Mendocino County Today: Friday, Oct 24, 2014

• Civic Breakdown
• Geiger Counting
• Catch of the Day
• Blood Drive
• Multicultural Cells
• Vanishing Security
• Game Reaper
• William Burroughs
• Rail Ruling
• Library Hours
• Questionable Firing
• Earthquake Memory
• Drought Radio
• Jackson Trail Closure
• Support KMUD

WEDNESDAYS at America's last newspaper, where life on the very bottom rung of free enterprise bumbles along, is a day of dispatch and delivery by the editor and publisher. He likes doing it, Mr. Ed Pub. He likes staying in touch with his customer base, not all of it hostile. He also looks forward to a solid six hours with books on tape. It's hard to get six straight hours with a book-book, modern life as hectic as it is, and over the years Ed Pub has logged a lot of long books he otherwise wouldn't have gotten to. He wouldn't want to drive every day like he does every Wednesday, but once a week amounts to respite, a kind of mobile r&r, and from here we move seamlessly on to the first person for a true life adventure.

On the last leg south Wednesday afternoon my radiator suddenly blew up. I was four or five miles north of Cloverdale when a steam cloud suddenly obscured the road and my '98 Honda Civic went dead. I swerved into the turnout exactly one bend beyond rescue on Highway 101, as the mini-catastrophe commenced.

My Civic has 225,000 hard miles on it. Despite years of rough use and housekeeping neglect, it has never betrayed me. When it died Wednesday afternoon I thought maybe it was telling me, “This is what you get for treating me like this, never in all our years together never so much as an exterior dusting, a good vacuum, a kind word.” The windshield's been cracked for years; the remains of ancient meals lie under the driver's seat. I was surprised recently to find a bundle of papers from 2009 in the trunk. My wife, who doesn't drive, complains of the engrimed interior every time she climbs aboard.

But here's my thinking: Call it a utilitarian approach to transportation, and I speak here as the son of the man who ran out of gas twice in one day! I get my Civic's guts lubed and tuned at regular intervals, which isn't much in the way of true affection but it isn't neglect either. My mechanic told me years ago, “These cars run forever. This one is very strong.” So long as it gets me there, is my thinking. I could care less what it looks like. I've never washed a vehicle in my life. At my wife's insistence I've run it through a car wash a few times, but life is way too short to squander precious minutes caressing a pile of locomoting steel and plastic.

And I'm old. My car's only 16 but ancient in car years. I'm trying to calibrate my exit with my Civic's last gasp. If I shuffle off about the same time my car does, I'll feel a kind of final mortal gratification at having avoided buying a new one. I like my Civic, and until Wednesday it had always liked me.

Disabled by the side of busy 101, I grabbed an empty container and made my way down to the Russian River, naively assuming I could simply refill the radiator and get on my way. The radiator cap seemed loose, and I thought that was the cause of the steam eruption. Put in the Russian's finest, screw the cap down tight and me and my Honda would be off and running. But the Russian River water I'd scooped up ran right on through the radiator and down onto the littered ground.

I considered my options, quickly realizing I only had one — the kindness of strangers.

I refuse to carry a cell phone, preferring the fates to this odd compulsion in millions of my fellow citizens to be constantly in touch. “But you should have one for emergencies.” I should also have a month's supply of ammo in case I have to go to Covelo, and a hazmat suit for driving past Santa Rosa, maybe a football helmet in case something falls out of the sky… You get my drift here? Listen to me, goddammit! Life is precarious! Totally random! Anything can happen to you at any time! You are not safe from the time you're expelled from the womb until the day you turn up your toes. You start worrying about possibilities rather than probabilities next thing you know you're rotating your tires and buying life insurance!

So, my car is dead and I don't have a phone. What to do? I'll get some good person to pull over and use their phone, that's what I'll do. I'll go as high as twenty bucks if they'll let me call Triple A on their dime. I got out my Triple A card, walked over to the edge of the highway and waved it at southbound traffic, trying to look elderly and needy and harmless all at the same time.

Lots of the looks I got were, of course, quizzical. “What's that old hippie doing? Why's he waving a credit card out here in the mild middle of nowhere?” A guy in a Prius honked as he passed and gave me the finger. He must have recognized me or he harbored some crazy random hostility for old guys standing alongside highways. You never know. There's a lot of unhappiness out there.

I'd only been pathetically brandishing my Triple A card for a few minutes when a youngish Asian man pulled over. He was driving a large work pickup. A beautiful Alsatian focused its eerily blue eyes on me out of the back seat. I explained myself. Without hesitation he handed me an iPad. I've never seen one close up, let alone operated one.

