Mendocino County Today: Monday 11/11/2024

Rain | Cypress Trees | AVUSD News | County Roads | Dan Plan | Courthouse Design | Daisies | Ed Notes | MRC Chemicals | Boats Needed | Boycott Gap | Navarro Ridge | Yesterday's Catch | Car Removal | Willie's Organ | Political Correctness | Four More | Modern Populism | Birthday Memory | California Liberals | Movie Stars | CMC Returns | Japed | Game Grades | Veganspotting | Big Oil | Cattlemen | Lead Stories | Israeli Hooligans | Evil Paperwork | Biden's Legacy | The Therapist | Border Czar | Stepping Down | Emotional Labor | Grandfather Jake

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A COLD FRONT sweeps through this morning after bringing a band of heavy rainfall and breezy to strong southerly winds. Weather will remain unsettled with a more powerful front to bring strong southerly winds, moderate to heavy rainfall, and some mountain snow Tuesday night through Wednesday. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): A rainy 55F on the coast this Monday morning with .17" of new rainfall by 4:42am. Most of today's rain will fall this morning then clear skies Tuesday. More rain Wed & Thur then clear for a couple days. There will be a high surf advisory tomorrow.

6am UPDATE : it has been really coming down for the past hour - I'm guessing another .50" or more added since earlier.

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AVUSD NEWS

Hello Anderson Valley Community,

We are thankful to our diverse community for its exceptional and ongoing commitment to our schools and our students. Lots of good things are happening!  Last week, both schools held School Site Councils, where staff and families reviewed goals and plans, while providing input to further strengthen our programs and services. Thank you to all who attended!

As a reminder, there is no school on Monday, due to Veterans Day.  On behalf of our entire school community, I want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all veterans for your service and sacrifice. Your dedication to our country inspires us every day, and we are proud to honor you. We are deeply grateful for the freedom and opportunities you’ve helped secure for us all.

School Community Updates

As I mentioned last week, I have heard from some community members about a desire to reinstall and refresh murals that were taken down during updates to both sites last year. If you are interested in helping or providing input, please contact me at the district office or via email at klarson@avpanthers.org  We are committed to a beautiful school environment that includes student, staff and community input (and art)! 

Several families have shared concerns about the need for dissemination of information for immigration supports. Please find attached fliers in English and Spanish referencing free immigration services in Ukiah. This program is not formally associated with AVUSD but is included here, in the spirit of sharing important resources with our families. Please be aware that AVUSD also has Board Policy and Administrative Regulations in place (BP 5145.13 and AR 5145.13) regarding Response to Immigration Enforcement, and we plan to review these policies at the December Board meeting.

Building Upon Community Connections through the Community Schools Grant

AVUSD site and district administrators and our Community Schools coordinator met with the Anderson Valley Health Center personnel to plan ways to expand our work together to further coordinate services. We are thrilled that the Health Center personnel are receiving a grant that will benefit our students and we are in discussions about the possibility of  a portion of this grant being used to supplement existing counseling services on our campuses.  Additionally, the Anderson Valley Health Center offered to conduct presentations for students and families in the coming months.  Planning for these is underway. We are so excited about next steps, and will continue meeting together to plan Stay tuned!

In Construction News

Proposition 2 passed, and this is good news for facilities funding!  We are working with consultant Laura Moffett to resubmit some projects to OPSC to be considered for newly available funding.  We are excited!

We have had some minor delays with construction at the Jr Sr High, due to additional work that was required to ensure a strong and enduring outcome. We are looking forward to move-in, hopefully during Thanksgiving Break, but there is a possibility of the move being pushed out to early December. We have ordered some awesome furniture for the new rooms and it will be delivered soon. The spaces will be beautiful!

What’s New at AVES:

• Teachers are working hard on completing report cards, and parents will be receiving them in the coming week. Keep an eye out for the weekly AVES update from Mr. Ramalia for details.  Reviewing the report card with your child(ren) shows that you value and support their hard work.  Some good questions to ask include:
  • What is your favorite subject? Why?
  • What is your least favorite? Why?
  • What are you proud of so far? (Spend lots of time on this!)
  • What are your goals and how can I help you achieve them?
• November Saturday Camp will be on Saturday, November 16!  Mrs. Triplett does an amazing job of coordinating these camps, and the staff is always ready to make it fun.  Check it out!!
• Keep an eye out for Mr. Ramalia’s weekly update! He is thrilled to be here and will be sharing news directly from the school weekly.

Jr/Sr High News:

• AVHS staff was able to work through unforeseen challenges with the dual enrollment statistics class that was offered to several high achieving students for the Spring term.  Mr. Mc Nerney and Mr. Howard worked closely with Mendocino College to ensure Math 220 (Statistics) will be offered after all, asynchronously, with live in-classroom support. Kudos to our team for keeping student needs front and center while thinking out of the box.  We are committed to offering our students  rigorous coursework that will support them in their college endeavors.
• Speaking of dual enrollment, more great things are coming in the Spring as well as in 2025-26. For Spring we will have: English 200, Math 220 (asynchronous statistics), CCS 100, and possibly Spanish 201, should we have enough students interested. We are exploring collaborative commitments with other districts the coming year to expand dual enrollment options for those students who want them. We will plan to add Calculus as well as other courses, based on our students’ goals and needs.  Please reach out to Mr. McNerney or Mr. Howard if you have questions or suggestions.
• As a reminder, we are looking forward to TWO tournaments!
  • Redwood Classic Dec. 4-7 (66th year hosting).  16-team tournament. 1st night will be hosted by satellite campuses: Cloverdale, Willits
  • First Annual Sequoia Classic girls’ basketball tournament. December 13-14. 
  • Fliers and brackets for the upcoming basketball tournaments can be found on our website.

We remain deeply grateful for our community’s support, through your attendance at our events, support of our facilities, and dedication to all the students of AVUSD. Please reach out to me if you have questions, concerns, or ideas to share! 

Images from the FFA Farm to Table class; students made canned Cowboy Candy (jalapeno peppers in a sweet and spicy syrup).  The jalapenos are from the school garden right outside the classroom!

With respect,

Kristin Larson Balliet
Superintendent
Anderson Valley Unified School District

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ROADS IN MENDOCINO COUNTY AND THE MENDOCINO HEADLAND [Coast Chatline]

Danielle: The road conditions at Mendocino Headlands are dreadful. Despite the tourist tax revenue from hotels and other sources, it appears that only Ukiah is benefiting. The parks should address the road's condition as it poses a hazard to both pedestrians and drivers. Our county roads are nothing but a patchwork of dirt and asphalt.

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Bruce Broderick: We all know that Inland Mendocino gets the lion's share of county tax revenue. Our local roads, especially those that aren’t CalTrans responsibility, are abysmal. Out of sight, out of mind. I was listening to what Humboldt County rural residents have started to do about it. Apparently, when an official complaint is made to the road department about a specific problem on a county maintained road, that problem gets bumped up on the list. It may be that those of us on the coast may have just been too tolerant and not wanted to complain. Maybe it's time to be a squeaky wheel and start getting our fair share from the county pot of revenue.

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SUPERVISOR DAN GJERDE:

I started the process of seeking an opportunity to continue working in planning and transportation – possibly, in civil service with the State of California. Recently, a transportation planning job with the North Coast Caltrans District Office opened for recruitment and seemed a perfect fit. Through an open civil service process, I was selected for the position.

