Mendocino County Today: Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016

• Ranochak Chat
• Mail Ballots
• Boonville Garden
• Hillary's Statement
• Rebecca Buzz
• Rex's Statement
• Police Reports
• Valley Fire
• Captain Questionable
• Blue Meadow
• Yesterday's Catch
• Green Revolution
• Sympathetic Magic
• Groundwater Meeting
• MCBG Sale
• Spiritual Travelers
• Managing Stuff
• Hyampom Homicides
• Civilization
• Salmon Watch
• DNC Maneuvers
• Dilemma
• Corporate Crime
• Wage Theft

THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS spent almost three hours Tuesday morning in a rambling and ultimately pointless discussion of vote count delays with County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor Susan Ranochak, deftly avoiding vivid and unrefuted complaints about Ranochak’s conduct of the vote count after the recent elections. Four thwarted citizen election observers testified this morning that Ranochak went way out of her way to prevent them from watching the vote count, going so far as to threaten the four women with a call to the Sheriff if they persisted in trying to get a fair view of the tally. It’s an odd issue and, so far as we are aware, one that has never arisen until this past election.

RATHER THAN SIMPLY direct Ranochak to obey the law that allows citizen observers, Supervisors McCowen and Gjerde walked right into Ranochak’s babble-gabble trap with a lot of their own bafflegab.

INSTEAD of simply saying to Ms. Ranochak: “Give us a plan to get all but the provisional ballots counted by Wednesday,” the Board asked a series of micro-managing questions (“would this help?,” “how about that?,” etc.) which Ms. Ranochak replied to with mostly irrelevant technical, numerical, and budget details.

SUPERVISOR HAMBURG, of course, rambled on with a series election abstractions and clichés, concluding, “I would ask that you try to figure out a way…”

THE FOUR AGGRIEVED ELECTION OBSERVERS complained about the difficulties they had trying to view the vote counting; their complaints were described earlier this month in Carole Brodsky’s excellent and meticulously documented report for the Ukiah Daily Journal. The thwarted election observers said their ballot processing questions weren’t addressed and that Ms. Ranochak actively obstructed their attempts to observe — as is their right by election law. A Ranochak critic from Sonoma County pointed out that citizens, voters and candidates all have a right to make sure the voting process is transparent and the results are credible. All of the observers insisted, “We will be back in November.”

MS. RANOCHAK didn’t bother to address the complaints about access, addressing only one minor complaint by saying she told the observers that the “counting” was complete, not that the “canvass” was complete, so she couldn’t explain any “confusion” on the part of the observers.

THE CONCLUSION of the discussion was as pointless as what lead up to it:

Supervisor Dan Gjerde: “I'm curious if maybe the General Services staff could maybe look at the configuration of your office. I wasn't here on election night, but it seems to me that maybe a second window could be added into that room. So if it's the room I think it is where the counting is taking place that might make it easier for the observers to see what's going on.”

Assistant CEO Alan ‘The Kid’ Flora: “Well I can certainly — we can talk about what options there may be to make it more accessible and convenient for volunteer observers. In addition to that I don't want to preempt any instructions the board may be interested in giving, but my recommendation would be that the Executive Office work with Sue [sic] on that particular topic and see if there are things that can be done in the short term in preparation for November's election to improve that environment and also look at if there's things that can be done within her budget to provide extra assistance that she may need based on her decisions that she's agreed to consider some of the things that your board has brought out and work with her on those issues and come back to the board if there's any needs that would exceed what's currently in her budget.”

Supervisor John McCowen: “You mentioned that would exceed the budget — we heard that a very modest $2000 or $3000 would create an additional team of counters and that might be money well worth spent [sic] and it would seem that that could be found somewhere in the existing budget if the Executive Office agrees it was worthwhile.”

Flora: “I would expect that we could figure out a way to accommodate that and if any additional budget changes are necessary we could take appropriate action on that. I don't see an issue with making that work.”

RANOCHAK offered a lot of “if we did this,” and “we could do that,” and “Sure more money would help,” none of which is likely to occur. Ranochak provided nothing in writing and made no commitments.

NO BOARD follow-ups were promised. We expect that in the November  elections the valid complaints from the June elections will be repeated. Reassuring, isn’t it? The very linchpin of democracies, an honest vote, is made dubious by the refusal of the person in charge of that vote to allow mandated citizen observations of the process.

THE SUPERVISORS constantly advertise unfilled vacancies on a plethora of County oversight boards. It doesn’t seem to occur to any of them that people avoid involvement in County government because the Supervisors and the highly paid people they theoretically supervise are one big happy family, that citizen election observers, as in the Ranochak case, as simply regarded as pests.

WE WONDER how Ranochak selects the part-time help she gets at election time. Surely she wouldn’t hire her same old pals from elections past?

GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION begins in Ranochak-like circumstances where the elected people who are supposed to be responsible for her office are so timid, so fearful of their own employees they don’t dare supervise them.

RANOCHAK is elected. She’s certain to face opposition next time she appears on a local ballot.

HOW TO GET THE RESULTS IN A TIMELY MANNER

To The Editor,

If you want election results early, there is something you can do. After 18 years working as a poll worker in Mendocino County elections where federal, state and local candidates appear on the ballot, I think I know a thing or two about how our local elections work. In July, I attended a refresher session that was put on by the County Elections Clerk/Registrar of Voters. So I’m pretty sure that what I say in this letter is correct.

