Mendocino County Today: Thursday, July 14, 2016

• Hospital Forum
• Wildland Fire
• Inconsistant Responses
• Elder Boxes
• Summer Bounty
• Clearlake Homicides
• Footlighters Mess
• Proposal Qualifies
• Cannabis Culture
• Yesterday's Catch
• Democratic Fix
• K2 Zombies
• Companion Benefit
• SacBee Event
• Job Fair
• Planning Agenda
• CPUC Hearing
• Cloverdale Tax
• FB Economy
• Drug War

OBSTETRIC COMPLICATIONS AT COAST HOSPITAL

by Malcolm Macdonald

The Mendocino Coast District Hospital's Board of Director's hosted a public forum about the Obstetrics (OB) Department Tuesday evening, July 12^th, at Fort Bragg's Cotton Auditorium. A crowd of a hundred or so coastal residents and hospital staffers first listened to and watched a PowerPoint presentation by hospital CEO Bob Edwards. The high or low light of this was Edwards' claim that the OB department is projected to lose over $900,000 in the coming fiscal year. Edwards also cited the high cost of registry nurses as a part of the price of doing business in the OB Dept., though he at no time repeated the simple declarative statement he made at a committee meeting this spring when the CEO said he was in favor of closing OB.

Several of the public speakers commented that they felt Edwards seemed to present figures and information that leaned heavily on the side of OB closure. More or less ninety percent of the members of the public who spoke in the following two hours strongly favored keeping the OB Department at Mendocino Coast District Hospital (MCDH) open. Many spoke passionately about their own birthing experiences. Several cited the hour and a half drive to Ukiah Valley Medical Center (UVMC) as an unacceptable alternative.

Dr. Brent Wright, the only local practicing OB physician, spoke early on, remarking that MCDH is not a business, but a health care district. He and others have acknowledged that annual births at MCDH have dwindled down to somewhere around a hundred for this past fiscal year, but he further stated that it is difficult to place a value on even one life. More than one mother talked about how either she or her baby wouldn't have survived if they had to make the trip to Ukiah for a premature or otherwise troubled birth.

Edwards cited both a parcel tax measure and/or switching MCDH to a “Hospital Fee” structure as possible methods that could raise millions more annually. It is important to note here, that as of this date the only parcel tax concept presented by Edwards has been a straight tax per parcel. That method ignores the geographic and financial realities of a hospital district that encompasses tens of thousands of acres of timberland. Under the method in which each parcel is taxed an equal amount, a simple town lot in Fort Bragg would pay the same amount as corporate timber companies which own many parcels that are hundreds of acres in size. Not to mention that a 1950s style house in Fort Bragg would be taxed the same amount as a home/mansion overlooking the Pacific Ocean. If MCDH's Board adopts a straight up “all parcels are the same” mentality, they will be heading directly into the 1% vs. the 99% maw that doesn't fly on the Mendocino Coast.

Then there is the MCDH Board itself. Past Chair Sean Hogan noted the upcoming November election when three Board of Directors seats will be picked at the ballot box. Retired orthopedic surgeon Kate Rohr resigned in late June; Hogan is not seeking another term; only current Board chair Tom Birdsell is seeking re-election. That means that by 2017 there will be at least two new Board members.

The current board is hardly in accord. Board member Dr. Peter Glusker read a prepared statement that expressed some of the reasons why Dr. Rohr resigned. Quoting from Glusker's statement: “Dr. Rohr’s frustration at being prevented from analyzing the hospital’s finances and producing real change for the hospital was a major factor in her resignation. She has publicly stated, 'I cannot accept fiduciary responsibility for an organization in which I do not receive or trust the basic financial information'.”

Glusker's prepared statement began by citing a study by the Nicholas Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare at U.C. Berkeley on the issue of OB closures in California hospitals. Again quoting Glusker's prepared statement, “They looked at 389 hospitals over an eight year period and compared those which closed OB departments to those which added new services. Closing OB departments resulted in deterioration in financial position related to a loss of patient relationship to the hospital and other factors. Hospitals did better financially when they added new services, instead of discontinuing them, particularly OB.

Therefore the assumption of administration that closing OB will help finances is not supported by available data. Contrariwise, adding a new service, for example palliative care which, we could do very well here, and which could utilize both swing beds and home health would be likely to improve the financial status.”

As Glusker read, it was at this approximate point that Chairman Birdsell attempted to gavel Glusker silent, apparently due to a three minute time limit or his distaste for criticism of MCDH's administration (meaning CEO Edwards and Chief Financial Officer Wade Sturgeon). The crowd wouldn't have it. Several voices demanded Glusker be allowed to finish.

