Mendocino County Today: Thursday, May 28, 2015

• Ernesto Donations
• George Chambers
• Supes' Pay
• Balo Pumping
• Temp Tags
• Ukiah Fight Club
• Catch of the Day
• It's a Dream
• Dinnerstein
• Oil Spills
• Bamboo Art
• Solar House Party
• Mass Interruptus
• PD on Turner Recall

DONATIONS BEING SOLICITED IN ANDERSON VALLEY FOR THE FAMILY OF ERNESTO CONTRERAS

It was with sadness we noticed donations being collected at the Redwood Drive-In in Boonville for the family of 18-year-old Ernesto Contreras who died in a tragic car accident on CA-128 last week.

(Courtesy, MendocinoSportsPlus.)

GEORGE CHAMBERS, 46, was found dead Saturday morning inside a dumpster behind Ukiah Staples.

The Ukiah Police said Wednesday that they don’t suspect foul play in Chambers' odd death.

But autopsy results are pending.

Chambers wasn't homeless but he was known as a dumpster scavenger.

SMASH & GRAB

More And More For Less And Less

by Mark Scaramella

Back in 2007 Supervisor Colfax lead the charge to raise the Board of Supervisors pay from an already generous $48,000 per year to $68,000 per year, Colfax justifying the raise,

“When I came on the board the salary was $32k per year. I figured I could manage with that. It turned out I couldn't. I took a few consulting responsibilities, passed them on to my wife… We’ve had two citizens advisory committees. I remember Mark Scaramella recommending no supervisor salary increases anytime anywhere should get any kind of raise.”

Colfax was right.

When I was on the Citizens Pay Panel that the Supervisors had grudgingly set up in 1998, and even more grudgingly appointed me to sit on it (thanks to Supervisor Pinches), I argued,

“Compensation is not the reason that individuals choose to run for supervisor. The primary motivation for becoming a candidate is ideological. Individuals who run for supervisor are not professionals, require no special skill, training or experience, and are not ‘hired’ competitively, unlike judges and top professional staffers. Nor can supervisors be laid-off, fired, or furloughed like other employees. Most supervisor time is spent in meetings, reading and travel — not in performing specialized tasks. Supervisors have a large administrative structure to turn to for research, analysis, and recommendations. … To properly represent ordinary citizens, the Supervisors should not be paid substantially more than the ordinary citizen. In Mendocino County in 1998 the average individual wage earner takes in about $21.5k without benefits, unless one is a government employee (teachers, public works, social service workers, typically earn more and have a substantial benefits package). The supes already make almost twice the average wage when health insurance is factored in."

”Former Supervisor Joe Scaramella, my uncle, held the view that being a supervisor is a give-back to the community which gave the individual the opportunity to run for public office through financial or other forms of support.

Raising the salary beyond the cost of living would only further separate the supervisors from the economic conditions in which most County residents live.

”Supervisor compensation should not be viewed as a reward for any self-alleged prior accomplishments or vague and the inevitable self-pitying claims of hard work. The compensation should be based on an assessment of fair compensation, recognizing that supervisors, like policemen, building inspectors, or planning department senior staffers and others with potential for corruption and graft, should not be under-compensated to a degree which might tempt an incumbent to supplement his income in order to maintain an ordinary middle-class lifestyle.

“If the Supervisors can give themselves raises as they did in June [of 1998 to $48,000 per year] without even bothering to consult their own sitting pay panel, or the Grand Jury or putting the issue to an advisory vote (as appears to be the law), the entire purpose of the panel is brought into question, and the recommendations become irrelevant, other than as a transparent attempt at political cover for what is clearly unpopular and unjustified.”

* * *

Supervisor Colfax, the prime mover in raising the Supes pay (and we defy you to name one another thing Colfax accomplished in his 12 years in office), said, “We are the worst paid of comparable supervisors in the group we used to calculate other people in this organization. Guess who out of 1500 employees? Which five didn't get raises everybody else got? Hello suckers! You don't even know where your own self-interest is. You don't even keep up with people making a lot more than you! Then you proceed to allow yourself to be castigated by it. … If it was me or bozo the clown, [Mr. Graf and Mr. Johnson of the Employers Council] wouldn't like what I was saying about salary because they don't like to see government function effectively. 35 hours a week. Wow! Only 35. People say nobody made you run. Well, nobody says we have to humor the cranks. And the so-called public interest people who are not paying attention at all with regard to the structure of salaries in Mendocino County… We make about the salary of the average worker in County government. Somewhere between $60 and $70k. We control our own work hours. … I reject the idea that a public commission is any better. Whatever they come up with, we have to pick. It’s just another charade, it’s great entertainment. Yes, I’m going on and on, I hope I can bore you out of the room. The Supervisors are the five lowest paid elected officials. Who do you thank? The five of us. Hello suckers!”

