Mendocino County Today: Sunday 8/4/2024

By AVA News Service on August 4, 2024

HOT AND DRY weather is expected in the interior for the next week. Temperatures are expected to peak Wednesday before slowly diminishing later in the week. The coast is expected to see fairly persistent low clouds and fog early in the week with better chances for clearing by mid week. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): Yep, a foggy 56F this Sunday morning on the coast. Drizzle is still in the forecast into Monday but I have not seen any yet? "Mostly sunny" is now in the forecast for later next week, I'll be holding my breath.

WHERE'S RANDY?

Navarro folks are in search of Randy Bloyd. Missing since Monday; last seen heading out Indian Creek Road on a white street bike.

Samantha Perez:

He’s still missing! Any information please reach out! Thank you please pray for our family and for randy that he is found safe.

Becky Johnson: Friend of mine talked to him Sunday night about 8 o'clock he was at the ATM in Boonville and he was fuming mad at his girl (not sure I should say her name) and that's the last that she's heard from him. He said he'd be home in 20 minutes and never made it.

MYSTERY PIPE BOMB Sparks Bomb Squad Deployment South of Ukiah

by Matt LaFever

A pipe bomb was discovered today inside the mailbox of a home south of Ukiah, necessitating the deployment of a bomb squad. After carefully removing the improvised explosive device, personnel rendered it inert, mitigating any threat to public safety. An investigation into who placed the device there is ongoing.

Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall reported that deputies were contacted around 11:30 a.m. by a resident on Burke Hill Road who found what appeared to be a pipe bomb in his mailbox. Deputies arrived on the scene with K9 Officer Jet, who detected the presence of possible gunpowder inside.

The pipe bomb was constructed out of a galvanized metal pipe with two plastic end caps and a delay fuse attached. A cigarette was left at the tip of the fuse, suggesting the person who placed it intended to ignite the fuse with the cigarette.

The resident told deputies he did not know who would have placed the device in the mailbox and was unsure when it had been placed there, as he had been out of town for the past few weeks.…

mendofever.com/2024/08/03/mystery-pipe-bomb-sparks-bomb-squad-deployment-south-of-ukiah/

*Garden of Joy* - painting created by Linda Shearin for Art in the Gardens 2024

DEVIL WEED AND COVELO

by Sheriff Matt Kendall

Last week we completed several investigations into illegal marijuana cultivations in the Round Valley area. I received a lot of telephone calls regarding these investigations. Some folks were complaining while others were extremely thankful. I wanted to take a few minutes to explain what we are dealing with.

For many years, illegal marijuana cultivation has become a problem which violent criminals are drawn to. Like a moth to a flame, subjects who commit armed robberies are often drawn to our illegal marijuana sites. These folks also bring extreme violence and hard drugs including methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin. We are also finding persons who are victims of human and labor trafficking.

Several years ago, I met with several Northern California Sheriffs regarding the violence, human trafficking, drug trafficking organizations and environmental degradation we were seeing in illegal marijuana grow sites throughout Northern California. We began a partnership realizing that we were all facing the same issues at a time when we are all facing personnel shortages.

This partnership has allowed us to concentrate on the most egregious violators. We were very fortunate to have Senator McGuire who assisted in this coordinated effort and was able to work with us to secure funding which helps combat these sites. This funding through the state lightened the financial load for our counties and allowed all agencies to work together investigating the worst offenses causing violence, human trafficking, and environmental degradation.

Last week we had a terrible crime occur in the Round Valley area in which a robbery of marijuana was attempted. This resulted in assaults with deadly weapons, a vehicle pursuit and crash, gun fire and violent assaults. These are the type of crimes which we continue to see with the illegal marijuana trade.

We were able to arrest the suspects in this case, however they were badly beaten by residents in the area. One of the suspects was released to a hospital due to major injuries, while the other suspect, who was on federal parole, is currently in custody with the federal prison system and awaiting charges in Mendocino County. These are the crimes which continue to endanger neighborhoods. These are the reasons we are continuing to investigate illegal cultivations.

Thanks to the previously mentioned partnerships, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office collaborated with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office regarding illegal cannabis being cultivated in Round Valley. We utilized air assets for overflights identifying numerous cannabis cultivation sites throughout the valley.

In collaboration with partnering agencies, further investigations into the properties identified during overflights continued. A total of 18 locations were ultimately chosen to be targeted for search warrants based on several factors. The locations had an overwhelming amount of illegal cannabis being grown, were not county or state licensed and/or appeared to also have environmental impact crimes taking place. These lands were identified as being private properties, as well as state and tribal lands.

Based on the number of sites as well as the overwhelming amount of marijuana being cultivated at these locations, we requested even more assistance from allied agencies. The following agencies assisted in the enforcement effort: Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office who took the primary investigations role, along with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (including environmental scientist staff), California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), California Department of Water Quality and EPIC (formerly known as CAMP). We executed the 18 search warrants over a two-day period.

During the search warrant services, numerous subjects were detained. In addition, many others were observed fleeing the locations from these large scale grow sites.

Now please think about these numbers. In two days, we were able to eradicate a total of 62,117 marijuana plants. A total of 31,284 pounds of processed marijuana was also located. There were three illegal AR-15 style rifles (Ghost Guns) and an illegal short barreled rifle located within the grow sites. Illegal pesticides (Carbofuran and Methamidophos) were also located on several properties and appeared to be used in the illegal cultivation of marijuana.

We, along with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, are preparing criminal cases that will be sent to the District Attorney’s Office for charging considerations.

Let me be clear about this, we will continue to investigate these crimes and will continue to charge the violators. For every person who complains regarding the enforcement, we receive calls of gratitude from many others including our elders and people raising children who have been afraid to simply walk through their neighborhoods. Therefore, we will continue to investigate these crimes and work towards safety in our rural areas.

To all the folks who have reached out to my office with gratitude for this work, you are welcome and thank you for your support in this endeavor. We will keep after this until such time our communities are again safe.

AV FUTURE FARMERS:

We were happy our new administrators visited us at the Redwood Empire Fair. They came to our morning camp meeting, watched some of the pig show and saw the livestock entries.

Mrs Larson-Balliet and Mr. McNerney thanks for taking the time to visit us.

It was auction day at the Redwood Empire Fair!

We started the day by serving at the Buyer’s Breakfast and being auction runners.

The livestock exhibitors are so thankful for the purchase of their projects. It has been an amazing experience for them.

Thank you to the many businesses that supported the Mendocino Junior Livestock Auction!

PHILO VINEYARD EXPLOSIONS

[1] I just made a post regarding the explosions I'm hearing here in Philo. I got an answer that it was propane cannons for vineyard harvest. I made an exasperated comment regarding the Vineyards. I deleted my post, but would like to clarify. I really sincerely get that the vineyards are beautiful, bring life and work to the valley. We all need to survive. I guess I feel like there are millions of vines in this tiny valley. I live right on the river. The last two years, the river has filled with obnoxious algae starting in July. Making it unusable for recreation. The resort next to me has unswimmable water and I am sure their guests are unhappy. My hypothesis is that the last two years of heavy rains washed the fertilizers into the streams and created massive blooms in the summer heat.

Internet source:

“Algal blooms can be dramatic and are a result of excess nutrients from fertilizer, wastewater and stormwater runoff, coinciding with lots of sunlight, warm temperatures and shallow, slow-flowing water.”

So yes I am resentful. It's 110 degrees but the river is unusable. If anyone can give me a reason why the massive amounts of vineyards are not the culprit, I will listen. I understand the revenue for our town. But you will have a hard time convincing me the loss of this summer resource is worth it

[2] Wait till you learn about all the deteriorating redwood septic tanks. And the reason the valley needs a water district/treatment plant. Pro tip: E. coli. One of the many reasons we need good training and education within our county. To deal with, prevent, and innovate around the business sectors and environment we currently have. We can do better but that starts with empowering our community to learn and grow. More AG (TEK and other approaches) and Fabrication needs to be a part of our schools. From young to old.

[3] Part of the reason for failing septic systems is the result of a housing shortage caused by the influx of vineyard workers, forcing overcrowding of the existing homes and overworked septic. The wine industry, while making huge profits, has contributed absolutely nothing to alleviate the housing shortage that they have created, have invested nothing toward educating the children of the workers they employ. They have taken and taken and have given nothing back to the communities they have disrupted. They have ruined our waterways, have been largely responsible for the dwindling fishing industry, wining and dining our elected officials, and have turned a blind eye to the damage they've done.

UKIAH SHELTER PET OF THE WEEK

This dapper dog was found wandering around alone on Perkins Street in Ukiah, on one of those very hot Mendo days. A concerned citizen brought him indoors and gave him food and water. We were told that he was VERY well mannered indoors—even though he was in a strange place with unknown people. At the shelter we learned that Perkins loves to spend time with his person. If you’re walking around, he will be right at your side; if you’re sitting, he will plop down at your feet. Perkins is well mannered on-leash and enjoys his walks. Perkins tested positive for heartworm, and we have begun his treatment, which means limited exercise for several weeks. Perkins is 50 pounds and neutered, and ready to head home with you ASAP.

To see all of our canine and feline guests, and for information about our services, programs, and events, visit: mendoanimalshelter.com. Join us every first Saturday of the month for our Meet The Dogs Adoption Event at the shelter.

We're on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/mendoanimalshelter/

For information about adoptions please call 707-467-6453.

MENDO GIVETH AND MENDO TAKETH AWAY.

BUT DOES ANYBODY KEEP TRACK?

by Mark Scaramella

(First draft of a Note to the state Auditor.)

Mendocino County has never done a very good job of keeping track of its “special funds.” Just a casual glance at the County’s last two budget books shows how sketchy, incomplete, haphazard, and half-assed Mendo’s management of special funds is. In some cases, they’re not even mentioned in the budget book, in other cases all we get is a budget line item and a number without explanation; sometimes there’s a description or explanation but no numbers… etc.

