Mendocino County Today: Thursday, Jan 28, 2016

• Parole Hearings
• Generator Search
• Ross Sentenced
• Schooners Landing
• Billion-dollar Fires
• Sage Defense
• County Pensions
• ObamaCare
• Mister Frick
• The Oscars
• Shelter Sabotage
• Little Mikey
• Global Warming
• Yesterday's Catch
• Gas Leak
• F&G Grants
• Justice Rising
• Haiku Contest
• Gardening Workshops
• Tantra Workshops
• Wildlife Films

TWO MENDO KILLERS UP FOR PAROLE

by Linda Williams

Mendocino County has two murderers serving life terms who are scheduled to have a parole hearing next month.

Michael Charles Camou, 55, of Napa, has a parole hearing on Feb. 18 at the California State Prison in Vacaville. Camou murdered Steven Lee Rhorer, 23, of Laytonville, on Oct. 13, 1987 by shooting him 10 times with an assault rifle as Rhorer slept in a sleeping bag.

Camou brought three guys to the Spy Rock Road marijuana farm to rob the property owner, Stephen Michael Neff, in the dead of night. Camou and Neff had been marijuana business partners but parted company. Camou told the court Neff owed him about $7,000 and hadn’t paid him. When Camou heard Neff had had a good crop he gathered up a group of associates to rob Neff.

Camou and his group stopped in Willits on the way to the Spy Rock area to purchase meat for Neff’s pit bull and rubber gloves. The group was well armed and did not wear face coverings, which the prosecutors believed meant that the group intended to leave no witnesses.

After arriving at the Spy Rock grow site, Camou stayed at the trailer where Rhorer slept and sent his group to deal with Neff. The robbers assigned to Neff set off an explosive device outside of Neff’s cabin. When Neff came out the accomplices shot Neff in the neck and thigh.

Once Camou heard the explosion he entered Rhorer’s trailer and sprayed the cot where Rhorer was sleeping with bullets. Rhorer was hired by Neff to help on the 160-plant grow.

The robbers weren’t aware there were another two men visiting Neff and staying in another trailer at the site. When these men went to investigate the bomb and subsequent shootings, the robbers scattered.

Neff’s friends got him into a vehicle and they began driving Neff to Highway 101, pushing the robbers’ vehicle off the side of a cliff as they went. This forced the robbers to hike out.

Camou and two of the robbers were captured by deputies that morning. Camou was convicted in January 1989. He was sentenced to 35 years to life. He appealed the sentence and in 1992 the sentence was reduced to 27 years to life.

Jerome Hunter Smith, 62, of Redwood Valley, has a parole hearing at the California State Prison at San Luis Obispo on Feb. 24. Smith murdered his brother-in-law Jesus Arteaga, 43, with a shotgun on May 10, 1994. He then took $150 from Arteaga’s wallet and drove the victim’s pickup to a Calpella liquor store to pay his bill and buy a bottle of brandy. Smith had apparently planned to kill himself after the shooting, leaving suicide notes with the body. Smith took the brandy to a Potter Valley quarry, drank it and passed out. He was arrested by police at the quarry.

Smith was an alcoholic who had lost his job and was living on the Arteaga property for about two years. He claimed that he shot Arteaga to prevent Arteaga from abusing his sister, niece and nephew. Smith never denied killing Arteaga.

Smith was convicted of second-degree murder in November 1994 and sentenced to 19 years to life in prison. During the sentencing Judge James Luther said to Smith, “This was an aggravated use of a gun. This was an ambush set up by you. You shot him at close range, and you shot him a second time — in your words ‘to make sure he was dead.’”

The public may weigh in either in support of the parole or in opposition to the parole. Written comments should be directed to the Classification and Parole Representative at the prison where the hearing will be conducted. Those comments will be included in the inmate’s or parolee’s Central File and will be considered by future hearing panels.

THAT GENERATOR ripped off the roof of a Fort Bragg restaurant back on January 5th is a 10,000-watt Craftsman, and the guy who ripped it off, Colin Roach, was caught on video doing it. But who'd he sell it to? The Fort Bragg cops would like to know. Roach, not so incidentally, served nine years in state prison for shooting a young man in the back as the young man bicycled to work. The victim was seriously wounded but was able to recover and go on with his life. He was unknown to Roach, who was driving around the Mendocino area with some other drunken yobbos early one morning when he fired at the bicyclist for no reason at all other than, it seems, pure viciousness.

