Press "Enter" to skip to content

Letters 10/22/2025

By AVA News Service on October 22, 2025

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL EMERGENCY SERVICES

Editor,

Every time a pager goes off in Anderson Valley, volunteers drop what they're doing and race to help. Whether it’s a fire, a car accident, a medical emergency, or search and rescue, we are grateful that you trust us to be there. We depend on having the right equipment to serve you well. This has always been a challenge that we face with your support.

Josh Mathias, volunteer and Lieutenant of the Boonville Station, describes our current situation:

“The call came in just before 11am: a rollover accident on a remote stretch of Highway 128. Within minutes, Anderson Valley's Volunteer Firefighters were on the road in our Rescue engine, carrying the Jaws of Life and other gear needed to free a trapped driver. But on the way back, the engine's warning lights lit up. Another mechanical problem. Another trip to the shop. Even today, when returning from a medical call, the light came on only 10 days after returning from the shop. The Rescue engine is no longer keeping up with our needs. We need a replacement that is reliable, spacious, and ready for the wide range of calls we face!”

This has been our reality far too often. Even when the Rescue is running properly, it doesn't have the space to carry all the equipment today's emergencies demand. That's why the Anderson Valley Volunteer Fire Fighters Association (AVVFFA) makes this urgent request: Help us replace our Rescue engine.

For over 40 years, the AVVFFA has worked with this community to equip the Anderson Valley Fire Department with the tools needed to serve you. Because of your generosity, we've been able to help purchase a new ambulance, a fuel station, water tenders, a wildland engine, and satellite fire stations — all assets that have made a difference when minutes matter. Your gift isn't just a donation, it's a lifeline in the most critical moments.

Every contribution brings us closer to putting a new Rescue engine on the road to better protect the places and people that we have the honor to serve. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We would like to close with Josh's words:

“Your support doesn't just buy equipment, it makes rescues possible. It means the right tools are in the right hands at the right time. I want to personally thank you for equipping me and my fellow volunteers to serve you and our neighbors to the best of our ability!”

Thank you for standing beside us as we work to keep Anderson Valley safe.

With deep gratitude,

Sandy Mailliard, AVVFFA President

Andres Avila, Anderson Valley Fire Chief

AV Volunteer Firefighters Association

PO Box 414, Boonville, CA 95415

707 895-2020 (Firehouse)

Tax ID #: 94-2864556

UKIAH’S REVENUE ANNEXATION

Editor,

No Sane Person Would Want To Be Annexed Into The City Of Ukiah. Protest…Protest…Protest…Just Say No.

Most in the area to be annexed have The Sherriff’s Dept. Wells, Other Water Districts, Septic Tanks, And PG&E.

Ukiah…Sewer is $60 Basic charge with a usage (??) fee. Water has a meter Base charge of $51and a usage charge. Additionally, the more water you use, your sewer charges go up. So don’t pee, shower, or water your lawn. Then there is a street light fee $2. Electricity has a base fee of $13.50, then a usage fee… and if you medically need electricity, the bill could kill you. Next mandatory garbage services…$32 a month. You do not need police, you have a well-equipped. Sherriff department.

Now a family of 2 or 3 is paying around $350. You haven’t turned on the air or watered your lawn.

And you still will pay PG&E for your gas appliances

Ukiah is annexing you for revenue. The street repair on the East side of State St. is Cheap Slurry Seal, not the smooth blacktop for the western hills.

The city of Ukah is Slick about how they promote annexing. It allowed Ukiah Valley Fire district to annex Ukiah. It has cost property owners in Ukiah an additional $100 on taxes. Why? Revenue or cronyism. We had a fire department, paid for with sales taxes and property taxes. Could it be that several at UVFD are Double Or Triple Dipping On Retirement. And every time an Ambulance goes out, so does a Fire Truck, it’s in the contract…Job protection…This is costing Ukiah property owners, and it will cost you.

Marsha Depriest

Ukiah

BY GOING LOW WITH PROP 50, CALIFORNIA’S DEMOCRATS DESERVE WHAT’S COMING FOR THEM

Editor,

I thought gerrymandering was a bad thing? Whatever happened to “they go low, we go high?”

Democrats have a habit of blaming their losses on anything but themselves. It was Ralph Nader, then Russia, then Joe Biden. Or there’s always racism, voter ID laws, ignorance in the flyover states and the Supreme Court.

None of those reasons is plausible for why California lost one House seat after the 2020 census and is on track to lose five more in 2030.

Many people have fled (or stayed away from) California’s unaffordable housing, high taxes and hostility toward business. They are justifiably fed up with paying a premium to live somewhere with pervasive homelessness, mediocre public education and low job growth.

