Mendocino County Today: Thursday, April 20, 2017

• Burdensome Regs
• Sword Brandishing
• Little Dog
• Big Band
• Albion Bridge
• Broken Antenna
• FB Guild
• Cannabis Permits
• Patch Gunfire
• 101 Closed
• Bali Hi
• Healdsburg Limits
• Rhododendron Show
• Cap'n Fathom
• Yesterday's Catch
• Sculpture Trail
• Mother Cards
• Andy Warhol
• Guided Meditation
• Mendocino Theatre
• Pricey POTUS
• Breakup
• Spring Concert
• Coulter Cancelled
• Jones Nuts
• Delta Plan
• Horseshoe Crab
• Monkeywrenchers Unite

JANE FUTCHER is among Mendocino County’s primary marijuana advocates. A lively woman whose grandmotherly manners doesn't so much as hint at ancient stoner stereotypes. But as close as she is to the local industry, Ms. Futcher seems surprised by the bureaucratic hoop-jumping and costs associated with complying with the new Mendo (and state) regs for legally growing (medical) pot.

MS F interviewed a small-scale pot grower named Hoskins on KZYX’s news show Tuesday. Hoskins explained that permit and licensing fees are financially burdensome to many small local farmers. “Lots of small farmers have other expenses to get compliance,” Hoskins said, “when there are other things money could be better spent on on the [pot] farm.”

ON TOP of everything else, the new rules add an expensive track and trace program that imposes costs on everything growers ship. Hoskins thought the track and trace cost and requirement could wait until the state rolls their program out.

FUTCHER, as if she hadn't heard what he said, then asked Hoskins if the cost of compliance was burdensome? Of course it is, especially to small cultivators. Lots of small growers are becoming “dissuaded,” said Hoskins. Futcher then asked if the new rules were making it “harder for underground farmers to sell their wares [sic].” (Jane! Wake up!)

HOSKINS said that Mendo’s limit of 10,000 square feet (100 x 100 feet) would, however, help Mendo brand itself as a “small craft pot community,” adding that while track and trace will allow Mendo pot to be recognized outside Mendocino County (with presumably higher boutique prices), it won’t help in the short run if it discourages farmers from coming into compliance.

WE DIDN'T CATCH the name of a lady from a pot retail operation who offered the highly dubious statement that most of Mendo’s small cultivators are single, older white women with $38k of annual income, and that compliance with the new rules costs more than half their income. The retailer also noted that Colorado now has two big industrial grows providing much of their recently legalized pot, which is “tragic.” She said that Mendo’s decision to give small “cottage growers” a price break on track and trace helps, but that it’s just another cost on top of hundreds and hundreds other costs, and for growers making between $35 and $40k it is “just untenable.”

THE POT RETAILER said that most local pot farmers fall into the 35-40k class. And they will not join the program because it’s fiscally untenable. “Why not stay illegal?” she correctly asked.

THIS SITUATION has been obviously building up for the last two years piece by piece, brick by brick. And it’s only going to get worse. Ms. Futcher has interviewed lots of pot experts on her KZYX show “The Cannabis Hour” over the last year or so and they have all made it quite clear that not only are their services expensive but the things they tell their pot growing clients to do are also expensive. So you’d think that Ms. Futcher is aware of the problem.

THE COLORADO MARIJUANA MODEL is certainly one possibility to emulate in mellow Mendo, but we think something akin to the wine model is more likely here: Small growers will not be able to handle all the paperwork and compliance costs individually, so they will contract with an intermediary — such as Duckhorn or Kendall-Jackson in the wine industry — who will handle all that for them — but the contracts will include pot prices set by the intermediate distributor; the small grower — especially those who have borrowed money to get compliant — will be squeezed to the point of selling out to the intermediate distributor who will soon acquire most of the small parcels, each with 10k square feet of pot (or more since there will probably be minimal enforcement for the big distributors who pay big fees and big taxes and have expensive attorneys and realtors and push the limits).

MAYBE MS. FUTCHER will do a show on how capitalism will wreck the legal small pot economy in Mendo, and how the people who think that going legal is a great idea might look back on the outlaw times as the good old days. (— Mark Scaramella)

KELLI LYNN ADAMS of Boonville was held to answer on four counts this afternoon, Wednesday, April 19th for her ongoing harassment of Suzan Topales, also of Boonville – chiefly for assaulting Ms. Topales with a deadly weapon, a cane sword, out in front of the Mosswood Market on November 8th, last Election Day.

Suzan Topales already had a civil restraining order against Kelli Adams – it had originally been a criminal protective order – when Adams came down Mountain View Road and crossed to the other side of the street where Ms. Topales and her boyfriend Robert Rosen were on their front porch talking with a friend, and Adams, who was brandishing a baseball bat, started screaming threats and insults at them; coming right up to the fence in blatant violation of the restraining order.

This first incident was count four, violating a restraining order.

Then came count three, again violating the restraining order, about an hour later, after Topales had gone to her shop in the Farrer Building, and was subsequently out on the sidewalk, going to check her mail at the Post Office. She stopped briefly to exchange pleasantries with a friend, had just said good-bye, and turned towards the Post Office and there was Kelli Adams, who raised the sword cane to a striking position and screamed, “I’m going to kick your ass!”

Topales said she ran back to her shop (through the Farmhouse Mercantile store in the Farrer buildling) to get away from Adams, and called the sheriff’s office a second time – she’d called earlier, when Adams approached them brandishing the bat, and said she thought Kelli had gone to Shorty’s house (Kelli’s grandfather). This time Deputy Clegg arrived and took a statement from Topales, then went down the street and found Kelli Adams, who showed him where she’d stashed the cane in front of the church (it wasn’t clear which church, since nobody asked, but apparently it was the old Methodist church to the west, not the new one to the east on Highway 128).