Neither the public nor the Supervisors get monthly or quarterly reports of billing against these special funds (i.e., what demands were made on them), what their balances are, what funds have been received, or how much, if any, has been “borrowed” for other purposes.

In effect, a “special revenue fund” is a euphemism for a slush fund.

According to the budget book, “Special Revenue Funds” are “Restricted revenue sources, many by statute, that may only be allocated for specific purposes. Services that are funded with Special Revenue Funds include mental health services, Sheriff and Probation special projects, and roads.”

We couldn’t find any special funds that are associated with the Sheriff’s department or Probation. Although there’s the “asset forfeiture fund,” that the DA more or less controls in conjunction with other local law enforcement agencies. There’s nothing in any of the budget books about the “asset forfeiture fund,” even though it’s considered equivalent to tax money for accounting purposes. This is the fund that the DA used to pay for the “training” that was questioned by then-Auditor Chamise Cubbison and which was followed by the DA and the Supervisors ousting Cubbison without due process or independent investigation.

The weasel word “include,” means that these three limited subjects are only a small part of the special funds picture.

The Teeter Fund, for example, is a fund which is supposed to receive collected property taxes and then pay them out with a predictable amount to schools and special districts, and the County itself. The idea is that the County pays out the specified amount, but it gets to keep all penalty and interest from late payers (when and if they eventually pay) which is supposed to be a net revenue for the general fund:

Budget Book 2024: “The Teeter Fund runs most of the year with a deficit cash balance and, therefore, incurs an interest ‘expense’ instead of interest ‘revenue’.”

Right there, there’s something wrong. Nobody has ever asked why the supposedly revenue-generating Teeter Plan is running a “deficit cash balance” or why it “incurs an interest expense” (whatever that is) when it’s supposed to make money and make interest on that money. It’s not supposed to be in debt.

Budget Book: “The County’s goal for the Teeter Plan is to always first cover any current year interest expense and any current year property tax delinquency, with the redemption revenues collected throughout the current year. After that, any excess revenues can be added to the General Fund as fund balance available. The Auditor-Controller’s 2023-24 projection for the Teeter Fund is to impact the general fund at approximately $500,000.”

What? The Teeter Plan costs the County $500k? Why? It’s supposed to make money! Where’s the audit?

The Road (Administration) Fund.

There are tens of millions of dollars in the County’s two major Road funds, but there’s no description of them in the budget book. Some of it is for storm damage repair and later reimbursement, typically from FEMA. The rest is for road maintenance. But there’s no accounting for the funds, and no regular determination to see if the funds are being sat on or used to repair the County’s dilapidated roads. Where’s the audit?

The Measure B Fund and associated borrowing.

Budget Book (as quoted from the text of Measure B): “The creation of the Mental Health Treatment Fund is entirely dedicated to fund improved services, treatment, and facilities for persons with mental health conditions into which 100% of the revenue shall be deposited. For a period of five (5) years, a maximum of 75% of the revenue deposited into the Fund may be used for facilities with no less than 25% dedicated to services and treatment; thereafter, 100% of all revenue deposited into the Fund shall be used for ongoing operations, services, and treatment. The Board directed that all Measure B funds must be approved by the Board of Supervisors before allocation.”

Most of the Measure B money so far has gone to the Redwood Valley Training Center, the grossly overpriced Crisis Residential Treatment house next door to the Schraeders, and the pricy Sacto architect/consultant who administered and designed them and the Psychiatric Health Facility. Very little has gone to “services and treatment.” There’s never been any accounting of any expenditures for “services and treatment” nor “ongoing operations, services and treatment,” nor has the Board individually approved any Measure B expenditures.

Complicating this fund further is the Board’s decision to “borrow” from it to cover overruns of the jail expansion project. Where’s the audit?

The Mental Health Fund.

There are two main funds for mental health services. The “Mental Health Service Act” funds (from MediCal) and the similarly named “Mental Health Services Act,” (From Prop 61, the “millionaires tax,” which together add up to almost $40 million. These funds allow the County to pay the Schraeders (and others) for their “services” and then collect the reimbursements from MediCal years later if there’s no hiccup in the complicated billing. There’s no description of the complicated process in the Budget Book, much less any accounting, bookkeeping, or reporting. Nor is there any reconciliation of amounts due with amounts received. If there’s a policy and procedure manual on this, we have not heard or seen it mentioned. Where’s the audit?

Cannabis Equity Fund. The state has given counties millions of dollars which was supposed to help pot growers who can prove they were targeted and harmed in the past by the pot raiders. Instead, most of the money has gone to the County’s mismanaged pot bureaucracy. But there’s never been a public accounting of it, who got it, where it stands, what’s left of it… Where’s the audit?

Measure P emergency services fund. This is another fund not mentioned in the Budget Book. Presumably, millions of dollars of revenue from a sales tax increment which kicked in a couple of years ago in the wake of the sunsetting of most of the Measure B tax. The millions are coming in to the County and the County is has finally begun grudgingly doling it out to fire prevention and fighting services in quarterly fractions. Is it the right amount? Who’s keeping the interest? Where’s the audit?

Business Development Fund(s)

Budget Book: “During this time period [last fiscal year], West Business Services assisted 422 businesses with over $21 million of loans/grants and capital. Specifically, 321 businesses received $5,228,600 of COVID grants, 33 businesses received $2,441,600 of COVID EIDL loans and general business loans during [missing text] accounted for 68 businesses receiving $15,326,482 (Attachment A). [Attachment A is not in the budget book.] Additionally, EDFC provided 11 loans to businesses for $1,112,634 in FY20‐21 and 15 loans to businesses, for $1,937,489 YTD 21‐22. As of the date of this report, EDFC is on track to distribute an additional $109,000 in micro‐business grants to approximately 42 businesses, and West Center will provide an additional $120,000 CDBG CV grants to 12 low‐moderate income businesses.”

Ok, grants are nice, assuming they’re fairly administered (a problematic assumption in Mendocino County). Where’s the list of the businesses that got those grants and how much? What about the “loans”? Who got them? How much is the County owed in loan repayments? It’s certainly not in the budget book, nor is there any description of the mechanism for loan repayment. Where’s the audit?

Vehicle Replacement Fund. No description in the budget book beyond the title. Has it been properly managed? Is it overdrawn? Are vehicles being properly replaced in a timely and cost-effective manner? No information is available. Where’s the audit?

Facilities Maintenance Reserve Fund. Self-descriptive. From recent CEO reports we have gathered that a lot of facilities maintenance and associated spending has been deferred. Does that mean the Fund is empty? Or is it being held back for some reason? Where’s the audit?

Liability Insurance Fund (aka the misleadingly named “Internal Service Fund”).

Budget Book: “Funds used for the activities associated with various insurance programs used by the County including but not limited to Workers Compensation and General Liability.”

This fund is used, among other things, to pay expensive outside attorneys for pending legal cases for subsequent reimbursement (presumably) by the County’s liability insurance carrier. Millions of dollars are paid out every year, but nobody tracks to see if the insurance company(ies) pay(s) back the legal fees, in what amount, or if the County’s liability insurance rates are going up in subsequent years to cover the payouts. Where’s the audit?

Disaster Recovery. The Budget book says that almost $17 million is budgeted for this year for “disaster recovery.” This must be another fund that allows the County to pay related disaster recovery expenses in the hope that the Feds (FEMA, etc.) will reimburse it. No accounting is offered. Where’s the audit?

Reserve Funds are not listed in the Budget book.

ARPA (Covid Relief) Fund. Is there any left after it was tapped to balance last year’s budget? It’s not mentioned in the budget book.

PG&E Settlement Fund. Same question.

Opioid Settlement Fund. Same question.

Where’s the audit?

Not directly related to these unmanaged, unreported “special funds,” the Budget Book casually reports that: “The Executive Office prepares and presents quarterly budget updates to the Board of Supervisors. These reports consist of year-to-date information including County department revenue, the County’s discretionary revenues, expenditure levels, new and upcoming issues that may affect the budget, and other related information. Quarterly reporting is another opportunity for the Board of Supervisors to provide direction to staff relating to the budget.”

Absolutely False. The Executive Office does no such thing. Given that this reporting is an important management tool, and taken together with the other huge info gaps in the budget book and the lack of reporting or tracking of the “special funds,” such outright falsehoods make all their other claims of budget management suspect.

Conclusion: Mendo’s budget book skims over or leaves out a lot of financial info that the public and the Supervisors should have access to — if the County keeps track at all. Further, Mendo doesn’t do quarterly reporting as claimed in the budget book. And Mendo has no idea where all its special funds stand — revenues, expenses, delays, obligations… In fact, they’ve never reported on these funds. Ever.

Where’s the audit?

Will the upcoming $800k state audit address these funds?

ED NOTES

NOTICED a comment the other day from, I think, Ernie Branscomb, about sound advice his father gave him. The only advice I remember from my father was (1) aim your fly swatter behind the fly because they take off backwards (2) learn to drink your coffee black; you'll save yourself a lot of frustration because you'll go to lots of places where they might have sugar but no cream and vice versa. (3) if you want a job where you don't have to do anything and nobody gets fired, get a government job. Thus armed, I strode out into an unwelcoming world, drinking my coffee black.

CONFIRMATION that Jim Jones had indeed been foreman of the Mendo Grand Jury, but in '67, not in the middle 70s, is early evidence of the county's social-political porousness. The reverend had only been here a couple of years. Judge Winslow had appointed Jones to the GJ. He was quite the radical for that place in that time and lost re-election, I believe. Mendo was still not adjusted to hippies, unaware that the hippies would soon be driving the Mendo bus.

DID I HEAR an advertisement on Mendocino County Public Radio that said something like this? “Brought to you by the progressive Democrats of Mendocino County.” Name one.

A READER WRITES: “Speaking of bumper stickers, I saw a really dumb one on an SUV in Santa Rosa: ‘I’ll Fight For Freedom!’ How does one do that while driving around Santa Rosa?” Unless the driver is burning Press Democrat news stands I don’t know.

