Mendocino County Today: Wednesday 10/9/2024

Mainly Sunny | Reckless Burning | Rez Grows | Better Boonville | Yard Signs | PSPS Thanks | Fiesta Mexicana | Grape Report | Dogwood | Reelect Katzeff | Harbor Plan | Food Wagon | Information Coordinator | Comedy Show | Forest Service | Book Recommendation | Yesterday's Catch | Foggy Gate | City Notes | Enough Powder | Prop 35 | Prop 36 | Botox Enlightenment | More 36 | Test Pattern | Dam Removal | California Catastrophes | Lunch Counter | Good Journalism | Modern Dance | Fresno Poverty | Cracker Aisle | New Kicker | Niner Faithful | Gaza Destruction | War Criminals | Lead Stories | Loneliness | Taxes

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MAINLY SUNNY skies with some night and morning coastal fog is expected to continue through Thursday. Increasing clouds and a chance for rain is expected Friday afternoon through Saturday. Dry weather is expected to return Sunday and Monday. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): A foggy (yes it's back) 53F on the coast this Wednesday morning. Back to the sun - fog routine until a chance of rain over the weekend. And beyond ? As usual, we'll see.

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ACKERMAN CREEK CAMPER RECKLESSLY STARTS FIRE

On Sunday, October 6, 2024 at approximately 7:53 PM, Deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to investigate a fire and a disturbance in the area of Ackerman Creek, 2100 block of North State Street in Ukiah.

Neighbors in the area called 9-1-1 and stated they could see a fire and a subject next to the fire. A Deputy with Mendocino County Sheriff's Office and an Arson Investigator with Ukiah Valley Fire Authority arrived and contacted Brett Adame, 33, of Ukiah, who was standing near the fire.

The Sheriff's Deputy and arson investigator with the Ukiah Valley Fire Authority conducted an investigation into the cause and origin of the fire. At the conclusion of the investigation, it was determined a campfire had been lit which ultimately escaped containment and caused forest land to burn. It was also determined there was nothing located at the scene that could be used to assist with extinguishing the fire. The fire was ultimately extinguished by personnel with the Ukiah Valley Fire Authority.

Adame was subsequently placed under arrest for Felony Reckless Burning and booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held in lieu of $15,000 bail.

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LEW CHICHESTER (Covelo):

Yesterday’s “Formerly Known As Camp” [a Sheriff’s office presser about pot eradication in Round Valley] leaves out a lot of information known to the locals in Round Valley. Grows on “tribal” properties didn’t get raided, even though the environmental degradation, pesticides, etc. is similar to the grows which were busted. The tribal government has a “cease and desist” order with the sheriff, exempting the tribal properties from state enforcement. That allows all kinds of narco state development on the reservation with extensive grow operations leased out and managed by Spanish individuals from out of the area. A few tribal members are financially benefitting from this arrangement but it has led to a level of corruption and crime which is incompatible with the so-called “compassionate use” fictional element of this particular tribal sovereignty issue.

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BUILD BACK BETTER BOONVILLE (KB)

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TRUMP SIGNS?

Stealing Political Yard Signs Is A Misdemeanor!

Warning: The Fort Bragg Police Department warns that stealing a political yard sign from someone’s private property is a misdemeanor! Punishment will be determined by the Court and can be a fine or other possible penalties.

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RATHER THAN COMPLAIN…

Editor:

It has been seven years this month since the devastating fires, specifically Santa Rosa and Redwood Valley. The tragedy in Redwood Valley took the lives of my niece’s children, Kressa and Kai. They will never be forgotten — Kressa for her artistic flare, Kai for his love of baseball.

There are, however, good things that come out of tragedies. If it weren’t for the 2017 fires, we probably wouldn’t have increased awareness via the Nixle app, the Watch Duty app and others to help fend off fires before they get out of control.

For those complaining about PG&E’s public safety power shut-offs, we didn’t have those in 2017. If we had, it’s very possible my sister would not have lost her two grandchildren, and my niece would not have lost her only two children.

Rather than complaining, be thankful measures are being taken to avoid this type of devastation. Be thankful this type of tragedy didn’t happen to your family.

Jenifer Johnson

Santa Rosa

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HIGHER PAY = LESS WORK, MORE WORKSHOPS

by Mark Scaramella

As expected, nothing much of significance arose at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.

But first, let’s go back to the Board’s April 23, 2024 Board meeting when Supervisor Ted Williams asked CEO Darcie Antle for a monthly budget vs. actual report: “What would it take to get actual vs. budget, at least for previous years?,” asked Williams.

CEO Antle first whined that the last time they produced such a report “we were criticized,” which was not only patently untrue, but is hardly a reason for not providing the Board with ordinary budget reports. We had asked a few routine questions about variances in some departments, but no criticisms were made.

Antle continued, “That is a report we can generate for prior years.”

Williams didn’t ask about prior “years”; he asked for monthly reports.

Antle: “We’ve had a delay in closing out years. Fiscal year 22-23 is still in draft. I’d say we could go back three to five years prior. We should have it by end of the week.”

Guess what never happened at all, much less “next week.”

Williams also asked for copies of the budgets vs. actual from the departments after Antle had inadvertently blurted out that the Departments keep their own internal budget spreadsheets.

After again (falsely) whining that “we were criticized,” Antle replied that “It’s all about timing. Invoices may be late. … It’s not straightforward. … Property taxes only come in once a year. I’m not afraid to do it. But it causes undue stress on the board. So we pulled it back.”

Ms. Antle, who, before being CEO was former CEO Carmel Angelo’s key budget specialist, clearly has no idea what budget reporting even is.