Ballots are processed as they come in. Before Election Day, all mail-in ballots received in the Elections Office are prepared for scanning. They are not scanned until the polls close at 8 PM on Election Day. Those mail-in ballots are the basis of the early election results report. The scanners are not connected to the Internet, making them hack proof.

It’s within the power of voters to get earlier election results. It’s easy: just mail in your ballot, take it to the Elections Office, or drop it in the special ballot box that is in front of 501 Low Gap in UKIAH, in view of the Registrar’s office window. If you hand in your ballot at a polling place, it will wait to be counted with the ballots that are filled out at the polling places.

Janie Sheppard

Ukiah

A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN on Lambert Lane, Boonville

“LAST NIGHT I was ‘grossly generalistic,’ and that’s never a good idea. I regret saying ‘half’—that was wrong. But let’s be clear, what’s really ‘deplorable’ is that Donald Trump hired a major advocate for the so-called ‘alt-right’ movement to run his campaign and that David Duke and other white supremacists see him as a champion of their values. It’s deplorable that Trump has built his campaign largely on prejudice and paranoia and given a national platform to hateful views and voices, including by retweeting fringe bigots with a few dozen followers and spreading their message to 11 million people. It’s deplorable that he’s attacked a federal judge for his “Mexican heritage,” bullied a Gold Star family because of their Muslim faith, and promoted the lie that our first black president is not a true American. So I won’t stop calling out bigotry and racist rhetoric in this campaign. I also meant what I said last night about empathy, and the very real challenges we face as a country where so many people have been left out and left behind. As I said, many of Trump’s supporters are hard-working Americans who just don’t feel like the economy or our political system are working for them. I’m determined to bring our country together and make our economy work for everyone, not just those at the top. Because we really are ‘stronger together’.” (Hillary Clinton)

LIKE TRUMP can do anything about some of the people who support him? Like the Klan hasn’t supported Republicans for a hundred years? Like bigotry is unknown among liberals? Like the parents of the Muslim soldier didn’t volunteer to allow Hillary to exploit the death of their son? That wondering aloud about the ability of a Mexican-American to objectively consider a Trump case is unreasonable? That Hillary’s basket doesn’t contain just as many deplorables who despise the white working classes?

HEY! I’m for Jill. But I think Hillary’s contempt for about half the population slipped out here. And her statement that she just wants to bring us all together is pure smoke, unless she wants to sign us up for mandatory accounts with her buddies at Goldman Sachs.

REBECCA BUZZ

Hello Friends, art lovers, studio visitors,

The recent BUZZ: a nice mention about my studio in New York Magazine and I redesigned my website.

Please take a look

www.rebeccajohnsonart.com

ATTENTION FORT BRAGG

Candidate Heads For Tall Grass Tail Between Legs.

by Rex Gressett

Paul Katzeff is paying for this to run in the stinking little Advocate, since my blacklisting continues despite my candidacy. (He will try, we will see). I have learned so much and seen so much and the other candidates Bernie and Will know things that I did not know, I just hope I can make sense out of it all. I am going to try.

One more vote for Bernie and Will.

As I ride around Fort Bragg on the moped, I am seeing more and more evidence of the strong support in the community for the candidacies of Bernie Novell, and Will Lee. Nothing could make me more happy.

As a few people know I also am going to be on the ballot in November.

When I decided to run it was because the nomination process for city council is conducted in great privacy. None of us knew when we filled out the forms and took the oath to run for the city council who else would be running.

However even if I had heard that Will or Bernie was running I am embarrassed to say I did not know them.

I knew Scott Menzies was running and had as we all do, a pretty good idea of what Scott stands for. He has never made any secret of his unqualified support for each and every policy of the city manager and the mayor without exception. He supports their conduct of the affairs of the city, and tells us his personal rule is not to question anything that they might want him to say. He expects the citizens of the city to follow his example.

He is forcefully in favor of the subordination of the elected City Council to the professionals at City Hall. He supports the Byzantine regulations that have made us into a ghost town not for any clear reason but out of a strong belief that authority ought not be questioned. Now he wants be that authority.

I felt that I had to run. Early in the process I had significant support promised to me.

But as the people of the city woke up to who it was that had stepped forward to run for this crucial office I began to hear about Will and about Bernie. My own support dried up. My feelings were distinctly hurt so I went to see these candidates for city council. The people were right. These were men with deep roots in the community. These were men very aware of every issue that concerned me. These guys were quite obviously and without question the leaders that we have been looking for. Honest, able, and courageously willing to assert the right of the elected representatives of the people to direct our professional managers, indignant that there were those that wanted it the other way around.

I trust them explicitly. And I have confirmed that they have excellent information and a thorough understanding of the situation. Better than my own.

Let us rejoice that the people of the city have declined to let a hardened group of manipulators at city hall and their willing supporters on the city council continue unopposed.

Of course I am very sorry to be on the ballot. Do not waste the vote, I am not concerned with gestures.

It was my fault for not knowing enough about Fort Bragg and the great talent that we have here, and for jumping to the conclusion that it was my responsibility to save the city.

