Mendocino County Today: Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016

• Stroking Gun
• Accessory Dwellings
• Navarro Sandbar
• Woodhouse Interview
• Glass Beach
• Test Wells
• Hospitality Funding
• Embrace V
• Police Report
• AG/AH
• Shaw Fishing
• Rewrite 64
• Swami Chat
• Pension Math
• Yesterday's Catch
• Medication Exchange
• Halloween Story
• Mushroom Talk
• Little Dog
• Trumpisms
• Light Festival
• Trump Medicine
• Plan B

ONLY 25 YEARS LATE

Mendocino County Board of Supervisors Meeting 11/1/2016 Agenda Item 5f:

Discussion and Possible Action Regarding an Informational Presentation on New State Law that is Intended to Provide Incentives for Property Owners to Construct Accessory Dwellings as a Form of Housing

Purpose: The purpose of this agenda item is two-fold: 1) to inform the Board of Supervisors, and the public of a new State law that is intended to provide incentives for property owners to construct accessory dwelling units as a form of housing; and 2) to seek direction from the Board to see if they would like the County of Mendocino to take any additional steps to encourage the construction of accessory dwelling units, such as offer pre-approved building plans free of charge to property owners, as is done in a number of California cities, including the City of Fort Bragg.

DESPITE RECENT RAINFALL NAVARRO RIVER SANDBAR DOESN'T BUDGE

MSP heard CalTrans was "prepping" the areas near where the Highway 128 closures occur Thursday afternoon — the areas near mile markers 5.00 & 10.00 are particularly vulnerable if the sandbar doesn't breach and we get more rain and ocean "slop over." Last December, the sandbar refused to breach and Highway 128 was closed for a spell before it DID breach. The river level is headed to 3.00' — far below the 23.00' flood level.

The above photo was taken at 4pm Thursday, the graph is from Friday afternoon.

(Courtesy, MendocinoSportsPlus)

HE’S BACK: AN INTERVIEW WITH SUPERVISOR TOM WOODHOUSE

In which Woodhouse talks about his absence, his return, his plans & priorities, democracy, and employee raises.

(“…he stated that he was likely to either recuse himself, or simply walk out, during future discussion of cannabis policy at board meetings.” … “ He stated that he had booked the room [for a Planning & Building Reform workshop], for Wednesday Oct. 26, which the county Executive Office confirmed. However, he did not show up on that day and it appeared that no one else did.”)

https://www.mendovoice.com/2016/10/an-interview-with-supervisor-woodhouse/

WATCH YOUR STEP — Glass Beach Stairway — The cable stairway providing public access to the southern portion of Glass Beach within Noyo Headlands Park has been removed. Temporary fencing and signage has been installed to prevent public access over the bluff during the winter months. The temporary closure protects the bluff face and prevents risks to visitors between the beach and the Coastal Trail. The fencing has been extended along the bluff top to prevent people from scrambling down to the beach and also protects federally-protected plant species in the vicinity. In the meantime, we request that everyone abide by the closure. Access to the northern area of Glass Beach continues to be available just 450 feet to the north of the trail that is temporarily closed.

ONE FOR TWO — Supplemental Water Sources — With the ongoing drought, the City has been searching for additional water sources including drilling test wells to tap local groundwater. Two test wells were recently completed. The first, next to the raw water ponds at the City’s corporation yard looks promising with an initial dry weather yield of about 50 gallons per minute (gpm). Additional testing is being done to confirm the sustained yield and limits of the groundwater. A second well was drilled on City property on the north side of the C.V. Starr Community Center. Despite a longstanding history of shallow groundwater in the area, no significant groundwater flows were found. This well will be sealed and abandoned. The search for other supplemental water sources continues.

HOSPITALITY CENTER WILL TAKE CARE OF IT

Mendocino County Board of Supervisors Meeting 11/1/2016 Agenda Item 4i:

Approval of Agreement with Mendocino Coast Hospitality Center in the Amount of $105,039 to Provide Emergency Shelter and Resource Services in Fort Bragg and the Coastal Region in Fiscal Year (FY) 2016-17

Agenda Title: Approval of Agreement with Mendocino Coast Hospitality Center in the Amount of $105,039 to Provide Emergency Shelter and Resource Services in Fort Bragg and the Coastal Region in Fiscal Year (FY) 2016-17

Recommended Action/Motion: Approve Agreement with Mendocino Coast Hospitality Center in the amount of $105,039 to provide emergency shelter and resource services in Fort Bragg and the coastal region in FY 2016-17; authorize the Health and Human Services Agency Director to sign any future amendments to the Agreement that do not affect the annual maximum amount; and authorize Chair to sign same.

Summary of Request: Mendocino County has been contracting with local non-profit agencies for emergency shelter services for Mendocino County indigents since 1982. Mendocino Coast Hospitality Center provides emergency shelter and operates a resource center in Fort Bragg to address the needs of the Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) General Assistance clients and other coastal county persons who are at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness. This contract includes additional funding in the amount of $10,000 to support Emergency Winter Shelter costs.

* * *

DEFINITION OF SERVICES

(Italics added by AVA; note that actual “housing” is not part of the $105k worth of “services.”

CONTRACTOR shall provide the following services:

1. EMERGENCY SHELTER SERVICES
2. Housing for homeless recipients of the County General Assistance (GA) program at the CONTRACTOR shelter facility in Fort Bragg:
3. Reserve emergency shelter beds for individual adult recipients of the GA Program
4. Provide bed availability to GA staff upon request
5. Utilize GA referral and exit forms
6. Maintain the shelter facility in a safe and sanitary condition to meet all applicable codes and licensing regulations
7. Continue to accommodate the increased capacity to shelter and provide usage of shower, clothes washing and food serving facilities for residents of the shelter
8. Provide Emergency Winter Shelter service for overflow capacity as sites, emergency beds and funding are available, during severe inclement weather as necessary between November 15, 2016 and March 31, 2017.
9. HOMELESS PROGRAMS
10. Resource Center for the Homeless
11. Operate a resource center for the homeless in the Fort Bragg area
12. Assistance and Services to the Homeless
13. Operate a resource center with local phone access, mail delivery, and other amenities to benefit the homeless
14. Outreach to the homeless with the goal of engaging them in available services
15. Housing assistance:
16. Place homeless families and/or individuals in emergency shelter or provide motel or camping vouchers if they meet the housing eligibility criteria
17. Inform individuals/families authorized for shelter that if they have an emergency shelter need extending beyond the authorized period, they must go to the GA office the next business day and apply for appropriate assistance
18. Authorization for emergency housing for individuals and families shall not exceed the number of nights necessary for the Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) to determine eligibility