To recap: All Williams had asked for was ordinary departmental budget reporting and copies of the departmental budget spreadsheets referred to by Antle. Antle’s excuse for not providing them was “it causes undue stress on the Board.”

No one on the Board, including Williams, responded nor denied the claim that ordinary budget reports would cause them “undue stress” as if that’s a perfectly good excuse for not providing such ordinary reports.

Since then, neither Williams nor any other board member has inquired about budget reporting, much less Antle’s pseudo-promise of “next week.” They have however given themselves a big raise claiming that whatever they do, it requires special expertise and, in Supervisor McGourty’s frequently stated opinion is, “Really, really hard.”

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Fast forward to Tuesday, the first Board meeting in October.

The board passively accepted an interesting report from Chief Probation Officer Izen Locatelli about the new “pre-trial release program,” a newish screening and review process which everybody hopes will not release dangerous people to the streets. As an aside Mr. Locatelli told the board that he “meets regularly with all nine judges” — just in case you needed a reminder of how many judges Mendo has and why they need their own private $150 million courthouse three long blocks away from supporting departments and the downtown area of the City of Ukiah. The usually rational Locatelli also laughably claimed that those nine judge “are elected officials and everything they do is public.”

Really? When was the last time you heard anything about what the judges do? And when was the last time you voted for a judge who was not running unopposed?

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Burn permit fees are going to go up soon, according to the Air Quality Department. At present a typical burn permit costs $19 from Air Quality; they want to increase that fee by 15% a year until they achieve what they call “full cost recovery.” Other fees for prescribed burns and ag burns and so forth will also go up. The Board asked for some more background info when the formal fee increase proposal is submitted. Supervisor Ted Williams asked that consideration be given to a “blanket” burn permit for all residential parcels because he’s worried that increased fees might cause people to avoid permits and avoid doing “fuel reduction” for fire safety. Apparently there are legal niceties that must be explored first. So don’t expect this idea to go anywhere. (Note: The Board of Superviors is also the Board for the Air Quality Management District, so theoretically they might have this authority. But these fees are the lifeblood of the Air Quality District, we expect they’ll come up with some legality that prevents any blanker permits.

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Supervisor John Haschak bragged that the Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCo) Board that he sits on voted to waste $55k to hire a consultant to assess whether Mendo voters would be “amenable” to a designated road tax. This is clearly outside the scope of LAFCo, but it’s a sneaky way to waste $55k that the Board of Supervisors should be doing if it’s really necessary. Since LAFCo’s revenue is sucked out of the County’s many special districts, this $55k will end up being passed along to the various water, fire, cemetery and other special districts. All the supervisors robotically agreed with Supervisor Mulheren’s claim that there’s not enough money for road repairs in the County’s transpo budget. But nobody pointed out that the Board has never — repeat NEVER — asked the Transportation Department for a budget or road fund status report.

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Supervisor Haschak thought it would be nice if the new board (as of January of next year) held a “two-day workshop” to blather about priorities and planning. Blathershops (not a blithering idiot Harry Potter character, btw) are a perenial favorite of Mendo officials. So, of course, all four of Haschak’s unthinking colleagues thought two days of Blathershops would be a great idea.

Budget reports, project status reports, road fund status, Measure B spending, revenue shortfalls… Not so much.

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Supervisor Glenn McGourty wound up Tuesday’s nearly irrelevant meeting by telling his colleagues that the latest bad wine news was “not worrisome.” (His report left a few things out and confused the issue, so we have annotated it as a public service.)

“I would like to speak a little about the harvesting of wine grapes because I just went through it.”

[Oh, yes. That’s a great reason to talk about wine. McGourty is a small time inland grape grower and former wine advisor for the UC Extension office. He uses surface water from the Russian River to grow his grapes for profit yet he sees no problem being an official making decisions on Russian River water allocations that directly affect his own grape business.]

“This is an interesting time for the wine industry. In a normal year Mendocino County harvests about 55,000 tons of grapes.” [According to the 2021 Crop Report, the latest available, Mendo produced about 47,000 tons of grapes. In 2020 it was close to 55,000 tons. Perhaps covid affected the grapes.]

“That's enough to fill about 2300 trucks and make about 3 million cases of wine and 30 million bottles individually of wine.”

[And who knows how many winos?]

“That's a pretty good sized industry.”

[The crop report estimated that Mendo’s grapes were worth about $85 million in 2021 and about $82 million in 2020. That number does not include bottled wine sales. If you assume $20 per bottle on average (some is sold wholesale, some is sold at retail in tasting rooms), that’s $20 x 30 million or $600 million.]

“This year there is a lot of fruit…”

[“Fruit” is the insider’s cutesy term for “grapes.” The difference is you can eat “fruit,” but most local grapes are for booze production.]

“…that is unsold because there has been a major contraction in the industry going on due to oversupply, overproduction.”

[The irony of a “contraction” caused by an oversupply was lost on McGourty.]

“So of our 55,000 tons that we normally sell we may be off by about 7,000 tons which is significant and it starts to cut into the income of our county's taxes and payrolls.”

[Apart from the typically awkward phrasing, the impact would only be felt if the price per ton stays the same. As can be seen in the crop report, the value of Mendo’s grape crop went up in 2021 by about $2 million even though it produced about 8,000 fewer tons than the prior year. This shows how artificial the entire grape/wine economy is. A significant variable in the wine economy is storage; lots of wine is “aged” every year. In addition, a lot of wine is re-labeled and sold at lower cost off-label prices, often via discounted wine clubs. But wineries won’t pay as much for “fruit” if they have to re-label it at a discount to unload excess inventory while still maintaining “brand integrity,” i.e., higher prices. Other variables include tax considerations — alcoholic beverage taxes must be paid on stored wine — and storage capacity and costs. Etc.]

