GOFUNDME: MENDOCINO HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER INJURED IN SHARK ATTACK WHILE SURFING
I'm reaching out to share a verified fundraiser created to support James, a father and local high school teacher in Mendocino, who was bitten by a shark while surfing at Big River Beach in Mendocino on March 18th. According to the GoFundMe, the shark bit both legs, causing severe tissue and muscle damage and the fundraiser will help cover medical bills and support his wife and 10-month-old son during recovery. So far, the community has raised nearly $10,000.
The GoFundMe reads in part, "Surfing is an integral part of their lives, having met through the sport, with James teaching Chloe how to surf on their first date. The attack happening at Big River of all places hits even harder, as they got married above the beach where it took place. With a young baby at home, the weight of this comes in many ways, and being able to lift the financial burden and stress during James' recovery so they can focus on his health and their family would be so appreciated."
Here is the link to the GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-james-recovery-after-shark-attack
KRYSTAL MYERS:
Has anyone else received an escape tax bill from the county dating back 4 years after purchasing your home? I was hoping to get some advice. We purchased our home in 2021 and just received an $18,000 escape tax bill from Mendocino County. When I talked to the County Tax Collector they said they just got around to reassessing our home (for more than it's probably worth) because they are short staffed. We have been paying our property taxes through escrow all these years, just not the amount they reassessed our property at. This just seems so wrong. People are going to lose their homes because of this, especially if they never get a notice that they even have this bill to begin with, like us. We only found out about our escape tax bill because we're in the process of getting a heloc loan. Who knows?, in a few years they could have a lien on our home and take it. It all just seems so weird.
If you have bought property recently, I would look into this, so you don't get a big surprise in 4-5 years. I'm guessing the County is reassessing properties for more than they are worth to make up for being audited.
VOTE FOR FRIEND, A JUDGE FOR ALL PEOPLE
(Candidate Statement for Superior Court Judge Candidate Colby Friend of Willits for Voter Pamphlet, June Election)
Judges like pilots, cannot afford an uncaring day at work. When you come before a judge what is at stake matters deeply to you. You deserve a judge who will listen attentively and give your matter careful and intelligent consideration. I will be a judge who does not prioritize corporations, so-called “elites” or establishment over people. I will not stand on endorsements from established legal insiders. We all deserve access to the Courts, and I will be a judge for all people.
I received my education at University of Virginia and Iowa Law. I am a dedicated local attorney, engaged parent, and community-minded citizen willing to participate in local public life and advocate for the issues I believe affect our community.
Increasingly this world is influenced by an establishment class who hold themselves above the law. Our Constitutional rights to free speech, to peacefully assemble, among others, are being threatened by government overreach. We need a Judge with courage to stand with the people, not the establishment. Justice is blind. My commitment is to apply the law fairly and ensure every person who enters the Courtroom is treated with respect.
LEE EDMUNDSON:
Memo to the Major:
Movie productions infuse tens of thousands of dollars into local economies when filming on location.
They hire many locals. As Extras (background atmo’s is the term of art), carpenters, location scouts, assistants.
They rent scores of rooms to house the production cat and crews. They eat many, many meals in local restaurants. The list goes on.
They are meticulous about cleaning up after themselves.
Joan Curry (rest her soul) opposed Practical Magic because it was going to rent the Mendocino Community Center as its base of operations, which was across the street from her residence on Pine Street — she didn’t want the traffic, hustle and bustle and hullabaloo so close to her abode. Beth Bosk was merely between gigs as an activist. Bosk threatened to hire a bagpiper to play while location shots were being filmed, as well saying she’d hire a private pilot to continually buzz the set while filming.
I was with Michael Walbrecht at the Coastal Commission hearing — which granted the coastal use permit allowing the project — and handed him the copy of the Press Democrat I’d picked up before flying to southern California to support the film, in which Bosk’s intentions were printed. Upon reading the article he turned ashen, and said to me, “When we’re shooting on location, Lee, we’re spending tens of thousands of dollars a day. Even a half-days’ disruption can undo us.”.