May I suggest that the supermajority of Democrats in the state Legislature earn votes by tackling some of those issues?

California’s Democratic leadership missed an opportunity to show they are willing to stand for something. Instead, by supporting Proposition 50’s gerrymandering, they have revealed themselves to be just as debased as President Donald Trump, defined only by what they are against and determined to avoid changing themselves into a party worth voting for.

Whatever losses Democrats face will be well-deserved.

Brendan Bolles

Mill Valley

DEMOCRACY DENIED

Editor,

Regarding “Newsom vetoes bill intended to help S.F. expand drug-free housing for homeless people” (San Francisco, SFChronicle.com, Oct. 2): Assembly Bill 255 passed by a unanimous vote in the Assembly and the state Senate.

Over the past few months, Gov. Gavin Newsom has been talking about the need to stand up to President Donald Trump and save democracy. The governor vetoed a bill that was passed unanimously by the citizens’ representatives.

What style and form of democracy is that?

Pete Campbell

San Jose

WHY ARE TAXPAYERS FUNDING KRISTI NOEM’S TV ADS?

Editor:

How is it possible that Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, is allowed to advertise on television? Surely our taxes should not go to a member of Donald Trump’s Cabinet to tell us (proudly) of arresting Latinos who have lived, worked, paid taxes and raised families in good faith for many years in the U.S., many of them trying to become citizens all this time. Do we really want our tax money to go to Noem to pay for these adds?

Jennifer Nichols

Sebastopol

OSHA VIOLATIONS AT HUMBOLDT SAWMILL COMPANY

Editor,

What company is that? What happened to Humboldt Redwood Company? Was it one of those financial paper shuffles that goes on to limit liability of the ultimate owners? The Pacific Lumber Company got bought out, became Palco, went bankrupt, became Humboldt Redwood Company, then Mendocino Redwood Company, and now Humboldt Sawmill Company?

The change is made to send more profits from here to San Francisco’s Fisher family.

As ownership of enterprises leaves the county, the county suffers. The collapse of the giant roof in Scotia (Marathon Investments, https://www.newyorker.com/news/us-journal/scotia-the-california-town-owned-by-a-new-york-investment-firm) is a graphic example of the lack of care of owners prioritizing profits over longevity. We know how this story goes – fewer jobs, lower wages and benefits, all of which are a drain on the county economy, sales tax revenues, ultimately leading to a poorer county with terrible roads and impossibly tough decisions for the Supervisors to make.

The seeming failures of the fish farm and off-shore wind may not be a bad thing. Between AI and automation, the promise of jobs would likely be abandoned. Humboldt’s strength is its people, the modest ways people find ways to serve each other, creating an economy where dollars circulate locally. We have “needs” and enough people to serve those “needs” to keep people making a living, rather than a killing. We have the natural resource base for such a people-centered economy, but not enough for investment firms that prey on those resources.

Michael Evenson

Petrolia

ON LINE COMMENT:

“The Pacific Lumber Company got bought out, became Palco, went bankrupt, became Humboldt Redwood Company, then Mendocino Redwood Company, and now Humboldt Sawmill Company?”

The author of the letter has a bit of catching up to do.

Pacific Lumber wasn’t bought out — it was subject to a hostile takeover — and it never “became PALCO” which was simply shorthand for Pacific Lumber.

And the progression of companies wasn’t HRC, MRC and then Humboldt Sawmill Company.

MRC was formed first in 1998 and acquired the PL timberlands and sawmills out of bankruptcy in 2008.

Following the acquisition, HRC was formed and later, in 2018, HSC was created — MRC, HRC, HSC and others are all under the umbrella of the “Mendocino Family of Companies” which is one of the tentacles of the Fisher family investment portfolio.

The author is correct about one thing — forming multiple legal entities is a corporate shell game intended to limit liability.

The linked article laments the decline of Scotia but Scotia was never owned by the Fisher family and their host of companies.

The author laments the demise of local ownership, but PL and the people running it were headquartered in S.F. well before the hostile takeover by Hurwitz in 1985.

And Scotia was a company town to the core — the cheap rents and other percs kept the workers tied to the company like feudal serfs to their lord — but also blocked them from home ownership, the number one wealth accumulator for working families.

LET’S HONOR JIM SHIELDS

To the Editor of the Mendocino County Observer:

Please accept our deepest condolences to you and all your family regarding the loss of your father. He touched many lives, spoke on behalf of the Redwood Valley community back in 2023, I believe, as we were going through a hearing with the Board of Supervisors regarding our desire to form a Cannabis Prohibition zone in our area. We continue our fight as you can see in the recent letter we have sent to local newspapers. As we mentioned your Dad, we thought you might want to read it. No need to publish in the Observer unless you wish to.