“It will be impactful. I see it driving home every day. There's a certain amount of vineyards that have been either abandoned or removed. Mostly the older things.”

[“Older things”? A “certain amount”? Actually, the abandoned or removed vineyards are the ones where the grapes can’t be sold for a minimum price to at least cover costs or growers who don’t have solid contracts with buyers; it has very little to do with the age of the grapevines.]

“Typically, what happens in these cycles which happen about every 10 years, about 50,000 acres have to come out statewide of the 550,000 acres of grapes to sort of balance things.”

[McGourty abruptly switched from tonnage to acres; while trying to be clear, he manages to muddle the grapejuice even more. The contraction process is also called a “shakeout” where the big wine outfits buy the marginal or highly leveraged little ones who can’t sell their grapes for what it costs for their Mexicans to produce them. Therefore these operations can’t make their loan or tax payments and become ripe targets for buyouts. If you assume McGourty’s math of 50,000 abandoned or removed acres out of 550,000 acres statewide, that would mean about 9% of Mendo’s 16,500 acres or almost 1500 acres of grapes are either being abandoned or removed. It will be interesting to see if future crop reports show that.]

“So it's cyclical, about every 10 years. And we are in it right now. What’s — I won't say worrisome — but there are shifts in how people consume alcoholic beverages, especially younger people looking at more cocktails and mixed drinks and things in cans [“looking at” … “things in cans”?] as opposed to the traditional very expensive bottle of Cabernet from Napa Valley which may be losing fashion.”

[We doubt that very many “young people” bought “very expensive bottles of Cabernet from Napa Valley.” Not to mention that this is not Napa County.]

“So since we are a major wine producing county I think you should update your information so that you understand what's going on presently.”

[Got it, Mr. Grape, er, Supervisor. Thanks for the non-worrisome update.]

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PAUL KATZEFF IS RUNNING FOR REELECTION TO THE BOARD OF MCHCD

via Marco McClean

Paul Katzeff is on the board of the Mendocino Coast Health Care District. He's running for re-election. He sent me a campaign poster in teal, green and black on two shades of light orange and asked me to show it to my contacts. You're my contacts, so here's the text of it:

November 5th, elect Paul Katzeff for MCHCD (Mendocino Coast Health Care District board)

Linking Community Health and Happiness with the Mendocino Coast Health Care System

It is time to integrate traditional and alternative approaches to wellness in our Hospitals.

Herbal Medicine ~ Native Medicine ~ Movement Medicine ~ Music Medicine ~ Cannabis Medicine ~ Food Medicine.

“In support of the Blue Zone concept, | have championed a feasibility study for a Community Cannery. Let’s create the missing institution to help us build a new economy based on healthy food production and consumption. Let’s eat what we grow!”

MCHCD Director since January 2023 - Vice Chair, Chair of the long-term planning committee

Master’s Degree in Social Work

53 years on the Mendocino Coast - (not yet an “old timer”)

50 years as CEO and Co-Founder of Thanksgiving Coffee Company

I know how to read and evaluate a Balance Sheet, I’m a "bean counter”

I am not affilitated with any political party. Health care is not a partisan issue!

A strong and sound hospital program is the backbone of our coastal communities healthcare system.

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AMANDA SHEFFER FAIRALL:

Fairall’s FARM food wagon will be at Anderson Valley Brewing Company on Friday.

Our last Anderson Valley Brewing Company date of 2024, come out to eat & enjoy the fabulous music with a cold one in the AVBC Beer Park 1ish-7ish

**specials will be our Mac Attack Bowl, Mac Daddy Wrap (Mac n cheese in a wrap with your meat choice), Buffalo Blue Chicken Tacos or Chili cheese loaded sweet potato fries (veggie or meat options available).

We prefer cash/venmo but also can accept cards/Apple Pay

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COUNT US IN, AMBER!

Good morning,

My name is Amber, and I am the Public Information Coordinator for the City of Fort Bragg. I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and discuss the possibility of sending press releases directly to you as they are generated. I was formerly the Lead Investigator for the Department of Consumer Affairs Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, and I have been an Embalmer for just shy of thirty (30) years. I moved to Fort Bragg after my husband retired and began working for the City I have always wanted to live in.

I believe that building a relationship with you as a news professional would be mutually beneficial, and I would like to make myself available as a contact for any city-related inquiries you may have.

Thank you for considering this opportunity. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards,

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BRUCE MCEWEN:

MEMORIES: The mind drifts off down the gutter. Like it did when I came out of Judge Moormans’s Boonville Meet & Greet at Lauren’s and found Judge Behnke humbly sitting on the sidewalk with an ancient setter/retriever mix prattling platitudes to the old dog. I was so moved I sat down too and tried to say something profound, but my tongue got tied I started to stutter and my mind rolled off down the gutter. (Thank you, Guy Clark.)

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The Forest Service is cutting its seasonal workforce and public lands will suffer - High Country News

https://www.hcn.org/articles/the-forest-service-is-cutting-its-seasonal-workforce-and-public-lands-will-suffer/

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WHERE THE WEST ENDS

Editor,

I want to pitch you about the book ‘Where the West Ends’ by Nancy Kay Webb (1944 -2023)

What Kind of Place (Book) is this Anyway? A narrative contemporary history woven into the history of the south coast of Mendocino - Garcia River and Pt. Arena region.

Aside from the fact the the writing is exquisite - the book deals with issues consistent with the general conditions of "Westerning" (a la Edward Abbey). Persistently and eloquently presented are the issues that face us all - regional history, resource use and development - agricultural and development conundrums, functions of a muiti-ethnic and multi-valued community, community building, and personal history in the midst of all this. And…this is all revealed in a most engaging way (Fascinating and engaging).

