Letters (Dec 2, 2015)

• Open Letter To Mendocino County Supervisors
• Get Off The Road, You Fools
• Lovers Lane Traffic Already Bad
• What About Storage?
• Thought Of The Day
• Tulsi Gabbard vs. Hillary Clinton
• Tai Knows First Hand…
• Thank You For Your Support

OPEN LETTER TO MENDOCINO COUNTY SUPERVISORS

Subject: Family Member Concerns about Privatized Mental Health Services

We’ve had almost 2-1/2 years of privatized adult mental health services and have seen the demise of Medical Outpatient where a person had timely access to their psychiatrist or nurse, and could receive local Pre-Crisis and Crisis help from professionals who knew them. We’ve seen the elimination of most of the licensed clinicians who were patient support staff in County’s three Medical Outpatient offices. The clerical staff is gone. Privatization has brought in multiple unlicensed people working in locations with names and addresses that keep changing.

County Mental Health, inadequate as it was, did a better job of providing mental health services than the private corporation. County did not take 18.6% in profits and steer patients to facilities to make further profits. County had more licensed professionals providing services and did not farm them out to unlicensed minimum wage homeless center employees.

The County needs to either take back provision of Mental Health Services or try to persuade a local non-profit with a track record of successful provision of Mental Health Services to create and operate Adult Mental Health services.

Please STOP this unnecessary suffering of patients and their families and fix the problem.

Sincerely

Sonya Nesch, Author Of Advocating for Someone with a Mental Illness

Comptche

PS: County Mental Health Budget

As usual, Mental Health revenue and expenditures are muddied up so only County staff know for sure. Piecing together what’s written and spoken, here’s a patchwork to begin with.

Online 2015-16 budget says $21.6M for Mental Health ($16,761,603) and MHSA ($4,817,538). Some say the total is really $26,209,785. If you add in the $4.6M shortfall for FY 2009 through 2011 ($3.96M in Medi-Cal overcharges) to be paid back to the State this fiscal year, you get $26.2M. I’m told this year’s budget has $12M for Adults and $14M for Children’s Mental Health Services.

Historically, County Staff underestimates Revenues and overestimates Expenditures. Last FY Budget Revenues were $13.6 M more than they estimated. Expenditures were $1.9 less than they estimated.

Once again, Mental Health staff of 13 known employees is padded to be 38.8 employees with 79 allocated employees. Ten of these are Katie A. employees in Department of Social Services and only $500,000 was transferred to the Mental Health budget for them even though they have some licensed clinicians at the high end of the pay scale so this amount is inaccurate.

Are there three Supervisors to request clear and truthful budgets? To make it easy, Nevada County Mental Health budget can be a model.

Privatization began July 2013 and Ortner charged $850/day for their North Valley Behavioral Health and $233/day for their Sequoia Psychiatric Treatment Center. Currently they charge $1200/day and $375/day respectively. Additionally, Ortner has multiple residential facilities and they can receive up to $350/day as a “patch” paid by our County for people in these facilities. Since privatization, conservatorships have grown from 50 to over 60/month, each conservatee a cash cow, potentially for years, for whoever houses them.

There are two ways a corporation saves money over what government spends. 1. Eliminate or reduce pay for employees and suppliers. 2. Cut back on amount or quality of services. Privatization here did both and it’s long past time for the Supervisors to correct this problem.

GET OFF THE ROAD, YOU FOOLS

Editor,

Think about something the next time you’re stuck in Bay Bridge commute traffic. Is it necessary that every one of the people in the crush be physically present in a hulking office building? In the 21st century, does a 19th century model of the workplace defined in terms of physical space make any sense? Does physical presence at a work site justify the pollution? The wasted time? The daily carnage on the roads?

Getting as many people off the roads as possible could do more to help tame the transportation beast than increased utilization of public transportation and bicycling combined. Obviously, a lot of entrenched interests have a financial stake in the status quo (not the least of which are developers who need to fill up those shiny new towers).

But in a region that pats itself on the back for being progressive, it’s bewildering that there isn’t a more widespread push to leverage technology to break down the barriers necessarily inherent in the traditional model of the workplace.

Joe DiPietro

Oakland

LOVERS LANE TRAFFIC ALREADY BAD

To the Editor:

I would like to thank John McCowen for voting against the destruction of Lovers Lane and in support of the residents. It is currently a racetrack and, with all those housing additions bringing all that extra traffic, I don’t even want to think about it. Virtually nobody follows the speed limit now. When I am going the speed limit, any cars following me either pass over the yellow lines or, as soon as I turn off, hit the gas.