I LIKE THIS ONE spotted in Ukiah: “Partnership For An Idiot-Free America.” Never happen. There’s too many of us.

WAS THIS ONE ever sorted out? The University of California somehow got title to two valuable pieces of Mendocino real estate that the late Dr. Russell W. Preston left to Mendocino’s 4-H Club back in 1953. Last I heard, U.C. has possession of both, The Lark in the Morning building and the William Zimmer Gallery structure, both bequeathed by Dr. Preston to 4-H. 4-H is long gone in Mendocino Village but there are chapters here and there in the county.

UNDESERVED RAISES for public employees are hardly news. One that still annoys me was handed to then-Mendocino County Superintendent of Schools Paul Tichinin who once got a $5k raise to bring his annual base pay to $105,310, plua lush fringe benefits for him and his family not included. That was a lot more money then than it is now. The raise was not only unanimously approved by his five supine trustees, it was suggested by them! Of course the trustees are also on the edu-gravy train, garnering $150 per meeting, full health and insurance benefits for themselves and their families, plus incidental freebies like paid free travel to the endless conferences that “educators” are constantly treating themselves to at public expense. So what’s $5k more per year for the top guy?

PUT A VIDEO CAMERA on Tichinin’s, or any of the Supervisors' work day and what you’d find is a reprise of Andy Warhol’s famous film of the Empire State Building — hours of the structure during which only the light on it changes.

THERE’S NO REASON for the County Office of Education to exist, let alone squander thousands of dollars that should be going directly to classrooms. MCOE is a 19th century anachronism. A hundred years ago the County’s teachers were hired by a man sitting in Ukiah then dispatched on horseback to the county’s far flung schools. When this hiring hall function was no longer needed, MCOE began doing what it does to this day — taking a percentage of the education money that comes to Mendocino County from the state and federal government, then passing along what’s left to the individual school districts from Covelo to Point Arena. The money should all go directly to the individual school districts in one big hunk for those individual districts to spend as per their individual student needs. But it doesn’t.

TICHININ, a Gumpish figure who once publicly denounced the word “niggardly” as a racist slur, defended his raise this way: “It’s hard when I am at $100,000 a year and Gary Brawley (Ukiah Unified School District Superintendent) is making $107,000 a year and the VP at the College of the Redwoods makes more than I do now.”

TICHININ is a burble-gurble guy. There’s lots of them in edu-admin. Tichinin’s got burble-gurble double down. Looking earnestly out at the two or three people in the audience, he’ll declare, “I’m for it because it’s for the kids!” Members of his school board will beam approvingly, the love bombed audience will either stifle their rising nausea or, if they need a job with MCOE or already work there, lob the boss’s love grenades back up front. The Superintendent also has the advantage of holding elected office in a county where no one outside the edu-bloc — and few inside it — has the faintest idea what MCOE does.

ANDERSON VALLEY VILLAGE: List of Events

CHUCK ROSS:

I'm fleshing out my history of the Greenwood Ranch, now the property of R.D. Beacon and I've hit a point someone on this page might be able to help with.

The ranch started out as simply the L.E. White Lumber Company ranch but when Goodyear bought out White, one of the first things they did was lease about fifteen thousand acres of mixed grassland and logged-over lands to Ed and Ira Ordway of the northern part of the county. In addition to having their own ranch and slaughterhouse, Ed seems to have run the ULCO ranch out on the Noyo.

Do they still have descendants in the area?
Ed died in Petaluma in 1919 but the newspapers at least twice reported that it was Ira who had died. Anyone shed any light on that?
It looks like they sold to Leland Milliken in 1919. Margaret Millikin can you tell us anything about that?
Anyone offer information on this photo which includes the Ordway brothers?

BERNIE NORVELL:

Yes, the city does bus folks out of town. We however use a more diplomatic and humane approach. Unlike SF’s scorched earth approach, we require confirmation of a family member or social service worker on the other end. This prevents just moving the problem to another city. The Greyhound therapy Mayor Breed is talking about is selfish and short sighted. Having for years refusing to deal with the problem she is now in a situation where she feels she can send the situation she helped create to other cities and towns. Bussing folks is not our first move, for example, we have placed more people into rehab than we have relocated. I think I’ll write her a letter requesting she reevaluate her decision and if not please don’t send them our way.

GREG SCHINDEL, WHO BROUGHT JOY TO COUNTLESS SKUNK TRAIN RIDERS AS THE TRAIN SINGER, DIES AT 78

Greg Schindel died July 12 after a yearlong battle with cancer.

by Charles Swanson

Mendocino County musician and educator Greg Schindel, who brought joy to riders of the Skunk Train for more than 30 years as the Train Singer, is being remembered as a one-of-a-kind entertainer and a friend to everyone he met.

The longtime Willits resident died July 12 after a yearlong battle with prostate cancer. He was 78.

Flashing his signature handlebar mustache and a warm smile, Greg Schindel’s legacy as the Train Singer dates back to 1988 when he joined the Skunk Train as a regular performer singing classic train songs as well as original numbers and charming riders with jokes and friendly conversation.

For Greg Schindel, it was always about the music, said his wife Donna.

“Greg and I were together for 48 years, and I always loved the music,” she said. “His songs were the soundtrack to our life.”

In addition to performing as the Train Singer, Greg Schindel worked for the Willits Unified School District, first as a visual and performing arts director and then as a substitute teacher up until his cancer diagnosis in early 2023.

Greg Schindel also served as longtime director of hymns and music at St. Francis in the Redwoods Episcopal Church, performed his original music in the band Kindred Souls and participated in Willits Community Theater productions and events like Willits Frontier Days.

“Greg was a person who gave so much joy when he played his music, and whenever he would play for people it fed his spirit,” Donna Schindel said. “He inspired a lot of people and I’ve heard a lot of wonderful stories of memories that people have of train rides and kids who had him in school.”

‘His stage was the train’

Robert Pinoli, president and CEO of the Skunk Train, remembered Greg Schindel as a talented musician with a larger-than-life personality. But, more than that, he was “a genuinely good person.”

Greg Schindel was a welcome sight to many residents who depended on the train for regular transportation. Pinoli said some even planned their trips into town on errands around the days the Train Singer was there.

Pinoli called Greg Schindel “one of the jewels in the contemporary crown” of the 139-year-old Skunk Train — officially called the California Western Railroad and owned and operated by Mendocino Railway — and said Greg Schindel’s Train Singer is as recognizable as the train’s No. 45 locomotive and its striped mascot.

“When he was on board, his stage was the train,” Pinoli said.

Greg Schindel’s connection to the Skunk Train and the Willits community ran so deep that, according to Pinoli, he turned down offers from railroads across the country who wanted him to work for them.

“His response was standard, ‘If you want to see Train Singer, he performs at the Skunk Train,’” Pinoli said.

Greg Schindel’s son, Malakai, who sometimes joined his dad on the train as a performer, is following in Greg’s footsteps and works for the train as an entertainer and conductor, and Pinoli said the Skunk Train will continue to share the elder Schindel’s story and celebrate his legacy through his recorded music.

‘You could feel the kindness in him’

Willits Mayor Saprina Rodriguez, who knew Greg Schindel for many years, is also committed to keeping his memory alive in the city, and is planning a life-size bronze statue of him to be tentatively displayed across the street from the train station on East Commercial Street.

“Originally, I met Greg as most people did as the Train Singer,” Rodriguez said. “He just immediately connected with people, he was always ready with a warm hug.”

About 10 years ago, Greg Schindel began performing at the preschool Rodriguez owns. Located just a block away from the train station, he entertained families at the center’s annual Mother’s Day and Father’s Day breakfasts.

“He was the kind of person you could just talk to about the simpler things in life,” Rodriguez said.

When Greg Schindel was diagnosed with cancer, Rodriguez said the two shared more meaningful conversations about life.

“He had asked me, ‘do you think people will remember me after I’m gone?,’” Rodriguez said. “And I thought, ‘of course people are going to remember you.’”

When Rodriguez told Greg Schindel about her idea for a statue honoring him, she remembered him, still possessing his signature humor and modesty, putting his hands to his cheeks and exclaiming, “Little ol’ me?”

Greg Schindel continued to play at the preschool’s Mother’s and Father’s Day events last year, even while undergoing treatment for his cancer. Rodriguez also remembers seeing him when she and her family rode the Christmas Tree Train last December.

While he wasn’t well enough to ride the train that day, Rodriguez said he had a platform built inside a giant tent erected in the train station’s parking lot and entertained people, said hello, gave hugs and handed out stickers to the kids.

“He needed to be there, he needed to spread some love,” Rodriguez said. “You could feel the kindness in his soul when you hugged him.”

After Greg Schindel died, Rodriguez launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for the statue, which she estimates will cost between $10,000 and $25,000.

Rodriguez shared the statue idea with Donna Schindel who gave her blessing and will be involved in its design.

A memorial for Greg Schindel will likely happen in the fall, Donna Schindel told The Press Democrat. In the meantime, locals and Skunk Train visitors have shared their appreciation for Greg Schindel and condolences on the Skunk Train’s social media and with Donna Schindel personally, she said.

“I think Greg would be amazed at the outpouring of love and everything that’s come with his passing,” Donna Schindel said. “He was a one-of-a-kind person and inspired a lot of joy in a lot of people.”

(Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

CATCH OF THE DAY, Saturday, August 3, 2024

JASON ANGLERO-WYRICK, Potter Valley. DUI, probation revocation.

VINCENT BROCK, Ukiah. Failure to appear.

GERMAN CRUZ, Covelo. Assault with deadly weapon, DUI.

ROY TURNER, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, disobeying court order, resisting, failure to appear.

SENIOR CITIZEN ABOUT TO BE HOMELESS

I am available.