As soon as I receive confirmation of a start date, I will be resigning from my position as Fourth District Supervisor, possibly by the end of this week [November 8, 2024]. It’s unfortunate that during the final weeks of 2024, the board might not have a full complement of members, so upon resignation I will be formally asking the Governor’s Secretary of Appointments to act quickly and recommend Governor Newsom fill the vacancy with appointment of incoming Fourth District Supervisor Bernie Norvell, who is the mayor of Fort Bragg and won 81% of the vote in the March election.

Again, it’s been an honor and a privilege to represent the public in local elected office. While much work remains at the County of Mendocino, I am confident the financial and administrative reforms supported by the board should enable county government to better serve the public. I wish you all the very best in this ongoing work. Please know you will have my continued support as a private citizen.

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A COURTHOUSE FOR STALINGRAD

by Tommy Wayne Kramer

Mendocino Country’s next courthouse remains on track despite opposition from everyone except those in line to profit from its construction.

Conceptual drawings of the building come from Khayun Lee, a Colorado architect who says she has 15 years designing public buildings.

We invite her to bring samples of her previous work to a Ukiah art gallery so we can have a look.

Her “drawing” if that’s what architectural renderings are known as in 2024, shows a big white box with mean-looking vertical stripes that suggest windows.

It includes a collection of posts (the word “pillars” might suggest the posts are attractive). The posts are not attractive.

The renditions were displayed alongside a recent pair of front page Daily Journal stories by Mike Geniella, and responses ranged from it looking like a prison to maybe a barcode.

Feelings back in Colorado apparently were hurt. But no one, not even from Colorado, was willing to say the building is beautiful, grand or in the long, proud tradition of American classic buildings, including courthouses.

Instead, Robert Shue, California’s Judicial Council project manager, said “We believe the design incorporates the best of the county.” Maybe so, given the undeniable visual squalor that is Ukiah.

Ms. Lee, upon whose shoulders this big box of ugly rests, insists “When the project is complete it will reflect Mendocino County and what its citizens want in public buildings.”

How she came to utter this nonsense will forever be a mystery. She says a visit to Montgomery Woods inspired her, although she probably meant Montgomery Wards, the abandoned retail shell squatting at Ukiah’s southern fringe.

Or maybe the “artist” deep within her truly was inspired by time spent among the birdies, bunnies, butterflies and redwoods west of town. She says shafts of light beaming through tall trees sparked a vision from an English poet, leading her to create the courthouse design. Amusing, but dubious.

If Lee indeed emerged from the woods and translated her experience into this calamity of a structure, I gently suggest medications.

Let’s take a poll of county residents. Show the drawing and ask what it reminds them of. So far we have two documented answers, jail and barcode.

Other potential responses:

1) Legos.

2) Ninety percent of the office buildings in San Jose.

3) A computer-generated drawing of a big building that pops on the screen following a few keystrokes in the Architecture 101 program.

4) A generic cube of potential construction that violates every rule of classic civic structures, especially libraries, courthouses and museums. These buildings are meant to reflect our rich heritage of classic western design still evident in libraries, courthouses and museums that remain standing and have not yet suffered violence at the hands of subsequent generations of indifferent public officials and architectural vandals.

5) The Soviet Union Bureau Headquarters for the study of Agriculture Advancements, Ballet, Vote Monitoring, Media Propaganda Services and Five Year Plan for Factory Construction.

6) A big refrigerator tipped over in a Lake County back yard; two toddlers feared trapped inside.

7) First Place winner, Most Unappealing 2023 Public Building Design, Drab and Boring category.

8) The big white box that the real courthouse will come packaged inside.

VANDALS EVERYWHERE

Graffiti and related vandalisms suggest a city incapable of keeping order. For years Ukiah has remained indifferent in the face of ugly gang-inspired tagging, mostly confined to the town’s southern portions.

The message it sends out is that no one cares about this building, this block or this neighborhood. Go ahead, take it over, make it yours.

It is dangerous policy. It leads to further, and worse, crime(s). The vandals’ surges have reached north and now disgrace one of Ukiah’s most notable structures: Todd Grove Park.

The old, hand-built rock wall surrounding the big beautiful park has been attacked. Along the west-facing wall, nearest the golf course, the message “ATF 14” has been sprayed in red paint.

It shouldn’t require me or any other private citizen to prod the city into removing it.

(Tom Hine and his invisible writing partner, TWK, wish to clarify a message in last week’s tagline. It should have read that the women mentioned were draped over Donald Trump’s Steinway piano and Willie Brown’s Hammond organ. We regret the oversight.)

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ED NOTES

BACK in the day, long before sentences began with prepositions, I lived in a residential hotel at Fifth and Brannan, $25 a week, bathroom down the hall, clean sheets and pillow cases every Tuesday, drunks and lonely old guys with interesting stories for neighbors. A gypsy lady told fortunes out of the downstairs store front while her husband hustled transmissions and other large car parts that took up the large part of their living space.

OUR BUILDING listed westward toward the Pacific. When we met on the street, instead of saying hello we leaned one way or the other, at each other, a kind of brotherhood of the off kilter, you could say.

MY GIRLFRIEND at the time visited once only to burst into tears. “This is the most depressing place I've ever been in in my life!” (In my youth, I seemed to attract the high strung types.) I was very happy at 5th and Brannan with a high-ceilinged room overlooking the intersection.

I'M NOT SAYING Frisco was a better place then because it wasn’t, what with seriously estranged citizens recreationally shooting out the top lights of the Yellow cabs, but I think it had more personality, more sense of place, now lost to high rises, gadget heads, free range mentals.

CLOVERDALE is the only Sonoma County town of the incorporated type without an “urban growth boundary.” Most Cloverdale people agree on the north boundary. It would be placed right about at Preston, or McCray Road, which is known to Anderson Valley people simply as the Boonville turnoff.

PRESTON was once a thriving little community centered upon Madam Preston, a charismatic crank whose devoted followers supported their guru by manufacturing Ms. Preston’s magic cure-alls whose contents were heavy on alcohol and cocaine depending on one’s ailment — alcohol for back pain, cocaine for energy.

THE PRESTON-ITES shipped their popular remedies all over the United States from their own railroad spur north of Cloverdale. The community of Preston died when Madam Preston, along with Madam Blavatsky and her baboon, moved on to “the next plane,” as the two mystics explained their deaths.

MOST of Preston has been destroyed — after Madam Preston they were unoccupied, then occupied by hippie squatters, then bums, then arsonists — but the few buildings that remain, still visible from Highway 101 give the passerby an idea of how beguiling the hillside village once was. Whatever else one might say about Madam Preston, she took great pains to place her cult in beautiful surroundings. If the old girl were with us today her elixers would surely be big sellers, laced with the magic herb, today’s cure-all.

SMALL TOWN IDENTITIES are slowly but surely being chipped away. We used to enjoy the tiny satisfaction of knowing that each piece of personal mail leaving Boonville, Philo, Navarro, and Yorkville was so stamped. And Navarro had its own postmasters, a series of vivid locals who made each transaction something of an adventure. Now the outgoing mail is simply marked “North Bay,” which is where? No place in particular.