The city has saved me, it has given me a home and friends and a life that I love. I want nothing other than the very best for our town. Nothing personal can matter and it does not. I hope that in the future I can bring something to the discussion but for now, all of my efforts will be directed toward electing Bernie Novell and Will Lee.

INVISIBLE BURGLARS

On September 9, 2016 at about 11:00 A.M. Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies were dispatched to reported burglary in progress in the 1300 block of Highway 175 in Hopland, California. Deputies were advised the reporting party, Bobby Fackrell, 56, of Hopland, was holding two suspects at gunpoint near the side of the roadway.

Deputies arrived at the location where they contacted Fackrell standing outside his parked vehicle. Fackrell advised there were two persons currently inside his vehicle attempting to burglarize it. Deputies did not locate any persons in Fackrell's vehicle or around the area. During the investigation, Deputies determined Fackrell was in possession of a firearm while under the influence of a controlled substance and in possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine). Fackrell was ultimately arrested and booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was held in lieu of $20,000.00 bail.

* * *

HATCHET MAN

On 09-10-2016 at approximately 9:34 AM Mendocino County Sheriff Deputies contacted Rocky Boccaleoni, 60, of Laytonville who was walking along the roadway in the 45000 block of Highway 101 in Laytonville, California. When the Deputies contacted Boccaleoni they observed a hatchet lying next to Boccaleoni's feet.  After further investigation Deputies discovered that Boccaleoni had an approximately 10 inch dirk/dagger concealed in his clothing. Boccaleoni was arrested for possession of a dirk or dagger and booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was held in lieu of $15,000.00 bail.

ONE YEAR LATER: Hard lessons from Valley fire gird Lake County for next disaster

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/6044592-181/one-year-later-hard-lessons?gallery=6062550&artslide=0

ONE YEAR LATER: Looking back at the Valley fire's chaotic first night

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/6066165-181/one-year-later-looking-back?gallery=6062550&artslide=0

BOAT CAPTAIN WHO RAN AGROUND NEAR SALMON CREEK WAS ON PROBATION

Roy Underwood was on probation for second-degree burglary in Mendocino County.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/6084286-181/captain-of-boat-that-ran

THIS WEEK AT BLUE MEADOW FARM

September Colors

• Corno di Toro, Gypsy, Bell, Pimento Sweet Peppers
• Jalapenos, Anaheim, Ancho, Criola Silla Chilis
• Heirloom & some Early Girl Tomatoes
• Italian & Asian Eggplant, Zucchini & Patty Pan Squash
• Nancy Mayer’s Broccoli and Cauliflower starts
• Acorn Squash, Garlic, Cucumbers,
• Basil, Parsley, Sage, Purslane
• Sunflowers & Zinnias

The Stand Will Be Closed Fair Weekend

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

CATCH OF THE DAY, September 13, 2016

DANIEL ANDERSON, Willits. Probation revocation.

SARAH AUCLAIR, Willits. Vehicle theft, receiving stolen property.

SEBASTIAN CEJA, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

VINCENT JONES, Talmage. Probation revocation.

MASON MCGEE, Ukiah. Drunk in public.

MICHAEL OLVERA-CAMPOS, Ukiah. Domestic battery, false imprisonment.

CLAYTON OOTHOUDT, Nice/Ukiah. Failure to appear.

JOSE ORTIZ, Clearlake/Ukiah. Failure to appear.

JOHN PALACIOS, Fort Bragg. Vandalism. (Frequent Flyer)

DON PRESLER, Nice/Ukiah. Failure to appear.

BOBBY ROSTON, Ukiah. Parole violation.

TOWARD A GREEN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

by Jeremy Corbyn

In 2015 the world came together to agree the landmark Paris Climate Agreement aimed at keeping global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

And just in time: we are facing a climate crisis. 2016 is set to be the hottest year on record and greenhouse gas emissions globally are still not falling. We are seeing the impacts of climate change much earlier than anyone predicted – around the world and at home.

That’s just one reason why the Labour Party must stand for a different Britain – one that plays a leading role internationally, and committed to cutting carbon emissions at home. We would once again make Britain world-leading in climate action.

In power, my government will:

{} challenge the Big 6 oligopoly by empowering communities and local authorities to generate their own green energy;

{} use our £250 billion National Investment Bank to lower the cost of capital for renewable energy projects;

{} implement a comprehensive industrial strategy to generate 1 million high-quality new jobs in Britain’s renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, driving a green industrial revolution;

{} support the development of world-class offshore renewable energy industries;

{} ensure strategic investment into industries with a long term future in all regions of Britain will more than compensate for any job losses in unsustainable sectors;

{} work closely with workers, communities and unions to manage the low carbon transformation in a way that is fair to those affected.

Renewables and conservation at the heart of our energy future

Our broken energy system is holding Britain back. Starved of investment by the Big 6 energy companies, our electricity system is expensive, inefficient and polluting and in urgent need of renewal to keep the lights on.

Yet we have enough wind, wave and sun potential not only to power our economy, but to export. Scotland recently met more than 100% of its electricity needs with renewable energy alone.