Good writing and good exposition of history and the local story. Check out some writing samples - attached. Her writing is just so good and she is so present in the book. I lot of story and history that you just don't know. You will find the book fascinating. The politics, social, and land use issues are rife.

Also included: depiction/discussion of the requisite actions leading to the recovery of the Garcia River. (BTW the Garcia is exhibiting very strong recovery of fisheries (chinook, coho, pink salmon and steelhead trout)and is one of the only rivers in the State showing such robust recovery.

Those who pick this book up, can not put it down. You may think you know the stories. You don't.

The book sells for $27 delivered from me - or on Amazon, Barnes & Nobel, and BookBaby (Book store) also available in e-book for $5.

I think you will like this book about the Pt. Arena region. The story is fascinating - the development of the region around Pt. Arena and the Garcia River. A Contemporary history of Pt. Arena and the south coast woven into what went on before - from the beginning of time.

— Alan Levine

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What Kind Of Place Is This Anyway?

Where the West Ends is story of place: The Garcia River and the City of Point Arena - a narrative history of the region and its inhabitants, past and present (from the Spanish Land Grants and early settlers, including those where here before us - to present) - told from a historical and personal point of view. This book explores views on land use - logging, agriculture, community, and how to restore a river (conditions and actions precedent to initiation of the recovery of the Garcia River).

The writing and research in this book is impeccable.

Nancy Kay was passionate about the Northern California coast and Point Arena in particular. Her book, Where the West Ends, is a compilation of geology, geography, history and personal experiences in and around Point Arena.

Nancy Kay's voice lives on in her meticulously researched and referenced book, one that is unique to the literature about Northern California. She writes about native populations, newcomers, and folks brought to life by real court records from the Point Arena Court House. She explores the use and misuse of rivers and fishing, redwoods and timber, farmers and land use. Nancy Kay speaks of community, while telling stories of place, both historical and contemporary. Her own life experiences bring the book to life, even as she explores relevant topics related to the Northern California coast.

The book is available from me, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BookBaby https://store.bookbaby.com/book/where-the-west-ends,

Here is the opening:

CHAPTER ONE

What Kind Of Place Is This Anyway?

The hazards are in the place, woven right into the place itself, so we learn to measure security like this: What a fine day! No storm ripped up my roof, no fox ate my hens, no temblor shattered my windows.

The menace is in the place, elemental, but the menace doesn't reign alone. Its consort is raw beauty. A complicated duality of place. Unapproachable, the Redwood Coast beckons. Inhospitable, it invites. Attractive, it forbids. Exotic/provincial. Bounteous/closefisted. Binary compounds, matched pairs.

A splendid, eye-opening landscape, built of faults, folds, and fog, piles out of the ocean, straight up and out of the ocean floor to be scored, grooved, chiseled, trenched, and gouged by the dozens upon dozens of watercourses perpetually draining the high ground, freshets gushing past boulders and ferns and dark, wind-bent pines on their way to a white and green sea.

The Redwood Coast, shouldered between the wide Pacific Ocean and the low, rounded mountain peaks and ridges known collectively as the Coast Ranges, is raw, new land, land not altogether settled or ready for domestication. To the north, the Gorda Plate cleaves to the North American Plate in an implacable, rock-crushing embrace. In the south and west, the Pacific Plate grinds past the North American Plate. Two hundred miles in fifteen-million years, pushing towards the northwest in sudden, violent lunges.

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CATCH OF THE DAY, Tuesday, October 8, 2024

THADDEUS BENDER, 32, Mesa, Arkansas/Ukiah. DUI.

TRAVIS BONSON, 44, Ukiah. Parole violation.

JAMES BRAITHWAITE, 65, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-under influence, probation revocation.

BRITTANY DAVIS, 34, Ukiah. Disobeying court order, resisting.

KENDALL JENSEN, 38, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, probation revocation.

ANDREA KENT, 62, Ukiah. DUI.

TIMOTHY MCILAVIN, 55, Hopland. Intimate touching against the will of the victim, resisting, probation revocation.

ELADIO MORFIN, 31, Santa Rosa/Ukiah. Failure to appear.

FEDERIO MUNOZ, 35, Ukiah. Parole violation.

NAEDEAN PARKER, 18, Willits. Resisting.

KYLE PINCKNEY, 38, Fort Bragg. Domestic battery.

SEBASTIAN RABANO, 44, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, parole violation.

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CITY NOTES:

A friend commented: “I sometimes walk six miles to avoid taking Muni.” Me too, depending on how my legs feel, I sometimes walk six miles west all the way to 7th Avenue rather than board a packed Muni, on a hot day, not that I ever click my heels in anticipation of the experience. Muni is often unpleasant in ways large and small, from buses with windows blacked out with advertising so passengers can’t see out (which says it all about management’s regard for its customers), to the constant mechanized voice reminders to “hold on,” to feral co-passengers, to drivers who range from the verifiably insane to the merely rude and stupid to the saintly.

I'VE experienced the entire Muni gambit, from irritating to frightening. A minor encounter one afternoon at the foot of Market Street is illustrative of the irritating end of the spectrum. I’d been at the ballpark, then into the Ferry Building for a post-game cup of Peets and an hour of people watching on a bench outside, confirming my opinion that a national dress code was long overdue. I crossed the Embarcadero to Market where, as I approached, I was happy to see the 2 Clement at the bus stop, just sitting there with its door open, its engine idling, its driver, a portly white man, at the wheel. All for me!, I silently exulted, a gift from the public transit gods! I bounded up the buses’ three steps, flashing my wife’s senior pass at the driver, who half rose out of his driver’s seat and yelled virtually in my face, “Out of service! Get off. Can’t you see I’m out of service?”

