Mendocino County Today: Friday 5/9/2025

WARM, dry and calm conditions will peak tomorrow, and then ease this weekend as a late seasons storm near the area. Moderate rain and south wind will cross the area late Sunday through Monday. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): A crisp 40F with clear skies this Friday morning on the coast. Patchy fog today becomes mostly cloudy with rain Sunday night & Monday morning. Clearing the rest of next week.

REMEMBERING EILEEN PRONSOLINO

by Terry Sites

Eileen Pronsolino, long time member of the Anderson Valley Community was born on December 6, 1930 died on Thursday Morning May 8, 2025.

Moving to Anderson Valley with her parents when she was not yet three years old she logged more years as a Valley resident than most who were not actually born here. Steve Sparks did an extensive interview with Eileen about her life in the valley in 2009. That interview is posted below. For specific details about her life and times this interview is invaluable.

I have known Eileen for about 20 years in many settings. I want to write about who she was as a person beyond the facts of her life. She was a vibrant woman, filled with energy and the joy in living. Every time we met I walked away feeling better. I would definitely say that Eileen was an upbeat personality. She was always interested, and that made her interesting. Curious, observant and sharp, her comments were always on point and often hilarious. Her sense of humor was often gently self-deprecating and so much fun.

In her interview she mentions being active in the PTA, The American Legion and the Independent Career Women. She was also a member of the Unity Club. She and her husband Angelo were both league bowlers. Naturally sociable, each of these organizations gave her an outlet for her energy and a chance to be with people. Living on their 270-acre ranch on Signal Ranch, she could have spent all her time ranch wife-ing but she really liked people and needed to mingle.

At the time of the interview she was preparing to celebrate her 60th wedding anniversary. She was married in 1949 at 18 and those anniversaries just kept on coming. She and Angelo made it to their 75th anniversary if I calculate correctly. How many people can say that? She always spoke about Angelo so fondly. He seemed like such a handsome, quiet guy in the mode of all those strong silent western heroes. As Eileen was such a live wire they seem to have complemented each other very well. Their story is kind of an American classic with him building the house that they then filled with three children on the family ranch.

You could always find Eileen at meeting or gatherings by following the sound of her distinctive laughter. She was what in old-fashioned terms would be described as “merry.” Anyone who is still merry into their ninth decade has learned a thing or two about how to navigate life. I know she was a hard worker and I think she liked to play hard too. She was definitely one of the most energetic people around town.

In addition to club and organization memberships, Eileen went back to work after her kids were mostly grown. She was the manager of a branch of the First National Bank of Cloverdale at its office in (yes!) downtown Boonville from 1967-1984. She later worked for Allan Green at Greenwood Ridge Winery as his tasting room manager. Both of these jobs expanded the number of people she knew. She touched many lives beyond her family of children and many grandchildren.

She often made us laugh and always made us smile. Sometimes she even made us cry (in a good way) with her compassion and wisdom. Her enthusiasm was infectious. She will be sorely missed. Thank you for all the wonderful memories and for just being you, Eileen. When asked by Steve Sparks in her interview what words she would hope to hear when she reached the pearly gates she said, “Welcome Eileen, you’ve lived a pretty good life with a few exceptions.” A pretty modest wish for such a dynamic woman.

GENE GALLETTI:

An old valley resident, my brother-in-law Avon Ray passed away this morning with his family by his side. Very peaceful.

Ed note: Mr. Ray was the owner/proprietor of the locally iconic “Ray’s Resort” in Philo after whom “Ray’s Road” is named.

GENERALLY FROM UKIAH

A Mendocino County Superior Court jury returned from its deliberations this morning in less than one half hour to announce it had found the trial defendant guilty as charged.

Defendant Skylar James Doty, age 27, generally of the Ukiah area, was found guilty of two misdemeanors – criminal threats and domestic battery, said offenses occurring on December 17, 2024.

The defendant and his convictions were referred to the Mendocino County Adult Probation Department, as required by law, for a firearms check prior to imposition of sentence.

A person convicted of the above crimes is prohibited by California law from possessing firearms and/or ammunition for at least 10 years. If a person so convicted has firearms or ammunition at the time of his or her conviction, those firearms and/or ammunition must be turned over to law enforcement or a licensed gun dealer immediately.

The defendant was ordered to return to court on July 1st at 9 o’clock in the morning in Department H for rendition of formal sentencing.

The law enforcement agency that investigated the crimes committed by the defendant was the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

The prosecutor who presented the People’s evidence to the jury at this week’s trial was Deputy District Attorney Nathan Mamo.

Retired Mendocino County Superior Court Judge John Behnke, sitting by assignment, presided over the two-day trial that was spread over three days. Judge Behnke will return to be the sentencing judge in July.

(DA Presser)

HEADLANDS COFFEEHOUSE

During the City Council meeting on April 28th, Mayor Godeke and the City of Fort Bragg proudly honored Headlands with a proclamation recognizing their 30 years of exceptional service. The proclamation acknowledged Headlands for their support of local artists and musicians, as well as for being a cornerstone of our cultural and economic life. We extend our gratitude to the owners and staff for all they have contributed to making Fort Bragg a thriving community!

‘LOTS OF PEOPLE DON’T KNOW’

by Mark Scaramella

Tax Collection Still Stalled

Auditor Controller-Treasurer Tax Collector Chamise Cubbison told the Supervisors on Tuesday that the County has not conducted a tax lien sale since 2017 (eight years ago).

Close readers may recall that former Supervisor candidate Carrie Shattuck pointed this out several years ago after having looked into the problem and received zero response from the Tax Collector’s office.

Cubbison said it will be years before another one is conducted, explaining that the process is “very involved,” and requiring not only identifying which parcels are sufficiently in arrears on taxes, but a bunch of administrative and procedural work such as notices, response opportunities, title searches, detailed legal parcel descriptions, and calculations of precise amounts for each delinquent parcel/owner. Cubbison said the County and her department have sent out some notices of default, but the County is now very far behind and has to do quite a bit of catch-up. This might involve additional staff, outside contractors and consultants, in addition to the recently hired “Chief Deputy” for tax collection.

Cubbison, whose primary background is in the County Auditor’s office, not in the Tax Collector’s office, is not experienced in the process even though she was put in charge of it when the Supervisors rashly consolidated the Tax Collector’s office with the Auditor’s office a few years ago without a plan and against the will of the public and the officials in those positions at the time.

At last report we understood that tax delinquencies that go uncollected for four years or more are no longer collectable, so nobody knows how much uncollected revenue has already been lost and nobody knows how much might be collected even if an aggressive effort can be mounted.

Given the continued stonewalling and refusal of the Board and the CEO to work with and support their newly reinstated Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector after the felony misappropriation charges were summarily dismissed by Judge Moorman in March, it’s hard to imagine that much will be done.

Meanwhile, Mendo, while claiming to have a sizable structural deficit projected to only get worse, will go further into the hole. The state decreeing that tax collections would be postponed and suspended during covid interlude certainly didn’t help matters. But most of the responsibility for this mess falls directly at the feet of the Supervisors who undermined the pre-existing tax collection processes by consolidating the independent financial offices without a plan, and failing to prioritize the collection of taxes due ever since.

After Ms. Cubbison’s description of the “very involved” tax lien sale process and the well-behind-the-curve status of those sales, the Board’s entire response came from Board Chair John Haschak who simply said, “Thank you for that.”

Nobody asked Cubbison if she needed any help to speed up the process or if she had any outside service proposals for Board approval. Neither CEO Darcie Antle who has ordered former Acting Auditor-Controller Treasurer Tax Collector Sara Pierce to have no contact with Ms. Cubbison, nor the other Supervisors had anything to say about the dismal situation.

‘A Big Hit to the County Budget’

In other revenue loss news, the Board belatedly decided to set up an ad hoc committee of Supervisors Madeline Cline and Bernie Norvell to look into Ukiah’s recent giant Ukiah Valley parcel grab in the wake of last year’s lopsided and misnamed “tax sharing agreement” between Ukiah and the County.

Last month, Ukiah officials announced that they want to nearly triple the size of Ukiah which would shift the tax revenues from hundreds of parcels — many of them relatively lucrative ag, commercial and residential — from the County to the City over the next few years according to a convoluted formula worked out in secret between Supervisor Maureen Mulheren (former Ukiah City Councilperson) and Ukiah officials. Mulheren then sold the agreement to her colleagues on the vague promise that the deal would somehow be good for the County and the City, even though it was obvious that the City of Ukiah was the only beneficiary.

When the Board approved the “agreement” last year they had very little time to review it, had no idea how much money might be lost, had not had it reviewed by other senior County officials, and were lobbied hard by Ukiah officials, especially Ukiah City Manager Sage Sangiacomo and Ukiah Councilperson Mari Rodin, who claimed that the agreement would magically produce a win-win spurt of development in the Ukiah Valley.

Despite having voted for the agreement last year, on Tuesday, Supervisor John Haschak seemed to have belatedly discovered that the agreement he voted for "will cause a real potential hit to the County budget.”

Supervisor Williams who again claimed to have his finger on the pulse of public opinion said that “100% of the feedback on this is against Ukiah’s proposal. It is broader than it should be as far as public is concerned.”

Given that the County has already approved the agreement (without the slightest idea what the financial impact would be — early (low) estimates were around $3 million) it is unlikely that another secret ad hoc group with two supervisors who were not even on the Board at the time the agreement was approved will deal with Ukiah’s proposal and address the “real potential hit to the County budget.” If they ever do.

State Audit Status: ‘A Few Phone Calls’

Retired Ukiah Attorney Barry Vogel asked the Board and the CEO about the status of the big $800k State Audit that was announced to great fanfare last year.

Board Chair John Haschak replied in typical Haschak fashion that, “The audit is happening; it’s proceeding.”

Even more pointlessly, CEO Darcie Antle added, “The Audit has begun with the State Controller’s office with phone calls. I don’t know where they are. It is due to the Legislature by January of 2026. It is supposed to examine procurement and the election process in 2024.:

Vogel replied, “You need to answer to the public. Lots of people don’t know.”

Obviously — including the Supervisors and the CEO. That may be why they’re not answering to the public, on this or anything else.

If the Audit is serious, and we doubt that it is, the County should have already received formal document requests which, if they have occurred, should have been mentioned. Since they were not, we can only conclude that the “audit,” such as it might be, will be a dud.

LOCAL EVENTS (this weekend)

SUPES REQUEST STATE HELP TO ‘CLEAN UP UNREGULATED CANNABIS INDUSTRY’

by Jim Shields

At Tuesday’s (May 6, 2025) Board of Supervisors meeting, the Board unanimously approved the following agenda item:

4i) Discussion and Possible Action Including Approval of Transmission of Letter of Request to State Agencies and Lawmakers for Greater Collaboration from State Agencies to Enforce Cannabis Laws on Unpermitted Grow Sites in Mendocino County  (Sponsors: Supervisor Haschak and Sheriff-Coroner).  

