Mendocino County Today: Friday, May 23, 2014

• Caltrans Wants $150,000 from Parrish
• Mental Crisis Van
• Antifreeze for Plants
• Knock Knock
• FB Garden Cafe
• College Graduates
• Homeless Homes
• Health Center Board
• Candidates on Pot
• Police Reports

BLOOD FROM THE TURNIP

by Tiffany Revelle

A restitution hearing was delayed in Mendocino County Superior Court Wednesday for Willits bypass protester Will Parrish in the trespassing case against him stemming from his 11-day occupation of a Caltrans wick drain crane last summer to delay construction.

Caltrans originally asked for $500,000 in restitution costs for the delay, but lowered the request to $150,000, according to prosecutor Paul Sequeira of the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office. He told the court that in the wake of a jurisdictional struggle that ensued, he wants the state Department of Transportation to explain the new number at a July restitution hearing.

"I'm going to impress on (them) that they need a lawyer here," Sequeira said.

Parrish, who has been vocal in his opposition to the multimillion-dollar bypass project for environmental reasons, occupied a Caltrans wick drain crane that was set to "turn the wetland into a desert," according to his San Francisco attorney, Omar Figueroa, between June 20 and July 1.

The DA's Office initially charged Parrish with three infractions in the case, but changed the charges to 16 misdemeanors when Parrish demanded his right to a jury trial.

Parrish took a plea deal in January, entering a "West" no-contest plea to two misdemeanor trespassing charges with the understanding that sentencing is delayed for two years if he serves 100 hours of community service, stays away from the bypass project except where the public is allowed and doesn't interfere with equipment, among other terms.

If he meets the terms for the two-year time period, the misdemeanors will be reduced to infractions.

(Courtesy, the Ukiah Daily Journal)

ACCORDING TO A RECENT article by Susan Gardner in the Redwood Times out of Garberville, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman told the Garberville Rotary Club that he is “looking into a crisis program that is currently being used in Sonoma County. Instead of sending deputies to respond to non-violent calls Sonoma sends specially trained members of a crisis team with special training to deal with things like domestic disagreements or juvenile problems. He said having a deputy arrive in a patrol car can sometimes just escalate the problem, leading to the person being handcuffed and taken to jail. A social worker or trained crisis intervention person can usually talk people down from what could become a very volatile situation and avoid the need for law enforcement. The sheriff did clarify that if there was any indication of violence his deputies would be right there to intervene and no one would ever be sent into an unstable or dangerous situation. The program in Sonoma seems to be working well and he will be looking into it more fully.”

SHERIFF ALLMAN said much the same thing in Boonville last year while on a local book tour for the book he co-wrote with Steve Sparks about the Aaron Bassler manhunt. One would hope that the Sheriff’s “looking” would have progressed past the point of looking and up somewhere near “finding” by now.

WE’VE PROPOSED something like this for years under the heading of a “crisis van” going all the way back to the first year after Proposition 63 passed which was supposed to fund new and different kinds of mental health services using a 1% tax on California’s richest earners. The idea arose in early Mental Health Board and staff discussions and went all the way to a really REALLY dumb idea of being put out to bid. Obviously, nobody bid on it. And good — because we don’t want this kind of service to go to a low bidder like they did for the rest of Mental Health Services a few years later. It needs to be done by supervisable government employees who are on call. Allman could simply start the a pilot program out of his own staff (with help from someone in what’s left of the Mental Health department). It could be modeled after the SoCo or the Alameda County program. And once it’s underway as a pilot program, simply propose it as proven and working and put one van in Fort Bragg and one in Ukiah/Willits. They’d quickly show that by simply relieving deputies and picking up the occasional druggie/crazy person who they already know and taking care of them by holding them until the crisis is over or taking them home or to a hospital (or even to jail in a few cases), they save the Sheriff money and provide a real service for people who are usually well-known to everyone involved already and who mostly don’t need law enforcement involvement.

