Mendocino County Today: Monday, Dec. 28, 2015

• Dry & Cold
• Looking for Caleb
• FB Bell Lines
• Opportunist Californians
• 2016 Predictions
• Caltrans Construction
• The Box-office Awakens
• Bitter Truth
• Catch of the Day
• Democracy For Sale
• Water Conservation Rebates
• Moral Courage

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE forecast for northern California for the next few days.

Tonight — Showers, mainly before 4am. Low around 40. South wind 5 to 9 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Monday — A 30% chance of showers before 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. North northwest wind 7 to 10 mph.

Monday Night Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 35. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday — Patchy fog before 10am, then patchy fog after 4pm. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 48. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning.

Tuesday Night — A 30% chance of rain, mainly after 4am. Patchy fog before 10pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 37. Light and variable wind.

Wednesday — A chance of rain before 10am, then a chance of showers after 10am. Cloudy, with a high near 52. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Wednesday — Night A 20% chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39.

Thursday — Mostly sunny, with a high near 54.

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THEN, no more rain in the forecast: long cool, dry period expected.

by Kurtis Alexander

The chilly weather that shuddered the Bay Area over the weekend, pushing temperatures to their lowest points of the year in many spots, is expected to let up — but only so much.

After a brief bout of clouds and light rain Sunday evening, the forecast is to warm things a bit, then clear, cool skies are likely for the remainder of the week and then some.

New Year’s Eve, accordingly, will be crisp and cloudless.

“It’s going to be several days of dry, cold weather ahead,” said Drew Peterson, meteorologist for the National Weather Service. “Sunday was probably the last day of freezing temperatures so widespread, but we’re in the middle of winter now, and it’s expected to be cold.”

Much of the Bay Area saw lows in the 20s on Sunday morning. Pleasanton recorded an icy 22 degrees, Menlo Park saw 25 and Novato hit 26, according to the weather service. Even San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park dipped to a brisk 32 degrees.

“Usually the Bay Area gets protected because it’s near the water, but that didn’t happen because there wasn’t any wind to help (moderate),” said Peterson. “Without those winds, the coldest air settles.”

A winter weather advisory was issued for much of the Sierra through noon Monday. Snowfall was not expected to rival the 2 feet that blew in Christmas Eve, but several inches could accumulate with the latest front, forecasters say.

The next significant storm is not anticipated until well into the new year. Forecasters say a blocking pattern is likely to emerge off the West Coast at the end of the week, the result of a high pressure system next to a low pressure system, called a Rex Block, which will prevent storms from making landfall.

Jan Null, a meteorologist at Golden Gate Weather Services, said dry periods are common during California’s winter rain season.

The typical dry spell in December or January, meaning no or little rain during this time, lasts 20 days, according to Null. Even the wet El Niño seasons of 1982-83 and 1997-98 saw dry periods of 22 and 17 days respectively, Null said.

An El Niño of similar vigor has developed this year, and forecasters expect it to fuel above-average rain for much of the state.

A wet winter would be welcomed in California after four years of below-average rainfall.

(Courtesy, the San Francisco Chronicle)

ANYONE SEE CALEB SILVER?

Sheriff wants to have a little chat with him

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Department has been distributing this poster (it was in the Elk Store) in regards to recent burglaries on Greenwood Ridge in Elk previously posted at MSP. (Courtesy, Mendocino Sports Plus)

IN FACT, Silver is probably the prime suspect in a couple of break-ins on Greenwood Ridge residence last Wednesday that were posted on the MCN Listserve. “At 1pm a CHP showed up and said he saw this guy walking down the road in the rain. He slowed down to see if he was ok, and he bolted onto my property. He dropped a bag, and ran down a forested ravine. The CHP couldn't find the guy after looking around for an hour. The ravine is super steep and all poison oak. The CHP said he found an iPad and a laptop and some weed and a Mikita bag with serial numbers on it in the bag he dipped. After the CHP left at 2, I left for work for a couple hours. When I got home, I realized that the door was not locked, and I noticed a window broken. I immediately called 911 and drove away. 40 minutes later 5 cops arrived. They searched the property and didn't find the guy. They did find his wet cap underneath the shop building here which meant he was hiding there while the CHP was looking for him. I went through the house with them and found that he ate food from the fridge and tried to cook a pizza. He stole camping gear. He stole clothes and boots and cash. He left his old clothing in my bedroom. The police continued to search the property and neighboring properties, but didn't find him. They figured he is camping somewhere nearby in the forest. He also broke into 2 other houses this morning on greenwood ridge. I live a couple miles north of the town of elk. He is probably heading north. He is 5'11 to 6' feet tall. Dirty blonde. Wearing a carhart jacket and my brand new Danner black leather side zip boots. He is probably heading north of Elk looking for vacant buildings or recently vacated buildings. Or camping in my bright orange tent. He would be in the area of Cameron Road or Little Geyserville next.