By a 4-0 vote (District 4 Supervisor Bernie Norvell absent), Supes John Haschak, Madeline Cline, Ted Williams and Mo Mulheren all backed the “Hail Mary” letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, Nicole Elliott, Department of Cannabis Control, the State Water Resources Control Board, Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Senate Pro Tem President Mike McGuire, and Assemblymember Chris Rogers.

In all of the years I’ve spent as an advocate for good government, and also as Chairman of the Laytonville Municipal Advisory Council, I never thought I’d live long enough to hear the adjective “stellar” used to describe this county’s performance in conjunction with its failed and broken Cannabis Ordinance. Yet in the very first sentence of their letter imploring the state to bail them out of the prodigious regulatory mess and economic wrack and ruin that county officials brought on citizens, they have the impudence to declare they have done a “stellar job.” If they’ve done such a stellar job why are they sending a Hail Mary letter to the state?

Here’s the letter:

“Mendocino County, working with the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) has done a stellar job in processing cannabis cultivation licenses so that they can get their state annual permit. This process is working. Yet, in Mendocino County, the number of unpermitted cannabis sites continues with associated environmental damage and crime.

“Major tension stems from the accountability placed on legal cannabis growers by County and State regulations, while unregulated bad actors continue to thrive. Many legal operators have thrown in the towel and abandoned the occupation that once paid their bills and allowed them to support the local economy. The scale at which unregulated cannabis is currently operating in Mendocino County significantly contributes to the collapse of the industry and a central reason for the continued proliferation of unregulated grows.

“The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors in conjunction with the Mendocino County Sheriff respectfully requests the DCC along with other State regulatory agencies support our County in cleaning up Mendocino County’s unregulated cannabis industry, which we feel has impacted the local environment and quality of life. Negative impacts including environmental, social, and economic destruction all stem from a lack of enforcement.

“Environmental degradation continues to occur due to illegal cannabis. Illegal dumping connected to these unregulated activities leaves tons of trash across our beautiful rural countryside. Often, dumping occurs in our waterways and sensitive aquifer recharge areas. The Sheriff has documented many cases of illegal pesticide and herbicide use in these grows which probably represents a fraction of overall usage. This is a direct threat against the environment and the water quality of Mendocino County, which we respectfully ask the State Water Resources Control Board as well as the Regional Water Resources Control Board and the California Department of Fish and Game to allocate resources and increase enforcement to protect.

“The unregulated cannabis industry has brought along with it increased lawlessness in our communities. The criminal activity adjacent to illegal cannabis far exceeds the danger of the cannabis itself – it is the additional illicit drug sales, violence, human trafficking, and murder that creates strain on local law enforcement and real concerns of safety in our communities.

“Amongst the over 600 permitted cannabis growers in Mendocino County, many struggle to maintain their businesses when competing with farms that have no regulatory expectations, who can get away with environmental infractions, and continue to sell in the unregulated, untaxed illegal market.

“The Board of Supervisors and Sheriff Kendall believe that the State has the ability and obligation to address the issue of unregulated cultivations in our County. With appropriate enforcement, our communities can be free of water diversions, unregulated pesticides and herbicides, hundreds of tons of plastic waste, the many social crimes, and unfair competition to the regulated cannabis industry.

“It is time to support local, legal cannabis farmers and residents alike by standing up to the illegal activities that harm our communities.

“Sincerely,

“John Haschak, Chair, Mendocino County Board of Supervisors

“Matthew Kendall, Sheriff, Mendocino County”

During public comment on the issue approximately 10 people, including yours truly, addressed the Board. In conflict with my better judgment, I reluctantly supported the Hail Mary letter.

Here’s my remarks:

“This County has purposely — and foolishly — refused to enforce their own ordinance allowing scuffalaws and criminal cartels to thumb their noses at the Cannabis Ordinance.

“All regulatory frameworks have two required and legally mandated components. There is 1) a cohesive and internally consistent set or system of regulations and 2) the means to enforce them. They fit like hand and glove. You can’t have one without the other. Yet, that has been the very situation this county has been in since the cannabis ordinance was enacted eight years ago. The hand and the glove have never fit. County officials stated from the very beginning of the pot legalization process, they were not going to enforce the Ordinance.

“Most importantly this County has done nothing to protect the backbone of the marijuana industry, the so-called “mom and pops.”

“And I’m speaking of the legitimate small family farmers, the ones who’ve been here for years, and who are part of our rural communities’ social fabric and integral to our local economies.

“These folks are getting red-taped to death at the bottom end by complex, convoluted permitting and licensing regulations, and getting crushed from the top by mega-growers and cartels who are flooding the marketplace with monstrous pot harvests that depress prices.

“With this County’s pre-meditated plans and policies to not enforce its Marijuana Ordinance coupled with its well-publicized proposals to allow 10% cultivation on total acreage owned, and the actual illegal implementation through so-called “re-interpretation” to double marijuana cultivation areas, you have created absolute civil and criminal chaos in a county once renowned in the pre-Legalization era for its small farmer, “Mom and Pop” sustainable and successful economic model.

“What needs to be done immediately is what I recommended numerous of time in the past, create a simplified, streamlined process that specifically addresses the predicament of the small family cultivator. It would involve a simple cap on the number of plants (25 to 99), a minimal application fee of $100, and an annual renewal fee of the same amount. Small farmers would pay applicable taxes just like everyone else in the industry.

“California’s legal cannabis market recently hit another grim milestone: There are now 10,828 inactive and surrendered pot licenses in the state and only 8,514 active ones, meaning dead pot licenses now outnumber active ones, according to the Department of Cannabis Control’s data dashboard.

“Now in the post-legalization era with the collapse and failure of both the state and Mendocino County Cannabis programs, what do we have?

“We have the situation where two-thirds of the citizens who live in the unincorporated areas have seen their once stable local economies devastated and undermined by this county’s failed Cannabis Ordinance.

“In the Laytonville area alone we have experienced the closure of the historic Boomers Bar and restaurant, the Wheels Cafe and Bar, the Weathertop Nursery, the Long Valley Building Supply and Lumber Yard, and the one-year closure of the town’s Long Valley Market. School enrollment is down.

“The Laytonville County Water District is all but insolvent due to the loss of one-third of our revenues directly linked to the failed Cannabis Ordinance.

“The Laytonville Food Bank has more than doubled in providing services to the families and individuals who are now reliant on it for basic food needs.

“Sheriff Matt Kendall said recently some areas of this County have become a hotbed of illicit cannabis activity with cartel activity and murders. He also stated that ‘roughly 50 percent of all homicides come out of illegal grows.’

“So, while it’s probably too little too late, I reluctantly support this last ditch effort to enlist the aid and support of the State of California in cleaning up Mendocino County’s unregulated cannabis industry, which has impacted the local environment and quality of life, along with all the negative impacts including environmental, social, and economic destruction stemming from a lack of enforcement.”

(Jim Shields is the Mendocino County Observer’s editor and publisher, observer@pacific.net, the long-time district manager of the Laytonville County Water District, and is also chairman of the Laytonville Area Municipal Advisory Council. Listen to his radio program “This and That” every Saturday at 12 noon on KPFN 105.1 FM, also streamed live: http://www.kpfn.org)

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES: HOW DOES MENDOCINO COUNTY MEASURE UP?

by Sonya Nesch

‘Nowhere to Go: The Tragic Odyssey of the Homeless Mentally Ill’ by E. Fuller Torrey MD offers a comprehensive look at the essential components of a mental health system. We can see how Mendocino County measures up to his 9-part plan. Something startling for us to think about is our two new facilities – a 90-bed Mental Health Wing of the Jail (opens 2026) and a 16-bed Psychiatric Health Facility (opens 2025). We can also think about how to expand mental health supports, within the limited resources, perhaps with more education about mental illness in community forums and the schools.

E. Fuller Torrey MD is a clinical and research psychiatrist specializing in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He has authored or co-authored 21 books. This book is offered free in a downloadable pdf and is well worth your read, even if you only read the Prologue and Epilogue. There is also a lot more detail on his excellent 9-Part Plan to fix the mental illness treatment system.

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-84685-4

I am looking at how Mendocino County measures up after following this topic closely since 1992 when I was appointed as a “Family Member” to the County Mental Health Board by the Fifth District Supervisor. I have provided mental health trainings to the County and four communities, held leadership positions in Mendocino County’s NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), am author of ‘Advocating for Someone with a Mental Illness,’ and teach Healthy Living classes on the Coast to some Redwood Community Services (RCS) clients.

Mendocino County provided all mental health services until the non-profit organization Redwood Community Services (RCS) started providing mental health services to children and their families in 2002. From 2013 to 2016, the County hired a private-for-profit medical corporation to provide adult services. In 2016, RCS began providing adult mental health services in addition to children’s mental health services.

RCS offers specialized therapeutic and behavioral services to youth, adults, and families across the lifespan. Clinicians use evidence-based practices in their treatment modalities, including Trauma-Informed Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing, among others. Clinical services are fully integrated with RCS residential treatment, emergency shelter, and crisis care services. RCS provides a comprehensive range of community-based services to address substance use treatment, prevention, counseling, and recovery.

RCS provides 24/7 crisis intervention services to everyone, regardless of insurance. This includes emergency mental health, evaluation, assessments, intervention, aftercare and follow-up services.

9-Part Plan to Fix the U.S. Mental Health Treatment System, E. Fuller Torrey MD

A Sufficient Number of Public Psychiatric Beds – The Mendocino County 16-bed PHF is scheduled to open in 2025. Dr. Torrey writes about the model recovery treatment program at

Indiana State Psychiatric Hospital that includes integration of Trauma-Informed Care. This is a patient-centered model of care that combines conventional psychiatric treatments with evidence-based therapies to promote whole person healing and long-term wellbeing. Their foundational model treats the: physical, emotional, spiritual and mental bodies with classes such as yoga, sound healing, Reiki, light therapy and neurofeedback. Mendocino County could study and incorporate as much as possible of the successful program at Indiana State Psychiatric Hospital.

Redwood Community Services (RCS) operates Crisis Residential Treatment facilities on the coast and inland to provide early intervention crisis support that is an alternative to hospitalization, when that is possible. This includes whole person healing.

