Mendocino County Today: Thursday 5/1/2025

Clearing | Local Events | Plaza Clarification | PG&E Earnings | Floodgate Store | Water Advisory | Liston Guilty | Firesafe Grants | Radio Drill | Prescribed Burns | Martha Phillips | Speakeasy Soiree | Boontling Classic | Art Show | Modic Vision | Maze | Ed Notes | Smart Train | Election 2012 | Lucy Copeland | Yesterday's Catch | House Moving | Sako Radio | Zap Comix | Pomo Songs | Bacchanal | Giants Lose | Warriors Lose | Learn Good | Hollywood 1950s | Bonnie Parker | Friendly Hostess | No Answer | Lead Stories | Brand Expert | Swedes | Presidential Dictatorship | Getting Weirder | Cognitive Dissonance | Worth Saving | Outa Here

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DRY weather with above normal interior high temperatures expected again today. Chance of rain and interior thunderstorms are forecast for Friday afternoon through Saturday. Much cooler temperatures and strong blustery winds expected this weekend. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): A foggy 44F on the coast this Thursday morning although the visible satellite shot doesn't show any? Increasing clouds into tomorrow then windy on Saturday with no rain in the current forecast now. No rain in the long range forecast either.

2024: Oct 1.26" - Nov 14.53" - Dec 12.05"
2025: Jan 1.65" - Feb 10.18" - Mar 6.37" - April 1.45"
YTD: 47.49"

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LOCAL EVENTS

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MIKE GENIELLA: A Clarification Is Needed. Some believe the City of Ukiah intends to demolish Alex R. Thomas Plaza. A fledgling petition drive has been launched to block such a move. It is based, apparently, on comments I included in a recent article on the construction of a new $144 million Mendocino County Courthouse, and how a completed project will bring significant changes to downtown Ukiah. In a lengthy interview, Deputy City Manager Shannon Riley mentioned the possibility of the city acquiring the current courthouse site — the historic heart of downtown since 1860 — and recreating the Thomas Plaza there. That move would open up the historic center of town to the public, instead of being developed commercially, or worse yet, allowing the squat, 1950s current courthouse, owned by the County of Mendocino, to become another white elephant downtown. To date, county representatives have not publicly discussed future uses of the current building. The existing Thomas Plaza is located on downtown’s southern edge, not in Ukiah’s historic center. Relocating Thomas Plaza is not a new idea. Two years ago, a group promoted demolishing the current courthouse and turning the site into a new Thomas Plaza. It included the notion that the Mendocino County Museum would take over the limestone-clad courthouse addition fronting School Street for use. It is time for responsible county officials to begin public discussions about the fate of the current courthouse and site, and not leave it up to speculation.

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RON PARKER: PG&E’s first-quarter earnings reach $634M and they want another rate increase!

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COMING SOON…

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UPDATE ON MENDOCINO’S WATER SUPPLY

Christina Aranguren:

If you’re curious as to what is meant by a ‘public water system’ in the State of California, it is very clearly - not generally - defined in the Health & Safety Code as a system that provides water for human consumption (i.e., drinking, bathing, hand washing, oral hygiene, cooking, food prep, and dish washing) to 15 or more connections or regularly serves 25 persons or more daily for at least 60 days out of the year.

Again, as State residents, any specific information and/or data regarding the recent bacterial contamination results that the cupcake stand outside Harvest Market is not able to answer can be directed to: Mr. Zachary Rounds, Mendocino District Engineer, District 03, Division of Drinking Water, State Water Resources Control Board at Zachary.Rounds@waterboards.ca.gov

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Supervisor Ted Williams:

I would not panic. The town of Mendocino does not have a centralized water system, and since the drought, the State (not the County) has increased enforcement of state water quality requirements. Restaurants using their own well water are generally regulated as public water systems. During the initial testing phase conducted over the past year or so, the state identified businesses that require enhanced treatment of their surface water to meet drinking water standards. The state communicates such findings through “enforcement actions,” which businesses must publicly post.

When I learned the state was considering these actions, I alerted the county. County departments only had days to understand the state’s intentions and to plan appropriate outreach. It’s understandably frustrating when government communication is limited to statements like, “something is wrong, but we won’t tell you exactly what or where.” Despite this, I’m confident our county staff is diligently sharing the information they have, working within a fragmented system governed by complex rules.

The county’s Environmental Health department has some overlapping responsibility in protecting public safety, but this particular effort is entirely state-driven. Public Health and Environmental Health have been brought in specifically to assist residents who may want their private water sources tested. However, questions about the enforcement actions are best answered by the definite source, which is the state’s Division of Drinking Water.

Many of Mendocino’s wells are shallow and effectively draw surface water, which typically requires treatment to comply with drinking water standards. Out of an abundance of caution, I encourage residents to have their water tested—but again, I would not panic.

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Public Health announcement

From: Little River Improvement Club

Time to have your own water and wells checked, even if you aren’t in Mendocino. The water table is so high this year, it is carrying more contamination from septic tanks and surface water than normal (which is zilch). It’s probably a problem all over along the coast terraces, but Public Health only checked in town. Here is the announcement:

Mendocino County Public Health is urging residents and businesses west of Highway 1 in the town of Mendocino to test their water following a state-issued boil water advisory affecting three local businesses.

In a press release issued Tuesday, the California State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Drinking Water said it had served citations and compliance orders to the businesses, prompting the boil water notice. While the specific businesses weren’t named, all are located west of Highway 1 — the area now under heightened scrutiny.

Dr. Charles Evans, the county’s Deputy Public Health Officer, recommended that anyone in the affected area have their water tested “as a precaution.” The county’s Environmental Health team is actively working with impacted businesses and offering support to others that may be at risk.

Public Health officials will be on-site at Harvest Market at Mendosa’s (10501 Lansing Street, Mendocino) from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30, and Thursday, May 1, to answer questions and provide information to concerned residents.

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EXCUSES DON’T WORK; AGGRAVATED DUI DRIVER CONVICTED.

A Mendocino County Superior Court jury deliberated for an hour before returning to the courtroom to announce it had found the trial defendant guilty as charged.

Defendant Caleb Liston, age 31, of Redwood Valley, was found guilty of driving a motor vehicle on June 2024 on North State Street while under the influence of alcohol; and driving a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration .08 or greater, both as misdemeanors.

The jury also found true an aggravated DUI allegation alleging that the defendant’s blood alcohol was .15 or greater. It was shown at trial that the defendant’s blood alcohol was tested after his arrest and found to be .23/.22.

The law enforcement agencies called on to present evidence at the trial were the Ukiah Police Department and the Department of Justice’s forensic crime laboratory.

The prosecutor who presented the People’s evidence to the jury was Deputy District Attorney David Moutrie.

Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Keith Faulder presided over the two-day trial.

(DA Presser)

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MENDOCINO COUNTY FIRE SAFE COUNCIL AWARDS $150,000 to Local Wildfire Safety Projects

The Mendocino County Fire Safe Council (MCFSC) is pleased to announce the distribution of $150,000 in grant funding to support wildfire preparedness and community resilience efforts. A total of 20 Micro-Grants were awarded to 15 Neighborhood Fire Safe Councils and 5 fire agencies in recognition of their ongoing commitment to protecting our communities from wildfire risks.

These groups are leading the way in grassroots fire prevention, showcasing community-driven innovation and action. Projects funded this year range from fuel reduction and water storage installations to community education events, emergency equipment purchases, home hardening projects, and defensible space assessments.

“What inspires me most is seeing neighbors come together to protect one another,” said Eva King, Community Outreach Coordinator of the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council. “These grants don’t just fund projects, they support the people doing the work, side by side, to make their communities safer.”

The 2025 Micro-Grant Program was made possible through generous support from the PG&E Corporation Foundation, which contributed $50,000 for the third consecutive year, and from Mendocino County Measure P and other MCFSC resources. Grant amounts ranged from $2,000 to $12,500. Many projects include significant in-kind support—such as volunteer labor, material donations, and local fundraising—which further amplifies their impact.

The selection process prioritized proposals that demonstrated strong community collaboration, beneficial impact, fire risk reduction, clear budgeting, and realistic timelines. 

