- The Nerve
- Wildfire Questions
- Dead Air?
- Beyond The Pale
- Better Think It Over
- The Mote & The Beam
- H1-B Visas Take Away Jobs
- But It Isn’t
- State Faults Mendo For Pot Permit Flaws
THE NERVE
Editor,
President Donald Trump’s order to ban transgender people from the military asserts that because they are trans, they are not fit for duty. This has no basis in fact.
Many of those affected by this ban are functioning as well as any other military member. Otherwise, we would certainly have heard about the high percentage of transgender service members who are not cutting it.
The ban is simply an excuse to get rid of people who Trump and others like him don’t like.
Todd Bever
San Francisco
WILDFIRE QUESTIONS
Editor:
It would be helpful to know some facts about the fires in Los Angeles as well as earlier fires in Napa and Sonoma counties:
— What are the design and other aspects of those structures that did not burn down?
— What masks/respirators provide the best protection from smoke, gases and particles while putting out fires as well as for those in the area breathing smoky air?
— Who and what did individual people do that saved their own and others’ houses?
— What houses would have been saved if someone had been on-site to put out embers before they ignited the house?
— What are the media references about “private firefighters,” and who are those who have their services?
That, along with other information, can allow consideration of options. It seems to me that expecting municipal firefighters to be the sole answer is not working. Can we look to options that might include trained civil defense citizens to provide backup and support? It worked in World War II when every street block had a civil defense warden. Can we rise to the needs of the 21st century dangers the way those did in World War II and at other times?
Bruce Ketron
Napa
DEAD AIR?
To: KZYX
Dear Ms. Polkinghorne, General Manager
For the last three mornings there has been an hour of dead air between 5 and 6 am and no announcement that I have heard why Radio Bilingue has not been on the air at a time when its content would be most crucial for Mexican and Mexican-American listeners and those who are concerned for their welfare. When can the listeners expect an on-air explanation of this and, unless I missed it, there has been no explanation to date
I also noticed this morning that the Feb. 25 board meeting will also be held on zoom. This does not fulfill the CPB requirement that all meetings of the station boards be open to the public. as published in Sec. 2 of its Compliance manual of June 1, 2021, a year after the beginning of the covid crisis In other words, holding meetings on zoom does not fulfill that requirement.
Add to that. for some time, KZYX management has ignored the existence and requirements of the Community Advisory Board as described in the CPB manual and listed on the check list for stations at the back of the manual. Clearly, we are and have been in a period where such a board would seem essential.
I know that I speak for others regarding all of the above and look forward to your response.
Thank you.
Jeffrey Blankfort
Ukiah
BEYOND THE PALE
Editor:
I spent eight years of my professional life as a naval aviator flying F-4 Phantoms and an additional 13 years as a Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controller. To my knowledge Donald Trump has zero experience or training in civilian or military aviation, air traffic control or aviation accident investigations. To blame the accident in Washington on DEI and his Democratic predecessors, while rescue workers are still recovering the dead less than 24 hours after the accident, is beyond the pale. He should focus his limited intellectual energy on selling his fragrances, commemorative coins, MAGA hats, Trump steaks, Trump University tuition and his other endless exercises in self-adulation. Leave the world of aviation and accident investigations to professionals. It’s possible a few will survive his purge of talent and experience.
Dan Jenkins
Santa Rosa
BETTER THINK IT OVER
Editor:
The Santa Rosa paper reported that our congressman has “secured” $15 million of our own money to tear down Cape Horn Dam. This 100-year-old small dam, which does have a fish ladder, exists to provide a deep enough pool of water to allow Eel River water to enter the tunnel intake for the Potter Valley powerhouse. For over 100 years, that tunnel has facilitated moving water from the Eel River watershed to the Russian River watershed. Tear that dam down, and the pool disappears. Without the pool of water feeding it, Potter Valley and Lake Mendocino dry up most years. Is that a good idea?
Before we start tearing dams down, maybe we should figure out a secure and effective way for those who depend on the Russian River for their water to survive a dry Lake Mendocino.
John Torrens
Petaluma
THE MOTE & THE BEAM
Editor,
The Dems are in full throated outrage about President Trump's Executive Orders. Perhaps they should consider Matthew 7, verse 3: “And why beholdest thou this mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerist not the beam than is in thine own eye”. Let them turn their eyes to the ironclad support of Genocide Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for the slaughters in Gaza, the West Bank, Ukraine and Russia. Unfortunately, Nobel Peace Prize aspirant President Trump shows little sign of changing course.