The Availability of Evidence-Based Psychiatric Treatment – Mendocino County does provide evidence-based state of the art treatment from Anchor Health Management (AHM) that includes the use of clozapine as well as long-acting injectable antipsychotics. AHM uses a team-based approach anchored in strong collaborative local partnerships
Provision for Involuntary Treatment – Mendocino County provides this to reduce: rehospitalizations, arrests, homelessness, drug use, violent behavior and suicidal thoughts. Some patients with severe mental illness have damage to the parts of the brain that we use to think about ourselves, and are unable to understand that they are sick – a condition called anosognosia which is biological in origin. The denial of illness is psychological in origin. Some of these individuals refuse to take medication to control their psychotic symptoms. They may be treated involuntarily to protect them and/or the community. This requires a court order and Assisted Outpatient Treatment.
Continuity of Care and Caregivers – Dr. Torrey says Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams are one of the most important treatment elements. Our Mendocino County version of ACT with RCS and AHM includes: a Psychiatric Medical Provider, Counselor, Case Manager, Crisis Support with a 24/7 Crisis Line (855-838-0404), and short-term residential support. Dr. Torrey says the “disordered funding system involving Medicaid and other federal funds is a problem.”
Housing, Rehabilitation, and the Clubhouse Model – People need access to decent housing, social opportunities, and vocational opportunities. Fort Bragg and Ukiah have successfully provided some housing but more low-income housing with supportive services is needed. We also need more support groups for clients and family member/friends, and opportunities for people to find a meaningful role in life.
Jail Diversion Programs – The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office has a Crisis Response Unit (CRU) that collaborates with Redwood Community Services and Mendocino County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services to provide comprehensive crisis response services.

Fort Bragg Police Department has a Crisis Response Unit (CRU) team that is designed to: reduce recidivism, improve mental health and substance use treatment, and enhance community safety. Police Chief Neil Cervenka says, “The CRU team work has cut homeless arrests in Fort Bragg by 47% and the biggest problem is finding long-term, sustainable funding.”

Some County and city law enforcement officers have had the excellent Crisis Intervention Training (CIT). Judges can order evaluation and treatment under our Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) program. Non-compliance can mean jail time.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office is building a 90-bed Mental Health Wing to the Jail scheduled to open in early 2026.

Protection of the Vulnerable – Many individuals with severe mental illness, especially women, are vulnerable to abuse and victimization because of their mental disorder. RCS collaborates with homeless shelters and others to provide treatment. The continuity in these sometimes long-term relationships is important.
Prioritization of the Target Population – Some people are repeatedly hospitalized and incarcerated. Some of their common characteristics are: violence, concurrent substance abuse, anosognosia with medication noncompliance, antisocial personality traits, paranoid symptoms, neurological impairment, and male gender. RCS, law enforcement CRUs and others collaborate to help people in this situation.
Single-Source Funding and Accountability – Federal Medicaid can be used to support the hospitalization of a mentally ill person in the psychiatric ward of a general hospital but not in a state hospital. Most general hospitals are not staffed to provide adequate care for people with severe mental illness. Dr. Torrey says the fix for this is to return the funding and accountability to the states using block grants. Large states may choose to shift the funding and accountability to the county level.

Mendocino County Mental Health Services are available inland and on the coast. There are good websites that provide information about entry to the locally available mental health services for Redwood Community Services, Mendocino County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, and the federally funded Health Clinics.

For family member/friend support, there are helpful local, state and national websites for NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness).

NEW ACQUISITIONS AT THE MENDOCINO COUNTY MUSEUM

The Museum is proud to showcase two new acquisitions gifted by the Kirkpatrick family. The donated pieces are a life-size portrait of Foster Guntly, a life-long Mendocino County resident and rancher, sculpted by ceramicist Mac Magruder. Chasing Red Dogs is a bold abstract art quilt, intricately created by local painter and textile artist, Linda MacDonald, that depicts the tension and aftermath of a dog bite experience.

The Museum’s west gallery is in the process of being painted and refreshed prior to exhibiting incoming travelling exhibit Take Me to the Water: Histories of the Black Pacific by Exhibit Envoy. The new acquisitions will be on display in this space through May 25.

Linda MacDonald, born in Berkeley, California, moved to Mendocino County in the early 1970s with her husband, as they desired a more rural lifestyle. Teaching at all levels throughout her life, she began her artistic career as a painter, transitioned to textiles in the 1980s, and evolved back to canvas. Internationally exhibited, Linda’s artistry has been shown extensively in the U.S. and Japan and has work within the collections of The White House, the City of San Francisco, the Museum of Art & Design in NYC, the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska, and in many private collections.

Mac Magruder was born and raised in Potter Valley on his family’s land, the Ingel-Haven Ranch, which was purchased back in 1919. While attending veterinary school, he found he had a knack for, and passion for, clay artistry. Switching degrees and obtaining a master’s degree from the University of Washington in art, his artistic career focused on large clay pieces, and intricate storied sculptures. At 27, his life took another alternate path, as he came back home to take care of the ranch when his father became ill, and like a true artist, he made innovations in the ranching and cattle businesses.

“We are so excited to have these amazing works from the Kirkpatrick private collection of both Linda MacDonald and Mac Magruder. The stories told, both within their personal lives and their artworks, are fantastically interesting and captures the essence of Mendocino County. To have these prestigious pieces in our collection is an honor.” — Lindsey Dick, Curator of Mendocino County Museum.

For more information please visit www.mendocinocounty.gov/museum or contact the Mendocino County Museum at museum@mendocinocounty.gov or 707-234-6365.

GARDEN BEDS AVAILABLE!

The Community Garden at the Elder Home in Boonville has beds available for AV community members. Two raised beds ( both 5'x20') and two in-ground beds (one 5'x20' and one 10 x 20'). Drip irrigation, water and compost provided for a low annual fee (depending on bed size).

Join your neighbors, make new friends, grow food and flowers. It's a grand experience.

For information and to apply, contact: avehcommunitygarden@gmail.com.

REDWOOD COMMUNITY CHOIR CONCERT THIS WEEKEND

Friday, May 9 at 7:00 and Saturday, May 10 at 2:00. The choir will be joined by In the Mix and Trebl'd Women. The concert is free (donations gladly accepted) and held at the Mendocino Presbyterian Church. See you there!

PHILO FLORA PLANT STARTS AT BOONTBERRY

Plant starts still available at Boontberry, so if you missed the sale don't worry! If you don't see what you are looking for check back, I will re-stock a couple times a week and bring new plants as they size up enough for sale.

Prices are: 4” pots $5, 6 packs $6-7 each.

Plants available this year:

Peppers: Serano, Poblano, Cayenne, Jalapeno, Shishito, Bell Pepper, Lunch box, Jimmy Nardello, Adjarski (sweet Italian style frying pepper).

Eggplant: Aswad (large globe Iraqi heirloom that does well in our climate) and Diamond eggplant (asian type - slender long fruit).

Tomato: Sungold, Green Zebra, Heirloom White, San Marzano, Blue Beech, Pink Berkeley Tie Dye, Cherokee Purple, Early Girl, Black Krim, Pink Brandywine, Goldie, Striped German.

Cucumber: Pickling, Lemon, Armenian, Shintokiwa (Japanese type, my longtime favorite)

Melon: Watermelon, Cantaloupe

Summer Squash: Zucchini, Yellow summer squash

Winter Squash: Butternut, Delicata, Jack O’ Lantern pumpkin, North Georgia Candy Roaster, GIANT PUMPKIN, Kabocha

Herbs and Greens: Little Gem Lettuce, Pirat Butterhead Lettuce, Cilantro, Dill, Italian Basil, Thai Basil, Parsely, Celery, Red onions, Lacinato Kale, Chard, Green Shiso.

Flowers: Bachelor's buttons, Cosmos, Sunflowers, Zinnias, Scabiosa, Rudbeckia, Basket Flower, Marigold and more.

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EILEEN PRONSOLINO

Interviewed by Steve Sparks (March 2009)

I drove to the Pronsolino Ranch up on Signal Ridge where I was cheerily welcomed by Eileen Pronsolino at her home on the ranch, a home she has lived in for 60 years since marrying Angelo Pronsolino in 1949. Eileen made some coffee and we sat down to chat.

She was born in 1930 in Crescent City, California, the second of four children (two brothers, one sister), to parents whose families had lived in this country for many generations. Her father, John Anderson (no connection to the Valley) Brown was from a Texas family of long standing and had attended the high school in Blanco with former President Lyndon Johnson. “I have a letter from the President from when my father died.” Eileen’s mother, Dorothy Eileen Wells, was from Cape Junction, Oregon and her family tree can be traced back to settlers in New Hampshire back in 1636. Eileen can obviously say she is as American as they come. “My parents were always disappointed that my sister and I didn’t join the “Daughters of the Revolution” organization!”

John Brown was an educated man and in the late 20s was a highly respected bridge engineer working in the northwest for the California Division of Highways, later CalTrans. One day he walked into a local grocery store, set his eyes on a 20-year old Dorothy Wells behind the counter and the rest is history. They were married and shortly after began a family. In 1933, when Eileen was just two-and-a-half years old, they moved to Anderson Valley where work on roads required some experienced men and John Brown certainly fit the bill. He became Superintendent. “We stayed at the Boonville Hotel when we first arrived and it’s strange but I can still remember running up and down the long hallways to and from the bathroom. We stayed for a week and then moved into a house on the CalTrans property besides Highway 128 just past the Anderson Creek Bridge as you drive out of Boonville.”

“At that time, the road to Ukiah was just a dirt road and my father was in charge of projects all over the area from Fort Bragg to Point Arena, all through the Valley to Cloverdale and back up to Hopland and even Leggett Valley. In those days the river here flooded every year and not just for a day or so. In fact during the winter of 1936-37 there was flooding right up to the old bridge near where we lived. It was lower than the bridge we have there now and I remember my pregnant mother was put in a boat and rowed from our house at the back of the yard to the highway and then taken to what is now Tom McFadden’s house in Boonville. That was then the doctor’s, Dr. Jordt, where she had her child, my sister. In those days the whole west side of Anderson Valley Way was often under water. Eventually, around 1941, right before we entered the war, they re-routed the creek and built a retaining wall.”

In 1936 Eileen went to Conn Creek Elementary School, a one-room schoolhouse that is now the Anderson Valley Museum, and then on to the High School in Boonville which was where the Senior Center is today. “At Conn Creek there was just one teacher, Blanche Brown, and she was a remarkable person. When I first went there were 19 kids but at different times there was anything between 15 and 40 children and she did everything. She ran the lessons and took charge of the games on the playground at lunch-breaks. I went to the school in Boonville for 7th and 8th grade but the High School then moved to the buildings behind the current Elementary school, where the district offices are and where the buses are parked. I was there for two years when my father was asked to move to Eureka for work. We had to go even though it was my junior year. I was Class president, playing on the basketball and baseball teams, and had many friends at school.”

During her school years in the Valley Eileen enjoyed the benefits of living in a small, caring community. “I had a wonderful childhood here. The community was such a friendly place and we would go to many events. In those days there was a dance for the whole family held one Saturday a month. A band would play, always The Alberts, and it was a potluck so everyone would bring food and we’d have a big feast. Everyone knew everyone else and we all looked forward to it. The whole community joined in; young and old. Also at that time a man called Ray Wheeler would organize movies to be shown every Saturday and Sunday morning at the Apple Hall. We’d get to see people like Gene Autry, the Lone Ranger, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers. We also had the skating rink and various trapezes and gymnasium things set up for us, plus a basketball court. Kids were kept very busy in those days. We even did most of the harvesting of apples in the Valley, with a few adults to supervise us, of course.”

