Mendocino County Today: Friday 1/30/2026

Warm Days | Negie Arrested | Ornbaun Cougar | Peter Passof | Protest Tomorrow | Belinda Point | Tax Mess | No Mention | Local Events | Great Moment | Tree Mushrooms | Tribe Letter | Bove Bench | Bird Survey | Seed/Scion Exchange | Illegal Drugs | Rock Building | Yesterday's Catch | Snowed In | Sluggo Eyeful | Baja Reflections | Honeybunch Kaminski | Oath Taker | Mentally Ill | National Situation | Capitol Protest | ICE Mum | Super Patches | Outbreaks Happen | To You | Leaving California | Toronto Dawn | Your Cows | John Griffin | Do Crooked | Regime Changes | Snow Hill | Financial Affairs | Lead Stories | Right-Wing Media | No Kings | Cheerleading War | Puppeteer

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STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): A cloudy 43F this Friday morning on the coast. We might see a little sun the next couple days then maybe a shower on Sunday. Dry skies next week then some rain next weekend, we'll see ?

A FEW MORE DAYS of mild weather continue before a colder spell towards the end of the weekend. Precipitation chances have retreated for most areas. Coastal flooding is possible Saturday with the high tide and low end anomaly. (NWS)

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COVELO MAN BOOKED ON ATTEMPTED MURDER AND DRUG CHARGES FOLLOWING NOVEMBER SHOOTING

Mendocino County sheriff’s officials say a Covelo man, Negie Fallis was arrested this week on a warrant stemming from a November assault in which a victim was shot in the foot during a confrontation on Airport Road in Covelo.

ED NOTE: Fallis is the presumed murderer of Ms. Khadijah Britton. In February of 2018 Khadijah Britton, 23, disappeared from her father’s Covelo home a week after having a violent altercation with her boyfriend, career criminal Negie Fallis, during which he wielded a hammer and swore he would kill her. Witnesses said Fallis pulled Ms. Britton from the home at gunpoint the night of February 7. Initial evidence indicated that it was very likely that Fallis did kill Ms. Britton, but after thousands of hours of investigation by the Sheriff and the DA charges were dropped a year later with the DA citing a lack of sufficient evidence. Ms. Britton’s body has never been found. Fallis has been in and out of jail over the years for various felonies including firearm possession. The Sheriff remains hugely disappointed that he hasn’t been able to make a sufficient murder case against Fallis. “We’ve got more than 4,000 hours into the search for Khadijah and we’re still looking,” he said at the time. “We meet all the time to talk about unsolved cases.” Any roster of Mendo's free range scumbags places this guy at the head of the list.

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DEBRA ELOISE:

Has anyone seen one or more mountain lion(s) in the Ornbaun Road, Boonville area? I went from a 60 cat colony to less than 20 in just over a week. It's been devastating and I'm only finding a few carcasses here and there. They are very thorough and the buzzards are quick to follow. The paw print is BIG and where it lay down next to the last kill was big. And there hasn't been a sound. In fact, the forest is dead quiet and my remaining cats are on alert. I'm afraid to go outside myself now. Any suggestions? Someone said to leave human urine around the property. Doesn't seem to affect them so far.

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PETER 'PETE' PASSOF 

Pete was born in New York City on March 4, 1937, to a French Catholic mother and a Russian Jewish father. Three years later on May 17, 1940, Pete's twin sisters, Sandra and Susan were born - they share the same birthday as wife Flo. The family was raised on Long Island. Pete was active in Boy Scouts and earned his Eagle Scout rank at age 15. He graduated from high school in 1954 and attended Hofstra University for one year. In 1955, he had the opportunity to travel to California with a friend whose family owned an almond orchard in Arbuckle. He was able to work at the orchard and at the same time, he met a local farmer's daughter, Flo Nissen. He attended Yuba City Junior College and served three years in the Army while Flo finished college at UOP. Upon Flo's graduation in 1961, they were married. Pete enrolled in the Forestry program at Humboldt State University and Flo taught kindergarten in Arcata for 2 years. Upon his graduation, they packed up all their belongings into a brand new 63 Ford Falcon and camped their way across the states to New Haven, Connecticut. Pete earned his Master's in Forestry from Yale the following year. They returned to Arcata where he worked for Simpson Timber Company and daughter Tascha was born in 1965. Pete was hired by the University of California Cooperative Extension as a Forest Advisor in Ukiah and son Mike was born in 1967. Pete continued to be active as a Boy Scout and 4H leader. He served on the Ukiah Unified School District school board and was active in Society of American Foresters.

Spending time with his family was very important to him. Pete loved sailing, windsurfing, hunting, abalone diving and fishing with family and friends. He retired from UC Cooperative Extension in 1993. In 1999, Pete joined Flo's brother John in restoring a 1950 Ford Woodie. Pete did all the woodworking. When Flo retired in 2000, they hit the road in the Woodie going to many car shows. Among their adventures was a seven-week tour around the US. Pete began to concentrate on his wood working skills to include segmented wood turning. His work was exhibited in local fairs and galleries. He taught classes and mentored high school students and friends and was an active member of the Redwood Empire Woodturners.

Pete is survived by wife Flo, daughter Tascha (Mike Whetzel), son Michael (Judy), grandchildren Megan (Mike Clark), Chad Passof (Sherley), Shannon Whetzel (Jack Brown), Sara (Josh Leifker), and Tanner Whetzel. He is also survived by sister Sandy (Russ Lauper) and numerous nieces and nephews. A celebration of life will be held in the spring. Contact Tascha Whetzel for more information. Donations in his memory can be made to Histiocytosis Association ([email protected]) or Guide Dogs for the Blind (P.O. Box 151200 San Rafael, CA 94915-1200).

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COME PROTEST PEACEFULLY

January 31st, 11-12 Noon

Main Street, sidewalk in front of Guest House Museum, 343 N. Main St., Fort Bragg, CA

Bring non-perishable food donations for the FB Food Ban; we’ll deliver.

This is a peaceful protest. We're gathering to say NO to the recent killing of Renee Good by ICE,, erosion of civil rights and human rights and the loss of critical government functions, NO to unconstitutional deportations, NO to the destruction of social security, NO to authoritarianism, and YES! to democracy & rule of law.

Please stay on the sidewalk and avoid blocking entrances, exits, or traffic. Bring a sign, a friend, and your enthusiasm! And when you can, spend a little money at our local downtown businesses.

We will keep up this joyful resistance until the rule of law is restored and the assault on the US Constitution ends. Our home-made signs are stellar - bring ’em on - they are a hallmark of our protest.

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A READER WRITES:

I spent about 30 minutes going over a few of the parcels on Airport Blvd., Ukiah. I honestly had no idea how much of a mess property taxes are in Mendocino County, but judging from the small sampling I took, it’s worse than I could have imagined.

First things first. The AGIS (mapping) website has an interactive map that can be used to look up parcel numbers (APN) here: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?layers=95fc4d1c8ede4b21b3dd8fa89a75d39b

With the APN in hand, the tax records for any parcel can be accessed here: https://ca-mendocino.publicaccessnow.com/TaxCollector/TaxSearch.aspx

Several of the parcels on Airport Blvd. that were developed years ago are listed as vacant, with insanely low rates to match. In one case, a major hotel chain did get “escaped” to the tune of $551.979.10. That amount remains in arrears.