The Samaritan dialed Triple-A for me. The woman dispatcher, sitting somewhere far, far away, was having trouble getting my location. “I see you've been with us for many years, sir, are you in a safe location?” The geriatric assumption was clear enough. “There is no such thing as a safe location in this life,” I wanted to say, but I wanted to get home for the ball game more than I wanted to smart ass an anonymous Triple A dispatcher.

But when she went incorrectly through my location for the third time I knew I was screwed. No tow truck was coming for me out of Cloverdale or any other place. “I've got you on emergency priority, sir,” the dispatcher assured me. “They'll be right there.” I knew for a certainty I was going to have to hitchhike on down the road to fetch my own help. What with GPS and Google Earth and Total Government Surveillance, Triple A can't find a broke down American and his battered Japanese import on a major California north-south highway?

I thanked the Samaritan and tried to give him a twenty. “No thank you,” he said, and drove off.

I waited for an hour and a half for the tow truck before I gave up all hope of a Triple A rescue. I later found out that the tow truck had looked for me all that time, too, Triple A having placed me miles south from where I was.

Back out to the highway, this time with my thumb out. Almost instantly, and we're talking pure karma here, a huge classic American car with three Indians in it pulled over. “Where you goin', bub?” the driver asked, and all in the same breath, said, “Get in.” I knew this man instinctively helps people, as did my earlier Samaritan, and I marveled at the odds of two real human beings in a row in one day.

“Lisa,” the driver said to the woman in the passenger seat, “look up the tow outfits in Cloverdale.”

Lisa produced a phone book and began her research. The big guy in the back seat was so preoccupied working on a fistful of Scratchers he never did look to his left to take a look at his fellow passenger, and I knew his dad helped people all the time. I was just one more rescue, and minutes later I was at the desk of the excellent Eagle Tech Collision and Towing, central Cloverdale. The Indians wouldn't take any reward money either, and I was home by the third inning, in plenty of time to see the Giants relievers give up five runs to the Royals.

THREE BAGGER FOR GEIGER

ON MONDAY, October 21, 2014 at approximately 9:20 P.M., Deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office were conducting extra patrol of the Harwood Park area in Laytonville, California when they contacted Richard Geiger, 27, of Laytonville, who was next to his vehicle parked in the parking lot. During their contact with Geiger Deputies learned Geiger to be an Ex-Felon on felony probation out of Mendocino County for drug and firearms charges. A part of Geiger's probation terms were to abstain from alcohol, submit to search and seizure, and possess no firearms. Geiger was found to be under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, and a bottle of vodka and beer were observed in his vehicle. Geiger was placed under arrest for violating his felony probation terms. During a search incident to arrest approximately .5 grams of methamphetamine were located on Geiger's person. During a search of Geiger's vehicle a 20-gauge Benelli shotgun was located in the rear cargo area of his vehicle. The shotgun was found to be loaded with four shotgun shells with slug loads. There were also five other shotgun shells located on the sling of the firearm. Geiger was placed under arrest for being Armed in the Commission of a Felony, Ex-Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Felon in Possession of Ammunition, Possession of Methamphetamine, and Violation of Probation and transported to the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held on a No Bail status.

CATCH OF THE DAY, October 23, 2014

JOSHUA BENNETT, Fort Bragg. Vehicle registration forgery, driving without valid license, possession of drug paraphernalia, probation revocation.

RICHARD GEIGER, Laytonville. Ex-felon with firearm, armed with firearm, prohibited person with firearm, concealed firearm, probation revocation.

RAY HOPKINS, Willits. Drunk in public.

ROXANNE KORHUMMEL, Fort Bragg. Drunk in public. (Frequent flyer.)

MICHELL McELHANEY, Upper Lake/Ukiah. DUI.

RILEY MOLINA, Ukiah. Domestic battery.

ALAN POLLICK JR., Ukiah. Drunk in public. (Frequent flyer.)

HASKELL STORY, San Leandro/Ukiah. Possession of meth, under influence of controlled substance, conspiracy, probation revocation.

RICHARD SUPER, Talmage. Drunk in public.

ROBERT WESTERFIELD, Fort Bragg. Parole violation.

ARLEEN WILLIAMS, Ukiah. Drunk in public. (Frequent flyer.)

STEPHEN WILLIAMSON, Potter Valley. Grand theft, receipt of stolen property, vandalism.