WORD DRIPPING OUT from certain local vineyard owners has it that a at least one vineyard is using a quiet form of frost protection.

http://www.liquidfence.com/FreezePruf.html

Although the supplier claims it’s “affordable,” our local vineyard user-source says it’s “a little pricy.” However, when compared to the expense and hassle associated with the huge mechanical fans, along with installation, operation, fuel and maintenance, “a little pricy” might actually be  cheaper. And a lot quieter for neighbors, now having suffered 12 sleepless mornings and not looking forward to X number of sleepless mornings in 2015.

ACCORDING to the manufacturer: “FreezePruf, revolutionary new ‘anti-freeze for plants’ is an easy-to-use, biodegradable spray that improves healthy plants' natural cold tolerance by approximately 2 to 9 degrees F, depending on the variety of plant and the duration/intensity of frost or freeze event. Developed by botanists, FreezePruf protects the plant's foliage and flowers, externally and systemically (throughout the plant) by enhancing both its natural "anti-freeze" like properties and its ability to survive ice crystal damage. It's like moving your temperature zone 200 miles south! … FreezePruf may be applied at any temperature above freezing and will produce benefits as soon as plant surfaces dry. Best results will be obtained when applied at temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit and a minimum of 8 to 12 hours before an anticipated freeze. FreezePruf may also be applied seasonally, in anticipation of future cold events within the upcoming four weeks. Since FreezePruf extends the growing season, it's perfect for perennials as well as fruit and vegetable plants. Not intended for use on succulents. The guaranteed protection lasts up to four weeks. … FreezePruf is a water-based, eco-safe spray that enhances the plant's natural mechanisms to resist freeze damage, shielding it from ice crystal damage, and increasing its ability to survive cold temperatures by reducing the freezing point of water inside the tissues of the plant."

OUR READING of the manufacturer’s chart listing for grapes indicates that the stuff has been tested and proven on grapes and should provide freeze protection comparable to the intolerable noise of the present fans.

AV WINE GROWERS ASSOCIATION? How about it, Entitled Ones?

KNOCK KNOCK

Guy: Who’s there?

“Police — We just want to talk"

Guy: How many police are out there?

“Two”

Guy: Why don’t you just talk to each other?

RHODY’S GARDEN CAFÉ is now open every day from 11:00am to 5:00pm, April through September — the best-kept secret on the Mendocino Coast! We're excited to be using local providers for desserts and produce, including from our own organic vegetable garden -- come enjoy the best of the north coast in one experience. The menu includes made-to-order sandwiches on Fort Bragg Bakery organic breads, house-made soups, salads with homemade salad dressings, and daily specials. Come for a coffee date, or make a special trip for dessert: Cowlick’s Ice Cream is back! And with cream pies from Bolliver’s, fruit pies from Kemmy’s, and pastries from Costeaux Bakery, we have a treat for everyone. Drinks include smoothies, hot, iced, or blended coffee, and fresh strawberry lemonade. There is never an admission fee to come to the Café. Come for a quick lunch, call for take-out, enjoy or an all-day picnic in the Gardens with your lunch from Rhody's! Like our new page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/RhodysGardenCafe) , and spread the word! We'll see you here!

ANDERSON VALLEY RESIDENTS GRADUATE FROM SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY AND CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE

ELIS BAYNHAM of Philo, CA graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Sport Management at San Francisco Statue University’s commencement ceremony, held in St. Ignatius Church on May 15, 2014.

While at enrolled San Francisco State, Baynham’s classes were held at the extension campus in Orange, Ca. During his Master program, Elis had internships with University of San Diego Athletics Marketing, ESPN Radio, Crimson Marketing and Razorgator. Elis Baynham has moved from an internship position to employment with Razorgator, a sports/event ticketing firm in Los Angeles, as an account executive for their client, Goldman Sachs.

A 2008 graduate of Ukiah High School, he received his Bachelor of Science in Marketing in 2012 at Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA. Baynham is the son of Morgan and Laura Baynham of Philo, CA.