III. CAPACITY BUILDING

1. Year-Round Shelter and Services
2. Increase capacity to provide shelter and other homeless services
3. Maximum utilization of all shelter beds, as practicable
4. Nutritious meals for the non-resident homeless
5. Shower facilities for non-residents
6. Laundry facilities for non-residents
7. Extensive case management, tracking and reporting of client’s progress towards stabilization and transitional or permanent housing
8. REPORTING
9. Submit the following monthly reports with invoice (Attachment 1):
10. Invoice Spreadsheet
11. Report 1: GA Client Bed Night Count
12. Itemize number of persons receiving or denied services
13. Motel Vouchers
14. Denied Shelter
15. Report 2: Description of Capacity Building Efforts
16. Document efforts undertaken to increase the capacity to provide services
17. Report 3: Laundry, Showers and Meals
18. Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)
19. Utilize ClientTrack to provide and update HMIS data daily on all homeless clients
20. Utilize the ClientTrack “Emergency Intake Workflow” and exit procedures to capture the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) required Universal Data Elements for homeless clients using the resource center or shelter services
21. COORDINATE WITH OTHER AGENCIES
22. Collaborate with GA Staff to ensure client cooperation with GA case plans
23. Participate as a member of the case conferencing team of the Homeless Continuum of Care
24. Participate in the Homeless Services Continuum of Care meetings and all associated trainings
25. Work in concert with other agencies to assist families to integrate into the General Assistance program and other mechanisms to achieve self-sufficiency
26. OTHER CONTRACTOR CONDITIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
27. Develop and maintain policies and procedures that address:
28. Eligibility criteria for occupancy, discharge and their uniform application
29. The rights and dignity of guests; to the fair and unbiased application of house rules, second chances and grievances
30. Persons served under this agreement shall observe the house rules of the shelter facility and may be required to leave the facility if they do not observe the rules
31. The right to refuse emergency shelter services to any person(s) exhibiting bizarre or abusive behavior or with a history of same behavior
32. Confidentiality of client files
33. Contractor will write at least two Press Releases each contract year, incorporating the collaboration efforts in this contract between the contractor and Health and Human Services Agency, ensuring that both parties are recognized for the efforts
34. Press releases will be submitted to HHSA_Media@co.mendocino.ca.us a minimum of four days prior to print in the local newspaper
35. Contractor will submit press releases to local media

(This applies to Non-Profits with a contract in excess of $10,000 providing services to the community through the funds of the contract.)

COUNTY shall:

VII. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY (HHSA) GENERAL ASSISTANCE RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Provide a consistent written method by which General Assistance staff will refer persons under this agreement
2. Provide training on GA and other Agency activities and procedures for staff and volunteers of CONTRACTOR
3. Appoint a representative of General Assistance to act as a liaison with the CONTRACTOR for housing services

STOP HACK & SQUIRT

To the Editor:

On June 7 Mendocino County voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure that would effectively curtail the practice of industrial-scale tree-poisoning known as “hack-and-squirt.”

Mendocino Redwood Co. (MRC) since 2012 has killed over 5 million trees on 24,000 acres of its holdings.

The chief target is tanoak, a species that plays an important ecological role in forest succession and recovery after decades of destructive logging. But the initiative’s main emphasis was to protect wildland firefighters from the potentially lethal hazards of falling trees and limbs when battling a blaze. That’s why a coalition led by firefighters and local citizens wrote and successfully campaigned for the passage of Measure V.

But now MRC is threatening to sue to nullify the initiative, and has made it known that it has not stopped using hack-and-squirt since the election. A backlash of irate voters against MRC’s arrogance has already begun, with recent weeks seeing marches, protests, and demonstrations, on the North Coast and in San Francisco.

MRC should call off its lawyers and heed the unmistakable will of 63 percent of Mendocino County’s voters and halt the practice of hack-and-squirt now. The company spent more than $250,000 in its campaign opposing Measure V — more than $25 per “no” vote — and still lost.

What’s more, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors should exercise its prerogative under the California Code to take necessary steps to protect public health and safety and fully embrace Measure V. It’s the law.

Steph Darling, Berkeley

OFFICER THOR FOILS BURGLARS

Press Release: Attempted burglary / female arrested after search
.

On October 25th at about 7:58 pm, UPD officers were dispatched to a residence in the 800 block of Live Oak Avenue, for a report of a male and female trying to enter a residence through a window. Upon arrival UPD Officers along with K9 Thor, entered the backyard of the residence and began a search. During the search, UPD Officers located a female subject hiding in the bushes and detained her. Officers searched for the male, but found that he had fled prior to their arrival.

When officers spoke with the victim, he reported that he had left his residence on October 21st and returned on the 25th, at about 7 pm. While the victim was in his backyard he noticed his storage shed door had been opened and discovered that someone had stolen his blue colored Gary Fisher Mountain bike. The victim shut the shed door, went inside his residence and started listening to music, with the lights off. Soon after the victim heard a noise and looked out his kitchen window. The victim noticed a male subject attempting to gain entry into his house through his living room window. When the male subject couldn’t get in, he went to the victim’s shed, opened the door and walked inside. At about the same time, a female subject attempted to gain entry into the residence, by cutting a window screen on the victim’s bathroom.

Officers located two bicycles near the scene, one belonging to the victim. The female suspect was identified Ziomara Martinez age 39. Martinez was found to be in possession of numerous burglary tools and was placed under arrest for attempted burglary, conspiracy, possession of burglary tools, and possession of stolen property. Martinez was booked into the county jail. The male subject was described as 6’, about 140 pounds with brown hair.

LOCAL SUPPORT FOR MENTAL PATIENTS

Editor,

Mental Health is the number 1 problem in our county as declared by Mendocino residents. One in four families experiences a mental health crisis. One in 5 persons who are currently housed in our county jail have a mental illness. Our Emergency Rooms are overwhelmed with the number of clients presenting with mental health crises. Many people we see walking the streets, disheveled and talking to themselves, or isolated at home, afraid to seek help, are without care. This election we have an opportunity to create a solution to these problems.

It’s time to recognize, destigmatize and educate ourselves about mental illness. Mental illness are brain disorders, that are a result of genetic and environmental factors that produce changes in our brains. Brain disorders impact the way people think and behave. Our human brains and bodies sit on a precarious spectrum with a fine tipping point that can shift us toward or away from mental health or illness. That’s why providing support and treatment can make a significant difference in the outcome.

As a psychiatrist in our community for 22 years, I have been forced to send clients out of the county, when they have a mental health crisis and are at their most vulnerable. We need a mental health facility that offers a place to provide support and treatment for Mendocino County. That’s what measures AG and AH do. They build the facilities so we can provide the services and treatment for those who desperately need it.

Please join me in supporting Measure AG and AH.

Dr. Betty Lacy

Willits

CHARLES SHAW FISHING (Continued)

by Bob Dempel

Three or four weeks passed before I stopped by again to see Charles Shaw. This time I met him in his winery office. The winery building is perpendicular to his home. A moderate sized building, two stories tall with some properly placed clear story windows. Shaw’s office was up the stairs on the south end of a rather large room. Several of the other winemaking staff used the open area as office space.