A nation of drafty homes has left seven million households seriously struggling to pay their energy bills. And yet we have the skills, technology and people needing quality jobs to fix them. 29,000 people die early every year from air pollution primarily caused by burning dirty fossil fuels. We will deliver clean energy, affordable heating and electricity – energy for the 60 million, not the Big 6 energy companies.

This will mean promoting the growth of over 200 ‘local energy companies’ within the next parliament, giving towns, cities and localities the powers they need to drive a UK clean energy revolution.

At the same time we will support the development of 1,000 community energy co-operatives, with rights to sell energy directly to the localities they serve, with regional development bank assistance for grid connection costs.

Lowering the cost of capital for renewables

Since the main costs of most renewable technologies (wind, solar, wave and tidal) are initial capital costs, reductions in the cost of capital have a significant impact on the overall cost of the technology involved. The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) estimates that well over 90% of the cost of solar PV is capital cost, while around 80% of wind long-run costs are due to capital.

The CCC’s baseline costings allow for a significantly higher cost of capital than is typical in evaluating investment projects, to reflect the uncertainties associated with policy, financing risk, and technological maturity. This implies a baseline forecast of a 10% discount rate – far above the more usual Treasury Green Book figure of 3.5% used to evaluate public expenditure.

However, with the new National Investment Bank operating as a stable vehicle for long-term, cheap loan financing, and with gilt rates themselves presently at an all time low, the financial risks associated with the long-run financing of relatively new technology long-run investment projects are significantly reduced. With public sector financing committed, the interest rate would be brought to a minimum.

Cheap borrowing by the National Investment Bank could be used to leverage in private finance from big and small business, from communities and individuals. It would be a much more cost effective way of ensuring we have the strategically planned infrastructure we need to keep the lights on and cut carbon – while avoiding passing on all of the costs onto consumers via energy bills in what is effectively a regressive tax at a time of exceptionally low borrowing costs.

Backed up by a clear, long-run policy commitment to finance renewables, the policy risk would also be reduced to a minimal level. And given the expectation from the Committee for Climate Change of significant cost reductions in both wind and solar PV, alongside other renewable technologies, we can assume that the policy mix allows the cost of capital to be significantly reduced back towards the standard Treasury costing model.

This places our own estimates for costs at the lower end of the CCC modelling, implying no significant additional costs to households from the transition to low-carbon electricity production.

Reducing costs for consumers

Indeed, where households are able to introduce the ‘flexitricity’ and demand management measures that National Grid now foresees as holding immense potential for UK households, and the more standard demand abatement of housing insulation, UK households could reasonably expect to save significantly on their current household energy expenditures.

The total installation costs are therefore towards the lower end of the CCC estimates, approaching £167bn in total for a major shift towards renewables in the UK. Researchers forecast a very high rate usage and effectiveness of these techniques, sufficient to help reduce household demand for energy use by around two-thirds by 2030. This is, in turn, sufficient to deliver 85% of the UK’s electricity from renewable sources with security of supply.

We would also introduce a Clean Power Mechanism to replace the Capacity Mechanism would bring a ‘carbon merit order’ into capacity auctions. It would first take demand-side (reduction and response), then low-carbon, then high carbon. This could be backed up by a publicly-owned strategic gas reserve, to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Smart Grid technologies also promise cost savings. One estimate is that they will reduce the cost of additional distribution reinforcement by between £2.5 billion and £12 billion by 2050.

At least 65% renewable by 2030, and over 300,000 jobs

Research for the Committee on Climate Change carried out in 2011 implies that a 65% renewable electricity target is technically feasible for the UK, as long as interventions are made by government to improve supply chains, and deliver investment.

Our industrial strategy aims to do exactly that, using procurement to actively bolster UK supply chains, and delivering the investment funds cheaply and as needed. We have therefore allowed for a 65% renewable electricity mix by 2030, with the ambition to go much further than this as new smart-grid technology diffuses and households switch to lower-carbon energy.

Our plans for a rapid expansion in renewable energy imply over 300,000 new jobs created in the sector, based on estimates on job creation from  from numerous independent sources. In each case, it is clear that rapid deployment will be achieved with maximum effectiveness where government is prepared to intervene to support local supply chains.

The renewable energy sector is much more labour intensive than the fossil fuel sector, according to a study by the authoritative UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). They calculated that on average, electricity from fossil fuels creates 100-200 gross jobs per terawatt-hour (TWh) generated.

In comparison, electricity from wind creates 50-500 gross jobs per TWh, and solar creates 400 – 1,100 gross jobs per TWh. Energy efficiency projects also create many more jobs than dirty energy, coming in at 300 – 1,000 jobs per TWh saved.

In addition, the Centre for Economics and Business Research estimated in 2012 that a drive to offshore wind use could lead to a £22.5bn net export benefit, from both manufactured exports and exports of excess capacity. This is more than 70% of our current account deficit.

No more lagging behind

We will also launch a publicly funded National Home Insulation programme that would see at least 4 million homes insulated to energy efficiency standard B or C in the first term of a Labour Government – creating tens of thousands of jobs across every community, reducing the need for expensive new energy generation, and helping millions of people to save money on their bills.

Our programme will include building a million new homes – including half a million council houses – to ‘passive-haus’ or energy-plus standards. And to end the misery of cold rented accommodation we will set a minimum ‘B and C’ energy efficiency standard for all rented housing by the end of the first parliament.