MICHAEL WILSON, Fort Bragg. Driving without valid license.

ANDERSON VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BLOOD DRIVE

Monday, November 3, 2014

From 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Location: Gym - 18200 Mountain View Road, Boonville

Walk inns are welcomed.

Be sure to come well nourished & hydrated. Please eat a good breakfast!

Each Donor will receive a t-shirt!

Aileen Eligio, AV High School

CALIFORNIA WILL NO LONGER HAVE A POLICY of segregating prison inmates following a lawsuit that claimed the practice was unconstitutional. In the past, prison officers have locked inmates in cells depending on which races were involved in race-based fights, regardless of whether the individual inmates were involved. Last year, the U.S. Justice Department said in a non-binding court filing that the policy violated the 14th Amendment, which requires equal protection under the law.

IT ISN’T JUST THAT PEOPLE are being forced out of the middle class. It’s that large numbers of people are progressively losing what little security they had. That is a much, much worse problem than simply not being middle class. There was a time when both middle class and working class people had a degree of security that now no longer exists. And making matters worse, our real leadership thinks that reducing people’s security is simply acceptable collateral damage to otherwise virtuous behavior — chasing extraordinary profits.

— Al Klein

THE MAN IS SUPERBLY BORED

by Kit Knight

William S. Burroughs has an imposing appearance. He looks down on one from a height of more than six feet, but he seems even taller than he is. The man is slen­der, almost to the point of being skinny. He wears glasses and stares at his audience. Burroughs may not give out audible sighs in answer to a question, but he certainly gives out visual signs of impatience.

At one point my husband wanted to photograph me on the couch with Burroughs. Arthur's photos of writers have graced hundreds of book jackets and his photo work has appeared in the old Saturday Evening Post, Mademoiselle, Playboy, and other lesser known magazines. Arthur told us to act naturally and talk to each other while he roamed the room, looking for the correct angle and proper light. I could tell Burroughs didn't have anything to say to me, but he wanted to be obliging to the photographer.

I sensed that absolutely nothing I had ever read or had ever done would be of any interest to Burroughs.

Burroughs had his arms crossed in front of him and he glanced out the window at the gloom of Boulder on a rainy summer day; he said, “Well, what do you think of the weather?” I knew it was hopeless. People only men­tion the weather as a topic of conversation when they don't know what to say to the subject or when they don't want to talk about anything more serious. I didn't feel then, nor do I believe now, that Burroughs was actually so stupid as to not know what to say. The man has plenty of things to say. But he obviously didn't want to say them to me. I had one of my arms on the back of the couch, almost touching Burroughs' shoulder, and the other arm in my lap — I immediately closed up by putting both hands in my lap.

Burroughs was born in 1914 and I wasn't born until 1952. We were separated by two world wars, and I wasn't able to grasp what life must have been like before TV. I grew up believing every problem got solved in half an hour. The 38 year difference in our ages wasn't what prevented us from talking. Nor was it the fact that I am a woman.

Burroughs has mellowed in his feelings toward women, at least publicly. In 1955 he told Jack Kerouac, in a letter, “Women have poison juices.” But our rain conversation was in the summer of 1981; over a quarter of a century had passed since Burroughs said that. I knew Burroughs didn't want to talk to me and I knew why. He simply felt I was not worth trying to explain anything to. And far from being angry with Burroughs, I liked him, I really liked him.

I've had the same feeling when trying to talk to someone else — it just isn't worth trying to explain my position. And I may have been just as wrong as Burroughs was when he decided I wasn't worth talking to. But that's the way it goes.

My husband and I have met many of the famous Beat figures: Ginsberg, Corso, Michael and Joanna McClure, DiPrima, Ted Joans, John Clellon Holmes, Carolyn Cassady, Herbert Huncke and many of the lesser known Beats. I liked Holmes the most for his warmth, then I met Burroughs, who is about as warm as a clam shell. But I sure do like him. Admire, would be a better word.

I loathe people who pretend to know more than they do. I watch them sniff down their noses. But when Burroughs sniffs, the man is not putting on an act; he really does know his subject. Burroughs, at 71, has lived long enough to observe and record his observations. And he's read volumes and volumes of books on all sorts of topics. He simply knows how things are and no one is go­ing to tell him otherwise. Either the audience accepts his version of how things are or the audience can go punt — Burroughs simply doesn't care.

When Burroughs asked about the weather, I remem­bered it had been a rainy evening when I had been hit by a car. I said, “Be a lot of fender-bender accidents today.”

Burroughs said, “There are no accidents.”