LACEE ROSS, the Willits woman who burned down the popular John's Place bar near downtown, has been sentenced to five years in state prison. Ms. Ross was being evicted from the upstairs apartment and was heard threatening to “burn the place down” if she was given the heave-ho. In November of 2014 she did indeed torch the place after barricading herself inside and threatening to shoot firemen and whoever else showed up to fight the blaze. The deranged woman was tazed into submission but not before the bar and adjoining structures, including a pre-school, were lost to the flames. Ms. Ross had lost custody of her children and had generally run off the rails under the influence of methamphetamine and drink.

SCHOONER LANDING, ALBION, RETURNING TO 'THE WAY IT WAS'

Schooner's Landing Campground, Marina, and Restoration Area

Beginning the reforestation at Schooners Landing! Working to replace eucalyptus and pampas grass wasteland with the redwood forest that was here 150 years ago. There are 10 baby redwoods in this picture, courtesy of the Jughandle Reserve. Can you see them? I can't, and I planted them myself. A step in the 500 year plan, of restoring old growth redwood forest. With my magic shovel…

So happy to see the sprigs of green showing thru the eucalyptus litter - native ferns, angelica, thimbleberry, lonicera, stachys, tan oak, doug fir, and much more. A much healthier native population than I expected. Next year this will be thick green.

(Courtesy, MendocinoSportsPlus)

THE BUTTE and Valley fires that began last September have together burned through a billion dollars. So far. The Valley Fire killed four people and destroyed some 2,000 structures, including 1,300 homes, making it the third most destructive blaze in state history. Both fires remain under investigation.

LEAVE THE ANIMAL SHELTER ALONE

To the Editor:

Several years ago, I worked at “Animal Control.” I was very naïve. I thought finding homes for dogs was a good thing. I was told by the director that we were not there to place dogs and not to do it. That left two things we were there for: sending dogs to UC for research, or murdering them. After that experience, I have had nothing good to say about that place. Until — they finally hired a director who genuinely cared for the animals. I had known Sage Mountainfire for many years through dog activity. I was very happy that they had finally hired a decent, responsible person after all the others. While I was still a little hesitant because of previous contacts, when I saw a post Sage placed looking for someone to drive a dog to a rescue organization, I contacted her. Since then, I have driven several dogs to new homes. Now, for some mysterious reason, they have decided to replace her with, possibly, an agency from outside the county! What possible sense could that make? Oh, wait, this is Mendocino County. They do things without thinking — the BOS just decided to allow Lovers Lane to be turned into a race track. With Sage, it has truly been an animal shelter, I would hate to see it return to being a doggy gestapo. Don’t make it, once again, a place where dogs and cats go to die.

Karen Seydel, Ukiah

PUBLIC WOULD LOVE THESE PENSIONS

To the Editor:

There is an appalling sense of injustice when I read the latest UDJ opinion regarding Mendocino County retiree pensions, and it is not in the terms of the article’s opinion, but in the fact the pensions are being questioned. Each and every one of these employees, with the possible exception of some of the high officials in the county whose retirement may have been negotiated as part of their employment package, has paid a great deal of money toward their retirement. Some of this at times came in the form of the County paying an increased percentage toward the retirement in lieu of pay raises or as part of the pay raise. Their retirements are well earned as part of their agreement with the county paying a percentage and the employees paying the rest.

The numbers cited in the article reflect only a few at the very top of the list, who were paid a commensurate amount while working. It should be known that all of these employees were working for Mendocino County at a wage less than they could have earned just about anywhere else in the state.

A comparison with a couple of people from our neighbor to the South, Sonoma County, can illustrate this. The Auditor/Controller from Sonoma County receives $254,624; the top retiree from Mendocino County from that position receives $180,000 and second in that position receives $99,000. The retired Sheriff from Sonoma County receives $239,000 where Tony Craver, for his years of service receives $130,000. Sonoma County Council receives $146,000 in retirement but in Mendocino County, the retired County Council receives $119,000. There are 57 retirees who make over $60,000/year and only 10 of those make over $100,000. This article is an injustice because it infers that all of the county retirees are sucking off the taxpayers for very large retirements. My wife worked for the County for 11 years, having part of her wages withheld for retirement from every check, and she receives just of under $11,000/year as retirement earnings. Again remember that, in most instances, half of the money these retirees are receiving came out of their income and was put into a retirement account that got hammered in the last “depression”.

All of these people spent their career serving the County at lower paying jobs than in either the private sector or other counties, and they have to listen to this type of criticism because of poor management of their retirement fund, of which they had no ability to manage themselves. Many of them took a job with the county because it promised a descent retirement with health benefits, often not available in private employment.