WE ALL USED to vote at our local precincts, now a lot of us vote by mail, me included, and I can’t give you a good reason for signing up to vote absentee other than I wasn’t sure where I would be living in Boonville and didn’t want to miss out on being registered to vote somewhere in the vicinity of my work place.

WE USED to have a justice court where local matters were heard and judged locally, right here in the Veteran’s Building, lately our Senior Center. Anderson Valley’s disputes are now heard in Ukiah where the court people tell us it's more efficient this way. For them, it is. Add it all up and it means less community for the community.

AND YOUR LOCAL paper used to go to some trouble to decode the ballot measures so we could pass along our recommendations to our readers, enabling them to say to themselves, “The AVA’s for this so, naturally, I’m opposed.” Or vice versa. But so many people are voting early via absentee ballots that our recommendations are either too late or too early, and even more irrelevant than they were when we all voted on the same day.

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R.D. BEACON:

In California, we have the state government, along with city governments, along with county governments, the believe in some respect, they can protect, illegal persons, by creating some sort of sanctuary, for these border jumpers, the federal law, that governs, our borders, is governed under the United States government, and they have the right, under border protection regulations, to gather a few of these people up, and ship them back, to where they came from, but our broken governor, and his broken friends Democrats mostly, what are all, have some diluted idea, that they can protect these people, when they come to California, I believe the recent election, spoke loudly, with great deliberation, how people not only in California, but the nation, feel about the border jumpers, my effort of yesterday, while dealing with trespassers, all from Guatemala, and other parts cells, hired by a company in Idaho, to go out and dispense, dangerous chemicals, in the wilderness of California, when trying to get them to show me, identification, incidentally required by law, and I was not acting just as the property owner, but as a representative of government, through my position is fire chief, due to the fact, that the livestock they were driving through, belong to the Greenwood Ridge fire department, the fact that none of the individuals, would produce so much as a drivers license, let alone a green card, or some form or work permit, issued by the United States government, for them to be, in this country, we need stiffer, border protection regulations, we need, above all else stronger trespass laws, like Nevada's regulations, would allow us, to put them in jail right away, in California 602 of the Penal Code, basically states you have to ask the trespasser to leave, and if they refuse then you can have them arrested, otherwise you have to show on the way up the property, that law has no teeth, or protection for landowners, in case of the fact, that they may have damaged the property, in some way or shape, form while traversing across the land, and this fact they had traveled more than 7 miles through my property, as well as going through a quarter-mile of a neighbor's property, on the same road, the lead individual, had a map on his cell phone, that was given to them, by member of Mendocino Redwood's Corporation, and looking at the map and the line they grew on the map it was basically a USGS, Quad map with a line through it going to the middle of my property, this is unacceptable breach, of trust, for if I want to cross their property, I have to sign an agreement, which I have, on behalf of the fire department, yet their employees, barely believe, that they don't have to go and do, the extra mile, they go wherever they want, the next problem we have, in their efforts to drive through the property, did they dispense any chemicals while en route, part of their trip, went down the road, it's only used by small four-wheel-drive vehicles, not designed, to portray her behind a large four-wheel-drive truck, especially when it is part, the area, where I get my drinking water, the road is better than 45° in some places 50° not suitable for vehicles, originally was put into a herd sheep, and to be used by horseback later on, we use a side-by-side on the road, certainly not suitable for larger pieces of equipment except factors, it was almost like they knew, they traveled the road, they would've come to lock gate, and editor around and go back, and in the direction they were headed, they would've come to another locked gate, and not been able to get a, we believe the federal government, should keep a tight rein, on all people that come for work in America, and all corporations hiring, such people, should be answerable to the federal government, I intend to, contact the immigration, and naturalization branch of the federal government on Tuesday, because Monday is a legal holiday, a lot of federal employees, to not work, and the questions of what answer, why would such a big corporation, like MRC, hire a bunch of people out of, Idaho, if there were going to play by all of the regulations, about screen some sort of chemicals, router property, everyone I've talked to since this event, tells me timber companies, hire the Idaho people, because they bring chemicals to California, that are illegal in this state, this needs to stop, I will post more on this subject, after I talked to the immigration, and naturalization branch of the federal government.

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THE DEMONSTRATION

by Robert Mailer Anderson

It was December 2, 1998 — Three hundred protesters gathered at Union Square in the heart of San Francisco’s shopping district on the “biggest shopping day of the year” to protest the Gap owners involvement in the logging industry, calling for a nationwide boycott of Gap Inc. and its subsidiaries, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Gap Kids. Before dispersing to picket targeted stores, demonstrators sang, danced, held signs, and spoke of their displeasure over the logging practices of “the Fisher family”-owned Mendocino Redwood Company. Simultaneously, thousands of non-protesters swarmed the downtown streets in a consumer frenzy, paying more attention to price tags than the demonstrators’ pleading, readying themselves for the birthday of Christ.

“The planet is sending us a message C.O.D.,” one speaker announced, with all the charisma of an infomercial shill, “Change or die.”

This was the general sentiment of the demonstration group, largely comprised of Forests Forever supporters, who despite pamphleteering, appeared unfocused in their attack and complaint. Aside from the boycott, they called for an “opening up of consciousness,” “uniting with other environmental groups,” and not being silenced by “corporate greed.”

“We won’t settle for the crumbs off the table of corporate America,” was another speaker’s call to arms, lacking the punch of Jack Reed, and looking like he would settle for the seeds and stems off the coffee table of his corner dealer.

Julia Butterfly, a woman who has spent close to a year living in a redwood tree to call attention to environmental issues, communicated to the congregation via telephone from her tree. “Using our dollars,” she said, “We can take the power back for the Earth, and for the people that understand love and respect.”

Although “anti-fur” protesters also canvassed the square, the rally’s attempted focus was Mendocino Redwood Company and their link to Gap Inc. By Gap Inc.’s own admission, Mendocino Redwood is financed by a “private Fisher family investment firm Sansome Partners.” But in a letter to their customers, Gap Inc. spin-doctors claimed “a small Mendocino, Calif.-based environmental organization is inaccurately and unfairly using Gap Inc.’s name to publicize its concerns about the management of forest property in Northern California. Mendocino Redwood has no affiliation with Gap Inc. or its brand stores or employees.”

A Gap Inc. administrator said, after being asked about the connection between Gap Inc. and Mendocino Redwood, “We were told it is a case of mistaken identity.”

Several Banana Republic retail employees were instructed to, “not comment on the protest or any questions concerning Gap Inc. involvement with MRC.”

The facts remain: Mendocino Redwood Company is run by John Fisher, who is the son of Gap Inc. founder Don Fisher who is Chairman of the Board for Gap Inc. John Fisher is also the brother of Bob Fisher, the Gap’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. John Fisher has been quoted as calling Mendocino Redwood Company a “Fisher Family investment.” So has his brother Bob, which would indicate that Mendocino Redwood Company is more than the private investment of an ideologically wayward family member.

In a copy of a letter to Linda Perkins and Bill Heil, new neighbors of Mendocino Redwood, Bob Fisher stated, “For this investment my family is further represented by my brother John…” He also discussed the high-minded reasons: “Our family invested in Mendocino Redwoods” and continued ad nauseam about his “well-known and long standing” involvement with environmental issues, closing, with hopes that Mendocino Redwood Company “will be a shining example of the successful integration of environmental stewardship and a successful local business.” John Fisher has also asserted his family, worth an estimated $11 billion, “needs to balance business and the environment.”