It was a beautiful obituary I read in the AVA this morning and I’m sure you will have a lovely celebration of his life this coming week-end. God Bless!

Sincerely,

Frances Owen

Redwood Valley

PS. In honor of the late Jim Shields, a dedicated community advocate who championed government accountability to public will, we echo both that sentiment and his concerns regarding the ineffective legalization of cannabis cultivation in Mendocino County.

Our recent observations from the September 9, 2025 Board of Supervisors meeting reveal troubling developments. Discussions on increased “Low Intensity Camping” (Hipcamps) in inland areas saw Supervisor Mulheren advocate for lot sizes as small as RR1 acres, potentially impacting more heavily populated residential zones like Redwood Valley and areas near Ukiah. Simultaneously, cannabis industry-benefiting changes to the facilities ordinance were proposed, revealing clear biases among at least two present Supervisors. We from Redwood Valley expressed opposition due to a lack of public understanding and input on these complex proposals, which include potential on-site cannabis sales, removal of dwelling unit requirements, and streamlined security. Mendocino County has the right to be more restrictive than state standards and we have grave concerns over the possibility of combining Hipcamps with cannabis grow sites near residential areas.

Our prior efforts to establish a Cannabis Exclusion Zone in Redwood Valley, denied despite concerns over quality of life and property values, highlight our ongoing concerns. The prospect of on-site sales, especially to minors, and commercial camping near homes raises new safety and enforcement issues, with the County’s lack of budget for enforcement a significant worry. Implementation of these changes may also prompt new lawsuits against the County for abuse of private property easements. Many of our stated concerns appeared to go unheeded.

Supervisor responses following public comment demonstrated perceived favoritism towards the cannabis industry, including a local marijuana alliance president being allowed extra speaking time while a statement from an absent citizen was denied. The meeting concluded bizarrely with admissions of no county funds for implementation, a request for growers to list their priorities, and a suggestion by Supervisor Williams, and then reiterated by Supervisor Haschak, for grower contributions to fund such proposals – leaving us feeling unheard and suspecting undue influence on Supervisors’ votes. Finally, we found Supervisor Haschak’s attempt at humor at Redwood Valley’s expense insensitive, reinforcing a perceived lack of respect for ALL property owners’ rights.

We urge concerned Inland Mendocino County residents to review the meeting video (mendocino.legistar.com, Sept. 9, 2025, items 4h and 4i).

Rest in Peace, Jim Shields; your voice is profoundly missed.

Respectfully,

Frances Owen, Chris Boyd, Pien Ris-Yarbrough, on behalf of Concerned Redwood Valley Citizens (CRVCs)

REMEMBERING LOVED ONES LOST IN REDWOOD VALLEY FIRE

Editor,

We are approaching the eighth anniversary of the Redwood Valley Fire — a fire that was devastating to my family. My niece and her husband lost their only two children, Kressa and Kai. Kressa was a beautiful and artistically talented 17-year-old, and Kai was a 13-year-old who loved baseball and wrestling. My sister and her husband lost two of their grandchildren. They will never be forgotten. Be grateful every day for your family. Be thankful this type of tragedy didn’t happen to your family.
Jenifer Johnson

Santa Rosa

A PERSONAL LESSON IN THE COST OF TRUMP’S TARIFFS

Editor:

I now have personal experience with Donald Trump’s dictate to suspend the de minimis exemption for trivial items received by U.S. individuals from overseas shippers. A little background is appropriate: Inspired by the upcoming Rotary Club Veterans Tribute on Nov. 14, my son and I resolved to create a shadow box for my father’s World War II memorabilia and awards. To complete the display of medals and badges we needed his rank insignia: Royal Artillery sergeant’s stripes. Every formation in the British armed forces has a different color, size and pattern for sergeant’s stripes. My veteran friends will know how important it is to get these things right, so we contacted a couple of specialist suppliers in Wales. The first supplier had the product but declined to ship by mail to the U.S. The second supplier said, “OK, but on your own head be it, and we only ship by UPS.” The stripes arrived 36 hours after ordering, and I thought we were home “free.” But wait, I subsequently got an invoice from UPS for 19% U.S. customs duties and a $14 brokerage fee for a $9 piece of embroidered cloth. Dad, you are still worth it! Happy Veterans Day.

Richard L. Gulson

Santa Rosa

STOP THE INSULTS

Editor,

When I was in high school, one unit of my senior social studies class was on fallacies of argument. The first and most obvious one of these is ad hominem, where a personal insult is used to respond to a point instead of countering that point.

