Mendocino County Today: Friday, Feb. 9, 2018

• Celltower Proposal
• Missing Rain
• Ed Notes
• Boonfire Poster
• Good Conscience
• Commissioner Moreo
• Industry Collapsing
• Osprey
• Tire Baby
• AVUSD Minutes
• Farmers' Market
• Mateel Violations
• Missing People
• Yesterday's Catch
• Pot Wealth
• Two-Stage Waterfix
• Trump Spurned
• Early Christianity
• To Bed
• Congested Cities

HOLMES RANCH TOWER

Hello AVA,

Thank you for featuring our story in the AVA this week. I am Lynn Mullen - my husband, Sean, and I are the ones who have a proposal to install an AT&T tower on our property, located in Holmes Ranch.

Since this matter was brought forward to the community at-large, we would like to clarify some details. The proposed tower is not "just" a cell phone tower - it will also offer broadband internet, as well as FirstNet equipment (special technology for first responders). The tower is a part of Connect America Fund, which designates federal dollars to bring technology to rural areas. Below is a letter that we sent to the HOA this week, addressing some of the concerns that have been raised by some in the Membership. We hope that it will give you more details and insight into our proposal.

Please let me know if you have any questions, or need additional details. We are happy to help.

Kind regards,

Lynn and Sean Mullen

* * *

Hello neighbors,

Thank you for all of the discussion surrounding the proposed cell/internet tower. We wanted to check in with you all to share some additional information, as we have not communicated to the Membership at-large since our initial letter on the project.

Our proposed site is a part of an Obama administration program called Connect America Fund, which is focused on increasing services to underserved rural areas, and designates federal funds to establish new services. Mendocino County is one of these underserved regions, with coverage and internet speeds that fail to meet federal public utilities guidelines, as a recent report by the Haas Institute at UC Berkeley outlined in this article. <http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/article/NP/20170506/NEWS/170509901>

For those who do not know us well, Lynn is a scientist (geneticist and biochemist) and worked more than two decades in the biotech industry, studying diseases like cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease. Sean has spent his entire career in software and technology, helping state and local government with emergency preparedness and response across all 50 states. We apply research, logic, and reason to just about every aspect of our lives, and assessing this tower was no exception.

In September 2016, an agent of AT&T, approached many neighbors about placing an infrastructure tower on the Ranch by sending a letter by mail. Having noticed the Valley's lack of services and options, particularly running two virtual businesses from our home, we responded. We spent many months considering different issues internally before we made our decision to proceed. To date, the Membership has not raised any unexpected issue, or something that we had not already considered. So, we thank you for these ongoing discussions, as they are important! As stated in our initial letter to the Membership, we see our proposal as a way to contribute to the safety infrastructure of our Valley, for residents and tourists alike.

A few points have been raised that we'd like to address, and we will do our best to keep our comments concise.

1) Our application to the County is not in violation of the CC&Rs of the HRA. According to the notes that Duncan sent to the Membership, the HRA's own attorney, quite familiar with our CC&Rs, suggested this course of action for the Board. Further, something that does not yet exist cannot be considered a nuisance.

2) FirstNet equipment: It is worth emphasizing in writing that the proposed tower is not only housing optional services like voice and data. It will be housing important FirstNet Radio equipment. FirstNet is a nationwide public safety program to equip first responders with needed communication tools, and is only available on AT&T towers. We encourage you to take the time to find out more about this program here <https://firstnet.gov/sites/default/files/TopTenFAQs_180107_v3.pdf>, and consider the impact it would have for the first responders in our small community.

3) Physics — it’s the law: Understand that Radio Frequency does not travel downhill in waves that blanket the landscape. It is simply untrue. Rather, RF travels in a focused manner straight out to the horizon by line-of-sight propagation <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-of-sight_propagation>, directly from transmitting antenna to receiving antenna. RF is also easily interrupted by trees, hills, and buildings. These are some of the reasons that towers located at higher elevations (closer to the horizon) are desired. When a cell phone makes a call, its transmitting signal travels directly up to meet with the receiving signal in the atmosphere.

4) Safety: The World Health Organization, American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, and the Federal Communications Commission - among others - assert that RF exposure from towers that adheres to FCC standards is not a health risk. We recognize that some individuals may have a general mistrust of government agencies, or disbelief in a consensus of scientific results — we can’t address those issues and recognize we won’t change anyone’s mind.

5) More safety: The FCC has established acceptable limits of continuous RF exposure for general population. It is 5 times more restrictive than occupational limits. The proposed tower was assessed by a third party compliance firm called Waterford. They found that the proposed site's RF emissions on the ground at the antenna site will be 2.1% of the FCC standard. This is significantly below federally-recognized safe limits for general population. Neighboring buildings in the immediate vicinity will be at 0.31% or less of the FCC standard, decreasing substantially with distance.

6) Europe is safer: Many members have brought up European standards for RF exposure as being below those in the USA. That is true. Fortunately, the proposed tower would be below even the European standards for RF exposure! Additionally, we've attached an Executive Summary from a study by the independent Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation (AGNIR), based in the United Kingdom, entitled “Health Effects from Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields.” We encourage all members to read this short summary. To quote the final sentence: “In summary, although a substantial amount of research has been conducted in this area, there is no convincing evidence that RF field exposure below guideline levels causes health effects in adults or children.”