It is difficult to understand how Mendocino Redwood will fulfill its purported function as a shining example of balancing business and the environment. They plan to log 40 million board feet a year from their 235,000 acres of Mendocino and Sonoma County Redwood forest using the same methods as their predecessor, Louisiana Pacific, which included clearcutting, spraying herbicides and harvesting old growth. They also intend to log during winter months which is even more harmful to the endangered Coho salmon. It should be further noted, these large swaths of forest have been routinely described by environmentalists as already “over-cut” and “depleted.”

The Fisher Family could “lead the way for corporate responsibility into the new millennium,” said Starhawk, a spokesperson, “the environment doesn’t have to be destroyed.”

A Stanford graduate and Marin high school teacher told this reporter, “You have to pressure money interests. The student movement of the 80s did have its effect on South Africa. We have to approach environmental issues the same way. Find out where your dollar goes, and take responsibility.”

When asked if a boycott would affect her shopping, a woman exiting Banana Republic clutching several bags, said, “Obviously not.”

One reason for this sort of response could be the ineffectual tactic the modern demonstration has become. Although they should be commended for showing up, the group in Union Square could have easily been mistaken for a Fort Bragg bake sale, minus the brownies. Serious-minded people had to suffer through two hours of rambling, tired polemics from marginally articulate speakers who looked like they woke up on the wrong side of a love pile. There was the obligatory singing of “Give Peace a Chance,” and the spiritually vacant “honkey dance” performed by five white women who will be broken-hearted when they learn the Anasazi Indians practiced cannibalism.

One observer described the event’s apex as “achieving synchronized grooviness.” We were asked to observe a moment of silence for the trees which rang as false as James Cameron’s moment of silence for the Titanic. Meanwhile a Gap billboard smiled down at us mimicking the fashionable “fringe-look” so many protesters were unconsciously modeling. I suggested to a protester that one of the younger, nimbler dissidents should climb to the Gap billboard and graffiti it. His response, “This is a different kind of protest.”

Most of the participants in the demonstration became aware of Mendocino Redwood because they had a personal interest in the company’s activities. They live on or own property in Mendocino or Sonoma counties where Mendocino Redwood will be doing its most immediate damage. But when the machinery arrives in your backyard, it’s too late. Unfortunately, in this divided and conquered nation, we can’t see how the environment and other world issues affect us as individuals. Or how as individuals we can affect world issues. Sorting through personal hypocrisies is difficult enough, if we get that far. We have allowed ourselves, as groups and individuals, to become marginalized, represented by unsavvy and ineffectual leaders. We have to present and support another option, say more than, “Give Peace a Chance.” Otherwise we will have to be content with begging for the benevolence of the ruling class.

“You have to wake up every morning and do your best,” said another teacher in the crowd, holding a sign that read, “Fishers: Mendocino is not Banana Republic. Read, write, vote, inform yourself and others. Turn off the TV and talk to your neighbors. Make the effort. Remember what is sacred.”

“And,” his friend interrupted, “Boycott the Gap.”

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NAVARRO RIDGE HISTORY

by Jack Saunders

The Navarro Ridge is an area with a lot of interesting history, and following is a story about a small bit of it.

Included are two images of the far western portion of the ridge, specifically Section 33, Township 16 North, Range 17 West, Mount Diablo Meridian. One is the circa-1866 government survey, while the other is a current view. Over time this area has been associated with farming, ranching, and (in earlier years) the dairy business in particular. Also included are images of the Navarro Ridge Cemetery dating to 1890 and the westward view from the lawn of an inn that in recent years has been known as the Fensalden Inn.

Each of the first two images has three blue dots. The first marks Biggar Rock. (More on that later.)

The second marks the point where the original Big River to Anderson Valley Wagon Road passed northeast of the center of Section 33. The third marks the area where Haskett Severance's Navarro Ridge Hotel once stood, and also where the north grade descending to the river began. At the time of the survey a man named Robert Tarwater was living there and claiming ownership, but it appears that he was rebuffed. It's interesting that the north grade does not appear in the survey, perhaps being more of a trail and not a true wagon road at that time. Looking closely at the current image the grade's starting point remains visible very slightly to the southeast of the third dot.

Each of the first two images also has an area outlined in black to mark a tract covered under a bounty land warrant issued to James Hanna, a veteran of the Mexican War. About three-quarters of it falls within the aforementioned Section 33, while the rest falls in Section 5 of the adjoining township and range. Hanna likely never set foot in California and simply assigned (i.e., sold) his patent to Edwin Brayton, who took possession of the tract in 1868 and sold it to William James "W. J." Biggers/Biggar in 1883. Hereafter I will refer to this property as the "Biggers tract."

W. J. Biggers/Biggar (1837-1916), his wife, and their firstborn of six sons arrived on the Mendocino Coast from Canada sometime prior to mid-1873 and lived as squatters on another tract east of Albion for a period of time prior to purchasing the Biggers tract. Two sons were later prominent in Mendocino County. Arthur Wilbur "A. W." Biggers (1870-1942) became a contractor and built a number of the bridges on the coast that were replaced beginning in the 1930s. He also built houses and other structures, two remaining examples being in Fort Bragg -- the IOOF Hall on Main Street and the Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church on Fir Street. George Milton Biggers/Biggar (1880-1961) wound up a merchant in Covelo and served as a state senator from 1935 to 1947. Biggar Rock, which appears never to have been owned by anyone in the family, was likely named for William, but it's also possible that it was named for his senator son George.

Apart from farming and ranching, in June 1889 W. J. Biggers donated a small lot to be used for a church, and under the direction of Rev. Joel McKendree Clark the Methodist Episcopal church was built. It was dedicated in January 1890. In the interim Rev. Clark lost his wife in a wagon accident in August 1889, and according to a letter he wrote, "Her body was laid to rest in the yard in front of the new church we are building. She had expressed her desire to be buried in full view of the sea." In May 1890 a beautiful white bronze monument was erected over her grave. A man named Samuel Bolden died in that period as well and was also buried in the church yard, but later in the year it was deemed undesirable to have the church yard become a cemetery. Thus, Bolden was moved to Little River, while Alice and her monument were moved to a new cemetery about two and half miles to the east on land donated by another man.

This is the Navarro Ridge Cemetery on the south side of the road across from the Lord's Land, and there Alice (Templin) Clark remains, having enjoyed her view of the ocean for barely a year.

In 1892 W. J. Biggers also built the New American Exchange Hotel, and he and his wife ran it until it was destroyed by fire at the end of January 1898. The area at this time was referred to as "Biggersville" by locals as well as in newspapers at times, and the full property, i.e., the Bigger tract, was known as the Biggers Ranch. Biggers was arrested for arson in connection with the fire but was subsequently released. Just before the fire most all of his land, excluding in particular the small rectangular lot on which the hotel sat, was sold by the Mendocino County Sheriff in connection with bankruptcy proceedings, and just after the fire Biggers appears to have sold the (now largely vacant) hotel lot to his son Arthur. The hotel lot is marked with a blue line on the current image near the center of Section 33 based on descriptions I could find.