Charles did not say a word about the previous incident involving his new child that I took care of a few week previously. I explained to Shaw my services and costs. He seemed more interested in my ability to help him manage his vineyard. I was told that they had hired two people from England. I soon learned the term “au pair,” referring to the two full time people who lived in the apartment above the attached garage.

Weekly I would stop and inspect the vineyard and make contact with the Englishman au pair who mainly worked in the vineyard, while his wife helped in the house. Occasionally I would talk with Chuck, who I now had a closer relationship with and were on a first name basis.

Chuck and his wife Lucy had previously lived in Europe where he was involved in finances. Chuck evidently was mesmerized by winemaking. It was not just any winemaking. It is called in France as Beaujolais Noveau; the process of taking the current year’s grapes, making them into wine and releasing the wine on the third Thursday of November at 12:01 am. Shirley and I have been in France when this wine was released. You would think the second coming of someone had just appeared. This wine is not made from just any grapes. In France the wine is made from the variety Gamay Noir Jus Blanc. The leader of this spectacle is winemaker DuBoeuf. Chuck Shaw wanted to be the Napa Valley version of DuBoeuf.

I was just the right person for Shaw to have on his team. I had 20 years’ experience of consulting in the Napa Valley. My client list read like the Who’s Who of Napa; Mondavi, Cakebread, Fisher, Turnbull and on and on.

More Gamay was grown in Napa than anywhere else in California. USDA lists only 295 acres were grown prior to 2002 in the entire state. I estimate that most of that acreage was in the Napa Valley. It is not to be confused with a Pinot Noir, or a clone of Pinot Noir known as Gamay Beaujolais. Napa Gama is a late variety, produces large berries, large clusters, and large tons of fruit per acre. And it does not command a high price. Shaw was a savior for many Gamay growers.

So Charles Shaw went into the Noveau wine business. When I started working for Shaw the winery capacity was small. But that did not stop Chuck. Somewhere he heard about a sale of very large vertical wine tanks. The next thing I know these big helicopters are traveling up the

Napa Valley carrying the wine tanks attached by a cable and setting them down on a newly poured concrete slab on the east side of the winery. Watch out DuBoeuf, Charles Shaw is on the way to get you.

To fill these large tanks it was necessary for Shaw to purchase grapes from other Napa Valley grape growers. New winemakers were hired. Au Pairs came and went. And 2 more children appeared. Now you have Chuck and Lucy and two separate sets of children spanning almost 20 years. Chuck and Lucy became the Camelot’s of the Napa Valley. Chuck, a good looking man, and Lucy still a knockout, not one indication of birthing five children.

Then came true fame for the Shaw family. The Nouveau was selling well. Someone had an idea to put the wine in five gallon non-returnable barrels. Ship the wine out the same year as the grapes were harvested. Bring in the money. Life was good, WTF could be next.

The next was a movie advance crew. The Shaw advance crew was looking for a site to make a movie with Pavarotti, Luciano Pavarotti the singer. There was one small obstacle. The site had to have a tennis court. No problem, just take out a few vines and they could build a tennis court right in my ‘cared for’ vineyard. Also, could they house Pavarotti while the scenes were being shot? Yes, put all five children in one bedroom, to make room for Pavarotti. So an agreement was signed, and the movie was produced right there on the Shaw property.

I’ve had experience with movie advance crews. A vineyard I managed for the late architect, Bill Turnbull, was considered for two movies. Just so you know, I’m not BS’ing anyone. The vineyard did not get selected as a set for either. The movies were “Walk in The Clouds,” and the other was the remake of “Parent Trap”.

Chuck Shaw liked to fish. He would drop everything to go fishing. One day he convinced Lucy to bring all five children along in a row boat. Think, aluminum boat 12 feet long and all seven of them. And they would have a family day on the lake. They rowed out to the center of the lake where the fish were biting. Before long Lucy asked about drinks for the children, that could not be found, and one of them needed to PEE. Chuck was adamant the fish were biting, just PEE over the side of the boat. Mind you they now had a teenage daughter. And by the way, it was Lucy’s role to bring along the drinks. When the Shaw family got home late that night Lucy and the five children went into the house. No Chuck.

The winds were shifting for the Shaw’s. The five gallon barrels did not sell well and many of them came back leaking. I still have two of the empty barrels in my back yard. The au pairs were gone. And one day when I came to inspect the vineyard Chuck Shaw stuck his head out of the apartment window and asked me to wait. He was now living in the apartment over the garage. At some point Lucy developed a wonderful friend. Chuck became furious and some legal proceedings were started against him. He seemed to be gone forever.

The last winemaker I worked with was Scott McCloud who went on to work for Francis Ford Coppola. My consulting bill was way past due, so I stopped working for the business. Growers had not been paid. Bankruptcy was just around the corner. The sale of the property soon followed.

I saw Chuck just one time later. We had breakfast in St. Helena. He did not have very much money and what he did have he kept hidden under the floorboard of his car. He did have one piece of good news. His older son had contacted him and wanted to go fishing with him.

Fred Franzia bought the label out of bankruptcy and put it on some average wine for Trader Joe’s. It sold for $24.00 per case or two dollars a bottle. A bottle became referred to as TWO BUCK CHUCK, a name that today is still mentally connected to just average wine and Charles F. Shaw.

Over the next few years I stopped occasionally in St. Helena to visit with Lucy Shaw, where she was working as a salesperson in a bookstore. She stated,” Bob, it was all of my mother’s money and now that’s gone”.

One following Christmas I received a card from Chuck. He was somewhere in the mid-states. He had a sister there or some other relative. He was back working in finance. I never heard from him again. I didn’t look, but there has to be five young Shaws somewhere around the Napa Valley. Or at least some of them. That’s where their mother lives. I don’t know about the family money. I am told Mr. Wonderful is still around.

CANNABIS VERSUS BIG BUSINESS

I have changed my vote from yes to no against Proposition 64, the marijuana legalization initiative. From my perspective as a retired internist and a part-time marijuana medical examiner, there is no doubt about the medical value of this plant. And by and large, the majority of people I screen are using this drug for legitimate medical reasons. Frankly, I have been very surprised. The problem with this proposition is that it gives the whole enterprise to big business.

This means advertising. Corporations have a contemptuous disregard for the well-being of those they profit from. By contrast, as things stand now, there is a definite standard of caring and helpfulness in line with medical ethics. There is an effort to do good. The profit motive is evident but secondary. I am saying there is no need to invite big business into it. There is no reason to advertise this potent medication. We can rewrite Prop. 64 so as to decriminalize its use and review related jail sentences.

Barry Orvell, Vacaville

POT: A HELL OF A THING TO BE FAMOUS FOR

https://thefar.ms/la-meet-mendocino-county/

(Featuring Laytonville’s Swami Chaitanya and his distinctly non-Hindu accent under the heading of “the California Way.”)