Just sitting here at the Royal Motel in Ukiah, check out is Monday at 11 a.m. I’ve no idea whatsoever where I’ll go or what I’ll do. Not identified with the body, and not identified with the mind. Only that which is “prior to non-duality”. If American society wants anything from me, it is welcome to make contact.

PS. GIMME SHELTER!

Bliss Divine.

Attended Catholic Mass at St. Mary of the Angels, located directly behind the Royal Motel here in Ukiah, CA, and following the receiving of Holy Communion, returned to the motel room and enjoyed watching bhajans on YouTube recorded at the home of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj in Mumbai, India.

My exit date from the motel room is on Monday August 5th at 11 a.m. I have no idea whatsoever where I am going to go and what I am going to do. Hundreds of emails have been sent out informing postmodern America that I am available. Requesting a basic housing situation for obvious reasons. That is all.

Craig Louis Stehr

Royal Motel

750 South State Street, Ukiah, CA 95482

Telephone (707) 462-7536 Room 206

Email: craiglouisstehr@gmail.com

THE BULLSHIT INVITATION

by Paul Modic

Hey, my friends, feel free to spend some time at my place in Mexico, sure, anytime I'm not there. This is what's known as a bullshit invitation as it's not easy to get to and you'll probably never go. But don't I get points for inviting you? Well, if you're determined to go here's a roadmap to paradise:

Just fly into Austin or San Antonio from Alaska, or wherever, and maybe I could get a friend to pick you up at the airport or invite you to taxi over to rest for a few hours before the all-night bus to Matehuala. If she had time she could take you to a store to get some dinner to take on your trip or make you a sandwich and call for the taxi to take you to the bus or take you down to the bus later herself.

She could also let you crash for the night and you could explore Austin or San Antonio the next day, perhaps with a friendly chauffeur to show you around. If you hit it off with my friends, fun single women of a certain age, you might never catch that bus or one of them may decide to drive you all the way down to Matehuala. (If none of my friends want to meet or deal with you then head right from the airport to the bus station as per the instructions.)

When you get to the border after four or five hours on the express bus everyone will get out in the middle of the night and wait in line for visas, better take all your stuff into the customs office in case they want to go through your bags. After a couple hours you'll have your papers, maybe some pesos you can buy at the bank kiosk for a bad rate, and you will all re-board the bus to ride deeper into Mexico.

(Sometimes, or maybe always, when you're ready to leave the border, there's an unofficial secondary visit from some bureaucrat, often accompanied by armed soldiers in on the scam, and they will request ten or twenty dollars from each passenger. The bus does not move until everyone pays “la Mordida.” When you think of the hundreds of buses passing through the multiple border crossings every day it probably adds up to millions of dollars a day or month or year—you can do the math.)

When you get to Matehuala the next morning after your twelve hour trip they'll let you off at their little station by the highway. (There are several of these private bus companies, the most popular being “The Tornado.”) Take a taxi to the nearby Walmart a mile or so away and buy yourself a cell phone for ten bucks or whatever burners are going for down there. You might also pick up some supplies, food or other necessities, before heading to the main bus station on the south end of town to get your tickets to Real de Catorce.

If you're lucky maybe I could get one of my friends to come down off the mountain to get you in Matehuala but they're so busy and into their own scene you would have to have something they really want or need in order for them to come. Then again, everyone does come to town once a week so there's a chance that they're already there, just don't count on it.

Once you find the bus station (all this info will be mailed to you before you embark as I am a consummate host, as well as happy purveyor of bullshit invitations) buy your ticket and keep in mind the last bus leaves Matehuala at six pm. Feel free to wander or taxi downtown to the central market to see what life was like before Walmart where you have to find the juice stand called “El Penguino” which I've been visiting and imbibing liquados for forty-five years. You can enjoy a taste of fresh Mexico: orange and carrot juice, platano con leche, and many other variety of fruit juices, from mango to papaya.

You can also get a torta there, a little sandwich to munch on the plaza while you wait for the bus. People, especially men, old and young, will look at you weird as if hostile, though if you strike up a conversation with any of them they will probably be friendly. (I don't know, I've never tried.)

There is also a money exchange with competitive rates right there on the plaza where in exchange for showing your passport they will trade you pesos for dollars. When you get the pesos look them over, pretend to count them like you know what you're doing, and quickly stash them away. You can then take your coins and go about the plaza handing them out to children or others who may seem needy. If you see a policeman the custom is to go up to him and bow.

If you don't want to go through the extra bother of stopping in Texas and taking the all-night Tornado you can fly directly into Monterrey, Mexico and rent a car for $80 a day, about $50 per day of that is the insurance you really should buy. Then off you go onto the confusing Mexico highway bound for Matehuala three or four hours away, unless you mistakenly exit into Saltillo by mistake, like I did last time and have an hour detour.

You could get your rental car, settle into your motel room near the airport, and then go downstairs for your first experience in a Mexican restaurant. Order the beans and tortillas and pray for mercy, I mean enjoy your nice meal! Well rested you can begin your road trip bright and early the next day after a breakfast of huevos a la Mexicana, delicious scrambled eggs with tomato, onion, hot peppers, and garlic, with a side of beans and hot tortillas. (I had that for breakfast my first morning in Mexico fifty years ago and it's still as greasily delicious today.)

If you don't want to rent a car then take a taxi from the airport downtown to the bus station and try to find the express to Matehuala. I used to do that, lugged my suitcase (before wheels) around the crowded Monterrey bus station speaking little Spanish and got lost, confused, upset, frustrated, and angry as I searched out the right bus. (One time I was so frazzled I stood in the middle of the station and shouted out, “I hate your country!)

Once you're riding down the highway in the bus you'll probably figure out soon that you're on the local instead of the express which will stop at every town along the way, exiting the road and going downtown to pick up passengers as well as stopping for everyone hailing the bus from the side of the road. (That was sheer hell for me but you might actually get into the adventure of it all.)

You're in Mexico! You did it! You got out of Alaska, or wherever, and waiting for you in a sweet house beyond a mile-long tunnel with an amazing view is beer, wine, whisky, tequila, mezcal and at least eight strains of good weed reverse-smuggled into Mexico by yours truly the year before. There are also cupboards full of many kinds of food and a water purifier if booze is not your thing. (Keep thinking about that glass of wine and joint waiting for you, and you might have a smile on your face even on that very slow Mexico bus.)

If you get in a jam in Matehuala I do have a bi-lingual friend there who could help you out, and if you miss the last bus you can get a cheap hotel and leave in the morning. The bus to Real will roll through the desert then climb to 9000 feet on a hand-paved road, you will all get out at the tunnel entrance with your luggage, then wait for a smaller bus to come to take you through as you watch the long line of cars growing longer, full of city people waiting to get into this beautiful little crowded and overrun tourist town.

Once through the tunnel (in the movie “The Mexican” you can see Brad Pitt making the same trip) you carry or pull on wheels your suitcase or backpack into town to my caretaker's cafe and she'll give you directions to my place, or take the time to walk you there. (I will have already mailed you the keys before you leave home.)

If her cafe is closed you can try calling her on your new cell phone if you can figure out how it works. Down there you use different prefixes to call a local cell phone, a cell phone out of state, another for a land line, and one more for long distance. (If you really get confused try to call me.) If you're feeling totally lost or abandoned ask where the Hotel Amor y Paz is, trundle up the steep hill, and throw yourself on the mercy of the sisters who run it, my life-long friends, but they probably won't be there either, sorry!

So you're on your own and got the adventure you wanted. Walk down to the jardin (the central square), hang out on a bench and watch the world go by. After this sight-seeing and people-watching, if you're hungry you could try one of the many restaurants nearby (“El Meson” is the best and most expensive), and after that there's nothing left to do but try to find my house.

On one side of the jardin is Calle Zaragoza upon which you will start walking up the hill and when you get to the top, go down another small one. There will be a tourist stall just past the bridge where my friend Chelo might be there waiting for a sale. Say you're my friend and she'll tell you where my house is further down the road, and might even walk you down. She can also help you call my caretaker on that confusing Mexican burner.

The keys I sent will be one to the main door into the property, one to the sliding metal door covering the front of the house door, and the one to get into the house. If you have good luck figuring out the weird Mexico-style locks you can let yourself into the compound, walk down the steps, and then into the house.

Once inside please no shoes or tobacco-smoking. You can take a seat, relax, have a beer or glass of wine, light up the waiting joint, and look out at the magnificent view. You started out from Alaska, or wherever, the day before and now you're home! What next compadre?

(PS: I was just kidding about bowing to the policemen.)

MEMO OF THE AIR: Traish LaRue and his stainless steel sackbut.

/"The reasons which any man offers to you for his own conduct betray his opinion of your character." -Sir Arthur Helps (1813-1875)/

Here's the recording of last night's (Friday 2024-08-02) 8-hour Memo of the Air: Good Night Radio show on 107.7fm KNYO-LP Fort Bragg (CA) and KNYO.org (and, for the first hour, also 89.3fm KAKX Mendocino): https://tinyurl.com/KNYO-MOTA-0603

Coming shows can feature your story or dream or poem or essay or kvetch or whatever. Just email it to me. Or include it in a reply to this post. Or send me a link to your writing project and I'll take it from there and read it on the air. That's what I'm here for.