Here are the 2025 Micro-Grant recipients and their funded projects:

• Albion Little River FSC – Fuel reduction for invasive broom
  
• Black Bart Trail FSC – Defensible space assessments and home hardening
  
• Black Oak Ranch FSC – Fuel reduction for a summer camp
  
• Blue Rock FSC – Water tank installation
  
• Cahto FSC – Fuel reduction and trash removal
  
• Comptche Firewise – Water tank installation
  
• Feliz Creek FSC – Joint Firewise education event with McNab Firewise
  
• Hopland Fire Department – Fire break creation/prescribed burn equipment
  
• Leggett Fire Protection District – Purchase of handheld radios
  
• Long Valley Fire Department – Residential defensible space assessments
  
• McNab Ranch FSC – Radios and water tanks
  
• Piercy Fire Department – Emergency generator for community shelter
  
• Piercy PSRMA FSC – Roadside fuel reduction
  
• Point Arena FSC – Senior-focused wildfire preparedness event
  
• Redwood Valley–Calpella Fire Department – Reflective address signs and radios
  
• Round Valley FSC – Emergency equipment storage unit
  
• Spy Rock Ready FSC – Water tank installation
  
• String Creek FSC – Storage unit for temporary refuge area
  
• Surfwood Prepared FSC – “Map Your Neighborhood” organizing project
  
• Yorkville Firewise – Bulk vent material for home hardening
  

Residents are encouraged to connect with their local Fire Safe Council or fire department to learn more about these projects and get involved. To find or start a Neighborhood Fire Safe Council in your area, visit firesafemendocino.org/nfsc. For Micro-Grant program guidelines, history, and updates, visit firesafemendocino.org/micro-grants. or contact MCFSC at king@firesafemendocino.org.

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MAY FIRST RADIO DRILL

Tomorrow there will be several counties participating in a practice "earthquake" radio drill.  Those of you with GMRS radios that would like to practice reporting to Gaspo regarding your status after the "earthquake" are encouraged to do that on the Point Arena repeater channel 1 - on your radio it will say, "PARP01".

The drill will start at 0900 (9:00 am) and end at 16:30 (4:30)

Reply to this email if you have any questions.

Jennifer Smallwood <firesafepointarena@gmail.com>

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PRESCRIBED BURNING PLANNED FOR LOWER TENMILE CREEK NORTH OF LAYTONVILLE

Pile and Broadcast Burns Scheduled for Sunday 5/4 and Monday 5/5

Torchbearr, in collaboration with The Eel River Recovery Project, local landowners, and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), is planning a prescribed burn on lower Tenmile Creek on Sunday Mary 4 and Monday May 5, 2025. The burn crew will work at two sites along lower Tenmile to treat approximately 15-acres of forest understory fuels through broadcast burning and 8 acres of piles.

The planned burn areas are located near Hwy 101 approximately 7 miles northwest of Laytonville. During the burn, smoke may be visible in the area. The burn will be led by qualified Burn Boss Scot Steinbring of Torchbearr and staffed by fire professionals, with permission from CAL FIRE, pending an approved burn plan, burn permit, smoke permit.

Funding for the Tenmile Creek Watershed Forest Health Project was provided by CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program as part of California Climate Investments (CCI), a state-wide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly disadvantaged communities. The cap-and-trade program also creates financial incentives for industries to invest in clean technologies and develop innovative ways to reduce pollution. CCI investment projects include affordable housing, renewable energy, public transportation, zero-emission vehicles, environmental restoration, more sustainable agriculture, recycling, and much more. At least 35% of these investments are located within and benefitting residents of disadvantaged communities, and low income households across California. For more information, visit the California Climate Investment website at: www.calclimateinvestments.ca.gov.

ERRP is interested in recruiting volunteers to participate in controlled burns to assist with meeting their current ambitious prescribed fire goals, and to help the community build a stewardship corps that can assist with cooperative controlled burns as a way of maintaining forest and grassland health into the future. Anyone with interest should contact ERRP Managing Director Pat Higgins at 707 223-7200. Look for alerts to burn activity on the ERRP Facebook page (www.facebook.com/EelRiverRecovery/).

Contact: Alicia Bales abaleslittletree@gmail.com or Patrick Higgins phiggin@sonic.net

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THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MENDOCINO COUNTY’S 1920s SPEAKEASY SOIREE

Last call for tickets for our second annual dinner and auction. See you there!

Transport yourself to the 1920s at our Speakeasy Soiree and explore the history of bootlegging in Mendocino County. Join us at Barra of Mendocino Winery & Event Center to enjoy music from the era and a delectable menu fashioned from the favorite foods of “notorious” bootleggers by chef Matthew Allison. The Ukiah Players Theatre will perform local bootlegging stories. There will be a live and silent auction filled with unforgettable Mendocino County experiences. The auction continues to support the opening of the Held-Poage Memorial Home Museum and the Historical Society’s effort to catalog its extensive collection. We invite you to dress in 1920s attire, however it is not required. See you there on Sat. May 17, 2025 at 5 P.M.

This year there will be quick check-in and check-out. Go to the Event Page (https://www.facebook.com/events/3939313896387677/)

Tickets are on sale until May 2nd

$100/General Admission

$1000/Table of 8 - In addition to supporting the HSMC, your table will include priority seating close to the auction stage, and special extras at your table as a thank you!

To buy tickets contact us: 707-462-6969 or info@mendocinocountyhistoy.org

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PINOT WEEKEND AND MEMORIAL WEEKEND A UNIQUE PAIRING

Taste the Colors of Anderson Valley — Art at Domaine Anderson + Open Studio Weekends May 17-18 & 24-25

Earthy notes of turned earth, forest, and field — these flavors combine to create the taste of this remarkable place.

Barns, Color, and the Flavor of Place Art rooted in landscape

Experience my newest work at Domaine Anderson Tasting Room in Anderson Valley.

Barns, Color, and the Flavor of Place opens during the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival (May 16-18) and will remain on view throughout the summer.

Just as terroir imparts a distinct sense of place to wine, I respond to the environment around me—breathing in the land’s textures, colors, and histories. In this dialogue between land and maker, I create art that carries the spirit and alchemy of Anderson Valley.

In addition to the tasting room show, my Studio & Sculpture Garden will also be open for two special weekends:

Saturday-Sunday, May 17-18 and Saturday-Sunday, May 24-25, from 11 AM to 5 PM each day. And open by appointment

You’re warmly invited to stop by, experience the work in person, and stroll through the Sculpture Garden.

Visiting the studio is taking a moment to slow down, have a conversation, make a connection. Whether you come to look, to talk, buy or simply to enjoy the quiet beauty of the surroundings, I welcome you.

A toast to art and spirit.

Cheers,

Rebecca Johnson

Visit Details:

Domaine Anderson Tasting Room

9201 Highway 128, Philo, CA 95466

Open Thursday-Monday, 11 AM - 5 PM

(On view May 16-18 and throughout summer)

Rebecca’s Studio & Sculpture Garden

1200 Highway 128, mile marker 15.08, Navarro, CA 95463

Open Saturday-Sunday, May 17-18 and May 24-25

11 AM - 5 PM

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THE ANDERSON VALLEY ADVERTISER: ONE YEAR GONE

by Paul Modic

It’s been a year since the mighty AVA shut down the print edition and reverted to digital only, here’s how my interaction with it has changed as a reader and writer.

My M O for reading any online article is to scan the title and if it grabs me I’ll print it off and read it later at my leisure, most likely when reclining, whether it’s in the AVA, New York Times, or from anywhere else. (This is to reduce screen and sitting time and I usually accumulate at least ten in the “to read” pile, often taking days to catch up.)

In the good old days with the AVA hard copy in my hand, I usually read most of it but now much less of the online edition. When deciding what to read I never reread a previously published article, just as I’ve never reread a book or rewatched movies, with the exception of parts of The Big Labowski, Oh Brother Where Art Thou, and Idiocracy.

So what do I read in the AVA now? When the print edition ended I mostly ignored the website, eventually came back to glance at the headlines and comments, and now skim the comments as well as scrolling through Mendocino County Today nearly every day looking for printable articles. I scroll, cull, and print, usually not many, maybe none or one a day, though recently many have perked my interest and made the print-and-read cut.

