Mendocino County Today: Wednesday 7/30/2025

CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS is forecast for the interior of Northwest California through Friday. Storms may produce strong and gusty outflow winds, heavy rain and hail. A Tsunami Warning is in effect for Del Norte county with waves around 3-5 feet. Humboldt and Mendocino Counties are currently forecast to have Tsunami Advisory waves generally around 1 foot. Tsunami waves forecast to remain for 10-30 hours after the initial wave. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): It looks like we dodged the tsunami last night. It also looks like my west coast satellite site isn't working this morning so I cannot check fog cover. Oh well, a clear 52F this Wednesday morning on the coast. I'll go with mostly clear today, cloudier tomorrow then clearing again to follow. So there.

Beautiful day on the coast: the hoards at Glass Beach (Kirk Vodopals)

MILLIONS OF AMERICANS UNDER THREAT OF TSUNAMI with urgent evacuations in Hawaii underway as sixth-strongest earthquake EVER rocks the planet

by Melissa Koenig

Millions of Americans are under threat of a devastating tsunami following a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Russia.

Sirens were blaring in Hawaii and residents were urged to evacuate from coastal areas as the entire island chain braced for the impact to strike at 1 am EST or 7pm local time.

Locals were seen running to supermarkets to stock up on water and other essentials as Gov. Josh Green signed an emergency proclamation for the state.

Photos posted online also showed bumper-to-bumper traffic on a Honolulu highway as residents scrambled to get to higher ground. Meanwhile, on Oahu, the US Army and Navy opened Kolekole Pass and sections of Schofield Barracks on Oahu to help with the evacuation efforts there.

Tsunami advisories were also in effect for the entire West Coast of the United States and a tsunami threat covered Japan, where workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant were forced to evacuate.

Waves were expected to reach California at about 3 am EST/12 am local.

Data from the US Geological Survey shows the quake reached a magnitude of 8.8 and struck about 84 miles east-southeast of Kamchatska, Russia at around 7.24pm EST - marking the sixth strongest earthquake ever.

It was also believed to be the strongest to strike on the entire planet in 14 years, when a 9.1 megaquake hit northeast Japan and left 19,747 people either dead or missing.

Several were injured in Russia and a kindergarten in Petropavlovsk collapsed from the quake as tsunami waves could be seen reaching the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

'Unfortunately, there are some people injured during the seismic event. Some were hurt while running outside, and one patient jumped out of a window. A woman was also injured inside the new airport terminal,' Oleg Melnikov, regional health minister told Russia´s TASS state news agency.

'All patients are currently in satisfactory condition, and no serious injuries have been reported so far.'

The Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences also said it was a very powerful earthquake.

'However, due to certain characteristics of the epicenter, the shaking intensity was not as high … as one might expect from such a magnitude,' it said in a video on Telegram.

'Aftershocks are currently ongoing … Their intensity will remain fairly high. However, stronger tremors are not expected in the near future. The situation is under control.'

But in Hawaii, the Department of Emergency Management for Oahu, an island of Hawaii, urged residents on the coast to evacuate the area or at least move to higher ground ahead.

Officials in Guam also urged residents to get off the beaches and harbors.

The tsunami 'could be destructive' to coastal areas, authorities at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned.

The warning added that 'waves reaching more than three meters above the tide level [or about 10 feet] are possible along some coasts of Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.'

The National Weather Service also warned residents they 'are in danger.'

'Get away from coastal waters. Move to high ground or inland now. Keep away from the coast until local officials say it is safe to return,' the department said in an alert.

Meteorologist Matthew Cappucci also urged Americans to 'prepare to evacuate vertically if warnings are issued.'

'Move away from beaches, harbors, marinas, bays and inlets. If you're in a boat and cannot reach shore, sail away from the coast into deeper waters where the tsunami's energy will be dispersed. Head to a place with an ocean depth of at least 180 feet.'

The earthquake on Tuesday came just over one week after several other tremors struck the area, including one that measured a 7.4 magnitude.

Tuesday's earthquake is the largest this year, and is the first magnitude 8.0 or higher since 2021.

An 8.8 magnitude earthquake previously hit Ecuador in 1906, killing 1,500 people with impacts reaching as far north as San Francisco. More recently, an 8.8-magnitude quake stuck Chile in 2010, killing 523 people and destroying more than 370,000 homes.

An 8.7-magnitude earthquake that struck near the Rat Islands of Alaska's Aleutian Islands in 1965 also generated a tsunami that was reportedly 35 feet high.

Kamchatka and Russia's Far East sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

MAP OF CALIFORNIA TSUNAMI HAZARD ZONES: Look up your address

California and the entire West Coast from Washington to the Mexico border were under a tsunami advisory after an 8.8 quake rocked Russia earlier in the day. The estimated arrival time for San Francisco would be after midnight Pacific time.

A tsunami advisory is issued when a tsunami with the potential to generate strong currents or waves dangerous to those in or very near the water is imminent, expected or occurring. An advisory indicates that the tsunami may be hazardous to swimmers, boats and coastal structures. People are advised to move off the beach and out of harbors and marinas.

The California Geological Survey has created maps showing hazard zones along the entire coast where water might inundate the shoreline during a tsunami. Below is an interactive version of the map that allows people to check if they live or work in a tsunami zone, and where to escape it.

“What we’re depicting with that line is where we anticipate the tsunami to stop and not affect you if you were at a higher elevation,” said Jeremy Lancaster, a geologist at the California Geological Survey.

The hazard zones are based on a number of possible worst-case scenarios, such as if a huge 9.3-magnitude underwater earthquake near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands caused a large tsunami, an event expected to take place only about once every 1,000 years. They also take into account the risk of a tsunami caused by earthquakes closer to home, such as in the Mendocino Fault, where Thursday’s 2024 Offshore Cape Mendocino California Earthquake took place.

When a warning is sent out and you don’t have a map available, look for tsunami hazard evacuation signs. When all else fails, go at least a mile inland from harbors, beaches, lagoons, bays and any other low-lying coastal areas, Lancaster said.

Fortunately, tsunamis that are likely to hit the Bay Area often come with some warning time. Though timing varies, it likely would take about an hour for a tsunami to travel from the Mendocino Triple Junction to the Bay Area, said Behringer. And it would take about five hours for a tsunami caused by a huge Alaskan earthquake to reach the Bay Area.

Earthquakes closer to and even farther from the Bay Area can also cause tsunamis, such as Japan’s in 2011, which killed one person in California and caused $100 million in damage in the state. The tsunami following the 2022 underwater volcanic eruption in the Pacific Kingdom of Tonga caused damage in Santa Cruz harbor, and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake sparked an underwater landslide in Monterey Bay that produced a small tsunami.

Jacob Roper, a spokesperson for the California Department of Conservation, noted that the hazard maps "are not emergency response tools," and people should look for direction to the California Office of Emergency Services.

Ted Williams:

Fort Bragg Tsunami Forecast: 2350 PDT Jul 29 0.8 - 1.4 feet.

Gabriela Lev: Thanks Ted, for remembering us in the harbors! It will be an incoming 4 foot tide at around midnight, so adding another foot or so on top of that will still be less than our usual yearly king tides. Still might be enough speed and force to do some minor damage.

Williams: Nobody is certain, and if it is substantial, it will come without much warning.

UPDATE FROM NYT (Wednesday morning):

Tsunami waves began to reach the U.S. West Coast early Wednesday morning as the effects of an 8.8-magnitude earthquake, one of the largest ever recorded, were felt in nations on both sides of the Pacific. Waves as high as 5.7 feet above normal washed onto Hawaii, though officials said the threat of widespread destruction there had passed.

The tsunami was moving down the California coast, where just before 2 a.m. Pacific a surge of 3.6 feet was detected in Crescent City, a low-lying northern community near the Oregon state line. Authorities closed some of California’s beaches, docks and harbors, warning of strong and dangerous currents.

There were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties, but forecasters warned that the first waves to arrive may not be the largest, and that higher waters could return several times in the next 24 hours.…

CALIFORNIA STRUCK BY LIGHTNING MORE THAN 18,000 TIMES IN ONE DAY — more coming

by Anthony Edwards

Northern California was hit by 18,833 lightning strikes in the 24-hour period ending 7 a.m. July 26, setting a single-day record, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Blue dots represent negative cloud-to-ground strikes and red dots represent more dangerous positive cloud-to-ground strikes. (National Interagency Fire Center)

Northern California was struck by a record amount of lightning last week as a persistent weather pattern brought widespread thunderstorms to the mountains. The active thunderstorm pattern is expected to continue this week as a subtle but quick-moving weather system crosses Northern California.

July 25 set a single-day record with 18,833 pulse strikes across Northern California. Most of the lightning was contained to the Sierra Nevada, southern Cascade Mountains, Klamath Mountains and Trinity Alps, but a few storms moved into the northern Sacramento Valley in the evening. Pulse strike lightning records from the National Interagency Fire Center date back to 2012 in the region stretching from Santa Cruz to South Lake Tahoe up to the Oregon border.

Several more rounds of lightning in the following days brought the July 24-28 strike count to roughly 29,000. More lightning struck Northern California this July than any month since 2012 according to Brett Lutz, a meteorologist at the Bureau of Land Management.

Lutz said the stormy pattern was associated with persistent areas of low pressure off the California coast, the same pattern that contributed to the abnormally cool start to summer in the Bay Area.

Cal Fire reported dozens of wildfires across Northern California from the late July lightning siege, but none of them were burning uncontrolled as of Tuesday. Lightning-sparked fires can smolder undetected for days or weeks before hot, dry and windy weather whips them up.

Thunderstorms are expected to follow the routine pattern of popping up over the mountains Tuesday afternoon before fading in the evening. However, activity is expected to ramp up early Wednesday as a new system approaches. Nocturnal lightning is possible in the Lake Tahoe area before dawn Wednesday.

“We have more moisture than normal for this time of year, so we’re expecting storms to be a bit wetter in nature,” said Gigi Giralte, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Reno.

