Mendocino County Today: Friday 8/1/2025

CHANCE of thunderstorms over the interior of Northwest California through Friday. Storms may produce gusty outflow winds, heavy rain and hail. Interior thunderstorms will be possible over the weekend, primarily on Sunday. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): I picked up .15" of drizzle in June, our rainfall season to date which ends Sept. 30:

2024: Oct 1.26 - Nov 14.53” - Dec 12.05”
2025: Jan 1.65” - Feb 10.18” - Mar 6.37” - April 1.45” - May .34” - June 0.00” - July 0.15”
YTD: 47.98”

50F under clear skies this Friday morning on the coast. Our forecast is for sunny skies moving forward but the fog is sure out there in a big way so: I report, you decide.

BAINBRIDGE PARK - CITY RESPONDS TO COMMUNITY CONCERNS ABOUT ARTIFICIAL TURF

by Mary Benjamin

At the last City Council meeting on July 21, a number of community members spoke out against the city’s plan to install artificial turf for the two soccer pitches detailed in the approved plans for Bainbridge Park. During the public comment period of the meeting, speakers informed the City Council that they disapproved of the chosen surface.

After a delivery of the artificial turf to the park, some passersby read the content label on the bags and concluded that the turf contained toxic PFAs. Often referred to as “forever chemicals,” PFCs are chemically manufactured compounds used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s.

Thousands of different PFAs exist in products, and the common chemical compound of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl, in particular, has gained popularity due to its oil- and water-repellent qualities. However, their drawbacks are many.

PFAs do not break down easily in the environment, and they can accumulate in all living organisms. They are the microplastics that scientists have found in water, food, household products, and personal care products. They have even been identified in the human brain.

The health effects of PFAs are more alarming than expected. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has verified that PFAs can cause: decreased fertility; developmental delays in children; bone variations; risk of cancer, particularly prostate, kidney, and testicular; weakened immune system; interference with natural hormones; increased cholesterol; and obesity.

The high-risk groups for exposure are industrial workers, nursing mothers, and children. California has addressed some of the uses. AB 2515 banned the use of certain chemicals in menstrual products. AB 652 banned PFAs in all new juvenile products. AB 2771 banned PFAs in cosmetics. AB 1044 banned PFAs in textile products.

However, AB 1423, which would have banned PFAs in all playground surfaces, was vetoed by Governor Newsom in 2023. He explained that the proposed law did not include a monitoring system to enforce the ban. However, it is now legal for any city in California to ban artificial turf surfaces.

One speaker at the City Council meeting referenced loose crumb rubber as an element in the product the city planned to use. This particular product has not been tested explicitly for PFAs. However, it does contain PAH, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are considered environmental contaminants.

On Friday, July 25, the city issued a comprehensive response to concerns from community members. The product they purchased for the soccer pitch surfaces, PolyTurf Champion Sport, does not contain crumb rubber. It does not contain any PFAs. According to the product label, it is “100% recyclable, lead-free, nontoxic, safe, antimicrobial, durable, and rapid draining.”

It is made of polyethylene fibers found in carpeting and is considered environmentally safe. It also contains polypropylene, a BFA-free chemical that does not leach into the ground. There are some industrial methods involving a fluorinated process that change the chemical bonding in a way that can produce PFAs. This process is not used in PolyTurf’s products.

Although this particular chemical compound is considered non-hazardous, an overheated turf surface can potentially emit heated fumes and fine dust. This is not a concern given Fort Bragg’s climate. However, if such a type of emission occurs, eye, skin, and respiratory irritation can result, but the emission itself is not a carcinogen.

According to the city’s press release, the product’s infill is a “naturally occurring rounded silica sand coated with polymer for enhanced durability, element resistance, dust suppression, and antimicrobial properties.” It is also manufactured with “a dense nylon thatch layer to eliminate loose-fill risks.”

This type of infill reduces the likelihood of dust emissions. It is also advertised as “withstanding rigorous use, is easy to clean, and reduces injury.” It is also promoted as a surface that provides a “natural ball bounce and roll.”

The city’s press release also addressed the public complaint that the city had not included the community in the planning process for the soccer pitch plans. The release noted that since the Bainbridge Park renovation plans were first presented to the City Council in 2016, a total of twelve city or committee-level public meetings had been advertised.

The city’s response pointed out that local soccer groups pushed for acquiring TOT funds to finance the artificial turf. In the end, the Prop 68 grant money was applied to meet the cost of the surface. The final section of the release outlines all the current California laws applicable to the use of artificial surfaces.

Since the City Council meeting, there has been a grassroots push to lobby the city to install a natural grass surface. Concerns for environmental safety and human safety drive the motivation of the leaders. In the Department of Public Works release, the reasons for opting for PolyTurf rather than natural grass are listed.

Some of these reasons are: conserves water, eliminates the need for fertilizers and pesticides, is playable year-round, reduces maintenance costs, and meets the requests of local soccer groups.

The city’s use of available water will, over time, likely become a critical issue for conservation needs. As another reason why natural grass is not practical, Public Works Director John Smith, who coaches local soccer, said, “With about 400 kids in local soccer, a natural grass surface on those pitches would be torn up from heavy use in a short amount of time.”

Moreover, the press release stated that, not only did “city staff thoroughly research the best artificial turf,” but they also “examined deployments in other communities, including Ukiah and the Mendocino K-8 school” playground.

A “full overview” of the entire project is located on the city’s Current Public Works projects website page.

(mendocinobeacon.com)

View toward the Guntly Ranch. Deep End (KB)

JIM SHIELDS:

It's disappointing but not unexpected but the Supervisors, with the exception of District 3 Supervisor John Haschak, refused to reduce their budget by 6 percent even though they are requiring all other county departments to do so. The BOS budget would only have been reduced by $20,500, which is an insignificant amount. At minimum, the county wastes $20 grand on a daily basis.

Likewise, Haschak proposed that the annual salary of the Board of Supervisors be reduced from $110,715.00 to $103,008. Again, another trifling amount. But again a majority of Supes (Mo Mulheren, Madeline Cline and Bernie Norvell) voted no, while Haschak and Ted Williams voted yes.

Haschak’s argument was given the dire straits of a deficit budget, balanced only by $6 million of one-time funds, coupled with the unknown fiscal effects of a so-called “strategic hiring freeze,” the Supes needed to get onboard and do their part sharing the pain of these tough economic times. But a majority of his colleagues refused to make even a minor sacrifice.

By the way, the CEO’s office estimates that the county is looking at a $16 million structural deficit in next year’s budget.

Go figure.

ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY #1

Just ‘Measure K’ these knuckleheads – San Bernardino 2020 style.

[Measure K, Board of Supervisors Salary Reduction and Term Limits Charter Amendment (November 2020)]

Capped supervisor compensation at $60,000/year

Limited them to a single 4-year term

Election results

516,184 (YES) – 66.84%

256,098 (NO) – 33.16%

Time for a haircut.

SUPERVISORS GET IT DONE: Proclaim August 26 to be “Women’s Equality Day.”

FORMER SUPERVISOR JOHN PINCHES REMEMBERED AT LAYTONVILLE CELEBRATION

by Jim Shields

On Saturday, July 26, Johnny Pinches’ Friends, family, neighbors, and constituents, showed up at the Laytonville Rodeo Grounds to honor, respect and share stories and remembrances about Laytonville’s native son.

Here’s part of what I said about Johnny at the event held at the Rodeo Grounds. (By the way, Pinches was the principal organizer and founder of the Laytonville Rodeo Association, so the Rodeo Grounds was a fitting site for his memorial.)

Johnny was a good, good, good man who always cared about and represented the best interests of working people and salt-of-the earth ordinary folks who had no one fighting for them. And he accomplished it all with old-school charm, down-home witty humor, and a fierce commitment to finish what he started, even if he didn’t always win.

Current District 3 Supervisor John Haschak spoke at the event saying that Pinches was an inspiration and model for his approach as an elected official.

Pinches served on the Board of Supervisors for a total of 12 years, first from 1995 to 1999, and again from 2007 to 2015.

Johnny and I worked together for many years, he as a supervisor, and me as an advocate for good government. We won some and we lost some, but overall we had one hell of a good time doing what Johnny called “Knocking ‘em in the head.”

I’ve always said the job of politicians is to solve problems not create them. Pinches definitely understood that his primary job was problem-solving for his constituents.

Pinches was justifiably proud of his tenure on the Board given that he was instrumental in planning a fiscal turnaround from near-bankruptcy to a position of solid solvency with cash reserves. It’s a story that’s been related here many times before, so I won’t repeat

As a Supervisor, Pinches’ philosophy was that tax dollars should be spent to the maximum on providing a full array of services to constituents, while eliminating bureaucratic waste and departmental redundancies. His slogan was to “hold the department heads accountable” for their actions and job performance. He successfully fought attempts by the Social Services Department to cut general assistance payments to those folks down on their luck. “If this country can afford to build billion dollar B-2 bombers, we can certainly afford to give a few hundred dollars to the poor and single moms who can’t work through no fault of their own,” he said at the time.

In keeping with his philosophy of fiscal responsibility and departmental accountability, he was able, for example, to ferret out millions of dollars hidden away in the Department of Transportation budget. This money resided in a “rainy day” account for years, increasing over time, but never used for its intended purpose: To repair and maintain county roads and bridges. Once Pinches discovered the secret account, he “liberated’ it, using it as seed money to begin a long overdue program to repair roads in neglected rural areas.

Most of the Supervisors don’t understand their role as elected officials. Elected officials are supposed to carry out the wishes/demands of clear majorities of constituents unless what they’re asking is unlawful or totally unfeasible, neither of which are applicable with 99.9% of the issues they deal with. It’s not the Supervisor’s job to substitute their judgment for that of their constituents when those constituents overwhelmingly demand a different course of action than that contemplated by the Supervisors.

The voters didn’t elect consultants, facilitators, and other outside third parties to represent them in establishing and implementing priorities. That’s the job of the person they elected, and no one else.

John Pinches understood that principle of governing.

That’s a characteristic and belief not shared by most elected officials.

I can say with no fear of contradiction, we most likely won’t see another Johnny Pinches in our lifetimes.

