Mendocino County Today: Monday, Aug. 28, 2017

• Berkeley Clash
• Hot Stretch
• Gloria Ross
• Little Dog
• Justice Vacation
• BOLO Found
• Pension Math
• Rental Tax
• Football Injuries
• Elk Return
• Weatherlink
• Feral Cats
• Yesterday's Catch
• Vertigo Profession
• Willing
• Bussing Homeless
• Nazi Cake
• Montgomery Clift
• Ferris Wheel
• Greens Meet
• Mendo Masterpiece
• Heroes/Patriots

MASKED ANARCHISTS VIOLENTLY ROUT RIGHT-WING DEMONSTRATORS IN BERKELEY

An army of anarchists in black clothing and masks routed a small group of right-wing demonstrators who had gathered in a Berkeley park Sunday to rail against the city’s famed progressive politics, driving them out — sometimes violently — while overwhelming a huge contingent of police officers.

sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Masked-anarchists-violently-rout-right-wing-12041287.php

HOT AGAIN SUNDAY. Temps expected to relax a bit during the week, but return to the mid- to upper-90s in Boonville by the weekend. (Lower on the Coast; 5-8 degrees hotter inland.) High fire danger continues.

THE ANDERSON VALLEY is saddened by news of the death of Gloria Ross, a native daughter of Mendocino County, a revered teacher of many years with the Anderson Valley schools, a long time resident of Boonville, and the woman behind many community fundraising events, most famously the annual crab feed at the Boonville Fairgrounds. Gloria had never fully recovered from a badly damaged lung sustained in a roll-over accident two miles from Boonville earlier this month. 84 at the time of her passing early Saturday morning, Gloria's death is mourned by everyone who knew her.

* * *

GLORIA ROSS

Interviewed by Steve Sparks (December 2008)

I met with Gloria at her home in Boonville and we sat down for a chat at a large table in her lovely big kitchen.

She was born Gloria Friberg in Fort Bragg in 1934, her father having moved to this country from Sweden in 1923 and her mother a first generation American with Italian immigrant parents. They lived at the homestead Valenti Ranch on the Greenwood Road, about halfway between Anderson Valley and Elk. As a young girl she attended a one-room kindergarten schoolhouse called Blossom School before traveling to Elk Elementary everyday from 4th through 8th grade along with four other children also living up in the hills.

Her life revolved around school and helping with the ranch work as did the whole extended family, with all the men away fighting in World War II. She learned a lot about running a home during that time, knowledge that was to bear fruit in later years. “My life was all ranch and school, ranch and school — a real family ranch, everyone helping out, everyone eating together, working together — delightful. I loved it. I was an only child but had many cousins. During the summers our City cousins from San Francisco would be there too — until we got our fill of them!” Her mother had died when Gloria was just eight and her father was away a lot. He was a logger and traveled to various logging camps wherever there was work, so during these years she was raised by her grandmother and aunts at the Valenti Ranch.

In 1948, knowing some people in Boonville, she chose Anderson Valley High School over Mendocino and joined 55 other children at the school. “This was a big school for me!” There was no power on the Mendocino Ridge so she would have to study by kerosene lamps at night. “No indoor plumbing either.” She was very social and joined as many groups/teams as she could — band, choir, cheerleading with lifelong friend Eva Holcomb, and played on the volleyball, softball, and basketball teams. If there was ever a dance in the evening she would stay overnight at Eva’s — “I just loved to dance; of course in those days boys and girls danced together, not in separate groups!” However, most of the time she would be at home, helping with the chores. “It was when I really learned things — how to cook, work with cattle, make cheese, bread, butter. My grandmother, who could only speak Italian, taught me a lot. I was very happy just being with my family. We had so much fun just chatting together. We enjoyed each other’s company. We didn’t need many toys, perhaps a few dolls and Lincoln Logs. The whole family would sit around and play games and cards — Lemonade, Red Rover, Steal the Sticks. My father was also around a little more. He had suffered the loss of a leg in logging accident at Brown’s Camp in the woods to the west of where the Grange now is. He had to retire but thanks to his prosthesis he continued driving and dancing.”

Gloria graduated in 1952 along with fellow classmates and friends Eva Holcomb, Pat Hulbert, and Julia Pinoli and “although I loved Anderson Valley — everyone had always been so friendly and helpful — I decided to move away to college, attending San Jose State to study Home Economics. I had four good years there and graduated in 1956.” She knew that at some point she wanted to teach but initially she found work in other fields such as food analysis in San Jose — “not social enough for me” — and at one point managed the restaurant at Stanford University and an accompanying catering business.

In 1958 she met and married Bob Rhoades. “My parents had met ‘the love of my life’,” she cryptically comments. “He was very good-looking and personable. It wasn’t long before we had two kids and I stopped working. Bob worked for PG&E and had met my family when they were installing power on the Greenwood Road but over the next few years we lived all over the State, wherever he had to work.”

They finally settled back in the Valley in 1965 and for a time she was a stay-at-home Mum raising the kids, Steven and Jenny. However, she inquired about jobs at the school even though at the time she did not have teaching credentials. Superintendent Bob Mathias gave her a job in the school library. She ended up working there for seven years. It was during this time that she and Bob parted ways and he went abroad. “It just wasn’t working.”