As to the other markings on the current image, the red line shows the route of the original wagon road, while the green line shows how it appears to have been modified a bit sometime prior to the early 1880s. The orange line marks the location of an inn that in recent years was called the "Fensalden Inn." Fensalden has no connection to the area that I know of and seems to simply be a name some past owner thought sounded good. I suppose it does. At some point a past owner, likely the same one, appears to have come up with a "legend" to help with marketing it as a destination. Despite ownership changing, this legend can still be found on TripAdvisor where it reads, "Sitting on the back edge of 20 acres of gently rolling meadows at 400 ft elevation, just 7 miles south of charming Mendocino Village, Fensalden Inn was originally a Wells Fargo Stagecoach stop in the mid-1800's." Another account adds that it was built as an inn and tavern. Hmmm… I wonder how the surveyors missed this place in 1866. Were they such unthirsty workaholics that they rambled on by such a fine establishment without noticing? I suspect what happened was that the past owner was told that the old wagon road had run by the place and went wild with his/her imagination. How can one blame them?

As to the Navarro Ridge Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. Clark intended to name it for his deceased wife, and perhaps he did, but no newspaper account I have found mentions her name in connection with its name. From tax records and Rev. Clark's own writing (above) the church must have been located on a small lot adjoining the west side of the county road along the path of the green line south of Biggers' New American Exchange Hotel (and not right next door) but no further south than the bottom of the orange line. It also faced to the west.

The westward view from the lawn of the Fensalden Inn shows that the ocean is, in fact, in view from the area, and it certainly would have been from the second, if not the first, floor of the hotel as well. In any case, the church was out of use by 1900, as the furniture was moved to Fort Bragg near the end of that year. What became of the church building itself is a mystery to me.

In later years the Biggers tract was purchased by D. M. Pettit (from a Mendocino bank) in 1900, resold by him to Ed L. Hansen in 1904, and resold to Domenico Rossotti in 1910. In the interim Hansen had successfully sued to quiet the title to the small church lot. When Rossotti's estate was probated in 1938 the description of the land included the old hotel lot that had apparently never been rejoined on the books with the rest of the tract. Also, during Rossotti's ownership the county built a high bridge at Salmon Creek (aka Whitesboro) and changed the coast road to bypass the old portion between Salmon Creek and Navarro Ridge (as well as between Salmon Creek and Wendling until what is now Highway 128 was completed in the 1920s).

More on that in the future, but to connect the ridge with the new road the county obtained a right-of-way from Rossotti through what was then called Rossotti Gulch as well as one from Peter Nonella (who by then owned the land in Section 33 north and west of the Biggers tract) and built a road. Today that road is the portion of Navarro Ridge Road from the current Highway 1 to a point just south and east of the Fensalden Inn.

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CATCH OF THE DAY, Sunday, November 10, 2024

MARK FRIEDRICH, 43, McKinleyville/Ukiah. DUI, Domestic battery, suspended license for DUI.

TESLA HENCZ, 30, Laytonville. Probation revocation, resisting.

FERNANDO MARTINEZ-ORTIZ, 31, Ukiah. DUI.

JASON RAY III, 24, Redwood Valley. False personation of another, county parole violation.

NICHOLAS TOW, 36, Willits. DUI-alcohol&drugs.

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TWK’S SLUR

To the Editor:

The following is what the was published on November 3, 2024 authored by Tommy Wayne Kramer (a fictional character). The real author is Tom Hine. Here is the last paragraph of the column:

“Tom Hine sends dispatches from North Carolina but will soon return to the land of harmony, community and other pleasant lies. TWK’s friend emailed an old photo of a lovely babe draped over Donald Trump’s piano, so he sent back an old photo of Kamala draped over Willie Brown’s organ.”

Vice President Harris has confirmed that she dated Willie Brown in the early 1990s. This is old news and nobody really thinks that is relevant now. That local papers choose to print a salacious slur about the Vice President of the United States, running for President, two days before the election is journalism at its worst. Sorry to see our local newspapers stoop so low in their political discourse. The paragraph is also misogynistic and racist in my view.

Peter Good

Ukiah

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KENT WALLACE:

I began to recognize the decline of the left when political correctness (the precursor to woke) goose-steeped alongside the moral majority in the early 1980s. The rights of assholes, deplorables, and garbage are as fundamental as any others.

Kent Wallace

Viet Nam

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A POPULIST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

by Jim Shields

It was 11 pm on Tuesday night on Election Night as I was finishing up the Observer to send it off to the printer in Humboldt County.

I had CNN on listening to election returns. All the “Progressive” pundits were saying they were flummoxed that Trump may be returning to the White House. They were blaming ignoramus voters for being hoodwinked, bamboozled, deceived, and conned by the Trumpster.

The self-proclaimed experts pointed fingers at:

• White, non-college educated male voters.
• White women voters with no college degrees,
• Black and Latino male voters who can’t handle a woman in the White House.

Maybe those people are saying they are fed up with the Democratic elites treating them like dumb assess.

I figured out back when I was in the Labor Movement that voters, most of whom are common folk, working people, and the middle class, know exactly what they’re doing and why they’re doing it when they vote. Although both political parties perceive voter-citizens as ignorant rabble, easily manipulated by the media and huckster political consultants, nothing could be further from the truth. When people vote, they know what the deal is. They may not have Ivy League degrees or make seven-figure incomes, but they have more than enough smarts to figure out what’s the best decision to make on election day.

All the polls showed Trump and Harris were dead-even but as a political scientist and more importantly a labor guy, the only poll I ever pay any attention to is the poll that occurs when the votes are counted.

Long-time readers know I never ever encourage people to vote because the way I look at it is if someone needs to be told how important participatory democracy is, they’re too damn ignorant to waste my time on.

Although I’m a Democrat, heavily influenced by Franklin Roosevelt, his Republican cousin Teddy, Jack and Bobby Kennedy, and the Great Emancipator himself, I keep my distance — politically, socially and otherwise — from today’s Dem Party that immerses itself in identity politics, virtue signaling, oh so politically correct buffoonery, and their long-time sellout of workers and the rapidly disappearing middle class with their rabid support of Globalism.

As a Democrat I can say this: The Democratic Party is responsible for creating the landslide victory for Trump.

People were telling the Democratic Party that their paychecks weren’t even close to keeping pace with inflation and that grocery prices were devouring their nearly non-existent discretionary income.

The Dems responded that the economy was on the rebound and that the real issues were “democracy” and that Trump was bad man.

“Trust us,” they said, “we know what we’re doing.”

Fortunately, we still have people who have always fueled the engine of change in this country.

Those folks are the working and middle classes who, once aroused, are a fearsome sight to behold.

They called the Dems’ bluff and created on the fly a political movement to oppose the elite establishments.

Don’t be fooled, these people are not Trump followers or brainwashed disciples.

This is a 21st Century spontaneous version of Populism and the Trump campaign was the only incubator to be found.

(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 noon on KPFN 105.1 FM, also streamed live: http://www.kpfn.org.)

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MIKE GENIELLA:

A Birthday Memory.

I turned 14 soon after John Kennedy was elected president. He was a fresh face on the national scene, and I was a political newcomer. My youthful passion bloomed after shaking hands with JFK a few months earlier in my hometown of Marysville. He was making a whistlestop tour of Northern California when he stepped from the back of the train and waded into the crowd at the local train station. I pushed myself to the front, and JFK clasped my outreached hand and flashed me that famous Kennedy smile. The memory is as sharp as if it happened yesterday. It was devastating when JFK was assassinated three years later.