BOARD MEMBERS base salary today is $68,000 a year plus a generous benefits package some called a Cadillac benefits package. At the moment, all five board members have grudgingly taken a 10% voluntary pay cut which began the year after they imposed a 10% pay cut on their employees, bringing their salaries down to $61,200 per year. But there’s been no comparable reduction in benefits. At that time Supervisors Kendall Smith and David Colfax steadfastly refused to take the same pay cut they had imposed on their employees for budget balancing reasons.

Back in 2009 Supervisor Colfax said, “We waste too damn much time bickering over a crappy salary connected to a not terribly rewarding job. … I don't like having my contribution to workmen's compensation added into the line item about what I get out of this organization. That's not what it's all about at all! It's what I see in my paycheck. It's not terribly, terribly exciting to put it very mildly.”

AND KENDALL SMITH justified not taking a voluntary cut with her typical Smithian blather: “I did a calculation with SEIU's wages as I did with the other elected officials and if I had received the same wages you did over the past four year period as with the average of all the other elected officials and then took a 10% pay I would be looking, making more than I do now. Currently this board of supervisors in a regional equation, which is the best measurement for elected officials in a regional comparative, we are 25% out of market. And I don't think there is any category in the county currently including the attorneys that were I believe before, I mean after the last wage issues that we addressed, I believe they were 20% out, or 25% out of market at the stated salary. So, no, I haven't. I would also like to comment [to a employees union rep at the podium] that I would've liked to have had the offer that you had that I believe your bargaining group did not bring to you for a 30 day period which was a 36 hour [a week] agreement that was in their hands for over 30 days. I would have liked to, I would've, I would have signed on to that in a minute because what it would have meant is that it would have meant instead of a 60 hour week I would have been working 36 hours.”

FOR THIS LAVISH PAY (well over two times the average pay for a single working person in Mendocino County) board members primarily attend meetings which are mostly made up of canned presentations from staff, silly self-regarding proclamations, and (lately) ignoring public input. (By their own rules they say they’re not allowed to respond to public comment or questions. Rules they don’t bother to observe when it suits them.) Additionally, given their remarks at meetings, it was clear supervisors Colfax and Smith were unprepared to intelligently discuss the matters before them.

ACCORDING TO the Board of Supervisors Master Calendar there are only 23 Board meetings scheduled for 2015. As recently as 2004 there were 42. By 2007, as pay was going up the number of meetings was down to 36. By 2011 it was down to 33. In 2012 there were 24. And now it’s down to 23, perhaps fewer than that because the budget meetings that used to take three or four days are now nothing more than a boilerplate presentation and a rubberstamp vote.

THE POINT? Only now has law enforcement received part of their 2009 pay cut back, and the rest of County employees are angling for restoration of their pay cut to pre-2009 levels. It probably won’t be long before one of the supervisors proposes that the Board stop taking their “voluntary” 10% pay cut. If they do that with their workload having been cut in half since their last pay raise, it’ll be an even bigger slap in the face than it was when Colfax and Smith refused to take the 10% cut they imposed on everybody else in County government.

CEO Carmel Angelo? The Supes gave her a large pay raise last year to $180k per year, offering no reason for the raise other than she was doing a good job, something most of the other County employees have received no additional compensation for. And need we even mention County Counsel Doug ‘The Midnight Rambler’ Losak who got a big raise to $108k per year this year even though the Sheriff and the District Attorney went so far as to go on record in a public meeting to say he didn’t deserve it?

PLEASE CALL FISH AND GAME.

