Mendocino County Today: Saturday, Feb 7, 2015

LOOKS LIKE ANDERSON VALLEY will get around 3-4 inches of rain by the end of the day Sunday, plus whatever higher amounts fall in the hills. The National Weather Service is predicting that the Navarro River will overflow its banks near the Coast by Sunday evening then receding by midnight. Locals say the Navarro is flowing muddy (or “café latte”) which means it’s bringing down the usual load of silt from the hills. It’s a good-sized trash-mover, but not as big as the December storm series.

NAVARRO WATCH, as of 5pm. 17.5 feet and rising. Bank to bank — no gravel left to walk along the river's edge. Power went out for a minute or two. Still raining. Flood stage reached before midnight Friday.

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ACCORDING to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and PG&E, 569 homes lost power in Fort Bragg; 564 in Mendocino; 265 in Willits; 254 in Point Arena; 184 in Gualala; 150 in Little River; 92 in Philo plus random households mostly up and down the Coast.

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A READER WRITES

RE YOUR STATEMENT in this week’s Valley People: "First January in recorded history that it hasn't rained in our part of NorCal."

1.3" inches fell, here on our deepend ridgetop, over the Marty-King weekend (Jan 17-18). I don’t know how much of that precipitation made it to Boonville, but we weren’t completely dry for January. Meanwhile, it is really coming down this morning. we’ve gotten two inches from this storm thus far.

ED NOTE. I was probably going off San Francisco's reports. Nary a January drop there.

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MARSHALL NEWMAN REPORTS: As of about 12:50 p.m. today (Friday), Boonville had received 3.86 inches of rain in 24 hours and San Francisco had received .19 inches. As rain differentials go for locations 100 miles apart, this one is pretty impressive. Ukiah got 3.30+ inches over the same period and Santa Rosa 2.05+ inches.

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KIESEL ARRESTED

Original Press Release:

On Friday, January 23, 2015 at approximately 10:00 AM Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies attempted to contact Riley Keisel, 31, of Mendocino at a residence located in the 44000 block of Crestwood Drive in Mendocino, California. The reason for the attempted contact was that Keisel had a felony arrest warrant issued in Humboldt County. When Deputies arrived at the residence Keisel fled on foot towards the Big River Haul Road in a heavily wooded area. An extensive search was conducted for 1-2 hours with two Sheriff's Office K9 teams and the aid of several allied law enforcement agencies (California Highway Patrol, California State Parks, California Department of Fish & Wildlife and Fort Bragg Police Department). The search ended without Keisel being located. A reverse 911 notification was issued at the conclusion of the search notifying the public that Keisel was wanted and at large in the area. Keisel is a white male adult last seen wearing black jeans, a blue jacket, a large green backpack and a purple bandana. Keisel is known to associate with a white female adult with short blond hair and having a heavy build. Deputies developed information that suggested Keisel was in possession of a handgun although none was seen during the attempted apprehension, but the public is asked to considered him armed and dangerous at this time. As of 01-25-2015 Keisel's current whereabouts were still unknown. Anyone with information as to Keisel's whereabouts is urged to call the Sheriff's Office dispatch center at 707-463-4086.

Updated Press Release:

On Wednesday, February 4, 2015 at 11:23 AM Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Deputies attempted to locate Riley Kiesel at a residence in the 44000 block of Little Lake Road in Mendocino, California. While checking the outside area of the residence, Deputies contacted Kiesel near a marijuana garden that contained approximately 37 plants. Kiesel was arrested without resistance in regards to an active felony arrest warrant from Humboldt County and was found to be in possession of a concealed knife. Based upon the circumstances of the contact, Kiesel was also arrested for illegal cultivation of marijuana and for violating conditions of his probation set forth in Mendocino County and Humboldt County on previous unrelated cases (assault with a deadly weapon and illegal firearms possession). Kiesel was booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held on a No Bail status. It should be noted the original press release mistakenly showed an incorrect spelling for Riley Kiesel, which is correctly spelled in this updated press release.

