Mendocino County Today: Sunday, July 27, 2014

• Terrorism at Home
• Navarro Algae
• AVHC Board Agenda
• Music Director Needed
• A Girl
• Light Cries Foul
• Keyboard Shortcuts
• Print On
• Catch of the Day
• Gualala Demonstration
• Oily Business Practices

STEVEN BERRY IS A MARINE who saw way more than his share of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has been medically retired with severe PTSD and a traumatic brain injury after ten years of service, four of those years as a Marine recruiter. The young father is classified as one hundred percent disabled.

BARELY EMERGING from the Middle East with his life, last week Mendocino County took another whack of his life when the County took Berry's children and charged his wife with domestic assault.

DA EYSTER took one look at the domestic assault report and tossed it, but the two little girls are still in a foster home pending a Monday morning hearing in Judge Cindee Mayfield's court.

THE CONFISCATION of his two babies, ages two and one, has not helped the Marine's struggle to get himself all the way back from the terrors he's survived. The taking of the two children by Ms. Dale and Ms. Myer of Mendocino County's Children's Protective Services was, to say the least, arbitrary and not justified by any known circumstances.

MR. AND MRS. BERRY'S devotion to their girls is not in question, and if it were their many friends and neighbors would put those questions to rest. But nobody asked. Mendo CPS just grabbed the kids and drove off with them.

LACEY BERRY does double duty as Steve's wife and in-home caregiver. The Marine, understandably, suffers frequent nightmares and flashbacks. He is medicated and commutes back and forth to the Bay Area for therapy at the VA Hospital. He also regularly sees a doctor in Ukiah. The attractive young family is presently on a waiting list to get into an intensive PTSD in-house program in Palo Alto.

LAST MONDAY NIGHT, Steve Berry woke up from a frenzied nightmare imagining that his wife was attacking him. He called the police. His wife had not touched him. It was all in the Marine's haunted head.

SOMEHOW the cops determined that Mrs. Berry had ignited the Marine's late-night terror. “Probable spousal abuse,” the cops called it. Five of them arrested the wife and left the hallucinating Marine alone with the two babies. A neighbor promised to check on the Berry home while Mom was held overnight at the Mendocino County Jail.

MRS. BERRY tells us what happened next. “I got bailed out. I went home. My girls had been up for hours because my husband was still asleep due to his medications. We went straight to all his doctors who wrote notes to the DA, the police department etc. The charges were all rejected on Thursday.”

BUT ON WEDNESDAY, the two social workers, Dale and Myers, had descended on the family just as the Berrys were getting back to their usual state of difficult-normal.

“THEY TOLD ME they were there because of the domestic violence charge. They had us do a family plan where they wanted my husband to leave, which I didn't understand when I'm his caregiver. He walks with a cane, but they made him walk out. After that they gave me a drug test. I said I would pop for thc but that I have my 420 card and also an opiate from a prescription for dental work. I just didn't have the bottle that day. So they said they would bring in a police officer to give me a sobriety test. I asked the cps woman what that would consist of and she said a breathalyzer, touch your nose, walk a line etc. The police officer came. He was very nice but never gave me a sobriety test. The 4 of them, 2 officers, 2 cps agents, went outside my home (which they mentioned is beautiful and clean) called me back in and said they are ‘detaining’ my children.”

THE CPS WORKERS were calling the tune. They had refused to read the letter in which the Marine's doctor explained that the DA had already tossed the charges against Mrs. Berry and that her husband, not to mention the couple's two children, needed to be with her family. In her home. But the two social workers proceeded to take the kids anyway.

AND SGT. BERRY now has a new trauma to go with the combat-induced terrors he lives with. Neither he nor Mrs. Berry know where or with whom his little girls are. This is a brand new terror for Mrs. Berry who doesn't remember seeing anything like a warrant or other official order authorizing the taking of her children.

CPS Mendocino County is not known for its intelligence or compassion. They are famously incompetent, as again recently established in the Wilson Tubbs case where they placed an infant with this known Fort Bragg meth head who proceeded to beat the child to death. Mendocino County was recently ordered by the federal court to pay the dead infant's mother a hundred thousand dollars.

