Mendocino County Today: Friday, Oct 23, 2015

• Rainwater Catchment
• Library Reimbursements
• Bill Edelen
• Gold-rush Exhibition
• Bad Logging
• Yesterday's Catch
• Rossi's Right
• FB Water
• Elk Poaching
• MCDH Finances
• Bernie Fundraiser
• Hippie Exhibit
• Rogue Nation
• Stoner Nation
• Eviction
• Collectively Sick
• Carson Ahead
• Covelo Trails
• Martian Author
• Rebellion
• Broadband Meeting
• Captain's Report
• Calfire Tweeting
• Water Wasters
• Privatized Prisons
• County Vacancies
• Water Conservation
• PA Agenda
• Classical Duo
• Hare Krishna

RAINWATER CATCHMENT WORKSHOP IS TODAY, Friday, October 23, from 9 to 2pm at Redwood Elementary in Fort Bragg.

SUPES TO CORRECT LIBRARY MISCHARGES

(From an Addendum to Board of Supervisors agenda packet, for October 20, 2015.)

INTRODUCTION — The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors welcomes this opportunity to respond to the most recent Grand Jury report concerning the Library. For the second year in a row the Grand Jury has reviewed certain aspects of Library administration and funding. The current report focuses on three main areas of concern: A-87 Cost Plan charges; whether or not the Library is a Special District; and whether or not the Librarian’s salary should be paid from the County General Fund instead of the Library fund. The Board of Supervisors appointed an ad hoc committee to meet with county staff and other interested parties in an effort to resolve these issues and restore public confidence that library funds are being used for library purposes. In addition to responding to the Grand Jury Findings and Recommendations, the Board of Supervisors offers the following general comments and recommendations for future actions on the three main areas of concern identified by the Grand Jury.

A-87 COST PLAN CHARGES — The Board of Supervisors agrees that A-87 Cost Plan charges for buildings and equipment use have been incorrectly calculated. The Board of Supervisors agrees that building and equipment use charges should not apply to costs that were paid for with donations, grants or insurance proceeds. Equipment use charges should also not apply to equipment that is no longer in service or for which the cost has been fully reimbursed. The Board of Supervisors is committed to updating, verifying, and correcting A-87 charges and crediting the Library for all incorrect charges.

. . .

The Board of Supervisors believes that the incorrect application of A-87 charges to donations, grants and insurance proceeds, and to equipment that was paid off or was no longer in service was not intentional but resulted from incomplete reporting, tracking and accounting among departments.

The Board of Supervisors wishes to commend Auditor/Controller Lloyd Weer for his commitment to conducting a comprehensive review of past A-87 cost plan charges and to verifying the accuracy of any charges going forward. Thus far, it has been verified that the Library was incorrectly charged for A-87 fees on $257,638 in insurance proceeds paid to the County following the 1987 arson fire that destroyed the Fort Bragg Library. The Library was also incorrectly charged for A-87 fees on $472,150 generously donated by Fort Bragg Friends of the Library to assist in modernizing the Fort Bragg Library. A charge, set by formula, was incorrectly applied to the above insurance proceeds and donations. The Auditor/Controller, Executive Office, and Board of Supervisors are in agreement that the library fund must be reimbursed in an equal amount for all previous incorrect charges.

Research continues regarding an additional $295,130 in insurance proceeds for the library in Fort Bragg, but preliminary indications are that these funds were paid from the County’s self-insurance fund and not an outside source. Research also continues regarding $407,500 in state grant funds that may have been used to assist in funding construction of the Willits Library. Verification of grant funding for the library in Willits will also result in a credit to the Library. Auditor/Controller Weer has also verified that all the items on the Library fixed asset list used to develop the current A-87 cost plan are no longer subject to equipment use charges, either because they have been fully paid for or because they are no longer in use. This will result in an additional credit to the library.

The Board of Supervisors recommends that the Auditor/Controller and Executive Office work collaboratively to insure that appropriate methods of reporting, tracking, and accounting are developed to insure the accuracy of A-87 cost plan charges for buildings and equipment use.

The Board of Supervisors recommends that within sixty days the Auditor/Controller, Executive Office, and Board of Supervisors complete the verification of previous A-87 charges; determine the total credit due the Library for previous incorrect charges; and recommend an appropriate method and timeframe for reimbursement of the Library.

* * *

LATE IN THE SUPERVISORS’ RESPONSE the Board punts on two other Grand Jury findings of lesser importance. The response says the question of whether the Library is a “special district” is not clear and doesn’t make much practical difference; and whether to pay the County Librarian out of library funds or tax funds requires clarification from the legislature, so no change at present is proposed. Most of the rest of the new response to the Grand Jury is agreement “with explanation” or partial agreement.

PS. Last year the Grand Jury made the same complaint about the misallocation of “A-87” costs. At that time the Board/County responded that “The Board of Supervisors has not been presented with any documentation to support the Grand Jury’s finding that the A-87 costs assessed by the County Auditor-Controller are questionable and therefore believes that the amounts charged to the County Library are appropriate.”