A Reader Writes:

Balo's pump [Balo Vineyards, Philo] has been boxes, padlocked and hooked up through a 3" pipe to the Indian Creek. An hour ago it was running and had been for a while. A neighbor said Mullins [owner of Balo Vineyards] told him the water was for Roederer. Everyone was gone at the winery and tasting room so I imagine it will be going all night. Another neighbor thinks the water is filling Balo’s pond. I'll be checking it periodically.

ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

Those temp tags are the biggest scam going. People take off their license plates when coming into the city, and put those on (who knows if it's legit or not). Then, if they get into a fender bender or worse, they run. "What was the license of the car that hit you ma'am?" ---"uh, all it had was a temp tag." End of story. You can also park anywhere you want, illegally, because how are they going to issue a ticket? Cover up the portion on your dash that shows the VIN, and with no plate, voila! No ticket.

UKIAH'S SUMMER REC PROGRAM

On May 12, 12/14 at 2:30 pm Sheriff's Deputies were dispatched to the 1400 Block of S. State St. Ukiah, Ca. regarding a large group of subjects fighting at the location. On arrival all the subjects involved in the altercation had left. Deputies contacted several witnesses who advised there were six to eight subjects fighting and a large crowd watching the fight. One of the witnesses had taken a Cellular telephone video of the incident and provided it to the Deputies. Deputies posted the video on the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office FaceBook page and asked for assistance in identifying the involved parties to the fight. Numerous people contacted the Sheriff's Office with information or left posts on the site with possible identities of those involved. Sheriff's Deputies, Probation Officers and members of the Multi Agency Gang Suppression Unit reviewed the information received and confirmed identities with other Law Enforcement personnel, Probation officers and School officials. On 5/26/15 Sheriff's Deputies, Probation Officers and Gang Unit members located six of the individuals involved in the fight and took them into custody. The six male juveniles ranged in age from thirteen (13) to seventeen (17) years of age. All six were booked into the Mendocino County Juvenile Detention Facility and charged with Criminal Conspiracy and Fighting in public

CATCH OF THE DAY, May 27, 2015

MARK CADER, Talmage. Drunk in public.

WAYNE CAMPBELL, Redwood Valley. Drunk in public.

DAVID CURREY, Willits. Possession of controlled substance for sale, under influence of controlled substance.

JAMES JENKINS, Ukiah. Battery, probation revocation.

JANIE KAAIHUE, Ukiah. Vandalism.

KATHLEEN KNIGHT, Ukiah. Possession of drugs while armed.

CYNTHIA KNOLES, Laytonville. DUI-Combo drugs and alcohol.

ZAHIR PECHCERON, Fort Bragg. Domestic assault, assault with deadly weapon not a gun.

ROBERT WHITE, Ukiah. Stalking and threatening bodily injury.

IT'S A DREAM

In the morning when I wake up and listen to the sound

Of the birds outside on the roof

I try to ignore what the paper says

And I try not to read all the news

And I'll hold you if you had a bad dream

And I hope it never comes true

'Cause you and I been through so many things together

And the sun starts climbing the roof

 

It's a dream, only a dream

And it's fading now, fading away

It's only a dream

Just a memory without anywhere to stay

 

The Red River still flows through my home town

Rollin' and tumblin' on its way

Swirling around the old bridge pylons

Where a boy fishes the morning away

His bicycle leans on an oak tree

While the cars rumble over his head

An aeroplane leaves a trail in an empty blue sky

And the young birds call out to be fed

 

It's a dream, only a dream

And it's fading now, fading away

Only a dream

Just a memory without anywhere to stay

 

An old man walks along on the sidewalk

Sunglasses and an old Stetson hat

The four winds blow the back of his overcoat away

As he stops with the policeman to chat

And a train rolls out of the station

That was really somethin' in its day

Picking up speed on the straight prairie rails

As it carries the passengers away

 

It's gone, it's only a dream

And it's fading now, fading away

Only a dream

Just a memory without anywhere to stay

 

It's a dream, only a dream

And it's fading now, fading away

It's only a dream

Just a memory without anywhere to stay

 

It's a dream, only a dream

And it's fading now, fading away

—Neil Young

SANTA BARBARA DISASTER INEVITABLE WITH BIG OIL'S CAPTURE OF THE REGULATORY APPARATUS

by Dan Bacher

The same region devastated by the Santa Barbara Oil Spill of 1969 is now the scene of a massive clean up of crude oil by the state and federal governments and volunteers. The international and national media have spread throughout the world the startling images of the oil soaked beaches, birds, fish and ecosystem in a deluge of TV, radio, newspaper and internet reports.

