Letters 9/16/2024

• Medical Info Leaker On Mountain View Road
• Save The Mendo Tracks
• Fort Bragg Candidate Speculation
• Caltrans & The Albion Bridge Replacement
• More Treachery From The PUC
• Defending Bill And Coo
• A Hundred Days Is Plenty
• No Bull
• A False Economy

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MEDICAL INFO LEAKER ON MOUNTAIN VIEW ROAD

Editor,

About 8 weeks ago there was a call for medical services about 2 miles on Mt. View Rd. This call for services was apparently due to a possible drug overdose. (Being one not to assume, could be any type of negative drug interaction.) A local individual proceeded to call neighbors in vein [sic] attempting to obtain the actual name and address of the call. I had knowledge of the call’s location, yet kept it confidential as it should be. The only reason this individual wanted to know this was so he could due [sic] further harm to the person with the possible overdose and his or her family by repeating this person’s medical information. The local individual is known in the commnity for repeating personal medical information. On Mt. View Rd they are known as “creeps.” On the other hand, we are lucky to have a fire and ambulance department that tries to maintain professionalism and confidentiality.

(Name Withheld, Boonville)

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SAVE THE MENDO TRACKS

Editor:

I strongly agree with Skunk Train President Robert Jason Pinoli that the Great Redwood Trail needs reevaluation. While the railroad tracks in the Eel River wilderness are beyond repair, the tracks from Cloverdale to Willits are on stable and easily accessible ground and could be operating again, connecting to the Skunk Train to Fort Bragg.

The Great Redwood Trail as planned will remove the tracks, so hardy hikers and long-distance bicyclists can enjoy — at taxpayer expense — what hundreds of rail travelers will be permanently denied. Putting the trail next to the tracks would allow a lot more people to enjoy this area, reducing traffic and burning less fuel in the bargain.

I urge state Sen. Mike McGuire, who is spearheading the trail, to build a Great Redwood Trail and Rail, a benefit for everyone — and for the environment, too.

B.B. Kamoroff

Willits

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FORT BRAGG CANDIDATE SPECULATION

Editor,

The following is meant to be a suggestion for a developing story. A good chunk of it is speculation that I can't really back up but your sources and resources might have more success. You probably already know most of it, anyway, but I hope the AVA will keep on top of this as the election season progresses.

I hope you're paying attention to the current Fort Bragg City Council races. As you know, there are two seats up for election. Lindy Peters is running for re election to the seat he currently holds and there are four other candidates running for both that seat and the seat that will be vacated when Bernie Novell goes to Ukiah.

Two of the candidates seem to have decided to run in tandem. Around town, their signs are often placed next to each other. During the FB Paul Bunyan Days parade, several floats also displayed election posters for both candidates together. It's a smart move, I suppose, as Lindy Peters has the power of incumbency on his side. The tandem pair can plug into each other's constituencies to try and offset that advantage. The other two candidates seem like nice, well meaning people but have no signs out or pr and I'm afraid they're going to get steamrolled.

One of the floats that displayed the posters of the tandem together was the Fort Bragg Forever one. A few years ago, one of them was involved in a City commissioned group asked to study the name change question. He was against it, I presume, and that was why his poster was on the float. None of the other candidates have made any mention that I know of about the issue. I don't know that person’s position but am assuming it's anti-change, as well, given his pairing on the float.

One of the unfortunate developments in the name change debate is that it seems to have turned into a liberal vs conservative battle, at least as far as a big chunk of Forever folks are concerned. I guess the issue really pushed their anti-woke button, despite the fact that resistance to the name change seems pretty universal across the political spectrum of Fort Bragg people I personally know. I guess it's timely and good politics to embrace the current angry national dichotomy to drum up support, but it's certainly unfortunate on a local level.

As an aside, there were also two floats for Republican candidates, adorned with large Trump signs and lots of red, white, and blue. The Forever float and the tandem’s floats were all done up in a similar looking red, white, and blue motif. There were no floats of any sort for any Democratic candidate or liberal cause. To an outsider, Fort Bragg was looking pretty redneck for a town that usually votes reliably blue.

