Letters (Feb 28, 2018)

• Flying Blind
• One Man’s Patriot Is Another Man’s Goose Stepper
• No Pet Projects Please
• To Be Or Not To Be, Part 2
• Wishful Thought
• How To
• Blame It On Sako

FLYING BLIND

Letter To KZYX Trustees

As a candidate for the KZYX board of directors, you, whomever you are, may agree that knowledge of the institution enhances informed discussion. To that end, I've written and called Mr. Parker, your phantom (at least in my experience) general manager, requesting the number of full-time station employees and their compensation, either collectively or singly. No reply.

Is my question somehow "inappropriate." as the prevalent local condemnation describes people and questions they regard as, well, inappropriate?

I hope one or more of you, in the spirit of collegiality, or any spirit at all, will reply.

I must say the sphinx-like organizational silence of Mendo kinda-public radio is odd even by local standards.

Thank you.

Bruce Anderson, Boonville

* * *

GENERAL MANAGER JEFFREY PARKER REPLIES:

Thank you for your inquiry. KZYX has five full-time staff, two part-time staff, three regular freelance contractors, 108 volunteer programmers (atlast count), great numbers of volunteers. Staff compensation is confidential information. — jkp

ED NOTE: NO, staff pay at tax-funded non-profits is not confidential, but an organization that pays staff upwards of $250,000 out of an annual income of around $550,000 is paying too much for staff. I believe Parker makes around $60 thou, the program director $40 thou for unchallenging work that should be combined into one position for…. I dunno, pick a number, but given that memberships have been flat for years and the station is invisible to a large majority of Mendo people, it seems past time for both fiscal austerity and some smart, energetic outreach, I’d say.

ONE MAN’S PATRIOT IS ANOTHER MAN’S GOOSE STEPPER

Editor:

I have to wonder where a person who still thinks words like Republican, Democrat, Liberal, or Conservative, gets their world view. These words and ideals are all but useless at this sorry ass point in America’s corrupt and dying political culture. From the White House all the way down to our county seat it’s the same dismal story; unqualified incompetent self-serving chumps wasting the public treasuries while rarely serving the people who vote for and pay them. An exception is rare.

My father taught his children not to trust men who were so vain that they’d part their hair just above the ear in order to cover a balding head. In the ’50’s and ’60’s these ridiculous men were usually low level salesmen of the door to door or used car sales type or any number of other jobs suited to the mediocre and the jive-ass. It was clear to me as a child that making oneself absurd with a living toupee or a real fake one, was a sign of a substantial character flaw. These observations have turned out fairly accurate over the years.

Now we have one of these frauds occupying the highest office in the land, this is embarrassing and a bad sign! It’s logical to wonder what other lies and falsehoods such a loser would entertain. Of course we all know that liars and deceivers are the kind of people who end up in the Oval Office.

If President Trump weren’t a mentally ill bigot, sexist, unethical fraud, if he really was a politician or an honest businessman, and had intelligence useful to America I could overlook his idiotic hairdo. But of course if he were a healthy useful person he’d most likely not give a rats ass about going bald as any real man would.

It’s sadly not surprising that such a self serving criminal became President, just look at the fools we’ve had in there since WW II. It’s just a rude shock that such an obviously self serving jerk who looks like an idiot is now the face of America. Things must be really bad when those who own and run America LLC have had to stoop so low for their chief stool pigeon. Talk about anti-American, talk about further tarnishing our reputation in the world. It would take some impressive self discipline not to notice the overall state of decline that America is well into and that a charleton like Trump is glaring evidence of.

To hell with flag waving slogan singing so-called patriots who use their jingoism as a smoke screen for obscuring the terrible realities of our America having been totally hijacked by pathological liars, psychopaths, greed addicts, power junkies, mass murdering war criminals, international law breakers, and un-American constitution trashing Imperial Presidents.

To prison with the Bushes, the Clintons, Obama, and Trump and all the evil congressmen, senators, and legislators who’ve turned America into a military dictatorship and an open air insane asylum. The only wall worth talking about is a wall around Washington DC and Virginia in order to protect America and the world from further damage by these uncivilized homicidal maniacs.

Thanks,

Ross Dendy

Elk

NO PET PROJECTS PLEASE

To the Editor:

Does anyone remember Measure Y? It was the one that passed by the thinnest of margins during the last General Election to raise sales taxes in Ukiah. Our City Council assured us that this money was for fixing roads and streets, only for fixing roads and streets, and never mentioned using the money for anything else. So, what do we have so far? Well, the city created a new (highly paid) Assistant City Manager Position. The Council approved a quarter of a million dollars to perform engineering works to extend the Rail Trail from Gobbi to Talmage. (This in itself is an incredible amount of money to design a light duty path …. most of the design will be standard drawings). So, what about fixing our roads and streets? I am sure most of us have seen the obliteration work of the STOP and Limit Lines markings in a number of intersections. And surely there must be activity on Luce, Observatory, and/or State Streets…..No?