To the Hague with the three killers, quickly, while Ole Joe still has a speck of comprehension.
Joan Vivaldo
San Francisco
H1-B VISAS TAKE AWAY JOBS
Editor:
I believe everyone should go online and check out how H1-B visas work. Talk about taking away jobs from American citizens. They get to work here for six years and can bring their spouse and children under 21. The spouse may also apply and be granted permission to work, taking away more American jobs. And the claim that we don’t produce enough “qualified” people by those who hire H1-B workers is complete nonsense. Just ask all the tech workers terminated in the past two years. It would be very interesting to see how many H1-Bs get permanent status here.
Mike Tuhtan
Sebastopol
BUT IT ISN’T
Editor,
President Donald Trump has called climate change a “hoax,” but we know that scientists have declared it a dangerous reality. But there is another climate change that is of concern: the social-psychological climate of the country.
We, as a nation, have enjoyed — despite ethnic differences — by and large, a positive social-psychological climate. That is rapidly changing with the Trump administration’s mass deportation of immigrants, the firing of federal civil service workers and inspectors general, the cancellation of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the rollback of legislation to protect the rights of LGBTQ people and the pardons of insurrectionists.
This climate in the U.S. is shifting to one of fear, suspicion, anger, insecurity, disappointment and worry about what shocking actions lie ahead.
Barbara Wilson
San Rafael
STATE FAULTS MENDO FOR POT PERMIT FLAWS
Editor,
I am sending this to Ukiah Daily Journal, Willits Environmental Center and Anderson Valley Advertising [sic]. Maybe you already know about this or can get to the bottom of it? I hope I’m wrong, but it looks like public agencies pulled a bait and switch to benefit pot growers?
It is common knowledge Mendocino’s Marijuana ordinance has been a failure. They could not issue their own permits, and then the state had to write an EIR to give them state permits. Even after the EIR was written, Willits Environmental Center and CDF&W and others still identified pretty serious problems: https://cannabis.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/appendix_feir_comments.pdf
Here is where I get confused. Someone gave me a copy of the letter I enclose. I haven’t been able to find it anywhere else, have not been able to find out anything from the County and there is nothing on their website about it.
CDF&W is not part of the SSHR anymore, like is required in the EIR? Who is dealing with the environmental issues?
Why is this not being made public? It seems like double dealing. And if the state isn’t doing what it says in the EIR, don’t they need to change the EIR to say what they are doing? Can’t they get sued for violating CEQA?
I don’t want to piss anyone off so I can’t say who I am.
Name Withheld
[Department of Fish and Wildlife logo/letterhead]
October 15, 2024
County of Mendocino
Planning and Building Department
501 Low Gap Road
Ukiah, CA 95482
pbs@mendocinocounty.org
Subject: California Department Of Fish And Wildlife’s Participation In The Mendocino County Cannabis Referral Program
This letter is in regard to the County of Mendocino’s (County) September 30, 2020, “Pilot Policy for Sensitive Species Review” (Pilot Policy), which has been used to implement Mendocino County Cannabis Ordinance Section 10A.17.100(A)(2) (Ordinance). This Ordinance proposed the Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) assist the County with evaluating potential impacts to sensitive species that may result from issuance of Mendocino County Cannabis Cultivation Permits. The Department is not usually assigned a role in County ordinances and believed the County would likely informally refer projects that proposed new site expansion or were unusual or unique in terms of sensitive species impacts instead of designating a specific role to the Department via ordinance.
In mid-2023, the County began referring a number of projects to the Department for review. To date, the County has referred hundreds of projects to the Department. In many cases, the County has already issued the approval for licensing or renewal.
In late Fall of 2023, the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) decided to act as Lead Agency and prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) in the summer of 2024 for state licensing of commercial cannabis cultivation in Mendocino County. This DEIR contemplates continued involvement of Department staff in site-specific review of cultivation sites by citing the County ordinance and stating that compliance with Section 10A.17.100(A) (2) is required.
