Mendocino County Today: Sunday, March 23, 2014

• Honoring Del Fiorentino
• No Charges In Postgame Stabbing
• Judge Rules Against Re-sentencing
• In Praise Of LRB
• Further Instructions
• In Defense Of KZYX
• Why The Economy Sucks
• Zionist Agents
• Our Ministry Of Disinformation
• Dirty, Filthy Newsrooms
• Concentrate on America, Obama
• Police Reports

DEPUTY RICKY DEL FIORENTINO CANDLELIGHT VIGIL

Location: Fort Bragg Justice Center (700 South Franklin Street Fort Bragg.

Date: Tuesday, March 25 at 8pm.

On Tuesday March 25, 2014 at 8:00 PM a Candlelight Vigil will be held in front of the Fort Bragg Justice Center located at 700 South Franklin Street in Fort Bragg, California. The vigil is open to anyone wishing to pay respect to fallen Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputy Ricky Del Fiorentino. Information about the vigil can be found on the "Candle Light Vigil in Honor of Ricky Del Fiorentino" Facebook page. Deputy Del Fiorentino was a 26-year law enforcement veteran who served the Mendocino County coastal communities his entire career. Anyone wishing to make monetary donations to the Ricky Del Fiorentino Memorial Fund can do so by contacting or visiting any of the Savings Bank of Mendocino County locations or by mail to PO Box 3600 Ukiah, Ca 95482 (707-462-6613). Paypal Deputy Del Fiorentino is survived by his wife, children (ages 21, 19, 18, 6), step-son (age 29), grandson (age 5 months), step-grandchildren (ages 6, 3), parents and siblings.

To donate online via PayPal to Deputy Del Fiorentino’s memorial fund go to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s facebook page at:

https://www.facebook.com/MendocinoSheriff

THE SAN FRANCISCO DA won't file charges in the stabbing death of Johnathan Denver, 24, of Fort Bragg. DA Gascon said he was not confident that Denver's assailant, Michael Montgomery, did not act in self-defense when he stabbed Denver after a Giants-Dodger game several blocks from the ballpark at Third and Harrison.

INTERVIEWS with witnesses and several participants in the fatal, alcohol-fueled fight the night of September 25th, determined that Denver and his brother had attacked Montgomery before he used a knife to protect himself.

DENVER had left a Giants-Dodgers game that night with his father and brother in the eighth inning to go to a bar. They encountered Montgomery and his friends in the South of Market neighborhood about 11:30pm. One of Montgomery's friends was wearing a Giants cap.

THE TWO PARTIES argued about the Giants-Dodgers rivalry, and that childish back and forth soon became a brawl. The police report says Denver's group was drunk while Montgomery's was loaded on marijuana.

MONTGOMERY was booked into county jail on suspicion of homicide, but he was released two days later when prosecutors concluded there was not enough evidence to file charges. Denver had died soon after the fight in the emergency room of San Francisco General Hospital.

SIX MONTHS LATER, prosecutors said the circumstances have changed but charges will still not be filed. Gascón explained that in California, prosecutors not only have to prove their cases beyond a reasonable doubt, but they also have to prove the defendant did not act in “lawful self-defense.” The facts, so far as they could be determined, found that prosecutors would not be able to prove that Montgomery had not acted in self-defense.

THE DENVER BROTHERS, collectively, weighed about 150 pounds more than Montgomery, and that they had both jumped Montgomery who brandished a bottle to ward them off. Denver's brother soon grabbed an aluminum chair, featuring a Dodgers logo, and hit Montgomery on the head with it. Montgomery dropped the bottle and stabbed Denver, who had been punching him during the assault, witnesses said.

“WITH MULTIPLE SOURCES indicating how the event transpired, it makes it impossible for us to meet our burden and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Montgomery was not acting in self-defense,” Gascón said in a statement. “We are ethically obligated to decline to prosecute this case.”

PROSECUTORS came to this conclusion after investigators reinterviewed “all percipient witnesses, including members of Mr. Montgomery's group, Mr. Denver's group and independent witnesses,” Gascón said. Especially key, Gascon said, was the reinterview of Denver's brother.

“OUR HEARTS go out to the victim's family,” Gascón said. “The loss of a loved one in this manner is indeed tragic.”

JILL HARO, Denver's aunt, said Friday that she was disappointed in the decision and had been reaching out to the district attorney's office for four weeks to no avail. The past six months have been difficult for the family, especially for Denver's father and brother, who watched him die, Haro said.

MENDO JUDGE Cindee Mayfield ruled Friday that Marcos Diaz-Escareno of Point Arena-Manchester, will not be packed off to adult prison. DA David Eyster had argued that Diaz-Escareno's original sentence for manslaughter in juvenile court was flawed, that he should have been sentenced as an adult. Judge Mayfield, however, pointed out that the youth, 14 at the time he shot and killed Enoc Cruz, 21, had served the sentence in the Youth Authority that the late judge, Ron Brown, had meted out.