Gloria enjoyed her job but when the Home Economics teacher retired she seized her chance and went through her teacher training on the job thanks to the help of Superintendent Mel Baker. “I had found my vocation.” She was unable to socialize very much and, while she had her fair share of suitors, she focused on raising the kids and her job. “I did go to dances sometimes, particularly with my friends and relatives on the coast, but I was never really interested in anyone and focused on being a mother and good worker.”

“I loved my job. Every aspect of it, but perhaps my favorite class, surprisingly, was the Boys Home Economics cooking class. I had four kids to a kitchen and four kitchens. It was so much fun. In one kitchen I had Rick Wyant, David Wallace, Eddie Walker, and Tony Pardini. I am still convinced that they put Copenhagen chewing tobacco in the brownies! However, you know, I think the boys took more pride and were often more interested in the food than the girls. I always attracted the kids who were more vocational, unsure of what they wanted to do. That was the way it was for 29 years, until I retired in 1995.” During those years Gloria was also deeply involved with the School Yearbook and taught General Math. When Home Economics was dropped due to expenses, she led the food catering service at the school, teaching the students how to order food and prepare menus, as well as cook. She also helped some of the struggling students with their studies in her free time.

At this point in the interview Gloria offered me some of her absolutely delicious zucchini bread and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, and husband Jim Ross briefly joined us. They have been married since 1976 at which point Gloria finally moved out of the family ranch, where she had been sleeping in the same room and same bed as she had as a child, and came permanently to the Valley. Jim’s family had been friends of the Valenti family for years before then. (Ironically Jim’s mother had nearly married Gloria’s father at one point). “Jim, my kids, and my grandchildren — Andrea, Justin, and Nicholas — are the lights of my life. Giving and receiving hugs from them is something very special to me.”

Apart from family and work, Gloria has also made time for the St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in the Valley and its sister church in Elk. There they have had a St. Patrick’s Day event every year for 116 years that in recent years she has organized, although she’s been actually involved with the event for over 60 of those years. “I missed the job at the school, the friendships and the kids, but gradually I have been doing more and more with the church and its fundraising efforts. Retirement has been very, very busy for me.” Gloria runs the monthly Barn Sale, held behind her house here in the Valley, and also the annual Crab Feed — one of the most popular events in the Valley’s social calendar.

I asked Gloria what her favorite place to hang out was. “My home definitely. The Barn too, I guess. I like to go there alone sometimes. But definitely my home and most of all, my kitchen.” I then asked what was her favorite thing about life in the Valley? “Its beauty, the people of the Valley, my friends here. I can look out of virtually any window in this house and see wonderful things and get lost in thoughts about my life here. I have never thought seriously about living anywhere else but maybe Hawaii would be somewhere I could live — I was once offered a job there and nearly went. I haven’t really traveled much, apart from those years when we lived all over California. I would like to visit Sweden and Italy to see relatives I have never met, but just to visit.”

“Is there anything about the Valley that you don’t like,” I inquired. “Nothing really,” she answered, “although I am irritated by those ugly buildings next to the ‘Elegante Video’ store in downtown Boonville. That used to be a nice drugstore and soda fountain in the early 50s. I wish the Chamber of Commerce would do something about it. It’s a real eyesore.”

I then asked Gloria for her reaction to my mentioning of a few Valley entities.

The Wineries? — “I love them. I have no problem with the ones we have.”

KZYX &Z? “No comment.”

The AVA? Well, I don’t go a week without it. Sometimes I don’t care for the language but I understand why it is there.”

Tourists? “Fine with me. I’ve met many very nice visitors to the Valley.”

The apparent Napafication of the Valley that some claim? “Naah! You can’t stop progress. It’s fine with me. We used to be the last to know anything. Now Point Arena is!”

I thought I might get a few opinions on the next one, and I did.

The High School? “I wish more attention was given to activities like the performing arts, band, drama, art, choir — not everyone fits into athletics and sports. I like sports, I go to watch some games but we need to encourage more vocational activities and try to get the flight program back. The airport is right there. It was so successful. Another thing: Why are the trophies the little kids get so big? They end up at the Barn Sale you know! Maybe they can be given when they are older, yes, but the little kids too? And why do we have four graduations at our school? There should be just one; the others should be the handing out of Certificates of Completion without a big ceremony. I don’t know. I worry about the kids of today. They do not seem to be able to take responsibility for their actions. Little kids are the same as they’ve always been — they are just kids. But the parents have changed and as the kids grow up they seem to be more into themselves, very different than in my day. I was told that, Whatever it is you become, be a good one and always do your best. I have tried to follow that advice.”

Who would you vote for Mayor, Gloria, if there were such a position?

“Danny Kuny — he was not a great student but I enjoyed teaching him. As Mayor he would tell it like it is and be honest I’m sure.”

And if you could be Mayor for a day, with the power to change anything, what would you do?

“I would make downtown Boonville beautiful. It’s OK but I would try to make it really something beautiful to match the surrounding countryside.”