I said, “I agree to a point. Most of what we common­ly call accidents are brought on by human error. For in­stance, the guy who hit me with his car didn't actually want to hit me, but didn't it occur to him that his chances were considerably better by driving without his head­lights on a dark, rainy evening? I exempt natural things like volcanic eruptions or tidal waves or earthquakes.”

“I don't,” Burroughs said. I could tell by the finality with which those two words were stated that either I agreed or not and Burroughs didn't care which. He knew, and that was that.

I admire people with that sort of extreme self-confi­dence born of absolute knowledge.

Earlier that morning Burroughs had knocked on the door of the apartment my husband and I were sharing with an Australian journalist. Burroughs wanted to see my Mace. Arthur had mentioned I carried a small spray container of Mace in my purse. Burroughs is fascinated with weapons of any sort. He showed us his Cobra and told us one needs a license to carry a Cobra in New York. A Cobra is a flexible metal cane and it's carried in a holster strapped to the side of one's body. But when the cane is snapped, smaller flexible metal rods slide out of the larger metal case. Burroughs gave the group gathered in Allen Ginsberg's living room a demonstration.

When I extended the container of Mace to Burroughs, it was the first time in two days that the man actually seemed to look at me and not through me. I was delight­ed. He told us there were two kinds of Mace, the good kind and the bad kind. He didn't tell us what made the difference. I watched him open the wide doors leading to the apartment's balcony. Burroughs assumed a fencing stance and sprayed the Mace. As he handed the black vial back to me I was gravely informed I owned the good kind. He also warned me that it was illegal for me to carry it in my purse on a plane. Then he asked if Arthur and I were going to his reading that afternoon.

Burroughs did a few of his routines and read several passages from his books. He ended his reading by chal­lenging the audience to name any book, saying he'd give an accurate one sentence summary of it. More than two-thirds of his audience was composed of college students who were close to 50 years younger than Burroughs. Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso were also in the audi­ence, as well as a scattering of journalists and scholars and critics. Many books were named that I had never heard of, but Burroughs was able to give concise sum­mations of any books named.

I was not only impressed, I was in awe. Norman Mailer was right when he said, “William Burroughs is the only American writer conceivably possessed of genius.”

WIlliam S. Burroughs may appear to be bored when he is in the company of anyone less than a friend, but he is superbly bored. The man has been there and already knows.

(Kit Knight wrote this tribute to William S. Burroughs in November 1985.)

LITTLE TRAIN’S WILLITS FANTASY GETS LEGAL BOOST

http://www.willitsnews.com/localnews/ci_26777264/north-coast-rail-authority-clears-court-appeal

CHANGE OF HOURS AT WILLITS AND FORT BRAGG LIBRARY BRANCHES

Effective Monday, December 8, 2014, the hours of operation of the Willits and Fort Bragg Library Branches will change. The new hours will be as follows:

Fort Bragg Library

• Tuesday 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
• Wednesday 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
• Thursday 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
• Friday 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
• Saturday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Willits Library

• Tuesday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
• Wednesday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
• Thursday 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
• Friday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
• Saturday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

--Wally Clark, Interim Librarian

COAST PARKS & REC GROUP FIRES POPULAR PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Mendocino Sports Plus reports:

WHAT'S UP THE MENDO COAST PARK & REC ?
THEY FIRE POPULAR PROGRAM COORDINATOR, NOW 'SPECIAL MEETING' ?

We can't really fathom the recent actions of the Mendocino Coast Recreation & Parks Department.

They just FIRED their affable, approachable (and hardest working) program coordinator Scott Mullin and cancelled their last regularly scheduled meeting last week - but have quickly posted a "Special Meeting" for tonight (5:30 pm) at the Starr center.

Why did they FIRE Mullin ?

According to him, "This all started when I pointed out to MCRPD board President Bill Hayes that his wife was giving out free programing at will with no procedure for the circus camp (including his own children) and it looked suspicious that his family was getting free circus camp programing at $200 + PER PERSON. I was promptly given a retaliatory performance evaluation from the board of directors exactly two weeks after they stated that they want to hire a consultant to figure out what staff does.

Kassie Hayes was adamant that her circus camp instructors did not get fingerprinted. That threw up a red flag but I was vetoed by Bill Hayes."

WHY FINGERPRINTED ?

People working with children are routinely fingerprinted, naturally, to screen out child molesters & ex-felons from being around children. If this allegation is true, there better be a damn good explanation for requesting people NOT be fingerprinted.