(Sheriff’s Press Release)

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ON TUESDAY, February 3, 2015 at about 8:00 PM, Deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to contact a person who wanted to report of situation of criminal threats. Deputies contacted the person who stated she had received a call from Iran Hoaglen, 33, of Covelo who believed she was responsible for calling the Sheriff's Office on him during a domestic violence incident which ultimately led to his arrest. Deputies learned Hoaglen had been released from custody following his arrest, was angry over the arrest, and had called this person on the telephone advising he was returning to the Covelo area and threatened to kill the person. On Wednesday, February 4, 2015 at about 8:00 PM, Deputies located Hoaglen in the Covelo area and continued their investigation into the reported situation of criminal threats. Hoaglen was subsequently arrested for a violation of 422 PC (criminal threats) as well as 1203.2 PC, violating the terms of his probation. Hoaglen was subsequently booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was held in lieu of $30,000 bail.

(Sheriff’s Press Release)

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ON FRIDAY, February 6, 2015 at approximately 7:11am the registered owner of a 1994 Honda Accord reported her vehicle as stolen in Lucerne, California. Approximately 5 hours later the victim's son spotted the stolen vehicle traveling on Highway 20 westbound towards Blue Lakes and called 911. The reporting party advised that the driver was driving erratically and was passing over double yellow lines. At approximately 1:02pm California Highway Patrol Officer J. Heinke advised that he located the vehicle and was following three vehicles behind the stolen vehicle. The driver of the stolen vehicle continued to drive erratically and pass other westbound traffic by crossing the double yellow lines into the eastbound traffic lanes. The traffic was light to moderate and at the time of the incident the rain had stopped. Due to the extremely dangerous driving of the suspect, Officer Heinke activated his emergency lights and siren. The stolen vehicle failed to yield to law enforcement. The suspect passed over the double yellow lines several more times trying to evade Officer Heinke. At approximately 11:07am the suspect crossed over the double yellow lines again, this time as two eastbound vehicles were approaching his position. The suspect attempted to cross both eastbound lanes and onto the eastbound right shoulder but collided with a small SUV that was traveling eastbound in the Number 2 lane. The vehicle was a silver 2004 Nissan Murano driven by Skyler Kuykendall, 18, of Laytonville. Both vehicles came to rest blocking eastbound lanes. Skyler Kuykendall was transported by Ukiah ambulance to Ukiah Valley Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries. The driver of the stolen vehicle was identified as Robert Gardener, 28, of Ukiah, who was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs and causing injuries and possession of a stolen vehicle. Gardener was transported to Ukiah Valley Medical Center where he was treated for major injuries. The incident is still under investigation.

(CHP Press Release)

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BONES GETS REPRIEVE FROM FORECLOSURE

As of Tuesday, February 3 enough "friends of Bones" had stepped forward to give Bone's roadhouse in Gualala a 60-90 day reprieve from a threatened February 6 foreclosure. With more than $9000 raised from members and some outright donations to fend off a lien sale, Michael "Bone Daddy" Thomas called it a "stay of execution" for the popular barbecue restaurant. He is still scrambling for a long-term solution for a $550,000 loan that was due January 1. Thomas and his wife Mary Horton took out the interest only loan five years ago after a fire destroyed their previous restaurant. A judgment against Thomas after a court fight with his former landlord made it impossible for him to refinance the note. Last week Thomas asked people to join the "Friends of Bones" with memberships from $500-$5000. Members get Bones T-shirts and medallions, Bones seasoned nuts and barbecue sauce, discounts on Bones meals and beverages. In the week since, Thomas has garnered enough to delay, but not prevent, the foreclosure sale. Thomas said the best case would be for someone (or up to 10 people) to buy the note itself and he would continue making payments. Alternate outcomes could be for someone to buy the real estate and building from Thomas and Horton which would pay off the note and then rent it back to Bones. Thomas said last week that he owns the rights to the Bones Roadhouse name and concept so if he goes his restaurant would also cease to exist.

(Courtesy, the Independent Coast Observer)

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CATCH OF THE DAY, Feb 6, 2015

HERBERT BATTLE, Miami/Ukiah. Pot possession for sale, fugitive from justice.

HEATHER DEWOLFE, Fort Bragg. Probation revocation. (Frequent flyer.)

FRANCISCO FELIX-NORIEGA, Ukiah. DUI.

SONYA GALE, Willits. Domestic battery.

ADRIANA GUERRA, Ukiah. Under influence of controlled substance, possession of meth, child endangerment.

GORDAN HANOVER, Ukiah. Domestic battery, probation revocation.

DANIEL HEATH, Willits. Drunk in public.