What Johnny Got Done

Here’s some of the accomplishments of John Pinches:

Initiated studies for Brooktrails second Access road for the safety of residents.
Implemented fully funded programs to build or repair roads, bridges and infrastructure.
Laytonville Library
Harwood Park Parking lot lighting
Covelo Rodeo Grounds lights
Successfully saved the Willits Library and County Museum from closing.
Closed Landfills and opened Recycling Centers in Laytonville, Covelo and Willits.
Initiated water project Wente (Scout Lake) that will bring additional water to Willits and Brooktrails.
Initiated Amnesty Program for Building Permits.
Supported funding for the Arts.
Established and funded the Resident Deputy Program in Covelo.
Laytonville Highway 101 realignment and pedestrian pathway improvement project.
Laytonville High School Tin Gym Bathrooms.
Safe routes to school projects in Laytonville and Covelo.
Covelo Airport has been paved and lighted.
Funds for Covelo sewer upgrade.
Formation of HHSA allowed efficiency in Public Health, Mental Health and Social Services.
Local Vendor purchasing policy.
Emphasis on maintaining or increasing service while reducing administrative cost/overhead.
Created the program to use Air Quality monies to dust coat rural county roads.
Personally supervised a strict departmental budget review and established operational analysis systems.
Stopped herbicide spraying along highways in Mendocino County.
Opposed ground or aerial application of “Garlon” on county forest lands.
Branscomb Road paved to the coast.
Implemented the “junk car” cleanup in Laytonville, Willits and Covelo.

Thunder heads from Philo Greenwood (Olie Erickson)

MEMO OF THE WEEK

Anderson Valley Fire Department

Annexation Update

July 28, 2025

Dear Property Owner,

Over the past decade, the Anderson Valley Fire Department (AVFD) has been working to officially include areas outside our current legal district boundaries that already receive our fire and EMS services. The proposed annexation area is 117 square miles and surrounds our existing 159-square-mile fire district. All properties within this proposed area currently receive the same emergency 911 response as those already within our district.

Since AVFD is the agency that will be called to emergencies on your property, we believe it's reasonable and appropriate to formally include your property within our legal district. This would allow a portion of your existing property taxes, which you already pay to Mendocino County, to be reallocated directly to AVFD for such services.

Currently, Mendocino County collects your property taxes, and unlike properties within our established district, none of these revenues are allocated to AVFD. Our annexation proposal aims to formally transfer fire and EMS authority to AVFD for these areas and to allow us to receive the existing property tax rate that the rest of the district property owners currently pay. This proposal would not add any new or extra taxes to property owners. As Mendocino County does not operate its own fire department, this transfer would simply formalize the responsibility for fire and EMS response to the agency currently providing these vital services.

Our previous annexation proposal in 2016 was refused. Again, in 2025, after two years of extensive administrative effort, the county has declined to support this annexation unless AVFD assumes full fire department authority without any percentage of existing property tax allocation. This situation means that residents within our current district are effectively subsidizing emergency services for outlying areas. Unless the county changes its stance, we will be legally required to enter into annual contracts for these services, year after year.

Please feel free to contact AVFD if you have any questions. If you have concerns or complaints, we encourage you to reach out to your Mendocino County Supervisor.

Respectfully,

Andrés Avila, Executive Director / Fire Chief

Anderson Valley Community Services District / Fire Department

UKIAH RELEASES NEW ANNEXATION MAP

(Oh wait… no. We take that back. This is a fire hazard map. Sorry. Our mistake.)

MONTHLY CANNABIS MARKET AT THE MADRONES

Since the passing of Proposition 64, many small-scale, heritage cannabis farmers have struggled to stay afloat. The monthly Cannabis Farmers Market at The Madrones (Philo) is a space where you can meet the original stewards of Mendocino’s cannabis culture, hear their stories, and support their continued livelihood. Every jar sold is not just a product — it’s a piece of history, grown with intention and integrity.

These growers are deeply rooted in the land, following organic farming practices that reflect a genuine respect for the region’s unique terroir. Their cannabis is a product of sunshine, soil, and skill, free from the heavy carbon and electrical footprints associated with indoor cultivation.

The final markets for this summer will be the third Sundays of August and September (and possibly October) from 11am - 5pm. Admission is for adults 18 and up. You can enjoy your purchase on site in the Consumption Lounge. Make a day of it and wine taste at Long Meadow Ranch & Wentworth tasting rooms, followed by a delicious brunch or lunch at Wickson Restaurant, which stays open until 3pm on market days.

(Word of Mouth Magazine: wordofmouthmendo.com)

LITTLE MIKEY'S SCAMARAMA

The Annual Great Redwood Trail Town Hall!

Our annual Great Redwood Trail Town Hall is on Tuesday, August 12. This interactive event will be open to thousands of neighbors in the communities all along the Trail corridor and we really hope you can join us!

Once completed, the Great Redwood Trail (GRT) will stretch 320 miles from the San Francisco Bay to the shores of Humboldt Bay. The Trail will traverse through some of the most spectacular landscapes on earth, including ancient redwoods, state parks and national forests, oak-studded hills, lush vineyards, and along the shores of the mighty Eel and Russian Rivers.

We also know the GRT will be an economic driver here on the North Coast, generating tens of millions annually and benefiting some of the most rural communities in the state.

During the Town Hall, we'll discuss the major momentum with GRT development, from the recently opened Eureka to Arcata Humboldt Bay Trail, to the miles of GRT pathway being built along the SMART rail lines in Marin and Sonoma Counties. Bring your questions about trail construction, timeline, budget, wildfire prevention and security, community and neighbor engagement, and more.

Here are the meeting details:

What: Join Senator McGuire, the Great Redwood Trail Agency, and Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) for a Town Hall about the Great Redwood Trail.

When: August 12 at 6:00 pm

How to attend: RSVP today by clicking here! After you RSVP, we'll email the video livestream link and call-in number.

We look forward to seeing you on August 12! Thanks for your partnership.

Warm regards,

Mike McGuire, Senator (State Senator of zero distinction who will soon be termed out)

LOCAL EVENTS (this weekend)

ANNUAL AV HISTORICAL SOCIETY GATHERING, August 17, 1-4pm

Celebrating The 50th Anniversary of The Coyote Cowboys & The 45th Anniversary of the Historical Society’s First Event - July 4, 1980, with the Coyote Cowboys on stage!

Cowboy Lunch 1:00-2:00 PM.

Hot Dogs fresh off the BBQ, salads, chips, dessert & Drinks Free for AV Historical Society members. $5 for non-members.

Historic Video Tribute Enjoy a looping presentation by Julia Brock featuring the story of the Coyote Cowboys and highlights from the museum’s inaugural event. Memorabilia will be featured in the Rose Room.

Live Music at 2:00PM. Bring your toe-tapping boots or dancing shoes and finish out the afternoon with Coyote Cowboy tunes!

All are welcome.

Hosted by the AV Historical Society & AV Villages

PROHIBITION IN MENDOCINO

by Averee McNear

It’s been a hoppy summer at the Kelley House due to our current exhibit, On Tap: The History of Brewing on the Mendocino Coast. The same can’t be said for the summer of 1909, because voters in Mendocino passed prohibition that year on July 27. This law banned all alcohol sales within the town limits, putting 9 saloons and 5 hotel bars out of business. Caspar, Noyo, and Cleone also voted to go dry. Federal prohibition wouldn’t pass for another ten years. On the 100-year anniversary of local prohibition in 2009, Warren Wade penned the following article that covers the reaction to the new law.

The following story of the election is taken from a letter by Grace Fisher to her sister Hattie. Grace was an ardent Prohibitionist, one of the founding members of the Mendocino Study Club, and the wife of J. Melville Fisher, pastor of the Mendocino Presbyterian Church from 1908-1916.

By 1909, the temperance movement had been gathering strength for some time, and on the last Tuesday of July, a special election was held giving local communities the option to prohibit the sale of alcohol. The women of the town turned out to urge their husbands and other men to vote to go dry. Women didn’t have the right to vote yet. The polling place was the old Odd Fellows Hall, located on the northeast corner of Kasten and Ukiah Streets.

To quote Grace’s letter: “Mendocino has gone dry! By a majority of 27 votes. My what rejoicing we have. We were never in so exciting a time of this kind before. We were not sure of victory – but when the word came that we really had won, my how we shouted.

Joseph Granskog’s Eagle Saloon on West Main Street, 1907. Kelley House Collection.

“The ladies served free lunch all day in a hall just cat-a-corned [sic] from the hall where the voting was done – so of course towards evening there were crowds of women and men there waiting to hear the news. And my how rejoiced we were – and how we cheered. And the saloon men sneaked off downtown the back way and were not to be seen. The school children marched three times during the day – before school – at noon – and at 4 o’clock – Mr. Fisher and the teachers with them – they had 2 drums, and all wore the white badges ‘Vote No for my sake’. I tell you it was stirring to see them with their flags flying. At 4 o’clock when they came around the ladies got $2 worth of candy – taffy and gave the children.

“They arranged to march again in the evening if we won, and so when we were sure we had won they rang the school bell and the church bells, and the children all went to school again and Mr. Fisher and the teachers and the drums and flags and all came around again. When they reached the hall where all we ladies were, my how we cheered and we all joined in at the rear – about 60 or 70 ladies and as many men and all marched around town – down Main Street where most of the saloons were just around town and back again to the I.O.O.F. hall where we all sang ‘Praise God from whom all blessings flow’ and Mr. Bane – the anti saloon league speaker – made a speech and we sang our songs again and had a regular Jubilee. Really it was splendid.”

The songs that the jubilant paraders sang were written for the occasion: “Mendocino’s Going Dry” and “Vote for Prohibition” to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic and “The Old Town’s Going Dry” to the tune of Goodnight Ladies.

(kelleyhousemuseum.org)

CATCH OF THE DAY, Thursday, July 31, 2025

GRIFFIN BROWN, 21, Fort Bragg. Mayhem, battery with serious injury disorderly conduct-alcohol&drugs, resisting, escape from detention.

JONATHAN DAVID, 50, Eureka/Ukiah. Paraphernalia, registration tampering.

SHANNAH GRIFFITH, 33, Ukiah. Failure to appear.

ANGIE JOAQUIN, 51, Covelo. Failure to appear.

SERGIO-ANDRES MALAGON, 20, Ukiah. Grand theft, pot for sale, controlled substance, conspiracy, probation revocation.

JOSHUA MARTINEZ, 31, Chico/Ukiah. Failure to appear.

ANTONIO REYES-RAMOS, 37, Ukiah. Battery with serious injury, elder abuse, paraphernalia.

SARAH SOLOMON, 33, Arcata/Ukiah. Controlled substance, probation violation.

