Mendocino County Today: Sunday 12/22/2024

Wind/Rain | Corolla Sighting | Isaac Hohener | Free Books | AV Events | Bell Point | Tess Experience | Statement Interpretation | Ed Notes | Captain & Skipper | Video Contest | Regenerative Season | Toke & Trek | Interesting Person | Night After | Old Menu | Yesterday's Catch | Naked Tesla | Crab Season | Hedy | Biological Opinion | Rickey Henderson | Dangerous Idea | God's Preference | Capitalism Working | Clown Burgers | Marco Radio | Sin City | Mangione Murder | Tragic Story | Lucrative Industry | Really Incompetent | No Atmosphere | Affable Gaffer | Vulnerable | Lead Stories | Ming Porcelain | Morning Poem | SF Ballpark

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INCREASING SOUTHERLY WINDS expected this morning as another frontal system moves through the area. A brief dry period will lead into the onset of a more impactful system Monday night into Tuesday. Increasing hydrologic impacts are expected by midweek, with additional rainfall likely through next weekend. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): A cloudy 49" on the coast this Sunday morning with .39" of rain from yesterday morning. Rain should return later today & continue off & on all week. Monday night is the largest rainfall amount in the forecast, while Christmas Day is looking mostly dry.

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FRANK VAINE: Update on our stolen 2009 Toyota Corolla…

At 3:00PM they were at the Navarro General Store buying gas and groceries. We had made it to Nash Mill Rd. when they left the store going East. We never passed them so they turned off somewhere between Holmes Ranch and Navarro. Two Hispanic males - gang like appearance and petite hispanic female. We don't know if they might have realized they might be apprehended or if they are staying somewhere close by. They were not known by store employees. Three CHP cars searched the area without success. They feel they are a danger to our community and they want to get them. So please keep vigilant for your own well being. Thank you.

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YOUNG CRASH VICTIM IDENTIFIED

A San Francisco man was killed Tuesday night when his vehicle crashed into a tree, the California Highway Patrol reported.

According to the CHP, the driver of a 2017 Honda Fit heading westbound on Hwy 128 lost control of his vehicle around mile marker 7.80, “causing the vehicle to veer off the roadway and crash into a tree” around 9:45 p.m. Dec. 18.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Once his family was notified, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office identified him as Isaac D. Landman Hohener, 20, of San Francisco.

The CHP noted that it is still investigating the cause of the crash, but does not suspect driver impairment was a factor. The weather at the time was described as foggy.

(ukiahdailyjournal.com)

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ANDERSON VALLEY VILLAGE List of Events

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BELL POINT ACQUIRED BY MENDO LAND TRUST

Mendocino Land Trust is thrilled to announce that it is under contract to purchase a 157-acre coastal blufftop parcel, known as Bell Point, located just south of Westport on the northern Mendocino Coast. Protecting this remarkable property is made possible with a $2.505 million grant from the State Coastal Conservancy. The California Council of Land Trusts awarded MLT an additional $95,000 Project Advancement Grant to support the project, which will also include planning a new portion of the California Coastal Trail as well as return of the property to Kai Poma, a nonprofit representing three local Native American tribes, who will soon also own nearby Blues Beach to the south. The project has the strong support of the Westport Village Society, State Senator Mike McGuire, Assemblymember Jim Wood, and MLT’s project partner, Kai Poma.

Bell Point project lead, MLT Director of Land Protection Emily Griffen, reports: “The property will be protected forever, opened to public access for the first time, and returned to local Native American tribes for long-term ownership and management.”

Bell Point sits by the southern edge of the Village of Westport. It consists of approximately 50 acres of open coastal headlands, coastal meadows, riparian wetland, and a bishop pine forest. Across Highway 1, an additional 100 acres of mixed conifer redwood-fir forest, meadowland, and ocean view ridgelines will also be preserved. The headlands offer a jaw-dropping 180º degree view of our rocky and dramatic Mendocino coastline.

Mendocino Land Trust is honored to work with Kai Poma to facilitate the return of this land to three Native American tribes — Sherwood Valley Pomo Band of Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes, and the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians — as a vital step towards restoration and reparation.

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IN DEFENSE OF TESS ALBIN-SMITH

A READER WRITES: With all due respect to Marcia, this is my personal experience, with Tess. I am a ‘Person of Color’ (I hate the term) who has known Tess for at least fifteen years in her capacity as Public Servant for the City of Fort Bragg. I do not know Tess outside her public service role. Tess has NEVER, EVER, NOT answered my calls —and there have been many. Tess has NEVER, EVER NOT responded timely, cheerfully, kindly, generously, compassionately, friendly, and correctly. Fact: These are psychologically trying times, for all.

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KJELD GARDNER, DM

I've read and reread her comment. I was not there nor am I plugged into town politics, so I'm asking if I am interpreting this correct:

Albin-Smith states that Rafanan isn't qualified because she doesn't understand the language of the office and needs aid in understanding it. I don't take this to be an insult nor mired in something so ignorant as racism or a personal insult. I've worked complex jobs and I've earned a degree from a complex university - each had in a way their own language which is structure more than anything else. It's a structure of the use of the English language that is complex and demanding in ways that are different from just speaking English. Chicago style citation for my history classes is a structure that is demanding, precise, and extensive in rules. Learning that structure takes time and in fact, even after years at Berkeley, I'm not fluent as much as I know where to research the structure when I don't know how to complete writing by my instinct and education. I think Albin-Smith is marking a similar distinction in town political documentation. I believe it has a structure to it that is complex, precise, and extensive in rules. And that Rafanan is not proficient in it to be an effective leader.

If my interpretation is correct, should we as residents not want people in offices of power that can accomplish them? And I don't know that I even like Albin-Smith because I don't know her or her policy decisions, but I also don't know what good faith offense a person can take from this situation that isn't completely done away with by her apology that I do read as genuine. I appreciate her pointing out that she as a person in the thick of our local politics, can see clear as day that we have unqualified people in leadership positions. That's important to hear and investigate because doing so helps our governance run smoothly while also being a boon against forms of corruption that I am not asserting exist in this situation. -Rather that having a healthy muscle in being vigilant with our leadership for incompetence is equally effective in weeding out prominent forms of corruption equally well.