He did so by relaying Dr. Rohr's response to the aforementioned study. “The absolute MOST significant finding of the study is that closing OB did NOT improve financial performance. In fact it statistically shows that closing OB had a disproportionately NEGATIVE effect on finances. That is, overall hospital business at those hospitals decreased more than could be accounted for by the loss of OB business itself. This is not a surprise to someone from the business world. If a business has a service that is part of the basic definition of its core mission, closing that service cannot possibly improve its finances. In this case labor and delivery is about as basic a core service of what it means to be a hospital. It is well known that if a core service cannot be made profitable the correct task is to streamline and make it as efficient as possible. This is the basic concept of the so called ‘loss leader’.”

Dr. Glusker then wrapped up with this, “My own attempts to obtain the financial details underlying the administration’s OB budget listing a one million dollar deficit were thwarted and resulted in more barriers being put in my way. I managed to get OB departmental statements for January and May, 2016. These reveal very disturbing inconsistencies, raising serious questions about the accuracy of the data. I suggest that this requires an independent analysis of the accounting for OB for the last year to determine accurate information, and then to plan HOW to manage OB.

“A recent study by Lorch et al, examining what happens to babies when regional OB units close, found an approximate 40% increase in infant mortality in the first three years. After that services were effectively redistributed to OB units geographically close enough to provide care. Our location does not allow OB services close enough to provide care for the kinds of problems that lead to infant mortality.

If OB were to be closed here, besides further losing the community’s trust in the hospital, we also put patients at significantly greater risk with ER doctors trying to deal with failed home births, malpositioned or crowning babies, placenta previa or a need for an emergency C-section. These problems pose critical medical risks for mother and baby, leading to infant mortality or potentially lifelong neurologic disabilities. The distance to the nearest obstetrician and hospital does not allow transfers in most of these situations. The medico-legal risks for the hospital are also increased. ER care for OB is not good quality care. When Sean Hogan was president of the board his emphasis was on quality of care. Finally, the administration needs to cooperate with the board and not try to direct the board as they are with attempts to close OB, and the Board needs to focus on planning and strategy.”

Clearly there has been an ever widening rift between the two doctors on the MCDH Board (now one) and the CEO and CFO. The questions over the OB Dept. are perhaps the tip of the iceberg at an institution with more than $16,000,000 in capital expenses still outstanding in the near future as well as the legal requirement to construct a more or less entirely new facility in thirteen and a half years at who knows what cost. Those folks who turned out, those who watched on Mendocino TV, and more, are going to need to stay involved and informed.

FIREFIGHTERS STILL AT WILDLAND FIRE SCENE

Tuesday's fire in thick forested land about 10 miles east of Highway 1 (south of Elk) still has firefighters on the scene. A call to CalFire found 1.5 acres (approximately) burned and crews will be on the scene until late tonight.

Firefighters on the ground will deal with the remnants of the fire (thought to be caused by "un-greased" logging equipment) and CalFire chopper #101 is back at the multi-agency search & rescue drill today.

Here, CalFire bulldozer and inmate crews await a dispatch directing them to the best way to get to the fire at 8:00 pm - there were two ways: one a road at the 32-mile mark on CA-1 and the other a logging road further south at Mallo Pass.

(Courtesy MendocinoSportsPlus)

BACK IN APRIL the Mendocino County Grand Jury found that Point Arena’s catch as catch can “code enforcement” was unevenly applied, imposing city regs on some fogeaters, but ignoring those of City Council members, most notably councilman Jim Koogle, who “operated a bio-diesel fueling business without having applied for or received a business license.”

THE GRAND JURY also pointed out that (former) City Councilmember Deborah Heatherstone “was residing in an unpermitted structure in the City lacking sewer hookups, and that the Councilmember residing there was disposing of human and other wastes on-site illegally. Specifically, human waste was being disposed of using composting and dishwashing/laundry wastes by means of a ‘gray water’ method that does not meet the definition of acceptable gray water found in the State Health and Safety Code. Furthermore, these activities were occurring in close proximity to Point Arena Creek.”

IN THE WEEKS since the Grand Jury report, City Manager Richard Shoemaker and Point Arena City Attorney Terry Gross have filed inconsistent responses. Shoemaker simply dismisses the charges out of hand. Ms. Gross puts the blame on the City Manager and the County. She also disputes the obvious fact that the DA filed charges against the raw sewage dumper-councilmember Heatherstone.

Shoemaker: "Code enforcement for construction and health and safety code violations are handled the same as the County of Mendocino. When a building or planning code violation complaint is received or the city staff becomes aware of an issue, contact with the owner is made by the city staff or communication is made to the appropriate county office such as the County building inspector (under contract with the city), environmental health. When the city receives a communication from one of thoise [sic] agencies it cooperates fully."