OF COURSE. Silly me. A bus idling at a bus stop with its door open and its uniformed driver at the wheel? What else could it be but out of service?

I suggested, politely, in my best calming, therapeutic voice I keep ready for encounters with psychos, “Why don’t you close the door if you’re out of service?” The driver, mute, looked straight ahead.

I DISMOUNTED. A black female driver appeared. The psycho driver got off his out of service bus without looking at me. I fought off the temptation to remind him that fat guys are supposed to be happy.

THE NEW DRIVER welcomed me. “You can sit down on the bus if you want, but I can’t leave for another 15 minutes because of the schedule.” I thanked her and got back on, so pleased with her graciousness I wrote down the bus number and called in a commendation to the bus barn headquarters on Presidio.

A KINDLY SOUNDING woman answered the phone. I explained that “driver number 2413 was very nice, but before her, male driver 1435, asked me if he could see my private parts. I’m a senior citizen from Mendocino County, and we don't do that kind of thing in my home town of Boonville. I thought I should report him because I doubt Muni wants perverts driving its buses.” The lady on the other end of the line paused before she said, “We’ll make a note of that, sir. Thank you for calling.”

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KATHY WYLIE

Worth a read:

This California ballot measure promises money for health care. Its critics warn it could backfire

by Kristen Hwang

Among the blitz of election ads flooding TV, social media and street corners, you won’t see any opposition to a ballot measure proposing to lock in billions of dollars to pay doctors more for treating low-income patients. But opponents of Proposition 35 have a warning even if they don’t have the money to pay for ads: The measure could backfire and cause the state to lose billions in federal funding.…

https://calmatters.org/health/2024/10/prop-35-health-insurance-tax/

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ACCORDING TO TODAY’S REPORT by Chronicle reporter Sophia Bollag Governor Newsom opposes Proposition 36 because “It’s about mass incarceration, not mass treatment. What an actual insult it is to say it’s about mass treatment when there’s not a dollar attached to it.” Bollag adds, “The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, which estimates how much proposed laws will cost, found the measure will actually ‘reduce the amount the state must spend on mental health and drug treatment, school truancy and dropout prevention, and victim services’ by tens of millions of dollars each year.” According to Bollag, “That’s because Prop 47, the ballot measure Prop 36 would partially undo, used the money saved by keeping people out of prison for low-level theft and drug crimes to fund rehabilitation and treatment programs aimed at keeping people from committing crimes in the first place. If Prop 36 passes, it would cut into those savings by putting more people in jail and prison. That means there would be less money available for those treatment and rehabilitation programs. Supporters of the measure acknowledge that it would drive up costs to the state but have argued California needs to crack down on drug possession and retail theft.”

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Let’s see if we get this. Opponents of Prop 36 essentially claim that Prop 47, which effectively decriminalized some “minor” theft and drug crimes, saved money for incareration and used it to prevent those crimes. Further, Prop 36 would “cut into those savings by putting more people in jail and prison.” Newsom says Prop 36 is bad because “there’s not a dollar attached to it,” and that therefore it wouldn’t produce the kind of coerced treatment that Prop 36 proponents claim.

The trouble with these arguments is that there’s no evidence that Prop 47 “saved” money by not incarcerating low level offenders. Sheriff Kendall and other supporters of Prop 36 say that without a “stick” to compel drug addicts into treatment, lots of people stay on the streets committing crimes and using drugs. Nobody has estimated how much that costs either. Newsom’s claim that he’d only support Prop 36 if there was treatment money associated with it is specious because there’s already lots of money earmarked for “treatment,” but, as with Mendocino County’s Measure B unspent treatment money, it hasn’t made much difference to the kinds of criminals Prop 36 is aimed at. The new wing of Mendo’s jail is supposed to be for some kind of treatment for the drug-addled/mentally ill who don’t otherwise qualify for the billions spent on mental health or treatment services. Yet nobody has objected to that purpose for the new wing of the jail. Proponents of Prop 36 say it will coerce some low level criminals into “treatment,” by giving them the option of jail or treatment. Just allocating money to treatment but not steering those who need it into it is a failed idea. We’d like to think that at least some of the people who will end up in jail or prison if Prop 36 passes will benefit from it via a temporarily imposed abstinance or treatment, and society will benefit from them being given a time out from whatever catch and release crimes they have been getting away with.

(Mark Scaramella)

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CALIFORNIA’S PROP 36 TAPS INTO THE TOUGH-ON-CRIME PUSH. HERE’S WHAT IT WOULD ACTUALLY DO

by Sophia Bollag

Proposition 36, a measure to increase punishments for drug possession and theft, has emerged as perhaps the most high-profile measure on California ballots as residents grapple with how to address crime.

Proponents say the measure to increase jail sentences will make streets safer and hold thieves and drug users accountable. Opponents argue it would mark a return to failed “tough on crime” policies of the past that won’t address the homelessness, crime and drug issues proponents say it will.

Prop 36 would roll back parts of a measure voters approved in 2014 to downgrade drug possession and thefts worth less than $950 to misdemeanors. The 2014 law, known as Prop 47, intended to divert money from locking up low-level offenders into rehabilitation programs, but critics say it went too far and convinced thieves they wouldn’t face consequences for stealing.

Prop 36 would eliminate the $950 threshold for a third theft, meaning someone caught stealing three times could be charged with a felony, regardless of the value of the merchandise stolen. It would do the same for a third drug possession charge. That could add years of jail time for people convicted of those crimes.

The measure would also increase jail time for organized retail theft and includes provisions to compel people with multiple drug possession convictions into treatment.