Despite the spotty rainfall, surface relative humidity as low as 30% in some areas will “lead to some possibility of lightning (fire) ignitions,” the National Interagency Fire Center said.

By Wednesday afternoon, “very abundant lightning” is expected to expand toward the Oregon border and possibly the Sacramento Valley, especially the foothills. A mix of dry and wet thunderstorms is predicted and storms could be accompanied by wind gusts up to 60 mph, the National Interagency Fire Center said.

Fire weather watches and red flag warnings were in effect across Northern California and Southern Oregon for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Scattered lightning may continue in California on Thursday and through the weekend, but the bulk of activity is expected to move toward Washington state, where the weather service warned of critical fire weather in the Cascade Mountains. Portland, Ore., and Seattle may even be hit by rare thunderstorms Thursday.

(SF Chronicle)

MEMORIAL MASS AUG. 6 FOR SISTER JANE KELLY

by Mike Geniella

Sister Jane Kelly, an iconic Catholic nun who served the Ukiah Valley for four decades, spent her final years in “pain and prayer,” recalls a fellow member of the Sisters of the Presentation religious order in San Francisco.

True to her nature, however, Sister Jane managed to let “the tiny openings of light and love shine through,” Sister Marilyn Madeu, a longtime friend in the order, said recently.

Sister Jane, who was a member of the Presentation Order for 78 years, died June 7 at age 95 in a San Francisco care home, and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma.

Sister Jane will be honored Aug. 6 at a noon Memorial Mass at St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Church in Ukiah. The Rev. Gary Lombardi, a retired priest who was pastor at St. Mary during Sister Jane’s long tenure in the Ukiah Valley, will officiate.

The Mass and a reception to follow is being organized by friends and former associates of a nun who reached out to the larger Ukiah community to implement social justice programs, including the founding of the Plowshares Dining Hall.

Sister Marilyn recently eulogized her longtime friend, remembering the stress Sister Jane experienced after becoming a whistle blower about priest misconduct, and her struggles with serious health issues late in life.

Sister Jane in 2018 returned to the order’s Motherhouse Care Center in San Francisco suffering from a “long festering back and neck injury,’ according to Sister Marilyn. The pain was intense and debilitating but Sister Jane relied on prayer and the support of caregivers for sustenance, said Sister Marilyn.

Ukiah’s Memorial Mass is intended as a community tribute to an individual who arrived in Mendocino County in the 1970s to accept a position as Director of Religious Education for St. Mary.

Sister Jane during her first 10 years collaborated closely with local Native American communities while fulfilling her parish duties. She drove into SF monthly to attend her order’s Covenant Community meetings.

Sister Jane, Martin Bradley, and Susan Crane co-founded the Plowshares Center and Dining Room. Sister Jane reached out to community leaders for support and worked with her order and private individuals to expand services over the years.

A legacy of Sister Jane is her engaging lessons for parish children and their parents in religion and preparation for the Sacraments of Holy Communion and Reconciliation.

Mary Leittem-Thomas, former principal at St. Mary School, said “Everyone attended without complaint. They loved her classes.”

Sister Jane’s life took an unexpected turn when she found herself at the center of Ukiah’s role in an exploding nationwide church scandal about priestly sexual misconduct.

“My life took a new direction when I went public about the sexual and fiscal misconduct of a diocesan pastor and the cover up by the Bishop,” Sister Jane recalled later.

For friends, parishioners and community leaders, the Aug. 6 Memorial is a time to honor her work on behalf of the parish, and the larger community.

“Ukiah is celebrating an amazing woman,” Leittem-Thomas, a longtime parish member, former school principal, and co-worker with Sister Jane.

Leittem-Thomas said Sister Jane is deserving of a community-wide memorial because during her long tenure in Ukiah “she made Catholic teachings concerning faith, dogma, and social justice come alive for parishioners, school parents and students.”

“Her reach went beyond St. Mary’s into the greater Ukiah community, said Leittem-Thomas. Sister Jane served on the Board of the Senior Indian Nutrition Center and the Ukiah City Planning Commission.

Leittem-Thomas said Sister Jane “encouraged those in positions of power to advocate for justice and positive change.”

“Parishioners were proud to hold up Sister Jane as a remarkable example of Catholic faith in action,” she said.

Martin Bradley, co-founder of Plowshares, said when he arrived in Ukiah looking for a place to live and find a faith community, he recalled people telling him, “You should meet Sister Jane.”

Sister Jane had already established credibility and influence across Mendocino County.

“Sister Jane taught me how the sacred and secular gospel of peace and justice could be brought together to do good things in Ukiah,” said Bradley.

Sister Jane Kelly was one of twin daughters born in 1930 in Fresno to an Irish couple with ancestors in show business and the law. “Jane knew from whence her humor, logical thinking, determination, and Catholicism came,” remembered Sister Marilyn.

Sister Jane faced new challenges when she decided to go public about the sexual and fiscal misconduct during the 1990s of diocesan pastor Jorge Hume Salas and a cover up by the late Bishop Patrick Ziemann.

Lay people cheered Sister Jane’s personal courage and integrity but the church leadership shunned her, blaming her in part for notoriety surrounding diocesan practices from Petaluma to the Oregon border.

Sister Jane Kelly lived out her last days quietly, tended by faithful friends and care givers.

AV UNIFIED NEWS

Peachland students gather before “graduation,” AVHS gym decorated for 2025 graduates, FFA summer intern Dorian, FFA crops

Dear Families and Staff,

Welcome to the 2025–26 school year in the Anderson Valley Unified School District! It is with great pride and excitement that I welcome you to our community of learners, where tradition, innovation, and student success go hand in hand.

In Anderson Valley, we value our diversity and strive to be an inclusive community where everyone feels seen, heard, and supported. We believe school should be a place for fun, learning, and growing; we love to support our students as they lay foundations for pursuing their dreams.

This year brings continued growth and exciting improvements across our campuses. At AVHS, we are thrilled to see the all-weather track taking shape and recently completed renovations to classrooms and science labs that will provide students with modern, engaging learning spaces. Planning is also underway for an anticipated full renovation of the high school gym. Meanwhile, AVES is preparing to unveil a brand-new kitchen and upgraded facilities designed to better serve our elementary students. These projects reflect our commitment to creating safe, vibrant, and inspiring environments for all learners.

I invite you to join us in making this a year of learning, connection, and shared success. Here’s to a fantastic 2025-26 school year!

Fondly,

Kristin Larson Balliet, Superintendent

Welcome, New Staff!

We are thrilled to announce many wonderful additions to our team! Please welcome them to our beautiful AVUSD community.

Joel Casillas will be joining us at AV Jr/Sr High as our new PE teacher and Athletic Director! Joel is an avid athlete and a strong supporter of school sports. Students will love him!

Charlene Rowland has joined us as our second Agriculture teacher. Charlene is an experienced agriculture teacher who enjoys welding and ag mechanics!

Nathan McMath will be teaching music at both AV Jr/Sr High and AVES. Nathan grew up in Anderson Valley and went to our schools! Recently, he has taught music abroad in many countries. He will be a fantastic addition to our team.

Liz Cornejo will join AV Jr/Sr High as office assistant. Liz previously worked for AVUSD as a bilingual specialist; we are thrilled to have her rejoin our team!

Important Dates

Please also save this 2025-26 Student & Parent Calendar for your reference all year!

August 4, 5:00 PM District Safety Meeting at AVHS Library

August 11, 9:00-1:00 7th & 8th grade Registration & Schedule Pick-Up

August 12, 9:00-1:00 9th-11th grade Registration & Schedule Pick-Up

August 15 at 3:30 PM AVES Orientation

August 18 First Day of School!!!

Concerned About Safety?

Your children are precious and it is our job to keep them safe! If you have any concerns or questions about school safety, please join us for an informational meeting and a Q&A this coming Monday, August 4th, in the AVHS Library at 5:00 p.m. Both principals and the superintendent will be present to share information and talk with parents.

FFA & Food Bank

We are so proud of all the FFA does for our kids and community!

The Victory Garden delivered 200 lbs of produce (broccoli, cabbage, kale, green onions, Swiss Chard, kohlrabi, zucchini, and cucumbers) and fruit (peaches and Santa Rosa plums) for distribution [to the local Food Bank].

What excess produce or canned food could you donate to your food bank?

The federal government has cut funds to all food banks and even nutrition programs.There are so many people all over the country that are in need.

What can you do? Even small donations can help.In Anderson Valley 200 families are helped by the food bank twice a month.

(Written by FFA teacher Beth Swehla)

If you would like to be more involved at school, please contact your school’s principal, Ms. Jenny Bailey at AVES or Mr. Heath McNerney at AV Jr/Sr High, or our district superintendent, Ms. Kristin Larson Balliet. We are deeply grateful for our AVUSD families.

With respect,

Kristin Larson Balliet, Superintendent

Anderson Valley Unified School District

[email protected]

Thunderclouds to the northeast (Elaine Kalantarian)

MULHEREN TELLS HASCHAK TO SHUT UP ABOUT SUPERVISOR PAY

by Mark Scaramella

Besides voting no on both of Supervisor John Haschak’s proposals for the Board to take modest pay or benefits cuts proportionate to other county departments, Supervisor Maureen Mulheren’s only contribution to Tuesday’s discussion was to tell Supervisor Haschak to stop bringing up the Board’s budget and salaries. Haschak had informally suggested that the Board take pay and benefit cuts before, but on Tuesday, he proposed formal agenda items. Such discussions obviously make Mulheren uncomfortable because not only is it obvious that her pay is way out of proportion to her performance, but that she and her colleagues are totally tone deaf to their own public perception.