But with the Grand Jury’s second report this year, somehow, by magic we assume, an ad hoc committee was set up which concluded that indeed the Library was overcharged and should be paid back.

Now, if we can only get the Grand Jury to re-submit their “Appearance of a Conflict of Interest” report about former Mental Health Director’s Tom Pinizzotto’s obvious steering of the Mental Health contracts to his old pals at Ortner, maybe an ad hoc committee would conclude that the Grand Jury was right on that one too and the entire privatization experiment should be either ended or re-bid without Ortner or Pinizzotto.

SPIRITUAL FREETHINKER BILL EDELEN DIES AFTER STROKE

by Bruce Fessier

Bill Edelen, an ordained minister, anthropologist, Marine fighter pilot, Taoist, newspaper columnist and author of such books as “The Breath of Life” and “Toward the Mystery,” took his own final breath Friday, in what he believed would be the beginning of a mysterious journey.

Edelen, 93, died in a Palm Springs convalescent home, surrounded in his final hours by his son, Bill Jr. He had suffered a stroke just more than a week ago and was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center, where he had been uncommunicative. But his son returned him to the convalescent home that had been his residence for the past year and said he began reminiscing about their early days before succumbing early in the morning.

Edelen was known for fighting religious intolerance with the same tenacity he brought to his service in World War II and the Korean War, where he picked up wounded Marines from the 38th parallel into Inje, North Korea.

He was brought to Palm Springs by former Ambassador Walter Annenberg, who sponsored him to lead a weekly symposium at The Tennis Club on spiritual free thinking. He was supported in his later years by Harold Matzner, owner of Spencer’s restaurant at The Tennis Club.

In 1999, Edelen and his friend, Barry Manilow, performed a memorable benefit concert in the Annenberg Theater for the then Palm Springs Desert Museum. Edelen would recite from his philosophical writings and Manilow would sing and play keyboards on songs reflecting Edelen’s ideas.

Edelen was awarded a place on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars the next year. Among his presenters were Floyd “Red Crow” Westerman, who played Ten Bears in “Dances With Wolves.” Matzner called him “one of a kind.

“He had a wonderful life,” he said. “He inspired a lot of people, including you and me.”

Edelen had his own talk show on KPSI and was a Desert Sun columnist for 14 years. He generated more passionate letters to the editor than any other writer during his tenure. His regular column was eventually suspended, but he was brought back as an occasional guest writer.

In 2001, he wrote a column stating, “(Pope) John Paul does not have enough days left in his life to say “For my part … I am sorry” to all of the millions and millions of human beings slaughtered by the Christian church, to all new discoveries of truth slaughtered by the church.”

The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights responded, “The Desert Sun, a Palm Springs, California daily, published a piece by William Edelen that was so unbelievable it had all the markings of a person gone mad. The biggest problem we had with the article was the fact that it got published.”

But Edelen was friends and associates with some of the  20th century’s greatest freethinkers, including Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, philosopher Joseph Campbell, Native American Indian activist Vine Deloria and cartoonist Charles Schultz, who listened to Edelen’s lectures in his home town of Santa Rosa, Calif., when Edelen lived there.

Architect, inventor and visionary Buckminster Fuller called him, “An original thinker in the oldest of thinking worlds, that is, thinking about God. He’s in love with the truth. Edelen dares to do his own thinking. He has wide experience to enrich that thinking.”

Edelen spent 12 years in the Marines, logging more than 1,000 hours as an instructor before seeing combat duty in Korea. He left in 1954 to study and write. He earned a degree in horticulture at Oklahoma State University and became involved in a First Presbyterian Church, where he received a grant to study at the McCormick Seminary at the University of Chicago.

He earned a master’s in anthropology at the University of Colorado, teaching that and religion at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash. He became a Congregational minister in Tacoma, where he was known as a religious iconoclast.

“I had the senior minister of the First Presbyterian Church in Tacoma one day ask me who Zoroaster is,” Edelen recalled. “I thought, ‘You dummy. You’ve been preaching it every Sunday — Zoroastrianism’."

A grant from Annenberg allowed him to leave the Congressional Church and devote himself to writing and lecturing. Actress and natural health advocate Suzanne Somers was a fan of his writing.

“Bill Edelen once wrote, ‘Today the bees are bee-ing and the birds are bird-ing’ and I instantly knew what kind of day he was describing,” she said. “Few are blessed with such an ability to work words so beautifully. He was our treasure. A thoughtful treasure. He will be missed.”

Edelen told The Desert Sun in 2012 if he were to describe himself as a disciple of any deity, it would probably be the Lakota Indians’ Wakan Tanka. His friend, Native American leader Russell Banks, told him the name translated to “Great Mystery.”

He said at age 90 he was looking forward to moving toward the mystery.

“I think there’s some kind of consciousness connection,” he said, “some kind of unknown, we know not what.”

Besides Bill Jr. of Santa Rosa, Edelen is survived his daughter Lee Reeves of Pensacola, Fla., two grandsons and a great-granddaughter. Plans for a memorial service are pending.