We also know the money fairy came to town recently and dropped off $1.3 million dollars to extend the Rail Trail a bit more to the north …. some call it ‘The Million Dollar Mile.’ Where did this money come from? Well it came from the state Cap & Trade program, where businesses purchase Carbon Offsets and gasoline purchasers kick in a few cents per gallon. The intended use of this money was to invest in projects that would reduce Carbon Emissions, which would stop Climate Change, and save the planet. I guess the State saw the opportunity to reduce north-south motor vehicle traffic emissions in Ukiah by promoting the use of Shopping Carts to move goods and services from one end of town to another.

Speaking of shopping cart operators, have you seen the front of the County Social Services Building lately? They have constructed a barrier (at taxpayer expense, of course) to prevent these operators from utilizing the space as a break area when they are off-duty. This is the kind of thing that is done in less developed countries when the folks who run the country don’t want to be bothered by their subjects. This, of course, will allow the operators to disperse within the community so businesses and property owners can provide shelter; garbage; and hazardous and human waste disposal services ‘free’ of charge. I know that there are people in the building who are earnestly working on good things to alleviate the shopping cart operator situation in our community. Allowing these folks to continue to use the previous space, would just give a branch of our local government a continued sense of urgency.

Bringing things around full circle, if the $1.3 million dollars, as stated in the UDJ article, was to help the environment in our community, what better way to do this than to provide a facility for all of the folks out on the streets to go and stay so they can sleep, do their laundry, receive meals, bathe, take care of their bodily functions AND receive expert professional assistance to move them back into society as productive members!

And, how about the new court house project? Now that our state government has decided that it has other more urgent spending priorities and the project will come to a grinding halt, isn’t it time for the city to tell the state that this location would be a dandy location for housing, which is our need?

Don’t you think it is time for our tax money to be spent efficiently and effectively on things that the community actually needs instead of pet projects?

D.E. Johnson

Ukiah

TO BE OR NOT TO BE, PART 2

Editor,

(…continued from last week) — The green light was given for new recruits, those who were from Hopland were chosen. Fights always broke out at school and I was always called into the office. Mr. Garcia was one of the principals at the time. He had me in his office asking, "Romero, do you have anything or know who's involved in the fight today?" My answer was simple: "I don't know who or what you are speaking of." I learned along the way not to say a word.

One afternoon an assembly was in session for all the students. The people were ex-gang members — "old schoolers" is what I would call them. They spoke about gangs and how they got out and such. They were from Victory Outreach in Santa Rosa. This is funny because this will come into play later in the story about how it changed my life. At the same time that this was going on preparations for cap and gown graduation were being made.

At our 1997 graduation, a lot of us were so happy that day. Bleachers were packed at the Ukiah high school football field. When my name was called to receive my diploma I felt loved as I walked up on to the stage after the tassel was moved to the other side of the caps and the caps were thrown. All our family and friends and teachers were there to greet us. My mother and father, brothers, and even my cousin had flowers for me on this day. A picture was even taken where you can see how happy my parents were, especially when I was the first to graduate of all my brothers.

In 1998 I started to work and save my money, being more responsible. After I left the ranch life I found a better paying job thanks to Hector (my older brother) at MGM Brakes in Cloverdale. I started from the bottom just as my older brother had and I worked my way to the top. I became the warehouse manager and quality assurance man an important job there.

After three years and investing my money in a property and in a 1999 GMC Sonoma (with my father help with the credit), in 2000 I took advantage of the benefits and decided to do something more challenging.

A friend of the family had recommended me to his employer. I would be running heavy equipment, building dams and reservoirs, doing vineyard prep, etc. for MBC construction for just $2 more in our. I ran the landfill compactor and worked my way up to the dozer, but mainly I remained running scrapers. I remember the first job site, probably the biggest pond I've ever built in Potter Valley.

One Sunday morning I lost my job because supposedly I was there late more than once. The "boss" said this to me as I got there at 7 AM. I knew that he had actually fired me for something else. This is where my downhill fall began. But at that time I wasn't paying attention.

On September 11, 2001 I was preparing for work, my mother was watching TV. She said with some concern in her voice, "Son, look what's happening on TV." I saw the first plane hit the tower and that was the day that forever changed my life and everyone's life. I was already speaking what some would consider "conspiracy" which in the long run some were conclusive.

I walked to work at Associated Vintage Group winery only a few hundred feet from home. Like other events in life, this too would play a role later in the story.

