SUPERVISORS REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 2025
by John Haschak
For those who know Laytonville, Jim Shields was behind most community events. There wasn’t an economic incentive, he wasn’t angling for another job. Jim just wanted to make government work for the people. He was relentless in advocating for those who needed help, whether it was navigating bureaucracy or guidance on how to get something done.
Jim was the publisher of the Mendocino County Observer. His “Political Type” column was a must read. He always informed the reader of the critical issues of the day and often gave history lessons as background. His knowledge was endless. Jim and I love history. We were both history majors in college. He would often say something to the effect of “Well, of course you studied history and remember the such and such act of 1842”. My response would be, “Jim, could you just remind me a bit about that” and of course he would.
We also shared a love of basketball. We both played in our younger years. I fondly remember eating dinner and watching a Warriors game with Jim in the old Boomers saloon. His mind was so incredibly sharp.
Jim and I were both union guys. Jim was proud of his involvement in the airlines’ union and had so may tales to tell. I am sure that he was an incredibly effective advocate for his union. He could tell a story of negotiations relating it to a current issue as if it happened yesterday. Jim’s recall was exceptional.
Jim cared deeply about local and County government. He called himself an advocate for good government. For many years, Jim had his Saturday afternoon radio show on KPFN. Once a month he would ask me to be on the show. He was a talking encyclopedia. I had to have my facts straight before going on with Jim. He was opinionated in a positive, constructive, solution-oriented way. Talking with Jim often gave me a new way of looking at an issue.
I talked to Jim the afternoon before his passing. We were working on how to solve a rash of anonymous code enforcement complaints in Laytonville. He had the paper to finish up, yet he still had time to talk. It wasn’t self-interest that motivated Jim. He wanted to solve problems for the community. And when we hung up as often happens, we had a coordinated, agreed upon path forward. I will certainly miss his thoughts, opinions, and guidance on so many issues.
Jim was the emcee for the Supervisorial debates and redistricting town halls. He was the Chair of the LAMAC (Laytonville Municipal Advsiory Committee). He and his wife Susan founded the North Polar Toy Express in Laytonville to ensure that kids at least got a present.
I could go on and on about his contributions to the Laytonville community and to the County. Jim’s community-oriented activism will have to inspire us all to do more locally because his are big shoes to fill.
There will be a Talk with the Supervisor on Sept. 16 at 10:00 in Brickhouse Coffee. You can always contact me at email [email protected] or call 707-972-4214.
LAUREN SINNOTT: Grand Opening! “From Finland to Fort Bragg” - Join us to celebrate my mural about the rich heritage of Finnish immigrants and their families. At the mural this Friday September 19, 5-7pm!
PETER LIT: Thomas Kendall died earlier today (Thursday). He was fortunate enough to die at home, cared for and doted on, by his partner Carol. He died gently in his sleep. He was pain free, thanks to Adventist hospice care. He was giving, a good man, a crackerjack shuffle drummer, an avid catch-and-release fisherman. I will miss him very much. The world is now a smaller place.
SHERIFF MATT KENDALL:
I have always cringed when people begin comparing anyone to the Nazi regime. I’ve had people compare myself and my deputies to Nazis when we make an arrest of someone who needed to be arrested. This always seemed very foolish and here is the reason:
Historians estimate that six million Jewish people were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during the holocaust. I read somewhere this was nearly two thirds of the Jewish population in Europe prior to World War 2. That is pure evil, plain and simple. When someone compares the largest mass murder and ethnic cleansing I can think of to a deputy arresting someone for a crime, it doesn’t hold water. This doesn’t make the deputy look bad for making an arrest. Sadly, it makes the Nazis look not so bad, and that shouldn’t ever happen. We erode their guilt every time this occurs.
“Left lib-lab” from the 60s, lol Bruce. I dislike the D and R labels mostly. I like to believe one party doesn’t fit everyone within it and I don’t like being judged by party preference, but it certainly is happening.
