Off the Record 7/6/2024

FORMER COUNTY TREASURER-TAX COLLECTOR SHARI SCHAPMIRE:

“Ms. [Sara] Pierce [Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector] told the Board that the County has lost about $22 million in tax defaulted properties that have gone uncollected for years and thus written off because of the delays in collecting overdue taxes. Only about $1.7 million in taxes, penalties and interest can be recouped through potential tax lien auction sales.

As the Retired Treasurer-Tax Collector, the above statement by the Acting ACTTC does not pass the smell test! Other than the Harwood property, low-value Brooktrails parcels, and various few other parcels, the public auctions were up to date until 2020 when auctions were paused due to COVID. Secured property taxes are almost never written off and can be collected for up to 30 years."

ANOTHER COUNTY EXEC MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARS WITHOUT EXPLANATION, but with plenty of Mendoblather.

“Following the departure of the Animal Care Services Director [Rich Molinari], the Executive Office has initiated a comprehensive review of the services currently offered by Animal Care Services. This effort aims to ensure that all provided services are fully compliant with state-mandated requirements. The review process involves evaluating existing programs, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing changes to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Animal Care Services in accordance with state regulations.” (CEO Darcy Antle)

CHRIS SKYHAWK:

Today is the 6 year anniversary of my ”event,” my visit to the spirit world aka NDE. Medically it is called a “stroke.” But I’m really glad to still be here with you all, and I’m really proud of myself for making it back.

I did not know quite how I did it; I just know that I did. And although I can't say I’d recommend the experience, but it's very cool to have had a full experience of the non-physical realms and still be alive in the material one.

It's strange, but the day I almost died is sorta like my birthday, too!

I look forward to many good things in the years ahead, especially watching my twins grow into the beautiful young women they are destined to be.

I do think maybe Bruce Cockburn wrote the ‘Tried and Tested’ for me; but I’m certainly willing to own it!

WOULDN'T MISS IT for a double tracheostomy. Miss what? Biden's big win over Trump in Thursday night's “debate.”

HOW do you know Biden will win? The setting, the format, the cutting edge amphetamine that Team Biden shoots the president up with before his important appearances, the moderators — the entire arrangement is the work of Team Biden, not that Trump has objected.

THE TWO CNN moderators, a man, the insufferable Jake Tapper, and a woman (of course), the equally insufferable Dana Bash, both of whom are on record comparing Trump to Hitler, so there goes even the pretense of fairness from them.

A BIG EMPTY HALL except for the candidates, the two Hitler scholars as moderators, and the camera crews, with Biden's doctors nearby to catch him if he wanders off or totally checks out mentally. All-in-all an appropriately surreal event for surreal times.

THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES were privatized long ago. The show is commercially sponsored, a money maker for its stakeholders. The League of Women Voters disassociated themselves from the quadrennial farce, rightly pointing out that it was no longer a defensibly neutral format.

AS PER CUSTOM in Duopoly Land, no other candidates are allowed to debate the pre-selected Democrat and Republican, although RFK Jr. is polling ahead of Biden and the dual left candidates, the Green's Jill Stein, and the fervid Cornel West, formerly a Green but running as an independent, represent perhaps as much as a third of the electorate.

THEY'VE got to be excluded because they're smart and articulate. Kennedy is especially dangerous to the Duopoly because his patrimony and rhetorical skill represent a threat to both official candidates. There's that and the fact that Kennedy speaks to and for the traditional Democrat base of working people, millions of whom have gone over to Trump on the false assumption that a billionaire is their great defender, a conceptual error natural in a country that pretends social class has nothing to do with anything. Yeah, but isn't Kennedy a crank? Irrelevant consideration in the country that believes in astrology.

(JR'S got major crank tendencies for sure, but when's the last time you met someone completely free of non-scheduled notions? Here he is on Trump: “I would predict that Trump will win because I really, I think Donald Trump is, he could win a prize for the greatest debater in modern American history, probably since Lincoln-Douglas.”

UH, Lincoln-Douglas? Well, like I said the guy has crank tendencies.

THE JAKE TAPPERS of television punditry are all saying that if Biden can repeat his “masterful” performance at the State of the Union he'll trounce Trump.

BIDEN will trounce Trump anyway for lockstep Democrats so long as he can stay awake and not fumble his lines off his teleprompter. But I don't think I'm alone in assessing Biden's State of the Union performance as simply weird, a speed rap that reminded me of this old Boonville guy who'd trap me at the post office and bark a monologue of lib-lab cliches gleaned from the New York Times. “And another thing, Anderson, you cynical prick, the Democrats stand for labor! And for peace!”

I COULD SWEAR this Boonville Biden lay in wait to unload his barrage of delusional bullshit on me. Got so bad I'd cruise downtown to see if he was around so I could avoid him. If America could cruise past the two clowns foisted off on us as presidents there might be some hope for US, but in this time of rolling, unaddressed catastrophes this is what we get, a choice between two more catastrophes.

MENDOCINO LOCAL INFO

‘Truman’ wrote (Coast Chatline):

If the town wants to address it's groundwater concerns, it should probably look at the severe demand for water, mostly due to having a primarily tourism-based economy.

Without another model, resources here will be used primarily to maintain business, (i.e. promoting the continuation of said reliance on tourism), causing a depleted water table, thus adding a major contributing factor to "advanced erosion" in and around the town.

Imagine how much water those that work in hospitality, and the companies they work for use in order to operate on a daily basis.

This is not including the inns, air bnbs, and otherwise, turning over rooms every other day to customers that likely respectfully consume about 4x less than what some locals/businesses mindlessly use on a regular basis.

Don't scapegoat the water authority for not being able to solve the obvious. They cant tell anyone to change their policies, but you can.

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Tom Tetzlaff:

If you are interested in what is happening with the Mendocino City Community Services District’s (MCCSD) Ground Water Management (GWM) program, its legal troubles, the failure of GWM to solve any of the water shortage problems it was intended to solve and other issues related to that, this link is for you.