To end the interview, I posed a few questions from a list originally devised by French Interviewer and Culture “Expert,” Bernard Pivot, and featured on television’s “Inside the Actors Studio with James Lipton.”

What is your favorite word or phrase? “Do you want to dance?”

What is your least favorite word? “Drunk.”

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? “My Sunday observance at Mass.”

What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally? “Negative people.”

What sound or noise do you love? “Music — particularly country music and the voice of the tenor, Pavarotti.”

What sound or noise do you hate? “Boomboxes in cars.”

What is your favorite curse word or phrase? “Oh, crap!”

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? “A hostess in charge of events and catering on a cruise ship — I could do my job and travel at the same time.”

What profession would you not like to do? “Anything that would involve work on computers. I do my organizing the old-fashioned way with hand-written lists. I’m from the old world.”

Finally, if Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? “Is it OK with you that there are no Barn Sales and Crab Feeds?”

Gloria said she would reply, “That’s not OK. Oh, well, we’ll have plenty of time to socialize with family and friends.”

I had been with Gloria for over three hours. It had been a most enlightening and enjoyable time. She is clearly very accomplished, wise, and competent. She is also a superb cook if her zucchini bread is anything to go by, and I now look forward to being on her Christmas biscotti list!

LITTLE DOG SAYS, “I'm a dog, so what do I know? But these guys are great ones for dragging throw-away furniture in here for their "fire pit." Funny thing is, there's no pit and no fire. And if there is one, the drunks and stray cats come running!”

TYPICAL JUDICIAL MENDO. A criminal grand jury indicts Dr. Peter Keegan for the murder of his wife, Susan. The law says ten working days after the indictment the transcript of the GJ proceedings is made available to the public. It is, after all, a publicly-funded work product. A judge can order it sealed and/or the defendant and/or his attorney can request it be sealed, which no one has yet done.

SINCE no one has yet requested the record of the proceedings be sequestered within the ten days they had to do it, we assumed we'd get a copy on Monday, August 21st, ten working days after the GJ proceeding ended.

WHEN our ace crime reporter asked for the report last Thursday, he was told Judge Ann Moorman "had the report on her desk" but "she's on vacation." We don't expect to see that transcript any time soon, if ever.

DEFENDANT KEEGAN was already given a huge break by Judge Moorman when she put the date for his formal entry of a plea for two months, Friday, October 20th, 9am. Two whole months!

SO HERE WE GO. Endless delays and special consideration from the local courts for a well-heeled defendant. If Joe The Tweeker's wife had been discovered dead in the same circumstances Susan Keegan was found dead in in November of 2010, Joe would be in his 7th year in the state pen.

BOLO (BE ON THE LOOKOUT) IN CUSTODY

Trevor Jackson, 34 years old, 6′ 0″, 190 lbs

Trevor Jackson is wanted on a $500,000 felony warrant for an armed robbery that took place off Hwy 162 on July 16, 2017 at approximately 2:30 a.m. Jackson has been identified as the “ring leader” and the one who planned the entire robbery. Jackson is being sought by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau.

Jackson is known to frequent Potter Valley / Redwood Valley / Hopland / Willits and Ukiah.

If you see him DO NOT APPROACH HIM. Jackson should be considered armed and dangerous based on information known to investigators.

Anonymous tips can be made at the Sheriff’s Office Tip-Line at (707) 234-2100 or the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Dispatch at (707) 463-4086.

Information from a Facebook post by the Mendocino Sheriff’s Office:

ED NOTE: The Sheriff's Department had made this guy a top priority. Sheriff Allman said Saturday he was relieved that Jackson was in custody, implying that he was doubly relieved a patrol deputy was able to take Jackson into custody without trouble. Home invasions are an ongoing concern to all residents of the Emerald Triangle, whether or not they grow marijuana.

Jackson was summed up this way by a commenter on the Redheaded Blackbelt website:

Alright a Bad Guy huh, so bad you gotta put on a ski mask and carry a gun and kidnap good farming people and make them take you to the loot and treasures and gardens these farmers were pouring their blood sweat and tears over so you and your greedy group of wannabe gangstas could get some more drugs to shoot up in your veins and snort up your wise guy noses. The judge is gonna throw the book at you all no matter how hard y’all squeal like pigs on each other, and for good reason. Wanna know why? Because the hard working people — farmers or whatever — are tired of being ripped off and preyed upon by a gang of armed masked men running around the county with automatic weapons, robbin, stealin, and tearing up the country! And you wanna know what? The entire country hopes you guys are all locked up and the keys to your 6×8 jail cells are thrown away. Your only meals will be breakfast at 4 am, lunch at 12 and dinner at 5 in your lonely cold jail cell with nothing to steal except your own underwear, jumpsuit, blue jail shoes, pillow, bed roll and blanket. That’s if they confine you, but most likely you will be locked up with the felony guys in the 3 strikes your out club, or for short, the 25-life club. Too bad for you that all your stealing, killing, robbing and beating people has now caught up with you and your entire crew of the 25-Life club. I bet many people tried to warn you all that stealing robbing and beating people were not the way to make it in this world, yet you all failed to obey the simple commands of the father; thou shall not steal, thou shall not kill…. and now the judgement day by the judge who knows how to weigh and judge evidence has arrived. The judge will weigh the evidence on the scales of justice and the heavy evidence will lead to a swift long sentence of 25-life. That is why you are in the 25-life club! See you all in 2042 ! Of course that is ONLY if the parole board decides to release you for your good behavior in jail. Haha…. Good Luck Gangstas! Gangsta Pride!!

