At Tuesday’s, September 24 meeting, the Board of Supervisors received a report from staffer Kelly Hansen, of the County Executive Office Grants Unit on the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program’s Covid-19 grant “closure.”
The Supervisors learned from Hansen that one of the recipients of the low-interest loan program has defaulted on their loan, Geiger’s Market of Hopland, which closed their doors in July 2024. The Hopland LLC was created by former Laytonville grocery store owner, Michael Braught shortly before he put the Laytonville Geiger’s Long Valley Market up for sale in 2023. The amount of the loan was $180k, at 1% interest for 10 years, which was used for inventory and working capital. The loan required that 6 full-time equivalent jobs be created by July 1, 2024.
According to Hansen and a representative from “CDS,” the contractor working with the County on this program, that Geiger’s is currently in default of their loan and have not responded to letters, phone messages or attempts to contact the business owners. Supervisor Dan Gjerde expressed concerns that as the County ramps up a new loan program, that they ensure that the County has established protocols for dealing with defaults in the future. Hansen assured Gjerde and the other supervisors that the loan to Geiger’s had been secured by business assets as well as a personal guarantee from the current owners. Hansen noted that the current Geiger’s Hopland business is for sale, and that when the store sells, she hoped the loan would be paid.
Since pulling up stakes and moving to Montana back in 2018, Braught masterminded the sale and closure of the Laytonville landmark Geiger’s Long Valley Market. He originally acquired ownership of the Geiger family-owned institution after he married into the family.
In August of 2023, Braught sold Geiger’s Market to Haji Alam, of Ukiah. Following an 8-month legal dispute that brought new meaning to the adjective Byzantine, the store finally re-opened under Alam’s new ownership this past July.
This April, Braught put his Belgrade, Montana ranch on the market for $6,840,000. Earlier this month he reduced the selling price to $5,999,000.
My sole comment to my friends down there in the county seat on dealing with Mr. Braught and his loan default: Lots and lots and lots of Good Luck.
Newsom Signs Bill Restricting School Cell Phones
Gov. Gav Newsom signed a bill into law on Sept. 23, AB 3216, aka as the “Phone-Free School Act,” that requires every school district, charter school and county office of education to develop a policy limiting the use of smartphones by July 1, 2026. The new law will require public schools to limit or ban the use of cell phones in class.
I say it’s about time. Newsom says, “We know that excessive smartphone use increases anxiety, depression and other mental health issues — but we have the power to intervene. This new law will help students focus on academics, social development and the world in front of them, not their screens, when they’re in school.”
In a statement released at Monday’s bill signing, Newsom explained, “This legislation aims to reduce distractions and create a more focused learning environment for students.”
I was recently driving by Laytonville High School during lunch break while students were walking toward the downtown area. I observed nearly every kid on a cell phone but none of them appeared to be talking to each other. Later that day I asked my daughter Jayma, who’s director of Laytonville Healthy Start which does outreach work with the schools, why the kids were on cell phones instead of conversing with one another. Her response flabbergasted me.
“Dad, that’s exactly what most of them were probably doing. They were talking to each other on their cell phones.”
“While they’re walking side-by-side?” I said disbelievingly.
“Yep, that’s exactly what they’re doing,” she said.
“I’ll be damned,” was all I could muster.
Anyway, Newsom and the state Legislature did a good job on getting this much-needed legislation on the books.
Consumer Watchdog Testifies That Minimum Inventories Are Necessary To Combat Gas Gouging
On Thursday, Sept. 19th, my main man at Consumer Watchdog, President Jamie Court, tore the oil companies a new one when he testified in the legislative special session that California needs to establish a minimum inventory requirement of 15 to 18 days if it wants to avoid gas price spikes that led to billions in excessive profits for oil refiners during the last two years.
“When refineries go down and refiners don’t have adequate inventories that’s when gasoline prices go up like a rocket,” said Court. “Establishing a 15 to 20 day floor on gas inventories is the easiest way to protect California consumers at the pump from the grip of the 4 oil refiners that make 90% of the gasoline in the state. I have been watching this industry for 25 years, since serving on Attorney General Bill Lockyer’s Gas Pricing Taskforce, and it’s been the same story for two and a half decades. Low inventories combined with refinery maintenance lead to big price and profit spikes. It’s time to end this cycle that we call the Golden State Gouge. Governor Newsom deserves congratulations for being the first Governor to take on this well documented problem and call out the refining industry for keeping the state running on empty in order to pump up its profits.”
Drawing on data from the California Energy Commission, Court testified before the California Assembly Petroleum and Gasoline Supply Committee that the two California price spikes that occurred during the last year and a half were precipitated by refiners having less than 15 days of inventories.
His data-laden comments showed that the drop in inventories corresponded to gasoline prices spiking at over $5 per gallon in September 2023 and April 2024 and oil refiners reporting to the state record profits per gallon of more than $1.20 per gallon through their gross refining margins reporting now required under the law (SB 1322).
Some Reasons Why County’s Affordable Housing Policy Doesn’t Work
Scott Ward is a former inspector and planner with the County’s Department of Planning and Building.
Over the years, I’ve always paid close attention to his comments and insights on local planning and housing policies and issues, as he always informs and educates me on such matters.
Here’s Ward’s latest spot-on observations regarding the County’s affordable housing problems and the oftentimes self-inflicted snags and obstacles to implementing workable and citizen-friendly policies and rules.
Ward explains that, “Residential construction in California is exorbitantly expensive due to several factors. The California Building Codes are amended and re-written every three years. The California state legislature uses the building code for social engineering such as the Green Building Code and the California Energy Code. Building material manufacturers use lobbyists and spend millions to get their products mandated by the Codes. The insurance companies lobby for code changes so that they do not have to pay out claims. Local government such as Mendocino County raise building permit fees to cover costs AND to replenish the General Fund. In California whenever an affordable housing project is built with government loans and subsidies the contractor and subcontractors have to pay prevailing wage (Union scale) to their employees. “
Ward concludes, “The items above are why the term affordable housing in California is an oxymoron.”
(Jim Shields is the Mendocino County Observer’s editor and publisher, observer@pacific.net, the long-time district manager of the Laytonville County Water District, and is also chairman of the Laytonville Area Municipal Advisory Council. Listen to his radio program “This and That” every Saturday at 12 noon on KPFN 105.1 FM, also streamed live: http://www.kpfn.org)
ADAM GASKA:
Re Jim Shields report on the Hopland Geigers market.
Not only is the building encumbered with $180,000 in debt for the CBDG loan, it’s also has a $500,000-1,000,000 PACE loan attached to it. It looks as though the County is paying the PACE loan obligations to the tune of $67,000 a year and the taxes are currently delinquent. Hopefully there is a faster recourse to collect than a tax lien sale.
The County needs to investigate how someone who was publicly known to be in financial duress was able to get approved for a second loan. Whoever signed off on it should be reprimanded and safeguards put in place to avoid such situations in the future.
After digesting all the above, the poetic phrase “Scrolling towards Bethlehem” strangely came to mind.
Must have been something I ate.
Our county may be the most dysfunctional local government anywhere in the US.