I never read Taibbe, Kunsler, Caitlin Jenner, Bernie and all other opinionistas, for why would I want to bore myself with others’ opinions? Then again, since I never read them maybe I’m missing something fucking amazing, my loss? Do tell. (Most “London Review of Books” articles are printed and read.)

In the paper edition I rarely read Yearsley, too intellectual for my hillmuffin brain, though when I did wade through one of his articles it was pretty damn good and he’s probably the best pure writer in the AVA stable. In the digital edition I probably have printed and read only one or two of his the whole year, more a knock on me than him.

I’ll read anything by Bruce McEwen, though his imaginative take on reality, laced with comedy few get, well at least not me, also swerves toward the Yearsley intellectual bent, though not as fun and easy reading as his court reports were, which I never missed.

Tommy Wayne is always printed and read, Ginella sometimes during the Cubbison scandal, the informative and reputable Shields is worth a glance and a deeper look sometimes. Gardner is plugging back in with some oldies, just printed and read off his Cohn/McCarthy hearings retro look, as well as a ballad that’s still in the “to read” pile a week later. Mark Scaramella’s essential county government reports are worth at least a skim, sometimes a print, but as I moved out of Mendo six years ago I’m not as connected or interested. Hilig is readable, mostly appearing just in comments these days, he had a great one recently about Dylan trying out a guitar in Bolinas. (I always enjoyed his memoirs of growing up in Southern California.) Taha’s’s travel stories are eminently printable and I always read Ruskin, though I didn’t bother to process the last one, falsely call me apathetic but protest-marches-against-Trump stories don’t appeal to me.

Though an avid sports fan I don’t read the Chronicle reprints about the Giants, 49ers, or Warriors except when the team is at or near the top and then I’ll wallow in any verbose accolades I come across, admittedly a fair weather fan.

I’ll read anything by Doug Holland except his political commentary as I’m not interested in amateur’s opinions. (Trump bad, yeah I get it.) Also, since retiring last year and kicking back on social security, he’s run out of content since he no longer has to get shitty jobs for about three weeks (the average time it took for him to hate it or them to hate him), writing about real life shit which I had found very entertaining.

(The best stuff on his blog now, or worst as Bruce would opine, are my very risque stories, poems, and dialogs I post in his weekly “Anything Goes” segment at itsdougholland.com.)

Teton report? No. Review of the variety show? Hell no, just ‘cause I’m probably envious of all those glory hogs, it coulda been me, dammit! Strangely, the Boonville water and sewage project is interesting at times. I always read Marco McClean’s letters and entertaining stories, good to see him telling some of them in the comments section, and he reads my AVA stories on his weekly KNYO radio show, including my dirty ones at 3am when he’s sure no one’s listening. (https://tinyurl.com/KNYO-MOTA-0641)

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How has writing in the AVA changed for me in the last year? Before, I’d send in an essay or story every week or so (most were rejected) and often it would appear on MCT, then work its way to a stand alone article in the main feed, then end up on the lower right hand list of current articles, which meant it would go into the print edition and then on to the archives.

I rarely got any response from readers in the paper edition, except when Jim Dodge wrote a long satiric critique of my home invasion story last year. There were also few responses when anything appeared online and in the last year since the print edition went away there were maybe five or ten comments reacting to my essays/stories.

I was used to that, figuring there was a probably a small audience out there reading but not commenting. (When I had my column in the now defunct “Independent” last year for twenty-nine weeks I also got no reactions except for a few “attaboys” on the street from some fans, and never got an email though I included my hillmuffin@gmail.com address in nearly every one.)

So it was the same old question, was anyone reading? Eventually I started submitting to the online AVA and revved it up last Winter when I sent in four or five a week on successive days. It was a variety of short vignettes, including a longer one from the deeper past, new ones and time-less ones. (I did that for a few months and was on a roll until one about my misadventures, Unitarian youth group during high school days, didn’t make the cut and I went on strike. Did anyone notice?)

The reason I was sending in so many vignettes and essays was because I’d learned my lesson: Don’t hold anything back, as “The Geezer Gazette” (thanks Fred Gardner) could instantly disappear like the AVA hard copy and the vanished Independent.

When I wrote for the print edition was anyone reading? When I write for the online edition is anyone reading? Did or does it matter if I have few readers including the editors? It’s still the same process: I’m doing something I like and I’ll be back, as there’s nowhere else to go.

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ED NOTES

BERNIE MEYERS, former North Coast Railroad Authority Board member, nicely deconstructed the ongoing (but now renamed and shifted as The Great Redwood Trail) railroad scam a quarter century ago: “There is good news regarding the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA). Its freight hauler, NWP, has been providing rail service to customers between Lombard (near Napa) and Windsor, since July 2011. Major shipments include loads of concrete ties and rail cars holding 1600 feet of continuous rail for SMART. But there is ample bad news. First, NCRA has awarded a ‘No Bid’ contract to NWP that ballooned in cost and came in a year beyond the supposedly strict four-month deadline: In March 2010 NCRA was told that the 62-mile Lombard to Windsor repair project was substantially complete. All that was needed to pass inspection by the feds was a four-item ‘punch list’ of repairs. It would cost less that $1 million and be completed quickly. Ordinarily this would require bidding, but in April NWP was awarded a contract to complete the work ‘at cost’ by September 1, 2010. The award was ‘capped at $1.1 million.’ By August the contract ‘cap’ was increased to $1.9 million and the completion date became October 1, 2010. The feds inspected the line in January 2011 and allowed operations. Yet hundreds of thousands of dollars were supposedly spent on the ‘punch list’ work for seven months after the inspection was completed. In October 2011 there had been no change to the August 2010 contract. Yet NCRA was presented with a summary of NWP’s expenses: $2.5 million. Then there is the Lease between NCRA and NWP: The initial Lease of September 2006 had the potential of handing the line to NWP for a century after NCRA spent over $60 million taxpayer dollars to repair the first 62 miles (out of about 310) and yet under the Lease NWP could conceivably not pay a dime to NCRA once trains were running. Some of the egregious provisions were deleted by a June 20, 2011 Amendment. But in October 2011 NWP demanded a reversal of those June 20 changes, plus new onerous provisions. For example, NWP had paid $20,000 monthly advance lease payments to NCRA. They were explicitly without interest and were to be credited to NWP once operations started. Suddenly, in October 2011, NWP demanded prompt repayment of all the funds and retroactive interest! NWP demanded that NCRA sell its Ukiah Depot property [the site for the proposed new Ukiah courthouse — Ed] and that NWP have first rights to the proceeds to cover all of what NWP perceived as its due. NWP would loan NCRA operating funds until the Ukiah Depot sold, or July 1, 2012, whichever came first. The NCRA Executive Director stated, ‘A new track rental fee will be renegotiated prior to the disbursement of funds from the sale of the Ukiah Depot Property.’ (The Ex. Dir. has refused to place the October 2011 Lease amendment on NCRA’s website.) July 1, 2012 came and went. However, no Depot sale had occurred and no new fee had been negotiated. NWP now refuses to pay NCRA for NWP’s use of the right-of-way. Meanwhile, NWP is seeking new funds to extend the line northward. Before proceeding further, NCRA should embrace both transparency and fiscal prudence. It should not expend additional millions of taxpayer dollars until it knows how, if at all, the public will benefit. [Bernie Meyers is a Novato attorney who represents Marin County on the board of directors of the North Coast Railroad Authority.]

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FROM THE ARCHIVE: Election Notes, 2012 — The More Things Change…

Assembled by Mark Scaramella & Bruce Anderson

Fleeting impressions.

As usual, most of US lost, and, as usual, almost half those eligible to vote didn’t bother. Obama and Romney spent about $6 billion raised from wealthy individuals, and wealthy individuals organized as corporations gulled and gutted Americans at the rate of $70 a vote.

Mendocino County has a new congressman exactly like the old one, while the old one, Mike Thompson, moved next door to a district specially gerrymandered for him where he was enthusiastically embraced by a welcoming landslide vote. Of course Thompson, standing for exactly nothing but more of the same, never broke an electoral sweat on the Northcoast.