7) Towers on buildings: Articles and studies that focus on cell towers mounted on top of schools and fire departments (such as the KPIX article sent around) are not relevant to this situation. Our proposed tower site is more than 800 feet away — about 3 football fields — from the closest residence other than our own. Further, the closest residences to the site are separated by topography and vegetation.

8) Property Values: If there were to be a property to see a decrease in property value, it would be ours. As part of our initial due diligence, we spoke to local realtors to gain more information on their perspectives. They were unanimous about the fact that people moving to the Valley desire quality service options. One of the realtors herself installed a cell phone tower on her own property to help meet the demand for services. In their eyes, due to extremely limited inventory in this Valley, properties are continually in demand. They did not feel that the presence of a cell phone tower would have a negative impact on property values, so long as the tower was not in close proximity to a residence, or did not interrupt the property's view. The claim by George D’Amato that the presence of a tower would drop property values $100,000 overnight is pure speculation and not substantiated by any data.

9) Eye-sore: The images of the "monopine" construction sent by Christina Jones are not representative of our proposed tower. You may review several renderings of our location here <https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9wYH2zBaNH8OXNiYnhiaFFMSkxQSlllRTYxUmlqMWpDY21F>, to see how the proposed tower would blend in with the existing landscape. Aesthetics was one of our first considerations.

If any neighbors, after reviewing the email notes and documents from the community meeting in December, have any questions for us, please let us know. We are happy to field what we can, and help information source for those that we can't. While we understand that this proposal is contentious for some, we believe that it will serve the greater good of Anderson Valley for residents and tourists alike.

Respectfully,

Lynn and Sean Mullen, Philo

DROUGHT BOUND?

by Marshall Newman

It was a dry Anderson Valley day in late January this year. The morning temperature was crisp, the sun warming, and the light and shadows bright and deep in the forest where I was piling brush. However, as I worked, I realized a couple of things were missing from this winter’s day in Anderson Valley: puddles and mud.

Anderson Valley long-timers know puddles and mud are winter staples. In a region that typically received 40 to 50 inches of rain annually, both stand ready to make life messy as soon as one leaves pavement behind. Feet slide, tires spin, muck splashes, cars and trucks bounce (where there’s a road puddle, there is usually a pothole) and other perilous stuff happens when the soil becomes saturated and the rain keeps coming.

Recent winters in Anderson Valley have not been typical. Annual average rainfall totals have been declining in the valley since the 1990s and four years of drought from 2012 to 2016 made puddles and mud definite rarities. Only the wet rainy season of 2016-2017 brought back the good old days of sloppy conditions and lots of runoff, though older long-time residents will say last season’s rainfall was essentially the norm in the 1950s and 1960s.

While a prediction now may be premature, Anderson Valley – and virtually all of Northern California – appears to be on the cusp of another drought. Anderson Valley has had two or three long dry spells this winter, the most recent being the current two-plus weeks (as of February 9). Rainfall in Anderson Valley is approximately half of normal for this point in the winter and the current northern Sierra Nevada snowpack is 30 percent of normal.

As for weather professionals’ thoughts about rainfall for the rest of the winter and spring, any optimism is guarded, at best. A regional climatologist at the Western Regional Climate Center’s Desert Research Institute noted that similar extended early dry spells often were followed by significant rain and snow in March and April. One meteorologist suggested there may be weather changes coming to break the current dry pattern after February 15. However, a veteran meteorologist commented that no year with a similar extended early snowfall shortfall in the Sierra Nevada has ever finished the snow season with an average snowpack.

Miracles happen, but rarely in weather. Unless Anderson Valley receives lots of rain in March and April, especially in the latter two weeks of April and perhaps extending into May, the valley almost certainly will be dealing with drought during summer and autumn.

From one telling observation, unlike the previous drought, creeks, rivers and aquifers will dry out VERY quickly if a drought comes this year. Despite all the rain last year, the Navarro River in September 2017 flowed at nearly the same miniscule rate as it did in September of 2016, the end of the previous four-year drought. Indeed, one could step across it in some spots near Hendy Woods State Park with a single stride. Our one good rain year has not replenished underground aquifers depleted by four previous years of drought. Dry wells and dry agricultural water sources by mid-summer are a definite possibility if rain doesn’t come in quantity, and soon.

The missing rain, puddles and mud notwithstanding, that late January day in Anderson Valley was a fine one; the Navarro River deep green and rushing, mushrooms pushing up from a dark carpet of leaves, the cool shade of tall redwoods and air so fresh one could almost taste it. We still have nearly three months of the rainy season to go and water could pour from the heavens for days and perhaps weeks. The future is unknown, but the present suggests we may have plenty to worry about when it comes to water this year. Cross your fingers.

ED NOTES

JESSE SLOTTE, severely wounded in Iraq, has pled guilty to one felony and one misdemeanor stemming from a Potter Valley episode imperiling his estranged wife and the couple's infant son. The heavily decorated former Army sergeant has now been sentenced to a period of intense therapy, which he is court-ordered to continue when his first course is completed. He will be back in court in March for review.