Please add your comments and questions as you see fit at the site while you are there.

https://mendoadvisory.com

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Marco McClean:

But it is the same "water authority" that started out by throwing a wrench in sensible plans to pipe adequate water from up the river, back when Mendocino had a laundromat. It's not scapegoating them to recount history. Maybe the new state money can start that process again. The five million dollars will probably vanish into consultancies and legal squabbles and glossy brochures about nothing, and public meetings with elderly people on all five sides of the issue screeching at each other, but in a sane world it could dig a ditch and put a pipe in it and actually solve everything, with money left over for drinking fountains on corners and a fern dell in the park next to the post office.

In Other News: Thanks to the listserv I'm fully microwaved again. I've been cooking on a hotplate, which works, but I just like the microwave oven for many things better. A can of hot chili with half a red onion cut up into it, and put soda crackers on top afterward so they're still crunchy, for example.

Also, I might have forgotten to say it for years, but Harvest in Mendocino, that used to be Mendosa's, still has reasonable produce prices, and I appreciate it.

THE BEST PEOPLE possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.

— Ernest Hemingway

ELIZABETH DOCKINS FOUND DEAD near Ackerman Creek in Ukiah.

On Wednesday, Jun 26, 2024 at approximately 12:55 P.M., Deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office were in the area of Ackerman Creek (east of the 2200 block of North State Street) in Ukiah conducting an investigation regarding the theft of a bicycle from a nearby home.

During their investigation, Deputies attempted to speak with a female who appeared to be sleeping in a tent. When the female did not respond to them, the Deputies investigated further and found the female to be deceased.

Based on evidence located at the scene, the cause of death is suspected to be the result of a drug overdose. The final cause and manner of death is pending an autopsy and toxicology reports.

The decedent was identified as 35-year-old Elizabeth Dockins who was believed to be a transient from the Ukiah area. As a part of this coroner's investigation, the legal next-of-kin for Dockins was notified.

COVELO, BACK IN THE DAY

I joined this group out of nostalgia and the chance to reconnect with childhood friends. My family moved to Covelo in 1971. My mom & step dad purchased three acres with a partially converted barn on it on the west side of the valley for $3000. They made a down payment of $500 with a $50/month mortgage. We lived there for three years without electricity or running water. My parents were not just considered hippies but "oakey" hippies. I guess that had something to do with the 1945 Dodge pickup we arrived in. I remember experiencing a lot of prejudice & bullying from both Native American kids and the children of the white, multigenerational ranching families. That being said, I eventually reached a level of acceptance that made life there enjoyable. I have a lot of fond memories of Covelo as well and consider it to have been a great place to live during my formative years. I still remember my first crush (Stacy Brumley), my first fight (Lloyd Brown), summers cruising the valley on bicycle with other kids or heading up to swim in the Eel river by the ranger station on the east side of the valley. I could go on but you get the picture. I don't believe I ever had the appropriate respect for how unique Covelo is till I turned 16 and we moved to southern California. Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and invite any folks who remember me (fondly, I hope) to reach out. Take care all.

(Jonathan Smith)

THE DEBATE. Impressions. Only a sadist could not feel pity for Joe Biden. Only a fool could think that a guy who talks about how far he can hit a golf ball should be president. Biden was incoherent, Trump pedaled fear of "the millions of criminals coming across the border." The moderators were fair, but failed to check Trump when he ignored their questions. All-in-all, a scary night for America.

BIDEN FAN and life-long Democrat Van Jones said on CNN after the debate that as much as he likes Biden, it’s time for Biden to step aside, but he’s probably too stubborn to do it. (—ms)

RESISTING ARREST

You're given this position of authority, you're supposed to enforce the laws, you're supposed to protect the public, and now you’re in this situation where you have to arrest someone because you have probable cause to believe they committed a crime. They don't want to be arrested, and now they resist you. How much force can you use? Is a punch in the mouth OK? Can you hit him on the head with the nightstick? Can you just jab him in the belly? Everything you do is going to look brutal to someone watching. You have to use a minimum amount of force. But what is a minimum? Do you have to use so little force that he gets the best of you, and gets your gun away from you and kills you? I'm not talking about Abner Louima, or the Rodney King case — gratuitous violence against people. I'm talking about people who have to do their jobs. Some rookies nowadays even have trouble giving clear, authoritative orders, even after training. It's not a pleasant thing. Not everyone is cut out for it.

— Detective Andy Rosensweig, from ‘A Cold Case’ by Philip Gourevitch

MENDOCINO COUNTY VETERANS SERVICES OFFICE IN UKIAH WILL BE RELOCATING DURING THE WEEK OF JULY 1, 2024

Ukiah, CA – The Veterans Services office in Ukiah is returning to its original location at 405 Observatory Avenue, Ukiah, CA. The office will be closed on Monday, July 1, and Tuesday, July 2. From Wednesday, July 3, to Monday, July 8, service hours may be limited as the relocation and setup process continues.

For questions or additional information, please contact the Ukiah Veterans Services office at (707) 463-4226 or fax (707) 463-4637.

(County Presser)

ms notes: “Relocating.” What a benign sounding announcement. Of course, the County can’t stand up and admit to the compounded, wasteful and stupid errors behind this bland announcent. It took less than a week for County staff to abruptly “relocate” (i.e., evict) the Veterans Service Office out of their cottage offices on Observatory back in December. It then took three months and a big push from veterans and their supporters before the Supervisors grudgingly conceded that the “relocation” was mislocation and that they should “relocate” the Veterans office back to Observatory in March. And now the Veterans Office is finally scheduled to return to the status quo ante in July. Pretty fast for Mendo, actually. Also, recall that the original purpose of the “relocation” was to snag some rent money from the state into County coffers. But even that dumb move was undone when the County decided to re-relocate the Air Quality Management offices to a commercial rental in Ukiah instead of into the perfectly usable space in the County’s Dora Street complex where the Veterans Office had been moved into and is now relocating from.

AFTER THURSDAY NIGHT, I guess we know why the two-party dictatorship excludes third party candidates. Put RFK up there with Biden and Trump and he's the next president. Jill Stein of the Greens would do well, too, and Cornel West would deliver salutary political truths to us befuddled masses. The duopoly dies if they can't keep it in-house.

“HOW COME you gave up the ‘Be As Radical As Reality’ quote from Lenin? on the masthead of the paper-paper?” a reader belatedly asked. Because reality defeated me. I couldn't keep up. Thursday night's debate shattered whatever sense of reality I had left.