Congressman-elect Jared Huffman visited Boonville a couple of times pre-election, the most recent being a Boonville meet-and-greet with Anderson Valley’s senior hippies. Now that he’s elected, if Huffman ever appears in Anderson Valley again, he’ll materialize like Thompson used to appear, slithering in unannounced to meet with the wine people and a few superior court judges in the subdued setting of one of our roadside booze boutiques.

The Northcoast’s eternal electoral curse, Wes Chesbro, was returned to office in the state assembly for the umpteenth time. Here’s a guy who’s never held gainful employment outside elective office where, lo these many years, he’s gained absolutely nothing for the saps who just keep on voting for him.

Mendo and the rest of the Northcoast voted to put GMO warnings on food labels. Everyone else — except for the SF Bay Area — believed corporate food producers that the warnings were a bad idea, and yet another example of people voting against themselves.

A Northcoast plurality voted to end corporate personhood, not that it matters much because the big money in whatever form will find its way to get its way.

Jerry Brown successfully pimped “the kids” to beef up the teacher’s retirement system, fund courts and to guarantee more than one year’s funding for the return of some state prisoners to county jails. Brown did it all in one grand swindle, Prop 30.

Diane Sawyer was drunk on camera election night: “And the winner is chardonnay!” as one blogger put it. We wondered how much drunker she might get before ABC cut to a commercial and replaced her with Tom Brokaw, the latter looking more lizard-like than the last time we saw him, which was I don’t know when because every time we do see him we feel like shotgunning our television sets.

It wasn’t by accident that neither of the presidential candidates talked much about the economy beyond soothing platitudes about how swell the “recovery” numbers are looking (Obama) and how much healthier the economy would be if free enterprise were all the way un-taxed and generally unchained (Romney). Meanwhile, the economy will move into full-catastrophe mode as The Fed, a consortium of private banks, plunges $30 billion a week in new money they’ve freshly printed to keep the ol’ ponzo chugging along a little longer. There’s too much bad paper out there, and printing bad money to shore up bad paper leads to very bad places.

National infrastructure? Nada. Single payer? Forget it. Less war? No way. Restoration of habeas corpus? Gone forever. Search and seizure? Come on in, Mr. Government, mi casa, su casa.

Obama might loosen up the DEA’s war on marijuana, but that would be bad economic news for Mendocino County where the underground economy represents at least half of the more or less legit one, and where dope is already down to about $1,200 a pound, and falling, because ever more people are getting into the business. It’s good for the marijuana economy that the cops at all levels take off as much dope as they do because pot raids keep prices at a reasonably lucrative level. (We hasten to add here that we regard dope of all kinds as a plague and a curse on the land.)

The Mendo economy consists largely of pot, booze, public employment, a few big box stores, a few little box stores, fast food, food stamps, and Gram and Gramp’s Social Security, which both candidates agreed has to be “reformed,” which means cut by Obama or privatized by the scared white people still hunkered down behind the Republican banner biting their nails that “the Mexicans are taking over.” That’s us. In fact, that’s US.

When the Press Democrat asked Jared Huffman why he ran for Congress Huffman replied, “I am looking forward to representing this incredible coastal district in Congress. I couldn’t be happier.” As if the district is any more incredible or credible than any other place, and his happiness is relevant to anything except maybe his wife who has to live with a man so deeply superficial (sic) that he can say this kind of stuff with a straight face. Is she happy? The answer to that one would be interesting

Huffman attributed his success to a “100 percent positive” campaign. “They knew me; I knew them,” he said.

Wrong.

George The Gerbil would have beaten Republican Dan Roberts in the Second District, one of California’s uber-blue-est, if George had a “D” after his name.

Locally, we were pleased find that the AVA was approved by 79% of the electorate. The Abandoned Vehicle Abatement program, that is, and a $1 vehicle license fee will pay for continuing it.

In Mendo, ending corporate personhood went over pretty big at 73%. Apparently, the other 27% thought Pepsico was the last name of that Italian Alzheimer’s patient who wandered away from the nursing home in Ukiah.

South Coast school critic Susan Rush got an impressive 47% of the vote in her Manchester Elementary School Board, falling just short of the winner, Mary Beth Boyd. Ms. Boyd had claimed on her application for candidacy that she was a “retired school teacher,” which was “a little shy of the truth” as Ms. Rush pointed out. “Ms. Boyd was rehired immediately following her retirement with the Point Arena School District,” explained Ms. Rush. “She has been telling community members she actually makes more now that she is semi-retired than what she did while working full-time. Boyd was making over $54K a year without benefits. Ms. Boyd was paid $5,000 as an incentive for early retirement; she is receiving retirement funds and being paid a part-time salary by the Point Arena School District. She was/is a math teacher — I guess she did the math and went for the bigger bucks. However, the elementary school continues to be below proficiency State levels in math.”

Three seats were up for the city council in that perpetually turbulent fog-bound hamlet known as Point Arena, population 449, at least half of them sober at any given time. Incumbents Jim Koogle with 56 votes and Trevor Sanders with 49 votes will be joined by Phil Burfoot, 36 votes. The deluge of support for these three guys buried five other candidates for the third open seat on the Council. (But it was close and not all the votes are in.)

In the race for Point Arena Treasurer, former councilperson Lauren Sinnott got 33 votes, which was actually fewer than her write-in opponent(s) who got 39 votes. If 34 or more of those write-in votes were for one person, Ms. Sinnott, a smart, pleasant person who nevertheless arouses strong antipathies and might be the first person in Modern Mendo History to lose to a write-in candidate.

The city council results in Willits and Fort Bragg may not change, but in Point Arena, with three open seats, only seven votes currently separate the third and fourth place finishers. And other seats remain up for grabs, like the Point Arena Treasurer’s office, where recalled Mayor Lauren Sinnott was the only candidate on the ballot, but was being challenged by Caitlin Riehl, running as a write-in candidate. The election night tally showed 33 votes for Ms. Sinnott and 39 for “write-in,” but it remains to be seen how many of the write-in votes were for Ms. Riehl, as opposed to Mickey Mouse, the perennial favorite of write-in voters. And how many people correctly spelled Ms. Riehl’s name?

Ms. Sinnott is also known as the “Art Goddess.” She’s the creator of vagina-shaped purses she successfully markets as “the velvet vulva,” and tell me that Mendocino is not on the very cutting edge of free enterprise. But the thought of this imaginative woman serving as Treasurer is apparently too much for the recallers. The Treasurer is called upon to make monthly reports to the Council, and while Ms. Sinnott made it clear that she would act in a support role to the Council, she also noted the fiscal oversight function of the treasurer and the ability to see the big picture and provide fiscal analysis of the impacts of policy decisions. Ms. Sinnott also expressed a sincere wish to “move forward and leave the bad feeling of past events behind us,” a sentiment apparently not shared by some residents of the fervid little town. If the name Caitlin Riehl sounds familiar, it is probably because she was one of the recallers, along with her husband, Brian Riehl, who was previously elected to the Council, but chose not to run for re-election this time around.

Three seats were up for election on the Willits City Council. In preliminary results, challenger Madge Strong’s surprisingly “strong” second place showing with 450 votes leads long-time councilman/mayor Bruce Burton by 26 votes. And, if confirmed, Strong’s success will mean that incumbent Victor Z. Hanson will be bumped off the Council.

Jerry Brown’s controversial (not to say cynical) Proposition 30 tax measure surprised long-time political observers by passing statewide with 54%. It passed in Mendocino County with over 61% of the vote among that half of eligible voters who bothered to vote.

Preliminary election returns for Mendocino County were not posted until 1:43 Wednesday morning. Many thousands of ballots remain to be counted and no further updates will be provided until final election returns are reported several weeks from now, by which time everyone will have forgotten that we had an election, not that the final results are likely to alter the outcomes except maybe in Point Arena and Willits.