* * *

More on Swami: Not your old school guru (and one of the key proponents of Measure AF): Swami talks Mendo pot politics while toking up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcfMl-LSrrQ

ONE FLEW OVER THE SEGAL'S NEST

Editor,

Segal is our MCERA actuary. As you can probably infer by the title, I do not have much confidence in public pension actuaries. With so much debt generated by missing their target, how could anyone?

I have the latest reports attached; they will be presented and discussed next Wednesday.

Segal, replaced Buck about 5 years ago. Although most on my board will tell you "everything is beautiful, you just have to be patient", how much more of this patience can we stand? Segal has been the actuary for most of my 6 year tenure; although we have had an almost unbelievable financial market recovery, our debt has continued to grow at an increasing rate (more than doubled the unfunded liability since I have been there). This is important as any and every increase in debt must be paid 100% by the taxpayers and users of county services. Once it goes to the debt (UAAL) it is the sole responsibility of the taxpayers and users of county services, the employees pay nothing.

Two things can help stop the increase in debt: Increasing contributions and/or reducing benefits. Our plan is in such a state, if private, the federal government would MANDATE we stop paying benefits to save the plan assets. This is not the law in government plans as supposedly a county can never go out of business and can always just tax more.

The board on which I serve as a fiduciary can not reduce benefits; we CAN recommend the county adopt a rate that makes the plan whole. Our "moral hazard" board, and many in county govt., do not want to increase rates as they will have to pay their share of the actual cost. The moral hazard says "wait for it to fix itself" this is because it will become someone else's problem. Every low-balled employee contribution adds to the debt and MUST be made whole by the taxpayers and users of county services.

The county employees really should be worried about their retirement too. The status quo might be okay for those retired, but a single new dollar NEVER goes in the plan for any current employee; not even their contribution. We must SELL assets, from a SEVERELY UNFUNDED PLAN, to make benefit and administration payroll. Above and beyond all contributions, about a third of expected return must be sold to make benefit and administration payroll.

By now you are probably saying "okay Stephens, what is your point?" My point is I have attached the YE 2016 Actuarial Valuation Report and also the GASB 67 report. On a real market valued basis we just added $40 Million to our debt from last year's report. Remember this same debt has already wiped out all the net worth of our entire existence as a county. Restated, our pension related debt is greater than our county assets and it just got $40MM more so.

What I am going to do is suggest we send the actuary, Segal, back to their office to recompute the contribution rate based on the expected net return our investment advisor has suggested for the next 10 years. This would be about one full percentage point LESS than the 7.25% rate we are now basing our contributions on. Looking back 10 years at the actual returns provided by our actuary or our investment counselor it would need to be even lower than 6.25%.

There will be HUGE push-back on this as the lower target rate would make the cost for the county and the future cost for the current employees go up. As a fiduciary I do not see how I could make any other recommendation. Should we...Just let us go deeper in debt? Disregard what our investment advisor says we should expect? Really believe that actuaries are up to speed now while disregarding the current additions to debt (along with the prior debt and pension obligation bonds from believing them before)?

There is going to be MAJOR disagreement on this (the moral hazard says kick it down the road and let someone else pay). Please come to the MCERA board meeting next Wednesday, Nov 2 at 8:30AM (625-B Kings Court) if you are interested in this and/or have any comments. If I am going to do this I will need your help!

Thank you.

Ted Stephens MS-Taxation, MBA-Finance

Yorkville

* * *

NOTHING NEW HERE, FOLKS. Move along. Dickerson and Stephens, the twin Chicken Littles of pension debt, keep yelling the pension sky is falling and running in circles but offer nothing in the way of solutions. On the one hand they say we have to solve this problem or the county will be paying for pensions instead of services. Next they say we need to take millions more from services each year and pay it into the pension system. What effect will that have on services? As it stands, and as the County Pension Fund's current manager explains in a summary called “Pension Math”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOO4n1yqcuc

* * *

NOVEMBER 2, 2016 RETIREMENT BOARD MEETING AGENDA

Please visit

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

to access the meeting agenda and supporting documents.

CATCH OF THE DAY, October 28, 2016

MICHAEL DONAHE, Ukiah. Drunk in public, probation revocation. (Frequent flyer.)

STEEN GREEN, Ukiah. Burglary, receiving stolen property, probation revocation.

NICHOLAS HALVORSEN, Fort Bragg. Probation revocation. (Frequent flyer.)

KRISTINA HARDEN-CAVENDER, Redwood Valley. Domestic assault.

JESSE HIGGINBOTHAM, Fort Bragg. DUI, child endangerment.

BENJAMIN HOFF, Ukiah. County parole violation, community supervision violation.

SHERRI NEELEY, Ukiah. Burglary, shoplifting, ID theft, probation revocation. (Frequent flyer.)

RICHARD OLSTAD, Fort Bragg. Controlled substance.

A LONG-RUNNING DISPUTE over an oil pipeline easement has turned violent in North Dakota as hundreds of armed state and local police and members of the National Guard battled into the early hours of Friday to evict hundreds of protesters from private land in the path of the proposed Dakota Access line. The peaceful protest quickly turned violent when activists became surrounded by assault vehicles and the more than 150 law-enforcement officials in riot gear, KFYR-TV reported. Officers fired bean bags and pepper spray for more than six hours, trying to physically push demonstrators back to their campsite, as protesters lit debris on fire and threw Molotov cocktails in retreat, according to state emergency-response personnel. At least 141 protesters were arrested, Morton County Sheriff Public Information Officer Donnell Hushka said. Activists claim the property in dispute is owned by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe under a 19th-century treaty. The move sharply escalates a dispute over Native American rights and the pipeline’s environmental impact on the Standing Rock tribe. One woman who was arrested reportedly pulled out a pistol and fired three times at officers, narrowly missing a deputy.

(The Daily Beast)

AN IDEA MENDOCINO COUNTY WOULD DO WELL TO EMULATE:

NO controlled drugs, NO insurance, NO copays

All medications require a valid prescription from a doctor. A valid prescription must be an original (not a copy), written, signed and dated by a doctor within the last year, and brought to the pharmacy or faxed to the pharmacy from the doctor’s office.

Under current California drug donation laws, we CANNOT accept medication donations from individuals (only from specific, regulated facilities). If you have unwanted medications, it is important that you dispose of them safely. Please do not dispose of them in your trash, down the drain or in your toilet. Click here for a list of Santa Clara County drop-off locations for unwanted medications.

We are the first dedicated drug donation pharmacy in Northern California, and we receive donated medications directly from donors. Our pharmacy accepts any valid prescription, serving patients who cannot afford their medications.

HALLOWEEN STORY WITH A HAPPY ENDING

by Louis S. Bedrock

“Don't worry, little sister “Lucky reassured his sister; “it's Halloween and most of the monsters are merely kids like you wearing costumes. Only a few are real monsters that want to carry you off and eat you.

Cherry was not at all comforted by her brother's words.