MR. AND MRS. BERRY have an attorney and an array of witnesses, including an official from the VA, who will appear with them in Judge Mayfield's courtroom Monday morning.

“I'VE NEVER BEEN AWAY from my kids this long,” Mom says. “Ever. I'm a stay at home mom and caregiver. I just can't believe this happening. I'm sorry I'm crying. I hope this makes sense.”

IT DOESN'T. It's indefensible. The guy gives it all he's got to beat back terrorists only to be terrorized by Mendocino County?

DROUGHT NOTES, A Reader Writes: “I drove to the Coast yesterday, via Highway 128, and was alarmed by the amount of green algae present in the Navarro, from the closed mouth of the river all the way back to the put-in point east of the Highway 1 bridge. Beyond that the view of the river is obscured by foliage until it takes its first big dogleg north and then east again, where you can see more large blooms of green algae dotting the way. I've never seen so much algae along that stretch. It does not look healthy.”

AMONG THE ITEMS on the AV Health Center Board agenda for Monday night at the Health Center Conference Room (7:30pm start) are a series of status reports from the newly installed management team, an update on what they are calling a “community needs assessment,” and a proposed “Dispensary Operating Policy” which will be presented by newly hired Medical Director Dr. David Gorchoff which the Board plans to approve.

THE LONG ANTICIPATED DISPENSARY POLICY is a bit of an anti-climax, containing just four statements which don’t sound like they would have needed a person of Dr. Gorchoff’s considerable qualifications to prepare: “Policy: It is the policy of AVHC to maintain a licensed dispensary on site as a service to our patients. This dispensary will maintain a limited formulary for the purpose of providing access to medications for our patients, with particular attention to those who: 1) require medications immediately due to an urgent health need; and/or 2) have significant barriers to obtaining medications elsewhere. The dispensary will operate in compliance at all times with: 1) all federal and state regulations and rules; and 2) all rules and regulations governing the federal 340B Drug Discount program. Charges for medications will take into account patients’ ability to pay as well as all overhead and labor costs of dispensing. The dispensary will be operated by trained, appropriate staff to assure that clear, auditable documentation and separation of duties occurs as is necessary and appropriate.”

FABIOLA ‘FABI’ CORNEJO, the Center’s new Chief Operating Officer, assuming that we’re all familiar with the full range of healthcare acronyms and staffers' chummy first names, reports that: “Vanessa Perez has accepted the billing position that was offered. She is now training Clarisa Anguiano to the front desk/reception responsibility which was Vanessa’s previous position. With Vanessa assisting in the billing process we are now submitting claims twice a week for a faster reimbursement turnaround. In efforts to decrease bad debt allowance, we are assessing an incentive strategy to increase patient payments and cash flow. [Executive Director] Shannon [Spiller] and I visited RCMS [Redwood Coast Medical Center, Gualala] to review a few responsibilities that they had obtained through the shared services. These duties consisted of credentialing licensed personnel, navigating through the HRSA Electronic Hand Book, donation list, and reviewing their HR files. Carol McHale from HitCare visited and performed her last workflow assessment. She will be sharing her findings and suggestions this week. Scheduling the update of the new version of eCW in near future to help enable new features simplifying use of eCW and allowing to be used to its full potential was recommended. I visited the Price Waterman’s offices to talk to Brandy Dalzell in regards to the new tasks she will be completing for AVHC. Accounts payable will be prepared twice a month on the 1st and 15th of every month. We will be working on revamping the HR module in Abila to have all HR files in electronic software.”

DR. GORCHOFF’S “MEDICAL DIRECTOR’S REPORT” begins with, “I regret that I will be unable to attend the meeting this month.” (Presumably Dr. Gorchoff will be available by speaker phone.)

“Just a reminder that my new (approximately half-time) schedule at AVHC does not begin until after Labor Day. I have 3-4 days on site for the rest of the summer, and I am keeping in close contact with [Executive Director] Shannon [Spiller] during this transition period.

Clinicians — I will be meeting with the Clinicians on July 25, my next day in Boonville. It is my intention to use this meeting to introduce myself and my new role, and to begin the team building process with this group. I will be looking for input on the Dispensary as well as other issues.