THE OTHER break-in on Greenwood Ridge by the same bandido involved the theft of a royal blue Surley Long Haul Trucker bicycle.

* * *

COMMENT: The Sheriff may want to take a closer look at the “Kaileb” they picked up a couple days ago:

http://mcle1.co.mendocino.ca.us/NewWorld.Aegis.WebPortal/Corrections/InmateSummary.aspx?ID=-129056

There are certain similarities…

FORT BRAGG'S revived Taco Bell has customers lining up. Literally. And that's what strikes outsiders as odd, very odd. Why would non-starving people stand in line to get imitation Mexican junk food? But FB's Taco Bell has been open for two weeks now and the lines are still out the door.

ADDED UP, about a million dollars a year is funneled through County government and combined with special tourism district taxes to advertise the splendors of Mendocino County, the idea being that outsiders have no idea where we are and how cool we are. We think the money should stay in the County's general fund, that advertising Mendocino County is a pure waste of money that could be put to rational purpose right here.

CASE IN POINT: Sunday's Chronicle contained a full page ad on the back page of the Travel section called "Escape the everyday grind in Mendocino County."

It's the usual compilation of drive-thru redwoods, wineries, seascapes, breweries and our "independent" population. (And we’re “pet friendly.”) Change the photos and it could be any place on the NorCal coast. I daresay that every adult in the Greater Bay Area, throw in the Sacramento Valley, is already well aware that Mendocino County is not Daly City. An advertisement is unlikely to result in any more people driving to Mendocino County for a weekend than would drive here anyway, and when they drive here they are driving to the Mendocino Coast with maybe a stop in Boonville to take in the delights of Mendocino County's most happening little town. Most tourists veer off 101 at Cloverdale. No tourist-type person continues on up 101 to Ukiah and Willits to check out inland Mendocino County, although true outdoors people know all about the Yolla Bollys. The ad is a waste of money.

AND THE AD IS BLANDLY untrue, historically considered. I wonder who dreamed up this passage: "Opportunist Californians once used the Fort Bragg shore as a dumping ground until the late 1960s. Decades of wave erosion weathered down the glass refuse that remained. The smooth particles cover what is now Glass Beach…"

"OPPORTUNIST CALIFORNIANS"? Fort Bragg and Fort Bragg alone takes full responsibility. Glass Beach was once the ocean end of an ingenious trash dump, a lengthy chute into which the town's garbage was disgorged into the blue Pacific. The endless pounding of the waves washed up broken glass gently rounded by the constant shaping of the sea to form Glass Beach.

A PROSPECTIVE TOURIST, seems to me, would be more intrigued by the true origins of Glass Beach than the vague tourist-ese of the brochure writer.

WHAT'S COMING in 2016? Off present functioning, Mendocino County won't change much barring external disaster. The big picture far away and over the hills, it is clearly more of the same — unaddressed rolling catastrophes.

DESPITE the deluge of complaints about the County's privatized mental health services, including complaints from the County's emergency room doctors, Sheriff Allman and his deputies will continue to function in 2016 as the County's de-facto front line mental health services.

IN FACT, HERE'S THE SHERIFF himself on Facebook, Sunday (December 27):

To my Facebook friends,

I don't like those "teasers" that radio stations and TV stations use, however, I'm going to use one now. I am pledging to do something in 2016 that will allow Mendocino County to once again, provide a service which we have not had for many years. I can't spill the beans right now, but you, my Facebook friends, will be the first to know of my new project. Let's make 2016 the best year yet for Mendocino County. I'll quote country singer Aaron Tippin right here...."You've got to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything."

READING between the lines here, we think the Sheriff is planning to set up something like the old Psychiatric Health Facility (PHF) which the County closed at the behest of the Mental Health Department back in the late 90s.

COAST HOSPITAL'S financial difficulties and the failure to pass a bond initiative will lead to a proposal that the Hospital close and turn itself into a feeder clinic for the Adventist’s recently expanded inland hospitals.