We remember a time, not so many years ago, when the local elections officials prided themselves on getting the ballots counted and the returns out as soon as they could, usually by midnight on election day. There was some awareness that candidates and voters in Willits or Fort Bragg might be anxiously awaiting the local city council results. We understand that polling place ballots must be driven to the elections office in Ukiah to be counted, and that each precinct must first go through the process of accounting for all ballots. But Willits, twenty miles from election central, had to wait more than four hours after the polls were closed to get their results. And Fort Bragg, another 35 miles to the west from Willits, had to wait until 1:43am, nearly six hours after the polls were closed, to get its final results.

When Marsha Wharf, former registrar of voters, started doing away with local polling places in favor of mail-in voting, complaints were answered with the explanation that the change would save money and increase voter turnout. Sue Ranochak, Wharf’s successor, is sticking to the party line, but we question the cost savings and are doubtful about the claimed increase in voter participation. We support giving voters the option to vote a permanant absentee ballot if that is their preference. But for many voters, going to the polls with their neighbors was an integral part of the election day ritual. (As was posting results as they were known by hand on a big chalk board in the lobby of the County Courthouse or the Palace Hotel, a community event every political person in the County looked forward to.) Now, election day has been replaced with mail-in ballot month. And election night results, which were definitive except in the closest of races, have now been replaced by post-election limbo which drags on for the better part of another month before the many thousands of outstanding ballots are processed, sorted, manipulated (who knows?) and finally counted.

Ranochak announced last Thursday morning that her office was sitting on 17,795 vote-by-mail ballots, including 1,029 provisional ballots. Only 18,577 votes were counted on election night, barely more than half of the total votes cast. Approximately 1,608 of the ballots are from the City of Fort Bragg, which represents double the 805 ballots counted on election night. In Willits, the outstanding ballots number about 836, almost as many as the 860 tallied so far. And in Point Arena, there are another 95 uncounted ballots, while only 88 were counted election night. Under state law the Registrar’s Office has 28 days to certify the election and produce the final results, thereby leaving voters and candidates alike to twist in the wind for several more weeks.

The switch to vote-by-mail ballots, and the elimination of most polling places, means that the mail-in ballots are usually pretty representative of the electorate as a whole. Therefore, although only about half the Willits ballots were counted on election night, and only a third in Fort Bragg, the City Council results in those cities are not expected to change. But with so many ballots still to be counted, and the results not even close to being final, it is somewhat unseemly for the putative winners to claim victory, and understandable if the apparent losers hope for a reversal. None of this happened when people had to apply to vote absentee and most people voted in a voting booth at their neighborhood polling place. All ballots were accounted for by the poll workers, driven over the hill to Ukiah, and efficiently counted — with final results usually available before midnight. And with a series of updates so voters and candidates could see the trends. Now we get “results” that aren’t final, in one fell swoop at nearly 2am and have to wait another four weeks until someone gets around to counting the other half of the ballots to find out if anything changed.

Why so many uncounted ballots on election night? Lots of people mail their ballots at the last minute, or drop them off at a polling place or at the elections office in Ukiah. And although the registrar has said they process everything that comes in prior to election day, given the extra large volume in a presidential election year, and the desire to save money by not hiring enough people to keep up, the result is a big uncounted pile of ballots sitting around waiting to be counted. And several candidates and lots of voters waiting for the results and wondering: whatever happened to election day? To register a complaint, call the Registrar of Voters Office at 463-4371, or try (800) 992-5441, and when prompted, enter 4370, 4371 or 4372.

Mendo went along with state votes on all but two of the ballot measures: Death Penalty repeal (Mendo, yes; California, no); and GMO labeling (Mendo, yes; California no).

AVA Recommendations, the statewide result, and Mendo’s vote:

PROP 30: Governor Brown’s temporary tax plan: (AVA: Recommendation: No.) Statewide Yes: 54%, No 46%; Mendocino County Yes 61% No 39%

PROP 31: Two year State budget: (AVA: Recommendation: No.) Statewide Yes: 39%, No 61%; Mendocino County Yes 35% No 65%

PROP 32: Limit union political contributions. (AVA: Recommendation: No.) Statewide Yes: 44%, No 56%; Mendocino County Yes 36% No 64%

PROP 33: Let insurance companies set auto insurance Rates. (AVA: Recommendation: No.) Statewide Yes: 45%, No 55%; Mendocino County Yes 35% No 65%

PROP 34: Death penalty repeal. (AVA: Recommendation: Yes.) Statewide Yes: 47%, No 53%; Mendocino County Yes 53% No 47%

PROP 35: Radical increase in jail time for pimps that would also require that they register as sex offenders. (AVA: Recommendation: Yes.) Statewide Yes: 81%, No 19%; Mendocino County Yes 80% No 20%

PROP 36: Three strikes law reform: (AVA: Recommendation: Yes.) Statewide Yes: 69%, No 31%; Mendocino County Yes 77% No 23%

PROP 37: GMO Labeling. (AVA: Recommendation: Yes.) Statewide Yes: 47%, No 53%; Mendocino County Yes 58% No 42%

PROP 38: Alternate/phony tax measure. (AVA: Recommendation: No.) Statewide Yes: 28%, No 72%; Mendocino County Yes 31% No 69%

PROP 39: Compels out-of-state corporations to pay proportionate taxes in California. (AVA: Recommendation: Yes.) Statewide Yes: 60%, No 40%; Mendocino County Yes 69% No 31%.

Tariq Ali nicely summed up the Obama-Romney charade: “Nothing could disguise the fact that it was a painfully dull election, a tribal conflict at which little was really at stake. Obama, with his Wall Street chums giggling hysterically, pretended to defend the poor by denouncing Mitt as a rich ‘un. Romney, desperate to win, denounced Barry as a radical, when, as Wall Street honchos acknowledge, he has neither said nor done anything that might make the oligarchy apprehensive.”

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CATCH OF THE DAY: Wednesday, April 30, 2025

VINCENT ALVAREZ, 32, Covelo. Controlled substance, paraphernalia, under influence, probation revocation.

TRAVIS GREY, 41, Ukiah. US Marshall’s warrant.

DELISSE JONES, 43, Eureka/Ukiah. Failure to appear.

CALVIN MAGPIE JR., 42, Ukiah. Controlled substance, suspended license, failure to appear, probation revocation.

STEVEN NOVOA, 44, Ukiah. Unspecified offense.

BILLY RICKMAN, 52, Ukiah. Controlled substance with two or more priors, paraphernalia, county parole violation.

MEGAN ROBERTS, 29, Ukiah. Domestic battery, failure to appear.

PATRICK SWIFT, 25, Redwood Valley. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

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BILL KIMBERLIN: Moving a house in San Francisco in about 1909 or so.

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KMUD SHOW WITH CIA VETERAN RAY MCGOVERN

On Thursday, May 1, at 9 am, our guest is our friend, Ray McGovern.

McGovern was a CIA senior analyst for 27 years. He chaired the prestigious National Intelligence Estimates and participated in giving the CIA's daily White House briefing to three different U.S. Presidents. 

McGovern received the Intelligence Commendation Medal at his retirement, returning it in 2006 to protest the CIA's involvement in torture.

In 2003 he co-founded Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) with former CIA employees.

VIEWS

On our show at KMEC, a small, low-power station in Ukiah CA, McGovern maintained Lee Harvey Oswald was not a lone assassin and he did not kill President John Kennedy. When the show was posted to YouTube, it went viral and got over 77,000 views. 

In other interviews, McGovern sharply criticized the 2003 invasion of Iraq and its justification by the Bush administration, which he described as a "very calculated, 18-month, orchestrated, incredibly cynical campaign of lies that we've seen to justify a war".

When asked in 2010 on TVNZ whether Julian Assange was a hero or villain, he replied "unequivocally a hero". When asked the same year whether Julian Assange was a journalist, he replied to the CNN reporter: "Yeah, actually, with all due respect, I think you should be following his example."

During the Syrian civil war, McGovern told Russian television channel RT and other outlets that the sarin used in the 2013 Ghouta chemical attack had not been manufactured by the Syrian government.

McGovern holds a position that the theft of the DNC emails in 2016 was an inside job, and not the work of Russian agents.

In 2016, McGovern said he was not convinced about Russian involvement in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014 over eastern Ukraine. He said the U.S. had conducted a propaganda campaign "to paint Putin in the blackest of colors" and "to justify the imposition of sanctions."