I read the candidate statements and all of them are a bit boilerplate. You might check them out, if, for no other reason, than to see their individual submissions, under Candidate Information, on this page:

https://www.city.fortbragg.com/departments/city-clerk/city-elections

I don't really know the tandem’s politics. One is a business owner and land owner down in Noyo Harbor. I've heard many good things about him — a great boss, a generous donor to local causes, personable and approachable, a nice guy. He's also an ambitious businessman and works hard at promoting Noyo Harbor and fishermen. All things to his credit. Interestingly enough, he is also the boss of a current City Councilperson, who manages a restaurant. An alliance of those three would provide a majority on any issue coming before the Council.

The other member of the tandem works or has worked, I believe, for the Mendocino County Dept of Transportation Road Maintenance Division and is a retired Fort Bragg volunteer fireman and assistant wrestling coach. His father was a Mendocino Deputy Sheriff. He has deep roots in the community. On his float was the slogan “It's Time for a Change.” I've heard rumors, admittedly unverified, that he is a big supporter of the Skunk Train and I wonder if that is the change referred to.

My guess is that this election is when Mendocino Railroad makes its move to squash the lawsuit the City has filed against them. They've been agitating more recently about the Great Redwood Trail and how the City of Fort Bragg and its lawsuit is trying to put them out of business. Robert Pinoli's August 11 op ed in the Press Democrat generated a lot of comment on the Mendocino group Facebook page that included the President of the railroad, Chris Hart, weighing in several times and generally trashing both the Great Redwood Trail and the City Council. If the tandem is indeed, pro Skunk, and gets elected, Lindy Peters will be out of the picture and there's a strong possibility that one of the incumbents will join them to vote as a pro Skunk block to drop the lawsuit.

I personally have nothing against any of the candidates, They all seem like decent people who care about Fort Bragg's future. But they have a narrow view and maybe don't see the bigger picture. My problem is with Mendocino Railroad and this certainly feels like their power move.

November 5 will certainly be interesting and consequential, on all levels of government.

Name Withheld

Fort Bragg

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CALTRANS & THE ALBION BRIDGE REPLACEMENT

Editor,

I encourage people to participate in the Caltrans public comment period for its plans to replace the historic Albion River Bridge. I have heard from many people who would like to see a new bridge and many more who would like to save the old bridge. Our electeds have been silent and none have appeared at the two public meetings on this. What’s being lost sight of is that the community in arguing over yes or no has not been negotiating for the best outcome. If the bridge is replaced as planned, it will be the focal point of the community for at least a century Caltrans has changed its approach during the 17 years I have been following this. They are no longer negotiating, but that could change if people ask them to, or if electeds get involved at some point. Fort Bragg activists defeated Caltrans twice and forced more to grant a sidewalk for public access and better railings. But if you don’t comment during the legal comment period don’t expect anything. That’s what happened in the Willits Bypass project. The protest came mostly AFTER the public comment period ended and thus had much less legal standing. Some people have questions about the duration of the Jack Peters Creek Bridge upgrade. But Caltrans did pretty much what the public asked during the public comment period and a Zoom meeting The public asked for very little. We didn’t argue for a one-year schedule, so it's two years. Sidewalks all the way to Mendo would have been a reasonable request, but nobody asked. It is also appropriate to comment on the combined impact of replacing both the Salmon Creek and Albion River Bridge over the next decade or decades. If you don't ask questions and lobby for what you want for your community, be it the new bridge they are offering, a better bridge, or keeping the historic wooden bridge during the legal comment period, you can’t really cry about it later.

The documents to comment on are at the official state website: www.albionriverbridgeproject.com

Also read the Albion River Stewards site, with reports by experts that contradict Caltrans: savehighway1.org

Here are my comments I sent to Caltrans:

My name is Frank Hartzell. I am a freelance writer who lives in Cleone, CA.