New Physician — I will be speaking with [newly hired family practice physician Dr.] Logan [McGhan], and Shannon and I will be working together to develop a medical provider schedule that takes into account everyone’s preferences and assures adequate clinical coverage and adequate support staffing for all providers at all times they are seeing patients. Needless to say, this is always a bit of a juggling act, and sometimes there will need to be compromises made. We want to do our best to honor whatever agreements have been made in the past. It is generally my preference to resolve conflicting scheduling requests based on seniority whenever possible.

Quality Improvement — QI Committee will next meet August 5, and I will attend via conference call. Dispensary — No progress to report as yet. I am awaiting input from the clinical team before proceeding. I am encouraging the Board to provide leadership on this issue through the approval of a Dispensary Policy, from which I can work with clinicians and staff to develop our processes and procedures.

FTCA [perhaps an acronym having to do with malpractice insurance coverage…] — This is one of the areas on which I will report each month.

PCMH [Possibly “patient-centered medical” something] — This is another topic on which I will report.”

THE HEALTH CENTER BOARD’s AGENDA for July 28 is an improvement over previous agendas, providing some actual information and useful attachments. But they still have a ways to go before they’re up to minimal Brown Act standards, such as giving at least three business days advance notice, inclusion of a full budget presentation, and avoidance of acronyms and first names. But it’s a good step in the right direction.

THE ANDERSON VALLEY CATHOLIC COMMUNITY at St Elizabeth Seton Church, Philo seeks a music/choir director for its Sunday services. Some music experience required. Catholic identity not required. Interested call Jerry Cox @ 895 3342 or reply to kcox@mcn.org.

A GIRL

The tree has entered my hands,

The sap has ascended my arms,

The tree has grown in my breast -

Downward,

The branches grow out of me, like arms.

 

Tree you are,

Moss you are,

You are violets with wind above them.

A child - so high - you are,

And all this is folly to the world.

— Ezra Pound

THERE’S NOT MUCH OF SUBSTANCE to add to the latest round of legal steps surrounding the State Water Board’s attempt to introduce some minimal management of frost protection water drawn by grape growers from the Russian River. We’ve covered the case in depth in these pages time and again since it first arose back in 2009.

Yesterday, a group of Mendo grape growers led by a Redwood Valley grape grower and PhD psychotherapist named Dr. Rudolph Light announced that they were going to appeal the recent state appellate court ruling overturning Mendo Judge Ann Moorman’s hometown ruling that the Water Board couldn't require local grape growers to come up with a state-satisfying plan of their own design to minimize fish strandings caused by simultaneous frost protection pumping. Local vineyardists showed up en masse in Moorman's courtroom a few years ago to whine that the state's timid demands were somehow onerous. Regulation of frost protection draws on public streams are givens in Sonoma and Napa counties.

Dr. Light is represented by Jared Carter’s Ukiah-based law firm. Carter, something of a national rightwing eminence grise, who regards regulation of private property as equivalent to confiscation. Needless to say, Carter's cockamamie theories are popular with Republicans.

CARTER has apparently convinced Dr. Light that he should part with several hundred thousand dollars to pursue a dubious appeal of the Appellate Court's sensible decision that the state has not only the right but the obligation to protect public streams.

ACCORDING to the monarchical Light himself in a 2012 Ukiah Daily Journal article about the reasons behind his decision to fight the Water Board, he’s “offended” because 1. The Water Board’s analysis of the effects of frost protection on fish is flawed and under-documented and 2. “The cost to people would be enormous, in money and time,” because “the equipment needed to monitor every gallon of water used is very expensive, not to mention the time and expertise needed to set up the equipment, as well as record and submit all the data collected.”

GET THAT? Light actually said the Water Board wanted him to keep track of “every gallon.”

”I promise you, people will go out of business," harrumphed the dim Light, raising his “offended” rhetoric from nutty to preposterous, because, as Light himself says, the Water Board’s proposed Water Demand Management Program merely calls for “an inventory of the frost diversion systems; a stream-stage monitoring program; an annual assessment of the potential risk of harm to salmonids; the identification and implementation of any corrective actions necessary to avoid harm to salmonids, and annual reporting of program data, activities and results.” All of it left to the water diverters themselves.

SEE ANYTHING like accounting for “every gallon” or “enormous cost” in any of that?

