- Report From A Small Farm In Boonville
- No Sane Person…
- Sparkles & Her Wolf Dog
- Support Your Local Library
- Noyo Harbor Planning Session
- Golf Emergency
- Project 2025 In Action
- Trump's War On Science
- Unhealthy Cuts
- What Changed?
REPORT FROM A SMALL FARM IN BOONVILLE
Dear Friends,
It's a beautiful spring; everything is blooming. The colors of the flowers are stunning : borage, blue; allysum, white; cyanothus, blue; wisteria, purple; red bud, pink/purple; flowering almond, pink; irises, yellow to black; ajuga, purple/blue; lilacs, lavender; ixia, yellow and red; calendula, orange; cactus, red; and starting now, roses, many reds. The scents in the air are divine. But even with all the beauty I find it very hard to come up with pleasant things to write about given the state of the world and especially our government.
Although tides appear to be turning in our favor, the repercussions resulting from the multitude of insane actions of our present regime are starting to be felt. Even on our very minor farm. We have already noticed that here are no more - not any - foreigners visiting the farm. In past years visitors stopped from nearly every country in the world and we would enjoy polyglot conversations with them, our cultural exchanges and social life. It's not that we're so special, but because our location is part of what's considered a prime tourist area with its scenic beauty, world renowned wineries, redwood forest, fabulous coastline, and endless cute (and expensive) places to eat, drink and stay in, that so many foreigners visit. Often they would stop because the word "farm" reminded them of home in countries where family farms are still abundant and loved. Now we've noticed that there are many, more-or-less local folks, from the Bay Area to Sacramento, stopping on their way to an inn on the coast, to camp, or just day tripping. We've even had really local folks from town stop by…very unusual. Our countrymen, the adventurous ones, stop mainly out of curiosity. The word "farm" in this country is unappealing, implying vast flat perfect rows, big machines, inedible crops and sad animals. We spend a lot of time explaining to our local guests what and how we do what we do, and why. The foreign travelers likely grew up with our way of living and were often thrilled to find a place in this country still farming this way.
Our relationships with the world are being severed and it's painful to experience directly as well as to understand it on a political level.
At the beginning of the month, on a beautiful spring day, we drove to Ft. Bragg to march against this regime with 1,000 other people. (Our signs are below.) Being with others who are as angry as we, lifted our spirits and to a degree, our hopes. Our fight has to continue so stay connected, keep resisting, join a group and be loud.
Maybe the pretty pictures will help our moods! Hang in, we will prevail.
Nikki Auschnitt & Steve Krieg
Boonville
NO SANE PERSON…
Editor,
No Sane Person Would Want To Be Annexed Into The City Of Ukiah. Protest… Protest… Protest… Just Say No.
Most in the area to be annexed have the Sheriff’s Dept. Wells, Other Water Districts, Septic Tanks, and PG&E.
Ukiah…Sewer is $60 Basic charge with a “usage” (?) fee. Water has a meter. Base charge of $51and a usage charge. Additionally, the more water you use, your sewer charges go up. So don’t pee, shower, or water your lawn. Then there is a street light fee of $2. Electricity has a base fee of $13.50, then a usage fee… And if you medically need electricity, the bill could kill you. Next, mandatory garbage services…$32 a month. You do not need police, you have a well-equipped Sherriff department.
Now a family of 2 or 3 is paying around $350. You haven’t turned on the air or watered your lawn.
And you still will pay PG&E for your gas appliances.
Ukiah is annexing you for revenue. The street repair on the East side of State St. is Cheap Slurry Seal, not the smooth blacktop for the western hills.
The city of Ukah is slick about how they promote annexing. It allowed Ukiah Valley Fire district to annex Ukiah. It has cost property owners in Ukiah an additional $100 on taxes. Why? Revenue or cronyism? We had a fire department, paid for with sales taxes and property taxes. Could it be that several at UVFD are Double Or Triple Dipping On Retirement? And every time an ambulance goes out, so does a fire truck, it’s in the contract… Job protection… This is costing Ukiah property owners, and it will cost you.
Martha Depriest
Ukiah
SPARKLES & HER WOLF DOG
Editor,
I’ve been putting rubber duckies out for people to enjoy and put a smile on their face and in memory of Cc Cinnamon my Wolf that passed.
She was born on Easter and I guess it made it in the Anderson Valley newspaper. It touched my heart and made me smile knowing that someone is enjoying them. I put some at the end of Gobbi Street at the baseball field and I just put some today at Anton and Todd Grove Park. I hope everybody enjoys them and the newspaper clippings showing that it was there.
Happy Easter and memory of Cc Cinnamon. I just wanted to let you know who has been hiding the little duckies.
Sparkles Totten
Ukiah
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY
Letter to the Editor:
In support of our libraries…
Libraries are another, irreplaceable American institution that is under attack by the current White House. Libraries are the backbone of a community. They provide so much to so many; all are welcome, and they are free. I have always been an avid reader, and was introduced to the library by my mother at a very early age. I use our Ukiah library for almost all my books now. I very rarely buy books, new or used. Even if I wanted to continue to buy books, as a retired school teacher on a pension, i could never afford to read the way i do now. It is one of my greatest pleasures, as it is for many people.