(Courtesy, the Desert Sun, Palm Springs)

“GOLD FEVER!” SWEEPS UKIAH

More than 150 years since the Gold Rush galvanized California, “Gold Fever” is sweeping into Mendocino County. “Gold Fever! The Untold Stories of California’s Gold Rush,” a traveling exhibition presenting a treasury of Gold Rush-era images and reproductions of historical documents, will open with a preview reception at the Grace Hudson Museum on its next First Friday evening, November 6 from 5 to 8 p.m. This free event is held in conjunction with Mendocino County's yearly Mushroom, Wine and Beer Festival; mushroom-themed appetizers and local wines will be served. The exhibit will be on display through January 10, 2016.

The California Gold Rush began in the Sierra Nevada in 1848 when sawmill operator James Marshall bent down in the mill's channel bed and picked up some brightly-flecked rocks, declaring "I have found it." The exhibit examines this fateful moment in the American River; the frenzied rush to the gold fields overland and by sea; the experience of vigilante justice; life in the rowdy gold camps; Gold Rush-era commerce and farming; and the shaping of California’s future. Twenty-four photo-mural panels present 1,000 square feet of fascinating text and representations of primary documents, photographs, daguerreotypes and Gold Rush-era paintings. The exhibition spotlights the remarkable stories of individual Californios, women, Native Americans, adventurers and gold seekers who emigrated from all parts of the world during the tumultuous and colorful Gold Rush era, and examines the impact James Marshall’s discovery continues to have on all of California’s people, cultures, environment, politics and economy. This traveling exhibit will be supplemented at the Grace Hudson Museum with artifacts drawn from its own collections, including examples of gold-mining equipment used by Grace Hudson’s family members. The “Gold Fever! The Untold Stories of the California Gold Rush” traveling exhibition tour was organized by Exhibit Envoy in partnership with the Cal Humanities. Exhibit Envoy provides traveling exhibitions and professional services to museums throughout California. Its mission is to build new perspectives among Californians, create innovative exhibitions and solutions, and advance institutions in service to their communities.  The Grace Hudson Museum is at 431 S. Main St. in Ukiah and is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4:30 p.m. For more information please call 467-2836 or go to www.gracehudsonmuseum.org.

OPPOSITION BUILDS FOR BAD LOGGING JOB proposed by Gualala Redwoods/Henry Alden

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4627213-181/proposed-redwood-logging-along-gualala

CATCH OF THE DAY, October 22, 2015

JOHNATHAN BOZEMAN, Ukiah. Petty theft, failure to appear.

JULIE BRANT, Fort Bragg. Recklessly causing a fire that causes great bodily injury.

EARL CASTANEDA, Ukiah. Domestic battery.

JULIO CASTELLANOS, Kelseyville/Ukiah. Unspecified misdemeanor.

ALEXANDER DURAN, Lomita (SoCal)/Willits. Pot sale, transport, furnish.

RACHEL JUSTER, Philo. DUI, suspended license, probation revocation.

GILBERTO OLEA-VARGAS, Ukiah. Assault with deadly weapon not a gun, criminal threats.

TIMOTHY RICKON, Mendocino. Possession of controlled substance and paraphernalia, receiving stolen property, probation revocation.

JOSHUA ROGERS, Tahuya Washington, Willits. Assault with deadly weapon not a gun.

SAMUEL SANCHEZ, Ukiah. Drunk in public. (Frequent flyer.)

COLTON SMITH, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

WILLIAM WILLIAMS JR., Willits. Drunk in public, probation revocation.

ROSSI’S RIGHT

Editor,

Usually I dismiss Emil Rossi's commentaries as too outlandish. Imagine my amazement at the most recent one, finding myself in complete agreement. Every four years we've to live thru this presidential election circus. And in between our elected representatives are too busy begging for money and selling us out on the process to do the job we elected them to do in the first place. I would gladly put my $50 in the collection plate

Monika Fuchs

Boonville

PS. And while I am at it . .

I recently started to volunteer at the Ukiah animal shelter. I walk the canine inmates and so do a number of other like minded citizens. The shelter is in a deplorable condition. Obviously underfunded and neglected by the county. As far as I can tell, the people who work there including the director Sage are doing the best they can with the limited resources available.  The animals might benefit from a new director with more energy and the skills to navigate the county maze to get more resources for the shelter. This is no place to house mostly dogs and an over abundance of cats long term. As much as I oppose euthanizing any animals, keeping animals in this shelter for months on end is equally cruel. There is plenty of blame to go around from irresponsible citizens who do not neuter/spay their animals and dog owners who do not pay to license their dogs and therefore deprive the shelter of badly needed revenue, to a county administration that neglects its responsibility. I urge all animal lovers to become animal advocates. Volunteers are badly needed at the shelter, so are financial contributions.

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE AND NOT A DROP TO DRINK

http://www.co.mendocino.ca.us/grandjury/pdf/FBWater_Sunny%20Day_City.pdf

WHO’S SHOOTING MENDO’S PRIZE WILD ELK?