THE “no social services” in downtown Fort Bragg Initiative will pass as the town becomes more and more aware that the well-paid, self-interested Ortner-Hospitality House complex continues to expand its dubious services into Fort Bragg's downtown.

THE SUPES will vote to allocate a few hundred thousand Proposition 172 sales tax dollars to local fire departments simply because it's the right thing to do and the local cops are flush, thanks to dope interdictions. Thus end-running the proposed initiative that would have forced them to allocate much more.

EL NINO, as of late December, is tardy to get rolling, but will produce higher than average winter rains but not enough to roll back long-term drought conditions.

SEMI-LEGALIZATION of marijuana will stall, with nothing to show for it beyond expensive fees and permits trumped by the federal government's continuing zero tolerance policy.

THE EXCLUSIVE Operating Agreement for inland ambulance services will lead to an attempt to professionalize and corporatize outback volunteer ambulance services.

DESPITE THE DEPARTURES of John Coate and Mary Aigner, KZYX will plod on as always with its enemies' list intact and no increase in local public affairs programming, and chaste news reporting.

KEITH FAULDER will defeat Patrick Pekin to replace David Nelson as one of our nine Superior Court judges. Judge Richard Henderson will “retire” but we’ll still see him back in court on a regular basis as a substitute judge because these guys never really retire. Henderson's vacancy will be filled by appointment.

THE FLAGRANTLY NOISOME frost fans will not be turned on in Anderson Valley during the spring frost season because there will be adequate water in local ponds to protect the grape harvest.

SUSAN KEEGAN'S killer will remain unprosecuted even though her death certificate reads “homicide,” and there’s only one suspect, her husband, Dr. Peter Keegan. The Keegan case is a perfect example of our class system in action. The same set of circumstances would have buried Joe the working guy or Joe the pauper in prison for the rest of his life. A medical doctor gets away with murder.

CALTRANS AT SCOTTY CREEK — WILL PARRISH sends along this note from a friend in Sonoma County: Oh you're going to appreciate this. Last Thursday CalTrans decided that prior to the predicted heavy rainstorm over the weekend, and a two week construction shutdown — it would be a good time to begin construction on a grossly oversized Scotty Creek bridge on Hwy 1 between Bodega Bay and Jenner on the Sonoma County coast. Ya gotta wonder who needs a bridge of that size on a road that narrow over little Scotty Creek. I got in touch with the North Coast Water Quality Control Board and Senator McGuire to show them the photos and ask who could do something?

The Senator's office called CalTrans, and the NCWQCB issued a stop work order. CalTrans promised to get some soil stabilization materials out on the ground (this consisted of plastic sheeting and some boards around 5pm on Friday night, although their described mitigation was more substantial. By Sunday at noon it was a wreck. The plastic was blowing off and the water was running downhill into the wetlands and near the archeological area. I contacted both offices again — and was promised they would again contact CalTrans. CalTrans, it turns out — is off for two weeks! What in the world were they thinking to begin setting drill equipment on the Thursday? I hope the Water Board has the authority to levy fines — although it means we'll pay them. I don't expect the Senator or the Water Board are cheered by this, and hope they do a smack down.

STAR WARS: The Force Awakens has officially became the fastest movie to reach $1 billion global box office sales. The film took 12 days to break the billion-dollar barrier, breaking the previous 13-day record set by Jurassic World in June 2015. And establishing, beyond all doubt, that most adults in the world are forever 12-year-olds.

ON-LINE QUOTE OF THE DAY

Do you really think a Trump supporter from Kentucky cares what a U.N. rep from France thinks about Trump? Moreover, for all over the hand wringing over Trump’s lack of erudite articulation, he is connecting with large swaths of the American populace on a deep, visceral level. And no amount of verbal pretension will sway GOP voters after the down home truths (according to their world view) expressed by Trump.

I keep writing that Trump is a gathering force but people such as yourself and WPA seemingly remained unconvinced. He is connecting on a deep, no bullshit level with people and don’t be surprised if he steam rolls his GOP primary opponents.

After that, his anti-illegal immigration stance will be juxtaposed against the the inane, political correct pro-illegal immigrant pandering of the Democratic Party in the general election process. As I wrote, he is a very dangerous formidable opponent let’s not kid ourselves, especially if he frames the issues from certain angles that connect with Main Street American resentment.

People don’t want the articulate window dressing of a William Buckley; they want the bitter truth expressed as they see and feel it.

CATCH OF THE DAY, December 27, 2015

DELBERT ALFORD, Ukiah. Parole violation.