And if Mullin was fired for the reason reported, as he alleges, I'd get an attorney and fight the dismissal. He was a far too valuable, energetic asset to the Mendo Rec & Park program to become the scapegoat for questionable actions by the board and/or their close family members.

We will be asking Scott Mullin if he happens to have any evaluations of his performance (from the public) while working at the MCRPD - we'll bet "dollars to donuts" he has many commendations....

The rest of this entry [you have to scroll down in Facebook] can be found at https://www.facebook.com/mendocinosportsplus

STU CASTEEL WRITES:

Editor,

Glad you allowed yourself to be interviewed - while we might not agree on much I suspect we could tip a pint or two and come up with something - even if it is to "line the illigitimi up against the wall..."

Twenty Five years ago today at 1700 hours local I was in rehearsal for the following mornings broadcast which (so far) the only Air Date I've missed.

I was sitting in the driver's seat as Technical Director (the guy who pushes all the buttons! - yeah, that's me when I had hair and a full beard).

At four minutes after the hour this incredible noise started followed by the shaking a second or so after, the two large monitors (Program on the left Preview on the right) slid to the end stops of the rack slides and started to dance. As the shaking got worse I went to the control room door (which as a sound rated door weighing a few hundred pounds had much larger framing than a normal door) there was a coffee area in the hallway, while surfing the floor I watched as the coffee pots seemingly levitated into the hall before gravity reminded them (think Wyle E. Coyote from Warner brothers) heard a lighting instrument crash in the studio (reminder to self, tell the lighting director to make sure the safety chains are used) the JBL monitor (large "Stereo" speaker) came off its ball mount and bounced off the M/E 2 crosspoints into my chair.

After a seeming minor eternity the E-ticket part of the ride was over and things calmed down - then the power (which had been on the entire time) cut out and then spiked back on. Right outside of the control room door were the building main breakers - two large levers on the panel and I got a chance to do something I'd fantasized about during more than one late night editing session and shut it down!

Fortunately it was after 5pm and the first game of the "Trans Bay World Series" was starting only the talent and crew for the show along with the gal who worked the evening dub string and a few guards were in the building. The Building was 3 stories on a slope with main entrance on the middle floor and the studios and technical space one level below.

We started evacuating the building as the first aftershock rolled through, one person was trapped in the green room (no, it's not painted green) when the header collapsed and jammed the door, he ended up throwing a chair through and following it out the window. The dub string gal was frozen in her chair and had to be slapped and yelled at to get her moving - just before the window exploded where she was sitting.

More out of luck than anything else there were only two minor injuries from falling objects but there was a 18" dagger of glass embedded in deep enough into the sheetrock in the stairwell that it would have messy had anyone been in the way, there were other glass shards embedded in the trees outside, some windows exploded in other out - in the same building complex there was a restaurant with glassware stacked 4 layers high and they didn't lose a single one.

Aftermath;

Surprisingly, everything survived (aside from the Quantel disk drives which had a drop spec of about .25") the elevator shaft cracked and there was a layer of hydraulic fluid on the floor but otherwise we were able to recover everything.

Our temporary staging area used to be the HP PC Fab building (the first run of the original Apple computer motherboard went through there one night) located nearby and was now disused as it had become a Super Fund cleanup site (it would eventually become our new home but that is another story entirely). Aside from the guards only two other folks besides myself had access to the building.

After a few months we setup temporary tape room and editing suite (in HP labs - how many other edit suites have you seen with D.I. water and various gas lines?) As we had a surplus of audio amplifiers we decided to "Tri-Amp" the audio system in the temp edit suite (one amp for each diver - Tweeter, Mid and Woofer) after shoehorning the half acre of my repaired beloved GVG300 in to a near vertical configuration and buttoning everything down put on some tunes to check things out and to our chagrin there was no bottom end (no bass) after frantically checking the wiring and settings someone pulled the front cover off one of the JBL's and where the woofer should be were just the connecting wires dangling - every single one of them (and there were 8 pairs of various sizes) someone had removed the woofer, put the grill back on and restacked them, we did note that some of the rent a cop guards had "toy trucks" with really good bass...