The great American poet Robert Frost, who had spoken at JFK's inauguration made a lasting impression on me then and years later when I read his words about life's lessons:

"In three words, I can sum up everything I have learned about life: it goes on."

Onward, my family and friends.

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CALIFORNIA LIBERALS ARE HARD SELLS

Editor,

Regarding the recent Chronicle article: ‘The Democratic Party is now Gavin Newsom’s to lead; does he have what it takes?’: Democrats suffered an overwhelming loss in the presidential election, in large part due to the ability of Republicans to paint Kamala Harris as a California liberal.

If Harris’ loss to Donald Trump had been closer, perhaps Gavin Newsom would have a political future. But the nation repudiated all that we take for granted in California — policies that lead to the highest gas prices in the nation, rampant retail theft, widespread homelessness, and the list goes on and on.

Circumstances forced the Democratic Party to nominate Harris for president. Democrats won’t nominate another California liberal any time soon.

Tim Dilley

San Francisco

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49ERS GET AN ANYTHING-BUT-DOMINANT VICTORY IN CHRISTIAN McCAFFREY’S RETURN

by Ann Killion

Christian McCaffrey took the field for the first time since the Super Bowl on Sunday. The San Francisco 49ers’ offensive spark was back, so everything was right in the 49ers world. Right?

Turns out, McCaffrey is not a panacea for all that ails the 49ers. The way Sunday’s game unfolded proved that.

“That game was a battle,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. Indeed it was: it even included a battle between 49ers teammates.

The 49ers won on a last-second field goal by Jake Moody, who had earlier missed three field-goal attempts. The 23-20 win improved the 49ers’ record to 5-4. But if you were looking for signs that the second half of the season is going to be smooth sailing, you didn’t get many on Sunday.

The season-long absence of their best offensive player had been an easy explanation for the 49ers’ woes. But the real culprits for the team’s struggles have been huge defensive lapses and routinely awful special teams. McCaffrey’s return — after missing the first eight games of the season while struggling with bilateral Achilles tendonitis — didn’t fix either of those issues and both were on full display. And, oddly, his return didn’t seem to fix the 49ers’ red-zone problems either: they were 1-of-3 there.

The 49ers were coming off a bye and were as well-rested and as fresh as an NFL team can be in November, with a host of banged-up players returning to the field. In contrast, the Buccaneers were just six days removed from a crushing overtime defeat at Kansas City and lost their stellar left tackle Tristan Wirfs during Sunday’s game.

But it was the 49ers who struggled and looked worn out as the game went on. Was it the steamy Tampa heat (hovering around 87 degrees throughout the game)? The 10 a.m. body clock kickoff?

Whatever the reasons, the 49ers were, once again, in danger of letting a win slip away. Even with McCaffrey back in the fold.

Though Shanahan said he had planned to “load manage” his running back, McCaffrey had a heavy workload right from the start. He played 25 of 30 offensive snaps in the first half. He was on the field for the first nine plays of the 49ers’ first drive of the third quarter. But when the 49ers moved deep into the red zone, with 1st-and-goal from the 9-yard-line, McCaffrey came out and stayed out on second down, when quarterback Brock Purdy was sacked for a 10-yard loss. McCaffrey came back in for 3rd-and-goal from the 19, but the 49ers again had to settle for a field goal rather than a touchdown.

“We wanted to make sure we had (McCaffrey) in on third down, but got in a bad situation there, ” Shanahan said .

McCaffrey finished with 13 carries for 39 yards, the longest a 13-yard gain. He was targeted seven times as a receiver and caught six passes for 68 yards.

“Just getting back into the feel of a real game, getting back into a groove was really good for me,” McCaffrey said. “That was the third time I’ve had on pads in eight weeks. Maybe I didn’t feel like myself 100%, but that’s normal when you haven’t played for a long time.”

His biggest play of the day was a 30-yard reception of a pass Purdy threw before McCaffrey made his break, beating the linebacker who was covering him. That — along with a personal foul penalty by the Bucs — helped set up the 49ers’ go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“That was a great throw, a perfectly thrown ball,” McCaffrey said.

It was an example of how dangerous the 49ers are when they have McCaffrey on the field.

“When he’s out there, it’s hard to double-cover anybody because if you do that, you’re leaving Christian one-on-one with a linebacker,” tight end George Kittle said. “You can’t double team anyone else because you have to help on Christian.”

“Defenses have to scheme us up,” Purdy said. “He lights a fire in the huddle.”

That 49ers’ lead didn’t last long. Moody missed another field-goal attempt on their next possession, giving the ball back to the Bucs late in the game. The 49ers, who only had six penalties all day, had four on the Bucs’ final drive, helping Tampa Bay move down the field and into position to tie the game.

The meltdown included defensive holding by Rock Ya-Sin, a facemask by Fred Warner, a roughing the passer by Maliek Collins and an illegal use of hands by Evan Anderson. That drive included a 4th-and-7 completion by Bucs QB Baker Mayfield, who held off his past tormenter, defensive end Nick Bosa, with his left arm while completing an 8-yard pass with his right arm.

“It was unfortunate the amount of mistakes we made,” Warner said.

The meltdown wasn’t just on the field. After Moody’s third missed field-goal attempt, wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who perhaps misunderstood Shanahan’s urging that his team “fight” on Sunday, took a swing that connected with both long snapper Taybor Pepper and Moody.

“Guys are frustrated,” Shanahan said. “Brothers scuffle. It’s not something I’m too worried about.”

Shanahan could smile about it, because the Bucs left just enough time on the clock for the 49ers to move into field-goal position. This time, Moody made the kick.

Still, even with the win and even with their star player back on the field, the 49ers have plenty to worry about. While they can take solace in overcoming so many mistakes, they also have to know that a better, more rested, less banged-up team than the Buccaneers would probably have won that game.

“That was a character game all the way through,” Warner said. “We knew they were going to fight.”

The 49ers fought too, battling the Buccaneers and even with each other. They got McCaffrey back. They got the win. And one of these days, they may put together a really dominant performance.

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49ERS GAME GRADES: A difficult and nail-biting victory in Tampa Bay

by Micahel Lerseth

Brock Purdy was terrific all day and Jake Moody was successful with the game on the line as the San Francisco 49ers escaped Tampa, Fla., with a 23-20 win on Sunday that pushed their record to 5-4.

Offense: B

Christian McCaffrey looked solid in his season debut, rushing for 39 yards and rolling up another 68 on six catches. Ricky Pearsall’s first NFL TD has to make anyone with a heart feel good considering what he has been through. And George Kittle managed to make a couple highlight plays despite having only three catches. But the star of the show was QB Brock Purdy, who completed 25 of 36 passes for a season-high 353 yards while under constant pressure from the Bucs (three sacks).

Defense: B

The Niners appeared to be more than a little weary in the second half — as evidenced by penalties on three consecutive plays to pave the way to Tampa Bay’s tying field goal with 41 seconds to play. Despite that, the Bucs managed only 215 yards (on a 3.7-yards-per-play average) and 14 non-penalty-caused first downs.

Special Teams: D

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde had company Sunday. All credit to Jake Moody for the game-winning field goal on the game’s final play, but the 49ers were only in that precarious position because he had missed three earlier kicks. Likewise, punt returner Jacob Cowing muffed a punt in the third quarter, then came back in the fourth with a season-best 30-yard return that set up the 49ers’ go-ahead touchdown.