As a reporter, I don’t normally comment on environmental documents myself, leaving that to the parties. But the Albion Bridge documents here lack the specifics I need to do a report. Caltrans does not seem to be negotiating in any way with the community or offering them any chance to input or to negotiate for public access to the beach, longer sidewalks or detailed mitigations of environmental and economic impacts. I ask questions about these matters. I will not get into the question of whether the bridge should be replaced or not, just areas that the massive 2500-plus pages of documents seemed to have paved over with generalities and boilerplate material.

I would like to follow all these questions through the process and be able to find where they were read and answered or deemed irrelevant or whatever. How do I do that? I think an explanation of how those of us who have given input can follow our questions can be put in the executive summary. Can Caltrans do this?

Will Caltrans extend the sidewalks to Albion Ridge Road up to the post office and down to the river from there? Why is Caltrans not creating a sidewalk on at least one side of the Road from the new road at Albion River Inn up to Albion Post Office, then also all the way down to Salmon Creek Bridge and up the other side to Navarro Ridge Road? Then people could walk all the way through this village that Caltrans will be giving two new bridges at the end of the most massive bridge replacement project in local history and in much of the state- two giant bridges being replaced at once.

How many years total will construction be going on with the replacement of Albion and Salmon Creek Bridges happening one after another?

Has Caltrans ever considered an inland bypass for both of these bridges? If so can you provide details?

Will Caltrans please provide comparative National Bridge Inventory numbers or other ratings comparing all the bridges of the Mendocino Coast from Navarro to Ten Mile? I would like to read the ratings of the entire structure, deck, superstructure, and the rest that these ratings normally provide.

From a reader- Will Caltrans commit to working with the unions to be employed to ensure a local hiring percentage?

From a reader- Would Caltrans consider tearing down and reconstructing the bridge for pedestrian use in another location if one could be found? Perhaps for use as a pedestrian bridge like the Pudding Creek trestle?

What changed? Caltrans negotiated with the community and presented a much wider range of bridges and talked about Reusing or refurbishing the old bridge, then suddenly, all discussion was off and Caltrans was basically offering the community nothing, no more public access as previously discussed, no inputs on colors of the bridge even, much less styles, no real upgrades to surrounding roads, no sidewalks beyond the bridge? Please explain what changed?

We’d like to see the bridge models for Albion Bridge before the community decides. Can that be done?

How much money does Caltrans have for bridge replacement on Highway 1 in its current budget cycle? Can Caltrans provide a list of bridges identified as needing to be replaced on Highway 1 from Mexico to Oregon? This would give the community and the media a perspective.

Is there a time limit on the funding for replacing the bridge? If so, please detail.

Public access- Caltrans will take the campground for 3 years but says it is unable to increase public access to the beach and river. I got the following answer from Manny Machado as to this question.

“There was a feasibility study completed in 2023 related to public access at the project location. The finding in the feasibility study was that “The Albion River Bridge project would not impact the existing access to Albion River if a new bridge were to be constructed. It is not practical to construct new public access routes and/or facilities to Albion River within the existing and proposed State right of way as part of the replacement bridge project.”

If this is the answer it seems Caltrans is in violation of the Coastal Commission's demand that any development increases public access, especially one like this with such a huge environmental impact. Will Caltrans go back and look at doing more for public access?

The public meeting that was held was strictly scheduled for 1.5 hours and Caltrans talked half the time. Their talking was mostly to give general information. Caltrans had an excellent panel of experts to answer questions, but they, like the public got almost no time to talk. When the meeting ended only a dozen people had asked questions and more than 30 hands were up.

There is a video to review.

Does Caltrans maintain now this was a sufficient opportunity to take public input? Would Caltrans consider scheduling a second meeting with the public in a larger place, with more time, and when the state has actual specifics to offer the public? Could you do this after you have chosen the alternative?

It was difficult to envision the bridge from the online-only presentation of it. This will be the anchor for this small community for a century. What will it look like?. In the past models have been shown and large drawings on paper presented. The computer rendition didn't allow me to see much of anything specific, like how much sun a wider bridge will look from the narrow beach below. Or even anything different to envision. To me, this bridge is being chosen in the dark by Caltrans with pretty much zero community input. Will you go back and involve the community more? Can we see the model of your alternatives in person? Can we be shown what the bridge will look like from the beach?