Count two was possession of a deadly weapon while on probation – the blade on the sword being about two feet long, and hidden in the cane, is considered a deadly weapon under California state law; and, as to count one, assault with a deadly weapon, you don't actually have to strike someone with it, much less pull the sword out of the sheath/cane.

(This is just a preliminary report on a breaking news story; we'll have the full story with more particulars in next week’s print edition. — Bruce McEwen)

LITTLE DOG SAYS, “These naysayers said I was too small and too old to do this. I showed them!”

BIG BAND MUSIC FOR THE MASSES $10

This Saturday, April 22nd, 7PM @ Mendocino Hotel in the Garden Room, Bob Ayres and the Swingin' Boonville Big Band will bring joy to you jazz lovers and recruit some rock and rollers and blues folks into our camp for the night. Dance floor will be limited, but we will cobble something together. We have to; we can't prevent people from dancing! 3 sets 7-10PM Friendly door dragons. $10

ALBION RIVER BRIDGE HISTORIC DESIGNATION: COMMENTS DUE BY APRIL 25TH

Hi Neighbors,

Here are some important updates regarding Caltrans’ plans to replace the Salmon Creek and Albion River Bridges, as well as significantly widen Highway 1 from Navarro Ridge Road to Albion Ridge Road. This is a roughly $100 million construction project that could have significant impacts on traffic, businesses, and the environment in the Albion area.

Albion River Bridge historic designation

The Albion River Bridge has been nominated for historic landmark status.

On May 10, the nomination will be heard by the state Office of Historic Preservation at a hearing in Pasadena. The office welcomes comments regarding this nomination. Comments in favor or against should be sent by April 25 to:

State Historic Preservation Officer
Office of Historic Preservation
1725 23rd St., Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95816-7100

For the Historic Landmark Application which was prepared by Albion resident and architect John Johansen click here: http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=24368

Scroll down to “Albion River Bridge,” then click the link to open the PDF of the application. Here is the application's abbreviated summary paragraph:

"The Albion River Bridge is a rare example of a timber deck over combination steel and timber truss bridge. It is the only surviving bridge of its type in the California state highway system. It was constructed during WW II, when strategic material shortages required innovative engineering design. With its historic integrity entirely intact, the Albion River Bridge stands today, exactly as it was built."

These updates come to you from the Albion Community Advisory Board (ACAB). ACAB’s mission is to review studies on the Albion River and Salmon Creek Bridges and their Highway 1 approaches, and to summarize and present these to the Mendocino Coast community. When there are important developments, we hold monthly meetings and make announcements here. We hope to see you in Mendocino this Thursday.

Jim Heid, President, ACAB

STORM IMPAIRS KMUD RADIO SIGNAL

High winds on April 11 are the cause of signal impairment for Redwood Community Radio’s KLAI (90.3 FM). Strong winds had broken off one antenna completely, and severely damaged a second one. The antennas were part of a three antenna array that serves Northern Mendocino and parts of Southern Humboldt county. The installation is on a tower high atop Cahto Peak west of Laytonville. KLAI is a repeater for KMUD, the non-commercial station licensed to Garberville. KMUD started broadcasting in 1987, and KLAI started as a low power translator, financed and installed largely by volunteers in the early 1990s. The installation also transmits Radio Bilingue, a non-commercial radio network based in Fresno, California, on their station KVUH, 88.5 FM. The two radio stations share equipment and the antenna array. Radio Bilingue has programs in Spanish and English, music and news. The two organizations jointly installed the equipment in 2006, at the same time increasing the KLAI signal to 500 watts, and KVUH to 1,000 watts. KMUD provides daily local and regional news at 6 pm, and call-in talk shows six days a week and a vast range of music. Community support is critical to keep both stations on the air. The stations will be reinstalling antennas as soon as possible. It may take several weeks for equipment to arrive, also tower climbers need dry and calm days to complete their work. For more information see http://kmud.org and http://radiobilingue.org. You can see photos of the tower and the damaged antennas on the KMUD website. Both stations also broadcast on the internet.

‘JUMPING ON A MOVING TRAIN’

Cannabis Cultivators Pack Ag Workshop

County and state agencies explain permit process

by Jane Futcher

More than 100 cannabis cultivators jammed into the Long Valley Garden Club Wednesday morning for a workshop on how to apply for a county permit to grow cannabis.

The Laytonville workshop, one of four sponsored by the County of Mendocino Department of Agriculture April 19 and 20, featured speakers from several county departments as well as reps from five state agencies.

Diane Curry, Interim County Ag Commissioner, said she was very pleased with the Laytonville workshop.

“I thought it was fantastic.,” Curry said afterwards. “There was a lot of information given to the cultivators, which I think they needed to know. I’m glad people showed up.

“The message I got is that even the water boards and Fish and Wildlife, we all want to facilitate getting the cultivators in the program and help them get through this maze of bureaucracy and red tape. It’s like jumping on a moving train, and we’re all trying to catch up.”

Farmer Will Porter of Rusty Shovel Ranch on Bell Springs Road said he learned a lot in the three-hour meeting.

“The biggest thing for me was that I met a State Water Board member that I’ve never met before,” Porter said. “And I had three pages of questions for him. Also, I got to see seven agencies getting up and talking about cannabis together. It was very integrated. They all referenced each other. They knew each other much more than I would expect considering they were from competing bureaucracies.”