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ED NOTES

SOMEONE REMARKED that Tess Albin-Smith's unfortunate remarks on the inabilities she perceived in her Fort Bragg City Council colleague, Marcia Rafanan, that “it's the worst thing that's ever happened in Fort Bragg.” Not by a million miles. Much worse, much, much worse has happened in Fort Bragg, and not all that long ago either. But I sensed genuine remorse in Albin-Smith's apology, and I think she should, if not forgiven, at least get the benefit of the assumption that she really is sorry. She’s been a conscientious member of the Council for a long time and, before her startling departure from the path of rhetorical righteousness, had won the faith of her many constituents.

CONTRARY to a lot of prison myths, most jails, including the Mendocino County Jail, are quite diligent in separating inmates, keeping the vulnerable away from the predators. The real tough guys are housed by themselves, the goofy guys and the natural victims have their own quarters, the catch of the day and the in and outters, plus the boys and girls doing county time, comprise the largest unit.

THERE ARE ALSO a few iso units for the extremely insane and those random others who have to be isolated, usually for their own safety. I did a couple of weeks in one of these cells for contempt of court back in the 90s. Not difficult at all for me so long as the books held out. Very difficult for a non-reader, I would think. The Mendo Jail is humane and well-run, despite being the sole repository for lots of untreated crazy people and people addicted to drugs who used to be sentenced to state hospitals before drugs became prevalent.

THE LAST TIME (presumably) I was locked up in the Mendo Jail, a young kid of a corrections officer would take me out into a large cage where I could walk around in the sun. “You know the problem with this place?” my keeper demanded. “It's too goddamed easy. These guys just lie around all day watching TV.” I had to agree. We had a long talk about all kinds of things beyond penal policy. He was local so we shared a large Mendo frame of reference. Another young corrections guy assigned to accompany me for my state-mandated forty-five minutes of fresh air was all business. He refused to say a word. I surmised he was a by-the-book dude that said, “Inmates are dangerous criminals. Don't engage with them because they'll manipulate you into becoming one of them.” In a bad jail, I thought, this inflexible character would be dangerous, and in danger himself, too.

I'VE ALWAYS regretted losing the name of the corrections officer who did me a huge favor. I'd finished the, ahem, quality lit I'd come in with and was beginning to panic. I told this C.O. something like, “I'll go nuts without something to read.” I expected him to say, “Tough shit. You're in jail, not a library.” But darned if he didn't lead me out of my cell and down the hall into a dank room piled high with jail mattresses and a pile of battered paperbacks, from which I retrieved a couple of large collections of short stories that lasted until the very hour a bunch of books arrived directly from the publisher courtesy of Martin Cruz Smith, who also won a place of honor in my memory.

THE RUSSIAN RIVER is seriously overdrawn by an “industry” that didn't exist 40 years ago, at least not to the extent it does today with every lawyer and stockbroker in America retired to Mendocino and Sonoma County frantic to get his silly puss on a wine label. (The late Jess Jackson of Kendall Jackson is the prototype here.) Before 1900 there wasn't a summer time Russian River until Healdsburg, and it wasn't until early in the twentieth century that Chinese labor hand dug the mile-long tunnel diverting the Eel into the dry beds of the summer Russian River at Potter Valley. The purpose of that diversion was to electrify Ukiah, not to produce forty dollar bottles of booze or surplus water for Potter Valley ranchers to flood their hay fields like rice paddies. The inland Farm Bureau types have helped themselves to local streams for so long even a hint that they've got to cut back propels them into a mild state of apoplexy. Add the Farm Bureau Gang to the wine people and, well, it's Entitlement City. (Chemical runoff from vineyards is another negative impact on the Russian River, and another negative impact on the dying waterway that the noble sons of the soil pretend doesn't exist.)

SONOMA COUNTY sits on its water stored for no purpose other than the merriment of oafs on jet skis at Lake Sonoma while Sonoma County sells Lake Mendocino County’s water to customers as far south as Sausalito. Former Supervisor Pinches is the only person around who pointed out that the entire Mendo-SoCo water arrangement should be made equitable, with much more Lake Mendo water remaining in Lake Mendo so parched inland communities like Redwood Valley can draw it when they need it. (If you came in late, Sonoma County got water rights to Lake Mendocino in the middle 1950s because Sonoma County put up most of the money to build Coyote Dam, behind which the lake rests. Because they built it, Sonoma County basically owns the water in Lake Mendocino. Fifty years later, and several million more people, Sonoma County still takes the water from the lake while using almost none of their own water piled up at Lake Sonoma. (A case can be made, as Pinches once did, that since the water in Lake Sonoma fell to the ground in Mendocino County, it’s our water and could be the basis for arguing that more Lake Mendo water should be kept in Mendo.)

THE LATEST ROUND of mass shootings was certain to inspire a deluge of murderously stupid comment. Sure enough, we get editorials that begin, “So many slayings across U.S., but one question: Why?”

HMMM Let's plop our thinking caps onto our pointy heads and see if we can puzzle this one out. Don't hesitate to interrupt, but I'd say a lot of it is the easy access that crazy and otherwise irresponsible people have to guns and ammo. Who else deliberately shoots children? Or shoots people they don't know? The larger problem is our psycho-social-political nexus that literally drives millions of people crazy, especially people who lack the opportunity to accumulate a lot of stuff and never get a trophy at the awards banquet. Or even get invited to the banquet. Most European countries, Canada, Japan and Malaysia, tax themselves to provide a social floor through which it’s difficult to plunge. You always have a roof and a sympathetic ear. But here we have a “system” with so many holes in the social floor that the floor doesn't exist, and millions of people fall straight on through, and some of them get guns and go out and get even.