Newly seated Supervisors Bernie Norvell and Madeline Cline were against any cuts too, But at least they offered lame excuses. Mulheren offered nothing but her scolding of Haschak. Norvell and Cline were worried about all the “work” it would take for staff to modify the Supervisors’ pay ordinance to reflect Haschak’s proposal. Everybody agreed that the Supervisors are oh-so conservative with their spending on themselves for “training” and “travel” and would never ever waste money on unnecessary stuff and they will continue to monitor their spending on a quarterly basis, just like they’ve never done before. Apparently their $110k base salary just isn’t enough for them to pay for training and travel and conferences out of pocket. They also insist that their salaries continue to be tied to their department head salaries — salaries the Board sets in a perfect conflict of interest circle. This sneaky little provision was inserted at their last pay raise discussion so that they, especially Mulheren, can avoid talking about their pay raises directly by giving themselves raises by proxy via their department head “bargaining unit” via “negotiations” with themselves.

Haschak made two motions. The first was to make relatively a small reduction of about $20k in the board’s total training and travel budget. That one failed 4-1 with Haschak the only vote in favor. Haschak’s second motion, to reduce board salaries a little, from about $110k to about $103k also failed, but with Supervisor Williams voting in token support knowing that his three other colleagues were dead set against any Board budget cuts.

Board watcher and former county employee Dee Pallesen told the Board that staff was very aware of the distress the Board’s across the board departmental budget cuts have had and that it would look bad if the Board didn’t at least take token cuts themselves. Her arguments were, as usual, ignored.

After the vote Supervisor Mulheren had this testy exchange with Supervisor Haschak:

Mulheren: We have many conversations up here on the dais and some of them are, um, agenda items and some of them we talk about them when we talk about the budget. I just think that in consideration of the processes and in consideration of staff time and consideration of, um, the way that the, uh, county moves forward as an agency, I would personally appreciate it if we would not have agenda items come forward multiple times after they were already not approved.

Haschak: How many times have you seen this agenda item on an agenda?

Mulheren: I’m not asking to have a conversation or a debate about it. We have…

Haschak: But your comments were…

Mulheren: We have had conversations…

Haschak: How many times have you seen this as an agenda item?

Mulheren: This is the first time that this has been an agenda item, Supervisor. But it is not the first time that the discussion has been had by this Board this year.

Haschak: I understand. But it’s the first time it’s come as an agenda item. OK? (Stares at his computer)

Supervisor Cline: I just want to pause for a second and ask that this board make a conscious effort not to interrupt speakers in the middle of comments. I have seen that happen multiple times by different individuals and I just ask for some decorum.

Supervisor Mulheren’s “in consideration” word salad, especially our favorite, “in consideration of the processes,” is typical of her passive-aggressive style. Instead of just saying, “Hey John, why do you keep bringing this up? We’ve turned you down several times now. I don’t know where you’ve been, but we are not reducing our salaries, so just shut up about it,” Mulheren has to pretend to be worried about “processes,” and “staff time” and “the way the county moves forward as an agency.”

It’s probably wishful thinking, but we hope Haschak brings the board salaries up again at the next Budget update since they all claim to be interested in tracking their spending and keeping it in check.

SUPERVISORS PRESSER IGNORES HASCHAK’S PAY CUT PROPOSAL

Women’s Equality Day Proclaimed in Mendocino County

The Board adopted a proclamation recognizing August 26, 2025, as Women’s Equality Day, marking the 105th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in the United States.

The proclamation honors the dedication and sacrifice of women suffragists, including Alice Paul, who fought tirelessly to secure voting rights for women. Their efforts culminated on August 26, 1920, when the 19th Amendment was formally added to the Constitution. In 1971, Congresswoman Bella Abzug introduced legislation to designate August 26 as Women's Equality Day, a tradition that continues nationwide to this day.

To celebrate this milestone, the public is invited to attend a community event on August 24, 2025, at the Kelley House lawn in Mendocino, recognizing Women’s Equality Day and the enduring legacy of the suffrage movement.

Energy Saving Project with Ameresco

On July 29, 2025, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors voted to move forward with a solar installation at the County Administration Center, using $1.5 million from the PG&E Disaster Settlement Funds.

The approved project will involve installing solar panels at the County Administration Center in Ukiah. Staff also noted additional installations could be revisited in the future if further funding becomes available, particularly through the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC).

The Board selected a debt-free option after reviewing proposals for a broader $4.9 million project. The approved project focuses on fiscal responsibility while supporting the County’s climate goals.

SELF DEFENSE! CASE DISMISSED! RELEASE OF FORT BRAGG MAN WHO STABBED 2, INCLUDING HIS MOM, ORDERED

by Frank Hartzell

Daynes Cox-Pabo has been found innocent.

The Fort Bragg man, who was arrested July 18 on felony charges including attempted murder, appeared by Zoom from the Mendocino County Jail so he could enter a plea.

But there was no need for a plea.

Fort Bragg’s prosecutor, Eloise Kelsey, told the court that investigations by Fort Bragg Police following the arrest had determined that Cox-Pabo had acted in self defense. After reading the investigative report, Kelsey recommended the case be dismissed and the public defender, naturally, did not object.

The first Mendocinocoast.news story on the stabbing case.

Clayton Brennan, the judge for Fort Bragg’s Ten Mile court ordered Daynes released from custody and the case was thrown out by three officers of the court in the interest of justice. I didn’t catch whether the case was dismissed with prejudice (meaning it cannot be refiled) or without prejudice (meaning it can be refiled at a later date if there is no evidence).

Now it’s time for the dozen media outlets that posted this original press release to follow up and also reveal to their readers that new evidence resulted in the dismissal of the case. I bet most of these outlets won’t do any follow up. And that is wrong.

In Mendocino County news reporting, people arrested are assumed to be guilty. Reporting has stopped at the press release, or more cynically, when it became in the least bit difficult to do. We can all do better!

Follow up – It’s a matter of ethics. I’m not claiming perfection. I’ve written stories that needed follow-up up and I never did it. We all need to do better. This is a problem with how, from coast to coast, journalists no longer do their own work.

The problem isn’t just the spin; It’s how this approach floods the public with a single, one-sided narrative. Here in Mendocino County, audiences often encounter the same press release a dozen times, each iteration parroting the official script.

What chance does the truth have if the story’s already been told, but never really investigated?

This is not to criticize those creating press releases. They are doing their job by announcing the facts as they know them. Its journalists who are failing so miserably to get all sides of a story. Or even one other side. Press release publication requires zero effort and fattens up news sites to create the impression they are doing journalism. This makes us think the worst of people. It divides us. Actually go to court and you will see human beings working with a system that is both grossly misunderstood and also gets most very difficult things right.

Monday’s six hours of court roller coaster started with an effort by law enforcement, Redwood Community Services and both defense and prosecution to get a mentally ill woman to meet the terms of her probation so she could stay out of jail. The woman wasn’t doing much to help her own cause. The judge and prosecution insisted that there be consequences if she failed to attend another probation session. The group made a plan that involved others taking extra steps to make sure she took her meds and attended regular meetings with her probation officer. But when Judge Brennan explained what would happen if she didn’t follow through with people going the extra mile to check on her, the woman balked. She had to come back to face the judge an hour later and was finally able to articulate agreement. This was a person a lot of people would love to hate. She would be very unlikely to thank anyone anytime in the near future. But putting her in jail would surely have accomplished only the worst outcome for her. She will be given 60 days to work closely with Redwood Community Services to stay on her meds and get to her probation appointments. Will the plan work? Hard to say, but all sides made an impressive collective effort to help this woman. The judge put off sentencing on violations of probation charges until Oct. 1 to give it one more chance.

I had my first reporting job in 1983 and like all reporters of that day saw justice served many times and watched it fail at times too. We saw wise and foolish of all these; judges, reporters, cops, prosecutors and public defenders. We were all familiar with the awful spectacle of an innocent person caught in the machinery of the system.

Modern audiences are simply not familiar with how things actually work in courts, government and society. Everything is quick and simple. People who are arrested are someone to be hated on, even if they are our friends and neighbors and even if they turn out to be innocent later (which we aren’t told). Law enforcement is either to be lavishly praised or to be criticized when the script becomes complicated, or simply human.

When a crime takes place, cops have to gather the best facts they can. But it witnesses don’t cooperate or the investigation takes an unexpected turn, then people who think real life is no weirder than TV shows lose their simple narrative. Reporting also involves difficult choices? When do I use names? Photos? I don’t plan to report names in DUIs and drug possession cases and try to do so in the case of felonies that I believe society takes seriously.

The second to last case of the day involved a man facing felony drug trafficking charges who had relapsed into drug abuse found in urine tests and missing probation reports. He was having trouble following through and faced being sent to jail until trial. He was given another chance to get clean. With it so difficult to follow through, a member of the Fort Bragg Police Care Response Unit got him into a Ukiah rehab program and would be driving him there herself the following morning. Judge Brennan said the court would hold up on any effort and give him a chance to succeed at rehab. Brennan called for a progress report to be made from within the treatment center in two weeks. Then the judge noted that the man had not kept his last probation appointment. Brennan said that no diversion away from sentencing could happen until the man had first made that meeting. It was arranged with probation and CRU to leave a little earlier and have that appointment at the Ukiah probation office before going to check in at the rehab facility.

And folks, if you printed the press release accusing the guy of attempted murder, you have to print that the case was dismissed. Just do it.

UPDATE – woman charged in firecracker assault on homeless woman in February pleads no contest to one felony or misdemeanor charge: three additional charges dismissed, receives suspended sentence.

(MENDOCINO COAST NEWS)

GRANDPA’S ACCIDENT

My name is Kelci, and I’m starting this fundraiser on behalf of my grandpa, a hardworking log truck driver who recently suffered a serious accident while on the job. After decades of dedicating his life to his work and family, my grandpa now finds himself in a difficult spot and needs a little help to get back on his feet. His truck was totaled in the wreck, and while we are incredibly grateful he survived, the physical and financial impact has been overwhelming.

For as long as I can remember, my grandpa has been the kind of man who puts everyone else before himself. He started raising kids at just 16 years old and has never stopped giving. Whether it was his own children, nieces and nephews, grandchildren, or neighborhood kids in need of guidance, he’s always opened his heart and home. He’s worked tirelessly for decades to support his family, waking up before dawn and driving long, grueling hours through all kinds of weather, just to make sure there was food on the table and a roof over our heads.