Porter said most of the water board people that he’s worked with are with North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (NCRWQCB), and that agency is primarily interested in where an owner’s water is going and what the quality of the water is. “This person was really interested in you as a property, where your water’s coming from; do you even know if you own it? To actually sit down with somebody who knows what the jargon means was really helpful,” Porter said.

One confusing aspect of growing medical cannabis legally is that sign-offs or permits are required not only from the Mendocino’s Ag Department but, in many cases, from other state and county departments. For example, CalFire must sign off on county building permit applications for new or unpermitted structures on cultivation sites, examining roadways and setbacks as well as vegetation around the building. The NCRWQCB requires cultivators apply for water-discharge waivers; and the State Water Board requires water-use permits. If a cultivator irrigates by diverting from a lake or streamed or wetland, they must apply for a Fish and Wildlife permit.

Adding to the confusion is that every agency has a different deadline. For example, a cultivation application to the County Ag Department may be submitted any time before Dec. 31, 2017. But applications to the State Water Resources Control Board are due July 1.

The county has assured applicants that it will try to be flexible with cultivators as they grapple with the new, and in some cases, not-yet-written cultivation rules.

Lynn, a cultivator from “northeast of Covelo,” who did not give her last name, said the meeting was “somewhat overwhelming, but mostly quite helpful.

“It feels like there’s really an attitude in the departments of cooperation,” Lynn said. “It’s a process, and we’re in the middle of it and it isn’t all perfect.”

Some of the most stringent water regulations were outlined by California Fish and Wildlife’s Angela Liebenberg. To protect coho salmon and steelhead and the state’s fresh waterways, her agency requires approval if a cultivator is diverting from a pond, wetland, stream or wet area. “Digging out springs is not OK,” she said. “If you have a pond, you must be able to drain down your pond. You need a spillway or overflow designed by an engineer.”

Since county cannabis permits are now handled by the Ag Department, the Sheriff’s Department will only get involved with enforcement if nuisance complaints are filed or criminal violations have occurred at the property.

“There is no more 25 plants unless you are in the program,” said Undersheriff Randy Johnson. “You can have 100 square feet on 10 acres as a patient or 200 square feet total if you are a caregiver.” Johnson said zip ties are no longer accepted as proof of compliance.

Curry said she thinks the biggest hurdle for the Ag Department is knowing how many people are going to enroll in the program.

“That’s a number we can only guesstimate. I don’t want to bring on staff who will just to be sitting there, but I also want to be prepared so that if we have an onslaught we can take care of that. I’m really looking forward to working with the cultivators. So far, they’re great people and, you know, just another crop to grow.”

Curry said anyone who missed the Ag Department workshops can see videotapes of the Willits and Ukiah workshops on the department’s Web site and on YouTube. To get an application or to schedule a sit-down meeting with an Ag staff member to discuss the application, call the department at 707 234-6830 or contact www.co.mendocino.ca.us.

(Jane Futcher is the host of The Cannabis Hour on KZYX.)

OUTTA MY PATCH!

On 04/18/2017, at approximately 6:55 AM, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call that a 19 year old Native American male, had arrived at the Covelo Fire Department, driving his own vehicle, suffering from at least one gunshot wound to the torso. The victim was treated medically and later evacuated to an out of area hospital, where he is listed in stable condition. Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies responded and were able to ascertain that the victim had driven to a friend's residence, located in the 79800 block of Zenia Road in Covelo. The property is residential land belonging to the Round Valley Indian Tribes. Once at the residence, the victim was confronted by a Hispanic male, later identified as Paulino Perez Marin, 47, of Santa Rosa.

Marin was armed with a rifle and started yelling at the victim. The victim started to leave the location in his vehicle and while doing so Marin fired multiple rounds at the victim. Numerous rounds struck the victim's vehicle, with at least one round striking the victim in the upper torso. After the location was identified, the Mendocino County Interagency SWAT Team, Sheriff's Investigative Services, Patrol Deputies and members of the County of Mendocino Marijuana Eradication Team responded. The suspect was not located, however Detectives, in the process of serving a search warrant, were able to ascertain the identity of the suspect and located evidence that was consistent with the statements made by the victim. It was determined that the suspect was in the process of setting up a commercial marijuana growing operation at the location. 788 marijuana plants were eradicated and there was no evidence that the marijuana operation was for medical purposes or allowable under state and county guidelines. The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office is seeking the suspect and information as to his whereabouts. Any persons with knowledge of this crime are encouraged to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office at (707) 463-4086, or the Tip Line at (707) 234-2100.}

OH, HIGHWAY 101 IS GOING TO BE CLOSED A BIT LONGER

by Andrew Goff

The picture tells the story. Highway 101 has been eaten.

Caltrans gave an update Wednesday on the status of the section of Highway 101 north of Leggett which has been closed due to the gnarly slide since early Monday.

“We expect the highway to remain closed for at least the next couple of days,” Caltrans officials said. “Any rumors you may hear of one-way traffic control today will be false.”

Again, get to know and love I-5. LoCO will keep an eye on this thing.

(Courtesy, LostCoastOutpost.com)

THE GOOD SHIP MENDO IS TEMPORARILY RUDDERLESS WHILE COUNTY CEO TAKES THE WATERS IN BALI

HEALDSBURG CITY COUNCIL IS POISED TO LIMIT THE NUMBER, LOCATION OF TASTING ROOMS — more than 30 tasting rooms downtown. Why? They make commercial rents skyrocket for everybody else (among other things).

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/6902191-181/healdsburg-city-council-is-poised

NOBODY GREW 'EM LIKE VERN PIVER, NOBODY!

Your rhododendrons blooming?