ERIKA ESCOBEDO-HERNANDEZ, Ukiah/Boonville. Court order violation.

NICHOLE HURTADO, Lower Lake/Ukiah. DUI.

JANET MALLET, Laytonville. DUI-drugs&alcohol.

RONALD MIHALOVICH, Ukiah. DUI, failure to appear.

JOSE SANCHEZ, Santa Rosa/Ukiah. DUI.

THE NUT OF THE PROB

Editor,

Let’s for sake of discussion agree that the American political process is owned top to bottom, left to right, by private concentrations of wealth — including but not limited to corporations.

In that political system, what design goals are being served by Donald Trump and the handful of other Republican candidates with their overly simplistic rhetoric of contempt for democratic principles? Or even, for that matter, the pointless rhetoric of marginally acceptable “liberal” yet Wall Street friendly candidates such as Hillary Clinton?

What purpose is being serve by the breathless mainstream media coverage of ersatz “controversy” in lieu of real concerns for the problems of working Americans? Why is the political process and the mainstream devoted to focusing Americans’ attentions on everything except their own social and economic well being? Don’t count on the mainstream media to ask the questions, let alone provide the answers.

Riley VanDyke, San Francisco

THE HUFF HOLDS WATER

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) and Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) this month led a letter signed by fellow members to the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of the Treasury, urging they act to clarify that homeowners who receive rebates for water conservation and stormwater management improvements to their home should not be required to pay federal taxes on those rebates.

Currently, the IRS considers water rebates to be taxable income. The letter sent by the lawmakers argues instead that the IRS should consider these rebates a reduction of the purchase price of the home improvement.

This change would establish parity between water and energy efficiency rebates. Currently, rebates provided for energy efficiency home improvements, such as the installation of Energy-Star-certified windows or doors or energy efficient appliances, are not subject to federal tax.

“This is a perfect opportunity to help homeowners and businesses who are doing the right thing,” said Congressman Huffman. “The IRS should not be in the business of taxing rebates for home improvements that address water conservation and green infrastructure. Every consumer in America understands that rebates like these are not income, but an effort to defray costs.

“It’s time for the IRS to get up to speed by making water conservation rebates tax-free, just like we do with energy conservation rebates. This tax impacts communities across the nation. I look forward to pushing this common-sense, pro-consumer, pro-conservation reform forward.”

“For many families, these water conservation improvements projects are too expensive to be installed without some financial incentive,” said Congressman Sherman. “These rebates are not income, and they should not be subject to tax. Rebates are used to reimburse consumers for implementing environmentally conscious improvements, and these efforts should be rewarded, not penalized.”

Encouraging residents to reduce water usage by replacing water-thirsty lawns, installing “gray water” capture systems, or purchasing new water-efficient appliances can provide significant water savings and ease the strain on public infrastructure.

However, these improvements are often too expensive for property owners to install without a financial incentive. To encourage more installations, water utilities across the country have established rebate programs to defray costs.

Additionally, protecting our waterways from stormwater runoff pollution is critical for public health, local economies, and the environment. Because so much of the natural surface in cities is paved over, rainwater flows over city streets, collecting a range of pollutants, such as motor oil, antifreeze, and pesticides, before entering into local water bodies, making stormwater runoff a significant cause of water pollution.

Dealing with this issue is not only a matter of good governance, but is required by the Clean Water Act, and water utilities in California and across the country have implemented rebate programs to incentivize property owners to act.

The letter states, “The IRS should issue a revenue ruling clarifying that these rebates are not taxable both because they are fundamentally a reduction in purchase price and because they are not intended to confer a net benefit on the private property owner.

“Fortunately, Treasury and the IRS have ample authority under current law to address this issue. The rebates should be nontaxable because they are fundamentally a reduction of the purchase price of the water conservation or green infrastructure installation.”

A MESSAGE TO GEORGE W. BUSH AND DICK CHENEY FROM A DYING VETERAN

To: George W. Bush and Dick Cheney

From: Tomas Young

I write this letter on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War on behalf of my fellow Iraq War veterans. I write this letter on behalf of the 4,488 soldiers and Marines who died in Iraq. I write this letter on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of veterans who have been wounded and on behalf of those whose wounds, physical and psychological, have destroyed their lives. I am one of those gravely wounded. I was paralyzed in an insurgent ambush in 2004 in Sadr City. My life is coming to an end. I am living under hospice care.