During the Biden Administration, McGovern was sharply critical of incompetent functionaries like CIA Director William Burns and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines who promoted Deep State assurances that the U.S. can prevail in Ukraine.

In April 2025, McGovern said that demanding Iran stop its “nuclear weapons program” is like telling McGovern "To stop driving my Lamborghini. Iran does not have a nuclear development program." McGovern continued, "Tell ‘Dick Tracy’ Hegseth that Iran stopped work on a nuclear weapon 22 yrs ago -- about same time I totaled my Lamborghini."

KMUD

Our show, "Heroes and Patriots Radio", airs live on KMUD, on the first and fifth Thursdays of every month, at 9 AM, Pacific Time.

We simulcast our programming on two full power FM stations: KMUE 88.1 in Eureka and KLAI 90.3 in Laytonville. It also maintains a translator at 99.5 FM in Shelter Cove, California.

We also stream live from the web at https://kmud.org/

Speak with our guest live and on-the-air at: KMUD Studio (707) 923-3911. Please call in.

We post our shows to our own website and Youtube channels. Shows may be distributed in other media outlets.

Wherever you live, KMUD is your community radio station. We are a true community of informed and progressive people. Please join us by becoming a member or underwriter.

— John Sakowicz

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TWO POMO SONGS, STEWARTS POINT, 1970

1.

…wood sleds

we built wood sleds … cardboard sometime

took those paths down the bluff

lotsa times fewer in line

when we got back from the creek

skinned our ass but smilin’

my brother he

almost lost his balls he did

2.

rock fishin’

salt-crusted abalone bait

chewin’ front shoulder deer jerky

garlic pepper — fresh smoked

drank Oly tall cans & smoke

went stoned to Chico

Healdsburg with Paiute men

then Susanville with mining-geiger-counter-shit

nothin’ found though & back to

quiet mill … everyone

laid-off … trimmer & off-bear

drunk in jail Santa Rosa

ran the sheriff off the road,

Fuckin’ Whitey!

couldn’t

…take

……a

………joke

— Don Shanley

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GIANTS START SLOW AGAIN, FINISH APRIL WITH BACK-TO-BACK LOSSES TO PADRES

by Shayna Rubin

SAN DIEGO — The San Francisco Giants dropped both games of a two-game series to the San Diego Padres, losing 5-3 Wednesday afternoon.

This loss was similar to Tuesday’s. The Padres carved out an early four-run lead against starter Landen Roupp and the Giants’ at-bats against starter Michael King weren’t opportunistic enough, leaving any chance of a comeback attempt for the later innings against a strong Padres bullpen. Though the Giants got the potential tying run at the plate in both the eighth and ninth innings, the comeback was futile.

With that, the Giants have a 19-12 record through the season’s first 31 games. The back-to-back losses in San Diego match a season high (done twice previously), an indication of just how scrappy this Giants team has been. But despite their strong start, there are areas of concern.

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The Season So Far

Can They Thrive With This Offense?

The Giants don’t lead the pack in many major statistical offensive categories except the ones that measure their ability to rally for comeback wins. Their 10 wins after having trailed by at least two runs at any point are most in MLB, and their .746 OPS in high-leverage situations (according to Stathead) ranks sixth.

FanGraphs’ calculation for clutch rating — how well teams perform in high-leverage situations, with 2.0 the highest number — has San Francisco at an MLB-leading 1.83, with the Dodgers trailing at 1.29.

The Giants pride themselves on being a team with fight, but is that type of offense sustainable in this division?

The underlying numbers indicate that gravity will pull the team back to Earth, at least at the plate. Their 94 wRC+, .685 OPS and .229 batting average all rank in baseball’s bottom 10. High strikeout numbers aren’t too alarming these days, but their 23% strikeout rate is concerning in concert with the other suboptimal statistics.

Jung Hoo Lee, consistently among the National League’s leaders in average and OPS, is raising the ceiling with Mike Yastrzemski and Wilmer Flores chipping in key hits while most of the offensive pillars struggle. Yastrzemski homered to cut San Diego’s lead to two in the eighth inning on Wednesday.

Willy Adames is still finding his footing while Matt Chapman, Heliot Ramos, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Patrick Bailey have all struggled. Ramos, whose confidence ultimately dictates his highs and lows, homered in the seventh inning, later saying he felt himself settle in mentally in his second at-bat on Tuesday, with results paying off against reliever Jeremiah Estrada.

“It was more mental,” Ramos said. “I was getting in my head a lot about my setup, my hands, about what pitch to look for and not look for. I don’t want to miss my pitch and swing at the ball. I’m thinking of everything instead of focusing on one thing. That’s the biggest thing for me, being in a good setup and position to stay focused on what I want to do.”

Perhaps most indicative of Chapman’s uneven start to the year happened in the sixth and eighth innings, when he struck out twice on high fastballs with runners on.

“Probably both not strikes, maybe trying to do too much,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Both those were up out of the zone, obviously trying to get something up and drive one, but maybe just a little too far up in the zone.”

The Giants are a team built on pitching and defense, but a resurgence in the NL West may depend on those players, and the offense as a whole, getting going.

“It is what it is. The at-bats are better with some guys — certainly LaMonte,” Melvin said. “We have faith they’re going to get going, we do.”

Speaking of Lee:

The Giants’ center fielder is emerging as an All-Star candidate and, perhaps more importantly, hitting his way into stardom.

While most stars — Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Elly De La Cruz, Corbin Carroll — shine with quick bat speeds and the power stroke to boot, Lee is dazzling and finding gaps with one of baseball’s lowest bat speeds (68.5 mph average, in the bottom 10%).

Using his speed to squeeze the most out of every hit, Lee’s 11 doubles are tied for most in the NL. His .319 average ranks in the league’s top 15. Plus, he already has inspired a grassroots fan group called the Hoo Lee Gans. The group wears orange and yellow fire-shaped wigs and white shirts.

Production at First/DH:

Similar to last season, the biggest hole on offense is at first base. With Jerar Encarnacion missing the month with a fractured finger, Flores moved to the designated hitter spot with Casey Schmitt and, due to Schmitt’s injury, David Villar filling in against lefties for Wade.

The Giants’ minus-0.9 fWAR at first base is dead last in baseball, with Wade’s struggles responsible for much of that. Wade had a big RBI hit to make Tuesday’s loss interesting and a single in Wednesday’s loss, but he’s slashing .125/.253/.238 with a .491 OPS.

The Rotation Is Good But Could Be Better:

On paper, the Giants’ rotation can be a competitive advantage within a division stacked with aces (a lot of them on the Dodgers). That vision hasn’t come quite to fruition.

Despite giving up a season-high five runs in Tuesday’s loss to the Padres, Logan Webb has not only been a workhorse, but effective with a 2.83 ERA while pacing for a career-best 10.9 strikeouts-per-nine innings (not bad for a groundball guy) over 41⅓ innings — fourth most in the NL. Robbie Ray is issuing a few too many walks and Justin Verlander is still looking for his first win as a Giant, but the top trio have been the biggest contributors to get the rotation’s total innings pitched from one of the league’s lowest to eighth in baseball (161⅓) heading into Wednesday’s game. As such, the starters have a 2.7 fWAR (10th in baseball).

The dynamic at the bottom of the rotation with Jordan Hicks and Roupp may be untenable down the stretch, and the Giants may reach a point where Hayden Birdsong — nearly untouchable out of the bullpen — is moved into the rotation.

Hicks has a 6.12 ERA and has issued 13 walks over six starts (32⅓ innings). After allowing four runs over 4⅓ innings against the Padres, Roupp has a 5.10 ERA over six starts. Both Hicks and Roupp have relied on two pitches with inconsistent results. Roupp said he would like to work on incorporating his changeup and cutter more readily into his mix moving forward.

“I feel like right now I’m a two-pitch guy to righties,” Roupp said. “Just getting more pitches in the zone and having hitters think about something else other than the fastball and curveball.”

Though both have experience pitching out of the bullpen, Hicks has a contract attached to the team’s commitment to his starter role.

Birdsong, who started last year as a rookie, has given up just two runs on one home run over 16 innings (1.13 ERA).