A READER WRITES “I'm writing because I got such a laugh out of your account of your Petaluma prog-fest refund. I've worked at a certain radlib publication and another liberal publication with a much larger local audience for several years, and I think I'm finally getting to the point where as many local activist types hate me as love me. I've worked so hard to get there. Seriously, most of the hate comes from people who agree with 95% of what I have to say, but will never forgive me for whatever other 5% I crossed them with. With the anarchists, it was the imbecility of the WTO property destruction. With animal rights, it was the Makah whale hunt. With enviros, it was siding with the farmers at Klamath over enviros who simply want the farms to go away and somehow assume they'd get fair price for a lifetime of work. After 9/11, I went after peaceniks for knee-jerk, boilerplate left rallies out of touch with even the people who didn't want a military response. For the public transit types, there was a reminder a few months ago that some people are never going to get out of their cars, especially since our entire urban geography penalizes any other lifestyle, so why not acknowledge it rather than looking down your nose at anyone who doesn't bicycle or ride a bus? And so on. Plus, I can and rather enjoy being able to laugh at anything and ridicule any pomposity.

“Take it all together and it shouldn't matter, but it does, because too many of these people are humorless and intolerant beyond belief — especially when faced with a dissenting opinion or (Lord help us) a Diverse Life Experience. They do their little KZYX-type ghettos to protect themselves from the cruel opinions of the rest of the world, because, well, their feelings get hurt, and besides, everyone else is dumber than they are and just don't get it and so are not worthy of debating. How anyone can purport to lead a people whose culture they by and large despise is beyond me. But then, leaders who hate their people generally act like tyrants, too. Hmm.

I used to marvel at the sorts of incidents you described, esp. around the Bari Bombing, of people heckling and shunning and otherwise abusing people whose opinions they didn't like — not just the Netanyahus and other mass murderers of the world, but folks they would agree with on a lot of other things. But I'm racking up enough of my own body count these days that it's sounding all too plausible. I think, informally — I haven't kept a tally — my death threat count is about equally divided between the far left and the far right. (We've all got to find that balance somehow…) The AVA wasn't, as you claimed in I think the same rant, the only progressive newspaper left in America, but it was the only good one.”

THE DEMS will now dump the old guy, but for who? Prediction: they'll fake an open convention in Chicago and trot out Newsom, the only plausible candidate they have, plausible in that he can talk and he's in the neo-lib, Republican-Lite tradition of an utterly bankrupt political party, the Demo difference from the Magas being that the Democrats refuse to send 2000-pound bombs to the Israelis to more efficiently murder Gazan children.

IN THE DELUGE of hilarious remarks and memes inspired by Thursday night's “debate,” those I liked most were, “Foreigners are not allowed to watch his embarrassing American family problem,” and “alexa play i hate it here by taylor swift” and “Give them both a pdf, first one that can rotate it gets to be president,” and “trying to give joe an adderall through the tv.”

ERNIE PARDINI

Like most civic minded Americans, I took a seat in front of the television to watch the presidential debate, even though my choice for the office, RFK Jr., was excluded from participating. I tried to have an open mind and give Trump and Biden the benefit of the doubt in hopes I would hear something that would inspire hope for the future of our country. What I heard instead was , on one side, a senile old man struggling to focus long enough to complete a sentence, and on the other side an egotistical blowhard patting himself on the back and calling his counterpart names and ridiculing him for his physical and mental shortcomings. The saddest thing of all was the exclusion of RFK Jr. Who would have spoken to the real issues affecting the American middle class and presenting common sense solutions, promising to clean up our corrupt federal government, shake up all the corrupt agencies associated with the same. I sit here at this moment and say without any reservation, even though I love my country and all that it is supposed to represent and worship all those who died for the ideals once associated with with this great nation, that in this moment I am for the first time ever, ashamed to be associated with what this country has become. Light me up if you will, but know that I am a patriot at heart and would fight and die to get America back again. Sadly, the only candidate willing and able to start that process is being silenced by the corporate media who are owned by the corporate giants who stand to profit by keeping their bought and paid for politicians in power.

TERRIBLE HOMICIDE IN WILLITS

Woman Killed, Suspect Reportedly Was Also Attacking Chickens With An Axe Northwest Of Willits

by Kym Kemp

Law enforcement discovered a homicide today in the 52000 block of Blue Lake Rd., a remote area northwest of Willits. According to initial reports from scanner communications, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) and California Highway Patrol (CHP) responded to the scene after a call for help came in about 11:23 a.m.

The incident began with reports of a male suspect wielding an axe, killing chickens at another residence on Blue Lake Road. As law enforcement responded, the suspect fled into a residence where he barricaded himself. They successfully took him into custody fairly quickly though.

Upon clearing the home, law enforcement discovered a female victim, initially reported as possibly deceased and also as a homicide. Medical personnel were urgently summoned to the scene, and lifesaving efforts including CPR were initiated by authorities which temporarily revived the victim. A medevac helicopter was dispatched.

However, despite these efforts, the victim's condition tragically deteriorated, and she was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Details regarding the exact nature of the injuries sustained by the victim have not yet been disclosed, and it remains unclear whether the axe allegedly wielded by the suspect played a role in the incident. The identity of the victim has not been released.

Law enforcement is investigating and details beyond what we've reported are not available. It is important to remember in breaking news:

Information is being reported as we gather it Saturday night. However, some of the information coming from witnesses and initial official reports could be wrong. We will do our best to get the facts but, in the case that something is inaccurate, we will update with correct information as soon as we can.

(KymKemp.com)

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TWO COMMENTS on this terrible event from Kym Kemp's comment line:

(1) This was my elderly neighbor. Multiple people called to report this psychopath walking up and down Blue Lake yelling and screaming violent profanities. I called 911 at 11:07. Another neighbor had called before I did. This article says a call came at 11:23. I was literally on the phone with 911 when this was happening telling them to come NOW and that I was worried about my elderly neighbor. That something terrible was happening. I heard fighting. Dispatch put me on hold. Cops took forever to respond. This could have been prevented. So fucking sad. Multiple incidents leading up to this. They don’t respond when neighbors call. They don’t treat it seriously. And now an innocent woman is dead. This had nothing to do with weed. Just a horrid tragic incident that could have been prevented had law enforcement responded to the multiple calls from concerned neighbors. This man was a known psychopath. Now it’s too late. At least they got him. But it cost an innocent woman her life who was brutally murdered in her own home.