Due to the DEIR’s reliance on the County Ordinance procedure, the Department must clarify the scope of the Department’s involvement in site-specific review of cultivation sites in Mendocino County. The Department has re-evaluated the County’s Sensitive Species and Habitats referral checklist (SSHR) (aka Exhibit A) and a large sample of the project referrals received and processed to date. In doing so, the Department has determined the SSHR requires modification. The Department’s recommended modifications to the criteria should result in far fewer referrals pending Department review and needing referral to the Department in the future. In addition, the modifications will result in changes to Department’s recommendations made to date.
The Department’s recommendations and changes to our participation in this process are stated below and in the revised SSHR (Appendix 1):
- Many cannabis cultivation sites in Mendocino County have both a Department Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreement and a permit from the North Coast Regional Waterboard. While many environmental issues can be identified and minimized with these permits, they are not a substitute for a thorough site-specific analysis conducted through a forward-looking California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process.
- While many cannabis cultivation sites existed prior to legalization, numerous sites have expanded beyond the footprints utilized prior to legalization and have been allowed to persist for years after expansion occurred. Attempting to conduct a Trustee agency review after impacts have occurred will likely underestimate impacts and limit options for both minimization and mitigation.
- After reviewing referrals and conducting site visits on many cannabis cultivation sites in Mendocino County, it is clear that significant environmental impacts have occurred on many parcels due to cannabis cultivation and associated activities. The existing process under the Pilot Project and Exhibit A is not sufficient to reduce most impacts to a level of less than significant, especially for sites that have already expanded since legalization or have been permitted without first undergoing CEQA review. The Lead Agency and the County should conduct their own site-specific environmental evaluation and analysis to determine if impacts are less than significant and take appropriate action to remediate any significant impacts. The Department is not the appropriate entity to conduct that review.
- The Department is providing a revised checklist for Exhibit A (see Appendix 1). This revised checklist will limit the County’s referral process to only those projects that: 1) have proposed future expansion, 2) have new cultivation sites that have not yet been developed, or 3) are sites in need of an LSA due to the use of natural water sources (see Appendix 1 for more details). All environmental review, evaluation, and follow up for environmental impacts that occurred prior to legalization, or for impacts due to the expansion of cannabis cultivation sites that have already occurred, should be completed by the County and the Lead Agency. The Department is withdrawing all previous comments with the exception of those sites that are proposing to expand (and have not already) or are newly proposed cannabis cultivation sites (see Appendix 2).
The DCC DEIR relies heavily on the review of each site using the Pilot Project review process, rather than a standard impact analysis and CEQA review. The Final EIR should modify use of the Pilot Project to reflect the new Exhibit A checklist and utilize additional methods not reliant on the Department to provide environmental impact evaluations on a site-specific basis and to determine if impacts are less than significant.
The Department would appreciate the County’s adoption and use of this revised SSHR immediately. Going forward, the Department’s involvement in assisting the County with determining potentially significant adverse impacts is limited to projects involving proposed future cannabis site disturbance/expansion and entirely new cannabis site disturbance/development. Again, the Lead Agency and the County should conduct their own site-specific environmental evaluation and analysis to determine if impacts are less than significant and take appropriate action to remediate any significant impacts.
We appreciate the opportunity to work with the County to assist in effectively regulating commercial cannabis cultivation, while addressing its documented environmental impacts. If you have any questions, please contact Environmental Program Manager, Rebecca Garwood at
R1LSAEureka@wildlife.ca.gov.
Sincerely,
[Signed Tina Bartlett]
Tina Bartlett, Regional Manager Northern Region
Enclosure: Appendix 1, Appendix 2
cc:
Mendocino County Cannabis Program
mcdpod@mendocinocounty.gov
North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board
NorthCoast.Cannabis@Waterboards.ca.gov
Department of Cannabis Control
info@cannabis.ca.gov
Doug Willson, Justin Rhoades, Amelia Wright, Jennifer Nguyen, Corinne Gray, Rebecca Garwood, Scott Bauer, Angela Liebenberg, Linda Reece-Wahl
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
JIM SHIELDS COMMENTS:
This all looks pretty damn accurate. I'll be passing this on to a few of the folks I work with on this mess. I see it was also sent to WEC [Willits Enviroment Center] who I also collaborate with. Some of this is referenced by WEC's attorneys in their cease-and-desist demand to the BOS, which, of course, they ignored.
Dan Jenkins and Barbara Wilson are spot on about Colonel bone spurs. He has no idea about science or duty to country. He is a pathological narcissist.