Our National Home Insulation programme will cost the government between £1.8 and £2.8 billion a year. However, it will save UK households a total of £4.95 billion a year – while also returning £1.27 in tax revenue for every £1 invested by government.

It will increase the country’s GDP by £13.9 billion a year by 2030. Further, it will reduce gas imports by 25%, boosting energy security, according to analysis done by Energy Bill Revolution, a coalition of businesses and other stakeholders that commissioned the research.

Accelerating Britain’s green and prosperous future

Under this Conservative government, Britain risks missing its Paris climate targets, its EU renewable energy targets, and being left behind in the world’s fast-growing low-carbon market. This is a situation I am determined to reverse.

We will accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, renewable economy, and drive the expansion of the green industries and jobs of the future, using our National Investment Bank to invest in public and community-owned renewable energy. We will put modern low-carbon industries at the heart of our £500 billion investment strategy.

We will restore business confidence through coherent, consistent policy that champions the innovators and puts Britain, our cities, our devolved governments and communities at the forefront of this new industrial revolution. This is the Britain I want to build: a future that is cutting-edge, inclusive and sustainable.

(Jeremy Corbyn is leader of the British Labour Party. Courtesy, CounterPunch.org)

LAZY MINDS

Douglas Roycroft wrote:

Precisely! To 'debunk' tarot on the basis of an amateur reading at a church picnic is ludicrous... I realize that SCIENCE, your God with clay feet has - you assume - ALL the answers... I offered Pee Bomb a demo of sympathetic magic, which he ignores. So much for HIS scientific curiosity. But we already knew he is a coward.'

* * *

Douglas, you're just showing how lazy-minded people who claim to believe in things are. Think it through. If you really believe that magic works at least as well as evidence and reason does, then you must believe that someone doing voodoo should be seriously prosecuted for attempted murder. People who believe in prayer, same story, same level of superstition. Millions of people pray daily for their opponents and rivals to suffer and die. No-one but a crazy person would like to live in a country where the kooky supernatural bullshit people believe is given any weight at all in a court of law. Just look at what happens in countries where that's done; they bury people up to their neck and bash them to death with stones for imaginary crimes, and they burn their own daughters with gasoline for being raped, to clean up the dishonor. And there's that Let Jesus take the wheel nonsense. A lot of people say they seriously believe it, but it's a good thing they really don't, because it keeps accidents down. Very view people actually let Jesus take the wheel. Every once in a great while one does -- it's usually a woman exhausted by oppression and constant pregnancy, driving a minivan full of children -- and the see-all know-all neck-bearded zombie son of the creator of ten to the thirty-third power cubic light years of observable universe turns out to be less competent to keep a car out of the ditch than a golden retriever with its tongue flapping across its eyes.

Sympathetic magic. Feh.

I recommend a science-fiction book called The Flying Sorcerors, by David Gerrold and Larry Niven (1973). A scientist Earthling lands on a seemingly unpopulated planet to prospect for minerals and colony sites. He's sabotaged by a native magic-wielding shaman. The magic consists of breaking into the spaceship when the prospector is out, and pouring buckets of sticky magic potions into the controls and the motor, and attracting thousands of forest creatures to swarm in and further wreck the place until everything shorts out and the ship is useless. And he does this because he sees the human (who can fly in a flying house) as a rival for his cushy spiritual job over his stone-age ignorant tribe. That's just the first three pages. It's a pretty good book.

Here's about twenty minutes of the kind of magic I think we all can appreciate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db8f6-y1DYU

Marco McClean
memo@mcn.org
http://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com

SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT ACT (SGMA) PUBLIC MEETING ON LOCAL PLANNING EFFORTS

On Thursday, September 15, 2016, Mendocino County officials and other local groundwater managers will host a third public meeting on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). SGMA is a new law that offers local opportunities to achieve sustainable groundwater conditions and support Mendocino County’s vital agricultural economy, industry, and domestic and public water uses.

Topics will include Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) options for the Ukiah Valley Basin and steps towards forming a GSA. The public is encouraged to attend to learn more about SGMA and ask questions of local water managers and submit comments.

“SGMA implementation has begun throughout California,” says Supervisor Carre Brown. “We hope groundwater users throughout Mendocino County will attend to learn more. SGMA is an important change in how groundwater is managed and everyone needs to be aware and involved to manage and sustain our precious water resources.”

To support local planning efforts, the County has secured facilitation support from the Department of Water Resources (DWR), hosted workshops to educate the community on SGMA and received a groundwater planning grant through the Water Bond. The County is committed to sharing these resources with local SGMA partners.

The Mendocino County Water Agency SGMA workshop will be held at the Ukiah Veterans Hall, 293 Seminary Ave., in Ukiah. The discussion will begin at 1:00 p.m. This meeting will be open to the public. Stakeholders and all interested parties are encouraged to attend.

For more information, please contact Sarah Dukett at the Mendocino County Executive Office at (707) 463-4441 or duketts@co.mendocino.ca.us.

Carmel J. Angelo, Mendocino County Chief Executive Officer

FALL PLANT & STORE SALE at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

Plant Sale benefits our Gardens and yours!