DIAZ-ESCARENO was, nevertheless, placed on adult parole by Judge Mayfield, meaning that if he violates his parole he will be sent to big boy prison for a year. And if he commits another felony crime, the murder of Cruz will count as a strike under the Three Strikes law.

THE 2007 shooting death of Cruz occurred on the Manchester-Point Arena Rancheria. Cruz had allegedly been mistreating Diaz-Escareno's sister when, in a drunken stupor, Diaz-Escareno shot Cruz to death.

AFTER Diaz-Escareno had been released and was happily at home in Point Arena, Eyster re-opened the matter, arguing that the gravity of the crime should have resulted in a sentence to adult prison, although almost all young people who get sentenced to adult prison do their time in age-appropriate facilities.

ADULTS must serve at least 85 percent of their time, while juveniles can be released after as little as 50 percent of their time is served.

RECOMMENDED READING: The London Review of Books without reservations, not a single one. Everything else? Well…

READING ABOUT the most recent meltdown at the Pacifica radio stations got me thinking about the media I'd miss if it disappeared. The Pacifica stations have long been a playground for straight-up crackpots. Dr. Gary Null? Are you kidding? Larry Bensky was the last smart person involved at KPFA on a regular basis. Tuning in at random is like listening in on a back ward somewhere. Tell me, to whom, at this point, is KPFA indispensible as a place to tune in for smart talk? Michael Krazny at KQED Radio out of San Francisco has been the sole proprietor of intelligent talk radio for years now. When he goes, talk radio is over. KPFA was over a decade ago. The loons won.

I WOULDN'T MISS television if it disappeared because I don't watch anything on it, including sports. Radio sportscasts are, for me, a superior way to take in a Giants or a Niners game because the play by play people are so much better at it than the tv drones. Like most people, I do watch those brilliant HBO series like The Wire, Breaking Bad and Deadwood, which are anyway obtainable through Netflicks. I watch those on a tv screen, the only use I have for the thing.

AS AN ASIDE, I came late to The Wire. I watched the very first episode and wasn't grabbed by it. I was also reluctant to watch a drama pegged to black crime, because black people, in real life, are vilified every day as CRIME IN AMERICA, with Mexicans running a strong second these days. It isn't true, and it isn't fair. Now that I'm into The Wire, though, it seems beyond brilliant to me. And honest. And totally fair.

THERE'S NOTHING on the internet which, if it were suddenly gone, would cause me to slap on a mourning armband.

I'D MISS the Chronicle, partly because I've read it for 60 years, partly because a few times a week the reporting on the Bay Area is quite good, as is some of the commentary. I could live without The New Yorker and there are no literary mags that I'm aware of that are any good, certainly not at $8-$15 a pop. The New Yorker is consistently about one for four; one in four has something good in it. The old Grand Street was wonderful. The new Grand Street isn't. I've never much read the New York Times for the same reason I don't listen to NPR — they're both at severe odds with the reality I know, and I have no interest in their reality except its destruction. The smug voices of the NPR announcers make me want to run out and garrotte the Fort Bragg City Council.

FOR ALL THE SELF-DESCRIBED writers there are in the SF Bay Area and NorCal, the combined literary output isn't even as interesting as a newspaper — any newspaper. Bay Area journalism (and KPFA) peaked in the late 1960s, and it's rolled steadily downhill since. Rolling Stone is worth the price of admission for Matt Taibbi alone, but otherwise of zero interest to a non-rocker like me.

THE LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS is my must read. I've subscribed to it and the New York Review of Books for many years, but prefer the London Review because it's politically much more independent than the New York Review, which I think is way too Clintonian in its coverage of economics and contemporary events and American political figures. The London Review presents a much more eclectic collection of interesting stuff, much of it with real bite, than the New York Review, although LBR's lit-crit is much too abstruse for this particular autodidact. But in every issue, even in the articles far beyond one's intellectual ken, there will be some fascinating piece of information, some riveting vignette, such as this one from the current issue of LBR:

“…a pregnant woman came to my clinic. She hadn't felt her baby move for a day or so, and wanted me to reassure her by listening for its heartbeat. Normal stethoscopes are no use for listening to the heartbeat of a baby in the womb; the sound is too fast, quiet and high-pitched. Midwives often use an electronic Doppler probe to find the foetal heart, but I used a modified tube called a Pinard stethoscope, like an old-fashioned ear trumpet, wedged between one ear and the swollen contour of the woman's belly. The best place to lay the trumpet end is where you think you've felt the convex curve of the baby's spine. Even with one finger in my other ear it took a while to find the heart — an agonizing couple of minutes for the mother. But there it was: a rhapsodic, syncopated interleaving of her heartbeat with her baby's. The fetal heartbeat was distinct, fluttering fast like a bird over the oceanic swell of the mother's pulse, an allegro played over an adagio. I paused for a moment listening to the two rhythms within one, two lives within one body.” — Gavin Francis

FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS

Come, my songs, let us express our baser passions.