JACKSON IS KNOWN LOCALLY: https://www.theava.com/archives/57290

PENSION MATH: County Retirement System Administrator James Wilbanks tells us that for the 2016/2017 fiscal year the Mendocino County Pension Fund took in about $25 million in combined contributions from employees and the County and paid out about $34 million in benefits, loan repayment, and administration which means they paid out about $9 million more than they’re taking in. BUT, the fund’s investment asset value in that same fiscal year increase from $426 million to almost $484 million, an increase of almost $58 million due to the continued improvement in the stock market and the fund’s investments. Which translates to a net increase overall of about $52 million even with the $34 million payout. Wilbanks told us that in the last 13 years (starting in 2004 where Wilbanks says the data becomes reliable) the average increase in asset value per year has been about 7.5% which is actually above the controversial “assumed rate of return” of 6.5% which the fund management assumes while critics say they’ll never get that much.

WE TOLD WILBANKS that we have very little faith in the stability of the Wall Street and the stock market where most of Mendo’s “assets” are invested. But Wilbanks says he still believes in the power of American entrepreneurism and that in the long run (by which me means 50 years) the fund will continue to grow in asset value and proceeds and that Mendo’s pensioners have nothing to worry about.

WE RESPONDED that this rosy view tends to downplay American capitalism’s predictable and frequently devastating downturns which, among many other things, devalues the assets and returns and puts the fund into the red or worse. Wilbanks acknowldges that likelihood, but insists that such downturns are always followed by recoveries. We agreed to disagree.

WE ASKED WILBANKS what he and his board would do if someone local came to them with an investment opportunity, say a small housing development or some other project with a public benefit component. Wilbanks said the pension board has no policy on local investments at present and he wouldn’t want to invest locally unless some criteria were established such as public benefit, level of risk, how much money the presenter had in the project, what percentage of the fund’s total assets would be involved, etc. — similar to the way a bank might consider a loan application. Although there’s been talk of such proposals over the years, there’s never been anything specific put before the Pension Board and given Mendo’s ratio of rhetoric to action there’s not likely to be in the near future. The County would have to buy in to such an idea too, with some kind of preliminary approval and support, otherwise the County’s obstructionist bureaucracy would kill any development proposal before it got off the ground. (cf: Costco, Garden’s Gate, most of Masonite, the Fort Bragg Mill Site, etc. etc.). Local conservatives like to blame Mendo’s haphazard self-described environmentalists as the primary obstacle to local business development. But the real reasons are: 1. Water and sewer limitations, and 2. Mendo’s many bureaucratic hoops which can take years to even get an answer on, much less final approval from.

(Mark Scaramella)

IT WON'T happen here, but it should: Second home buyers in Healdsburg could be looking at a city tax designed to crack down on tourist rentals over permanent rentals for people who live and work in Healdsburg.

FOOTBALL AND CONCUSSIONS. A 17-year-old Fortuna football player will probably emerge mentally intact from his medically-induced coma after he fainted and began vomiting blood Friday night as the Fortuna vs. Cardinal Newman game in Santa Rosa was winding down. One huge problem with football at the high school level is the physical difference between 15 and 16-year-olds and 17- and 18-year olds. And perennial powerhouse football teams like Cardinal Newman up against a good but usually overmatched team like Fortuna, means Division One college recruits will be playing against kids who won't have the physical tools to play college football. In this particular mis-match, Fortuna seems to have given Newman a game, final score: 41-18.

ELK IN ELK?

It appears that there are elk in Elk. They were reintroduced to California in Humboldt County probably 20 years ago, you can see the resident wild herd as you head north on Highway 101. They were seen in the Willits area, about 15 years ago, and it's very likely they've migrated and started to repopulate the Mendocino coast. Keep your eyes open. Eagles are starting to come back, no reason the elk aren't following their example. Anyone seen elk in the Comptche area?

Ronnie James

A BOONVILLE READER WRITES: A weatherlink system map/data is available to anyone at: http://www.weatherlink.com/map.php   You can enter a location name or zip code and see how many collection stations are there (25,952 stations worldwide). Zooming in on the map reveals individual stations. Clicking on a dot shows the station name and a description of current conditions. Clicking on the station name gives the "My Weather" screen like the one in the AVA this morning. Clicking on the "Summary" tab shows more detail (current, high, low, etc.).