Several years ago all of these employees lost their health benefits that the county said they would pay for upon retiring, again due to the management of the fund and the downturn in the stock market. There is a great uproar about public retirement, but there isn’t a single person who is appalled by this that wouldn’t accept an equivalent retirement.

Robert C. Kiggins

Ukiah

SUNDAY is the last day to sign up for ObamaScam. The health insurance corps wrote ObamaCare, the Obama regime saw to it that they were mandatory. You buy a policy at whatever price the corporations charge you as the insurance combines steadily raise prices and demand large deductibles on the crummy policy you're forced to buy. If you don't buy in, at tax time you get dinged an average of $700. (Hil thinks it's simply wonderful.) It's astonishing that so many people think ObamaCare is big step forward toward… toward what? Summary execution if you don't sign up?

VERMEER, FRICK, & IRISH MINERS

by Louis Bedrock

There are nine paintings by the Dutch artist Vermeer in New York: five are housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, three in the Frick Collection, and one, A Young Woman Seated at the Virginal, is in a private collection.

From 22 Oct 2013 to 19 January 2014 The Frick offered an exhibition entitled Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Hals: Masterpieces of Dutch Painting from the Mauritshuis.  This exhibition featured Vermeer’s most famous painting, Girl With A Pearl Earring.  It was exhibited by itself in the Frick’s “Oval Room”.

The Frick, housed in a luxurious 70^th Street townhouse, between Fifth and Madison Avenues, which was at one time the home of the Frick family, charges a formidable $20 for admission to see the art collection--$15 for seniors, $10 for students.  However, it is well worth the price.  In addition to the three Vermeers, there are paintings by Turner, El Greco, Renoir, Degas, Rembrandt, Boucher, Corot, and Hogarth — to mention just a few.  Over the fireplace in the library, Thomas Moore and Thomas Cromwell glare at one another from Hans Holbein’s portraits of the two antagonists.

The Frick Collection includes an auditorium where visitors can watch feature films about the current exhibition and a white washed biography of Henry Clay Frick.

In the film, Frick is shown to be a self made man who was stern in negotiating with the demands of his workers.  His philanthropy is emphasized; his murderous exploitation of workers and union busting is minimized.

This is what Howard Zinn writes about Frick:

“In early 1892, the Carnegie Steel plant at Homestead, Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh, was being managed by Henry Clay Frick while Carnegie was in Europe. Frick decided to reduce the workers' wages and break their union. He built a fence 3 miles long and 12 feet high around the steelworks and topped it with barbed wire, adding peepholes for rifles. When the workers did not accept the pay cut, Frick laid off the entire work force.

The Pinkerton detective agency was hired to protect strikebreakers.

Although only 750 of the 3,800 workers at Homestead belonged to the union, three thousand workers met in the Opera House and voted overwhelmingly to strike. The plant was on the Monongahela River, and a thousand pickets began patrolling a 10-mile stretch of the river. A committee of strikers took over the town, and the sheriff was unable to raise a posse among local people against them.

On the night of July 5, 1892, hundreds of Pinkerton guards boarded barges 5 miles down the river from Homestead and moved toward the plant, where ten thousand strikers and sympathizers waited. The crowd warned the Pinkertons not to step off the barge. A striker lay down on the gangplank, and when a Pinkerton man tried to shove him aside, he fired, wounding the detective in the thigh. In the gunfire that followed on both sides, seven workers were killed.

The Pinkertons had to retreat onto the barges. They were attacked from all sides, voted to surrender, and then were beaten by the enraged crowd. There were dead on both sides. For the next several days the strikers were in command of the area. Now the state went into action: the governor brought in the militia, armed with the latest rifles and Gatling guns, to protect the import of strikebreakers.

Strike leaders were charged with murder; 160 other strikers were tried for other crimes. All were acquitted by friendly juries. The entire Strike Committee was then arrested for treason against the state, but no jury would convict them. The strike held for four months, but the plant was producing steel with strikebreakers who were brought in, often in locked trains, not knowing their destination, not knowing a strike was on. The strikers, with no resources left, agreed to return to work, their leaders blacklisted.”

Frick eventually broke with Carnegie and the two men became bitter enemies.  An apocryphal story tells of Carnegie attempting reconciliation with his former employee.  However, after receiving a letter from Carnegie offering the proverbial olive branch, Frick replied,

—Tell Carnegie that I will see him in hell, where we are both going.

