THE DISHONEST AND INCOMPETENT PUBLIC BODIES: The Grand Jury; The Board of Trustees, Mendocino College; The Juvenile Justice Commission; Mendocino County School Board.
THE BEST WRITERS ON THE WORST NEWSPAPERS: Tom Hine and Dan Hibschman, Mendocino Grapevine; Peter Page, Ukiah Daily Journal; Martin Hickel, Fort Bragg Advocate.
LAWYER OPPORTUNISTS OF THE YEAR: Joe Allen and Richard Peterson were paid more than fifty thousand public dollars each for defending low life murderer and psychopath, Tom Marston.
MENDOCINO COUNTY’S LEAST COMPETENT EMPLOYEE: Vivian Rackaukas (by acclamation).
BIGGEST FRAUDS: Four-way tie between Boatyard Shopping Center, Fort Bragg; Bachmann Hill School, Philo; Mendocino College; Mendocino County Schools.
WORST PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTY: Ukiah, Point Arena, Covelo, Anderson Valley.
BIGGEST COUNTY RIP-OFF: Bed and Breakfast Inns.
LIBERAL DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE YEAR: Superior Court Judge Luther whose appointments to public bodies have been no improvement over those of his you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch yours predecessor, Squeaky O’Brien.
BIGGEST COVER-UPS OF THE YEAR: The Capes’ murderer; Ukiah Justice Court Judge Henry Nelson for special favors to big shots.
SPECIAL CONTEMPT FOR THE PUBLIC AWARD: The Louisiana-Pacific Corporation who deliberately sprayed poison on other loggers, public lands and public streams in the face of a 2-1 popular county vote not to apply aerial pesticides.
THE UGLIEST, MOST CROWDED, MOST UNPLEASANT RURAL COMMUNITY AND GETTING WORSE: Mendocino.
WORST SUPERVISOR: Three-way tie between Nelson Redding, Marilyn Butcher and John G-P Cimolino.
WHO TOOK IT IN THE SHORTS WORSE THAN ANYBODY: Workers at Georgia-Pacific, Fort Bragg who took a 25% wage and fringe cut. (About time to get off your knees, boys.)
ANDERSON VALLEY VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: Leonard Lake.
CLINT EASTWOOD MAKE-MY-DAY AWARD: Jack June, Boonville.
DISAPPEARING ACT OF THE YEAR: George and Elizabeth Christian and the Mendocino Grapeyup.
NATIONAL WOMEN’S POLITICAL CAUCUS ALAN ALDA AWARD: Doctor Kraft, Ukiah.
BEST COUNTY RESTAURANTS: Flood Gate Cafe, New Boonville Hotel, Cafe Beaujolais (Mendocino)
WORST COUNTY RESTAURANTS: Any of them in Ukiah, Willits or Fort Bragg.
A SPECIAL LABOR SOLIDARITY AWARD: For mill workers in Potter Valley, Cloverdale and Covelo who voted overwhelmingly to decertify their unions. (If you don’t have enough sense to defend yourselves, boys, you deserve whatever the owners give you.)
CROCODILE TEAR SHEDDER: The oleaginous Dennis Denny, Social Services bureaucrat whose offices on a daily basis insult and humiliate the poor.
TOADY TO THE RICH AND POWERFUL: Doug “Nerve Gas” Bosco (by acclamation)
LEAST PRINCIPLED POLITICAL ORGANIZATION (AND MOST INANE): The Democratic Central Committee.
MOST FASCIST-MINDED “CHRISTIAN” PARISH: Burger Church, Highway 101, Ukiah.
MOST DESTRUCTIVE COUNTY ORGANIZATION: The Mendocino County Chamber of Commerce.
NEXT COUNTY COMMUNITY TO BE DESTROYED BY THE DEATH AND GREED PEOPLE: Anderson Valley
COUNTY MONEY-GRUBBER: Alice Walker for the startlingly vulgar Alice Walker calendar.
ROCKEFELLER LIBERAL OF THE YEAR: Don Lipmanson (by acclamation)
COUNTY COMMUNITY THAT GOT THE MOST NATIONAL ATTENTION: Anderson Valley for Leonard Lake; Boontling; Alice Walker; The New Boonville Hotel; The AVA.
COUNTY COMMUNITY THAT WAS HAPPIER WITHOUT ANY ATTENTION: Anderson Valley.
THE BEST PEOPLE IN MENDOCINO COUNTY WHO QUIETLY AND CONSISTENTLY AND WITHOUT RECOGNITION WORK FOR NOTHING FOR OTHERS AND FOR ALL OF US: Kathy Cox (Navarro); Ken Jones (Boonville); Martin Bradley (Ukiah); Ann Near (Hopland); Steve McKay (Boonville); Ron Guenther (Fort Bragg) Gail Lucas (Navarro Ridge); Hazel Teague (Boonville); Barbara Champion (Caspar); Beth Bosk (Mendocino); Keith and Debbie Squires (Boonville); Eva Holcomb (Boonville); Norm Clow (Philo); Ellen Ellison (Boonville); Daphne MacNeil (Navarro); Harold Perry (Boonville); Assembly of God Church (Boonville); Ron Penrose (Willits); Louis Korn (Fort Bragg); Jerry Philbrick (Comptche); Bob Altaras (Yorkville); Kay Hiatt (Boonville); Gloria Ross (Boonville); Mills Matheson (Willits); Sister Kelly (Ukiah); The Grey Panthers (Fort Bragg); Linda Liljeberg (Philo); Karen diFalco (Boonville); Madge Gibson (Boonville); Charlie Hand (Boonville); Allan Barry (Ukiah); and Gail Dawson (Mendocino); Betty Hughbanks and Nora Park (Philo). An incomplete list to be sure, but things would be even more bleak without them.
Murderer of the year
ANDERSON VALLEY VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: Leonard Lake