The big oil spill that began off the Refugio State Beach was inevitable, when you consider the capture of the regulatory apparatus by the oil industry in California. Until people challenge the power of Big Oil in California and the industry's control over the state and federal regulatory agencies, we will see more of the Refugio-type of oil spill disasters in the future.

During the privately funded Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative process from 2004 to 2012, state officials and corporate "environmental" NGOs made sure that Big Oil and other corporate polluters weren't impacted by the creation of alleged "marine protected areas" along the California coast.

In an article published widely in June 2010, I warned that the "marine protected areas" created under the MLPA Initiative don't protect the ocean from oil spills and pollution (http://yubanet.com/california/MLPA-Initiative-will-do-nothing-to-stop-a-big-oil-spill-off-California.php)

"These marine protected areas, as currently designed, don't protect against oil spills," said Sara Randall, the the program director of the Institute for Fishery Resources and Commercial Fishermen of America. "What's the point of developing marine protected areas if they don't protect the resources?"

MLPA Initiative advocates claimed that other state and federal laws and administrative actions "protect" the ocean from oil spills and new offshore oil drilling, so there was no need for specific bans or restrictions on oil industry activities in and near "marine protected areas."

In violation of the provisions of the landmark Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) of 1999, the "marine protected areas" failed to protect the ocean from oil spills, oil drilling, pollution, military testing, corporate aquaculture, military testing and all human impacts on the ocean other than fishing and gathering.

Of course, MLPA Initiative advocates neglected to address why Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the President of the Western States Petroleum Association, was allowed to CHAIR the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force for the South Coast and to sit on the task forces for the Central Coast, North Central Coast and North Coast, as well as on a NOAA federal marine protected areas panel. (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/mpa/brtf_bios_sc.asp)

They dismissed any questioning of why a Big Oil lobbyist was allowed to oversee "marine protection" in California as "wild conspiracy theories."

To make matters even worse, the WSPA President's husband, James Boyd, served on the California Energy Commission from 2002 to 2012. From 2007 to 2012, he served as the Commission's Vice Chair, the second most powerful position on the Commission! (http://www.energy.ca.gov/commissioners/boyd.html)

However, as we can see from the current oil spill disaster off the coast of Santa Barbara, the state and federal regulatory agencies and the MLPA Initiative's so-called "marine protected areas" weren't able to prevent a big oil spill like the one now taking place from occurring - and the fishermen, Tribal members and grassroots environmentalists who criticized oil industry lobbyist oversight of the MLPA Initiative process were absolutely right about their fears that the new "Yosemites of the Sea" wouldn't protect the ocean.

Ironically, the region impacted by the spill includes three "marine protected areas" created by the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force under the helm of the Western States Petroleum Association President - the Campus Point, Naples and Kashtayit State Marine Conservation Areas - along with the Refugio State Marine Conservation Area.

This disaster could have been averted if the pipeline had an automatic shut-off valve, but it didn't, according to a Santa Barbara County official. Now you will see the federal and state regulatory agencies pointing fingers at each other as to who is to  "blame" for the spill when it is the entire regulatory apparatus, now captured by Big Oil, that is really responsible for the spill.

To make matters worse, these same agencies, ranging from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), the federal agency that permits offshore drilling, to the California Coastal Commission, failed to stop oil companies from fracking the ocean off California over 200 times over the past 20 years.

Record of pipeline owner marred by 175 incidents since 2006

Now we find out that company that owns the pipeline involved in Tuesday’s major oil spill in Santa Barbara has had 175 incidents (mostly oil spills) nationwide since 2006, including 11 in California, according to a Center for Biological Diversity analysis of federal documents!  (http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2015/santa-barbara-oil--spill-05-21-2015.html)

It gets worse. Plains Pipeline (a subsidiary of Plains All-American Pipeline) has also had federal enforcement actions initiated against it 20 times since 2006 for its operations across the country, according to data from the U.S. Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration compiled by the Center. Many of those cases involve corrosion control and maintenance problems on its pipelines, including two cases in 2009 for which the company was fined $115,600.