Understandably, Eileen was very upset at having to leave the Valley at such a wonderful time of her life. “I went to Eureka High and it was a real shock to me. The school was very big, over 275 kids just in my grade alone. I was lost. They didn’t have a girl’s basketball team so I learned to play field hockey and badminton. The one thing that helped was that another girl from Anderson Valley, Betty Bahl, had also moved there earlier so she introduced me to many new friends. I eventually settled in. I was a good student so that helped and I joined the Pep Band, playing clarinet, and we traveled all over the place with the football team. I am still in touch with a lot of those people. We had our 60th High School reunion last June.”

After graduating from Eureka High, Eileen briefly studied at Eureka Business College before getting a job at Bank of America. In the meantime she met Angelo Pronsolino whose family had been in the Valley since 1923. “I knew the Pronsolino girls — Angelo’s sisters, and his brother Guido, but not him. Then one day, it was my 15th birthday actually, December 1945, and I was working at the High School booth that was a part of the Valley’s community bazaar to raise money to build a bowling alley in town. It sounds strange now I suppose but it wasn’t at the time. We already had a skating rink at the Apple Hall. Anyway, this young man introduced himself and I learned later that he had bet his friend, George McAllister, that he’d marry me one day. When we moved to Eureka he used to drive up to see me every three weeks. The Valley never did get its bowling alley. The people who decide such things ultimately said there were not enough people here to support it. But Angelo and I did get together and we will celebrate our 60th wedding anniversary in July this year!”

Angelo proposed to Eileen in 1948, when she was 17. He was nearly ten years older. She said “yes” and they married in the summer of 1949 and returned to Anderson Valley. He built a house on the family ranch and over the next few years their three children were born — David, Gary, and Angela. Eileen and Angelo have lived there ever since. Angelo was a timber peeler in those days as well as helping out on the ranch with the orchards, vines, and sheep, while Eileen became a full-time mother but still helped out on the ranch, working in the orchards and fields. “We had sheep all over the ranch. It’s 270 acres now, bigger then. But the coyotes have put an end to all that. Now we have them in small fields around the house and may be have a hundred or so.”

When the children were in their late teens she returned to work part-time in the bank that was situated in Boonville at that time. It was the First National Bank of Cloverdale and was at the site currently occupied by the Elegante Video Store in downtown Boonville. The bank opened in October 1966 and Eileen began working there in February 1967. She remained with the bank until 1986, gradually becoming a full-time employee. However, her last year or so was spent in Ukiah as the Boonville branch had closed in 1984. “The bank had made some bad decisions about certain loans and debts were mounting up. It was too bad that it closed. The winery business was really growing plus a bank in town had been very useful to many local people. A small community needs a bank, just like it needs a school.”

Angelo had been taken seriously ill in February 1985 and was sick for a long time. “I stopped commuting to Ukiah and took a job closer to home with Alan Green’s Greenwood Ridge Winery in their tasting room. I was the manager there for ten years before retiring, although I still work now and again!”

Over the years Eileen has been involved with several Valley organizations, primarily the Parent Teacher’s Association and the American Legion in the past and more recently the Independent Career Women (ICW). “I was the Head Officer of the Room Mothers at the school – we used to put on fund raisers. Also in those days the school cheerleaders were not allowed to travel with the teams so guess who drove the girls all over to support the sports teams?!…In 1981 we started the ICW here, it had previously been the Business and Professional Women but that was more of a national organization and we sent our money to them. The ICW is local and raised money for all sorts of good causes in the Valley. I remember the handicapped trail in Hendy Woods was one thing we did before we stopped fund raising. We were getting a little too old. In recent times it’s more of a social group and the average age has dropped a lot in the past five years with lots of forty-somethings and even younger women joining the old ladies like myself, Frida Fox, Gwen Sidwell, Jeannie Nicholls, Joyce Murray, Donna Reilly, and Charmian.”

“These days we are around the house a lot and Angelo still puts all the sheep away in the barn every night but we love to bowl and go to Ukiah every Wednesday evening and play with the same group of friends. He started in 1986 and also goes to play in the Tuesday Morning League. I started again in 1994 and although I’m never going to be that good I still really enjoy it. And I even watch it on television, along with some football. I also like to fish on the coast and in the past we’d go to Lake Mendocino and water-ski.”

I asked Eileen what she liked most about her life here in Anderson Valley. “I think I could be content anywhere in this Valley but I really like just being here on the ranch. I love the sense of community and the people who live here. It is a laid back way of life. It is for me anyway! People ask me what I think about all the newcomers over the years and I simply say, ‘I couldn’t care less as long as they mind their own business and don’t tell us how to run ours.’ Over the years we’ve had people telling us that the logging is terrible for the environment or that shooting coyotes is bad and they are doing what is natural when they kill all the sheep. Well, I don’t think breaking up the ranch on Guntley Road into 64 parcels and building roads for all those lots was very good for the environment either. And the coyotes are often just killing the sheep for fun when they kill so many. If some of those who complain would spend some time seeing what happens at the sheep ranches like Sam Prather’s or the Johnson’s etc, they would maybe think differently. One person I know who was defending the coyote rights did just that and she soon changed her mind about the need for the sheep to be protected.”

“I think the Valley is fine despite all the changes in recent years. As long as the land is still used for agricultural things I am fine with it. We do not need more houses though and I believe the Valley Plan or zoning law does not allow anymore houses on the Valley floor except in certain spots and a particular size, limited to two per parcel.”

“I have traveled quite a lot. My main traveling companion is Christine Clark. I’ve been to England, France, Italy, Australia, and Mexico. I’ve seen some wonderful places but you know, I would never think of leaving here. This is my favorite place of all.”

I asked Eileen what she’d like to hear God say she arrived at the Pearly Gates? “Welcome, Eileen, you’ve lived a pretty good life, with a few exceptions!”

KELLEY HOUSE MUSEUM

Asian American Heritage Month

Look Tin Eli in traditional Chinese dress, circa 1890.

Born in 1870 on Main Street in Mendocino, Look Tin Eli helped set the precedent for birthright citizenship in the U.S. and later became a successful businessman and community leader. Over eighty years after his death, Congress designated May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Month (changed to Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in 2021). Like other heritage months, it is a celebration of the contributions of Asian Americans in U.S. history. May was chosen to mark the first Japanese immigrant arriving to the U.S. on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869.

Most of the railroad workers were Chinese immigrants. Look Tin Eli’s success story is an important piece in this history. The following excerpt from Look Tin Eli: The Mendocino Visionary Who Helped Shape the Chinese-American Experience discusses his life after he challenged the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and was permitted to remain in California as a U.S. citizen.

The ability to juggle multiple, complex business projects, augmented by strong publicity, made Look Tin Eli one of the most visible of San Francisco's Chinese-Americans in the first decades of the 20th century. Look understood how critical public support (and tourist dollars) were for Chinatown's economy; equally well, he knew that success of the Canton Bank and China Mail depended on wide and sustained support from the Chinese populace, here and abroad. He played active leadership roles in the Chinese Six Companies and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce; in addition, he chaired an array of public displays, Chinatown celebrations and meetings with domestic and foreign notables.

Look's role promoting his "little village" of Chinatown was spotlighted when he headed the "special committee" that organized the Chinese streetlight show to honor the 1907 U.S. Navy fleet stopover. This was Theodore Roosevelt’s expression of "big stick" diplomacy, ranking still among the greatest peacetime shows of U.S. naval bravado: for 14 months, 14,000 sailors in 16 war ships called on six continents. Planning countless electric lights, Chinese lanterns and parade bunting, Look collected thousands of dollars within a day and was thus extensively quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle, on April 23, 1908. Because the Chinese "dearly love anything in the way of public celebration," Look declared, "Chinatown will be so attractive for our distinguished guests" that "the people of SF will thank us" for such a historic welcome. "Chinatown has always been one of the attractions of San Francisco and neither effort nor expense will be spared.”

Soon after the fleet came and went, Look represented the Chinese Six Companies by chairing the executive committee to honor the elaborate November 1908 visit of Imperial Special Ambassador Tong Shao Ye and Prince Tsia Fu, son of the Chinese emperor and heir to the throne. Having committed an inadvertent diplomatic slight to China, high-level U.S. government officials, including military brass and the important San Francisco Collector of the Port, orchestrated a "grand and spectacular affair," with a total crowd of 3000, dozens of notables on all sides, two cavalry troops, a large Market Street parade and a Fairmont Hotel banquet. Spectacular displays of electric lights and Chinese lanterns festooned Chinatown and the city center.

These highly visible, newsworthy episodes were not simply festive, local happenings but serious diplomatic interactions with which Look Tin Eli was repeatedly entrusted. That Look was the default community spokesperson when an important event loomed, or distinguished guests came to visit, spoke to his exceptional social skills and diplomatic sensitivity, as well as his cross-cultural awareness and language skills.

(Look Tin Eli: The Mendocino Visionary Who Helped Shape the Chinese-American Experience, by Robert S. Becker and Jane Tillis, is available at the Kelley House and our on-line store. The museum is open Thursday-Monday, 11am-3pm. Walking tours of Mendocino are available throughout the week. Visit the Kelley House Event Calendar for a walking tour schedule. kelleyhousemuseum.org)

MENDOCINO COUNTY HISTORY (Jack Saunders)

A little outing in the redwoods somewhere along the coast, likely between Fort Bragg and Albion, and perhaps circa 1905, though I'm not so sure given the nice suit and tie on the fellow leaning against the wagon. The guy on the right seems to be packing either a shotgun or a large caliber rifle.

CATCH OF THE DAY, Thursday, May 8, 2025

BASILIO ANGUIANO, 44, Ukiah. Under influence.

RICARDO CAMPOS, 30, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

TONY HANOVER, 19, Ukiah. Probation revocation, resisting.

PAL LAUGHINGBROOK, 48, Covelo. Arson, resisting.

ERIK MISTIUK, 23, Ukiah. Reckless driving.

ASHLEY OSBORNE, 30, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, resisting.

JOHN PALACIOS, 56, Ukiah. Public Nuisance.

SESARIO RIOS IV, 44, Hopland. Taking vehicle without owner’s consent, controlled substance with two or more priors, probation violation.

TOTALLY FREE!

Seeking Others for Revolutionary Ecological Direct Action

Awoke early at the Adam’s Place Homeless Shelter in northeast Washington, D.C. and proceeded by bus to the MLK Public Library (and purchased a 100% Tangerine Juice in the library cafe area). Am free! Totally Free!! May now go where I need to go and do what I need to do. I’ve got a valid U.S. passport for Real ID. My retirement plan: 1. non-dualistically identify with that which is “prior to consciousness”, 2. perform Goddess rituals to destroy the demonic, and 3. order Red Breast Irish Whiskey with Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing IPA pints back. ~The Beginning~

Craig Louis Stehr, craiglouisstehr@gmail.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GARY SNYDER AT 94

My sons, Ryan and Austin, live in Port Orchard Washington, and they work on the U.S. Navy tugboats that move ballistic missile nuclear submarines and big aircraft carriers in and out of Naval Base Kitsap (NBK). Ryan is a licensed tugboat captain, and Austin is a licensed first mate.