Are your rhododendrons in bloom? Why not enter a truss or several in the largest Rhody Show on the West Coast? The 40th Annual John Druecker Memorial Rhododendron Show takes place this weekend (April 22 and 23) at the Botanical Gardens. All rhody growers are welcome to enter their best trusses for judging! Those wishing to participate should bring their entries to the big white tent on the south end of the main parking lot at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens on TOMORROW (April 20) from 5:00pm to 7:00pm or FRIDAY, April 21 from 9:00am to 1:00pm. You will be greeted by members from the Noyo Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society who can assist in identifying your rhododendrons and filling out entry forms. Judges will award ribbons and trophies to top entries in a wide range of categories! Photos from last year’s Rhody Show:

http://www.gardenbythesea.org/visit/photo-gallery/annual-rhododendron-show/

A HALE AND HEARTY CAP'N FATHOM VISITS FORT BRAGG

CATCH OF THE DAY, April 19, 2017

DANIEL BUTLER, Ukiah. Refusal to ID self, county parole violation.

AMBER FRENCH, Battery, failure to appear.

ADAN GARCIA, Talmage. Drunk in public.

AMANDA GARCIA, Covelo. Failure to appear.

VICENTE GONZALEZ, Willits. Assault with deadly weapon not a gun, vandalism, failure to appear.

CHRIS HUDDLESTON, Ukiah. Drunk in public, interference with police communications.

MICHAEL JAMES, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

ADAM KENDALL, Harrison, New Jersey/Ukiah. Attempted murder, infliction of great bodily injury during commission of felony, use of weapon during commission of felony while in possession of controlled substance.

JACOB MCGREW, Redwood Valley. Suspended license, probation revocation.

THOMAS MOORE JR., Willits. DUI.

PAUL MUNOZ, Watsonville/Fort Bragg. Receiving stolen property.

RICKY PONTS, Fort Bragg. Under influence, resisting.

RAUL SOLANO-DIAZ, Ukiah. Dirk-dagger.

SCULPTURE TRAIL EXHIBIT

Cloverdale & Geyserville in Sonoma County

The arrival of new sculptors for the 2017-2018 Sculpture Trail is always greatly anticipated in Cloverdale and Geyserville. This outdoor, year-round public art event is produced by the Cloverdale Historical Society and the Geyserville Community Foundation. The new contemporary sculptures range from the humorous to thought provoking and some with a message or story.

10 new sculptures in Cloverdale and 7 new sculptures in Geyserville will be added to the sculptures already on display. The sculptures can be viewed until May 8, 2018.

The official opening of the 2017-2018 Sculpture Trail will be celebrated with exhibiting sculptors on Friday, May 19^th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. The sculptors enjoy talking about their work, so bring your questions to the artists’ reception to learn about sculpting and the sculptures on display.

The Cloverdale Performing Arts Center, 209 N. Cloverdale Blvd. is the perfect venue for the Sculpture Trail reception. Guests will be greeted on the patio with music by The Sticky Notes playing their eclectic mix of acoustic music best described as "Blues, Americana and Beyond." Awaiting In the lobby will be an array of light foods, dessert by the Flour Girl, Wilson wines and craft drinks by Young & Yonder Distillers. In the theatre a continuous video will provide an insight into the world of the exhibiting sculptors; watch the sculptors working and the scope of their artistic creations.

During the evening the sculptors will be introduced and winners recognized. Don’t miss this free community event.

ANNUAL MOTHER’S DAY CARD

Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County

Mother’s Day, May 14, 2017, is quickly approaching! The Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County offers a wonderful way for you to honor your mother, a woman you admire, or any woman in your life with whom you’d like to share your love. For each donation of $25, the Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County will send a card with this beautiful image by 2014 Ukiah High School photography student Kiona King.

Inside each card reads: “May your Mother’s Day be filled with love and happiness! A donation to the Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County has been made in your name”

Order your Mother’s Day cards by May 8th to ensure delivery!

To pay via Pay Pal, visit www.crcmendocino.org You can always call in an order to 707-937-3833 or stop by one of the offices located at 45040 Calpella Street, Mendocino or 590 South Dora Street, Ukiah.

SIX BULLETS FOR ANDY WARHOL

by Manuel Vicent

Translated by Louis S. Bedrock

He invented frivolity as aesthetic attitude to life and determined that the essence of things is merely in the packaging. This designer was Andy Warhol, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1928, son of a coal miner who was a Slovak migrant. After being baptized in a Byzantine Catholic rite, the youngster contracted Saint Vitus Dance at the age of 13, which caused his four limbs to move uncontrollably.

Ostracized by his school companions because of the unusual pigmentation of his skin, confined to his bed for a long period of time, and over-protected by his mother, little Andy found his only escape in comic book heroes and pamphlets with the faces of Hollywood, a mythomania from which he would never recover.

It’s not clear if he ever recovered from Saint Vitus Dance syndrome if one bears in mind that from the time he moved to New York in 1949, he didn’t stop moving for the rest of his life among a frantic gathering of aristocrats, eccentrics, mad artists, bohemians, drug addicts, models, and other birds of paradise, each of whom, as the Guru of Modernity, he began to award the 15 minutes of fame to which he or she was entitled, and for which some of these creatures were disposed to kill or die for. This would happen.

At first, Andy Warhol devoted himself to advertising, to illustrating magazines and drawing ads for shoes; but there was a moment in which, contemplating a bottle of Coca Cola, a can of soup, or the face of Marilyn, he had a First Revelation. He thought that certain figures and commercial products were true icons of American life and it was necessary to introduce them into the sacred realm of culture and art.

The pop-art he had just invented needed a philosophical foundation and with a complete and grand impudence he tossed to the world this manifesto: Coca Cola makes all people equal. “In America the millionaires buy essentially the same things as the poor. No amount of money in the world can help you find a better Coca Cola than the one the beggar on the corner is drinking. All Coca Colas are the same. Liz Taylor knows it, the president knows it, the beggar knows it, and you know it.”

His philosophy about the surface of things was presented in society in 1954 with an exposition called The American Supermarket at the gallery of Paul Bianchini on the Upper East Side. It was set up as a grocery store with paintings and posters of soups, meats, fish, fruit, and soft drinks mixed with these same real products on shelves. The difference was in the price. A can of soup is a dollar in reality and cost two thousand in the representation. Today a dollar is a dollar, but if the bill is painted by Warhol it’s worth six million dollars at an auction.

Andy continued adding more American icons to art: the electric chair, the revolver, police charges against demonstrators for human rights, cars, cans of Campbell soup, the faces of Hollywood celebrities, while all around him was condensing a group of strange beings who were half human and the rest fiction or decoration. They all congregated around his studio, the famous Factory, on 47th Street and 7th Avenue, with its wallpaper made completely of aluminum.

The artist made a qualitative leap after the extraordinary case of a 1964 exposition in Philadelphia when the paintings didn’t arrive at the gallery on time because of a transportation mishap. The public filled this room with bare walls and Andy, watching from the mezzanine, discovered that the space resembled a fish tank filled with crustaceans that moved around in a San Vitus dance stimulated by themselves—the only source of energy. No one cared about the paintings. The only thing fueling the expectation was the presence of the artist surrounded by his creatures, whom everyone was trying to imitate.

In that moment, Warhol had his second revelation. The only way to exist is to be reflected in somebody else’s mirror. If a Coca Cola or a can of Campbell’s soup is an American icon, why not he? What he had painted was not important. His true creation was that group of strange beings that had managed to gather among the four walls and who didn’t look in any way like the other inhabitants of New York, only like each other, as if they were a tribe.

With faces whitened by rice powder, red crests adorned by marabou feathers, anorexic bodies tiled with colored crystals, those who formed this tribe included Valerie Solanas, a radical feminist who was raped by her father and wound up lost and wandering the streets of Manhattan from the age of 15—and who had written a script called Up Your Ass; Edie Sedgwick, the daughter of a California millionaire, born on a 3,000 acre ranch, who landed in New York as a model with all her amphetamine beauty, and was taken in by her grandmother who lived in a 14 room apartment on Park Avenue; singer-songwriter Nico, the actress Viva, Gerald Malanga, Ultra Violet, Freddie Herko, Frangeline, the writer John Giorno, the filmmaker Jack Smith, the musical group—The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, the Chelsea girls, and the rest of the anonymous, grimy youngsters that entered and exited The Factory, many of whom only wanted to piss upon the copper plates to produce unexpected nuances in the engravings through the oxidation of their urine. Upon these engravings, they sometimes added strawberry marmalade, melted chocolate, or human semen. It was a part of their quarter of an hour of fame.

This frantic rush toward the Void fueled by the underground movies, the experiments with drugs, sex in the elevators, cries in the night, and overdoses in the bathrooms that constituted modernity in the sixties came to an abrupt end on June 3, 1968, when a stressed out Valerie Solanas entered The Factory with the intention of getting Warhol to return the script she had given to him. He did not want to film it as it seemed too obscene, but the truth is that he had lost it.

Up your ass. It was enough for Valerie to take out a revolver, the very one the artist had painted as an icon, and empty the entire cylinder—all six bullets. One of them passed through Warhol’s body and almost sent him to his grave, a fate from which he was rescued by a surgical procedure that lasted five hours. The scars from this operation were converted into a poster.

“He had too much control over my life,” said Valerie during her trial.

But fame always finds someone else even more well known. This event was overshadowed by the assassination of Bobby Kennedy a few days later. The Saint Vitus Dance came to an end. From that moment on, Warhol looked like a man made of cardboard said the birds of Paradise that fluttered above his silver wig.

What’s more, Edie Sedgwich also destroyed herself. One morning she was found lifeless in her bed from an overdose of barbiturates. Only Basquiuat, the black graffiti artist Warhol had rescued, rose to glory.

Being always visible, and forging lovely packaging for the spirit was what carried Warhol through the world of art. For this reason, the artist also designed his own funeral, which was celebrated in the Byzantine Church of the Holy Spirit in Pittsburgh on the 22 of February, 1987.

The coffin was solid bronze with four silver handles. Warhol was decked out in a black cashmere suit, a printed tie, a silver wig, pink-framed sunglasses, with a small breviary and a red flower in his hands. According to accounts, his friend Paige Powell dropped into the coffin an issue of the magazine Interview and a bottle of Beautiful perfume by Estée Lauder.

She could have added a can of Campbell soup, a one dollar bill, a Coca Cola, and a revolver. All that is America.

EASY OVER SPIRITUALITY

Re: MCSL Spiritual Practices Evening: Earth Blessing Meditation with Patti Angeletti (Coast Listserve)

Carolyne & George Cathey:

Spiritual Practices Evening: Earth Blessing Meditation with Patti Angeletti, Wednesday April 19th 7pm.

This one hour guided Meditation is truly special. It works on the physical, mental, and spiritual levels to open the heart chakra (the emotional heart) and the crown chakra (the spiritual heart), thereby enabling you to draw down a great amount of high-quality divine energy to bless the earth during this time of challenge. Donations greatly appreciated.

Marco McClean:

Here's something cosmic-wow-worthy. Literally moments before I read your event notice I had googled spiritual lorem ipsum generator and found the following quantum improvement upon the old Deepak-Chopra-saying generator. It's the generic spiritual bullshit generator: http://sebpearce.com/bullshit/

(Once there, click Re-ionize Electrons button -top center- for another spiritual revelation of the divine energy, and another, and another, and so on. It's great fun.)

Here's the generated page I'm looking at right now (minus the also-random HDR nature image, which in this case is a slow-shutter-speed ghostly watercourse among mossy rocks):

* * *

Reality has always been bursting with dreamers whose chakras are opened by aspiration. Throughout history, humans have been interacting with the quantum cycle via molecular structures. We are at a crossroads of will and stagnation.

Suffering is the antithesis of coherence. Where there is yearning, rejuvenation cannot thrive. You may be ruled by bondage without realizing it. Do not let it destroy the knowledge of your path.

Have you found your circuit? It can be difficult to know where to begin. Although you may not realize it, you are cosmic. We are being called to explore the galaxy itself as an interface between insight and serenity.

Soon there will be an ennobling of life-force the likes of which the dreamscape has never seen. The Goddess will give us access to pranic wisdom. The metamorphosis of passion is now happening worldwide.

Who are we? Where on the great vision quest will we be awakened? Our conversations with other adventurers have led to an unveiling of ultra-authentic consciousness. We are in the midst of an endless deepening of freedom that will be a gateway to the world itself.

By condensing, we vibrate.

* * *

So by simply condensing at the gateway of the world, we become our own vibrator! There's a great deal of truth in that, depending on what you imagine words mean.

SEXY, SMART & WILDLY FUNNY!

Opening this Thursday, April 20th is Mendocino Theatre Company's production of Liz Duffy Adams' fast-paced comedy OR, (that's right--an "O" and an "R" and a comma), directed by Betty Abramson. 17th century London was never so hilarious! Or, play Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm and select Sundays at 2pm through May 28th in the Mendocino Theatre Company's Helen Schoeni Theatre on the campus of the Mendocino Art Center. Tickets are available online <http://mendocinotheatre.org/single-tickets/>, or by calling our box office at 707-937-4477. Find out more about the play HERE <http://mendocinotheatre.org/or-by-liz-duffy-adams/>. Join us for Gala Opening Night on Saturday, April 22nd. Tickets include Roederer bubbly, upscale "pub food" by Summer Makovkin, delectable desserts by Julia Carson, and a post-show meet-and-greet with the cast, crew and director.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

I would say Trump is making America less safe. But to your point: Obama took a break for a couple of hours to play basketball and then went back to work. Obama did not fly to Florida for days, at a cost of millions of dollars. When Obama played basketball it did not cost the country millions of dollars; Obama playing basketball did not involve the Coast Guard. Obama and Michelle lived together as a married couple in love. Michelle was not off living somewhere else costing additional millions of dollars in security.

SPRING CONCERT

Redwood Community Chorus
May 12, 7 p.m., May 13, 2 p.m.
Mendocino Presbyterian Church
44831 Main Street, Mendocino

This free program includes "Distant Land," a song written after the the fall of the Berlin Wall and the release of Nelson Mandela. Three songs feature the poetry of James Agee, Emily Dickinson, including Robert Burns' "Red Red Rose." Pieces about big skies and flight are included, together with a Shaker Lullaby. Another song, "Unicornis Captivatur," is a compilation of medieval chants dating from the year 1400. Join us for a wonderful celebration of Spring. Admission is free. A donation is requested. It's a perfect treat for Mother's Day. See you there!

UC BERKELEY ORDERS CANCELLATION OF ANN COULTER SPEECH

by Nanette Asimov

UC Berkeley administrators canceled a scheduled speech by right-wing pundit Ann Coulter, saying they can’t protect participants from rioting if that happens — but the students who invited her, and Coulter herself, said Wednesday that she’ll come anyway and speak on or off campus.

If she does show up on April 27, “we will continue to do what is necessary to provide safety and security for the campus community and our neighbors,” said Dan Mogulof, a campus spokesman. He would not elaborate.

The stand-off began Wednesday after vice chancellors Scott Biddy and Stephen Sutton emailed the student groups co-hosting the event — the Berkeley College Republicans and BridgeUSA, which gets students with political differences to listen to each other — to say the event was off until September at the earliest.

“We have been unable to find a safe and suitable venue for your planned April 27 event featuring Ann Coulter,” the administrators wrote. “In the wake of events surrounding the planned appearance by (right-wing speaker) Milo Yiannopoulos in February, as well as several riots which have occurred in recent weeks in the city of Berkeley, we have increased our scrutiny regarding the time and location of high-profile speakers so that these events can go forward unimpeded.”

Students said the cancellation made them angry because they had cooperated with administrators’ previous insistence that high-profile speakers end their talks by 3 p.m. And while they had negotiated to win an extra half hour, they’d also gotten Coulter to take an earlier flight. Now, they said, they won’t accept the cancellation.

“No matter what, she’s coming to Berkeley - despite UC Berkeley’s attempts to silence and suppress her right to come to campus,” said Naweed Tahmas, 20, of the Berkeley College Republicans. “We are preparing with attorneys on how to proceed.”

Coulter tweeted her reactions Wednesday: “No school accepting public funds can ban free speech.”

And: “Instructing Berkeley student group to spare no expense in renting my speaking venue — part of my legal damages.”

And: “I acceded to Berkeley’s every silly demand (never made of lib speakers). Called their bluff & they canceled anyway.”

Spencer Brown, spokesman for Young America’s Foundation, which sponsors conservative speakers on college campuses and is paying $17,000 of Coulter’s $20,000 speaker’s fee, said the event will go forward — “whether Berkeley likes it or not.”

Asked where the speech would take place, Brown said, “we are pursuing all remedies available.” Campus spaces are free — but all filled up, according to administrators — while off-campus sites would probably charge a fee.

Young America’s Foundation accused UC Berkeley of anti-conservative bias. “This is as clear-cut a case as it gets that public universities are using taxpayer dollars to shut down conservative speech, while allowing liberal speech only,” the group declared.

The accusation comes as state lawmakers debate a Republican-sponsored bill that would ban colleges and universities from taking actions that would stifle students’ expression. On Wednesday, the bill, SB472, passed the Senate Education Committee with a 7-0 vote. It now heads to a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee next week.

Since President Trump’s inauguration in January, a debate about free speech has emerged at UC Berkeley in a way that hasn’t happened since the campus Free Speech Movement of the 1960s.

Left-leaning student protesters say they have a right to shut down hate speech of the kind they say Yiannopoulos and Coulter engage in that target individuals or groups of people.

Both specialize in making people squirm with insulting talk. This month, Coulter tweeted: “N Korea will make nuke capable of hitting Seattle! Situation will be dire as soon as they can hit a city worth saving.”

She told conservative talk-show host Tucker Carlson the other day that she was puzzled at the U.S. missile retaliation against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad for his chemical weapons attack on Syrian children and other citizens. She said, “For that region of the world, Assad is one of the better leaders — there’s probably only one or two that are better than he. He’s not even like a Saddam Hussein murderous thug.”

On Feb. 1, as students protested the Yiannopoulos talk, masked agitators caused $100,000 of damage on campus — smashing windows and setting police equipment ablaze — to stop the speaker from delivering an anti-immigration, pro-Trump talk.

Conservative students say the speakers they invite have a right to express themselves without being muzzled by critics.

Pranav Jandhyala, 19, co-founder of the peace-making group BridgeUSA, which is co-sponsoring Coulter and has invited liberal and Libertarian speakers on other occasions, is also frustrated at administrators’ attempt to cancel the event.

“It seems clear that they’re stalling until next semester -- but nothing is going to change between now and next semester,” said Pranav Jandhyala, 19, co-founder of BridgeUSA. “My personal opinion is that this is unconstitutional and is a form of (illegal) prior restraint.”

But Mogulof, the campus spokesman, denied accusations that UC Berkeley is infringing on free speech, and said administrators fear the same groups would target Coulter’s speech.

He said it’s all about safety.

“The university’s commitment to the safety and security of our students is non negotiable,” he said. “We simply can’t have an event at a time when our law enforcement professionals don’t feel capable of providing that.”

(The San Francisco Chronicle)

SUSPICIONS CONFIRMED: HE'S NUTS

Infowars founder Alex Jones was diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder in a psychiatric evaluation, the divorce case manager confirmed during his custody trial in Austin on Wednesday. Austin psychologist Alissa Sherry said that a different doctor compiled the report, part of what she said was the most time-consuming divorce case she has ever worked. People diagnosed with NPD typically show traits including a lack of empathy, arrogance, and a propensity for grandiose fantasies. They are also frequently described as manipulative and demanding. Minutes earlier, an attorney for ex-wife Kelly Jones discussed at length an incident in which Alex Jones reportedly yelled at his daughter for wearing a boot for her broken toe, which Sherry said could “perhaps” be a symptom of NPD. Day 3 of the custody trial has so far focused on the testimony of Sherry, interspersed with brief moments of tension between Alex Jones and ex-wife Kelly Jones’ legal team, who have complained over the past two days that Jones is shaking his head and smirking at them repeatedly.

DELTA PLAN AMENDMENTS MARGINALIZE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND TRIBAL COMMUNITIES

by Dan Bacher

Two groups, Restore the Delta (RTD) and the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water (EJCW), today sent a joint letter opposing the Delta Stewardship Council’s proposed amendments to the Delta Plan that marginalize environmental environmental justice communities and Tribes.

The amendments regarding surface storage, conveyance (the Delta Tunnels) and performance measures “lack a true needs assessment for CA WaterFix, a water supply analysis, a cost-benefits analysis, and fails to consider environmental justice, anti-discrimination, and human right to water issues in their planning and scientific documents within the Delta Plan,” according to the groups.

The letter was sent at time a time when Governor Jerry Brown continues to push for the construction of the two massive 35 mile long twin tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas, to export water to agribusiness interests on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California water agencies.

On April 13, Brown met with Trump’s Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to discuss the Delta Tunnels and other water infrastructure, as well as fire and public lands: www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/...

Randy Reck, EJCW Staff Attorney, said, “The proposed Delta Plan amendments are the latest iteration of a Delta planning process that continues to marginalize the very environmental justice and Tribal communities who bear a disproportionate burden—both environmental and financial—of over-reliance on the Delta. EJCW formed eighteen years ago in response to similar exclusionary tactics employed in the CALFED process.”

“While significant advances have been made in state policy on environmental justice since then, including the Human Right to Water policy, Delta communities continue to be overlooked by a process that doesn’t even pretend to include them. EJCW calls on the DSC to abide by existing environmental justice policies and the values that underlie them, including transparency, collaboration, equity, and opportunity,” he noted.

The letter points out that the terms “environmental justice,” “human right to water, and “anti-discrimination” cannot be found in the reviewed Delta Stewardship Council documents:

“State of California environmental justice, human right to water, and anti-discrimination policy requirements apply to planning activities and decisions by all state agencies. We searched planning and scientific documents prepared by the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) concerning Delta Plan amendments (DPAs) for performance measures andconveyance, storage and operations. We used the terms 1 ‘environmental justice,’ ‘human right to water,’ and various permutations of ‘anti-discrimination.” None of these terms are found in the DSC planning and scientific documents reviewed for this letter.”

The groups said the language of these documents becomes even “more problematic” via the use of the word “promote” in reference to the California WaterFix.

“The Council puts the cart before the horse with its proposed Delta Plan language promoting the Delta Tunnels project,” said Restore the Delta’s Policy Analyst, Tim Stroshane. “They will become both promoter and regulator of the Tunnels and other dam projects if they approve this amendment. It is farcical.”

“The Delta Plan Amendments, as proposed by the Delta Stewardship Council, ignore large portions of the Delta Reform Act that deal with Delta stewardship and promote the construction of the Delta Tunnels,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta. “In addition, these revised amendments and the Delta Plan in its entirety fail to identify and evaluate the impacts of new conveyance on the Delta environmental justice community. The Council, unfortunately, is continuing to push through boondoggle tunnels that will benefit special interest water districts at the expense of the Delta -- the ecosystem and communities that they are to protect, restore and enhance.”

The Delta Tunnels project has come under increasing fire from scientists, economists and public trust advocates over the past few years. Governor Brown claims that the California WaterFix is based on “the best scientific thinking,” but federal scientists strongly disagree with Brown’s claim.

In fact, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has released a draft biological opinion documenting the harm the tunnels would cause to Sacramento River Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, Delta and longfin smelt, other fish and wildlife species, and water quality. For more information, go to: www.dailykos.com/…

Caleen Sisk, Chief and Spiritual Leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, said the Delta Tunnels, if built, will not only cause “more death and destruction” to already endangered salmon populations, but will “encourage and motivate” federal plans to enlarge the giant Shasta Dam that impounds the waters of the Sacramento, McCloud and Pit rivers.

“We consider Shasta Dam a weapon of mass destruction,” explained Chief Sisk. “It has already taken our homes, sacred sites, burial sites, and stopped the salmon from returning to their historical spawning grounds. If these tunnels are built, Governor Brown’s so called ‘California WaterFix,’ they will not only cause more death and destruction to the already endangered salmon, but they will encourage and motivate plans to enlarge Shasta Dam. An enlarged Shasta Dam will flood what remaining sacred sites, and cultural sites that we still use today.” (www.winnememwintu.us/...)

The Delta Tunnels project also threatens imperiled salmon on the Trinity and Klamath rivers, since Trinity River water is diverted from Trinity Lake to the Sacramento River watershed to supply San Joaquin Valley agribusiness interests with subsidized water.

This year’s run of Klamath River fall Chinook salmon is projected to be the smallest in history — 11,000 fish, about 10% of average for the last 3 decades — causing great hardship this year to the Yurok, Hoopa Valley and Karuk Tribes that have fished for salmon on the Klamath and Trinity rivers for thousands of years. (fishsniffer.com/...)

On Friday, April 28, 2017 at 9 a.m., the Delta Stewardship Council will meet at the Park Tower Plaza, 980 Ninth Street, Sacramento, 2nd Floor Conference Room to discuss their proposed Delta Plan amendments. Authors of the coalition letter and Delta activists will attend. The public is encouraged to attend and comment on the amendments.

THE HORSESHOE CRAB

As kids, my brother Billy and I trapped a horseshoe crab at

Jones Beach.

We trapped the crab in a little berm we made at the beach's

wrack line

from gravel, shingle, and pebbles . At high tide, the crab

washed in and got trapped.

The crab looked lonely and sad, so Billy threw a few mollusk

shells and some coralline algae

into the pool of seawater held back by the berm to make the

crab feel more at home.

But the crab would have none of it.

Dark brown with eyes askew, the crab struggled

to climb the berm;

its telson swinging from side to side like a sword, and its six

pairs of appendages

on the underside of its cephalothorax pinched and pinched the

air in desperation.

 

The horseshoe crab was trapped. Billy and I watched it

struggle for hours until the offshore winds

picked up and the sun started to set.

The horseshoe crab has a large compound eye

with monochromatic vision

found on each side of the prosoma; It has another five simple

eyes on the carapace,

and two simple eyes on its underside, just in front of the mouth,

making a total of nine eyes.

 

I swear to God when that crab died, every eye blinked shut

all together for the last time.

 

This year, I will turn 65. North wind. Winter winds. "You are my

Moon," the horseshoe crab calls,

"I shall follow you and climb the continental shelf and emerge

at the shoreline in late spring to spawn."

 

"We are One," my heart answers. "I, too, search for home, for

a place in the light -- safe and free!"

 

"I, too, am Spine Tail, whipping left, right," I go on.

 

"I too, am All-Legs, pinching the air, past the children's

hands,.arms."

 

"I, too, am Nine Eyes, seeing nine gates, nine worlds."

(The Atlantic horseshoe crab: They are "royalty" among earth's creatures -- ancient, prehistoric; its ancestors are 450 million years old. This poem, written at Orr Hot Springs over the Easter weekend, 2017, is a mystical poem. It intended to be read aloud, like a prayer. What is a mystical poem? My reading of a mystical poem is one that refers to an insight into ultimate or hidden truths, and to human transformation, supported by real experiences. I try not to get too hokie or heavy-handed with religious meaning, despite the coincidence with Easter.)

—John Sakowicz

MONKEY WRENCHING

It's Crunch Time

Revolutionary ecology is "holding fast to the constant". Embracing moderate environmentalism is watching it all slip away. Realistically, monkeywrenching is the only effective tool left in the toolbox, because we wore out the rest of them being reasonable. When you are ready to assemble a spiritually based direct action oriented affinity group, contact me.

Craig Louis Stehr
San Francisco
EMAIL: CraigStehr@inbox.com