* * *

THAT CHAIN LINK FENCE cordoning off the Health and Human Services Building in central Ukiah is not aimed at bum-proofing the structure, as we had suspected. It is Step One to bum-proofing the building. The homeless had been massing there to spend the night, somewhat protected from the elements by an overhang. That overhang is about to be re-done, hence the fencing to keep people out while the work on it is underway. But here's the rub: the new overhang will be at least partially porous, meaning rain can get through, meaning that the homeless hoping to sleep beneath it in stormy weather will have to find dry space some place else. At least that's what we are told by a person who knows.

OF COURSE official Mendo is hardly likely to admit to bum-proofing its Welfare Office, once the site of at least six separate businesses including the Greyhound stop which came complete with a ticket office presided over by a memorably churlish woman who made buying a ticket an unforgettable encounter. “Our first concern is the health and safety of our staff and the public,” CEO Angelo told the Ukiah Daily Journal. “That’s the number one reason we are fencing it off.” The number two reason is bum-proofing.

* * *

FROST FAN ALERT. Get ready, Anderson Valley, for an exceedingly noisy Spring. The summery weather has caused plant life to bud out prematurely. That means no fruit this summer because the March and April freezes will kill the blooms. Grape blooms? The frost fans strewn from one end of The Valley to the other will undoubtedly roar into life from midnight to sun-up many mornings of the Spring months, destroying the sleep of at least a thousand persons.

BUT, but, but.....But doesn't the County have a noise ordinance? Isn't it against the law in Mendocino County to create a sustained din exceeding 50 decibels? Uh, there is no law in Mendocino County, short of murder, that the wine industry can't ignore with impunity, even noise levels that exceed 80 decibels in some residential neighborhoods.

* * *

HOPLAND is almost as happening these days as the Anderson Valley, Mendocino County's most happening community. The Hopland Hotel is about to re-open with an entire new interior, right down to reconfigured rooms and bathrooms and air conditioning throughout the venerable 19th century structure. A friend tells me that the new owners have even hired a curator to re-do the library off the bar, meaning real books in place of those Reader's Digest tomes that historically fouled the hotel's library shelves.

THE EXTERIOR paint job on the hotel re-boot is controversial, to say the least. It's so dark I half-expected Vampira to stick her head out an upstairs window. The dark gray paint job, I'm informed, is to avoid creating one more repetition of a preciously restored Victorian astride 101. The owners have succeeded in achieving their desired singularity. Driving south, I was so startled I turned around for another look. I'm not sure yet if I like it, but it's definitely a grabber of a visual.

THE HOPLAND SUPERETTE MARKET remains closed. I miss it, everyone misses it. For many years the store was our one and only Hopland venue. We sold between 30-40 papers a week there before newspapers lurched onto the endangered species list. We understand that the Kong family got into a terrific in-family beef that lead to the demise of the store, mostly presided over by the vivid Ava Kong. I won't forget her calling me up one day so worried that she was tardy paying her bill that she said she was going to drive to Boonville to pay up! The bills had gone out maybe three days prior.

TACKED TO ELK STORE ‘SANDWICH BOARD’

DEBRA KEIPP WRITES: "I went in on the 30th to apply for the KZYX board of directors. I filled out paperwork and they told me I had to be a member. I'd just been to Santa Rosa for minor surgery and hadn’t taken much money or valuables with me, as directed. I didn't have $50 on me to pay membership that day. The next morning, the 31st, while driving to Philo, I heard on the ten o'clock show the announcement that that day was the deadline to sign up to run for the board. The 31st! So I stopped in and paid my membership @$50! The next day I received an email saying that in good conscience, they could not accept my application for the board."

HUH? "Good conscience?" That's almost funny, but they may have some rule — the ink in the rule book at the Philo bunker is never dry — about being a member for the year prior to a rubber stamp anointment, er, election.

APPOINTMENT OF JOSEPH A. MOREO AS AGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONER FOR THE COUNTY OF MENDOCINO

The Mendocino County of Board of Supervisors is pleased to announce the appointment of Joseph A. Moreo as the County’s Agricultural Commissioner. Mr. Moreo previously served as the Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights and Measures for Modoc County. He joins Mendocino County with 35 years of experience in agriculture, and is an alumnus of Ohio State University and the former president of the Regional Association of Northern California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers.

Supervisor Dan Hamburg, representing the 5th District and current Board Chair, commented on Mr. Moreo’s appointment, "We are pleased to hire an Agricultural Commissioner with such a deep background in all of the varied aspects of this job. Mr. Moreo appreciates the importance of ‘hands on’ management and the professional development of his staff." 

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Moreo indicated his excitement to join the County of Mendocino: “I was drawn to work for Mendocino County as it begins the process of merging a traditional agricultural community with the emerging cannabis industry. I feel my years of experience will bring stability to an office facing huge changes in a rapidly shifting environment.”