My father was a dyed in the wool Democrat. I largely agree with what the party stood for when they seemed to stand for things. He was pretty conservative, to me, back then, the Democratic Party didn’t seem liberal. All of the Dems I knew were loggers, carpenters and mostly blue collar people. But, those were the folks I was around when I was young, so maybe that isn’t a good representative slice of society.
I still know some pretty conservative democrats but I think they are afraid to let anyone know how they feel. That’s a big shift from the party which championed free speech and I think that’s sad.
I think the party walked away from those folks and became something different.
There’s a saying I once heard, don’t hate the players, hate the game.
BRUCE ANDERSON: On the general subject of political confusion, the only people who have shouted me down, boycotted the ava, banned the paper, tried to stop me from speaking, have always described themselves as “liberals,” even “progressives.” Off my long life as a left lib-lab, circa 1960 until now, the only fascists I’ve encountered have been people who vote Democrat.
MANY OF THOSE righteously condemning the rise of “political violence” have supported two years of genocidal violence in Gaza and recently celebrated when the President of the US released a snuff film of a US Navy drone strike that killed 11 people in a small boat off the coast of Venezuela in violation of international and US law, as well as that most mysterious of all laws, the Law of the Sea. Our society, already among the most violent in the world, has been saturated in official violence done in our name since 9/11. In the last quarter-century of the forever wars, hundreds of thousands have been killed and maimed. These daily slaughters, many if not most of them rationalized by politicians and the pundits, have done more to twist the psyche of Americans than ideologies, video games or serotonin uplifters. And the ubiquitous presence of high-powered, military weaponry has provided the means for these bomb-shattered minds to go off on full-auto in their own perverted missions of retribution and revenge.
— Jeffrey St. Clair
I HADN’T HEARD OF CHARLIE KIRK before he was murdered, but prior to looking up his opinions I was sad for him being so young and married with two little kids. After reading up on his opinions I’m much less sad for him but still sad for his wife. Any reasonably articulate radlib could unravel Kirk in a one-on-one. He’s lucky he stuck to debating college kids. Predictably, the orange demagogue has rolled out to blame Kirk’s assassination on “Marxist lunatics” and kindred maga punching bags like George Soros. One would expect the president, even the oaf like this one, to come out with a lot of insincere blather about how we’re all one civic student body etc. and should leave off with the violent rhetoric. Instead, our leader brings US even more gasoline to throw on the ever increasing civic violence. The pathetic Democratic resistance will continue to capitulate to the maga fascists and here we are. (We’d like to thank Reverend Anderson for this week’s sermon.)
“THE HUMAN LOUSE somewhat resembles a tiny lobster, and he lives chiefly in your trousers. Short of burning all your clothes there is no known way of getting rid of him. Down the seams of your trousers he lays his glittering white eggs, like tiny grains of rice, which hatch out and breed families of their own at horrible speed. I think pacifists might find it helpful to illustrate their pamphlets with enlarged photographs of lice. Glory of war indeed! In war all solderies are lousy, at the least when it is warm enough. The men who fought at Verdun, at Waterloo, at Flodden, at Senlac, at Thermopylae — every one of them had lice crawling over his testicles.”
― George Orwell, ‘Homage to Catalonia’
BALD EAGLE SIGHTING! (Coast Chatline)
E.Pippin: While I was riding my bike on the Headland trail yesterday morning I saw a beautiful bald Eagle sitting majestically on a rock outcropping in front of the Crow’s Nest! WOW, what a lovely gift. I’m hoping he’s here to check out the ravin situation in Fort Bragg. I hope he eats one of the obnoxious birds, finds his meal delicious and brings in all of his friends and family to devour them all!!! Aww, to wake up in the mornings and not hear the ear splitting squawking of those creepy birds!!
Christina Aranguren: It’s been six or more months now, but a pair of bald eagles were spotted in the tall conifers west of the restrooms on the Headlands loop in Mendo. I’ve been searching for them ever since without success.
Bald eagles are also carrions. Some refer to them as “ravens in a tuxedo.”