A RECENT piece in the LA Times on Fort Bragg's Glass Beach locates Glass Beach in Sonoma County and describes Fort Bragg as “the scruffier northern neighbor of Mendocino.” Harrumph. Double harrumph. Fort Bragg's a great little town, still coherent even though the mill and the fish are gone, and quite interesting, too, by far the most beguiling place anywhere on the Pacific Coast all the way up to Astoria at the mouth of the mighty Columbia, which Fort Bragg resembles. Mendocino, of course, is, well, a kind of open air, seaside mall, not really a place for people to live, although I understand some do.

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UKIAH SHELTER PET OF THE WEEK

Captain and Skipper are 6 month old mixed breed (Labrador?) puppies. They’re happy, fun-loving dogs who enjoy being around people and would love being part of an active family where they can join in on outdoor adventures. Both pups are eager to learn, and like all dogs and puppies, they will benefit from basic obedience class--and perhaps graduate Doggie Cum Laude. Being young, these two have loads of energy and love, and they’re quick to seek out attention.

Captain is 45 pounds, Skipper 36. Come to the shelter to meet these two darlings and take them for a walk or an off-leash romp in the shelter’s play yard. Our dog kennels are now open to the public on Saturdays, from 10 to 2:30 (closed for lunch from 1 to 1:30.) Other days you can drop by the shelter, or call to make an appointment to meet a specific dog or dogs. Enjoy your holiday season, and remember to keep your pets safe and away from the dinner table! If your pet goes missing on Christmas day, you can call Animal Control at 707-472-2685.

To see all of our canine and feline guests, and the occasional goat, sheep, tortoise, and for information about our services, programs, and events, visit: mendoanimalshelter.com. Join us every first Saturday of the month for our Meet The Dogs Adoption Event at the shelter.

We're on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/mendoanimalshelter/

For information about adoptions please call 707-467-6453.

Making a difference for homeless pets in Mendocino County, one day at a time!

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CHANGE OUR NAME GARNERS $3,000 MATCHING GRANT

Happy Holidays!

Some exciting news: this year Change Our Name will sponsor both an essay contest and a video contest on the question of whether or not the name of Fort Bragg should be changed.

As you know, we’ve had some great essay contest winners in the past from FBHS students who are now on to college but who may return to our city and whose families remain in FB to consider the name change. Find those essay contest winners here: https://www.changeournamefortbragg.com/essays

At the suggestion of local high school teachers, we have added a video contest on the same topic to be judged by folks with expertise in movie and video production. And we are expanding the submissions call to all FB high school students, both at Fort Bragg HS and at the Noyo High School in FB.

We are hoping to offer $2,000 prizes for first place and $1,000 for second place in each of the two simultaneous contests for a total of $6,000. The contest is open for submissions in March and April with judging in May and winners presented in June 2025.

All we need now is to raise the funds for prizes. Can you help us ring in the New Year with a donation? We have a donor who has pledged to match every donation up to a total of $3,000. Anything you can do to help is greatly appreciated.

You can send a check to:

Change Our Name
P.O. Box 1643
Fort Bragg, CA. 95437

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FROM A SMALL FARM IN BOONVILLE

Hi friends,

Here's wishing you all a regenerative holiday season. The word is probably familiar to you in the context of farming now; it's a very old word coming from a Latin verb meaning “to bring forth again”. Re=again; generate=capable of producing or creating. At present the USDA defines regenerative agriculture as a system of farming practices that prioritize soil health and work in harmony with nature, but this definition of regenerative is still in flux. As was done with the word “organic” the great minds of government are probably working on ways to corrupt it so it fits the “big Ag” definition, and charge producers to be able use the word.

I'm choosing to use the word to say that we, each one of us, must build up our strength to hold back or power through the darkness coming in the next four years and beyond. We're practicing regeneration by taking a break from frantic work, spending quiet time with family and friends, and sleeping well. Below are pictures of the newest members of the farm family making friends with their elders who go to market in early January. They are adorable cuties that amazingly grow to market size in just 6 months. They don't like rain but they sure love the muck it engenders!

Happy Holidays & Happy Regeneration. We'll need all our creativity in the coming years.

Love, Nikki Auschnitt and Steve Krieg

Boonville

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SECOND-HAND TREK

When I was in high school my date, a very good-looking tall guy who was too tall for me (5.2′ in shoes), took me to a Cal Tech party that was simply couples sitting in a small, very crowded dorm room watching Star Trek. I had never dated a Cal Tech guy because (a) I had never been asked out by one, and (b) they were considered “nerds”, but these guys were smoking these huge marijuana joints all night, passing them around, and filling the room with massive amounts of smoke. Being not only small but weighing less than probably anyone in the room, I became seriously intoxicated, and started freaking out, because I was overdosing, an extremely unpleasant experience. I thought I was going to pass out, or maybe just disappear into pure energy. My date took me outside and had me breathe into a paper bag, I guess I seriously embarrassed him, because he called me a “baby.” Well, I wasn’t a college student, probably about 15 or 16, so I guess, technically I was a baby. Anyway, so much for pot making you stupid, as Cal Tech is known as the hardest school in the country to get into and, I would think, to stay enrolled in. As for Star Trek, I thought it was incredibly tacky, with its phony-looking props and landscapes, but it did have bright colors and a “trippy” plot. I have never seen such a rapt audience. Of course, “Captain Kirk” was cute, but I was too far back in the crowd to get a good look at him, lol. I now enjoy the old shows, but still think they are pretty phony looking. The newer series are better in terms of props, special effects, and costumes, but still lacking in good plots and dialog, in my view I know this is kind of un-hip of me, and my husband, who is far cooler than I am, loves all of the shows. As for the cute guy date, he had to pick me up to kiss me goodnight. That was our first and last date.

— Sarah Kennedy Owen

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BILL KIMBERLIN: I am not a Paparazzi but I do take photos of interesting people when I can find them. This was taken at a restaurant in downtown Berkeley called Revival.

However, I do have a friend that is a Paparazzi and he recently was assigned to Hawaii so he could get a photo of Kamala Harris where she is laying low. Turns out he contacted her and she is not yet ready for a photo op.