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GWYNETH BAYNHAM of Philo, CA graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chicana/o Studies at California State University, Northridge commencement ceremony, held on May 16, 2014.

While at enrolled CSU-Northridge, Baynham pursued additional studies in Assistive Technology Applications and received certification in this field from the Tseng College housed within CSU-Northridge. Gwyneth Baynham is returning to Mendocino County and plans to reside in Fort Bragg while pursuing her certification as a Special Education teacher.

A 2006 graduate of Ukiah High School, Gwyneth Baynham is the daughter of Morgan and Laura Baynham of Philo, CA.

PLENTY OF HOMES FOR THE HOMELESS

http://themindunleashed.org/2014/02/18600000-vacant-homes-united-states-enough-every-homeless-person-six.html

HEALTH CENTER BOARD MUST LEAD, NOT FOLLOW

To The Editor:

I am grateful to the Board of Directors of the Anderson Valley Health Center for their steadfastness throughout the meeting May 19^th. For the most part they were not defensive and seemed open to community questions and constructive criticism. They are nice people who are my friends and neighbors. They are very well meaning. They have a very difficult job which requires diplomacy, intelligence and strength in an era when our Health Center becomes a corporation to meet Federal guidelines. A very difficult task. They need diplomacy, strength and intelligence to navigate communication between management, community and staff as well.

The Board clearly demonstrated their gratitude to Diane Agee, Executive Director, for what they perceive as saving the Health Center from fiscal disaster and possible closing.

It was also Diane Agee who admitted responsibility for the gratuitously cruel manner of drop-kicking Kathy Corral, manager of the dental clinic, out of the clinic. A board member stated that we had to put the incident behind us. I disagree.

The treatment of Kathy, and the low morale of the staff, are surely indicative of a lack of compassion and respect on the part of the Executive Director toward our other friends and neighbors who work at the clinic. Kathy's treatment should be foremost in our minds. It is a clear message to the Board that they must oversee management and be firm. I can imagine that this is difficult given their perception that Diane Agee “saved” them. It will indeed take all of their intelligence, strength and diplomacy to do this.

Mary Pat Palmer, Philo

THIRD DISTRICT SUPES CANDIDATES ON THE POT

by Jane Futcher

A medical marijuana forum in Willits featuring the four candidates for Third District Supervisor Wednesday was a bust, if attendance is a measure of success.

Seventeen people showed up at the Little Lake Grange to hear the candidates weigh in on medical cannabis legalization, how they would protect the interests and viability of small pot farmers, and what they would do to keep the cannabis industry alive if the price of cannabis plunges further.

The Small Farmers Association hosted the meeting. The group’s mission is to ensure that small cannabis cultivators practicing sustainable farming methods play an integral role in the medical marijuana market, now and in the future.

Should be interesting, right? And the questions were great. But no sparks flew.

Julia Carrera, a certified lobbyist, former 9.31 medical cannabis farm inspector and consultant to the Small Farmers Association, moderated the meeting.

Of the candidates, Willits City Council member Holly Madrigal of Willits seemed most current on local cannabis cultivation issues -- from statewide medical cannabis legislation, to farmers’ lobbying groups, to the burgeoning interest of many Laytonville herbal medicine growers in breeding and cultivating high-CBD strains of medical marijuana.

She expressed deep concern about plummeting pot prices.

“There’s a huge amount of anxiety” about falling prices, she said. “It’s a huge part of our economy.”

Madrigal embraced the concept of local “branding,” proposing that with legalization the local cannabis industry could produce “value-added products,” including cannabis tinctures similar to herbal tinctures sold at local health food stores. She said cannabis content-analysis labs and medicinal tincture manufacturing and bottling companies could bring new jobs to the county. “We have a 30-year head start when it comes to quality pot,” she said. “This is our appellation. We don’t grow ‘Two Buck Chuck’ here.”