Let us express our envy for the man with a steady job and no worry about the future.

You are very idle, my songs,

I fear you will come to a bad end.

You stand about the streets, You loiter at the corners and bus-stops,

You do next to nothing at all.

You do not even express our inner nobility,

You will come to a very bad end.

And I? I have gone half-cracked.

I have talked to you so much that I almost see you about me,

Insolent little beasts! Shameless! Devoid of clothing!

But you, newest song of the lot,

You are not old enough to have done much mischief.

I will get you a green coat out of China

With dragons worked upon it.

I will get you the scarlet silk trousers

From the statue of the infant Christ at Santa Maria Novella;

Lest they say we are lacking in taste,

Or that there is no caste in this family.

Ezra Pound, from Lustra (1913-1915)

IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING…

Editor,

In the following I will attempt a point-by-point refutation of the claims made in the AVA article about KZYX dated Thursday, 2-13-14. In general, the claims are vague and unsubstantiated, sometimes meaningless.

It was claimed that KZYX is dominated by Anderson Valley people. While I am not quite sure what “dominated” means in this context, I can say that two of the full-time staff live in the Anderson Valley, but the general manager and underwriting director live on the coast. No current member of the Board of Directors lives in the Anderson Valley and its Directors must represent the five different election districts in the county. Furthermore, about 75% of the programmers live outside the Anderson Valley. Most of the listener-members also live in cities and towns not in Anderson Valley. The station is not dominated by folks from any particular place in Mendocino County at all, let alone Anderson Valley.

It was also claimed that the station is organized “in a way that make it reform-proof,” because it has been stuffed with “unreconstructed hippies who can recite line by line every Grateful Dead song ever written” who have “about as much business running a radio station as they would operating a nuclear power plant.” This is a hyperbolic false analogy. A cursory look at the staff and programmer credentials clearly shows that the taste in music extends well beyond the Grateful Dead (one weekly, late-night show), as good as they may be, and we are not a bunch of “unreconstructed hippies,” whatever that might mean. The staff and programmer experience in radio broadcasting is extensive, by any measure. And one-third of the Board of Directors is elected by the membership in the station each and every year, and directors may serve no more than two consecutive terms. This provides a structural opportunity for regular reform possibilities. In fact, the board and senior management of the station have seen regular changeover in the station’s history. The possibility of reform is actually built in to the policies and structure of the organization.

No member of the Board of Directors has been denied access to the financial statements and records of the organization. They are available at all times during regular business hours at the Philo offices to any member of the Board. It is my understanding that the Board Treasurer has never asked to look at those books; and it is actually his responsibility to maintain those books as the Chief Financial Officer of MCPB, specified in the by-laws. On the other hand, the general manager provides updates on the station’s financial health in his regular reports to the board, which are published on the station’s Website for all to see. The line of credit is available to manage cash flows, which have only periodic infusions from pledge drives and other sources, and was completely paid off for eight out of twelve months in 2013, and is currently completely paid off. There has been no financial malfeasance whatsoever as implied.

Any full-time job openings would be posted, as required by law. The only recent “hires” have been part-time employees and paid contractors, which do not require public posting. No board meeting has been canceled in the last twelve months, period. The Board has scheduled all meetings in full communication and by consensus. As mentioned in the article and on the general manager’s blog posting, the license for KZYZ (91.5FM) has been renewed; the license for KZYX is under review, apparently due to a letter sent during the public comment period last year. We do not know anything more than that, because the FCC is not particularly forthcoming about their internal processes. I do not know why the article says that John’s blog post is misleading, and it does not clarify.

The Program Advisory Council has not been functioning for some time, and it is not mandated by the station’s by-laws. It was set up by a policy established in December, 2008. The difference between policies and by-laws is that by-law changes must be approved by the members, and policies are established by simple majority vote of the Board to guide it in its operations. The Program Advisory Council was strictly advisory in nature, and all decisions about programming remained the responsibility of the Program Manager. It was established to support the Program Manager, and it functioned for a few years but was not sustained. The Board will be reviewing it for potential action in the near future.

Staff salaries, other than the station general manager’s salary, are kept private both for the protection of the staff members, and as specifically allowed by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (following the Privacy Act of 1974), from whom we receive a substantial part of our income. There is no violation of laws, by-laws, policy, or ethics in keeping these items private, and we are in fact in full compliance with requirements.

With regard to Ms. Massey’s statement of her experience of volunteering at the station, I can only say that I do not share her opinions about the general character of the staff, their commitments & professionalism, and the physical space. It is not clear why she felt the FCC would be interested in those things in any case.

