- Sparks for Mayor
- Wow! Ten Whole Dollars!
- Protect the Headlands Park
- Bait & Hook
- And Now a Word from Ol' Liner Notes
- Dr. Nash & Associates
- Until the Pages Wear Out
- No Way, Ed!
SPARKS FOR MAYOR
Dear Editor.
The Anderson Valley Election Committee (AVEC) has set the election date as the First Weds in April. Many bars are closed on the traditional Tuesday hence or decision.
The Poll Tax has been changed to an Expediting Fee where those choosing to participate can have their ballot counted first and often. The ballot counting is expected to be an all night affair and the enumerators are bound to be thirsty.
A candidate for the Search and Rescue Party could not be found. We expect the Sports Party to send someone to the plate.
Don't neglect registering with Vote or Else. We know your name and your pets' names.
Names Withheld
AVEC Communications Director
Boonville
WOW! TEN WHOLE DOLLARS!
Dear Editor;
Walmart has announced a wage increase to $9 a hour for 500,000 of their 1.3 million employees which will go to $10 a hour in 2016. These paltry increases are far below the Federal poverty guidelines and do not represent a livable wage of $15 a hour. Some people will be impressed by this increase in wages by Walmart. But those who care about workers who struggle to feed themselves and family on slave labor pay certainly are not impressed
In peace,
Jim Updegraff
Sacramento
PROTECT THE HEADLANDS PARK
Dear Editor,
The destructive mowing of the Headlands State Park in Mendocino is so sad to see. All the foliage is gone except a few small patches. No more habitat at all, no roses, no berries, no grasses, no small paths, no secret quiet spots, no lizards, snakes, mice; nothing interesting at all just stubble and skitched raw earth. Local residents weep, but there are few left in the town who care about such things. Just boutique stores and vacation rentals and a park that looks like a vacant lot. The Planning Dept. says they are “looking into it” but they can’t find a permit anywhere. Too little, too late. The long time residents remember a written agreement to leave the Headlands wild, but no one can find that either, yet. Now it will grow back into a tangled mess like the lot next to Schlafers.
This is not rehabilitation.
The mowing has cut and mulched all the foliage that protected the animals, and eliminated the source of seeds and nesting habitat for the spring migrations. This was done without the required permits for habitat removal, and without any plan for rehabilitation. Simply mowing invasive blackberries does not remove them, it only encourages them to branch out and grow more vigorously. This poorly-planned and heavy-handed approach is not in the best interests of the Park or the Town. You won’t see any tourists walking there for a good while, and many locals will be avoiding Main Street completely. There is no plan for removing the invasives or planting native plants, or protecting the Main Street gardens from the blasts of cold wind now coming off the bay. The town deserves an apology for this mis-management.
Rixanne Wehren
Coastal Committee chair
Sierra Club, Mendocino Group
BAIT & HOOK
Dear Editor:
A sometimes Fort Bragg homeless young man had his driver and recreational fishing licenses suspended, because he was behind on court ordered child support payments, and now cannot easily work without a driver's license.
This unfortunate chap alleges that coastal Mendocino law enforcement, engages in selective ticketing for open container (ethyl alcohol) drinking violations in the general area of the City of Fort Bragg.
He maintains a limited exception in California coastal fishing regulations allowing him to fish for himself at what are called Public Piers, which meet certain conditional requirements, and that there is one in Fort Bragg, although I didn't catch the location.
He actively has to refute law enforcement allegation that a fishing license is required there, and informs them of the tricky law. http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/faq.asp
His open container ticket was issued while he had an opened beer next to him while seated along with his rolled up sleeping bag, but was not on it nor had been sleeping there, and that others with open containers but no bedding were not cited.
Later he found out that grocers and other stores which sell booze in Fort Bragg, apparently maintain a list of alleged culprits who have been fined for alcohol open container violations.
His claim is that the retail store establishments as a matter of defacto policy, refuse to sell alcohol beverages to those on an open container infraction list within Fort Bragg city limits.
The outlets appear to reserve their constitutional right to refuse service or sales to anyone of their choosing, perhaps even if alleged selective ticketing by law enforcement unconstitutionally targets the less fortunate via a bias created violation list of persecuted class members.
Situation may be to benefit the visual character of the local well heeled tourist dollar merchant economy, a perhaps cruel weapon against the homeless in Fort Bragg, depending on one's viewpoint of recreational alcohol consumption.
The above information was described in conversation two days ago, with a hitchhiker traveling from his ambulatory recovering Mom in Ukiah, to a weekend of sunny weather panhandling in Yuba City, with his found again birth defect challenged girl friend.
Eric Sunswheat
Potter Valley
AND NOW A WORD FROM OL' LINER NOTES
Editor:
Re: KZYX Board candidate McKenty's reply and candidate O'Brien's silence.
Doug, regarding your incident in Studio A, during which you did, or did not, make the right moves: as a programmer myself, I read your apology (Feb. 18). But according to your account, you did nothing incorrectly, so why apologize? How could that win trust? The apology then disappears in justifications about your "feelings about station policy," and "had the Board listened to me when they had the chance...." Huh?
Nonetheless, let's look at just one of the "larger issues" you mention: KZYX has lost "too many good programmers for minor violations." Well then, if the violations are minor, management is either onerous and unjust (some would say utterly corrupt) or, maybe, the half-dozen lost over 25 years have done something dumb and won't come off it.
I am in agreement with the point of disapproval Mr. McKenty expresses in the following statement: "I would like to let voters know that I have no affiliation with Mr. Sakowicz other than that I have spoken with him at length in order to understand the frustrations that led him to file a complaint. I made it clear to him at the time, and am now making it clear to you, that I never advocated for his complaint to the FCC. It put the station’s very existence at risk."