September 17 through September 25

9:00am to 5:00pm; each day during the Gardens' normal operating hours

It is time to stock up on plants for winter and early spring bloom and start your holiday shopping at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens' annual Fall Plant & Store Sale.Nursery on the Plaza: Gardens Members 20 percent off; non-members percent off all plants - The Garden Store: Gardens members and the public receive 20 to 80 percent off select store itemsGrab a delicious fresh lunch or sweet afternoon treat from Rhody’s Garden Cafe while you still can! Rhody’s will be closing for the season after September 24, 2016 and re-opening in April of 2017. Fall in love with our beautiful home decor, vibrant plants, and more... perfect for the changing seasons at a wallet-friendly price! Be sure to take advantage of the low prices during the sale and remember, there is never an admission fee to visit the Nursery, Store, or Cafe.Proceeds from this bi-annual sale help to support our non-profit organization! Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens is a unique botanical treasure that can only be maintained, strengthened, and shared through the philanthropic support of our donors, members, community, and volunteers. Visit www.gardenbythesea.org for more information.* * *Annual Plant and Store Sale members-only preview night at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens Friday, September 16 from 5:30 to 7:30pm (must be a member of the Gardens to attend)Enjoy first choice of best plants in the nursery and best selection of store sale items PLUS complimentary hors d'oeuvres and wine. Not a member... join today! http://www.gardenbythesea.org/about-the-gardens/membership/ Access to Plant and Store Sale Preview Parties is just one of the many benefits of membership.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Demonic Destroying Mahamantram

Just a click away: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WJ52ty_9Y0 I am scheduled to leave the Emperor Norton Travel Inn in downtown San Francisco at 11 A.M. on Monday September 19th. I am seeking others who are spiritually centered internally, and thus we may go where we need to go and do what we need to do as a nomadic action group.  I have sufficient money to maintain myself. If this interests you, go ahead and contact me at CraigStehr@inbox.com

PUTTING YOUR AFFAIRS IN ORDER SEMINAR

A fall seminar has been scheduled at the hospital in Fort Bragg. Here is a chance to gatherer the necessary information, record it and move the process along so that you can feel peace of mind. Here is the blurb about the seminar and the dates.

Mondays

September 19  6-8pm

October 3    6-8pm

October 24    6-8pm

November 7     6-8pm

If you could tell your loved ones that your estate was in fine shape; the legal documents were up-to-date and complete, the people involved (trustee or executor) know what they need to know and are empowered, and that you have noted where you wanted the stuff (ex.: Mom’s gold bracelet or favorite tea cup or your favorite painting) to go, would that make your day?

I will be starting the next class on Putting Your Affairs in Order on Monday, 9/19 at the Hospital’s Redwood Room from 6 - 8 pm. A participant in a past class lost their beloved partner. It was unexpected. Because she took my class, she had all the information she needed right at her fingertips. She was able to make the necessary calls and arrangements and find paperwork needed to carry out specific actions related to her situation. She said she could not imagine the stress, unease and confusion that would have occurred if she were not prepared. That is the gift of putting your affairs in order. The Mendocino Coast District Hospital is sponsoring this seminar. It will be held on the following Mondays from 6 to 8pm: October 3rd, October 24th and November 7th. We will meet in the Redwood Room at the hospital campus. A local attorney will speak about estate planning. You will have many opportunities to complete the book: A Graceful Farewell: Putting Your Affairs in Order. We will also complete an advanced directive for health care.

If you want to participate in this seminar, please contact Maggie Watson at 397-1655 or e-mail

maggie@mendocinofiduciary.com

\mwatson@mcn.org

The fee for the 4-part Seminar is $85 per person. A partner can participate for with you for $125. Prior registration is required to hold your space. You could also put a check in the mail made out to MCDH (Mendocino Coast District Hospital) and mail to me at P.O. Box 440, Mendocino, CA 95460. You will need to bring the book which can be purchased at all the local books stores, Zoe’s Copy, and Racines.

Here’s to giving a gift that will be remembered with joy, love and thanks!

Maggie Watson

Licensed Professional Fiduciary

Owner, Mendocino Fiduciary

LOVE DRUG CLAIMS TWO MORE

From the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

The two decedents from the Hyampom homicide have been positively identified as Michael David Sims, 47 years old from Samoa, Ca, and Lawrence O’Connor, 56 years old from Eureka, Ca. Autopsies have been performed and revealed the cause of death of Sims and O’Connor to be gunshot wounds.

If anyone has information regarding this case, please contact Detective Peterson at (707) 268-3663.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

All of you pining for the Old Ways, keep in mind, the New Ways you despise would not have been possible or would not have manifested if not for the Old Ways providing the fertile soil, so maybe the Old Ways aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, otherwise, we wouldn’t be in this predicament.

Civilization was the wrong path to take. It’s a Prison. But, once we opened up Pandora’s Box that is Civilization, there was, and is, no going back. Our fate is sealed. Abstraction has painted us into a corner. We will expand, dominate, exploit, pollute, denude & decimate until there is nothing left — not even US. It was a Devil’s Bargain from the very Start, but the promise of Surplus & Excess, the Apple if you will, was just too tempting to resist.

All we can do really is watch and comment. It’s an Egregore at this point that is fed by us and feeds us. We are inextricably tethered to the only outcome possible for Civilization — Extinction of all Life.