IRAN HOAGLEN, Covelo. Criminal threats of death or great bodily injury, probation revocation.

FOX BLUE HOAGLIN, Ukiah. Failure to appear.

RYANN HULL, Willits. Failure to appear.

CHRISTIAN HUNT, Ukiah. Possession of meth for sale, sale of meth, evading, resisting arrest, forgery/alteration of vehicle registration.

NELLIE LOVATO, Ukiah. Domestic assault.

CHRISTOPHER NICORA, Vacaville/Ukiah. Drunk in public.

ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ, Ukiah. Possession of meth/drug paraphernalia.

JENNIFER SMITH, Willits. Under influence of controlled substance.

NICHOLAS VANHORN, Caspar. Robbery in concert with others.

SEAN WILSON, Willits. Domestic battery, under influence of controlled substance, possession of meth, court order violation, failure to appear. (Frequent flyer.)

DANIEL YEOMANS, Fort Bragg. Drunk in public. (Frequent flyer.)

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ANDERSON VALLEY AS ROMANTIC GETAWAY

AV is mentioned on the Today Show.

Travel + Leisure shares the best romantic getaways for Valentine's Day - Money - TODAY.com

http://m.today.com/money/california-colorado-more-best-places-romantic-valentines-day-getaway-2D80478599

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WAY TO GO, VINCE!

Elk Native Vincent Longo Graduates from Ithaca College ITHACA, NY (02/06/2015)(readMedia)-- Vincent Longo graduated from Ithaca College's Roy H. Park School of Communications with a B.S. in television-radio. The degree was awarded in December 2014. From day one, Ithaca College prepares students for success through hands-on experience with internships, research and study abroad. Its integrative curriculum builds bridges across disciplines and uniquely blends liberal arts and professional study. Located in New York's Finger Lakes region, the College is home to 6,100 undergraduate and 460 graduate students.

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ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

I would guess that, if there were no defense contractors, people would not be deterred by a lack of high velocity projectiles as a means of inflicting death.

Nope, I think people would go to war using sharpened sticks if they had to. Mind you, and I’m pretty sure you’re going to say this, someone would offer to cut and sharpen the sticks. For a reasonable fee of course. So back we are to defense contractors.

If memory serves there was a mass grave found somewhere in the wastes of the Sahara. It’s thousands of years old, way back when the monsoons were failing and the Sahara was drying out.

And all the remains are of young men, many bearing unmistakable marks of violent death. Broken skulls, cut marks on the bones, that sort of thing. Marks of war IOW.

Back then they used low tech means. Spears and clubs. Given the locale and time of encroaching desert, I would guess that the casus belli was disputed ownership of a water source. Maybe an oasis, a surface trickle. Long since vanished. But, back then, literally a matter of life and death.

No doubt the holy men contrived a religious pretext. After all killing is serious business and even primitives would have had a conscience. Even warriors who have to affect a cold, hard exterior.

What might the holy man say? See those guys over there? They’re outcasts, children of lesser gods. No need to share water with their kind. They cast evil spells. They make us sick. Drive them off. Kill them.

Maybe the more practical and less religiously inclined scoffed. There’s no sky spirits they said. No, the men of the tribe with the funny tattoos, that speak with strange words and accents, whose women make your crotch itch when you boff them, are all sons of whores. And the those worthless, diseased sons of whores that steal our goats and then pretend innocence and blame others, take more than their fair share of the water.

Given the fact of a burial I would further guess that those particular dead were the casualties of the victors. I’ll bet the dead of the vanquished were left on the ground for the hyenas.

Hyenas need to eat. Do you want them sneaking around and snatching one of the kids? No, better they eat enemy dead.

A lot of fun speculation. What do we actually know? That war was fought and the dead were buried.