“We are in a crisis in California and Prop 36 is the first step in order to get back accountability and responsibility for theft crimes and drug addiction,” Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp told reporters at a press conference last week.

Opponents argue that increasing punishments for lower-level crimes makes it harder for people to turn their lives around after they are caught stealing or doing drugs. They have focused on Prop 36’s lack of funding for treatment and rehabilitation services they say are the right answer to the problem.

“It promises solutions to problems like homelessness and drug addiction, but there is absolutely no funding behind these empty promises,” San Diego criminal justice reform advocate Geneviéve Jones-Wright told reporters during an anti-Prop 36 press conference last week. “Felony convictions saddle individuals with lifelong barriers to housing, employment and education and nearly make reintegration impossible.”

The initiative has divided California Democrats. Many moderate Democrats, including San Francisco Mayor London Breed and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, have endorsed the measure, joining Republicans who have tried for years to overturn Prop 47.

The Democratic coalition supporting the proposal has particularly focused on the part of the measure that aims to compel people into drug addiction treatment.

The measure would let district attorneys charge people convicted of possessing or selling drugs at least twice with “treatment-mandated felonies.” If convicted, offenders would be required to complete drug or mental health treatment or serve three years in state prison. The measure does not contain funding for that treatment.

“Some have argued that this would return us to an era of mass incarceration,” Mahan told the Chronicle in July. “But I believe it gives us an opportunity to enter an era of mass treatment.”

That framing has earned particular condemnation from Gov. Gavin Newsom — the most prominent Democrat who has come out against the measure.

“It’s about mass incarceration, not mass treatment,” Newsom told reporters last month. “What an actual insult it is to say it’s about mass treatment when there’s not a dollar attached to it.”

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, which estimates how much proposed laws will cost, found the measure will actually “reduce the amount the state must spend on mental health and drug treatment, school truancy and dropout prevention, and victim services” by tens of millions of dollars each year.

That’s because Prop 47, the ballot measure Prop 36 would partially undo, used the money saved by keeping people out of prison for low-level theft and drug crimes to fund rehabilitation and treatment programs aimed at keeping people from committing crimes in the first place.

If Prop 36 passes, it would cut into those savings by putting more people in jail and prison. That means there would be less money available for those treatment and rehabilitation programs.

Supporters of the measure acknowledge that it would drive up costs to the state but have argued California needs to crack down on drug possession and retail theft.

Opponents of Prop 36 have reported less than $4 million in donations so far. The biggest donors to the opposition effort are oil heiress Stacy H. Schusterman, the San Francisco-based Heising-Simons Action Fund and documentary producer Patty Quillin, who is married to Netflix founder Reed Hastings.

So far, supporters have reported raising more than $13.5 million in contributions, mostly from large retailers. Walmart, Target and Home Depot provided much of the initial cash for the measure and helped fund the signature-gathering effort to place it on the ballot.

In an effort to fracture support for the measure, Newsom and legislative leaders negotiated with the California Retailers Association, which represents large retailers, to enact a series of laws to target organized retail theft rings and make it easier for district attorneys to prosecute theft. Since Newsom signed those measures into law, donations from large retailers have petered out, with just Walmart continuing to contribute more than a million to the measure since Newsom signed them.

(SF Chronicle)

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CALIFORNIA'S UNPRECEDENTED DAM REMOVAL

by Sam Mauhay-Moore & Katie Dowd

California’s enormous Klamath Dam removal project, the likes of which has never been seen on Earth, is now complete — and “ahead of schedule and on budget,” no less.

“This is a monumental achievement — not just for the Klamath River but for our entire state, nation, and planet,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “By taking down these outdated dams, we are giving salmon and other species a chance to thrive once again, while also restoring an essential lifeline for tribal communities who have long depended on the health of the river.”

The fight to remove dams along the Klamath began over two decades ago, when poor water quality and river flows caused tens of thousands of the river’s fish, mostly Chinook salmon, to die in a massive fish kill in 2002. For thousands of years, Chinook salmon have been a fundamental source of physical, spiritual and economic sustenance to tribal communities throughout the Klamath Basin.

After the fish kill, tribes like the Yurok and Karuk began a fierce advocacy campaign that insisted that removing the dams is a necessary step toward reviving the original ecosystems, migratory routes and spawning grounds of the salmon. A plan to begin the dam removal process was approved by federal regulators in 2022.

“The tribally led effort to dismantle the dams is an expression of our sacred duty to maintain balance in the world,” Yurok tribal chairman Joseph L. James said in a statement. “That is why we fought so hard for so long to tear down the dams and bring the salmon home.”

Now, the river can flow freely between Lake Ewauna in Klamath Falls, Oregon, to the Pacific Ocean for the first time since the dams were constructed between 1903 and 1962. The project has been called the “world’s largest dam removal effort” by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “The amount of habitat opened up on the Klamath is equivalent to the distance between Portland, Maine, and Philadelphia — a journey through seven states,” NOAA wrote earlier this year.

Although the dam removal is complete, more work remains. It will take years to restore 2,200 acres that were underwater for decades.

“This is proof of what’s possible when we come together to prioritize our environment, our people, and future generations,” Newsom said.

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CALIFORNIA CATASTROPHES, The Book

by Gary Griggs

This comprehensive account of California’s numerous and perilous natural disasters explores how a unique combination of forces has affected Californians throughout the state's history and carries a sobering message about our short disaster memories.

California has more natural hazards per square mile than any other state, but this hasn’t deterred people from moving here. Entire California towns and regions frequently contend with destruction caused by earthquakes, floods, landslides and debris flows, and sea-level rise and coastal erosion. As Gary Griggs demonstrates in California Catastrophes, few years go by without a disaster of some kind, and residents often rebuild in the same locations that were just destroyed.