Gross: "The city has a public nuisance ordinance that provides an effective system for code enforcement that would address any and all health and safety risks posed to the residents in the city. Pursuant to that ordinance, the city manager is tasked with responding to complaints and can authorize a city staff person if there is no code enforcement officer to investigate and bring forward violations. The ordinance also provides for a procedure for adjudicating complaints that fulfills due process requirements. The city does not dispute that implementation of the ordinance would benefit from a trained code enforcement officer."

Shoemaker: "The County of Mendocino may or may not be able to provide effective code enforcement for the city of Point Arena. Some discussions have occurred with the Planning department of the county. Currently the code enforcement department has a sizable backlog of cases that they are working to clear. At the point they get caught up and/or put a revised process in place they may be able to serve Point Arena for code enforcement.

Gross: The city Council approved a contract for a code enforcement officer of the County of Mendocino to provide services earlier this year. It is ready for signature however it is unclear whether or not the county has the staffing to provide code enforcement services to the city at this time. The city manager is in discussion with the director of the county Department of Planning and Building Services regarding a contract. The County's code enforcement department appears overwhelmed and understaffed.

Grand Jury Finding #5: “The office of the DA is proceeding appropriately and commendably in its filing of criminal charges against the councilmember and partner for allegedly violating state and county statutes and code."

Gross: "The city wholly disagrees with this finding. The current Mendocino County DA's office does not historically prosecute environmental crimes related to alleged planning and building violations such as those alleged herein. Therefore, the prosecution is not appropriate and under the circumstances is highly suspect. The former councilmember mitigated the violations immediately after discovery and left the property."

THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY filed misdemeanor public nuisance charges against Heatherstone in December of 2015, which she plead guilty to under a “deferred entry of judgment,” which means the charges would be dropped if she stops her illegal sewage dumping. Heatherstone told the ICO that she plead guilty “partly” because she was “not eligible for a public defender and had to defend herself in court.”

HEATHERSTONE’S CO-VIOLATOR, Jim Koogle, said that the City “dropped the ball” on Heatherstone’s case because her violation “was during a period of transition last year when the city had an interim city manager,” adding, without any indication he was being ironic, “I disagree with the allegations of cronyism.”

LAST MONTH POINT ARENA’S $50,000-a-year, part-time manager, Richard Shoemaker, a guy mysteriously inflicted on PA after years of overpaid public work mostly in Ukiah, fended off Grand Jury criticism by simply responding with the same language he deployed as a disastrous County supervisor, "I disagree wholly or partially…"

THE GRAND JURY had accurately and irrefutably assessed PA's functioning this way: "The City has been inconsistent in code enforcement, providing preferential treatment for City Council members, while adhering more strictly to the code in the case of some members of the public…"

SHOEMAKER replied, "I have served as City Manager since October 1, 2015. During that time I have never experienced any sort of 'protocol violations' in regard to any Council members providing direction to city staff. I certainly have not felt pressured to do anything preferential or illegal."

THAT’S BECAUSE he wasn't there when the incestuous teensy fog belt government was doing each other big illegal favors. Typical Shoemaker, typical evasion of an objective look at government dysfunction by an objective body.

IT’S HARD TO GET A STRAIGHT ANSWER out of any of these people, as can be seen by the inconsistent replies from Shoemaker and City Attorney Terry Gross.

Grand Jury Recommendation #4: "The city be consistent in its enforcement of land use and zoning codes and immediately cease favoritism toward any individual or group."

Shoemaker: "The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable."

Gross: "Although a code enforcement officer has not been hired, the land use and zoning functions of the city are now being implemented by a neutral third party who is an experienced planner in the coastal zone. There is no evidence of any favoritism by the city."

THE GRAND JURY SIMPLY RECOMMENDED that the city “be consistent in its enforcement…” Yet Shoemaker in his curt reply doesn’t even bother to agree that consistency would be a good thing. And Ms. Gross, while denying that there’s a problem, responds that the non-problem has been solved by “a neutral third party.”

WE’D SETTLE FOR CONSISTENCY in Grand Jury responses.

RADISHES OR ELDERS ?

Editor,

I find myself bewildered at the Elder Home Community garden.

But no more elder homes, these Community Garden plots could hold at least six small homes for our elders. We live in Anderson Valley for God sakes. Abundant for growing. Not abundant for our elders to have homes.

I thought all these fund raisers were so our elders could have retirement homes, not radishes getting their own beds!!

Beverley Bennett

Philo

THIS WEEK AT BLUE MEADOW FARM

Summer bounty begins ….