Dr. Miller is in the process of working with the staff to have his program reinstated. We have numerous underwriters that are private businesses, but announcements about their underwriting support is unequivocally different than a programmer promoting his or her own business, and the FCC makes that distinction quite clear. Doug McKenty knows what he has to do to return to the air having successfully completed the grievance process (in which I participated), and the Open Lines program will be reinstated later this year.

In conclusion, as shown above, the article makes numerous false and misleading statements. KZYX is not in dire straits, not mismanaged, and continues to be well supported by its financially contributing members, volunteer staff, and listenership. While I have penned this epistle and am wholly responsible for it, at the time of submission a majority of my colleagues on the Board of Directors have expressed their support for its intention and content.

Stuart Campbell, KZYX listener-member; Consider This program host; Programmer-elected Board Member; College professor

REALITY CHECK: So why ARE home sales tanking? It’s because you can’t buy a house if you’re working graveyard at Freddie’s Burger Bar for $8.50 an hour. It’s because you can’t put together a 20% down-payment if you’re camped out on Mom’s sofa in the attic along with Uncle Murray’s trombone and your Dad’s photo collection of soup cans. It’s because you can’t qualify for a mortgage when 100 percent of your weekly paycheck goes to paying the VISA, filling the gas-tank, and buying a few groceries at Danny’s Discount Foodmart. It can’t be done. That’s what’s really going on. That’s why the share of first time homebuyers is currently at its lowest level ever. That’s why purchase applications are at an 18-year low. That’s why the homeownership rate has slipped to levels not seen since 1995. And that’s why mortgage originations were down almost 60 percent year-over-year. It’s because the economy sucks. Everyone knows it. (Mike Whitney)

ZIONIST AGENTS

Editor,

Zionist friends of Alison Weir publishing my address and my wife's name.

The Anderson Valley Advertiser editor did delete the posting by one Larry Vance, an associate of MECA zionists, who had named my wife and given my home address in answer to a post from me commenting on the local 'public' radio station KZYX.

In my opinion, these zionists had been encouraged by the editor's prior repeated posting of Mazin Qumsiyeh's blog alleging that I am an ADL agent.

But at least he had the integrity to delete this sort of veiled threat from his newspaper.

Mark Richie, Cotati

ALLEGED PROBLEMS: REAL SOLUTIONS

by Frank Scott

There are more than 300 million people in the USA. 492 of them are billionaires. That represents roughly 16 millionths of 1%. In decimal form that’s .0000016, or as a fraction, 16 over 1 million. This is not the 1% the Occupy Movement imprinted on (some of) the national consciousness. Even an innumerate person can understand that represents a teeny, tiny, microscopic portion of our supposedly democratic, equal opportunity, propaganda spouting world’s most deadly military killing machine in history.

But hey, we’re a free enterprise system, right? Those less than 500 of us are brilliant, industrious, hard working people who’ve earned every penny of that money by getting up early and getting off to the foundry, office, factory, school, hospital and sundry other places where people work, while the rest of us  —  roughly 99.9999984% — are loutish chumps (except for a small professional elite who were smart enough to become servants to that 16/millionth) who, if we work much harder, regularly attend religious services and even more regularly take good drugs, can also hope to join them up at that fractional faction of a factional fraction at the top. Someday. Sure.

It’s in the Constitution. Or the Declaration. Or the bible? Well, maybe a comic book?

Meanwhile, at the other extreme of our population, far more people, actually tens of thousands, live in and on the street. They sleep in shelters, which put them up for the night if they are lucky enough to get in, and put them out in the morning. Or they sleep in cars, doorways, under bridges and on park benches, if there is no room at the inn  —  oops  —  shelter. But not to worry, theirs is not complete despair, abject misery or living death by comparison to the opulence enjoyed by the top fraction and its servant class.

Our bottom dwelling humans who absorb the most extreme loss that ultimately benefits upper level private profits can avail themselves of free food dispensaries at least once a day. And free health clinics and hospital emergency rooms when their economically and elements weakened state brings on illness or disease. And if they drop dead in the street and are not claimed by relatives, they are guaranteed publicly financed burial in Potter’s Fields. That’s after their bodies have been used to train future doctors and nurses, assuming the ravages of their lives haven’t reduced them to former human but now garbage offering no useful parts or organs as tools for medical education.

We also have tens of millions of pet dogs and cats which live in warmth and comfort, are often loved as members of our human families, are very well fed and have health care from thousands of pet clinics staffed by educated veterinarians, including oncologists. This in a nation where some die in the street and no one even knows they had cancer until their unclaimed bodies are used for medical experiments.

Those may seem uncommon extremes of the social order but they are factual and not the healthiest sign for a nation and culture in which many still believe that we are superior to others, and if not a master race of chosen people, at least an exceptionally wonderful place to have a family, raise a dog, tap a phone or aim a drone. Given that and the fact that the overwhelming majority of what is called the scientific community warns us that our treatment of the planet’s human and other resources is bringing us closer to a failure and possible breakdown of society previously inconceivable, what would you say we should be most concerned about?