RECALL DISTRICT ATTORNEY EYSTER
A committee has formed to recall District Attorney David Eyster. They need help with gathering petition signatures and raising funds. If you wish to help, please contact [email protected].
Mr. Eyster has stated to the Anderson Valley Advertiser that “It is difficult to support an office that is wasting resources by prosecuting the wrong people and cases.” Here are some published responses from Mendocino County residents.
“Eyster has single-handedly plunged the County, or more precisely her taxpaying citizens, into a legal and financial mess he designed and implemented.” — Tom Hine, Ukiah Daily Journal
“So far, the county has authorized payments of more than $250,000 to resist the Cubbison civil case and pursue a failed bid to criminally prosecute her.” — Mike Geniella, Ukiah Daily Journal
“Eyster, the mastermind behind the plotting and conniving that resulted in criminal charges being brought against Cubbison, should be sanctioned if not disbarred by the California Bar Association.” — Jim Shields, Publisher, Mendocino County Observer
“Eyster continues to host steak house banquets for employees and their guests, violating county policies.” — Ft. Bragg Advocate News
“The ACLU filed a civil lawsuit against DA Eyster for his office’s refusal to respond to their public records requests.” — Matt LaFever, Editor, MendoFever
“Dirty cops get ‘extreme leeway and special treatment’ [by Eyster].” — Trent James, Mendocino Voice
“We have witnessed a continuous pattern of actions that amount to an unjust administration of the law by our District Attorney.” — Change.org Recall Petition
— James Holden, [email protected]
MARK SCARAMELLA NOTES: The above quote attributed to Eyster was not “stated to the Anderson Valley Advertiser.” It was a remark to the Supervisors, specifically referring to Supervisor Ted Williams (an elected official), when Eyster was defending his budget presentation to the Board and disagreeing with something Williams said.
“I BELIEVE that there is one story in the world, and only one… Humans are caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too—in a net of good and evil… There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well—or ill?”
― John Steinbeck, ’East of Eden‘
ON MY FIRST DAY as a Walmart greeter, a rude woman walked in with her two kids, yelling at them. I just smiled and said, ‘Good morning, welcome to Walmart. Nice kids, are they twins?’ She snapped, ‘No! One’s 9 and the other’s 7. Are you blind or stupid?’ I replied, ‘I am not blind or stupid, just surprised someone slept with you twice.’ Later, my supervisor told me I might not be the best fit for the job.
ON-LINE COMMENTS OF THE WEEK
[1] We “boomers” of the “something’s happening here” generation, thought ourselves the great transformers of culture and country. Looking back we produced the Clintons of the body politic, the hollowing out of industry and the American workforce, and now the flood of gray ponytails and aging hairdos that mark the supposed “everyone is DC” protesters. The transformers, who largely live in the suburbs where they can pretend “crime is down” don’t have to face the live fire in cities like DC, Baltimore and Chicago, the dystopian city streets of LA, SF, Portland and Seattle. They climb the purity spiral to revile Trump while the people who live in their liberally governed mess have to suffer the consequences.
[2] So much has been made of the Kirk shooting, but little of the right-wing evangelical shooter in Minnesota on Rumpus’ birthday this year. Trump said barely anything of Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark who were assassinated in Minnesota on his birthday this year, nor anything about Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who were shot and injured the same day. They were also deemed political shootings, but for Orangie’s side, so no big deal I guess. No half-staff flags, barely a word on FOX–AND they WERE political figures, unlike Mr. Kirk who had never been elected to any office. Still, we must decry this violence, just as we did against the right-wing shooter of the President in Butler, Pennsylvania. These shootings must end.
[3] Trump changed the entire MSM landscape from credible to laughable simply because he challenged their authority and journalistic objectivity. The Russia-gate and Fine People hoaxes exposed their blatant political bias early on to anyone curious enough to do a little research. The more he called them out, the deeper they dug in. It became farcical. ‘He wants you to ingest bleach!’ Now, no one under 65 trusts MSM. It may be Trump’s greatest legacy accomplishment: He broke them, and good riddance.