Just one assessor taking one day on Airport Blvd. could probably find more than a million dollars in uncollected taxes. 30 minutes got me more than half way there.

I’m posting this anonymously for reasons that should be obvious.

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COUNTY NOTE:

AT THE BOARD’S JANUARY 21 WORKSHOP Supervisor Ted Williams asked outgoing CEO Darcie Antle whether the DA’s controversial and “prohibited” (per the State Auditor) Broiler Dinners should be “paused” until further notice. Antle replied, “Yes, they should be paused.” Williams continued, “I am asking out of paranoia that someone will show up at one of these meetings and say, Hey this just happened and we are responsible. Until we figure it out I think that such transactions should be paused.”

Antle replied: “Yes. Those meetings typically happen towards the end of February. So hopefully we can have a discussion on February 3.”

The February 3 Board agenda does not mention the DA’s broiler dinners.

(Mark Scaramella)

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LOCAL EVENTS (tomorrow)

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GREAT MOMENTS IN PUBLIC RADIO

AVA News Service

KZYX, Wednesday, January 28, 2026. The TKO show, hosted by Karen Ottoboni. Guest: Fifth District Supervisor Ted Williams.

Ottoboni: The whole discussion about, they had, was it two years ago? About two years ago? I don’t know. You combined the Tax Collector and Auditor’s office. Now, did I hear and follow, see that you’re gonna actually, that they’re going to actually make a proposal to separate those departments again? Is that actually going to —?

Williams: It’s already underway. It’s happening.

Ottoboni: It is underway? Ok. Now, that’s going to be a voter – we have to vote on that, correct? How’s that going to take…? Tell me the process. How is that going to happen?

Williams: Um, the public will be able to vote for an Auditor-Controller and a Treasurer Tax Collector. It will be like the old days. Moving forward.

Ottoboni: Don’t we have to vote to separate them?

Williams: No. I don’t believe so. There’s some other— There’s some other way those officers can be structured that would require a vote. But not that I understand. The board combined them and can uncombine them.

Ottoboni: OK, because I had heard somewhere a mention that we would have to have a vote to un— unconsolidate them and then vote on who we wanted in those departments. OK, this is— I will be following that. Do we have any idea when that’s going to be, would that be on the June ballot? November ballot? Do we know?

Williams: I’m hopeful – I’m hopeful that– it is so far removed from my hands. You know, people have to fight for some of these things. One supervisor has no authority. I can’t by myself do anything, right?

Ottoboni: I know. I know. Yeah.

Williams: But even three of us, the majority, can’t always do what needs to be done. Or, you know. What’s really frustrating is that, you know, we have the authority and we, we pass it and it’s unanimous and then, you know, sometime later, we’re asking why hasn’t it happened yet and you find out that there’s this whole cascade of problems that one person— It’s like you brought up getting rid of the surplus property [including the Anderson Valley Senior Center/Veterans Hall]. We’ve been talking about that for years.

Ottoboni: Oh yeah. No, no no. I know.

Williams: Each property we gave staff to go look at the found – you know, there was a waterline or a sewer line over the boundary. And, you know. These properties were developed with neighboring properties as if it would always be one. And so, and there may be deed restrictions, and having to figure out the whole history of who do we have the right to sell it or transfer it? Not, not so easy. I think when the board took those actions, we thought, OK, we were voting on this and get a report next month or next quarter that it’s complete. Pretty much nothing in the, um, the county system is like that.

Ottoboni: Yeah. Things do move very very slowly at the county level. I will be looking forward, um, to seeing those departments – in my humble opinion– seeing those separated because I think, uh, from what I’ve seen and from the stats I’ve seen, the county has really got to be more aggressive about bringing in property taxes and getting the whole property tax system straightened out because I’m hearing that there hasn’t been a sale of delinquent properties in— I can’t remember how many years but it’s been at least five or six, maybe seven years I heard.

Williams: I think the last was 2019.

Ottoboni: Yeah. OK. So we are getting up there. That used to be something that was a regular, um, a regular annual thing that would happen. I remember seeing it posted, the lots that were for sale, and the lots that were delinquent in the Ukiah Daily Journal they were posted every once every – just before– they actually legally have to post it. So they would post it. But I would tell you that the reports I would get back would be that once you put them in the foreclosure state that gets people off the dime and gets them into the office and pay up. I think that, I heard, I don’t know if it’s true, isn’t it about $30 million outstanding property taxes?

Williams: That’s what I’ve heard. I’m a little bit jaded. I hear numbers and then they – but don’t quote me on that. I did hear that. However many millions it is, there’s some road money.

Ottoboni: Oh,yeah! Totally!

Williams: Last year, I can’t remember if it was February or March, I tried to get $1 million into our budget for roads. Not to repave. You’re not going to repave with $1 million, but just some better repairs and just spread across the county. We couldn’t even come up with $1 million. Imagine if we could find $5 or $10 million in properties that we can auction. That’s some serious roadwork. And I hope that’s where the money goes. End of the day.

Ottoboni: Yeah. No. I heard the $30 million, I don’t know that anybody has a, has a – maybe they’ve got an accurate number, but it’s around that. I just know that there hasn’t been any sales – I know that lets people, um, current, you know, take advantage of the system sometimes and let it lag and so, yeah. Unfortunately, if we do have to start doing sales, the real estate market is kind of starting to drop in Mendocino County. At least in the outlying areas where probably a lot of these properties are. So…

Williams: Some of them were probably good to grow cannabis, but what else are you going to do with it? I imagine those are a lot of the properties on the rolls. People walking away.

Ottoboni: I’ve heard a lot of that. I’ve seen properties unbelievably cheap east of Laytonville and up in southern Humboldt. So your rural outlying properties are starting to drop phenomenally in prices. Yeah, that’s true. That’s going on.

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Background:

The Tax Collection Mess: Escapes And Delinquents

Supervisors To Consider Reversing Auditor-Treasurer Consolidation

Mark Scaramella Notes: Last October then-Board chair John Haschak promised to have an agenda item proposing “deconsolidation” for the Board to vote on in mid-November to allow for time for two elected positions to be on the June ballot. No such item has been brought forward by Haschak or anyone else. This means that the County will miss the June ballot to vote on the separated positions. Whether they will get around to it in time for November remains speculative. Or, in Supervisor Williams’ immortal words: “It’s already underway. It’s happening.”

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DORA BRILEY: I’m not sure what these are, but really pretty. Growing out of a tree!

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MEMO OF THE WEEK

January 14, 2026

To: The Honorable Brooke Rollins, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20250 / The Honorable Doug Burgum, Secretary, Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW, Washigtion, DC 20240.

Subject: Fishery and Water Rights held in Trust by the United States for the benefit of the Round Valley Indian Tribes that will be affected by resolution of Pacific Gas & Electric Company's Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Project Number 77-332.

Dear Secretary Rollins and Secretary Burgum:

Greetings from the Round Valley Indian Tribes. We are writing to you today about recent statements by the Administration regarding the Potter Valley Project. Based on these statements, we believe there are additional facts of which you should be aware, and we therefore request government-to-government consultation in this matter.