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ALL THIS TIME

I looked out across

The river today

I saw a city in the fog and an old church tower

Where the seagulls play

I saw the sad shire horses walking home

In the sodium light

I saw two priests on the ferry

October geese on a cold winter's night

 

And all this time, the river flowed

Endlessly to the sea

 

Two priests came round our house tonight

One young, one old, to offer prayers for the dying

To serve the final rite

One to learn, one to teach

Which way the cold wind blows

Fussing and flapping in priestly black

Like a murder of crows

 

And all this time, the river flowed

Endlessly to the sea

If I had my way I'd take a boat from the river

And I'd bury the old man,

I'd bury him at sea

 

Blessed are the poor, for they shall inherit the earth

Better to be poor than a fat man in the eye of a needle

And as these words were spoken I swore I hear

The old man laughing

"What good is a used up world and how could it be

Worth having"

 

And all this time the river flowed

Endlessly like a silent tear

And all this time the river flowed

Father, if Jesus exists,

Then how come he never lived here

 

The teachers told us, the Romans built this place

They built a wall and a temple, an edge of the empire

Garrison town,

They lived and they died, they prayed to their gods

But the stone gods did not make a sound

And their empire crumbled, 'til all that was left

Were the stones the workmen found

 

And all this time the river flowed

In the falling light of a northern sun

If I had my way I'd take a boat from the river

Men go crazy in congregations

But they only get better

One by one

--Gordon Sumner

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US SHOULD NOT ARM THE UKRAINE AGAINST RUSSIA

Dear Editor,

If the United States supplies military equipment to the Ukraine, it will cross a big red line in the ongoing thermonuclear weapons confrontation between the US and Russia: the US would be involved in a war on Russia's border, raising the credible Russian fear that the US might carry out longstanding "contingency" plans to attack and destroy Russia's entire nuclear strike force.

It would be suicidally insane for the US to get involved in the war in the Ukraine. The US and Russia always have over a thousand nuclear weapons poised to launch at each other's homelands at short notice by missile, from the sea and air, aimed at us, all of us. Both nations' nuclear arsenals have serious deterioration and maintenance problems.

It is urgent to de-escalate all tensions with Russia. Russia has said it needs its nuclear arsenal to defend its homeland, and recently said that "tactical" nuclear weapons might be used if Russia is attacked.

This is no way for any of us to live. The whole human society is entirely interdependent. The sane US military strategy, I believe, is to avoid any military involvement in the Ukraine, and de-escalate nuclear first-strike threats against Russia.

John Lewallen

Philo

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RIGHT THIS MOMENT!

The zen master Hakuin asked the assembled: "What is there that you need that you don't have, right now?" Right now, I am sending out this message from a computer at the Berkeley, California public library. Finished receiving $7,000 worth of dental work yesterday, saving three teeth, and celebrated with a trip to Vesuvio's (next door to City Lights bookstore) in San Francisco's north beach neighborhood. The Sierra Nevada pale ale went down fine, spurring me on to Oakland for a visit to Woods bar & brewery, to sample their Z Lager (which features a nutty California barley, herbal German hops, and a rich, foggy scoop of fresh unfiltered yeast). Woods is located 1/2 block from the notorious bohemian hangout Caffe Van Cleef, at 17th and Telegraph Avenue. Went off in a state of total bliss, to find Pancho's in Berkeley on Durant Street, in that niche of several restaurants, i.e. across the street from the revival of the old Shattuck Ave. pool hall, now above where La Val's used to be; and by the way, they will be serving libations later in the month when their liquor license is transferred to the pool hall's new location. Enjoyed a plate of cheese enchiladas at Pancho's, and listened in on the student clientele discussing important matters of the day, such as how expensive it is to go to the university, and where all of the good parties are going to be this weekend. Arrived back at Piedmont House hostel around 10 P.M. and interacted with the eclectic group of travelers who are staying there. Everybody has a unique story to tell. We are all pursuing an independent journey with no apparent final goal, full steam ahead. "It's about the attitude, dude!" I have been informed by a hardcore adventurer who was pleasantly smoking on the front porch. With no appointments and no disappointments, my single room paid for through February, foot loose and fancy free, I invite the world to make contact with me. It's anything goes now creatively, remaining spiritually centered as always so that we don't fly off destructively, and I continue to be interested in doing the most incredible things with the most incredible people. It's 2:01 P.M. on a rainy afternoon in downtown Berkeley, with the Pineapple Express storm just arriving off of the Pacific Ocean, and the "REAL Climate Justice March" is scheduled tomorrow, beginning in downtown Oakland at 11:30 A.M. I check emails daily, and am ultimately prepared to go where I need to go, and do what I need to do.

Craig Louis Stehr

Email: CraigStehr@inbox.com

Snail mail: P.O. Box 809, Berkeley, CA 94701-0809

Blog: http://craiglstehr.blogspot.com

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BOONVILLE WINTER MARKET will be in front of the Boonville General Store Saturday, 10-12:30, rain or shine.