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Editor,

Regarding “We have seen better days, San Francisco” thank you, Carl Nolte, for your notes about the “new” city without criticizing anyone.

I prefer Russell/Woolpert over Chase Center, Tony Ponce pitching both ends of a doubleheader at Seals over $18 beers at Oracle, and George Christopher over any other mayor.

But today’s 20-year-olds will have their own nostalgia someday and I hope it’s as happy as mine.

Mark Allan

Inverness Park

ESTHER MOBLEY: What I'm Reading

A question I’ve often wondered myself: “Why won’t the speakeasy die?” In Punch, Nick Fauchald argues that the persistence of this term for bars that are not actually illegal stems from a “harmless misinterpretation” of the term 20 years ago in New York.

A controversy is unfolding in Sonoma County, where some vintners are protesting a proposal to create a Wine Improvement District, which would fund regional marketing efforts by levying a tax on sales at wineries. Proponents say it would boost all of Sonoma County wine’s visibility; detractors claim that taxing wine consumers is “flawed logic.” The Press Democrat’s Sarah Doyle has more.

A San Francisco wine bar got caught in a viral spat with an influencer, who complained that the chef had disparaged her for having a low follower count, reports the Chronicle’s Elena Kadvany. The public rallied around the influencer, and now the wine bar, Hayes Valley’s Kis Cafe, has permanently closed, per the Chronicle’s Aidin Vaziri.

(SF Chronicle)

REGGAE ON THE RIVER RETURNS

by Paul Modic

It’s Reggae Week again (August 1st to 3rd at County Line Ranch), which used to be like our national holiday around here, the annual celebration when hippies, growers, and all the rest of us back-to-the-landers poured in from the hills, reconnecting with our friends and neighbors for a day of sun and music with the big stars of reggae music.

The performers liked to come to Southern Humboldt, the weed capital of the world, as marijuana was their religion as well as ours, and lots of money flooded into community organizations and rural schools, running their annual fundraising food and drink booths, artisans selling their homemade creations, and profits for the Mateel Community Center (MCC) to fund their/our entertainment programs, other events, and to rebuild after the original building burned up in an arson fire in the 1980’s. (It was also an opportunity for local bands to play, sometimes at nine in the morning.)

In the early years we just packed a few joints and other goodies, drove down to the site near the county line, and randomly parked along both sides of Highway 101. We walked half a mile or so to the entrance booth, bought our tickets for ten bucks (this week three-day tickets are $349, and single days from $129 to $149), and followed the throng of happy hippies walking into the dusty and exciting bowl at Frenches Camp. We joined thousands of other revelers for a day of music, dancing, and working in the booths with other volunteers, including the hundreds (or thousands) necessary to put on the show. (Later, the casual and unorganized parking along the highway was prohibited, and shuttle buses were run to the site from Garberville, Redway, Benbow, and the campgrounds.)

After some years the event expanded to two days, then three, and it got so huge and popular that some of those working on the event for the Mateel split off and started a production company to run it for profit, with a fat cut for the Mateel.

Then came the Reggae Wars in 2006 and 2007 when Peoples Productions and the MCC battled in court for ownership of the event after heated contract negotiations ended in stalemate, and divided the community: Were you with Peoples or the Mateel? (There were rumors of outlaw selling of wristbands by insiders, and pocketing thousands, that kind of activity probably inevitable, as there was so much cash floating around.)

After many months of drama, everyone wanted to stop fighting and a settlement was reached: Peoples took over the event and started an alternate festival just down the river from the original site, calling it “Reggae Rising.” The Mateel kept the name “Reggae On The River” and received a cash payment, while the Southern Humboldt community, the vast majority supporting the Mateel, was shocked that a private company could take over our non-profit’s main fund-raising event.

There has never been a public reckoning about what really went down with that community conflict, it was such a bitter and divisive experience that few wanted to delve into it deeper. Eventually the polarizing memories faded, people moved on and mostly healed friendships and families, and a fragile peace returned. (Seventeen years later, this rundown of a moment in time, lacking many details, may still be upsetting to some, as it had been such an emotional issue.)

The Mateel eventually restarted the festival when Reggae Rising fizzled out, put it on at Benbow once or twice, farmed it out to “High Times,” and when that didn’t work cancelled it for several years.

Is putting on Reggae crucial for the Mateel Community Center’s survival? Will it be a joyous and profitable event? (I’m hearing that it’s going to be a sell-out or already is, we’ll see how good my sources are.)

Over the years Reggae became more for out-of-towners than the community event it started out as, and was for its first thirty years, and still takes a lot of local volunteers to put it on, an estimated 900 this year. I hope it works out and is a smashing success, in this era when music festivals are struggling to be profitable, and keep existing.

(Backstage note: I first became aware of the glory of backstage when at one concert I went up to Jerry S, told him I wanted to give some weed to the bands and he put a special wrist band on me, then showed me into the hallowed area. Whoopie, was I finally an “insider?”)

YOSSARIAN — the very sight of the name made him shudder. There were so many esses in it. It just had to be subversive. It was like the word subversive itself. It was like seditious and insidious too, and like socialist, suspicious, fascist and Communist.

— Joseph Heller, Catch 22

CITIZEN’S CLAIM

If you can’t

I can —

if you won’t

I will —

If you shirk

I’ll dare —

Like a

…Tom Joad

On the road —

Where there’s

An America

I’ll be … there.

— William J. Hughes

CALIFORNIA HARBOR SUFFERS CLOSE TO $1 MILLION IN DAMAGE FROM TSUNAMI WAVES

Crescent City's harbor sustained major damage after tsunami waves battered California's North Coast

by Matt LaFever

Crescent City — one of California’s northernmost towns and Del Norte County’s lone city — took a close-to-$1 million hit to its harbor after tsunami waves battered the North Coast earlier this week.

Harbormaster Mike Rademaker told SFGATE in a call that initial estimates put the damage from rough seas triggered by the 8.8-magnitude quake off Russia’s coast at $100,000. Now, Rademaker said, “It’s probably getting closer to $1 million.” 

Although tsunami warnings were issued for the entire West Coast and Hawaii late Tuesday night into Wednesday, most areas saw minimal impact. Crescent City was the exception. It recorded the highest tsunami waves in the continental U.S. — up to 4 feet — with powerful surges arriving just before dawn, lifting docks off their pilings and slamming the harbor.

Rademaker said the city is “probably bearing the largest brunt of … the entire United States impact.” 

Crescent City isn’t just prone to tsunamis — it’s a bull’s-eye. According to a 2008 Cal Poly Humboldt study, the town has “suffered more impacts from historic tsunamis than any other community on the west coast of the United States,” with 31 events recorded since 1933. Offshore topography funnels wave energy straight into the harbor. One 2006 event, triggered over 3,500 miles away, tore through the small-boat basin with currents like a “river in flood,” the researchers wrote.

Crescent City Harbor District’s H Dock was built to take a hit, engineered with closely spaced pilings designed to disrupt and dissipate tsunami energy before it reaches the inner harbor. During Wednesday’s surge, it did just that. The dock’s decking lifted off its pilings and jammed in place before the structure failed completely, according to a Harbor District news release Wednesday.

The collapse caused visible sparking due to damaged wires. Harbor officials said H Dock “appears to have functioned as intended,” sacrificing itself to protect the rest of the harbor infrastructure.

“The story is still that H dock served its purpose of being a sacrificial structure to preserve the boats from being damaged,” Rademaker said. “… That’s a huge win and a huge validation of the engineering design.”

But now, with H Dock out of commission, the harbor is exposed. Rademaker said the city is now working to secure the funds to rebuild the harbor.

“We won’t be eligible for FEMA funding because that requires more of a widespread disaster,” Rademaker told SFGATE. Instead, he said, the cost will likely fall to local and state sources.

Amid assessing the damage and the pressure of keeping the harbor running while the city recovers, Rademaker told SFGATE he’s been in “turbo mode.” Now, the exhaustion is setting in. “I got a half hour of sleep the first night, and maybe, maybe four hours last night.”

(SFGate.com)

WHY THE HOMELESS STAY HOMELESS

S.F. gave these homeless nonprofits nearly $2 billion. The salaries of their execs might surprise you

by Maggie Angst, Emma Steifel

Nonprofits serving homeless people in San Francisco work with the city’s poorest and most vulnerable people, yet some of their top executives are earning salaries and benefits totaling more than double the city’s average household income, a Chronicle analysis has found.

Non-governmental organizations in San Francisco play a crucial role in the city’s efforts to address its homelessness crisis, and experts say transparency regarding executive pay, the organization’s fiscal health and program outcomes is integral to ensuring accountability and building donor trust.

The 20 nonprofits that have the largest amounts in active contracts with San Francisco’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing have been awarded almost $2 billion from the city since 2017. While those city contracts represent a large chunk of the overall funding of some of the organizations, they represent only a small portion for others.

According to their most recent tax returns, the nonprofits pulled in a combined $1.8 billion in total income from all of their funding sources in fiscal year 2023, including charitable contributions, private donations and contracts with San Francisco and other public entities.

The average total compensation, including benefits, among the top executives of the nonprofits that held the city’s biggest homelessness contracts was about $300,000, with a wide range from less than $100,000 to about $680,000.

The Chronicle identified the nonprofits with the highest value active contracts with the homelessness department using a city dataset and determined income and executive pay based on public tax filings for the most recently available fiscal year. Total executive compensation includes base pay, bonuses, retirement, deferred compensation and other nontaxable benefits.

Some nonprofits on the Chronicle’s list have seen leadership changes since their last tax filings. Maurilio León, former head of the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, passed away in February 2024. Patricia Doyle, former executive director of the Providence Foundation of San Francisco, was put on leave last year following accusations of fraud and has left the nonprofit.

Some major organizations that serve unhoused people and receive tens of millions of dollars from San Francisco, such as the addiction treatment provider HealthRight 360 or Glide Foundation, are not included on this list because their contracts are with city agencies outside of the homelessness department. Those other funding agencies include the Department of Public Health or the Human Services Agency.

Under state law, a nonprofit’s board of directors is responsible for setting executive pay and ensuring the compensation is “just and reasonable.”

Joan Harrington, a fellow at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, said board members are required to conduct a comparability analysis, where they consider the organization’s complexity and fiscal health and executive pay at other private companies or nonprofits of a similar scale.

As a board member, Harrington said, “you want maximum performance and to be able to attract the best people… but without crossing that line where it’s hard for people to justify how someone could earn that much money.”