Officials are seeking the public’s help to determine who fatally shot three Tule elk discovered in the Covelo area over the past three months.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4650033-181/mendocino-county-poaching-investigation-seeks

* * *

California Department of Fish & Wildlife Press Release:

Over the last two years, CDFW’s Wildlife Investigations Lab (WIL) has received more than 50 reports of sick or dead deer in urbanized areas from Siskiyou County to Fresno County.

Evidence collected from deer carcasses suggests that Adenovirus Hemorrhagic Disease is one of the main causes. While fatal to deer, it is not harmful to humans, livestock or pets.

“While the sight of sick or distressed deer can be unsettling, it’s not cause for alarm,” said CDFW Wildlife Veterinarian Ben Gonzales. “Occasionally, we see viruses run through various deer populations, especially those on the urban fringe. Many diseases are transmitted through direct contact and are worsened when deer congregate in small areas. It’s important for residents not to provide food or water sources for deer.”

Wildlife veterinarians and biologists are documenting outbreaks, but there are no treatments for most viral diseases. Many outbreaks will run their course through a population and then reappear sporadically.

Adenovirus symptoms include nasal and anal bleeding, foaming at the mouth, weakness and instability. It can strike fast and without warning.

Residents can see apparently healthy deer one day and find them dead the next morning. The public can report sick or dead deer to their CDFW Regional office.

Though deer and other species have to work harder to survive during drought conditions, they are equipped to survive and do not need handouts.

California’s deer population plays an important role in the ecosystem. They serve as prey species for predators and keep vegetation in check. More information on living with deer can be found at keepmewild.com.

CDFW’s WIL monitors and manages population health issues in California’s native wildlife. It provides resources to field staff in assessing wildlife populations, mortality response, biological sampling, captures, rehabilitation and more. Additional information and news can be found at www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/wil/ and https://calwil.wordpress.com/.

DECODING COAST HOSPITAL

To the Coast Hospital District Board:

Attached are the recent updates. The complete presentation has also been updated and attached. I also removed the override on the contractuals so that the graphic remains consistent with its derivation and past data. Hopefully when Wade gets caught up and I get back, we can get together and develop the same consistency we had with Steve. Again, the best way to reach me in the interim is via phone as per last message. Thanks Kirk for your comments.

— Bill (Dr. William Rohr, MD, member of Coast Hospital board of directors)

GUESSING WHAT THIS CHART WHICH MYSTERIOUSLY APPEARED IN OUR INBOX MAY MEAN…

A "write off" usually means a bill that the hospital is owed but they have decided to forgive.

"Contractual write off" must have something to do with the doctors' contracts. Because I doubt the term would apply to anything else at Coast Hospital (but it could).

So they seem to be trying to take some credit for forgiving slightly less doctor's fees (for privileges?) at the Hospital. But the graph could easily be interpreted as going up, not down because the latest month is dramatically down but three previous months are up. And the alleged decline is quite small anyway.

This does not seem like news either way though. Just an internal review. Which is good so far as it shows they're at least trying to track the Hospital’s unpaid debts.

HALLOWEEN FUNDRAISER FOR BERNIE SANDERS AT FORT BRAGG MANSION

A Fabulous, Fun, Fundraiser for Bernie Sanders that includes food, prizes, silent auction, dancing, and a Saturday Night Live style skit with appearances by Bernie, Trump, and Hillary will be held Halloween Night in the Weller House Mansion Ballroom at 524 Stewart Street in Fort Bragg from 8 p.m. to Midnight. Everyone is invited to have a great time and support Bernie Sanders at the same time. 100% of the income goes to changing the course of American politics by helping to elect Bernie Sanders!. A $20 donation is requested at the door.  Overnight accommodations are still available at Weller House:  $100 dollars of every room fee will go directly to the Bernie Campaign! Reservations are needed for both the gala and rooms at Weller House: Call 707-962-4655.

For further information:  Susan Nutter, sanutter@mnc.org

THE FINAL SUNDAY AFTERNOON With Program in conjunction with the Hippies Use the Back Door exhibit at the Kelley House Museum will be a video slideshow with sound on October 25th at 4 pm.

The presentation by Bruce Levene, titled A Mendocino Review, consists of music and photographs from an audio recording made at a 1973 Preston Hall concert, plus graphics, spoken voice and poetry from the 1970s. Musicians are Bobby Schneider, Frannie Leopold, Antonia Lamb, Graham Keighley, Carl Shrager, Steve Gurr, Joel Scott Hill and more.

Photographs are by John Bosk, Bill Foote, and Nick Wilson plus others. Brief excerpts from interviews with Harold Robinson, Kathy Bingham, Nancy LittleRiver plus two more will be heard. Poetry is by Barbara Dorr Mullen, Jay Frankston, William Bradd, Bob Greenwood and Sharon Dubiago. Numerous graphics, primarily posters, portray the times.

Kelley House Members: $5 donation. Nonmembers: $7

For more information call the Kelley House Museum at: 937-5791

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

“But the disorder across the gradient is equally impressive.”