Caltrans did promise to consider both replacing and renovating. I would agree with Norbert Dahl that the environmental documents need to include a full look that you must have done, not simply the summary appendix. This info must have been gathered beyond what we have. Will Caltrans add it in?

Caltrans' statements about eelgrass at the meeting were quite surprising. Caltrans should review the video. Eel grass was described as being important to “fish”. I have been following extensive research about eelgrass over the past few years. I have included eel grass mapping that shows the Albion River has a much better eel grass resource than the Noyo or Big River. Will Caltrans present a better description of what it will do to mitigate eel grass damage? Perhaps doing outside that river to other rivers?

Will Caltrans provide an estimate of the cost of removing the old bridge to a dump? By that I mean proof that Caltrans has checked with a disposal facility that will accept this much wood and the type of wood shown. Can Caltrans provide a dollar estimate of the disposal cost and proof that it can be disposed of/ Such as a letter from a disposal facility?

If this wood is accepted anywhere pretty much, and as I was told it is low-grade toxic waste, will Caltrans consider reusing or recycling the bridge as a local museum or a smaller bridge? Being the last wooden highway bridge the community might wish for an opportunity to have something like London Bridge in Arizona. Will you ask them and help if desired?

If not, will Caltrans consider doing something more for the historic status as the state demands you do? The measures in the enviro documents seem very slim and much less than was offered in the past. For example, local people would love to have that wood and perhaps Caltrans could hello create a museum. If it is the type of wood the EIR describes (basically copper-treated wood like I have in my fence out back) will it use some of the proven technologies (according to studies I have read) to remediate the toxic on-site or somewhere for community use?

With no motels or other accommodations in Albion, will Caltrans do something to provide accommodations for its work crews? As this will happen in the summer, hotels and motels in Mendo and Fort Bragg are already full. Since Caltrans will have workers on the two bridge sites for ?? 10 ?? years will Caltrans contribute to a housing effort, such as a city effort for workforce housing, perhaps in exchange for a block of motel rooms?

How toxic is the wood? The documents don't give enough detail, apparently because Caltrans is not considering anything but taking the bridge to the dump. But this is a historic bridge and the wood could be reused if Caltrans could resent more on the toxicity. One would guess that most of the toxins have leached out in 84 years of sun. True? Can you find out under your obligations to deal with historic structures? Or if more toxic than we have been led to believe, what risks does the wood present to workers and the environment? Can you provide more detail?

Why is Caltrans saying there are 5 options when the DEIR and other docs Caltrans has offered clearly negate the bridge being in the spot where the existing bridge is?

Would Caltrans consider going back to proposed bridges from the 2011-2016 time frame and using some of the more specific and less boilerplate environmental and economic documents presented at that time? It seems the community and myself as a reporter have very little to go in these documents despite their length.

The Albion Bridge Stewards have more than 10 comment templates for people who want to comment about a certain concern, such as the noise the project will provide. The template gives the writer a start on the issue chosen. Each one does focus on saving the historic bridge.

I, Frank Hartzell am happy to be ccd on any and all comments sent to Caltrans, for the files and future stories. frankhartzell@gmail.com If you google my name and Albion River Bridge you will see several articles in the MendoVoice with more info.

Submit Your Comments to Caltrans

Send comments via postal mail to:

Liza Walker, Eureka Office Chief

Caltrans North Regional Environmental

1656 Union Street

Eureka, California 95501

Submit comments via email to:

albionbridge@dot.ca.gov

Frank Hartzell

Fort Bragg

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MORE TREACHERY FROM THE PUC

Editor:

California utility companies, along with the California Public Utilities Commission, have systematically weakened rooftop solar owners’ ability to sell their excess energy back to the grid. A few years ago, many people financed their solar through that sell-back process. Now the utilities, in lockstep with the commission, have priced rooftop solar out of reach of most.