Warner Brothers, having obtained their coastal permit to film in Mendocino, moved elsewhere. Much to the loss of the locals and county of Mendocino.
PS: And, Yes, Practical Magic was a mediocre movie, much like Humanoids of the Deep, which successfully filmed here about a decade earlier.
MARK SCARAMELLA REPLIES:
Mr. Edmundson misses the point of my complaint. I wasn’t talking about the merits of the movies (awful as they obviously were), the movie industry, the motivations of Ms. Curry or Ms. Bosk. Nor do I object to locals making a few bucks off the movie people. (The local fairgrounds got a few helpful bucks outta the Need for Speed idiots, as did a few others.) My complaint is with the fake liberals who pretend to support free speech, dissent, due process, local control, etc. But when a few bucks are dangled under their noses they set those things aside. I was particularly irked by Hamburg arranging for that hearing in Boonville AFTER the permit was approved, then getting testy with the locals who had legitimate gripes, saying they were nothing more than nattering nabobs of negativity who were against everything. (Also, irksome was the movie crew’s outright lie that the movie wouldn’t glorify dangerous driving, but I don’t blame the libs for that.) If we’re going to have policies and procedures and address grievances and go through permit processes, we need to follow them and let the advocates and opponents make their cases fairly and let the chips fall where they may. For decades, the Fifth District has been represented by fake liberals (Peterson, Colfax, Hamburg, Williams…). Hamburg rubbed it in by attending meetings with an emotional support Chihuahua, then made a vague nut-ball claim (I don’t know how the Coasties could tell.) And then he abruptly quit prematurely months before his term was up, fled to Oregon, and hasn’t been heard from since. Fake liberalism plays well in the Fifth District. Coast-lib supports them and elects them over and over again for no particular reason and they deserve what they get. Or, more accurately, don’t get. Name one good thing any of those fake liberals accomplished in office. Or even seriously tried to accomplish.
A COUNTY NOISE ORDINANCE?
Vineyard Wind Fans Exempt, Of Course.
by Mark Scaramella
Agenda Item R9 on Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors Agenda: “Discussion and Possible Action Including Introduction and Waive First Reading of An Ordinance Adding Chapter 8.100 to the Mendocino County Code Regulating Noise.
The Sponsor is listed as “County Counsel,” but the Item originated with former Wine Industry Supervisor Glenn McGourty and is now being carried by his recent replacement, Wine Industry Supervisor Madlyn Cline.
“Summary Of Proposed Ordinance Ordinance Adding Chapter 8.100 – Noise Control Regulations
This ordinance adds to the Mendocino County Code provisions prohibiting disturbing noises. Noises prohibited include the playing or operating of any radio, loudspeaker, sound amplifier, or other musical device or instrument, or noise produced by any machine, or device, or by any other means, which impacts any residential property and exceeds sixty (60) dBA, constant or seventy- five (75) dBA intermittent, as measured from an adjacent property line using a sound decibel meter, if occurring between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. The ordinance provides several exceptions to this prohibition. A violation of the ordinance constitutes an infraction. The ordinance is also enforceable by civil means. …
The following activities shall be exempt from the provisions of this Chapter:
…
(F) Activities protected pursuant to Chapter 10A.13 of the Mendocino County Code, Right to Farm ordinance” — aka any noise emanating from a vineyard.
“Enforcement. This Chapter may be enforced by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office or Code Enforcement by using any applicable state or county law, including, but not limited to, Mendocino County Code Chapter 1.08, to achieve code compliance through administrative fines and Chapter 8.75 to declare an offending party or property a public nuisance, pursue available civil remedies, inclusive of injunctive relief, or applicable criminal enforcement mechanisms.”