Indeed.

None of the candidates speak my language. My friends on the farm speak highly of Bernie, but when I gave him a listen, I heard him talking about fixing the transportation infrastructure. Like, the world is being choked by fumes, terminally ill from them, and he wants to fix the roads? So we can drive more, and in greater comfort? If he spoke my language he would have said something about outlawing fossil fuels, or severely limiting them somehow, maybe making non-emergency use of a car illegal. The rest of what he said during the listen I gave him was inane, and it made no memorable impact on me. If he had wanted to interest me in voting for him, he would have said something like this:

“The USA is a rogue nation, the #1 state sponsor of terrorism, and I propose to take immediate action to indict the entire Bush (W) and Obama administrations for crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, violations of international law in overthrowing sovereign nations for the past several decades, fraud, …..” You get the idea.

None of these people speak my language. They’re all liars, criminals, scum. To me, this election is about installing the next terrorist in chief. I don’t have time to listen to any of those dirt bags.

The USA needs to collapse, to burn, be blown up, whatever it takes to dismantle it and make it go away. It’s the earth’s most immediate need. Thankfully, all the other nations on the planet are realizing that they need to do this, because the American people are f……g useless. Why do they (we?) allow this government to stand? Why aren’t there 100,000 people surrounding the White House 24/7?

Oh, because we can still drive to Walmart, which is still open 24/7.

ACCORDING to the Washington Post, the number of American adults who say they use marijuana more than doubled over the past 12 years, rising to 9.5 percent in 2013 from 4.1 percent in 2001. Informal surveys of Mendo high school students indicate a high percentage of pot smokers. The increase in adult use occurred just as the general populace began to view marijuana in a more favorable light, and as several states began to legalize possession of small amounts of the drug. Which is all good news, some people think, for Mendocino County where marijuana farming and export is our Number One business.

EVICTION

Editor:

I see an interesting overlap in the public discourse on gun violence and the debate about short-term apartment rentals. If someone shows up at a residence with a gun and orders the residents out, it's called a home invasion and it's illegal. If someone shows up at a residence with a fistful of money and orders the less affluent residents out, it's called gentrification and it's not only legal, it's thought by some to be a form of progress. Both are forms of violence. One is explicit while the other is more subtle — although no less traumatic to those who suffer it.

Riley VanDyke,

San Francisco

THE AVERAGE MAN DAYDREAMS about his leader. He thinks of being invited to his leader's home. If he thinks of being invited to Eisenhower's home, he thinks of how proper he's going to be. If he thinks of going to the Kennedys for a party, he thinks of having a dance with Jackie. Things liven up.  Why do you think people loved Hitler in Germany?  Because they all secretly wished to get hysterical and stomp on things and scream and shout and rip things up and kill---tear people apart.  Hitler pretended to offer them that. In some subtle way, he communicated it. That's why they wanted him. That's why he was good for Germany---they wanted such horror. Of course, by the end he didn't tear people apart, he gassed them.  If America gets as sick as Germany was before Hitler came in, we'll have our Hitler. One way or another, we'll have our Hitler. After all, one can have Fascism come in any form at all, through the Church, through sex, through social welfare, through state conservatism, through organized medicine, the FBI, the Pentagon. Fascism is not a philosophy but a murderous mode of deadening reality by smothering it with lies.  Every time one sees a bad television show, one is watching the nation get ready for the day when a Hitler will come. Not because the ideology of the show is Fascistic; on the contrary its manifest ideology is invariably liberal, but the show still prepares Fascism because it is meretricious art and so sickens people a little further. Whenever people get collectively sick, the remedy becomes progressively more violent and hideous. An insidious, insipid sickness demands a violent far-reaching purgative.

Norman Mailer, Interview with Paul Krassner

CHART OF THE DAY

"Ben Carson has discovered Donald Trump's weakness: he's not quite crazy enough for Iowa Republicans. They want a real lunatic, not someone who might just be putting on an act. Ben Carson is that man."

— Kevin Drum, Mother Jones Magazine

FUNDING APPROVED FOR TRAIL PROJECTS IN COVELO

At their meeting on October 21 in Oakland, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) approved funding for two multi-purpose trail projects in Covelo. Both projects were prepared and submitted in June by the Mendocino Council of Governments (MCOG) under the State’s Active Transportation Program.

The CTC awarded $1.89 million for design, right-of-way and construction of MCOG’s SR 162 Corridor Multi-Purpose Trail Phase 1 project. Phase I will construct a bicycle and pedestrian trail parallel to State Route 162 from Howard Street to Biggar Lane. The CTC previously awarded $847,000 for environmental and non-infrastructure (community and schools safety & education) work in the 2014 Active Transportation Program funding cycle.

The second project awarded was MCOG’s SR 162 Corridor Multi-Purpose Trail Phase 2. Over $1.25 million was awarded by the CTC for all project components through construction to extend the Phase 1 bicycle and pedestrian facility from Biggar Lane northward to Hurt Road.

