- Ukiah Senior Center On Life Support
- Arf-Arf!
- An Inexcusable Expenditure Of Scare Tax Dollars
- Labor Day Without Labor
- Stand In Solidarity With Immigrant Farmworkers
- Whales And Birds Offshore
- Support Elected Leaders Who Support Labor
- Again & Again & Again
- And Nothing Is Done
- Who Will Harvest The Crops?
- E-Bike Menace
- Badged Thuggery
UKIAH SENIOR CENTER ON LIFE SUPPORT
To the Editor:
It was with a heavy heart when we read that the Ukiah Senior Center has had to stop its services on Fridays for Seniors, and now must plead with the community for support.
Let me be abundantly clear. What’s next? No more Mondays? Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday had better look out?
You know the phrase, pay it forward? Well, look forward into your own future. You too, if lucky enough, will become a Senior, if you are not already one.
And a community can be gauged by how it treats its Seniors, its Children and its Pets.
And maybe, just maybe, when your time has come for the need and support of a place like the Senior Center, it may not be open or available to you.
I cannot fathom the shutting down of the Ukiah Senior Center even for a nanosecond. Even the lessening of any services should be upsetting to most.
This would potentially leave thousands of members where? Forced to move out of Ukiah? Possibly becoming homeless? Spending their final days sad, alone and in misery and despair?
This is a quality of life issue, plain and simple.
You see, animals certainly need advocates as they cannot speak. Kids need nurturing, but have their entire lives ahead of them.
Senior Citizens are at somewhat of a disadvantage because of one serious limitation, and that is … how many days are left for them on this planet, and what will be their quality of life during those last years after spending their entire lives making ends meet?
Being a Senior Citizen is the last segue to the finish line. The last chapter of a novel. Would you read a mystery book, and then agree to NOT read the very last chapter? I think not. The end, the closing and final chapter should have a happy ending. At least, one can hope. Why shouldn’t the end of one’s time on this planet be one of care, concern, love, compassion, empathy, and above all,…Hope.
Dignified aging should be made easier, with financial resources made available because, make no mistake,…getting old is hard, and it sucks. Trust me on this.
The word suffering comes to mind, and the Senior Center is just the place to assist in suppressing the amount and degree of suffering, and allows the aging process possibly to be more tolerable.
And, I’d use a phase I am not particularly fond of using, …”it takes a village”. Although to me, my interpretation was that of a community: a collective cooperative of individuals, local agencies, and local government working together, and I have rarely seen this trilogy in Ukiah. It does tend to be every man and woman for themselves. This is unfortunately a common scenario across the United States.
Well, there is a good chance that these same men and women I just mentioned, later in life may be alone, lonely, hungry, in need of help or assistance, and that may not be there if this trend continues. Many of those already there may be reading all of this, nodding their heads in agreement.
I do not have a defeatist attitude regarding this issue, but a very realistic one. If things do not change, and the trend downward continues, how will Ukiah end up?Overtaken with even more elderly homelessness? Seeing seniors dying on the streets due to the lack of concern, care, or funding? Or even worse?
Certainly, it is truly unfortunate that so many entities are all forced to figuratively fight for funding.
But this needs to be approached as a battle, or a war. A war against the suffering of Ukiah’s aging populace. This is a battle worth fighting, as you will eventually be an unwilling soldier in this fight yourselves.
In short, you WILL get old, if you aren’t already. So, if you value “quality of life issues” or supporting all of those individuals that are “elders” that have put their soul, their spirit, their hard work and sweat into Ukiah,…maybe it’s payback time for these same Senior Citizens of Ukiah.
Oh, and don’t count on the government. You probably already know this. It is my belief and it is relatively evident that they cannot even solve their own problems, much less community issues.
Therefore, now is the time to be financially supportive because the Senior Center appears to be on life support. Help breathe life into the Ukiah Senior Center today.
Life and Hope!