“Nonprofit executives are not supposed to starve to serve social service organizations,” she added. “We want them to be properly compensated so they stay in their jobs and do good.”

Dr. Blayne Cutler, executive director of Heluna Health, was paid about $680,000 last year. The nonprofit public health organization recorded $670 million in total income — nearly three times more than any other organization on the list.

The organization operates health programs and deploys outreach workers in jurisdictions across the state, including San Francisco, Los Angeles and Contra Costa County. Cutler joined Heluna Health in 2014 after serving as New York City’s assistant commissioner for HIV Prevention and Control. Her compensation amounted to just 0.1% of the nonprofit’s top line in 2023. The average CEO on the Chronicle’s list took home 0.6% of their organization’s total revenue.

Heluna Health has $37 million in active contracts with the city, which is much less than some of the other organizations on the Chronicle’s list. By comparison, the permanent supportive housing operators Tenderloin Housing Clinic and Episcopal Community Services, have $327 million and $278 million respectively in active city contracts.

CEOs across the private and public sectors make considerably more than the average worker — a gap that continues to widen — and the nonprofits on the Chronicle’s list are no different.

In fiscal year 2023, some top executives on the Chronicle’s list saw their total compensation climb as much as 26% from the year prior, according to tax filings.

Ricky Pickens, a case manager and union representative for Larkin Street Youth Services, called the widening disparity between executives and frontline workers “disappointing.” Pickens works three jobs to make ends meet, and the union had to put up a fight during its last contract negotiation around three years ago to get up to 4.5% annual raises.

“It should be more than it is,” Pickens said about employee raises, “especially knowing what she (the nonprofit’s CEO) is getting.”

Sherilyn Adams, executive director of Larkin Street Youth Services, emphasized that her pay was set by the board and that she has worked to try and increase pay and benefits for her employees.

“I wish that we could continue to increase their compensation for the very, very hard, amazing work they do,” she said. “But at the end of the day, we’re only able to do what our funding allows us to do.”

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has set aside a 1% “cost of doing business” increase for contracted nonprofits in his proposed budget. This allocation is less than amounts given in recent years that service providers, including Adams, have called inadequate.

Rocio Molina, director of the San Francisco Human Services Network, said in a statement that the low rate increase “exacerbates the widening pay disparity” between nonprofit workers and comparable city staff.

(SF Chronicle)

GIANTS TRADE CAMILO DOVAL TO YANKEES, MIKE YASTRZEMSKI TO ROYALS

by Susan Slusser

Giants reliever Camilo Doval, seen pitching in the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday at Oracle Park, was sent to the New York Yankees for four prospects. (Scott Strazzante/S.F. Chronicle)

For the second day in a row, the San Francisco Giants dealt away a key figure from their best unit, moving 2023 All-Star Camilo Doval, the team’s closer. And one day after trading longest-tenured player Tyler Rogers, they sent the second-longest tenured player, outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, to the Royals.

Rogers and Yastrzemski both played with president of baseball operations Buster Posey, who said it was tough to part with friends, but the team’s dismal play since the All-Star break meant a shift from potentially adding to the roster to letting some treasured pieces go.

“I knew when I took this job that one of the harder parts was going to be at some point moving on from guys that I had a personal relationship with and I played with,” Posey said on a call with reporters Thursday. “That’s not an easy phone call or conversation to have in person. … Hey, it’s a friendship. It stinks we’re in this position, but (the conversations) were pretty brief for the most part. You know, they get it. They’re both pros.”

The Giants traded Doval, 28, to the Yankees, for whom he is likely to be a setup man — as he was for much of last season and the start of this one. The Yankees will have two more years of control over the Dominican right-hander, who has 15 saves and a 3.09 ERA. Two seasons ago, he led the league with 39 saves. The Giants will receive four prospects: catcher Jesus Rodriguez, third baseman Parks Harber, right-hander Trystan Vrieling and lefty Carlos De La Rosa, who is the Yankees’ No. 25 prospect, according to Baseball America. Rodriguez is No. 29.

In the immediate aftermath of the deal, there were questions about the return, especially given that the team had received two of the Mets’ top prospects for Rogers, and reliever Jose Butto was to join the club for the series against the Mets in New York on Friday. Posey, a Hall of Fame-caliber catcher, believes Rodriguez, 23, in particular is a player on the rise after hitting .308 over six minor league seasons.

“The guy, all he’s done is hit,” Posey said, “Listening to our pro scouting department talk about him, he’s kind of come onto the scene a little bit later.”

The Giants moved Yastrzemski just before the deadline for right-hander Yunior Marte, 21, who has a 2.74 ERA at Class-A Columbia, with 79 strikeouts and only 20 walks in 82 innings. (He is not the 30-year-old Yunior Marte who pitched for the Giants in 2022.) Yastrzemski is likely to be in a platoon with recently acquired Randal Grichuk in Kansas City.

General manager Zack Minasian said the club is excited about Marte, “A young pitcher in Low-A having a great year, big body, 6-5.”

Like Rogers, Yastrzemski — who made many of the all-time greatest catches in Oracle Park history, including launching himself over a wall for a foul ball Wednesday — will be a free agent after the season. Both were Posey’s teammates, and there is always the possibility he might choose to re-sign one or both.

With Rogers and Doval departing, Randy Rodriguez, an All-Star this season, might be used as a closer for the first time in his career. Ryan Walker, who closed much of last season, also is available. Luis Matos is likely to see more time in the outfield with Yastrzemski’s departure, but the club also could add left-handed hitting Drew Gilbert, acquired in the Mets deal, to the mix. Marco Luciano, now an outfielder, has hit seven homers this month at Triple-A Sacramento, but his average for July is .214.

The Giants pivoted from buyers to sellers this week after a horrendous six-game homestand in which they went winless against the Mets and Pirates.

“We wish we were in a spot where we were adding, but as poorly as we’ve played since the All-Star break, I think we all felt like this was the best decision for the organization to get back some pieces that will help us in the future,” Posey said.

Posey said he does believe the Giants can contend next year, one reason the team didn’t look to move All-Star starter Robbie Ray, who has one more year on his deal. “There were some calls” on Ray, Posey said, “but we would have had to be blown out of the water. We obviously didn’t get there.”

The team didn’t ask starter Justin Verlander whether he would waive his no-trade clause for a deal. Posey said they’d had talks with him before signing him about what he might be comfortable with at the deadline, “but nothing came to fruition.”

Asked about manager Bob Melvin and his staff, Posey, who picked up Melvin’s option for next year, said, “We’ve got confidence in Bob and his staff. The goal tomorrow is to go win a game in New York and just get back to playing better baseball. I mean, we’ve got a lot of games left to play.”

(sfchronicle.com)

Tambourine vendor. Naples, Italy, early 1900s.

NEW CALIFORNIA BUDGET PAPERS OVER $20 BILLION DEFICIT

by Dan Walters

When Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders were drafting a more-or-less final 2025-26 state budget last month, they were closing what they described as a $12 billion deficit, a number that the state’s media repeatedly cited.

It was the wrong number; it minimizes the state’s chronic gap between income and outgo, as the state’s official budget summary released this week confirms.

The budget projects that the state will receive $208.6 billion in general fund revenues during the fiscal year that began on July 1, but it will spend $228.4 billion, a gap just shy of $20 billion.

The $12 billion figure stems from counting a $7.1 billion diversion from one of the state’s reserve accounts as revenue — an assumption that violates common sense as well as any legitimate accounting scenario.

The more accurate figure of $20 billion is important because it squares with projections by Newsom’s Department of Finance and the Legislative Analyst’s Office that California has what’s called a “structural deficit” in the range of $10 billion to $20 billion a year.

In other words financing all of the programs and services now in state law will indefinitely cost that much more each year than the state is likely to receive in revenues.

The budget closes about a third of the $20 billion gap with an aforementioned $7.1 billion shift from the emergency reserve — money that’s supposed to be used to cushion the impact of an economic downturn or calamities such as the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles, earthquakes or destructive storms.

The deficit isn’t a genuine emergency because it resulted from irresponsible political decisions, particularly Newsom’s declaration in 2022 that the state had a $97.5 billion budget surplus and thus could afford a sharp increase in spending.

The surplus was a mirage, based on assumptions of a $40 billion annual increase in revenues that never happened. Last year, the Department of Finance acknowledged that revenues over four years would fall short of expectations by $165 billion.

However, much of the phantom money was already spent, thereby creating the structural deficit that Newsom and the Legislature basically ignored in putting together the current budget.

The $12 billion gap left after the reserve fund shift was mostly papered over with on- and off-budget loans from special funds, shifting some spending into future years and using accounting gimmicks, such as shifting some current year spending, the June 2026 state payroll for instance, into the next fiscal year.

One could liken the state budget to a family that takes out loans on its credit cards to finance a lavish lifestyle, or a city that provides pension benefits it cannot afford.

Sooner or later, the debts pile so high that they can no longer be ignored and the day of reckoning arrives. That’s one reason why more than 30,000 Californians file for bankruptcy each year and why several California cities have gone bankrupt in recent years.

States cannot file for bankruptcy, no matter how distorted their finances. If they could, California would not qualify because of its almost unlimited ability to borrow money from special funds.

However, there will be a day of judgment if California’s spending continues to outpace its revenues, particularly if the state’s economy continues its sluggish performance.

Newsom and legislators implicitly assume that at some point revenues will increase enough to cover their spending and pay off their debts — just as a debt-ridden family buys lottery tickets in hopes of avoiding bankruptcy.

IN 1903, TWO ELDERLY MEN POSED QUIETLY FOR A PHOTOGRAPH.

One wore a white suit; the other stood humbly dressed in black. The man in white was Mark Twain, America’s literary giant. Next to him stood John T. Lewis—a quiet hero whose courage once saved Twain’s family, and perhaps, even a novel.

Their story began in 1877, when Lewis, a free Black farmer, risked his life to stop a runaway carriage carrying Twain’s sister-in-law and niece. Twain never forgot that act of bravery. He sent Lewis each of his new books with heartfelt inscriptions, and together they shared profound conversations about life, faith, and the complicated morality of their time.

When Lewis grew older, Twain ensured he received a pension. And as Twain revisited writing Huckleberry Finn, Lewis became his quiet inspiration. Many believe Lewis shaped the character of Jim, whose humanity challenged readers to look beyond the barriers of race.

Twain later reflected:

“In some ways he was my equal; in others, my superior.”