Cherry Tomatoes, First Early Girl and Heirloom Tomatoes, Padron, Jalapeno, Corno di Toro, Gypsy Peppers Zucchini & Patty Pan Squash Lettuce, Basil, Walla Walla Onions Strawberries & Sunflowers

Blue Meadow Farm, 3301 Holmes Ranch Rd, Philo 707-895-2071

GLENDA, as always, misses the salient facts. Reader comments make up her deficit:

Clearlake police blame pot for city’s record 2015 homicide rate

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/5839518-181/clearlake-police-blame-pot-for

THE FOOTLIGHTERS MESS

FootLightersMess

SALES TAX PROPOSAL FOR MENDOCINO COUNTY PSYCHIATRIC CARE FACILITY QUALIFIES FOR BALLOT

by Glenda Anderson

A sales tax proposal that would raise an estimated $23 million to $30 million over five years to provide new mental health facilities in Mendocino County has received enough qualified signatures to go on the November ballot.

The half-cent sales tax proposal now heads to the Board of Supervisors, which will decide whether to place it on an upcoming ballot or ask for further studies on the impacts of the measure.

If approved by a two-thirds majority, the five-year measure, launched in part by Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman, would construct facilities, including an acute psychiatric treatment center, a crisis residential unit and a drop-in clinic. The proponents have not released any estimate of capital costs and the sales tax would not pay for staffing or other operational expenses. The county would be expected to cover those costs.

The county already has requested a fiscal analysis, which is expected to be presented to the board next week.

If approved, it would boost sales tax in the unincorporated county to 8.125 percent; the city of Ukiah to 8.625 percent and the city of Fort Bragg to 9.125 percent. The city of Ukiah also is contemplating a sales tax proposal for road repairs.

The measure, also spearheaded by a group that includes physicians and mental health advocates, is aimed at reestablishing a local psychiatric facility where people in crisis can be held involuntarily for 72 hours, then receive up to 30 days of voluntary inpatient care.

The county closed its psychiatric health facility in 1999. Patients suffering a crisis now are shipped to out-of-county psychiatric facilities, including sites in Yuba, Solano and Sonoma counties. But first they wait, often under watch by sheriff’s deputies for hours on end at emergency rooms or in the jail, where suicidal patients are stripped naked and left in cells without beds.

“Right now you have the street, the ER or the jail. Those are the three treatments if you have mental health problems,” said Dr. Marvin Trotter, an emergency room physician and former public health officer. “It’s a little crazy and barbaric.”

It would be more humane and efficient to keep patients locally, Allman and Trotter said. They also would like to see improved services, including better preventative care for mental health patients.

Proponents say they think money for staffing and operations costs can be found largely within the existing county budget for mental health. The county already is spending $6 million annually to send patients to mental health facilities outside of the county, Trotter said.

Allman said the current system turns jails into psychiatric facilities and deputies into first responders for mental health crises, situations he said should be handled by medical professionals unless there’s a threat of violence.

“If your house is on fire, you don’t call a plumber,” he said

Allman said he decided to pursue the sales tax measure late last year, after calls for deputies to respond to mental health incidents spiked. Deputies often were staying for more than eight hours at a time with patients who were being held in emergency rooms until they could be transported to psychiatric facilities elsewhere, he said.

Allman, who lost a brother to suicide, also is concerned about the effects on patients and their families when they’re shipped long distances, far from the support of family and friends.

(Courtesy, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.)

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED LOOKS AT HUMCO ‘HIGH’ SCHOOL FOOTBALL & WEED, WEED, WEED!

by Hank Sims

You thought Humboldt and weed had already been covered from every conceivable angle. All the major media took their turns — they parachuted in for a few days or a few weeks and wrote their story, and now all the stories and all the angles have been exhausted, you thought.

You thought wrong!

Here comes Sports Illustrated with a 2,800-word reported essay on weed and … high school football? Sure! Why not? Humboldt’s marijuana economy affects everything in one way or another if you look hard enough, so why shouldn’t it make our brand of high school football slightly different than high school football as it is practiced elsewhere?

Writer Michael McKnight explores the question by basing his story at South Fork High, with side trips to St. Bernard’s, Hoopa and Humboldt State University’s Redwood Bowl, home of the Lumberjacks, which is apparently the glue that holds the county’s people together:

If there is a unifying force during these challenging times in Humboldt — challenging politically and in terms of the withering drought and the rise in violent crime — it’s been the ’Jacks, who were led last fall by Ja’Quan Gardner, an otherwise unrecruited, 5’ 7” running back who rushed for a D-II-best 2,266 yards behind an O-line that a lot of D-I coaches would trade theirs in for

Sure! We all know that stuff.