I visited the Frick with my friend Janet on a Friday night in January of 2014.  We wanted to see the paintings by the Dutch masters and the famous painting by Vermeer, which had inspired a movie starring Scarlett Johansson.

As we entered on of the larger galleries, we passed a frail, gnarled old man in a wheelchair, who was being moved through the museum by a formidable looking woman--she might have been his nurse and caregiver.  Suddenly, the old man yelled in a surprisingly strong voice with a brogue that would have impressed union leader Mike Quill,

—A foin playce yuuuv buit yurrself heeerr, Mister Frrrik, with thuh blud of all thuh Ayrrrish minurrrs that you morrrttarrred!

Several people, including Janet and I, applauded.  But if the old man heard us, he didn’t show it.  He just stared impassively in front of him while his guardian continued to push him forward.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

The Oscars. Awards for artistry are gauche. End of story.

The problem is that most of the films these days are nothing near art. Comic books and violence and remakes.

The Oscars are a marketing event where production companies pay for votes. It’s an industry slapping its own back and promoting itself as a form of escapism entertainment in the flesh. Sad ugly people at home are able to watch the real live beauty of the industry from their sofa. Mad Max is an attempt to give an old codger an award for sticking to an old form of movie-making. Ultimately, it’s crude violence and horrible dialogue. A perfect contender.

TO THE BEAST

Editor,

The county's Administrative Offices could not have made it any clearer that their concerns and support are directed toward people who have been sabotaging the integrity of the Ukiah Animal Shelter for a year, and not their own employees. Last week, the Executive Offices, after receiving numerous, written complaints about the uncomfortable atmosphere generated by the continued presence at the shelter of volunteers who have authored hurtful and very slanted social media posts about shelter employees, turned around 24 hours later and placed the shelter supervisor on paid administrative leave--effectively making the entire remaining staff feel vulnerable, unsupported and unsafe. Kicking out the only person at the shelter qualified to test the many incoming dogs, and leaving the shelter extremely short-staffed, appears to plenty of us in the community as a handshake with, and for, the people trying to outsource--or in their newest lingo, "public-private partnership," the shelter.

Is it the county's aim to cripple the shelter, watch it wither and die, then call in the replacement--Petaluma Animal Services? Why the county would even be thinking of raffling off another of it's responsibilities when the outsourcing of it's Mental Health agency has been fraught with so many problems and community unhappiness, is completely unfathomable.

If you were to ask the average person in Mendocino County their thoughts on the running of the Ukiah shelter, most would answer in one of three ways: 1) they don't know and don't care; 2) the shelter is doing a fine job; 3) they adopted the greatest dog or cat in the world, give many thanks to the shelter, and had a fine experience.

With the county so entrenched in damage control issues over past decisions, I suggest that now is not the time to be creating another potential problem, when in fact, the shelter DOES work. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Simple.

Kathy Shearn

Ukiah

LITTLE MIKEY, our state senator (McGuire) is, as always, busy running errands for special constituents, in this case Lake County pear farmers. LM got a bill passed that permits teenagers to work in pear packing plants over the summer, which quite a few Lake teens do anyway.

RECORD GLOBAL WARMING IN 2015

Dear Editor:

Independent analyses by the NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) concluded earth's 2015 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern record keeping began in 1880. I should note some of my comments will follow the the three letters I have written on climate change. Globally-averaged temperatures exceeded the previous high set in 2014. Most of the warming happened in the past 35 years with 15 of the 16 warmest years occurring since 2001. Weather energy can affect regional temperatures which means not every region experiences record average temperatures. Also, El Nino and La Nina can affect global average temperatures. The NASA analyses uses measurements from 6,300 weather stations, ship and ocean buoys. The resulting calculations is an estimate of the global average temperature difference from a baseline period of 1951 to 1980. NOAA uses a different baseline in their analyses. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said "Climate change is the challenge of our generation, and NASA's vital work on this important issue affects every person on earth. Today's announcement not only underscores how critical NASA's Earth observation program is, it is a key data point that should make policy makers stand up and take notice - now is the time to act on climate. Unfortunately, we have a world of deniers and nothing of real substance will happen. When you factor in that the concentration of CO2 since the start of the industrial revolution is up from 120 parts per million (ppm) to 400 ppm and is expected to reach an all time high of 450 ppm by 2050. As I commented in a previous letter at that point we shall go into a period where our resources will be insufficient to support and feed our population. There will be mass starvation. It will be hard to visualize a world that we have now.