* * *

AV Foodshed is in the midst of some personnel change-up. We are expanding our scope in this, our eleventh year, with new projects and possibilities. If you are interested in volunteering to help us grow and improve, please reply.

Mendocinolocalfood.org, which is our county-wide local food website, will be updated and improved and we hope to be launching a new AV Foodshed website for use in promoting the educational events and projects that sustain us, as well as the community events that unite us.

The monthly newsletter and weekly updates will continue in a slightly different format. For this month, the only major announcement at this time is our 3rd Sunday Potluck and Program. This month it will be an evening Soup Potluck and Movie. The flyer will be out soon. The film is Future of Hope, a documentary about society in recovery.

"Over the past 20 years we have seen a growing realization that the current model for society and culture is unsustainable. We have been living beyond our means. FUTURE OF HOPE follows individuals that strive to change the world of consumerism, a system of credit and debt that the Icelandic economy was built upon for the past 10 years or more. Focusing on sustainable developments in organic farming, business, innovation, renewable energy and the environment, filled with positivity and emotion as we are taken on a story of struggle, determination and most importantly... hope."

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PLEASE VACCINATE YOUR FUCKING KID!

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/06/don-t-be-an-idiot-vaccinate-your-f-cking-kids.html

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TOO MUCH FOR TOO LITTLE

Editor,

A note to the board members of KZYX. (Written email reply requested from each board member.)

Marco here. One thing that struck me during the Fort Bragg MCPB board meeting was how board members and their friends in the crowd so clearly felt that it's ridiculous to even consider restructuring to be able to pay airpeople. But consider: KZYX is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to retain superfluous bureaucrats who are /not/ talented people sitting at a microphone connected to a transmitter. And paying nothing to those who are. John Coate is getting $60,000 per year --that's half a million dollars ($500,000) in a little over eight years-- and what is he working on now? A web jukebox so a few people can click to hear shows on demand. Gimcracks and gewgaws that have nothing to do with radio. And the result is the station has to limp along on old, unreliable equipment that frequently fails utterly. Think of how much equipment could simply be bought new and replaced on a regular schedule, like changing the oil in your car, if you weren't paying just John Coate quite so much, if you were instead paying him by the hour for the few basic tasks that are actually required of a radio station manager, that KNYO's manager, say, performs in an afternoon per month. And then there's David Steffen-- KZYX's "Business Support Coordinator"? Why would a non-profit community radio station need a business support coordinator, whatever that is, and pay him $40,000 a year, yet? And Mary Aigner the program director-- what is she doing that's worth whatever you're paying her? If that's also $40,000 a year, then divide that by $50 and you get 800 (eight hundred) yearly memberships diverted to go just to Mary-- for what, exactly, compared to someone preparing all during the week, every week, to do a live show the best he or she can and then doing it. Why should management be paid so exorbitantly merely to show up, and airpeople who show up and in addition do radio not be paid at all?

If you really want to further dilute your radio mission in a web startup adventure, beyond just having a website with the show and events schedule on it, then why do you even need the broadcast license? A scarce educational-band radio broadcast license to blanket the county should be held by people dedicated to doing radio. And radio is cheap. At ten cents per kilowatt-hour and figuring in waste heat your 1,000-watt main transmitter costs only about $5 a day to operate. Your two 30-watt translator stations together cost less than fifty cents a day. I think you've forgotten this, if you ever knew it. Your entire operation-- the main transmitter, the STLs, the translator stations, tower fees, music publisher fees, power and water, phones, internet service, all the studios, engineering service and pay for airpeople-- can be well-maintained for about a third of the money you're burning now in counterproductive busy-work. You might never have to do more than one egregiously unlistenable pledge week per year ever again, let alone three or four. The first step to making KZYX a real community radio station for Mendocino County is to cut the fat at the top.

And I'd be on about this even if my show were on KZYX. It's not. I want to ask Stuart Campbell a few questions now. Stuart, is your show worthwhile and interesting and an asset to the station? Are you good at it, and are you proud of the show? Now, try to put yourself in my shoes. Imagine you weren't on the board of directors, that you brought your show as a finished proven product to KZYX, and you waited and waited --waited for years-- and when you asked what progress was being made to put your show on the schedule you got no answer at all. And when you wrote to the manager, he told you /he/ wasn't the program director. And when you asked, "What do I have to do to get my show on KZYX?" the manager said, "I guess you have to convince Mary." And when you stopped by the station to talk about it you were treated as though you were an unwanted intrusion and told to use the telephone next time. What would you do then? Go to the board of directors? They'd tell you they have no control over who's on the air and who's not. Then what would you do? Really-- it's a Kafka story you have set up there, Stuart, and it's been that way since the beginning.