What does McKnight find in the county’s high school locker rooms, and on its fields? Well, to begin with, everything smells like pot. Not pot smoke — fresh pot! Everything smells like that. You smell it from the stands. The football players smell like it because football season coincides with harvest season, and the kids are working the family farms before games and such.

This leads to a lot of words about the hardscrabble life of a Humboldt County outlaw. We muse on all the psychedelic Tim Rigginses growing up in the Humboldt County hills against a backdrop of violent crime and murder, with football as the only stabilizing force in their delicate lives. Mike Downey is interviewed. Luke Bruner is interviewed. The phrase “Friday night lights” is used in both the first paragraph and the last. The South Fork marching band plays “I Shot The Sheriff.”

Read the story! It’s pretty good.

READ: “Marijuana changing the culture of high school football in Humboldt,”Sports Illustrated.

(Courtesy, LostCoastOutpost.com)

CATCH OF THE DAY

JAMES BELDEN III, Ukiah. Burglary, under influence, possession of meth, probation revocation.

ISAIAH BENNETT, Willits. Burglary.

SUNNY EDWARDS, Fort Bragg. Harboring a wanted felon, burglary, shoplifting, petty theft.

ANDREA GONZALEZ, Ukiah. Controlled substance, probation revocation.

ARION KELSEY, Fort Bragg. Controlled substance, controlled substance without prescription, dirk-dagger, suspended license.

VICKIE MCCURRY, Ukiah. Drunk in public.

ALEXI RANGEL, Ukiah. Attempted murder, street gang membership, conspiracy, child endangerment.

ENZO RIGGS, Greenville (CA)/Mendocino. DUI.

ZACHARIA ROZEK, Redwood Valley. Trespassing.

ANTHONY SPEARS, Ukiah. False information to peace officer, resisting.

VINCENT TORRES, Willits. Failure to appear.

LUIS VILLALOBOS, Ukiah. Controlled substance, dirk-dagger, probation revocation.

REX WARREN JR., Ukiah. Parole revocation.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

The deck was clearly stacked against Sanders’ campaign by a Democratic National Committee leadership that was solidly committed to Clinton and used every trick in the book, from scheduling primary debates at inconvenient times for viewers, like during the Superbowl, to shutting down the Sanders campaign’s access to voter contact records for a time, by a media that never ceased to disparage Sanders, first with red-baiting, then with false stories implying ignorance or incompetence, and finally, in an orgy of pro-Clinton PR, publishing reports that Clinton had “clinched” the nomination while Californians and voters in six other states were still casting their ballots in the last primaries of the season. Throughout the campaign the major corporate news organizations all continued reporting that Clinton had over 500 “super delegates” in her delegate total, an almost unassailable amount for Sanders to overcome, though in fact those delegates were not bound to vote for Clinton at all, but were elected Democrats, lobbyists and wealthy funders who had simply stated their preference for Clinton. By doing this, the media made it appear that Sanders never had a chance from the get go, though he actually came amazingly close to Clinton in pledged delegates without ever taking any corporate payola to fund his campaign.

— David Lindorff

IT COULD HAPPEN HERE!

Return of the Living Dead: K-2 zombies return to Brooklyn neighborhood one day after 33 twitching addicts collapsed at 9.30am after smoking bad batch of the synthetic marijuana from infamous deli

'Zombie' New Yorkers were seen struggling for the second straight day with the effects on a type of synthetic marijuana known as K2 - which is reportedly sold for just $1 a hit. Shocking pictures showed one woman wearing the same clothing (left) she had on on Tuesday when she was pictured high on the synthetic drug (right).

Other people were seen appearing to suffer the effects of K2 on Wednesday (top inset) near a notorious deli locals believe is selling the product. On Tuesday more than 30 people overdosed almost simultaneously after smoking a bad batch of the synthetic substance, and had to be helped by police (bottom inset) and paramedics.

Wearing a blue and white New York Yankees shirt, the woman was approached by police and asked to move along on Wednesday.

She was photographed while sitting on the sidewalk and blowing smoke as one of the officers stood in front of her.

Another woman was seen being helped by police into an ambulance and driven away. She appeared to be suffering from the effects of a substance.

Some locals have said the K2 problem in Brooklyn all stems from one place: Big Boy Deli near Broadway and Myrtle Avenue.

Police officers were stationed outside the notorious deli on Wednesday before raiding it late afternoon

Lindsay Foehrenbach, a resident of the neighborhood for the last 11 years, said she has been told everyone is aware the problem is stemming from the Deli.

'I do think that the owners of this deli should be ashamed of themselves,' she said.

'They care less about the neighborhood that supports them and more about the almighty dollar.