Coaching: C

Kyle Shanahan was reported at halftime to have said that he shouldn’t have tried a field goal at the end of the first half. Ya think? Moody missed that one, but — misfires aside — Shanahan has to figure out why his All Pro-dominated offense keeps bogging down in the red zone: the Niners were only 1-for-3 there against the Bucs.

Overall: C

That was not exactly the kind of “come roaring out of the bye” game that might have been expected. No one is going to knock a win, but struggling so much despite having extra rest to prepare for a team that had lost three straight and was playing on a short week doesn’t inspire much confidence as the Niners look at the schedule and see Seattle, Green Bay and Buffalo as their next three foes.

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BIG OIL SPONSORS DINNERS, AWARDS RECEPTIONS FOR JOURNALISTS

by Dan Bacher

One of the biggest and most censored stories of the past several years is the increasingly cozy relationship between the oil industry and journalists and journalism organizations in California.

In one of the clearest examples of the collaboration between Big Oil and the media, the Western States Petroleum Association, the largest and most powerful oil industry lobbying group in California and the West, sponsored a “media dinner” on February 28, 2023, in Sacramento as part of #BizFedSactoDays.

The flyer for the event stated, “Journalists who play an outsize role in shaping narratives about state politics and holding lawmakers accountable will join business leaders to pull back the curtain on how they select and tell stories about California policies, policy and power.”

Featured speakers at the program included Colleen Nelson of the Sacramento Bee, Laurel Rosenhall of the Los Angeles Times, Kaitlyn Schallhorn of the Orange County Register and Dan Walters of Cal Matters.

In a tweet, Catherine Reheis-Boyd, President of the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) and former Chair of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force to create “marine protected areas” in Southern California, gushed:

“One of our favorite times of year is when @BizFed helps amplify the presence and power of business in California. And we're honored to host the Media Dinner and featured media speakers! @DanCALmatters @LaurelRosenhall @ColleenMNelson @K_Schallhorn”

WSPA, the largest and most powerful corporate lobbying group in Sacramento, describes itself as “non-profit trade association that represents companies that account for the bulk of petroleum exploration, production, refining, transportation and marketing in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.” WSPA’s headquarters is located right here on L Street in Sacramento.

Then on March 16, 2023, the Sacramento Press Club announced in a tweet that WSPA was the new “Lede Sponsor” of the Club's Journalism Awards Reception that was held on March 29: “Thank you to our new Lede Sponsor @officialWSPA! WSPA is dedicated to guaranteeing that every American has access to reliable energy options through socially, economically and environmentally responsible policies and regulations.

In response to this tweet, investigative journalist Aaron Cantu tweeted back on March 20, “As the recipient of @SacPressClub ‘s environmental award last year, it’s concerning to see fossil fuel industry talking points passed off uncritically here. WSPA becoming lede sponsor happened in the context of a global PR turn as the climate crisis worsens.”

Unfortunately, Cantu is the only journalist other than me with the integrity to contest the sponsorship of the Sacramento Press Club’s Journalism Awards Reception by WSPA.

This year the Western States Petroleum Association was again one of the “lede sponsors” of the Sacramento Press Club’s Annual Journalism Awards Reception on April 11:

In addition to sponsoring journalism events in California, WSPA has expanded its campaign to influence journalists nationally. WSPA and the controversial waste management firm Veolia North America sponsored events at last year’s Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) conference in Boise, Idaho, according to a report from DeSmog: https://scq.io/mBsggUv

“The agenda https://conference.sej.org/agenda/#sej2023 for the conference, which is being hosted in Boise, Idaho, shows that the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) and the waste management company Veolia North America are sponsoring two of the “beat dinners” hosted on Friday, April 21 — the third day of the event,” the article by Sam Bright reported.

Fortunately, WSPA and Veolia’s sponsorships of the SEJ conference spurred condemnation by at least one group, Fossil Free Media.

“There’s no excuse for these sorts of conflicts of interest,” Jamie Henn of the campaign and communications group Fossil Free Media told Bright. “By letting the fossil fuel industry sponsor events, groups like SEJ lend credibility to bad actors” that are attempting to “influence coverage and maintain their social license by pretending to be well-meaning supporters of the free press.”

For years, I have covered the capture of media outlets, journalists, politicians, regulators and environmental NGOs by the fossil fuel industry in California and the West.

In 2023, it was good to see somebody else beside this journalist step up to the plate on a national and global level on exposing the increasing collaboration between Big Oil and media corporations.

Drilled and DeSmog, in collaboration with The Intercept and The Nation, released a startling new report: Readers for Sale: The Media's Role in Climate Delay.

"As the business model for media has faltered, the fossil fuel industry has increasingly weaponized weaknesses to its benefit," the report begins.

The report, coming out as the ongoing COP28 climate summit continues to generate controversy, goes into detail on how much money some of the biggest media companies in the world are taking in from fossil fuel, and where exactly the money is being spent.

“Reuters is one of at least seven major news outlets that creates and publishes misleading promotional content for fossil fuel companies, according to a report released today. Known as advertorials or native advertising, the sponsored material is created to look like a publication’s authentic editorial work, lending a veneer of journalistic credibility to the fossil fuel industry’s key climate talking points,” wrote Amy Westervelt and Matthew Green in the Intercept on Dec. 5.

“In collaboration with The Intercept and The Nation, Drilled and DeSmog analyzed hundreds of advertorials and events, as well as ad data from MediaRadar. Our analysis focused on the three years spanning October 2020 to October 2023, when the public ramped up calls for media, public relations, and advertising companies https://cleancreatives.org/ to cut their commercial ties with fossil fuel clients amid growing awareness that the industry’s deceptive messaging was slowing climate action,” the authors wrote.

“All of the companies reviewed — Bloomberg, The Economist, The Financial Times, The New York Times, Politico, Reuters, and The Washington Post — top lists of most-trusted news outlets in both the U.S. and Europe. Each has an internal brand studio that creates advertising content for fossil fuel majors that range from podcasts to newsletters, videos, and advertorials, and some allow fossil fuel companies to sponsor their events. Reuters goes a step further, with marketing staff creating custom industry conferences explicitly designed to remove the “pain points” holding back faster production of oil and gas.”

You will rarely see deep reporting on Big Oil regulatory capture by journalists in the MSM and ”alternative” media. The report by Drilled and DeSmog, in collaboration with the Intercept and The Nation, was very welcome news in a time of increasing collaboration between media and Big Oil.

There is no doubt that WSPA and Big Oil have for years worked closely with media outlets.

In another example of media collaboration with Big Oil, Catherine Reheis-Boyd, WSPA President, was on the "short list" of nominees for the LA Times "Inspirational Women Awards” held on October 18, 2022.

Can you guess who was one of the sponsors of the LA Times awards? Yes, you guessed right — WSPA was a sponsor.

According to a tweet from @OfficialWSPA, *"Today @latimes acknowledged a woman who is already well known in our industry as a trailblazer and inspiration to tens of thousands of women. Congrats to our fearless leader @WSPAPrez for being recognized as a shortlisted nominee for the Inspirational Women Awards." *

WSPA and the oil companies wield their power in 8 major ways: through (1) lobbying; (2) campaign spending; (3) serving on and putting shills on regulatory panels; (4) creating Astroturf groups; (5) working in collaboration with media; (6) sponsoring awards ceremonies and dinners, including those for legislators and journalists; (7) contributing to non profit organizations; and (8) creating alliances with labor unions, mainly construction trades.