In peace and love,

Jim Updegraff, Sacramento

CATCH OF THE DAY, January 27, 2016

JONATHAN BURTNETT, Gualala. DUI, pot for sale, pot sales.

SAMUEL EDER, Laytonville. DUI-drugs.

CHRISTOPHER FRANCE, Willits. Probation revocation.

ANTHONY LOPES, Willits. DUI causing injury, hit&run with injury or fatality.

AUSTIN MERITT, Laytonville. Parole violation.

FREDERICK OSBORNE, Santa Rosa/Ukiah. Failure to appear.

AARON PRATT, Ukiah. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

JAVIER RAMIREZ, Ukiah. Under influence, paraphernalia, failure to appear, probation revocation.

JASON TUCKER, Fort Bragg. Failure to appear.

PORTER RANCH GAS LEAK IS ONE IN SERIES OF CA DISASTERS

by Dan Bacher

Hearing board action falls short of community demands to shut down Aliso Canyon Storage Facility

Save Porter Ranch, the Sierra Club and Food & Water Watch on Saturday, January 23 released a joint statement accusing the South Coast Air Quality Management District Hearing Board (AQMD) of making a decision regarding the SoCalGas Leak that “fails to adequately protect residents” of Porter Ranch and other surrounding communities.

The gas blowout that continues as I write this is considered by many to be the worst disaster of its kind since the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

Over the past few months, thousands of residents have been displaced and sickened by the fumes that contain carcinogens including benzene and toluene. The gas leak has emitted methane at a rate of 50,000 kilograms per hour, equivalent to 25 percent of the state’s total emissions of this heat-trapping gas, according to the groups.

The leak detected on October 23, caused by well integrity failure, is only the most recent of many such leaks caused in California by aging infrastructure — and just one of the many environmental disasters that have ravaged California under the Brown and Schwarzenegger administrations. The leak has forced more than 12,000 residents to relocate and 1,800 more households are waiting for relocation assistance.

According to the news release:

After three weeks of hearings and deliberation, AQMD issued a ‘Stipulated Order for Abatement,’ but residents and local elected officials say the order, which does not require the permanent closure of the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility, falls short of what’s necessary to protect public health. The order also appears to contradict Governor Jerry Brown’s Executive Order to protect public safety.

Gov. Brown’s order, issued January 6, requires state agencies to protect public safety and stop the leak by finding alternate supplies for natural gas and electricity; it also requires SoCalGas to maximize daily withdrawals of gas and to abide by a moratorium on gas injections in the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility.

The AQMD Hearing Board engaged in a lengthy debate over whether a letter in which the executive director of the California Public Utilities Commission ordered SoCalGas to keep 15 billion cubic feet of natural gas in reserve at the facility undermined AQMD’s authority to shut down Aliso Canyon by requiring a complete draw-down of the storage facility

“This move by the California Public Utilities Commission doesn’t protect the health and safety of residents of Porter Ranch and neighboring communities. It protects SoCalGas’ assets and it appears to violate Gov. Brown’s order to withdraw the maximum amount of gas from the field,” said Alexandra Nagy, Southern California Organizer with Food & Water Watch. “SoCalGas has been unwilling protect residents because to drain its facility would harm its bottom line. Absent consistent leadership from Gov. Brown, SoCalGas and the CPUC are working together to keep as much gas in reserve as possible, threatening residents with further exposure to toxic emissions. Gov. Brown needs to clarify his order and demand the drainage and permanent shutdown of the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility.”

The AQMD Hearing Board passed the Stipulated Order for Abatement instead of using its full authority to require SoCalGas to cease and desist operations at the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility by requiring the field to drawn down to the maximum extent possible.

“This is an ongoing disappointment and no one is managing this crisis situation. Without strong leadership from Governor Brown, state agencies are passing the buck and letting SoCalGas continue to pollute the air and poison our communities,” said Matt Pakucko, President of Save Porter Ranch after a decision was reached. “Governor Brown needs to step in immediately to require the continued withdrawal of gas from Aliso Canyon until the field reaches equilibrium and is shut down.”

Governor Brown’s Executive Order also calls for a moratorium on gas injection at the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility “until a comprehensive review, utilizing independent experts, of the safety of the storage wells and the air quality of the surrounding community is completed.” This process has not been initiated, and residents are calling on Brown to make the moratorium on gas injections permanent.

“SQAMD’s failure to put Californians’ livelihoods first is shameful, and Governor Brown should intervene swiftly,” said Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club. “There should be no other choice but to shut down the dangerous Aliso Canyon facility and look to close every urban oil and gas facility throughout California and our country, to ensure the health of our communities and our climate is never again sacrificed for corporate polluter profits.”