I waited a long time to speak up. Much longer than I think any of you would have. The situation has got to change. And you have to change it, because if not you, who? And if not now, when? And if not at all, why not?

I want and deserve a written reply from each board member. I'll read the replies on my show on KNYO in Fort Bragg, whose entire yearly budget --for everything-- is about a fifth of just what you're paying your general manager.

Marco McClean, Mendocino

memo@mcn.org

http://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com

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FINDING FRIEDMAN

Editor,

It is not often that I find myself agreeing with New York Times opinion columnist Tom Friedman; it seems like he regards the main function of his work as bolstering what I most often see as an unjust status quo. Whether it was the foolish groupthink that led to the disaster of our Iraq invasion, or any number of similarly tragic military engagements that have taken place under his watch, don't look to Tom for a brave and principled dissent from the madness of the militarist herd. As a result, I very seldom read his columns, unlike those of his colleagues; Paul Krugman, Gail Collins, Chuck Blow and even the somewhat snarky Maureen Dowd, all of whose work I seldom miss.

That being said, I have recently found myself recalling, as I marvel at the incredibly low price of fuel these days, a very powerful and well reasoned piece by Mr. Friedman that I read a number of years ago, in which he proposed that the US should phase in a couple of dollar a gallon gas tax over several years.

Before you throw down this newspaper in disgust at the very idea of such a thing, consider a few facts; first, it has always struck me as more than a little weird that we Americans have been brought up to believe that it is something of a birthright that we should be able to buy this ancient, precious, finite resource at a price that is half to a quarter of what everybody else in the civilized world pays for it. Second, consider the paltry $.18/ gallon tax that has not been changed since '93; there has been a lot of inflation that has occurred during all those years, a fact that is easily observable in the pathetic status of our roads, highways and bridges.

One of the points made by Friedman in that article was that the much of the nation's highway system was built during a vast national project about 50 years ago, and that much of that infrastructure is approaching the end of its life expectancy; consider the bridge full of cars that collapsed over some major river back there in the rustbelt a few years ago. Unless we begin moving swiftly to replace much of this aging infrastructure, we can only look forward to more catastrophic structural failure like that occurring.

I'm reminded of a cartoon I just saw with an SUV approaching an old steel truss bridge, with a large sign saying, "bridge ahead, good luck and godspeed", while the bubble from the SUV says, "my opposition to the gas tax is starting to soften"

Another major reason why fuel should be taxed at a much higher rate is the undeniable link between man's voracious appetite for fossil fuels in the frightening impact that all this carbon emission is having on global climate. Even though the entire Republican Party has been hired by the forces of evil, personified by the Koch brothers, to spout what they know to be false; that science is not clear on the link between human fossil fuel consumption and climate change. As HL Mencken defined the word 'demagogue'; "one who espouses doctrines that he knows to be false to people that he knows to be idiots". As we enter February with virtually no snowpack in the Sierras, climate change is getting to be all too real an immediate threat to all of us, especially those of us trying to live here in California.

With gasoline prices at an historic low point, I don't recall there ever being a better time for beginning to phase-in significantly higher fuel taxes; people would not even notice a quarter or 50 cent bump in the price of fuel. I can't believe how cheap gas is these days!

Besides all the economic activity that would be stimulated by the much-needed overhaul of so much of our transportation infrastructure, this major new revenue stream, if it is dedicated to transportation needs, could pay for light rail systems that many cities would love to build but cannot afford to on their own. Light rail not only saves enormous amounts of fuel in traffic-jammed highways, but greatly increases the value of the surrounding real estate, creating a virtuous circle of prosperity for the whole area.

Lastly, an important benefit to preventing fuel prices from lingering too long at this temporary firesale price would be to not encourage those with limited foresight to forget about the fact that prices will sooner or later go back up, and go out and buy big gas hog vehicles; that would not be good for the climate, the economy or anything else.