The wreck has taken away his primary source of income but has also left him with injuries that will take time to heal. Right now, he’s unable to work until he can replace his truck. We are doing everything we can as a family, but it’s more than we can manage alone. That’s why we’re reaching out for help from our community, friends, and anyone reading this.

Any amount you can give no matter how small will go directly toward helping my grandpa with living expenses, medical bills, and starting to rebuild what was lost. He’s not the kind of person who asks for help, but right now, he truly needs it. He’s spent his life giving to others, and now we’re hoping to give a little something back to him.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for any support you can offer, whether it’s through a donation or by sharing this page. It means the world to us. My grandpa is a fighter, and with your help, I know he’ll get through this and come out even stronger.

— Kelci Hernandez, Laytonville

https://www.gofundme.com/f/roger-shannon-get-a-log-truck

MYSTERIES OF THE ROUND GATHERINGS

Presented by Larry Spring Museum at Larry Spring Museum, Fort Bragg CA

Bring your curiosity and imagination to the Larry Spring Museum and join Ursula Brookbank in collaborative creation sessions. Our results will be used in the Mysteries of the Round HAPPENING and on the fabric redwood round.

Fri, July 25, 4 PM to 7 PM: COMMUNITY MARK MAKING GATHERING
Bring your curiosity and imagination to the Museum and join Ursula Brookbank in a community mark-making session. We will be using natural materials, handmade charcoal, twig brushes, stamps, and rubbings to create marks for the HAPPENING and the fabric round.

Wed July 30 Noon to 6 PM: COMMUNITY MARK MAKING AND WRITING GATHERING.
What would the Redwood Round reveal if we asked what it has witnessed? Share your imaginings on overhead projection materials to be used in the HAPPENING and on the fabric round.

Sat Aug 2 5 PM to 8 PM: COMMUNITY MARK MAKING AND SHADOW PUPPET GATHERING. We will create marks and shadow puppets using supplied and found materials for the HAPPENING and inclusion on the fabric round. ALSO, check out the results of our SOIL CHROMATOGRAPHY experiments

RSVP to [email protected] for the gatherings. Space is limited.

MAGDALENA HOMES - A POSSIBLE SOLUTION FOR LOCAL HOUSING

by Anne Fashauer

I met with the owner of Magdalena Homes, Felipe Camacho, about a week ago; we sat down for coffee at Mosswood so I could learn more about his project and so he could pick my brain about the local scene. We were introduced to each other by someone on the Anderson Valley Housing Association.

Camacho is from Colombia, South America, but he and his wife have a property in Yorkville. During his visits to the Valley he has learned that we have a housing shortage, in particular, we have trouble housing our teachers and our AV Health Center employees. With his transportable studios he is offering a unique way to provide housing to Anderson Valley and, hopefully, points beyond.

The studios are built in Colombia and shipped to California. They come as a standard model with a living area, bathroom with shower, kitchen with full size appliances and a sleeping loft. The units can be customized to some extent, with choices in paint colors and materials. They can also configure this to accommodate two more bedrooms by attaching a deck between the two units. They are small in size to comply with the ADU rules.

Camacho has been working with Mendocino County to make sure these units are permitted as ADU’s and they have been able to assist property owners with everything from electrical and water hook-ups to septic hook-ups.

The units are on wheels but installed look as though they are not mobile. Once in place a property owner can rent them out, use them as a guest cottage or use it for in-home help to live. The units can be leased or purchased. The lease structure is unique - the company takes two thirds of the rent the unit brings in, assuming it is rented full time, while the property owner keeps the other third. This provides the land owner with some income while providing the much needed housing.

More information can be found on their website Magdalena-Homes.com. Additionally, the company is hosting an open house on August 22nd at 5:00 PM at the Anderson Valley Brewing Company. If you have been thinking about a second home that you could rent out to a teacher, nurse, or other local employee who needs housing, this might just be the right solution.

STRANGERS ON THE COAST

by Carol Dominy

In November and December Of 1978, the Mendocino Coast was transformed into a picturesque New England fishing village for the filming of “Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter,” a made-for-TV movie starring Hollywood legends Bette Davis and Gena Rowlands.

Bette Davis and Ford Rainey dancing on the set of "Strangers" in Noyo Harbor. Kelley House Collection.

The story centered on a woman (Rowlands) who, after discovering she is terminally ill, returns home after 20 years to make peace with her estranged and embittered mother (Davis). The Chris-Rose Production Company brought a wave of excitement to the Mendocino Coast, filming in locations from Noyo Harbor to Little River. In Mendocino, scenes were shot at Mendosa’s Market, a private home on Kelley Street, and along Main Street. Though the plot was set in summer, the Fourth of July scenes at Noyo Harbor were filmed in chilly, damp December weather. Between takes, cast and crew warmed themselves around portable stoves.

The production involved many local residents, both on and off camera. Between 50 and 100 people were hired as extras and stand-ins, earning $30 a day. Betty Barber of Mendocino doubled for Bette Davis, and Judy Frank stood in for Gena Rowlands. Motion Picture Development Coordinator Toni Lemos helped the director hold auditions at local schools. Three local students, Krishan Timberlake, Renee McDonell, and Donnie Salo, played Davis’s neighbors and later traveled to Hollywood to film interior scenes. Others featured in minor roles included Kris Williams, John Zunino, Don Fosse, Grail Dawson, Jill Fosse, and Steve Jordan.

Filming lasted about four weeks, during which time the production company relied heavily on local resources, including those of the Mendocino Fire Department. In appreciation, Chris-Rose Productions donated $500 to the department to help fund the purchase of new fire and rescue equipment. Production manager Ric Rondell spoke highly of the warm reception from the community, expressing gratitude for the kindness and cooperation shown by coast residents.

“Strangers” marked the first major screenwriting credit for Michael DeGuzman and earned Bette Davis a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for her moving portrayal of Lucy Mason, a proud and lonely widow grappling with the past. The film premiered on CBS on Mother’s Day, May 13, 1979, as the Sunday Night Movie.

(KelleyHouseMuseum.org)

I'M ANA, COSMETOLOGIST with license good afternoon to all. I want you to know that I'm offering haircut service for Children, Ladies, Gentlemen, Permanent dyes, Waxing, Vallalage, Light Hair and Makeup. The salon is in Boonville still next to the cagero. We're open from Monday to Friday from 12:00 to 6:30 and Saturdays from 10:00 to 6:00 pm. No appointment needed. Thank you very much.

RON PARKER: Mendocino County Way Back When

Woods crew on stump Wendling - Navarro Ca Mendocino County

CATCH OF THE DAY, Tuesday, July 29, 2025

IVAN AGUILAR, 20, Ukiah. Petty theft, resisting.

FELIPE ALCOCER, 59, Fort Bragg. Domestic violence court order violation.

MARTIN BRIGGS, 54, Willits. Controlled substance with two or more priors, paraphernalia, probation revocation, bringing controlled substance into jail.

JESUS DELGADO JR., 30, Fort Bragg. Probation revocation.

MONTE FISK-MCCARTHY, 34, Willits. Failure to appear.

DEVAUN JOHNSON, 25, Ukiah. Disobeying court order.

IGNACIO LARA, 45, Hopland. Domestic battery.

SCOTT MAINGI, 50, Ukiah. Disobeying court order.

ASHLEE MAY, 43, Ukiah. Controlled substance.

RICARDO MEDINA, 27, Ukiah. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

LUIS ORTIZ, 38, Ukiah. Paraphernalia, post release community supervision violation.

LEONEL PALACIOS, 29, Santa Rosa/Ukiah. DUI.

STEPHEN SCOTT, 50, Point Arena. Burglary.

VICTOR VISCENCIO, 36, Fort Bragg. DUI, false ID.

AMERICAN GREATNESS & TRUMPIAN DOUBLESPEAK

Editor:

The Trump administration is notorious for “1984” doublespeak — calling something the opposite of what it really is. The Big Beautiful Bill is a good example. It is nothing of the kind unless you are one of the ultra-wealthy. But let’s look at the MAGA movement. Traditionally the greatness of America has been due to leadership in science and technology, a good education system, respect from foreign nations for our humanitarian activities and philosophy, effective trade relationships and strong diplomatic partnerships with our allies. Mr. MAGA is systematically going about destroying all of the above.

Leland Davis

Santa Rosa

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

It will take a generation to restore any sense of integrity to the DOJ after this sad and dangerous era. Of the endless malfeasance of this administration, its sanguine attitude about destroying our institutions tops the list. Who do these people think they are? And why are we all sitting around and letting it happen? Trump was elected by about 30% of eligible voters. What are we doing?!

NEW POLL OF YOUNG CALIFORNIANS FINDS THEIR TOP CONCERNS HAVE CHANGED

by Summer Maxwell

Economic concerns are dominating the priorities of young Californians, according to a new poll by Power California, a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging civic engagement among young people. The data shows the top issues facing young adults statewide are economic matters like tariffs and jobs.

The cost of living and inflation capped the list. This year’s results continue a growing pattern of the prevalence of economic concerns. The social justice issues that ruled responses in 2020, like police brutality and protecting immigrants, didn’t crack the top five.

“It’s not so much that young people don’t care about social issues — because they very much do — but because they’re living paycheck to paycheck,” explained Saa’un Bell, the executive vice president of Power California.

The poll, released last week, surveyed 1,890 Californians between the ages of 18 and 30 in late spring. Generation Z is considered those between the ages of 16 and 28 in 2025, although there isn’t perfect consensus. Power California has commissioned the poll in election years since 2018, and annually since 2023. Latino Decisions, a political opinion firm, partnered with Power California to conduct the survey. Hillary Clinton’s and Joe Biden’s presidential campaigns hired Latino Decisions to administer polls in 2016 and 2020.