Besides all that, at https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com you'll find a fresh batch of dozens of links to worthwhile items I set aside for you while gathering the show together, such as:

How we get a historically accurate crossbow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-ogGdXTGkM

A.I. ballet. The caption of the video implies that there's something wrong with this performance. I disagree. I like it more than the usual kind. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9JAn3xAkFa/

This is the way cars should be, and way less like the enormous heavy poor-driver-visibility poor-gas-mileage pickup trucks all over the place anymore, driven by people with little tiny heads sitting way up high inside, peeking over the window ledge like handpuppets, who yell /Asshole!/ at you for innocently absent-mindedly pulling into a parking spot they were waiting for so they wouldn't have to waddle an extra fifteen steps to get into Costco to get their odor-eater stretch pants, Kirkland wine, and a crate of 7,000 AAA batteries for their fallout shelter. Parking lots could be just a ring around the store and not as big as a whole international airport. And /so what/ if it only goes forty miles an hour. Science has shown that forty is the highest speed a human can safely think and attend to drive at, and never hit a deer. Mainly, though, look at how delighted this car reviewer is to test it. He is off his head with happiness at how perfect it is. This could be all of us. Cars could be cheap, practical and fun. There is just no reason for a one-or-two-person transportation car to fill a wide lane and weigh three tons. https://misscellania.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-small-but-adorable-microlino.html

And this reminds me, thirty years ago they had a deejay at KZYX who had the most on-purpose-yet-sweetly-sincere-sounding lisp you ever heard, like Helen's lisp in the book ‘The World According to Garp.’ It was a cute thrill to hear her I.D. the station, deliver news and weather, pitch for donations, etc. You don't hear people with so-called speech impediments much in broadcasting anymore, and that's a shame. (via b3ta) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgjnERzWOkg

Marco McClean, memo@mcn.org, https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com

Steve Bilko was known for his home run hitting as a minor leaguer in the 1950s. He was a three-time Pacific Coast League MVP and won the Triple Crown in 1956 with the Los Angeles Angels, hitting 55 home runs, a .360 batting average, and 160 RBIs. He was only 20 when he came up to the majors in 1949 with the Cardinals. He is best remembered for being part of the Cubs' Double Play Combo with Ernie Banks and Gene Baker, known as "Bingo/Bango/Bilko".

WHY TESLAS DON’T HAVE SPARE TIRES

https://carfromjapan.com/article/industry-knowledge/do-teslas-have-spare-tires

MITCH CLOGG

I’ve described Venita Chandra before. Here goes again: slender, attractive, fun, witty, stylish—above all, SKILLED! She’s a vascular surgeon at Stanford University Hospital, also a wound specialist, also a professor—I don’t know what-all. She’s in demand. Along with skill, she has charisma. Daughter Molly found her name while looking for a doc who could fix my foot. The write-up on Chandra that Molly read said she specialized in saving limbs at risk of amputation.

She examined my foot, and we agreed to get on with it. By then, the festering sores caused a kind of pain I hadn’t had before. Nothing, NOTHING must touch them. It was an unnatural pain I called “electric,” but that didn’t cover it. Nerves I didn’t know I had were peeled raw and promised an unusual experience if I so much as looked at them sideways., much less touched them against anything.

So I did not. If I cared for things like I cared for that foot, no possession of mine would ever grow old, and I’d be an avatar of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

There were almost-deal-breakers. Chandra (I refer to her that way because it rhymes with my late sister Sandra’s first name. We pronounced “Sandra” with a broad “a,” as in, say, “wand”)--Anyway, Chandra said there was a nursing home in Pacifica I could stay in between visits to the Stanford Medical Center.

Say what?! Did you say “nursing home” as in “skilled nursing facility”--THAT kind of nursing home? Yes. That’s exactly what she said.

Forty-nine years ago I squeaked out of UC Berkeley with a mostly undeserved bachelor’s degree. I’d wanted to go to Berkeley since I was old enough to hear that there were intellectuals there—intellectuals, progressive politics, recreational drugs, oodles of jazz and contemporary music (like rock ’n’ roll), all the other seductions of sunny California and tons of “free love.”

Other institutions intervened, like Haverford College, the U.S. Army and Johns Hopkins University, in my native Baltimore. I enrolled at Haverford and Hopkins and escaped both without earning a single college credit, just as I escaped military service, in the midst of a “Cold War,” without ever hearing a shot fired in anger, but in the latter case, I had a free ticket, the G.I. Bill, to another stab at higher education. I also had a wife and three little kids, all unplanned. Wife Linda quickly extricated herself, and I packed the kids and me, along with my then-girlfriend, off to California, to fabled San Francisco, fabled Marin County and fabled Berkeley. During the Marin part of this, the latest girlfriend also liberated herself in favor of an old friend who had no kids or exes. Here’s the reason for telling you all this:

When I got out of UC Berkeley, journalism jobs around the San Francisco Bay Area were taken. I went to work for the California Department of Health, their big Berkeley office. My division was in charge of inspecting health facilities to ensure their compliance with the state and federal regulations that applied. This included all licensed health facilities, but the most numerous of these were “skilled nursing facilities,” abbreviated to SNFs and referred to as “sniffs.” I was a “Field Licensing Surveyor.” (I was an inspector, mainly, of nursing homes.)

There was ample disturbance in the nursing-home business and in the government agencies that oversaw it. A saint called Mary Adelaide Mendelson had recently published a book called “Tender Loving Greed.” It told, in revolting and infuriating detail, how the combination warehouses and prisons we consigned our elderly family members to abused and neglected their charges to maximize profits. The odor that had been leaking from that industry, its door now flung open, became a stench, and new laws were written as by the finger of God, and it was good—and that’s when I showed up, my head full of stuff from Mary Adelaide’s book and my skill sets including investigative journalism. I went after Bay Area nursing homes like an avenging angel—or let’s say like a Scotland Yard detective, which was the persona I was going for. I vowed then to never, ever, EVER become a denizen of a nursing home.

That was one deal-breaker. The other one was Chandra’s explaining to me that a small angioplasty would be needed to hasten the blood circulation in my lower limbs.

Say again? A small what? Does that mean the same “procedure” that took me to Stanford? That taught me to tremble at the words “Rest Pain”?

These two sledgehammer blows fell on me within moments of each other. My first impulse was to leave the examining room, Chandra and the Stanford Medical Center and—I don’t know what.

To be continued…

WHITE DUDES FOR KAMALA

(Taibbi & Kirn)

Matt Taibbi: I forget which comedian talked about it, but back at the time, somebody was describing The Men’s Movement as guys who thought they could get women by acting like a pussy basically. And when they found out it didn’t work, that whole thing went up in smoke pretty quickly. If you walk around carrying an Iron John in your hand in the ‘90s, it’s possible that it might’ve worked somewhere. But mostly, it was like sex repellent to be involved in that movement. I was actually, I wrote a book where I went undercover in an apocalyptic church in Texas. And you talked about the Promise Keepers. We had something similar where we had to do these retreats and they broke us down according to gender. And the men were all gathered together. And we were instructed in our sacred duty to be protectors and everything, and to project masculinity. And there was something very sad about it because most of the people who were in the church were lost. That was how they got in the church in the first place, is that they were looking for some kind of collective identity, and they were looking for outward affirmation that they were masculine. And it’s a difficult thing. I think the promise keepers, it works within the Christian community, but probably not outside it terribly well. But this whole thing, it talks about, well, at the very beginning it talked about how white dudes have let us down because the MAGA revolution is winning this demographic. Well, that’s probably partly the same thing. Men don’t want to be identified with this because it gives off a certain kind of odor. I don’t know.

Walter Kirn: Well, a lesson in philology, the history of language, what does the word “dude” mean? Even as it was used in The Big Lebowski, “dude” goes back to a term that Cowboys had for the people who would come out from the east and pretend to be cowboys, that thus the term “dude ranches.”

Matt Taibbi: I never knew that. That’s fascinating.

Walter Kirn: Yeah. So, a dude is originally a kind of phony, a person who is pretending to be a man, pretending to be tough, but as opposed to a real cowboy, who is. Okay? Even though the word has been changed around, and now we hear it with the surfer culture, intonations, “Hey, dude,” sort of means brother or buddy or whatever it does like, most words retain a little of its origins, and that they used that instead of white guys. Why didn’t they call themselves white guys? Why they call some of them white dudes? Because it’s a little bit of a self insult.

Matt Taibbi: You’re white men even. Why not even…

Walter Kirn: White men. Yes, because dude actually contains an insult to your masculinity in its origins.

Matt Taibbi: Mm-hmm. That’s really interesting.

Walter Kirn: So, they didn’t want to call themselves “white wussies.”

Matt Taibbi: Right, or “white cucks.”

Walter Kirn: Yeah. But it’s just above that. And don’t think that these people aren’t thinking about this stuff because behind this kind of politics are literally decades of linguistic and social analysis that’s quite sophisticated, and they are trying to move men in their self-image into a space that is more amenable to this kind of politics. And they’re trying to dim down the connotations of individualism, ruggedness, masculinity, aggressive behavior, contrary or behavior. Because usually, white guys don’t like to join in big groups where they tongue bathe each other.

“I was 23 years old working in a mobile-home factory here in Jasper when my buddies dared me to fight in a Toughman competition. They said they'd pay my entry fee. But I was too heavy. Weighed 420 pounds. So I had three weeks to lose 20 pounds. All I ate for those three weeks was chicken and butter beans. That diet had some, uh, gassy side effects. But it worked. I lost the weight and was ready to go, even though I'd never been in a fight in my life.”

— Eric 'Butterbean' Esch

“WHAT do you need to know about Tokyo? Deep, deep waters. The first time I came here, it was a transformative experience. It was a powerful and violent experience. It was just like taking acid for the first time—meaning, What do I do now? I see the whole world in a different way.

I often compare the experience of going to Japan for the first time, going to Tokyo for the first time, to what Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend—the reigning guitar gods of England—must have gone through the week that Jimi Hendrix came to town.

You hear about it. You go see it. A whole window opens up into a whole new thing. And you think, What does this mean? What do I have left to say? What do I do now?”

–Anthony Bourdain

THE LAST KNOWN PHOTOGRAPH OF WYATT EARP, 1929.

Born in March 1848, he grew up with four brothers. Earp began his career in law enforcement in Missouri, where he was elected local constable in 1870. However, following the death of his pregnant wife, he left town. His journey took him to Kansas, and by 1878, he had become a notable lawman and gambler in Dodge City, Kansas, forging alliances with legendary figures like Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson.