One could argue that without Civilization we would have gone extinct anyway. Maybe — but maybe not as soon or ever until the Sun ceased to shine or a meteor hit Earth and destroyed it entirely. We’ll never know. It’s a moot point. We’re chained to a destiny now, and there is no key to the lock for the chains that bind our wrists and ankles to our demise as a species and the demise of most if not all Life on Planet Earth.

Considering the aforementioned, it’s appropriately fitting many of you, and many Americans, look to the Clown Donald Trump as The Savior. Satire is Dead. Reality is now Satire and it’s redundant to satirize Satire, but that won’t stop SNL from doing it anyway.

SOCKEYE SALMON MAKES A WRONG TURN

by Dan Bacher

(Rancho Cordova) A 4 lb. female sockeye salmon, an apparent fish from a Pacific Northwest river that made a wrong turn on its spawning journey, made an unlikely appearance at Nimbus Fish Hatchery on Thursday, September 8.

“Staff doing weir maintenance that day found the fish on the upstream side of the fish weir,” said Gary Novak, manager of the Nimbus Fish Hatchery. “The fish was weak and about to die.”

“Interestingly enough, we found a male sockeye salmon at the exact same spot on the weir last season,” said Novak.”

“Although it's not uncommon for salmon to take the wrong fork on their journey back to their home stream to spawn, this fellow was WAY off course,” according to the Nimbus Hatchery Facebook Page. “Sockeye are occasionally spotted on the Klamath River but generally occur from the Columbia River in Oregon northward.”

It’s also possible that the fish could have been a kokanee from upstream reservoirs that made it downriver and made it out to sea.

These two fish are the first sockeyes reported in recent years at Nimbus Hatchery. Ten years ago a chum salmon was observed at the hatchery, according to Novak.

Pink salmon are very rarely caught on the American River; one angler weighed in two pinks that he caught the same day below Nimbus Dam about 25 years ago at Fran & Eddy’s Sports Den in Rancho Cordova.

Historically, some sockeye, as well as pink (humpback), coho and chum salmon, ran up the Sacramento, American and their tributaries, but nowhere in the numbers found on Pacific Northwest rivers. Dams, water export pumping facilities in the Delta and decades of habitat degradation have resulted in Chinook salmon and steelhead being the only two salmon species that are currently found in significant numbers in the Sacramento River system at this time.

Novak said the hatchery ladder is expected to open on November 1, as it normally does. Water temperatures at the facility are quite cool for this time of year at only 65 degrees.

Salmon fishing remains slow in the river, since the main run hasn’t arrived yet. “I’m seeing some kings jumping near the weir in the mornings,” Novak added.

Meanwhile, the best place to see sockeye salmon in California is at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center in Lake Tahoe, where a landlocked strain of sockeye called kokanee swim up the creek each fall to spawn. The Fall Fish Festival, coming up Oct. 1-2 at Taylor Creek, is a great opportunity to see them and learn more.

Bureau of Reclamation water releases to the American River below Nimbus Dam are currently 1,500 cfs.

Daily information on expected flows in the American River can be found on the California Data Exchange Center website at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/queryRes.html or on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website at http://www.spk-wc.usace.army.mil/reports/release_changes.html.

THE DNC RULES ARE SUSPENDED -- If Hillary Drops Out, The Second Candidate With The Highest Number Of Delegates Gets The Nomination

The DNC rules offer two options if Hillary drops out of the race. You can view the full DNC rules book here: http://www.demrulz.org/…/…/DNC_Charter__Bylaws_9.11.2009.pdf

First option is if Hillary drops out the second candidate with the highest number of delegates gets the nomination, in this case, Bernie Sanders, which is a rule that was in force since 1968 DNC convention in Chicago, Illinois.

And the second option is that The Democratic National Committee has the full authority to name a replacement for Hillary should she stop running for president for some reason! Fortunately for Sanders supporters,the DNC rules are suspended. The bylaws are not suspended, the bylaws give the right to the next candidate with the required delegates to be the presidential nominee. Bernie suspended the rules and did not nominate her by acclamation.

Should anything happen, as a nominated candidate, it is still POSSIBLE for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders to be our next President?

Yes!

A resounding yes!

Keep in mind the following:

1. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders ONLY endorsed CLINTON.
2. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders WAS NOMINATED by the DNC.
3. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders WAS SECONDED by Tulsi Gabbard.
4. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders DID NOT CONCEDE to CLINTON.
5. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders DID NOT suspend his campaign.

* * *

Senator Bernie Sander’s endorsement may have been a tactical masterstroke of political maneuvering.

Bernie can always switch back to a Democrat. There is nothing preventing that. It's a simple form to fill out.

Bernie and Hillary were both nominated in a contested convention. Hillary won the contest, yet both were nominated. Yes, Bernie didn’t win, but his nomination was seconded.

Yes, the nominating process is over. That is very important! Two nominees were motioned, both were seconded. As there were two it had to be contested. A roll count was agreed upon. Hillary won the contest between the two. Sanders is still one of the two. He lost the contest, not his nomination coming short of first place.