(2) This man already had a murder charge as a minor. He was the one who killed the clerk at Mom’s place (Sherwood Market) by shooting the victim at point blank. He was released and on parole, yet went on to kill another innocent person who only tried to help him. She lent him her car repeatedly. She babysat him as a child. He killed her with an axe in her own home. He was not homeless. He was not a cannabis farmer. He was a violent unhinged individual and a convicted criminal. This is not a laughing matter. It is a horrific tragedy.

MURDER IN WILLITS: THE OFFICIAL VERSION

On Saturday, June 29, 2024 at approximately 11:07 am, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Communications Center began receiving calls from several residents in the area of the 5200 block of Blue Lake Road, within the Brooktrails Township in Willits. Callers were reporting a male subject causing a disturbance in the area, with the sounds of yelling and possibly fighting.

Sheriff's Office Deputies were not in the immediate area, and they arrived approximately 20 minutes after the initial calls to Dispatch. Upon arrival, and at the request of one caller, the responding deputies went to a house in the 5200 block of Blue Lake Road to check on the resident. Upon arrival at the residence, Deputies observed that the front windows appeared to be broken out, and there was apparent blood in and around the front of the house. Deputies checked the residence and located a female victim inside the living room who appeared to have suffered injuries likely caused by a violent assault. Deputies ensured there were no further victims or individuals in the residence and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and administered first aid while summoning emergency medical assistance.

The 77-year-old female victim succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene. While deputies were at the scene, a vehicle arrived and the suspect, Michael Coleman, 41 of Willits was in the passenger seat. Deputies determined there was evidence that Coleman was involved in the violent assault and detained him at the scene without incident. Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Detectives were summoned to the scene to take over the investigation. Coleman was ultimately booked into the Mendocino County Jail on a charge of Homicide (187(a) PC) where he is being held on a no-bail status. This case is actively being investigated and will likely result in additional charges being requested through the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office. The final cause and manner of death is pending an autopsy and toxicology reports.

Investigators from the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office, Ukiah Police Department, Willits Police Department, California Highway Patrol, CalFire Prevention Law Enforcement personnel, the California Department of Justice Crime Lab in Santa Rosa, and Department of Justice Criminalists from Sacramento are all assisting with this ongoing investigation.

Anybody with information related to this investigation is encouraged to call the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Communications Center at 707-463-4086. Information can also be provided anonymously by utilizing the non-emergency tip-line at 707-234-2100.

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ON LINE COMMENT:

My dad and me were the first people on the scene. We live three houses down on Spring Creek and heard the shouting. My dad drove over to Roberta’s house. Mike was there waving an axe around, shouting about his dog. My dad then drove back, told my step-mom to call 911. I grabbed the shotgun and we drove back to Roberta’s. This all happened in the span of a couple minutes. When we arrived the door was open. We shouted for Roberta. Nothing but silence. My dad then went up on the porch opened the door and saw her deceased. Mike was sitting in the living room watching tv. He didn’t acknowledge our presence at any time. I tried my best to make sure my dad was safe and Mike didn’t leave the scene before law enforcement arrived. The responding officer seemed very unaware of the magnitude of the situation and was more interested in my shotgun and who I was. My dad had to tell him repeatedly that I was his son, not the suspect. After furiously gesturing that the suspect was inside the house, not me, he drew his weapon and started yelling for Mike to come out. Back-up arrived at or about the same time and we left the scene. Ukiah PD has been here twice today, and all statements have been made. This tragedy was, imho, completely avoidable. Mike has been a menace to our community for decades and it was honestly just a matter of time before he hurt someone. I just can’t believe it was Roberta.

THE WORLD’S LARGEST SALMON BBQ

Saturday, July 6 | 11:00am - 6:00pm

South Noyo Harbor, 19275 South Harbor Dr, Fort Bragg

The World’s Largest Salmon Barbecue is held each year on the first Saturday of July, with great food, live music, and all proceeds going to the Salmon Restoration Association to improve salmon populations along the Mendocino County coast. The meal features grilled wild-caught salmon, fresh corn on the cob, salad, and local bread from Fort Bragg Bakery. Coffee is provided by Thanksgiving Coffee. A variety of craft brews from North Coast Brewery can also be purchased.

SUPERVISOR MAUREEN MULHEREN:

Sheriff Kendall has recently been posting some updates about Prop 47 and the potential changes regarding what may be on the ballot. I would encourage you to follow his page and that of DA Eyster. For many of the complaints that I see the laws no longer allow prosecution of “petty” crimes which to you or I would include a considerable amount of drugs on ones person and property crimes that do harm the community. It seems in California the pendulum swings too far first with closing State Mental Hospitals and now with crime initiatives. Both the Sheriff and I were on the Like It Or Not Podcast and spoke about the changes that may be coming to crimes and also homelessness this year from the Supreme Court and to the voters. Whatever comes on the November Ballot I can’t say enough please be informed and engaged. Someone made a comment about Prop 1 to me and said well now that the County will be getting all that Mental Health money and I had to explain to them that if they voted in favor of it they just voted for the County to get less money and for the State to get more. I think anything having to do with people is complicated, we have generational poverty, mental health and addiction issues in Mendocino County that aren’t going to be repaired overnight, in a year or maybe even decades (without industry we have few options for wages to reduce poverty, but that happens in a lot of rural places). A few years ago there was an instance of someone that was unhoused and very disruptive to Downtown businesses; City officials and UPD spent a lot of time on one person and eventually the DA gave them a sentence that to many seemed too harsh but now that person is housed, medicated and happy and the Downtown businesses are no longer struggling with the disruption that they were causing. So in the end was that best for everyone including the unhoused individual? Any given month we have 60-65 people conserved, we have the Phoenix House helping support people with mental health issues, the Psychiatric Health Facility is out to bid, we have access to addiction treatment services (some inpatient is still hard to get but you don’t have to go away to get sober; we have a lot of medicated assistance programs available for such a small community) and maybe locally for some jail is the answer I don’t know, I just know that I’ve seen the same very disruptive group of 12-20 people in encampments just outside of town or in the creeks unable to work through their active substance misuse for a decade. Offering services isn’t working maybe the alternative is tougher law enforcement action. I am just one person and I do not make these decisions alone; we need all elected officials and for law enforcement and the service providers to work together so we are all on the same page and we need the community to understand what we are voting for and why and how it could change the system. Please be informed this November.