We are a federally recognized Tribal Nation located in Northern California and our members are descendants of seven distinct tribes: Yuki; Pit River; Little Lake; Pomo; Nomlacki; Concow; and Wailacki. The Eel River and its tributaries border our reservation lands and has been the center of our culture, religion, and economy from the beginning of time. In 1856, the Secretary of the Interior set aside the Nome Cult Farm that comprised 25,030 acres as a reservation for several tribes, including those that comprise the confederated Round Valley Indian Tribes. President Grant in 1870 expanded the reservation to 31,683 acres and confirmed its designation as the Round Valley Indian Reservation.

The Reservation remains our home today.

In creating the reservation, the United States implicitly reserved water from all appurtenant sources then unappropriated, including the Eel River; as necessary to accomplish the Indian purposes of the reservation. (See Cappaert v. United States, 426 U.S. 128,138 (1976). Our federal reserved water rights were vested on the date the reservation was created, 1856. They are senior to all appropriative rights in the Eel River system. Our federal reserved fishing rights likewise were secured by the creation of our reservation, including the act of Congress in 1873, which enlarged our reservation by 77,000 acres and set the boundaries of our reservation “extending from the Middle Fork of Eel River on the east to the ‹Eel River on the west… and the center of the Middle Fork river shall be the eastern boundary, and the center of the Eel shall be the western boundary of said reservation, with the privilege of fishing in said streams.” Act of March 3, 1873 (17 Stat. 633).

Although our water and fishing rights are unquantified and unadjudicated, they are the senior, or first priority, rights on the Eel River system for which the United States has a fiduciary responsibility. An unbroken line of case-law supports the existence of Tribal rights in similar circumstances and the obligation of the United States to protect our rights. (Winters v. United States, 207 U.S. 564) (1908). Because Winters rights belong to the Tribes themselves, the United States may not impair such rights by diverting water subject to the right off the reservation); Arizona v. California, 460 U.S. 603, 626-627, (1983) (when the United States holds tribal water rights in trust, it must manage those rights as a fiduciary held to the most exacting fiduciary standards).

In the early 1900s, the Potter Valley Project (PVP), which is junior to the date of our reservation by more than 50 years, began diverting Eel River water into the Russian River system. The diversion was intended principally for the development of electricity (which PG&E ceased generating in 2021 because it was no longer economically sound to maintain and operate the project) and then made available for beneficial use by water users in the Russian River Basin, which continues to this day.

While this diversion has been a significant benefit to the communities of the Russian River Basin, it has also resulted in the PVP effectively subordinating the Eel River to the needs of the Russian River and along with it, our culture, our fishery, our economy, and our way of life.

Over the past 100 years, we never received any electricity generated by the PVP or any economic benefit from our water being taken to benefit junior water users, as is commonplace throughout the west. By any measurement, this has been a one-sided arrangement to benefit others at our expense.

We provide this background because the United States is our trustee and holds in trust our water and fishing rights. In our review of recent public statements and filings made by the Administration before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the alleged impacts of removing the PVP on junior water users is discussed at length, but the impacts from retaining the PVP on our senior water and fishing rights, much less our culture, our economy, and our way of life, are never mentioned. Also not mentioned is the obligation of the United States as trustee, to protect these rights.

Additionally overlooked are the benefits of the Two-Basin Solution, which strikes a balance between the needs of the Eel River and its communities, and that of junior Russian River water users. Under this approach, we are agreeing to forbear the exercise of our senior water and fishing rights and allow for diversions to be maintained for junior water users, in a manner that will also support recovery of our fishery, for thirty (30) years with a potential renewal for an additional twenty (20) years, if certain conditions are met.

Moreover, we are collaborating with our partners in the Russian River Basin to expand the storage of Coyote Valley Dam and to expedite a pipeline from Lake Mendocino to minimize disruptions to our neighbors. Our tribal members work and live in the broader regional community and despite the historic injustice to our tribal community, an “all or nothing approach” is simply not realistic. We have instead agreed to a solution that protects our sovereignty and rebuilds our fishery and our economy while also allowing diversions to continue despite our holding senior rights.

Notwithstanding our desire to find a workable solution, we continue to hear from opponents to the Two-Basin Solution that the Administration is continuing to explore maintaining these facilities. We do not understand how a one-sided solution that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure retrofitting while continuing the subordination of our rights and our tribal community, will benefit the entire region. Instead, it will only benefit a select few who want to continue a century of their gains at our expense.

Our desire to work with those who want to work with us will not extend to working with those who seek to harken back to a time in our history when Tribal Resources were subordinated to benefit others in violation of our federal fishing and water rights.

We were not afforded the opportunity to oppose the initial Potter Valley Project more than 100 years ago, but we will oppose any attempts to retain it. Potential subsequent owners should understand that in addition to necessary and costly structural solutions, retaining these dams will require changes in water rights that are subject to the jurisdiction of the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).

The Tribe, as the beneficiary of senior-water and fishing rights, will oppose any attempts to retain these dams before the SWRCB or in any other legal forum, and will protect our water and fishing rights.

The Two-Basin Solution is not about radical environmentalism or putting fish above people.

Instead, it is a reasonable and measured solution reached by communities in both basins that acknowledges our sovereignty and rebuilds our economy while protecting junior users for at least thirty (30) and possibly fifty (50) years. We welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss our history and the devastation the Potter Valley Project has had on our Nation as well as the Two-Basin Solution and why we believe it is a workable solution.

Respecfully,

Joseph Parker Sr., President

Round Valley Indian Tribes

A Sovereign Nation of Confederated Tribes

Located on State Hwy 162, one mile north of Covelo in Round Valley. Tribal Territory Since Time Began

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THE BENCHES OF MENDOCINO COUNTY: NAVARRO POINT

by Justine Frederiksen

It would be nearly impossible for me to choose just one favorite view along the ruggedly beautiful Mendocino Coast, but I can easily pick my favorite bench found there: the ruggedly beautiful memorial to Deborah Bove at Navarro Point.

The bench sits along the short-but-stunning Navarro Point Preserve and Coastal Trail, which at first glance does not look like one of the best places to walk along the Pacific Ocean, but it has become one of my favorite stops along Highway 1 in Mendocino County.

First, of course, because it is one of the first places to park along Hwy 1 after you complete the windy, but glorious, drive through the redwoods along Highway 128, and have emerged along the Navarro River to face what I think of as the coast’s Sophie’s Choice: Turn left over the bridge, or stay right and head up the hill?

Fortunately, this agonizing decision actually has no heartbreaking consequences, since turning left will take you to one of my favorite views on the California Coast, the spectacular cove at Greenwood State Beach, then later to one of my favorite trails on the coast of California, which begins in the southwestern corner of Mendocino County at Gualala Point Regional Park.

And staying to the right on Hwy 1 at the Navarro River will get you to Navarro Point, which I must admit I only stopped at that first time because it had a parking lot and, I hoped, a bathroom. But while I didn’t find restrooms that first day, I found plenty of other things to love about this trail, starting with how I usually have it all to myself.