Their friendship wasn’t symbolic—it was genuine and deep. Twain, unlike most white writers of his era, openly embraced friendships within African American communities, walking proudly alongside his Black friends despite societal judgment.

Eventually, both friends found their final resting places in the same cemetery in Elmira, New York.

“IF I HAD POSSESSION OVER JUDGMENT DAY”

by Robert Johnson

If I had possession
over judgment day
if I had possession
over judgment day
Lord, the little woman I’m lovin’ wouldn’t
have no right to pray

And I went to the mountain
lookin’ far as my eyes could see
And I went to the mountain
lookin’ far as my eye could see
Some other man got my woman and the -‘a
lonesome blues got me

And I rolled and I tumbled and I
cried the whole night long
And I rolled and I tumbled and I
cried the whole night long
Boy, I woke up this mornin’
my biscuit roller gone
Had to fold my arms and I
slowly walked away
spoken: I didn’t like the way she done
Had to fold my arms and I
slowly walked away
I said in my mind, “Yo,”
trouble gon’ come some day

Now run here, baby
set down on my knee
I wanna tell you all about the
way they treated me

THE MOB was already waiting for James Zwerg by the time the Greyhound bus eased into the station in Montgomery, Alabama. Looking out the window, Zwerg could see men gripping baseball bats, chains and clubs. They had sealed off the streets leading to the bus station and chased away news photographers. They didn't want anyone to witness what they were about to do. Zwerg accepted his worst fear: He was going to die today. Only the night before, Zwerg had prayed for the strength to not strike back in anger. He was among the 18 white and black college students from Nashville who had decided to take the bus trip through the segregated South in 1961. They called themselves Freedom Riders. Their goal was to desegregate public transportation.

Zwerg had not planned to go, but the night before, some students had asked him to join them. To summon his courage, Zwerg stayed up late, reading Psalm 27, the scripture that the students had picked to read during a group prayer before their trip. "The Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom shall I fear?" the Psalm began. But there was another passage at the end that touched Zwerg in a place the other students didn't know about: "Though my mother and father forsake me, the Lord will receive me." Zwerg's parents had forsaken him for joining the civil rights movement. That same night, he had written a letter that was to be handed to them in case he was killed. It explained his decision to join the Freedom Riders. Zwerg called his mother to tell her where he was going.

"Don't go. Don't go," she said. "You can't do this to your father."

"I have no choice. I have to," he said. "You killed your father," his mother replied. Then she hung up. The Greyhound bus doors hissed open. Zwerg had volunteered to go first. The mob swarmed him as he stepped off the bus, yelling, "Nigger lover! Nigger lover!" Then, as the mob grabbed him, Zwerg closed his eyes and bowed his head to pray. "The Lord is my light and salvation, of whom shall I fear … " The mob dragged him away.

What happened next would furnish the civil rights movement with one of its most unforgettable images. Photographers eventually broke through and snapped pictures of what the mob had done to Zwerg and another Freedom Rider, John Lewis. The pictures were broadcast around the world. Zwerg looked like a bloody scarecrow. His eyes were blackened and his suit was splattered with blood. After he was hospitalized, a news crew filmed him in his hospital bed. Barely able to speak, Zwerg declared that violence wouldn't stop him or any of his friends. The Freedom Rides would go on. Zwerg became one of the movement's first heroes. Although his physical wounds healed, the emotional ones took longer. He was wracked with guilt and depression after the beating. He drank too much, contemplated suicide, and finally had to seek therapy.

He was drawn to the Freedom Rides after he was assigned a black roommate while attending Beloit College in Wisconsin. He grew to admire his roommate and was shocked to see how the young man was treated by whites when they went out in public together. So he volunteered to be an exchange student at Fisk University in Nashville, an all-black college, for one semester. He wanted to know how it felt to be a minority.

Zwerg had gone to a city that had become a launching pad for the civil rights movement. He was swept up in the group of Nashville college students who were initiating sit-ins and Freedom Rides. He was awed by their commitment. Zwerg's parents were unaware of the changes taking place in their son. They were enraged when they opened their local newspaper the day after he was attacked and saw the now-famous picture of their battered son on the front page. Zwerg later tried to explain to them that what he did as a Freedom Rider was an outgrowth of what they had taught him, but they remained angry. "These are the two people who instilled my Christian beliefs, my ethics," he says, "and now they were saying, this time when I lived my faith to the fullest, they didn't accept it." Zwerg's anguish was compounded by his father's weak heart. He suffered a heart attack after he learned his son was attacked by a mob, and his mother had a nervous breakdown. "I had a tremendous amount of guilt," he says. Even as the years passed and he was featured in documentaries and history books, Zwerg's parents never gave their approval. They simply stopped discussing that part of his life.

The closest he got to some sort of reconciliation was a conversation with his mother. She told him that her concern was for his dad. "She said, 'You'll never know the shock. We knew you were doing something, but we learned what happened to you from seeing your picture on the front page of the Milwaukee Journal. Until you have a child of your own, you'll never understand." His parents' rejection erased the closeness Zwerg once felt with them. "I had a lot of anger toward them," he says. "How can they treat me this way? This was the most meaningful period of my life. How could they not understand that?" Zwerg took out his anger on himself and on others. After the beating, he returned to college but had trouble being close to anyone. "The two people I loved the most hurt me, so, by God, I wasn't going to love anybody," Zwerg says. "I might meet a girl who I felt was special. One minute, I'd tell her that I loved her, and the next, I told her I didn't want to see her again." Zwerg began to drink heavily during his senior year, and at one time he contemplated suicide. Depressed, he put on his jacket and walked to a pier near campus. He still doesn't remember what happened next. "I remember going out to the pier, but I do not remember coming back," he says. "I awoke the next day in my room, and when I put on my jacket, a straight-edge razor was in a pocket. I didn't remember putting it there."

Though the aftermath of the beating caused Zwerg much emotional pain, the attack also led to one of his most profound religious experiences. He felt something during the mob attack that he still struggles to describe. In "Parting the Waters," Taylor Branch wrote that the mob had swelled to 3,000 people and described what happened to Zwerg: "One of the men grabbed Zwerg's suitcase and smashed him in the face with it. Others slugged him to the ground, and when he was dazed beyond resistance, one man pinned Zwerg's head between his knees so that the others could take turns hitting him." James Zwerg says he never felt as alive as he did when he was a Freedom Rider. Yet in the midst of that savagery, Zwerg says he had the most beautiful experience in his life. "I bowed my head," he says. "I asked God to give me the strength to remain nonviolent and to forgive the people for what they might do. It was very brief, but in that instant, I felt an overwhelming presence. I don't know how else to describe it. A peace came over me. I knew that no matter what happened to me, it was going to be OK. Whether I lived or whether I died, I felt this incredible calm."

Zwerg blacked out and didn't wake up until he was in a car. The mob had continued to beat him after he was unconscious. Being unconscious saved his life, he believes now. His body was relaxed, so it took the punishment better than if he had stiffened up to protect himself. Incredibly, no Freedom Riders were killed during the mob attack. Even after he was taken to a nearby hospital, Zwerg learned later, he was not safe. "A nurse said she drugged me the first night because there was a mob coming within a block of the hospital to lynch me," he says. "She didn't want me to be aware of anything if they got me." Zwerg was in such shock, he doesn't remember the news crew that did make it to his hospital room. In a scene that was played in the "Eyes on the Prize" documentary, a battered Zwerg told the American public that the Freedom Rides would go on. "We will continue our journey, one way or another. We are prepared to die." Zwerg's teeth were fractured and several of his vertebrae were cracked, but he recovered. He also took steps to recover emotionally. He was torn between rejoining the Freedom Riders and attending seminary. Then, as he was being honored by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for his courage, he talked to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. about his career indecision. "He said, 'Jim, go to seminary. You'll touch a lot more lives through pastoring," Zwerg recalls. "Basically, that made up my mind for me." When he entered seminary, Zwerg decided to go through six months of therapy to release the anger and guilt he felt toward his parents. He also thought about a woman he had shunned during his angry college days. "I worked a lot of this through, which made me feel much better," he says. "When I finished, I knew I wanted to see my lady again. So, I called her up that night, asked her out, and asked her to marry me." That woman, Carolyn, said yes. They live together today in Tucson, Arizona.

Zwerg entered the ministry after the beating. But he left in 1975, dejected by the politics of his job. At various times, he was a chamber of commerce lobbyist, an IBM manager, and a business manager at a hospice. He worked for a ministry that put people into low-cost housing. He retired in 1999. He never found the bond he experienced with the other Freedom Riders. "Each of us was stronger because of those we were with," he says. "If I was being beaten, I knew I wasn't alone. I could endure more because I knew everybody there was giving me their strength. Even as someone else was being beaten, I would give them my strength." Though he became a pastor, Zwerg says his most profound exposure to faith came as a Freedom Rider. "I never felt so alive theologically," he says. "My prayer life was never so meaningful. My whole awareness of the power of love when I heard King say in his last utterance, 'I've been to the mountaintop, and I've seen the Promised Land.' I know those of us who were in the movement can say we were there, too."

But coming down from the mountaintop, after the movement, was deflating, Zwerg says. He couldn't find that bond again. "It's a tremendous downer. You look for it everywhere. I've never experienced it since. The closest thing I've experienced to it is the love of my wife." Many of his colleagues had the same struggles. Some couldn't keep jobs because they couldn't handle authority. One stepped in front of a bus and killed himself. Another drank himself to death. Many experienced some type of post-traumatic stress. Zwerg says he still gets choked up about that morning in the Alabama bus station. When I ask what he feels today when he sees that photo of himself, he grows quiet. Then he tells a story.

He says he attended a reunion at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and Museum in Alabama. During a ceremony, Zwerg was walking with a crowd of Freedom Rider colleagues when he saw the famous pictures of his battered face in a video and displayed on the museum wall. "I looked at it, and what it brings back to me more than anything else is that I got so much notoriety because I was white," he says. "I looked at that picture and I thought of all the people that never get their names in a book, never get interviewed but literally had given their lives. Who the hell am I to have my picture up there?" He was suddenly flooded with guilt. He started bawling during the ceremony as startled people looked on. Then another Freedom Rider veteran, a strapping black man named Jim Davis, walked over to Zwerg.

Zwerg's voice trembles with emotion as he recalls what Davis said. "He said, 'Jim, you don't realize that it was your words from that hospital bed that were the call to arms for the rest of us." And then, as Davis wrapped his big arms around Zwerg in front of the startled crowd, the two men cried together.