They’ve Got A Good Bullpen:

While the rotation went through its lumps and adjustments, the bullpen has been solid cleaning up messes and keeping games in reach for all those comebacks.

Birdsong and setup man Tyler Rogers’ 0.7 WAR are second to Webb (1) among Giants’ pitchers. Randy Rodriguez, who gave up his first runs of the year in Tuesday’s loss, has a 0.5 WAR.

Rogers has held opponents scoreless in all but one of his league-leading 15 outings this season, while Rodriguez has taken over closer Ryan Walker’s old job as the go-to guy in a jam. Both have been the stars of a solid group that’s combined for a 2.41 ERA, second only to the Padres (1.77).

The closer job, though, had some drama when Walker blew a save in Anaheim and nearly blew another one his next time out against the Milwaukee Brewers. Camilo Doval, whose closer job Walker usurped last year, put out the fire against Milwaukee. After a scoreless inning Wednesday, Doval has gone scoreless in nine consecutive outings. It’s a promising bounce-back for the All-Star who was demoted to the minors last year amid control issues.

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WARRIORS PUMMELED FROM THE START, ROCKETS STAY ALIVE WITH GAME 5 ROUT

by Sam Gordon

HOUSTON – Back to Chase Center the Golden State Warriors go – along with the Houston Rockets for another game of their first-round playoff series.

Needing a win Wednesday to clinch a Western Conference semifinal series against the Minnesota Timberwolves or Los Angeles Lakers, the Warriors sluggishly played their way to a 131-116 loss in Game 5 at Toyota Center. Golden State’s starters were sidelined for good down 29 with 5:50 to play in the third quarter.

Game 6 is Friday at Chase Center and the Warriors have a 3-2 series lead.

Stephen Curry (13 points) and Jimmy Butler (eight) combined to shoot 6-for-22.

The Warriors trailed 76-49 at halftime amid 35.6% first-half shooting against Houston’s pressure defense coupled with its two-big zone.

Moses Moody led the Warriors with 25 points and nine rebounds while Kevin Knox scored 14.

Fred VanVleet scored a game-high 26 for the Rockets, who got 25 points, six rebounds and five steals from Amen Thompson and 24 points from Dillon Brooks.

The Warriors opened an 8-5 lead after Draymond Green made a tiebreaking 3-pointer following a layup from Green and a triple from Brandin Podziemski.

The Rockets answered with a 15-0 run.

Stifling ball pressure paired with dribble penetration and high-post touches for standout big man Alperen Sengun stymied Golden State, ignited Houston and rallied a sellout crowd dressed in red. Brooks drew two defensive fouls with post-ups and the Rockets were in bonus with 4:48 after play began.

Curry and Butler didn’t score in the first quarter and Houston made 13 of 13 free throws for a 40-24 first-quarter lead.

An 18-0 second-quarter run spurred by zone defense employed by its two-center lineup – featuring Sengun and bruising big man Steven Adams – had the Warriors down 30 points with 7:02 to play in the first half.

Thompson recorded five first-half steals, stripping Curry for a fastbreak dunk with 1:04 to play in the first halftime. VanVleet made four first-half 3-pointers en route to a team-high 19 points at the break.

Houston shot 69.4% in the first half and 17 of 20 from the free-throw line as the Warriors shot 35.6% with 10 turnovers for 13 points.

More of the same continued during the first 6:10 of the third quarter, prompting head coach Steve Kerr to ensure Golden State’s starters played no more than 25 minutes apiece. Golden State’s reserves pulled within 17 with 7:59 to play to draw Houston’s starters from its bench.

Moses Moody made a driving floater for a 13-point deficit with 5:22 to play. VanVleet answered with two free throws that Trayce Jackson-Davis followed with a dunk. After Pat Spencer committed a loose-ball foul on Brooks, Sengun walked toward him chest to chest. Spencer headbutted Sengun, whom Jackson-Davis shoved.

Spencer was ejected. Jackson-Davis and Sengun were issued technical fouls. Brooks and VanVleet made free throws and the Rockets pulled away.

Sengun finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

(SF Chronicle)

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“Some people have to learn everything the hard way. That’s me. I learn hard, but I learn good.”

– Carmen Basilio

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HOLLYWOOD & THE MOVIES OF THE 50s

by Geoffrey O’Brien

At the end of World War II, regular moviegoing was an ingrained American habit, and the studio system sustaining it was to all appearances solidly grounded; in 1948 about 90 million people a week went to the pictures.

Then came a convergence of troubles that initiated a shift of fortune. Within two years that number had declined by a third, and at decade’s end by more than half. The most obvious culprit was television, whose rollout, delayed by the war, was soon taking hold at the rate of 100,000 sets sold a week. Further disruption came from the House Un-American Activities Committee and the blacklisting and “graylisting” that followed its hearings in 1947 on Communist influence in the film industry. Concurrently, the Supreme Court’s antitrust decree in 1948 divested Hollywood studios of the theater chains that had long enabled them to dictate terms for screenings of their movies.

This erosion of top-down control was compounded by the growing clout of actors and their agencies, to the enragement of 20th Century-Fox’s head, Darryl F. Zanuck, who complained, “Last week, in this office, a goddamn agent started to tell me how a script should be rewritten,” and MGM’s Nicholas Schenck, who said, “We took Gable from a nobody, we lavished him with lessons and publicity… Who taught him how to walk? Who straightened his teeth and capped them into that smile?”

And yet in the 1950s Hollywood “released more great films than in any other ten-year cycle in the history of American movies,” in the estimation of the prolific film and theater historian Foster Hirsch. It’s a view I too incline toward, though it is shared by little more than 3% of respondents to a recent poll.

While Hirsch’s ‘Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties’ is essentially celebratory, he feels the need to push back against “glib, patronizing, uninformed stereotyping” - stereotyping not just of the movies but of the era — and to defend films he fears might now be “ideologically scarred.”

The suggestion of a split reaction, even a division of loyalties between past and present selves, mirrors in a way the internal struggles suggested by so many of the decade’s movies, which bear the traces of unseen combat and whose characters may be at war with themselves as much as with others. The system producing them was being shaken up by rapid change on all levels, from the power of studio chiefs to the increasingly influential tastes of drive-in audiences, who might well prefer ‘Attack of the Crab Monsters’ (1957) to ‘The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit’ (1956). Instability gave an unpredictable edge to the most minor western or crime picture. The old order persisted in many ways — above all in a magisterial command of technical resources and the inherited devices of classic Hollywood style — while the once broadly homogeneous audience splintered into distinct and less reliable subsets.

(New York Review of Books)

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This is Bonnie Parker: A Glimpse into the Pre-Outlaw Days at Marco’s Cafe, Dallas, Texas - Circa 1929

Before the notorious duo of Bonnie and Clyde etched their names into the annals of American crime history, there was a different Bonnie Parker. A Bonnie who was not yet an outlaw, but a young woman trying to navigate the challenges of the Great Depression. In 1929, Bonnie Parker worked as a waitress at Marco’s Cafe in Dallas, Texas, a seemingly ordinary job that belied the extraordinary life she was soon to lead.

The Setting: Marco’s Cafe, Dallas

Marco’s Cafe was a modest eatery located in a bustling part of Dallas, Texas. It served as a social hub for locals, offering a brief respite from the harsh economic realities of the time. The cafe was a place where customers could enjoy a hot meal and friendly service, and it was here that Bonnie Parker found employment.

A Day in the Life of Bonnie Parker

At 19 years old, Bonnie was a petite and strikingly beautiful woman, known for her bright red lipstick and carefully coiffed curls. She stood out among the staff at Marco’s Cafe, not just for her looks but for her charm and vivacity. Bonnie had a magnetic personality, able to engage in light-hearted banter with patrons and make them feel at ease.

Bonnie’s typical day at Marco’s began early. She would arrive at the cafe before dawn, donning her apron and preparing for the morning rush. Her responsibilities included taking orders, serving food, and occasionally handling the cash register. Despite the long hours and the meager pay, Bonnie approached her work with a level of dedication and a sense of pride.

