- No Annexation
- Animal Attraction
- Undermining Epa
- Reduced Food Aid
- The Way To Unity
- An Interesting Forest Demonstration
- Musk On Dope
- A Homeless Dog?
- The Chris Rogers Abstainer
- How Many Autocrats Does It Take To Ruin A Country?
- It's Getting Late
NO ANNEXATION
Dear Neighbor,
I am writing as a concerned citizen urging you to oppose the City of Ukiah’s land grab. As someone who has lived in this community for over 50 years, I know investing in our community is vital for growth. But businesses hesitate to invest here due to local mismanagement on issues such as homelessness, affordability, and a shortage of police officers.
Annexation will mean another layer of micromanaging bureaucracy. A quick drive down Perkins Street will show the effects of the City Planning Commission and City Council’s handiwork: many businesses are out of business and vacant or burned down with no replacement. The City of Ukiah’s plan is to quickly annex around 9,000 acres and, as a local business owner, I am against this proposed annexation that would triple Ukiah’s city limits.
Despite the City’s higher sales tax rates and fees, the City struggles to manage its current size. We can’t expect it to serve such a dramatic expansion.
The City of Ukiah is focused on annexing land that they cannot handle and overlooking the issues that we face on a daily basis.
Annexation is not the solution. We urge you to join us in opposing this unnecessary and poorly planned annexation. The City is quietly looking to annex everything from Burke Hill Dr. to Calpella soon. The only way for us to stop annexation is to protest, if you live or own property in the area to be taken over. There is a narrow time window in which the protest must be filed and that time has not started yet. We will reach out when that time comes with the proper protest process. In the meantime, please talk to your neighbors and let them know what the City is up to when the Ukiah Planning Commission will vote on whether they will advance the annexation proposal to the City Council for final approval to submit the plan to LAFCO.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly at [email protected] and keep an eye out for more information at www.noukiahannexation.com
Sincerely,
Ross H. Liberty, President Factory Pipe, LLC
Ukiah
MARK SCARAMELLA NOTES: Besides owning Factory Pipe in an area of Ukiah which would be absorbed by Ukiah’s huge annexation proposal, Ross Liberty is a founding member of the inland advocacy group MendoMatters which, we gather, is opposed to Ukiah’s annexation proposal as well, presumably for reasons similar to Liberty’s.
ANIMAL ATTRACTION
Editor,
James Vincent remarks in a recent edition of the London Review of Books that “some creatures instinctively align their bodies with the Earth’s magnetic field during moments of repose” — dogs, for example, “while defecating.”
For almost a month now since I read his piece, I have been systematically observing my dogs defecating and can report that there seems to be no observable alignment at all with the Earth’s magnetic field.
Could it be that my dogs are short of magnetite? (Perhaps a special dietary supplement is called for?) Or are they perversely anti-magnetic, pooping triumphantly at any angle to the Earth’s magnetic field they like, in order to defy the natural order and show me who’s boss?
The same goes for deer, which are supposed to align when resting. The large herd that roams our fields rests all over the place in disorderly groups, angled every which way. My dogs and the deer, I think, need magnetizing.
Martin Rose
Saffron Walden, Essex
UNDERMINING EPA
Editor:
I am deeply frustrated by the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to eliminate all limits on greenhouse gases from coal and gas-fired power plants. This reckless plan threatens our environment, undermines decades of progress and sets a dangerous precedent for rolling back other critical regulations meant to protect our air, water and health.
Under Lee Zeldin’s leadership, the EPA is no longer the watchdog protecting our air and water — it’s becoming an open door for industries to rewrite the rules. Without federal safeguards, corporations will have free rein to pollute, leaving future generations to deal with the devastating consequences — rising sea levels, extreme weather and worsening air quality.
This plan is more than an attack on climate policy; it signals an open door for further erosion of essential environmental protections. We cannot afford to be silent. I urge fellow readers to speak out, contact elected officials and demand accountability. The public will be able to submit comments at regulations.gov in the near future.
Marla Charbonneau
Cotati
REDUCED FOOD AID
Dear Editor:
Unfortunately, the recent federal budget cuts that have been impacting the Mendo Food Network and Fort Bragg Food Bank continue to affect our ability to maintain our programs.
Effective in June, we will no longer be holding two pop-ups a month in Willits. We will continue our first Thursday pop-up in Willits, but will no longer have a third Thursday pop-up.
We understand that this will be challenging for many of our community members, and we apologize. Please know that our programs and the families we serve are our priority, and any changes we make are out of necessity. Cutting our services is the last thing we want to do.
If you have any questions regarding our pop-up services or the impact of federal budget cuts on our programs, please reach out at (707) 809-5669 or [email protected].
Thank you for your understanding.
Mary Tinder, Development Director
Mendo Food Network
THE WAY TO UNITY
To the Editor:
Thank you for noting the ideals for which men and women serve in our armed forces. As a Marine infantryman in Vietnam in 1966-67, I wondered what had brought us together in a conflict that was so difficult to understand, let alone wage successfully. We had to teach one another how to fight and how to survive.
Those who trained us hadn’t yet been to Vietnam, so they taught us what had always made the military function: people looking out for one another. We were learning to patrol, set up night ambushes, avoid buried mines, stay out of sight of snipers. I learned that every one of us knew something valuable that no one else knew. Only together did we know enough for most of us to survive.
In becoming a fighting force, we were expressing our country’s ideals by showing concern for one another. As a four-person team hailing from Chicago, Detroit, Philly and Amherst, Mass., we were learning that what makes a military unit work can also make a country work. At the end of 13 months, I felt I finally knew my country.