The poll aimed to capture the top priorities of the state’s young adults, who increasingly wield more political weight, and their reaction to the first 100 days of the second Donald Trump administration. Gen Z and millennial voters are forecast to make up the majority of the American electorate by 2028.

According to the results, economic pressures have unseated social issues as the key driver of young Californians.

“[Social issues are] very important, but they’re not the most urgent thing for young people right now,” Bell said.

It’s a shift 28-year-old Daisy Maxion, who has been collaborating with Power California since she was in college, has seen in her own community in Hayward. While she was going door to door to connect with locals, residents repeatedly told Maxion, who now works as the organizing director of Filipino Advocates for Justice, that they couldn’t afford to take the time off work to vote.

“They were dealing with such economic strain that it’s hard for them to even go out and advocate for even local policies, like going to city council meetings,” she said.

One of Maxion’s friends now drives for Uber and Instacart after work to make ends meet.

According to the poll, 80% of people surveyed said the cost of living has outpaced their wages, and nearly 1 in 3 said they’ve taken on a second job. The Bay Area had a higher percentage of young people say they’ve taken on a second job or side hustle compared with Los Angeles and the Central Valley.

Respondents from the Central Valley were the most likely to become involved in politics, attend a protest or join a political party, beating out their urban counterparts.

Beyond worries about the cost of living and inflation, Californians cited stopping Trump’s agenda, immigration and deportation concerns, and a desire for lower taxes as their biggest motivators for turning out in the 2026 midterm elections.

Fifty-six percent of respondents said they opposed Trump’s recent punishment of universities. Among those surveyed from the Bay Area, 70% said they disapproved of the way the Trump administration handled its first 100 days in office, and 59% reported that Trump has had “a negative effect on the way things are going in California.”

But young adults felt malaise toward more than the Trump administration. Only 51% of Bay Area respondents said they had a favorable view of the Democratic Party, and 54% of young Californians statewide said the state was “headed in the wrong direction” — up 6 percentage points from last year.

“We’re just tired of surviving,” Maxion said. “We want to be in a position of not only surviving, but we’re actually in a place to just live our lives without necessarily having three jobs, without having 40% of our paychecks going to rent.”

(Summer Maxwell is a second-year master's student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Previously she covered education, incarceration, and politics for Richmond Confidential, the Tufts Daily, and the Student Dispatch. She also worked as a broadcast news intern and anchor at Arlington Community Media, Inc. A born-and-raised New Englander, Summer loves hiking, rock climbing, and hiding under an umbrella at the beach with a good book.)

AMERICA (1979 AT TWENTY-FOUR)

by Paul Modic

Everyone has his price, it’s all for sale

the meter maid trainee listens to her supervisor

with dutiful agreeing eyes

I leave you buying, laughing, talking, dancing.

I leave you all in the streets, your legacy complete.

I leave you for you will not have me

anonymous stranger groping for a connection

and quiet in retreat.

I’ll take your bean burrito

though I won’t watch you make it.

I take your buried treasure and bundle it in apathy.

Save me from the cul-de-sac, the pagan rack.

I left my love on the Arcata Bottoms

with a hundred cows and an old Dodge power wagon

I left her smiling in the humble innocence of home.

I saw my sister walking in the rain

jamming trash down the sewer.

I left my brains in the forest

my mind in Palenque too

America is cold,

one crummy pizza after another

yet it can be very warm on the dance floors.

We stomp and scream our 20th century reflections,

laugh and ride trucks into the sunset.

We look, dissatisfied beyond schools and

cities, into the forest’s glowing boredom.

The gates of heaven are open.

America is one ranting raving association

of disenchanted landowners

cheering Earl Campbell and his glittering media.

America you are California first, they say,

and then perhaps N.Y.C.

America, disco is your latest obsession.

This is America in 1979, twenty-one years from 2001.

This is America that earned or stole its wealth,

then purchases more bottoms.

This is windmill America, the new America.

Across the great divide we swarm

land on the creeks, live on a shoestring.

A world of good bran desserts and real springs,

water flowing out of the mountains.

It’s infinity for each person in

the neo-Thoreauvian wilderness.

Cars slither by on the wet pavement,

TV takes a backseat.

The have-nots battle it out in the city

while the haves add more security

to their country/suburban estates

in search of the American Dream:

A fat house and a skinny wife.

(And rooms to raise the kids.)

The South Bronx is unspeakable

having cruised through its dreariness in my taxi.

America is fragmented, ridiculed by junkies’ needles,

the growing waistlines of middle America.

The world, they say, is very old

while this country, the land of opportunity,

is only a few hundred white-man years.

They also say Columbus about 400 years ago,

did tarry amidst the isles in days of intense discovery,

as even today we seek inner and outer realms with

microscopes and telescopes, space ships and submarines.

America is the culture of invaders, investors,

long lives of wills handing down deeds to land,

death’s shattered remains.

The nomads, ah the nomads:

There is a school, a town, a village, a watering place of the mind,

a hidden sexual question and programmed response.

Our dreams are mortal belly throbs,

dreams of possession, development, and love.

Dreams of love.

Dreams of Pintos crashing,

Pinto screams dream of love, exploding corporate raincheck,

lithe elms dancing merrily.

America is the poetry of sound, light, the cosmos.

Laughter is the cemetery of glee.

We hug goodbye as if not trusting ourselves

to hug while visiting.

MITCH CLOGG:

Masturbation was taboo. You didn’t talk about it. Newborn boy babies are often born erect, little stiffies, and the delivery people laugh. All the same, you weren’t supposed to talk about it. I can’t remember when us boys first talked and joked about beating off or jerking off or pulling your pork. I remember a kid on the playground had a dirty picture—a bareass man, from behind, part of a woman’s head, visible under him, her arms and legs around him.

Me: “What is it?”

CB: “It’s a man and a lady, and he’s screwin’ the hell out of her!”

I got it. I had been thinking about and imagining such things for a long time, though I didn’t know the particulars. I turned away. I wanted to stare and stare, but I didn’t dare.

I had discovered masturbation by accident, age seven. I was precocious. I knew that fondling my little thing produced pleasing sensations that went from pleasing to frustration fast. I would roll over, groan, and push my achey parts against the mattress, sometimes the pillow.

Usually somebody helps—your big brother or somebody’s big brother. I only had big sisters, and we weren’t helpful.

One day I wondered: “I wonder what would happen if I kept doing that?”

BAM! I found out, and all existence changed. Holding my tassel like an Eberhard No. 2 pencil, I resumed my three-finger up-and-down grasp. Came a white fluid, evil and hot. Scarey as all hell. WHAT HAVE I DONE?! The Devil was in that gooey white stuff, and I was doomed!

Still, mere instants after the panic came the second impression: That felt GOOD! Terrible but good! And since I was doomed, I might as well try that again. And again and again and again and again, ad infinitum.

On the playground, I learned further that the Age of Consent in Delaware, a hop, skip and jump from Baltimore, was SEVEN! Ogod! How do you get to Delaware?

(Delaware is corporate headquarters for countless multi-national corporations ((“headquarters” = a mailbox in a mostly vacant building in Wilmington)) because Delaware doesn’t have much of a corporate tax.)) His age notwithstanding, you could trust Joe Biden, a perfect example of the “new” Democrats, to not go too hard on corporations. They paid for his elections. Year after year. He was, for corporate America, a “good” Democrat. He is, even senile, one of the “reformers” who bled dry the American Labor Movement and shrank unions until they no longer made the front pages. Bye bye progressive America! Hello, Project 2025.

Ahem. Sex:

Delaware raised the age of consent from seven in 1972. Anita Hill raised her objection to the Supreme Court Justice appointment of Clarence Thomas in 1981. Then-Senator Biden chaired the committee that figuratively raped Ms. Hill for telling on Thomas’s bad habit of sexual harassment. Joe mocked Anita and gave us Clarence! And the corporadoes partied. Who could blame them? However Clarence looks like a gorilla, he’s not that smart, but he knows what side his bread is buttered on and by whom, and he knows it’s not by working families.

So, again, sex:

What inspired this column was MSNBC. Coulda been any “news” organization. The righteous indignation re Ghislaine and Jeffrey is worse than tiresome. It’s true they broke worldwide mores, customs and laws by trafficking in kids. It’s true their clients and pals were the worst, and they deserved prosecution—all of them, but it’s not because they “ruined” many girls. Some, yes, but “all” or even “many”? Excuse me, but I doubt it. I remember age seven. I remember lots of thirteen-year-old girls—not that I touched them (except at dancing class), but, God, how I wanted to! And I remember thirteen-year-old girls and how interested they were (and INTERESTING! They were perfect!).

But sex rules. We are still uptight, neurotic, in denial and full of it re sex and kids—sex and ANY age, so we remain obsessed with the subject, and it dominates all things. If our preoccupation with sex brings down the Republicans, the Heritage Foundation, Trump and all his blind worshipers—any and all of the forces of backwardness, let her rip, but for God’s sake, let us not pretend they were tormenting kittens at Epstein Isle. They were engaging in illegal practices and exploiting kids, some of whom suffered emotional damage. They were engaging in moral hypocrisy and the amusements of the unworthily privileged. Screw ’em! But Jeff didn’t deserve being strangled, and I don’t know what Ghislaine deserves. Her own life story is damn weird.

Again: let us stop the ridiculous tsking and grapple like grownups. The skin of young people (say I at 86) is a thing more wonderful than gold. It must not be violated by MSNBC and others, but not disregarded, either.

When my daughters were the age of this lass (I a single dad), Mother Nature cut me some slack. I felt no physical attraction to them whatsoever, thank Holy Jesus Christ Almighty and all the saints.

GRATEFUL DEAD 60TH ANNIVERSARY IN GOLDEN GATE PARK

Dead & Company to headline three massive shows in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park for the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary.

by Aidin Vaziri

Dead & Company will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead with a blockbuster three-night run in Golden Gate Park from Friday-Sunday, Aug. 1-3, drawing an estimated 60,000 fans per day to the Polo Field.