'They are willing to poison a population of already vulnerable people, let the fallout spill over the surrounding street and let everyone else clean up the mess while they profit.'

Locals said the deli is a frequent target of police raids, with the most recent taking place just last week, according to the New York Post.

K2 contains man-made chemicals that act on the same cell receptors in the brain that THC does in natural marijuana. It is dirt cheap, often sold for one to five dollars for a stick or package.

Researchers have found instances in which chemicals in synthetic marijuana can bind much more strongly to cell receptors than THC, producing stronger effects.

Because the chemicals vary from packet to packet, the effects of K2 are unpredictable and can change from use to use, according to the New York City Health Department.

Effects of K2, which is packaged under names like Spice, AK-47, Smacked, and Dank, can include extreme anxiety, confusion, paranoia, and hallucinations.

Selling or producing K2 is illegal in New York, with those caught doing so facing up to one-year in jail and fines of more than $100,000.

It comes after Brooklyn streets were reminiscent of a scene from an episode of The Walking Dead, with people pictured barely able to stand on Tuesday morning.

Thirty-three people were hospitalized for possible K2 overdoses in the borough on Tuesday.

Witnesses reported seeing more than a dozen people passing out, vomiting, urinating and twitching in the middle of the street around 9.30am in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.

They reportedly reacted to the drug almost simultaneously near Broadway and Myrtle Ave, an intersection that has become known as 'ground zero' for K2 addicts in the city.

Foehrenbach described the 'appalling' scene to Daily Mail Online.

'People just kept showing up and then quickly dropping to the ground, flopping over hoods of cars, or crumpling onto the sidewalk,' she said.

'They all seemed oblivious to their surroundings and just couldn't stay on their feet. I saw four ambulances show up and more entering the intersection as I was leaving.'

Authorities said all of the hospitalized patients were expected to survive.

More than 6,000 people have been sent to the emergency room in New York because of K2 since 2015 and there have been two confirmed deaths caused by the drug.

In May, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that there had been an 85 percent decline in K2-related emergency visits in the last 10 months.

But on Stockton Street the drug remains a constant problem for residents, who had taken to putting up handwritten signs that read 'No Smoking K2'.

'They're like walking zombies,' said Jimmy Bravo, a clerk at a local bodega told the New York Daily News.

'Ambulances pick them up night and day, 24 hours. Cops see them but they don't do nothing.'

Foehrenbach said Tuesday was 'far, far, worse than usual'.

'Today was unprecedented,' she told Daily Mail Online.

The longtime resident said she had observed a K2 problem in the neighborhood for the past two years, but said it had really escalated in recent months.

'Our local community gardens have become a popular spot for this,' she said.

'As a result they're plagued with people passed out, loitering, trash and public urination.'

More pics:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3689054/K2-zombies-return-Brooklyn-neighborhood-one-day-33-twitching-addicts-collapsed-9-30am-smoking-bad-batch-synthetic-marijuana-infamous-deli.html

DULCIMER CONCERT TO BENEFIT S.O.S.- NETWORKING FOR MENDOCINO COAST COMPANION ANIMALS

Brenda Hall will be playing hammered dulcimer at the Stanford Inn by the Sea (10051 S Big River Rd, Mendocino, CA 95460, 707-937-5615) this Saturday, July 16th from 6:30-8:30pm. The Inn serves fantastic gourmet vegan food in a beautiful setting. Or if you just wish to come by for a drink, Stanford Inn has a cozy bar, delicious appitizers and a friendly staff to serve you.

Brenda has been volunteering for S.O.S.-Networking for Mendocino Coast Companion Animals and all tip jar proceeds for the evening go to S.O.S. to help lost and abandoned animals on the coast. So not only will you be serenaded, but you will also help coast animals as well. We hope you will be able to attend this Saturday, July 16 from 6:30-8:30pm. Ms. Hall will also be playing this S.O.S. fundraiser again on Friday, August 19th from 6:30-8:30pm. Please feel free to come and enjoy both concerts. Thank you!

Carol Lillis, Mendocino

DELTA TUNNELS OPPONENTS TO ASK HARD QUESTIONS AT SACRAMENTO BEE EVENT

by Dan Bacher

In the latest event in the battle to stop Governor Jerry Brown’s Delta Tunnels Plan, Delta residents, farmers, fishermen and San Francisco Bay Area conservationists will be asking hard questions at what they described as a “biased Sacramento Bee event” tonight, July 13, at 6:00 pm at the Sacramento Bee, 2100 Q Street, in Sacramento.

The event is entitled “a conversation about water” between Dan Morain, the Sacramento Bee's editorial page editor, and Jeffrey Kightlinger, general manager and chief executive officer for The Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California.