[4] Being a boomer and having seen too many assassinations in the video age where we get to see them in slow motion with almost play by play commentary. One common theme seems to be that the assassin almost 100% of the time turns out to be a supposed insignificant person leading a troubled, insignificant life. Their heinous acts give them a notoriety they perhaps sought for mentally deranged reasons. While political rhetoric may demonize people unfairly and make them targets, every single assassin turns out to be someone with a lost life who has nothing to lose and disturbed enough to commit a desperate senseless act.
[5] Re Charlie Kirk: Most of these kids have never been challenged or possibly even heard a debate.
I’ll use myself as an example!
I started college at 17. Total little wannabe-hippie radical. Felt like I was supposed to be a radical.
The circumstances of the debate are a tad murky. I had to be in my first year of college and the encounter occurred in the coffeeshop in the basement of Cobb Hall (University of Chicago).
I don’t know how I got into the debate and I have no memory of the face of my opponent.
I just remember staring at the ground and the sense that he just demolished everything I lobbed (probably half-@$$3d macroeconomic content).
I have a memory of his shoes and my shoes and of getting my @$$ handed to me. It was an extraordinarily positive experience.
As such, I’d say that willingness to engage college students, even being a little provocative by simply showing up on a campus and offering to debate, is probably good. From what I can tell (and my direct experience is admittedly limited), Kirk never conducted himself maliciously or as a bully. Seemed like he was just trying to get kids to open their minds (college!), ask questions and consider alternative points of view.
[6] ”Charlie’s murder has likely spurred a multi-digit alteration in the political landscape of America.” You’re way more optimistic than I am. I think his murder will harden existing tribal allegiances and lower the bar for future acts of political violence. We’re in a tailspin and I don’t see how to pull out of it. People compare this to the political violence of the early 1970s, but in that case there was a singular animating principle, the Vietnam War, and the domestic violence petered out after it ended. The modern culture war is just about hating the other guys, plain and simple.
[7] I reject the notion that I climbed up a ladder to own it all then selfishly pulled the ladder up behind me to prevent subsequent generations from climbing up and getting their share. I didn’t construct the ladder of life and I don’t own the ladder of life. I live my life the best way I know how and am subject to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune just as the generations before me and after me. I no more influence my country’s government and economy than an ant crawling on the sidewalk but, if I did, nothing my government is now doing would continue to be done.
[8] By the mid Sixties, sitcoms had deteriorated pretty badly. There were always too many Westerns in the first twenty years of TV. There was other dreck. But there was all that great stuff, too.
On YouTube you can find probably all of the “You Bet Your Life” episodes. You can find what seems as if it couldn’t have happened, an excerpt from a TV drama from 1954. It stars Ronald Reagan and James Dean. You can find video of Lotte Lenya, Kurt Weill’s widow, performing some of Weill’s great songs from “The Threepenny Opera.” You can find Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic with guest artist, Glenn Gould, and so help me God, Igor Stravinsky.
I have a permanent furious grudge against CBS and NBC for not allowing what must be hundreds of hours of great live ( and thank God, kinescoped or videotaped ) performances onto the Internet. Maybe they have and I just don’t know it. I haven’t had a TV since 2014.
[9] I recently had the opportunity to stay at Appalachian Mountain Club huts up in the White Mountains. Beautiful huts in remote locations full of well off white progressives up from Boston. All run by AMC, a wonderfully woke tax exempt headquartered in the hyper wealthy enclave of Boston’s Beacon Hill.
Every single thing in the huts is airlifted in by helicopter (like Al Gore’s jet, it’s the good kind of CO2) or lugged up on the backs of the summer help.
So what does this have to do with Massholes and Tim Walz? Each men’s room featured a carefully curated shrine to feminine hygiene products. Tampons, pads, and who knows what else laid out on a nice little tray and free for the taking. But oddly untouched.
Nothing says the great outdoors like the sight of tampons in the morning!
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