FDR reportedly said that nothing happens by accident in politics. If the early debate is part of a plot to get rid of Old Joe in plenty of time before the phony Democrat convention well, golly, that's pretty slick. Is the un-elected cabal that's been running the show behind the cardboard cutout president all that slick? On the evidence, they aren't.

JOE won't go, and if he does go, how does the cabal get past the gender and race reality of Joe's highly unpopular vp, Cackles Harris, so they can sub in the only plausible candidate they have, Gavin Newsom, their great white hope to harpoon the great white whale? Seems that the Democrat's race and gender hustles have backfired big time.

THE DEMOCRATS, with their super delegates and insider traders certainly won't be asking US who we'd prefer to preside over the looming crack-up, they naturally turn to their funders, the big bucks people who each get a hundred thousand votes to Boonville's coupla hundred.

GETTING RID OF BIDEN? What's the prob? Get a few actors to fake a staff, drive him around in one of the presidential limos for a meet and greet at a couple of senior centers, home in time for a nap and a couple of slugs of Ensure, some edited TV with Wolf Blitzer in the Situation Room, and nighty night. Repeat. On election night tell him he's won.

MEANWHILE, millions of working people will be voting for a bellowing billionaire whose idea of an economy is to give more public money to billionaires as he lies about reducing the extortionate food and shelter costs that have driven the millions of desperate working people to believe him.

SOME SKEWED HISTORY from ava columnist TWK this week:

…By the 1930s communists were doing all they could to drive a wedge into the already divided land of labor and management.

Leftists have always been good at slogans and such, and they had a dandy to appeal to blue collar labor:

“Workers of the world unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains.”

Compelling, eh? After all, why should you do the work and the bosses get the money? Why should ceaseless toil be rewarded by the worker getting another day older and deeper in debt?

It was a persuasive bit of misleading rhetoric, leaving out details of its own, including the reality of communism itself. No matter. The “lose your chains” nonsense failed to persuade American factory workers who, after an 8-hour shift, drove Oldsmobiles home to three bedroom houses, swimming pools, big yards for BBQ, badminton and kids who attended good schools…

WORKERS didn't need communists to tell them they were getting screwed, and murdered when they protested inhuman conditions, that's the way labor endured prior to unions, whose formation communists, among a broad array of radicals and the better liberals, made a reality. Close to home, communists were primary in the formation of the Longshoreman's union in San Francisco, one of many unions that led to working people, by the end of WW Two, enjoying much more comfortable lives. Interesting that "marxist communists" (sic) are again being dragged on-stage by the rightwing to account for labor unrest. CPUSA was never a revolutionary party. The were liberals, really, reformists. Maybe TWK can explain what happened to the security working people used to enjoy?

LIKE every other baseball fan, I loved that Giants team of Mays, Cepeda, Davenport, the Alou brothers, Marichal, and I have one anecdote from that glorious time to share with you today, my fellow fans: During batting practice at Candlestick I saw Cepeda hit a ball so hard it knuckled on a line drive all the way to the left field fence.

TELEPHONE FRAUD SCAM

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office has received numerous reports of fraudulent phone calls where a person claimed to be an employee of the Sheriff's Office and requested payment over the telephone for fictitious fines. The most recent examples were a subject claiming to be a Lieutenant with the Sheriff's Office who asked the people on the phone to verify their personal identifying information because they missed a Grand Jury appearance.

Do not release personal identifying information to anyone on the telephone and do not agree to pay any fines electronically or by using gift cards or payment apps.

No Deputy, Sergeant, Lieutenant, or Captain will ever call you from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office asking for money or payments.

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office does not receive payment for anything using methods such as online payment apps or gift cards.

If you receive a suspicious telephone call or letter, contact the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office directly at 707-463-4086 to report the incident.

(Sheriff’s Office Presser)

SEYMOUR HERSH:

President Joe Biden's drift into blankness has been ongoing for months, as he and his foreign policy aides have been urging a ceasefire that will not happen in Gaza while continuing to supply the weapons that make a ceasefire less likely. There's a similar paradox in Ukraine, where Biden has been financing a war that cannot be won and refusing to participate in negotiations that could end the slaughter. The reality behind all of this, as I've been told for months, is that the president is simply no longer there, in terms of understanding the contradictions of the policies he and his foreign policy advisers have been carrying out. America should not have a president who does not know what he has signed off on. People in power have to be responsible for what they do, and Thursday night showed America and the world that we have a president who clearly is not in that position today.

HOW ABOUT a political primer on this glorious July afternoon as the sun sets on our dying country? That, and some Trotsky?

The situation. In a time of rolling, unaddressed catastrophes, the Democrats and the Republicans are the twin towers of No Hope; the Libertarians are the no taxes, more guns wing of the Republicans; the Natural Law Party a ballot reminder that we live in a country teeming with screwballs; the American Independent Party would run Tim McVeigh for governor if he was still around; and half of eligible voters don't vote because they're unrepresented by any existing political party and nauseated at the candidates the two major parties foist off on US.

What to do? Wield your votes as protests, which this newspaper will do by voting pretty much straight Green, although the Mendo Greens long ago folded out of the sloth and unseriousness characteristic of Mendo pwogs generally, an arrogant posse of poseurs who have retreated to the Biden wing of the Democrats where they've always belonged.

Why vote Green then? Wacky and soft as they are, they at least want good things for most people so long as the effort doesn't cut into their personal good times. Incredibly, and against all the evidence, the Greens have magically become “far left” in the soft right corporate media, as if the geriatric flower children who comprised the old Mendo Greens active membership are lobotomized Lenins!