EXECUTIVE ASSESSMENT CONTRACT EXTENDED
Consent Calendar Item C4 from the March 24, 2026 Agenda:
“Approval of First Amendment to Agreement No. BOS-25-189 with the Law Office of Charles J. McKee, in the Amount of $0, for a Total of $160,000, to provide Management and County Counsel Assessment Services, Effective December 16, 2025, through a New End Date of April 30, 2026 (Original End Date: March 31, 2026)”
Discussion:
“On December 16, 2025 the County of Mendocino Board of Supervisors approved Agreement No. BOS-25-189 with the Law Office of Charles J. McKee to provide management and County Counsel assessment services. Under this Agreement, the Law Office of Charles J. McKee assesses the County Counsel office's structure, workload and operational needs, and provides recommendations regarding the most effective long-term approach for the County. The proposed Amendment to Agreement No. BOS-25-189 extends the term of the Agreement to April 30, 2026, enabling the Law Office of Charles J. McKee to continue providing these services.”
As we wrote back on Feb. 19, 2026:
The contract with Mr. Charles McKee, the previously described $325 per hour South Lake Tahoe attorney/administrator who has been contracted to “assess” the County Counsel’s office and provide “executive management services,” ran out on March 31, less than a week before the application deadline the County has established for CEO applications (to replace outgoing CEO Darcie Antle). Mr. McKee’s contract will now be extended to April 30, 2026 without discussion. We still think this is an indication that Mendo has pre-selected its new CEO and is going through the motions of an unbiased recruiting process. After more than four months performing his ill-defined and wasteful “executive management services,” it’s highly likely that Mr. McKee will be able to claim that he can successfully accomplish the challenging and complicated task of “balancing” Mendo’s “Pacific coastline and redwoods to our vineyards and rural communities.” But if you want to help the County pretend that the CEO recruiting is open, merit-based and above-board, feel free to apply. The application deadline is April 6, 2026 and the “anticipated start date” is “July or August 2026.”
Back in December he County Counsel’s office (i.e., the recently rehired as “interim” County Counsel Kit Elliott) contracted (on the consent calendar with no discussion or rationale) with an attorney in South Lake Tahoe named Charles J. McKee to “provide Management and County Counsel Assessment Services,” from December 16, 2025 to March 31, 2026. The contract is for a whopping $160,000. Mr. McKee’s rate is $325 per hour. Again, that’s $160,000 for just over four months (almost 500 hours, equivalent to a full-time employee for 3.5 months) of “assessment services.” Mr. McKee is a former County Counsel/CAO (he held both positions simultaneously) for tiny Alpine County. According to the 2020 census, Alpine County is the smallest County in the state with a population just a little more than Boonville at 1,204, about 1,000 of whom are adults. About two-thirds of the homes in Alpine County are vacant, meaning mainly vacation rentals. Alpine County’s county seat is the town of Markleeville with a population of 191 in 2020.
Mr. McKee retired as CEO of Monterey County (Salinas) after 19 years, prior to which he had been Monterey County Counsel for 16 years. He has also been president of the Monterey County Bar Association and “legal advisor” to the California State Association of Counties.
According to the terms of the contract Mr. McKee will perform “general services,” “executive management services,” an assessment of the County Counsel’s office and its “structure, workload, staffing, effectiveness, service delivery and intra-County relations.” He will also “collaborate with and assist the Acting and/or Interim County Counsel on office operations and County legal issues,” and, of course, “assist with the recruitment and hiring of the next County Counsel.” Mr. McKee will also receive $100 an hour for travel time to and from South Lake Tahoe and full reimbursement for travel costs (but not meals).
As far as we can tell no other bids were solicited or sought for this “service,” even though it is well above the contract value that the State Auditor recently said required competitive bids. The Supervisors’ original approval and extension of this contract on the consent calendar without discussion proves again, if any more proof was needed, that the Supervisors are not paying any attention to what’s going on right under their noses or how much their “staff” is spending.
Prediction (again): Mr. McKee will recommend, recruit and hire himself as either the next County Counsel or the next CEO.