The children were in Greenwich Village watching the grotesque Gay Halloween Parade. Many people were dressed as the characters in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. There were Donald Trump incubuses and devils along with many Hillary Clinton succubuses and witches. There were werewolves, bogeymen, and vampires. But what scared Cherry were the Killer Klowns.

Unlike the other costumes, there was nothing amusing about the garments and accoutrements of the Klowns. They looked gruesome and carried dangerous instruments like machetes, sickles, daggers, and maces. Lucky did not assuage her anxiety when he cheerfully introduced some of the Klowns to her and said,

“Hi. This is my little sister, Cherry. Klowns terrify her. She lives at 197 Hillside Ave in Newark and sleeps alone in her bedroom.

…

Lucky bought Cherry some cotton candy, but advised her to eat it slowly because he had seen some Klowns peeing in one of the cotton candy machines. Cherry didn't eat much of it.

When they passed a nightclub called The Limelight, Lucky told Cherry that he had an emergency and ran inside, leaving her alone on the sidewalk. The unhappy Cherry did her best to make herself invisible.

Unfortunately, Lucky had abandoned her alongside a table at which four Klowns were drinking muddy-looking mixed drinks that bubbled ominously.

“Don't be afraid, little girl; why don't you sit down with us? “said one of the Klowns who was caressing a small hatchet.

“Uh, no thank you, sir “replied Cherry”, I'm waiting for my brother.

“But he's dead “said the Klown. Then he and the other three Klowns began laughing hysterically.

Cherry panicked and ran away. Unfortunately, she got mixed up with a large crowd of people who were entering the 7th Avenue Subway and was carried along with them and onto the train. She looked at the window of the train and the red letters said, DOWN KLOWN TRAIN.

Cherry planned to get off at the next stop and cross over to the other side of the platform and catch the next train back to 7th and Bleecker Street. However, the train didn't stop. It rolled on and on. It was forty minutes before the train stopped. Now it was Cherry needed a bathroom.

The crowd of people on the train got off and dissipated quickly leaving Cherry alone. The station was gigantic and deserted. Cherry had never seen this station before.

She found an exit, ran up the stairs, and to her great relief she found a Starbucks, which she entered and used the bathroom. She then went out walked one block west and found herself in a place that resembled the right panel--Hell, of Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, except that the white human head in the painting had been replaced by a giant Klown's head. There were Klown heads everywhere affixed to Bosch creatures--birds, fish, snakes, pigs, and even trees.

Cherry turned and ran back to the subway.

She used her last token to get to what she hoped was the platform for the uptown 7th Avenue train. When the train arrived, it was of course filled with Killer Klowns--and one teenaged Latina in the costume of a fairy princess. Cherry sat next to the princess.

“Don't be afraid, little girl “said the princess, whose name was Sangria”, they're just costumes. Inside are people just like us. It's OK.

Sangria put her arm around Cherry.

At the first stop, everyone else got off. Cherry started to get off too, but Sangria said,

“Oh please don't go. Stay with me for one more stop.

Cherry stayed next to the pretty teenager.

“You see, it's Halloween and everyone is dressed up in a costume. But werewolves, Klowns, witches, and devils are not real.

Cherry smiled at her new friend.

“However, *we vampires are *”whispered Sangria, suddenly showing her fangs. Before Cherry could answer, Sangria sunk them into her neck and drank her all up.

MUSHROOMS OF THE REDWOOD COAST

Come join us for an evening of mushroom talk, tasting and viewing on November 10, presented by the Mendocino Coast Mushroom Club. With breathtaking photos Mushroom expert and author Noah Siegel will introduce his audience to some of California's special mushrooms, including the common edibles and the rare gems from the North Coast. The wet winters and majestic forests of the North Coast enable the largest known Chanterelle and Porcini mushrooms to flourish, along with many other varieties. Come see and taste them. It's all happing Thursday, November 10 at St. Anthony's Hall 10700 Lansing Street, (top of the hill) Mendocino. Mushroom appetizers and other goodies and a book signing at 6:30. Noah’s lecture is at 7 p.m. Admission is only $15 general, $12 for MCMC members. For more information call 707-937-5201. For Additional Information Contact: Allison Gardner - 707-937-5201

LITTLE DOGS SAYS, "ME AND MY COUSIN, BRUTO."

WHO WON'T BE VOTING FOR TRUMP

by Eliot Weinberger

African Americans

Trump is currently polling at 0-1 per cent among African Americans. (In some districts, they couldn’t find a single supporter.) However, Trump has stated that when he runs for his second term as president, ‘I guarantee you that I will get over 95 per cent of the African American vote. I promise you. Because I will produce.’

Women

Trump: ‘There’s nothing I love more than women, but they’re really a lot different than portrayed. They are far worse than men, far more aggressive, and boy, can they be smart!’

The Modest

Interviewer: ‘Who are you talking to consistently – since we have some dire foreign policy issues percolating around the world right now – who are you consulting with consistently so that you’re ready on day one?’ Trump: ‘I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain, and I’ve said a lot of things.’

Peace Lovers

Trump: ‘I’m good at war. I’ve had a lot of wars of my own. I’m really good at war. I love war in a certain way. But only when we win.’

Mexican Americans

Trump: ‘Our leaders are stupid, our politicians are stupid, and the Mexican government is much smarter, much sharper, much more cunning, and they send the bad ones over because they don’t want to pay for them, they don’t want to take care of them. Why should they, when the stupid leaders of the United States will do it for them? And that’s what’s happening, whether you like it or not.’ ‘They’re forcing people into our country … And they are drug dealers and they are criminals of all kinds. We are taking Mexico’s problems.’

Women

Trump: ‘Love him or hate him, Donald Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money.’

The Morally Concerned

Trump: ‘They asked me: “What do you think about waterboarding, Mr Trump?” I said I love it. I love it. I think it’s great.’

Vietnam Veterans

Trump (on sexually transmitted diseases): ‘I’ve been so lucky in terms of that whole world. It is a dangerous world out there – it’s scary, like Vietnam. Sort of like the Vietnam era. It is my personal Vietnam. I feel like a great and very brave soldier.’ (Trump received a physical deferment from the draft during the Vietnam War because of a problem with his foot, although he can no longer remember which foot. He was a football, squash and tennis player at the time.)

African Americans

Trump: ‘I have a great relationship with the blacks.’

Muslim Americans

Trump: ‘They’re here. And I’ve been saying. This is going to be like the Trojan horse. We’re letting tens of thousands of people flow into this country and they are bringing in, in many cases, this is cancer from within. This is something that’s going to be so tough and you know they stay together, so nobody really knows who it is, what’s happening. They are plotting. They keep plotting, and this has been going on for so long and everybody knows it …’

Michael Bloomberg

After the former Republican New York mayor endorsed Clinton at the Democratic Convention (‘Let’s elect a sane, competent person’), Trump said: ‘I was gonna hit one guy in particular, a very little guy, I was gonna hit this guy so hard, his head would spin, he wouldn’t know what the hell happened.’