I'm a PEN award-winning poet and a former student of Gary Snyder, who also lived in Western Washington before he moved to the Sierra foothills in Northern California.

I wrote this poem for my sons, and for Gary Snyder, on Gary's birthday, May 8.

Birthday Poem

My sons knew enough about foraging to pick a berry or two as

A snack along a hiking trail -- foraging for 28 wild edibles…

Easily collected greens, berries, marine species & mushrooms.:

Red huckleberry, rosehips, sasal berry & salmon berry.

They knew enough about what species shouldn’t be collected.

But what did they know about stints of hard physical labor

As a logger & trail builder? What did they know about being a

Firewatcher at the Sourdough Mountain Lookout?

And

What did they know about Japanese haiku & Chinese verse?

Or Zen Buddhism?

My sons knew nothing. Nothing until they read Gary Snyder,

Whose birthday, May 8, my sons later told me, should be a

National holiday for Beat poetry

--Also watershed conservation.

& Shamanism, myth & ritual.

& Primitivism, foraging etiquette & guidelines for simple living.

Quite a lot for one human.

John Sakowicz

Ukiah

ASK THE VET: THE FOUND KITTEN CONUNDRUM

Kitten season is upon us! Countless litters of adorable kittens are being born every day in communities everywhere, including here on the Mendocino Coast. While that may sound like tons of fun, kitten season is a difficult time for animal shelters and rescue groups, as well as for homeless cats.

The breeding cycle for domestic cats is triggered by the onset of warmer weather and longer daylight, so it tends to peak during the spring and summer months. Female cats can begin reproducing as young as 4-6 months old, and they can go into heat as soon as 6 weeks after giving birth. Combine that with the fact that a feline pregnancy only lasts about 2 months, and you can see how the cat population can quickly get out of control.

During kitten season, it is not uncommon to find very young kittens under porches, hidden in sheds, or tucked away under bushes in yards. While it can be alarming to see such small, vulnerable creatures alone outside, most of the time the mother cat is caring for them just fine and is close by. Assuming they are abandoned, many well-intentioned people attempt to “rescue” found kittens that do not need rescuing. In fact, removing them can greatly reduce their odds of survival, especially in the hands of an inexperienced caretaker or in a shelter environment. Not only is it very difficult and time-consuming to properly care for young kittens, they are very susceptible to infectious diseases from other cats.

If you happen upon a very young kitten (or kittens) outside, please leave them be until you’ve fully assessed the situation and considered the following:

Is the mom around?

Even if the mother cat is not in sight, there is a good chance she’s off finding food or waiting for you to leave the scene. If the kittens are newborns, she should be back within a few hours as they need to nurse frequently. If you are not able to wait and watch (from a distance) to make sure the mom returns, you can sprinkle a ring of flour around the kittens and return later to look for her footprints. If you believe the kittens are in an unsafe location, you can move them to a safer location nearby. Providing a temporary shelter, such as a cardboard box with a towel or blanket, can help to keep them more protected and warm.

Are the kittens still nursing?

Kittens rely on their mother’s milk for nutrition and immune support until they are around 4-6 weeks old. Kittens under 6 weeks old will be relatively uncoordinated and their eyes will either still be closed (if newborns) or baby blue in color. If a kitten’s baby teeth are growing in, it may be ready for solid food. Offering a wet pate-style cat food can help you assess whether the kitten(s) in question are old enough to be separated from their mom. If they don’t eat right away but look clean and healthy, you should wait a bit longer to see if the mom shows up.

Are there any signs of illness, injury or distress?

Nursing kittens who have recently been cared for by their mother will be clean, plump, and quiet. Assuming they are in a safe location, these are the kittens you should leave for as long as possible. If they are dirty, thin, meowing a lot, or have signs of injury or illness, you may want to consider intervening.

In the event that you find a kitten (or kittens) alone outside, please do not rush to scoop them up or take them to an animal shelter unless you have good reason to believe they need help. If in doubt, call your local animal shelter (such as the Mendocino Coast Humane Society) for advice. If the kittens are indeed in need of help, there are several different paths the shelter may recommend depending on the situation (i.e. finding foster placement for nursing kittens, a trap-neuter-release program for older feral kittens, or finding permanent homes for older tame kittens). The ASPCA also has a great online step-by-step guide on how to handle found kittens: https://www.aspca.org/helping-people-pets/i-found-kittens-what-do-i-do.

("Ask the Vet" is a monthly column written by local veterinarians including Colin Chaves of Covington Creek Veterinary, Karen Novak of Mendocino Village Veterinary, Clare Bartholomew of Mendocino Coast Humane Society and Kendall Willson of Mendocino Equine and Livestock. Past articles can be found on the Advocate-News and Beacon websites by searching "Ask the Vet.")

FRED GARDNER

Friedrich Merz, a Conservative, Is The New Chancellor Of Germany.

Neighbors say they have heard them disputing

Over some coffee, some jam or some bread

Or she mislaid his important newspaper

Or he accidentally misplaced her thread

These things that should lead their neighbors to weeping

Lead them to violent laughter instead

And so they converse

Love and coerce

In the ballad of Ethel and Fred

Sometimes she just can’t help jiving,

Jiving where angels would fear to tread

And sometimes he can’t help striving

A man wants to get ahead

Although he can’t stand backseat driving

She reminds him to stop on the red

So there’ll be one more curse

One more spat to rehearse

In the ballad of Ethel and Fred

She says I need to explain what I feel

He wants to just go to bed

She says he isn’t in touch with what’s real

He watches baseball instead

Sometimes she gangs up on him with Lucille

But never once has he fled

So. there’ll be one more verse

‘Fore they call for the nurse

In the ballad of Ethel and Fred.

Project 2025 Intends To Finish Off PBS.

Burt wants to do spring cleaning

Ernie wants to watch tv

Burt spells words, explains their meaning

Ernie says huh huh hee hee hee

Burt loves pigeons, law and order

eats his oatmeal regularly

collects paper clips, an obvious border-

line anal-retentive personality

Ernie is more hangloose and cozy

Likes to play ball and his rubber duck

The Count heard him ask Rodeo Rosie

Four, five, six times if she wanted to…

Burt makes the bed, washes the dishes

Ernie talks him out of the big piece of cake

Either one could leave if he wishes

Each hangs in for the other’s sake

The yin and the yang, the double helix

the sun and the moon, the earth and sky

Burt and Ernie, Oscar and Felix

Eternal tension, the long goodbye

TARIFFS IN REALITY

Editor:

I went into a hardware chain store to purchase a mesh bathtub strainer, marked $4.59 on the shelf. The cashier scanned the barcode: $6.59. He explained that the chain had updated the barcode price before he could change the shelf price and that the increase was due to tariffs. The item was made in Taiwan. He also remarked that he was disappointed — the chain has two years’ worth of stock and didn’t need to raise the price at this time.

What I understand from this sad story is that American retailers may see tariffs as an opportunity to gouge consumers. And consumers will be suckered into paying in advance for an ill-advised and unpopular trade war that has little chance of encouraging the remaining American factories to make these everyday items.

My story has two morals. First, beware of price gougers and stand up for your rights. Because I spoke up, I ended up paying $5.05 ($4.59 plus tax) for the item that had rung up as $7.25 ($6.59 plus tax). And second, think before you vote. Understand what is being promised, and how it may affect you. It’s too late this time around, but as far as I know there will be another election in four years.

Christine Thomas-Melly

Santa Rosa

FRED GARDNER

The discarded book from the Larkspur Library quoted admiringly in Ed Notes….

The night before I was reading a book of essays by Gore Vidal discarded by the Oil City, Pennsylvania library in 1973. I was so blown away by a paragraph that I copied it out to quote admiringly if I ever yield to the Substack Temptation. Vidal was reviewing "Midcentury," a novel by John Dos Passos.

"Dos Passos ends his book with a sudden lashing out at the youth of the day. He drops the labor movement. He examines James Dean. Then he does a Salengeresque first-person narrative of an adolescent who stole some credit cards (remember a similar story in Life?) and went on a spree of conspicuous consumption. Despite stylistic confusions, Dos Passos is plain in his indictment: doomed is our pleasure-loving, scornful, empty, flabby modern youth, product of that midcentury dream in which, thanks to the do-gooders, we have lost our ancient Catonian virtue. I found the indictment oddly disgusting. I can see that there is some truth in everything Dos Passos says. But his spirit strikes me as sour and mean, and finally, uncomprehending. He has mistaken the decline of his own flesh and talent for the world's decline. This is the old man's folly, which a good artist or a generous man tries to avoid. Few of us can resist celebrating our own great days, or finding fault with those who do not see in us in us now what we were or might have been. Nor is it unnatural when contemplating extinction to want, in sudden raging moments, to take the light with one. But it is a sign of wisdom to recognize one's own pettiness, and not only to surrender vanity to death, which intends to take it anyway, but to do so with deliberate grace as exemplar to the young, upon whom our race's fragile continuity, which is all there is, depends. I should have thought that that was why one wrote – to make something useful for the survivors, to say: I was and now you are, and I leave you as good a map as I could make of my own traveling."

Top Feminists

Feminists

As I strolled out one evening to visit with Susan B.

I came unto her sister, the fair Elizabeth C.

She said Why is it you never dare to ask me for a game?

I confessed I’m afraid of losin’ Susan. She said But we’re one and the same

I heard that she’d beaten masters And I’d been beaten by fools

I offered a sacrifice castle anyway And her interpretation of the rules

And so we set up our pieces They were neither black nor white

On squares the varying shades of red, distinct as morning and light, heavy and right

I tried my old king’s gambit again, I should have known it was wrong

The king may wield the power but nowadays the queen’s a piece most strong

She looked at me forgivingly and said, Go on, take back your move

Who wins this one doesn’t matter as much as how much you improve (Oh, God)

There’s war reports in the sports section snd comics now tell you who’s engaged (in what)

They’ve got movie reviews passing for news and chess problems on the Women’s Page

And those who suppose that life is a game will never get the moral of this or any song

And anyway morals are but the rules of life, changing as we play along

For as I strolled out one evening of late to visit with Elizabeth C.

I came unto her sister, Sue, the one and only Susan B!

She said Why is it you just stopped calling on me, man, do you feel ashamed?

I confessed it just got too confusin, Susan. And she said You’re not entirely to blame.

SEEKING JOHN WEBSTER

Hello,

I’m wondering if anyone can put me in touch with John Webster, who wrote that piece on Robby Stamps in 2020? We had a mutual fiend (Robby), and I’d like to thank him for his story on the anniversary of Kent State. Thank you!

Jane Peal, MFT

Integral Counseling for Individuals,

Couples, & Adult Adoptees

Alameda Office

http://www.janepeal.com

LULU SCHWARTZ TO PARTICIPATE IN GROUP READING IN THE CITY

On Saturday, May 10, at 2pm, the Canessa Gallery at 708 Montgomery St., San Francisco, Lulu Schwartz will participate in a group reading, her first since 1984.