The first, and so far only, Green-pwog political activity in Mendocino County consisted of getting an advisory dope measure on the local ballot. An advisory pot measure! (Don't forget your muffs and castor oil, pwoggies.) And that was it for the Mendocino County Greens.

The only true left person the Greens managed to run for state office was Peter Camejo, a smart, jolly little fellow and former Trotskyist. For those of you unfamiliar with Commie World, the Trots, as they are known in the seething world of left cults, are inspired by Leon T, the second genius after Lenin produced by the Russian Revolution. Trotsky was a good friend of Diego Riviera and Frida Kahlo, with whom he slept (Frida, not Diego). He was murdered in Mexico City in 1940 by an agent of Stalin wielding a hand ax. Communists hate each other much more intensely than they hate capitalism. Stalin hated Trotsky because Trotsky pointed out that Stalin had merely transferred state power from the Czars to a bunch of killer-bureaucrats — imagine an armed Caltrans with powers of summary execution. Trotsky lost out to Stalin in an internal post-Lenin power struggle and spent the rest of his life on the lam where he organized a new communist international aimed at a less bureaucratic form of Leninist-style socialism. (Lenin wanted Trotsky to succeed him, not Stalin.)

Lots of lefty American 60's students were attracted to Trotskyism because their parents had either been communists affiliated with the Stalin-dominated American Communist Party or simply because the Trots, and Trotsky himself, tended to be smarter and more fun than the old Communist Party types.

The late Pete Camejo, famously honored by Governor Reagan in the late 1960's as among the most dangerous young people in the state, gave up revolution after the early 1970's to make a lot of dough as a “green” stock broker, moved from an East Bay proletarian neighborhood out to the petit bourgeoisie East Bay suburbs. Pete and his Old Trots had simply grabbed control of the top end of the Green Party's lethargic state stalk and installed themselves as the state Greens. Good. If he hadn't, that election would have been even more dispiriting than it was.

Here in Boonville, the Greens erected a “Camejo for Governor” sign at the junction of the Boonville-Ukiah Road, and another one up near Philo. The signs say, “Worthy of your vote.” Let's parse this condescending statement. Worthy of your vote. Says who? Says the person who's convinced he knows who is worthy and who isn't, and implicit in that assumption, ladies and gentlemen, we had the Mendocino Greens in full unshakable hubris.

But if you need more convincing that these pretentious lame-o's manage to make the objectively evil major parties look at least plausible, check the Greens turgid party platform, which is to the political right of the Democrat's 1948 platform and well to the right of many contemporary urban Democrats.

Of course the Greens couldn't call their party platform a party platform. No. That would imply they're like other people when, as we know, the Greens are far, far ahead of the rabble in what they call “consciousness.” So, instead of a platform, the Greens offered us the “Ten Key Values of the Green Party,” much of which consists of child-like appeals for people to be nicer to each other. Anyone opposed to niceness? (Guess I'm the only one but, yeah, I'm extremely wary of niceness. Watch your back around Nice People, I say. Especially politically active Mendocino Nice People.)

The ten key values are naive and sanctimonious, and clearly the work product of the spiritually and intellectually constipated.

Take “Ecological wisdom,” for one Green key value. The presumption is that it hasn't occurred to non-Greens that it's a good idea, survival-wise, “to live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.” And blah, blah, blah of bloodless principles Trump himself would endorse and which are said a lot better in the Bill of Rights anyway..

At the mere mention of “green” and “ten key values” — especially in tandem — every nutball in the state comes running. And that's the prob. They've all come running while everyone else has run off in the opposite direction. And this is what the corporate media call “the far left”!

Nevertheless, the Green Party, pretty much a pathetic collection of political milk monitors, is ballot-qualified but does offer a longshot chance to do serious harm to incumbent Democrats.

SHERIFF KENDALL:

Believe it or not this [Sacramento’s failure to reform Proposition 47] isn’t a liberal or conservative thing in sacramento. We have several democrat leaders who are 100% on board with this attempt to fix the failed legislation. Those are the legislators who are actually listening to their constituents.

They may take a beating from their party. And the fact the leaked emails show the Governor was negotiating for this to come forward but not until 2026 tells me he knows it needs to happen but doesn’t want it during his term. Word on the street is he would be forced to admit many of his policies didn’t work.

Strangely I think that could lend some credibility to him but I doubt he sees it that way.

THE DUMBING DOWN of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30-second sound bite (now down to ten seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance.

— Carl Sagan

ROBERT FROST FOUND DEAD OFF VAN DAMME STATE PARK BEACH

On Sunday, June 30, 2024 at around 2:14 PM, California State Park Rangers were dispatched to a missing person, who was last seen near the Pacific Ocean at Van Damme State Park in Little River. State Park Rangers arrived and contacted family members of 70-year-old Robert William Frost and learned that Frost was last seen on the beach, near the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

State Park Rangers began to search the immediate area for Frost, and he was not initially located. Mendocino Volunteer Fire Department personnel arrived to assist State Park Rangers, searching the ocean with their Jet-Skis. At approximately 3:35 PM, Frost was located under the surface of the water near the “outer reef,” which is around 3,000 feet southwest of the beach. Robert Frost was quickly transported to Big River Beach, where the time of death was declared by a Deputy Sheriff-Coroner at 3:48 PM.

Mr. Frost's family members and legal next-of-kin were contacted and notified of his death. There was nothing suspicious noted during this coroner's investigation that would be indicative of foul-play.

FRED GARDNER

Orlando Cepeda was busted in ’75 at the San Juan airport when he tried to retrieve 170 lbs of marijuana shipped from Colombia. He was sentenced to five years in prison, released on probation after 10 months… Ostracized by MLB until 1987… Busted again for pot after getting stopped for speeding in Solano County. CHP also found a tiny amount of a “white substance” in his car. No jail time, just another round of having to grovel in public.

From Olympedia.com: “Although he competed in sailing for Venezuela (with his father), Peter Camejo is one of the few Olympians to have run for President of the United States. Born to a wealthy Venezuelan family, his mother had Peter born in New York, because of the better health care… He attended MIT but dropped out to pursue civil rights work in the American south. He returned to school at U Cal Berkeley but was expelled in the 1960s, amazingly for Berkeley, for his vocal criticism of the Vietnam War. In 1968, while still a student he was placed on Governor Ronald Reagan’s list of the 10 most dangerous Californians.”