For diehard Deadheads and first-time pilgrims alike, Golden Gate Park will once again be a sacred gathering spot — a celebration of music, memory and the enduring magic of the legendary jam band.

Here is your complete guide to the event:

Who is performing each night?

Each evening opens with a special guest: bluegrass virtuoso Billy Strings on Friday, Aug. 1; Sturgill Simpson (performing as Johnny Blue Skies) on Saturday, Aug. 2; and Trey Anastasio Band on Sunday, Aug. 3. Following each performer’s 75-minute sets, Dead & Company — led by original Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, with John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane — will headline the festivities.

When and where are the concerts?

Dates: Friday-Sunday, Aug. 1-3

Venue: Polo Field, Golden Gate Park

Gates open: 2:30 p.m. | Shows Start: 4 p.m.

Fans can begin lining up no earlier than two hours before gates open.

What to know about park road closures

Expect wide-reaching park closures. The Polo Field will be off-limits through Aug. 20. Key roadways, including Middle Drive and parts of JFK Drive, will close to vehicles — and, in some cases, to pedestrians and cyclists — especially during the concert window.

The western meadows of Golden Gate Park will also be closed to the public during the event.

How to get to the shows

Public transit is the recommended route. Muni will boost service on the 5-Fulton and N-Judah lines, offering free rides to ticket holders via the Your Ticket, Your Fare program. Bike parking is available onsite, and local shuttles will operate to and from central San Francisco.

Entry gates include:

North Main Gate: JFK near 30th Avenue

South Gate: Middle Drive and Metson Road

VIP Entrances: John F Kennedy Drive and 36th Avenue; Martin Luther King Junior Drive near the South Gate

Where to find Shakedown Street and exclusive merch

Shakedown Street, the open-air market synonymous with Dead tours, returns as a fully sanctioned event along JFK Promenade during the three-day concert. Nearly 100 vendors will line JFK Promenade between Transverse and Blue Heron Lake streets from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Expect everything from tie-dye and tapestries to T-shirts and incense.

A Dead & Company Pop-Up Shop at Polk Hall in the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (99 Grove St.) will also operate 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, July 30–Aug. 3. The shop will feature exclusive merchandise and collectibles not available at the concert site. The store is cashless.

What’s the weather forecast for the concert weekend?

Expect classic San Francisco summer conditions: cool, breezy and variable. According to Chronicle meteorologist Anthony Edwards, Friday is likely to be the foggiest day, with gradual clearing on Saturday and mostly sunny skies by Sunday as strong coastal winds help push back the marine layer.

Temperatures at showtime each day will hover in the low to mid-60s, dipping into the 50s by nightfall. While the Polo Field is partially shielded by trees, gusty winds are still likely, especially in the evening. Dressing in layers is highly recommended.

Ticket info and how to watch from home

Original general admission weekend passes started at $635, with VIP tiers reaching up to $9,548. Though tickets are sold out, fans at home can stream all three nights via nugs.net in HD or 4K. On Sunday, Aug. 3, the final show will also screen live in select IMAX theaters nationwide.

What to bring — and what to leave at home

Bag policy: Clear bags preferred; small non-clear purses allowed (max 6-by-8-by- 3 inches).

Hydration packs: Allowed if under 2.5L and with no extra compartments.

Chairs and seating: No personal chairs or metal-framed seating. Blankets under 2-by-3 feet are allowed.

Prohibited: Oversized blankets, tarps, inflatables and unattended belongings.

More Grateful Dead events across San Francisco

Other citywide events will stretch into the fall, including art exhibitions, after-parties, tribute concerts, panel discussions and special performances — from Jerry Day in McLaren Park to the San Francisco Giants’ Grateful Dead tribute night at Oracle Park on Aug. 12.

(SF Chronicle)

GIANTS HAVE ONLY TWO HITS IN LOSING 5TH STRAIGHT to fall back to .500

by Shayna Rubin

Matt Chapman walks off after striking out to end the game as the San Francisco Giants played the Pittsburgh Pirates at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. The Pirates defeated the Giants 3-1. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle)

Heliot Ramos lost track of a fundamental rule and was stuck in no man’s land.

He was one of two runners on base in the first inning, a scoring opportunity afoot with one out, when Matt Chapman hit a high pop up. Umpires called the infield fly rule, but third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes watched the ball plop to the grass. Ramos had no reason to stray beyond second base, but was caught far between the bags and tagged easily out at second to end the inning.

It was one of few scoring opportunities wasted in the San Francisco Giants’ ugly 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night, their second defeat in as many nights to the last-place team and their fifth loss in a row. The blunder, or Ramos’ explanation behind it, spoke more to the state of a team in free fall over the last month-plus.

He called the infield fly mistake a “mental error,” but acknowledged that those have become common for him. Multiple times of late, he’s taken costly, bad routes defensively in left field, run through stop signs at third base and been thrown out on the bases, caught in indecision — including in Sunday’s loss.

“All I have in my mind is that I don’t want to mess up. That’s a wrong thought,” Ramos said. “We all have been grinding and playing good baseball, it’s about the fact that I want to obviously do something for the team and I’m overdoing it, over-thinking it. It’s something I have to fix myself. I feel like we’re playing good ball and hitting good, it’s the mental errors that can’t happen.”

Ramos’ blunders are a symptom of a vicious cycle that’s completely chipped away at a substantial cushion this team built in the first couple months. On June 13, the Giants were 41-29, tied for first with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. Since then, they’ve gone 13-25, lost 11 of 13 games and seven straight at home for the first time since 2015.

Not the best argument to the front office to add at the trade deadline.

The free fall’s diagnosis has consistently been about a team trying too hard, which shows itself, yes, in the mental mistakes, but mostly through its futility in scoring situations.

Willy Adames, Jung Hoo Lee and Chapman — the core that’s needed to rise to the occasion — are heating up of late, but that hasn’t translated to wins. They went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and had only two hits against a Pirates team that doesn’t boast an impressive staff. Pittsburgh had left-handed starter Bailey Falter go Tuesday, and lefties continue to be a wall. The Giants’ .276 weighted on-base average against lefties heading into Tuesday’s game is third worst in baseball.

“Just not good at-bats tonight. Their guys had pretty good stuff. We just couldn’t put up enough traffic out there to put up a fight as far as feeling good about where we were going,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Offensively we couldn’t square up anything tonight.”

Perhaps Ramos, who has played in all but two games, could use a day off to mentally reset. But his bat is too needed given the state of things.

“We’ll see. We aren’t swinging the bat very well and he’s one of our biggest bats. So there’s a little Catch 22 with that,” Melvin said.

Ramos didn’t say outright he’d prefer a day off, deferring to Melvin, but said he’s feeling the game turn into a “mental battle” at times.

“When I started the season I felt like I was the best out there. I’m doing great on defense, trying to catch the ball, get the right route. Then, when you do a couple errors — because they happen, it’s not like they never happen — but when they’re back-to-back, I get in my head and I feel like it cost us the game,” he said.

Justin Verlander again looked sharp, parlaying his first win as a Giant into a five-inning outing. He struck out seven Pirates while inducing 13 swings-and-misses — primarily on his four-seamer and slider — but made one mistake that cost him.

In Verlander’s final inning, Liver Peguero smoked a 95 mph fastball into the left field seats to tie the game at 1-1. Spencer Horwitz and Bryan Reynolds kept the inning going with a pair of singles. Nearing 90 pitches, Verlander reared back with 95 mph and 96 mph heat and struck out Nick Gonzales swinging at a slider to strand the runners. Verlander was not available after the game to speak to reporters.

In Atlanta, the Giants gave him a whopping six runs of support, but the gravy train stopped back at home with an already scuffling offense facing a left-handed starter. Adames’ 16th home run gave the Giants their first hit and a lead in the fourth inning, but it was the only glimmer.

Pittsburgh collected 12 hits on the night and took a two-run lead due to a comedy of errors in the eighth inning.

Gonzales and Tommy Pham reached on a pair of soft hits, the latter occurring when reliever Tyler Rogers couldn’t grip the ball. Hayes then reached to load the bases on a grounder to second baseman Casey Schmitt and an odd miscommunication in which first baseman Rafael Devers was caught in no-man’s land and Rogers appeared to have thought that Schmitt was going to second base and didn’t see the ball coming his way. Joey Bart delivered the big hit against his former team, singling in the go-ahead runs.

There was no team meeting after the game, they'd had several lately -- including in Atlanta last week -- but the team isn't straying from their belief that they can slow the free fall.

“We’ve had meetings, we’ve had team meetings. We've had all kinds of meetings," Melvin said. "It's going out there and fighting a little harder to win a game and having a little bit more resolve, which we've shown this year. We just have not done it here recently.”

Ramos wasn't worried about the potential of falling under .500 by the time the July 31 deadline arrives in mere hours.

“I feel like Buster has been giving us all the opportunities and intents to win and we have to put it together," Ramos said. "Whatever happens is up there and they’re working on it, but we just have to get better. We have to do what we’ve been doing all year.”

Briefly: Landen Roupp is still operating under the assumption that he’ll be ready to return to the rotation shortly after he’s eligible to come off the 15-day IL with an inflamed right elbow. He threw around 35 pitches off flat ground on Tuesday and is tentatively scheduled to pitch at the team complex in Arizona while the team is on their upcoming East Coast trip. If all goes well, he may go on a rehab assignment.

(sfchronicle.com)

Nicolas de Staël - Les Footballeurs, 1952. Oil on canvas, 81 x 65 cm. @ Musée Granet, Aix en Provence, France

GOOD TROUBLE, NOT DESIGNER PROTESTS

by Sophie Shepherd

Americans are mobilizing en masse against the Trump administration. First, there was “50 protests, 50 states, 1 day.” Then came “Hands Off” and “No Kings.” On July 17, the 50501 organizers behind these national days planned yet another slogan-driven day of action: “Good Trouble Lives On,” on the fifth anniversary of John Lewis’ passing. John Lewis was a legendary congressman who was famously arrested 45 times during the Civil Rights Movement for getting in “good trouble.”

If you attended any of these events – and especially if they were your first protest – I’m glad you attended. Defeating fascism will take all of us, and we need a diversity of tactics to protect our communities from Trump’s fascist agenda.

But what many participants showing up to 50501 events may not realize is that these events are not protests; they are parades – at best. Fascism won’t be defeated by parades every few weeks. We need good trouble, just as John Lewis intended. And 50501’s version of “good trouble” won’t cut it.

For the July 17 “Good Trouble Lives On” event in New York City, organizers instructed participants to wear white and bring flowers rather than protest signs. Organizers and marshals led a crowd of 3000 people – mostly older and white, which tends to be the main audience of 50501 – for a five-block loop around 26 Federal Plaza. This building houses both the field office for NYC Immigration and Customs Enforcement and immigration courts, where ICE agents have unlawfully arrested hundreds of immigrants during their routine appointments and hearings. After a short march, participants were ushered to surround the building in a U-shape (notably not blocking any entrances), and asked to sit for a 30-second moment of silence. This brief sit-down in the street was characterized as a mass participation in “good trouble.”

No one can deny 50501’s ability to turn people out en masse. The “No Kings” protest in New York City on June 15th drew an estimated 50,000 people; and when a coalition of migrant and climate justice groups invited 50501 to an April 19th march, 50501 brought out 20,000 people. These crowds have impressed and inspired many, from media editors to seasoned activists. I do believe in the importance of a diversity of tactics and believe large marches are part of that. Large marches are accessible to new and experienced activists, and can tangibly demonstrate the magnitude of discontent.

The general method isn’t the problem. The problem is that 50501 events have included strict self-policing. In Los Angeles, 50501 organizers called the police on a Black vendor in attendance, and in New York City, they have used caution tape to rope off crowds to certain lanes and pathways. If a march refuses to be disruptive, it’s a parade, not a protest.

50501 protest “peacekeeping” became deadly in Salt Lake City when a 50501 safety marshal shot at a local community member known for exercising his right to open-carry at protests and rallies. An innocent bystander was hit and killed.

One metric for how serious a movement is taken is by the severity of the police response to those events. Very few police have responded to the New York 50501 marches because it’s clear: the organizers will police themselves. 50501 events can barely be called protests for how little disruption they create. The New York Knicks playoff games have significantly more police presence than 50501 protests. During the “good trouble” event in New York, I never counted more than 20 officers on-scene for a few thousand attendees.

In the months prior to 50501’s “good trouble” protest last week, 26 Federal Plaza had been (and continues to be) a scene of violence and heartbreak for both immigrants pursuing documentation and activists trying to protect them. In an effort to meet Trump’s cruel quotas, ICE agents have abandoned the pretext of pursuing “criminals” and begun detaining dozens of people daily in the immigration courts, where they pursue residency and citizenship. Regardless of a judge’s ruling in the courtroom, masked and unidentified ICE agents have waited in the hallways to kidnap immigrants after their appointments – dragging them into stairwells and to the detention center on the 10th floor.

The detention conditions on the 10th floor are horrific: detainees have no beds to sleep on, survive on less than one meal per day, and endure 24/7 lights. Eventually, they are transferred to larger detention facilities out of state, where they struggle to make any contact with their lawyers or families.

Human rights defenders known as “courtwatchers” who visit the courts to provide support to these immigrants, such as escorting them in and out of the building, have been threatened with arrest and tasers. And outside the building, when community members have gathered to protest, the NYPD has responded violently by tackling perceived leaders to the ground, pepper-spraying activists, and firing smoke projectiles to disperse the crowds.

50501’s vigil-style event last week sharply departed from activists’ daily work to protect immigrants at 26 Federal Plaza. The plan capitalized on the media sensation of events inside and outside the courts over the last few months, as well as John Lewis’s legacy, to host a performative form of protest that had no real effect.

To call the non-disruptive event an ode to John Lewis is an affront to his name and everything he represents. I don’t believe John Lewis would stand up and walk away after 30 seconds. I know he would act peacefully, but he would not “act lawfully,” as the Good Trouble event page instructed. The whole point of good trouble is this: when you see something unjust, you don’t just speak up – you get in the way. The U.S. government has already watered down Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy to the bare bones of fighting racial segregation; we cannot allow John Lewis’ legacy to be watered down as well.

And that is exactly what 50501’s “Good Trouble Lives On” event did. 50501 led participants to believe that they were participating in good trouble and fighting fascism. In reality, they staged a performance of solidarity with immigrants kidnapped inside 26 Federal Plaza and left. Detained immigrants don’t need your flowers left on the road like a memorial; they need you to fight for their freedom.

We need a movement of movements, and we cannot afford to waste our energy on internal divisions about the best tactics to fight fascism. As a young organizer myself, I certainly don’t have all the answers about how to meet this moment. I believe we need every effort people are willing to give.

That can include the large marches 50501 is mobilizing. They are bringing people into the movement who might not have done so otherwise; and these marches are accessible in ways other forms of protest may not be.

But I hope the people attending 50501 marches will also explore the myriad of other ways to engage in community defense against ICE and the fascist Trump administration. My organizing home, Planet Over Profit, is hosting a series of direct action trainings. You can join a neighborhood defense group like NYC ICE Watch or start your own. You can volunteer for a variety of advocacy and defense tasks with the New York Immigration Coalition, or find another defense group in your area.

No organizer should attempt to limit activists and community members to certain kinds of protest. To do so deeply undermines the fight against fascism. If 50501 organizers are serious about their anti-Trump rhetoric, I hope they will do better than their performance on July 17.

(Sophie Shepherd is a Brooklyn-based writer and an organizer with Planet Over Profit (POP), a youth-led climate justice group. She graduated summa cum laude from Scripps College in 2024, where she received a B.A. in Environmental Analysis and Writing & Rhetoric. CounterPunch.org)

TRUMP WANTS TO ‘MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN’ — by bringing back slurs to a school gymnasium near you

by Jacqueline Keeler

In 2014, a group of Native parents, including myself, launched the #NotYourMascot hashtag the night before the Super Bowl.

Despite our minority status, representing barely 1.5% of the U.S. population, we were determined to find a way to be heard in the (relatively) new public square of social media.

No, the Washington NFL team was not playing. But the Super Bowl was the most opportune moment to get our message out.

We informed only our closest associates and a select few Twitter accounts with large followings about our plan — and treated our new hashtag like a state secret, afraid it would get swamped by an army of bots. We devised a list of ready-made tweets to educate the general public about the harm caused by Native mascotry to the most vulnerable population in America — Native Americans have the highest suicide, poverty, murder and rape rates in the country.

The plan worked. “Not Your Mascot” immediately trended — a powerful testament to the impact of collective action. It was probably the first American Indian hashtag to trend in the United States.

Now, nearly 12 years later, the president of the United States is trying to undo our work.

It’s safe to say he did not read any of our tweets.

On July 20, President Donald Trump posted on social media: “The Washington ‘Whatever’s’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team.”

The leader of the free world then threatened to derail the team’s return to the Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington, D.C., after three decades in Maryland. The Commanders’ owners are negotiating a nearly $4 billion deal with the D.C. City Council to make the move in 2030.

“I may put a restriction on them,” the president wrote, “that if they don’t change the name back to the original ‘Washington Redskins,’ and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, ‘Washington Commanders,’ I won’t make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington…Cleveland should do the same with the Cleveland Indians.”

Trump may have written “The Art of the Deal,” but if he had read our 140-character talking points, he would know that an Emory University study found that teams with American Indian mascots were off-putting to fans and the franchises were worth less than they would be without a race-based mascot.

Suzan Harjo, a Cheyenne elder who began suing the franchise in 1992, challenging the former owner Dan Snyder’s trademarking of the slur “R*dskins,” noted in her response to Trump that the “Harjo curse” (the team’s poor performance began the year she started her lawsuit) was only lifted after the team changed its name.

“It’s a good example of how long it takes to shake really bad karma.”

Commanders managing partner Josh Harris had this to say in February: “Now, in this building, the name Commanders means something. It’s about players who love football, are great at football, hit hard, mentally tough, great teammates.”

Even the Washington Post, which conducted a flawed survey in 2016 that showed support for the former name (I addressed this in an article in The Nation at the time), found that its most recent survey showed 62% of fans prefer the new name following the team’s most successful season in decades.

That, of course, should be that. But Trump’s involvement in the mascot controversy goes beyond his recent social media posts or potential distractions from Jeffrey Epstein.

In May, Trump’s secretary of education, Linda McMahon, announced on a visit to Massapequa High School on Long Island, N.Y., that the state could lose federal funding if they do not allow Native mascots.

In June, her department announced that its investigation into the New York Department of Education and the New York State Board of Regents’ ban on “mascots and logos that celebrate Native American history” was being handed over to the Department of Justice for enforcement. Under Trump, the department’s civil rights office found the state ban discriminatory because mascotting other racial/ethnic groups, like “Dutchmen” and the “Huguenots,” is still allowed.

After arguing with R*dskins trolls online in 2013-2014, I am familiar with this view. We’d often hear, “What about the Vikings or ‘Fighting Irish’?”

Well, Vikings don’t exist anymore, and going “a Viking” was an activity, a job like being an oiler or packer. And it is not the sole way we know these groups.

For so many Americans, American Indians are no more than the stereotypes demonstrated at games: Tomahawk chops and Pocahottie outfits. White Americans, even descendants of Vikings, the Irish, Dutch, and Huguenots, are allowed an individuality that cannot be diminished by obnoxious stereotypes promoted by the mascotry of their ancestors.

“The Trump administration will not stand idly by as state leaders attempt to eliminate the history and culture of Native American tribes,” McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, assured Massapequa High School students, parents and alumni. The school is refusing to comply with New York state law and eliminate its Native American mascot.

After Trump’s post on July 20, Kerry Wachter, the school board president of Massapequa, asked the president to sign an executive order allowing the school to retain its mascot. She claimed that banning mascots of Native people “would erase this heritage, tear down this history and silence this legacy” in her Long Island town, which is 92.3% white, according to the U.S. Census.

Massapequa says it would cost the school $1 million to change its mascot. One million invested in a mascot? If true, that certainly informs you about the types of resources being dubiously invested in the American educational system. Money that would be better spent on genuine education and assistance to poor reservation schools. Even to tribal colleges, many of which have had their budgets practically cut to zero by Trump.

As we tweeted years ago, studies show that Native youth exposed to Native mascots have lower self-esteem. Not only that, but their ability to imagine themselves achieving their dreams decreases. And this is because, confronted with the dominant society’s inability to see them as human and not a mascot, they retreat from the world and no longer have confidence in being a place where they can thrive.

That’s why, as Native parents, NotYourMascot sought to educate through tweets. That’s why we chose Not Your Mascot, which was an improvement on Change the Name, an earlier messaging effort.

We were taking our identity back for ourselves — and we were encouraging Americans of all backgrounds to engage with real Native people, cultures and lives, not mascots.

(Jacqueline Keeler is a Diné/Dakota writer living in Portland, Ore., and the author of “Standing Rock, the Bundy Movement, and the American Story of Sacred Lands.”)

CAMILLE GOOD:

Not a lawyer, but I know court cases are often dismissed if no actual harm can be shown to have been done. Also, the party bringing the case must show that they are being injured in the case they are bringing to court. That is part of the arguments about standing you will see in some court cases.

So yes, the courts are reactive, and meant to be so. Assuming we're referring to the U.S. with our three branches of government, it is the legislative and executive branches who are tasked with being proactive.

Yes, capitalism without morality is a disaster and brings out predatory behavior. In fact, any system of organization will become a predatory disaster if the participants do not have some sort of moral code they follow. If you read P.J. O'Rourke's discussion of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, O'Rourke states that Wealth of Nations was Smith's second book and Smith's first book, A Theory of Moral Sentiment (I think that was the title), was about why do we care about someone else's feelings. O'Rourke says people now only remember Wealth of Nations but nothing in that book can function without the morality that Smith discusses in his first book. And that Smith and his contemporaries knew this and expected society knew that and would remember that too.

We humans are not inherently logical. And in my own opinion, the more primitive and powerful a concept or practice is, the less willing we are to acknowledge that because we don't like acknowledging how much of our brain is something our conscious mind can't easily see yet can and will greatly affect the conscious mind. When societies try to throw away old illogical practices like ritual or religion which helped support the commonly accepted moral code, great problems follow. Communism is a system which throws away old practices because they are illogical or counter to the revolution and the French Revolution in some of its crazier ideas went down that road too. Disaster usually follows. It is usually intellectuals and artists who are most convinced that throwing away these old archaic notions will only benefit everyone, and unfortunately they are often very persuasive in their arguments and also usually they are very unprepared for how awful things will become once the old rules are thrown out and the new rule is "whatever you can get away with."

I believe that in the U.S. there is a real push to move back from the extremes and get back to a system that has more resilience and has more people willing to say "before we try your amazing new idea, let's look at what is likely to happen if you're wrong and let's also look at whether you've done any work to prepare for the possibility you're wrong."

LEAD STORIES, WEDNESDAY'S NYT

Tsunami Waves Reach California After Washing Onto Hawaii

Senate, Rejecting Whistle-Blower Alarms, Confirms Bove to Appeals Court

Top F.D.A. Official Resigns Under Pressure

What to Watch at the Federal Reserve’s July Meeting

The Familiar Suicide and Final Wish of the N.Y.C. Gunman

Citizen Scientists Are Accelerating Ecology Research, Study Suggests

GETTYSBURG: JULY 1, 1863

by Jane Kenyon

The young man, hardly more
than a boy, who fired the shot
had looked at him with an air
not of anger but of concentration,
as if he were surveying a road,
or feeding a length of wood into a saw:
It had to be done just so.

The bullet passed through
his upper chest, below the collar bone.
The pain was not what he might
have feared. Strangely exhilarated
he staggered out of the pasture
and into a grove of trees.

He pressed and pressed
the wound, trying to stanch
the blood, but he could only press
what he could reach, and he could
not reach his back, where the bullet
had exited.
He lay on the earth
smelling the leaves and mosses,
musty and damp and cool
after the blaze of open afternoon.

How good the earth smelled,
as it had when he was a boy
hiding from his father,
who was intent of strapping him
for doing his chores
late one time too many.

A cowbird razzed from a rail fence.
It isn’t mockery, he thought,
no malice in it. . . just a noise.
Stray bullets nicked the oaks
overhead. Leaves and splinters fell.

Someone near him groaned.
But it was his own voice he heard.
His fingers and feet tingled,
the roof of his mouth,
and the bridge of his nose. . . .

He became dry, dry, and thought
of Christ, who said, I thirst.
His man-smell, the smell of his hair
and skin, his sweat, the salt smell
of his cock and the little ferny hairs
that two women had known

left him, and a sharp, almost sweet
smell began to rise from his open mouth
in the warm shade of the oaks.
A streak of sun climbed the rough
trunk of a tree, but he did not
see it with his open eye.

9 Comments

scott July 30, 2025

Is it tricky for Frank Hartzell to write up on that pedestal? It would be nice if he could write something without it turning into a meta work on how he thinks he’s the best journalist in the County.

- Bruce McEwen July 30, 2025
  
  It takes a lot of talent to report on local government and make it readable. It’s like covering a game of solitaire that stalemated a long time ago but the pay is so good the players just keep recycling the cards. Ask the Major (although he would probably prefer a chess analogy)…?
  
  - Mark Scaramella July 30, 2025
    
    You could say that Supervisor Mulheren objected to Haschak’s modest budget balancing proposals because she was put in the uncomfortable position of zugzwang, a situation that doesn’t occur often in chess, but which we see at every meeting of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors. But in this case it’s almost always self-inflicted.
    
John Sakowicz July 30, 2025

Who do we know was in that Pomolita School, Grade 8, Class 1953-54?

Our esteemed publisher, perhaps? Our esteemed editor? Someone else we know and love?

Chuck Dunbar July 30, 2025

SONG OF THANKS

Up this morning, my wife and I getting over colds, sun shining, still feeling, as I often do these days, kind of disoriented, off-kilter, depressed. The world is such a mess, hard to keep much hope these days. Got out my Ruthie Foster “Live At Antone’s” album and played this great old classic 3x, real loud. Ruthie belts it out with feeling. Helped a bit for sure. Hang in there, folks…

Up Above My Head I Hear Music In The Air
Song by Sister Rosetta Tharpe ‧ 1939

Up above my head
(Up above my head)
I hear music in the air
(I hear music in the air)
Up above my head
(Up above my head)
I hear music in the air
(I hear music in the air)
Up above my head
(Up above my head)
I hear music in the air
(I hear music in the air)
And I really do believe
(Yeah) I really do believe
There’s a Heaven somewhere
(There’s a Heaven somewhere)
Up above my head
(Up above my head)
I hear music in the air
(I hear music in the air)
Up above my head
(Up above my head)
I hear music in the air
(I hear music in the air)
Up above my head
(Up above my head)
I hear music in the air
(I hear music in the air)
And I really do believe
(I really do believe)
Yes, I really do believe
(I really do believe)
Yes, I really do believe
I really do believe
There’s a Heaven somewhere
(Up above my head)
Yeah, yeah, yeah…
Yeah, I believe
Yes, I believe
Yes, I believe
Yes, I believe
Yes, I believe
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Yes, I believe
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
I believe, I believe
I believe, I believe
I believe, I believe
I believe, I believe
Up above my head

- Bruce McEwen July 30, 2025
  
  “…sun shining, still feeling, as I often do these days, kind of disoriented, off-kilter, depressed. The world is such a mess, hard to keep much hope these days…”
  
  Hey, I hear ya, Chuck, and what’s with this wet blanket of fog thrown athwart the summer? And look what it’s done to the Giants, this ubiquitous malaise? Too bad we can’t ask that comic genius the Hippy-Dippy Weatherman (George Carlin)—didn’t he have some notion of the weather being affected by or somehow reflective of the attitude and mood of the populace. The cosmic comic! Wow what a concept? Are you hip? If the fans snap out of their depression maybe the Giants will end their slump and turn it around before it’s too late! C’mon, cheer up, go team, go Gavin, go go !
  
  - Mike Jamieson July 30, 2025
    
    Buster Posey needs then to go on a “cheer-em-up” tour thru Bay Area hoods, his head adorned with Jung Hoo Lee flames.
    
    (Magical or primary process thinking afflicts many of us Giants and 49ers fans!)
    
    https://www.tiktok.com/discover/jung-hoo-lee-fire-hat-meaning
    
- Mariamerica July 31, 2025
  
  JH was rejected ELEVEN times, but he BELIEVED…
  
  José M. Hernández
  
  From ‘pisquear/picking in Stockton to NASA
  
  http://astrojh.org/astronaut-jose-m-hernandez#:~:text=NASA%20engineer%20Jos%C3%A9%20M.,over%20again%20in%20the%20spring.
  
Call It As I See It July 30, 2025

Of course Photo Op-Mo shuts down Haschak on salary cuts. She is not here for the voters, it’s all about the money. The cheerleading is all show! Her record speaks loud, two failed insurance businesses, a fake marketing business. She believes Facebook is the most important job of a Supervisor. Where else could she make a $110,000? When she questioned she goes on attack, ask Ken McCormick, the owner of Tee’em Up Golf.
Her attacks include lies, playing the victim and accusations towards the individual questioning her. She even employs followers to harass people like Mr. McCormick, can you say Goldilocks.

The most alarming part of the Major’s story is Cline and Norvell. Are they merely wolves in sheep’s clothing? Haven’t seen much change since they’ve joined the BOS.

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