“We thank the hardworking staff and Commissioners for helping to protect the safety of our Third District citizens and encouraging a healthy lifestyle in Round Valley,” said District 3 Supervisor Tom Woodhouse, whose district includes Covelo.

Construction of a bicycle and pedestrian trail physically separated from State highway 162 was the top priority identified in MCOG’s Covelo/Round Valley Non-Motorized Needs Assessment & Engineered Feasibility Study (GHD/Alta Planning & Design/Local Government Commission, 2014). Priorities established in the study were developed with extensive public input within the Covelo/Round Valley community and the Round Valley Indian Tribes. There is a history of pedestrian and bicycle collisions that have resulted in fatalities within the project area. Much of the new facility will be constructed on Tribal Lands through an easement dedicated through an agreement with MCOG.

The Round Valley Indian Tribes have also agreed to permanently maintain all trail segments that lie on Tribal Lands. Remaining segments of the new facility will be constructed within state right-of-way along Highway 162, but separated from vehicle travel lanes. An east-west trail within Tribal Lands connecting Henderson Lane with the primary trail along Highway 162 will also be constructed with Phase I funding.

The two MCOG projects awarded were among 87 grants funded under the statewide competition. A third Mendocino County project, the Northwestern Pacific Rail Trail Phase 2 project, also was awarded to the City of Ukiah. This project will extend Ukiah’s newly completed rail-with-trail facility from Gobbi Street southward to the commercial area at Commerce Street. Over $1.8 million was awarded by the CTC for the Ukiah project.

The CTC received 617 applications in 2015, the second round of this program, requesting a total of more than $1 billion. In 2014, MCOG received a grant of $847,000 for the SR 162 trails project in Covelo for the environmental and design work to prepare for construction, and also a non-infrastructure component of education and training in bicycle and pedestrian safety.

MCOG formed as a joint powers agreement in 1972, as mandated by state law, to disburse state and federal funds for transportation, to provide regional planning, and to serve as a regional forum. MCOG is overseen by a board consisting of two county supervisors, a countywide public appointee, and one council member from each of the four incorporated cities. For more information, call the MCOG office at 463-1859 or consult the agency's web site at www.mendocinocog.org.

* * *

ED NOTE: Please, Janet. What are the odds of a pedestrian-bike collision in, of all places, Covelo?

LIVE STREAMING AUTHOR ANDY WEIR

On Tuesday, November 10^th, at 6:30 PM, Ukiah Library is proud to welcome a live streaming visit by New York Times bestselling author Andy Weir. Weir will join us via live video chat for a conversation about his blockbuster novel The Martian, the movie starring Matt Damon, and everything Mars. There will also be an opportunity for a Q&A from the audience.

Andy Weir was first hired as a programmer for a national laboratory at age fifteen and has been working as a software engineer ever since. He is also a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of subjects such as relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. The Martian was his first novel.

Join us for all things Mars at Ukiah Library, 105 N Main St, Ukiah.

The Library Talks is a grant funded project open to all California libraries, with funding provided by the Pacific Library Partnership and proudly sponsored by the Mountain View Public Library and the Santa Clara City Library.

REBELLION

by Manuel Vicent

(Translated by Louis Bedrock. For Steve Heilig and Donald Abrams)

If you suffer a death degraded by prolonged agony, it’s as if you had suffered that degradation for your entire life.  Our final moments are still entrusted to Destiny, which, according to its whim, may grant you the blessing of a sudden death, or death while you’re sleeping, or by a soft, painless descent toward dissolution in that darkness without limit; or may torment you mercilessly with the greatest malice, without anyone daring to intervene in this tragedy.

Before these high priests who believe they have the authority to decide how you depart from this world it is necessary to reclaim the right to a dignified death as a personal and inalienable right.

Today people are beginning to be divided into those who are capable of choosing their own denouement and those who can’t or don’t dare to do so.

No one deserves a painful death no matter how vulgar, controversial, or senseless his life has been.  You arrive to this perro mundo — this bitch of a life, where you are obliged to dance to the music of a drunken orchestra that is always played by someone else.

During that life, with the exception of precious few privileged moments, the common lot of most mortals is do nothing else but obey, struggle to survive, confront all kinds of obstacles, and find some consolation in contemplating the stars without understanding why they are there, and to top it all off, as a final reward, we are left with the humiliation of a long, cruel, painful death.

Why should you not rebel?  If no one has asked your permission to force you to dance this conga, no one has the right to tell how to abandon the dance floor.

Reason has permitted science to discover water on Mars and to understand dark matter, but has not been able to conquer the last frontier of a dignified death without suffering, the key to which remains in the hands of fanatical, murderous moralists.