(This is an excerpt from John Blake's 2004 book "Children of the Movement." Blake interviewed Zwerg in 2003.)

TRUMP CAN’T STOP TILTING AT WINDMILLS

Editor:

In Scotland, Donald “Don Quixote” Trump addressed European Union leaders with a long diatribe about windmills. They remained silent while he talked. No one in that room would believe that this is a rational man. He is an embarrassment to our country. Striking out at imaginary enemies is all that he knows. Whether it is some crazy accusation against former President Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton or James Clapper or John Brennan or Jerome Powell, he never stops. While serious issues like the war in Ukraine continue, he just keeps “tilting at windmills.”

Gary Harris

Forestville

ANDY CAFFREY: Please don't use the term, "The humanitarian crisis in Gaza." That's like saying during WWII, "The humanitarian crisis in the Nazi concentration camps." You should refer to, "The Israeli genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza." I mean, if you want to tell the truth and be accurate, that is…

"FORMER OBAMA ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS Ben Rhodes and Tommy Vietor took to social media over the weekend to attack Israel and slam the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, asking how it’s possible to “trust Democrats to fight for anything” if they take money from the pro-Israel lobby group."

— Jeff Blankfort

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

by Robert Frost (1915)

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

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ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY #2

I think America is spelled with a "c", not a "k", but I might be wrong. If I AM wrong I apologize, if I'm right (I'm pretty sure I am), then I'll feel better about inserting myself into this brave discussion for which I'm ill-equipped to participate, as I have a below normal IQ and nothing very admirable in my suitcase of attributes (not an actual suitcase, just using it as a meet the floor. Anyway, again: sorry for my intrusion, please carry on your riveting discussion of AmeriCa's plusses and minuses (I made the C bigger than the other letters to drive home my spelling lecture, I have looked it up several times now and literally everybody spells America the way it is spelled here, that is to say: no "K". Ready for my hilarious parting gift? Here we go: "I am 99% positive that America is spelled with a "C" and not a "K", ok? Ok!" (Wow, that made me laugh so hard I did a spit take and because I am drinking vodka, I made many people here in Washington Square Park angry with me, vodka is clingy and stinky and a guy in AA (alcoholics are anonymous) is now suing me for drenching him with the vodka that blasted out of my mouth, but look: I'm glad Alaska is part of the US, I hope the calm light of day makes you rethink your distaste for that beautiful conundrum (I just looked up conundrum and it doesn't mean what I thought it meant - "land parcel" - so it's a conundrum as to why I thought otherwise! Hahahahahaha, here come more of da vodka! ("Da" is "the")

ADVOCATES HAIL ‘HISTORIC’ PROGRESS AFTER US SENATE VOTE ON ARMS TO ISRAEL

Supporters of Palestinian rights say although bill to block arms to Israel failed to pass, vote shows ‘shift’ on issue.

by Ali Harb

Palestinian rights advocates are hailing the growing number of lawmakers in the United States showing willingness to restrict weapons to Israel over the atrocities in Gaza after a Senate vote on the issue.

The majority of Democrats in the Senate voted late on Wednesday in favour of a resolution to block a weapons sale to Israel in what rights advocates have hailed as a major blow to the bipartisan support that Israel has traditionally enjoyed in Congress.

The measure, introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, ultimately failed in a 27-70 vote, but a record number of lawmakers backed it compared to similar bills in the past.

“It was incredibly significant. We’re seeing a fundamental shift in the Democratic Party on Israel,” said Yasmine Taeb, legislative and political director for the advocacy group MPower Change Action Fund.

All Republican Senators voted against the measure. But within the Democratic caucus, the tally was 27-17. The bill aimed to block the transfer of assault rifles to Israel.

Another bill that targeted bomb shipments also failed, in a 24-73 vote, with three senators who backed the first bill defecting.

The vote came amid domestic and international anger at Israel’s atrocities in Gaza, where leading rights groups have accused the Israeli military of carrying out a genocide against Palestinians.

‘We just need to continue to fight’

Taeb said Palestinian rights advocates are making progress on the issue, noting that only 15 Senators backed Sanders’ measure to block weapons to Israel in April.

“It’s frustrating, but we just need to continue to fight,” she told Al Jazeera.

“We need to continue to do everything we possibly can to pressure our leaders in the House and Senate to stop funding these atrocities. We’re absolutely seeing a shift, and these bills show that. So, it shows that the pressure is working.”

Israel, which receives billions of dollars in US military aid annually, largely relies on US weaponry to carry out its wars on Palestinians and neighbouring countries.

For decades, support for Israel on Capitol Hill seemed unshakable. But restricting the flow of US weapons is steadily becoming a mainstream proposal, especially among Democrats.

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) expressed gratitude for the senators who backed the bills, calling the vote a “historic sign of progress”.

“Although last night’s Senate vote should have been 100–0 in favor of these resolutions, the fact that a majority of Senate Democrats voted yes is a historic moment and a sign that sentiments in Congress are gradually catching up to the American people,” CAIR government affairs director Robert McCaw said in a statement.

Some key Democrats supported Sanders’s bill – well beyond the small group of progressive lawmakers who have been vocally supportive of Palestinian rights for years.

They included Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee; Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee; and Amy Klobuchar, a prominent centrist.

‘Enough Is Enough’

Senator Tammy Duckworth, who has been a strong Israel supporter throughout most of her career, also voted in favour of the measure.

“Enough is enough,” Duckworth said in a statement.

She highlighted the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israeli-imposed starvation has killed more than 150 people.

“Israel’s unacceptable choice to restrict humanitarian and food aid from entering Gaza – for months – is now causing innocent civilians, including young children, to starve to death,” Duckworth said.

“Ending this famine is not only a moral imperative, it is also in the best interests of both Israel’s and our own country’s long-term national security.”

Four out of the six new Democratic senators, elected last year, voted in favour of blocking arms to Israel, highlighting the generational shift on the issue. The other two freshman senators were not present for the vote.

Public opinion polls show that young Americans, especially Democrats, are increasingly opposing Israel’s abuses against Palestinians.

Only 9 percent of respondents under the age of 35 in a recent Gallup survey said they approve of Israel’s military action in Gaza and 6 percent said they had a favourable opinion of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sanders said after Wednesday’s vote that the increased support from Democratic lawmakers for restricting arms to Israel shows that the “tide is turning”.

“The American people do not want to spend billions to starve children in Gaza,” the senator said in a statement.

“The Democrats are moving forward on this issue, and I look forward to Republican support in the near future.”

AIPAC Responds

IfNotNow, a youth-led progressive Jewish group, also lauded the vote as a “historic moment”.

“As Israel’s blockade forces virtually all Palestinians in Gaza to the brink of starvation, we must use every tool at our disposal to end the blockade and push for a ceasefire and hostage exchange,” the group’s executive director, Morriah Kaplan, said in a statement.

“It is shameful that a shrinking minority of the Democratic caucus, 17 senators, sided with Republicans to continue the flow of deadly weapons to the Israeli military.”

Some senior Democrats, including the party’s top senator, Chuck Schumer, voted against the resolutions.

Taeb said Schumer’s vote shows that he is “simply out of touch with the vast majority of Democratic voters and, incredibly, his own caucus”.

She added that Republicans will soon start to pay an electoral price for their unflinching support for Israel as Americans’ opinions continue to turn against the US ally.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which has spent millions of dollars to help defeat Israel’s critics in Congress, welcomed the defeat of Sanders’ bills, but it said that the vote “highlights the growing attempts to advance anti-Israel policies in Congress”.

“We know our detractors are working to take the battle from the floor of the Senate and the House to the ballot box next year, seeking to elect more candidates who want to undermine the US-Israel alliance,” the group said in an email to supporters.

“With the midterm elections rapidly approaching, we must ensure we have the political strength and resources to help our friends win and help defeat our detractors.”

The Democrats who joined Sanders in voting against future weapon sales were Senators Angela Alsobrooks, Tammy Baldwin, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Tammy Duckworth, Dick Durbin, Martin Heinrich, Mazie Hirono, Angus King, Amy Klobuchar, Tim Kaine, Andy Kim, Ben Ray Luján, Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, Chris Murphy, Patty Murray, Jon Ossoff, Jack Reed, Jeanne Shaheen, Tina Smith, Chris Van Hollen, Raphael Warnock, Elizabeth Warren, Peter Welch, Sheldon Whitehouse and Brian Schatz.

The Democrats who voted to allow the rifle sale were senators Michael Bennet, Richard Blumenthal, Cory Booker, Maria Cantwell, Chris Coons, Catherine Cortez Masto, John Fetterman, Kirsten Gillibrand, Maggie Hassan, John Hickenlooper, Alex Padilla (California), Gary Peters, Jacky Rosen, Adam Schiff (California), Chuck Schumer, Mark Warner and Ron Wyden.

(Al Jazeera)

SANDERS MOVES TO BLOCK TRUMP'S ARMS SALES/LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION OF RFK

Senator Bernie Sanders announced Tuesday that he will force Senate votes to block the Trump administration’s latest plan to deliver billions of dollars in bombs and rifles to the Israeli government as its military continues to wage a brutal campaign in Gaza. The votes, scheduled for Wednesday, follow months of growing concern over the humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged territory, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and starvation has reached emergency levels.

“U.S. taxpayers have spent tens of billions of dollars in support of the racist, extremist Netanyahu government. Enough is enough,” Sanders said in a statement. “We cannot continue to spend taxpayer money on a government which has killed some 60,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 143,000 — most of whom are women, children, and the elderly. We cannot continue supporting a government which has blocked humanitarian aid, caused massive famine, and literally starved the people of Gaza.”

The proposed arms package includes thousands of 1,000-pound bombs, Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits, and tens of thousands of assault rifles, along with logistical support equipment. Sanders’ resolutions — S.J.Res.34 and S.J.Res.41 — would prohibit the sales under authority granted by the Arms Export Control Act. Because they are privileged resolutions, they cannot be filibustered or amended and require only a simple majority to pass.

“The time is long overdue for Congress to use the leverage we have — tens of billions in arms and military aid — to demand that Israel end these atrocities,” Sanders said. “Continuing these arms sales would violate U.S. laws that prohibit assistance to governments engaged in gross human rights abuses and obstruction of aid.”

Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration has approved roughly $12 billion in arms sales to Israel. This includes lifting a Biden-era block on the transfer of 2,000-pound bombs that have been used in deadly strikes on Gaza. Earlier this year, Sanders led a similar — but unsuccessful — effort to stop a $9 billion weapons sale. Only 14 senators, all Democrats, supported that resolution.