Sincerely,
Judith Corwin
Ukiah
NOYO HARBOR PLANNING SESSION
Dear Editor,
I attended the meetings in the Noyo Harbor for the Multimodal Circulation plan over the last two days. While there seemed to be rather limited interest from the public the presentation was both informative and interesting. It is apparent that much of the development in the past has had very little planning or vision of future needs as to how the Harbor would evolve into a modern public space. Issues addressed were, pedestrian access and safety, both in the North Harbor corridor and the approach from Route 1 on the north side of the bridge. The impacts of the new grocery store on the corner of Franklin and North Harbor Drive have yet to be determined but the need for adequate planning is essential.
More information is available at: http://noyooceancollective.org/MULTIMODAL-CIRCULATION-PLAN/
Sincerely,
Tim McClure
Fort Bragg
GOLF EMERGENCY
Editor:
The president declared a national economic emergency to justify imposition of tariffs worldwide. We all see the result. Several public sources note that he took Air Force One to Florida on April 3, then helicoptered to Trump National Doral Golf Club, attending the LIV golf dinner, followed by helicopter transport to Palm Beach Airport, with the next stop Mar-a-Lago. On April 4, to the golf course and back for the MAGA, Inc. Candlelight Dinner, price $1 million per head. The next such dinner, April 24, is scheduled for Washington. He will certainly travel back for this lucrative fundraiser. Such travels are costly for American taxpayers. Readers can decide: Whose emergency?
David L. Smith
Santa Rosa
PROJECT 2025 IN ACTION
Editor:
Let’s be clear-eyed what this DOGE attack on “waste, fraud, and abuse” is: a diversionary smoke screen to obscure the much larger purpose called for in Project 2025.
If actually improving government efficiency were the goal, all the nonpartisan, professional inspectors general would not have been fired. Nor would whole departments and agencies be eliminated and top-level experts fired. Elon Musk’s infamous chainsaw-to-government celebration said it all.
Project 2025’s ultimate goal, very clearly stated, is to remake America into a new “conservative state” — headed by an authoritarian executive with near-total control. Because they see government itself as “liberal-Democrat-woke,” it must be completely dismantled and reconstructed following the Russian and Hungarian models. Other “liberal” institutions destined for remakes are the media, universities, arts and culture and “the welfare industry,” including Social Security and Medicare.
All of us who’ve enjoyed America as it has been should not delude ourselves about what’s really happening. And, how much worse it’s likely to become.
Rick Childs
Mendocino
TRUMP'S WAR ON SCIENCE
Editor,
I am a 65-year-old physician and scientist. The focus of my research is finding the causes of inherited blindness and developing treatments, including gene therapies, to preserve the vision of affected patients. Our field is making great progress toward that goal, and it is thrilling to see patients’ vision improve after treatment.
My research team recently made an important discovery that could accelerate finding treatments for inherited blindness. I plan to stop seeing patients in June so I can focus solely on this research, but I may not be able to because our lab depends on funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Senior scientists like me are doing our best work now, and our careers — and the next groundbreaking innovations — are in jeopardy. Losing this cohort will deprive younger scientists of the mentors they need and the rest of the world of their discoveries. This kind of wanton destruction of decades of investment and progress is not efficient; it is actually wasteful.
Eric Pierce
Belmont, Massachusetts
UNHEALTHY CUTS
To the Editor:
We must be aware of the grave danger posed by the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to federal research funding and mass dismissal of National Institutes of Health scientists.
These cuts are especially reckless as artificial intelligence is revolutionizing drug discovery — identifying new treatments in months rather than years, designing novel drugs, repurposing old ones and streamlining clinical trials. Slashing N.I.H. funding threatens to stall these lifesaving breakthroughs just as they become possible.
Worse, we are fueling an irreversible scientific brain drain, forcing brilliant researchers to abandon their careers or move abroad, surrendering America’s scientific leadership and competitive edge to nations that are expanding their investment in this critical area.
The economic damage will be severe; every $1 invested in N.I.H. research generates $2.56 in economic activity, according to a recent report by United for Medical Research. Cutting funds means fewer start-ups, higher health care costs and the dismantling of one of our strongest innovation engines.
Scientific infrastructure can be destroyed in weeks, but takes decades to rebuild. Immediate action is needed to restore funding before we lose America’s biomedical scientific brainpower to other countries or other areas. This talent is needed to harness the power and synergy of A.I. and biomedical research to usher in a new golden age of medical advances and economic growth.
Alan Brownstein
Cold Spring, New York
WHAT CHANGED?
To the Editor:
Pope Francis was a well-meaning man, but did his voice make a difference to the lives of the voiceless, or was he simply a mouthpiece for the Roman Catholic Church’s mission of self-preservation?
After all, as the church loses ground in the wealthier societies around the world, the Vatican relies on growing the Catholic flock among the impoverished nations. Proselytization is a key element in that strategy. Is it therefore any surprise that its message is designed to appeal to the poor? If we are brutally honest, we must ask: What do these words of care and concern for the impoverished mean, and what have they changed?
The Roman Curia, the administrative body of the Vatican, ensures that even with the best of intentions, the pope does not stray far from the church’s own interests of affluence and influence. Pope Francis was a kind, well-intentioned man, but also a hard-working cog that helped keep that wheel spinning.
Anil Bhalla
New York, New York
What is driving Trump’s insane hatred of science, technology and institutions of higher learning?