FERAL CAT RESCUE: ‘TRAP NEUTER RELEASE’

by Keri Ann Bourne

Wide frightened eyes peer out from a gaunt face; shifty and nervous. This is just one of the over 50 million feral cats in the United States. When left unchecked, feral cat colonies overwhelm their supply of food, causing both a nuisance to the neighborhood with their fighting and, for the cats, starvation and painful death. Methods such as relocation only move the problem. Extermination is inhumane. Both leave a vacuum that is quickly filled with new and foreign cats. Enter TNR "Trap Neuter Release"

TNR began in the US in the 1960's, gaining popularity quickly. Organizations have been formed to advocate for the benefits of TNR on a global scale. I recently followed a Mendocino County, California organization, Coast Cat Project, during one of its TNR missions.

Statistics say that 1,000 unwanted animals are prevented for every animal spayed or neutered. The essence is in humane sterilization of breeding adults. When adult cats are no longer breeding, they are calmer. They rarely fight. They roam less. The number less animals therefore are less taxing on the scant food resources and safe resting areas.

Since about 2012, Alanna and Valerie have rescued feral kittens. They socialized the kittens and got them adoption-ready. "I don't know why we hadn't thought of it sooner" Alanna said "Why we were taking in so many kittens is that massive spay neuter operations were not happening. There are many cats in our community that are reproducing at high numbers every year. We've rescued 300 plus kittens, when the root of the problem is Spay Neuter."

In 2016, Alanna and Valerie became certified to do TNR. The process involves trapping live cats in wire cages. Food at the feeding location is withheld for 24 hours to entice more cats to come into the traps to retrieve the bait. The cat enters the trap, steps on a plate. The trap is sprung, closing the door and trapping the cat. A volunteer covers the cage which helps to calm the animal. For trap savvy cats or the kittens (which can be too light to set off the spring) they will use a box trap, which requires a volunteer to sit patiently and hold a rope many yards away.

On an hot afternoon we park behind an empty building in a suburb of a small rural town. The heat is distressing. In mere minutes I am uncomfortable and dizzy. Before we enter the yard behind the building I am cautioned: I will see deceased kittens. There are several left on the ground where they last laid down, Valerie explained sadly. With circumstances so dire for these animals, time spent on the lost is better served saving the living.

"We have to push through the emotions." said Alanna Zipp, co-founder of Coast Cat Project. "A lot of people that we've talked to have been like, 'I can't do cat rescue; it's too sad, it's too emotional, it's too hard.' Which it is all of those things. But for us, it's even more reason why we have to do it. We have to help these animals. We can't turn a blind eye because it's hard to look at."

On location at this hot dusty refuge I am in awe. With deft movements and focus borne of determination, quickly there are a dozen such traps around the briars and trees. Within minutes several cats have come out, hungry and drawn by the succulent aroma of tuna and sardines; the most tempting fair ensures better results. At 2 feet long and about a foot high and wide, the empty traps weigh about 7 pounds. Add several pounds of frightened thrashing cat and it is truly impressive to see these dedicated women skillfully handle and store the cages while simultaneously keeping their footing on treacherous terrain and calming the wild animals inside with soft gentle words.

Darkness falls and Valerie is holding a flashlight for Alanna to secure the last of the cats and drape covers over the cages in their safe storage area. Exhausted, hungry, hot; physically and emotionally spent. They plan to return and do it all again the next day.

6am Valerie is already at the site. In the quiet of the new day she traps a few more kittens. Since food was withheld for over 24 hours, more are boldly approaching. At 9am a third volunteer arrives. She takes over the reins of holding a rope of a drop trap, letting Valeria and Alanna have a quick breakfast off site under shade. 10am cages are loaded up into vehicles and taken to where the Mobile Pet Clinic is parked for the day at a local community hall there are several volunteers and already a dozen pets; mostly cats and two dogs. Most are sleeping off their anesthesia and have been gently placed into comfortable positions while they recover. Valerie and Alanna bring in their additions, two at a time, in the cool building, quickly taking up most of the floor space.

At the end of another long hot day the total ferals brought in is 10 adults and 12 kittens. Alanna has taken the kittens to begin their care and the adult cats are packed into the garage of yet another volunteer, where they will recover from the surgery and then be released back to the property they were caught at. While under anesthesia, adults receive an ear tip: painless removal of just a small tip of one ear. This is a universally accepted identifying marker to humans that the cat is sterile.

Bliss Seiferd, is a Veterinarian who's been working with the Mobile Pet Van since its inception in 2000. Bliss has a life long involvement with rescue and shelters. "I've seen attitudes change from euthanasia as a method of population control to preventative means such as Spay Neuter." Bliss said "It is obviously much more humane to prevent unwanted puppies and kittens than it is to kill them when they land in the shelters" She sees firsthand that Spay Neuter is having positive results. "The statistics show that the number of animals entering our shelters have been reduced. Therefore the number of euthanasia's have been reduced."

Bliss encourages the community to become involved. "They can get in the trenches and help trap feed colonies. They can donate not only money but time transporting, networking phone calling. They can become liaisons between shelters and communities for TNR. They can foster kittens and help socialize them for adoption. They can just be aware of the cats they see and not let injured starving animals go without help. Even if they can not provide help themselves they can alert those who can so that cats don’t suffer!"