Senior Citizen Johnny Keyes
Ukiah
ADAM GASKA: I sounded the alarm about the Ukiah Senior Center two years ago. I told them the financial situation was unsustainable and they needed to do some serious restructuring or risk closing. The board got offended and fired the new director in part because of the information they gave me.
They need to secure funding sources beyond the thrift store. They need to cut staff and programs to fit what their revenue can support. They need to look to other local organizations to see if there are partnerships that would help streamline services such as having a multi-agency food service director.
A UKIAH READER WRITES: I agree with Adam Gaska on the Ukiah Senior Center. The attitude of “this is how we have always done it” just isn’t working. Time to put down personal agendas and egos and look bigger picture. There are so many simple ways to network and combine services and pull in the community to help. Isolating the center with old attitudes and stubbornness is killing the mission. The center is a vital lifeline for so many, it needs to be open to different strategies and ideas in order to survive and thrive. It is possible. But not with the current attitude.
ADAM GASKA: What I learned was that they were running a $100k+ annual deficit and burning through reserves. They had no plan except to keep doing the same thing.
MARK SCARAMELLA: They learned that approach from the Board of Supervisors.
ARF-ARF!
Editor,
I try to avoid restaurants that allow dogs. These days, people think they can take their dogs anywhere they want, regardless of any potential health issues.
There is little I can do about it, except for not eating in restaurants that allow dogs anywhere near my food.
John Neal
San Anselmo
AN INEXCUSABLE EXPENDITURE OF SCARE TAX DOLLARS
Editor:
Governor Gavin Newsom has called a special election for November 4 to ask whether voters want to allow a redistricting plan for California. This is in response to actions taken by the state of Texas, allowing more Republican-leaning areas to possibly increase the Republican seats in the House. This action is purely political and has no benefit for the people of California. In fact, the election is reported to cost in excess of $235 million. This in a state with a budget deficit of between $12 billion and $20 billion. In my opinion, this is wasteful and inexcusable spending of scarce tax dollars better spent for the benefit of residents.
James Taglio
Ukiah
LABOR DAY WITHOUT LABOR
To the Editor:
Labor Day was a holiday created by our earliest labor unions in the 1880s. This was the start of a decades-long era when workers started taking to the streets to protest unsafe working conditions and grueling work hours. Employers used detective agencies, armies of paid thugs, and the National Guard to break up strikes. They railroaded labor leaders on trumped-up charges and routinely beat up union members who dared to strike. Shootings were not unheard of.
The struggle for workers’ rights cost many their blood and their lives. But they won their fight for better pay and working conditions. Labor Day as a holiday recognized the resilience of workers and their contributions to the development of the United States.
Today Labor Day is a federal holiday that celebrates the illusion that the United States honors and values workers. It serves as a barbecue-and-beer distraction from the fact that the value of pay and benefits have been dropping since the 1980s and that the government is actively weakening workers’ rights and safety. The irony of Labor Day is that many workers do not even get the day off because keeping retail stores open and production lines running is all their employers care about.
Capital, power, and status are considered vastly more important than workers. Labor is treated as a disposable widget, just another column on a spreadsheet, when without us there would be no food, clothing, shelter, education, medical care, or any other goods and services. Put bluntly, without workers there is no society.
Yet we are put down all the time: When we need a living wage, we are told it cuts big businesses’ profits. When we join unions, our employers smash them or simply close down and move elsewhere. When we need medical care, insurance companies say that its not necessary. When we protest peacefully, the federal government arrests us and calls us terrorists.
Labor Day should once more be a holiday that celebrates the solidarity of workers across all trades, services, and professions. Workers are the lifeblood of our nation. They deserve the right to organize and to be treated with dignity regardless of their job.