Big Oil has really outdone itself on lobbying expenses in California this year. The oil industry has spent a record $31.4 million in California lobbying efforts in the first 9 months of 2024 in an effort to fend off polluter accountability and anti-price gouging measures.

California’s 2024 third-quarter disclosures reveal that the oil and gas industry spent an unprecedented $16.1 million on lobbying and influence activities from July through September, according to a press statement from the Last Chance Alliance.

“This spending easily surpasses the previous annual record of $26.2 million set in 2017, with a full quarter of payments yet to be disclosed,” according to the Last Chance Alliance. “With a full quarter left—this year’s oil industry spending has reached new heights. Over the seven quarters of the current legislative session of 2023-2024, Big Oil has already invested $56.8 million in lobbying efforts, far exceeding the previous record of $44 million set during the 2017-2018 session.”

The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), Chevron, and Aera Energy—now merged into California Resources Corporation—collectively spent $14.5 million. WSPA topped the lobbying spending spree with an amazing $10,121,571. Chevron came in second in spending with $4,106,389, while Aera Energy came in third with $302,093.

When so-called journalism organizations are tainted by the toxic stench of Big Oil money — and very few “environmental” and “climate” organizations have any problem with this — you know that we are in a really dark time in human history.

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LEAD STORIES, MONDAY'S NYT

‘Change the Game’: Saudi Arabia Takes a Stride Into Women’s Tennis

Trump Names Thomas Homan ‘Border Czar’ With a Wide Portfolio

Trump Holds Up Transition Process Over Ethics Code

Trump’s Return Hangs Over U.N. Climate Negotiations

50,000 Russian and North Korean Troops Mass Ahead of Attack, U.S. Says

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JAYNE THOMAS:

Racist Israeli Football Thugs RAMPAGE In Amsterdam - And Media LIES (YouTube)

We just watched Owen Jones’ cover of the mayhem in Amsterdam and the disgraceful propangandistic reporting in mainstream media. Think your readers would appreciate the truth found only on social media (all issues) and of course the AVA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clHlvgOPrWY

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BIDEN’S LEGACY IS GENOCIDE, WAR, AND NUCLEAR BRINKMANSHIP

by Caitlin Johnstone

Biden’s legacy is genocide, war, and nuclear brinkmanship. That’s all anyone should talk about when this psychopath finally dies. Anything positive he may have accomplished in his political career is a drop in the ocean compared to the significance of these mass-scale abuses.

Biden spent his entire career promoting war and militarism at every opportunity, and then spent the twilight years of his time in Washington choosing to continue supplying an active genocide that is fully dependent on US-supplied arms.

He refused off-ramp after off-ramp to the horrific war in Ukraine that has burned through a generation of men in that country, which he knowingly provoked by amassing a military proxy threat on Russia’s border in ways the US would never tolerate being amassed on its own border. In the early weeks of the conflict Biden and his fellow empire managers sabotaged peace talks to keep the war going for as long as possible with the goal of bleeding Moscow, and at one point his own intelligence agencies reportedly assessed that the probability of a nuclear war erupting on this front was as high as 50–50.

Coin toss odds on nuclear war. To call this a crime against humanity would be a massive understatement.

Biden has been facilitating Israeli atrocities in the middle east with US military expansionism in the region and bombing operations in Yemen, Iraq and Syria. He will spend his lame duck months backing Israel’s scorched earth demolition of southern Lebanon.

This is who Biden is. It is who he has always been. It is true that his brain has begun to rot away like just like his conscience has rotted, but in his lucid moments he adamantly defends his administration’s decisions as the only correct course of action, and it aligns perfectly with his past. To know this, one need only to look at the pivotal role he played in pushing the Iraq invasion, or his extremist rhetoric about how “If there were not an Israel we’d have to invent one.”

This is the legacy that Democrats were forced to spend the last election cycle pretending is great and awesome. It’s no wonder they lost. So now, as a parting gift from Joe Biden, Americans and the world get another four years of Donald Trump.

That’s the story of Joe Biden. That’s the whole entire thing. Anything on top of that is irrelevant narrative fluff.

(caitlinjohnstone.com.au)

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TRUMP ANNOUNCES HIS NEW 'BORDER CZAR' Tom Homan to lead the biggest mass deportation in U.S. history

by Joe Tacopino

Donald Trump announced late Sunday that his former ICE director Tom Homan would serve as 'border czar' to oversee the largest deportation of immigrants in US history.

The president elect, 78, said on Truth Social that Homan would oversee the country's borders in the incoming administration just days after his landslide victory against Vice President Kamala Harris.

'I am pleased to announce that the Former ICE Director, and stalwart on Border Control, Tom Homan, will be joining the Trump Administration, in charge of our Nation's Borders ("The Border Czar"),' Trump posted on his social network Truth Social.

'I've known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders.'

It comes after Homan said that Trump will use the US Army to round up and deport 'the worst of the worst' illegal migrants in an unparalleled crackdown.

Homan said all of the estimated 20 million people residing in the US illegally would be targeted by the unprecedented campaign. 'Bottom line: if you come to the country illegally, you're not off the table,' he added.

(dailymail.co.uk)

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DING, DONG, THE CULT IS DEAD!

The national mass psychosis is finally dealt a blow, making it safe to be sane again

by Matt Taibbi

A would-be “ally” begged The Nation Magazine’s Justice correspondent Elie Mystal not to “make us feel invisible and unwanted” after the election. “There are so many white people like me, a woman, who joined this work for the first time this year,” she wrote. “We tried…”

Mystal’s furious response: “Somebody who is in a better head space than me right now come do this person’s emotional labor because I CANNOT RIGHT NOW.”

There’s no such thing as “emotional labor.” Labor is labor. If you think emotions are labor, you’ve either never had a real job, or you belong to an organization in which expiating guilt to avoid excommunication really is work, like the Catholic Church or MSNBC. The attempt to expand the latter concept to all America hit a speed bump last week, and the faithful have no one left to punish. Early Scientology called their penance ritual “overboarding,” and the seas this weekend are thick with thrashing cancelers. It’s incredible…

https://www.racket.news/p/ding-dong-the-cult-is-dead

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Humorously serious response:

Is it safe to laugh? Some readers offered a cautious yes, believing the defeat decisive. Others noted outpatients still run universities, public schools, and the media, and will be difficult to dislodge from federal bureaucracies. I’d be more confident in siding with the first group, but the Greatest Work of Human Art makes me worry the cult is only playing dead. It’s a trick. Get an axe.

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TRACES OF TEXAS reader Stacy Sims graciously shared this dynamite 1978 photo of herself and her grandfather at a bus stop in Mexia.

Her grandfather's name was Jake Rice Thompson. He was caught bootlegging in Mexia at the age of 14 and told by the authorities that he could either go to jail or enlist in the Army.

He chose the Army and, during the Korean War, met Stacy's grandmother. They had Stacy's mother there in Seoul before returning to Mexia and eventually raising a family of seven. By the time this photo was taken, he was a retired vet and a cab driver who loved spending his days with his granddaughter. I love everything about this. Jake looks like a kind, fun-loving man to me.

Thank you, Stacy. This is a glorious image.