Resources: www.CoastCatProject.com

https://bourne707.blogspot.com/2017/08/feral-cat-rescue-trap-neuter-release.html

CATCH OF THE DAY, August 27, 2017

JOSE BANUELOS-BARRIGA, Ukiah. DUI.

DIMAS CEJA, Redwood Valley. Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

NICHOLAS DAVIS, Fort Bragg. Suspended license.

SERJIO GONZALEZ, Ukiah. Failure to appear.

TRAVIS GORDON, Goleta/Fort Bragg. Controlled substance.

DUSTIN HILL, Ukiah. DUI.

ERIC KOOYERS, Willits. Controlled substance, paraphernalia, county parole violation.

JASON KOSKI, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, resisting.

TONY MAPLES, Redwood Valley. DUI, no license, priors within last ten years.

RANDY MCCORMICK-BLAKE, Ukiah. DUI, no registration.

JODY MCCOY, Ukiah. Controlled substance, paraphernalia, ammo possession by prohibited person, suspended license.

SARAH MESA, Ukiah. Stolen vehicle.

JERRY MOYLES, Fort Bragg. Battery with serious injury, probation revocation.

TONY PAUL, Ukiah. Domestic abuse, protective order violation, probation revocation.

MICHAEL PERRY, Ukiah. Protective order violation, probation revocation.

GARRY POTTS, Fort Bragg. Controlled substance, probation revocation.

JUAN RODRIGUEZ, Willits. Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

RALPH RUMBLE, Willits. DUI-drugs, vandalism.

GERALD SIMPSON, Willits. Controlled substance, community supervision violation.

KELLY WADE, Ukiah. Controlled substance, under influence, suspended license, probation revocation.

JESSE WOLF, Ukiah. Honey oil sales, controlled substance, controlled substance while armed with loaded gun, felon-addict in possession of firearm, ammo possession by prohibited person, offenses while on bail.

NICOLE WRIGHT, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

As a signmaker in Los Angeles, I struggled with vertigo every day I went out with the installation crew. I was so much happier staying in the shop, on the ground. The pay was really good, the higher you went, the better the pay. So I basically spent my entire working life trying to overcome my fear of heights. Only froze once. On top of a gas-station sign near the freeway, a 100ft up. I was new. Got over it enough to do my job. Still.......

THUS DID THE AMERICANS ignore the most basic factor of the war, and when they did stumble across it, it continued to puzzle them. McNamara's statistics and calculations were of no value at all, because they never contained the fact that if the ratio was ten to one in favor of the government, it still meant nothing because the one man was willing to fight and die and the ten were not.

— David Halberstam, The Best and the Brightest, prefiguring Afghanistan

WHERE ARE THEY COMING FROM?

Read on...from Sunday’s SF Examiner: sfexaminer.com/sf-expanding-program-bused-10k-homeless-residents-town-past-decade/

AFTER SHARING A 'KILL NAZI' CAKE, OAKLAND BAKER'S PAGE IS FLOODED WITH NEGATIVE REVIEWS

by Michelle Robertson

Oakland baker Ashley Shotwell says her Facebook page was flooded with negative reviews after she shared a video of a birthday cake decorated with the phrase 'Kill Nazis.'

An Oakland baker says her Facebook page was flooded with negative reviews after she shared a video of a birthday cake decorated with the phrase, "Kill Nazis."

Ashley Shotwell posted a video of the black-and-red confection on social media Wednesday afternoon. Hours later, she says the Facebook video had been shared at least 10 times. Typically, her videos aren't shared at all.

Shotwell also found her page inundated by about 200 negative reviews, some of which claimed they purchased cakes filled with maggots.

"There were also a bunch saying they came into my bakery and I yelled at them about communism," Shotwell said. "I don't even have a storefront."

She suspects alt-right groups are responsible for the spread of the video, which Shotwell has since deleted from Facebook page, as well as the slew of one-star ratings.

Most of the negative reviews have been reported and removed from her Facebook page, but 164 remained as of Saturday evening. Those reviews have been countered by 1,200 five-star ratings from friends and customers. Shotwell says she had about 20 ratings, prior to Thursday.

Wrote one reviewer: "So a bunch of Nazis decided to give this lady a hard time with fake one-star reviews because she's not a white supremacist. Too bad for them that they just gave this lady a bunch of free publicity, and 5-star reviews, and very likely a lot of new business."

According to Shotwell, a customer requested the "Kill Nazi" cake after being inspired by a "Resist Fascism" cake on her Instagram page. She says she didn't think twice about completing the customer's order, having received no negative feedback on her sprinkle-covered "Fascism" creation.

While Shotwell says she has no problem making cakes that "take a stance against fascist ideals," she might think twice before baking another "Kill Nazi" dessert.

"I'd probably suggest it say 'Punch Nazis' instead," she said.

(SF Chronicle)

MONTGOMERY CLIFT: THE FIGHT AGAINST THE MASK

by Manuel Vicent (translated by Louis S. Bedrock)

He had large, gray, hypnotic eyes. With merely a glance, he could express intelligence, desperation, any longing or intimate desire in rapid succession, at times overlapping. That was his power. It is necessary to recall the way he fixed his eyes upon Shelley Winters before murdering her, or his look of fascination and amazement when he sees Elizabeth Taylor for the first time in A Place in the Sun.