Martha Klimist-Zingo & Janet Rosen
Ukiah
STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH IMMIGRANT FARMWORKERS
Editor:
On Labor Day, we honor the contributions of American workers, but we must also reflect on the critical role of immigrant farmworkers in our agricultural system. These men and women — many of whom crossed borders searching for a better life — form the backbone of U.S. farming, while working in grueling conditions to provide the food that feeds our nation.
Immigrant farmworkers often face exploitation with long hours, minimal pay and insufficient protections. Despite challenges, the resilience and dedication they show is not because they have a natural tendency for this work, as our president likes to think, but because they have little choice in the work available to them.
Labor Day is a celebration of the working class and should also remind us of the ongoing fight for fair wages, safe working conditions and dignity for all workers, including those whose immigration status is often a barrier to these basic rights. As we enjoy the fruits of their labor, let us advocate for policies that protect immigrant workers and ensure they have the opportunities they deserve.
This Labor Day, let’s stand in solidarity with immigrant farmworkers, recognizing their invaluable contributions to our nation.
Margot Sersen
Sebastopol
WHALES AND BIRDS OFFSHORE
Noyo Pelagics has three offshore trips scheduled this coming weekend and spaces are available on each. Sign up for any or all at noyopelagics.org to experience the marvels of the offshore marine environment here.
Friday September 5 will be a half-day (five hour) trip focusing on marine mammals. Humpback Whales have returned and are being seen regularly, a few miles offshore. Pacific White-sided Dolphins are also regularly seen, often in the same area with the whales, and two or three other species of dolphin are also likely to be found at this time of year. Blue Whales have been spotted sometimes and Fin Whales are also possible. We have been seeing Fur seals pretty regularly too. The weather forecast looks good. Cost is $125 per person.
Sunday September 7 will be an all-day offshore birding trip. Many seabirds are moving through the outer shelf waters on migration, and many others are coming here to feed on the abundant baitfish. We can expect to see thousands of shearwaters and will be searching for rarities among them. It looks like good conditions for finding small birds like storm-petrels or murrelets as well. Cost for the all-day trip (ten hours) is $185 per person.
Monday September 8 will be another half-day trip looking at any and all kinds of marine life: whales, dolphins, fur seals, seabirds, ocean sunfish, sharks (three species have been sighted recently, including Great White), etc. Cost is $125 per person.
Trips depart the dock at 7:30 AM aboard the Kraken, a 50-foot charter vessel operated by Anchor Charter Boats. All trips are led by noted ornithologist (and white shark researcher) Peter Pyle. Birders from the Mendocino Coast Audubon Society and marine-mammal experts from the Noyo Center for Marine Science will also be on board. More information can be found at noyopelagics.com where you can also sign up for planned trips in October and November.
“I now belong to a higher cult of mortals for I have seen the albatross.” — Robert Cushman Murphy, 1912
Cheers,
Tim Bray, Mendocino
Mendocino Coast Audubon Society http://mendocinocoastaudubon.org/
SUPPORT ELECTED LEADERS WHO SUPPORT LABOR
Editor:
Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894, when Democratic President Grover Cleveland signed it into law after years of worker organizing and sacrifice. Four decades later, in the Great Depression, Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt built on that legacy with the New Deal. His administration created Social Security and unemployment insurance, banned child labor, set a federal minimum wage, strengthened unions and laid the foundation for the 40-hour workweek. These reforms gave millions of Americans greater security, dignity and a fairer share of our nation’s prosperity. Since then, Democrats have continued to champion fair pay, affordable health care, safer workplaces and respect for all who labor. These are not just Democratic policies — they are commonsense policies that strengthen families, communities and the nation.
Republicans, by contrast, have opposed nearly every advance worth celebrating on Labor Day. They fought Social Security, Medicare and the minimum wage. They’ve work to weaken workplace safety, undermine unions and side with corporate lobbyists and billionaires over working families.
This Labor Day, let’s remember that honoring workers means more than barbecues. It means supporting leaders and policies that put America’s workers first. History shows clearly which party has done that — and which has not.