Carre Brown, 1st District Supervisor and longtime member of the Mendocino County Farm Bureau stated “Mr. Moreo understands the critical role a diverse and productive Agricultural economy plays in our rural County. Mr. Moreo brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the job and we are excited to have him on board as our new Agricultural Commissioner.”

For more information, please contact the Mendocino County Executive Office at (707) 463-4441

Carmel J. Angelo
Chief Executive Officer

ON-LINE POT CHAT:

I’m just going to put this one out there to see what anybody else thinks about the cannabis collapse and the recent Bitcoin collapses as well as the collapse of the stock market. Many of us have been speculating that this is closely related to the fact that the marijuana industry is GONE. A lot of people that had previously invested in different areas with canna profits are pulling their money out because they can’t pay their bills. Talked with a long-haul trucker today. She told me in previous years she ran soil loads between Humboldt and Mendocinino County non-stop 15 hours a day since 2010. This year she has yet to haul one load of soil she is trying to find other commodities to transport. Yet another person I know that owns a well-known garden supply store is actually thinking of closing their doors because there has been absolutely zero business the last month. In spite of being in business for many many years he just doesn’t see how he can sustain this much longer. I know of at least 15 houses that are going into foreclosure as the people are leaving the area because they cannot afford their payments anymore. So it would seem the only jobs that are left in the area are in government, law enforcement and small tourism, restaurant, grocery store etc jobs. All of the trimmigrants have been gone I don’t see as many of them around anymore and when they do come there are pretty pathetic lot because there’s no money to be had. Is anybody else thinking down the same lines or talking about this with their friends? We’re watching it all implode right now with our own eyes. If you buy all the foreclosed properties what’s the point? There’s no value in them anymore with prices dropping like rocks, so what’s the point of owning it if it’s worth nothing?

TROUT FISHING

(Photo by Judy Valadao)

THE TIRE BABY OF THE 1920s

by Malcolm Macdonald

When I was of preschool age in the 1950s my mother's method of discipline when we traveled about in public was to inform me that if I didn't behave myself I'd have to sit in the car alone while she did her shopping, got the mail, or visited friends and relatives. My mother was a well-versed, lifelong practitioner of the art of conversation, so a simple trip into Mendosa's Store could seem an eternity to a three or four-year-old confined to a Ford station wagon with nothing but one's own imagination for entertainment. As readers might easily gather, I learned quickly to tag along quietly with Mom.

At some point in my early childhood development I grew aware of the concept of foundlings, orphans, and adopted children. I even developed a detailed tale of how Australian gypsies had left me on the doorstep at the Macdonald ranch. This ploy was usually pulled out at times when things were not going my childish way at the aforesaid ranch, but neither Mr. or Mrs. Macdonald took this to heart, as evidenced by their willingness to claim me as their own throughout their relatively long lives.

Other children were not so fortunate in their selection of parents. Witness this account from 1926:

Mr. and Mrs. R.J. Murray of Fort Bragg called at the garage of James Maksente on West Street in Healdsburg the first Sunday of June to purchase a pair of tires for their automobile, telling Mr. Maksente that they were bound for home in Fort Bragg when the old casings would not hold out for the length of the trip. Mrs. Murray carried a giggly, blue-eyed, six-month-old baby boy in her arms and while her husband was attempting to conclude a transaction with Maksente it became clear that Mr. Murray was lacking in the needed funds.

Mr. Murray offered to leave the baby with Mr. Maksente, garage man, until he (Mr. Murray) could obtain the necessary funds to pay the bill. At this point Mr. Maksente telephoned to his wife, describing the situation. Apparently, the Maksentes, being childless, accepted the proposition put to them by the Murrays.

At this point Mr. Maksente helped Mr. Murray mount the two new tires, valued at $12.50. The infant was transferred into Maksente's arms and the Murrays wended their way north to Mendocino County and its coast.

The public notoriety given the Murrays once the proposition was printed in newspapers was one thing, but Sonoma County legal authorities read the papers too. District Attorney George W. Hoyle as well as Sonoma County Probation Officer John P. Plover commenced an investigation into the unusual transaction.

In the meantime Mr. and. Mrs. Murray returned to Healdsburg where Mr. Murray was promptly arrested on a charge of petit larceny on a warrant sworn out by H.G. Grant, a Cloverdale merchant, who accused Murray of having stolen a dress from his store during the previous week.

Both the Murrays and Maksente denied to authorities that the baby was pawned over to the garage owner. Mr. Murray claimed he had promised to pay $1 per day for the infant's care until he and/or his wife returned for the child.

Law enforcement was having none of Murray's excuses. Probation Officer Plover escorted Murray to Santa Rosa and lodged him in the county jail. Mrs. Murray was also detained pending a hearing of the case in the Sonoma County court system. Readers would presume that among other queries Mrs. Murray's motives in the matter would have come into question.

Meanwhile, the auto was returned to Maksente's garage where he removed the unpaid for tires. Newspaper accounts made mention that Mr. Murray was of Portuguese ancestry and that seemingly his original name was Antone Maria. He had been residing in Fort Bragg for several years, making some sort of name for himself as a local prizefighter.