THE STATE WATER BOARD has simply asked the grape growers to tell them who’s diverting Russian River water for frost protection and how much they can pump. And to monitor stream flows a little better than they do now while conducting their own annual (once a year) salmon risk assessment in a self-serving report.

INLAND GRAPE GROWERS like Light insist that they already monitor the government stream gage on their own, and that they have built numerous ponds to collect winter flows (if there are any) to minimize the need for direct pumping from the River. To require anything more is unreasonable, they say.

CARTER seems to have convinced the Russian River crybabies that the Water Board requiring them to simply document what they say they’re already doing is unfair and excessive.

DR. LIGHT has penned at least two detailed refutations of the Water Board’s technical analysis. He insists he has demonstrated that the Board’s sample size was too small and missed a few pieces of data, and that if the Board really wanted to save fish, they’d restrict fishing on the upper Russian River and its tributaries, not make new water rules. (Never mind that the Water Board doesn’t have any say in fishing rules.)

IN ONE of his “white papers,” Dr. Light admits that his 24-acre vineyard is in a “topographic cold sink as well as being close to the river.” In other words, Light planted his grapes in a bad spot and now he doesn’t like being told to prove his windy claims that he’s not hurting fish.

LIGHT CLAIMS that fishermen are taking salmon out of the Russian and the state and feds aren’t doing anything about it. He offers no proof of this statement. (Fish and Wildlife has indeed seriously restricted fishing on the Russian, and many of the fishermen are catch-and-release fishermen anyway.)

LIGHT also argues that there are numerous flaws in the present data collection system. But the flaws Dr. Light complains about are exactly the kinds of things that should be addressed in whatever the grape growers end up proposing when their appeal is denied by the State Supreme Court.

AT ONE POINT in his argument Light admits, “We did not turn on our pumps on April 26, I suspect some people probably did in the morning hours.”

“SOME PEOPLE,” are not identified. Nor is the number of "some people.”

LIGHT'S DATA nitpicks may have some limited merit, but they are not an argument against self-designed frost protection management, which is the least that could be done in the chronically low-flow Russian River system (an independent monitor would be preferred) — even more so in the current drought. Redwood Valley runs out of water almost every year these days and the sooner they get a system set up to manage it, the better.

LIGHT insists that “the government is killing people’s livelihoods” by their supposedly flawed analysis. And their “intense pushing for draconian regulations is making the practice of agriculture prohibitively expensive in this area.”

THERE'S NOTHING DRACONIAN in what the Water Board has proposed, no matter what errant bullshit Jared Carter may have laid on Light. And in spite of the numerous pages of water data Dr. Light amasses in his tedious white papers, he never explains how he determined that the Water Board’s proposal would be “prohibitively expensive.” In fact, it’s woefully inadequate, a very small step toward a rational water management system like the one that’s been in place on the Napa River for decades without a peep from the Napa grape growers.

COMPUTER TIPS

by Bob Collette

More Keyboard Shortcuts:

• You can enlarge the text on any Web page. In Windows, press Ctrl and the plus or minus keys (for bigger or smaller fonts); on the Mac, it’s the Command key and plus or minus.

• You can also enlarge the entire Web page or document by pressing the Control key as you turn the wheel on top of your mouse. On the Mac, this enlarges the entire screen image.

• You can tap the Space bar to scroll down (one screen full) on a Web page. Add the Shift key to scroll back up.

• When you’re searching for something on the Web using, say, Google, put quotes around phrases that must be searched together. For example, if you put quotes around “electric curtains,” Google won’t waste your time finding one set of Web pages containing the word “electric” and another set containing the word “curtains.”

• You can open the Start menu by tapping the key with the Windows logo on it.

• Pressing Ctrl + F opens the Find in any program. This includes your Internet browser to find text on the current page.

• Windows Key + M-This is the shortcut to keep in mind when you are at work doing anything but working — it allows you to minimize all of your open windows, leaving just the desktop left exposed.

• Hold Shift While Inserting a CD - Have you ever wanted to insert a CD and not use it right away? This shortcut allows you to bypass Autorun when inserting a CD so you can control exactly when you will use a CD you've inserted.

What are your favorite basics-that-you-thought-everyone-knew?