Considering the current climate crisis and increasing environmental inequalities, the stakes are growing ever higher. This book dives into the history of the state’s vulnerability to natural hazards, why and where these events occur, and how Californians can better prepare going forward. A mix of photographs and maps both historical and contemporary orients readers within the state’s sprawling landscapes and provides glimpses of some of the geologic risks in each region. With the final chapter, Griggs issues a call to action and challenges readers to envision a safer, more equitable, and sustainable future.

About the Author

Gary Griggs is Distinguished Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he has taught for more than fifty years. His research and teaching have focused on natural disasters and the California coast.

Table of Contents

“Those who come to California are awestruck and inspired by its vast, diverse, and dynamic wilderness. The power of nature is on full display in the immense beauty and bounty of our home, as well as the natural disasters that have helped shape our communities and history. As a proud Californian, Gary Griggs understands to his core this tension and deftly details how moments of catastrophe have molded our landscapes and the culture of the Golden State. Through earthquakes, floods, mudslides, and wildfires, our resilient state and its people have continued to persevere and rebuild. As stewards of our environment, each of us has a responsibility to learn the lessons of our past failures and successes and carry those stories with us as we work to live in harmony with the land we love.” — U.S. Congressman Jimmy Panetta, California District 19

“Californians live in one of the most beautiful—and disaster-prone—places on the planet. Whether facing an earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption, or the wild swings between drought, fire, and floods due to a changing climate, we in California have to be aware of and ready for natural disasters. Griggs has long been a voice for being prepared for that extreme event just around the corner. He has done it again with California Catastrophes, a must-read for every long-term Californian.” — John Laird, California State Senator and former California Secretary for Natural Resources

“Griggs recounts the lessons we all need to learn from the historic and prehistoric earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, droughts, and floods that repeatably strike California. His lesson for us all is that we cannot control the natural forces shaping our planet, but it is within our power to prevent them from becoming human and economic disasters." — Marcia McNutt, President of the National Academy of Sciences and former Director of the United States Geological Survey

“This book does a masterful job explaining risks we face in the Golden State so they are understandable to scientists and generalists alike. Griggs tells a fascinating story about how our geography, geology, and natural history are woven together in unique disaster risks. As global climate change accelerates and compounds disaster risks in California, there are few books more important to read for those of us with a stake in California’s future.” — Wade Crowfoot, California Secretary for Natural Resources.

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The Woolworths lunch counter, particularly those located in downtown areas, evokes a sense of nostalgic Americana, representing an era when department store dining was a popular and quintessential experience. Woolworths, known for its five-and-dime stores, offered a lunch counter that became an iconic feature of its retail locations.

During the mid-20th century, Woolworths lunch counters were famous for their affordable and simple fare, such as sandwiches, soups, and pies, served in a casual and accessible setting. They became social hubs where people from various walks of life could gather for a quick meal or a coffee break while shopping. The counters were typically lined with stools and offered a straightforward menu that appealed to the everyday consumer.

In these lunch counters, patrons might have encountered a range of classic American diner staples. The experience was marked by a sense of community and comfort, with friendly counter staff and a no-frills environment. The design often included chrome fixtures, checkered floors, and a menu board displaying daily specials.

Woolworths lunch counters also played a notable role in the civil rights movement. In the 1960s, they became the focal points of sit-ins, particularly in the southern United States, where activists protested segregation and demanded equal service. These sit-ins were crucial in the broader struggle for civil rights and highlighted the lunch counters as places of significant social and political change.

Today, Woolworths lunch counters are remembered with fondness for their role in American culture and retail history, as well as for their symbolic significance in the fight for civil rights.

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THE REAL HORROR, to me, lies in the fact that there is absolutely no vehicle in American journalism for the kind of “sensitive” and “intellectual” and essentially moral/merciless reporting that we all understand is necessary — not only for the survival of good journalism in this country, but for the dying idea that you can walk up to a newsstand and find something that will tell you what is really happening.

— Hunter S. Thompson

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ACROSS THE TRACKS

A community of migrants and unhoused people call the shuttered downtown of this California city home.

by David Bacon

Fresno, California — In the most productive agricultural area in the world, poverty is endemic. Crisscrossed by irrigation canals and railroad tracks, Fresno is the working-class capital and largest city of California’s San Joaquin Valley, a city where people speak Spanish as readily as English.

Here, the polarization of rich and poor is a constant theme in the city’s history and in its present. The banks and growers of the valley built ornate office buildings and movie palaces when the downtown was their showplace. Now, as developers have abandoned Fresno for the suburbs, the theater entrances and building doorways have become sleeping spaces and refuges from the rain for those with no fixed home.

Fresno has one of the oldest Mexican barrios in California. Here, the abandonment is visible in closed theaters and dance halls, which leave their marquees as vestiges. Alongside them are small taquerias trying to survive. Today, the street in front of the Azteca Theater is hauntingly empty at night, but older residents remember when Cesar Chavez and a column of grape strikers stopped in front on F Street in 1966. The strikers were marching from Delano to Sacramento, and hundreds turned out to hear Chavez speak in the street outside.

Bisecting downtown are the railroad tracks and the old Highway 99: a defining geography for the settlements of unhoused people. Community activists and the homeless people in the area have pressured a normally intransigent city government to provide at least enough housing to keep the dream of life off the streets alive. In 2019, Fresno had a larger percentage of “unsheltered” homeless people than any other city in the country—that is, people sleeping on sidewalks, in cars, or in places the government calls “not suitable for human habitation.”

People try to survive no matter their circumstances. In Fresno, they often win community support as they fight for living space in a hard, bare-knuckle city. Mike Rhodes cofounded Community Alliance, one of California’s longest-lived community newspapers, and spent 18 years denouncing the city for its abuse of homeless people.