The Reality-Based

Trump: ‘Isis is honouring President Obama. He is the founder of Isis. He is the founder of Isis, OK? He is the founder. He founded Isis. And I would say the cofounder would be crooked Hillary Clinton.’

The Gastronomically Inclined

Trump on McDonald’s: ‘I’m a very clean person. I like cleanliness. I think you’re better off going there than someplace you have no idea where the food is coming from. It’s a certain standard. The one thing about the big franchises: one bad hamburger, you can destroy McDonald’s. One bad hamburger, you take Wendy’s and all these other places and they’re out of business.’ He has tweeted photos of himself eating KFC chicken on his private jet and something called a ‘taco bowl’, unknown in Latin America, with the caption ‘I love Hispanics!’

Peace Lovers

Trump: ‘With nuclear, the power, the devastation is very important to me.’

The Logical

Interviewer: ‘They talk about the presidency and who has the finger on the button. The United States has not used nuclear weapons since 1945. When should it?’ Trump: ‘Well, it is an absolute last stance. And, you know, I use the word “unpredictable”. You want to be unpredictable. And somebody recently said – I made a great business deal. And the person on the other side was interviewed by a newspaper. And how did Trump do this? And they said: “He’s so unpredictable.” And I didn’t know if he meant it positively or negative. It turned out he meant it positively.’

Mothers with Babies

Trump notoriously dislikes the usual campaign practices of shaking hands, kissing babies, mingling in small crowds. He prefers to address large rallies and then fly to one of his homes at night. When a baby began crying at a rally in Virginia, he responded: ‘I love babies. I hear that baby cry, I like it. What a baby. What a beautiful baby. Don’t worry, don’t worry. The mom’s running around, like, don’t worry about it, you know. It’s young and beautiful and healthy and that’s what we want.’ Two minutes later he said: ‘Actually I was only kidding, you can get the baby out of here. I think she really believed me that I love having a baby crying while I’m speaking. That’s OK. People don’t understand. That’s OK.’

Scientists

Trump (tweets): ‘This very expensive GLOBAL WARMING bullshit has got to stop. Our planet is freezing, record low temps, and our GW scientists are stuck in ice.’ ‘Snowing in Texas and Louisiana, record-setting freezing temperatures throughout the country and beyond. Global warming is an expensive hoax!’

The Non-Violent

Trump: ‘I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools, and – you have to – and on military bases. My first day, it gets signed, OK? My first day. There’s no more gun-free zones.’

The Historically Minded

Trump (on how he would deal with terrorists, invoking General ‘Black Jack’ Pershing in the Philippines, 1909-13): ‘They were having terrorism problems, just like we do. And he caught fifty terrorists who did tremendous damage and killed many people. And he took the fifty terrorists, and he took fifty men and he dipped fifty bullets in pigs’ blood – you heard that, right? He took fifty bullets, and he dipped them in pigs’ blood. And he had his men load his rifles, and he lined up the fifty people, and they shot 49 of those people. And the fiftieth person, he said: You go back to your people, and you tell them what happened. And for 25 years, there wasn’t a problem. OK? Twenty-five years, there wasn’t a problem.’ (The story is apparently the invention of white supremacist websites.)

Peace Lovers

Trump: ‘When Iran, when they circle our beautiful destroyers with their little boats, and they make gestures at our people that they shouldn’t be allowed to make, they will be shot out of the water.’

The Educated

Trump (after winning the Nevada caucus): ‘We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated.’

Peace Lovers

Trump: ‘I know more about Isis than the generals do, believe me … I would bomb the shit out of them.’

The Non-Violent

Trump (at a rally): ‘There may be somebody with tomatoes in the audience. If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously. OK? Just knock the hell – I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees.’

Gold Star Mothers

Gold Star Mothers, since World War One, has honoured the parents of those who died in combat. (Now that the Boy Scouts admit gays, it may be the last sacrosanct organisation in the USA.) The emotional highpoint of the Democratic Convention was the appearance of the parents of US Army Captain Humayun Khan, who was killed in 2004 by a car bomb in Iraq. Criticising Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims, Khizr Khan said: ‘Donald Trump, you are asking Americans to trust you with our future. Let me ask you: Have you even read the US Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy … Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery? Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one.’ Trump struck back, and continued to criticise the Khans for weeks. ‘I was viciously attacked on the stage, and I have a right to answer back.’ As for sacrifices, he said: ‘I think I’ve made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I’ve created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. I’ve had tremendous success. I think I’ve done a lot.’ Humayun Khan’s grave at Arlington has become a tourist attraction.

Women

Trump: ‘If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband, what makes her think she can satisfy America?’

Chinese Americans

Trump: ‘When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it. Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength.’

The Humorless

Trump: ‘[Saudi Arabians] take such advantage of us with the oil … and they laugh at this country.’ ‘I know many of the people in China, I know many of the big business people, and they’re laughing at us.’ ‘The world is laughing at us.’ ‘After Syria, our enemies are laughing!’ ‘Mexican leadership has been laughing at us for many years.’ ‘The Persians are great negotiators. They are laughing at the stupidity of the deal we’re making.’ ‘We can’t afford to be so nice and so foolish anymore. Our country is in trouble. Isis is laughing at us.’

Veterans

Trump: ‘You know something very nice just happened to me. A man came up to me and he handed me his Purple Heart. He said: “That’s my real Purple Heart. I have such confidence in you.” And I said: “Man, that’s like big stuff. I’ve always wanted to get the real Purple Heart. This was much easier.”’ The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the military wounded or killed in combat. After the rally, the man told reporters that it was actually a copy of a Purple Heart.

Vietnam Veterans

Trump (on John McCain): ‘He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, OK? I hate to tell you. He’s a war hero because he was captured, OK?’ (McCain has since endorsed Trump.)

Scientists

Trump (tweet): ‘The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive.’ Asked by an interviewer to explain, he said: ‘I know much about climate change. I’d be – received environmental awards. And I often joke that this is done for the benefit of China. Obviously, I joke. But this is done for the benefit of China, because China does not do anything to help climate change. They burn everything you could burn; they couldn’t care less. They have very – you know, their standards are nothing. But they – in the meantime, they can undercut us on price. So it’s very hard on our business.’

The Morally Concerned

Trump: ‘The other thing with the terrorists is you have to take out their families, when you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families. They care about their lives, don’t kid yourself. When they say they don’t care about their lives, you have to take out their families.’ Rand Paul (responding at a Republican debate): ‘If you are going to kill the families of terrorists, realise that there’s something called the Geneva Convention we’re going to have to pull out of.’

The Mathematically Precise

Trump has tweeted that homicide statistics show that 81 per cent of murdered whites are killed by blacks. According to the FBI, 82 per cent of murdered whites are killed by whites.