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’TWAS THE NIGHT AFTER CHRISTMAS…

(…a few years ago)

by Tommy Wayne Kramer

’Twas the Night After Christmas
It mighta been two
I was out at Vic’s Bar
Having a few
Buying drinks for old friends,
It wasn’t too hard
Considering I had
My wife’s credit card

Drinks for the Journal:
Adam, Scott, Justine;
For me & KC, of course,
It’s our nightly routine
When what to my wondering
Eyes should appear
Jane Chambers and a sign:
“Will Work for Beer”

Dave Eyster swept in:
Mink cape and new bling
“Got a raise,” said Geniella,
“Now thinks he’s the king”
Lesser DA’s dashed out
And filled up a cab
Leaving Paul Sequiera
To pick up the tab

Chuck Savage, a Spam-tini:
“Ahh, this is Heaven!”
Next to him Deborah White
Drained a Steele 211
Al Kubanis, James Griffiths,
Each in a bow tie
Bruce McEwen wondering
Which guy’s gonna buy

Los Pomas, the Mikes,
Jeff, Hoover & Pat
As usual confused, asking
“This where it’s at?”
Came in walking backwards,
Rolling a bench…
Steve Mendoza smiled,
stirred his drink with a wrench

Bought an Rx cocktail
For Myer’s great Gina
I saw John McCarty search
For some guy to subpoena
The ADO’s (Patricia,
Rachell, Doug and Lew)
Wept at the loss
Of Old You-Know-Who

By the jukebox Pete Hoyle
Was making a deal
With a Laytonville dude
We all know as ‘Squeal’
The Anderson journalists,
Glenda and Bruce,
In a dark corner
Trading sources and juice

Drinks for Jerry & Ann
Bookstore royalty!
Rod, Kathy, Fred, Joanne:
Dog loyalty!
Purina for Ed Haynes,
(And to Todd and Tracy)
Cheers to those Macks:
Terry, Melody, Macy

Countin’ lambs, Steve Lorber
Ron Wilson, gettin’ well
Hangin' out, Ken Chapman
With stories to tell
Heidi spinnin’ yarns
Lee, John & Jen bakin’ pie
Liz & Tom in a cool new
Beemer rollin’ by

Now Lisa and Karen,
Famed local clippers
Mac Nabsters adjusting
Coats, ties & zippers
Best to my Marks
(W., C., R., & A)
We look to the future,
So probably should pray

Water Trough, what a loss!
I lifted a toast:
Golden West & Dick’s Bar,
Both on the coast
In came Jane Eller,
Stu Casteel talked drones
Next came Gregg Young,
Dick Selzer talked loans

I toasted Erin and Joanne
From our own B of A
Drinks with Steve Johnson,
And I let him pay
Jessie at Pizza Etc.,
Tickles everyone’s palate
Tony Summit, an artist
With roller and palette

Above the bar a TV:
Golden State rips Knicks
Jim Elledge, Dan Hibshman
Getting their kicks.
I chatted up Laurel Near
Now here’s a news leak:
She co-stars in
The column next week

Jill Doo with a Kodak
Popped flashes in eyes
Dave Anderson, alone,
Pulled wings off of flies
Slow-mo Sue Ranochak
Finally tallied the score
We’ve no Phil Baldwin
To kick ‘round anymore

Dave Hull, Ric Piffero,
Let’s hear you on the 4th!
Ross Liberty has his eye
On a project just north
My Kiwanis Club pals—
Like to see y’all again
Linda Bailey, Barb Bristol
Next time I’ll stop in

Cheers to Robert & Brenda
And cool Collie Xena
A fine dog to rival
Our Puppy Katrina
Did someone say Dog?
Without ol’ Simone
At her salon Paula
Is now left all alone

Salud, Bonnie Wildberger,
Same to Joe Crudo
(Reminder: Give treats
To Havana & Rio)
A morning wave to
Debbie, Dylan & Jace
Woof! to dog Henry,
Who found a great place

Colleague Susan Janssen
(Wordy, bilingual)
On a sleigh ride with bells
That tingual & jingual
Gloria Storm, a hurricane
A true cleaning machine
Wally Schlosser walked in
As always, serene

Happy days to Danielle,
And to Midge and to Frank
Our benefactress Tina,
Who works at the bank
Best to those Morrisons:
Annette, Fiona, Seamus
And My Man Martin Brown,
Who oughta be famous

Doc Jeffers, Doc Limbird—
Who’s pulling teeth?
To Mel, Olivia, Willie
Here’s a holiday wreath
Poor Kevin Baldwin,
All those Kitties to please
(Some navigators,
Some retirees)

Here’s to Keith and to Jan
(Lawyers helping friends)
Tears to Carly, Cash, Sadie
At the saddest of ends…
A toast to Jared & Kaylie,
Who insure us at Farmer’s
And to Dink & to Randy,
Who also are Farmers

That’s one Haehl of a family,
Michael and Dan
We need vigilantes to assist
Dear sister Suzanne
Now to Justin & Shannon,
And to Jason & Liz
Off to Italy or Wales,
Wherever that is

In Willits, all rise for
Kirk Gustafson, marooned,
And Annie & Don Samson,
Playwrights festooned
O Kip: Drink of wisdom
(Make ‘em all doubles)
I’ll see you in Phoenix
For our annual troubles

(The “poem” is now over, but I haven’t run out of people to thank.. Daughter Dearest (that’s Emily) and Sea of Wisdom (Lucas) are jewels in the crown; Miss Trophy, la Teri, is Queen of the town. Thanks everyone, from the bottom of Tom Hine’s heart, and the middle of TWK’s liver.)

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CATCH OF THE DAY, Saturday, December 21, 2024

JENNIFER CRAM, 40, Ukiah. False report of crime, conspiracy, probation revocation, unspecified offense.

SERJIO GONZALEZ, 48, Ukiah. False ID, conspiracy, resisting, parole violation.

LAUREN GOSSLAND, 34, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

SERGIO GUTIERREZ-ROSAS, 40, Ukiah. Domestic battery.

JERONIMO HERNANDEZ-CONDE, 38, Willits. DUI.

ASHEY HOWELL, 32, Clearlake/Ukiah. Under influence, controlled substance, paraphernalia, child endangerment.