The vote on Wednesday could garner more support as Israel faces increased international scrutiny for its conduct in Gaza, where human rights groups and aid organizations say the government is deliberately starving the population and targeting civilians. According to Sanders’ office, the arms sales in question “clearly violate the criteria laid out in the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act.”

“Reliable human rights monitors have documented numerous incidents involving the use of 1,000-pound bombs and JDAMs in illegal strikes leading to unacceptable civilian death tolls,” Sanders’ office said. “These include strikes in which hundreds of civilians have been killed and strikes on humanitarian facilities, including U.N. schools.”

The resolutions also seek to block the sale of assault rifles intended for Israeli police forces overseen by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Ben-Gvir has been convicted of support for terrorism by an Israeli court and has advocated for the forcible expulsion of Palestinians. He has also overseen the distribution of weapons to settlers in the occupied West Bank, where settler violence has surged.

Support for blocking U.S. arms sales to Israel appears to be growing. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), who did not support Sanders’ previous resolutions, stated this week that he would support halting all aid to Israel unless there is “a demonstrable change in the direction of Israeli policy.”

“My litmus test will be simple: No aid of any kind as long as there are starving children in Gaza due to the action or inaction of the Israeli government,” King said.

Human rights advocates have applauded Sanders for taking action to align U.S. foreign policy with legal standards and humanitarian concerns. “The Israeli military has used U.S.-origin weapons in attacks that have killed Palestinian civilians, destroyed civilian infrastructure, and deepened an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe,” said Hassan El-Tayyab, legislative director for Middle East policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation.

“Continuing these arms sales would violate U.S. laws that prohibit assistance to governments engaged in gross human rights abuses and obstruction of aid,” El-Tayyab added. “This resolution rightly affirms that U.S. weapons must not fuel further atrocities, and that only diplomacy, not more bombs, can bring an end to this crisis.”

The Trump administration has defended its arms deals as necessary to maintain Israel’s military edge, despite mounting concerns about international law violations. Critics argue that U.S. complicity in Israel’s war effort has made the Biden-era commitments to human rights appear hollow and has undermined America’s standing in the region.

If passed, Sanders’ resolutions would mark a rare congressional rebuke of Israeli military policy and set a precedent for restricting offensive military aid to a longtime U.S. ally. With Gaza’s death toll rising and images of malnourished children dominating global media, pressure is mounting on lawmakers to re-evaluate America’s role in enabling the conflict.

Bernie Sanders Launches Investigation of RFK Jr.’s Attacks on Vaccine Access

By firing all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine panel, RFK Jr. has imperiled vaccine access in the US, critics say.

by Mike Ludwig , TRUTHOUT July 30, 2025

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and top Democrats on the Senate HELP Committee have launched an investigation into Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his decision to fire all 17 members of a key recommendation panel that sets federal vaccine policy. After firing the experts, Kennedy replaced them with vaccine skeptics who critics say are putting the health of millions at risk.

Sanders is the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), but Democrats remain in the minority, and the investigation is not backed by a full committee vote. However, the probe puts additional pressure on HELP Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Cassidy, a longtime physician who previously promotedvaccination for low-income families in his home state of Louisiana. Cassidy is now under fire for casting a key vote in favor of installing Kennedy, a conspiracy theorist and celebrity of the anti-vaxxer movement, at the helm of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Sanders said on Tuesday that Kennedy has upended decades of scientific research and vaccine policy by gutting the Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and replacing 17 nonpartisan medical experts with “ideologues” and “conspiracy theorists”who threaten to undermine public confidence in vaccines that have prevented deadly outbreaks of disease for decades.

Democrats have accused Kennedy of lying to Cassidy about his intentions for the vaccine committee during a heated confirmation hearing in January, which both Kennedy and Cassidy have denied. ACIP meets about three times a year to set policies for the CDC’s vaccine schedule, which can determine the availability and cost of various vaccines for millions of people.

“Secretary Kennedy has spread lies about safe and effective vaccines for decades,” Sanders said in a statement. “Unfortunately, since he was confirmed, Secretary Kennedy has doubled down on his disinformation campaign and war on science. This will lead to preventable illness and death.” Â During Kennedy’s confirmation hearing, Cassidy pressed Kennedy for answers on his approach to vaccines and was torn over how to vote on the nomination. Cassidy and Senate Republicans were under intense pressure from President Donald Trump to approve Kennedy along with a controversial list of cabinet members — including former TV star-turned Medicare czar Mehmet Oz — that watchdog groups say are now destabilizing the nation’s already struggling health system.

Cassidy said he voted to confirm Kennedy after the nominee pledged to “maintain” the CDC’s vaccine committee “without changes.”

In a February 4 speech on the Senate floor, Cassidy affirmed decades of scientific research in asserting the widely held medical consensus that vaccines are “safe,” “save lives,” and “do not cause autism.” His restatement of these scientific facts was a direct rebuke to the anti-vaccine conspiracy theories that went viral during pandemic lockdowns and have long been championed by Kennedy and his allies. However, Cassidy said he voted to confirm Kennedy after the nominee pledged to “maintain” the CDC’s vaccine committee “without changes” and consult with Cassidy about hiring decisions at HHS. The Senate confirmed Kennedy as health secretary with a 52-48 vote along party lines.

Since taking office, Kennedy has launched what critics call a war on vaccines. In June Kennedy appointed Lyn Redwood, former director of the anti-vaxxer group that later became Kennedy’s Children’s Health Defense, to the CDC’s Immunization Safety Office, where she has cited research that does not exist.

Amid the worst outbreak of measles in 33 years, which radiated from communities in Texas with low vaccination rates, Kennedy described the decision to vaccinate as a “personal one” and promoted unproven treatments such as cod liver oil. Experts liken Kennedy’s approach to medicine to the ancient “miasma theory,” which predates our modern understanding of germs.

On June 9, Kennedy gutted the CDC’s vaccine committee and replaced the 17 nonpartisan medical experts with eight individuals who Sanders and Democrats say were handpicked to advance an anti-vaccine agenda. The vaccine committee’s new members include a business school professor who spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines online, a nurse and former research director of an anti-vaccine group with links to Kennedy, and researchers who were paid to testify in court against vaccine makers.

In late June, Cassidy pushed back on the decision to gut the vaccine committee and move ahead with a regularly scheduled meeting despite the shakeup, which left ACIP with far fewer members. The committee has quietly worked behind the scenes to advise the CDC for 60 years but was caught up in the controversy around vaccines that exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Of course, now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion,” Cassidy said on X in June.

Citing Cassidy’s post on X, Sanders penned a letter to the physician and senator requesting that the Senate HELP Committee launch a bipartisan investigation into the details around Kennedy’s decision to abruptly dismiss the ACIP members and replace them with vaccine skeptics. Senate Republicans have been unable to stand up to Trump on a host of issues, and it’s no surprise that a bipartisan investigation never materialized.

A spokeswoman at Cassidy’s office in the Capitol declined to comment on Kennedy’s vaccine policies and the investigation launched by Sanders.

Along with Senators Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado), Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire) and four other Democrats, Sanders is now launching a partisan probe of Kennedy’s vaccine policies. In a letter to Kennedy on Tuesday, the senators demanded answers about the process behind Kennedy’s gutting of the CDC’s vaccine committee and other policies.

“As your new ACIP makes recommendations based on pseudoscience, fewer and fewer Americans will have access to fewer and fewer vaccines,” the senators wrote. “And as you give a platform to conspiracy theorists, and even promote their theories yourself, Americans will continue to lose confidence in whatever vaccines are still available.”

Lower vaccination rates are predicted to cause a resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases such as hepatitis, meningitis, mumps, pertussis, pneumonia, tetanus, and chickenpox, the senators wrote. However, without the full Senate HELP Committee behind Sanders and the Democrats, Kennedy may choose to ignore the investigation and the senators’ inquiries. Democrats clearly see an opening for attacking the Trump administration when Kennedy’s policies cause real-world harms — but these harms are easily prevented in the first place.

ON THE DUNES

by Jenny Turner

I don’t suppose Donald Trump or Keir Starmer saw the row of flags, black, white and green with a red triangle, on a high dune near the Trump International golf course, eight miles north of Aberdeen, when they flew in together on Monday evening – very cozy – on one of two identical helicopters, Marine One or its empty decoy twin. It was like the start of an ancient battle. One dune, held in solidarity with the people of Palestine; another with uniformed police in hi-visibility jackets, and a sniper in black, I was told, and thermal cameras, and who knows what other operations hidden in the grass and sand. There were more flags stuck on the beach, and on the back of a boat being chased by a police launch. “Children starve, Trump plays golf,” a placard read. A man lounged in self-admiring Secret Service fashion on the open door of his Merc.

Police officers and a protester on Balmedie Beach ahead of Donald Trump’s visit to his Menie golf course in Aberdeenshire, 28 July 2025. (PA / Jane Barlow)

We used to come to Balmedie when we were children, my brothers and I, hiding among the pillboxes and digging in the immense flat stretches of beautiful clean sand. Apart from a couple of hours one Christmas morning in maybe 2016, I hadn’t been back to see the nasty branding on the Trump International clubhouse or the magnificent wind turbines that spoil Trump’s view of the sea. So I went to take a look around on the Sunday afternoon before the great arrival, and walked to a little creek just below the Sand Bothy kiosk, which was, I discovered, the current border. A policewoman stopped me and told me, sorry, I’d have to go back the way I’d come.

I sat on the beach for ages, the high flats by Aberdeen harbor just visible to the south, and a string of oil-platform supply boats, and a four-masted schooner with its sails down, left behind from the international Tall Ships regatta, which had docked in Aberdeen, to city-wide revels and monetization, the week before. And the hated “windmills,” the blades moving counter-clockwise on nine, still on the other two. I found shells and stones like the ones we used to collect when I was little: granites and quartzites, common cockle, banded wedge. I took photos of the different sorts of seaweed, kelps and wracks and ulvas, because it’s about time I learned which is which, and of a dead gull, a heap of feathers really, stuck to a single bone.