No one wants to pay any more for anything, but clearly it is the right thing for us all to do right now.

Sincerely, John Arteaga, Ukiah

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FIN 2 FINI

The Mendocino County Library is a partner in the Funding Information Network (FIN) of the Foundation Center. Established in 1956, the Foundation Center is the leading source of information about philanthropy worldwide. It connects people who want to change the world to the resources they need to succeed. The Foundation Center maintains the most comprehensive database on grantmakers and their grants. It also offers an array of free educational programs.

The Mendocino County Library FIN is pleased to announce a series of free workshops designed to help people who want to do good in our community. The workshops will be offered on the second Monday of the month at the Ukiah Branch Library, and the third Monday of the month at the Fort Bragg Branch Library.

The schedule is as follows:

Grants 101: An Introduction to the world of Grant Seeking and Grant Writing

Ukiah: Monday, 3/9/15, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Fort Bragg: Monday, 3/16/15, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

FR 101: An Introduction to Resource Development for Community Based Organizations

Ukiah, Monday, 4/13/15, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Fort Bragg, Monday, 4/20/15, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

How To Start A Nonprofit Organization in California

Ukiah: Monday, 5/11/15, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Fort Bragg: Monday, 5/18/15, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Nonprofit Governance and Leadership

Ukiah: Monday, 6/8/15, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Fort Bragg: Monday, 6/15/15, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Planning 101: An Introduction to Strategic, Business, and Resource Planning for Community Based Organizations

Ukiah: Monday, 7/13//15, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Fort Bragg: Monday, 7/20/15, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Communication and Conflict Management Skills for Community Based Organizations

Ukiah: Monday, 8/10/15, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Fort Bragg: Monday, 8/17/15, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

To register for a workshop in Ukiah contact the Ukiah Branch Library at 463-4490.

To register for a workshop in Fort Bragg contact the Fort Bragg Branch Library at 964-2020.

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SNAK, YAK & WRITE BACK (a T(w)een Book Chat)

A Ukiah Library event:

Friday, February 20th 3:30-4:30 pm

Snak, Yak & Write Back is a new book discussion & writing group where teens & tweens can chat about their recent or favorite reads. Writing for fun will also be explored - creative responses are welcome in any form: poems, song, dance, social activism, essays, dramatic performance, novels, short stories. We will meet one Friday a month (every third Friday) from 3:30 pm –4:30pm. Our next meeting is Friday, February 20th! Snacks will be provided.

You can also follow District Teens on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ukiahlibrarydistrictteens to stay informed about teen events at the library.

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OIL LOBBY GROUP TOPS SPENDING LIST WITH $8.9 MILLION IN 2014

by Dan Bacher

The oil industry continued its long reign as the top spender on lobbying in California in 2014, according to data just released by the California Secretary of State.

The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) led the list with $8.9 million spent on lobbying in 2014, nearly double what it spent in the previous year. WSPA spent $4.67 million in 2013.

WSPA apparently spent much of its money on stopping a fracking moratorium bill in the Legislature and trying to undermine California’s law to lower greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

Catherine Reheis-Boyd, President of WSPA and the former Chair of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force to create questionable “marine protected areas” in Southern California, also successfully opposed legislation by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson to protect the Vandenberg State Marine Reserve and the Tranquillon Ridge from offshore oil drilling plans.

“The winners of the 2014 lobbying competition are in – and the winner is... BIG OIL!’" said Stop Fooling California, an online and social media public education and awareness campaign that highlights oil companies’ efforts to mislead and confuse Californians. “Congratulations, Western States Petroleum Association and Chevron! No one has spent more on evil in California than you!"

The association spent a total of 4,009,178 lobbying state officials in the third quarter of 2014, a new quarterly record by WSPA. (http://calaccess.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1147195&session=2013&view=activity)

During that quarter, the association paid $375,800 to KP Public Affairs, a prominent Sacramento lobbying and public relations firm that represents clients in health care, aerospace manufacturing and other industries. WSPA also paid $77,576 to Pillsbury Winthrup Shaw Pittman LLP.

WSPA spent $1,456,785 in the first quarter, $1,725,180 in the second quarter and $1,692,391 in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Along with KP Public Affairs and Pillsbury Winthrup Shaw Pittman LLP, the association hired two other firms, California Resource Strategies and Alcantar & Kahl, to lobby for Big Oil.