The Sonoma County Probation Office filed a petition to have the infant, whose name was Roy, declared a ward of the juvenile court. Mr. and Mrs. Maksente expressed a desire to adopt the child.

A somewhat bizarre followup twist on this story was recounted in a Healdsburg Tribune story precisely two years after the “tire baby” affair: “The 18 month old baby boy which has been in the Maksente home since it was a few days old, was taken from the local couple to Ukiah where it will likely be put in a home of some kind...

“The child was taken away from Maksente by Probation Officer John Plover, upon request by the Mendocino county probation officer […] Maksente was endeavoring to get papers of adoption for the child when the opposition occurred. It appears Maksente brought the child here from Ukiah when the latter was only a few days old, after the parents, whose name could not be learned, had given him permission to take it to his home to bring up.

“Maksente, proprietor of a West street tire store, recently bought a small ranch near Lytton and it was the home there that was visited by the officials this week.”

This was not the “tire baby” as the Healdsburg Tribune article finally makes clear: “Maksente received state-wide newspaper publicity two years ago when he obtained from some tourists, a laughing, blue-eyed baby boy in exchange for some automobile tires. He kept that child only a few days and was forced to part with it when the law interfered and brought the negligent parents to task. It was not many months afterward that it was announced Mr. and Mrs. Maksente were the parents of a little son, and the child has been regarded here as a son of the local people since that time.”

(Spare tales, if not tires, traded freely at: malcolmmacdonaldoutlawford.com)

AV UNIFIED NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 5

Decisions from the February 6 Board Meeting

Members Present President, Wynne Crisman, Saiorse Byrne, Kristie Hotchkiss, Craig Walker

Approval of Agenda Pulled Agenda Item F1 Approve Proposed Calendars for 2018—19

Report from Closed Session: renewed the Superintendent Contract

The Consent Agenda included Minutes from January 17 Meeting, Warrants and Budget Transfers. In addition, the Board approved one overnight field trip, two out of District transfers, a donation from Unity

Club to AVES Music Program in honor of Robin Lindsay, Transportation Plan, an employee resignation, Ag Teacher stipend and second read of Board policies

New Action Items considered by the Board

❖ Committee on Spanish Literacy will be formed, Board Members Kristy Hotchkiss and Saiorse Byrne will serve as part of the committee

❖ Community Relations Board Policy 1325 Advertising and Promotion was tabled until next regularly scheduled board meeting

Board Policies Passed

• BP 3100— Budget
• BP 3515 — Firearms on School Grounds
• AR 3517— Facilities Inspection
• BP 4119, 4219, 4319— Professional Standards
• AR 4144, 4244, 4344— Complaints
• BP 4200— Classified Personnel
• AR 4200— Classified Personnel
• BP 5144— Discipline
• BP 5144— Suspension and Expulsion/Due Process
• AR 5144— Suspension and Expulsion/Due Process
• AR 5148— Before and After School Program
• BB 9150— Student Board Member

Discussion

AVHS Principal, Jim Snyder, presented the current High School Graduation Requirements in relation to UC/CSU entrance requirements and CA College and Career Readiness Standards

Fiscal/Budget

AVUSD recieved 1st Interim Letter from MCOE Business Department that highlights concerns with AVUSD the current budget which is qualified Budget Reduction Committee presented suggestions to the Board as to where the District can save money while retaining current staffing

Information Reports and Presentations

First read of Board Policies BP 3311— Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Procedures AR

3311— Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Procedure AR 3311Æ2— Lease—Leaseback

Contracts AR 3311— Design—Build Contracts AR 3311— Procurement of Technological Equipment

9121— President, option 1Æ BB 9320— Meetings and Notices

The Board heard the Superintendent’s Report, Technology Report, High School Principal’s Report and Elementary Principal’s Report

Meeting adjourned at 1030 pm

BOONVILLE WINTER MARKET

The Boonville Winter Market will be set up at the Winter Abundance Workshop at the Fairgrounds this Saturday, February 10th.

From our vendors...

Jessica Van Grieken will be there with Valentine's Day chocolates (see more info below).

Petit Teton will be at market with meats, veggies and VAP's (value added products).

The Yorkville Olive Ranch will be at the Winter Abundance on Saturday with both the 375 ml and 750 ml bottles of our Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Tuscan Field Blend, 2016

* * *

Update on Boonville Farmers' Market

The certified BFM vendors recently voted on the future of the Boonville Farmer's Market.

12 vendors were polled and 8 of them responded.

Item 1: Whether to stay with MCFarm or become a renegade market.

7 vendors voted to stay with MCFarm

1 vendor opted not to vote but voiced a complaint that the market needed more local support. It is suspected that we all share the same opinion.

Item 2: Whether to approve Trout as the Interim Market Manager

8 vendors voted to approve Trout.

No one opposed the proposal

* * *

Local, Homemade Chocolates for Sale!

Valentine's Day chocolates for sale! Locally-made artisan chocolates with organic and fair trade ingredients. They will be available on Saturday, February 10th at the Winter Abundance Festival at the Fairgrounds.