Madrigal said she would support legalization of medical cannabis if the legislation addressed the “negative impacts” of environmental abuses such as water theft and pollution from fertilizers, as well as abuses from law enforcement. “The war on drugs has not worked,” she said.

Candidate Clay Romero, a machinist who graduated from Laytonville High School and describes himself as coming from "a conservative Christian background,” said he is “troubled” that medicinal cannabis, which has legitimate uses, is getting “overrun by those who are strictly in it for the money.” He thinks county law should be in line with state and federal laws (which currently place cannabis on the list of Schedule 1 narcotics) and thinks it will be a very long time before marijuana is legalized by the federal government.

“For me personally, it would be very hard to support that,” Romero said. “I grew up in Laytonville. People have been shot at; people have committed suicide; people have died . . . I’ve had some really bad stuff happen.”

Romero said there is so much marijuana here that it’s detrimental to attracting and keeping manufacturing businesses. “Employees may be smoking, coming in high, missing work because they have to trim.”

When asked if he had the wherewithal to spearhead the marijuana issue if elected, he said he did not. Still, he would work with federal authorities “so we can keep ourselves out of trouble.”

Hal Wagenet of Willits, who served one four-year term as supervisor from 2003 to 2006 and played guitar for the legendary rock band “It’s a Beautiful Day” from 1968 to 1971, was comfortable discussing marijuana issues but did not appear terribly interested in them.

Wagenet said Mendocino growers are “boutique farmers.” He likened the cachet Mendocino cannabis has nationwide to the mystique surrounding redwood products when he worked in the lumber industry.

Back in the Sixties, Wagenet said he thought legalization was just around the corner. “I’m still waiting.”

The former supervisor fears the county’s economy could sink further with legalization based on the fact that real estate values have already fallen as marijuana prices have dropped. The industry is past its “prime,” he said.

Wagenet doesn’t think county supervisors can do much about cannabis laws on the books, but he said he would work to make aspects of the existing laws more fair. It bothers him that while people in cities can’t grow their own medicine easily, the law makes it illegal for someone in Mendocino County to transport or sell marijuana to them. “I’d work on that sort of thing,” he said.

Tom Woodhouse, a real estate broker and 20-year member of the Willits High School Site Council, said he thinks the solution to most challenges, including cannabis issues, can be found by listening to people, having patience and working together. “God is not going to rescue us,” Woodhouse said. “People get things done.”

“Twenty-five plants is a freedom I’d like to keep,” Woodhouse said. While he supports “mom and pop” gardens, he’s seen too many people move to Mendocino County for “the Gold Rush.” As a real estate agent, he said he’s had to clean up the environmental damage left behind when thoughtless cannabis cultivators put up stakes. “We’ve been invaded,” he said. “I don’t thinks that’s the mom and pops.”

Woodhouse said the county has the potential to profit from legalization, but he offered few specific ways to get the cannabis economy rolling.

When asked, both Woodhouse and Madrigal said that they would be willing to sponsor a countywide economic impact report on marijuana. Madrigal would do it in her first year. Romero said he would not undertake such a study. And Wagenet said he’d already done the first economic impact study as supervisor, when he’d estimated the value of the county’s annual marijuana crop at $1.5 billion. “A 10 percent tax on that would have doubled our county budget from $150 million to $300 million.”

(Jane Futcher is the author of Women Gone Wild, a memoir about moving to Mendocino County. She has contributed $150 to Holly Madrigal's campaign for supervisor.)

POLICE REPORTS

A Little River man arrested last week on suspicion of shoplifting at Walmart had several thousand dollars worth of cash and heroin hidden in his hat and shoes, the Ukiah Police Department reported.

According to the UPD, an officer responded to Walmart on Airport Park Boulevard around noon May 16 when it was reported that William H. Flubacher, 26, was seen leaving the store without paying for the shirt he had on and an item in his cart.

When Flubacher was placed under arrest, a search revealed he had $1,000 and a vial of heroin in his wallet, and more heroin and cash was found hidden in his hat, police said.