All are invited.

ESTHER MOBLEY:

What I'm Reading

Punch’s Tom Downey has a very lively interview with the wine director of Gaggan, a Bangkok fine dining restaurant that’s No. 9 on the World’s 50 Best list. The restaurant, which serves 22 courses, does not let customers choose what to drink. They can choose simply between alcoholic or nonalcoholic, and then the sommelier pours what he wants to pour — whether they like it or not. He describes one customer who cried because the wines were too natty. The somm’s response: “You’re a 40-plus-year-old man. Just behave.”

In Provence, “there is a new, quiet evolution in style taking place,” write Elizabeth Gabay and Ben Bernheim in SevenFifty Daily. While the reigning profile of Provencal rosé in recent decades has been the result of reductive winemaking — an approach that minimizes oxygen exposure — there’s now a movement toward oxidative practices. This risks bringing a little funk to the rosés, but producers believe it also brings greater complexity.

An Italian wine company wants to revive the vineyards of Pompeii, reports Olivia Nolan in Wine Spectator. The plan is to mirror as closely as possible the vineyards of the ancient Roman empire, implementing similar trellis systems and interplanting grapes with crops like lentils.

JONATHAN KUMINGA BREAKS OUT but Warriors blown out in Game 2 by Wolves

by Sam Gordon

Jonathan Kuminga jumps up to throw a pass in the second half as the Golden State Warriors played the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 of the Second Round of the NBA Playoffs at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on Thursday, May 8, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle)

MINNEAPOLIS — If Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves was “gettable” Thursday for the Golden State Warriors at Target Center without Stephen Curry, head coach Steve Kerr might’ve asked more from his veteran stars.

Against a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit with 4:03 to play, not a chance for Jimmy Butler or Draymond Green to finish the beatdown.

“We went into the game thinking we’re playing a lot of people short-burst minutes to try to protect Jimmy and Draymond,” Kerr confirmed. “They’ve been playing huge minutes every other day, flying all over the country so we had to weight that.”

With the best-of-seven series opener in tow and Curry sidelined with a left hamstring strain, the Warriors sought a spark without their superstar guard — playing the rest of their roster in the first half of a 117-93 loss. Not since 1998 — at least — had a team played 14 players in the opening half of a playoff game, according to research from ESPN. A 13-0 deficit doomed Golden State as it missed its first eight-field goal attempts, stagnating for stretches in the first and second halves after platoon-style substitutions.

Out of the rotation throughout the postseason, Jonathan Kuminga ignited the Warriors with playoff career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting while guarding Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards. Also out of Golden State’s rotation, Trayce Jackson-Davis provided a punch with 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting, six rebounds, a steal and a block.

Jimmy Butler posted 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Julius Randle led Minnesota with 24 points and seven assists while Jaden McDaniels (16 points) keyed disruptive defense that coaxed the Warriors into 20 turnovers the for 22 points.

“We have to figure out what we’re going to be able to do in this series without Steph,” Kerr said. “… We learned a lot and I think this game will help us figure out how to move forward.”

Green (29 minutes) and Butler (34 minutes) are both 35 and Kerr was cognizant of their minutes Thursday considering their workloads the last three months. Green has played 44 straight games (including the play-in tournament game) while Butler has played 39 of 41 since debuting Feb. 8 for the Warriors.

Against the Rockets in a seven-game series rife with physical aggression and force, Green battled Houston’s sizeable frontline for 32.6 minutes per game. Butler suffered a pelvic and deep glute contusion in Game 2 against the Rockets he says remains painful, missing Game 3.

In the other five games, he averaged 38.8 minutes as an offensive and defensive hub beside Green. One day off preceded the start of Golden State’s series with Minnesota and with that in mind, “I didn’t want to push it with Draymond and Jimmy,” Kerr said.

Quinten Post joined Golden State’s starting lineup absent Curry with Green, Butler, Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield. Accompanying them in the first-quarter rotation were Kuminga, Gary Payton II, Moses Moody, Kevon Looney, Pat Spencer and Gui Santos.

Jackson-Davis and Kevin Knox got second-quarter burn for Golden State as Braxton Key played the last five seconds en route to a 55-39 halftime deficit. A third-quarter run pulled the Warriors within seven before the Timberwolves pulled away. Kerr said “we’ve got to figure out rotations, who we’re going to start, all that stuff.”

Kuminga staked his claim for more clock with his dribble penetration, explosiveness and length — making his first eight field-goal attempts against Minnesota’s athletic, rugged resistance. He bent around ball screens toward the basket, splicing a short-range jumper or three around drives and cuts while adding a catch-and-shoot triple from the corner.

With the floor well-spaced for a third-quarter catch opposite Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert, four times the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, Kuminga drove right, down the baseline from the corner and finished a contested two-handed dunk.

“I feel like the confidence just came back. … Just went out there and just tried to compete and I think everything just fell in line,” Kuminga said, adding that Green and Butler encouraged him to attack Gobert. “Just having Draymond and Jimmy telling me to go, that’s a big trust and just had to make something happen.”

Kuminga averaged 15.3 points as a key reserve in 47 regular-season games as Golden State’s most forceful athlete before his benching in the finale against the Los Angeles Clippers. He said working out, watching film, “staying strong mentally … and just being a good teammate” the last few weeks have helped him stay ready when doesn’t play.

“I wasn’t going out there expecting so many minutes,” Kuminga said. “… I knew one of these days, my name was going to be called and just go out there and impact” the Warriors positively is his focus.

Part of the reason for Kuminga’s benching is his positional overlap with Butler, with whom he lost 125 minutes by 6.8 points per 100 possessions in the regular season. Butler said Kuminga is “a great basketball player. I can play with anybody. He can play with anybody. It’s all about playing basketball the right way. … Attack to score. Attack to pass. Just make the right play over and over and over again every single time, no matter who you’re out there with.”

Jackson-Davis, the bouncy big man and onetime starter (6.6 points, 5.0 rebounds in the regular season) who hadn’t much played since January amid a pivot toward a small lineup and Post’s emergence, also thrived. Against the Timberwolves, he battled Gobert, ran the floor, screened, rolled and cut for three dunks and three layups.

With Curry out, Jackson-Davis said “we’re trying to find different lineups and matchups that work and I thought we did a good job with that” while highlighting his pick-and-roll potential with Butler.

Kerr said Kuminga and Jackson-Davis “were both really good” in Game 2 for Golden State.

“Those guys really performed well and showed why they can help us win this series,” Kerr said. “They’re going to be part of it for sure. … Both guys are going to play a role.”

Edwards finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists, leaving briefly in the second quarter with a tweaked left ankle and returning after halftime.

Game 3 is Saturday at Chase Center.

(sfchronicle.com)

BIG OIL SPENDS OVER $9 MILLION IN FIRST QUARTER OF 2025 TO FIGHT CLIMATE SUPERFUND ACT, OTHER BILLS

by Dan Bacher

The unprecedented lobbying spending spree by Big Oil that took place in 2023 and 2024 has continued into 2025 as the oil industry spends millions to stop the Polluters Pay Superfund Act and other climate legislation.

Gas and oil corporations spent a near-record pace of over $9 million to influence California officials in the first three months of 2025, according to an analysis by the Last Chance Alliance and Sunstone Strategies. The oil and gas industry spent a total of $9,139,655, according to disclosures on the California Secretary of State’s website.

“The industry deployed its profits to fight back against common-sense climate and polluter accountability bills. This Q1 spending spree mirrors Big Oil’s aggressive push in early 2023 to defeat a proposed penalty on oil price gouging,” the groups reported.…

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/5/7/2321130/-Big-Oil-Spends-Over-9-Million-in-First-Quarter-of-2025-to-Fight-Climate-Superfund-Act-Other-Bills

STEVE TALBOT

What might have been…

During my trip to Vietnam, I went by bus north of Hanoi through miles of rice fields and small towns into the mountains where Ho Chi Minh and his Viet Minh guerrillas resisted Japanese occupation of Vietnam during World War II.

I saw a recreation of the hut where Ho lived and heard from local guides a story all Americans should know.

Often recounted in Vietnam war era college teach-ins, this is history most Americans never learned.

During World War II, a secret American OSS (predecessor of the CIA) team parachuted men, weapons and supplies into Vietnam to work with Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap (who became the famous general) and their Viet Minh guerrillas. The mission: rescue downed American pilots and fight the Japanese who had occupied Vietnam.

When the American team landed they found Ho suffering from severe malaria and may well have provided the medical care that saved his life.

Ho Chi Minh and the American team became close allies.

When Japan surrendered, Ho Chin Minh and his forces declared Vietnam an independent country, using language from our Declaration of Independence. They sought an alliance with the U.S. -- sending a message to President Truman -- but never received a response from Washington. Instead, the U.S. made the fatal decision to back a return of (doomed) French colonial rule. Gen. Giap would command the defeat of the French at the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, and the U.S. would begin its long, disastrous war in Vietnam.

How different the history of the United States, Vietnam and the world might have been if the World War II cooperation between the OSS and the Viet Minh had been sustained. Think of the suffering that could have been avoided. Three million Vietnamese died in the American war. Some 58,000 U.S. troops perished.

Blinded by the Cold War, U.S. leaders failed to understand or appreciate the profound nationalism of Ho Chi Minh and his forces.

This New York Times obituary about the last surviving member of the OSS team that worked with Ho provides fascinating details: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/world/asia/henry-a-prunier-army-operative-who-helped-trained-vietnamese-troops-dies-at-91.html

VA ANNOUNCES MAJOR SURVIVOR BENEFITS REFORMS

WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced a three-pronged approach to eliminate barriers and streamline the process for how eligible survivors and dependents of deceased Veterans and servicemembers apply for and receive VA benefits and services.…

https://news.va.gov/press-room/va-announces-major-survivor-benefits-reforms/

ON THIS DAY, 55 years ago, Private First Class Kenneth J. David was deep in the jungles of Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, with Company D, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. That morning, his unit was positioned near Fire Support Base Maureen when they were hit by a well-coordinated attack from a large North Vietnamese Army force.

The enemy launched their assault using small arms, automatic weapons, rockets, and grenades. The initial barrage struck hard. The platoon leader was killed almost immediately, and several other soldiers were wounded. David, serving as the radio-telephone operator, gave his radio to the platoon sergeant so that leadership could continue, then moved quickly to the outer edge of the defensive perimeter.

He grabbed his M-16 and began returning fire. The enemy was close—close enough that David could see their movements through the trees and brush. Grenades exploded nearby. Bullets cut through the foliage. As the enemy pressed in, wounded soldiers were pulled to the center of the perimeter. David made a decision.