In 1879, Wyatt and his brothers moved to the bustling town of Tombstone in the Arizona Territory, seeking fortune and opportunity. Wyatt worked as a gambler and saloon guard, while his brother Virgil became the town marshal. Tensions with a local outlaw gang led by Ike Clanton escalated, culminating in the infamous gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. The shoot-out, which lasted only about 30 seconds, involved Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp, along with Doc Holliday, against the Clanton gang. Three outlaws were killed, but the violence persisted.

Virgil was ambushed and wounded in December 1881, and Morgan was killed in March 1882. Seeking revenge, Wyatt and his allies pursued and killed several suspects. Facing murder charges, Wyatt fled to Colorado and then moved through various boomtowns before finally settling in California. There, he engaged in police work, gambling, mining, and real estate.

In his later years, Wyatt collaborated with Stuart N. Lake on a biography titled "Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal," published in 1931. This work cemented his status as a legendary figure of the American West, though many of his exploits were later found to be exaggerated. Earp's life and adventures have been immortalised in numerous books and films, including "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" (1957), and "Tombstone" (1993).

Wyatt Earp passed away in 1929, leaving behind a legacy that continues to captivate and inspire tales of the Old West.

ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

A typical August week in Chicago at least 150 people get shot; that’s just the baseline youre working off when predicting the level of mayhem and bloodshed at the Dem National Convention. This isn’t Mayor Daly’s CPD of 1968. Every disaffected group in N America will be in the streets, full of rage and hate for the system, and eager to burn it all down. Who knows, with the depleted numbers of Chicago cops and a weak Mayor who himself sympathizes with the causes espoused by the mob … maybe they will burn it all down.

HOW JD VANCE THINKS ABOUT POWER

Mr. Vance has been blunt about wanting to break norms and test constitutional limits to execute his ideas: “We have to get pretty wild, pretty far out there.”

by Matt Flegenheimer

In September 2021, JD Vance offered two predictions about former President Donald J. Trump and one piece of advice.

Mr. Trump would run again in 2024, Mr. Vance said. He would win.

And when he did, Mr. Vance counseled, he needed the right people around him this time.

“Fire every single midlevel bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state, replace them with our people,” Mr. Vance said on a podcast.

He continued.

“Then when the courts stop you, stand before the country like Andrew Jackson did,” Mr. Vance said, citing a (possibly apocryphal) quotation long attributed to America’s seventh president, “and say: ‘The chief justice has made his ruling. Now let him enforce it.’”

In his U-turning path from anti-Trump author to MAGA-approved Ohio senator and running mate, Mr. Vance has developed a reputation for being ideologically pliable — open-minded, supporters say; core-less, critics counter.

But he has been unswerving in recent years in his assessment of how Republicans should carry themselves when they win: Use every available lever of state, even if that means testing the bounds of the constitutional system.

“We are in a late republican period,” Mr. Vance said in 2021, stressing the need to counter what he described as the political ruthlessness of the left. “If we’re going to push back against it, we have to get pretty wild, pretty far out there, and go in directions that a lot of conservatives right now are uncomfortable with.”

For years, Mr. Vance has appeared entirely comfortable in far-out-there corners of his party, embracing thinkers and proposals on the so-called New Right. He has drawn from influences as varied as a monarchist blogger, “postliberal” conservative Catholics and Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, according to a review of dozens of speeches, interviews and writings since Mr. Vance formally entered politics and interviews with people close to him.

Through his bumpy early weeks as Mr. Trump’s junior partner, Mr. Vance has strained to combat a Democratic attack line that he is not just wrongheaded but “weird” and retrograde, prone to meditations on “childless sociopaths” and “cat ladies” and the ills of the sexual revolution.

On a certain level, though, many of Mr. Vance’s intellectual allies agree with his opponents on a core premise: He has ascended while advancing some ideas that fall well outside the traditional political mainstream, insisting that these zero-sum times require a zero-sum strategy.

He has urged Republicans to “seize the endowments” of left-leaning universities, punishing nominal ideological foes through dramatic changes to the tax code, and warmly quotes Richard Nixon’s observation about higher education: “The professors are the enemy.”

He has suggested that parents should receive extra votes in elections — one for each child in their care — to dilute the electoral power of the left. (His team now insists this was more of a thought exercise than a serious proposal.)

“If our enemies are using guns and bazookas,” Mr. Vance has warned, “we damn well better fight back with more than wet noodles.”

‘Those Days Are Over’

On both political instincts and many policy issues, Mr. Vance bears little resemblance to Mr. Trump’s previous top lieutenant, Mike Pence.

Among other differences, Mr. Vance, who has perpetuated Mr. Trump’s election lies, has said he would not have conducted himself as Mr. Pence did on Jan. 6, 2021.

Mr. Vance, a leading Republican voice against aid for Ukraine, is also not nearly as nostalgic for a bygone conservative movement. He rarely dwells on past party fixations like the size of government and openly tweaks the legacies of eminences like Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.

He speaks bluntly about what he sees as the limits of America’s reach and resources abroad — “Those days are over,” he has said of the 20th-century “glory years” of American hegemony — and even more forcefully about the prospect of right-wing victories at home if conservatives could only summon the requisite gumption.

“We’re still terrified of wielding power,” Mr. Vance complained of his party last year.

Christopher Rufo, the conservative activist and an ally of Mr. Vance’s who helped catalyze campaigns on the right against critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion programs, said the move from a traditionalist like Mr. Pence to Mr. Vance exemplified “how the Republican Party is going to think about power moving forward.”

“In the past, the political right operated under the illusion that institutions could be neutral,” Mr. Rufo said in an interview, “that any use of state power was illegitimate and that the only rightful policy would be to try to roll back or reduce the size of government.”

Mr. Rufo described Mr. Vance’s intellectual evolution, “somewhat tongue-in-cheek,” as a journey “from the pages of National Review to the fever swamp of right-wing Twitter.”

Mr. Vance would not necessarily disagree, those who know him said. He has spent his recent years at the four-way intersection of intellectual debates, campaign rhetoric, outright trolling and actual policy — as liable to note his past “Randian arrogance” (as in Ayn) as he is to quote Samuel L. Jackson’s character from “Pulp Fiction.”

People whom Mr. Vance has cited to explain his worldview or detail who helped shape his thinking include Patrick Deneen, a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame who has suggested that conservatives must harness the power of the state to counter “liberal totalitarianism”; Peter Thiel, the billionaire venture capitalist for whom Mr. Vance worked; and Curtis Yarvin, a prominent voice on the New Right who has argued that American democracy has devolved to the point that the country needs a monarchical leader.

Mr. Vance recently contributed an admiring blurb for a book co-written by the far-right activist Jack Posobiec, who promoted the “Pizzagate” hoax. He is also listed as the author of a foreword for an upcoming book by Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation and a leader of the Project 2025 initiative, a conservative governing blueprint for a prospective Trump presidency (prepared in part by many Trump allies) that the Trump campaign has tried to disavow.

At times, Mr. Vance’s positions and affiliations have appeared almost deliberately provocative.

He has said that Alex Jones, the Infowars conspiracy theorist, is a more reputable source of information than Rachel Maddow — in part to get a rise out of Democrats, he has allowed, but also because he recognized key truths in Mr. Jones’s animating arguments, according to 2021 remarks from Mr. Vance reported by ProPublica: “that a transnational ﬁnancial elite controls things in our country,” Mr. Vance said, “that they hate our society, and oh, by the way, a lot of them are probably sex perverts, too.”

Mr. Vance has also watched with interest the march of nativist politics in Europe and wondered why more elected officials do not get the message.

“You hear European elites and American elites talking in frightened tones about threats to democracy,” he told an interviewer this year. “Isn’t it a greater threat to democracy if people keep voting for less migration but don’t get it?”

Echoes of Bannon

In Mr. Vance’s telling, his perspective has been shaped most by his own biography: as a son of Middletown, Ohio; a veteran of a war defined by Washington’s mistakes; an author who was feted by coastal elites whom he came to despise.

Despite some Senate collaborations with Democrats like Elizabeth Warren aimed at cracking down on big banks, Mr. Vance’s opponents have questioned the sincerity of his economic populism, noting his ties to billionaires like Mr. Thiel and a voting record that has often aligned with those of his Republican peers.

Democrats have also emphasized several of Mr. Vance’s past comments on social issues. Mr. Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, has lamented a culture where Americans “shift spouses like they change their underwear.”

He has endorsed a federal abortion ban and opposed exceptions for rape and incest, though during the 2022 general election, he said he supported “reasonable exceptions.” More recently, he said that because Mr. Trump is the leader of the party, he supports the former president’s position that states should be allowed to dictate their own abortion policies.

Mr. Vance has at times sought to present himself as a generational break from Republicans who obsessed over subjects like same-sex marriage. (He has opposed federal protections for it but stressed the tolerance his grandmother instilled in him.)

Mr. Rufo suggested that Mr. Vance’s opposition to D.E.I. programs — he has introduced legislation to eliminate them from the federal government — was informed by the senator’s own marriage.

“He and I are both in interracial marriages, have mixed-race kids, and we were lamenting the fact that when we were growing up, it felt like we were on the cusp of a colorblind society,” Mr. Rufo said. “We were on the cusp of that being kind of universally accepted and having moved beyond some of the recriminations of the past.”

Arguing that “culture war is class warfare,” Mr. Vance has repeatedly encouraged Republicans to use the machinery of government to reclaim institutions that he sees as wholly captured by the left.

He has highlighted two approaches from Mr. Orban’s Hungary, a North Star across much of the New Right: tightening the state’s grip on universities and offering loans to married couples, to be forgiven if the pair has enough children.

“Whether it’s the incentives that you put into place, funding decisions that are made and the curricula that are developed, you really can use politics to influence culture,” Mr. Vance said earlier this year. “And we should be doing more of that on the American Right.”

In the Senate, as The Washington Post reported, Mr. Vance issued a questionnaire to would-be ambassadors asking about issues like “gender-neutral restrooms” and “gender transition care.”