By Pro-Design Communications. For computer help call: 895-3186 or send your questions and comments to: Bob@myandersonvalley.com

AT LEAST ONE MORE YEAR OF PRINT

Editor,

Dear Mr. Anderson:

It's time for the annual check. I know you promised to keep the print ed going as long as possible (and it looks so much better now!). I always get it in my PO box on Friday, so I have no delivery issues. Just wondering if another year of print is happening?

No matter how nice your online version, I just can't relate. I DO scan a lot of online info but don't actually READ a lot of it (except Counterpunch). I remember when I lived in Ann Arbor and got the City edition of the New York Times every day and how much I enjoyed it. Also the WSJ when I got the East Coast version in SF every day. I'm too old (69) to rewire my brain for experiencing print (which has been the major pastime of my whole life) as digital text.

I read nearly all of the AVA every week and would miss it a lot!

Will Davis, Covelo

ED REPLY: Yes, Mr. Davis, we're good for another year. Beyond that, well, we won't make any promises. Brace yourself for a generalization: Few people under the age of, say, 60, are reading print newspapers. Print seems doomed. Like you, I prefer print. I don't like reading on-line and seldom do it, not even the ava website. I refuse to own a cell phone. If someone ever catches me twitting or selfing, shoot me on the spot. As soon as I'm out of the newspaper biz I'm getting rid of my computer.

CATCH OF THE DAY, July 26, 2014

ARMANDO ALVAREZ, Ukiah. Battery with serious injury, possession of more than an ounce of pot, failure to pay, driving on suspended license, probation revocation.

JAMES ANDERSON, Willits. Probation revocation. (Frequent flyer.)

JANELL BARTON, Ukiah. Elder abuse, possession of meth for sale, possession of smoking/injecting device, under the influence of meth.

BRUCE BATES JR., Laytonville. Burglary, vandalism, resisting arrest, probation revocation.

DAVID LEE FURR, Windsor/Ukiah. Felony sexual act with a child. (Ed note: David L. Furr, 38, of Windsor, was previously arrested at 1:17 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, 2014, on suspicion of committing sexual acts on a child, committing lewd or lascivious acts on a child younger than 14 and showing lewd material with the intent to seduce a minor, and booked at the county jail under $420,000 bail. The MCSO arrested him.)

CATHI HALL, Fort Bragg. DUI. (Picture not available.)

PATRICK HEPPE, Fort Bragg. Petty Theft, probation revocation.

ANDREW HOWARD, Ukiah. DUI, misdemeanor hit-and-run. (Picture not available.)

MARIA LLAMAS-ORNELAS, Fort Bragg. Possession of controlled substance, probation revocation.

FRANCIS MACIAS, Lower Lake. Driving with out a license, possession of marijuana for sale, failure to appear. (Picture not available.)

VICKIE MEJIA, Fort Bragg. Drunk in public.

ROQUE MINCITAR, Ukiah, Probation revocation. (Picture not available)

RYAN O’TOOL, San Diego/Redwood Valley. Possession of meth, vandalism. (Picture not available.)

JOSHUA SHAW, Ukiah. Drunk in public.

ELIZABETH TODIS, Ukiah. Drunk in public. (Picture not available.)

LEAH WOELFEL, Ukiah. DUI. (Picture not available.)

DEMONSTRATION FOR AN END OF THE ATTACK ON GAZA This Monday, July 28 At Noon, Gualala Post Office:

South Coast People for Peace invite everyone to join us this MONDAY, JULY 28th at 12 noon in front of the Gualala Post Office in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza. We call for: Stop the massacre in Gaza! An end to the killing of Palestinian children, women and all civilians; End the blockade of Gaza; Stop US Aid to the Apartheid State of Israel ( 4 Billion dollars a year); End the collective punishment of Palestinians; End colonial occupation of Palestine; Free all Palestinian political prisoners. Despite this "temporary cease fire (12 hours), we will meet this Monday and hope you will join us. Bring signs, flags, friends and neighbors. Information at: 884-4703, 271-9170.

STOP FOOLING CALIFORNIA EXPOSES OIL LOBBYIST CONFLICT OF INTEREST

by Dan Bacher

The same oil industry lobbyist who led the task force to create marine protected areas in Southern California is now opposing a bill to protect the Vandenburg State Marine Reserve from offshore oil drilling.