Dashiell Hammett didn’t exactly “die in poverty.” He was a permanent house guest of Lillian Hellman’s on the East Side of Manhattan and on Martha’s Vineyard.

To avoid claustrophobia during an MRI, Close your eyes before they slide you in and keep them closed throughout. (I learned the hard way.)

Carl Erskine made it to 97 –last of the boys of summer. When he was pitching, you knew we had a good chance of winning.

A READER WRITES: There is a reason previous master tax sharing agreements never went anywhere. They were always to the disadvantage of the County because Ukiah always felt and proposed that “sharing” really meant taking — something the County is protected against by state law, unless the BOS waives that protection through a tax agreement. In this case, Ukiah also got a Master Tax Sharing Agreement, not for one specific annexation but for any and all future annexations. It’s out of the Board's hands and now onto LAFCo. The Board members don't even get what they've done. It appears that nobody looks out for or protects the County anymore. Mr. Locatelli from the Probation Department of all places at least showed up, but wasn't backed up by a single County voice other than the seemingly ineffective Haschak. The current Board is high on reserves, PG&E settlement money and other one time revenues. This high is going to wear off over the next 2-3 years when the bill starts to come due from all these tax giveaways, increasing labor costs and total lack of any economic development. All in combination with the contraction of Mendocino's weed revenue streams that have been a potent and obscure economic force since the 1970s. It’s gonna be bad, real bad, when this high wears off. The BOS really did it this time. The Dysfunction Junction known as Mendocino County is in a full on death spiral and the Board just made the spin ten times faster. I suggest moving out of the unincorporated areas of County as soon as possible.

LAWMAKERS looking to win the support of irate voters are getting extra mileage out of assailing 401(k) retirement account abuses by corporate bosses. But do these politicians really know what it’s like to see retirement savings turn to rubble? Capitol Hill pensions, you see, are uncommonly generous — shielding politicians from much of the 401(k) anxiety that plagues their constituents. According to the nonpartisan National Taxpayers Union, a lawmaker retiring at age 60 who has 15 to 20 years of service can expect to pocket at least $1 million in lifetime pension benefits. All told, congressional pensions are typically two to three times more generous than those in the private sector. Plus, the benefit is inflation-protected with a cost-of-living adjustment. (Less than 10% of private plans have that.) But for all their outrage at rogue executives over neglected employee retirement plans, lawmakers still extend pension benefits to politicians in jail. James Traficant, the ex-congressman from Ohio who went to jail on corruption charges, remains eligible for an annual pension beginning at $37,120.

AMONG the edu-spending abuses prevalent in Mendocino County, the most harmful in its way, is Mendocino College's "travel/study" program. College faculty get free trips to foreign spas for acting as tour guides for well-heeled retirees. No way a student could afford two weeks abroad. But the wealthy junketeers who take advantage of Mendo College's tax-supported jaunts to foreign lands get college credits for learning they ought to do on their own time and at their own expense. The credits seem to be the hook on which the trips are hung as “educational.”

THE ORIGINAL purpose of the community college system was to help the victims of California's high schools get the instruction they didn't get during the first twelve years of their educations. The community colleges were supposed to provide the catch-up instruction free. They were also supposed to be an inexpensive way for young people to get a couple of years of inexpensive college courses before transferring to a four-year school from which they would graduate. No more. Fees go up and up while real deal students of the young person type the system was designed to serve find it more and more difficult to afford higher learning as Mendocino College offers rich senior citizens tax-subsidized winter trips to, among other cold weather destinations, Oaxaca.

FROM the October 23rd, 1922 edition of the Fort Bragg Advocate News: “A man going by the name of Kid Limp was arrested here Monday evening by Deputy Sheriff Ward Ries on a charge of being a dope peddler. He had five packages of cocaine on his person.”

GRAY DAVIS, a look back. I felt my first ever sympathetic twinge for Governor Eraserhead during KTVU's Ten O'Clock News. There he was, that day in 2002, in Union Square in the heart of San Francisco for a noon rally. Arrayed behind him was the Democratic ticket, including such inspirational figures as John Garamendi and Dianne Feinstein. But there were more professional officeholders on the speaker's stand than there were people looking on. Sure, there were a 20 or so guys hired to hold placards and cheer the governor's wooden presentation, but a few yards away real people were eating lunch and chatting as if the Governor and the rest of the Democrat hacks were so many performing winos. But Davis, his cliched words as always a half-second or so out of sync with his artificial hand and arm gestures that are supposed to accompany them, went on as if he were addressing millions. Even the pretty people who read the KTVU news — crime and traffic catastrophes interspersed with idiot chatter about movie stars and ball games — commented that the “turnout was sparse” and “hardly anyone showed up.” Objectively, I'd say the Governor is a crazy person. He not only looks like a nut, he acts like one, which is the inevitable consequence of years of public insincerity and private evil. Granted, Gray Davis is an extreme case — he's weird by any standard. But compare the massed physiognomies of contemporary American pols with, say, those of Abe Lincoln's administration, or even Roosevelt's administration; the contempos collectively can't muster so much as an impressive eyebrow, let alone a puss that looks like its owner might have some character.

SO THE COUNTY faces a budget deficit. The deficit has been created at least partially by a series of expensive blunders by the sitting supervisors, but can't now be plausibly resolved by the supervisors because their blunders have crippled them as leaders, and none of them had much popular support even before they commenced blundering.

SO WHAT WILL the Supes do to balance the books? Will they take pay cuts to inspire a general belt-tightening among the people they allegedly supervise? Of course not. They ran for the job because it pays good and requires little to no effort (cf Supervisor Gjerde).

DON'T look to the top for fiscal austerity. The Supes will knock off the line jobs that actually do a few things for the general public. And they won't fill existing vacancies — former CEO Angelo's savvy budget strategy was pegged to leaving vacancies unfilled, even those that made local government work better.