In 2006 my friend and brother Marcos had gotten into some trouble with the law. There’s no need for details on this, but he was given 15 for life. This took a toll on my mother and father as well as myself.

My brother is now home after doing his time in prison. At first he seemed like the brother I knew, but in time he started to change. I told myself that maybe it's the methamphetamine or it could be that something happened to him while he was imprisoned. When I tried talking to him or giving him a hug he rejected me which made me sad and truly broke my heart. I totally felt that I was losing my family -- "or is it my family?"

In 2013 my mother and father were in living downtown Hopland and leaving the ranch life. It was different for them to adapt to the city with all its neighbors, cars flying through on Highway 175 all night due to the casino, etc. My father's boss was looking for someone to maintain his ranches which he had in Redwood Valley and in Ukiah near the high school.

Six months after working with the Colombini’s owner’s son (my father’s boss) he had me work at his father’s house for the last 30 days. So I met the father of my father’s boss, Mr. Colombini. We both got along with each other. But for some reason he didn’t like my dad. It’s funny because I didn’t like his son either. I never told him that. I remember as we were working together one day he said, “Ramiro, you could pass for an Italian!”

To Be Continued.

Ramiro Gonzalez Jr.

Mendocino County Jail, Ukiah

WISHFUL THOUGHT

Editor,

You really ought to lay off on old Jer Phil — the readership of the AVA is generally, probably, a pretty sophisticated bunch with both oars in the water, with few dim caps that need to be warned or protected against Jerry's love spiels. So we are kind of already there with you or maybe a little ahead. If you think any kind of "reasoning" or history lesson would be fruitful in this local version of a rather widespread insufficiency, you are probably suffering from wishful thinking or maybe you have a small infection of the optimistic delusion bug. The following famous words don't apply in all situations, but I think they do in this one: "Let it be, let it be."

The recent book "Before You Know It" by John Bargh, Ph.D., offers for insights about our current cultural status and if one were to follow those insights to their logical conclusion of white male fears and anxieties central to so many of today's issues could be greatly reduced over time.

Name Withheld

Philo

HOW TO

Editor:

Anyone sentenced for a marijuana charge may be eligible to have the conviction reduced or dismissed and the record sealed. Effective since November 2016, one need only complete and file a simple petition with the Superior Court at no charge. The link is found at courts.ca.gov/documents/cr400.pdf There is also information on the Sonoma County Superior Court website: Sonomacourt.org

The filed petition is forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office to determine if the petitioner was convicted of a qualifying crime and whether there is any objection based on the requested relief posing an unreasonable risk of danger to the community, such as a request to seal a case involving violence like a home-invasion robbery. Using a process like most counties, we have rarely objected, and most petitions have been granted with orders mailed to the petitioner without a court appearance.

With more than 3,000 cases with a qualifying charge dating back to the 1970s, the District Attorney’s Office doesn’t have the resources to locate each file, determine eligibility and contact the involved party. We will provide assistance in completing the process to anyone who contacts us and have posted the link to the petition on our website as well.

Ultimately, the decision to reduce and or seal records is up to the Superior Court.

Jill Ravitch

Sonoma County District Attorney

BLAME IT ON SAKO 

Editor:

Thanks for disclosure that Sakowitz is still at large in Mendocino County. While he was a KZYX Board member, he cost the station $16,000 in Washington DC lawyer fees, responding to his nonsense letters to the Federal Communications Commission, attacking the public radio broadcast license. His accusations were found "without merit" by the FCC. I think of that $16,000 hole at the start of every pledge drive. I want the money back! Here's my plan. We find Sako a good-paying job and garnish his wages. Anyone have any leads? Perhaps we can run him for public office.

Gordon Black KZYX volunteer

Mendocino

PS, I am honored by your request that I be your coastal campaign manager in your run for the KZYX Board. I mentioned that my reason for declining is the anticipated cost in time, grief, and money. But of course I maintain an interest in your campaign. I advise you to play down your statement that you don't listen to the station. That won’t go well with most of the radio membership electorate. I urge you instead to run for supervisor.

Ed reply: You're slipping, Old Cravat. I said I'm not a regular listener except at odd intervals; I didn't say I don't listen at all. And, no insult intended, my invitation to you to manage my Coast campaign was pure whimsey which, as a poet, I thought for sure you'd catch. These aren't elections, they're annointments of dependable stooges. I have zero chance of election, but if a miracle should occur I will do my fiduciary duty. Re Sako: If I'd been the station's finance guy like Sako was from his trustee position only to be double-teamed by the gray ghost in denying me access to the books, I'd have been unhappy, too. Sako had every rational reason for complaint. If the station had simply honored his perfectly legit request Sako wouldn't have run to the authorities, such as they are. Why hide the numbers?