He left cover and moved outside the safety of the perimeter. His goal was to draw the enemy’s attention and fire away from the medics and wounded who were exposed in the center. He shouted, fired his weapon, and exposed himself deliberately. Enemy soldiers began focusing on him. He kept moving, dodging between trees, shooting bursts from his rifle.

A satchel charge exploded near him. Shrapnel tore into his body. He fell but got back up and kept fighting. He was losing blood. His ammunition was running low. Still, he kept shouting and shooting to hold the enemy’s focus. When a medic reached him to provide aid, David refused. He told the medic to help others instead.

He grabbed grenades and began throwing them at advancing North Vietnamese soldiers. He crawled to within range of an enemy position and destroyed it with accurate grenade fire. Enemy fire intensified, but David’s actions continued to pull it away from the center of the perimeter where helicopters were trying to land to evacuate the wounded. He stood and moved again, firing and yelling, deliberately putting himself in view.

Eventually, reinforcements arrived. As the enemy began to pull back, David carried a wounded soldier to a medevac helicopter under fire. Then he returned to the fight to cover the withdrawal. He held position and provided suppressive fire until the last of the wounded were safely out and the enemy broke contact.

Kenneth J. David's actions that day were sustained, deliberate, and done in full awareness of the risks. He stayed in the fight, wounded, nearly out of ammunition, and facing overwhelming enemy numbers. Every move he made bought time, space, and survival for the men around him.

For his gallantry, David was awarded the Medal of Honor on January 3, 2025, by President Joe Biden. He was the only living recipient among seven honorees that day.

ONE PERCENTERS

If you were born between 1930 and 1946, you belong to an incredibly rare group: only 1% of your generation is still alive today.

At ages ranging from 77 to 93, your era is a unique time capsule in human history.

Here’s why:

You were born into hardship. Your generation climbed out of the Great Depression and bore witness to a world at war. You lived through ration books, saved tin foil, and reused everything—nothing was wasted.

You remember the milkman. Fresh milk was delivered to your door.

Life was simpler and centered around the basics. Discipline came from both parents and teachers, with no room for excuses.

Your imagination was your playground. Without TVs, you played outside and created entire worlds in your mind from what you heard on the radio. The family gathered around the radio for news or entertainment.

Technology was in its infancy. Phones were communal, calculators were hand-cranked, and newspapers were the primary source of information. Typewriters, not computers, recorded thoughts.

Your childhood was secure. Post-WWII brought a bright future—no terrorism, no internet, no global warming debates. It was a golden era of optimism, innovation, and growth.

You are the last generation to live through a time when:

Black-and-white TVs were cutting-edge.

Highways weren’t motorways.

Shopping meant visiting downtown stores.

Polio was a feared disease.

While your parents worked hard to rebuild their lives, you grew up in a world of endless possibilities. You thrived in a time of peace, progress, and security that the world may never see again.

If you’re over 77 years old, take pride in having lived through these extraordinary times. You are one of the lucky 1% who can say, "I lived through the best of times."

PRIVATE EQUITY AND HOSPITALS: HAVE THEY FINALLY GONE TOO FAR?

Private equity has made significant investments in for-profit hospitals over the last 15 years. Perhaps it’s time to stop them.

by Eric Salzman

A long time ago when I was a kid, our local hospital was one of the rocks of our community. While it was not usually a destination of choice, you had confidence that the hospital was there solely for the purpose of taking care of you or your family when something went wrong. The hospital was a distinct entity, separate from the various businesses in town whose primary and necessary objective was to turn a profit.

I would hazard to guess that if some speculator came in who wanted to buy the hospital, leverage it up to the hilt, squeeze every last nickel out of it by skimping on supplies, cancel vital services and risk running it into the ground, well, that speculator would have been run out of town on a rail.

Those days are gone.

Private equity firms are doing just that - and their tentacles in health care are growing. Last year, they owned 460 hospitals, according to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project’s hospital tracker. Now, they own 488 hospitals. That represents:

8.5% of all private hospitals
22.6% of all for-profit hospitals
At least 27.7% of private equity-owned hospitals serve rural populations, which generally have a higher percentage of financially vulnerable patients and fewer healthcare options

The growth in PE-owned hospitals raises a myriad of ethical questions. While the bottom line is important to all hospitals, whether non-profit or for-profit, PE-owned hospitals are on a different level in emphasizing profits, and the consequences can be devastating as we are about to find out.

Cerberus and Steward Health Care

Steward Health Care, the nation’s largest for-profit hospital group, filed for bankruptcy in May 2024. The story of Steward is a tragic tale and is seen by many as indisputable proof that when a private equity fund, such as the one managed by PE giant Cerberus Capital Management, purchases hospitals and treats them strictly as financial assets, terrible things can and do happen.

According to Cerberus, they were Mother Teresa, investing to save a struggling healthcare provider, while making a profit for their investors and leaving Steward in fine shape when they exited in 2020.

Shortly before the 2024 bankruptcy, Cerberus slobbered:

Cerberus’ initial investment in Steward in 2010 not only rescued but restored six struggling Massachusetts hospitals on the verge of closing that were critical to their communities. During our nearly 11-year ownership of Steward, we supported the revitalization of failing community hospitals into a leading healthcare system. Cerberus’ long-term investment made it possible for Steward to continue to serve its communities, employ tens of thousands of professionals, and positively impact millions of patients’ lives.

Cerberus also felt the need to mention that an investment from a Cerberus fund was essentially an investment made possible by “millions of teachers, firefighters, law enforcement personnel, and municipal workers as well as other pension funds, universities, and endowments.”

Salt of the earth helps salt of the earth.

However, Cerberus danced around the important fact that they and their investors were not charities.

The teachers and first responders (their pension funds), as well as Cerberus expected a significant return on their investment, and they expected it within five to 10 years. Therefore, it’s reasonable to ask what kind of return the Cerberus fund and its limited partners (the teachers and first responders) could expect from an investment in 37 struggling, indebted hospitals in Massachusetts, and later Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Struggling hospitals don’t jump out as a good private equity investment. They required significant time, money and a lot of risk. So, if you’re wondering why PE firms would buy so many hospitals, think of McDonald’s.

In the 2016 film “The Founder,” Ray Kroc is struggling to turn a profit on the 13 McDonald’s franchises he has granted. A young man named Harry Sonneborn immediately diagnoses Kroc’s problem and reveals the magic formula that makes him a billionaire:

“You’re not in the burger business. You’re in the real estate business.”

The same is true for Cerberus. Hospitals are an annoyance to get what they really want, which is to use the hospital’s real estate to suck out their investment and profits.

Many of the hospitals purchased by private equity have owned both the buildings and land with low levels of debt, some with none at all. Getting at that unencumbered real estate is where private equity hits pay-dirt using an age-old real estate strategy called “Sale and Leaseback.”

Working hand in hand with private equity firms are real estate investment trusts (REITs), which have $185 billion in healthcare holdings. Private equity managers like Cerberus sell a hospital group’sland and buildings to the REITs and turn a huge profit.

Meanwhile, the REIT portfolios the property, earning a steady stream of lease income from the target hospital and because they are a REIT, the income is tax free. The hospitals no longer own their real estate and are now on the hook for millions of dollars in lease payments to the REIT for years to come.

This is exactly what Cerberus did.

When Cerberus purchased Caritas Christi Health Care System (which would become Steward Health Care) in 2010 for $246 million, Massachusetts regulators imposed a five-year monitoring period for Steward. Cerberus would have to wait five years before selling Steward’s properties and leasing them back from the buyer.

In 2016, after its monitoring period was over, Steward sold the real estate of its Massachusetts hospitals to a REIT, Medical Properties Trust (MPT).

According to the Boston Globe:

Medical Properties Trust would pay Steward a staggering sum — nearly $1.3 billion — for its nine hospital campuses in Massachusetts, roughly nine times what Steward had paid less than a decade earlier. The majority of the proceeds went to dividends and to return Cerberus’s original investment, not patient care or physical improvements. Cerberus took $719 million.

Evil.

Cerberus exited their investment in Steward in 2020, selling to a physicians group. The REIT MPT provided a $335 million loan financing to the buying group along with a $400 million cash infusion. Steward death spiraled under the weight of debt service and lease payments until the 2024 bankruptcy. Interestingly, another major private equity firm Apollo now owns the eight Massachusetts hospitals once owned by Steward Health Care.

Some of the horrific low-lights on the way to financial ruin were documented by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project’s special report, “The Pillaging of Steward Health Care”:

In the months leading up to the bankruptcy, multiple stories appeared in media outlets highlighting Steward’s many issues, including unpaid vendors, supply shortages and stockouts, understaffing, repossessed medical equipment, service cuts, and hospital closures.

Some examples:

A hospital in Florida was infested with thousands of bats and their accompanying bat guano, including on the floor that housed the intensive care unit.
In Massachusetts, a woman who gave birth died after the embolization coil needed to stop a bleed following childbirth was unavailable. The hospital’s supply of embolization coils had been repossessed by the company that owned them because Steward had not paid its bill.
In West Monroe, LA, health inspectors cited Steward’s Glenwood Regional Medical Center for putting patients in immediate jeopardy three times since December 2023. In March 2024, the hospital closed its inpatient rehabilitation unit. Federal inspectors found that the hospital ran out of multiple supplies including biopsy needles, catheters, and central lines. Various radiology and imaging equipment were in need of repair, and special beds that help prevent bedsores were repossessed. One doctor quoted in the federal inspection report described the conditions at Glenwood Regional in December 2023 as “third-world medicine.”

Steward Health Care is a horrifying and probably worst-case scenario, but it can happen again. As noted above, many private equity-owned hospitals are located in rural areas and the only game in town. Hospitals don’t make widgets; they provide life-saving health care and should not be treated as just another financial asset to be bought and sold.

In May of last year, Senator Elizabeth Warren issued a furious statement:

Steward Health Care’s bankruptcy is a direct consequence of Wall Street private equity vultures looting our health care system. …The next step should be a serious reexamination of whether we should allow private equity in health care. Steward is just the latest example of private equity endangering communities, and I will be introducing new legislation in the Senate to hold corporate actors accountable when they loot our hospitals to boost their profits.

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey introduced the Health Over Wealth Act last summer that would, among other things, close tax loopholes for REITs.

It’s made no movement. Don’t expect that to change anytime soon.

(racket.news)

THE BORDER between the State of Israel and the occupied Gaza Strip had always reminded him of the line between Tijuana and greater San Diego. There, too, ragged men the color of earth waited with the mystical patience of the very poor on the pleasure of crisply uniformed, well-nourished officials. Some months before, Lucas had come down for the dawn shape-up at the checkpoint, and he had not forgotten the drawn faces in the half-light, the terrible smiles of the weak, straining to make themselves agreeable to the strong.”