SPENDING by the supervisors on their own comfort and pleasure disguised as “travel and conference” will of course be unaffected by any budget paring. Crucial agencies of local government, like the Employee Wellness Program where the two Wellness ladies advise county employees not to be fat, not to smoke tobacco, not to remain seated for years at a time, and not to think negative thoughts, will continue to be funded at the bargain price of an annual $126,494.

THE WATER WARS are upon us because, in part, Sonoma County owns most of Mendo's water, which SoCo stores in Lake Mendo and Lake Sonoma while large-scale development up and down the 101 corridor continues as if the finite Eel Diversion at Potter Valley and the battered Russian River can supply the water for all of it. (The wife of the Press Democrat's narcoleptic editorial writer, Pete Golis, functioned full-time as Sonoma County's water lawyer.)

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT has always wanted “reasonable” water people sitting as supervisors in Mendocino County. They editorialized against former Supervisor Pinches' idea that storage of Mendo's Eel River winter run-off be stored for summer use, and were horrified at the Laytonville cowboy's suggestion that the one-way Mendo water deal with SoCo —SoCo gets almost all of it — be renegotiated. Pinches motion to renegotiate died for a second when he introduced it.

TRY as the County might to combat garbage dumping, the Usal Road north of the campground at Usal itself; at Navarro Ridge Road from where its residential areas end up on the ridge to Navarro in Anderson Valley; on Sherwood Wood Road from where the pavement ends at both the Willits and Fort Bragg ends; and Ten Mile Road from wherever to whatever, lots of people use these vast areas to deposit garbage and as off road vehicle rampage sites, littering, tearing up the flora, terrifying the fauna.

HAVING HIKED on Sherwood from the Fort Bragg end, and driven its length to Willits a couple of times, I can testify that slobs are obviously using the Fort Bragg end of Sherwood as a dump site. Ditto for the Navarro end of Navarro Ridge Road. Ten Mile I know nothing about; never got around to hiking it.

I’VE ALSO HIKED the Sinkyone trail out of Usal, the last time with Alex Cockburn when we took advantage of a fall's perfect weather for a few hours in the remote splendor of one of the most beautiful, people-free trails in the state. Late afternoon, Cockburn drove north on the Usal Road to Four Corners in HumCo, reporting back that the Usal Road was easily passable though “tunnel like,” meaning it is without the vistas provided by the wilderness trail west of the road. Never tried that road myself, but I have managed to get stuck twice on the Sherwood Road.

ONLY the most committed atheists drive all the way to these otherwise undefiled areas to rent God's magnificent handiwork.

MARCH FOR GAZA CEASEFIRE in Mendocino's 4th of July parade this Thursday

We, Mendocino Parents for Peace, will be joining the Mendocino 4th of July Parade, this year calling for a Ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the occupation. Please join us. We will gather on Little Lake Road (near where Zo's was) at 9:00 am to paint signs and decorate trucks, then again in the parade forming which starts at 11 am. Hope to see you,

Faith and Cal, fsimon29@yahoo.com, calwinslow123@gmail.com

CHRIS SKYHAWK: Oh my, you’ve. triggered my PTSD, I “served” on the Green Party of Mendocino County Council for a couple of years; I was young and idealistic enough to think maybe here in left leaning Mendocino County we might be able to start something. I had the misfortune of serving at the same time as Richard Johnson the One True Green; and even though his (ahem) antagonistic personality style caused a lot of problems and dissension; after a lot of hard work, I came to realize that the OTG aside, these people couldn’t organize a yard sale; and weren’t really interested in having political power. And so I moved on to more productive and fulfilling activities. There are very few things in my life I’ve considered a waste of my time, but this was one.

ON-LINE COMMENTS OF THE WEEK

[1] It’s a smaller world where one can be in Europe one day, America the next and Africa a day later. To circumnavigate the globe in George Washington's life took months not a day and the possibility of dying in the process was pretty high. News doesn’t take weeks or months to arrive; it is almost instant. We now live in an age where one rogue country can roast the citizenry of another with a touch of a button. Having interconnected mutual aid treaties makes sense after two horrible world wars.

[2] Sarcasm Alert! I can’t wait for the State of California experts in financial matters, deficits, transparency and trust building to weigh in on Mendocino County! They do such a great job at the State on all those things! All for a screaming deal at just $800,000 too!

[3] The problem we have in America is there is nobody willing to stand up and fix it.

The media?

Congress?

The SCOTUS?

The drugged up, tattooed, porn addicted American people?

Who?

[4] I thought the entire spectacle and both candidates were incredibly sad. A stark sign of the times. That and World War 3 at our doorstep. The US is going to pay some heavy dues now, and has a populace that will have no idea of how to deal with it.

[5] Biden is dementia incoherent. Trump is ADHD incoherent.

Trying to follow either of them is a mind exercise that should keep us all either sharp, or drive us into insanity.

I can picture people curled up into the fetal position, crying and repeating over and over “What did they say? I can’t figure it out. Am I crazy, or are they?”

[6] People are compensating by living with more people per household. Putting bunk beds in bedrooms. There are ever more homeless people all over the place and now these idiots are importing tens of millions more people. All these new people need housing, cars, power, water, food, income. I am running into more and more people talking about moving to the outskirts of town and buying a chunk of dirt and putting multiple prefabricated houses on it. San Diego gave out incentives to put up granny flats and extra living areas on people’s single-family homes. A closer look shows more people putting everything on plastic the debt-to-income rations is staggering.

[7] For some time, whenever she’s been asked about Joe Biden’s age, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has been giving a version of the same answer. Invariably she notes Biden is “younger than I am,” says age is a “relative thing” (is it?), and invokes Biden’s wisdom, empathy, and judgment, often dismounting to “experience is an advantage.”

Sometimes she counter-accuses Donald Trump of having dementia himself. At times, as with Anderson Cooper early this year, she engages on the issue at length, but she’s also snapped at a reporter for bothering her with “this frivolity.”

Tuesday, in an interview with MSNBC, Pelosi gave the same answer, but with a new ending: “Now, again, I think it’s a legitimate question to say: is this an episode, or a condition?”

If Joe Biden is replaced atop the ticket, and comments like Pelosi’s (along with numerous other developments seemingly happening by the minute ) suggest the door to that is now open, every Democratic politician of profile is going to have a similar reel to explain. What a zoo this campaign season is becoming.