Neocons

In August, fifty major Republican leaders and cheerleaders of the Contra War, the invasion of Afghanistan, the War on Terror and the Iraq War signed an open letter unironically stating that Trump ‘would be a dangerous president and would put at risk our country’s national security and well-being … Mr Trump lacks the character, values and experience to be president. He weakens US moral authority as the leader of the free world. He appears to lack basic knowledge about and belief in the US Constitution, US laws and US institutions.’ Neocons are particularly alarmed by Trump’s isolationism, his support of and by Vladimir Putin, eagerness to withdraw from Nato and most international defence and trade agreements, his mafia-style protection racket proposal to have nations pay for their defence, and his real estate wheeler-dealer-style proposal – take it or get nothing – to only pay back a percentage of the national debt.

Women

Trump interrupted Clinton 51 times during the first debate.

The Bush Family

George Sr and Barbara have privately told friends they’re voting for Clinton. Laura has ‘hinted’ to the press that she supports Clinton. George Jr will not endorse anyone. Jeb recently said that it ‘would be a pretty powerful political statement’ if ‘everybody didn’t vote’ this year.

Peace Lovers

Trump supports nuclear weapons for South Korea and Japan: ‘And frankly, the case could be made, that let them protect themselves against North Korea. They’d probably wipe them out pretty quick … And if they fight, you know what, that would be a terrible thing, terrible. Good luck folks, enjoy yourself. If they do, they do.’

Tax-Payers

In the first debate, when Clinton speculated that Trump had not released his tax returns because they would show that he doesn’t pay any taxes, he interrupted to say: ‘That makes me smart.’ A week later, it was revealed that Trump took a loss of over $900 million on his 1995 returns, meaning he probably had to pay no taxes for the next 18 years. Rudolph Giuliani, Trump’s most ubiquitous supporter, commented: ‘The man’s a genius. He knows how to operate the tax code for the people that he’s serving. Don’t you think a man who has this kind of economic genius is a lot better for the United States than a woman … ?’

The Overweight

At the debate, Trump walked into Clinton’s trap when she mentioned Alicia Machado, Miss Universe 1996, whom Trump had called ‘Miss Piggy’ for gaining weight at the time and ‘Miss Housekeeping’ because she is Latina. Trump cannot stand to be criticised by someone he considers a ‘loser’ and Machado was on television telling tales of Trump’s humiliation of her twenty years ago. Five days later, at three in the morning, Trump was still attacking Machado on Twitter. Further Trump ‘fat-shaming’– as they now say – remarks about movie stars (including Kim Kardashian when she was pregnant) and Trump employees were quickly uncovered by Cosmopolitan and other periodicals devoted to self-image. It is estimated that two-thirds of Americans are overweight.

Diplomats

Seventy-five former career ambassadors and retired State Department officials, who traditionally have no party affiliations, have signed a letter calling Trump ‘ignorant’ and ‘entirely unqualified’.

Hairdressers

Trump is an insult to the profession.

The Self-Made

Trump: ‘My entire life, I’ve watched politicians bragging about how poor they are, how they came from nothing, how poor their parents and grandparents were. And I said to myself, if they can stay so poor for so many generations, maybe this isn’t the kind of person we want to be electing to higher office. How smart can they be? They’re morons.’

The Modest

Trump: ‘The beauty of me is that I’m very rich.’

The Reality-Based

Trump: ‘There are at least two million, two million, think of it, criminal aliens now inside of our country, two million people, criminal aliens. We will begin moving them out day one. As soon as I take office. Day one … Day one, my first hour in office, those people are gone. And you can call it “deported” if you want. The press doesn’t like that term. You can call it whatever the hell you want. They’re gone. Beyond the two million, and there are vast numbers of additional criminal illegal immigrants who have fled, but their days have run out in this country. The crime will stop. They’re going to be gone. It will be over. They’re going out. They’re going out fast.’

The Historically Minded

Trump: ‘I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down. And I watched in Jersey City, NJ, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. Thousands of people were cheering.’ Trump (the following day, to George Stephanopoulos): ‘It was on television. I saw it. It was well covered at the time, George. Now, I know they don’t like to talk about it, but it was well covered at the time. There were people over in New Jersey that were watching it, a heavy Arab population, that were cheering as the buildings came down. Not good.’ (No one knows how Trump saw this on television.)

The Gastronomically Inclined

Richard Ford: ‘I’m sure that I could not have dinner alone with Mr Trump in my favourite restaurant in Paris. He’d ruin it.’ (In contrast, if Ford ‘decided to tell President Obama … about ordering the cod at Sur le Fil next time he’s in Paris … he’d listen and at least try to remember’.)

The Historically Minded

Rudolph Giuliani: ‘Before Obama came along, we didn’t have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attacks in the US. They all started when Clinton and Obama came into office.’

Members of Functional Families

Trump (on his daughter Ivanka): ‘She does have a very nice figure. I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.’ ‘Yeah, she’s really something, and what a beauty, that one. If I weren’t happily married and, ya know, her father…’

African Americans

Trump: ‘Our African-American communities are absolutely in the worst shape they’ve ever been in before. Ever. Ever. Ever.’ Obama: ‘You know, I think even most eight-year-olds will tell you that whole slavery thing wasn’t very good for black people.’

The Non-Violent

Trump: ‘If [Clinton] gets to pick her judges – nothing you can do, folks. Although, the Second Amendment people. Maybe there is. I don’t know.’

Traditionalists

It is almost certain that if Trump is elected, Melania Trump will be the first First Lady to have posed for softcore pornographic ‘girl on girl’ photos.

African Americans and Jews

Trump: ‘Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are little short guys that wear yarmulkes every day.’

Women

As governor of Indiana, vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence promoted and signed into law the requirement that a woman who has an abortion must hold a funeral for the foetus and pay for it.

The Reality-Based

Trump: ‘President Obama and Hillary Clinton … support the release of dangerous, dangerous, dangerous criminals from detention.’

Mexican Americans (and Language Precisionists)

Trump: ‘We will build a great wall along the southern border. And Mexico will pay for the wall. One hundred per cent. They don’t know it yet, but they’re going to pay for it. And they’re great people and great leaders but they’re going to pay for the wall. On day one, we will begin working on intangible, physical, tall, power, beautiful southern border wall.’

The Reality-Based

Trump (on Iraq): ‘You know, it used to be to the victor belong the spoils. Now, there was no victor there, believe me. There was no victor. But I always said: Take the oil.’

The Reality-Based

Deport 11 million undocumented immigrants by creating a ‘new special deportation task force’. Register all Muslims in the US in a database. ‘A total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States’. Or: ‘suspend immigration [of anyone] from areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism.’ (France? Belgium?) Or: only suspend immigration of Muslims from those areas. Or: ‘suspend immigration from regions linked with terrorism until a proven vetting method is in place.’ Vetting will ‘screen out any who have hostile attitudes toward our country or its principles, or who believe that Sharia law should supplant American law’. ‘We want to make sure we’re only admitting those into our country who support our values and love – and I mean love – our people.’

The Modest

Trump: ‘I fully think apologising’s a great thing – but you have to be wrong. I will absolutely apologise sometime in the hopefully distant future if I am ever wrong.’

