Letters 10/21/2024

• A Very Limited Noise Ordinance
• The DA’s Vindictive Escapade
• The Toxicity Of Woke Politics
• Kids Being Taught To Build Nuclear Submarines.
• Mountain Lions In Our Albion Community
• Trump On Climate Change
• Fact Check - Western Most Point In Contiguous US
• Vulgarity Everywhere
• Delang Tells It!
• Little Lies, Big Lies & Damnable Lies

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A VERY LIMITED NOISE ORDINANCE

Chris Skyhawk: In his latest Supervisor’s Report John Haschak mentioned the proposed noise ordinance, I made this comment on the Mendocino Voice Facebook page, and have taken the liberty of cc’ing John here…. Thanks!

Hi John,

Thanks for your article, with regard to a noise ordinance, would this apply to agriculture? I know some years back people in Anderson Valley found the anti frost machines to be horrible. I don’t remember the entire history or its final resolution but I know Mark Scaramella of the AVA worked hard with AV people, whose lives were seriously impacted by the practice.

Chris Skyhawk

Fort Bragg

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Mark Scaramella Notes: As stated explicitly in their response to my original lawsuit in 2014, the County’s position has always been that the state’s Right To Farm ordinance means that because frost fans were used in the Ukiah area as far back as the 1950s for pear growing, the introduction of them in Anderson Valley in 2013 is exempt from nuisance complaints because the fans are a “pre-existing agricultural practice,” never mind that they were new to Anderson Valley and obviously not exempt. (In fact, the fact that the County used Ukiah as the basis of their “pre-existing” claim proves that they were new to Anderson Valley and not exempt. But we were unable to pursue that specious argument when we had to settle the suit with our neighbors because we ran out of lawyer money.) When the issue first arose, the local wine industry website posted a response with a false claim that “Mendocino County is the only county in the state of California which requires permits for wind fans which address noise, placement and need.” When we tried to introduce that claim in court, Judge Henderson said that because it wasn’t a signed statement it didn’t constitute cognizable evidence. The truth was that the only thing wind fan permits require is an engineering certification that the concrete pad and electrical system meet ordinary code requirements. However, now that more than ten years have passed since the introduction of the fans to Anderson Valley, we’re quite sure that the county’s “pre-existing practice” claim has more credence because no one but us has filed a formal complaint for the last ten years. Therefore, Anderson Valley no longer has any standing to claim that the fans are new to the Valley. (However, the existing nuisance is a disclosable nuisance in any real estate transactions, thus lowering the property value of parcels in the vicinity of wine industry wind fans.)

PS. The County also told the Court that because I had asked that existing wind fan permits be rescinded and undergo the very process the wine industry falsely claimed was in place, the County — the COUNTY mind you, not the grape growers — demanded that I put up a $1 million bond because requiring such permits consisted an enormous existential economic threat to the local wine industry. The County and the wine industry are essentially one entity, and although they do not directly engage in county politics, they have a de facto veto over anything the County may do that might threaten their interests. (Recall that when everyone but the wine industry supported a mild, minimal County grading ordinance as required by the County’s General Plan, the wine industry reps steadfastly refused to consider any such ordinance that would apply to “ag,” thus preventing the Grading Ordinance committee from reaching the Board ordained “consensus” on any proposals, and, finally, after years of time-wasting meetings, giving up and disbanding.

PPS. Only two locals filed letters to the court in support of my lawsuit (Steve Sparks and Neil Darling, if you must know), neither of whom were among the more vocal local wind-fan complainers. No one offered any financial support for my suit. The late uber-hippie John Llewellyn approached me with his raggedy band of “supporters” after our one and only court hearing in Ukiah offering “anything I can do to help.” I asked him to write an open letter denouncing then-Supervisor Dan Hamburg for doing nothing about the problem. Llewellyn said Hamburg was “a friend of mine,” and that he’d be happy to talk to him. I replied, “No, I don’t want you to talk to him; I only want an open letter of denunciation.” Llewellyn repeated his offer to talk to Hamburg. I replied with an expletive that I now regret, but only because if its vulgarity, not its underlying sentiment. Llewellyn was naïve but well-meaning, I guess. I already knew that lots of locals had privately “talked” with Hamburg about the problem and got nothing but bland platitudes and bureaucratrese; no action, no introduction of a permit process, no official statements, not even an acknowledgement of the level of nuisance. In the end, I ran out of money to continue the suit and had to drop the County as a respondent after two of the three offending grape growing neighbors offered to upgrade their wind fans from the much noisier 2-bladed versions to less window-rattling 3-bladed models. But those two neighbors are the only grape growers who upgraded in the Valley, and, as I later learned, they received subsidies to do it from the State Water Board because wind fans use less water than overhead sprinklers for comparable frost protection.