I think the wind and fog keeps most people from lingering at this spot, but the cold weather at Navarro Point is just another one of the things I fell in love with, since the gray clouds above the green cliffs make me feel as if I’ve suddenly been transported to the coast of Ireland or Scotland, enjoying similar views and atmosphere without a long and expensive flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

And during my most recent visit to Navarro Point, I found something else to love: Perched along the trail with an astounding view of the ocean is perhaps my favorite memorial bench of all. Made out of large pieces of salvaged wood, the large bench is a unique piece of art, placed there as a touching memorial to Deborah Bove, who the Mendocino Land Trust describes as a “longtime California Coastal Commission employee who did much in her short life to help conserve the California Coast.”

“Deborah loved the coast, and she really loved Mendocino,” said Linda Locklin, Public Access Program Manager for the California Coastal Commission, explaining that while Bove lived in Daly City, she came out to the Mendocino Coast as much as she could.

After working for the Coastal Commission for two decades in its legal department, Locklin said that Bove died from an illness in 2001 while in her 50s.

“Her family then asked me if I could please help them find a place to put up a memorial on the Mendocino Coast, which she loved,” said Locklin, recalling that her subsequent call to the Mendocino Land Trust was very lucky, as it put her in touch with Louisa Morris, who told Locklin about the then brand-new Navarro Point trail.

Also with Morris’ help, Locklin hired a local artist named Daryl (multiple attempts to reach Daryl or uncover his last name were unsuccessful) to construct the bench out of salvaged wood, with the main direction being that “the family wanted it to be large enough for her eight brothers and sisters to all sit on it together.”

The cost of the bench was paid by donations made by Bove’s family, friends and colleagues, “all people who knew and loved Deborah,” whom Locklin described as helping ensure public access for countless beautiful places along the coast of California, long before a bench in her honor was placed at one of the most beautiful places on the coast of Mendocino County.

(Ukiah Daily Journal)

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BEACHED BIRD SURVEY

Hello Anderson Valley Advertiser,

I'm writing from the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team because we will be having a special online beached bird surveyor training session for Northern Californians on February 19th from 5pm to 8:30pm. It will take place over Zoom.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could help us spread the word to your audience. Our volunteers come from all different backgrounds, but all share a love of the beach and all care about birds! We are happy to give them an excuse to get out there once a month! Just note that anyone hoping to become a COASSTer must have access to a coastal beach located North of Elk.

I attached a poster with all of the event details. You can also find a link to our event on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/share/17RbXuWY7H

If you would like to learn more about us and what we do, please feel free to explore our website: https://coasst.org/

Please feel free to reach out to us for clarification or to sign up if you are interested. To RSVP anyone can email us at [email protected] and say they want to join the All-in-One training. They are also welcome to text 503-563-0297, but please include their email address in the message.

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ANDERSON VALLEY SEED & SCION EXCHANGE

The 40th Fruit Tree Grafting and Seed/Scion Exchange is happening at the Anderson Valley Grange on March 14th from 10-3:00 rain or shine! A new feature is continual live grafting demonstrations. Our committee is working on the details and will have a poster out very soon. Meanwhile, we are seeking volunteers to help during the workshop for setting up, taking down, facilitating speakers, registering, rootstock sales, and more. To volunteer please contact Donna Pierson-Pugh at 707 684-0325.

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ERNIE BRANSCOMB:

The illegal drug industry has to be the most filthy, disgusting industry in the country. People that use illegal drugs must have a death wish.

Back in the heyday of drug use, there was a bar above the Jacob Garber building in Garberville. One night a couple of very pretty girls came out of the bar and over to our loading dock across the street. They put something on the metal edge of the dock. They chopped it up and sniffed it with straws. If that was not filthy enough, one of them licked the dregs off the dock. (security cameras)

Can you imagine the poor dude that kissed that girl goodnight?

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ROCK CONSTRUCTION BUILDING IN UKIAH

The building was originally operated as a dairy farm by Stan Bartolomei and his wife Nancy. While "two brothers" are often cited in local lore as the builders, family records specify it was constructed by Thomas Bartolomei, who lived there with his brother, Bubba Thomas.

Construction in 1937–1940, Thomas Bartolomei built the rear section in 1937 and the front section in 1940 using river rocks and quartz hauled from Felix Creek in Hopland.

The structure's distinct look includes a cement ceiling embedded with glass milk jars and milkshake glasses to act as skylights. A chimney on the northwest corner was used to heat water to sanitize the dairy's glass milk bottles.

After its time as a dairy, the building was famously home to Pete Bushby’s Ukiah Saw Shop for several decades, a landmark business until the late 1990s. It also briefly served as a pet store in the late 1970s.

(John Johns)

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CATCH OF THE DAY, Thursday, January 29, 2026

MARVIN ALDANA-CISNEROS, 40, Fort Bragg. Unspecified offense.

RICHARD ORTIZ, 40, Ukiah. Battery with serious bodily injury, petty theft with two or more priors.

BIANCA SCHOFIELD, 39, Point Arena. Entering a non-commercial building, failure to appear.

BRIAN WILLIAMS, 54, Ukiah. Parole violation.

MATTHEW ILSEY, 36, Ukiah. Controlled substance for sale, petty theft with two or more priors, bad checks.

JAIME ZAMBRANO, 32, Ukiah. Domestic battery, parole violation.

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ABSOLUTION

Warmest spiritual greetings,

Have been snowed in recently at the homeless shelter in Washington, D.C., but today the roads are scraped and sidewalks are passable. As usual, service is minimal because the District of Columbia is short of money due to the fact that few here pay for services, and the current federal administration is not interested in helping.

Please appreciate the fact that all senior social benefits have now been received, including United Healthcare-Medicare Advantage (both UHC medicare and medicaid membership cards are activated; benefits begin on February 1st). Received at the p.o. box a UHC mailing, detailing the complete list of benefits, of which the copay is zero!

Meanwhile, I continue to spiritually identify with that which works through the body-mind complex without interference. There is no reason whatsoever for me to continue being at the homeless shelter, since President Donald J. Trump had the D.C. Peace Vigil in front of the White House illegally removed. I am available on the planet earth to respond powerfully to the insane situation of the destabilization of the global climate. Recommending to all to do appropriate rituals, bringing in the corrective energy. Reset the psychotic global postmodern war machine. Restore habitats watershed by watershed. Do it now.

We need direct action in Washington, D.C. in front of and around the White House, and on Capitol Hill, in response to this totally at risk worldly situation. And then, we need a brand new civilization based on Absolute spiritual reality.

Please contact me here:

Craig Louis Stehr, [email protected]

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BAJA REFLECTIONS ON LOVE AND POWER

by Chris Skyhawk

Bruce Cockburn song; From “Cry of A Tiny Babe” about the birth of Jesus;

Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe.

I’m not much in favor of the institutions that claim “Christianity.” In fact I consider myself a recovering Catholic. Yet I am deeply moved by the idea that an innocent child can redeem the world

Traveling down Baja California For a Christmas Trip.

My Ukiah girlfriend Wendy has family that has a place near Cabo San Lucas, almost all the way down to the Southern tip. She asked me if I wanted to go, and it was an easy “yes” for me. She told me their place was very remote, And I believed her, but until arrival I couldn’t quite picture how not kidding she was being. We left Ukiah on 12-16 and cruised around some desert places on the way down, in part to swing wide of LA, crossed the border easily in Mexicali (after spending the night in El Centro. The only town in the US entirely below sea level! And happily remarked how surprisingly easy that was, until we discovered how huge Mexicali is, and how hard it would be to find the highway south. As we traveled I reminisced about the same trip 35 years earlier with my partner Brenda. That went as far as Mulege. Half way down, the endless desert landscapes lend themselves to reflection. Trying to get to Cabo 35 years ago, also at Christmas Time, and with the roads being in terrible, even dangerous condition, we decided to stop in Mulege about 500 miles down, and quickly discovered we were enchanted by this quiet, tiny oasis town with its Palm Trees and small river and good Margaritas!

After the mostly agricultural belt in Northern Baja, the landscape shifts to more desert conditions. Wendy does most of the driving, since my stroke has left me with only one functioning hand. But I’ve also brought my spinner wheel for steering, so I can drive and give her an occasional break for an hour or two.

I believe it was Christmas 1987 (give or take) that I got to Mulege with Brenda. We only had a week, and had intended to get all the way south to Cabo San Lucas, but the dangerous road conditions and the sheer immensity of the length of Baja, dissuaded us from achieving that goal.

A couple of great memories about Mulege: one night after dinner and walking the quiet streets back to our room, we become aware that pebbles and small rocks were whizzing past our feet, When I turned to find the source of theses projectiles I saw a small boy in the shadows, and when noticed he slid back further into the dark but continued his assault, We couldn’t help but be amused since if he wanted to hurt us he’d throw bigger rocks! Still, what’s his message? Yanqui go home? Or just a small boy who enjoys mischief? I ponder as we continue to our lodging and call it a day.

Another memory: the day after Christmas in a grocery store, gathering supplies for an expedition to remote areas of the Mulege Peninsula. As I moved about I became aware of being shadowed, sideways glances showed me it’s a small boy but being just a visitor, I didn't want to make any mistaken assumptions. After a few minutes it became quite obvious, that he was indeed shadowing me. So at last I turned and looked. It was a small Mexican boy, maybe 6 or 7 years old, He met my eyes squarely, and in one hand he was clutching something. I continued to meet his gaze, his lips were trembling until he raised his hand, and revealeds a small plastic truck with a clip on wheels, he raised it up for me to gaze upon, his lips still trembling, his eyes were shining, clearly in his world this modest plastic truck is the most sacred thing he had ever seen. He continued to hold it up for me to behold, I was staggered by the power of his innocence, and his need to share this Holy Grailish thing with a complete stranger, I took it all in for a few long moments, gave an acknowledging nod, and moved on with my shopping

But back to 2025, as we kept heading south through stupendous landscapes, with flat desert floors filled with abundance of cactus, and other prickly things, and 3000-4,000 foot mountain peaks rising up above everything and occasional glimpses of both the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez, I had a lot of time to think and reflect on my life and that of the planet and on power. What is power?

We’ve been taught that power is economic, political, material, militaristic, and yet we celebrate this child that was born into the world 2000 years ago, whom Kings feared, and there is that boy in Mulege, etched in my memory, and in my own life, having (barely) survived my 2018 stroke and NDE. Is that power? And how did I get back here and for what? And as we rolled south, the regular appearances of roadside shrines, mixed with the lack of road shoulders and sharp -edged pavement was a constant reminder that death is always a moment away!

We passed occasional police checkpoints and always have our passports and papers handy, but we are always just waved on through after Wendy who is fluent in Spanish told them where we were going I told her there are advantages to being OG’s, since I’m 63 and she’s 72. I’m sure we appear harmless.

We eventually got to the Sea of Cortez, and found an outlying town of retired gringos, needing food, and a beer, and rest, we stopped in, the brewery was filled with older ladies and gents, pounding beers, playing cards and cribbage at the top of their voices. What is it about retired Americans’ compulsion to be loud?. But someone, seeing we were obviously misfit outsiders, guided us to the place to get beer, and food, since they were 3 different businesses under the same canopy. We settled in and consumed our sustenance as the setting sun shined on the Sea below us. There were many ospreys here, too many to count. I sometimes amuse myself, wondering if any of them are ones I spent the summer watching in Noyo Harbor.

After a few more days of adventures in a few more towns, we finally arrived at the turn off for Wendy’s family place. It’s easily 2 hours to a town of any substance, and she told me it’s another 40 minutes on this ”road” which is really just a sandy, washboard track. But off we go! After passing through a few things Wendy called “towns” which were really just a few stucco shacks with tin roofs, and dogs and chickens walking in the dirt track between, we arrived! Their place is in a small valley surrounded by mesas with an opening to the ocean immediately to the west!

Much to our delight there was a pod of humpback whales that made a daily appearance just off the beach each day we were there, Their frequent frolicking and occasional full breaches were a constant source of thrills and astonishment!! We settled in with Wendy’s family and regale each other with tales of adventure and insight with an occasional Margarita!

The evenings became particularly powerful for me, the constant crashing of surf became hypnotic and nurturing, an auditory hug.

In the middle of nights I often awpke with the worries in my life on my mind. My twin daughters who are almost 18 and doing well, but still, in their mid-childhood, they had the shock of seeing their father almost die, and come out with a disability, and then their parents marriage collapsed. What will be the effect on them? As I worried about these things, the pounding surf insisted on embracing me, as if to say, “I can’t change that, but I can hold you and perhaps dull the harsh edges”

I live in a country that offers up as its leader candidates that vow to support the murder of Gazan children, and millions of my fellow citizens call this “freedom” and even celebrate it.

Crash goes another peaceful, powerful, loving wave.

I might never regain function of my left hand, or take a decent day hike again, yet here I was still alive, after something that should have killed me. Is that power? Still there is that boy’s face, showing me his sacred thing, not just his thing but THE thing, maybe that’s power! in his shining eyes!

I’m reading, ”The Post-Corporate World: Life After Capitalism” by David Korten, in it he explains the scientific theory of how life has evolved on this planet, over the last 4.5 billion years. If that timeline was a 24 hour clock, then the rise of the civilization, what we call B. C., arrives at the last 1/10th of a second. I am astonished with this math, and it convinces me that the things we have been told are “power” are not that at all!

WE are in the last 1/10 of a second; Crash goes another wave! What do whales do at night? The surf continued to roll, that boy’s smiling eager face, and shining eyes, continued to illuminate my mind. And cellular structures that constitute life continued to evolve in ever increasing complexity and interdependence — another wave and then another.

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STILL UPHOLDING MY OATH

Editor:

As a young man I took an oath to defend our Constitution against foreign and domestic enemies. I repeated this oath many times during my 21 years of military service. During all that time the enemies I worried about were foreign. Now as an older person I must include domestic enemies. Not the individuals labeled “domestic terrorist” by Donald Trump and his administration, but the domestic enemies who defy the law and our Constitution in the name of justice. In my opinion this includes most of the leaders in the present Trump administration. Attending protests against authoritarianism, ICE and defunding institutions, as well as writing letters to members of Congress and the editor, is my way of defending what I consider American democracy. Each individual must decide what they want from our government and take action to achieve it. The result is up to you.

Frank Bush

Santa Rosa

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“LET’S FACE IT. The majority of people in this country are mentally ill — and this illness unfortunately extends into all walks of life, including law enforcement.”

— Hunter s Thompson

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IS ANYBODY SAFE?

To the Editor:

Yes, the Trump administration is lying to our faces. This editorial encapsulates our current national situation.

I am a lifelong resident of Minnesota, 86 years of age. Our state has been known as a liberal state and mostly votes Democratic. That apparently does not sit well with the current administration.

We are besieged by federal government forces flooding our streets, terrorizing our residents, scaring our kids. They have brutally and unjustly killed two citizens here since they arrived.

Where is this going? When will it end? Who is safe now?

Judith Koll Healey

Minneapolis

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TRUMP ADVISOR'S REMARK BECOMES A VIRAL PROBLEM FOR THE SUPER BOWL

by Lester Black

The Trump administration’s deadly immigration crackdown in Minneapolis has led to increased fears that federal officers will descend on Levi’s Stadium next week for the Super Bowl, especially after a Trump administration official made a podcast remark months ago about the possible operation.

But Gov. Gavin Newsom does not expect there to be a large immigration presence at the event, according to spokesperson Diana Crofts-Pelayo.

“Although we don’t anticipate unusual ICE activity, California will work with state and local officials to ensure everyone’s safety. We expect our federal partners to uphold safety, transparency, and trust,” Crofts-Pelayo said in an email to SFGATE.

Speculation over a violent crackdown in Santa Clara has grown since October, when Department of Homeland Security adviser Corey Lewandowski said on a podcast that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would be at the Super Bowl’s halftime show with Bad Bunny. Trump has attacked the artist, who is a Latin music superstar from Puerto Rico, which makes him a U.S. citizen. Lewandowski called enforcement at the event a “directive from the president.”

Other news outlets have taken this podcast remark to mean that ICE agents would be “throughout Levi’s Stadium” and have a “major, visible” presence, but SFGATE reached out to six different law enforcement agencies and no one appears to know how federal agents might respond to the event. All of the local agencies and state officials confirmed they do not enforce immigration law themselves.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to SFGATE that the agency will not comment on whether its ICE agents will be inside the stadium or at the event.

“DHS is committed to working with our local and federal partners to ensure the Super Bowl is safe for everyone involved, as we do with every major sporting event, including the World Cup. Our mission remains unchanged,” McLaughlin said in a statement. She later added: “Those who are here legally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear.”

Federal agents from DHS have historically been at previous Super Bowls to provide additional security measures that local and state agents are less able to do, like patrolling nearby waterways or conducting human trafficking investigations.

As this year’s event on Feb. 8 gets closer, speculation has swirled surrounding ICE operations in the local area. San Jose Councilmember Peter Ortiz told the San Jose Spotlight that he saw an internal memo showing agents would land at Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View on Feb. 6.

Santa Clara police Chief Cory Morgan said in a Tuesday Facebook video that there have been increased questions regarding immigration action at the event, but added that, “as a matter of practice, we do not confirm, deny, or speculate about the presence or activities of other agencies.”

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan told KTVU-TV that the Trump administration has told his office that “they intend to have ICE at the Super Bowl” but he did not know “how much of that is rhetoric.”

Spokespeople for the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said federal officials do not generally provide notification of enforcement decisions and that they have no knowledge of ICE operations at the Super Bowl. Sgt. Andrew Barclay, a California Highway Patrol spokesperson, said “CHP has no knowledge of any ICE operations during the Super Bowl festivities.”

Immigration rights groups have planned protests outside Levi’s Stadium on Friday, Feb. 6, and Sunday Feb. 8.

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GAUDY TRUMP-BACKED PATCH TO BE ON EVERY SUPER BOWL JERSEY

by Alex Simon

A patch befitting President Donald Trump’s gaudy inclinations is set to be on every jersey during the Super Bowl next week.

America250 is a bipartisan commission charged with celebrating the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding. There have been several linked events already to start the year, with Trump himself talking excitedly about the commemoration. The Athletic reported that the commissioners for the five major male sports leagues — MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL and NHL — were scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the latest America250 plans, though the planned meeting had to be canceled due to inclement weather. “The White House is seeking to reschedule the event, which it would prefer to do ahead of the Super Bowl,” the Athletic reported.

The NFL had announced its participation in the celebration in November and has rolled out several America250 elements at games since. The 49ers-Seahawks game in Week 18 featured a rendition of “God Bless America” in the pregame ceremony, and the America250 logo has been painted on NFL sidelines during the playoffs. At the time of the November announcement, the NFL said it would do something at the Super Bowl but didn’t offer any specific plans.

On Wednesday, we got our first glimpse. NBC Sports analyst Devin McCourty went to New England to interview Patriots players, likely to record footage for the network’s pregame coverage. A former Patriot himself, McCourty posted a photo on his Instagram Story with running back TreVeyon Henderson, who was dressed in full uniform. Henderson was wearing New England’s white jersey, with a Super Bowl 60 patch on the upper right side.

On the upper left side is a never-before-seen patch with “USA 250” on it, with the “USA” portion on the top in front of a blue background and the “250” on bottom in front of a vertically striped red and white background. It’s nothing like the cursive America250 logo, but it clearly sends the same message.

The patch isn’t included on the Super Bowl 60 jerseys available for sale to fans, but it was on a graphic the Patriots made Thursday when announcing their uniform pick for the game. The Seahawks then unveiled their uniform on Thursday afternoon, placing the “USA 250” patch underneath the Super Bowl 60 one on the right side of their jersey. Back when the country celebrated its 200th birthday in 1976, both the Steelers and Cowboys wore a special red, white and blue patch during Super Bowl 10.

The patch is likely to be the most prominent nod to the yearlong celebration during the game itself. The words “America 250” are again slated to be stenciled on the sidelines.

Trump said last week that he won’t be coming to the Bay Area for the game because it’s too far, but he has made it clear he intends to use sports as a key part of the celebration of the country’s 250th birthday. The NFL and MLB have already announced their plans to honor the America250 initiative. Trump has also announced plans to host a UFC fight at the White House in June around Trump’s 80th birthday, and the administration is reportedly trying to bring an IndyCar race to Washington, D.C., this summer, with the cars driving through the National Mall.

(sfgate.com)

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WRONG PRIORITIES

To the Editor:

As a fellow doctor, I urge Dr. Kirk Milhoan, a pediatric cardiologist who leads the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, to reconsider his prioritizing of individual choice over community protection.

Freedom isn’t absolute; it’s balanced against harm to others. Examples of societal limits on choice include wearing seatbelts, paying taxes, obeying traffic laws, banning smoking in public areas and prohibiting drunken driving, among hundreds of other measures. These aren’t choices we debate; they’re foundational protections.

Before polio vaccines, I saw friends and family crippled. I’ve seen preventable diseases ravage communities. Compulsory vaccination isn’t about stripping rights; it’s about shared responsibility. When enough people choose not to vaccinate, outbreaks happen. Common sense says protect the herd.

David S. Cantor

Los Angeles

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AFTER LEAVING CALIFORNIA, ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S LARGEST ALCOHOL DISTRIBUTORS IS IN SHAMBLES

by Esther Mobley

One of the nation’s largest alcohol distributors looks to be in shambles, and its plight is revealing larger cracks in our convoluted system for selling wine, beer and spirits.

Last year, the Texas-based Republic National Distributing Co. shook the alcohol industry when it pulled out of California, suddenly leaving more than 2,500 beverage producers without a distributor in the state and more than 1,700 employees without a job. The move came after some of the most powerful alcohol brands — from Fireball to Tito’s to High Noon to Jack Daniel’s — left Republic National for other distributors.

Securing distribution is a key component of virtually any alcohol producer’s business. The liquor laws that the U.S. established after the repeal of Prohibition enshrine what’s known as a three-tier system: A winemaker, brewer or distiller cannot sell their product directly to a retailer or restaurant, but must instead go through a middle man, known as a wholesaler or distributor. The last decade has seen extreme consolidation in the distribution tier, as Republic National and its chief competitors, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and Breakthru Beverage Group, have acquired their smaller counterparts, leaving producers with fewer and fewer distribution options. These distributors, the conventional thinking has gone, have come to wield all the power in the industry.

But Republic National’s recent difficulties suggest that it’s losing much of that power. Since the California exit, the company appears to have been caught in a doom loop. The largest remaining spirits supplier in its portfolio, Proximo Spirits, defected earlier this month, yanking more than a dozen brands, including Jose Cuervo, the largest tequila brand in the world, from Republic National’s distribution network in nearly every state. Delicato, the fourth-largest wine company in the U.S., this week announced it would be leaving Republic National in “multiple markets.”

No winery, brewery or distillery wants to be caught on a sinking ship, it seems. And whatever was happening internally at Republic National was clearly impacting its day-to-day business: “We were on track to double our business in California last year,” said Marian Leitner-Waldman, founder of canned-wine brand Archer Roose, “and there were many months before the transition where product just wasn’t getting delivered.” (Republic National did not immediately respond to that allegation.)

Industry insiders began to speculate: Was Republic National about to file for bankruptcy? The company admitted it was in talks to sell its businesses in six states, plus Washington, D.C., to Reyes Beverage Group, the firm that many beverage producers had left Republic National for. (Because of the way alcohol laws are structured in this country, a wholesaler must essentially operate as a separate business in each state.)

Debtwire reported on Jan. 15 that Republic National had been working with investment bank Lazard to “explore options,” and that “bankruptcy is among the potential alternatives for the company.”

It seems to have avoided such a fate, at least for now: Republic National found “significant additional financing,” it said in a statement the following day.

That Republic National has evaded the worst-case scenario is good news for the entire alcohol industry — especially for the producers it distributes. Although Republic National no longer sells wine in California, many California alcohol producers still depend on it for distribution in other states. “Honestly, it would be pretty catastrophic” if the wholesaler were to fall, said Leitner-Waldman. When Republic National left California, brands it sold scrambled to find new representation — but not everyone secured an escape route. “There’s just not enough options out there right now to absorb how many suppliers will be looking for a distributor,” she said.

After all her unfulfilled orders in California last year, Leitner-Waldman has tried to lessen her “exposure” to Republic National; it now sells her Archer Roose wines in only a handful of states.

But for smaller and mid-size producers, which are the lifeblood of the industry, the prospect of leaving Republic National before its ship fully sinks may not be so simple. (82% of U.S. wineries are classified as “limited production” or “very small,” producing under 5,000 cases a year, while just 1% produce over 500,000 cases, according to Wine Business Analytics.) The company’s contracts with producers tend to have expensive buyout clauses — so expensive that even a relatively small winery might have to pay close to $1 million to get out of the relationship. Some states have franchise laws that prohibit a producer from leaving its distributor altogether; the distributor would have to be the one to initiate the breakup.

In other words, it’s all a mess. Many California wine producers would prefer not to be nationally distributed at all — the distributors take big cuts of the profit — but few can build the followings required to sell all their wines directly to consumers through tasting rooms or wine clubs.

These issues are no doubt exacerbating the woes of many producers, already struggling to sell their wares during this historic decline in drinking. But Leitner-Waldman is clear that the dismal state of alcohol distribution alone is not going to cause the California wine industry to die. Sure, she said, “the structure this business has built to run itself is challenging and hard to change,” but she’s encouraged by the fact that 60% of Archer Roose’s customers are Gen Z or millennial.

“There are more people coming to wine,” she said. “We just have to meet them where they are.” Which, unfortunately, probably means going through a distributor.

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"AT ABOUT DAWN, I called one of my neighbors and said “Your cows have eaten my lettuce, they’re shitting on my porch, and I’m going to kill every one of the bastards if you don’t get them out of here in 10 minutes.” At that point in my killing rage, I was advised that the laws of Colorado make it mandatory for a landowner (or dweller) to fence his land against the entrance of cattle—rather than requiring the owner of the cattle to fence them in.

In other words, the burden is on the afflicted … at which point I said that I really wanted the cows in my yard, because it gave me an opportunity to practice random high-speed patterns on my motorcycle—running the cows hither and yon across the landscape, burning off valuable pounds of market meat in the process, and chasing the bastards till they foam at the mouth and fall in their tracks. (The bulls are tricky; they don’t always run, and when they charge you have to be very fast and cool with the gear-changes — or they’ll crush you.)”

Hunter S. Thompson

July 19, 1968

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AT THE HEIGHT OF JIM CROW segregation, John Howard Griffin, a white journalist from Texas, made a decision that would permanently alter his life.

He darkened his skin and lived as a Black man, traveling for six weeks through the Deep South on Greyhound buses, trains, and on foot. What he experienced was not theoretical racism—it was daily, relentless, and dehumanizing.

Almost immediately, his social status vanished. People who would have greeted him politely days earlier now refused eye contact. He was denied access to restrooms, restaurants, and basic dignity. Police officers treated him with suspicion. Strangers spoke to him with hostility or fear. Even simple acts—sitting on a bus, asking for directions, looking for a place to sleep—became dangerous calculations.

He documented the psychological toll of racism as much as its physical restrictions. The constant vigilance. The isolation. The way humiliation seeped into the body and mind. He wrote about how quickly the world taught him his “place,” and how exhausting it was to survive in a society designed to break you down quietly.

When his work was published, exposing the everyday realities of racism to a white American audience, the reaction was explosive. Rather than confronting the truth he revealed, many responded with rage. He received hate mail and death threats. His effigy was hung in his hometown. Friends turned away. For telling the truth, he became a target.

The threats grew so serious that he was forced to leave the United States. He moved to Mexico, where he lived in exile for several years—not because he had committed a crime, but because he had revealed one. His experiment had stripped away comforting myths and exposed the cruelty embedded in everyday American life.

His story remains a reminder that racism is not just about laws or signs—it is about power, fear, and the daily erosion of humanity. And it also reminds us how dangerous it can be to tell the truth in a society that benefits from silence.

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JACK JOHNSON:

“I tell you, when they couldn't get me to do crooked when I was poor, they can't now. l've got a nice home and I have money enough to live on if I never fight again. l have had the hardest row to hoe of any man who ever reached the championship, and l certainly appreciate the position l have gained. There is not money enough in all the mints in the world to tempt me to do anything dishonest and those who know Jack Johnson will vouch for what I say.”