According to an announcement from the Sacramento Bee, the two will “discuss solutions on the use of Northern California water and resources serving Southern California markets. A Q&A session will follow the talk.”

The Metropolitan Water District is the largest municipal water provider in the nation, delivering an average of over 2 billion gallons of water a day to 19 million customers across Southern California, and is one of key promoters of the Delta Tunnels, renamed the California WaterFix last year.

You can buy buy tickets here.

Fishermen, farmers, and Delta residents denounced this “pro-tunnels sales pitch” as an “insult to Northern Californians.”

Restore the Delta (RTD) said they made repeated requests to Sacramento Bee editor, Dan Morain, to balance the event with an opposing expert to debate the Delta Tunnels proposal.

“Email and phone requests were ignored,” according to RTD executive director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla. “Restore the Delta proposed a highly credentialed opponent of the Delta Tunnels - Jonas Minton, the former Deputy Director of the California Department of Water Resources – to also be a speaker.”

“A debate with the head of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California would be of enormous public benefit,” said Barrigan-Parrilla. “We offered an expert for such an event. Unfortunately, tonight Sacramento Bee editorial page editor Dan Morian will instead host a sales pitch for the Delta Tunnels.”

Barrigan-Parrilla, referring to one of the darkest chapters in Los Angeles water history, the dewatering of the Owens Valley by the LA Department of Power and Water, said SF Bay-Delta estuary residents “will not let their home become the next Owens Valley.”

“Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is orchestrating one of the largest water grabs in California history. Most Northern California newspaper editorial boards have already expressed their opposition to the destructive Delta Tunnels proposal. The Sacramento Bee is the outlier,” she said.

Below are the questions for MWD’s Jeff Kightlinger and the Sacramento Bee’s Dan Morain:

Questions for MWD’s Jeff Kightlinger:

1. Why does MWD staff continue to tell MWD board members that the Delta Tunnels will provide them more water when it is clear that climate change will lead to less snowpack in the Sierra Nevada and reduce flows to fill the tunnels?
2. Are you confident that your property-tax payers and ratepayers understand the magnitude of potential costs of this risky and expensive project that will take 14 years to build if all goes according to plan? Do your ratepayers understand the project will not bring them any drought relief?
3. Given these high stakes for the public, will you pledge to give ratepayers and property tax- payers a vote on the project? Will you pledge that there will be no cost overruns and the project will be completed on time?
4. Can you provide us with Metropolitan’s cost-benefit analysis that has been used to arrive at the conclusion to support the project? How many billions of dollars will Metropolitan Water District be paying for its share of the project?
5. Official State environmental documents indicate that the tunnels cannot increase water exports out of the Bay-Delta Estuary without unacceptable sacrifices to water quality protections for the Bay-Delta and for endangered species. Will you commit to accepting no additional exports (or even less water) from the Delta if the tunnels are built to protect Bay-Delta water quality and species?
6. Metropolitan is proposing to spend hundreds of millions on the purchase of the Delta Islands with a declaration that “no” decision has been made to use these islands as a means to export more water. Will you pledge today that the islands will not be used as a means to take even more water from this imperiled estuary?
7. Can you promise that the Delta Islands purchase will not be paid for by California taxpayers, such as by applying for Proposition 1 funding, to meet your existing mitigation obligations for present water exports from this imperiled estuary?

Questions for Sac Bee’s Dan Morain:

1. Readers and residents deserve a vibrant debate over the Delta Tunnels and Metropolitan’s purchase of five Delta Islands. Why instead do we get this one-sided PR event?
2. Is the Sacramento Bee Editorial Board biased in favor of the Delta Tunnels?
3. Why does your newspaper refuse to ask hard questions about water availability and costs?

“Delta Advocates had originally planned a public demonstration in front of the Bee and had more than 100 RSVPs but chose to cancel the protest considering recent civil unrest across the nation,” RTD noted.

Media Contacts:

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, 209-479-2053

restorethedelta.org

Brian Smith, 415-320-9384 bpspr.com

MENDOCINO COUNTY TO HOLD JOB FAIR

On Friday, July 15, 2016, the County of Mendocino will be holding a Job Fair at the County Administration Center, located at 501 Low Gap Road in Ukiah. This free event is open to the public from noon – 7:00 p.m. Over 125 County positions are currently open and available. Bring your resume and don’t miss this unique opportunity.