PPPS. We have not paid much attention to Supervisor McGourty’s obvious political opportunism in raising the idea of a noise ordinance because 1) the local Farm Bureau (aka wine industry) rep told the Board last Tuesday that any such ordinance must exempt agriculture due to the “right to farm” ordinance and no one on the Board expressed any disagreement or doubt. And 2, If a noise ordinance is ever enacted — which we seriously doubt given the prevailing lethargy of official Mendocino County — it will address only loud parties, barking dogs and the occasional rooster, if that, and ineffectually to boot. (Imagine trying to enforce a loud-party offender complaint at midnight…) These days Haschak seems more interested in pursuing his latest politically opportunistic proposal of somehow limiting political contributions to local campaigns. He’s about as likely to be receptive to complaints about wind fan noise as Netanyahu is to suggestions that he scale back his assault on Gaza.

BTW (to Mr. Skyhawk): The people of Anderson Valley who are not connected to the wine industry still think the wind fans are horrible; it wasn’t just “a few years back.”)

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THE DA’S VINDICTIVE ESCAPADE

Editor,

It appears increasingly likely that D.A. David Eyster’s case against suspended County Auditor Chamise Cubbison and fired County Payroll Manager Paula Kennedy will fall apart. It never seemed to hold much, if any, water.

Eyster doesn’t recognize and seems unconcerned with the costs he’s incurred on taxpayers’ behalf — first in trying to get us to pay for “training” in the form of steak dinners for staff and their spouses, and then by running up court costs, sheriff’s department hours, and outside counsel’s legal fees (at $400/hour!). Most likely, expensively, and deservedly: Coming soon! A wrongful termination suit from Cubbison, for back pay and benefits, mental distress, her legal fees, etc.

How much has this pointless debacle cost us? Is someone keeping track? It’s got to be far more than the $68,000 in question.

Is Eyster going to reimburse the County for this vindictive escapade?

Jean Arnold

Mendocino

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THE TOXICITY OF WOKE POLITICS

Editor:

I’ve been engaged in numerous online “discussions” with Cult Blue members who believe Kamala is here to “save” democracy. You can’t really have a discussion because these woke DEI libs use their ideology to dismiss any discussion counter to their narrative. For my efforts of pointing out that they’ve abandoned the working class, and thus pushed millions of voters into Trump’s waiting embrace, they’ve become the party of a forever war that will finance the murder of Gazan children, the party of Dick F-ing Cheney. For these efforts I’m dismissed as a MAGA Republican, a racist, a sexist who doesn't even care about his own daughters, etc.

Here on the local level it first came to my attention during my 2018 Supervisor run. As a candidate you get all kinds of questionnaires from groups, maybe an invitation to come and speak with them, etc.

Well, one time I got one from a Latinx group. I had no idea what the “x” was about. But part of campaigning is learning about the people you hope to represent, so I asked about the “x” and learned it has something to do with gender fluidity. So I think I answered their questionnaire. But I remember thinking that in all my 40 years of living in northern California; I’ve known many Latinos and Latinas, and never once had heard anyone saying they want to be an “x.”

A couple years back I was working with the coalition to save Jackson State Forest, an organization founded by mostly white libs, with some Pomo allies. I watched as the white libs deferred to the Pomo even if their ideas were bad ones. Their mantra, “listen to the Pomo,” was stretched to ridiculous limits. They eventually cancelled me when I wouldn't support Ted Williams for Supervisor, which was shocking. But the only pushback I gave them was this: ”I can’t work with a group that supports biodiversity in the forest, but not diversity of thought.” I can’t work within that contradiction and haven't missed them at all!

In closing I think it’s pretty clear that “woke” politics has been manufactured to distract us from class politics, that’s all. Thanks!

Chris Skyhawk

Fort Bragg

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KIDS BEING TAUGHT TO BUILD NUCLEAR SUBMARINES

Editor,

According to the NY Times, the U.S. Navy has put in an order for General Dynamics to produce 12 nuclear ballistic missile submarines by 2042 — a job that’s projected to cost $130 billion. The industry is struggling to find the tens of thousands of new workers it needs. For the past 18 months, the company has traveled to elementary schools across New England to educate children in the basics of submarine manufacturing and perhaps inspire a student or two to consider one day joining its shipyards. A fifth-grade class at Preston Veterans’ Memorial School designs and builds mini-submarines as part of a curriculum created by the defense contractor General Dynamics. The coursework on this particular day described in the Times, involves welding crackers together with Easy Cheese to create mini-submarines. It is one small facet of the much bigger preparations America is making for an historic struggle with its nuclear rivals. With Russia at war, China escalating regional disputes and nations like North Korea and Iran expanding their nuclear programs, the United States is set to spend an estimated $1.7 trillion over 30 years to revamp its own arsenal.