It was so sad to see U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi resort to such juvenile tactics during a Senate oversight committee hearing. Instead of answering questions from the Democratic senators, she looked up stored insults in her binder to use on each of them and never addressed the actual questions.

But then her role model is President Donald Trump, who uses the same tactics. We deserve better.

John Heffernan

Hayward

DUE PROCESS IS STILL JUSTIFIED AT SEA

Editor:

I think every American would agree a war on drugs is justified. Recently there have been four incidents where suspected drug-trafficking boats were destroyed by U.S. forces under orders from President Donald Trump, resulting in deaths without any form of due process being served. Considering the American military has the ability to intercept, surround and board suspected drug-trafficking vessels, ultimately, due process could be served.

Richard Cardiff

Sebastopol

END THE DENIAL

Editor,

I am an Israeli-born Jewish American. According to a recent poll by the Washington Post, 61% of American Jews believe Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza, so I don’t think he speaks for them either. Nor does he speak for former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who wrote, “What we are doing in Gaza now is a war of devastation: indiscriminate, limitless, cruel and criminal killing of civilians.” He doesn’t speak for former Israeli Attorney General Michael Ben-Yair and former Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg, who have denounced Israel’s military campaign and government policies.

All were appalled by Hamas’ grotesquely brutal attack on Israeli communities Oct. 7, 2023. We all recognize Israel’s right of self defense. We all believe that Israelis and Palestinians alike can only live in peace if Hamas disarms and is dethroned and the hostages returned. What we don’t accept is the apparent indiscriminate killing of tens of thousands of seemingly innocent Palestinian citizens.

Saperstein does not mention reports by independent authorities, including Israelis. The International Association of Genocide Scholars, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Physicians for Human Rights in Israel and the Israeli rights group B’Tselem have documented and condemned crimes committed by Hamas while stating that Israel’s conduct violates conventions.

True friends of Israel must end the denial and say enough is enough.

Ruth Jaeger

Corte Madera

ICE INSANITY MUST END

To the Editor:

As thousands of hard working immigrants are being indiscriminately rounded up for the heinous crime of supporting their families, wanting a better life, wanting the American dream, we are bearing witness to the rise of the American Gestapo aka “ICE”. The 1930’s saw Hitler’s Gestapo act as his personal militia rounding up tens of thousands of innocent people accountable only to their Feuer. Now this militia called ICE is similarly accountable only to their autocratic leader, Donald Trump. This normalization of insanity must end.

Mark Spindler

Ukiah

NOT EVERYONE REMEMBERS THE SAME PERSON

To the Editor:

There has been a rash of recent articles portraying Charlie Kirk as a hero, and very little attention given to the full picture of what he represented.

At a Turning Point USA event in 2023, Kirk said he thinks gun deaths are “worth it” to have a Second Amendment.

“I can’t stand the word empathy, actually,” he said. “I think empathy is a made-up, new age term that does a lot of damage.”

Appearing on Jubilee’s internet show “Surrounded,” Kirk insisted Black people were “better” in the 1940s under Jim Crow laws.

On his radio show, Kirk not only said that Joy Reid, Michelle Obama, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Ketanji Brown Jackson are “affirmative action picks.”

“If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, ‘Boy, I hope he’s qualified.’”

Kirk repeatedly spread misinformation surrounding the death of George Floyd.

Here’s another quote: “Democrat women want to die alone without children.”

He also said certain Black women “do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person’s slot to go be taken somewhat seriously.”

After Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement, Kirk fantasized about Kelce making Swift “more conservative” and begged the pop star to “submit to her husband.”

During this same Jubilee episode, Kirk was asked what he would want his daughter to do if she were 10 years old and pregnant following rape.

He responds, “The answer is yes. The baby would be delivered.”

In regards to consideration of people who have worked hard all their lives and aren’t millionaires like him he stated “Now, I will say that for future retirees, people under the age of 45, we should absolutely raise the retirement age. I’m going to say something very provocative. I’m not a fan of retirement. I don’t think retirement is biblical…”

The qualities of a man revealed through these statements are not those of a leader who expresses the highest values. He found a way to make controversial statements profitable, make money off the attention, and garner huge financial support from those who benefitted financially off of the promotion of these view points. Real leaders think beyond themselves and for the greater good. Promoting the disrespect of others and negating their contributions is harmful, not beneficial.