Montgomery Clift was that Yankee soldier in The Search who saves a lost child among the ruins of Berlin in order to return him to civilization, as a metaphor for peace. He was that priest in I Confess who is willing to keep secret the name of a murderer that was revealed to him under the confidentiality of confession despite facing sentencing himself. He was that suave, elegant young man who waited for Olivia Havilland at the foot of the stairs of her mansion in Washington Square with an ambiguous expression of a fortune hunter in love in the movie The Heiress. He was that stubborn marine who refused to box and who played a chilling version of taps on his cornet in From Here to Eternity.

There was no actor in Hollywood who looked so good in a tuxedo with a hermetic smile, and a whisky in his hand. Monte was so damned real on screen, Fred Zimmerman used to say, that people didn’t believe he was a professional actor.

His eyes reflect all the turmoil of his spirit even after the automobile accident that destroyed his beautiful, impenetrable face, but then began the fierce combat between his soul and his mask.

…

At that time he was the actor challenging Marlon Brando for first place. Both had gone through Actor’s Studio. When the two came together at meetings it fomented great expectations—so said the girls of the Academy: No one knew which of the two to look at first.

—Marlon had an animal magnetism and all conversation stopped when he approached a group. For his part, Monte was the personification of elegance.

The two watched each another carefully and admired one another. Monte was the first to reject the rules of Hollywood that tried to pigeonhole him as a conventional romantic hero.

…

Success tends to be accompanied first by anxiety; later comes insomnia and the pills: Nembutal, Doriden, Luminal, Seconal—the drugs boosted by alcohol; and ultimately there comes an attraction to the abyss, the most powerful addiction. This was the path thoroughly followed by Montgomery Clift.

He exhibited his homosexuality like a sophisticated wound:

—I don’t understand it. In bed, I want men. But in reality I love women — he would say.

He maintained an intimate relationship with Elizabeth Taylor that was absolutely non-sexual. At first he was mildly alcoholic and mildly addicted to drugs with enough control to alleviate the pressures of fame. He was at the summit of his career when the gods crossed his path.

It happened during the dawn of July 12, 1956, after a dinner in the mansion of Elizabeth Taylor in Coldwater Canyon, in Malibú where Monty had gone reluctantly after his friend had called him five times insisting on seeing him that evening. There were a lot of friends present—there were Rock Hudson, Kevin McCarthy, Jack Larson. They drank. They played records of Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. They danced.

At dawn, the fog had moved up from the ocean to the hills of Bel Air and was curling around the winding highway that that descended to Sunset Boulevard. After the party, Monte, who was quite drunk, felt incapable of getting home unless Kevin McCarthy’s car was in front of his to guide him. There came a moment when Monte’s friend saw a cloud of dust in his rear view mirror.

Monte had had an accident. Kevin went back to help him. He called Elizabeth Taylor. When his two friends arrived at the scene of the accident, in the illumination of the headlights, they found the highway strewn with shards of glass, the car embedded in a telephone pole, and Monte’s face smashed against the dashboard.

Liz Taylor climbed inside the car and rested Monte’s head upon her lap. His blood saturated her silk gown. Monte was alive, but his nose was broken, his jaw was shattered, he had a deep wound in his left cheek, and his upper lip was split; several teeth had been knocked out and Liz had to extract some of those teeth which were incrusted in his throat so he wouldn’t choke to death.

…

Montgomery Clift survived the accident and even lived for another ten years. He gave his friend Elizabeth Taylor a souvenir of the accident—one of his dislodged teeth. But in reality, his death occurred that night when he lay bleeding on her lap.

At that time they were filming Raintree County together, a movie about the Civil War in which Metro had invested five million dollars—the largest budget ever until then. The filming was about halfway through at the time of the accident. Monte convinced himself that he could continue. He had lost his good looks and he had to get used to his new face. That was all.

The movie wound up concealing the scars on his forehead, the paralysis of his left cheek, his split upper lip. All the magic was now in the hands of the makeup artists. In some shots the old angel may be seen; in others, the future demon protrudes.

He continued to be an excellent actor. He later made other successful films: The Young Lions; Wild River; Judgement at Nuremburg; The Misfits. At first, he consoled himself thinking that all of the gods of marble extracted from ruins also had broken noses, split mouths, and shattered jaws, and nevertheless continued to be gods.

…

The beautiful Montgomery Clift lived without mirrors in a house with black curtains covering all the windows. In his path toward destruction, he needed ever harder alcohol, ever stronger drugs, ever more perverted lovers, and ever more diabolic plastic surgeons.

He had two guides for his descent into the Inferno. One was Giles, a slender young Frenchman who was 26 years old, had slanted eyes, was a model and a designer, and who supplied him with choir boys and attended to all his vices to the point of taking him, at the end of a long road of depravity, to Dirty Dick’s. Dirty Dick’s was a dive on Christopher Street, famous among homosexual port workers, sailors, and other thugs from the flesh market.