KZYX Board candidate Dennis O'Brien, endorsed by John Sakowicz in the January 14 AVA, has not replied to the same voter's challenge, so I'll repeat it. Should Mr. Sakowicz, himself a Board trustee, have written to the FCC as he did, demanding refusal to renew the station license?
Gordon Black
Mendocino
PS; Toward full disclosure and transparency, would Mr. O'Brien please acknowledge his position and interests as treasurer of KMEC FM. Has he not been pressing for cooperative or combined operations with KZYX&Z?
DR. NASH & ASSOCIATES
Dear Editor,
I was very pleased to see the acknowledgement of Mendocino Coast Clinics’ Dental services and the extra efforts of Dr. Mark Nash. I am very proud of Mendocino Coast Clinics. I wish to bring to your readers’ attention that their health centers in Mendocino County also provide dental services to MediCal patients They are:
- Anderson Valley Health Center, Boonville
- Long Valley Health Center, Laytonville
- Mendocino Community Health Clinics, Ukiah, Willits & Lakeport
- Redwood Coast Medical Services, Gualala & Point Arena
We are all nonprofit, federally qualified health centers providing a range of healthcare services to our communities.
I also wish to take this opportunity to inform you readers that current federal legislation has created a “fiscal cliff” which call for funding reductions for Community Health Centers of up to 70% beginning October 1, 2015. This federal funding is what allows us to ensure healthcare for all people regardless of their ability to pay. We can use the support of our communities to reverse these reductions and not jeopardize the services we provide. For more information about the “fiscal clif” and its impact on Mendoicno County healthcare, please visit www.saveourchcs.org.
Sincerely,
Paula Cohen, Executive Director
Mendocino Coast Clinics, Fort Bragg
www.mccinc.org, 964-1251
UNTIL THE PAGES WEAR OUT
Editor,
It seems my free subscription is running out again. Thanks for letting me know. Since it’s been gratis I’m hoping you’ll renew it and keep the papers coming. It’s really enjoyed around here and not by just myself. The paper is passed around until the pages wear out. So I hope you’ll see fit to keep the Advertiser coming this way.
Thank you,
William Keller
CMF D Dorm 103-Low
PO Box 2000
Vacaville CA 95696
NO WAY, ED!
Editor,
National Grange Master shows real colors
In a clear and obvious move, the splinter fraction (5%) of the Granges that have created the National vs. California Grange fracas have amended their lawsuit with National against fraternal brothers and sisters of the California State Granges to include our property as independent Granges. That means they want to take our property! They can’t per our ownership and relationship with the State and they won’t per our forks and shovels get across the threshold of our granges.
The National Master, Ed Luttrell, who has taken his title to his head and ego, stomped across our core values and sued our state, took away our relationship and now is telling everyone that the democratically elected State President and his staff (also elected and re-elected post suit) left the National organization. He kicked us out. We did not want to go. California state law says we are a corporation of Non profit Granges. Some of us under the umbrella of the state and others independent but engaged with the state. We democratically elected our officers per our bylaws and we continue to re elect them.
Ironically many moons back, the forgetful despot told us not to worry, that our grange life would not change during this out of control dispute. Then he revoked our charter, told us not to meet and then told Fairs across the state that the California State Grange can not sponsor contestants from its member granges. He steps on the toes of even his youngest fraternal Brothers. It is like having Bin Laden for a drinking buddy. Meanwhile, other states and the board of the National challenge his moves and tightened his fiscal tap to fuel this absurd fraternal attack. Yet he is not restrained as he recently moved to a new level of deceit as he took sequestered monies from our returns from Grange Insurance and gave them to his splinter self created “State Grange” to use in a joint law suit against us. He did this as his board said no more money. To add insanity to his next move, he plans to take our name (Grange) away from us as we no longer are part of his organization because he illegally kicked us out for bogus reasons. We are the democratic California Grange, he is an idiot despot. Luttrell would like to tell you water is not water.
He won election last go around by 2 votes out of 72 delegates. That is a terrible response for an incumbent, especially in the National’s very strange election process which has no nominations, thus no one knows who is up for election and the incumbent generally wins. Ed Luttrell is clearly losing his base and all that is necessary to unseat the despot is a mildly popular state President/Master, who will snag the office and bring us back to fraternal status instead of un-fraternal, mad grab mode. Ironically all of this started as a few greedy California Grangers tried to squeeze money out the sale of a so called failing local Grange via a sale of the hall. Current State President McFarland reorganized that Grange and it is now housing more than 100 active grangers. It is actually part of our bylaws to wait, and if sold to hold the money to create another grange if possible. That is what started the fracas followed by picky bylaw infringement challenges against the popular State President to unseat him so they could go after more failing grange profits. Now it is clear that the underlying action is to liquidate the granges of California. A similar attack in Wyoming by the misguided Luttrell caused all granges to close, one to be sold back to the donating land owner and one to be burnt down by its Grangers. Fraternal?
The 198 granges of the original 210 state granges are growing under the current democratically elected President McFarland and his board, are actively involved regionally and statewide in a manner uncommon for many years. It is why we re-elected President McFarland many times. The California State Granges want to rejoin the National once it comes back to its senses, obviously when Ed Luttrell is booted out for not following basic granger values. Here is what California State Grangers want, sovereignty, as a state and as community Granges. Ed Luttrell does not like that and he wants our property. No way Ed!
Greg Krouse
A Granger, Philo
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