JUSTINO MEJIA-STANTIAGO, 30, Potter Valley. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

JAVIER MENDEZ, 44, Ukiah. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

JOHN PETERSON, 42, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

BARAQUIEL RUIZ, 38, Lakeport/Ukiah. Stolen property, switchblade in vehicle, unspecified offense.

EBASTIAN TOLOZ-ARIOS, 34, Willits. DUI.

TAM TRAN, 46, Martinez/Ukiah. DUI.

TYSON VERRETT, 39, Baton Rouge, Louisiana/Ukiah. Probation revocation.

SHAWNTEE WIRTH, 41, Willits. DUI.

JAKE ZABOROWSKI, 28, Willits. Domestic battery, disorderly conduct-alcohol.

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BILL KIMBERLIN: If you have ever wondered what a Tesla looks like underneath, with the body off, I got a chance to see one.

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CALIFORNIA TO OPEN LIMITED DUNGENESS CRAB FISHING SEASON IN EARLY JANUARY

by Tara Duggan

After multiple delays, commercial fishing for Dungeness crab will open in Central California on a limited basis in the New Year.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Friday that commercial boats can harvest crab starting on Jan. 5 in the region south of the Sonoma-Mendocino county border. However, crabbers will only be allowed to put out half the number of pots they usually use, in an effort to protect endangered humpback whales from getting entangled in the gear’s vertical lines.

In Northern California, north of the Sonoma-Mendocino county line, the season will open Jan. 15 with a reduction of 25% of traps, the department said in a press release.

“Making the decision on when to open the Dungeness crab fishery is never an easy one. It requires careful consideration of the need to protect endangered species while sustaining the livelihood of California’s fishing communities,” department Director Charlton H. Bonham said in the release.

Previous delays this year pushed the availability of crab, a favorite for Bay Area holiday tables, long past its traditional annual debut at Thanksgiving. Throughout the season, the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group looks at the latest data to see if endangered humpback whales, blue whales or Pacific leatherback sea turtles have been seen in fishing zones and how many times animals have been entangled in gear. Every few weeks, the group makes recommendations based on whether the number of sightings or entanglements has reached a certain threshold.

The central fishing zone opened last season on Jan. 18 and the northern zone on Jan. 5, according to the department.

“Despite the shortened seasons, the California Dungeness crab fishery remains one of the state’s most lucrative, averaging close to $45 million per year over the last five years, consistent with historical averages,” the release said.

But Dick Ogg, a Bodega Bay fisherman who has been a member of California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group, said the fishing fleet is frustrated by how the thresholds are determined.

Even when whales are observed entangled in gear that isn’t confirmed as coming from the Dungeness crab fishery, such sightings are used to help determine when the season opens. That’s despite the fact that they could come from fisheries that also use vertical lines such as spot prawn, coon-striped shrimp or rock crab, said Ogg.

“The Dungeness crab industry is held accountable for everything that occurs,” he said. He added, “I firmly believe we can fish around these animals without having a problem.”

The department said that the state has spent $6 million over five years to work toward preventing entanglements.

(SF Chronicle)

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RECLAMATION APPROVES WATER PLAN THAT'S 'LIKELY TO ADVERSELY AFFECT' SACRAMENTO RIVER WINTER CHINOOK

by Dan Bacher

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Bureau of Reclamation today approved a controversial new plan, known as a “biological opinion,” for the long-term operation of the Central Valley Project and Delta facilities of the State Water Project — even though the opinion documents say it would likely harm endangered winter-run Chinook salmon.

Reclamation claimed the biological opinion “presents a path forward with more predictable actions for endangered fish species and a more reliable CVP response to multi-year droughts,” while fishing and environmental groups slammed the decision for being even worse in some areas than the 2019 Trump Administration plan that it replaces.…

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/12/20/2293049/-Reclamation-approves-water-plan-that-s-likely-to-adversely-affect-Sacramento-River-winter-Chinook

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RICKEY HENDERSON, BASEBALL’S FLAMBOYANT ‘MAN OF STEAL,’ DIES AT 65

Widely regarded as the greatest leadoff hitter in baseball history, he was not just one of the game’s most exciting players but also one of its most eccentric.

by Michael S. Rosenwald

Rickey Henderson, the thrilling and charismatic Hall of Fame outfielder who, with his signature crouched stance, blazing speed and unlikely home run power, was widely regarded as the greatest leadoff hitter in Major League Baseball history, died on Friday. He was 65.

His death was announced by his family. They did not cite a cause or say where he died, but they thanked the staff at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center.

Often called “the man of steal” by sportswriters, Henderson holds the career record for stolen bases with 1,406 — a mark unlikely to be swiped from him anytime soon, or perhaps ever. He stole more than 100 bases in three seasons, and his 130 in 1982 is still the single-season record.

Henderson also owns the record for runs scored, with 2,295. Eighty-one of those runs were the result of leadoff home runs — another record. His 2,190 walks rank him second behind Barry Bonds.

“Without exaggerating one inch, you could find 50 Hall of Famers who, all taken together, don’t own as many records, and as many important records, as Rickey Henderson,” the baseball statistician and historian Bill James once wrote.

Henderson played for nine teams over 25 seasons, but he spent most of his career with his hometown Oakland A’s (on four separate occasions) and the New York Yankees.…

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/21/sports/rickey-henderson-dead.html

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VACCINES SAVE LIVES

Editor:

I am responding to the dangerous idea of eliminating vaccines. As an example, the Centers for Disease Control says 1 of every 1,000 measles cases results in encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain that can be fatal. At age 6, before the measles vaccine became available, I had measles and contracted encephalitis, had convulsions and was in a coma for two week. Luckily, I survived, but many did not, including my father who later died of encephalitis.

Janet Greene

Cloverdale

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WORKING AS DESIGNED

by Ace Thelin

The economic system in America is functioning exactly as it was designed. The homelessness we see all around us is a sure sign that our capitalistic system is working the way it was meant to.

I consider capitalism to be a system imposed on the working class. It depends on paying low wages, which equals high profits. Capitalists, the owners of property whose wealth depends on the exploitation of labor, benefit from high rent and inflated real estate prices, or asset inflation, to ensure their wealth and profits.