Eric Peterson
Santa Rosa
AGAIN & AGAIN & AGAIN
To the Editor:
A fifth-grade boy who survived the attack on his school in Minnesota on Wednesday told a reporter that a classmate had saved him. He said his friend “laid on top of me” as shots were fired, “but got hit.” This child said his friend went to the hospital. “I was super scared for him,” the boy said, “but I think now he’s OK.”
Where adults failed, children protected one another with their bodies.
It is estimated that a majority of Americans have been directly or indirectly affected by gun-related incidents — or other forms of violence. In Boulder, Colo., in March 2021, where my friends and family shopped for groceries, a killer sprayed bullets in the aisles. One family member has been robbed at gunpoint. Three summers ago in Santa Fe, N.M., a young man stood outside my house with an AK-47. He and an accomplice returned moments later and fired on my neighbor, a grandmother asleep in her home. I was the first responder, and after surgeries, she survived.
None of this is remarkable. It is a hell of our own making, and even amid this latest tragedy, elements of the far right were quick to weaponize theories about the shooter, with the White House press secretary ascribing the murders to “demonic forces.”
Despite all of our differences, the vast majority of our fellow citizens agree on common-sense measures to curb this epidemic. Their voices are, alas, unlikely to be heard in this political climate.
Eric Radack
Santa Fe, New Mexico
AND NOTHING IS DONE
To the Editor:
As we awake to another school shooting, the usual voices run on about “thoughts and prayers,” mental illness, the evils of the internet, sexual confusion, personal safety and the wording of the Second Amendment. We will see photos of the victims, hear from eyewitnesses, consult with experts and then do nothing.
Americans, particularly those in power, have decided that dead children are an acceptable price for gun ownership. The rest of the Western world thinks our “need” for guns is crazy. To them it seems that, in America, the lives of children are less important than easy access to guns. Until we change that view, all other discussion is just noise.
Robin Silver
Benicia
WHO WILL HARVEST THE CROPS?
Editor:
During the height of World War II, farm labor was scarce so Japanese American internees were allowed to leave internment camps to help farmers. My uncle went to top sugar beets while my mother and I went to pick apples. It was a hard life with hot days of hard labor, poor food, outhouses and sleeping outdoors. I remember the farmer’s wife’s kindness, giving us kids cold Kool-Aid in the afternoon. Will farmers now have to recruit high school and college students, convicts and Medicaid recipients to harvest their crops?
Jon Yatabe
Homer, Alaska
E-BIKE MENACE
Editor,
Child on e-bike did not follow rules
Recently, I was hiking the Springs Hill Fire Road near Terra Linda when a kid of about 10 years old sped past me on an e-bike. I’d say he was traveling at about 25 mph. It scared the daylights out of me. I saw tire tracks on the single-file trail that leads up there. That trail has steep drops and blind curves. If e-bike riders use that trail, we should all be terrified.
I urge local officials to ensure that the newly passed throttle e-bike ban for young riders is enforced.
Robert Elkjer
San Rafael
BADGED THUGGERY
Editor,
Why are Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents not charged when they act “under color of law” to deny immigrants their rights and protections?
Several reports and rulings have cited rights and protections violated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in illegally detaining immigrants and other persons, acting under presidential dictates.
U.S. statute 242 “makes it a crime for a person acting under color of any law to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States,” including “acts of federal, state, or local officials within their lawful authority.”
California Penal Code 422.55 similarly makes it a crime to deny these rights because of “perceived characteristics of the victim” (e.g., race, ethnicity or nationality).
These laws unambiguously say that any “person,” which would include ICE agents and officials who have willfully denied rights of an immigrant, has committed a crime.
A strong message to back off would be sent to ICE and the Trump administration if charges were filed against federal agents who have denied a person their rights.
Why haven’t we seen any such charges?
Mark Thurmond
Kneeland, Humboldt County
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