― Robert Stone, Damascus Gate

LEAD STORIES, FRIDAY'S NYT

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U.S.-U.K. Trade Deal to Build on Close Ties but Leave Some Tariffs in Place

Leader of FEMA Is Dismissed as Trump Administration Takes Aim at the Agency

Trump Administration Fires Librarian of Congress

The $200 Billion Gamble: Bill Gates’s Plan to Wind Down His Foundation

Netflix Overhauls Its Home Screen for the First Time in 12 Years

ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

The clear lack of respect for science by President Trump and his administration is beyond disheartening. It is extremely dangerous. The looming threat of the climate crisis is very real and cannot be eliminated with a bold pen stroke. As more emissions accumulate in the atmosphere, we all face the threat of more and more serious climate issues. These disasters can be very costly — in terms of lives, livelihoods and the funds required for recovery.

ROBERT PREVOST, NOW POPE LEO XIV, OVERCAME A TABOO AGAINST A US PONTIFF

by Franklin Briceno & Nicole Winfield

Pope Francis brought Robert Prevost to the Vatican in 2023 as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church. On Thursday, he ascended to become Pope Leo XIV — the first pontiff from the United States.

U.S.-born Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis, leaves the Vatican Synod Hall April 22, 2025, after the first general congregation of the College of Cardinals. Cardinal Fabio Baggio, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, walks out behind him. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Prevost, 69, had to overcome the taboo against an American pope, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the U.S. in the secular sphere.

The Chicago native is also a Peruvian citizen and lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop.

He evoked his broad experience in his first public remarks as pope, speaking in Italian, then switching to Spanish — and saying not a word in English as he addressed the crowd in Saint Peter's Square.

He had prominence going into the conclave that few other cardinals have.

Prevost was twice elected prior general, or top leader, of the Augustinians, the 13th century religious order founded by St. Augustine. Francis clearly had an eye on him for years, moving him from the Augustinian leadership back to Peru in 2014 to serve as the administrator and later archbishop of Chiclayo.

He remained in that position, acquiring Peruvian citizenship in 2015, until Francis brought him to Rome in 2023 to assume the presidency of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. In that job he would have kept in regular contact with the Catholic hierarchy in the part of the world that counts the most Catholics.

Ever since arriving in Rome, Prevost has kept a low public profile, but he was well known to the men who count.

Significantly, he presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms Francis made, when he added three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to forward to the pope. In early 2025, Francis again showed his esteem by appointing Prevost to the most senior rank of cardinals.

The selection of a U.S.-born pope could have profound impact on the future of the U.S. Catholic Church, which has been sharply divided between conservatives and progressives. Francis, with Prevost’s help at the help of the bishop vetting office, had embarked on a 12-year project to rein in the traditionalist tendencies in the United States.

Prevost's election “is a deep sign of commitment to social issues. I think it is going to be exciting to see a different kind of American Catholicism in Rome,’’ said Natalia Imperatori-Lee, a professor of religious studies at Manhattan University in New York City.

The bells of the cathedral in Peru’s capital of Lima tolled after Prevost's election was announced. People outside the church expressed their desire for a papal visit at one point.

“For us Peruvians, it is a source of pride that this is a pope who represents our country,” said elementary school teacher Isabel Panez, who happened to be near the cathedral when the news was announced. “We would like him to visit us here in Peru.”

The Rev. Fidel Purisaca Vigil, the communications director for Prevost’s old diocese in Chiclayo, remembers the cardinal rising each day and having breakfast with his fellow priests after saying his prayers.

“No matter how many problems he has, he maintains good humor and joy,” Purisaca said in an email.

Born in Chicago in 1955, Prevost joined the Order of St. Augustine in 1977. He attended Villanova University near Philadelphia, where he received a Bachelor of Science in 1977, and he got a Master of Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in 1982.

(AP)

THE LOVE SONG OF J. ALFRED PRUFROCK

by T. S. Eliot

Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question …

Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”
Let us go and make our visit.

In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.

The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.

And indeed there will be time
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,
Rubbing its back upon the window-panes;
There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;
There will be time to murder and create,
And time for all the works and days of hands
That lift and drop a question on your plate;
Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea.

In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.

And indeed there will be time
To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair —
(They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”)
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin —
(They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”)
Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

For I have known them all already, known them all:
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
So how should I presume?

And I have known the eyes already, known them all—
The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,
And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,
When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,
Then how should I begin
To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?
And how should I presume?

And I have known the arms already, known them all—
Arms that are braceleted and white and bare
(But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!)
Is it perfume from a dress
That makes me so digress?
Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl.
And should I then presume?
And how should I begin?

Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows? …

I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully!
Smoothed by long fingers,
Asleep … tired … or it malingers,
Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me.
Should I, after tea and cakes and ices,
Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?
But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed,
Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter,
I am no prophet — and here’s no great matter;
I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,
And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,
And in short, I was afraid.

And would it have been worth it, after all,
After the cups, the marmalade, the tea,
Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me,
Would it have been worth while,
To have bitten off the matter with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe into a ball
To roll it towards some overwhelming question,
To say: “I am Lazarus, come from the dead,
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all”—
If one, settling a pillow by her head
Should say: “That is not what I meant at all;
That is not it, at all.”

And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worth while,
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor—
And this, and so much more?—
It is impossible to say just what I mean!
But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:
Would it have been worth while
If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,
And turning toward the window, should say:
“That is not it at all,
That is not what I meant, at all.”

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—
Almost, at times, the Fool.

I grow old … I grow old …
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.

Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

I do not think that they will sing to me.

I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.
We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.

15 Comments

George Hollister May 9, 2025

“Nobody asked Cubbison if she needed any help to speed up the process or if she had any outside service proposals for Board approval. Neither CEO Darcie Antle who has ordered former Acting Auditor-Controller Treasurer Tax Collector Sara Pierce to have no contact with Ms. Cubbison, nor the other Supervisors had anything to say about the dismal situation.”

I know Mark Scaramella’s view isn’t the only view, but the above supports the long time, and on going management dysfunction that exists with county government, and why the county constantly makes decisions the make matters worse.

Me May 9, 2025

Because nothing was put in place to prevent price gouging by US Manufacturers prior to tariff implementation, of course they will participate in unnecessarily raising prices sky high on their fellow citizens. Our country is devoid of basic common courtesies and the LOVE of money rules everywhere. So disappointing. Buy American but pay imported prices or more. We best learn not to be a throw away culture anymore. Repair, re-use, upcycle, etc. Or decide to buy food/pay rent vs. buying a wanted item. God help us. No one else is going to.

Marshall Newman May 9, 2025

Sad to hear about the passing of Avon Ray and Eileen Pronsolino. The people of my childhood in Anderson Valley are slowly but surely leaving.

Cotdbigun May 9, 2025

Teresa Brendlen, I’m working on my resume and will have it completed in a day or two. I would appreciate your prompt response once the resume has been submitted, we are anxious to find out if I qualify for not just one, but two dump runs! The dump material will be cleaned with environmentally friendly soap, separated into recycled containers,and labeled. I thank you in advance for the exciting possibility of making the grade.

Mazie Malone May 9, 2025

Good Morning,

Sonya Nesch’s article on how our mental health services measure up, is really pointing to what is available for those able to access and accept help, the other reality is the rest of the people (severely in need of interventions & support) do not get it! I was one of those people for 18 months trying to get interventions for my loved ones illness, yes it is an illness so is addiction!

As far as NAMI goes, at the height of our problems I contacted NAMI 3 x with no response. I was fired from manzanita in 2020 only a few months in to the mental illness nightmare, for saying mental health services are inadequate. They are!! About 3 years ago I signed up to be a member of NAMI, yet to hear any information, a welcome packet, some acknowledgement, an offer of support? Nothing! I even turned in an application to sit on the board figuring maybe I could then make a difference, they accepted the app and 2 weeks later I received a letter stating they were not looking for board members at this time. 🤣🤯!

It is a closed loop system, no transparency, no change just a lot of lip service. What we say means jack if appropriate actions do not occur.

mm 💕

- Mazie Malone May 9, 2025
  
  Edit to say it will be almost 2 years ago not 3, I submitted application to be on NAMI Board.
  
  mm 💕
  
Dale Carey May 9, 2025

isn t that called the “silent generation”? before the boomers.

- George Dorner May 9, 2025
  
  Sounds as good a tag as any. The actual WWII baby cohort was/is so small it had gone unnamed and pretty much unnoticed.
  
James Tippett May 9, 2025

My understanding of French Indochina’s reinstatement after WWII is that this was a requirement Charles de Gaulle’s French Government in Exile extracted from the Allies prior to giving permission for the D-Day invasion on French soil. I learned the history of Ho Chi Minh’s betrayal at a series of lectures in a basement classroom at Johns Hopkins University in 1969, when I was still in high school. Still remember Ho’s question to the U.N. representative who landed in Hanoi, “This United Nations, is it a circle or a square?”

- George Hollister May 9, 2025
  
  Ho Chi Minh spent time in the USA about the time of WW1, and shortly after.
  
  https://theworld.org/stories/2017/09/18/little-known-story-ho-chi-minh-s-admiration-united-states
  
Craig Stehr May 9, 2025

This is most important, explaining the importance of your being!

Katherine Houston May 9, 2025

Thank you for The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. It is one of my favorites and made me smile.

- Bruce Anderson May 9, 2025
  
  You’ve worked with a lot of them, male and female.
  
Jim Armstrong May 9, 2025

The VA contracts with one company after another (five that I know of) to force disabled veterans to show up at Compensation and Pension Exams every year or two to prove their claims.
There was one of these, Veterans Exam Services (VES) in Ukiah this week.
My exam was Tuesday morning and the “provider,” Hassan Fathallah-Shaykh was assigned a little room at a chiropractic office behind Tractor Supply.
During my exam the doctor was seized by a dozen or so deep, hacking coughing fits of which he covered up about half. No masks in sight.
When I asked if he was OK or perhaps contageous he ha-ha’ed that it was just a touch of asthma.
Well I’ve been laid low for two days now with the worst upper respiratory infection I can remember.
So if you were one of ten or so G&P victims, you know where it came from.
VES denies the possibility.

Samuel Baker May 9, 2025

The Heart & Soul of Vinegar Ridge (Signal Ridge), Eileen Pronsolino, has passed on. As a newcomer to AV, my wife and I were welcomed by our next door neighbors when we bought our ranch in the early 1990’s. Eileen and Angelo were not sure what to make of us ‘flatlanders’, but over the years we became fast friends and at times, awestruck by this ‘salt of the earth’ couple. We learned as we watched their husbandry of their land, and gapped open mouth as we watched Angelo (in his mid 80’s), single handedly mount 9’ redwood barn doors that swung with the touch of a finger.
Eileen was the source of my understanding of the Valley and its history. Her encyclopedic knowledge of the people and families floored me, and we spent hours enchanted by the stories and characters she has known. Quiet as he was, Angelo was the most self sufficient individual I have ever met, no doubt coming from living 100 years on an isolated mountain ranch. Eileen was the people person; she knew everyone and was never a loss for words. Her recall for events and families in the Valley amazed us. Terry Sites and the reprint from from S. Sparks do justice to her life and memory, but knowing her for all these years has been a true gift, and I feel blessed.

Cerberus and Steward Health Care

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