At Dirty Dick’s, you had to slide open a thick greasy curtain in order to enter a squalid dark little room where Montgomery Clift was lying on a surgeon’s table so that ruffians, leather clad transvestites, could spit on him, punch him, or urinate on his face. There was a chaos of shouting, like at a cockfight where betting is taking place, and the only thing missing was a sheet of flames pierced by the laughter of the devil.

The police approached one of his friends,

—Get him out of there. We can’t do anything without a judicial warrant.

When his friends arrived to rescue him, the curiosity seekers attending that performance shouted for them not to take him.

The other guide to Hell was named Manfred Von Linde, a surgeon suspected of having murdered his wife, a phony member of the Nobility. He was a smooth-faced man who accompanied millionaire widows at society dances and who supplied cadavers to a funeral parlor for homosexuals on Sixth Avenue. There, for 50 dollars, one could have intimate relations with exquisite cold cuts. This surgeon operated on Monte several times in search of his soul. He didn’t find it.

Freud, directed by John Huston, was one of his last films. No one ever interpreted the struggle between the unconscious and its own mask like this actor.

THE FERRIS WHEEL built for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition had a capacity of 2,160 passengers: 40 seated, 20 standing in each of 36 cars.

GREEN PARTY MEETING IN UKIAH

We, Greens, meet every 3rd Sunday rotating between Ukiah, Willits, the Coast and Boonville. Our next meeting will be Sunday, September 17th, 2-5pm at Alex Thomas Plaza in Ukiah, right where Occupy used to meet.  It’s free to attend no matter where you are from or going.  Based on real ethical values, Greens are in 156 countries around the world including the USA. The California Greens are active in 35 counties and we just started again in Mendocino. We have a great opportunity to unite with many ideologies to be a voice for non-voters, independents, Peace and Freedom, protest voters, Earth First!ers and Native Peoples and Peace activists. We need a 3rd party voice where you can participate without stigma or judgment.  Join us Sunday September 17th 2pm at Alex Thomas Plaza!

(Robin Sunbeam)

TUNE IN TO WILDOAK LIVING on KZYX Mon Aug 28 at 9am: Gabriel Tallent, author of 'My Absolute Darling'

Join Johanna "Wildoak" for Wildoak Living, the radio program about living sustainably in Mendocino County and beyond. Monday, Aug 28 from 9 to 10am PT on Mendocino County Public Broadcasting (KZYX, 91.5 FM, 90.7 FM and 88.1 FM) and on the web at kzyx.org. Program Topic: Interview with Gabriel Tallent

Johanna interviews a former Mendonesian who is making some pretty big news in the literary world right now: Gabriel Tallent, a Mendocino Community School alumnus, has written a novel - My Absolute Darling - that's getting a lot of national buzz. Tallent’s debut novel tells a difficult story that is ultimately about how people take care of each other in communities like ours. The book is set entirely in Mendocino / Fort Bragg, and the main character is a student at Mendo schools. Former and current teachers are mentioned by name.  Stephen King says about the book: "The word 'masterpiece' has been cheapened by too many blurbs, but My Absolute Darling absolutely is one." Time permitting, we will take calls from listeners. You can also email questions or comments in advance to contact@wildoak.org.

Gabriel Tallent will give an author talk and sign his book at Little River Inn on Thursday, August 31 at 6:00 pm. The event is hosted by Gallery Bookshop and Little River Inn. A portion of the proceeds from book sales will be donated to the Mendocino Unified School Enrichment Program (MUSE). <http://muse.mcn.org/>

To find out about future programs or to send feedback, questions or topics, please email contact@wildoak.org. How to listen to WildOak Living: Listen to Wildoak Living live every other Monday at 9am Pacific Time on KZYX (Mendocino County Public Broadcasting), on the radio at 88.1, 90.7 and 91.5 in Mendocino County and in Northern Sonoma, Lake and Southern Humboldt counties and on the web at www.kzyx.org  (click on Listen Now). Listen anytime to archived podcasts of Wildoak Living and find more information about previous topics and guests on the programs website wildoakliving.org. That's a great way to catch up if you miss a program or if you'd like to share a program with someone else. Podcasts of the most recent programs are also available right after the program airs at jukebox.kzyx.org. Those programs will be available there for about two months following broadcast. Please support your public radio station. You can donate to KZYX and become a member at www.kzyx.org

Thank you for listening to Wildoak Living and for supporting public/community radio!

CHIP GIBBONS, Heroes And Patriots, KMEC Radio, Original Broadcast, Monday, August 21, 2017

Visit Facebook And Youtube Pages To Hear Our Program With Guest, Chip Gibbons, And All Of Our Guests, On Heroes And Patriots, KMEC Radio With The Link Provided!! Mary Massey, Co-Host, Heroes and Patriots

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=heroes+and+patriots%2C+kmec+radio

Heroes and Patriots is a program about national security, intelligence and foreign policy. The show is streamed live each Monday, 1 p.m., P.S.T. on Like us on Facebook and YouTube at Heroes and Patriots, KMEC Radio, Mendocino Environmental Center.

Follow on: Facebook, YouTube and Twitter @heroesandpatri2