The Mendocino County Job Fair will provide attendees with the opportunity to learn about the County’s recruitment and hiring process, explore the diverse selection of careers within the County of Mendocino, interact with County representatives, and apply onsite for one of the County’s many job openings. There will be breakout sessions highlighting individual County departments, and hands-on assistance with the County’s web-based application process. Attendees can visit with community education partners from Mendocino College and Marymount University, obtain information regarding the volunteer program from North Coast Opportunities, and acquire job search resources from the Mendocino Private Industry Council. Information will also be available on becoming a member of one of the many County-affiliated boards or commissions and the County intern program.

The County encourages job seekers and interested parties to stop by the Job Fair on Friday, July 15, 2016.

For more information about participating departments, workshop schedules, what to bring, directions, or participating food vendors, visit the Job Fair webpage at http://co.mendocino.ca.us/hr/jobfair.htm or contact Human Resources at (707) 234-6600.

Carmel J. Angelo

Chief Executive Officer

THE JULY 21, 2016 PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA material has been posted on the department web page at:

http://www.co.mendocino.ca.us/planning/meetings.htm

MENDOCINO COUNTY TO HOST CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION (CPUC) HEARING

July 15, 2016 - Board of Supervisors Chambers

On July 15, 2016, the County will be hosting a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Public Participation Hearing (PPH) regarding the Rural Call Completion and Dial Tone Access Proceeding. This hearing will be held in the Board of Supervisors Chambers at 501 Low Gap Road, Ukiah from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Hearing will focus on recent call completion issues, including outages that compromise access to 911 services in our area (please refer to the attached CPUC Hearing Agenda for more information). This is a unique opportunity for Mendocino County. CPUC Commissioner Catherine J.K. Sandoval is traveling around the state to hear directly from rural citizens about their telecommunications concerns, specifically problems associated with Rural Call Completion and Dial Tone access and the inability to connect to 911. It is critically important that residents who have experienced such problems attend and provide comments to this regulatory agency. Comments from the public can help the CPUC reach an informed decision. The County of Mendocino is encouraging all residents that have experienced call failures for whatever reason (including outages), and those public safety agencies impacted by such failures, to plan to attend this important public hearing and provide input! For more information please contact the CPUC News & Outreach Office, (415) 703-1366 or news@cpuc.ca.gov; or Trish Steel with the Mendocino Broadband Alliance, chairman@mendocinobroadband.org.

The hearing will also be available via live stream on the County’s Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSYcX7uSxrGyRh20JtuwFg/feed?activity_view=6

Carmel J. Angelo

Chief Executive Officer

CLOVERDALE SEEKS TO JOIN GROWING NUMBER OF CALIFORNIA CITIES TO TAX MARIJUANA

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/5839564-181/cloverdale-seeks-to-join-growing

MCN ON DEVELOPMENT ECON

Subject: New study confirms that 80 percent of Americans support labeling of foods containing DNA

On 7/12/2016 10:48 PM, Paul Baum wrote:

Peri writes: "Or maybe Fort Bragg can just offer up free commercial real estate for start-ups? Nice weather and cheap rent go a long way."

Paul Baum writes: Commercial real estate for start-ups is exactly what we need here for our economy, jobs, drawing new innovations to the coast. And it could be done in a very in an environmentally friendly way to all. All that can actually visualize real progressive change that is.

Thanks again Peri!

* * *

I agree. And offshore wave-generated electricity to power not only the hospital, for abortions and preemies and whatnot, but an electric monorail train going in a sort of oval shape around the new city limits, with a stop at that It's A Small World hotel next to the Noyo Bridge. And an ice-skating rink. I'm serious. Dozens and dozens of sweet jobs. And nautical-themed uniforms. To paraphrase Dave of /Flight of the Conchords/, "Didn't you read /Watership Down/? Women go /crazy/ for that nautical shit." And half of all tourists are women (and proto-women). And where women go, the menfolk are not far behind.

Monorail! —

Marco McClean

memo@mcn.org

http://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com

POLICE RAID A PASSIONATE GARDENER

Friends,

The War on (some) Drugs is one of the most corrupt conflicts that's been going on in the USA and for a very long time. The War on Drugs like most wars profit a few like bankers who launder drug money. It's also a jobs program that employs people. And above all politicians profit from both ends of the drug trade like the merchants of Venice who financed both sides during the Crusades.

Hemp from which some strains produce cannabis (marijuana) is easy to grow especially with hydroponics that speeds-up the entire process. Most police know who's been naughty or nice in their area but they have to use their weaponry and know-how or lose it so they pick on innocent gardeners.

Thanks to Sen. Sanders, there may be a plank in the Democratic Party platform to legalize marijuana. If this happens it will be an admission that the 79 years of prohibition of this pot has been based on corruption from the very beginning in 1937 when I was born. Also if this happens, watch some big corporation corner the market on marijuana. Hey, it's the American way of doing business, isn't it?

Tom Cahill

Cluny, France