What happened at Downton Abbey? The outcome of the NCAA March Madness? The chances that Miley Somebody’s twerky tongue will grow a foot longer? That Pussy Riot will move to America and host next year’s Academy Awards? Nope, nothing that important. Guess?

Putin, and Russia’s attempt to take over the globe and make us all eat evil black bread!

You’d think as much if you read, watch, listen to and especially believe what you’re told by our nation’s corporate ministry of disinformation, which has been beating the drums of war for years now but most recently over this alleged renewed threat from Russia. And where is the evil Cossack saber poised to strike at the burgers, fries, Fox TV and PBS series we so love, cherish and would die for?

Right on our very borders at the Ukraine!

Well, though it actually borders on Russia and parts of it like the Crimea have actually been in Russia and millions of its population identify with and speak Russian, you might think it was in downtown Dallas or uptown New York for the way it has been treated by our sometimes telegenically attractive brain dead media mind managers and their pinheaded mentors in our Hollywood-for-ugly-people Government.

This would be laughable if not hysterically so, but for the fact that what passes for leadership, like the president, secretary of state, a wannabe president, and half wit critics of those dim bulbs because they aren’t warlike enough, dominate what passes for discussion on an issue that could lead to even greater stress on a failing system, if not a blunder into a war that might just bring on collapse that much sooner.

There has never have been a better time to totally disregard corporate media and to be extremely careful about what passes for its “alternative.” Study a map of the world and also look at the material reality of the USA that’s neglected by those who tell us about it rather than allowing us to experience it. Learn to respect your neighbors and turn anger at those who allegedly represent you but are owned and operated exclusively for the benefit of that top minuscule minority and their servants. Demand and create social transformation before these people and their system destroys us all. Hurry.

You can call that process democracy, revolution, or lunch. The substance is what matters, not the label.

(Frank Scott writes political commentary and satire which appears online at the blog Legalienate http://legalienate.blogspot.com. Email him at: fpscott@gmail.com)

MEMO OF THE WEEK

(A friend at the SF Chron passes along the latest in newspapers — paper free papers.)

Team — Please read the message below from Dave Byers. It is important that we take action on this immediately, not only from a safety perspective, but also to improve our office aesthetics. We are bringing guests into our office more frequently now, and the clutter does not convey the image we want to present to the public.

Thanks for your prompt attention to this matter. — Jeff

Last Thursday we had a visit from an Inspector from the Department of Health concerning an inquiry about material storage at 925 Mission. In the course of the inspection (in which no hazardous materials were found), the inspector did indicated there were conditions in our suite which need to be addressed immediately:

1. The placement of items (files, boxes and books) in walkways and aisles that restrict egress.

2. The amount of paper (newspaper, correspondence and books) and clutter spread across many of the work spaces and on the floor.

Although these are fire safety issues rather than health concerns, the inspector strongly suggested that we eliminate these dangers prior to the next visit of the Fire Marshall, which will happen the first week of April.  Therefore, items that are blocking or constricting walkways need to be cleared by the end of the day next Wednesday (3/25) so the Facilities staff may remove them Thursday morning. The facilities staff will be placing large blue recycling bins for paper and gray waste bins for other items in which you can deposit excess paper, old reports and newspapers and other unneeded items.

We are also taking this opportunity to upgrade the appearance of our office.

If you have a locker please, clean it out and remove your lock by the end of the day Friday so the lockers can be cleaned. Anyone storing any food items in a locker, refrigerator or desk please also remove these items by Friday evening. Items not removed from the lockers or refrigerators will be disposed of on Friday evening or over the weekend.

In an ongoing effort to keep our office safe an to stay on top of the appearance, any items that reduces the clear open walkway to less than 36" will be tagged and removed the following day. Lockers not kept clean, will have to be removed.

Please plan to take home items that you do not need over the next ten days so that our work place is cleaner, less cluttered and safer for everyone. — Thanks, Dave

From: Byers, Dave Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2014 5:35 PM To: SFC-All Users Cc: Yoder, Kirk; Simpson, Joe; Mifsud, Frank Subject: Office Clean-up

Thanks everyone for your comments and emails seeking clarifications on the office clean up. Please excuse my not answering you each individually. It seemed better to do a single email to assure consistency and a prompt response. If I miss something please let me know. Thanks

1. Emptying hall way lockers — Yes, it is necessary that locks are removed and that everything is removed by 9 PM on Friday night. Locks not removed will be cut and recycled. Items left will be disposed of.