Further search reportedly revealed he had less than a gram of methamphetamine, as well as more cash hidden in each shoe. A total of $6,000 was removed from Flubacher's body and seized, police said.

He also had items used to smoke heroin, as well as evidence of drug sales, according to the UPD.

He was charged with shoplifting and possessing heroin for sale and booked into Mendocino County Jail.

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A 43-year-old Seattle man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence last week after reportedly promising an officer he wasn't planning on driving, the Ukiah Police Department reported.

According to the UPD, an officer spoke with the suspect, Raymond A. Curtis, of Seattle, after responding to Jack-In-The-Box on Airport Park Boulevard shortly before 1 a.m. May 15 when it was reported that a large group of people was hanging around two vehicles.

Curtis reportedly approached the officer, who noted that Curtis appeared to have been drinking and cautioned him not to drive. Curtis reportedly said he would wake up his wife and she would be driving.

Around 1:25 a.m., the officer reportedly saw Curtis driving in the 1100 block of Airport Park Boulevard, and the suspect stopped the vehicle and got out, apologizing for driving.

He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and for not updating his registration as a sex offender.

He was booked into Mendocino County Jail.

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The following were compiled from reports prepared by the Ukiah Police Department.

DINE AND DASH -- Caller at Denny's on Pomeroy Avenue reported at 1:05 a.m. Tuesday that males left without paying for their meal. An officer checked the area but did not find them.

DUI ARREST -- An officer stopped a vehicle in the 100 block of Leslie Street at 2:05 a.m. Tuesday and arrested Alexander R. Reeder, 28, of Oregon, on suspicion of driving under the influence.

POSSIBLE BURGLARY -- Caller in the 1100 block of Airport Park Boulevard reported at 4:10 a.m. Tuesday that a trailer had possibly been burglarized. An officer responded and took a report. At 7:21 a.m., another caller reported tools missing and that a vehicle had been broken into.

GRAFFITI -- Caller in the 1100 block of North State Street reported at 11:34 a.m. Tuesday finding graffiti. An officer responded and took a report.

VEHICLE RETURNED WITH LOADED GUN -- Caller at U-Haul on North State Street reported at 2:47 p.m. Tuesday that a vehicle was returned with a loaded weapon inside. An officer responded and took a report.

SLASHED TIRES -- Caller in the 700 block of South State Street reported at 6:52 p.m. Tuesday that two tires had been slashed.

POSSIBLE PROWLER -- Caller in the 800 block of Waugh Lane reported at 3:59 a.m. Wednesday that a possible prowler was in the area. An officer responded and arrested Benjamin F. Hoff, 31, of Ukiah, on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia and violating his probation.

BURGLARY -- An officer responded to Walmart on Airport Park Boulevard at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday for a report of a suspicious person and arrested Patrisha M. Moody, 35, of Ukiah, on suspicion of burglary, conspiracy, petty theft and identity theft. She was booked into county jail.

MAN SELLING KITTENS -- Caller in the 500 block of East Perkins Street reported at 2:14 p.m. Wednesday that a man was trying to sell kittens. An officer responded and cited the man and turned the kittens over to the animal shelter.

MAN IN PARKING LOT ALL DAY -- Caller at Ellie's Mutt Hut in the 700 block of South State Street reported at 3:43 p.m. Wednesday that a man in a beat-up green Volvo had been in the business' parking lot all day and was slumped over the wheel. After the officer responded and determined the man was fine, the business requested that the man be asked to leave, and the officer reported that he had been advised to move on.

MAN HANGING NOOSE -- Caller at the corner of East Standley and North State streets reported at 5:35 p.m. Wednesday that a man was hanging a noose from the streetlight. An officer responded and reported that the man said it was artistic expression.

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

BURGLARY IN PROGRESS -- Caller at the corner of Pine and Franklin streets reported at 2:42 a.m. Tuesday that a large group of transients were possibly trying to break into an apartment, and two of them were on a ladder, trying to get into a window. An officer responded and determined the incident was not as reported.