The Sacramento Bee pointed out that the "vast majority of the petroleum association’s spending on lobbying last year – about $7.2 million – was reported under a catch-all 'other' category that requires no detailed disclosure showing who benefited or how the money was spent." (http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article9261986.html#storylink=cpy)

The San Ramon-based Chevron and its subsidiaries placed third on the list with $4,282,216 spent on lobbying in 2014, including $2,198,209 paid in the fourth quarter.

The California State Council of Service Employees placed second with $5.9 million, while the California Chamber of Commerce finished fourth on the list with $3.9 million and the California Hospital Association and California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems finished fifth with $3 million

The oil industry has spent over $70 million on lobbyists in California since January 2009, according to a 2014 report written by Will Barrett, the Senior Policy Analyst for the American Lung Association in California. (http://www.lung.org/associations/states/california/advocacy/climate-change/oil-industy-lobbying-report.pdf)

The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) topped the oil industry spending with a total of $31,179,039 spent on lobbying since January 1, 2009 at the time of Barrett’s report. Chevron was second in lobbying expenses with a total of $15,542,565 spent during the same period.

From July 1 to September 30 alone, the oil industry spent an unprecedented $7.1 million lobbying elected officials in California “with a major focus on getting oil companies out of a major clean air regulation,” said Barrett.

Big Oil also exerts its power and influence by spending many millions of dollars every election season on candidates and ballot measures. For example, the oil industry dumped $7.6 million into defeating a measure calling for a fracking ban in Santa Barbara County and nearly $2 million into an unsuccessful campaign to defeat a measure banning fracking and other extreme oil extraction techniques in San Benito County during the November 2014 election. Chevron also spent $3 million (unsuccessfully) to elect “their” candidates to the Richmond City Council.

Not only does Big Oil spend millions every year on lobbying and campaign contributions, but it funds "Astroturf" campaigns to eviscerate environmental laws. Leaked documents provided to Northwest Public Radio, Business Week and other media outlets last year exposed a campaign by the Western States Petroleum Association to fund and coordinate a network of “Astroturf” groups to oppose environmental laws and local campaigns against fracking in California, Washington and Oregon.

This network was revealed in a PowerPoint presentation from a Nov. 11 presentation to the Washington Research Council, given by Catherine Reheis-Boyd, WSPA President. (http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/12/12/18765457.php)

“The Powerpoint deck details a plan to throttle AB 32 (also known as the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006) and steps to thwart low carbon fuel standards (known as LCFS) in California, Oregon, and Washington State,” revealed Stop Fooling California. (http://www.stopfoolingca.org/2014/12/leaked-the-oil-lobbys-conspiracy-to-kill-off-californias-climate-law/)

Oil and chemical industry representatives also further exert their power and influence by serving on state and federal regulatory panels. In one of the most overt conflicts of interest in recent California history, WSPA President Catherine Reheis-Boyd served as the Chair of the Marine Life Protection Act Blue Ribbon Task Force to create fake "marine protected areas" in Southern California. (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/mpa/brtf_bios_sc.asp)

She also served on the task forces for the Central Coast, North Central Coast and North Coast, in addition to sitting on a NOAA federal marine protected areas panel from 2003 to 2014.

The so-called "marine protected areas" created under the MLPA Initiative fail to protect the ocean from fracking, offshore oil drilling, pollution, military testing, corporate aquaculture and all human impacts on the ocean other than fishing and gathering.

Not only did these alleged "Yosemites of the Sea" fail to protect the ocean, but they violate the traditional fishing and gathering rights of the Yurok Tribe and other Indian Nations and are based on terminally flawed and incomplete science. In fact, Ron LeValley, the Co-Chair of the MLPA Initiative Science Advisory Team for the North Coast, is currently in federal prison for conspiracy to embezzle $852,000 from the Yurok Tribe.

The millions Chevron and other oil companies have spent on lobbying, campaign contributions and setting up “Astroturf” groups promoting the oil industry agenda are just chump change to Big Oil. The five big oil companies – BP, Chevron, Conoco-Phillips, Exxon Mobil and Shell – made a combined total of $93 billion in 2013.

Even with sliding oil prices, the big five oil companies — BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, and Shell — made $16.4 billion in the last quarter of 2014 and $89.7 billion for the entire year, according to the Center for American Progress.