John Merson
New York
AN INTERESTING FOREST DEMONSTRATION
To the Editor:
Recently, my father and I attended a very informative field tour at Jackson Demonstration State Forest. We, along with other private landowners and forestry and fire professionals walked through 6 test plots designed to explore the effects of different fuels management on prescribed fire treatments in the redwood forest. The research project was a collaboration between the staff at JDSF and the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension staff. The tour was lead by Michael Jones, PhD, from the UC Cooperative Extension.
We found this on-the-ground practical tour extremely informative. It challenged our pre-conceived notions that fire is best avoided in our forest. As we walked through the plots we saw for ourselves how different fuels management treatments affected the forest ground and tree canopy. We also learned how wildlife were attracted to the more open treatment areas. As private forest landowners we greatly appreciate the educational role of JDSF and commend those who continue to manage our local state demonstration forest for all of it’s many public values. We take our role as land stewards very seriously and are pursuing proven methods to protect our forest from devastating wildfires. The best way to learn and understand best practices in land management is to see it for yourself through quality science-based research projects like this one.
We believe that JDSF can fulfill it’s mandate as a working, demonstration forest for the benefit of the entire community.
Nan Deniston
Parker Ten Mile Ranch
MUSK ON DOPE
Editor:
I am shocked at the report of Elon Musk’s drug use, both in his role in the Trump administration and as the recipient of federal contracts totaling several billion dollars. Every federal contractor is required to sign a “drug-free workplace” certification that strictly prohibits workplace drug use by employees and even requires an employee antidrug education program. This requirement attaches to federal funding that is distributed to states, counties and cities and then contracted out to other companies. How did Musk avoid these strict requirements? Why did the New York Times wait until Musk “left” the administration before reporting on his illegal drug use?
Abby Arnold
Santa Rosa
A HOMELESS DOG?
Dear Editor Bruce,
Thank you, happy you are alive and kicking, wasn’t sure if you had been kidnapped and held hostage or were out for the count!?
Interesting your love for boxing. I believe my father was born the same year as you 1941. He also had a love of boxing! I never could understand why one could enjoy getting the shit beat out of them by another person, that never made sense to me. Maybe the money was good and I suppose men wanna prove how tough they are? Getting your teeth knocked out and brain damage, no thanks,
A few years back, my son brought a homeless man to our door after going for a walk. The reason he did so is he had a puppy that had gotten loose and ran away from home right up to a homeless person who decided he was going to keep and take care of the puppy, but he had no food to feed it. So my son, knowing that we have dog food since we have a dog, decided to bring him home and help him take care of the puppy by giving him some food. I of course, spoke with the man. We gave the dog some dinner. This individual was so excited to have this little dog but also very anxious about how he would care for it. Boy was he happy to have that dog.
Later that evening I was on Facebook and saw someone had lost their dog, a dog that looked like the same exact dog pup that had broken free from home. I did notify them that there was a homeless man who had a dog that looked exactly like theirs and where they might find him to get their dog back. Unfortunately I never found out if they did indeed get their puppy back.
The thing is, I do not know if the man had actually stolen the puppy or if it was as he said that the puppy ran up to him out of the blue and he just felt the love and wanted to protect and take care of the little guy. Who knows? But I did tell my son please not to bring homeless people to the door and he has not since done that.
Mazie Malone
Ukiah
THE CHRIS ROGERS ABSTAINER. (He's in the tradition…)
Landline Service and Chris Rogers
Editor,
I called Assemblyman Chris Rogers' office to express our opposition to AB 470, and was told that he ABSTAINED from voting on this bill each time it's come up.
He ought to go ahead and sell out like everyone else, or get off the pot and represent us!
Please call his office and let him know how you feel about his nonexistent representation of the rural areas he represents: (916) 319-2002. Without a landline, many people will be isolated, and we all know that cell service is not reliable during area-wide emergencies like fires and quakes, where landline service is.
EOR (End Of Rant). Thanks!
Jean Arnold
HOW MANY AUTOCRATS DOES IT TAKE TO RUIN A COUNTRY?
Editor,
Since ancient times, our civilization has relied on authoritarian rule. Violence and intimidation achieves obedience. Many ancient regimes have left artifacts to prove that tyranny yields results. Has anyone wondered what the peasants thought about their achievements? Do you believe that greats like Michaelangelo wanted to paint pictures depicting Biblical events? Have you ever wondered how many slaves, how many lives, were destroyed before an autocrat found one who could perform under pressure? A thousand? If a mathematician could quantify the results, do you think the study would dissuade the megalomaniacs? More likely than not, someone would want to wrest control of the government from its citizens. More likely than not, the autocrat would try to quash dissent. More likely than not, it would take violence to depose the autocrat. Democracy is a mode of political rule that reduces violence if the citizens are willing to participate.
Tom Fantulin
Fort Bragg
IT'S GETTING LATE
Editor:
The news from Washington gets worse by the day. Our democracy is getting ripped out from under us by Donald Trump and his administration. I worry that it may take years to repair the incredible damage being done.
But will we even be able to recover from the damage Trump is doing to our climate with his allegiance to coal and other fossil fuels? Our ice caps will be gone, forests devastated by droughts and wildfires, animal species lost because habitats have been destroyed. Trump is also dismantling Joe Biden’s legacy of beneficial, critical climate programs.
Climate scientists have been warning us for several years that we are close to a tipping point. Yes, we can rebuild cities destroyed by wildfires or floods. But we can’t bring back the ice caps or rain forests. We can’t bring back extinct species. And we can only grieve for the people throughout the world losing their lives from famines. So as we fight for democracy, we have no choice. We have to fight for the planet as well.
Paula Fogarty
Santa Rosa
Be First to Comment