THE MATEEL ON THE ROPES

February 2, 2018
The Mateel Community Center, Inc.
P.O. BOX 1910
Redway Ca 95560-1910
CT File Number: 040157
RE The Mateel Community Center, Inc. 040157

Notice of Intent to Suspend or Revoke Registration (Gov. Code, § 12598, subd. (e)(1); Cal.Code Regs., tit. 11, § 999.6.)

Dear Members of the Board:

Based on the violations set forth below, the registration of The Mateel Community Center, Inc. will be suspended or revoked unless the enclosed written appeal is received within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of this notice. If we do not receive a written appeal, your registration will be suspended or revoked, and you will no longer be permitted to conduct business in the State of California. Government Code section 12598, subdivision (e)(1), provides that the Attorney General may revoke or suspend the registration of a charitable corporation for violations of the Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act (“the Act”) (Government Code section 12580 et. seq.).

The suspension/revocation of The Mateel Community Center, Inc. is based on the following violations:

1. Failure to file the Annual Registration Renewal Fee (Form RRF-1) Report(s), together with required renewal fee, for fiscal year(s) ending: 12/31/2016, in violation of Government Code section 12586, subdivision (a), and California Code of Regulations, title 11, sections 301 through 306 and 311.
2. Failure to file IRS Form 990, 990-PF, or 990-EZ, report(s) for fiscal year(s) ending: 12/31/2016, in violation of Government Code section 12586, subdivision (a), and California Code of Regulations, title 11, sections 301 through 305.
3. Failure to have its financial statements for the years 12/31/2015 audited by an independent certified public accountant as required by Government Code section 12586, subdivision (e).

The above violations are not exhaustive and are limited to the information currently available to our office.

You have the opportunity to appeal our decision by filing a written appeal and request for hearing with the Registrar of Charitable Trusts within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of this notice.

To appeal the decision and request a hearing, please provide the information requested below and return the written request to the undersigned, within 30 days of this notice, to the following address: Registry of Charitable Trusts, P.O. Box 903447, Sacramento, CA 94203-4407. Please retain a copy of the request for your records. We direct your attention to the appeal procedures under California Code of Regulations, title 11, sections 999.6 through 999.8, available on our website at oag.ca.gov/charities/laws. If you appeal the decision and request a hearing, you will be notified by our office of the scheduled hearing date.

Request For Additional Time To Cure Violations/Settlement

A registrant may appeal and request a hearing if the legal or factual allegations in the notice are disputed. If you do not dispute the allegations but want additional time to cure the violations you may contact the Registry at (916) 445-2021 (Ext 6) or Delinquency@doj.ca.gov to discuss options for resolving this matter without a hearing.

Sincerely,

David Eller, Registrar

For Xavier Becerra, Attorney General

PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE reported missing who were not subsequently found in the same calendar year in sampled California counties, 2000-2017.*

*Once again: The only publicly available data, here, are on people found in the same calendar year. Sources: Office of the Attorney General website and California Department of Finance yearly population estimates by county.

CATCH OF THE DAY, February 8, 2018

TIMOTHY BANUELOS, Willits. Under influence, probation revocation.

TIMMY COOPER, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

ADRIAN GARCIA-GONZALEZ, Redwood Valley. DUI.

DAKOTA HENNIGAN, Willits. Stolen vehicle, zip gun, failure to appear.

GARRICK HORNLEIN, Fort Bragg. Burglary, controlled substance, paraphernalia, false ID.

ERREON JACKSON, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

AMBER RICETTI, Ukiah. Failure to appear.

REBECCA RODRIGUEZ, Willits. Probation revocation.

JONATAN SASTRE-CORDOVA, Fort Bragg. Lewd- lascivious with child under 14.

FELIX SWEARINGER, Covelo. County parole violation.

FRANCISCO ZAMORA, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

This is the natural end result of spreading the pot wealth from a closed clique of 'gunrunner mentality' people where their evil was tolerable because it was small (and their violence kept the profits to themselves) to a wide open green rush. There is a natural sense of satisfaction that the smaller group who used to abuse others in the pursuit of their own pot of gold are now feeling the same abuse themselves. And the more they scream and complain, the more they satisfy those who had to deal with the frustration of obnoxious, self righteous growers of earlier decades.

You were ugly neighbors. It is just right, that having been uninterested in your non-pot neighbors while you did what you wanted and flipped off those who objected, that you now have to deal with many multiples of yourself in turn. That longed-for open society you harped on isn’t so bright and shiny up close and personal.

BROWN ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES CONSTRUCTION OF DELTA TUNNELS IN TWO STAGES

by Dan Bacher

After months of talk and speculation, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation yesterday announced plans for a two-stage implementation of Jerry Brown’s controversial Delta Tunnels project, also known as the California WaterFix.

In a letter to water agencies, Karla Nemeth, the recently appointed DWR Director, said the agency in the first stage proposes to "focus on elements of the Water Fix that are consistent with the support expressed by water agencies.”

The option for the first stage includes two intakes on the Sacramento River in the North Delta with a total capacity of 6,000 cfs per second, one tunnel, one intermediate forebay and one pumping station.