Julian Assange predicted that Hillary will not be indicted by the DOJ. It came true. So now Assange is dripping leaks slowly destroying the Real Clinton Firewall. When that happens, Sanders can logically, morally and legally claim to become the presidential nominee.

Bernie’s 2nd Motion: All votes be reflected in the official records. – It’s official now! If Hillary drops out for whatever reason, Bernie can successfully claim to become the presidential nominee of the dem. party based on the official records!

This explained everything: Bernie's endorsement. Wikileaks waiting. Bernie not talking about Hill’s emails or the election fraud and voter suppression.

Given the fact that FBI Director James Comey is also investigating Clinton foundation and is even ready to go around U.S. Attorney General and Clinton enabler Loretta Lynch, there is good chance for Clinton to lose the election.

And don't forget Assange's latest interview in which he said that his next leak can bring Clinton down because it is something that FBI can’t overlooked.

Given all the above plus Clinton's seizures and other health problems, Clinton must step aside, and Bernie Sanders must be the DNC's new nominee.

John Sakowicz, Ukiah

CAPONE-ISM IS GOOD BUSINESS?

Editor,

We now know that between 2011-15, 5,300 Wells Fargo employees opened 2 million unneeded accounts for customers, ordered credit cards without customers’ permission and forged client signatures. No one was charged for criminal acts and no one will face jail time.

He admits that if business is good, you don’t have to stretch like this, clearly implying that unethical and illegal actions are acceptable when profits are down. And a corporate governance expert leaves accountability with the Wells Fargo board, forgiving John Stumpf by adding otherwise, he has been a successful CEO.

It is a sad commentary on our society when corporate crime is not only condoned, but an accepted industry practice. Is white-collar crime acceptable if everybody does it? Is it acceptable if there is no accountability and no consequences?

Keith Weber, San Mateo

UKIAH'S RESTAURANT SLAVES

Former undocumented employees of the Ruen Tong Thai restaurant and Walter’s Cafe may actually see back wages. As part of a plea agreement announced in August, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Monday that it would set aside $250,000 of the penalties paid by the owner to give to the workers.

The wage theft was discovered during the course of an investigation of the restaurants conducted by the department’s Wage and Hour Division San Francisco District Office. As part of a plea agreement, Yaowapha Ritdet will pay $250,000.00 to the affected workers.

“The Wage and Hour Division was happy to partner with the IRS, HSI, and DOJ to achieve this outcome,” said Susana Blanco, district director for the Wage and Hour Division in San Francisco. “It is important that the employees will receive their back wages as part of this guilty plea so that other workers can know their rights will be protected by the Department of Labor regardless of their immigration status.”

Albert Raymond, with the Wage and Hour Division in San Francisco said Monday in an interview that the department has been successful in the past at finding former employees, even undocumented ones, using local consulates from their home countries if necessary. He said the wage loss was probably actually more, but he was pleased that the employees would at least get something.

Raymond added that this case was not unusual. The Department of Labor finds the restaurant business especially culpable in using undocumented workers and then underpaying them and overworking them.

“It’s an industry plagued with these kinds of violations,” he said. He added that the department tries very hard to communicate to workers that they should step up if they see abuses in working conditions.

“The problem is, they don’t know their rights,” he said.

Ritdet, 54, pleaded guilty in August to obstructing Internal Revenue Service tax laws and harboring illegal aliens for profit, according to several United States government agencies that were investigating the crimes.

Ritdet admitted she knowingly hired Thai nationals, who were in the U.S. illegally, to work at her Ukiah restaurants, Ruen Tong Thai Cuisine and Walter Cafe.

Ritdet further admitted she underpaid employees and instructed them not to speak to anyone about their immigration status, U.S. Department of Justice officials said.

She also admitted filing false individual income tax returns between 2007 and 2011, failing to disclose gross receipts, sales and income received from the two restaurants, as well as rental income and a foreign bank account and failed to accurately report employment taxes owed for her restaurant employees, who were paid in cash.

Ritdet and her husband, Steve Walter, were fined nearly $2 million in 2013, for making 47 employees work nearly 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week with no breaks, no minimum wage for all hours worked and no overtime pay as required by law between 2010 and 2013, according to a past joint investigation by the Labor Commissioner’s Office and the U.S. Department of Labor.

In 2014, both Ritdet and Walter were arrested and arraigned on five counts of filing false tax returns, and Ritdet on two counts of willfully failing to report a foreign bank account, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office Northern District of California previously stated.

Walter remains under indictment on suspicion of making and subscribing false federal income tax returns, willfully violating foreign bank account reporting requirements, and harboring illegal aliens for commercial advantage and financial gain, Nicole Navas, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Justice said at the time of the plea.

“He pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial on Jan. 23, 2017,” she said.

Ritdet’s guilty plea was accepted by U.S. District Court of Northern California Judge Edward M. Chen, according to the Department of Justice. The maximum penalty for obstructing the IRS is three years in prison and $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the criminal activity.

The maximum penalty for bringing in and harboring illegal aliens is 10 years in prison and $250,000, or twice the gain or loss resulting from the criminal activity.

Ritdet is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Chen on Feb. 22, 2017 in San Francisco.

Walter’s Cafe in Ukiah remains open, but the Ruen Tong Thai restaurant has closed.

(Ukiah Daily Journal)