He has suggested that Republicans should stack the Department of Justice with appointees who “actually take a side in the culture war, the side of the people who elected us, and not just pretend we don’t have to take sides at all.”

Ramesh Ponnuru, the editor of National Review and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who has known Mr. Vance for years, cautioned that little about the policy outcomes inside any Trump White House could be predicted with certainty, given the man in charge.

But he was confident that Mr. Vance was “not going to be the guy to say, ‘Whoa, whoa, I’m not sure that we really have the power to do that.’”

Mr. Ponnuru invoked a figure from early in Mr. Trump’s tenure — another culture-warring, boundary-busting self-described populist who has worked to give an intellectual shape to Mr. Trump’s impulses.

“In a way,” he said, “it’s like Trump chose Steve Bannon to be his running mate.”

(NY Times)

FROM STEPH CURRY’S TRICK SHOTS TO SIMONE BILES’ SOCIAL JABS, THE OLYMPICS GO VIRAL

by Scott Ostler

Just when I was getting a good grump on, slipping into the comfortable role of cynical curmudgeon, dismissing you as over-hyped, over-politicized, over-commercialized hokum, you reeled me in again.

Damn you, Stephen Nedoroscik, and Kim Yeji, and Simone Biles, and Stephen Curry. You even messed with my work background music playlist. James Taylor out, Flavor Flav in.

Now that I’m venting, Olympics, here are some thoughts on how you messed with my week:

If you could be an Olympic champion, what are the top three gold medals you would want to win? Here’s my top three, in reverse order: Third: Table tennis. Everyone in the world plays pingpong, and you’re the greatest. Plus, you can hustle other athletes at the Olympic Village rec center. Second: 100-meter sprint. Even POTUS and the heavyweight boxing champion of the world bow down to the World’s Fastest Human. First: Surfing.
Who says the Olympics can’t bring the world together? Kevin Durant was publicly, enthusiastically supportive of Steve Kerr’s lineup shuffling, even after Durant came off the bench! Is KD angling for a return to the Golden State Warriors?
Gold medal for tweeting (or X-ing): To Simone Biles for “I love my black job.” That makes me laugh again as I’m typing it.
Is Biles injecting politics into the Olympics? I can’t speak for the littlest GOAT, but I’ll back off the politics if the dude who is running for gender-decider-in-chief will also butt out of the Olympics.
If Snoop Dogg and Sha’Carri Richardson wind up together in a TV interview, I hope they have fun with this fun irony: Richardson got kicked out of the Olympics last time for smoking weed, and that’s basically how the Snoopster got into the Olympics.
The Paris folks shoulda had Snoop light the cauldron.
Silver medal social-media post: To Flavor Flav, for “I gotchu.” Sent to U.S. discus thrower Veronica Farley after she posted that she couldn’t pay her rent at Vanderbilt. Flav has also stepped up in support of the U.S. women water poloists.
Gold medal for best in-Paris fan: To Stephen Curry. Not only is he the hype man and sideline cheerleader for the men’s basketball team, but Curry has seemingly dropped in to watch every event. He should photobomb every medal ceremony. Who would object?
Best video clip: Curry at practice, hitting three shots behind the arc, each one with one bounce! Why is there no H-O-R-S-E at the Olympics?
You know who must be feeling left out? Draymond Green, and he’s got only himself to blame. Draymond would be a great asset to this U.S. squad, had he not taken the “et” out of asset.
Greatest love between a man and his horse? Bronze medal to Ron Turcotte and Secretariat. Silver medal to Roy Rogers and Trigger. Gold medal to Stephen Nedoroscik and his pommel horse. The geeky American gymnast, master of the pommel horse and Rubik’s cube (although not at the same time) absolutely is the coolest U.S. Olympian.
Pommel horse is the tuba of sports.
I’m pretty sure Simone Biles, at 4-foot-8, can’t dunk a basketball. But if Curry wants to invite Simone over to the gym to give it a try, I will tune in to watch.
Swimming is the best argument in favor of computerized ball-and-strike calling in baseball. Before swimming had electronic starts and timing, there were about 50 officials with stopwatches leaning over the side of the pool, then arguing it out for a half hour. Does anyone miss that “human element”?
Typing gold medals: To the Chronicle’s Ann Killion and Ron Kroichick, just killing it in Paris to bring you great stuff that you can’t get anywhere else. And don’t forget Bruce Jenkins, covering surfing from his couch, serious poetry. Proud of my teammates.
Our guy Curry certainly isn’t dominating the hoops action, but he’s not trying to. His aim is to make the team thing work. As the games get tougher and the pressure mounts, Curry’s gravity will come increasingly into play, opening the court for his teammates.
Can you smoke a cigar on the gold-medal podium? Asking for a friend named Steph.
On the surface, there’s nothing more insincere than a gymnast hug. I get it, though. They’re not phonies, it’s just that if the women hug too hard, with all those sequins they would stick together.
My nominee to extinguish the Olympic flame at the closing ceremonies: South Korean shooter Kim Yeji, with a squirt gun. Nobody has a cooler game face than Yeji, who has inspired the best Olympics memes, and whom Glamour magazine dubbed the Games’ “biggest badass.” While wearing her daughter’s stuffed elephant toy, yet.
Then there’s Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikeç, age 51, who saunters onto the range wearing a T-shirt, no ear plugs, no mechanical iris, no eyepatch, and sniffs, “I do not need special equipment. I’m a natural, a natural shooter.”
“I hear you, Yusuf,” Steph Curry might say. “But try hitting the target on one bounce.”
Don’t think you’re going to suck me in for another week, Olympics!

(SF Chronicle)

WHAT DID NBC IGNORE? OLYMPIC SURFING COMPETITION THAT WAS AMONG THE BEST EVER

by Bruce Jenkins

The Olympic Games are no place for the ordinary. They are the province of epic deeds, soul-driven courage and performances beyond capacity. So many of these moments hastily disappear from the global conversation — just like the relatively obscure sports involved — and that’s always a shame.

The sport of surfing had one of those episodes this past week, in the wilds of Tahiti, and it was completely ignored on NBC’s three-hour highlights package in prime time. The surfers know, however, as well as anyone who sat back to watch on Peacock. What happened on Monday ranks with the greatest contests in the history of the sport.

I’ve witnessed a number of them in person: scary-big Mavericks in 2010, the Eddie Aikau Invitational (Waimea Bay) in 1990 and 2016, and a number of Pipeline Masters events in maxed-out conditions. They’re all in a tie for me, now joined by the men’s round 3 of the Olympic Games competition at Teahupo’o.

As the week progressed, the surf turned ragged, windblown, barely watchable. As of Friday, with the men’s and women’s semifinals still at hand, the weekend forecast virtually guaranteed uninspiring conditions as the contest window shuts down.

The first two days of the competition had been perfectly fine — smallish but clean, many tubes available, a chance for some of the more inexperienced surfers to experience this terrifying break in repose. Then came the Monday session that took everyone by surprise.

It was bigger and more flat-out gorgeous than expected, the ocean’s surface airbrushed by an offshore wind. A relatively rare west swell made for vintage Teahupo’o with its elevator-shaft drops, 20-foot faces and inconceivably round barrels, all of it taking place just a few feet above a coral reef -– and no channel available for a breezy escape, rather a desperate glide out the top to avoid a punishing closeout.

It was downright disconcerting to watch Hawaii’s John John Florence, one of the best in the world, get rudely yanked through the lip and onto the reef — a misfired tube ride that found him on the inside lagoon, looking shaken as he was helped onto a Jet-ski rescue sled and whisked off to safety.

Florence returned to the lineup, resolutely, but wasn’t able to advance past Australia’s Jack Robinson in the man-on-man heat. The other man on the U.S. team, Griffin Colapinto, had his moments but met a similar fate against Tahitian icon Kauli Vaast, whose signature ride — textbook turn, perfect tube positioning, flying out with his biceps flexed, crowd goes crazy — sent chills of exhilaration through the seasoned hordes.

The most vivid highlight was yet to come. Brazil’s Gabriel Medina, the best-ever competitive surfer at Teahupo’o, turned to the judges with 10 outstretched fingers at the end of an impossibly brilliant ride (he was given a 9.9), then soared into the air like a human torpedo, finally turning his body vertical for a fanciful hand gesture as his board, five feet away and still attached, struck a mirror image. Hands down, that photo ranks among the most distinctive ever taken in sports.

It went on like that, four or five hours of elegance, life-risking commitment, full glory and the type of wicked consequence that had all of the boat-perched spectators stricken with anxiety as they awaited the latest fallen gladiator to reach the surface.

Florence, who rarely makes such an admission, called it “a scary day, with so much power and energy.” Robinson said he was “happy to make it out alive, honestly. I got dragged over the bottom, then almost had a two-wave hold-down. That’s barely a second to get a quick breath before going back down. This is the most dangerous place in the world.”

One after another — France’s Joan Duru, Mexico’s Alan Cleland Quinoñez, Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi, Brazil’s João Chianca, Morocco’s Ramzi Boukhiam — heroics went down, in true international fashion. “I could never have imagined,” said Medina, “we would get waves like this in the Olympics.”

The spectacle was all too fleeting, as it turned out. By the men’s final heat, the place had been rendered unsurfable by rain squalls and contrary winds. So the women’s round 3 had to wait for another day.

When the competition resumed on Thursday, in small and torn-up surf, you had to wonder whether anyone would even have hit the water on a normal day. “I was sort of relieved,” said Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb, “because I knew I wasn’t gonna die.”

The postponed round 3 and both sets of quarterfinals went down, it was all too depressing, and it was an especially brutal development for the U.S. women’s team.

Hawaii’s Carissa Moore, eliminated in the slop by South Africa’s Sarah Baum, made a teary-end confirmation that she is retiring from the women’s tour in the wake of five world titles. She’s most proud of a startlingly advanced women’s big-wave movement that has taken hold in the past few years, saying, “It wasn’t long ago that when the winds got bad and the conditions got junky, it was time to send the girls out, you know? Now it’s like, it’s a good day, let’s give everyone a chance.”