Stu Casteel, Ukiah

SUNGNOME MADRONE

Though the rainy season is upon us, the long-term weather forecast is for drought extending into next year. With this in mind Sanctuary Forest, along with its partners in the Mattole River and Range Partnership (MRRP) will be addressing the issues of Fire and Water in Times of Drought on its quarterly radio hour, to be aired on KMUD radio on Thursday, October 30^th from 7-8 p.m. Joining Sanctuary Forest’s Executive Director Tasha McKee will be Ali Freedlund of the Mattole Restoration Council and Sungnome Madrone of the Mattole Salmon Group. They will be discussing both the dangers and opportunities that accompany periods of extended drought. Ali Freedlund will talk about the recent fuel load reduction project along Briceland Thorn Road in Whitethorn. She will explain why this project is important, and give tips on how landowners can reduce fuel loads on their own properties, as well as what funding opportunities are available for both private landowners and road associations. Sungnome Madrone will talk about recent fish monitoring programs and report on how the drought has impacted fish populations in the Mattole. Tasha McKee will give a report on the state of Sanctuary Forest’s water storage and forbearance program, and what effect it had on streamflows over the dry summer months. The panelists will also discuss how the drought situation has resulted in increased funding for conservation and fuel reduction programs throughout the state and what projects are in the works locally.

There will be a call-in period during the show when listeners can ask questions and provide feedback. Please tune in for a lively and interesting hour of radio.

Joe Whitney, Administrative Assisstant, Sanctuary Forest, Inc

TEMPORARY TRAIL CLOSURE

Jackson Demonstration State Forest

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Mendocino Unit is closing the “Trestle Trail” between Camp 8 and JDSF Road 1070 on Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) to mushroom gathering and other recreational activities, effective immediately. This trail will be closed annually, during the wet season (October – May) as a precautionary measure in an attempt to slow the spread of Phytophthora ramorum, the invasive pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death. Year-round access will resume once the threat of spreading Sudden Oak Death has been abated. While the drought may have reduced the rate of infestation, ongoing efforts will continue by JDSF to monitor and mitigate the effects of Sudden Oak Death. No new sites have been discovered on JDSF this year.

Information regarding Sudden Oak Death and recreational activities such as mushroom gathering on JDSF is available at the CAL FIRE Fort Bragg office located at 802 North Main Street, Fort Bragg, CA or by calling (707) 964-5674 during the following hours: Monday through Friday from 8-12 & 1-5. Our website is:

http://calfire.ca.gov/resource_mgt/resource_mgt_stateforests_jackson.php

Multiple uses of JDSF for a wide variety of activities that benefit the public, the economy and natural resources are what our demonstration forests are all about.

SUPPORT KMUD

Dear Editor:

Please join me in becoming a member of KMUD. Located in Redway, KMUD, can be heard in much of Mendocino County, in addition to all of Humboldt County. It also streams live from the web at www.kmud.org

Along with KMEC, KMUD is a good alternative to KZYX and deserves your support.

KMUD's On-Air Fall Pledge Drive begins today, Thursday, October 23, and ends November 5. KMUD's goal is $95,000.

This fall, KMUD extended its previous themes of water, earth, and fire to bring you special programming celebrating "air", specifically, the airwaves they use to broadcast a wide range of music and public affairs. KMUD explored the ways we are using our grassroots community's airwaves in building community.

KMUD's business model is inclusive, participatory, and community-driven. KMUD doesn't just call itself public radio. It is true public radio. Program hosts collaborate with other program hosts. Program hosts collaborate with staff. Everyone is responsive to the community and what they want to hear.

KMUD's Board of Directors is advised by a truly functional Community Advisor Board.

Programming has a strong environmental focus, a strong focus on human rights, and a strong focus on progressive politics.

"Truth seeking" and "truth telling" would be good descriptors of KMUD's public affairs programming.

If you've been listening to KMUD over the past few months, you've heard some very special programming. In February, KMUD focused on water-related issues; in April, KMUD explored the world of cannabis; and in August, KMUD explained how to protect your family and property from fire during times of severe drought.

Then, there's the news. We all count on up-to-date information from the renowned KMUD Local News, with its full-time staff -- news director, Terri Klemetson, news anchor, Eileen Russell, and contributors, including former KZYX newswoman, Christina Aanestad.

The KMUD News Department also sponsors the Community Journalism Project.

Please remember just how important your support of the only local daily, full-hour newscast will be in the months ahead.

KMUD news covers the following: missing and wanted persons; safety and public awareness; fire incidents, evacuation notices, and resources; federal, state, and local politics; politics and community; public meetings; natural resources and science, elections, referendums, and other ballot measures; and cannabis news.

Support KMUD by calling calling KMUD's pledge line (707) 923-3911 or toll free 800-568-3723.

Donate online by clicking on:

http://www.kmud.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=474&Itemid=151

Thank you.

John Sakowicz, Ukiah