“This company’s disturbing record highlights oil production’s toxic threat to California’s coast,” said Miyoko Sakashita, the Center’s oceans program director. “Oil pipelines and offshore fracking and drilling endanger our fragile marine ecosystems. Every new oil project increases the risk of fouled beaches and oil-soaked sea life.”

Sakashita said the ruptured oil pipeline near Refugio State Beach — a 24-inch wide, 11-mile long section carrying oil from offshore platforms and an Exxon Mobil processing plant onshore — leaked as much as 105,000 gallons of crude oil, including 21,000 gallons making it into the ocean, fouling about nine miles of coastal waters and beaches.

According to Sakashita, "The broken pipeline was 28 years old and operated by a company that has been repeatedly warned by government regulators to improve its procedures and control corrosion for its pipelines. Plains Pipeline had five incidents in California in 2014 alone, including the one that dumped oil into a Los Angeles neighborhood a year ago."

"Hundreds of miles of oil pipelines run through California’s coastal areas, posing a serious threat of spills. A review released by the Center for Biological Diversity of federal data over the past 30 years shows that such oil spills from pipelines are a common and costly byproduct of oil production that has been rapidly increasing in the United States, including offshore," she noted.

An analysis of federal pipeline data commissioned last year by the Center showed there have been nearly 8,000 serious pipeline breaks nationwide since 1986, causing more than 2,300 injuries and nearly $7 billion in property damage. The vast majority of those incidents have involved oil pipelines, spilling more than 2 million barrels into waterways and on the ground. More than 35 percent of these incidents have been caused by corrosion or other spontaneous structural failures, according to the Center.

"The Santa Barbara Channel is rich in biodiversity, including whales, dolphins and more than 500 species of fish. Endangered blue whales often feed in the channel, and it is in the migration path for four other whales listed under the Endangered Species Act. Witnesses spotted sea lions and migrating whales in the coastal waters as the spill was taking place Tuesday," said Sakashita.

Sakashita reminded people that the Santa Barbara County coastline was the site of an oil platform explosion in 1969 that spilled up to 100,000 barrels of oil. That oil spill, with its massive devastation of fish, wildlife and the ocean ecosystem, served as the impetus for the creation of the modern environmental movement and Earth Day.

“If we’re learned anything over the past 50 years, it’s that coastal oil production remains inherently dangerous to wildlife, local communities and health of the planet,” she said. “To protect our coast, we need to stop offshore drilling and fracking and quickly transition to cleaner energy sources.”

Oil industry is most powerful corporate lobby in California

Oil spills like the latest one off Santa Barbara are inevitable as long as Big Oil is able to exert as much power and influence as it does now in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.  The oil industry is the largest and most powerful corporate lobby in California, with the Western States Petroleum Association alone spending $8.9 million on lobbying in 2014, nearly double what it spent the previous year.

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. 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. (http://www.lung.org/associations/states/california/advocacy/climate-change/oil-industy-lobbying-report.pdf)

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. The oil industry dumped $7.6 million into defeating a measure calling for a fracking ban in Santa Barbara County; yes the same county where the oil spill is now devastating the ecosystem.

Not only does Big Oil spend millions every year on lobbying and campaign contributions, but it funds "Astroturf" campaigns to eviscerate environmental laws. And as we have seen in the case of Catherine Reheis-Boyd and her husband, James Boyd, oil and chemical industry representatives further exert their power and influence by serving on state and federal regulatory panels.

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 $16.4 billion in the last quarter of 2014 and $89.7 billion for the entire year, according to the Center for American Progress. This was done in spite of "sliding" oil prices.

Yet both the mainstream media and the "alternative" media articles that I have read to date have failed in their coverage of the Santa Barbara Oil Spill over the past week, since they have neglected their duty to expose the reason behind the spill - the capture of the regulatory apparatus by Big Oil, a huge environmental scandal that I have exposed in article, after article, after article.