David Severn

Philo

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MOUNTAIN LIONS IN OUR ALBION COMMUNITY

Editor,

There are two Mountain lions working together in our Albion Community. Many people have lost their house cats. I have lost a goat. It appears that one lion is the Mama (very large) and one is the offspring (possibly two years old but not small). The lions have been on Videos as well as photos on Facebook. The offspring is not afraid and was shown in a photo 9-26-2024 at a location near by my place. That neighbor reported that he was only 15' feet away when he took the photo of the lion. He said the lion left and returned three times after he tried to scare it with a snare drum pounding. This he said was about 10:45 am It is the same day my goat was killed. The evening of 9-26-2024 I was on a Web X conference call with our Community and Cal Trans. At about 7:30pm a lion jumped up on my deck and was about 5' away from me where I was sitting in my chair. My reaction was to jump up and slam my hand on one of the ten light window panes in my door. The lion quickly left the deck.

Seeing this lion made me believe it was the predator that killed my goat. My goat was alive when I fed it at 8am on 9-26-2024 and dead when I went to feed at 6pm that same day. The lions killed my goat during the day time. Friday morning (the 27th) about 7:30 am I saw the very large Mama lion just lying down in front of my goat pen. I scared it and it slowly got up and walked away. At Noon the same day Mama was back again walking close to the goat pen. At about 1:00pm the Mama was back and I scared it and again it slowly walked away. At 4:45pm the offspring came back and I scared it and it slowly walked away. At 7:30 pm they both came back and i scared them and they slowly walked away. They were back to the dead goat that night as the carcass was moved by Saturday morning. At about 2:30pm (Saturday the 28th) afternoon I see the offspring walking past my goat pen toward and around my round pen and down toward the paddock of my two Haflinger horses. I went out and got in my truck and drove over and could guess the lion walked East and down below out of my sight. (the two Haflinger's were very nervous) I then turned my truck back toward my cabin and could see the Mama lion walking East and went behind my laundry room then passed my second horse paddock (where I have a third horse) and down below out of my sight. The horses were being 'stocked' by the lions with one on the South side and one on the North side. This was making my three horses very very nervous. About a half hour later I received a phone call from my neighbor who told me both lions had just walked right by the front porch as his trail cam took a video. I did not see the lions again that day but I know they came in the night because they again moved the carcass. Sunday the 29th I did not see either lion but again they had moved the carcass during the night. At about 6:00pm it did not appear the carcass had been moved. I called Camden at 707-738-3099 and left a message to please call me. Her machine said to call 707-445-6493 if I need to speak to someone right away. (That machine said to call Monday through Friday) So I called 911 and reached dispatch in Redding who routed my call to Mendocino County who I then asked to speak to some one that might be able to help me. A gentleman came on the line but we were disconnected. I called 911 again reaching dispatch in Redding who routed my call to Mendocino County where that gentleman said a warden would be calling me and that number would show up on my phone as a private number. No warden called or left a message. This morning Monday the 30th it did not appear the carcass was moved. At 8:45am I received a text from Camden saying she will call me about 10am which she did and has made a plan to come to my place to take a report at about 4pm today. In my 74 years of life here in Albion, CA this is the first time I have ever seen a Mountain lion in real life. The offspring is not afraid and they are hunting during the day time. This is too close for comfort. My biggest concern is for the children in our Albion Community. The Albion Grammar School shares a property line with me. The entire community has been sharing information on social media of the lion sightings and many have lost their house cats. I am told someone lost at least one goat at their place very recently that live on 'C' Road. First the house cats, then the goats. Please help …. the next victim could be a child. Please send someone to trap these two lions while I have the dead goat as bait. Or give me a permit to take care of it myself. Please help….'Thank you'…..

Janet Eklund

Albion

PS. If you have any Wildlife Incidents to Report please contact: Camden Esch (came to my property and confirmed my goat was killed by lions). She is the Unit Biologist for Mendocino County CDFW 660 Main Street Willits, CA. She can be reached at email: Camden.esch@wildlife.ca.gov cell: 707-738-3099

PPS, The CDFW information (in writing) says to call 911 if there is a Mountain Lion attack on a human. WOW! They have also said they do not see these two lions are doing anything unusual. These two lions are not afraid of people…. To me this is extremely unusual as these predators like to stay hidden.

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TRUMP ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Editor:

A vote for Donald Trump means the climate crisis will only get worse: more frequent and intense climate disasters like Hurricane Helene and our wildfires.

Washington Post: “Trump reiterated some of his frequently repeated falsehoods and petty grievances. ‘The global warming hoax, it just never ends,’ he said.”