The Easily Astonished

Trump: ‘I love women. They’ve come into my life. They’ve gone out of my life. Even those who have exited somewhat ungracefully still have a place in my heart. I only have one regret in the women department – that I never had the opportunity to court Lady Diana Spencer.’

The Easily Repelled

Trump: ‘My fingers are long and beautiful, as, it has been well documented, are various other parts of my body.’

Those Not Seeking Advice

Trump: ‘My IQ is one of the highest – and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure; it’s not your fault.’

FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS AT MENDOCINO COAST BOTANICAL GARDENS

A glittering display of botanical bliss

FORT BRAGG, CA – (October 28, 2016) – Come one, come all to the 7th Annual Festival of Lights at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. Each winter the Gardens transforms into a spectacular show of glittering color. This year’s Festival will run rain or shine each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening from November 25 through December 18.

Create a holiday tradition and take a stroll along the Gardens’ twinkling pathways lined with inventive displays. After dark, the Succulent Garden morphs into a fantastic underwater scene of seaweed and floating jellyfish. A sailing brig that struck nearby reefs back in 1850 is reanimated with dazzling lights amidst the Gardens’ nationally recognized Heath and Heather Collection. A visit to Santa’s workshop will delight the little ones and give families a chance to snap a keepsake photo with Santa Claus on select nights.

Warm up and wind down in a beautifully decorated tent complete with live music, local craft brews, and some of the best wine Mendocino County has to offer. The Holiday Sweets Café offers hot cocoa, cider, and homemade goodies baked by members of Friends of the Gardens.

Tickets to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens’ Festival of Lights are $10 each, children age 16 and under attend for free! The Gardens is adding a second entrance for those who have pre-purchased tickets for speedy entry. Festival tickets are available for purchase at the Gardens’ gift shop, Harvest Market in Fort Bragg, Out of This World in Mendocino, or online at www.gardenbythesea.org <http://www.gardenbythesea.org/>.

Join us at the Gardens this holiday season, where beautiful blooms and crashing waves combine with good cheer and dazzling lights for an experience you won’t soon forget.

About the 2016 Festival of Lights November 25 “ December 18, 2016 Each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 5:00 pm–7:30 pm Last entry is at 7:15 pm; lights out 7:30 pm Carts will be available until 5:30pm. Dress for winter”the event will run rain or shine! We are sorry, no dogs are allowed at Festival of Lights. General admission guest passes are not allowed for entry; an Event Ticket must be purchased as this is a fundraiser for the Gardens.

For more information on nightly musical acts, Santa's schedule, and ticket info please visit:

http://www.gardenbythesea.org/calendar/festival-of-lights-2016/

About Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens is a unique natural treasure located at 18220 North Highway 1, just two miles south of Fort Bragg and seven miles north of Mendocino. Our mission is to engage and enrich lives by displaying and conserving plants in harmony with our Northern California coastal ecosystems. This magnificent 47 acre site is one of the few public gardens located directly on the ocean’s shore. The unique environment on the Mendocino Coast makes the Gardens a wonder year-round; each changing season brings new flora and fauna. We welcome visitors and our local community to experience the rugged beauty of the Mendocino Coast mixed with the peaceful tranquility of our garden by the sea. For more information, visit www.gardenbythesea.org.

MAKING AMERICA GRATEFUL AGAIN

by Thomas Henry Pope

This election will be the climax to a long, dark spell. But exhausted and offended as we all are by this campaign”a festering spectacle of defamation, falsehoods characterized as fact, and cultural fires purposefully lit by both sides, if the winners celebrate by holding spite for the losers, their policies will be destructive at a time when we need grace. And, my! We do need grace. Though for almost two years truth has been distorted beyond measure for many reasons, our earthly problems have not lessened one whit. Resource depletion (human and natural), political and economic corruption, poverty, and now climate change all press hard on our near term existence. And with 7+ billion people needing sustenance and wisdom, we can’t waste one calorie on more hate. And we have much to be grateful for. Beyond possessing extraordinary gifts such as life, consciousness, and the miracles of speech and imagination, we stand on the cusp of great potential because of the efforts of one man to seek the highest office on Earth. Regardless of what happens on November 8th, we can choose to approach the future with less confusion than ever before about things that have tormented humanity from the beginning. And what are Mr. Trump’s gifts for which we should be grateful? There are many, all related to removing the cataracts of our cultural blindness.

He has awakened us to patriarchy’s inherent subjugation of women

He has given voice to the fear Whites hold for people of color

He has articulated why learning history matters

He has damaged the asphyxiating nature of unbridled wealth

He has exposed the destructive power of media not intent on truth

He has shown the negative consequences of bullying others

He has exemplified how easy it is to normalize hatred and condescension

He has introduced us to the faces and frustration of the poor

He has encouraged those that society has trod upon to speak out

He has raised the flag about why trust in our institutions matters

He has admonished us for electing corrupt leaders

He has shown us how money is poisonous to democracy

He has warned us about the vulnerability of our Bill of Rights

He has highlighted the flaw of journalism devoid of punditry

He has quickened the debate about the consequences of intolerance

He has schooled us in the power of mob mentality

He has reintroduced us to tyranny’s underbelly

Looking at this list as “so much gone wrong” is missing the greatest gift of all, which is clarity about who and what we really are as a people, a nation and a culture. As a novelist, I have never managed to invent a character so gifted as Mr. Donald John Trump. He has taken the foundation of his party, misguided as it is, and, beyond its wildest dreams laid out for all to see what work this society needs to do.

And for that, Mr. Trump’s offerings should make us grateful for generations to come. On November 9th, win or lose, let us express gratitude that our path forward is clearer than it has ever been. Like bombing for peace, hating people that hate is not a strategy. Let us all genuinely embrace those that have helped bring us to this point of clarity. That is the best medicine of all. For two hundred years, America’s unwillingness to see its faults has led our leaders to make many grave mistakes at home and around the world. Now we can turn the tide, not with embarrassment or hate, but with an optimistic heart. Our best friend has pointed the way. To waste time chastising him and his followers threatens any possible good from this difficult decade. Unless we face them with kindness and embrace our collective failings, they will continue to dog us.

(Tom Pope lives in Anderson Valley)

PLAN B

After a week of following the socio-political misery of the war over the Dakota Access Pipeline, I stare blankly at the wall in my Honolulu travel hostel room. It's about the never ending conflict that characterizes life on earth, which begs the question of what precisely one ought to be doing here, beyond fighting for what is spiritually based and good. I mean, where is the victory? Thousands of years of conflict between every imaginable contestant in every imaginable situation has not produced a peaceful satisfying basic living environment in this world. This is important. Plan B is to concentrate on controlling the mental vrittis, and live anchored in the interior spiritual center. What else is there to do? As always, I am available for frontline participation, and will accept a housing situation. What more can I say?

Craig Louis Stehr

EMAIL: CraigStehr@inbox.com