In the United States, over 15% of the population, or nearly 50 million people, live in extreme poverty, which means there is a lack of all the basic needs people require to live a dignified and comfortable life. Another 35% of the population live in near poverty, which means they live “paycheck to paycheck,” always on the hustle to pay the rent and likely going further into debt each month.

Why is this so? It is this very desperation in society that guarantees an obedient workforce in which the working class, the essential workers, will work long hours for low wages, ensuring high profits for the capitalist class, whose wealth can only come from the hard work of laborers. At the bottom of this system are the people who remind everyone what happens if they can no longer continue working so hard to pay all their bills, the homeless.

When we do the math and see that the richest country in the world has a poverty and homelessness and prison epidemic, we must understand that only systemic change can solve any of our problems.

Capitalism is thriving because morality and common decency is absent from the policies imposed by the capitalist class. The way I see it, high demand (lots of people) and low supply (not enough available housing) will always create fierce competition and drive up the cost of rent and mortgage payments. When adequate housing is guaranteed, the rental market will crumble. People will no longer sign a contract in which half or a third of their income goes to rent because they will no longer have the fear of being homeless.

There are less than a million homeless people across the United States and there are millions of empty homes and apartments. Again this is a supply and demand issue. All this goes to say that we do not have a scarcity problem, we have a policy problem.

While it may seem discouraging that our problems are systemic and politicians appear to have no real intention of solving them, there are plenty of reasons to believe we can transform society and end homelessness forever.

There are people in all classes who are outraged at the homeless epidemic and realize we are failing ourselves when we fail to take care of each other. We need to teach people that the reason there is homelessness is not because of individual failures, but rather it is intentionally built into the design of capitalism to ensure the highest possible profits for the rich and powerful.

When we pull back the curtain and expose the criminal design that ensures homelessness and poverty, we will achieve what Martin Luther King Jr. was speaking about when he envisioned a revolution of core values. The fundamental missing value is the knowledge that we are all in this together and we can cooperate to transform the system. Being poor is certainly not a crime. The crime is the policies that have designed a system which thrives on poverty and homelessness.

We must never cease making our demands. When we advocate for homeless people, we are advocating for the conscience of everyone. The health of society can never be measured by the wealth and privilege gathered by those who have far more than they need.

A true measurement of society must look at the big picture and realize that a society, just like a person’s body, can only be seen as a whole, and if any one part is suffering then the whole body is sick. Ending homelessness is the medicine we need to heal our society.

(Ace Thelin, of Forest Knolls, is a veteran educator in Marin County.)

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MEMO OF THE AIR: Tigers in the snow, hello.

Here's the recording of last night's (Friday, 2024-12-20) 8-hour Memo of the Air: Good Night Radio show on 107.7fm KNYO-LP Fort Bragg (CA) and KNYO.org (and, for the first three hours of the show, also 89.3fm KAKX Mendocino): https://tinyurl.com/KNYO-MOTA-0623

Coming shows can feature your story or dream or poem or essay or kvetch or announcement or whatever. Just email it to me. Or send me a link to your writing project and I'll take it from there and read it on the air.

I've been doing my show on various radio stations every Friday night since February of 1997, when I stopped publishing /Memo/ on real newsprint. This involves 20-plus hours a week of concentrated prep and then a couple of all-nighters, one to get ready and one to go. If you appreciate the show and want to help me out personally, I could certainly use it: https://paypal.me/MarcoMcClean

Besides all that, at https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com you'll find a fresh batch of dozens of links to not-necessarily radio-useful but worthwhile items I set aside for you while gathering the show together, such as: Tigers in the snow. https://misscellania.blogspot.com/2016/12/drone-tigers.html

A dreamy machine-generated tango dance. (via Juanita) (You might have to click the sound on.) https://www.facebook.com/reel/1691937448039735/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

Fats Waller – Your Feet's Too Big. This is a gentler-sounding version than the one I've heard since I was little. An odd thing about Fats Waller: no matter how close or far he was from a camera, he always looked like a fish-eye-lens image. His face is so big. I think it's psychological on my part. I think it's the mental perception, not in the eye. https://misscellania.blogspot.com/2024/12/your-feets-too-big.html

Judy Garland to Clark Gable: You Made Me Love You. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovAZVP6AGWY

And The Singing Sisters' Xmas wish. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSBpvh4y_lU

Marco McClean, memo@mcn.org, https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com

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TAIBBI & KIRN

Walter Kirn: I don’t think many people appreciated my suggestion that the Luigi Mangione murder was just a little too convenient at the right time. What I meant by that, I leave open for us to discover in the future. But that it became the platform for this sudden renewed populism and this bipartisan Bulwark plus Bernie hostility towards CEOs, is wow … And the thing is they’re not really twisting the murder. It was custom-made for this rhetoric. He laid it out on his bullets.

Matt Taibbi: Right. Yeah.

Walter Kirn: They must be incredibly grateful to the great God of politics that it presented them this perfect Robin Hood basis for the pivot they wanted to make anyway.

Matt Taibbi: It’s really amazing. And that tweet that you pointed out by The Bulwark, it reminded me that there was another neocon from that exact same group that put out a pretty high profile editorial in the Washington Post about a year ago today, to this week. If we could see the Caesar editorial, remember this one, from Robert Kagan? “A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending.” And this is like a 6,000-word editorial by Robert Kagan, that basically said all of our other avenues for dealing with Trump have been exhausted, wink wink. But we should basically use any means necessary to prevent that from happening. And it was widely criticized as an invitation for somebody to take their law into their own hands. And this came under criticism, including by me after the first Trump assassination attempt. But it’s even more blatant in the tweet that you just found by The Bulwark. They’re essentially saying somebody needs to … If only could somebody harness that power.

Walter Kirn: And here’s a picture of how exposed the guy is. He literally lifts his arms up over his head, giving a free shot at the chest cavity.

Matt Taibbi: Right. Can we do that again? I’m sorry, that tweet?