Turning Point USA has a record of dubious financial practices and top personnel who had acted as fake electors. Obscured financial connections and extravagant payments are common. During the 2020 presidential campaign, Jake Hoffman, one of the group’s primary outside consultants, recruited teenagers to spread false information online about voter fraud and the coronavirus pandemic. That led Twitter and Facebook to suspend numerous accounts, as previously reported by the Washington Post. Services sold by Kirk’s organization appeared to be vehicles to transfer money rather than actual needed and competitively priced. A get out the vote campaign was condemned by a former aide to Arizona Sen. John McCain, who said the amount of money sought by Turning Point was objectionable. “$108 million? I can’t even fathom it,” said Jon Seaton, who specializes in get-out-the vote efforts. “There’s not even enough doors to knock on.”

The job was fruitful. A $4.75 million Spanish-style estate in a gated Arizona country club that charges nearly a half-million dollars for a golf membership and several other million dollar homes. He created a fabulously lucrative lifestyle, yet finding public record of contributions to arts, culture, or the betterment of fellow citizens proved futile.

Too many people are finding that stirring up violence and confrontation are useful tools. Our job is to not go along with the program. Violence is not the answer. All of the families suffering from needlessly losing loved ones should be wrapped in love, and as a society our voices condemning violence are appropriately loud. There’s plenty of room to be louder.

In an act of targeted political violence Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park and her husband, Mark, were assassinated. Somehow, the death of a well loved elected representative with a record of positive and inclusive contributions to her community has received little attention. It serves us well to consider what is receiving major and continued press attention and what is quickly left aside.

W. DeWitt

Ukiah

WHO’LL BE LEFT TO BUY AFTER AI ELIMINATES JOBS?

Editor,

Corporate America is celebrating a revolution it doesn’t understand. The promise of artificial intelligence — to slash payrolls, automate workflows and deliver “limitless productivity” — has become the new religion of the boardroom.

But behind the hype lies a fatal flaw: When companies replace half their workforce with machines, they’re not saving the economy, they’re strangling it.

Consumers are workers. Take away their jobs and you erase the spending that sustains every business. A nation where millions can’t afford groceries, rent or the latest iPhone isn’t a market, it’s a slow-motion collapse. Executives tout record efficiency while quietly eroding the foundation of capitalism itself: demand.

Every CEO chasing AI dreams assumes someone else’s customers will still have paychecks. But when automation spreads across every sector— tech, retail, health care, finance — who’s left to buy what these hyper-efficient systems produce? A productivity boom without purchasing power isn’t growth; it’s a mirage.

Unless corporate leaders recognize that human prosperity, not algorithms, is the engine of progress, they’ll automate themselves out of existence.

Steve Grossman, president, National Association of Medical Doctors

San Francisco

AVOID MARTIAL LAW TRAP

Editor,

The purpose of the White House sending troops to Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland and other cities is the opposite of fighting crime and maintaining peace, but to provoke citizens into committing violent acts, which in turn will “justify” establishing martial law and control over elections.

I fear that even if citizens are able to control their anger and continue to demonstrate peacefully, President Donald Trump’s “brown shirts,” whom he has directed to “stand by,” will step up and create the violence needed for him to declare martial law.

Citizens can fight this by spreading photos of peaceful protest on social media, and non-violent shaming of any individuals engaging in violent acts.

Tom Miller

Oakland

LAISSEZ-FAIRE CAPITALISM IS A FAILED EXPERIMENT

Editor:

Someday, our society will realize that laissez-faire capitalism is a failed experiment. There will be a hail of allegations and some prosecutions. Yet the gorgon will survive, not because it deserves to, but because conservative politicians will attempt to protect the corporate marauder. The explosive nature of an unregulated market is spellbinding. During the 1980s, shady venture capitalists invented junk bonds, forensic accounting and a host of other financial mirages. Junk bonds promised hefty returns, and a frenzy of greedy investors engineered leveraged takeovers of asset-rich corporations. Such plots skyrocketed stock prices, but the marauders stripped their prey and left the carcasses for the vultures.

Once that grift stimulated litigation, the perpetrators moved to other sectors of the economy: medical insurance, banking, home loans, veterinary offices, local newspapers… Some major players were indicted, but corporate lawyers ran to the rescue; consequently, the punishments did not fit the crimes and, therefore, did not serve as a deterrent. The current downsizing of the government will open a bevy of new opportunities.

Soon, the crisis will send the economy into a tailspin. There’ll be indictments, but there will be a group of politicians portraying the perps as victims, thus setting up the economy for another raid.

Tom Fantulin

Fort Bragg

One Comment

  1. Marshall Newman October 22, 2025

    Gotta love Republican hypocrisy regarding Proposition 50. After gerrymandering Texas WITHOUT a vote of the people, they castigate California for letting the people decide.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Marshall Newman Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

-