New York Times: “Over four years, the Trump administration dismantled major climate policies and rolled back many more rules governing clean air, water, wildlife and toxic chemicals.”

Rolling Stone: Trump “dismissed the idea that climate change is anything to worry about. ‘The oceans are going to rise 1/100th of an inch in the next 300 years and it’s going to kill everybody,’ he said sarcastically. ‘It’s going to create more oceanfront property, that’s what it’s going to do.’ ”

Trump repeatedly contradicted his own administration’s findings, including firing a scientist responsible for assessing climate change.

Politico: “Trump is once again seeking deep and unrealistic cuts to most federal agency budgets … The EPA’s budget would see a nearly 27 percent chop.”

Associated Press: “Government climate report contradicts Trump, warns of worsening US disasters.”

Financial Times: “Donald Trump would gut Joe Biden’s landmark IRA climate law if elected.”

Why isn’t his callous, irresponsible stance the major issue in this campaign?

Rich Harkness

Santa Rosa

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FACT CHECK - WESTERN MOST POINT IN CONTIGUOUS US

Editor,

The westernmost point in the contiguous United States is at Cape Alava, south of Cape Flattery in Olympic National Park.

Cape Blanco extends farther west than any point of land in the contiguous United States (lower 48 states) except portions of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington …

Cape Mendocino is Third - westernmost point in California

Dobie Dolphin

Albion

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VULGARITY EVERYWHERE

Editor:

In recent years I have sadly grown used to being in the proximity of people in the public square using vulgarities, often loudly. This is particularly true for some folks when they are talking on their phones. It has also become common for some drivers to believe that their music should be “shared” at top volume with anyone in the vicinity.

Now I notice there are billboards for cannabis dispensaries and “adult” shops that include language and phrases that seem to defy any sense of propriety, being necessarily placed in highly visible locations. I am not a prude. I came of age in the ’60s and ’70s and lived with a father who swore like a sailor. I myself swear frequently when the occasion and location warrant. I simply believe in the notion of time and place for all things. This apparently quaint notion appears to be losing ground.

Richard A. Durr

Santa Rosa

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DELANG TELLS IT!

Editor,

Voting for the “lesser” Evil serves to support, promote, and most importantly, strengthen the powerful influence Evil already enjoys. I’ve come to believe that it’s my obligation as a citizen of the U.S. to become informed as well as I can be about the policy platforms of each political party and then select and vote for the candidates representing the party whose platform most closely reflects my own ideas about how our society should be organized. When I first became eligible to vote, I cast my ballot for George McGovern, as I was then young, impressionable, politically naive, and frankly, still developing what my own ideas would become about the best ways of organizing our society. That was the last time I found myself voting for either a Democrat or a Republican for the office of President. I’ve always been able to discover a platform adhering more closely to my core values than those offered by these two parties. I do this without consulting the NYT table of which pollsters have called which winners in which states as much as six months prior to the first ballots being cast, let alone counted. If my calculus for determining how I cast my vote cannot be reasonably considered a valid and acceptable one within the context of the system as it exists, then we really don’t have much of a democracy worth protecting from the abuses of a candidate like Trump anyhow, do we? I can’t predict which ticket will prevail in the upcoming election, or possibly despite the election, but I can confidently express the opinion that whoever is addressed as POTUS beginning in January 2025, the only real winner will be the oligarchy, especially that parasitic subset known as defense contractors, and the loser, once again, will be the American people. MAGA has an assured victory; either a very large one if their party is elected, or a more moderate one, if not, as the center is pushed a couple of notches further to the right. Whatever the result, we will have the government we deserve, not because the people will have spoken, but rather because they’ll have demonstrated once again that they are content with not having any real voice regarding who they are expected to choose between. I believe Mr. Solomon will and should vote in whichever way seems right to him, but he should stow the “Safe State” BS and acknowledge that the prime drivers behind his decision may be fear and obedience rather than reason.

Michael DeLang

Golden, Colorado

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LITTLE LIES, BIG LIES & DAMNABLE LIES

Editor:

When we grew up, my father was a Reagan Republican and my mother a Kennedy Democrat, yet one thing they always agreed upon was that we should never tell a lie, no matter how small. A lie was a lie. Republicans win the prize for telling the most outlandish and absurd of lies. Haitians will eat your pets? Democrats caused Hurricane Helene? Their candidate spews the craziest tales and lies of all. He doesn’t know what is up or down, truth from lies, and everything in between. While Democrats seem to tell just little white lies — Tim Walz’s military rank, whether IVF was used or not — a lie is still a lie, and the nation seems to be wrapped up in believing that doesn’t matter. The truth is, I am genuinely fearful for our future, and that is not a lie.

Susie Dowd Markarian

Santa Rosa