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THE US IS PUSHING SO MANY REGIME CHANGE AGENDAS IT’S HARD TO KEEP UP

by Caitlin Johnstone

It’s just incredible how quickly and aggressively the US is advancing longstanding agendas of global conquest under the Trump administration. Now they’re racing to take out Cuba.

The US president has signed an executive order to impose new tariffs on countries which supply oil to Cuba, even indirectly, which is expected to dramatically increase the pressure on the already struggling island nation. This comes as Financial Times reports that “Cuba only has enough oil to last 15 to 20 days at current levels of demand and domestic production” after the US cut off the supply from Venezuela and Mexico shelved a planned oil shipment.

Trump’s order itself contains the usual excuses we’ve come to expect from the empire of propaganda and lies, with its authors babbling without evidence about Hamas and Hezbollah and “transnational terrorist groups” receiving support from Havana, thereby making this crushing act of siege warfare a self-defense measure implemented in protection of the American people.

We’re being asked to believe that Cuba is Hamas, so Washington needs to strangle it to death in self-defense. The fact that the US has been pursuing regime change in Cuba for generations, we are told, is merely a coincidence.

The lies get dumber and dumber with each new imperial power grab. It’s just insulting at this point.

Last week The Wall Street Journal published an article titled “The U.S. Is Actively Seeking Regime Change in Cuba by the End of the Year” which cited anonymous senior US officials saying they viewed the operation to remove Maduro from Caracas as a “blueprint” for bringing down Havana.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Emboldened by the U.S. ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the Trump administration is searching for Cuban government insiders who can help cut a deal to push out the Communist regime by the end of the year, people familiar with the matter said. “The Trump administration has assessed that Cuba’s economy is close to collapse and that the government has never been this fragile after losing a vital benefactor in Maduro, these people said. Officials don’t have a concrete plan to end the Communist government that has held power on the Caribbean island for almost seven decades, but they see Maduro’s capture and subsequent concessions from his allies left behind as a blueprint and a warning for Cuba, senior U.S. officials said.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that administration officials have been meeting with “Cuban exiles and civic groups in Miami and Washington” with the goal of “identifying somebody inside the current government who will see the writing on the wall and want to cut a deal,” in a way similar to how assets within the Maduro government were recruited to facilitate his removal.

In a new segment on Trump’s frenzied efforts to topple Havana, CNN’s Patrick Oppmann reports from Cuba that he’s “heard from a US embassy source that diplomats there have been advised to quote ‘have their bags packed’ as the Trump administration explores new ways to destabilize the communist-run government.”

The US likes to immiserate the populations of targeted nations using economic strangulation with the goal of fomenting unrest and turning people against their leaders. In 2019 Trump’s previous secretary of state Mike Pompeo openly acknowledged that the goal of Washington’s economic warfare against Iran was to make the population so miserable that they “change the government”, cheerfully citing the “economic distress” the nation had been placed under by US sanctions. Economic distress has been widely cited as a primary factor in the deadly protests that have rocked Iran in recent weeks.

Starvation sanctions are the only form of warfare where it is widely considered both normal and ethical to deliberately target a civilian population with deadly force. Deliberately impoverishing an entire nation so that it erupts in conflict and civil war is one of the most evil things you can possibly imagine, but it’s the go-to Plan A for the US empire when it comes to removing foreign leaders who refuse to kiss the imperial boot.

From Palestine to Lebanon to Yemen to Syria to Venezuela to Cuba to Iran, these last couple of years the US has been in a mad scramble to eliminate governments and resistance groups which attempt to insist on their own sovereignty. There’s a new excuse every time, but the end goal is always the same: the furtherance of planetary domination.

The US empire is the single most tyrannical and murderous power structure on this planet. If any regime is in need of changing, it’s that one.

(caitlinjohnstone.com.au)

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“A MODERN COMMUNITY is not likely to be prosperous if its financial affairs are conducted solely with a view to the interests of financiers, and without regard to the effect upon the rest of the population. When this is the case, it is unwise to leave financiers to the unfettered pursuit of their private profit. One might as well run a museum for the profit of the curator, leaving him at liberty to sell the contents whenever he happened to be offered a good price.”

— Bertrand Russell, In Praise of idleness

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LEAD STORIES, FRIDAY'S NYT

Administration Social Media Posts Echo White Supremacist Messaging

Democrats Reach Spending Deal With Trump, Seeking to Rein In ICE

Twix Is OK but Granola Isn’t as States Deploy New Food Stamp Rules

No More Zoom for French Officials: France to Use Local Alternative to U.S. Tech

Genes May Control Your Longevity, However Healthily You Live

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ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

Do you seriously think Fox News is the only right wing media outlet? Ever heard of The New York Post, The Daily Wire, Breitbart, Newsmax, One America News Network, Sinclair Broadcast Group, The Tucker Carlson Network, Real America’s Voice, BlazeTV, The Epoch Times, The Washington Examiner, The Federalist, The Daily Caller, Townhall, RedState, Gateway Pundit, American Thinker and PJ Media?

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THE GUARDIAN JOINS THE CHEERLEADING FOR A WAR OF AGGRESSION AGAINST IRAN

Corporate media doesn't represent humanity's interests. It promotes the interests of billionaires and their hangers-on, who make huge profits from a war machine in constant need of excuses to kill

by Jonathan Cook

International law is absolutely clear. If the US attacks Iran, it would be a war of aggression and the “supreme international crime”.

The job of even supposedly liberal media like the Guardian is to persuade you this is not what is at stake. To disbelieve your lying eyes.

Look at this astonishingly dishonest headline and subhead from today’s paper:

“Threat of US-Iran war escalates” intentionally obscures the truth: that it is the US doing the “escalating” – and that its escalating is entirely illegal.

“Trump warns time running out for deal” makes it sound as though Trump has some kind of authority to make this “warning”. Hey, Guardian, maybe he’s doing it on behalf of his Board of Peace.

The truth is he has no such authority. That resides with the United Nations. What Trump is doing is not a warning; it’s a threat – an utterly illegal threat of aggression.

In any case, Iran has been trying to drag the US back to the negotiating table ever since Trump unilaterally tore up their original deal eight years ago. Time is only “running out” because the US has decided it now needs a pretext to launch an illegal war of aggression. Why is the Guardian not making that clear in its headlines?

Instead, it has turned reality on its head. Trump, according to the Guardian, is the one supposedly trying to secure a deal – that’s the very same Trump who tore up the original deal, has refused to return to negotiations and instead bombed Iran last summer – in another illegal act of aggression.

“US president says armada heading towards Iran is ‘prepared to fulfil its missions with violence if necessary’”. That is just the Guardian’s way of obscuring the fact that Trump is preparing to break international law by waging a war of aggression, the “supreme crime”.

The Guardian’s headline and subhead both present an act by the US of supreme illegality as though it is some kind law enforcement measure. This isn’t journalism. It is cheerleading for an illegal war in which Iranian civilians will inevitably pay the heaviest price.

We have to stop thinking that any corporate media represents the interests of humanity. They promote the interests of the billionaire class and their hangers-on, who make huge profits from a war machine that needs constant excuses to kill.

Corporate media doesn’t hold these billionaires to account. Its sole function is to serve as their public relations arm.

(jonathancook.substack.com)

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