Rhodes’s book, Dispatches from the War Zone, recounts the city’s many efforts over the years to drive encampments off the streets, and the community’s resistance. At one point he asked the city manager, “With about a thousand homeless people in the downtown area, and inadequate shelter space available, what is the city going to do with people who are homeless?” The community was given no answer about where people should go. Activists like Lisa Apper, with the Saint Benedict Catholic Worker, stood in front of the garbage trucks where people’s possessions would have been thrown, saying, “We have got to take a stand for justice.”

In a recent issue of Community Alliance, Bob McCloskey reports that city Homeless Assistance and Response Teams “relentlessly push [people] daily to move on with no place to go.” The city council turned down a proposal to allow people living on sidewalks in freezing temperatures to seek shelter in the city Convention Center. Gloria Wyatt told council members, “I am not used to being homeless, but I cannot cover rent. Our tent was torn down this morning, and we have no place to go. I am scared.”

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49ERS SIGNING NEW KICKER WHO USED TO BE AN AEROSPACE ENGINEER

by Alex Simon

The San Francisco 49ers needed a kicker right away after Jake Moody injured his ankle while making a tackle during Sunday’s loss, and the man they’ve signed to the job comes with quite the unusual background.

The 49ers are signing Matthew Wright ahead of Thursday’s game in Seattle, according to multiple reports. Wright was a kicker for the University of Central Florida and started as a systems engineer with Lockheed Martin, an aerospace defense and manufacturing company, while in college. For the first few years post-graduation, Lockheed Martin kept a job available for him as he pursued his NFL dreams. Wright’s best NFL stint led him to leave the company and pursue kicking full time. There’s no question that the 49ers now have the NFL market cornered on aerospace engineering majors between Wright and backup quarterback Josh Dobbs.

As important as a kicker can be for a team’s success, life can be a bit unusual if you don’t have a roster spot locked down (like Moody does with the 49ers). On Sunday, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said that kickers are “almost independent contractors,” as he noted the team needed to get a few kickers in for a tryout on Monday.

Wright’s journey after UCF shows that. Wright has signed with eight different NFL teams since 2019 and has mostly bounced around practice squads for the past five years. He’s kicked in a total of 24 games for four different teams, with his longest stint coming with the Jaguars in 2021 after their kicker, Josh Lambo, lost the confidence of the team after several misses to start the year. But while Wright had solid numbers that year (21-for-24 on field goals, 13-for-15 on extra points), he was cut before 2022.

Wright is at least a little familiar with the 49ers; he had a brief stint on the team’s practice squad in 2023. With Moody recovering from a high ankle sprain on his right kicking foot, Wright can expect to be with the 49ers for a few weeks — as long as he performs well.

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MIKE ROSS:

I grew up in the 80’s during the Candlestick era. Joe, Jerry, Roger, Ronnie, John, Tom, Brent, etc. The crowd was always in the game and always had our team’s back. I just went to the last game at Levi and I was really disappointed. A TON of empty seats and people barely even stood up on 3rd down when our D was on the feild. I love my team, but I’m not a fan of a lot of our current “fans.” And a lot of you “fans” exposed yourselves last year against Detroit saying “I’m done with this team” at halftime. That’s not a fan. That’s the opposite of “faithful.” Don’t get me wrong, we do have some die hard fans, but they are becoming more and more rare. The Faithful need to do better.

ED NOTE: Class angle, Mike, apply social class analysis. The old fans were more real because they didn't have to take out a second mortgage for a ticket. The new fans in that awful mall-like stadium a zillion miles south of Frisco are softies and, mostly, only became fans an hour after these Niners started winning. Candlestick was perfect for football, too windy and cold for baseball. My credentials? I saw Y.A. Tittle at Kezar! There aren't many of us left who can make that claim. I think the prob with this crew of ominously stumbling Niners is Shanahan, his play calling, his apparent inability to adjust to changing on-field circumstances and his vibe, which a few players hint at but of course aren't about to comment on publicly, and by which I mean the soulless, petulant way the personality-challenged Shanahan interacts with his team. My idea of a coach, the archetype? Ladies and gentlemen, Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions!

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JAYNE THOMAS:

Thought this would interest you.

BBC History Magazine: Opinion: “The current destruction in Gaza is more thorough than any ancient siege.”

Back in the mid-nineties, I went on a journey following in the footsteps of Alexander the Great, travelling down through Lebanon to Egypt, and I stayed in Gaza. Alexander had waged a brutal siege of the city, which ended with the vindictive killing of the heroic governor, Batis, who was dragged around…

Read in BBC History Magazine: https://apple.news/A6KLcuYelQ8-yQe_pSGpLtg

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https://t.co/6SIIibCzWA

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LEAD STORIES, WEDNESDAY'S NYT

Brazil Unblocks X After Musk Backs Down

Tracking Hurricane Milton’s Storm Surge Risk Across Florida

Israel’s Defense Minister Postpones Trip to Washington, U.S. Says

Israel Sends More Soldiers Into Lebanon as Strikes Hit Beirut and Damascus

Harris Proposes Medicare Benefits for Home Care, Vision and Hearing

Afghan Man Arrested on Charges of Plotting Election Day Attack

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“The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from being a rare and curious phenomenon, peculiar to myself and to a few other solitary men, is the central and inevitable fact of human existence. When we examine the moments, acts, and statements of all kinds of people -- not only the grief and ecstasy of the greatest poets, but also the huge unhappiness of the average soul…we find, I think, that they are all suffering from the same thing. The final cause of their complaint is loneliness.”

— Thomas Wolfe, ‘God’s Lonely Man’

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