Then there was current world No. 1 Caity Simmers, the very symbol of that movement after outlasting Molly Picklum and Bettylou Sakura Johnson to win this year’s Pipeline contest in serious conditions.

Simmers was so inspired that day, she blurted out “Pipeline is for the f—ing girls!” over a World Surf League microphone. And she dearly hoped that Teahupo’o would mark the next step. But Simmers couldn’t find a single decent wave in her 30-minute heat on Thursday and lost to the very capable Weston-Webb.

(The third woman on the U.S. team, defending tour champion Caroline Marks, got through to the semis.)

Other developments:

Determined to make a good showing in this relatively new Olympic sport, China poured millions into subsidizing a surfing program. The prize: 14-year-old Siqi Yang, stylish and admirably valiant in winning a heat against Peru’s Sol Aguirre before losing to Marks in round 3.

As the only Israeli surfer ever to compete in the Olympics, Anat Lelior said she felt “disconnected” from the spirit of teamwork and was discouraged to learn that some 200 surfers signed a letter to the International Surfing Association to have Israeli surfers banned from competition due to the country’s ongoing conflict with Gaza.

“I’ve struggled with my Israeli identity for many years,” said Lelior, 24, who lost to Australia’s Tyler Wright in round 3, but won a heat to reach that point. “I served in the military and actually qualified for the Tokyo Olympics while still serving. People can say what they want, but I know my country and I know what’s happening. Right now I’m proud to represent my people, even though it’s complicated. All I can do is smile and spread kindness.”

Advancing to the semifinals, which were most likely to run on Saturday: Marks, Weston-Webb, France’s Johanne Defay and Costa Rica’s Brisa Hennessy. On the men’s side: Vaast, Robinson, Medina and Peru’s Alonso Correa.

(SF Chronicle)

27 Comments

Lindy Peters August 4, 2024

I saw Steve Bilko play for the fledgling Angels in 1961 when my father took us to LA to see Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris . The Yankees won the game but I remember two things in particular. The first was a booming HR by Bill “ Moose” Skowron that left the yard and went over a two story house across the street from the ballpark in left field. The second was the first time I had ever seen a player dive and belly flop (instead of slide) into 2nd base. It sounded like a skip-loader scraping across some graveled asphalt. You could hear it from the bleachers. That’s my memory of Steve Bilko!!

Reply
- Stephen Rosenthal August 4, 2024
  
  I remember Steve Bilko. I preferred Sgt. Bilko.
  
  Reply
  - Chuck Dunbar August 4, 2024
    
    Ah yes, Sgt. Ernest G. Bilko, a rascal in uniform. I loved that show as a kid, many laughs.
    
    Reply
    - Stephen Rosenthal August 4, 2024
      
      The Phil Silvers Show, The Honeymooners, The Amos ‘n’ Andy Show, You Bet Your Life, and innumerable others. Truly the golden age of television comedy before uptight sphincters and political correctness ruined it.
      
      Reply
      - Chuck Dunbar August 4, 2024
        
        I’d add the Little Rascals. And then there were all the westerns. I worshiped Matter Dillon, and lusted after Miss Kitty.
        
        Reply
        
        Chuck Dunbar August 4, 2024
        
        Matt not matter–I am smarter than spell check
        
        Reply
Lew Chichester August 4, 2024

Thanks to the AVA for publishing sheriff Kendall’s information regarding illegal marijuana grows and Covelo. I live in Round Valley, north of the “town” of Covelo, and have been here for over fifty years now. What’s become a bit different for the illegal grows are the complexities and confusions of being on an Indian Reservation. What’s private property, what’s Tribal, what’s in Federal Trust, what might be an “heirship” and not really “owned” by anyone is all up for speculation and exploitation. A lot of the ten acre allotments within the Reservation boundaries now have low budget, trashy, lit up all night, generators cranking, and Spanish speaking workers. Those of us not directly involved in the operations suppose that these are “cartel” connections, but I suspect that is a tenuous connection. Illegal, somewhat organized crime connections, yes. It’s all a big mess. A few people are making money I suppose, but it sure is ugly, brings in a lot of bad people and certainly doesn’t do the kids, or the rest of us, any good at all. Thanks Matt, doing what you can.

Reply
- MAGA Marmon August 4, 2024
  
  What a shame, a lot of people depend on their medicine. All this is going to do is raise the prices. Goldie Locks should protest at the next BOS meeting. Cannabis for better Mental Health!!!
  
  MAGA Marmon
  
  Reply
  - Mark Donegan August 4, 2024
    
    These things don’t dent the market. I appreciate the enforcement work as long as it’s not on anyone growing medical. Taking chemed up weed off the market is always a good thing.
    
    Reply
- Matt Kendall August 4, 2024
  
  You’re welcome Lew!
  The problems seem to be settling down across most of the county except for around Valley. The violence associated with the illegal grows has remained out of hand.
  Round Valley has roughly 4% of the counties population however about 50% of our murders are being committed in and around the valley. Also for the past several years nearly 50% of our homicides have been in illegal grows. Think about it from that perspective and it’s pretty telling where the problems are.
  
  Reply
Stephen Rosenthal August 4, 2024

Re MYSTERY PIPE BOMB Sparks Bomb Squad Deployment South of Ukiah:
BOLO for Mike Sweeney.

Reply
- Bruce Anderson August 4, 2024
  
  Mike’s just keep his hand in.
  
  Reply
Stephen Rosenthal August 4, 2024

Skimming The Major’s report on Mendo’s “special funds”, it occurred to me that replacing the “n” with “ra” in funds would bring some clarity to the situation.

Reply
- Jim Armstrong August 4, 2024
  
  furads?
  
  Steve Bilko was a hero in LA.
  
  Reply
  - Stephen Rosenthal August 4, 2024
    
    Frauds
    
    Reply
Me August 4, 2024

As always, Mark Scaramella, you rock!!

Reply
Stephen Rosenthal August 4, 2024

Wyatt Earp is buried next to his wife in the Jewish Cemetery in Colma.

Reply
- MAGA Marmon August 4, 2024
  
  My grandparents use to live about a mile away from Earp’s house on the Colorado River. I remember spending summers there when I was a kid.
  
  Earp, California is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County in the Sonoran Desert close to the California/Arizona state line at the Colorado River in Parker Valley.
  
  The town, originally named Drennan in 1910, was renamed Earp in 1929.[1] It was named for famed Old West lawman Wyatt Earp who with his common-law wife, Josephine Sarah Marcus, lived part-time in the area beginning in 1906. Earp staked more than 100 copper and gold mining claims[2] near the base of the Whipple Mountains.[3]: 83
  
  They bought a small cottage in nearby Vidal and lived there during the fall, winter and spring months of 1925 – 1928, while he worked his “Happy Days” mines in the Whipple Mountains a few miles north. It was the only permanent residence they owned the entire time they were married.[4] They spent the winters of his last years working the claims but lived in Los Angeles during the summers, where Wyatt died on January 13, 1929.
  
  Though the town was never incorporated, the post office near Earp’s mining claims at the eastern terminus of Highway 62 near Parker, AZ was renamed “Wyatt Earp, California” after Earp’s death in 1930 with a ZIP code of 92242. For amusement only there is a tiny cemetery showing the fake grave of Wyatt Earp (his actual grave is in the Hills of Eternity Cemetery in Colma, just south of San Francisco).
  
  The post office is more than 220 miles (350 km) from the county seat in San Bernardino, California; further than any other in the county. The entire region on the California side falls under area code 760.
  
  Unofficial alternate names of the area are listed as Big River, Drenna and Drennan.
  
  Since Earp is an unincorporated community of San Bernardino County, County CEO Leonard X. Hernandez would be considered the Chief Administrator of Earp.
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earp,_California
  
  MAGA Marmon
  
  Reply
  - MAGA Marmon August 4, 2024
    
    The County sent out a social worker because my grandfather put my little brother on a chain to keep him from going into the River.
    
    MAGA Marmon
    
    Reply
    - Matt Kendall August 4, 2024
      
      Those were the days! Keeping kids safe was a chore.
      Great article thanks Marmon!
      
      Reply
      - Ron43 August 4, 2024
        
        My family used to tie a rope around my waist to stop me from going in over my head at Blue lake. I couldn’t swim a lick but loved the water. 10 years later I was on the Dolphin Swim team!
        
        Reply
Mike J August 4, 2024

Was just checking Shapiro, Walz, and Kelly on x for latest posts…..Shapiro and Walz tweeted about non VP stuff more than an hour ago….Kelly 47 minutes ago tweeted:
“Whether it was from my time in the Navy and at NASA, serving in the United States Senate, or visiting our troops overseas: I’ve learned that when your country asks you to serve, you always answer the call.”

Reply
Call It As I See It August 4, 2024

You mean Mark Kelly the Chinese business man.
What Presidential ticket, Kamala setting up bail funds for rioters and Kelly helping make spy balloons.
Yea, that’s serving your country!

Reply
- Mike J August 4, 2024
  
  It’s MAGA MYSTERY PERSON again with a hot branding iron sizzling asses.
  
  Reply
- Marshall Newman August 5, 2024
  
  Any person who hasn’t the guts to post under his real name should be ignored.
  
  Reply
- Bruce Anderson August 5, 2024
  
  Why are you so angry, Call It? Your personal life unhappy? I know lots of Magats who are perfectly amiable, Marmon for example. I can imagine spending a pleasant hour or two downing a few beers with the old biker, but you? Doubt it. Too bitter, too estranged. Re Kelly, you might disagree with his politics but his patriotic credentials are certainly in order. News Max hasn’t helped you, Call It, understand the world beyond Ukiah.
  
  Reply
Bob A. August 5, 2024

I’m curious if anyone has news about what’s going on with the Anderson Valley Brewing Company? I’ve heard rumors of a shutdown.

Reply

Mendocino County Today: Sunday 8/4/2024

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