The second stage would consist of a third intake with 3,000 cfs capacity, a second tunnel and a second pumping station. This would bring the total capacity of the project from 6,000 cfs in the first phase to 9,000 cfs capacity in total, a volume of water that would exceed the entire volume of the Sacramento River during low flow periods.

“If funding for all elements of the currently proposed WaterFix is not available when construction begins, stage two would begin once additional funding commitments are made from water agencies,” said Nemeth.

She also said the overall cost of the project "has not changed" at $16.7 billion in 2017 dollars. The cost of proceeding with the first stage alone would be $10.7 billion.

However, Delta Tunnels critics and economists have pointed out that once cost overruns, debt payments and other factors are considered, the real cost of the tunnels could exceed $68 billion.

Nemeth also claimed the state is preparing a cost-benefit cost analysis that will become available “soon" to “provide further information about the economic benefit of protecting a critical source of water supplies for the state and safeguarding decades of public investment in the state water project.

In addition, she said DWR will “fully evaluate” the potential environmental impacts of the staged implementation option — and expects to issue a supplemental draft Environmental Impact Statement in June 2018, with a final statement issued in October 2018.

While some reports have mischaracterized the announcement as the scaling down of the project down to just one tunnel, DWR in fact today proposed a “staged implementation” of the Delta Tunnels project, with one tunnel now, another later.

The announcement follows months of statements about changes to the project by Jeff Kightlinger, General Manager of the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California, after project proponents were unable to secure sufficient funding from the water districts asked to participate, according to Restore the Delta.

Curiously, the announcement takes place just one day after the California WaterFix hearing officers for the State Water Resources Control Board denied the motions by Delta Tunnels opponents to delay the hearing on the petition for the change in diversions needed to build the project, based on alleged illegal exparte communications between Water Board and Department of Water Resources staff.

The hearing will resume at 9:30 a.m. today, February 8, 2018, in the Coastal Room at the CalEPA building.

The officers, Board Chair Felicia Marcus and Member Tam M. Doduc, found that the exparte communications did not violate the law. They also found that no changes to the WaterFix project have been proposed that would warrant re-opening Part 1 or staying Part 2 of the hearing process at this time.

Delta Tunnels opponents said they were very disappointed by today’s announcement — and vowed to stop the project from ever being constructed.

“We find it very disconcerting that part two of the Delta tunnels change petition hearing is slated to begin tomorrow at the State Water Board in light of today’s announcement,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta. “Specifically, we are very concerned that this new version of the WaterFix will pursue a larger tunnel than what was presented during part one of the testimony, and before necessary modeling and cost-benefit analysis are completed.”

She also said while protestants of the tunnels are at the State Water Resources Control Board fighting the change in the diversions petition today, Southern California water districts will be evaluating the details of the new project.

“Presently, financial commitments from participating water districts still falls short of the to $10.8 billion needed to build a single tunnel. Consequently, Metropolitan Water District will have to go back to its member agencies seeking additional funding,” she explained.

“Realistically, there is not enough time between now and December, 2018, when DWR plans to break ground—whether symbolically or physically. Impacted parties have the right to measure the impacts of a single 6,000 cfs tunnel on fisheries, water quality for environmental justice communities, and the public interest. DWR’s attempts to jam through a permit for one project, while working secretly with water exporters to create another, is unconscionable, especially when we consider their mission,” Barrigan-Parrilla-Parrilla concluded.

Delta Tunnels opponents say the project would hasten the extinction of Sacramento winter and spring run Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, Delta and longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other fish species, as well as imperil the salmon and steelhead populations on the Trinity and Klamath rivers.

The letter from Nemeth is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1koZzAd0RA2JdQ-iGpLh7ECwgN45bDlMw/view

WHY SO MANY PHILADELPHIA EAGLES ARE REJECTING THIS WHITE HOUSE

by Dave Zirin

The NFL’s time honored tradition is that you and your team go to the White House after winning the Super Bowl. This goes back decades, but whether a visit happens in 2018 is officially an open question. Following a season where the current White House occupant Donald Trump cursed NFL players in an Alabama speech and said they should be “fired” if they weren’t “forced” to stand for the anthem, it doesn’t look like the Philadelphia Eagles will be playing his game. Wide receiver Torrey Smith said that “plenty” of players would not accept this president’s invitation. Smith’s reasons for his own boycott, given to Don Lemon of CNN, may stand the test of time.

He said, “For me, it’s not just about politics. If I told you that I was invited to a party by an individual I believe is sexist or has no respect for women or I told you that this individual has said offensive things towards many minority groups … this individual also called my peers and my friends SOB’s, you would understand why I wouldn’t want to go to that party. Why is it any different when the person has title of President of the United States.”

That answer is so lacerating because Smith is basically saying, “It’s not about politics. It’s about this president being a racist, sexist jerk.” This is a perfect articulation of a view shared by many people who see “politics” as what happens on Capitol Hill. But a collective antipathy towards this president runs a lot deeper than what comes out of the mouth of congressional Democrats.

