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TWO LAKE COUNTY FIRES have been contained as has the Point Fire northwest of Healdsburg where evacuation orders have been lifted, but residents are advised to use caution as they return.
DRY WEATHER is expected for the foreseeable future. Interior temperatures will warm up toward the end of week with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees in some interior valley locations Friday and Saturday. Temperatures will then slowly moderate Sunday and into next week. (NWS)
STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): A foggy 49F on the coast this Thursday morning, plus some passing high clouds. The NWS says cloudy thru Saturday then clearing on Sunday. That would be my guess also as ocean temps are very cold (makes fog) & the fog bank is very deep. Summer officially starts at 1:51pm today (you can tell because it's foggy & cold).
FROM A SMALL FARM IN BOONVILLE
Petit Teton Farm Report - May 2024
Hi all,
At one time or another I'm pretty sure I wrote about the subject of meat, the raising, the slaughter, the butchering and the selling of it. I bring it up again because the process becomes more and more difficult, and for those who eat meat, more and more risky health wise. We raise pigeons, rabbits, pigs, and cows for meat and chickens for eggs and meat. Since we process our chickens, pigeons and rabbits ourselves, they won't be a part of this essay, but they do deserve their own.
Our farm is very small and in a typical year we raise 2-3 sets of two pigs each, the piglets being acquired from a lady who lives on a mountain in the woods across the road from us. Her pigs are both for show and for the kids in FFA and 4H with any unsold going to locals like us. She has won numerous awards for them over the years and the meat is perfection, but she has recently cut back on the number she breeds due to disease, regulations and costs.
The cows are Angus and are bred and raised by another neighbor in the hills across from our farm. They are perfectly raised, on grass from beginning to end with no hormones or antibiotics involved. He either sells us a calf or two which we raise for two years on our fields, or, since he owns property abutting ours, he finishes them on our grass and sells us one he has raised. In years of drought both he and we sometimes have to also feed them with alfalfa bales which are purchased at a local farm supply store. As the climate becomes more uneasy and water more scarce, growing the grasses needed becomes more difficult and the price keeps going up. The grass hay bales my son bought recently for his rabbits were $30 each. Unheard of until now.
Raising the animals is only the first step in bringing them to market. There are federal and state regulations on every aspect of the process and all products for sale must be USDA slaughtered and butchered. "Corporate" megafarms generally have all the facilities needed for both as part of their operation and they are places where animals are not treated with respect. Our animals have large swaths of land on which to run, play, eat, drink and rest in both sun and shade; they eat organic food and are free from antibiotics, hormones, etc. The chickens are free ranging and only go into a coop at night. But pigeons and rabbits require caging at all times since they are bait for a lot of daytime wildlife and in the case of rabbits, also extremely sensitive to various grasses and forbs. My son raises most of the grasses with which he feeds the rabbits, supplementing with some orchard grass hay.
So, I come to the nut of the problem for our small farm and all the small farms in this country raising animals…finding a reliable USDA slaughterhouse and butcher. It is a PROBLEM. Several years ago the sole slaughterhouse in Petaluma shut its doors to all private farmers with less than a week's notice. We had 2 pigs ready for slaughter that were canceled. That left a slaughterhouse in Eureka as our closest choice, more than 3-4 hours away - not cost effective (or healthy) for pigs since stress ruins the meat.
In our "neighborhood" (Marin to Mendocino including Sonoma and Napa) there is little choice so a large group of farmers raising many different animals, banded together and pitched in the money to have a mobile slaughter unit built on one participant's property. It took two years to get it up and running after jumping through endless difficult government regulation hurdles. In that time we were lucky to find that a young cattle farmer had just opened a mobile slaughter unit in Sonoma County and would take our pigs. He has been our go-to ever since the unit we all chipped in to purchase and build closed almost immediately after opening due to regulatory issues. We learned recently that the Eureka facility also closed which explains why both butchers and slaughterhouses are so overwhelmed. Our slaughterer does a good job but his response time regarding scheduling is poor making it difficult to coordinate slaughterer and butcher times, a job that is the small farmers' to manage.
Most recently when I called and texted to schedule a date three weeks prior to the date I was requesting, I had no response until he wrote to say bring them the next day. I had been waiting to schedule the butcher once I knew the slaughter date so the timing was too tight by weeks. When I called the butcher, I was told that starting that week he was going on vacation for two weeks. Unlike cows which can hang for several weeks, pigs need to be butchered fairly soon after slaughter. It was a nail biter, but our butcher avowed that his temporary replacement would do a good job. We'll see.
Over the years we've tried almost all the local butchers and have had major issues - not following cutting instructions, not processing parts that we want, not responding. They too are overwhelmed with work. And we only bring in one or two animals at a time. What about the small farms with many head of sheep, cows, pigs, or goats? Where can they find space?
If people want to eat good meat why isn't the work involved in producing and processing it valued and respected as it should be? Farming, slaughtering, and butchering are all age-old art forms and care and quality count. You are, in good part, the food you eat. We vote to be more humane in our treatment of the animals we eat, eg: pig and chicken caging, but in the end really vote with our dollars by buying the cheaper meat. We know that the food we eat has a lot to do with our health issues, but we continue to spend vast quantities on our pets and our "looks" such as clothes, vacations, accessories, etc. Eating healthy food does not appear to be as important.
Yes, corporate food does cost less because of the vertical monopoly the megafarms enjoy. But those concentrated animal feeding operations also result in a loss of food and health value. In addition, farm diversity is not valued; their focus is on a singular product in vast quantities. People working in them do repetitive, boring jobs, not creatively engaged enjoyable work.
How will this play out? If the trend continues the only slaughterhouses left will be the ones owned by the megafarms which cater solely to the livestock they own. The small producers will be squeezed out entirely. Alternatively, an increased number of consumers demanding locally-sourced quality meat could result in a resurgence in the number of small slaughterhouses and butcher shops. Time will tell which direction we all go.
Thanks for listening and enjoy SUMMER. Stay cool.
Nikki Auschnitt & Steve Krieg
Boonville
LOCAL EVENTS (through this weekend)
BOONVILLE'S PROPOSED SKATEPARK (on line comments)
(1) I sure wish we were getting a dog park instead of a skate park here.
{2) Remember the youth really need more activities in the valley…
(3) It’s going to end up being a place where they all go and do drugs and dump their trash anyway. They do it already in the parking lot. Young kids might like it but it won't be a very family friendly place with condoms and beer cans lying around.
SUMMER STRETCHES BEFORE US
by Terry Sites
Despite the shocking and dispiriting last-minute cancellation of the Sierra Nevada Music Festival, this summer holds great warm weather promise. There are many entertainment possibilities and the food scene in Anderson Valley is once again expanding instead of contracting.
If you are expecting visitors chances are good that you’ll be able to score more than one summer offering that will make their visit special.
My Southern California relatives arrived last week and we started our first full day together with a 10:30 Goat Barn Tour at Penny Royal Farm in Boonville. After meeting the goats (every goat has a name) we grazed on a selection of their farmstead cheeses while sampling a flight of their delicate and delectable wines. We got happy. At dinnertime they chose to eat at “Offspring” Pizza in downtown Boonville because they were traveling with their one year old actual offspring Max. The Meyer Lemon and asparagus wood-fired pizza that they read about online might also have had something to do with it. Arriving at 5:30 we sat on the deck, which was in the process of having a new shade structure installed. There were lots of other diners and the vibe was friendly. The menu is Italian with daily changes. My duck ravioli with a wonderful Italian version of Crème Brule was to die for. Delicious.