Walter Kirn: Yeah. This is the pose at which you’ll have your best chance of harnessing class warfare populism, someone.

Matt Taibbi: Yeah. I don’t even know what to say about all this, in part because of the reasons we discussed at the top of this show. You got to be super careful about how you phrase-

Walter Kirn: How many photos do you think they rejected before they got to this one? It’s got the red, it’s got the-

Matt Taibbi: He’s a podium.

Walter Kirn: Dictatorial vibe. The triumphant vibe. Literally, they compared him to somebody who just got shot, who’s dead now.

Matt Taibbi: Yeah. I don’t know. I got nothing for you except that this direction that everybody’s going and, “Oh, let’s examine the insurance industry.” It’s so overt. I can’t remember something like this happening previously.

Walter Kirn: My basic line is that I think Trump was elected in part because he was going to review the COVID episode, and this takes all the focus off COVID, off of government bureaucrats, off of pharma and everything. And it gives us a new target, health insurance. Glenn Greenwald had used a phrase, maybe he coined it, that has stuck in my mind, “Villain rotation.” He said there’s always villain rotation. They get you angry about someone and that launches one issue or debate, and then they move another one into the foreground and you get angry about that. This is villain rotation. Now, it’s health insurance and CEOs too. There’s something about being a CEO just by itself that is dubious these days. It almost doesn’t matter what you’re a CEO of.

Matt Taibbi: Well, and I can understand that. Absent all of this stuff, if we were not talking about an assassination, it would be a subject that would warrant some scrutiny. But-

Walter Kirn: What about some of the CEOs that are beloved of the Democrats? Tim Cook, he’s a CEO, right?

Matt Taibbi: And he just met with Trump.

Walter Kirn: He did?

Matt Taibbi: Mm-hmm.

Walter Kirn: Well, maybe part of this is a warning to CEOs. Stop meeting with Trump.

Matt Taibbi: Yeah. Trump actually just gave a press conference talking about, “Hey, I’m meeting with Apple, I’m meeting with Google, I’m meeting with …” Do you see any of that in the news? Nobody’s reporting that. “Everybody hated me the first time around. Now, they all want to have dinner with me.” And yeah, maybe it is a little bit of a warning. We’re going to unleash the populace Kraken on CEOs of your type if you don’t stay on the right side. Who knows? The whole thing is so strange. That Cigna executive gave an interview to, I think it was Jake Tapper this week. And this is embarrassing to admit, I saw this while I was in a gym on a treadmill. And if we could see what the chyron was from this, here we go. Anyway. Well, you can see the chyron here, “Health care exec on why he quit the industry,” and there’s Jake Tapper looking very solemn, interviewing this former Cigna executive talking about how ruthless the healthcare industry is. They’ve just abandoned the tie-in to the Mangione case.

Walter Kirn: Oh, and Matt, and how convenient, frankly, that this story is being propagated on pharma-supported cable news. Okay, let’s point out the obvious here. Up to 70% of the advertising on these channels I’ve read is pharmaceutical advertising. That means Jake is paid by them. And here’s a healthcare story that doesn’t mention them anymore, puts it all on these insurance executives. They’re able to report on lack of faith in the healthcare industry, but without scarring or staining their own sponsors. That worked out well.

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BERNIE SANDERS:

It’s not only that 60,000 people a year die because they don’t get to a doctor. It’s not only that our life expectancy is lower than other countries. It’s not only that working class people in this country live seven or eight years shorter lives than the rich. It’s not only that we pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. You add all that together, guess what? We’re paying twice as much per person for healthcare than the Canadians and people around the world. Twice as much. Why is that? Well, obviously, what is the function of the healthcare system? Is it to provide quality care to all? No, it is to make the drug companies and the insurance companies rich. In that sense, it is succeeding very, very well. And they will fight you to the death, fight you to the death to give up that lucrative industry.

Basically, I think what we should do is make Medicare more efficient, expand it, and then gradually cover all of our people through a Medicare program. Get rid of the profiteering, get rid of the billing, get rid of the complexity.

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ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

We all knew in 2020 that Joe Biden was suffering from cognitive decline. The media is at fault for propaganda and scaring people so they would vote for a man in cognitive decline. Nobody has been running the government for 4 years, unless you count Jill Biden. The government cannot even fill the potholes on my street. These people are not capable of creating a pandemic, or a UFO invasion. They really are incompetent. That's the truth. The shredders have been running for 4 years. Good luck proving anything in a court of law.

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THE VERY FIRST MOMENT THAT REVEALED BIDEN WAS NEVER FIT TO BE PRESIDENT

by Harlie Spiering

Alarming revelations about Joe Biden's decline have raised questions about how long the president was impaired while leading the country and how long his staff, close advisors, and family were covering up the truth.

Concerns about Biden's age had already begun when he announced his 2020 campaign at the age of 77.

Democrats groaned as the former vice president struggled through primary debates, frequently stumbling over talking points while mixing up his sentences.

At the time, the most favorable interpretation was that it was just 'Biden being Biden' - he was the affable gaffe-ridden politician who struggled from early youth with a stutter.

When the coronavirus pandemic took place during the general election, Biden's staffers almost breathed a sigh of relief when the president was no longer expected to campaign publicly, risking slip-ups and errors.

Instead, he was quarantined in his family basement where he could be trusted to deliver short scripted speeches and tightly controlled remote video interviews over Zoom.

Despite some concerns about his age, the public saw Biden successfully perform during the 2020 presidential debates as he rhetorically tangled with Donald Trump on two occasions about the future of the country.

Biden won the presidency in 2020, but he was still protected in a closely watched cocoon of staff as the pandemic raged and his public and media appliances were limited and carefully scripted.

Perhaps the first time the public started to become alarmed was when President Biden demonstrated his dramatic physical limitations, falling repeatedly on the stairs while boarding Air Force One on March 18, 2021 for a trip to Atlanta, Georgia.

White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted the president was doing '100 percent fine' and blamed the wind for his stumbles.

By August 2021, however, Biden started to demonstrate real struggles in communicating and reacting to major public events.