ON-LINE COMMENTS OF THE WEEK
[1] There is a lot I don't know about a lot of things, but after being a white male for more than 70 years in the U.S. I know a bit about what that entails. And my conclusion is that if you can't make something of yourself as a white male in this country that pretty much falls on you. There are probably a few times in my life where being a white male didn't work for me, but I'm sure there were as many or more times when it was an advantage. I find the whole "poor me" thing about anti-white discrimination to be ridiculous.
[2] GENDER BENDING, an on-line comment:
Gender is to biology what astrology is to astronomy, a way for humans to imagine that the natural world is concerned with our needs, feelings and desires. But the galaxy doesn't care what day or time you were born and your sexed body doesn't care that you might not "feel" like a man/woman. This is just good old-fashioned American salesmanship combined with therapeutic narcissism, where the internal is externalized and strangers and/or theorists decide who and what you are and how you should live and feel.
The True Authentic Self™️ is the god of our age, who lives in every mirror and needs a constant stream of products to keep his/her psyche together. We seem to have raised a generation of emotional cripples and called it "Liberation".
This is the best explanation for Gender Theory I've found:
Sexism: “The woman must do the dishes”
Feminism: “Anyone can do the dishes”
Gender ideology: “Whoever does the dishes is the woman.”
3] From my 50+ years experience with the legal system I could rant on and on over the failings of lawyers managing anything. But much of the mess we are in has been created by lawyers (and lobbyists) and the necessary reconstruction of democracy, correcting the broken elements in the system and holding people to account for corruption will require some very good legal minds. Like it or not, the key question for every candidate is really “what are you going to do to fix [issue, problem].
[4] There is no "majority" in this country. It's just a polyglot boarding house of squabbling third-worlders, obese tattooed freaks, crazy women, drug and gambling addicts, etc., with a small minority of actual Americans.
[5] "Growing up" requires seeing and accepting that life isn't fair, you can't control everything, not everyone gets the pony, your feelings and subjective perceptions don't matter, actions have consequences, etc. We've been following an indulgent (and arguably a toxic femininity) parenting playbook for a few generations now and we've painted ourselves (and the next gen) into a fearful and emotionally weak corner with it.
[6] The only thing that scares me is history. "This war will be over by Christmas: WW-1, WW-2, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan".
[7] I recently read some history about General Patton's attack on an important German town at a strategic transportation junction point in Germany, the town of Aschaffenburg, in early April 1945. The General had amassed a gigantic force of artillery and infantry to just outside of the town. Patton sent a courier with a white flag into the town to deliver a written message to Mayor and the Nazi Commander in charge of the town. Of course, the Mayor had no real say over anything. Patton's ultimatum was simple--surrender unconditionally within 15 minutes or the town would be destroyed completely. The Mayor told the courier that, were it his choice, he would hand the city to the American forces that very minute. The radical, Nazi ideologue zealot commander refused and said his forces would fight "to the last man" to hold the town. After the 15 minutes, Patton ordered the town leveled and one of most intense artillery assaults of WWII leveled 80% of the town. When the infantry entered, teenage girls, part of the Nazi women's youth, made sniper attacks to kill American soldiers. Patton ordered that if shots were fired at American soldiers from any building, that entire building would be leveled into rubble. The battle lasted 10 days, with the town destroyed and many of its residents killed or maimed. The "courageous", "fight to the death" Nazi commander was found cowering in the basement of a destroyed building where he surrendered to American GI's. Patton made no apologies. He ordered the death and destruction photographed, and then leaflets were dropped containing the graphic photographs on every town in the path of his troops, making very clear that any town that refused to surrender would get the same treatment. Every single town that Patton's forces encountered after that immediately surrendered--which saved countless American and German lives that would have otherwise been lost in battles.
The point here is that war is a dirty, brutal business that should be avoided when possible. But, when it can't be, especially when already defeated zealots would rather sacrifice themselves and their oppressed populations rather than surrender, then it may be, sadly, necessary to make an example out of a selected place to secure a surrender. The easiest way to kill the most people on both sides is to fail to understand the axiom that a long, "limited" war is always the most deadly to the most people.
"There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time."-General George S. Patton
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