THE BROADBAND ALLIANCE of Mendocino County will hold its regular monthly Public Meeting on Friday, Nov. 6, 10am - 11:30am at the Community Foundation, 204 S. Oak St., Ukiah.  There will be a special presentation about the Internet Essentials program by Comcast, which provides low cost internet access and computers to students and their families in the Ukiah, Willits and Fort Bragg school districts. A call-in option is available by dialing: 641-715-3341; Access code: 108 1131#

Thank you,

Diann Simmons
Administrative Coordinator
Broadband Alliance of Mendocino County
707-489-4663
www.MendocinoBroadband.org

CAPTAIN SIMON SILVERMAN of the Richmond District Police Station in San Francisco, publishes an on-line newsletter to interested persons in the neighborhood. The Captain is a good, clear writer, and often witty. His weekly crime summaries are always interesting.

(1) The victims called the SFPD after their car was broken into and several items (including an iPhone were stolen).  Officers tracked the iPhone to a MUNI coach at Geary & 20^th Ave and stopped the bus.  The suspect (who is well known to the officers at Richmond Station as a thief who breaks into cars in Golden Gate Park) stuck his head out of the back door of the bus and called to the officers, “You’re looking for me aren’t you?” As he was doing this, the officers made the stolen iPhone ring – inside the suspect’s backpack.  Officers also found a screwdriver and a pair of pliers (tools used to break into cars) plus the victim’s wallet in the backpack. The suspect is on probation for… (if you know the words sing along)… breaking into cars.

Captain’s Note: I took a look at this suspect’s SFPD rap sheet (I would have said a “quick look” but it’s 30 pages long) and found that since 1987 he has been charged with possession of burglary tools 23 times, with burglary 15 times and with possession of stolen property 11 times.

(2) A woman in her 70s was at the ATM when the suspect shoved her aside and began pressing buttons on the ATM she had just been using.  She went into the bank to report the incident and the bank manager found that several hundred dollars had just been withdrawn from her account.

“Shoulder Surfing” at ATMs:

The case above is a more aggressive example of the increasingly common crime known as “shoulder surfing.” This occurs when the criminal looks over your shoulder to see you enter your PIN and or hurries you away from the machine. Once you have left, the suspect quickly uses the ATM before you are logged out.  He enters another transaction while your session is still active at which point the machine will sometimes ask him to re-enter your PIN (but not to re-insert your card). The suspect will then withdraw as much cash as he can.

Unless you are being assaulted or threatened (as in the last case above), you should not step away from the machine until you are certain that your ATM session has closed completely. If someone makes you uncomfortable while you are using an ATM quickly cancel your session, do not withdraw cash, and leave once you are certain that your session is closed.  If you see anyone loitering near an ATM machine, do not use that machine.  Look for machines that are in busy areas rather than isolated spots.  Use the buddy system and have someone watch your back whenever possible.

MENDO CALFIRE TO TWEET!

Afternoon—

CAL FIRE - Mendocino Unit now has a twitter account.  @CALFIRE_MEU

We will be posting emergency incident updates & informational announcements.

Thank you.

Julie Cooley
Fire Prevention Specialist II
CAL FIRE
Mendocino Unit
(707) 459-7425

FIVE BIG CORPORATIONS Sucking California Dry During The Drought

by Jake Anderson

As most people in the country know by now, California is currently suffering from a severe, record-breaking drought. In fact, it’s the worst drought in 1,200 years. While Governor Jerry Brown recently issued a mandate for people to start conserving water, large corporations use up and waste vastly more water than individuals and small businesses, often in ways that are detrimental to the environment.

The list:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-10-20/5-corporations-sucking-california-dry-during-drought

I JUST SIGNED a petition calling on Congress to ban private, corporate-run, for-profit prisons. These prisons create a perverse incentive for corporations to lobby for increased incarcerations, longer sentences, and worse conditions for inmates. Putting people in prison and keeping them for as long as possible should not be a business. Join me and sign this petition:

http://act.credoaction.com/sign/private_prisons?sp_ref=155880086.4.16055.e.66607.2

John Fremont

VACANT

Mendocino County Executive Office is accepting applications for anticipated vacancies on the following Board or Commission:

Health and Human Services Agency Advisory Board (2) Community Representative, Member #6 1st District Representative

Library Advisory Board (1) 3rd District Representative

Museum Advisory Board (1) 2nd District Representative

Mendocino County Tourism Commission (6) Coastal Chamber of Commerce/Coastal Regional Promotional Organization Member

Inland Chamber of Commerce/Coastal Regional Promotional Organization Member; “Winery/Winegrower Member; Arts Organization/Attractions Member; Food/Beverage Business Member; At Large Member

RATEPAYERS URGE MWD TO USE LA DOLLARS TO FIX WATER SYSTEM, NOT BUILD TUNNELS

by Dan Bacher

As the public comment period for Governor Jerry Brown's Delta Tunnels nears its final day on October 30, LA ratepayers and local organizations today exposed how the Metropolitan Water District is undermining Los Angeles’ water security at MWD’s water-supply workshop. The ratepayers convened at 9:00 a.m, at the District's headquarters at 700 N Alameda St, Los Angeles outside the side entrance in the courtyard.