I write this letter on behalf of husbands and wives who have lost spouses, on behalf of children who have lost a parent, on behalf of the fathers and mothers who have lost sons and daughters and on behalf of those who care for the many thousands of my fellow veterans who have brain injuries. I write this letter on behalf of those veterans whose trauma and self-revulsion for what they have witnessed, endured and done in Iraq have led to suicide and on behalf of the active-duty soldiers and Marines who commit, on average, a suicide a day. I write this letter on behalf of the some 1 million Iraqi dead and on behalf of the countless Iraqi wounded. I write this letter on behalf of us all — the human detritus your war has left behind, those who will spend their lives in unending pain and grief.

You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans — my fellow veterans — whose future you stole. I write this letter, my last letter, to you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. I write not because I think you grasp the terrible human and moral consequences of your lies, manipulation and thirst for wealth and power. I write this letter because, before my own death, I want to make it clear that I, and hundreds of thousands of my fellow veterans, along with millions of my fellow citizens, along with hundreds of millions more in Iraq and the Middle East, know fully who you are and what you have done. You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans — my fellow veterans — whose future you stole.

Your positions of authority, your millions of dollars of personal wealth, your public relations consultants, your privilege and your power cannot mask the hollowness of your character. You sent us to fight and die in Iraq after you, Mr. Cheney, dodged the draft in Vietnam, and you, Mr. Bush, went AWOL from your National Guard unit. Your cowardice and selfishness were established decades ago. You were not willing to risk yourselves for our nation but you sent hundreds of thousands of young men and women to be sacrificed in a senseless war with no more thought than it takes to put out the garbage.

I joined the Army two days after the 9/11 attacks. I joined the Army because our country had been attacked. I wanted to strike back at those who had killed some 3,000 of my fellow citizens. I did not join the Army to go to Iraq, a country that had no part in the September 2001 attacks and did not pose a threat to its neighbors, much less to the United States. I did not join the Army to “liberate” Iraqis or to shut down mythical weapons-of-mass-destruction facilities or to implant what you cynically called “democracy” in Baghdad and the Middle East. I did not join the Army to rebuild Iraq, which at the time you told us could be paid for by Iraq’s oil revenues. Instead, this war has cost the United States over $3 trillion. I especially did not join the Army to carry out pre-emptive war. Pre-emptive war is illegal under international law. And as a soldier in Iraq I was, I now know, abetting your idiocy and your crimes. The Iraq War is the largest strategic blunder in U.S. history. It obliterated the balance of power in the Middle East. It installed a corrupt and brutal pro-Iranian government in Baghdad, one cemented in power through the use of torture, death squads and terror. And it has left Iran as the dominant force in the region. On every level — moral, strategic, military and economic — Iraq was a failure. And it was you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, who started this war. It is you who should pay the consequences.

I would not be writing this letter if I had been wounded fighting in Afghanistan against those forces that carried out the attacks of 9/11. Had I been wounded there I would still be miserable because of my physical deterioration and imminent death, but I would at least have the comfort of knowing that my injuries were a consequence of my own decision to defend the country I love. I would not have to lie in my bed, my body filled with painkillers, my life ebbing away, and deal with the fact that hundreds of thousands of human beings, including children, including myself, were sacrificed by you for little more than the greed of oil companies, for your alliance with the oil sheiks in Saudi Arabia, and your insane visions of empire.

I have, like many other disabled veterans, suffered from the inadequate and often inept care provided by the Veterans Administration. I have, like many other disabled veterans, come to realize that our mental and physical wounds are of no interest to you, perhaps of no interest to any politician. We were used. We were betrayed. And we have been abandoned. You, Mr. Bush, make much pretense of being a Christian. But isn’t lying a sin? Isn’t murder a sin? Aren’t theft and selfish ambition sins? I am not a Christian. But I believe in the Christian ideal. I believe that what you do to the least of your brothers you finally do to yourself, to your own soul.

My day of reckoning is upon me. Yours will come. I hope you will be put on trial. But mostly I hope, for your sakes, that you find the moral courage to face what you have done to me and to many, many others who deserved to live. I hope that before your time on earth ends, as mine is now ending, you will find the strength of character to stand before the American public and the world, and in particular the Iraqi people, and beg for forgiveness.

(Tomas Young, November 30, 1979–November 10, 2014, was an American military veteran of the Iraq War. He was paralyzed by a bullet to the spine while deployed in Iraq. One of the first veterans to come out publicly against the war, he spent most of his life after the war protesting it.)