2. Emptying the refrigerators — Again, Yes, it is necessary that everything be removed including condiments. Anything remaining will be thrown out (so save your tuberware, take it home). Sorry, but it is the only way that we can do the thorough cleaning required. Unpackaged food (including items in tuberware containers) should not be placed in refrigerators for longer than 48 hours. Frozen items should not be placed in freezers for longer than 96 hours.

3. Which refrigerators need to be cleaned out — All shared refrigerators including the ones at 49 Mary Street), need to be emptied by midnight on Friday- so the newsroom late shift has the opportunity to remove their items. Theses refrigerators will be cleaned on Saturday. Small refrigerators in offices must be identified by placing a sign “Refrigerator Inside” on the door of the office.

4. Corridors and aisle ways — The following aisle ways are not compliant and need to be addressed.

a. The newsroom Mission Street wall aisle way. Nothing can be placed between the workstations and the Mission Street wall. Boxes, bookshelves, files etc. need to be removed.

b. The newsroom Mission Street wall window sills must be clear. Nothing should be on these sills — the sills are part of the HVAC system.

c. The newsroom East and West wall aisle way in new Features — unless all the under desk bookshelves are removed nothing can be between the cushion topped files and the east or west wall respectively.

d. The south wall of the Features space — anything wider than 12" needs to be removed.

e. The wall to the left as you exit photo — there must be 3' clearance in front of the electrical panels

f. The aisle way to the right as you exist photo — nothing should be between the photo wall and the file in the corner

g. The aisle way adjacent to Desktop — nothing can be placed between the lateral files and the cubicles

h. The aisle way adjacent to the HS office and the doors to the freight elevator lobby — only one side of this aisle way should have items placed against it — this is an emergency egress path.

i. The corridor between the Linked-In lounge and the freight elevator lobby — only one side of this aisle way should have items placed against it and these must not block any door or extend into the corridor more than 24" — this is an emergency egress path.

j. The aisle way on the east (5th street side) of the digital media space — nothing can be between the IT cabinets and the office — this is an emergency egress path.

k. The aisle way from the Tesla Lounge to the Marketing department — nothing should extend onto the carpet in advertising and nothing can be placed in the corridor from the beginning of marketing around to the lobby with the stained glass by the 901 elevator lobby.

l. The walk way in Marketing between the desks and the casual furniture and the south wall of the research space must be kept clear and nothing should extend into it from either side.

m. The aisle way on the west side of the customer service/advertising area — nothing should extend beyond the edge of the workstations or beyond the shelving/files mounted to the west wall of the space

n. The empty water bottles and papers on the main corridor between the entry of the Editorial page space and the refrigerators should be removed.

o. Nothing should be placed on the corridor walls from Nob Hill to the main corridor — doors on both side need to be kept clear at all times

p. Nothing should be placed in the 1st floor corridor from the ladies room to the Minna Street door way.

q. The corridor between Bill Barno's office and the main corridor — bundles of newspapers and inserts must be removed

r. Nothing should be placed between the walls of the Incubator and the work surfaces any file cabinets or book shelves should be removed.

s. The shelves in the corridor between the elevator and the test kitchen at 49 Mary need to be removed.

5. All newspaper recycling collection racks need to have papers neatly placed in them so the papers do not spill out into the aisle ways or corridors

6. Nothing should be placed in the alcove next to Sue Taylor's office in Advertising — this is an electrical closet and access must be clear at all times

7. Nothing should be placed in the fire hose alcove on the main corridor by the central elevator lobby

8. Workspace guidelines -

a. The space under the desk must be kept clear at all times — so it may be used to provide protection in the event of an earthquake

b. Old newspapers and paper should not be stacked on top of or under electric wiring

c. Books, CDS, files and paper should not be stacked on work surfaces in a manner or height that creates a likelihood that they will slip or fall onto the floor or the person in the next workspace.

d. Unwrapped candy and open packages of food should not be stored in file drawers, or bookshelves

Again if I didn't answer your question please let me know.

Thanks, Dave

HOLLOW ADVICE

Obama to Putin: Do as I Say Not as I Do

by Ralph Nader

Dear President Obama:

As you ponder your potential moves regarding President Vladimir V. Putin’s annexation of Crimea (a large majority of its 2 million people are ethnic Russians), it is important to remember that whatever moral leverage you may have had in the court of world opinion has been sacrificed by the precedents set by previous American presidents who did not do what you say Mr. Putin should do – obey international law.

The need to abide by international law is your recent recurring refrain, often used in an accusatory context toward Mr. Putin’s military entry in Crimea and its subsequent annexation, following a referendum in which Crimean voters overwhelmingly endorsed rejoining Russia. True, most Ukrainians and ethnic Tatars boycotted the referendum and there were obstacles to free speech. But even the fairest of referendums, under UN auspices, would have produced majority support for Russia’s annexation.

Every day, presidential actions by you violate international law because they infringe upon national sovereignties with deadly drones, flyovers and secret forays by soldiers – to name the most obvious.