"The groups urged Mayor Eric Garcetti and his appointed board members to demand MWD reinstate conservation programs and release the millions of dollars the agency has over-collected in preparation to fund a wasteful tunnel project that will mostly benefit greedy corporate agribusinesses and provide no new water to Los Angeles," according to Brenna Norton of Food & Water Watch in a news advisory.

As a statewide drought crisis persists and L.A. braces for a potential El Niño storm cycle for which it is ill-prepared, the Angelenos staffed a "Real L.A. Water Facts Station" outside MWD to inform participants in the MWD’s "Integrated Water Resources Plan Workshop." Residents also participated in the workshop today.

The groups organizing the "Facts Station" included Food & Water Watch, the Southern California Watershed Alliance, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, neighborhood council leaders, other leading grassroots and water groups and Los Angeles ratepayers and community leaders.

The station featured colorful signs set up outside of MWD surrounded by dozens of L.A. area residents discussing the real facts about L.A. water in preparation for the MWD public workshop on draft 25-year water plan.

"For the third year in a row, MWD’s board voted to increase the amount of money it collects from property taxes," said Norton. "MWD has collected almost $800 million more than necessary to pay for items in its adopted budgets over the past three years. In a board letter requesting a tax hike, MWD noted that it intends to use the revenue from the increase to finance the construction of the 35-mile twin tunnels to divert the Sacramento River."

"But, the massive water tunnels project has not been approved by the MWD board for financing, and the project’s Environmental Impact Review has not been finalized. Nevertheless, MWD continues to stockpile millions of dollars to support the statewide project that will bring no new water to L.A," she said.

Governor Jerry Brown, who has full authority to advance the tunnels project without a vote of the people, continues to collaborate with corporate agribusiness interests to promote the tunnels in order to funnel massive amounts of water to irrigate drainage impaired land on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, according to Norton.

Norton said proponents of the so-called "California Water Fix" continue to pressure L.A. for a $6 billion contribution to the tunnels; the project’s financing plan relies on significant water rate and property tax hikes in Los Angeles and throughout Southern California. MWD would have to hold a full board vote of all City member agencies to finance construction of the tunnels project.

"As Gov. Brown and corporate interests continue to push this boondoggle project, L.A.’s water systems continue to deteriorate," she stated. "L.A. Department of Water & Power needs to invest billions of dollars into fixing the aging pipes and water infrastructure beneath the city; billions more are needed to meet Mayor Eric Garcetti's initiative to reduce imported water 50% by 2025 to create a more reliable and cost effective water supply in L.A. Furthermore, the City should reinstate recently discontinued incentive programs and invest in immediate measures to prepare to capture likely heavy rainfall in the event of a strong El Niño. These local programs – not the wrong-headed tunnels project – should be the priority of Mayor Garcetti and MWD."

Norton said the current draft of Metropolitan’s 25-year Integrated Water Resources Plan (IRP) proposes building the $67 billion dollar tunnels project, and identifying additional funds to invest in conservation and local water programs. "Mayor Garcetti should block any L.A. dollars from being used to fund the tunnels and demand that L.A. dollars fix L.A. water," she concluded.

For more information, contact http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org

Take Action Now: You have only 8 days left to comment on the Delta Tunnels revised EIR/EIS that was released in July. The comment period closes on October 30, 2015. Please send a comment now on the proposed Delta Tunnels through the Restore the Delta website: http://restorethedelta.org/take-action-oppose-the-delta-tunnels/

The Delta Tunnels Plan is just one of the many environmentally devastating policies of the Brown administration. Governor Brown has relentlessly promoted the expansion of fracking in California; has pushed water policies that have driven salmon, steelhead, Delta smelt and other fish to the edge of extinction; presided over record water exports out of the Delta in 2011; backs the clearcutting of forests in the Sierra Nevada; and is a strong supporter of neo-liberal carbon trading policies that routinely promote environmentally ineffective and socially unjust projects across the globe.

The Brown administration also "completed" the creation of questionable "marine protected areas" under the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative that fail to protect the ocean from fracking, oil spills, offshore oil drilling, pollution, military testing, corporate aquaculture and all human impacts on the ocean other than fishing and gathering. The "State Marine Reserves" created under this privately funded process violate the sovereign rights of the Yurok Tribe and other North Coast Tribes by banning Tribal gathering and fishing.

For a complete discussion of Brown’s tainted environmental policies, go to http://www.truth-out.org/speakout/item/30452-the-extinction-governor-rips-the-green-mask-off-his-tunnels-plan

For an in-depth discussion of how the oil industry was able to remove a significant provision of SB 350 and defeat other environmental legislation, go to: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32836-california-activists-call-for-fracking-ban

POINT ARENA CITY COUNCIL Regular Meeting Agenda, 10/27/2015

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/7905e12f-621a-4ff5-b517-151bbf770638

TOMAS COTIK AND TAO LIN TO PERFORM in Ukiah on November 15, 2015

Ukiah Community Concert Association in conjunction with Live On Stage, Inc. Announce Mesmerizing classical duo as part of their 2015 - 2016 Concert Season

CRAIG STEHR WRITES:

Chanting for Global Climate Stabilization

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare