Mendocino County Today: Friday, July 7, 2017

• Temperatures Rising
• Care-a-Van Boonville
• Interesting Rider
• ALRVFD BBQ
• Brutacao Verdict
• Cannabis Enforcement
• Hospitality Dollars
• Bob Avery
• Little Dog
• Bohunk Gathering
• Unicorn Goat
• SB 94
• Guns for Weed
• Cheese Making
• Big Tree
• Mental Health
• Homestead Fair
• Bad Bill
• Visit Boonville
• Yesterday's Catch
• Mime Troupe
• Pirate Fillmore
• Resource Extraction
• Standing Rock Lessons
• Heroes & Patriots
• Forked Tongue
• PG&E Rates
• The Flick
• Remus Reid
• Ropes Course
• True Nature

TEMPERATURES RISING: Not as hot as that mid-June heat wave, but temps in inland Mendo will be near 100 tomorrow and into the weekend and on into next week. Anderson Valley approach 90 and Coast temps will probably stay below 80. Nighttime temps in Ukiah will at least drop to a refreshing 60 or so, while Anderson Valley will get into the high 50s overnight, and the Coast will get down to the mid-50s overnight.

CARE-A-VAN COMING TO BOONVILLE!

THE ACCIDENT is a few weeks old now, but the CHP press release is interesting in that Sgt. Smith's "ride-a-long" passenger was…:

"A Mendocino County sheriff’s sergeant and two others were injured on Tuesday when an RV rear-ended the sergeant’s unmarked patrol truck on Highway 101 south of Dora Creek, the California Highway Patrol reported. Sgt. Bruce Smith, escorting a person on a ride-along in a 2013 Chevy Silverado assigned to the Investigative Services Unit, was stopped in traffic at 9:45 a.m. due to construction 1/10 of a mile south of Dora Creek, at mile post marker 96 on Highway 101 north. The driver of the RV (a 1993 motor home), identified as Harlan Myers of Portland, Oregon, came up behind the line of traffic and did not stop, rear-ending Smith’s truck. The truck was pushed into the back of a 2007 Honda CRV, which was then pushed into a 2004 GMC Yukon. Six people were involved in the accident. The northbound lane was shut down for about 30 minutes following the traffic collision. Smith and his passenger, identified as Paul Trouette, sustained moderate injuries, as did the passenger of the Yukon, identified as Jesus Mora of Lake Elsinore. Trouette was taken to Howard Memorial Hospital in Willits. He and Smith were released from hospital care within hours, according to Capt. Greg VanPatten with the MCSO. Mora was taken to Jerold Phelps Community Hospital in Garberville. It is not yet known if he has been released. All were transported by City Ambulance of Eureka. The Garberville CHP Office is investigating the accident and has ruled out alcohol and drugs as factors.”

TROUETTE is the founder of Lear Asset Management, a private security company. Lear offers "marijuana eradication services" to timber companies but, in 2014, Lear popped in on people who were on their own property and, in at least one case, were not growing marijuana. Some North County people say Trouette is closer to Smith than he ought to be, Trouette being a private business and Smith being one of the main ops in the County's pot raid teams and its "major crimes" unit.

ALBION-LITTLE RIVER BBQ, THIS SATURDAY, July 8th

The Albion-Little River Volunteer Fire Department is holding its 56th annual BBQ this Saturday, July 8th, at the Little River Airport, from noon to 5pm. Dinner tickets and drawing tickets will on sale at the Albion Grocery this year starting this week, and will be available at the gate. For the drawing, you do not have to be present to win, so if you aren't able to make it to the event, you can support us by buying drawing tickets at the store. We have over 80 prizes this year for the drawing including various gift baskets and gift certificates from local businesses, local art and woodworking pieces, including a Mendocino Heritage coffee table, Cynthia Myers wine glasses and many other gems. We also have a new small group of silent auction items, which include a Mendocino Heritage slab table, beautiful photos by Rita Crane, and certificates for stays and dinner at local bed and breakfasts. We can still use desserts, and need to get as many home-baked pies and cakes from the community as possible for the dessert booth. Please contact Marlene at 937-1951 or by email: goforth@mcn.org if you are interested in donating a dessert.

MULCAHY: NOT GUILTY OF FRAUD/EMBEZZLEMENT

Amazing Result In The Mulcahy Jury Trial — the re-trial, actually, from a few years ago when Justin Petersen had the defense and DA David Eyster was prosecuting: Ended in a hung jury. DA refiled, this time Eyster put his redoubtable Assistant DA Rick Welsh on point and it ended this morning in a devastating Not Guilty on all counts of embezzling from Anderson Valley's illustrious Brutacao Winery. Devastating to the wine industry, perhaps, but a great many people who actually work for a living were delighted with the verdict.

This reporter did not cover the two-week trial, as I was on Willie Housley's trial the first week, and Mark Johnson's the following week (no verdict yet in that case). We covered Mulcahy’s first trial in the AVA back in 2014 …

https://www.theava.com/archives/31712

The Press Democrat’s summary of Thursday’s not-guilty verdict follows. — Bruce McEwen

* * *

FORMER BRUTOCAO CELLARS CFO FOUND NOT GUILTY OF CHECKING FORGING

by Glenda Anderson

It was the second trial for Chris Mulcahy, whose first trial in May 2014 ended with a jury deadlocked on forgery charges involving 57 checks worth over $200,000 from the Brutocao Cellars.

“Over the course of two trials, 12 jurors thought Mr. Mulcahy was not guilty, 10 thought he was guilty, and two couldn’t make up their minds,” District Attorney David Eyster wrote in an email response to a request for comment. “We will never know what the alternates from each trial thought.

“That said, we accept the second jury’s ‘not guilty’ verdicts and the matter is now concluded in the criminal courts. Those who still believe that they were wronged by Mr. Mulcahy can now pursue their civil lawsuit in earnest, a civil case which has been pending but stayed during the pendency of the criminal case.”

Neither Brutocao Cellars co-owner Steve Brutocao nor Mulcahy could be reached Thursday for comment.

According to testimony at his first trial, Mulcahy wrote many of the alleged forged checks to shell companies he owned. He wrote other checks to himself, signing them with the name of a Brutocao family member, according to court testimony.

Mulcahy told law enforcement investigators the shell companies were created to reduce Brutocao’s tax liabilities at the behest of Brutocao founder Len Brutocao, who died in 2010. Mulcahy’s attorney during his first trial, Justin Petersen, contended at trial Mulcahy also had permission to sign checks with winery co-owner Steve Brutocao’s name and that he wrote checks to himself because the Brutocao family owed him money.

The Brutocaos, who fired Mulcahy and reported him to law enforcement after discovering the check discrepancies in 2012, said during the 2014 trial his claims were untrue.

Mulcahy worked for the Brutacaos for about six years before he was accused of forging checks. He previously spent 14 years with Coca-Cola, according to the Sapphire Hills website.

(Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

CANNABIS CODE ENFORCEMENT UPDATE

Lots of complaints, no action taken so far.

…”In the last several weeks Code Enforcement has obtained voluntary compliance by self-abatement of Cannabis for 6 locations that were clearly not eligible for an exemption or permitting for outdoor cultivation for any reason; medical or adult use. These were primarily within residential locations that were impacting community quality of life for the surrounding residents. The Code Enforcement Division will continue with our regulatory approach to Cannabis Enforcement and we anticipate issuing notices of violations, administrative citations and abatement orders as necessary.”…

CECannabisUpdate7112017

$105k MORE FOR FORT BRAGG HOSPITALITY CENTER

Mendocino Coast Hospitality Center $105039 17-18

BOB AVERY

Robert Newell Avery Jr. died on June 19, 2017, at his home in Swoope, Virginia. Born in Evanston, Illinois, on May 22, 1940, Bob was a man of many talents: an artist, a jazz DJ, an actor and producer in films and on stage, a restaurant and gallery owner, and an arts administrator. He was an illustrator and sculptor who was the director of the Mendocino Art Center in California and the Staunton Augusta Art Center in Virginia. His Avery Studio Gallery was in the space that is now Zynadoa Restaurant in Staunton, Virginia.

Robert was a member of the California National Guard in the 1950s and '60s. He graduated from California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts) in Oakland, California. He owned the Wildlife Gallery and the Ug Restaurant in Mendocino. He met his wife, Amanda, when they were cast as brother and sister in a production of Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap." They moved to Virginia with their daughter, Melinda, in 1993.

As well as his wife, Amanda, and daughter, Melinda, Robert is survived by his son, Robert Walter Avery, a veterinarian in Grass Valley, California; and daughter-in-law, Inger; grandson, Fritz, and granddaughter, Brita. He also leaves a sister, Margot Avery of Sausalito and Martinez, California. He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert Newell Avery and Margaret Avery McCloud; and his first wife, Karen Lissoll Black.

Robert was a member of Staunton's First Presbyterian Church, the Staunton Kiwanis Club and Virginia Master Gardeners. He was an inveterate collector, particularly of model trains and wind-up toys.

Memorial contributions may be made to either the Staunton Augusta Art Center or the Mendocino Art Center.

A memorial service will be conducted by the Reverend Karen Allamon at First Presbyterian Church in Staunton, the date to be determined.

Henry Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.henryfuneralhome.net

LITTLE DOG SAYS, “We went solar yesterday, and these guys were standing around watching the meter spin backwards, congratulating themselves on their eco-correctness. So I say, ‘Yeah, but it still all goes through PG&E lines.’ And they start yelling at me. ‘That's the problem with you, Little Dog. Negativity. If you don't have anything positive to say, shut your yap-yap’."

BOHEMIANS RETURN TO MONTE RIO

President Trump unlikely to show

by Frank Robertson

What will the annual Bohemian Grove gathering in Monte Rio look like next week with Donald Trump as the Republican Party’s U.S. President? Maybe kind of weird, maybe not.

“Well-researched journalism is overdue on this question,” said Camp Meeker political activist Mary Moore as she anticipates the annual two-week gathering of the exclusive all-male fraternity notorious for its well-heeled, well-connected Republican Party membership. Famous Bohemian Club members include every Republican president from Calvin Coolidge to Ronald Reagan and both of the Bush boys.

But Trump isn’t exactly known as an old-school Republican, or is he, wonders Moore, mulling Trump’s ties to the Republican establishment.

So far, “there is no evidence that he has been a guest there,” said Moore, who’s been watching the comings and goings there since 1980 when she founded the Bohemian Grove Action Network (BGAN) to publicize club’s political affiliations. Moore is a veteran at collecting documents from camp programs and collecting information from teens who have worked summer jobs at the encampment.

“Trump has been a longtime critic” of the establishment Republican Party whose members are “well represented in the membership of the grove,” said Moore, in a media announcement last week about the upcoming Monte Rio encampment.

There is room for suspicion, Moore agrees, that Trump may be too weird even for the Bohemian Club, unless he can sing or play a musical instrument, skills that so far have not been publicly observed in the current president.

Trump’s closest connection to the grove so far appears to be his interest in fake news celebrity Alex Jones, the Texas radio personality who has reported the existence--at least in his own mind--of secret underground sex chambers beneath the grove’s 2,000-acre forested retreat next to the Russian River.

A TV news show last week hosted by NBC’s Megyn Kelley featured an interview with Jones, “who now has the ear of President Trump,” said Moore, in her announcement that BGAN is still around to keep track of such things.

Alex Jones “is a long time critic of Bohemian Grove but for very different reasons than the BGAN protesters,” said Moore. “He claims there are underground sex chambers and they’re burning babies at the Cremation of Care,” which is the Bohemian Grove’s opening day ceremony held on the first Saturday of the annual gathering, this time on July 15.

“Trump’s political affiliations with people like long-time Bohemian Club member Henry Kissinger, who paid a recent visit to the White House, challenge the idea that he [Trump] is a real critic of the ’establishment’ as represented by the membership at Bohemian Grove,” said Moore.

“They hung out all buddy buddy. The point is Kissinger is a longtime member of the grove,” said Moore.

The sex-chamber-and-child-sacrifice stuff may offer entertainment appeal right up there with Hillary Clinton having affairs with Martians, but BGAN “disavows the claims of Alex Jones and has publicly taken issue with them,” said Moore.

The conspiracy theorists have urged a protest turnout at the grove entrance on Saturday, but Moore won’t be there.

“With so many national and global issues to cover, BGAN has not held official protests in July for several years but remains a resource to make the connections between the issues of peace, justice, open government and a safe environment and the challenges from the profit making by a very few represented by the men at Bohemian Grove,” said Moore, in her media release.

(Sonoma West Times And News)

MORNING GLORY ZELL & THE $37,000 UNICORN

(Ukiah Daily Journal, undated, 1986)

Young ‘Unicorn’ Reported Missing

by Ray Smith

Somewhere in the wilds of Mendocino County a four-month-old male unicorn may be roaming. Or it could be the victim of a dastardly unicorn thief. Honest! At least so says its worried owner, Morning Glory Zell, a resident of Greenfield Ranch northwest of Ukiah. In a report filed with the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Friday, Morning Glory said the unicorn disappeared a week ago from a herd on the ranch while she and her husband, Otter Zell, were away. She said she and her husband planned to sell the animal, actually a one horned goat, to a circus, and they valued it at $37,000.

It seems the animal is related to Lancelot which the Zells several years ago said they created through a lost "secret formula" and sold to Marine World Africa USA, Redwood City. The Zells, who are naturalists, insisted Lancelot was no freak or fluke of nature. When at Marine World in 1981, Lancelot had a single 10 inch horn in the middle of his head, a shaggy coat, and could heel, walk on a leash, jump through a hoop, bow and lie down on command.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_Glory_Zell-Ravenheart

CALIFORNIA'S NEW CANNABIS REGULATORY SYSTEM: WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW

by Ruthann Ziegler & Katherine Cook

Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 94 last week, merging California's marijuana laws into a single regulatory system for medical and nonmedical commercial cannabis businesses. The budget trailer bill ("SB 94") took effect immediately and covers everything from local control to county fair weed tastings to delivery businesses.

The extensive legislation repeals the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act ("MCRSA"), passed in 2015, and incorporates many of MCRSA's provisions into the Adult Use of Marijuana Act ("AUMA"), passed by the voters as Prop 64 in November 2016. The new comprehensive regulatory system, intended to regulate all commercial cannabis uses, is called the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act ("MAUCRSA").

Cities and counties across the state support SB 94's preservation of local control over cannabis businesses, which includes enforcing Fire and Building Codes at cannabis businesses. The cannabis industry also scored some wins. For example, SB 94 creates a less confusing licensing system and fewer restrictions on vertical integration of cannabis businesses. A cultivator may now act as its own distributor and conduct internal testing for quality control.

Highlights of SB 94 include:

Single regulatory system: Gone are the two separate licensing structures for medical and nonmedical cannabis businesses. MAUCRSA establishes 20 license types, including 14 cultivation licenses, two manufacturing licenses, one testing license, one retailer license, one distributor license, and one microbusiness license. With the exception of the testing license, the state will designate each license with an "M" or an "A" to indicate whether it is a medical or an adult-use license. If a local ordinance identifies types of licenses under the previous statutes established by MCRSA or AUMA, it is likely that ordinance will require an amendment to ensure consistency with the new license categories.

Multiple licenses: Under MCRSA, numerous restrictions existed on how many licenses one individual or entity could hold and in which license categories. MAUCRSA eliminated these restrictions and allows multiple licenses in nearly all categories. However, a testing laboratory licensee may not hold any other cannabis license type, nor may that testing lab license holder employ anyone who works at a non-testing cannabis business. Under MAUCRSA, the prohibition in AUMA on large cultivation licensees holding distributor or microbusiness licenses now applies to both medical and nonmedical cannabis licenses. The state will not issue large cultivation licenses, meaning greater than one acre outdoors or 22,000 square feet indoors, until January 1, 2023.

Multiple locations: When one business holds two or more licenses, MAUCRSA requires that the "licensed premises be separate and distinct." Additionally, a business with multiple locations is required to obtain a license for each location where "cannabis activity" takes place.

Delivery businesses: Those with a retail cannabis license or delivery operations will now be allowed to operate from a physical location that is closed to the public. This means that delivery operations - for medical or nonmedical cannabis - do not need to be tied to a dispensary.

Outsiders welcome: SB 94 eliminated AUMA's requirement that, through 2019, the state would only issue commercial cannabis licenses to those who could prove California residency.

Local control: SB 94 clarifies that cities and counties retain full land use authority as to cannabis businesses; cities and counties may prohibit such businesses entirely, allow only some, or allow them with locally developed regulations that fit local needs. SB 94 also establishes that local jurisdictions retain the authority to regulate cannabis businesses and to take enforcement action concerning Fire and Building Codes, conduct inspections, and implement audits.

Local authorization: The state is now required to notify a local jurisdiction when it receives an application for commercial cannabis activity in that jurisdiction. The city or county then has 60 business days to notify the state whether the applicant is in compliance with local regulations. Although proof of authorization from a city or county is not required, an applicant may voluntarily include this information with its state application. The state is also prohibited from issuing a cannabis license if issuance would violate any local ordinance. Cities and counties should review the provisions of Business and Professions Code section 26055 regarding submitting copies of local ordinances and regulations on cannabis uses to the state. 

CEQA exemption: Through July 1, 2019, SB 94 exempts from the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") the adoption of an ordinance or regulation by a local jurisdiction if the ordinance or regulation requires discretionary review and approval of local permits or licenses for commercial cannabis activity.

Cash collection: SB 94 requires that, by January 1, 2018, the Bureau of Cannabis Control work with the Department of General Services to establish offices to collect fees and taxes in the counties of Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino.

Lighting up at county fairs: The state may issue temporary event licenses allowing people 21 and older to consume cannabis and cannabis products at a county fair or district agricultural association event. These event licenses may only be issued if the local jurisdiction allows the events.

State I.D. program: SB 94 retains the requirement that a qualified patient possess a State Medical Marijuana I.D. Card in order to be exempt from paying sales and use tax on cannabis purchases. This means that approximately $23 million or more in tax revenue will continue to flow to local jurisdictions. 

If you have questions regarding the new comprehensive regulatory system established by SB 94, please contact Ruthann G. Ziegler or Katherine A. Cook.

(Ruthann Ziegler, a Principal at Meyers Nave, has over 35 years of experience in public law, representing municipalities and special districts. She serves as Chair of the California Public Records Act Practice Group. Ruthann represents clients in all matters affecting local governance and decision-making, from day-to-day operations to long-term policy issues. She regularly advises clients on issues such as rate setting, public contracts and bidding, land use, public power and environmental issues.

Katherine (Kate) Cook brings considerable experience to the Municipal and Special District Law, and California Public Records Act Practice Groups. She serves as City Attorney for the City of Plymouth and Deputy City Attorney for the City of Rancho Cordova, and counsels public entity clients on issues related to the Public Records Act, the Brown Act, election law, and marijuana regulations.)

SELLING ILLEGAL ASSAULT WEAPONS TO UNDERCOVER COPS IS A BAD CAREER CHOICE

UKIAH, Thurs., July 6. – A former Bay Area junior college basketball player and his friend from Reno were convicted by plea this morning of trading illegal assault weapons and large capacity magazines for marijuana. The so-called Mendocino County-based marijuana dealers the two defendants were dealing with were in reality undercover law enforcement officers.

The two defendants caught up in the sting are Matthew Stephen Williams, 20, formerly of Oakland, Reno, and Louisiana; and Christian Alfredo Alcantar, 20, of Reno.

Mendocino County Superior Court Judge John Behnke accepted no contest pleas from Williams this morning to four felony charges and two sentencing enhancements relating to three separate gun deals he committed between January and April 2017 in Mendocino, Sonoma, and Alameda Counties. Williams, the main player in the crimes, will be sentenced on August 4th to a stipulated Realignment prison sentence of 136 months.

Judge Behnke also accepted no contest pleas from Alcantar to four felony charges relating to his having assisted Williams in committing in April the final gun deal in Oakland. Alcantar will be formally sentenced on August 18th. The plea and sentence bargain Alcantar was offered and accepted will place him on supervised probation for up to five years. As term of that probation, Alcantar will be required to serve a jail sentence of up to one year in the Low Gap jail.

(District Attorney’s Office Press Release)

MCFB CHEESE MAKING WORKSHOP AT PENNYROYAL FARMSTEAD

When Thursday, July 13, 2017 from 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM

Where Pennyroyal Farm in Boonville, 14930 Highway 128 Boonville, CA 95415

Part of the Farm Bureau’s Homestead Series, Mendocino County Farm Bureau is partnering with Pennyroyal Farmstead to bring this class to our members and community. This will be a two and a half hour workshop. We will begin with a tour of the farm and creamery. Then we will be taught how cheese is made. Finally we will finish with a demo of recipes. Join us for this tasty afternoon activity!

http://mendofb.org/event/cheese-making-workshop-at-penny-royal-farmstead/

IN THE REDWOODS

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS

To the Editor:

Serious improvements need to be made to mental health services in Mendocino County. The current system is not working. And it has not worked for many years. Today there are roughly half the services available than were available a decade ago. And the services that are available are fractured between the county and various nonprofit agencies.

At the same time the county has a Behavioral Health Advisory Board that is exceptionally weak and with little input from consumers even though it is required by law to be a major component.

This past year I have been able to take a look at current mental health services, how they operate, the agencies that operate them, and I have seen glaring holes. I also witnessed the ballot measure that would have created, if passed, an expensive facility with no money to operate that would not have been monitored by anyone with a background in inpatient psychiatric services, wrongly mixed substance abuse services with mental health, created an expensive and unnecessary law enforcement training facility, and would have been overseen by a bevy of politicians other than the Behavioral Health Advisory Board or the Board Of Supervisors. At the same time the oversight board would not have included in the mental health consumers. It was not appropriate for Mendocino County.

And so, what is needed? This is something I have spent many years considering and writing about. Some of these once even existed.

First, Mendocino County can easily start turning over more services to Redwood Community Services.

From what I have seen over the last year, Camille Schrader and her team at Redwood Community Services have been diligently working to offer the best services possible. They have significantly improved crisis services and can truly turn around other services if given the opportunity. There are some kinks that need to be worked out (like hiring managers and administrators with experience in adult service), but they are doing a wonderful job with the limited resources the county is giving them.

Secondly, there is an immediate need for a psychiatric crisis center located at Ukiah Valley Medical Center next to but separate from the emergency room. This would only be for psychiatric emergencies, not for people who are high on drugs. It would be staffed by Redwood Community Services crisis workers and would be modeled after the former crisis services center that many truly dedicated people created in the year 2000 for the county. It was a great place that helped a lot of people until the Board of Supervisors started cutting its budget. As for this new facility, located at Ukiah Valley Medical Center, people going through a psychiatric crisis can be seen by a crisis worker while also having needed emergency medical treatment available. These types of facilities are common at hospitals around the world. The citizens of Mendocino County deserve it.

Third is the establishment of the Homeless Services Outreach Team. In the 2000s, through a grant program from the state of California, Mendocino County operated an outreach team in Ukiah. Three workers, all formerly homeless mental health consumers, worked with the Ukiah Police Department and Sheriffs Office to help the homeless individuals who also suffered from mental illness. This is a program that Redwood Community Services would do an amazing job of operating. Many homeless mentally ill individuals were able to find housing, access to medical care, and some found employment. The program even had its own drop-in center that was a valuable resource.

Fourth, a Community Support Team is absolutely needed. I would actually call it a Crisis Response Team. This could be an easy reworking of the crisis program already in place. San Francisco has this. Crisis workers respond to the scene of 911 calls or calls to the crisis line — either along with law enforcement if the situation is critical or by themselves in noncritical situations. Law enforcement could use the help of trained crisis workers. At the moment the county is not making enough financial resources available for such a team to be created. This needs to change. Having a Crisis Response Team would also significantly reduce the amount of resources being taken up at Ukiah Valley Medical Center and by law enforcement.

And fifth, when it comes to a short-term inpatient psychiatric facility, the need is obvious. But, it should not be owned or operated by Mendocino County. And it should be modeled after a program similar to St. Helena or Langley Porter at the University of California-San Francisco. Right now Adventist Health could easily work with Redwood Community Services and the city of Ukiah to start plans to build a modern, 20 bed facility. And I believe that with proper planning and people with experience in successful operation of short-term inpatient facilities in charge it can be open within four years.

But in the meantime Adventist Health can easily take steps to significantly improve access to inpatient psychiatric care for Mendocino County residents. In the 1990s and 2000 Mendocino County “purchased" beds at both St. Helena and a facility Adventists owned in Vallejo. This made sure that there were always beds available. People in crisis never had to sit in the emergency room at Ukiah Valley Medical Center for three days waiting for a facility in Sacramento or Redding to have an opening. It's time for the Adventists and Redwood Community Services to come together and make a similar deal.

It is time for the Board Of Supervisors to start putting general fund money into mental health services.

William French

Ukiah

NOT SO SIMPLE LIVING FAIR

Would you like to know more about soil fertility and composting, foraging for edible mushrooms, basic construction, natural plant dying, cheese and cider making, or raising small animals? In this modern world, acquiring skills related to self-sufficiency and times past can be very satisfying (although, in reality, that lifestyle was often not so easy or simple).

You can sample a wide range of these topics at the 2017 Not-So-Simple Living Fair, which will be held at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds, located on Highway 128 in Boonville, on July 28, 29, and 30. This annual event is focused on traditional rural living and homesteading skills, and aims to expand appreciation of the potential applications and benefits of these skills in diverse living situations.

The Fair offers hands-on workshops, and demonstrations in the areas of Food (bread-making and basic canning); Wild Food (Native uses of plants, acorn processing, and seaweed collection and preparation); Shelter, Water, and Energy; and Homesteading Skills such as Beekeeping, Farming and Gardening, Fermentation and Dairy Culturing, Food Storage and Preservation, Hunting and Gathering, Blacksmithing, Seedsaving, Composting, Natural Building, Animal Husbandry, Wild Foods and Medicines, … and much more!

The doors open at 3pm on Friday. Join us for homegrown fun on Friday night with the Campfire Cabaret Open Mic. Sign up to creatively express yourself by calling Captain Rainbow 895-3807. Hands On workshops begin on Saturday at 10am. In the evening from 6-8 will be the most exquisite organic, gourmet, potluck in the whole bio-region. If you would like to take part in the potluck, please bring enough salad, side dish, dessert or drinks to serve 6-8 people, and your own place settings. The Not So Simple Living Fair will supply organic, locally raised BBQ pork, lamb and goat and rice and beans. Bringing something grown in your garden or purchased from the Farmers Market is encouraged, but not essential. Please label your dish. Potluck dishes can be left in June Hall during the day. Coolers will be available, but it would be helpful if you can bring your own. There is no place to cook or reheat food.

The music begins at 8 p.m. With DGIIN. Twice voted "Best Band" by the North Bay Bohemian, DGIIN is a six piece high energy dance band playing original songs and international covers. DGIIN's style is a mix of Flamenco, Latin, French Cafe, Reggae, and Funk. Their passionate music and superb musicianship is guaranteed to have everyone on the dancing under the stars in the Redwood Grove.

On Sunday afternoon we present our Key note speaker, Brock Dolman co-directer of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center's Permaculture Program and the WATER Institute (www.oaecwater.org). He is a wildlife biologist, permaculture designer, educator, and watershed restorationist. He has been the keynote presenter at numerous sustainability conferences. Brock has lectured internationally and is widely acknowledged as one of our country’s most experienced permaculture teachers. He has served on the Sonoma County Fish and Wildlife Commission for over a decade. Brock has been featured in the award-winning films; The 11th Hour by Leonardo DiCaprio; The Call of Life by Species Alliance; and Permaculture: A Quiet Revolution by Vanessa Shultz. In October 2012, he gave a TEDx talk: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izf6D1LQlFE).

The complete schedule and program, can be found at the website: http://notsosimple.info Locally, tickets are available at Brown Paper tickets http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2989205 and locally from Boont Berry Farm in Boonville, Out of This World in Mendocino, the Ukiah Co-op, Harvest Market in Fort Bragg, and J. D. Redhouse in Willits. to volunteer contact: abeja@emeraldearth.org 707-621-3822 COST: $35/day, $50/weekend YOUTH UNDER 16 FREE CAMPING: $10 per car per night for fair attendees. Sorry no dogs

BAD HEALTH CARE BILL

Letter to the Editor:

Do not pass this health care bill!!!'

Thank you,

Sherrie Lee, Covelo

OUR FAVORITE MUST-SEE SMALL TOWNS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

If you're currently queuing up your list of summer road trips, we've got a great starting point for you.

Keeping in mind different budgets and time allowances, we've put together our list of must-see small towns in Northern California. By design, we've chosen towns that are in easy driving distance, perfect for day trips or long weekends. A few towns are more than three hours away — but they're pretty great to be worth the extra trip.

Estimated drive times were calculated by Google Maps using a starting point of central San Francisco. Traffic, restroom stops, wrong turns, photo opportunities, "don't make me turn this car around" moments, etc., were not factored in.

Cruise along scenic Highway 128 to this Anderson Valley hamlet known for its Boontling-speaking residents and its tasty libations. (Drive time: 2.25 hours)

Grab A Quick Taste Of Anderson Valley

by Michael Shapiro

Wake up under a canopy of towering redwoods, hike along old-growth forest trails and spend the afternoon tasting some of the best beer and wine known to humankind; that's my idea of a perfect day. Northern California has several wine regions, but only one - the Anderson Valley, in Mendocino County - combines lonely roads, a motley crew of locals, lots of small and free tasting rooms, and scenery so stunning it can make you swoon.

Jacqueline Yau, beer storage, Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Boonville, CA

Navarro Vineyards, Philo

More:

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/favorite-must-see-small-towns-northern-california-11264482.php#photo-6097407

CATCH OF THE DAY, July 6, 2017

LAURA ADAMS, Ukiah. Controlled substance, disobeying a court order, failure to appear.

FRANCISCO APODACA, Fort Bragg. Domestic battery.

DAVID BORUP, Willits. Probation revocation.

KYLE BRACKETT, Willits. Controlled substance.

RANDALL CANEPA, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

MICHELLE CARR, Ukiah. Petty theft.

HANNAH CAVELLO, Fort Bragg. Controlled substance possession for sale, paraphernalia.

DAVID CLEM, Ukiah. DUI, Domestic battery, damaging a communications device.

TYLER ELZA, Willits. Reckless driving, evasion.

JAMES GODDARD JR., Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, resisting.

MONIKA GONZALES, Sea Ranch. Taking vehicle without owner’s consent.

PETE KAVANAUGH, Hopland. Controlled substance, county parole violation.

KENNETH LAWSON, Willits. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

BENJAMIN LEACH, Fort Bragg. Probation revocation.

SANDRA MALDONADO, Ukiah. Domestic abuse.

MICHAEL MATA, Redwood Valley. Domestic abuse.

MATT MUNSEN, Grass Valley/Point Arena. DUI.

MARK PRIMBSCH, Ukiah. Battery of peace officer.

SCHOOLED

The San Francisco Mime Troupe will be performing “Schooled” on Wednesday, July 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Arena Theater in Point Arena and on Thursday, July 14, at 6:30 p.m. at Todd Grove Park in Ukiah.

Education. It’s like the weather: everyone has an opinion but nobody does anything about it. That’s how Lavinia Jones feels about her son Thomas’ new school, Eleanor Roosevelt High.

Decades of funding cuts have resulted in old textbooks, crumbling classrooms and underpaid teachers,making Roosevelt exactly the sort of public school that has failed students time and time again.

Isn’t it time for something… efficient? And efficient is exactly what Fredersen Babbit, from Learning Academy for Virtual Achievement (LAVA Corp.), promises to bring to the district.

New technology, remote learning, computer-generated teachers –LAVA promises to put the “virtual” in achievement! But with kids learning from home, do we need all these empty schools? And with privatization on the line, a Wall Street heavy-hitter on one side and a feisty octogenarian teacher Ethel Orocuru on the other, suddenly the next school board election is more about a hidden agenda than the open curriculum.

Are schools the last chance for democracy, or is education the next frontier for profit? Can we trust a politician’s public/private plan to replace an out-of-date system, or is there something even more sinister than privatization going on behind the doors of LAVA?

And wait – when did the hall monitors start wearing brown shirts and arm bands? When it comes to the real plan for the future of education – and of our democracy – are we all about to get...Schooled?

Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for youth 18 and under, $2 off for members at outlets. For tickets or more information, visit arenatheater.org; matel.org/sfmimetroupe.html or call 923-3368.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

Millard Fillmore? That’s the second time I’ve seen Millard Fillmore’s name in print in the last 3 days. The first time was in a book about early 18th century pirates. It seems Fillmore’s great grandfather was a pirate on the high seas during the final bloody violent decade of high stakes buccaneering, 1716-1726, serving with Ned Low after being shangheid off a captured merchant ship. Its a miracle he escaped hanging, as almost all of his shipmates, indeed all pirates, ended up on the gallows. They got ‘suspended sentences’ you might say, 4 ft off the ground. This Fillmore ended up buying a 50 acre farm near Norwich, CT, and is also somehow related to Teddy Roosevelts wife Edith Carow. I think all those 17, 18th and 19th century Americans were related to one another, descending from a relatively small group of English settlers in Virginia and Mass.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY II

Where are the fish? You should look at the damage the timber industry did. The tons and tons of silt going into the rivers from clearcuts caused, and still causes the majority of damage. The water goes underground and runs through the silt. Thats why the eel looks so bad right now, the silt coming into the ocean this winter from the eel was visible from space. The eel watershed already has a lot of natural erosion and siltation.

The fish have been suffering for a long time, before these huge grows. Not to say theres no impact from the jerks who divert water and all that crap. Its just not the source of the entire problem, and focusing only on that allows all the other problems to get worse. If only the timber industry, cattle ranchers and grape growers were being regulated as much as cannabis.

In the 70’s fish and game thought it a good idea to take all the debris out of the creeks to help the fish. Now we’re spending thousands of dollars in restoration work to put things back in. Like huge downed trees nailed in place in the creek as the fish need cool water, places to hide and the holes made by the water rushing under a tree/branch.

Really lets all get some perspective and stop the blame game. One almond you eat = 1 gallon of water. Think about it, a pound of almonds took at the very least 50 gallons of water to grow. Grapes are huge water users. Cows take so much water to grow, think about how much they weigh. The hay they eat takes soooo much water. Remember when the hay farmers upriver on the klamath had to stop using so much water to grow hay as it was severely impacting the fish downstream. You can look up the pic of the sheriff standing idle while the farmers broke into the water station and literally turned the water for their fields back on. The picture was on the front of the times standard.

If you havent lived here for at least 20 years, or werent reading much over that time period, you really ought to do some research and learn about the steady decline of our rivers from multiple sources. Sometimes i wish it was all just from pot growing so we’d have just that one thing to fix. I dont think most folks realize how much other resource extraction industries get away with. In mendo theyre still allowed to poison the trees they dont want to harvest and leave it standing like a giant piece of kindling. Firefighters were at the county meetings to express how much that rule needs to change. It wasnt changed, which beyond the other obvious things, costs us more money as dead standing trees make fires way worse and way harder to fight.

HARD LESSONS FROM STANDING ROCK: Slide show & conversation with Atta Stevenson, Aug. 15 6-9 p.m. Lundring Events Center, Thousand Oaks.

HEROES & PATRIOTS, heard each Monday, 1 p.m., on KMEC Radio, Mendocino Environmental Center, has a new YouTube presence. To watch the first uploaded show, click the link below and bookmark the page for future reference https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu6z3euMoJZ76AbVzHBTQmg

For those living outside the Ukiah area, the program is streamed live each Monday: www.kmecradio.org.

Cheers!

Mary Massey, Mendocino <heroesandpatriots@gmail.com>

PG&E RATES

Robin Demers

Dear ListSevers:

I know PG&E rates have significantly increased over the last couple years, and, yet, I'd love & super appreciate if relatively light users of electricity would be willing to tell me what your last bill was for (5/3/17-6/2/17 billing period).

Ours was $108.39 - and that's for 3 people who, for that time period, used only lights (moderately); tv, computers, refrigerator - all moderately; and fairly light use of stovetop & oven. (Heat never turned on.)

Perhaps this amount is representative for light users across the board these days. I don't know. (It just seems really high!!)

Please respond to me directly if you care to share.

Many thanks in advance!!

Eric Lillybeck wrote:

It would be helpful if you quantify your usage of electricity by MWhrs (mega watt hours) so other light users can compare to their actual usage. To get best comparison you might also need to look at time of day usage - peak, near peak and off peak.

Just trying to help here.

Robin Demers

Thank you,

We don't have a Smart Meter. We also have a washer & dryer - normal usage (& we don't dry our clothes to a crisp, if you know what I mean.)

Our usage:

Tier 1 257.30 kWh (@ .19979) Tier 2 207.70 kWh @ .27612)

So, either by kWh or total $, would love some comparisons.

Thanks again.

Joyce Pfaffle

We also have a high electric bill -- no lights on during the day with sky lights and lots of windows and just two of us with very little need for extra electricity -- but we do have an electric stove and dryer and water heater which makes electricity costs suck! Eliminating the electric stove now helps -- but electricity here is way above what we paid in the Bay Area earlier this year.

THE FLICK: Just eight performances left!

Don't miss your chance to see the Mendocino Theatre Company's production of Annie Baker's THE FLICK, a "thoughtful drama with well-crafted characters that focuses on three employees of a Massachusetts art-house movie theater, rendering lives rarely seen on stage". Featuring three talented young professional actors, this production is not to be missed! THE FLICK plays Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm through July 16th. Purchase your tickets online at mendocinotheatre.org or phone 707-937-4477.

Find out more: http://mendocinotheatre.org/the-flick-by-annie-baker/

Director Stephanie Cunningham discusses the play:https://youtu.be/WpLS7xwtPVY

Find out more about the characters: https://youtu.be/fsilUpJwRuw

Mendocino Theatre Company: mendotheatreco@gmail.com

IT JUST ALL DEPENDS ON HOW YOU LOOK AT THINGS

Judy Wallman, a professional genealogy researcher in southern California, was doing some personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that Senator Harry Reid's great uncle, Remus Reid, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. Both Judy and Harry Reid share this common ancestor.

The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows in Montana territory:

On the back of the picture Judy obtained during her research is this inscription: 'Remus Reid, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.'

So Judy recently e-mailed Senator Harry Reid for information about their great uncle.

Harry Reid:

Believe it or not, Harry Reid's staff sent back the following biographical sketch for her genealogy research:

"Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed."

NOW That's how it's done, Folks!

That's real POLITICAL SPIN

(via Jay Williamson, Santa Rosa)

ED NOTE: According to snopes.com this item, sent to us by Jay Williamson in Santa Rosa who saw it on Craigslist, is humorous, but not true at all.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/humor/horsethief.asp

CHALLENGE COURSE

Saturday, July 22,2017

10:00a.m.-4:00p.m.

Experience a day of group and individual physical, emotional and mental exploration and challenge. Have you been curious to experience a challenge course at MARC – but do not have a group to sign up with? Here’s a chance to join a group with no purpose but to have fun checking it out! Our policy of Challenge By Choice allows you to help design the activities and challenge level that is right for you and the group!

Leave contact info at mendoadventure@yahoo.com

Or call 925-6285, Leggett School

Pre-register by Wed 7/19, 8 participant minimum cost: $42 for youth (under 17); $55 for adults. Bring lunch. Closed toe shoes required

Mendocino Adventure Ropes Course
P.O. Box 186, Leggett, CA 95585
(707) 925-6285

YOUTH WANTS TO KNOW

Divine Intervention in the Insane Stupidity of Samsara

Following a brief survey of the daily news online at San Francisco's Mechanics Institute Library yesterday, I perused the used book shelf on the second floor. Two dollars obtained a copy of Shunryu Suzuki's "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind", (which had been replaced by a new edition published by Shambhala Books). I sat down in one of the comfortable chairs and began re-reading the book which informed us all when I was "on the payroll" at Zen Center in 1979. This book is always a spiritual classic, because the zen master never goes out of style. "As long as we practice zazen in the area where there is practice and enlightenment, there is no chance to make perfect peace for ourselves. In other words, we must firmly believe in our true nature. Our true nature is beyond our conscious experience. It is only in our conscious experience that we find practice and experience or good and bad. But whether or not we have experience of our true nature, what exists there, beyond consciousness, actually exists, and it is there that we have to establish the foundation of our practice." (ZMBM, page 127, Weatherhill edition) So, what are we going to do about living in these times, when the social and political reflects most intensely the insane stupidity of samsara? Of course it is good to be enlightened, or "Self-realized", or samadhi experienced, or knowing one's true nature. But what are we going to do about daily life in the contemporary situation? Sri Aurobindo and The Mother in Pondicherry, India once attempted to bring down the full spiritual force into matter, for the purpose of spiritualizing matter on a cellular level, and thus raise the consciousness of the humanity. When they were unable to accomplish this, they made a trip to Puttaparthi in southern India's Andhra Pradesh to speak with Satya Sai Baba. They asked him why they were unable to succeed with this most incredible yogic effort. He answered that it was because of karma. He said that karma had to play out. And so I ask now: "What are we going to do about daily living in the current insane stupidity of samsara?" Obviously divine intervention is needed on an emergency level. As I silently sit zazen on the floor of my room in downtown San Francisco, with a thangka painting of the goddess Green Tara smiling down from the dresser, plus having attended Catholic Mass at old Saint Patrick's and received communion (i.e. the body and blood of Christ), and also recently contributed $1008 to Berkeley's Krishna Temple for the upcoming July 30th Rathayatra Parade and spiritual festival, which will feed prasadam lunch to over 1000 people, and am forevermore identifying with my own true nature, it is very clear that something has to give. Indeed, only a total moron would believe that accepting the situation, making the best of it by drinking more beer, and sleeping more hours until eventually dying, is an intelligent response to the situation. So I ask the question again: "What are we going to do about daily living in the current insane stupidity of samsara?"

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