As gas leak continues, California fish populations drop to lowest recorded levels

While much has been written about the Porter Gas Leak in the mainstream and alternative media, reporters and editors have completely failed to explain that the methane blowout occurs within the larger context of California’s many other environmental disasters driven by the Brown administration’s questionable environmental policies. And these policies and subsequent disasters occur within the even larger context of the capture of the regulators by the regulated in California.

While Governor Brown has posed as a “climate leader” and “green governor” at conferences and photo opportunities around the globe, including the Paris Climate Talks in December, he has overseen water policies that have have brought once robust Central Valley salmon and steelhead and Delta fish populations to extinction’s edge, in addition to promoting the Delta Tunnels Plan, a project that will only cause further ecological, economic and cultural damage. This an ecological disaster that will impact fish, wildlife and aquatic life populations up and down the West Coast.

As Caleen Sisk, Chief and Spiritual Leader of the Winnemem Tribe, said at a protest outside of a California Water Fix “workshop” in Sacramento on July 28, 2015: “Right now the existing water projects continue to damage our ecology. They have already harmed our fish and driven them to extinction. The tunnels will only complete the job. The tunnels that they want to build are large enough to divert the entire Sacramento River.”

“The tunnels are one key part of the plan that includes the Sites Reservoir, Shasta Dam Raise and Proposition 1, the water bond,” she said.

She said the water for the tunnels would be provided by Shasta Lake and Sites Reservoir — and that to fill Sites Reservoir, the Shasta Dam would be raised to hold more water from the Sacramento River. (nativenewsonline.net/…)

The “green” Brown administration in 2011 presided over record water exports out the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta — and the killing of millions of Sacramento splittail, an imperiled native minnow, and other species at the Delta pumps. ( http://www.truth-out.org/speakout/item/30452-the-extinction-governor-rips-the-green-mask-off-his-tunnels-plan

More recently, fish species ranging from endangered Delta Smelt to Striped Bass plummeted to record low population levels in 2015, according to the annual fall survey report released on December 18 by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). (ecowatch.com/…)

Brown promotes expansion of fracking, carbon trading and REDD

Meanwhile, Brown promotes the expansion of fracking and other extreme oil drilling techniques in California and backs potentially genocidal carbon trading policies and REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation), according to indigenous leaders. ( http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/12/9/1458504/-Indigenous-activists-challenge-Governor-Brown-for-backing-genocidal-carbon-trading-program)

In addition, Brown oversaw the “completion” of “marine protected areas,” created under the privately-funded Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative, that don’t protect the ocean from fracking, offshore oil drilling, pollution, corporate aquaculture, military testing and all human impacts on the ocean other than sustainable fishing and gathering.

And it was only after months of intense pressure from environmentalists, public health advocates and Porter Ranch residents that Governor Brown declared a state of emergency in the Aliso Canyon Gas Leak disaster that began on October 23.

In an apparent familial conflict of interest, Brown’s sister, Kathleen, plays a significant role at Sempra Energy, the corporation that owns SoCalGas, the company responsible for the gas blowout. She earned $188,380 in her position as a board member in 2014 and $267,865 in 2013.

(http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/12/19/1462031/-Jerry-Brown-s-ties-to-the-oil-and-gas-industry-highlight-regulatory-capture-in-CA)

FISH AND GAME 2015/2016 PROJECT GRANTS AVAILABLE

The Mendocino County Fish and Game Commission solicits grant applications that comply with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife guidelines and codes and benefit fish and/or game in Mendocino County. The Commission will submit recommendations to the Board of Supervisors for the awarding of grants. In Fiscal Year 2015/16, the available amount for Grant Allocations is fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) total. Per the County Supervisor’s request, projects leading to wildlife and habitat restoration and rehabilitation will be prioritized.

Granting guidelines, application forms, and additional information are available on the Commission website: http://www.co.mendocino.ca.us/dfg/

The deadline for receiving proposals is February 29, 2016.

Proposals must be submitted by email as a PDF, .DOC, .DOCX, .TXT, or ZIP file to the Commission at: mendofishgamecommission@gmail.com. Applicants must also mail or hand-deliver eight double-sided copies to the Commission c/o County Planning & Building Services.

Grant applicants are encouraged to attend the Tuesday, April 12, 2016 meeting of the Commission at the Ukiah Branch of the Mendocino County Library, 105 North Main Street, Ukiah, CA beginning at 6:00pm to make a brief (5 minute) presentation regarding their proposal.