During the botched exit from Afghanistan,

resident Biden continued keeping his remarks closely scripted for days, refusing to respond to shouted questions from reporters and staying on script with his talking points.

The country was not satisfied with his responses, prompting staff to schedule an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos to allow the president to defend his decision to pull U.S. troops from Afghanistan

Biden made multiple errors and gaffes throughout the interview that aired on August 19, 2021 and they had to be clarified and corrected by the White House.

The subsequent terrorist suicide bombing that killed 13 American warfighters and more than 170 Afghan civilians shook Biden as he struggled to defend the botched exit from the country.

When he finally took questions from the press, Biden found himself frustrated, struggling to finish sentences and recall basic facts and talking points.

At one moment he bowed his head with frustration and anger, clenching his briefing book of talking points as Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked him a question.

Even many who voted for Biden questioned the president's ability to handle the chaotic events, and the decisions he made about the way to withdraw forces from Afghanistan.

Biden's performance as a major world leader during the Russian aggression in Ukraine also prompted questions about his abilities.

In January 2022, Biden held an extended press conference after a long drought in commutations with the White House press.

Even before it was over staff had to clarify Biden's remarks about Russia making a 'minor incursion' into Ukraine that might not trigger a response from the United States and NATO allies.

A National Security Council spokeswoman immediately said that Biden was only speaking about possible non-military, paramilitary, or cyber attacks. The president had not even finished speaking.

After his press conference White House press secretary Jen Psaki also issued a statement to clarify the president's remarks.

In March 2022, White House staff also scrambled to correct Biden after he delivered a speech in Poland to confront Putin's aggression in Ukraine.

'For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power,' Biden declared forcefully, suggesting he was supportive of regime change in Russia.

The White House immediately said that Biden's comments were not about regime change and that it was not in his prepared remarks.

Biden continued his presidency clutching detailed notecards from his staff reminding him where to go, what to say, and who he was talking to.

His coughing was no longer smothered by the occasional cough drop, his voice grew thinner and weaker, and his gait grew more stiff, prompting additional questions about his abilities.

In June 2022, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre hyperbolically defended Biden's acuity.

'Oh, my gosh, he's the President of the United States, you know, he – I can't even keep up with him,' she told CNN's Don Lemon in an interview, urging skeptics to look at the work he was achieving.

But in September 2022, Biden sparked more concern after he arrived at an event with members of Congress and called out to Rep. Jackie Walorski, who had passed away more than a month earlier in a car crash.

'Jackie are you here? Where's Jackie?' Biden said, appearing unaware of her passing.

The White House defended Biden's question and would only say that the deceased congresswoman was 'top of mind,' during his remarks.

In June 2023, Biden tripped over a sandbag and fell sprawling on stage at the Air Force Academy’s commencement ceremony. White House aides responded that the president was 'fine' after the undignified incident.

'Calm down you nervous nellies,' wrote Biden's former chief of staff Ron Klain on social media, scolding Democrats for questioning the president's health.

By October 2023, Biden struggled during his interview with Special counsel Robert Hur about classified documents found in his possession.

Hur's report revealed his honest assessment, that Biden was a 'sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.'

When the details were released in early January, Biden was furious about the accusation.

He was running for reelection and already fighting off suggestions that he was too old and senile to be seeking a second term.

Biden held a press conference defending his abilities, but after insisting 'my memory is fine,' he mistakenly referred to the president of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, as 'the president of Mexico' without correcting himself.

Throughout, Biden's staff repeatedly defended the president's mental and physical abilities.

But behind the scenes donors attending fundraising events were incredibly alarmed as he often trailed off during speeches and struggled to remember who he was talking to.

At public events, Biden appeared at times to be lost on stage, looking to staff to point him in the proper direction.

Biden's public demeanor was so bad by the summer of 2024 that donors were openly questioning the president's decision to run for reelection.

In the presidential debate in June 2024, Biden struggled to finish his sentences and mixed up his prepared talking points as he tried to compete with Trump.

Biden's frail, hoarse and raspy voice alarmed debate viewers as he claimed there were 'a thousand trillionaires' in the United States who needed to be taxed more.

Later in the debate he declared that 'we finally beat Medicare' and struggled to deliver his prepared attacks on Trump.

'I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don't think he knows what he said either,' Trump quipped.

The botched debate performance prompted a host of Democrats to publicly call for Biden to exit the race.

But the White House continued defending Biden's abilities

During a NATO summit on July 11, Biden introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as 'President Putin' before correcting himself.

The president also referred to his vice president as 'Trump' instead of Kamala Harris during a press conference at the summit.

'Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if I didn't think she was qualified to be president,' he said.

Biden continued insisting he was 'fine' and fit for reelection.

'If I slow down, I can't get the job done. That's a sign that I shouldn't be doing it. But there's no indication of that yet, none,' he said.

By July 21, Biden announced he would drop out of his presidential campaign.

(Daily Mail UK)

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LEAD STORIES, SUNDAY'S NYT

Deception and Betrayal: Inside the Final Days of the Assad Regime

One Way Democrats Want to Gain Votes: Talk Up Their Faith

Refugees Are Bracing for Trump to Cut the Resettlement Program Again

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Wants to Overhaul the F.D.A. Here’s How Experts Would Change It.

Dropped From Spending Bill, Cancer Research and D.C. Stadium Measures Revived by Senate

The New Climate Gold Rush: Scrubbing Carbon From the Sky

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MORNING POEM

by Mary Oliver

Every morning
the world
is created.
Under the orange

sticks of the sun
the heaped
ashes of the night
turn into leaves again

and fasten themselves to the high branches–
and the ponds appear
like black cloth
on which are painted islands

of summer lilies.
If it is your nature
to be happy
you will swim away along the soft trails

for hours, your imagination
alighting everywhere.
And if your spirit
carries within it

the thorn
that is heavier than lead–
if it’s all you can do
to keep on trudging–

there is still
somewhere deep within you
a beast shouting that the earth
is exactly what it wanted–

each pond with its blazing lilies
is a prayer heard and answered
lavishly,
every morning,

whether or not
you have ever dared to be happy,
whether or not
you have ever dared to pray.

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