology, competing forms of media, shifting audience demographics, and an unstable political and economic situation. But since community radio is undertaken as an experiment, even survival is a bit of a miracle.

I hope KZYX can do more than survive. A permanent headquarters with upgraded equipment would go a long way toward creating stability for this most valuable local institution. As I make way for the 24th manager, I leave the experiment in your hands. General Manager Marty Durlin, who will depart in late June.

From The Underwriting and Music Director Desk

By Katharine Cole, Underwriting & Music Director

I am so excited about the new programmers we have joining us on the air for our 35th Anniversary year. With so many ways to listen to music out there, the airwaves and online sources are packed with homogenized and plastic-wrapped, one-size-fits-all must programming. KZYX has a unique opportunity even with all this “noise” due solely to the fact that instead of relying on computers to randomly pull up music selections, we have that great asset — real, live programmers — programmers who are a part of our local community and who bring a unique perspective and are willing to share it with us all.

The theme of the Spring Pledge Drive is “Listen Local” and it couldn’t be more timely. Just as we want to support our local businesses over national chains and we want to support our local farmers and producers, so too, do we strive to support the deep local resource that is the music community in Mendocino County. Right now, we have over sixty-five music programmers — some of whom you know very well and many who have just recently joined the KZYX family. I encourage you to take a moment and go to KZYX.org (https://www.kzyx.org/) and look for the Local Music Programs (https://www.kzyx.org/all-shows#music) and get a visual of how many unique and inspiring shows we currently air every month. And even further, pull up our Jukebox feature and click on a show you may not usually tune in to. From Techno and House to Retro, Reggae and Soul, from Americana and folk all the way to heavy metal and ambient, there IS something for everyone on KZYX.

I also wanted to mention the success of our monthly “Jamin’ the Box” Show, featuring live, local bands performing on the air. Begun back in July of 2023, we have featured local artists like Selector Genuoune, Hella Mendocino, The Real Sarahs, Easy Street Band, and Surfsquath, and we end our Season 1 this May 25th with Boonfire. Along with beginning our Live Music Calendar, which airs each week on Thursday and Friday, KZYX is stepping up to help local musicians reach our listeners.

Please remember to “Listen Local” and support KZYX this Spring Drive!

From The Public Affairs Director and Bilingual Reporter Desk December 2023

By Victor Palomino , Public Affairs Director / Bilingual Reporter

 Hola KZYX listeners and members, it has been a busy time on the Public Affairs (https://www.kzyx.org/all-shows#local-news-public-affairs) and Bilingual reporter desk. We had a couple of changes to the programming, and we are working on new shows that will be premiering in a couple of months. We said goodbye to Trading Time host Renee Wilson after 5 years of great radio. We are in the process of training a new permanent host, but in the meantime, we have a group of substitute hosts who are keeping the show on the air. My sincere thanks to all of the programmers that have stepped in to help.

We also started a new host rotation for The Discussion, Monday nights at 7 pm.

You probably listened to a PSA from the Point Arena High School radio class. This is part of our efforts to reach out to find younger programmers for KZYX and plant the seeds for the Future of Radio. This project is possible thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation, and we are hoping to continue creating internship opportunities for young people in Mendocino.

From the Bilingual Reporter desk, I’m glad to report that the Monday morning KZYX Noticias en Español program is going strong. We are conducting monthly interviews with County Supervisors and city officials in Ukiah and Fort Bragg and weekly conversations with organizations and people working directly with the Latino community in Mendocino. We have a dedicated page for Spanish content on our website (https://www.kzyx.org/kzyx-en-espanol) , where you can find all the episodes. We also started a KZYX Facebook page in Spanish. You can find us as KZYX en Español (https://www.kzyx.org/kzyx-en-espanol) .

Finally, we started a collaboration with Nuestra Alianza, the Latino community agency in Willits, to produce a series about workers' rights. You can also find that on our website. As always, thanks for listening and supporting KZYX; together, we make Mendocino County a more diverse, fun, and informed place.

Saludos cordiales.

Victor

“The Times, They Are a Changin" Notes from the Board of Directors

by Susan Baird Kanaan, President of the Board of Directors

This is an exciting time to be a member of the Mendocino County Public Broadcasting (MCPB) Board of Directors, with transitions happening on many fronts. Most exciting, our future Ukiah headquarters at 390 West Clay Street is coming into being, as fast as we can raise the rest of the funds—about a million dollars—needed to finish remodeling the buildings, install all the equipment, and landscape the property. You can follow the progress at tours held on the third Monday of every month, at noon. And of course, you can contribute to the Building Fund (https://www.kzyx.org/save-our-signal) !

These new headquarters will represent a huge upgrade in the quality, range, and stability of KZYX’s broadcasting and streaming capacities. The station that began and grew in Philo over the past four decades, and that we all depend on, will finally have facilities worthy of its creative and professional staff and programmers—and a signal that is not threatened by tree growth and other challenges. Programmers will still be able to create their programs in satellite studios on the coast and inland.

These local changes take place at a time when new communication technologies are making new services possible. We Board members are learning from the experts and thinking together about how KZYX can best augment its traditional “terrestrial” radio broadcasting, which will always be needed in this area, with streaming and archiving that make its programs accessible virtually anywhere, any time. We also envision using the new studio for podcast production and broadcasts of live events and performances similar to NPR’s Tiny Desk concerts. These are some of the reasons why we talk about the new Ukiah headquarters as a Community Media Center.

With the impending retirement of General Manager/Executive Director Marty Durlin, a major leadership transition is also under way. We’ll have more to say about Marty as her July departure nears. For now, suffice it to say that we are very fortunate that this “living legend in the field of community radio,” as she’s been called, chose to complete her career by leading MCPB for the past five critical years. Happily, Dina Polkinghorne, our previous Board President, has moved into the position of Interim GM/ED, bringing some 20 years of nonprofit management experience to managing MCPB operations and working with the Board and staff to choose and install a new General Manager.

The Board of Directors, too, is in transition. With the seating of two new members in May, the Board will have a healthy mix of new and returning members. We’re focused on fundraising and finding a new General Manager while also attending to high-level policy and personnel matters. Our meetings (https://www.kzyx.org/board-meetings) , which are public, take place the last Tuesday of every month at 5 pm. Most are via Zoom, but our May 28 meeting will be in person, in Fort Bragg. Details and a zoom link are posted on kzyx.org.

It is widely believed that community radio has never been more crucial as a dependable, localized source of news, emergency information, and diverse cultural and public affairs programs. I’m amazed by what our KZYX community—programmers, underwriters, members, other donors and funders, staff, Board, Community Advisory Board, and Building Advisory Group—accomplishes together. Every team member plays an essential part in carrying out our mission of keeping Mendocino County residents informed, inspired, and connected.

Let’s keep building the momentum toward the new home where our community media center can flourish.

—Susan Baird Kanaan, President

Spring Pledge Drive 2024

by Sarah “Shanx” Shankman, Membership Director

Springtime greetings from the Membership desk! The flowers are blooming, and the bees are buzzing. I hope everyone is enjoying the sunny days and cool spring nights. It's a great time for working in the garden or dancing under the stars. All to the tune of KZYX&Z!

The Spring Quiet Drive starts April 29th, and runs through May 14th. The on-air Spring Pledge Drive follows close behind. May 15th through May 23rd we are asking you to Listen Local and show your support for our Local community radio station.

This Spring Pledge Drive is for operations. Our goal is $88,100. Let's keep this LOCAL community radio station on the air 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

100+ WOMEN STRONG INLAND MENDOCINO FUNDRAISING EVENT

May 2nd, 2024 | 5:30 - 7:00PM

Dancing Crow Vineyards, 12141 Hewlett Sturtevant Rd, Hopland

The Historical Society of Mendocino County is one of three non-profits competing for the grand prize at the upcoming 100+ Women Strong Inland Mendocino fundraising event, held on May 2nd at Dancing Crow Vineyard. All genders are welcome. You can help us win by attending the event (pledging $100), and voting for us. The more people that attend, the larger the pool is for all the non-profits that are competing that night. Please support us by going, or by sponsoring someone to go and vote for us on your behalf. You can even go as a group and split the $100 and collaborate on your vote! Click below to sign up.

100+ Women Strong explains how it works:

Our giving circle is a way to magnify and focus our individual philanthropy by pooling funds with each other and making a collective decision. Each member contributes $100 two times per year. At each meeting, the members decide on the recipient.

We are looking to build up nonprofits that provide a much-needed service to our community, and use the platform to educate our members about the nonprofits in our region. At each meeting, three pre-nominated organizations are invited to share their story (5 minutes each), followed by 5 minutes of questions from members and answers from the nonprofits. Then, members vote for the winning nonprofit chosen for a collective, impactful donation. If over $10,000 is raised, the remainder is split between the other two nonprofits.

100 members donate their $100 = $10,000

150 members donate their $100 = $15,000

200 members donate their $100 = $20,000

Our group is run entirely by philanthropic volunteers who care about their local community. There are no administrative fees or budget, and the venue and food are donated.

Members understand that by joining 100+ Women Strong Inland Mendocino, they are committing to contribute $200 per year ($100 at each meeting) to local nonprofits, making a difference in our community. If a member isn’t able to attend all meetings, they are still committing to donate their $100 via PayPal to the nonprofit that the members chose.

We also have a new special lodging offer! The Wyndham Garden Redwood Valley has generously partnered with us to offer our guests a special room rate of $99 (before taxes and fees) for the night of the event. They are the nearest lodging at less than 1 mile away from the venue. If you would like to take advantage of this offer, contact us to get the promo code. (707-462-6969, info@mendocinocountyhistory.org)

Don’t miss our first annual fundraiser to benefit the HSMC. Transport yourself to the 1920s at our Springtime Soiree in celebration of the upcoming opening of the Held-Poage Memorial Home Museum that will be set in the 1920s. Join us at Barra of Mendocino Winery & Event Center to enjoy music from the era and a delectable dinner and desserts inspired by 1920s menus. There will be a live and silent auction filled with unforgettable Mendocino County experiences. We invite you to dress in 1920s attire, however it is not required. See you there on Saturday May 18, 2024 from 5 - 9 P.M.!

Go to the Event Page 

Tickets are on sale until May 3rd

$100/General Admission

$1000/Table of 8 - In addition to supporting the HSMC, your table will include priority seating close to the auction stage, and special extras at your table as a thank you!

 To buy tickets contact us: 707-462-6969 or info@mendocinocountyhistory.org or click the button below to purchase online.

Buy Tickets Online

MAY 3, FIRST FRIDAY ART WALK, UKIAH

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. For more information: artwalkukiah.org

REDWOOD FOREST FOUNDATION TO HOST A MURAL DEDICATION in Fort Bragg on May 18

Community Celebration will Recognize the Creators of Sunlit Redwood Forest Mural

The Redwood Forest Foundation (RFFI) is hosting a celebration on Saturday, May 18th from 1-3pm in Fort Bragg to dedicate the “Sunlit Redwood Forest” Mural to the community. All are invited to participate.

The Mural dedication will begin at the courtyard of the RFFI office at 90 W. Redwood Ave in Fort Bragg, with a short reception and acknowledgements. The gathering will then walk to the Forrester Building three blocks away (corner of E. Redwood and N.McPherson) to see the “Sunlit Redwood Forest” mural and hear from artist Ryan Grossman.

RFFI is grateful to all of the community partners involved in the creation of the Mural, notably Lia Morsell and the Alleyway Art Project; The City of Fort Bragg; Artist Ryan Grossman; Cynthia Sumner and Randy Tuell, owners of the Forrester Building; and members of RFFI’s Redwood Forest Council Community Advisory group.

As a locally-based Community Redwood Forest in Mendocino County, it is a joy for RFFI to help bring the Redwoods to town for all to enjoy as magnificent public art.

For more information please visit the “Sunlit Redwood Forest” page at the website of the Alleyway Art Project.

M-BLOB TAKES TO THE ROAD

In-Person and Virtual Public Workshops

Local Road Safety/Action Plan Updates for Mendocino County & Cities

The Mendocino Council of Governments (MCOG) has hired a consultant to update Local Road Safety/Action Plans for the County of Mendocino, and the cities of Fort Bragg, Point Arena, Ukiah, and Willits. These updated safety plans will enable local jurisdictions to enhance safety for all modes of transportation for all ages and abilities, and will aid in seeking state and federal grant funding to implement priority safety projects.

MCOG invites the public to two In-Person Public Workshops.

The first Workshop will be held on Monday, May 20, 2024 (5:30 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.) to hear a presentation on the project and offer input. The Workshop will be held at the Fort Bragg Town Hall, 363 N. Main Street, Ft. Bragg, CA, City Council Chambers. The presentation will cover collision profiles, draft emphasis areas, and draft safety projects.

The second Workshop will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 (5:30 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.) and will be held at the Alex Rorabaugh Recreation Center, 1640 S. State Street #3, Ukiah, CA, Large Conference Room. The presentation will cover collision profiles, draft emphasis areas, and draft safety projects.

In addition, for those that cannot attend the In-Person Workshops, a virtual public workshop will be held on Thursday, May 23, 2024 (6:00 p.m. — 7:30 p.m.) to hear the same presentation on collision profiles, draft emphasis areas, and draft safety projects.

For Zoom meeting access and additional information, visit the project website at https://www.mendoroadsafetyplan.com/. This project is funded with State grant funds provided by Caltrans.

Contact MCOG project manager Loretta Ellard at lellard@dbcteam.net or 707-234-3434 with any questions.

MOUNTAIN FOLK FESTIVAL LEGGETT MAY 25

Happening Saturday May 25-Mountain Folk Festival at the Leggett Fire Station. 

Free Entrance, Free Parking, Free Kids Activities, Free Music. Good Vibes! 

Festivities begin with a parade at 10am. Grand Marshals Bob and Pam Braham. MUSIC noon until midnight. Fun for the whole family. Over 30 Arts and Crafts booths, food featuring Gibby’s Texas smoked brisket, Kids Zone with bouncy house, Fire Department demonstrations, Axe throw, Logging competitions, Auction and more! Proceeds benefit the Leggett Volunteer Fire Department.

CATCH OF THE DAY, Tuesday, April 30, 2024

ANDREW ARMIJO, Ukiah. Suspended license for DUI, resisting.

ELIZABETH DOCKINS, Ukiah. Robbery.

JORDAN DUNN, San Rafael/Ukiah. Probation revocation.

TODD GILBERT, Berkeley, Ukiah. DUI.

CHRISTOPHER GONZALEZ, Ukiah. Vandalism.

SKYLAR HENDERSON, Willits. Paraphernalia, disobeying court order, failure to appear, probation revocation.

TEVIN HOAGLEN, Covelo. Domestic abuse, Vandalism, controlled substance, paraphernalia, evasion.

JEFF BLANKFORT: On Monday I visited with my old friend, my hero, and lawyer, former representative Pete McCloskey, long time supporter of the Palestinian struggle, who represented me and two colleagues, Steve Zeltzer and Anne Poriere in a lawsuit against the ADL for spying on us for our efforts opposing Israel's occupation and So. African apartheid in which, single handed and working pro bono, brought that hideous organization, at least for more than a moment, to its knees.

Wikipedia: Born in Loma Linda, California, McCloskey pursued a legal career in Palo Alto, California, after graduating from Stanford Law School. He served in the Korean War as a member of the United States Marine Corps. For his service, he was awarded the Navy Cross and the Silver Star. He won election to the House of Representatives in 1967, defeating Shirley Temple in the Republican primary. He co-authored the 1973 Endangered Species Act. He unsuccessfully challenged President Richard Nixon in the 1972 Republican primaries on an anti-Vietnam War platform and was the first member of Congress to publicly call for President Nixon's resignation after the Saturday Night Massacre. 

PG&E NEEDS STATE TAKEOVER

Editor: 

In sunny California, solar panels are everywhere. They sit in dry, desert landscapes in the Central Valley and are in Los Angeles and San Diego. By last count, the state had nearly 47 gigawatts of solar power installed — enough to power 13.9 million homes and provide over a quarter of the Golden State’s electricity.

Yet PG&E and the California Independent System Operator have wasted excess energy by not selling power to those parts of the country that need electricity (Rust Belt and the Northeast), and once that energy is “gone” it cannot be recaptured. Further, Californians pay higher electricity rates that most of the country. Make PG&E a state-run utility.

Gary Sciford

Santa Rosa

SPORTS TALK, an on-line exchange:

(1) Have you ever watched college-level softball? It is a women-only sport in the same way that college baseball is a men-only sport. The games appear similar but everything in softball is on a smaller scale. The distance from home plate to the right, left and center field walls are much shorter than the distances in baseball. Same with the distances between the bases. I could enumerate many other differences.

Softball games are 7 innings, not nine, assuming the game doesn’t go into extra innings. The biggest difference is that women pitchers pitch underhand. The speed of the pitches is surprisingly fast, typically in the mid-60s mph and thrown with surprising control.

I think it is inevitable that a trans woman will come along one of these days and be throwing pitches at more than 80 mph. We’ll know the tranny when we see a lump in the crotch of their uniform and if the game is being played late in the day the pitcher may have a five o’clock shadow. It will raise the same dilemma as trans women swimmers.

What will athletic directors do about this? Probably nothing. They will be trapped in the same web of liberal absurdity as any other sport where men are passing themselves off as women.

(2) Speaking of baseball, what’s up with all the spitting? Is there any other sport where the players spit incessantly? I am not aware of one.

(3) When I played, we all chewed tobacco. Hence all the spitting. Some hockey players chew tobacco and spit on the ice, as well. I don’t think it really works in most other sports.

(4) Yeah, some big bruiser who was second string on the varsity baseball team shaves his legs, puts a bow in his hair, claims he is now female, and walks onto the women’s softball team. He laces live drives every at bat and breaks the NCAA homerun record. At ESPN they’ll report with a straight face how fantastic this new softball phenom is.

CAMPUS PROTESTS AND THE CORPORATE UNIVERSITY

by David Schultz

The murder of the four students who protested the Vietnam War at Kent State University on May 1, 1970, was a tragedy. The suppression of student protests on campuses across the United States in the spring of 2024 is a farce. The latter points to how little college administrators and politicians have learned when it comes to students’ speech, thinking that repression is the solution for dissent and disagreement.

The student protests of the 1960s were born of political anger. Students were unable to vote. They lacked a political voice in American elections and politics, and they lacked a voice in the governance of their schools. They demanded a seat at the table, the right to be heard and some control over the institutions that literally dictated their lives. Their demands for a voice were met with force and repression much in the same way that the civil rights demonstrators who crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge were.

College administrators first ignored student demands. Then they sought to break up the demonstrations with campus police. Politicians such as Governor Reagan in California, and Governor Rhodes in Ohio responded even more forcefully. They, along with President Richard Nixon, sought to capitalize on the protests politically and personally. They made political careers by running against challenges to authority, campaigning as law and order candidates, claiming to speak for the silent majority, and labeling those who dissented as un-American.

A show of force was their solution across college campuses in America. Eventually they called out the National Guard. The tragic result culminated in Kent State. Four Dead in Ohio as sung by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Colleges and politicians should have learned the lessons of this mistake. The lesson should have been that student voices matter, that students have a right to express their views, and force is not a way to stifle or to address differences of opinion.

They should have also learned that universities are supposed to be socially responsible. They are or have become political institutions, not private corporations. They are socially responsible in the sense that they have responsibility to act ethically and act consistent with their values. Their values include free and open inquiry, disagreement, and debate. They need to be responsible to their stakeholders, including their students, and they need to live up to the democratic ideals and values that they are supposed to be fostering.

But what we learned in the 1960s was that schools were also hotbeds of hypocrisy. That was the source of much of the campus unrest and protest in the 1960s. Instead of fixing the hypocrisy, living up to their values, and respecting student demands, higher education turned corporate. Over a fifty year period schools thought they had learned how to address the dissent on campus. They adopted even more of a corporate structure, seeking a top down mechanism for trying to control curriculum, faculty, and students. They adopted speech and civility codes as a way not to encourage debate but as a tool to discourage views that they do not want to hear.

The corporate university turned itself into a private good, forcing students to borrow tens of thousands of dollars and thereby discipline their behavior by the demands of the economic marketplace. Moreover, the corporate university created its own problem by not being neutral when it came to a diversity of viewpoints, favoring some as opposed to others. It created not a tolerance but an intolerance of certain types of speech. Moreover, as universities have become even more corporate they have built lofty endowments whose investments are oftentimes questionable and which gives donors outsized influence upon what administrators and professors can do.

Much in the same way that the students of the 60s criticized universities for the defense contracts they took and how universities furthered the Vietnam War, students today criticize endowments for supporting causes and issues of which they do not support. They have legitimate grievances against both the US government’s support for a war they do not endorse, and also against universities whom they see as complicit. They demand a voice, call for disinvestment, or simply want to express their disagreement.

Yet again politicians such as Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson are denouncing the protests, calling for the National Guard to quell student speech. Yet again a sitting president seems unable or unwilling to listen to the students. Yet again another war will impact a presidential campaign.

This is more than a tragedy. It is a farce.

(David Schultz is a professor of political science at Hamline University. He is the author of Presidential Swing States: Why Only Ten Matter. CounterPunch.org.)

“I’m not telling you to make the world better I’m just telling you to live in it. Not just to endure it, not just to suffer it, not just to pass through it, but to live in it. To look at it. To take chances. To make your own work and take pride in it." 

— Joan Didion

BERNIE SANDERS: IT IS NOT ANTISEMITIC TO OPPOSE ISRAEL’S ASSAULT OF GAZA

by Sharon Zhang

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks smearing thousands of U.S. students who are protesting against Israel’s genocide in Gaza, emphasizing that it is not antisemitic to oppose Israel’s horrific bombing and starvation campaign against Palestinians.

In an interview on CNN on Sunday, Sanders, who is Jewish, condemned antisemitism, citing his own family’s history of being persecuted in the Holocaust. He added that it is not antisemitic to oppose Israel’s U.S.-backed massacre of over 33,000 Palestinians.

“Right now, what Netanyahu’s right-wing, extremist and racist government is doing is unprecedented in the modern history of warfare. They have killed, in the last six and a half months, 33,000 Palestinians, wounded 77,000, two-thirds of whom are women and children,” Sanders said. “When you make those charges, that is not antisemitic. That is a reality.”

CNN’s Dana Bash went on to present Sanders with a clip of a student protester who likened Zionists to other hateful groups like white supremacists and Nazis — groups that Zionists have historically allied themselves with — in a seeming attempt to paint all campus pro-Palestine protesters as antisemitic, as many conservatives and corporate media outlets have been doing.

“I would hope that every American condemns antisemitic discussion. But what I am talking about right now is, what Netanyahu is trying to do very clearly is to say, ‘anybody who criticizes what Israel is doing, you are antisemitic,’” Sanders said. “What I am saying is if you look at the polling, the vast majority of the American people are disgusted with Netanyahu’s war machine in Gaza.”

Later, Bash continued to paint pro-Palestinian advocates as antisemites by showing a clip of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) saying “we should not have to tolerate antisemitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they are pro-genocide or anti-genocide.” 

“She said some Jewish students are pro-genocide. Is that something that you’re comfortable with?” Bash said, implying that Omar is antisemitic despite the fact that she explicitly condemned antisemitism in her statement.

“Look, what I think the essential point that Ilhan made is that we do not want to see antisemitism in this country. I think the word genocide is something that is being determined by the International Court of Justice,” Sanders said. “But this is what I will say: I don’t think there’s any doubt that what Netanyahu is doing now, displacing 80 percent of the population in Gaza, is ethnic cleansing.”

The interview came after Sanders posted a video to social media addressed to Netanyahu, saying, “it is not antisemitic to hold you accountable for your actions.”

The senator also clarified in a separate interview with NPR posted on Saturday that he believes that students protesters across the country are not antisemitic for trying to end the U.S.’s support for Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign.

“Look, antisemitism has always existed. It exists today. And you’re right, it is getting worse. Islamophobia is getting worse. And we’re living at a time when bigotry is on the rise,” he said. “But to suggest that when you have a significant majority of the American people who, among other things, do not want to support more U.S. military aid to Netanyahu’s war machine, we’re not going to suggest that all of those people are antisemitic.”

Last week, Netanyahu attacked the American student protesters, claiming without evidence that they represent “antisemitic mobs” and drawing comparisons between the anti-genocide protest encampments and the Holocaust. These remarks have been widely denounced by pro-Palestinian advocates, who say that Netanyahu is trying to distract from the daily atrocities that Israel is carrying out in Gaza and the West Bank.

“His number one goal is, you know what he’s doing over there and anything that harms or helps or makes it harder for him to achieve that goal, he’s going to distract from,” said Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pennsylvania) in an interview on CBS on Sunday. “But this idea that every criticism of Israel is antisemitic is dangerous.”

(Truthout.org)

A SURPRISING FIND

On August 16, 1972, an amateur diver, Stefano Mariottini, a young Roman chemist, was diving at a depth of about 8 meters and at a distance of about 300 meters from the coast, chasing a grouper, when he discovered what looked like a limb emerging from the sea bottom. Scared and thinking that he had found a human corpse, he notified his two companions. He finally realized that what he saw corresponded to the right arm of the statue that later became known as bronze B. Next to it Stefano himself found a second statue, bronze A.

The Warriors of Riace are a pair of Greek statues from the 5th century BC. which are exhibited in the National Museum of Magna Grecia in Reggio Calabria. They are two of the few remaining bronze examples of ancient Greek art.

FLAMES have a way of catching up to our tendency to pretend the worst cannot happen. In June 2021 a huge heat dome formed and hovered over the Pacific Northwest and western Canada. In British Columbia temperatures topped 121 degrees. At one point, in just a 24-hour period, the temperature in downtown Portland jumped from 76 degrees to 114 degrees. It got so hot, Jeff Goodell writes in his latest book, ‘The Heat Will Kill You First,’ that “if you'd had the right kind of microphone, scientists say, you could have heard the trees screaming.” 

Seattle-area doctors, desperate to lower body temperatures as quickly as possible, filled body bags with ice and zipped people inside. Still, about a hundred people died of the heat. Other deaths more than doubled that month. As bad as it was, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver could have seen much worse. Europe suffered deadly heat waves in 2003 and again in 2022, which killed approximately 70,000 and over 61,000 people, respectively, most of them elderly or with some underlying condition. “A heat wave is a predatory event,” Goodell writes, “one that culls out the most vulnerable people” — especially the poor. The difference in temperature between rich and poor parts of Portland during that 2021 heat wave, largely due to the “urban heat island effect” — dense concentrations of unshaded concrete — was 25 degrees. As Goodell shows, it only takes a couple of notches up on the climactic thermostat to make the difference between sweaty and dead. 

— John Washington

THE WILD IRIS

At the end of my suffering 
there was a door. 

Hear me out: that which you call death 
I remember. 

Overhead, noises, branches of the pine shifting. 
Then nothing. The weak sun 
flickered over the dry surface. 

It is terrible to survive 
as consciousness 
buried in the dark earth. 

Then it was over: that which you fear, being 
a soul and unable 
to speak, ending abruptly, the stiff earth 
bending a little. And what I took to be 
birds darting in low shrubs. 

You who do not remember 
passage from the other world 
I tell you I could speak again: whatever 
returns from oblivion returns 
to find a voice: 

from the center of my life came 
a great fountain, deep blue 
shadows on azure seawater.

— Louise Glück