Applicants without personal computers or internet access to the Commission website can request assistance from County branch libraries in Ukiah, Ft. Bragg, Willits, Coast Community (Pt. Arena), and Round Valley (Covelo) to download and print the application materials. Note: County library personnel can also assist with scanning and emailing completed proposals.

For additional information, please call Fish and Game Commission at (707) 234-6094, or email the Commission at mendofishgamecommission@gmail.com.

GRASSROOTS SOLUTIONS AND CORPORATE POWER CLASS CHANGES DAY AND TIME

The Mendocino College, 14-class Community Extension Workshop on Grassroots Solutions and Corporate Power at the North County Campus, 372 E Commercial St. Willits, CA., will now be meeting on Monday evenings from 7-9 in Room 8030. The first class will be on February 8.

Discussions will cover:

• The history of popular democracy and its fight against corporate power
• How these two movements function today
• Solutions for the future of Mendocino County and the world.

The only prerequisites are an open mind and interest in our evolving world. Participants may come for one or all of the classes, as they choose. The 14 sessions will be split into four subject areas:

1. Corporations, Democracy, & The Rise of Grassroots Popular Power - February 8, 15, 22, 29
2. Economic Democracy vs. Monopoly Capitalism - March 7, 14, 21
3. Saving the Environment from Corporate Destruction - April 4, 11, 18
4. Global Governance: Who or What will Rule the World? - April 25, May 2, 9, 16

This class links to, supports, and is supported by the work of Paul Cienfuegos, Jim Hightower, The Alliance for Democracy, Move to Amend, Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, Democracy School, Global Exchange, and the many other people, programs, and institutions working to counter anti-democratic corporate forces at work in our economy and government.

Alliance for Democracy's Justice Rising: Grassroots Solutions to Corporate will be the major resource for these workshops. Over one hundred authors, all experts in various aspects of corporate power and popular efforts to claim our democratic rights and power, have contributed to making Justice Rising the salient publication documenting the rise of resistance to corporate power. Authors have included, Raj Patel, Herman Daly, Vandana Shiva and many others. All of the issues of Justice Rising are available online at thealliancefordemocracy.org

You can sign up for the Workshop by phone at (707) 468-3236 or online at

http://www.mendocino.edu/tc/pg/5841/register_for_a_comex.html

The cost is $25 for all 14 workshops.

If you have questions or want more information, you can contact Jim Tarbell at 964-1323, (rtp@mcn.org) or Margaret Koster at 459-5970 (mkoster@pacific.net.)

Join them in learning: how to keep corporate money from ruining our democracy; effective approaches to stop corporate practices from poisoning our planet; and ways to inhibit corporate self-interest from ruining our economy.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: UKIAHAIKU FESTIVAL 2016

by Stan Janiak

The ukiaHaiku Committee is putting out a call for submissions for its 14^th Annual ukiaHaiku Festival. The postmark deadline for entries is March 11, 2016. The winning writers will share their haiku with the community at the ukiaHaiku Festival on Sunday, April 24, 2016 at the SPACE Theater in Ukiah.

Don’t grok poetry? It’s just not your cup of tea? Consider haiku. In the realm of poetry, haiku poems are the very essence of simplicity, elegance, and - paradoxically — depth. A haiku poem causes a vivid image or experience to arise in the reader within the context of three brief lines (short, long, short), or more traditionally, 17 syllables in the pattern of 5-7-5.

Take for example:

anniversary —

under fallen leaves,

the butterfly

-Rita Odeh

mar y sol

agua y fuego combinados

asi’ me llamo

mar y sol (sea and sun)

water and fire combined

that’s my name

-Marisol Anguiano

The mind reels, the books

Strain, at all of those millions

Down the crazy drain

Stop to contemplate

As meditators half-assed

Revisit the past

What the world need now is love, sweet love and more beauty like these entries from last year’s Festival.

Submission forms can be picked up at the Ukiah Branch Library, Grace Hudson Museum, or online at www.ukiaHaiku.org. The website also lists the various contest categories and the guidelines. Nine categories, two in Spanish, are reserved for poets from Mendocino, Lake, Humboldt, and Sonoma counties with divisions by age and topic. The Jane Reichhold International Prize category is open to poets from around the world and offers cash prizes. Website visitors can also read haiku winners from past years, and get information on composing haiku. For further details feel free to contact Cathy Monroe at 485-8249 or cathymonroe@gmail.com.