I walked back to the creek, which had huge rough blocks piled up along it, dragons’ teeth, concrete anti-tank barriers laid down in the 1940s; they get buried as the sand shifts, and exposed when it shifts again. A scrap of black plastic had trapped a branch of seaweed, which had dried out and gone black; maybe that was what was feeding the spike of tough, deep-rooted marram grass that had settled there, stabilizing the sand enough to allow a tiny gorse and another plant that looked a bit familiar – I took lots of photos so I could work out what it was – to grow there too. In time, more grass may root, more gorse, stabilizing more sand and plants, until a new dune is established, or else it will all get blown or washed away. I took lots more photos, of the turbines, of my fledgling sand dune, of the police in their hi-vis jackets, of the boats.

Behind the beach it was the annual Sand Bothy “Seaside Fun-draiser,” raising money for the volunteer-run hut and beach wheelchair service. The chairs themselves, with their enormous puffy doughnut wheels, were a main attraction, along with the Blood Bikes, the Hebridean ponies, the man dressed up as a Ghostbuster with a Ghostbusters car.

A reporter from the Turkish broadcaster TRT World asked me if I was local, and I said, no, not any more, not really. Then NPR’s London correspondent asked me what I thought of Starmer, and I felt like telling her, so I did. “It’s like Cold War Vienna,” I messaged my husband, with a picture of a person in a Baby Shark costume. “Undercover cops,” I wrote under a snap of Highland alpacas. “Noticeably short and aggressive hair.”

Then a man called Jim asked me where I’d come from, and when I said London, he asked what bit?, and when I said Camberwell, he asked if I knew the barracks. I said I didn’t, and he said I should because he used to stay in them, at which point I started laughing and said: so I suppose you’re working here today? He agreed that he was, but for the police, not the army, and he showed me his warrant card.

So people reading this may be better prepared than I was for such an encounter: “Jim” did indeed have short and strict-looking hair, as did his silent wingmen, “Paul” and “Dave.” They were white, they were wearing jeans and trainers, “Jim” flitted skillfully between jocularity and menace whereas “Paul” just stuck with the menace and “Dave” never stopped looking around him, never ceased in his constant scan of the crowd.

I’d been noted, asking questions of the policewoman at the creek and taking photos. They were wondering what I thought I was doing, and would I please show some ID. I did, though if I’d read the bust cards that get handed out at protests, I would have known I didn’t have to; but also, I was shaking with humiliation that my big mouth and nosy nature had somehow led me into the purview of the Terrorism Act, not as a disciplined practitioner of civil disobedience, but a bumbling fool. They checked me on the police computer and offered me a lift, which I couldn’t turn down fast enough. And then I went on my way.

“Paul” was back the next day, which for protesters began outside the White Horse Inn in Balmedie, followed by a procession through fields and woodland to the beach. It’s a strange thing, the Stop Trump Coalition, righteous and well organized, but with a predilection for the antipolitical waggish insult: “Trump’s still a cunt”, in memory of the late Janey Godley; “Donald Where’s Your Troosers?” and variations thereon; a Trump-headed bog-brush that you can buy, I’m told, from Amazon; and, from Saturday’s bigger demonstration in Aberdeen city center, “Impotus,” “Meanies out of Menie,” “Veto the Cheeto,” the Trump-with-Epstein photo on a helium balloon.

Monday’s procession was augmented not only by “Paul,” now with a different plain-clothes pal, but a sweet group of local boys on bikes and scooters, one of whom was inspired by the chanting to perform a Highland fling on his Adidas slides.

The Palestine bloc at the back brought the political rigor, with some new chants: “Destroys our landscape, bullies our neighbors, this is modern-day colonization”; “Five thousand police and the CIA, protecting a felon on his holiday.” And the flags, which aren’t waggish, or gawping or sentimental, or wordy, or in any way hard to understand.

The flags arrayed on a sandy cliff-edge, in a fragile ecosystem, looking out to sea: Starmer and Trump wouldn’t have got it, even if they’d tried. But the people out on the dunes did, and will have made their own connections. And will have seen the lines drawn, as if for battle. And may be thinking that it’s time to pick a side.

(London Review of Books)

19 Comments

Kirk Vodopals August 1, 2025

Been in the Deep End about 20 years now. This is the mildest summer I’ve ever experienced. Tomatoes are not abundant.
Looks like some heat coming next weekend.

- George Hollister August 1, 2025
  
  This is the coolest Summer, so far, that I can remember. I came here in 1961.
  
  - Bruce McEwen August 1, 2025
    
    Thanks, George. As a newbie, I’ve been reluctant to complain about the cold, wet blanket of fog anchored in the offing in defiance of a steady SSW fresh breeze— the welcome fresh breeze, on any other late July day—which now comes ashore like a cutlass with a sharp chill factor, and I kept from whimpering and shivering and chattering my last dice cup of teeth in fear you old loggers would crawl out of the crummy and make me a laughingstock in front of the whole dern crew! So! Ha! If Kirk isn’t a wimp for complaining, then neither am I.
    
chuck dunbar August 1, 2025

BEST OF THE AVA TODAY

Jim Shield’s list of “some” of Johnny Pinches’ accomplishments over his years of service–real stuff in the real world. That’s what we need.

- chuck dunbar August 1, 2025
  
  “What Johnny Got Done,” was Jim’s fitting title for that list. We should start every new Supe out with that same blank list. “What (Name) Got Done.” Instructions: “This will be your test, nothing else, what you actually ‘get done’ in the real world of citizens’ needs and wants. Not meetings, not bureaucratic maneuvers and infighting, not politicking, not talk-talk, only real accomplishments in the real world. ”
  
  We’d tell them: “Fill this out as you go along, fill it out honestly, keep at it– then we’ll see how you did when you leave office. And here’s Johnny’s list as a guide for what is possible. Study it, keep it in mind, judge your progress against it. We will too, we will hold you accountable”.
  
  I have hopes for Bernie Norvell. I think he’s got some of Johnny’s ways.
  
chuck dunbar August 1, 2025

“On The Dunes”–Fine piece to end this MCT, said in a slanty, off-hand way, point made well.

- Bruce McEwen August 1, 2025
  
  Great Scott! What is that symbol superimposed on St Andrews cross, the Scottish national flag? I can’t tell from the photo w/ the flag furled in the breeze, but there is some added symbol on that saltire! What the devil is it, Vicar Dunbar?
  
Karen Rifkin August 1, 2025

Hey Mr Tambourine Man…

- Bob Abeles August 1, 2025
  
  Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky
  With one hand waving free
  Silhouetted by the sea
  Circled by the circus sands
  With all memory and fate, driven deep beneath the waves
  Let me forget about today until tomorrow
  
Craig Stehr August 1, 2025

Spent the morning in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Attended Mass in the lower Crypt Church, and then sat in silence upstairs in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, where I’d sat many times in the summer of 1991 when here volunteering at the Zacchaeus Kitchen. WOW! 34 years ago and the altar engraving still reads: “Food of Angels Food for Men, All You Lowly Come and Eat”. Am still at the Adam’s Place Homeless Shelter, with a thousand dollars in the bank. Health is good. I’ve no idea what is next.
Craig Louis Stehr
Email: [email protected]

Brewski Hitchcups August 1, 2025

“volunteering at the Zacchaeus Kitchen. WOW! 34 years ago and the altar engraving still reads: “Food of Angels Food for Men, All You Lowly Come and Eat”…”

Hey, Craig, keep an eye out for snipers. In Gaza they use food aid to bait human targets out for snipers. If you get that uncanny feeling someone has you in the crosshairs, put your thumbs in your ears, wriggle your fingers, grin hugely and poke your tongue out at the angel of death.

- Craig Stehr August 2, 2025
  
  Got it! ;-))
  
Marco McClean August 1, 2025

I like the photograph titled Supervisors Get It Done. I can easily see that group as the ensemble cast of a dark comedy action space opera science fiction series canceled after one season but still a cult favorite decades later. It’s partly a quality of the photographer’s equipment and skill, I know, but look at them. How can you help but like them?

Re: the Freedom Riders story. When the boy’s mother spat at him through the phone, “You’ve killed your father,” and hung up on him, all the breath went out of my body.

And re: non-profit executive compensation and local government official salaries. The lie that management must be paid at a much higher rate than the real workers “in order to attract and retain top talent” is galling every time it’s uttered and printed.

- chuck dunbar August 1, 2025
  
  +1–that last paragraph, especially the last sentence, about management needing high salaries than the “real workers.” Exactly, Marco, it is BS that is widely accepted, and but that’s what it is for sure–BS.
  
peter boudoures August 1, 2025

You linked to court records that lay out graphic, specific felony charges but then chose to summarize them with vague, softened language that doesn’t match what’s actually in the filing. That’s misleading.

Either report the facts clearly, or don’t pretend you’re informing the public. Sanitizing serious allegations helps no one not the victim, not the community, and not your credibility.

No booking photo.
No DOB.
No easily searchable public record.
And a media outlet that won’t plainly state what’s in the actual charges.

https://mendocinocoast.news/philo-man-facing-7-felony-sex-charges-alleging-sex-with-a-underage-girl-appears-in-fort-bragg-courthouse-monday-case-was-filed-march-27/?mibextid=zoDNOU

- Jurgen Stoll August 1, 2025
  
  We’re getting into Trump / Epstein territory here. This guy could use a Pam Bondi.
  
  - peter boudoures August 1, 2025
    
    And let’s be honest all political parties had their shot at the Epstein files and did nothing. No one’s hands are clean.
    
    Public safety and family values aren’t partisan they’re just being ignored.
    
    - Jurgen Stoll August 1, 2025
      
      Yes they are, and I’m for prosecuting anyone, of any political persuasion, or income level, for pedophelia or trafficking women. Investigate Clinton, Trump, Dershowitz, King Charles, Matt Gaetz, etc. Make an example out of ALL of them. Why are these crimes being ignored? Why did congress adjourn under Johnson’s leadership to hopefully sweep this all under the rug for Trump? I’m willing to write my congressman and two senators to investigate this whole sordid mess not by Pam Bondi but by a special prosecutor agreed up by both parties and then let the chips fall where they may. If it proves that Trump was involved he needs to be immediately removed from office and JAILED! Same for Clinton and the other scumbags on the list. Will you do the same?
      
      - peter boudoures August 1, 2025
        
        Totally agree prosecute all of them, no matter the name, wealth, or party. But while D.C. plays politics and celebrities like P. Diddy walk away clean, small-town communities like ours can’t even get a booking photo on a local sex crime case.
        
        Epstein’s list didn’t disappear it got buried. And the same thing keeps happening power protects power. Meanwhile, we’re left guessing who’s living next door with serious charges.

19 Comments

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