President Bush’s criminal invasion and devastation of Iraq in 2003 violated international law and treaties initiated and signed by the United States (such as the Geneva Conventions and the UN Charter). What about your executive branch’s war on Libya, now still in chaos, which was neither constitutionally declared, nor authorized by Congressional appropriations?

“Do as I say, not as I do,” is hard to sell to Russians who are interpreting your words of protest as disingenuous. This is especially the case because Crimea, long under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, became part of Russia over 200 years ago. In 1954, Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev gave Crimea to Ukraine, which was then part of the Soviet Union, out of sympathy for what Ukraine endured under the Nazi invasion and its atrocities. It mattered little then because both “socialist republics,” Ukraine and Crimea, were part of the Soviet Union. However, it is not entirely clear whether Khrushchev fully complied with the Soviet constitution when he transferred Crimea to Ukraine.

Compare, by the way, the United States’ seizure of Guantanamo from Cuba initially after the Spanish-American War, which was then retained after Cuba became independent over a century ago.

The Russians have their own troubles, of course, but they do have a legitimate complaint and fear about the United States’ actions following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Led by President William Jefferson Clinton, the United States pushed for the expansion of the military alliance NATO to include the newly independent Eastern European countries. This was partly a business deal to get these countries to buy United States fighter aircrafts from Lockheed Martin and partly a needless provocation of a transformed adversary trying to get back on its feet.

As a student of Russian history and language at Princeton, I learned about the deep sensitivity of the Russian people regarding the insecurity of their Western Front. Hitler’s attack on the Soviet Union took many millions of Russian lives. The prolonged Nazi siege of the city of Leningrad alone is estimated to have cost over 700,000 civilian lives, which is about twice the total number of United States soldiers killed in World War II.

The memories of that mass slaughter and destruction, and of other massacres and valiant resistance are etched deeply in Russian minds. The NATO provocation was only one of the West’s arrogant treatments of post-Soviet Russia, pointed out in the writings of Russian specialist, NYU professor Stephen Cohen (see his pieces in The Nation here:http://www.thenation.com/authors/stephen-f-cohen). That sense of disrespect, coupled with the toppling of the elected pro-Russian President of Ukraine in February, 2014 (which was not lawful despite his poor record) is why Mr. Putin’s absorption of Crimea and his history-evoking speech before the Parliament, was met with massive support in Russia even by many of those who have good reasons to not like his authoritarian government.

Now, you are facing the question of how far to go with sanctions against the Russian government, its economy and its ruling class. Welcome to globalization.

Russia is tightly intertwined with the European Union, as a seller and buyer of goods, services and assets, and to a lesser but significant degree with the United States government and its giant corporations such as oil and technology companies. Sanctions can boomerang, which would be far worse than just being completely ineffective in reversing the Russian annexation of Crimea.

As for sanctions deterring any unlikely future Russian moves westward into Ukraine, consider the following role reversal. If Russia moved for sanctions against the United States before Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and other attacks, would that have deterred either you or George W. Bush from taking such actions? Of course not. Such an outcome, politically and domestically, would not be possible.

If you want continued Russian cooperation, as you do, on the critical Iranian and Syrian negotiations, ignore the belligerent baying pack of neocons who always want more United States wars, which they and their adult children avoid fighting themselves. Develop a coalition of economic support for Ukraine, with European nations, based on observable reforms of that troubled government. Sponsor a global conference on how to enforce international law as early as possible.

Drop the nonsense of evicting Russia from the G8 – a get-together forum of leaders. Get on with having the United States comply with international law, and our constitution on the way to ending the American Empire’s interventions worldwide, as has been recommended by both liberal and conservative/libertarian lawmakers, along with much public opinion.

Concentrate on America, President Obama, whose long unmet necessities cry out from “sea to shining sea.”

(Ralph Nader is a consumer advocate, lawyer and author of Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us! He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion, published by AK Press. Hopeless is also available in a Kindle edition.)

POLICE CALLS AS OF SUNDAY MORNING

CAMPERS -- Caller in the 900 block of North State Street reported at 9:11 a.m. Monday that people were camping nearby. An officer responded but the people were gone.

PIT BULL IN YARD -- Caller in the 300 block of Washington Avenue reported at 10:10 a.m. Monday that his neighbor's pit bull was in his yard. An officer responded and released the dog to the shelter.

RAPE -- An officer responded to the 500 block of Ford Street at 10:12 a.m. Monday and took a report of a rape.

TOOLS TAKEN -- Caller in the 900 block of West Church Street reported at 11:49 a.m. Monday that tools were stolen over the weekend and requested extra patrols in the area.

BAT IN COMPLEX -- Caller in the 600 block of North Orchard Avenue reported at 12:24 p.m. Monday that a bat was hanging near bicycle racks. At 1:30 p.m., a caller reported that the bat was flying near children and it posed an "immediate hazard." The caller was advised.