No fee for entry. So what are you waiting for? Compose your haiku. Poetry happens. Put your heart and mind to it. March 11th looms.

GARDENING WORKSHOPS!

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens Upcoming Workshops — expand your mind and your garden.

1. Gopher and Mole Control — NEXT WEEKEND — class is filling up quickly! February 6 with gopher and mole expert, Adam Strupp
2. Rhododendron Basics Feb 20 or Mar 19 with American Rhododendron Society's Noyo Chapter President, Dennis McKiver
3. Seed Sowing and Saving February 27 with MCBG Lead Gardener, Margaret Koski-Kent
4. Designing Bee-Friendly Flower Gardens March 5 with MCBG Board Member, Kate Frey

For Details On Each Workshop: gardenbythesea.org/calendar

• Workshops meet in the Gardens Meeting Room from 10:00am to noon.
• $10 for members and Master Gardeners
• $20 for non-members - Includes Gardens admission for the day!
• Class sizes are limited; sign up by phoning in your payment at 707-964-4352 ext. 16, or reserve your spot in person at The Garden Store.

WORKSHOP SERIES: Sustainable Home Vegetable Gardening with Jaime Jensen, MCBG Gardener

Meets every other Saturday, March 26 through June 18.

Orientation: Tuesday, March 15 or 22: 5:30 - 6:30pm - Gardens Meeting Room

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens presents three months of hands-on, brains-on gardening. Everything you need to know to get your vegetable garden started will be covered in our Sustainable Home Gardening course. Learn about soil preparation, vegetable propagation and garden planning, how to build a raised garden box, how to install drip irrigation, and more! Each class will have a reading and lecture component and a hands-on component; be prepared to get dirty! Physical activity level will be medium to hard.

(Classes: 9:30am-1:30pm. Workshops: 9:30am-3:30pm. Details will be provided to course participants.)

$200 for members and Master Gardeners/$260 for non-members

To learn more, sign up for the course orientation on Tuesday, March 15 or 22, 5:30-6:30pm, by phoning The Garden Store at 707-964-4352 ext. 16.

SACRED INTIMACY & EROTIC ARTS ~

An Introduction to Tantra led by Evalena Rose, M.A.

• Friday, February 5, 7-10pm
• $25 per person, $40 per couple

Discover how the ancient arts of Tantra can enhance your capacity for intimacy and conscious sensuality. Open to your full sexual aliveness! This pleasant introductory session lets you sample the work offered by LoveJourney: Tantra of the Heart.

In these introductory evenings, we will:

• Explore energy-moving breathwork & healing imagery
• Enjoy spiritual practices that enhance eros & passion
• Deepen contact with your beloved within
• Honor your Divine essence and see it in others
• Enjoy a gentle ritual & safe, sacred exchanges
• Open your heart to greater love
• People leave happy and more at peace. Many people repeat these amazing evenings for the joy of connecting heart-to-heart & soul-to-soul.

FREE once you've attended and you bring someone, or if you've attended a workshop here in the past.

• Directions sent upon receipt of pre-registration.
• Singles and couples are welcome. All orientations are welcome.

To Register visit lovejourneytantra.com or call us at 707-824-1117 or email info@lovejourneytantra.com

INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE FILM SERIES TO OPEN FEBRUARY 19

The Redwood Valley Outdoor Education Project (RVOEP) celebrates its 10^th annual hosting of Montana’s International Wildlife Film Festival’s post-festival tour. Opening February 19^th, the tour features groundbreaking and inspirational films from around the world.

The official selections for the tour capture rich and captivating tales, and introduce us to a wild menagerie of critters. From exquisite wildlife films, to broader conservation-themed explorations of issues like poaching and pollution, these are the films that provide insight into our planet’s great biodiversity, and our relationship to the very nature of life itself.

Screenings will be held over five Friday evenings on February 19 and March 4, 11, 18, and 25 at the Ukiah Civic Center, 300 Seminary Avenue. An outstanding selection of local musicians will provide opening entertainment each night. Live music and snacks start at 6:15 PM and the films will begin at 7:00 PM. Tickets are available at the Mendocino Book Company and at the door for a suggested donation of $10 for adults and $5 for children. A series ticket for all five evenings is $45. Films are appropriate for older children, but parental discretion is recommended.

Proceeds benefit the RVOEP, a special program of the Ukiah Unified School District, providing outdoor environmental education programs to over 2,000 students each year.

A full schedule of films and music is available at the RVOEP website, http://rvoep.org. For more information please contact Helen Menasian at 489-9932.