Stop Fooling California recently created a meme exposing the big conflict of interest posed by Catherine Reheis-Boyd, President of the Western Petroleum Association, while chairing the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force for Southern California and sitting on the task forces for the Central Coast, North Central Coast and North Coast.

The meme features three panels with photos of the oil industry official on the left and “name tags” on the right. (http://www.facebook.com/StopFoolingCalifornia)

The first says, “Hello my name is Catherine Reheis-Boyd, President of the WSPA.”

The second says, “Hello my name is Catherine Reheis-Boyd, Member of the Marine Life Protection Act Task Force.”

The third says, “Hello my name, is Catherine Reheis-Boyd, walking conflict of interest.”

The group (http://www.stopfoolingca.org), an online and social media public education and awareness campaign that “highlights oil companies efforts to mislead and confuse Californians,” pointed out that the former Chair of the MLPA Initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force opposes a ban on offshore drilling in the Vandenberg State Marine Reserve area.

“Big Oil, we know you're no stranger to conflicts of interest. But you have outdone yourself this time!” the group stated.

The campaign was referring to WSPA's opposition to Senate Bill 1096, a bill to ban offshore oil drilling in state waters in the Santa Barbara Channel known as Tranquillon Ridge.

Other opponents of the legislation besides the Western States Petroleum Association include the California Chamber of Commerce, California Independent Petroleum Association, California Manufacturers & Technology Association, Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business, Concerned Taxpayers, I.N.C., Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association, Santa Barbara County Technology and Industry Association and Sunset Exploration.

That bill, sponsored by sponsored by State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), passed out of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on June 26 by a vote of 6 to 2. It is now headed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

The passage of the bill through the Committee sheds the spotlight on two glaring loopholes in the implementation of California environmental law – one in the California Coastal Sanctuary Act and the other in the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative’s creation of “marine protected areas.”

This loophole in the California Coastal Sanctuary Act authorizes the State Lands Commission to enter into a lease for the extraction of oil or gas from state-owned tide and submerged lands in the Sanctuary, “if the commission determines that the oil or gas deposits are being drained by means of producing wells upon adjacent federal lands and the lease is in the best interest of the state.”

In the privately-funded MLPA Initiative process, Reheis-Boyd and other officials oversaw the creation of questionable “marine protected areas” that fail to protect the ocean from fracking, offshore oil drilling, oil spills, pollution, corporate aquaculture, military testing and all human impacts other than fishing and gathering.

The Coastal Justice Coalition, a group of members of the Yurok, Hoopa Valley, Karuk and other Tribes who agree that the State of California has no right to regulate tribal gathering, exposed this loophole in the MLPA Initiative when they stated, “Protected areas would allow for deep water drilling yet would ban tribal gathering,” in a news release issued in June 2010. (http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/06/29/18652206.php)

Senator Jackson, in explaining the reason for sponsoring her bill, said, “Even the slightest chance of an oil spill in a Marine Protected Area far outweighs any potential benefit to the state. This bill will close the book on the possibility of offshore drilling in these state waters and help ensure that our precious coastline remains protected forever.”

Meanwhile, ocean waters off the Southern California Coast continue to be “fracked” by oil companies. A Freedom of Information Act and Associated Press investigation last year revealed that Southern California marine waters were fracked at least 203 times in the past 20 years. (http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/10/19/calif-finds-more-instances-of-offshore-fracking/3045721/)

Much of the fracking took place while the WSPA president was overseeing the creation of the oil industry-friendly “marine protected areas” in a privately-funded “initiative,” a process that state officials, the corporate media and MLPAI advocates touted as “open, transparent and inclusive” when it was anything but.

Grassroots environmentalists, Tribal activists and fishermen believe the time to ban offshore oil drilling, fracking, pollution, corporate aquaculture, military testing and other harmful activities to marine life in all “marine protected areas” created under the MLPA Initiative is long overdue. The oil industry's inordinate influence over the MLPA Initiative and other environmental processes, the Legislature and the Governor's Office is due to the enormous amount of money that the oil industry dumps into campaign contributions and lobbying in Sacramento every year.