A few years ago, when I was entering Lovers Lane from Carrigan and after looking both ways as is my habit, I entered the street only to be run into by a child and his girlfriend in his vehicle. He could have seen me the instant I entered the road. The lady across the street came out when she heard the squeal of the brakes. I was sideswiped and both cars were totaled. He told the officer, who believed him, that he had only been going 30 mph. Odd, because he left approximately 40 feet of skid marks. I tried later to, but I could not duplicate that impressive feat. I fear it is going to get even worse.

Karen Seydel

Ukiah

WHAT ABOUT STORAGE?

To the Editor:

Now that Al Gore and other like-minded alarmists have confused “Global Warning” with “Global Cooling,” rather than citing the human race for the extinction of various ecosystems and species. Now this latest prediction for the coveted “El Nino”? For months now we have been hearing ever progressing percentages of our chances for this monumental gully washer from our questionable array of weather prognostications.

On the topic of the drought that we have been living:

What do the Ukiah City Council and the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors intend to establish for additional rainfall storage capabilities within the City of Ukiah and Mendocino County? It would seem prudent to develop a system of rainfall storage contingencies such as containment structures throughout Mendocino County. Considering that the “El Nino” is forecast at some point in January 2016, rainfall containment structures or other means of storage should be addressed as soon as possible.

The “El Nino” event does not necessarily end the drought and will cause damage to Mendocino County mountains, towns and rivers including subsided soil and wildfire burned areas within the region. Our prayers for rain may be realized but we must be diligent with rainfall collection and natural emergency preparedness. Are the Ukiah City Council and the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors prepared?

Chris Scott

Ukiah

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

In a more reasonable society, the will of the masses overcomes the dictates of ideological purity.

Ken Ellis

New Bedford, MA

TULSI GABBARD VS. HILLARY CLINTON

Friends,

This book (cover only) deals in the disastrous foreign policy of Hillary Clinton. Author Diana Johnstone, representing the anti-imperialist Left, recently served as In These Times European editor. The video link below takes us to a 7 minute interview with Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Dem. Hawaii) by CNN's Wolf Blitzer. In this interview we notice the logical, articluate opposition of Gabbard to Hillary's Regime Change wars in Libya and Syria. Since this interview, Tulsi has introduced legislation to end the current Administration's illegal and counterproductive Regime Change War aimed at Assad.

Phil Baldwin

Ukiah

TAI KNOWS FIRST HAND…

TO: Kristen Phipps,

This is in response to the 11/4/15 letter from Kristen Phipps of Ukiah.

Let me first offer my condolences to Ms. Phipps regarding the unfortunate situation with John Mendoza. While I am unfamiliar with the specifics of John’s case, I am intimately familiar with Ms. Thompson’s practices.

I am willing to help Ms. Phipps in any way that I can. I have given my contact information below if she or anyone else has any questions I might be able to answer.

Sincerely,

Tai Abreu T-61118,

High Desert State Prison, Facility A2-220-U,

PO Box 3030, Susanville, CA 96127.

Ed Note: Mendo Public Defender Thompson defended Mr. Abreu into life without the possibility of parole. Abreu was one of three Fort Bragg youths guilty of the murder of a Los Angeles man in Fort Bragg in 2001. The other two pled out and are likely to be back at home in another five years or so. Thompson convinced Abreu to take his case to a jury. She called no witnesses on his behalf in a trial that lasted for one day. The Abreu matter was such an extreme travesty that the entire County Courthouse, including the cops, was disgusted. Thompson should have been fired years ago, but the Supervisors like her because she stays under budget (a no defense strategy will save money, won't it?) and because no one gives a hoot whether or not guilty people even get a defense, let alone a competent one. And, natch, you're up against Mendocino County's prevalent ethic — palsy-walsyism. Lawyers will laugh up their sleeve about Thompson but will never say a public word against her, partly out of the fear of being called a homophobe, as if her sexual preference has anything to do with her legal abilities. On the theme of prevalent palsy-walsyism, you've got doctors who are a menace to your health, educators who can't read, social workers who kill, unprosecuted murderers, and all of it occurring in a context of situational amnesia — Mendocino County! Where history starts all over again every day and everyone is whatever he says he is.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Editor,

I have been a notary now for over 20 years. Although I have enjoyed it when my commission expires December 22, 2015 I will not be renewing. As a way for me to say thank you for the support until that day all notaries will be complimentary, no limit on signatures.

Appointment only 7 days a week. (895-2150). All rules and regulations of notary service will be necessary.

Cheers,

Lee Montana

Navarro