If my company had stayed for a few weeks later they might have chosen a brand new kid on the block slated to open in Philo after July 4th. The new place will be called Jumbo’s Win-Win (doesn’t that name make you smile?). Jumbo’s will feature 50s diner style food, which seems like an inspired choice. So we can all look forward to tasting our first Jumbo burger soon.
If it’s entertainment you’re after the Boonville Brewery has a full schedule of free outdoor concerts lined up. Local favorite Boonfire will be playing this Friday June 21 at 5:30. DJ Aline (who is Brazilian) the co-host of KZYX’s Alma Latino program will be bringing alternative Latin music to the dance floor including Cumbia, Electro Tango and more on June 28 at 5:30.
Another great local band the locally popular High Rollers out of Yorkville will play originals and covers on July 5 at 5:30. Live Band Karaoke SF will let YOU be the lead singer on July 12. Margot and Friends the 3 R’s- Rock, Rhythm & Blues and Reggae are on tap for July 12. What the Folk brings dual acoustic guitars and song. August 9-11 “Boontfling” will be in session for a disc gold music festival; check it out at boontfling.com. A Boonville powered punk-rock band called Thirty Aut Sicks will burn it down on August 16. Towse, a London based duo featuring violin, piano and voices, rolls into town on Aug. 30. Last and not least but certainly surprisingly Sept. 1 the Ukiah Symphony Orchestra will treat us to Beers and Beethoven between 1 and 3 for an orchestral afternoon.
If you are willing to range a little bit further North or South for your music, Fort Bragg, Ukiah and Cloverdale await.
Cloverdale’s “Friday Night Live” never disappoints. Their program concert series manager Mark Tharrington has great taste and good connections. He looks for feel good bands that relate energetically to their audience. All shows start at 7:00 but there are vendors arriving earlier with lots of good food and merchandise plus great people watching and it is very family friendly; kids have a ball. The band Hot Buttered Rum- progressive Bluegrass will play June 21. June 28 the Scythians- Celtic Gypsy Folk, July 12 Tom Rigby & Flambeau- Cajun Zydeco and July 19 Sarah Snook & the Disarmers- alternate country. Midnight North- Cosmic American July 26 and Eric Lindell- Blue-eyed Blues Aug. 2. Qiensave- Cumbria Urbana Aug. 16 Joslyn and the Sweet Compression- Neo Soul. Surfer Girl- Indie-Pop on Aug. 23 and The Stone Foxes- Rock and Roll bring it all home on Aug. 30.
If you want to stay in Mendocino County you could head to the new Brewery in Fort Bragg “Tall Guy Brewing.” They have different nights of the week set aside for particular things. Every Monday the Mendocino Jazz Society meets to play 6-9. Wednesdays are Acoustic starting at 2 or 3. Thursdays Open Mike is 7-9:30. Friday Karaoke with DJ Wally from 6:30-10:30. Various bands come in on Saturdays. Coming up- Bryn & the Blue Souls on July 1, Tastes Like Chicken July 8, Background Boys July 15, Back Porch Trio July 22 and Guerrilla Takeover on July 29. Ukiah Sundays in the Park are another option. June 30- Chris Cain, July 14- The Real Sarah’s and Alex De Grassi, July 28- Flip Montagu, Aug. 11- Blitzen Trappen and Mustache Harbor on Aug. 18.
Wherever you go all these musical offerings are 100% FREE which is pretty amazing when you think about it. Summer time is definitely the time to socialize, eat, drink, be merry, put your dancing shoes on and have fun!
CHUCK ROSS
Just a reminder, I will be giving a couple of slide shows on the history of Cuffey's Cove and Greenwood this Friday evening and Saturday morning. Love to see you there, we have room. I'll bet I can show you something about your little town that you didn't know.
more info: facebook.com/events/457029196737034/457029980070289/
SACTO’S ANEMIC FIXES
Editor,
As the fight over the re-imagining of prop 47 continues in Sacramento I wanted to shed some light on what seems to be occurring. First I want to be very clear, I couldn’t care less about who has a “D” or who has an “R” behind their name. I do care about public safety and the security of our residents in Mendocino County.
The ballot initiative which I have been speaking of has the signatures to be brought forward to the voters. This seems like a good thing as I believe our voices should be heard. The legislators have put together 14 bills which are being touted as a fix for the problems we are facing with theft and narcotics. These legislative bills in my opinion, appear extremely anemic.
I want to remind people our legislators have crafted several bills to deal with these issues over the past several years. From what I can see most legislative efforts which would place public safety over criminals have been shot down in the public safety committees. Only now that there is a viable ballot initiative are we seeing legislators coming up with solutions in the form of new laws. This seems to be a matter of too little and too late on the part of our legislators.
Several media outlets and reporters have touched on portions of the politics which are behind this dust up. I would invite everyone to educate themselves on this.
Sadly it looks like this is all about the marching orders of our political parties and not about the well being of the public. This is wrong on several levels. People are elected to serve our residents not the political parties and it must stop.
If you can find the time, please educate yourself on this important issue.
Thank you.
Sheriff Matt Kendall
THERE'S PRIDE, THEN THERE'S SLOBS
On Saturday, June 15, Mendocino County flew its Pride Flag with a joyful display of unity and community. Pride organizers hosted a celebratory march through downtown Ukiah, starting at Black Oak Coffee and terminating in Alex Thomas Plaza. Along the way, some participants stopped at the courthouse to paint the front steps on State Street with a rainbow display that adorned the façade of the courthouse right up to the courthouse entry doors.
The marchers painted their display with tempera paint, creating a huge mess that had to be scrubbed off the steps at great public expense. Much of the paint was in powder form that adhered to the soles of shoes and tracked inside the courthouse. As a result, the court closed the front entrance to the courthouse for the entire day while the paint was removed. All public entry into the building was diverted to one entrance on Perkins Street, creating delays at the screening station and frustration for all court visitors including jurors and citizens seeking court services. County and court maintenance crews spent the entire day vacuuming and power washing the paint off the steps. The final cost of cleanup is estimated at more than $5,000 and will be paid by the State of California from taxpayer funds.
KAREN RIFKIN (Ukiah):
I took this photo on Sunday during the march.
This was about 10:30 Sunday morning.
As you can see, there was already paint on the steps.
So I do not think it happened that day.
I am interested in figuring this out.
The pieces do not fit together.
ED NOTES
VOTING YOUR PRINCIPLES, you see, is, well, self-indulgent, and here we are again, as we are every four years, with Democratic Party hackdom's ancient lament as perfectly expressed on Wednesday's MCN chatline:
“It is lamentable, but for all practical purposes, we have a two-party political system. A third-party candidate will never be elected president in our lifetimes. Ever. Unfortunate, but indisputable. Given this, voting for anyone other than one of the two major candidates is indeed throwing your vote away. “Voting your conscience” is a pointless exercise of ego. Voting for someone who might be better aligned with your views but is outside of the two parties is pointless. Hold your nose if you must, but a vote for one of the two major candidates is the only vote that makes sense. The Biden administration, while imperfect — what administration isn’t? — has been among the most progressive in recent history.”
NOTHING CAN BE DONE. The system while “lamentable” is the system, so reconcile your egomaniacal self to a vote for two endless wars, one of them “precision bombing” of an entire population of trapped people, the other a proxy war that should have been diplomatically settled a week after it started. Meanwhile, here in the consumer paradise, forty percent of the people are living, and maybe even eating, paycheck to paycheck, secure in the knowledge that the Biden administration is “among the most progressive” in the history of the country, this insufferably smug fool concluding, “Hold your nose if you must," but a vote for one or the other, grotesque senility or straight-up fascism, “is the only vote that makes sense.”
MENDO DEMOCRATS will gather at the end of the month to honor their “Democrat of the Year,” an uncomprehending cash and carry lib from Ukiah named Mastin. There will not be a single person present who is not financially secure, and the whole dreary mob will wonder, maybe even out loud, as they genuflect at the feet of the mediocrities they routinely and enthusiastically elect to Northcoast office, why it is that working people, the vanished base of the Democratic Party, has gone over to the Orange Monster.
RFK JR. is half a crank, but he's pretty much a traditional Democrat of the used-to-be type, like his father and uncle, in fact, which is why the Hillary-Obama-Biden Democrats are vilifying him, also claiming, like the above-cited feeb from MCN, that it's either support the Biden Construct or Trump will throw Rachel Maddow into a concentration camp and deport your house cleaners! At least that's what Rach said the other day on The View, a cackling collection of party gang girls. And not only will Rachel be locked up but George Clooney too! (Jeez, if I thought Trump could bring that off I might vote for him.)
SO, MR. EDITOR, Mr. Pontificating above-it-all, who are you voting for? McGovern being the last Democrat I voted for, I'll go Third Party, probably with Cornel West whose views are pretty much my political views. For those of you who think West is a little too much, Jill Stein of the Greens is also a vote you can cast without knowing for a fact you'll be murdering babies in Gaza.
ER, meditation as a group activity?
FORMER SHERIFF ALLMAN told me that there were about a dozen registered pyromaniacs the Sheriff's Department kept tabs on, which is reassuring in what's shaping up as a bad fire season and huge daily temptations for the pyros.
A READER WRITES: “First, Bruce, How are you doing? We are concerned that you still have cancer in your system? Is that correct? An affliction that you can live with for a long long time? How comfortable are you? Are you getting your stamina back? Are you pain free? I hate this aging process but my dad always said there’s only one alternative.”
IN ORDER: I have cancer outposts in my lungs which, I'm assured by the medicos, were too small to round up during surgery, but which will be zapped by one or another form of chemo. (These healer-type people are all professionally optimistic.) I had a rather excruciating MRI yesterday — the noise level was like being rolled down a steep hill in a garbage can for fifty minutes, and not recommended for claustrophobes — which will determine the chemo strategy.
YES, my cancer is slow-moving, rather like its host actually, but at my age, 85 next month, I wonder which exit The Reaper will choose for me. I would prefer to stumble on for a few more years, and am continually surprised and grateful I've lasted this long, especially when I think back on all the stuff that could have killed me and almost did a couple of times.
I'M fairly comfortable, thank you. I've got the runny nose that comes with cancer (I'm told) and I have to vacuum the hole in my throat a dozen times every day round the clock, but there's never been any pain associated with this bottom-of-the-ninth, two outs process, although the medicos said I could have all the pain meds I needed but have needed none. (I guess I could have collected a bunch and given them as Christmas presents to my drug friends, but…)
STAMINA seems to be returning. I'm walking a couple of miles every morning but am still unable to do more than ten push-ups, which I find frustrating. But the last five months have been depleting for sure. I lost all my stamina. I still can't go places unless I carry a bag of emergency gear, but overall I'm optimistic that I'm getting stronger. Still voiceless, however, but rather enjoying being non-verbal. Nobody bothers to ask, “How ya doing today?” Visitors can only gaze at my mute bulk as we exchange arm and hand signals with an occasional written communication.
(I JUST WATCHED a Netflix doc on Lance Armstrong, a guy I knew nothing about beyond that he did some spectacular lying about using drug enhancers to win a bunch of prestigious bike races. Most interesting to me was Armstrong's literally incredible defeat of cancer that began in his testicles and spread throughout much of his body, including his brain. It took numerous surgeries by doctors who thought they couldn't save him, but he not only survived he came back to win a bunch more highly competitive races.)
CATCH OF THE DAY, Wednesday, June 19
GAVIN LEWIS, Redwood Valley. Domestic battery.
BRIAN MOODY, Redwood Valley. Controlled substance, paraphernalia, probation revocation.
MICHAEL OLVERA-CAMPOS, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol&drugs, paraphernalia, parole violation.
CAITLIN CLARK JUST BROKE ANOTHER RECORD.
She’s scored 200 points, grabbed 75 rebounds and logged 75 assists faster than any player in WNBA history.
But she isn’t satisfied.
Caitlin says, “One of the biggest things to learn as I go through my rookie season is just finding some consistency. And obviously, it’s been hard. It’s been a tough stretch at the beginning just with the amount of games we’ve played and the limited practice as I’m trying to get to know my teammates and know the coaching staff, but I feel like I am getting more comfortable over the course of these games.”
ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY
In the movie Day Of The Condor, Robert Redford stands outside the NY Times building and tells his boss that he will spill the beans to them.
His boss replies calmly that they will never print it.
And that movie was made just after Watergate, which we were told was a triumph of plucky intrepid reporters, but turned out to be two dudes, one of them a Deep State plant, who were fed anti-Nixon information by the FBI.
But at the time, didn’t most people believe that freedom of the press brought ol’ Tricky Dick down?
So that ending of the movie was a shock.
SHERRI PAPINI ONLY EVER CARED ABOUT HERSELF
by Katie Dowd
You probably already know about Sherri Papini. Maybe you remember exactly what she did in November 2016. Or perhaps her big smile and blond hair triggered a faint recollection of the Redding “supermom” who disappeared on a run in her neighborhood. When she resurfaced 22 days later, it was a miracle — until Sherri’s unbelievable story fell apart.
Whatever you know about Sherri Papini, your memories likely revolve around her: her lies, her ubiquitous photos, her brazenness. Until now, her family has been on the periphery, but with the release of the Hulu docuseries “Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini” on Thursday, Sherri’s friends and family take center stage. Although much of “Perfect Wife” is a simple retelling, it’s through the lens of the people who loved her most. Sister Sheila Koester and ex-husband Keith Papini anchor much of the series, and their anguish, even years later, is obvious.
If you need a refresher: In 2016, Sherri faked her own kidnapping, leaving her phone on a road and disappearing with an ex-boyfriend to Costa Mesa. A few weeks later, she reappeared in chains, covered in wounds and bruises, claiming two “Hispanic” women had snatched her off the street. She couldn’t explain why she was taken or why she was ultimately released, and detectives slowly unraveled her deception. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison for lying to law enforcement and defrauding the California Victim Compensation Board.
The docuseries’ focus on Sherri’s loved ones makes clear how heinous her actions were. It is particularly hard to understand why Sherri would subject her heavily pregnant sister to such torture. Sheila recalls being “pregnant and hysterical,” driving through Redding “screaming” her missing sister’s name. As days turned to weeks, Sheila resigned herself to the fact Sherri was dead.
“Because so much time had gone by, I felt my job was to help prepare [Keith] to be a single dad and to raise two really young kids on his own,” she says.
It’s hard to listen to Sherri’s breathy, hysterical 911 call and the police interviews from after she resurfaced. Although her stories were absurd, her then-husband Keith struggled with accepting the truth. When a therapist challenged Keith’s doubts, he thought about all of the oddities. He remembered the expression on her face when he met her at the hospital after her rescue (“The way she looked at me, in that moment, I felt like she was lying”). He recalled the gathering she hosted during which she made everyone watch a home surveillance clip that showed two friends’ reaction to learning she was alive (“The whole thing was very awkward. It’s hard to explain, but it just didn’t seem right”). And then there were the scars on her back that she once told Keith an abusive ex inflicted, but later admitted she’d made herself.
But time and again, Keith came back to the same thing: If he didn’t believe her — and he was wrong — what kind of man would that make him?
Once Sherri was home, the family withdrew from the public eye. It’s here that “Perfect Wife” is most illuminating. Keith’s account of this time period deepens the insidiousness of Sherri’s lies. According to Keith, Sherri acted intensely traumatized, refusing to let people close doors because even the sound of a clicking lock set her off. Once, during a fight, Keith says Sherri turned to him and said, “I have to live with the fact you never found me.”
Even worse, she created an environment of utter terror for their two children. She ordered them to go inside whenever an unfamiliar person walked by their yard. She covered their windows in blankets, and she demanded her meals be made only by people she knew; she said her captors drugged her through food.
“We lived in a constant state of fear,” Keith says. “I thought someone was going to come here and finish the job or harm the kids.”
That day never came. Instead, Sherri and Keith were called back by investigators who had finally pieced together her scheme. Using a DNA sample found on her clothes, they’d tracked down the ex-boyfriend, who admitted he’d been shielding Sherri for weeks because she claimed she was escaping an unhappy, toxic relationship; investigators do not believe Keith was ever abusive toward Sherri.
In one of the most poignant moments in the docuseries, Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Detective Kyle Wallace, who was assigned to the case from the beginning, recalls watching the truth hit Keith. “As a friend, I should have called and warned Keith,” Wallace says. “As a friend, I should have let him know I was going to ruin his life in a minute.”
There’s no black-and-white answer for why Sherri faked her kidnapping. Keith, to this day, seems flummoxed. “I was so adamant that she could never leave her kids,” he says. Wallace believes Sherri’s severance package from AT&T was running out, a financial windfall she’d allegedly used to pay for child care and a breast augmentation. With the responsibilities of life closing back in on her, Wallace thinks she decided to hit the eject button.
“Her lifestyle was going to change once she ran out of money. I don’t think she was ready for that,” Wallace says. “But I think she left because that’s how she knew to get away from conflict.”
Her sister comes the closest to contextualizing it. “It was not an easy environment growing up,” Sheila says. There was “a lot of childhood trauma” stemming from substance abuse by the adults in their home. Sherri coped by becoming a compulsive liar and exaggerator.
“I think she wasn’t getting the attention that she wanted with being at home. I think she just really wanted to feel important,” Sheila says. “She always has.”
THE EARTHQUAKE shook down in San Francisco hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of walls and chimneys. But the conflagration that followed burned up hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of property. There is no estimating within hundreds of millions the actual damage wrought. Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone. Nothing remains of it but memories and a fringe of dwelling-houses on its outskirts. Its industrial section is wiped out. Its business section is wiped out. Its social and residential section is wiped out. The factories and warehouses, the great stores and newspaper buildings, the hotels and the palaces of the nabobs, are all gone. Remains only the fringe of dwelling houses on the outskirts of what was once San Francisco.
Within an hour after the earthquake shock the smoke of San Francisco's burning was a lurid tower visible a hundred miles away. And for three days and nights this lurid tower swayed in the sky, reddening the sun, darkening the day, and filling the land with smoke.
On Wednesday morning at a quarter past five came the earthquake. A minute later the flames were leaping upward. In a dozen different quarters south of Market Street, in the working-class ghetto, and in the factories, fires started. There was no opposing the flames. There was no organization, no communication. All the cunning adjustments of a twentieth century city had been smashed by the earthquake. The streets were humped into ridges and depressions, and piled with the debris of fallen walls. The steel rails were twisted into perpendicular and horizontal angles. The telephone and telegraph systems were disrupted. And the great water-mains had burst. All the shrewd contrivances and safeguards of man had been thrown out of gear by thirty seconds' twitching of the earth’s crust.
By Wednesday afternoon, inside of twelve hours, half the heart of the city was gone. At that time I watched the vast conflagration from out on the bay. It was dead calm. Not a flicker of wind stirred. Yet from every side wind was pouring in upon the city. East, west, north, and south, strong winds were blowing upon the doomed city. The heated air rising made an enormous suck. Thus did the fire itself build its own colossal chimney through the atmosphere. Day and night this dead calm continued, and yet, near to the flames, the wind was often half a gale, so mighty was the suck.
Wednesday night saw the destruction of the very heart of the city. Dynamite was lavishly used, and many of San Francisco's proudest structures were crumbled by man himself into ruins, but there was no withstanding the onrush of the flames. Time and again successful stands were made by the fire-fighters, but every time the flames flanked around on either side, or came up from the rear, and turned to defeat the hard-won victory.
An enumeration of the buildings destroyed would be a directory of San Francisco. An enumeration of the buildings undestroyed would be a line and several addresses. An enumeration of the deeds of heroism would stock a library and bankrupt the Carnegie medal fund. An enumeration of the dead — will never be made. All vestiges of them were destroyed by the flames. The number of the victims of the earth’s quake will never be known. South of Market Street, where the loss of life was particularly heavy, was the first to catch fire.
Remarkable as it may seem, Wednesday night, while the whole city crashed and roared into ruin, was a quiet night. There were no crowds. There was no shouting and yelling. There was no hysteria, no disorder. I passed Wednesday night in the path of the advancing flames, and in all those terrible hours I saw not one woman who wept, not one man who was excited, not one person who was in the slightest degree panic-stricken.
Before the flames, throughout the night, fled tens of thousands of homeless ones. Some were wrapped in blankets. Others carried bundles of bedding and dear household treasures. Sometimes a whole family was harnessed to a carriage or delivery wagon that was weighted down with their possessions. Baby buggies, toy wagons, and go-carts were used as trucks, while every other person was dragging a trunk. Yet everybody was gracious. The most perfect courtesy obtained. Never, in all of San Francisco's history, were her people so kind and courteous as on this night of terror.
— Jack London
HOW GIANTS’ WILLIE MAYS CHANGED THE GAME FOR GENERATIONS OF BLACK BASEBALL PLAYERS
by Scott Ostler
Willie Mays made No. 24 famous forever. His old team plays at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, the ballpark that features a courtyard lined with 24 palm trees.
But here’s another number that will forever be associated with Mays: 17.
Mays, promoted to the New York Giants from the minors early in the 1951 season, was the 17th Black player in the major leagues. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the then-white major leagues in 1947, but by the end of the 1950 season, only five of the 16 major-league teams had integrated.
If Jackie put his shoulder to that invisible iron door of integration and wedged it open, Willie Mays kicked that sucker down four seasons later upon his promotion.
When the rookie Mays, just turned 20, first put on the Giants’ flannels, many in baseball and in America were clinging to the hope that integrated baseball was a passing fad. Mays’ baseball skill, style and personality were so captivating that the idea of integrated baseball became much more appealing.
As Bill Clinton told the Chronicle’s John Shea when Shea was co-writing a book with Mays, “Willie Mays made it absurd to be racist.”
He was just too good, too spirited, to hate. When Mays broke in, the Giants had an infielder named Bill Rigney, an Alameda kid who later became the first manager of the Giants in San Francisco. Rigney is gone, but years ago he told me what it was like when Mays arrived.
In spring training of ’51, Giants manager Leo Durocher went to the team’s Triple-A camp to watch Mays play.
Rigney said, “Leo came back and boy, that’s all he talked about for the next 10 days, this kid playing for Minneapolis.”
Mays was called up from the minors at the end of May, after hitting .477 in 35 games at Triple-A.
“Willie brought a pace to that ’51 club that was all we needed,” Rigney said. “We had some good players, but we were a long ways back (in the standings), and he brought a new level to the manner of play, a level it was gonna take to catch the Dodgers, a real shot of energy. … He brought a freshness. It was like getting your second wind.”
There were some in baseball then who believed Black people weren’t smart enough to excel at baseball, and Mays destroyed that belief. He once told of how he controlled the game from center field — positioning the other six fielders before every hitter, and giving signals to the catcher to tell him how to pitch to each batter.
One winter, Mays played ball in Puerto Rico. He was in center, Roberto Clemente was in right. When one opponent singled to center field, Mays let the ball roll between his legs, knowing who was backing him up. The runner saw Mays’ “error” and headed for second, only to be cut down by the great Clemente.
And, oh, the flair. Rigney told this one: “Bobby Thomson was in left for us. There was a ball hit to left-center. Bobby called for it and was going to catch it but he slipped and fell down. Mays caught the ball and picked Bobby up in one motion. Oh, what a good idea.”
To watch Mays was to watch the game at a new level. The basket catch, the cap flying off as he chased flies or rounded the bases, the bullfighter-graceful slides, the elegant and powerful swing. Mays’ uniform was perfect, from the cut of the socks to the bend of the cap brim. Baseball in the Negro Leagues was played with more flair and showmanship than you would see in the white majors back then, and Mays brought a basketful of that baseball with him, and put it in play without offending the purists.
We saw all that. What we didn’t see was what Mays did for Black people in baseball. He took young Black players, on his team and every team, under his wing. Gave them golf clubs, gave them advice, offered himself as a mentor and cheerleader.
When San Francisco Giants manager Alvin Dark incurred the wrath of the Giants’ Black players, the team came close to mutiny. Mays defused the crisis, and not by backing down or groveling. What could have been a setback for Black baseball players wound up with Dark backing down and eventually admitting he’d been wrong.
Mays wasn’t known as a civil rights crusader, but when he and his wife were denied buying a home in San Francisco because of their race, he didn’t rail at the injustice or issue threats. He quietly and firmly persisted. Told he could buy a different house, Mays said, “I want that house.” He got it, lifting a supposedly progressive city to a new level of enlightenment.
Mays did a lot of heavy lifting for baseball and the world, and he made it look easy.
(SF Chronicle)
"Gray and Gold" (1942) by John Roger Cox (American, 1915-1990)
WITHIN HALF A DOZEN BLOCKS of the coronet Spade left the car and went into the vestibule of a tall brown apartment-building. He pressed three bell-buttons together. The street-door-lock buzzed. He entered; passed the elevator and stairs; went down a long yellow-walled corridor to the rear of the building; found a back door fastened by a Yale lock; and let himself out into a narrow court. The court led to a dark back street, up which Spade walked for two blocks. Then he crossed over to California Street and went to the Coronet. It was not quite half-past nine o'clock.
The eagerness with which Brigid O'Shaughnessy welcomed Spade suggested that she had been not entirely certain of his coming. She had put on a satin gown of the blue shade called Artoise that season, with chalcedony shoulder-straps, and her stockings and slippers were Artoise.
The red and cream sitting-room had been brought to order and livened with flowers in squat pottery vases of black and silver. Three small rough-barked logs burned in the fireplace. Spade watched them burn while she put away his hat and coat.
“Do you bring me good news?” she asked when she came into the room again. Anxiety looked through her smile, and she held her breath.
“We won't have to make anything public that hasn't already been made public.”
“The police won't have to know about me?”
“No.”
She sighed happily and sat on the walnut settee. Her face relaxed and her body relaxed. She smiled up at him with admiring eyes. “How, ever did you manage it?” she asked more in wonder than in curiosity.
“Most things in San Francisco can be bought, or taken.”
“And you won't get into trouble? Do sit down.” She made room for him on the settee.
“I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble,” he said with not too much complacence.
He stood beside the fireplace and looked at her with eyes that studied, weighed, judged her without pretense that they were not studying, weighing, judging her. She flushed slightly under the frankness of his scrutiny, but she seemed more sure of herself than before, though a becoming shyness had not left her eyes. He stood there until it seemed plain that he meant to ignore her invitation to sit beside her, and then crossed to the settee.
“You aren't,” he asked as he sat down, “exactly the sort of person you pretend to be, are you?”
— Dashiell Hammett
ALL THE EVIDENCE WE COULD FIND ABOUT FRED TRUMP'S ALLEGED INVOLVEMENT WITH THE KKK (2016)
Newspaper clips obtained by VICE suggest the Republican frontrunner's father may have worn the robe and hood of a Klansman in 1927.…
JUNETEENTH: WHY WERE THE ENSLAVED IN TEXAS?
by Ishmael Reed
Juneteenth is named after June 19, 1865, when news of their emancipation reached enslaved people in Texas. None of the pundits who are commenting on the holiday ask why enslaved people were in Texas in the first place.
General Antonio López de Santa Anna, who fought Texas enslavers at the Alamo in 1836, is depicted in settler school books as a villain. No. Santa Anna was opposed to slavery. He found the practice disgusting. The defenders of the Alamo, some of whom ran away, were pro-slavery. As Phillip Thomas Tucker writes in his book “Exodus from the Alamo: The Anatomy of the Last Stand Myth”: “Today we can no longer afford to ignore that the Alamo defenders were on the wrong side of the slavery issue, while the Mexicans were in the right.”
Stephen Austin and other American settlers brought enslaved people to Texas, “flouting the slavery restrictions” set by the Mexicans, who ruled Texas at the time. Mexico outlawed slavery in 1829, and so, while the image of the fugitive slave is someone who escaped to the North and Canada, many fled to Mexico.
One could say that the origins of what should be called the American-Mexican War, since Americans were the aggressors, happened as a result of Americans acquiring land in Texas and bringing enslaved people with them.
Among the future Confederate generals who participated in the invasion of Mexico were Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis, and Robert E. Lee. Their commander-in-chief was President James Polk, an enslaver who wanted to expand slavery to Mexico.
In my book, Why No Confederate Statues in Mexico, I recount Lee’s role at the 1847 Battle of Chapultepec. Badly outnumbered, Mexico’s General Bravo ordered a retreat. Six cadets, children between 10 and 19, refused the order. Those cadets who fought on were martyred. Rather than surrender, some of the children wrapped themselves in the Mexican flag and leaped to their deaths. They are called Los Niños in Mexican history. After the invasion of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War, the Confederates, mounted on horseback, marched children and their parents back to slavery, whether they were free or fugitive slaves.
These episodes run counter to the image of the Confederate generals in the U.S. textbooks. Noble fighters who, after graduating from West Point, reluctantly, tearfully, and, after much soul-searching, took up arms to defend their homeland, the version offered by Ken Burns’ “The Civil War,” for which he was made an honorary member of the Sons of the Confederacy. There should be a restraining order to prevent Burns, Tom Hanks, and Stephen Spielberg from coming anywhere near American history. You can see Burns posing with one of the Koch brothers at the Bohemian Club, a kind of playpen for the patriarchal one percent.
Confederate generals massacred thousands of Native Americans and Mexicans before starting a war that caused more American deaths than those who died at the hands of the Japanese in World War II. So atrocious were their actions that a multicultural contingent, including Irish immigrants and Blacks, joined the Mexicans. Called the St. Patrick’s Battalion and led by John Riley, twelve were hanged.
The twenty percent of Black voters who are crazy about President Trump aren’t aware that their candidate praised Robert E. Lee. Still, thousands of Confederate soldiers showed their devotion to the general by going AWOL. One Confederate general commented, “If we got back half, we could win the war.”
His contemporaries accused Lee of losing the war. A cult of admirers mythologized him as the man of marble. Without his slaves, he was broke after the war. His admirers got him a job as president of Washington and Lee University. Robert E. Lee said that enslaved people needed “painful discipline.” Two slaves who ran away and were captured give history an example of how he administered it.
Quoted by the late Elizabeth Pryor in her “Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee,” a slave gives us a scene in which Lee practiced his “painful discipline”:
He then ordered us to the barn, where in his presence, we were tied firmly to posts by a Mr. Gwin, our overseer, who was ordered by Gen. Lee to strip us to the waist and give us fifty lashes each, excepting my sister, who received but twenty; we were accordingly stripped to the skin by the overseer, who, however, had sufficient humanity to decline whipping us; accordingly Dick Williams, a county constable was called in, who gave us the number of lashes ordered; Gen. Lee, in the meantime, stood by, and frequently enjoined Williams to ‘lay it on well,’ an injunction which he did not fail to heed; not satisfied with simply lacerating our naked flesh, Gen. Lee then ordered the overseer to thoroughly wash our backs with brine, which was done.
Why would anybody want to erect a statue of a person capable of a sadistic act like this? Instead, doesn’t he belong in a horror movie or in a Poe short story? Fortunately, Elizabeth Pryor was part of a new mixed generation of Americans, black, white, red, yellow, and Latinx, who are taking down monuments that remind us of a shameful past, both the physical ones and those that appear in textbooks. If previous historians had told the truth instead of honoring slaveholders and those who wished to exterminate Native Americans, those monuments would never have been erected in the first place, and we wouldn’t have a generation of armed bigots defending them, which is why I’ve asked the American Historical Society to apologize for all of the harm these historians have done.
Among other statues coming down is one erected in front of Albany, N.Y., City Hall, to General Philip Schuyler, slave owner and Indian fighter. An evacuation of a site that held the remains of his slaves found that they were treated cruelly. Schuyler’s daughters Angelica, who owned a slave, and Elizabeth, who, even according to historian Ron Chernow, helped her mother “manage” the slaves, and Alexander Hamilton, who purchased slaves for the family, are peddled as abolitionists to thousands of children. They have been valorized due to their being refashioned by Broadway’s “Hamilton.”
Besides American school rooms, Broadway is another place where Black Lives Don’t Matter.
General Schuyler and his Dutch slave-owning friends’ agitation led to the execution of three black teenagers, two of whom were hanged before a bloodthirsty howling mob in 1793. They were accused of arson.
When Albany takes down Schuyler’s statue, statues should be erected in memory of these children. Lin Manuel Miranda, who cynically poses with Black school children, the descendants of slaves, should insist upon it. He will be remembered as the man who kept slaveholder Hamilton’s picture on the ten-dollar bill.
(Ishmael Reed’s new play “The Shine Challenge, 2024,” will receive a full production, from Dec,17-Jan 6, 2025, at Off-Off Broadway’s Theater for the New City. Ishmael Reed’s latest play is “The Conductor.” CounterPunch.org)
TODAY'S LEAD STORIES FROM THE NYT
Rural America Lags Cities in Helping People Beat the Heat
Tropical Storm Alberto Brings Floods to Texas as Mexico Braces for Landfall
Putin and Kim Sign Pact Pledging Mutual Support Against ‘Aggression
Biden’s Lead With Women Is Smaller Than Trump’s With Men, a Warning for Democrats
Louisiana Requires All Public Classrooms to Display Ten Commandments
Ancient Shipwreck Preserves a Deep Bronze Age Time Capsule
OUR PROPAGANDIZED SOCIETY Is Like A Sick Man Who Doesn’t Know He’s Sick
by Caitlin Johnstone
I write a lot more about the problems our society faces than I do about solutions. I do this because we are so far from being able to implement real solutions that most people don’t even really know the problems exist yet.
I could spend my time talking about the need for a giant people’s revolution to dismantle the US-centralized empire, end capitalism and replace the competition-based systems which are driving us to our doom with collaboration-based systems where all of humanity cooperates with each other and with our ecosystem, but those solutions aren’t going to emerge anytime soon because public consent for the status quo order is still being manufactured with a very high degree of success. At this point in history’s unfolding I may as well say we should solve all our problems by inventing free energy and living in the sky like the Jetsons.
Right now our society is like a sick man who (A) doesn’t know he’s sick, (B) refuses to believe he is sick, (C) believes the medicine is poison, (D) has no health insurance and can’t afford the medicine anyway, and (E) also has no means of transportation to get to the doctor. The very first step in that long list of obstacles to his health is to get him to understand that he is sick. That’s why I spend so much energy showing evidence that the media are lying to us, that we are ruled by psychopaths, and that our status quo systems are driving us toward annihilation.
Westerners who spend their time posturing as brave revolutionaries online and talking about how ready they are to set up the guillotines and take up arms against the ruling class always remind me of LARPers, because they’re talking about something that has exactly zero chance of becoming a reality as things stand right now. They’re role playing as revolutionary militants like other people role play as warriors and wizards in an imaginary fantasy realm. They’ve got no skin in the game; their play-acting has no weight and carries with it no real material risk. Many who talk tough in their fantasy land would run like rabbits the instant things got real.
Before those postures have any meaning, you must first create the world in which they could become meaningful. This is done by awakening other westerners to the reality of the abusive mind-controlled dystopia we live in.
We’re in a burning house, and the people inside don’t believe it’s on fire and think you’re a crazy crackpot for saying it is. There are a whole lot of necessary solutions to that problem that are going to have to follow from that point like getting everyone outside, getting the fire extinguished, finding a place to stay, getting the house rebuilt, replacing all the stuff that you lost, and getting everyone’s life back to normal. But the very first order of business is pointing to the flames and the smoke until people believe you. Everything else follows from there.
Getting people to see the fire is the first step, and it’s also the hardest. The biggest obstacle to our freedom is people’s belief that they are already free. The biggest obstacle to a functional society is the widespread belief that we are already living in one. The empire’s single strongest weapon is its ability to dissuade the masses from revolution by psychologically manipulating them away from the ability to see that revolution is necessary.
If we can get past that one primary obstacle, all the other obstacles will be relatively easy to overcome, in the same way a giant who realizes he’s been enslaved by an insect would quickly overcome the obstacles to his freedom after his eyes have been opened to the reality of his situation. But we need to get those eyes open first.
We get the eyes open by spreading awareness, which is always the first step to solving any problem. No problem ever gets solved by people until people are aware that the problem exists. Next they must come to understand the problem, then they must think up solutions, then they must create the necessary conditions to make those solutions feasible, then they must put those solutions into action.
We spread awareness of the problems by using every means at our disposal to show people the truth. The truth about their nation, their government, their media, and their world. Helping someone realize that everything they’ve been indoctrinated into believing about the world has been a lie is no small task — ask anyone who’s ever escaped from a cult or helped someone who has. The vast majority of people in our society are deeply indoctrinated by imperial propaganda, and we can’t start moving toward solutions until that changes.
But again, once that obstacle’s dealt with the rest will be comparatively easy — and even that obstacle will get easier and easier to deal with as more people open their eyes, because the more people see this thing the more people there will be to help shake others awake. And the more people there are looking at the problems, the more human ingenuity will be dedicated to coming up with viable solutions. Once things start moving we could go from awareness to solutions fairly rapidly, like someone quickly moving from a dream world to their bathroom in the morning to start their day.
But those eyes need to open first.
(caitlinjohnstone.com.au)
The ideal mind, the brain, has become the vampire of modern life, sucking up the blood and the life. There is hardly an original thought or original utterance possible to us. All is sickly repetition of stale, stale ideas.
— DH Lawrence
NONFICTION SUMMER READING RECOMMENDATIONS
by Ralph Nader
- “The Emperor’s Nightmare” by Robert A. G. Monks (2022). Harvard lawyer, former CEO and Shareholder Rights Activist, Monks digs deep inside big corporate power and the devastating impact of this corpocracy on weakened democratic institutions. Constitutional reset is crucial, he concludes.
- “Corporate Bullsh*t: Exposing the Lies and Half-Truths That Protect Profit, Power, and Wealth in America” by Nick Hanauer, et al. (2023). The Seattle progressive billionaire, author and advocate; Hanauer wants to reach a wider audience.
- “An End to Inequality: Breaking Down the Walls of Apartheid Education in America” by Jonathan Kozol (2024). The last clarion call of a lifelong educator and whistleblower of taboos and coverups.
- “100 Life or Death Foods: A Scientific Guide to Which Foods Prolong Life or Kill You Prematurely” by Jean Elinor Carper (2023). Author of many bestselling books over five decades Carper boils it down for the smart eater. Usable immediately.
- “White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy” by Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II (2024). Anyone who wants to understand the importance of getting out the vote of low-wage non-voters better digest this just-published wise, grounded and eloquent book.
- “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine” by Norman Solomon (2023). Get your arms around the ways and means of the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned Americans about in his farewell address, with this easy-to-read factual story.
- “Atomic Days: The Untold Story of the Most Toxic Place in America” by Joshua Frank (2022). A devastating account of the dangerous radioactive and explosive horrors under the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State where private contractors are soaking up billions of taxpayer dollars yearly and the problems persist.
- “The Greatest Evil is War” by Chris Hedges (2022). For years a war correspondent for the New York Times, Hedges rings the alarm bells in this short, vivid and memorable treatment of mankind’s ultimate fatal folly.
- “Choosing the Public Interest: Essays From the First Public Interest Research Group” by Sam Simon (2023). The little-known story of our spectacular successes in 1970-1971 with a dozen young public interest lawyers at a time when members of Congress were responsive to progressive civic advocates.
- “Corporate Power and Oligarchy: How Our Democracy Can Prevail Over Authoritarianism and Fascism” by family physician and professor of medicine Dr. John Geyman (2024). The most recent deep analysis of the causes of the corporate takeover of our health professions and health insurance institutions as part of the overall destructive corporatization of America.
- “The Inflection Election: Democracy or Fascism in 2024?” by Mark Green (2024). The author of 25 books and public advocate highlights what is at stake in this year’s election and the need for citizens to take charge of their politicians for a change.
- “States of Neglect: How Red-State Leaders Have Failed Their Citizens and Undermined America” by William Kleinknecht (2023). As bad as our two-party duopoly has become, there are, over time, some major differences in the livelihoods and rights of people between the GOP-run Red States and Blue States governed by the Democrats. The author illustrates these comparisons.
- “What’s the Matter with Delaware?: How the First State Has Favored the Rich, Powerful, and Criminal – and How It Costs Us All” by Hal Weitzman (2022). From his teaching post at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, the author unsparingly reveals the rogue state of Delaware as a deeply rooted corporate haven for license and lawlessness, affecting adversely the most modest efforts in other states to curb corporate outrages. This tiny state has led the race to the bottom for corporate charters of giant corporations for decades.
- “Who’s Raising the Kids?: Big Tech, Big Business, and the Lives of Children” by Susan Linn (2023). A Harvard psychologist who doesn’t cut corners in exposing what others have called “the electronic child molesters,” circumventing parental authority, and addicting children to screens for hours every day.
- “The Ethical University: Transforming Higher Education” by Wanda Teays and Alison Dundes Renteln (2022). The authors raise concerns about profound entrenched conflicts that have existed long before this year’s student protests.
- Personal Privilege. My book “The Rebellious CEO: 12 Leaders Who Did It Right” (2023). Good news for a change to provide a powerful rebuttal to CEOs of today’s giant corporations absolving their crimes, frauds and abuses by saying they are just meeting market demand. A good book to raise business students’ horizons.
Matt Kendall: “Sadly it looks like this is all about the marching orders of our political parties and not about the well being of the public.”
True. Who would have thought that enacting term limits would result in the political parties, mostly one, having the power, and not individual elected representatives? But that is what has happened.
the plot has thickened just a little more. Emails regarding the negotiations between the governors office and the coalition moving the ballot initiative forward were leaked to the press. In these emails the Governors office advised they will support a ballot initiative but not until 2026. Basically they will agree to let the voters speak at the end of the Governors term.
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/sacramento/news/leaked-email-governor-refused-to-negotiate-with-das/
Somebody commented they wish there would be a dog park instead of a skatepark. I wish Point Arena could have a nice park. Put a skatepark and a dog park in it if that’s what the community desires. I’d just like a nice park – a safe play structure, grass, a couple of benches, a grill or two, functional accessibility (no potholes or cracked asphalt walkways).
I suggest Karen Rifkin do a Facebook search for Ukiah Pride. Numerous photos showcasing the culprits, with recognizable faces, can be found spreading the tempera paint on the steps of the courthouse.
That doesn’t fit her agenda! She must create doubt rather than admit truth. That’s how this woke media works. She must try and get you to believe some crazed individual with no association to the Pride group is running around painting steps. Anyway that’s what Ms. Rifkin is insinuating.
Here’s a simple question. Why does she feel the need to create doubt for this obvious situation?
Two for the price of one…dogs skatepark 2
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPREdGaah/
Hey Sheriff Kendall…………………
It’s me the Corker …. On prop 47 “Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act” So the theory I am reading is the leniency of drug addiction charges is the reason for homelessness. Fact is it is not the reason for homelessness, people living in homes with jobs sometimes even in high positions are addicted to drugs. Most Homelessness is because of Mental Illness and addiction co-occurring. But the most important factor in all of it as I mentioned to you before is the family. Most homelessness can be traced back to the family and their ability to help someone they love in these volatile predicaments, so they kick them out to the street for their own sanity because there is no help to intervene. But beyond that shouldn’t leniency be dependent on a multitude of factors, i know you are not the judge and that’s the courts job, anyways it is very interesting, and I will read more about it. If not for Covid and leniency my son was looking at up to 2 years of jail not because of addiction, his drug of choice was cannabis, but because of psychosis due to Mental Illness. It is very important to make these distinctions.
mm 💕
Missed the mark to edit that earlier it should say psychosis due to Cannabis addiction with a co-occurring Serious Mental Illness.
mm 💞
Sorry Mazzie we aren’t in agreement on all of this, certainly I see your point on some parts of this but not all of it.
People are destroying themselves with the drugs that is absolutely true.
Haha I am not saying they are not destroying their lives with drugs…..I understand that as part of the equation the picture is much bigger than just addiction. I know we will never agree on everything that is fine and expected. However, blaming homelessness on lack of prosecution and consequences for drug offenses like one article I read on the matter of prop 47 and the only reason I brought it up, it’s not correct.
mm 💞
It’s a portion of it and the thefts we are seeing are becoming completely out of control with no ability to have any meaningful consequences.
The pathway to recovery and programs that truly worked used to be through our magistrates (ie) drug court. I don’t know if I have ever seen better outcomes for everyone involved than drug court.
I know a lot of people who are living good lives today because they were given the options and had consequences if they continued in crime.
We need to have meaningful consequences if we don’t we will see people taking these issues into their own hands.
Look up the shooting in Oakland last week where an elder shot and killed a burglar in his home. As of last night the home owner was still in custody in the Alameda county jail.
This is what we see when the laws are based on politics and not people.
In 1989 I was given the decision to spend 6 years in prison or go into a recovery program. I was already a 2 times looser and spent time in both Wyoming and Nevada. Judge Luther gave me the choice, Prison or Recovery. At that time I had been a speed freak for over 20 years. I couldn’t have done it without a “nudged from the Judge”. Judge Luther helped get me out of prison in Wyoming while he was a public defender. I bet this is probably one of his biggest regrets in life.
I think he was there because of my mom, he liked her.
MAGA Marmon
I know a lot of people who have had similar circumstances and as you very eloquently put it, the “nudge from the judge” put them back on a good track.
Sadly most folks these days won’t be able to get that same chance because the judge has nothing to persuade them with. Thats the reality we are all facing today and its sad.
I get that completely…. consequences are necessary and I have never said they are not. But there are a multitude of compounding issues of why these problems exist and can not be conquered, in mental illness its completely different ballgame…
mm 💕
When did it become normal to let mentally ill and drug addicted individuals to live on the streets? I don’t care about the reasons, the fact is, this is reality.
If everyone claims their hands are tied, the problem gets worse.
Where are our elected leadership? Right now, it’s property owners and citizens who are dealing with this issue.
Why isn’t Camille Schrader commenting on this issue? Money
Why does Mo Mulheren advocate for homeless and scold business owners? Failed agenda
Why does UPD have a Sergeant who defends the likes of Scotty Willis and Jahlan Travis? Lazy
These are just a few instances, remember our tax dollars are paying for this!
Bernie Norvell and Matt Kendall seem to be the leaders we need, but face scrutiny when they try and act, or talk about potential solutions.
The citizens and business owners are tired of this, they want solutions. NOT LIP SERVICE.
Dude, calm the F down, …..lol….
It is not normal acceptable or ok, but the reality is that is where we are
You may not care about the reasons, but I assure you every family member with an addicted mentally ill homeless loved one does. Unfortunately, because of blame, shame and ridicule they remain in the background unable to address these concerns openly, so you get me opening up the floor.
I absolutely agree with you on the claims of hands tied, that is true what it actually means is we have no responsibility to do what is necessary and appropriate. We do not address it correctly.
It is not just property owners dealing with this, it is first and foremost families
You will never see service providers commenting, and they would probably site HIPAA as the reason……lol
Mo follows lead from those running the programs they have vested interest in keeping their money flowing freely while doing what’s best for them not those suffering these issues.
UPD can only act on crime not mental illness because they are not Mental Health Workers. That is their reasoning and why discernment in how these things are addressed is necessary.
So again, my SERVICE is not LIP it is actual and factual and necessary. There is nothing wrong Scrutinizing and bringing into the open the defects and challenges we face. Sheriff Kendall and I are friends and respect each other we have had many conversations and meetings discussing all these issues.
mm 💞
I’m calm, but your explanation when it comes to Mo, UPD and service providers falls short.
You are basically making excuses for them.
First off, when police are called 99% of the time the homeless/mentally ill has committed a crime. Uh, I don’t know, theft, public deification/urination, vandalism, assault, brandishing a weapon, etc. There is no need for UPD Sergeant to counsel reporting party.
Instead of Mo driving around to see if a local business really has a homeless issue, I guess the 100 pictures he posted wasn’t proof enough, maybe her time would be better spent to see if the service providers of the county were actually have any success with the millions of taxpayer dollars they are receiving.
You see when you hand millions of dollars to a company like Camille Schrader’s, there is no incentive to solve the problem.
You’re emotionally tied to this issue because of your son, I do respect that. The simple truth, this issue is impacting the daily lives of everyone and it’s self induced by people like Mo Mulheren. Think about her actions, by trying to normalize this way of life, she is saying it’s just fine if your son is homeless and living on the streets. By reading your posts, I don’t think you’re okay with that.
I am explaining the truth …. how it is.. it does not fall short exactly what I and other families like mine know and experience. I am not excusing anyone from their responsibilities in these matters. I think you are mistaking me for the wrong gal! I am pretty sure I gave same explanation of incentive with a different set of words. I may be emotionally tied to it via my son but that is no different than your emotional tie via the business owners. The difference is I have valuable experience, I care about other people and I my goal is education, understanding and unification.
mm 💕
As to Sgt. mentioned. I had my own problems with how he handles people. Chief Crook immediately hooked me up with a sit-down Lt. Chapman. Since then, I have watched Sgt. Long handle a multitude of different situations exactly as presented in de-escalation trainings. Something AVA whiners have likely never done.
I don’t think I ever mentioned who the Sargeant is. Funny you assumed to know which Sgt. I’m talking about. You know what they say about the word assume.
Re: Ralph Nader’s nonfiction summer reading recommendations
Yeah, sign up for the most depressing summer imaginable. And stay indoors while reading them or you’ll surely get skin cancer.
“With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away. I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.”
-Kiefer Sutherland @RealKiefer
MAGA Marmon