ANNEXATION CHALLENGES
Editor,
Over the past couple weeks I have received a lot of calls from residents regarding the annexation the City of Ukiah is proposing. When these discussions began my understanding was the initial move on this seemed to be driven by a need for the consolidation of water agencies within the Ukiah Valley.
Recently the proposed map of the annexation was made public, along with it were many questions which have yet to be answered. It became clear that this annexation will likely have serious implications for the county. Based on this map I also have concerns the city may be picking locations of revenue and cutting out locations which could be an expense.
One thing is certain, there will be lost revenues to the county, and we will likely see reduced services within the proposed annexation areas.
Business leaders in farming, construction, and manufacturing are seriously concerned regarding the proposal and there are a lot of questions which will need to be answered.
I am concerned this annexation could be a lose-lose for everyone and may have a negative effect on all of Mendocino County due to the reduction in revenues from businesses as well as a reduction in services for those annexed into the city.
These impacts will be felt from Gualala to Round Valley. This isn’t simply an issue for the residents of the Ukiah Valley; it will likely affect every resident of the county in one form or another.
This process has been moving at a very rapid pace. Clearly, we are on the edge of a very large decision which could have implications we are not yet aware of.
Therefore, I am hopeful we take an eyes-wide-open approach while looking at these proposals. I am also hopeful we can take a step back and deeply study what the impacts will be for the residents in the unincorporated areas as well as those within the proposed annexation. I am certain there will be a balancing point we can find, I’m also certain it will take some work to find it.
Thank you
Sheriff Matt Kendall
Ukiah
NO MORE PRIVATE PRISONS
To the Editor:
The Trump administration has justified cuts to public health, education and international aid programs in the name of “government efficiency.” At the same time, it is passing billions of taxpayer dollars to private prison executives to expand an immigration incarceration system that is notorious for abuse, mismanagement and waste.
The private prison executives who run 90 percent of immigration detention personally pocket millions in public funds by cutting costs through understaffing, overcrowding and denying minimum services like suitable food and medical care.
These ICE facilities aren’t just abusive. They’re also ineffective and wasteful. While community-based alternatives to detention like case management programs cost only $14 a day per participant and have returned a 100 percent court appearance rate, detaining one adult immigrant costs more than $160 a day.
Furthermore, the cities and towns meant to house and staff these new facilities have little interest in funding bonuses for out-of-state executives. From Leavenworth, Kan., to southwestern Wyoming to Newark, N.J., people across the country are fighting back against ICE’s private prison expansion and its broken promises of economic boom times for local workers.
These communities have made their voices clear. We don’t need more private prisons that profit off human suffering.
Medha Raman, Anthony Enriquez
rfkhumanrights.org
Washington DC
RELATING TO ROGER SCHOENAHL
To the Editor:
Thank you for your remembrance. Roger was a valuable human being. I knew he was autistic, and maybe also a schizophrenic. Probably homeless. But only since his death am I learning Roger was a talented poet and watercolor painter.
Let me say this right off the bat: I always sort of related to Roger's social awkwardness and anti-social behavior. Most people annoy me, too. And I also have my own very good reasons for keeping to myself. I was raped as a kid.
About Roger…
I ran into Roger many times over the years at Riverside Park in Ukiah. Despite the park’s remoteness at the very end of Gobbi Street, people walk their dogs at the park. Lots of them. A hundred dogwalkers every day. Maybe more than a hundred. Maybe a couple hundred. Some of them were afraid of Roger. Most don’t keep their dogs on a lease. Most don’t pick up their dog’s poop. And Roger yelled at them.
On his worse days, Roger would walk around the park, and he seemed angry. He would rant, frightening the dogs and their owners, and everyone else. The park has a Little League field and a BMX track. The park is crowded. But Roger never hurt a fly. It was like Roger was ranting about the fact there are too many people on the planet.
Or maybe Roger was yelling at himself. He seemed like a guy who was hard on himself. A guy always trying to check his dark thoughts. A guy always trying to check his impulses and what bad places his impulses might take him.
Another thing. Roger sometimes carried a small dog in his arms. The small dog never left Roger’s arms. He cradled it like it was his baby. I don’t know where Roger got the dog because I don’t think he owned one. I thought he was homeless.
It’s no surprise Roger chose to kill himself just upstream from the park. He loved the Russian River. and Riverside Park. I have no doubt Roger’s ghost will continue to walk the park. I just pray that whatever demons tormented Roger in life will not continue to pursue him in death.
This morning, I wrote these few lines for Roger — a brother of sorts because he was a poet, like me, and a damaged human being, like me — and I left those few lines on a picnic table at the park. I left them under a small rock. I’m sure the wind has blown them away by now.
John Sakowicz
Ukiah
CHILDHOOD FADES AWAY
Editor:
When did you last witness children outside playing children's games like jump rope, hopscotch, jacks, hide and seek or Simon says? The idea of childhood is disappearing at dazzling speed. From birth each of us is struggling to fashion our unique personality against the claims of society. Until recently children had their own clothing, furniture, literature, games — their own culture. Now they are being lured into adult culture. Social media trivializes our culture by requiring a continuous supply of novel and exciting material to engage and hold children's attention. Screen technology is stealing childhoods ("Kids spend too much class time on laptops," Forum, March 30).
Although TV and social media make no distinction between a 5-year-old and a 65-year-old, some adult material must be kept secret from children. Youth today can access adult material not available before social media. The media culture of childhood is teaching them loneliness, immediate gratification and desire for wealth and fame. We become what we pay attention to.
We are losing control of the information environment of the young. Children are the living messages we send to the future.
Gene A. Hottel
Santa Rosa
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