Yet a member of the CPUC wrote a letter to all the stakeholders, people who regularly criticize the commission for their disastrous anti-rooftop-solar rulings. She was wondering if the stakeholders knew why 13 California solar companies have gone out of business. I guess she forgot it was the commission’s fault.

She might have asked why 17,000 have lost their jobs, jobs that paid good salaries and, until the past couple years, helped make California a model for rooftop solar. But then again, I guess she forgot it was the commission’s fault.

I’m sure she also didn’t like hearing that she and her fellow commissioners have helped put 17,000 workers out of a job.

Jane Bender

Santa Rosa

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DEFENDING BILL AND COO

AVA,

Good issue Friday.

What's your beef with ‘Bill and Coo’? I had the vaguest of memories of seeing that casually, as a child. I took a skimming look at the film (won a Special Academy Award for “patience and persistence”) on YouTube and found it a refreshing, amusing and surreal departure from the insidious dreck that is now on hand. Good puns like when the birds (Bill and Coo were Lovebirds) are at the circus and the sign on the “Big Cats” cage reads: Don't feed yourselves to the animals. And the “bad bird” staying after class at school for believing that the Earth was round and not egg-shaped. The Black Menace, Jimmy the Crow (most famous bird actor, also appearing in: The Wizard of Oz, It's a Wonderful Life and Son of Dracula) does present racial subtexts from 1948 but does make for a good ‘Godzilla’ (post 1954 viewing) type villian. One of the comments on YouTube said: “This movie should not be seen by adults without the presence of children. ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ is Special Effects Action pornography with a dumb script.” The Einstein quote with the Plato's Cave and pharmaceutical meme is nicely proceeded with Taibbi's piece on the “digital literacy” professor who was lauded for warning the public away from critical thinking and their “addiction to skepticism.”

Jeff Goll

Willits

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A HUNDRED DAYS IS PLENTY

Editor:

The founders didn’t take three years preparing for a presidential election or rely on Citizens United to spend billions of dollars on it. I’m an old independent. Older than Joe Biden, bless his heart, and I believe Americans can have local, state and national elections in 100 days.

Fred A. Rands

Santa Rosa

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NO BULL

Editor:

The profit margin in the grocery industry in 2023 was 1.6%. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says 88% of farms are small family farms that rely on off-farm sources for the majority of their household income. Kamala Harris says the grocery industry is to blame for so-called price gouging, with absolutely no evidence that it exists. She vows to enact a federal law to control grocery prices. On average, grocery costs have risen 25% since January 2020. How does she plan to control prices? Starting where? What happens when the government tries to control prices? It creates shortages, which create even higher prices and often black markets. Remember the old Econ 101 theory of supply and demand? Duh. Competition leads to lower prices, not price controls.

President Richard Nixon tried price controls in the 1970s, but it only made inflation worse. Harris focuses on meat prices. Does she want to control that industry by getting rid of the cows? News flash: 88% of Americans are omnivores and won’t give up meat. Oh, that’s right. Cow flatulence contributes to climate change. That’s bull, no pun intended. Harris is an economic illiterate.

Linda Davis

Kenwood

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A FALSE ECONOMY

Editor:

Northern California is too quickly becoming just a tourist mecca. What will happen to our economy when tourism is again suspended due to the next pandemic or economic downturn, or for whatever reason? Just as a diversified portfolio is required to safeguard one’s finances, diversification is necessary for a healthy economy.

Who will frequent our luxury resorts, Michelin-starred restaurants, casinos and winery tasting rooms? We have those in abundance already, and most do not provide a living wage for half their employees. Meanwhile, agriculture suffers from heavy costs to bring in forage from farther away to feed livestock during the dry season, and golf courses suck up water that could otherwise be used to grow fruits and vegetables. Our once diverse agriculture is becoming a monoculture of winegrape vineyards. Houses that could be homes for residents are now short-term rentals sitting vacant during the off season.

It’s time to set a moratorium on new casinos, resorts and short-term rentals. Let’s build an economy that will support us during downturns.

Linda Lloyd

Santa Rosa