Another Eagles player not playing the NFL and Trump’s game is defensive end Chris Long. The Charlottesville native was challenged by Trump lickspittle Boris Epshteyn on social media about why he wouldn’t go and try to dialogue with Trump about his concerns. Long spent this year donating his paychecks to fund social justice scholarships in C-Ville following last August’s Nazi march. He listed off the questions he’d ask Trump:

“Who were the fine people on the side of the Nazis and KKK that gathered in my hometown the day a terrorist put 20 ppl in the hospital? Why reference the hatred and bigotry on ‘many sides' that day? Why didn’t you immediately denounce them?”

Then he said, “I already know the answer. None of that is political. I’m not interested in a dialogue with someone who I have to ask those questions of.”

Safety Malcolm Jenkins has said simply that he was “not interested in a photo op” but would meet with Trump if he wanted to talk about the actual reasons he and many others were staging protests during the anthem – racial injustice – saying that he would only “meet to talk about advancing our communities.” Jenkins might want to get a Snickers because that meeting is not happening any time soon.

As these players have shown the world that being an activist is not something that will prevent you from winning a Super Bowl, it is worth remembering the player who sparked all of this off: the banished quarterback Colin Kaepernick. He animates all of this, even if the organization led by Malcolm Jenkins, the Players Coalition, which negotiated an $89 million payout to community organizations by NFL owners, has not taken up Kaepernick’s employment as a cause. As Torrey Smith said, “I have a lot of respect for him. You know, Colin Kaepernick is a person that history is going to look back on like he’s a legend. He’s a legend to me and I’ll have his back any day of the week.”

They have Colin Kaepernick’s back. But Donald Trump and his shock troops won’t respond well to this White House slight so those of us supporting their vital dissent had best get their front.

ROME’S DESTRUCTION was Christianity’s salvation. Traits that had long made Christianity so uninviting to the Roman elite, like disdain for “worldly” learning and culture, condemnation of wealth and materialism, and a focus away from this earthly life of suffering – all appealed to the poor and disenfranchised; a target demographic growing every day. Carrier notes Christianity could flourish during Rome’s collapse because it was a well organized, empire-wide social service independent of the system crashing all around it…

…Less than a century after Constantine’s rise to power, Christianity was finally the winner, though it would never be able to rest easy; always threatened by heresy and schisms, always guarding against new ideas from within and without. In the end, there was nothing miraculous or astounding about the birth and spread of early forms of Christianity, except perhaps how varied and contradictory the various sects were, and how anemic they were for hundreds of years.

The “overnight success” of the Roman orthodoxy after centuries of political wrangling in the Darwinian jungles of religious history is remarkable – not for anything lofty or noble, but as a primer on Machiavelli and a beautiful example of evolution in action. Ultimately, Christianity succeeded in seizing the Roman Empire, and thus the western world, not because of the beauty of its teachings or any spiritual truths it fostered, but thanks to the most worldly of motives: power and money.

David Fitzgerald

nazarethmyth.info/Fitzgerald2010HM.pdf

WITH WHOM WILL I MAKE LOVE?

by Francisco Brines (translated by Louis S. Bedrock)

With this glass of gin, I drink

the walled-in minutes of the night,

the aridity of the music, and the acid

desire of the flesh. There exists,

where the ice leaves space, only crystalline

liquor and the fear of solitude.

Tonight there will be no mercenary

companion, nor the acts of apparent

heat inside a lukewarm desire. At this moment,

my house is far away; I will get home

in the desert light of dawn,

take off my clothes, and in the darkness

will go to bed with barren time.

SAN FRANCISCO IS THE THIRD MOST CONGESTED CITY in the US and the fifth most congested city in the world---and we already knew that city streets are among the worst maintained in the country:

Five of the top 10 most congested cities in the world are located in the United States, according to a global traffic scorecard published annually by Inrix, a company that aggregates and analyzes traffic data collected from vehicles and highway infrastructure.

Los Angeles is the most congested city in the world, followed by New York City and Moscow, which are tied for the second place spot. San Francisco is the fifth most congested. (emphasis added) Atlanta and Miami also make the top 10 list.

The scorecard is based on an analysis of 1,360 cities. The congestion data provides insight into each city’s unique set of transportation problems and how they might be solved (or made worse) with technology and new forms of transportation such as ride-hailing, car-sharing, and eventually self-driving vehicles.

It also shows what the transportation headaches are costing drivers and the city (meaning taxpayers) that must pay for road improvements and infrastructure maintenance.

Angelenos spent an average of 102 hours last year in traffic jams during peak congestion hours, costing drivers $2,828 each and the city $19.2 billion from direct and indirect costs. Direct costs relate to the value of fuel and time wasted, and indirect costs refer to freight and business fees from company vehicles idling in traffic. Those fees are then passed on to households through higher prices, according to Inrix.

The top 10 most congested cities in the world are:

1. Los Angeles
2. New York City (tie)
3. Moscow (tie)
4. Sao Paulo, Brazil
5. San Francisco
6. Bogotá
7. London
8. Atlanta
9. Paris
10. Miami

The top 10 most congested cities in the U.S. are:

1. Los Angeles
2. New York City
3. San Francisco
4. Atlanta
5. Miami
6. Washington, D.C.
7. Boston
8. Chicago
9. Seattle
10. Dallas

(Fortune Magazine)