Dreams and Aspirations

Behind the counter, Bonnie Parker harbored dreams far grander than her role at Marco’s Cafe. She had always been an aspiring poet and writer, often jotting down verses on scraps of paper during her breaks. Her poems reflected a longing for adventure and a life beyond the confines of her current reality. She dreamed of romance and excitement, of breaking free from the monotony that defined her existence.

The Turning Point

It was during this period that Bonnie’s life took a dramatic turn. In early 1930, she met Clyde Barrow through a mutual friend. Their connection was instantaneous and intense, setting the stage for a partnership that would soon become infamous. Clyde, with his rebellious spirit and criminal tendencies, was a stark contrast to the hard-working, yet restless waitress Bonnie was at Marco’s.

Their bond quickly evolved into a romance fueled by a shared sense of disillusionment with society and a desire for something more. Bonnie’s life at Marco’s Cafe, with its routine and predictability, was soon overshadowed by her new life on the run with Clyde.

Legacy of the Waitress Turned Outlaw

Bonnie Parker’s time at Marco’s Cafe serves as a poignant reminder of the ordinary beginnings of one of America’s most infamous outlaws. It highlights the stark contrast between her early life and the path she chose, driven by love and a desire for freedom. Her days as a waitress at Marco’s Cafe were a fleeting chapter, but they provide a glimpse into the humanity of a woman often overshadowed by her criminal exploits.

In retrospect, Bonnie’s story is a testament to the unpredictability of life and the choices that shape our destinies. From a waitress in Dallas to a fugitive on the run, Bonnie Parker’s journey is a compelling narrative of transformation, driven by dreams and circumstances that led her far from the humble surroundings of Marco’s Cafe.

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Party Time, 1971. A refrigerator full of ultra-cheap Heidel Brau and Champagne Velvet beer in cans, plus Libby’s tomato juice for Bloody Marys, a portable black and white TV and a friendly hostess, and you had it made.

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ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

Why do you think everyone who sat back, fat and lazy allowed the last four years of incompetence of a leader you all said was just fine, when he couldn’t find his way off the stage, only took questions from pre-scripted/written reporters with his cheat sheet, think one man could turn it all around in less than a hundred days. You complain daily, yet had no real chance at the Presidency and still have nothing to show for it now or the near future. Yes, we will be hit hard, and I except that because we have a ton of undoing to do. If you could answer just one question, I’d ask why your old President allowed the Nation to be flooded with illegals. I know you have no answer for that simple question, so the rest does Not matter.

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LEAD STORIES, THURSDAY'S NYT

U.S. Economy Shrank in First Quarter, in Reading Clouded by Messy Trade Data

Senate Rejects Bipartisan Measure to Undo Trump’s Tariffs

U.S. Announces Deal to Share Ukraine’s Mineral Wealth

Columbia Student Who Was Arrested at Citizenship Interview Is Freed

India’s Muslims Fear a Growing Backlash After Kashmir Attack

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I THINK THE IRONY of Trump’s first 100 days is that he’s always presented himself as this brand expert. He slapped his name on half of New York, but he has taken the greatest brand in the history of the world, which is the United States, and destroyed it in 100 days. And he’s well on his way to destroying the brand of our dollar. So I don’t think anyone expected that.

— Maureen Dowd

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THE AMERICAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC HAS DIED. IT WAS 236 YEARS OLD

The U.S. is survived by a country of the same name, the United States of America, now a presidential dictatorship.

by Joe Mathews

The American democratic republic, a modest British colony that transformed itself into the world’s richest country and greatest military power, has died.

It was 236 years old.

No official announcement was made of the end of the long-enduring republic, which was launched in 1789. No autopsy was scheduled.

The proximate cause of death was America’s rapid decline in democratic governance. In March 2025, the director of Varieties of Democracy, a Sweden-based think tank, cautioned that the U.S. was on the verge of losing its status as a democratic republic.

The American democratic republic is survived by a country of the same name, the United States of America, now a presidential dictatorship.

Ending the democratic republic was an explicit goal of the American dictator, Donald Trump. After the 2020 election, he led a failed coup against the republic. Later, as a candidate to return to the Oval Office, he pledged to “terminate” the Constitution and declared that, in a second term, he would govern as a dictator, ruling by decrees.

Trump’s assertion of dictatorial power — and widespread acceptance of such power among political and business leaders and across American society — fatally broke the republic’s structure.

From the beginning, the U.S. Constitution, a pre-modern document, was deeply flawed. It originally permitted slavery, a grievous error rectified only after generations of bondage and a civil war that killed nearly 700,000 people. Even as the American republic sold itself as the world’s democracy protector, its Constitution never established an explicit right to vote.

Yet the republic endured because of its central principle: the separation of powers. No one person could run the United States — it was a republic made up of three co-equal branches of government: legislative, executive and judiciary.

But, over time, the executive branch grew exceedingly powerful. Two world wars emphasized the president’s commander in chief role and removed constraints on its power. By the second half of the 20th century, the republic was routinely fighting wars without its legislative branch, Congress, declaring war, as the Constitution required. With Congress often paralyzed by political conflict, presidents increasingly governed by edicts.

Upon retaking office in January, Trump quickly removed limits on his power. Using a billionaire tech oligarch, he seized control over independent agencies, dismantled whole departments and fired or removed tens of thousands of government workers.

Trump didn’t stop with his own branch. He also attacked Congress’s foremost power — to appropriate funds — by breaking law, the Constitution, and court precedent that said the executive must spend what Congress appropriates. And he made war on the courts that make up the judicial branch, challenging the power of judges to block his decisions, and he issued threats against those judges who dared to stop his lawbreaking.

“He who saves the country does not break the law,” Trump maintained.

Following that mantra, Trump, himself a convicted felon, governed in a way that drew comparisons to the Mafia. The American government’s main tool became extortion. It routinely threatened other governments — both overseas and within the U.S. — with financial ruin if they did not bend to Trump’s will. The government used similar threats against civil society institutions — universities, nonprofits, media — and against some private companies, notably law firms. Those institutions that fought back by asserting their constitutional rights learned quickly that the government no longer recognized those rights.

Congress was unwilling to defend such institutions or its own power. Ironically, the highest court of the judicial branch, the U.S. Supreme Court, sanctioned Trump’s lawlessness even before he took office, with a 2024 decision putting the president explicitly above the law and immune from criminal punishment for official actions.

By embracing that court-sanctioned dictatorial power, Trump ended the republic.

Few Americans were aware of the republic’s death. Confusion and fear of violence reigned among those who recognized the loss. Some opposition figures pointed to future elections as a way to overturn the dictatorship, but the Trump regime had previously issued edicts that would make elections unfair and unfree.

A few voices called not for saving the old republic, but rather for designing a new American governing system. California seemed likely to be the center of any effort.

Just last year, the dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, Erwin Chemerinsky, published a book, “No Democracy Lasts Forever,” calling for a convention to write a new Constitution.

“Our government is broken and our democracy is at grave risk, but I don’t see any easy solutions,” he wrote, adding: “We need to stop venerating a document written in 1787 for an agrarian slave society and imagine what a constitution for the twenty-first century should look like.”

Funeral services for that first Constitution, and the country it made, are pending. In lieu of flowers, Americans can honor the deceased by taking Chemerinsky’s advice and creating a new republic.

(Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Zócalo Public Square.)

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THE MAIN REASON more people don’t just go all in with opposing the US empire and rejecting all its propaganda about enemy states is because they can’t handle working through the heavy cognitive dissonance which comes with recognizing that everything you’ve been taught is a lie.

Most people recognize to some extent that the US and its allies do bad things, but those who take it all the way into a clear understanding that this power structure is responsible for most of our world’s ills are a small minority in the west. Even the relatively awake ones will try to cling on to this or that imperial propaganda narrative about nations like China, North Korea, Iran and/or Russia. Most try to at least keep a foot in the door of their imperial indoctrination, so they don’t have to experience the psychological discomfort of letting it close completely.

But that’s where the truth is. Coming to a lucid understanding of the world necessarily means abandoning all untruths for truth on every level. If you can work up the courage to really do this, the entire mainstream western worldview gets flushed right down the toilet.

— Caitlin Johnstone

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I COME MORE and more to the conclusion that wilderness, in America or anywhere else, is the only thing left that is worth saving.

— Edward Abbey

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