To read my investigative piece on oil industry money and power in California in the East Bay Express, go to: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2015/02/06/big-oil-group-spent-89-million-last-year-lobbing-jerry-brown-and-california-officials

MODERN TWIST" OPENS AT GRACE HUDSON THIS WEEKEND

"Modern Twist: Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Art," an exhibition exploring the innovative shape bamboo art has taken since the mid-twentieth century, will show at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah, California from May 30 to August 30, 2015.The show features 38 works by 17 professional Japanese bamboo artists from the collection of the Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture in Hanford, California. Curated by Dr. Andreas Marks and organized by International Art and Artists, "Modern Twist" reveals rare wall-hung installations and pieces never before seen in the United States.   For more information on this exhibit, visit www.artsandartists.org. The Grace Hudson Museum is at 431 S. Main St. in Ukiah and is open Wed. through Saturday from 10 am to 4:30 pm and Sunday from noon to 4:30 pm. More information is online at www.gracehudsonmuseum.org and by phone at 707-467-2836.

Roberta Werdinger

Writer, Publicist, Editor

GREETINGS FROM MENDOCINO SOLAR SERVICE

Our May 2015 issue of "News From the Solar System," is all about Making Connections.

For more than 20 years, Mendocino Solar Service has been passionate about helping our friends and neighbors to harness the power of the sun to fuel their homes and businesses. In many ways, our work is all about connections: connections matter to us.

By connecting Mendocino County home and business owners to modern solar technology, we make it posible for our customers to translate their hopes, wishes and intentions for green living into practical action.

We care about connecting our customers to the most efficient and cost effective solar technology, so we work closely with proven solar industry leader SunPower.

We recognize that our customers have unique energy needs, home improvement goals and financial plans, so we cultivate a variety of technology and financing options to help connect our customers with the very best options.

We appreciate that a more joyful and prosperous community develops when we connect with and encourage the efforts of our neighbors, so we support local events and organizations that enhance the quality of living in Mendocino County.

This month we connect with the Mendocino Film Festival, to once again support the Mendocino Film Festival's Films For the Future series. The Mendocino Film Festival comes to town this week, celebrating its 10th year. In the words of beloved film critics Siskel & Ebert: "We'll see you at the movies!"

Regards,

Bruce Erickson & Maggie Watson, Co-Owners, Mendocino Solar Service

* * *

Philo Open House Celebrates 10 Years of Solar Power

A well-known Mendocino Solar Service customer in the Philo area is celebrating 10 years of on-grid solar power next month, by hosting a Solar Open House Party.

Mendocino County residents interested in 'going solar' are invited to attend the Solar Open House Party--on Saturday, June 13, from 3-5pm--to learn more about residential use of solar energy.

Come meet your neighbors; enjoy a scrumptious buffet of food and drink; learn how solar planning, finance, design, installation and operation 'work', and tour a GRID-tied residential solar energy system.

Studies confirm what California homeowners have already discovered: solar energy use makes a financial difference for most homeowners. Solar energy systems improve home resale values, greatly reduce or eliminate a home's monthly PG&E bill, and offer good return on investment.

With solar growing in popularity, it's helpful to understand how solar 
'works' in Mendocino County, and how homeowners and homebuyers can benefit from solar.

For directions and to RSVP to the Saturday, June 13 party in Philo, please contact our Office Manager John Huxsol 707-937-1701 or admin@mendocinosolar.com.

MASS FOR DOUBLE WINSLOW

Cal Winslow And The Mass For Double Choir

Patrick was playing a solemn mass by Frank Martin, Mass for Double Choir on his classical music program today, Wednesday, May 27 on KZYX.  About 20 minutes after the hour, the music suddenly stops mid-note.  I thought,  the web stream must be down again as it often is. But no, there was an addition to the Mass!

Added in to the solemn music was a pre-recorded intro by Cal Winslow stating that he was beginning a new series.......and then… silence again.

The Mass picked up mid-note and concluded without Cal participating again in the Mass for Double Choir.

Being raised on the Latin Mass and studying classical instrumental and choral music as I earned my degree in Music, it's offensive to hear this happen.  What's more, as I listen to the various volunteer announcers and even the Program Director engineer shows, they clearly are under trained or poorly trained. I love classical music and I love when it is introduced and back announced with the respect it deserves.

Let's have the KZYX announcers given the training support they need.  After all, it's not only what is broadcast, but how it is presented to the community.

(Mary Kathryn Massey, Mendocino CA)

PRESS DEMOCRAT ON THE RECALL OF FORT BRAGG MAYOR DAVE TURNER

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/3970972-181/fort-bragg-mayor-dave-turner