HARASSMENT -- Caller on Empire Drive reported at 1:47 p.m. Monday being harassed by a woman via social media and texting. The caller was advised about getting a restraining order.

DOOR BROKEN -- Caller in the 900 block of North Oak Street reported at 3:31 p.m. Monday that a sliding glass door was broken last month and the front yard was vandalized last week. An officer took the information.

CROSS-DRESSER PULLED A KNIFE -- Caller in the 100 block of Observatory Avenue reported at 4:22 p.m. Monday that a man dressed as a woman brandished a knife and threw a soda in his face. An officer responded and took a report.

MAN REFUSING TO LEAVE -- Caller in the 1100 block of South Dora Street reported at 11:46 a.m. Tuesday that an elderly man was in the lobby and refusing to leave. His spouse was contacted and she picked him up.

SHOPLIFTER -- Caller at Safeway on South State Street reported at 1:23 p.m. Tuesday that a man stole a six-pack of tea and deli sandwiches, then dropped the items on the way to his car. An officer responded, but no prosecution was desired.

GRAFFITI -- Caller in the 1300 block of South Dora Street reported at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday finding gang graffiti. An officer responded and took a report.

DOG BITE -- An officer took a report of a dog bite at 2:48 p.m. Tuesday. No information was provided about where and when it occurred.

CAR BURGLARIZED -- Caller in the 1200 block of Airport Park Boulevard reported at 4:23 p.m. Tuesday that a car was burglarized within the last 90 minutes. An officer responded and took a report.

CAMPER UNDER BRIDGE -- Caller in the 300 block of North Spring Street reported at 4:58 p.m. Tuesday that someone was camping under the bridge behind her house. An officer responded and the person left upon request.

PEOPLE WITH PIPES -- Caller in the 400 block of North State Street reported at 5:59 p.m. Tuesday that two people armed with metal pipes were coming at employees to retrieve a vehicle. The caller said someone at the business would call if there were more problems.

CAMPERS -- Caller in the 600 block of South Orchard Avenue reported at 6:20 p.m. Tuesday that two transients with backpacks and bedrolls walked behind the building. An officer responded and the people left upon request.

DUI ARREST -- Caller at the corner of Talmage Road and Airport Park Boulevard reported at 7:29 p.m. Tuesday that an unresponsive man was inside a car. An officer responded and arrested Evan M. Morris, 51, of Ukiah, on suspicion of driving under the influence and violating his probation.

MIDNIGHT BASKETBALL -- Caller in the 1200 block of Homewood Drive reported at 12:02 a.m. Wednesday not being able to sleep because people were playing basketball in the area. An officer responded but did not find the players.

SLEEPER IN BATHROOM -- Caller at Safeway on South State Street reported at 4:16 a.m. Wednesday that someone was sleeping in the bathroom an officer responded and the person left.

SPEEDING CARS -- Caller on Lockwood Drive at 7:41 a.m. Wednesday requested extra patrols in the area because of speeding vehicles in the morning when kids are walking to school.

GRAFFITI -- Caller in the 200 block of Hospital Drive reported at 7:46 a.m. Wednesday finding graffiti on the building. An officer took a report.

KIDS MAKING WEAPONS -- Caller at Ukiah High School on Low Gap Road reported at 9:26 a.m. Wednesday that two juveniles were detained for making and distributing shanks and daggers. An officer responded and cited three kids.

MAN WALKING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD -- Caller at the corner of Talmage Road and Cunningham Street reported at 9:34 a.m. Wednesday that a man was walking in the middle of the street and backing up traffic. An officer responded and arrested a 21-year-old man for being under the influence of a controlled substance. He was cited and released.

WOMAN POOPED IN FRONT OF BUSINESS -- Caller in the 300 block of South School Street reported at 9:51 a.m. Wednesday that a woman defecated and changed her clothes in front of the business. An officer responded but she was gone, and he left a message for the streets department to clean up the mess.

POSSIBLE DEATH -- Caller at the corner of Perry and Thomas streets reported at 10:57 a.m. Wednesday seeing someone in a field that was possibly dead. An officer responded and reported that the person was just sleeping.

The following were compiled from reports prepared by the Ukiah Police Department regarding calls handled by the Fort Bragg Police Department.

EMBEZZLEMENT -- Caller in the 100 block of South Main Street reported at 12:04 p.m. Sunday that an employee theft was recorded. An officer responded and arrested a 25-year-old Fort Bragg man for embezzlement.

JOGGER OFFERED MONEY -- Woman at 9:38 a.m. Monday requested to speak to an officer about a man who approaches her while she's jogging and offers her money. An officer responded and took a report.

CAT SHOT -- Caller in the 800 block of East Laurel Street reported at 1:07 p.m. Monday that a cat was shot by a BB gun last week. An officer took a report for animal cruelty.